Cleaning the Oven, 1830's style... and more!

On the way out the door Bennett requested his hat.

Membership at OSV definitely has its perks!  To begin with, the cost of membership pays for itself in two visits.  We've now gone for 16 consecutive weeks.  Sure, that might be a bit excessive, but our price per person is now approximately $2.64.  (14 weeks where we only had to pay for 2 people, and 2 weeks for 3 people.  This is because Bennett was free before age 3.)

But if it hadn't been for the membership we wouldn't have gone so much and then I likely wouldn't have had the opportunity that I had this past weekend.  But first, a little more about the day in general.

It was Apple Days this weekend so there were lots of apple-centric activities.  In fact, more than we were able to experience.  It also was Friends Day, with a few events just for members.  The sawmill was also rededicated after having some repairs done over the summer.

In the Spring we had received a mailing requesting a donation for the sawmill.  Seeing how we love OSV and Chris loves saws it was kind of a no-brainer that we would support this campaign.  As a "thank you" donors were invited to hear Norm Abram (This Old House, New Yankee Workshop) speak.  Norm is one of the trustees of OSV and we had seen him on a visit around this time last year.  The talk was interesting as they discussed some of the repairs to the sawmill and other buildings, but it really was a chance to drum up support for a new fundraising campaign that they were kicking off.

While we were listing to Norm speak Bennett was off gallivanting with Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry.  They made mulling spice sachets, sampled heirloom apples, played on the playground, visited the Cider Mill, and stopped to get a morning snack of cookies.  Wow, that was a busy hour! 

When Chris and I got out of the talk I texted Andrew to see where they were.  He said they were at the playground and would then be going to the Cider Mill.  So we slowly made our way to the Cider Mill, stopping to ask Rhys (one of the interpreters) who we should contact to try to get some information about a Christmas present that we want to make for Bennett.  When we got to the Cider Mill we didn't see Bennett, but we did see Dave (another interpreter) who was working with Blue, the ox.  We chatted with him and then asked if he had seen our son.  Yup, we are now at the point of being able to ask them these sorts of questions.  He hadn't seen Bennett, so we headed back towards the rest of the village.  And that's when we saw them at the "cookie store" having their snack.  Turns out when they had been at the Cider Mill Dave was addressing a much larger crowd so probably didn't notice Bennett.  Or maybe he only recognizes him when he's with us?

We then made our way down to the Freeman Farm.  We checked out all of the animals and then made our way into the Farmhouse.

Checking on Summer (the calf) inside one of the barns.

The kitchen was pretty busy, but as soon as we walked in the door Victoria (see, I told you we are learning all of their names) recognized us and said hi.  She was about to sweep our the bake oven and asked for a volunteer.  I said I would and she replied, "I had a feeling you would want to."  I think that this is an opportunity that likely wouldn't have arisen if we hadn't been to visit so much.  Since we've watched this process numerous times before, I didn't need much instruction as to what to do.  When I was done she said I had done a good job.  I said that she had to say that.  She clarified that she only had to do one quick sweep to finish, so it was in fact a good job.

So how do you know if your bake oven is at the correct temperature?  After sweeping out all of the coals you need to let it cool down a bit to the correct temperature.  Each individual has their own count to let them know what the right temperature is.  I think Victoria said that her count was 15.  Basically, you put your arm in the oven and start counting.  The count is the number that you get to before you have to remove your arm because you can't stand the heat anymore.  So I gave it a try.  At this point, my count was somewhere between 4.5 and 5.  Victoria then tried it and her count was a 7.  Hmm, I guess she can stand the heat a bit more than I can.  

During the talk earlier in the morning we had learned that there had been a fire at the farm.  Turns out it was back in 2007 and it had burned all the wood around the fireplace and most of the ceiling.  However, it had allowed them to discover that there had been a drying rack and initials on some of the wood from when it had been at the sawmill.  The fire had been caused by a hairline crack in the bake oven, so always have your fireplaces checked before using them!

