What on earth does it take to get a comment here? We are writing some very good blogs and getting no response. It's degrading. We can see you visiting our website, but that really isn't enough. Just ONE comments every now and then would be nicer then ZERO forever.

We have finished making our toy cars in Tech Ed. We are doing birdhouses now. They are actually pretty cool. You can add picket fences or chimneys. I have decided to do a bird feed dish that everybody says will not work because the crows will come and bully the other birds. I say, "crows are birds and they deserve just as much food as a good little robin. Birds are birds. If crows don't count then I will be making a crow house. I like their color anyway.

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hi guys. I watered my plant today and the water came out the bottom oop's! Mom asked me if it bothers me that Dan wears his headphones when we walk to the library I said yes. When I say something he can't hear me so I wore mine to. Me and Dan had to go Early today because Dan has an ortho at four. Mom had to go some were and dad had to go some were so Dan was left babysitting for ten minutes in this time the mail came one thing that thing was a package it was from PBS kids! we thought we should open it and we spent the next few minutes pondering if we should. I said we could put some of my packing tape on it after to make it look like we did not open it. Dan agreed we open it and a Spanish cartoon is inside oh well not what we expected so I go down stairs to get the packing tape and some one screams moms coming I frantically look around no packing tape I run up stairs grab the pack and hide it under my bed then I say play hide and seek. Ding dong moms home wow then I thought how silly this was so I told mom(taking full responsibility I mite add)

Pilonidal (PIE-low-NIE-dull) Traslation: Nest Of Hair

Yeah. My lower spine started hurting a couple weeks ago and when I told dad about it, he was almost sure that it was a pilonidal abscess. After going to the doctor examined it, she said, "your point is vell taken, but zere is nothing zere to indicate an abscess. I recommend you tell your dad to shut up about it." Yeah. I hope it isn't abscess because dad said it hurt like crazy and then you had to restuff gauze in the surgical wound everyday, and that also hurt pretty bad. So I hope that it goes away, I hope that if it doesn't, then it isn't abscess and if it is abscess, then they will give me more painkillers then they gave dad. Luckily it isn't as bad as a spinal tap.

Nothing else to say about what is going on in Halifax except... THE TRIPOD BROKE!!! this will cause a giant hole in film making until we get a new tripod.

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Chives For My Garden

hey guys a few days ago I was talking to our neighbours mom and she said that chives don't need a lot of sunlight to grow. She also said she would give us some seeds to grow them. I am growing a strawberry bush at the moment. And I'm giving up the grapes because when I was at the garden center a women said her neighbour grew them and they were sower so I will grow strawberry's and chives instead





SARAH

Griff

I was at Sobey's Garden Centre the other day & ran into Griff. He is the big hairy guy that Sammy named his bear after. I told him about it and he got a big grin on his face. He said he was honoured & proud to have a bear named after him. It was a bit slow & his co-worker suggested writing an autograph. He wrote:

To Sammy ~ My biggest fan. Be cool. Stay in school. And thank you for such a great honour.

Griff was being used in a movie last week & needed to be dyed blue. Sarah used pen. They thought it would wash off. Sam reported to Sarah tonight that he had got Griff completely un-blued. He had washed him in the washing machine twice. (He DID consult Griff & Griff consented). There was still a little bit of pen. So Sammy said, "I just took some scissors & cut off his skin where it was still blue." I was watching ER re-runs with the older kids tonight & Sammy brought Griff down to watch too. He said Griff wasn't addicted to ER but if he could just sit on my knee & watch it, he would be happy. Then Sam toddled off to bed & waited for ER to be finished so Griff could come to bed with him. I DID have to sing Griff two bedtime songs but after that he went right to sleep.

Mirror

Nothing like a mirror to make your day better. All you need is a mirror and a sunny day. If you wave the mirror around on a sunny day, then you will eventually find a bright dot shaking around. Locate that dot then use the mirror to train it on anything you want. You can spy into other peoples rooms, You can make the reflectors on bicycles flare up and you can hurt anybody's eyes. You can signal people in rooms just by shining that reflection of the sun into the room that they are in. I had a lot of fun in my room shining an annoying light on anybody unlucky enough to cross you path. Watch as they look around to try and locate the source of the stinging in their eyes. Muahahaha.

