Let's take a walk through October

So much for the cool weather I had feared. October came with beautiful sunny days.
Jackets came off and the lid of the sand box did too.



We headed out as soon as we were up and took in October as if it were July!



Dave had taken the whole month off to work out at the lake house so that gave us a great excuse to get out of the city.
To the beach we went, of course!



And there wasn't a better place to do school! The beach was barren with people back to work and school, perfect for us!



Science experiments with sand and water and mud were carried out.



We figured out how to make cement.



And found out why castles collapse.



We watched the leaves fall and crunched them under our sandy feet.



It felt so wrong for October, but I wasn't going to complain!






And the weather kept lasting. More days in the yard, kids swinging, collecting bugs.



So back out to the beach we went. This time the leaves had all fallen but it was still so warm.



I loved how desolate  and calm it was, like the calm before a storm. I knew winter was around the corner. Despite it being so warm there was that hint of a winter breeze. It was going to come.



So we were determined to soak up every last summer ray.



The kids found sea foam to decorate their castles.






And waded in to the still warm water.



I snuggled with our newest bundle.
The beach is just the best place to be. It brings me an inner peace..gives me a sense of balance. Everything is all good when I am at the beach. Maybe this is why I am excited to move out there.



Dave took a break and came down to join us for a picnic and to push the stroller up the hill for me.



We tried to stay out of his hair as much as possible but at the same time we were all excited to see how it was coming along at the house. Well, that is all of us except for Ethan. He doesn't want to sell the city house, this gives him some anxiety. Change is hard for him so we do a lot of talking.





Every few days we would go out and see how Dave was doing. We were so glad that the warm weather was lingering since our furnace installation wasn't booked until the later half of the month.



And wouldn't you know it, we ended up at the beach again. I was so happy.



This time the water was cooler so most of the time was spent playing in the sand and collecting cray fish claws. The winds were shifting and it was getting to be sweater time.



Back indoors we came as the days got windy. Still sunny but it was feeling like fall. Fall inspired schoolwork was brought out and a field trip planned.



We headed out on an eco ed trip to a local farm in the valley with a group of our homeschooling friends.



The kids hiked, collected leaves and made leaf rubbings for their lap books.








There was so much room to explore and run, I can only imagine living somewhere like that, it was so nice!









It was challenging too though. I had to take a stroller, there was no way around it and once there I wished I had taken the jogger rather than the tandem. However Sherry was there (she home schooled her oldest 18 years ago, back when I was home schooled and is still home schooling her younger ones) and she was a trooper and helped me out with the stroller.






Back at the education room (converted garage)  kids worked on their lap books.
Field trips are fun but so much work. Naps get screwed up and bums still need to be changed, but thats just the kicks of having a toddler and baby along for the ride.





Evenings in October were hard. Dave would come home late and be wiped. This was often the image of our evenings. A sacrifice of our time for one month to get our future put together. I missed Dave so much but it was also a time for me realize once again how much he means to me and how much he is missed when he isn't around. He really is a strong support to me.



And Ronin....of course with only being a month and a half old a the time he still slept a lot and that was good. We seemed to be a a pretty good groove with him too, he is just the groovy type.



And so loved. I really had thought that Kait would be the one to be smothering him with kisses all the time but it has turned out to be Hudson with Ethan right behind him.



Kait loves him but is still praying for a baby sister to come along next. Ahhh........sigh.

He is soooo munchable though!



Oh yes, and then it snowed. Just a few days after being at the beach we woke up to a thick blanket of snow. Beautiful. I was caught off guard even though I knew it must come. We had to dig out winter stuff and I was a little sad inside.



But the furnace had just been installed and the insulation was sprayed in. Just in time.





Dave was out plugging away now working on the electrical..it was almost time for drywall!





Sean (Daves friend) came down for a weekend to put up all the board. I was surprised that he was only coming for the weekend, how would they ever get it all done in just a couple of days?!



I had to see it to believe it and headed out there after giving them just over an hours notice.
The ceiling was going up!



And voila, all in a weekends work!
I was blown away, thankful to Sean and Dave. That guy was earning brownie points now!



