Spring has Sprung...but forgot to show up here!

Well the snow may be melting but damn its still pretty cold here in Northern Ontario, with the mornings starting off well below zero...its freezing!!!

We ended our March Break week of fun yesterday taking our beach boy back to his mother, saying goodbye for another month til he returns in April (providing of course that the twat permits us the visit)

A fantastic week of family fun full of giggles, smiles and love. Some randoms of our week...

of course...the fun began with a Sunday afternoon of family time...killing chickens! The chore was finally completed last week, with the kids gathered round, eager to help and watch as chickens head were chopped, as I sat on the lawn pluck'n feathers, and Dad finished up with the gutting. I honestly do not know...should I be proud or concerned at how eager they were?! Ryki being the official bird fetcher as we chucked him thru 'the hole' letting him choose the next bird for slaughter. Mastering the technique of carrying each bird by the foot. And I say FOOT because the wee little man could only handle one, leaving lots of giggles for us all as the BIG bird used his free foot to try running in the opposite direction. Each of my fric freak and frac taking turns to deliver the birds to the chopping block. All in all..it wasn't THAT bad, easier than I thought it would be ...but still...should the local butcher and his wife settle things...I will be more than happy to pay the $3 cost of butchering per bird. And at the end of the day...the decision has been made for the upcoming season...laying hens, and maybe a couple of turkeys will be on our spring order.

The weather cooperated as well, while the temps were not WARM always, the sun was shining and the kids managed tonnes of outdoor play. A sight I was happy to see, as the Beach Boy does sometimes require a gentle push in the direction of "GO PLAY!!" It was great to see him running, jumping, exploring, and having fun. Funny to see their faces when Dad told them..."you guys can play in the van" The van an old Ford Clubwagon, formerly our family bus, sitting in the yard used more for storage now than anything else. The smiles that were behind the wheel, as they each took turns driving, chatting and imagining life on the road...fantastic!! Aspen I am sure still has the keys in her pocket...'she is in charge of the keys'

And when we could not be outside, and needed a warm up....baking was on our list...muffins in the oven, with the three kids reading the instructions, stirring the batter and counting just how many cups could be filled by each. I swear it took nineteen minutes to bake them, and three minutes for the brats to gobble them up. We capped off the week on Friday with a feast on Dumplings of course...with me agreeing to the torture of 'yes you can help make them with me' I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised...the kitchen table becoming an assembly line, normally with me going insane and kicking them out of the kitchen...they did good, not good GREAT!! They helped, without scrapping, they 'flipped' the dumplings without screwing them up...my kids have mastered the art of assembling 100dumplings without driving me crazy!!! and damn..they are sooo good...record of the night...the beach boy won with his scarfing of twenty dumplings...beating Ryki's record of eighteen.

Of course there was plenty more fun thru out the week, the lego was brought out...the playdough, an exciting round of parcheezi...action packed fun where the kids were left to play, explore and discover things to do without being handed a list of fun, or a schedule to complete.

So now back to skewl for us...this week on our list is to start the garden seeds. With a bag of soil, and a tray we will begin our garden adventure...planting seeds to sprout and grow. I am anxious for summer, for warmer weather, for the dirt under my nails...anxious to sit in the sun for tonnes of summer fun!