Even though I am not a tremendous fan of either the Sens or the Ducks, I hope that the Senators win this Stanley cup I would much rather the Canadiens win that would be nothing more than a fantasy for now.

Our theatre is due for an update pretty soon. If we don't get any comments on the blog, then I will have to cease all transmissions from the Four Youngest.

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My Garden under Construction

A couple of days ago I saw some rocks that mom had taken out of her garden. I wanted my own garden. So I just took the rocks and placed them at the back of our baby barn. I had some pretty bad encounters with spiders that day (I'm arachnophobic). So when I was lifting one of the rocks a 1" x 2" spider crawled out from under the rock. I'm arachnophobic, right? So I did what I do best: jump out of my pants. Next there was a rock in the back yard. I flipped it over and baby spiders started crawling everywhere. Fortunately none of them got on me. So I just used wood for the outside part of my garden. Next I need manure (really), soil and peat moss. A neighbour told us that if you mixed them up you will get a really good garden. When I get that stuff I'm going to grow chives & green onions. I like green onions & chives. So if you have any gardening tips can you please give them to me?


} - Matt - {

Sam's Woes

Things didn't go too well for Sam today. First the kids wouldn't help him pick up sticks in the backyard. Then I wouldn't let him have time on the computer, despite his pleas that Matt got the computer for the WHOLE day yesterday. Then the kids didn't want him to play freeze tag because he always quits when he doesn't get his way. Then Ron asked him to set the table for dinner. Sam refused & was sent to sit on his bed. Then he asked me AGAIN to use the computer & I AGAIN told him no. (Like I would give into a kids' demands to use the computer when he was being disciplined? What does he take me for, someone spineless?) So there he sits on his bed whimpering.

Life is hard when you are six.

Abarbanese

Dan wandered into our room & said, "Dad: Sarah & I are working on a new language." Dan said it was called JapaChinese because it was sort of an Asian language & he told us some of the words they've come up with so far. Ron went into a long explanation about how Japanese is just the Chinese characters plus 50 extra that the Japanese came up with. Dan decided then that they would call it Abarbanese instead.

Then Dan dropped the bombshell. "Anyways Dad. Will you support us in our development of a new language or will you still insist that we learn French?" In my minds eye I thought of all the movies I've seen where kids to say to their parents, through sobs, "you wouldn't support me. You couldn't accept who I was, that I wasn't just like you, etc."

Then I heard Ron say, "no Dan. I'll still make you learn French."

Hopefully Dan & Sarah will understand this decision when they become adults and not require hours of counselling.

We have just finished watching the 1st season of MacGyver. We are not going to be getting another season. The cars always blow up, there is a new girl every episode, his ideas always work and it gets very repetitive after a while. Expect a parody of MacGyver from CBS Kids. The tripod that we used to film has broken. We weren't roughing with it, one of the legs just snapped off. So that is the end of the tripod until we get another one. Expect a shaky video.

I got a tooth pulled today. I thought I was going to the orthodontist so I didn't eat anything, but after it was too late I learned that I was having an adult tooth pulled. That meant three hours of not feeling the right side of my head, a tremendous hole in my mouth clear to the skull, and a big headache. The mouse wasn't working on the computer so I had to get under the table and do some working. I smashed the right side of my head on one of the solid metal table legs VERY VERY hard. My numbing had cleared up by then, so now I have a giant goose egg on my face. It hurts as well. Now I have a headache on the right side of my head, a missing tooth on the right side of my head and a giant bruise on the right side of my head. The only thing the right side of my head doesn't have is a bald spot. The left side took care of that one.

To top it off, Agnus Dei is playing upstairs. Great scores, but not good for a headache

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Typing

At one time we got a CD game that teaches you how to type. Released by Disney, you must type with Timon and Pumbaa who are trying to get home after getting lost in the jungle. Some might say that it is not the best typing program in the world, but it works for us and it taught us all to type. I need to go through the game because my typing is sort lagging behind. Nothing like a little bit of fun to make the pain go away! Goodness, I'm sounding like Mary Poppins.

