The day after THAT day.

Oy vey! It just took me three shots to log in! You know you haven't blogged for ages when you can't remember the correct username/password combination!
Sheesh!
Ok, so here are five more shots from my phone, hence the grain and then the rest are off my old handy dandy point and shoot which never seems to die and is so stinking handy since it fits in my pocket that I often use it over the big heavy duty good camera. I still love that lil ol thing. Anyway this post is not about phone or point and shoot photography or wannabe photography so I'll shut up about it now and get on with what I really wanted to say!

Thanks everyone for the comments and fb messages about my last post, the one about one of THOSE days, you guys (gals) are awesome! I know we all have em and we get through them and then the next day, week, month feels like bliss and all is hunkey dorey again!

Like one of you said, THOSE days are but hicups in life. And they are but they do make life sweeter in the end because they make you appreciate the good days even more.

OK, now I have to admit that I wrote a post to follow up that last one and then forgot to post it!
Obviously the days since THAT day have been a whole lot better, normal...whatever that is.
So what you are about to read was written a month ago now. And I am going to now get to work on what is really going on now!
...

So here is how the next day went. We woke up early again but I knew that it was going to be fine. Still no hot water but this time I knew it already so I didn't even try to run a bath. Ha, steps ahead! Coffee, well I planned an outing so I didn't have to try to make it eventually either, rather I would get it while we where out, now I was already way ahead of the game!
  I washed my face and put mascara on, and felt like a million bucks! If I put that effort in, even to just put on a smidgin of make up I feel so much better. (Note to self, DO THIS MORE OFTEN!)
Maybe lip gloss tomorrow, ooo, and looking at this (really grainy-makes my skin look funny)shot I think I should cut some bangs too, we'll see. I definitely need a tan!



I think the fact that the sun was shining and the snow was melting might have helped a little too but truth was that I was in a different mind set. I had prayed and was settled and determined that we were going to have a better day. We would have an adventure, that is what life is right?!



We hit the road to a local town up the highway where my aunt works at the gas station coffee shop.  We stopped in for coffee and met a few locals before venturing back out to check out the regional library.



It was funny, not in a ha ha way but just so different than the ones we were used to in the city. The kids were so excited until they saw it and then they asked to please go to the big central library downtown in the city next time. Can't say I blame them. Not that anything is wrong with the little library out in the small town but they like the toys and computers and activity boards in the city. It is just different.

By the time we were done checking it out it was noon and the whole town shut down for an hour so we went home for lunch and then headed out to take advantage of the warm day.



I thought a walk up or down the road, maybe around the village might be nice.
We never made it past the driveway.



And instead explored the yard.





























OK, now that was as far as I got with writing that night a month ago.

Fast forward to tonight, posting night. Not sure where I was going with that now but hey, I was having a better day!
Now I want to get back to editing and cruising photos for the post in my head!

Here is to a great...super wet and flooded muddy spring!

One of THOSE days.

Yo, sup? (I don't know why I just said that , I never say that!) Really though, there is a lot up. Always is isn't there. And today was no exception.

Ever had a stupidly rough day? Not bad rough, just stupid. The kind of day that starts with your kids getting up an hour earlier than normal. Hmm, not so bad you think, I can make coffee right. OK, so I planned to make coffee, that took a few hours but hey, it's not bad just slow so far. A bath would be great and then we will be back on track. So I ran a bath. Hmmm, cold. I am guessing the element in the  water heater blew again, this happened last week so I am guessing that is what it is. Still a bath would be nice. So I boiled water and added it to the cold bath and had a very short luke warm bath. Not so awesome.

But hey, the sun is shining and my kids are running around nearly naked so I have less laundry to do cheerful and awesome. The day is looking up!



We are raising super heros you know!
They will wear the full armor of God and be prepared to ward off the whiles of the devil when we are done with them. Or so I pray. That is my job right? To prepare these little people for the big adult world. That is what I signed up for without even thinking about it 5 years ago. I am growing and nurturing  future citizens here. Educating and leading. Not babysitting and entertaining as some might think. It is a big job and one that I feel like I fail at on so many levels.

