Day 91

2020 June 16

Tuesday

11:03 am:

It has been awhile since I have posted a CD entry, so this will be MEGA(!) with PHOTOS(!).

I apologize in advance.

#Kid6 is allergic to peanuts, sesame, raw egg, AND cashews.

Since my last post, when we took #Kid6 for allergy testing, she has also shown a reaction to cashews. The first few times since our visit with the allergist, she ate them without incident. On the 4th attempt, she got blotchy around her mouth and started getting hives under her chin, so they’re now on the “NOPE” list, and we’ve been told to also avoid pistachio and use caution when offering kiwi.

This is disappointing, as I could find other tree nuts that were peanut/sesame safe but that facility processes both cashew and pistachio, so now the only “safe” tree nuts for her will be those that I shell myself.

There is also not a ton of information online about breastfeeding an allergic toddler. I’m avoiding consuming the allergens, but would like more information on the why/how if I do end up eating something. I would like to avoid another trip to Emergency.

There is a lot of information on elimination diets for exclusively breastfed babies, but the realities of a nursing toddler are different and the lack of clear information is frustrating. If anyone happens to know a good source to which I can refer, I’d greatly appreciate it.

The pandemic garden is coming along nicely.

I’ve already been harvesting some salad greens and herbs. Next week I will be able to harvest half of our radishes and replant that area with more. The kids are interested in what is going on and asking lots of questions, and the teens have been helping a bit with the minimal weeding.

My husband has fallen in the deep end and has been designing self-watering containers — I expect that, next year, some of the current planters will be converted to that system as it makes watering things very easy. Our biggest issue right now are the squirrels.

I’m preparing a spot later today for a crab apple tree, and have earmarked a spot for an apple tree. The crab apple will act as a cross pollinator for the apple tree. I will be tucking two more rhubarb plants around the base of the crab apple, and planting two blueberry bushes in the same bed (instead of ornamental shrubs). I have always enjoyed mixing my culinary plants with my ornamentals, and the new beds I’m putting in at this house are no exception.

My kids have been outside a lot.

My 3yr old informed me yesterday that she “isn’t afraid of dirt” — I think that’s the understatement of the season, personally. My 5yr old has been pushing her limits and getting braver on our NinjaLine — even the 16yr old has been playing on the NinjaLine, and was showing off how to hang upside-down using the rings last night. #Kid4 was impressed, but has decided that is still a bit advanced for her.

My flower beds are filling in nicely, and there is one shady corner next to one that has become my favourite spot to sit. I have a couple bird feeders hanging up nearby and can watch them come and go while I enjoy my morning coffee. Taking a few minutes to do that in the morning makes such a difference in the rest of my day.

I miss quiet and space.

I am alternating between loving having everyone home and the opportunities that provides and hating having everyone home because the constant noise is draining — I need quiet and space to recharge, and both are in short supply here at home these days. I’m at the “second week of August” point of coping right now, which isn’t great because it’s only partway through June and I’m not convinced that the kids will be in classrooms in September. On the flip-side, the kids have been bonding with each other — that’s what having no other playmates will do, I guess — and the 14mos old, in particular, has been loving having everyone here all the time.

We finally carved an office nook out of our storage room for my husband. This will help as it moves his desk out of our bedroom. I’m hopeful that I will be able to get the 14mos old back into a good daily nap routine — she was still having 2-3 before the shutdown in March, but is now down to needing 2 a day. Some days this happens, other days it doesn’t — it has had an impact on her nighttime sleep and I am noticing the impact on my own energy levels as a result.

I’m still working in Ottawa every weekend.

(Can you spot the COVID haircut? Bangs! I got tired of waiting and chopped them myself, for better or worse.)

We’re still closed to walk-in customers, but things are going well. I mask up as needed. We are focusing on online/phone sales, and curb-side pick-up/purchases for now, and our customers are appreciative and understanding.

I like going back to the old neighbourhood every weekend. I see people I know (at a distance), and it’s a gauge of how people are feeling about the current state of lock-down.