Sam is getting larger and larger by the minute. He can punch very very hard and all to protect his "kids". Al Ick, Griff and Junior. We love to steal his bears and play keep away. All to get the phrase, "alright, that's it, now I'm going to punch you" out of him. Then we give the bears back because he will punch us and it does hurt. When he is twenty years old he will be somebody you don't want to provoke in a dark alleyway. I wouldn't be surprised if he is going to become a cop. Although he does want to be a coffee maker. Somebody has to have the job of getting the beans into the machines.

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Confessions of a SERIAL Bird Murderer

Ok. They died - all 5 of them. I feel awful. Here's why:

1. I had planned to fix the vent so that birds could not put their nest there, but did not get to it on time.
2. I foolishly thought that the mother would be able to care for her chicks even though I moved them.
3. I did not kill them outright because I felt bad for the mother bird - transferring how I might feel if someone offed my kids because they were inconveniently placed. Instead I let them freeze to death while the mother looked on and could do nothing. How sensitive of me.
4. I could have waited for them to grow up and fixed the vent some other time.

sigh

Birds

Sarah mentioned the birds that I had to remove from the bathroom vent in our roof. The mom stuffed them so far in (about 10 feet). When I removed the hose and shook it gently they all came tumbling out. They are so young that their eyes are not even open yet and they have no feathers. I am quite unsure as to whether they will survive. I put them in a large bowl outside and have them covered. Tonight I noticed that the mother has reconstructed a nest. They were hardly moving as it got dark - I hope just sleeping. I'm also worried that a cat may come get them or something - they are completely unprotected. Anyone know anything about birds?

Our Theatre has been updated. I have pretty much nothing else to say other than COMMENTS PEOPLE!!!

thank god! To many things to be happy about first the horrible task of extracting the bird nest from the attic. A place were you need a bandanna to put around your mouth and nose so you can breath. Its so stuffy up there. Then getting a wire in to dad office from the attic to get a heater running and after a long day of huffing and puffing the tasks were done and guess what came up in the nest.........

five baby birds! so sickly we put them outside hopefully the mother will find them and what do you now she did!

Sleepin single in a double bed

Katelyn & Dan were hanging out with us late last night after the other kids were in bed. I bragged that I could come up with a song lyric to go with any situation. My musical knowledge is quite broad - my parents always listened to country music (CKNX in Wingham, Ontario) & my sisters & I always listened to CFTR - pop music. During my childhoold the radio was on at all times. So, for instance, when Ron came home at 12:30 the other night from a Bible study I sang, "sleepin' single in a double bed/thinkin' over things I should have said." Ron asked for a song about Rubik's cubes which he was trying to solve as we talked. I came up with, "Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys/Don't let 'em drive pick ups and dumpy ol' trucks/MAKE 'EM BE DOCTORS AND LAWYERS AND SUCH". OK I admit that is a stretch.

Ron decided we should look up all these songs I knew on You Tube.

So I named off some songs.

My D-I-V-O-R-C-E becomes final today ~ by Donna Fargo

Crystal Chandeliere by Freddy Fender

I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher

If you want my body by Rod Stewart (this is bad bad bad. How could I have liked this guy?)

Break it to them gently by Burton Cummings (which he explained was inspired by watching Kojak)

Sometimes when we touch the honesty's too much by Dan Hill

Four Strong Winds that blow lonely by Ian & Sylvia Tyson

Bud the spud by Stomping Tom Connors

The kids thought this was hilarious, especially as I sang along.

OK. I've got to go, get a shower & get 5 kids breakfasted & ready for church.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I asked Sam what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said with a smile, "mom, you know." I said I didn't but he continued to insist that I did. Finally he said, "I want to be a coffee maker. Or I would like to work at Pinky's." (This is our local ice cream/burger & fries shack.)Sigh. This should make his schooling easy. Once I teach him how to make change, run a debit machine & how to make a double mocha grande latte with skim milk I can retire from teaching. Looks like my calendar has just opened up.

Rain rain go away ...