Today I feel like the day kicked my butt. I set a few goals. Got half of one done, yip!
We were going to do school in a timely fashion. But we unschooled today. De-schooled.....didn't school, whatever. We started to do a project on building robots and were going to learn about setting goals and planing and following through and then seeing the final product while at the same time honing some skill with cutting and folding and gluing and taping and coloring and counting and writing. Anyway that all got derailed when halfway through the project Hudson spilled his juice box all over the table and we had to set everything out on a towel in the sun to dry for a few hours. We never got back to it. Tomorrow.

Some days we don't get to school until late.
And it is for the better, we are out on adventures and then at the end of the day with all the energy worn off we sit down and calmly get it done.  Not today. Not tonight though.

Today was a run for my sanity. Well one little monkey gave me a run for it. The first two kids have been pretty content and happy to be pretty obedient kids. They fight and do normal kid stuff once in a while but they have always listened after being disciplined .... or maybe I am blocking it out but I sure don't remember getting the go around that I am getting with Huds. He is the biggest charmer and flirt and also the mischief maker.

Then again I never had a 1 1/2 year old with a half finished home and very tempting holes in the floors and walls. I have no idea how we will get all the toys out of the heat vent without taking all the pipes apart.



And the walls.
Oh the poor beautiful walls.

Seriously. You are busted. Again. Every stinking day.



Yes, I know why the Lord made you cute.



It is a very redeeming quality but it doesn't change the trouble in his wake.



I am so glad that Ronin has yet to be any trouble but the guy is on the move.
In no time flat now he goes from laying on his stomach to sitting up.



And is for the most part a happy camper, which I need since apparently I cannot turn my back for a moment or something happens. And if you are wondering about all the nearly naked pictures it is because it is so very hot in our house. Although it is frigid outside our furnace doesn't kick in all day with all the south window exposure. This guy was sweating up a storm.

Anyway, as I was saying something always happens the moment I am not looking. Toys and shoes and clothes and books thrown in the bath. Or maybe like tonight, a box of crackers and a box of cereal dumped in two seconds flat.



And I do think I should have been more in tune with what was happening behind my back but with Dave working late tonight I decided to let the kids watch a movie so I could get this painting done and shipped already.  We would all be in the same room so I could watch them out the corner of my eye as I worked. However with no cupboard doors yet apparently the loot on the shelves is a little tempting.

 And with me taking way longer to get orders out lately than it should (or maybe not) I was trying to get something done and wasn't looking for a just a few minutes. Two minutes!
 After today I think that I really have to give up doing custom work for a while. I am behind and I have 10+ orders to get out in the next few weeks.  I realize that this gives me some stress and I hate stress. I like that mellow non stress feeling all the time and when I am crunched with work I feel that icky tight stress ball creeping back. I rather like watching the kids pretend that the paint tubes are people and they play house as I do real house stuff. Then again this is just begging for an accident too isn't it.



Thing is that I love to do the work once I get started, I really love it and that is why I keep doing it. But isn't it true that sometimes you have to give up doing something you love to keep things going smoothly every where else. Something always has to give and it can't be the kids or the house or the meals. Of course now that they are in bed I can do some work and it is ok. I just CANNOT try to sneak moments of work in during the day again.



And did you know that trying to vacuum crackers and cereal from a shag carpet is a huge pain. Of course I was not too pleased and was vacuuming rather vigorously trying to get it all out and ran over the corner of a blanket. It jammed the machine and when I pulled it out of the powerhead I lost power. No spin action. Grr. I fiddled and turned it on and off and unplugged it and tried again. Dead. What should I have expected?! It is my lucky day right.



I was glad that Dave had left his shop vac in the play room and brought it to the rescue.



Only problem was that I had to use the nozzle. 35 mins later it was clean. That felt good.
Something got done today!
OK, so more than just that got done today but for some reason I just felt like I was 10 steps behind where I needed to be. I did figure out that there was a reset on the Dyson though after the fact. At least my vacuum isn't really fried after all!

Time to brew a cuppa tea already! Hello that can't go wrong can it?!