Ottawa patios are open now, so the sidewalks and streets are busier. The Farmers Markets are opening soon, albeit in a different and more limited format. People are adapting and adjusting to the “new normal”, though some appear to feel that there was never a problem in the first place and still more seem confused by the current “bubble” rules and how “groups of 10” work.

I worry that we will see the result of this confusing messaging from the Ontario government around Canada Day (which, of course, will be when many Folks will be behaving as “exceptions” and having BBQs with their groups of 10(+) — the results of which we will see in mid-July). At this point, it seems inevitable.

Will result in ripples, or waves?

I drove past the old house this past weekend. It’s still sitting empty. I took a moment to clip some roses from the hedge. These thrive on neglect and the amount of neglect they’ve experienced in the past two years is apparent in their current abundance. Some of the canes are almost 3m tall and are growing skyward through the thick, unwieldy cedar hedge.

I’m sure there is a metaphor in there.

Something about triumphing over adversity, or perhaps maybe just a saccharine “Bloom where you are planted!”.

They are glorious, in any case.

I hope that the few little ones I managed to transplant in my new yard thrive as well as that one has there. It’s amazing to think that it started from a rose clipping from my grandmother’s dooryard in Blomidon.

I call it the “Bill Lang rose”, because Bill Lang — a lovely old man, who lived across the road from her — gave her a piece in the first place. He had one growing in his yard. It makes me smile to think of how many bunches, bouquets, and bushes I’ve given away here in Ottawa over the past 20 years— always telling the recipient that this is the “Bill Lang rose”.

I was commissioned to make a floral crown for a 16th birthday — this was a special project for me, as I made one for their older sibling a couple years ago. With everything shuttered or only open to curb-side pick-up, I was limited to the supplies I had on hand, but fortunately I have a tendency to pick stuff up when I see it instead of when I need it, so I had a decent selection of flowers to use.

It’s relaxing and a creative outlet for me.

It was so much fun that I’ve decided to make a few to list for sale. I have the supplies, so why not?

I also spent a day putting together a crown for #Kid6.

A “made-by-Mum” crown has been a first year tradition with my youngest kids, and I refused to let the shutdown change that.

With my last two babies, I had 1 year photos taken by Sara McConnell during blossom-time or late Spring. I cherish them and the age they captured.

The restrictions placed on photographers due to the shutdown made this impossible for #Kid6. Being a girl from the Annapolis Valley, apple blossom photos have always had special meaning for me, so missing them with my youngest (and last) baby was a tough pill to swallow.

I decided to try taking some of my own, but missed the apple blossoms entirely due to the rain and cold.

I had found a lovely woodsy spot to use instead, but by the time the weather cooperated it was overgrown and unsuitable.

#Kid2 and I found a totally picturesque ditch on our way home from the first location with a lovely honeysuckle bush and cedar fence post. It ended up being a much better spot, and I’m pleased with the photos. I will be going back at a different time of day to retake a couple, but I think they turned out well.

Photographers can now operate but unfortunately I missed the boat for preferred times/theme, so I’m glad I did take the time to snap some of my own.

“Blossom Time” photos with Sara will be in the plans for next Spring instead.

This time I will have photos done of the three youngest sisters together — each with a brand-new crown.

Now that it is mid-June, we’ve finally gotten word from the schools about collecting our kids’ belongings. With our schools, we have to book a time and physically go in to collect it all ourselves. I’m not sure if I will have to go in twice for my elementary kids, or if I can collect it all at once. My high school kid insists that he has nothing in his locker, but I don’t believe him.

And then …Summer Vacation.

It feels impossible that it is already June — a whole season preempted.

I feel like I missed Spring entirely this year. I miss the rhythm and routine of kids and spouse going to school. I miss the quiet. I miss having more uninterrupted time to use for myself. There are things I enjoy about our slower days, but I do hope we will return to something that is an echo of what we had before.