I am so sorry for the lack of bloggage. And it isn't because we are doing anything exciting. In fact, it has been raining for a week. It is hard to take. You look at the forecast & it is more rain for as far as the eye can see. I'd like to get out in my perrenial garden & do some work but it is too wet. Sarah is waiting patiently until the danger of frost passes so she can plant tomatoes. Sammy has been having trouble with his bears. He shoves them into our faces & demands that we give them attention. Ron warned Sammy that Griff (his favourite) would go on vacation if he didn't calm down. Sam came into our room at 10:30 last night, unable to sleep without Griff. Sam didn't buy the story that Griff had gone on a vacation to Switzerland. We had to retrieve Griff from his hiding spot high up in the hall closet.

Let's go see the hanging!!

At church today a friend of mine (Dan) came up to me and told me that he has been getting to know one of my neighbors - a man who happens to be a stunt man and lives behind us. Apparently they made the connection that they both knew me when stunt man told him about the 5 kids who live in close proximity to his back yard and are building all kinds of dangerous contraptions. Stunt man explained that he saw one of these kids hanging from our deck with a rope around his neck and became concerned. Dan encouraged him to talk to us about it, saying that we're friendly and would do something about it. I couldn't help but smile and say how surprised I am that all my kids are still alive. I mean just the other day I saw them outside with plastic bags over their heads despite my repeated warnings that suffocation can kill you. Now I need to warn them about the dangers of hanging. A parent's work is never done!

On the way home from church I decided to bring up the incident with the kids, fully expecting all kinds of denials. I said, "One of our neighbors mentioned that they saw one of you with a rope around your neck. Is that true?" Sarah responded, "What kind of rope?" This made me pause. No denial - just a question about specifics. Was it the nylon rope? The metal clothes-line? The skipping rope? I just didn't know how to answer her question. But I continued to probe and here is what I found out:

Matt "appeared" to be hanging by his neck from our back deck. The rope was actually a tire. Our Dann was filming his latest movie, but the camera was not in our neighbors field of vision. This of course was completely hilarious to the kids who quickly zeroed in on being caught doing something dangerous by a stunt man. I saw the footage - I think it is going to be a good movie. I just hope they don't lose their heads in the making of it ... or suffocate ... or sever limbs ... or ...

Super Soaker 3000

Last year at the end of the season I bought a super soaker 3000 (a giant watergun) for $5. Since the weather is warming up I got it out yesterday. This thing has provided hours of fun, lots of wet clothes & a bit of crying. Dan was explainng to Ron & I this morning that it SEEMS like an ordinary water gun. So you squirt people in the regular way. Then, just when they think they are safe, you turn it to "Flash Flood" mode. Well ... you can imagine. Today the kids fashioned themselves protective gear out of blue recycling bags for their bodies & ziplock bags for their heads.

SPRING is here! We got one mildly hot day and then we got two scorcher's in which we could go the beach but did not. Remember that blog in the winter were I said I would do any thing for it to be spring well now I would do any thing for it to be summer (so we could go to the beach and the water would be warm).

Some one threw my grape plant of the deck so I have three more(non have grown yet) .


Sarah

Our Theatre has been updated to a new movie. Remember, comments are always appreciated.

Sam has been having trouble with his brakes and Dad needed to do something about that. So he told Sam stories of kids getting squashed and people dying because they were biking on the road. Sam didn't fall for this so Dad googled "Bike Accidents" He found this video on the net. Sam was dumbstruck and said, "Ok, I believe you now Dad". I thought that this was pretty funny. The weather here is phenomenal. We have got some 28 degree weather and today is HOT HOT HOT. I can't wait until chocolate lake warms up. This summer promises to be a good one. One of those days where you thank God for global warming.

Also, if you can understand french, and if you can't you need to go to Tetes a Claques to get some very funny and strictly Quebec videos (the videos are a cross between claymation and live action.

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Abarban-happenings

There has been a shameful lack of bloggage on our blog lately. Here is an update.