Oh ya. Guess who just brewed a cup of black tea instead of green without thinking and is now totally wired!



Yup. Seriously.
I might as well paint now!
But it is that weird kind of wired, when you can feel it in the pit of your stomach and you are kinda jittery. And I really need to dance around and power clean my house sleep.  Weee........

So anyway since my mind is spinning, wanna know something?
Well maybe some of you know this already since you might have formal art training but I don't have any so I will share it with those of you who don't know.
When I was a little kid we once visited this elderly woman in a town close to here and she took me into her basement to show me her art. She had (from what I can remember) some really stunning portraits and then she showed me how she painted them. Upside down.

I have flipped paintings upside down ever since that one incident when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old.

You see when you flip it you no longer see it as the same piece. Instead you see lines and shapes and color and math. You can see all the areas you were struggling with and know exactly how to fix them. (I have a lot of work to do on this one and I HAVE to get it shipped!) It gives you a whole new perspective. I still paint all my pieces right side up and only flip them to check them or make corrections but some people paint everything upside down. Cool huh!

Alright I have to get off here. I have to get to sleep. Here's hoping that there is hot water in the morning and I can make the coffee before noon. I will be set! Cheers!

p.s. All the big square photos are off my phone so that is why they are kinda crummy.

Finally home.

(I am sorry if there are mistakes in my post, it is late and I don't want to proof read, I want to go to bed, please forgive the errors, nightyo.)

So, we are here. Three years from the time we bought it. Two summers of it being a cottage. One and a half years of renovating. Now we are living our dream. A dream that changed and shrunk and was reworked and fine tooned to become what we have now.

It still feels surreal yet at the same time I feel so removed from our old house and way of life there that it feels like we have been here for years. In truth it has now been nearly a month but it still feels like a vacation. I cannot explain how awesome it is but we are loving it, every moment! I can hardly believe we lived in the city and that I was stressed out about the move and would I like it and would I miss the city and it's conveniences and yada yada. What a waste of stress. I feel hight on happy and sunlight. It is intoxicating.

We see the deer and squirrels, watch and listen to the birds and hear the occasional snowmobile in the distance.

And it is not like we are out in the booneys, well not really. We are in a village and we do have neighbors but for the most part it doesn't feel like it. It is a different pace out here.

It is the kind of place where the men folk seem to find their way out onto the streets regularly to chitty chat and it is all casual and friendly, well so far. It is just different. 

And I love it.

I was worried about the winters being lonely and cold. Maybe I will think that someday but I love the solitude so far. It is blissful and peaceful and pretty and calm. I watch the sun come up in the morning and the set over the lake at night, all I ever wanted was to have the light. Well and water. So I'm good.

I know things will be different come the summer though. The trees will fill in with foliage and we wont see the neighbors any more however we will hear parties on the weekends from seasonal cottagers and we will watch fire works nightly through July and August. It was a novelty for about the first two weeks a few summers back but the kids learned to sleep through the pops and bangs in the air. 

But then in the summer we can sit out on the deck and watch boat lights shimmer on the lake, and have bon fires in the yard. I am excited.

So anyway, it has been a long time since I posted. I have meant to but we still are trying to get settled here and it is a lot of work. I feel like I am skipping 12 posts and a million photos on my computer but I want to get to where we are now and I have to show you all what this looks like or risk a few more nasty phone calls, texts and e-mails, ok, ok, here it is already! And your messages really aren't nasty just nagging and they are keeping me awake at night so here we are.

Our mornings usually start out in this corner of the house. I sit with a coffee in my granny green chairs and watch the sun spread pink and peach across the horizon while the kids play and Dave goes for a nap or gets busy with chores. He has had the last two months off to get this place as up to as much speed as possible so he usually gets up with the two babies and lets me stay in bed an extra hour. So nice.

Starting the morning like this sets my head to vacation mode immediately and then I don't want to get busy working. The sun is warm and filters throughout the house. The furnace doesn't kick in until the sun sets and it has been really cold the last few days. In the -20's and our house was +25 all day although we only had it set to 22. Now come summer this could be an issue but we are surrounded by big trees that fill in and give shade, and then if all else fails there are doors to open and windows to open and of course AC. But for now I am glad there is sun although we could almost wear shades. We need to get blinds, it can get a little squinty.