I love him....makes my heart warm.
Well most days, we have our moments, believe me. I wish we didn't have moments, but I guess that is a part of being human. We get annoyed and irritated and snippy. I wish we could be all lovey and dovey all the time but we are like a roller coaster. There are just too many things going on all at once.



As I munched baby toes the last of the drywall went up.









And then it was done!
I was back in the city trying to get the house ready to hit the market. Doing all the last minute cleaning and fixing of things. Caulking and painting things that had been put off, but finally that was all done.



The house was clean and ready for for viewings.



And then the snow started to melt, whoooot!
It all melted and the sun came out and it was t-shirt weather again.
Back to the beach!
 Just kidding.
We did go out to the lake, it wasn't quite swim suit weather though.



We hung out in the yard instead.





October was drawing to a close. It got cooler again and Dave had to wind up his work out there. He was to go back to work in November so everything that he could do had to get done.



We did workbooks in the evening in October.





It turned out to be an interesting time of the day for school. The goofy side of the kids would come out. Fun but not ideal. We are back to day time schooling now.



And then October came to a close.
We forgot all about Halloween in all the business and that was fine with me. I am not so sure about that day. I ended up taking the kids to Sunday school and then heading over to my mom and dads for supper.
My mom had bought a few bags of candy for the kids and any other kids that came by their place. As tradition is in my parents house Emily (my little sister) takes a brick of goat cheese to an elderly Norwegian neighbour in exchange for a few goodies. So the kids got dressed up and headed over to her place with the cheese. However they did not come back for quite some time and when they did they had loads of goodies....from most of the neighbours on the street.



And then it snowed again.

  

This time for good. And I think that winds up October, whew!

Still in September and schooling

A few more from September here and more about our schooling. With Kaitlyn in Kindergarten and Ethan in Pre K (both at home) we have made this a year of discovery. We are tackling the basics of reading and arithmetic as well but putting a lot of focus on expanding the way way learn. I didn't want to just spend the year with our noses in books and I have to admit that not doing that is actually quite challenging.

Outings have been important. Through the fall for one afternoon a week we have gotten together with other home schoolers for gym time and show and tell. Then we have gotten together to create or have fun one on one with families as well.
However most of our learning happens at home.

When a baby is sleeping it is the perfect time to tackle a project.



This day we had been given a bag of baby cucumbers so we found a pickling recipe.



Soon we were busy prepping. Learning measurements and how to use tools in the kitchen kept little brains (and mouths) busy.





One and a half jars filled. Not much of a haul but a fun experience.



Then on to a few work sheets or a lap book. I had dreamt of getting books of sheets done in days and experiments and activities done too but it seems that we usually just do a bit of both or a lot of one or the other from day to day.  We take some days off and some days go full tilt, whatever happens happens. Most of the time it is fun but sometimes it is challenging to keep kids focused. This year is also about learning self control, patience and obedience. We have work to do but I am so glad that I am the one spending this time with them in these critical years of easy influencing. Do I think this is the be all end all of education?
Not really, I don't believe that there is one be all end all system or once size fits all either. Every family has to evaluate and decide what is best for them. For now this is right for us. Maybe when they are older a few years from now we will do something different.  I was public schooled, home schooled and private schooled and see value in each one. But for us right now we are just taking it one year at a time.

End of September, finally

At the end of September...I just found these pics, oops.....we were trying to get into the swing with school work. I was still really tired and recovering from the haemorrhaging but was feeling better. I wasn't yet up for big walks but up and down our street was fine so we took advantage of the nice weather. I was so afraid that it would be winter before we knew it and we hand't been out nearly enough throughout September, if I remember correctly it was a pretty crummy month weather wise.



So I would bundle up Ronin and we would go out and collect stuff for school projects. Dave came home early a few times or would stop by if he was working in our neighbourhood and hang out for a few minutes and take the kids on little nature outings.



They surprised him one day with new looks. Goofballs, I am so glad they have each other!



Then we would head in and get to work with what wed collected outside. Homeschooling = one great big adventure.  More on that in the next post.
Ha, this is so easy! I should always blog months after the fact, by this time I have forgotten anything of relevance and have nothing to say!
On to the next.