1. Ron spent last week in Montreal. He took a bunch of students on an adventure road trip to help a church start a new church among poor immigrants in Montreal. Most of the group was bilingual. Ron went to French school until Grade 5 but feels that his vocabulary needs work. He did well - he started to think in French to the point that on the way home he could not think how to order at a restaurant in English. He has the French-English dictionary on our bedside table for before bed vocabulary improvement. There is a new Quebec phenomenon where they take an English word & just conjugate it. For instance, to mop in French is now mopper. Hurrah. Je thinker je juste learnez parler Francais. People told me it would just happen one day.

As a special gift for the boys, Ron brought back something quintessentially Quebecois. Are you ready ... Pop Tarts. Sam said, "after I eat the pop tarts I am going to have to do a wot of biking." I asked why. He said, with his big expressive eyes, "I wooked on the package & they have 200 cawories each. That's a WOT".

Ron stayed with his brother Kevin in Montreal & was very happy to see him, his wife & their two little boys. Their dog Max has once a month epileptic seizures which Kevin described as horrifying. Ron lived in fear that Max would have a seizure while Ron was alone with them. He watched him like a hawk ... was that twitch a sign of one coming on?

2. The weather has been very nice the last few days (after being cold & rainy the whole time Ron was away). So during Ron's absence we had lots of fighting & crying. The kids were good though. But now we are riding our bikes, going to the park, having water fights, walking around topless (OK. Really that's only Matt & Sam).

3. Sam's front tooth is growing in so suddenly he can speak much more clearly.

4. Matt has become obsessed by pallendromes. I don't know why but it has happened with all our kids. He is particularly interested in ABBA right now. He claims they helped out a lot after the war. He has been asking random people if they know about ABBA. He called our friend who is 55 & she said she had never heard of them. NEVER HEARD OF THEM? I assume all our faithful readers know about ABBA?

hi guys. We went to the dingle park today and got the first ice cream of the season(we made dad think it was an honor to be able to give us the first ice cream of the season) (thanks dad!). And me matt and sam got really sandy by diging in the sand. Then we made deviled eggs for lunch and so I have a mess to clean up and a bath to take.

sarah

Sarah's gardening extravaganza

Sarah came home the other day with 25 litres of soil for her garden. That is a big bag. She said Dan didn't help her carry it much - she piggy backed it. She came to me later & said, "mom, Katelyn says that when you grow tomatoes, you just buy the plants. Why is that?" I explained that we don't have a good place in our house to plant seeds - not a sunny, undisturbed place. And since tomato plants cost 4/99cents, the deal seems right. Since we have such a short growing season in Halifax, you have to buy special tomatoes called "Scotia". Then, after some silence, she asked, "when you've planted tomato seeds, how do you get them back out of the earth?" This made me smile. I told her to leave them there & see what happens. She is checking her little garden plot everyday. She has also planted some grape seeds that came out of grapes we ate. It reminds me of a Frog & Toad story where Frog did the same thing.

Last night Katelyn went to see Jesus Christ Superstar at one of the high schools. After the boys went to bed we watched some Everybody Loves Raymond, and the boys came down a couple times saying stuff like,"mom, your computer won't turn off so I hope that it wasn't broken and then I looked down and there was a red switch, so I turned it off and now your computer is shut down." Sam came down with that beauty. I thought it was really funny. This morning Sam came to me and said, "Dan you know if you go to the orfadontist, then there is on the downstairs lots of gum, like any kind that you can buy." You need to think a little bit to interpret these kinds of things, but it is quite funny to hear him talk like that.

Anyways, I don't have much to talk about so I think I might come back and blog some more.

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hi guys its cold yet sunny and I am growing three grape plants. They are not growing yet but I think they will. Me and Matt are making a garden in the back yard(a patch of earth bordered by to scrap peaces of old wood in the corner of the yard) so that if the grapes do grow we can put them in the garden. But Mum says it might not work so if it doesn't we will just grow flowers

sarah

I (supposedly) learned from a book that the ancient Aztecs (or Incans) think that the world is going to end on December 22, 2012. An weird assumption. What I wanted to talk about was that I have recently read in many books completely false facts. In a bathroom reader (don't buy them for your kids... They give false information) I read that there are 1600 hostile references to left-handers in the bible. Yeah right. They have written articles about crop circles (totally ripped off) that were mysteriously appearing in wheat fields. Hmmm. Anyway, if you want facts, I don't recommend A bathroom reader. Though they will keep a kid entranced, there are many entertaining truths out there. A Guinness World Record book is a good choice, something like that.

