On Being an Islander

Six years ago we spend 10 days on Newfoundland with my family, and fell in love with the island. We have often dreamed of going back. Well, it seems that we have found another island to love.  Victoria, it turns out, is incredible!  We've been here just two days, and I'm ready to send for all my things and settle down.  Seriously. I think I was meant to be an islander.

The first thing we did when we got to Victoria was find a place to live. It was pretty easy, seeing as we are only going to be here for 2 months, and we didn't need much.  We found a furnished basement suite off Kijiji, went straight there, signed the lease and moved in!  The entire apartment is not much bigger than the room we live in in my parents basement, but we don't plan on spending much time in it anyway, and it is clean and cute.

Then we went to the only place that Eli really wanted to see: the beach.  It's just a few blocks from our house, and it is lovely! It wasn't that warm out (albeit, warmer than Calgary) so we didn't jump in, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

The majority of Silas's aunties would be disgusted by this beach, due to all the sea weed. Silas and Eli didn't seem to mind. In fact, Silas was quite excited by being able to throw the sea weed back to sea.  Eli wanted to know if he could eat it.

There was a park right off the beach, so we spent a few moments there in hope of wearing off some of the sand before we climbed back in the car (a losing battle, I suppose.)

Then we did our grocery shopping, setting ourselves up for life on the island for the next 2 months.  YEAH!

Yesterday, although Eli asked to go back to the beach every half hour, the weather was less than accommodating , so we spent the day exploring indoor adventures.  We went to the Pacific Underwater Gardens, a boat with aquariums around it that you can view from the inside.  We saw octopi, sea stars galore, and a scuba diver.  Eli and Silas's favorite part was the tiny pool they could reach their hands into to hold the sea stars themselves.

The Trip Across the Ocean

Alright, I'll admit it, I don't actually know what we travelled across, but the sea was salty, there were islands everywhere, and we traveled, so I will call it the ocean. It was probably a strait or something...

Anyway, after our night in Abbotsford, we reloaded the car (not an easy feat) and carried onto our destination.  We did take a minute to stop and see the LDS Temple in Vancouver.  We enjoyed the good weather, the beautiful flowers and sang I Love to See the Temple several times.  I have always loved visiting temples, but I love it even more now that I can bring my children there and know that I will be with them forever!

Then we carried on down the Trans Canada until we reached the sea and could drive no longer.  Eli thought it was pretty cool that we would be able to drive our car onto a boat, but that's the way to get across an ocean!  We got to the ferry just as one was leaving, so we had to wait for 2 hours before ours would leave. It was cold, right there on the ocean, and the boys coats were packed, so we wrapped them up in our own and explored the very commercialized shore.

Don't tell, but we even had a little gelato while we waited.

Nothing like running on the road. Chicken, anyone?

Eli was in love with all the ships.

On the ferry we stopped for buffet lunch (kids eat free!!!) and went to the highest deck to see the ocean.  Honestly, it was amazing to sail (there were no sails, but I'll call it sailing anyway) right past all the little islands, and see the snow capped mountains in the distance.  We kept our eyes peeled for whales, but all we saw were a few sea stars stuck to the wharf.  Nevertheless, it was amazing.

And thus we made it to our new home, Victoria, British Columbia.  The adventure continues, and we are so excited!

How To Pick Up and Move Across the Country in 5 Days

Or, Too Stressed to Take Pictures, So This is All You Get

The last five days could not have been more stressful. But, I am writing this from the hotel we stayed at in Abbotsford, BC.  We are only 4 hours away from our destination (assuming we make the ferry on time) and I am feeling good.

So, wanna know how to do it?

1. Make sure your car is in working order. Of course, if your back breaks have needed to be replaced for the past two years, do not attempt driving. Instead, spend an entire day changing them.  Get lots of help from your three-year-old, so it is done well, and enjoy!

2. Agree to take care of your friend's three children the weekend that you are on call for a birth that is a week overdue, and when you get called to that birth, leave those three kids, plus your own two, with your husband for 15 hours, two days before the move in question.

3. Pack up everything you think you might need in a city you don't know, with a climate you aren't familiar with, and hope you don't forget anything.  But know, it doesn't really matter anyway, because it wouldn't fit anyway!

4. Understand that driving so far in a huge Suburban, while definitely more comfortable, will definitely cost more money to do so. So, load up your little car fuller than it's ever been, pile in, an GO!!!

Um, I think that about covers it. Any questions?

Another Wiebe Adventure

So... we're going to Victoria.  That's right. Victoria. Jared got into the University of Victoria for Spring term to take the last exam he has to take, and so we're going. On Tuesday. To Victoria.  Crazy, eh?

Actually, I'm not going the whole time.  I've got commitments, you know. I teach Speech Arts, and I have a mommy who is due at the end of May, so I'll go with him to get him settled in, come back to Calgary for a few weeks, and them join him again after the baby is born.

I've never been to Victoria. I don't know a soul in Victoria. We don't have a place to live in Victoria.  But, we are going to Victoria!

So, now here's where I need advice.  We are planning on renting a very small, furnished place, and I don't plan on being there very much, because I really want to explore. For anyone who's been to Victoria, where do I go, what can't I miss, and what should I do?  Fill me in, people.  At the most I've got 4 weeks, but likely less than that, and I want to see it all!

Victoria, here we come!

Second Verse, Same as the First...

I've heard that the more a child is exposed to Chicken Pox before they actually get it, the worse of a case they will have.  I'm not sure of the medical evidence of that statement, but antidotally, I have to guess that it is true.  Poor Silas, after being subjected to sharing spit with at least four other people with the chicken pox, has finally come down with a case of his own.  I am so glad that he is really too young to understand just how bad it is, but man, the poor kid is COVERED!