I'll only sit for a minute...

...I cannot afford to sit for two.
I have been trying to think about how I will get back into blogging, I am just so far behind I hardly know where to start so I am going to just go through archives and meander my way to the present.
Here is post number one.
Our house is on the market as you most likely know.
Not the best time of year to be trying to sell a house so I really hope someone comes along that needs and loves it soon. Well, I hope they give me a days notice before they come first though. I am just way to distracted to keep it clean.

For weeks leading up to the listing (in October) my mom and aunt and a few other relatives and friends spent countless hours over at our house helping me to purge and organize and clean.



Thank you all, I owe you BIG time!!
Now if only I could keep it as perfect as it was when we took the listing pictures, I am just so easily distracted by anything that appears to be more fun. Like school work, crafts, designing the lake house, painting....and today blogging. Hmmm, maybe this had better be a short post and I should break to do some dishes and laundry.




Ya, now that I look at his photo (below) and look around I had better get off my duff.



Want to see the rest, you might never see it this clean again! Here they are.
I am going to do a few chores and then I will be back with the next post. Chow!

Confession time.

I realize it has been ages. So long that I am afraid of starting this up again. I have so much to say, so much that has happened and to be caught up on before life takes the next big turn and I forget about what has happened over the last two months.

But I have come here today to admit to something.

I have a confession.

I have been having an affair. 

With my house.

My poor children and husband and friends have been robbed of my attention as I go off galavanting with putty and paint.

I have danced the hours away with the broom, mop and vacuum. I get around. The whole house! I have been close and personal with walls, cupboards windows and fixtures. I have given them my all.

For the last couple of months I have been consumed and I am coming forward to say...

Our house is on the market and spotless!

Please someone buy it soon so our 'normal' can resume!

The lake house is nearly ready. Drywall is up!

Our foreman has been crazy busy on his phone setting up all the appointments and making sure things run as smoothly as possible.  (and it has NOT been so smooth, maybe we won't leave that task up to a one year old next time!)

There is gas and heat and A/C  and the place has been spray foam insulated. Pot lights installed, a kitchen and bathroom are being constructed.

Floors have been ordered and are waiting to be picked up.

The mudding and taping are happening now and I am on my way out to pick paint.

Can you believe it?!

We went out there yesterday and just sat and imagined living there.

It made me feel a little ill, in a giddy and freaked out kind of way. The house there is less than half the size of our house in the city and I cannot imagine how I will make it really work. I know that major purging and organization will be essential but I am not sure how it will work when it seems that I hardly ever catch a free moment!

And being out of the city. Something I have dreamt of but being out there on a frosty and foggy day it just felt so desolate and quiet. I hope I love it but have a little twinge of fear that I will be lonely!

Sounds silly doesn't it considering that I have four little ones that keep me busy every waking moment.

I guess it is just change. I love it and hate it all at the same time.

So that is a little of what has been going on here in a nutshell. I want to write about our trips to the beach and then the snow and then the sunny t-shirt days but those photos are sitting on the desk top and it is not set up anymore but sitting in a room in the basement staging it as an office.

Someday!

Anyway, I have now exhausted my few moments of stollen 'me time' and now I have to go vacuum a whole pack of crackers that got dumped on the living room floor by our little foreman while I wasn't looking. 

I miss you guys. A lot. Someday I will be back full force. Once this transition is over. Funny how it is when life is the busiest that that is when I want to blog and share the most but it is also the time that I am completely unable to do it. 

OK, I am shutting up, crackers are getting stomped on by that little foreman now, gotta go!

Hanging out

Hanging out. Something we are getting good at. I have found that being busy with these little ones is rearranging my life. I used to love going out and having play dates and being busy every other day or so out of the house. Not that I don't love play dates but they just wont happen as often anymore.

Now I am good with one outing a week, or less. I am sure I will get stir crazy eventually and want a night or two out, but I am good to go on those alone.

We are just so busy in our own little life at this stage that it would be crazy to go doing even more. I am sure that once reno's are done and packing is done and we are moved and settled things will change, time will tell.