This morning I was waiting in the hall for the classes to begin and one burly 9th grader came up to me and asked whether I go to this school or not. I replied that I did. Then he asked me my name and I don't know what went through my head at the time but I said, "John". "John who?" He replied? I couldn't stop there! "John Smith". I didn't like the look of the guy and he didn't seem very bright, so I lied about my name for no particular reason. I hope he doesn't work for CSIS or something like that. Then I would be in big trouble.

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Arthritis in my knees

I've recently been diagnosed with arthritis in my knees (called osteoarthritis). It came on very suddenly. It is kind of a pain - literally. After any kind of activity (yesterday it was yoga), my knees swell up & hurt. I am not sure how to manage it yet. Is it OK to exercise when my knees are swollen? Or will that make it worse. Ron has arthritis in his hips & fingers. Our doctor gave him a bunch of Ibuprofen & told him to take it. Hmmm.

Aging sucks. If you are under 40, enjoy your youth. Do all the crazy high impact exercise you want every day.

Brigette Jones gets driver training

Just to clarify - I didn't actually ask the Young Drivers of Canada guy to help me - I just felt humiliated about what he MIGHT be thinking. Such a typical attitude for women, huh? The guy probably didn't even notice me.

Brigette Jones moment

I had to park downtown today in our GMC Safari van (think big & boxy.) I had kind of gone past the parking spot & then decided that it was indeed a place you could park. Now let me confess something here. I am not good at parrallel parking at the best of times. I had the van in a very awkward position, almost blocking traffic. I am saying, "boys, am I going to hit that car behind me? How close am I". Suddenly I look in front of me & notice one of those cars from a driving school. Then a man in his 20's saunters over & gets in. I bet he wondered ... how did this woman get a driver's license?"

It made me laugh alot. Move over Brigette.

Starbucks Date

Today was an exciting day. Katelyn got her braces off. While Katelyn was in the "chair" I took Matt & Sam on a date at Starbucks in the same building. Matt said, "the last time we got a kids' hot chocolate here it was too cold. Make it warmer this time." The Barristas thought this was pretty funny. Then Sam decided to save his muffin. He went up to the counter and said, while shrugging his shoulders and gesturing, "well, you see, I decided to save my muffin. Matt ate his but I am going to eat mine later. But my mom didn't know so she threw the bag in the garbage. So, um, I was wondering, could I have another bag." They smiled & handed over a bag.

Sam's hissy fit

Sam is in his second phonics book - a series I love called Explode the Code. He took a fit today. There was a picture of a dress but he whined, "there is no matching word! Dress is spelled Jress". I explained, with Sarah & Dan backing me up that actually dress is spelled dress. He yelled, "but that is not the way it sounds." He is right of course. He then went all floppy & refused to do any more work because of this injustice.

We have gotten into the habit of watching Everybody Loves Raymond. What an amazing sitcom, eh? The acting is amazing, so deadpan and the storylines are so crazy and unique and it is always funny.

As a quick reminder Our Theatre was updated yesterday and The Four Youngest need comments the most. There are some great movies on the loose right about now and we need encouragment to stay in the game.

Sam has gotten another bear. He named him Griff, after one of the cashiers at the local Sobeys who's name is Griff and looks a bit like Rupert from Survivor; full facial. Now he has Al Ick (who is the smallest), Griff BB Abarbanel (who is in the middle) and Junior (who is the largest). We always get a kick out of that

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rain rain go away come again another day or better rain rain go away go away and go to stay. Me and mum have started to do word smith. Its really fun they make you fill out forms and they pretend that you are a newspaper editor.I found a cup at the beach two years ago it was a sea glass cup it had all different colors. And one day I lost it I had all my sea glass in a glass dish and one day it was not the there I searched all over for it but I could not find it I still wonder were it is.

sarah