He's even got a few on the inside of his eye lids.  He keeps pointing at them and signing "hurt." I bet they hurt!

So what have I done?  Bathed him lots.  He doesn't seem to notice the itch if he's in the bath.

And let him play outside, sans diaper.  I'm sure glad it's a nice spring day in Calgary, as rare as that is this year.

Oh, the rites of childhood.  Eli keeps telling him, "It's okay, you're going to be really strong after the chicken box go away."  And he's right.  Nothing like natural immunity to strengthen a body.  Still, poor kid. 

And on a philosophical/soap box note: it's funny how something that was once completely normal, in less than 10 years has become so feared.  I have to chalk that one up to pharmaceutical scare tactics.  I have had several people come to me with their unvaccinated children to expose them to my boys.  They all come with a little worry about what others may think of our "Chicken Pox Party."   Even though I have been extremely careful about keeping my boys home while they are contagious, I have been accused of being careless and selfish just for having chicken pox at our house.  Perhaps most other people had far worse experiences having chicken pox than I did, but it seems to me that many people are terrified of something that really isn't a big deal at all.  On the other hand, I have also found this a great opportunity to talk with people about the choices our family makes, and that some people, while they are equally happy about the different choices they have made, are understanding and totally nonjudgmental. Why is it that the rude, condemnatory people stand out more? In any case, I'm glad that my boys have both been able to get chicken pox, that there immunity is stronger for it, and will be for the rest of their lives.  I am also grateful that I do breastfeed my toddlers, because not only have I been able to provide nutrients, I have also been able to give comfort when it has really been needed.  Chicken pox? No big deal!

Hop along, Easter

With our lack of income and our lack of a home, I have found I definitely lack the drive to create holiday magic for my boys.  I would love to do so much more, and while I know there are ways to do it without spending a great deal, I just haven't been able to find the motivation at all.  Christmas was very low key this year.  I know presents aren't everything, but one day I would like to be able to spoil my kids if I want to.  My boys were spoiled, but not by Jared and I. Valentine's and St. Patrick's Days passed without so much of a notice.  Here Easter is upon us, and while we will make a great deal out of reading about Christ's Resurrection, there will be little partying going on around here this weekend.

This morning, however, in a last minute attempt to do something, however small, we whipped out our creative energies and made a little fun for the boys. 

First of all we decorated some eggs.  Admittedly, I should have gone to the grocery store and bought a cheep pack of white eggs, but we had these great brown eggs in the refrigerator, which we don't eat, with the whole Raw food thing, and I like brown eggs, so get over it! I also could have picked up an actual egg dying kit, but do you really think it would have mattered on my beautiful brown eggs?  Me neither. So, with brown eggs and puff paint we decorated our eggs.  Eli and Silas couldn't have been more delighted, and I avoided the unsightly stain that dying always leaves on the egg whites - who knows what's in that stuff!

Eli packed his own Easter basket to bring to Granny and Grandpa Hudson's house today for the Annual Easter Egg hunt and Egg roll.  

We were also responsible to bring our own treats to contribute to the hunt, so we figured we'd whip something up for that as well.

Luckily my mom made rice crispy squares for her Young Women on Wednesday, and had tons of leftovers, so we made some rice crispy nests with goodies inside them. Who doesn't love being covered in rice crispy goodness?!

All wrapped up and ready to go.

So there you have it, our Wiebe family Easter celebration.  Not very raw, and definitely not elaborate, but celebrated. And for that, I can pat myself on the back.  This year, anyway.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!!! - Repurposed Crayon Tutorial

My mom has a Tupperware container stuffed in the craft cupboard full of the remains of eight children's lifetime of crayon collection. 

Eli has an insatiable desire to break things and rip things and melt things.

Put these two factors together, and we came up with the greatest kids craft! Homemade crayons!

While I love to craft myself, I am always looking for crafts that are not parent intensive, but instead kid friendly.  Crafts that Eli can actually do, and that I don't have to take over from him.  This is definitely one of them.

First of all, we dug through all the crayons and picked out any that weren't wrapped - the smaller the better.  Then we started peeling off the wrappers of more crayons.  Eli loved this, as he could pick and rip and peal to his hearts delight.  Then we broke the pealed crayons into smaller pieces, again totally joyous for a three-year-old.  While he snapped them in half, I cut them with some heavy duty kitchen scissors - much less fun, but way more efficient!

Then the boys filled three silicone ice cube trays (Ikea, $1.99!) with the crayon bits.

I wasn't worried about the usefulness of the finished product, so I wasn't worried about one colour going in each mold, but you could make all white, all yellow, all green, etc. crayons.  I liked the way ours turned out just as well.

Then we put the ice cube trays onto a cookie sheet (just in case of spillage!) and put them in the oven for 20 minutes at 250 degrees. Running a hot blow drier over the back of the trays before trying to pop them out made removal much easier.  Especially on the fish and star shapes, which kept breaking.

And voila!  Crayons!

Cute, eh?  And it only cost me the price of the ice cube trays - which I will be able to use again and again.

To be honest, they are cuter than they are functional.  As they melted the pigment settled and the wax rose, so all the colour is on the top of each crayon, and it is pretty messy. I'm not sure how to remedy that in further experiments.  Also, the fish and star molds broke really easily, because they had pretty narrow parts.  The round flowers were fantastic though.  I'd stick with round and more solid shapes if I did it again.

Despite the fact, this was tons of fun, and Eli is so pleased with his crayons. He's been colouring for two days straight, and I love it!