I have realized that we have a lot on our shoulders with raising these little people. We are the ones instilling values and morals and shaping the will. Going out too much messes with that and then we take three steps back to unlearn garbage that they pick up. Oh yes, we can chalk it up to learning experiences, learning how not to behave or how not to talk or dress or whatever the example might be. 

But also teaching them what is right takes a lot of time, we have stubborn natures by nature so it is interesting enough here at home. 

I am not saying that we don't have good friends to hang out with, we have amazing friends, this is some of what I am learning by watching them. I value less stress and am learning that if I do less and focus on what is really important I have less stress. I might miss seeing friends really regularly but I don't love them any less, maybe more because those times spent visiting become more precious.

Getting to know these little guys that God has trusted us with is so cool. Watching their little minds churn and grow, awesome. 

Like Ethan and Kaitlyn when they play bakery. These kids love to watch cake shows, a few in particular and one is Cake Boss. Ethan likes to be Buddy, the main character and he puts on an accent, builds cakes out of pillows blankets and whatever else is laying around. He then gets Kaitlyn (She plays the sister Mary) to help him carry it down to his delivery truck which is made of stools and a fuzzy chair. They then deliver it and collect money and sever the cake. Suddenly Ethan turns into a transformer and is a boat or a robot and he is done with the cake making business. Kaitlyn starts up her own dialogue as if she is playing both parts and brings in a few babies and a bag of random things that she likes to carry around. 

They are better than TV or a book any night.

But then sometimes I feel like I am going to freak. Like I just want to scream, swear a lot, pull my hair out, eat chocolate and guzzle coffee. Like this afternoon. I had to take a few moments to breath and get centered. Pray a little, read a scripture or two, blog a little, tune out a little, twitter. I still wanted chocolate though, and had to put in a call for the husband to stop on the way home.

There was apple sauce spilled on the floor at the same moment that another child dumped a full bag of gold fish at the same moment that another child happened to start screaming and needed to be nursed while the supper dishes were on the stove and the husband wasn't going to be home until really late, oh and another child was somehow mysteriously naked.  Oh and did I mention that we have been living (all our play time) in the living room since our basement flooded in the kids play area a few weeks ago. The 6 x 12 carpet in our living room is feeling rather small. 

I shouldn't complain though, I have not been given more than I can handle. It could be worse, heck it might be some day. I am ok with it 98% of the time, there are just these occasional moments that I just want to step outside, snap my fingers and have the place back in order. I secretly dream that I can be Mary Poppin's for a few moments. Especially after dinner. The kids love to cook. Ever stinking meal!

I try to hide the fact that I am cooking sometimes because I want to eat within an hour. However there is usually a chair pulled over to the counter within a few moments with excited little voices begging to help. So they do. They do all the cooking. This if fun though, for the most part it is actually really fun. However the mess. Oh, the mess.

I wish my mom could come over every morning to deal with what is left behind after supper.

I so wish for Mary Poppin's magic as I walk out!

And then I sit and smell my baby. Baby smell and kisses are intoxicating, they make you forget everything else. I look around and remember that this is a small phase in time and I release the stress and am content to deal with mess for now.

Taking a moment here and there to breath, step back and drink in the situations gives me a different perspective. Suddenly everything going wrong at the same moment appears kinda funny. 

Like a bad joke, but still funny. How I react in these moments is the key. Do I freak out over the accident or quietly clean it up and comfort the children.

This balancing act is getting tougher all the time and I thought I would have it all figured out by now. Hello, I am almost 30!

I was totally planning to have it all figured out by now!

(P.S. that is the garden above, all done, dug up and picked just days before the frost hit big time!)

Anyway I am learning that no matter how old I am I still feel like the same old me, I am just way more comfortable with being the same old me with more experiences and more patience.

And more children.

And less me time.

I miss me time, but wouldn't trade it for anything right now. (I have my moments though, believe me!)

But this is why God makes little kids and  babies smell good and have skin so soft and so snuggly. So you can't help but love em and want to munch their little cheeks.

I can't remember where I was going with this post now. Oops, I think I was going to talk about homeschooling and renovating two places at once and having a baby and then a basement flood and some other stuff. Hmmmm, next time I guess!

I am going to find that baby and snuggle his little rolls right now!