In non-OSV news, on Friday we had Bennett's annual Cardiology visit at Children's.  On the way there we told him that we were going to "Children's".  He asked, "the Children's Museum?"  Nope, sorry bud.  But understandable how he would get them confused.

Checking out the ball maze/thing in the lobby.

First up, after height and weight checks (14.1 kg and 100 cm), was an EKG.  He wasn't really a fan, especially about being asked to lie down.  I'm sure it also didn't help that we had the CNA that we REALLY don't like!

Next up, after about a 30-45 minute wait back in the waiting room was an ECHO.  We hadn't realized that he would be having one.  Again, he didn't like being asked to lie down, especially since the lights in the room had been dimmed.  We were completely shocked.  Bennett stayed so still.  Of course to get him to do this I had to pull up the most horrible of shows for him to watch on my phone.  He knows it as Grandpa's Toys, but it's really Wee Sing's Grandpa's Magical Toys.  They have the VHS at school and the kids all love it.  As an adult though, it's absolutely horrible!

Sorry for the super dark picture, but the room was dark.

Then after the ECHO it was back to the waiting room for another half hour or so before being brought back into a room, waiting for the Fellow to see us, and then more waiting for the doctor.  We had brought a whole slew of toys and books, but Bennett was getting pretty tired of waiting!

The Fellow came in and she interacted well with Bennett.  We asked her our questions and she gave us her answers but said she would check with Dr. T as well.  Then finally Dr. T came in, for what was about a 5 minute visit.  And that's being generous. Bennett was a bit aprehensive about Dr. T but overall did ok.

So now for the update...
No change from last year.  He still has "moderate" tricuspid regurgitation.  No immediate concerns for surgery- maybe he'll need it in a decade or two, but there's really no way to predict.

And as for our questions?

• He does not need antibiotics before dental visits.  (Apparently this is common procedure for many heart patients.)

• No worries about amusement park rides, at least not for now.  At this point, the rides that he would be allowed to go on wouldn't cause a problem, but in general, those warning are more for patients with a different type of defect.  I guess we can ask again in a few years when he's more interested in serious roller coasters.
• He's been cleared to play varsity sports!  Yes, we really did get a letter that says this.  We needed a note for the public school (where he gets speech therapy) stating if there was anything that they need to be aware of.  So if you read between the lines, this means he's just fine and they don't need to be concerned.

After lunch at the hospital we headed home.  Bennett took a nap in the car, and then slept a bit longer at home and then shortly after he woke up it was time to take him to the pediatrician for his 3-year check-up.  Again, he's doing great.  Their stats measured him at 32.2 lbs and 39.25".  They also tried giving him a vision test.  He did moderately ok with it, but wasn't fully cooperative.  He got a flu shot (in fact, we all got them) and then we were told to come back in a year.  Although it's a good thing that we don't need to come back for a year, this actually makes us a little sad because we love our pediatrician so much.  And we saw him so much the first couple of years (monthly for the first two winters, not to mention other visits) that it feels strange to go so infrequently.  In fact, we haven't had to go for any extra visits in the past year other than a check-up 6 months ago.

On Sunday Bennett went with Nana to visit Auntie Hanna at college.  Apparently feeding the ducks is a highlight of Wheaton.

Meanwhile Chris and I rearranged his room.  Bennett is ok with change as long as you don't try to move things around while he's there.  Otherwise he just tries to put things back where they were.  We decided it was time to make the transition to a big boy bed and this meant moving the crib/toddler bed out of the room and rearranging the rest of the furniture.  When he got back he kept asking where his little bed was.  Luckily the appeal of Curious George sheets is good and he seems to be doing ok in the new bed.

When I put him to bed that first night he didn't want to lie down, but that's not completely abnormal.  I left the room and I think he fell asleep pretty easily.  He woke up at 5:45 the next morning fussing and when I went in to him he asked for me to lie down with him.  I did, but it was extremely uncomfortable for me, so I hope we don't make that a regular occurrence.


And finally, here are some other pictures from the week.

I was wearing a headband and he decided that he should wear it instead.

A drawing of a "haunted house"

A drawing of carrot/ cucumber from the garden.