And squishy.

Well for Ronin. Only cause he is so squishable.

The kids are loving it. I was so worried about them liking it and missing our old house and there being many tears. But I am thinking that all that praying so many of you did (thank you btw!) worked wonders. There hasn't been one tear or word of missing it, just exclamations of gladness and joy. Of course they still fight and bicker but over normal stuff, not about hating the new house.

Ethan was the one I was most worried about (again, what a waste of worry, tight stomachs and tension for nothing) since he stressed for months about not wanting to sell the city house, right down to the day we drove out here to spend the first night. But after our first night out here I asked him if he liked it. He said, "Mom, uuuh, I changed my mind, we sell city house, teep tottage!" After that we went back to the city to clean the empty house and he was fine. He had turned the chapter. That easy. I almost cried.

Flowers. Love my man.

He is a goober though sometimes.  You know how in decorating magazines they often have a blurred silhouette of a person walking in a room? It give it an extra dimension and some movement and life.

I wanted to do that since Dave was in the room so I told him to blur. OK, move!

Faster, you're not blurring enough.

OK, he fails as a magazine blurr model but I probably would fail too as the photographer, ok, ok, so it was all my fault for not changing the settings, whatever. 

It was fun and this was the photo that Ethan decided was the coolest, cause daddy's flying.

Anyway, this is the living room. We filter in and out all day and Dave winds up here in the evening to play NHL11. We decided not to get tv so we have a few movies but I haven't missed sitting down to a show once. I thought I would really miss it so I watched as much TV as possible in the few days before we packed up to move out here. But it has been an easy adjustment. I read instead. The kids have wanted to watch shows once in a while but they have some movies and that has filled the void. It's kinda nice.

We still have work to do in every corner of the house. The breakfast bar lights still haven't come in and I have yet to pick countertops.

There is art to paint, trim to get purchased, cut, painted and put up, blinds and curtains to get hung. It'll happen when it does. Some day.

Around noon the kids wind up at the bar where they can watch lunch get prepared and then chow down.

Diner style. Order's up!

Ronin. Food monster. He loves to eat.

We entertained for the first time on family day. It was neat to see how the place would handle a crowd.

It did. We figured out that we have seating for close to 30. We can paaaaartay! Not that we will but I like that the house has some space.

In the evening the lights come down. Family time.

And my chandelier which was a huge pain to order and have shipped but I am happy to have it. It is supposed to be a white coral finish but I think it might be more winter twiggy. Either way I think it goes out here. My gram wasn't so sure...she said it was interesting. I think that means it might not be so nice but I wasn't exactly aiming to please the masses.

Ah, my kitchen. Extremely uncompleted. The kids school shelves are my temporary island and plywood makes up the counters. I have no doors on the cabinets nor is the hood vent hooked up. The carpenter says it should come together in about a month and a bit. So for now it is functional just not so pretty.

I do love my porcelain apron sink though. What a great bathtub.

And I actually enjoy doing the dishes. I just look outside the whole time. It can be distracting though and I had to rewash a few things cause I forgot to look at what I was doing.

I am pretty happy.

This is my pantry and office area. There are no cabinet doors here yet either, not proper counter top and no upper cabinets. They will go across the whole wall.

The bathroom. This has taken some work and it is coming slowly.

Dave got the tiles that go on the platform around the tub grouted tonight so this should mean we have a functioning tub tomorrow night. Yay! And thank to those of you who let us shower at your places over the last few weeks!

The vanity is custom built from recycled barn board at a friends place. The floors are heated travertine and the rest is yet to come.

This is a rendering of the idea I have for the tub surround walls. It is standing pebble tiles. I think it will look better than this photoshop rendition but I did this to get an idea of how it might look. It will be a few weeks before the pebbles arrive though so we will be having very careful baths.

We have great helpers. We start the training young.

Storage is key since the house is so much smaller than our last. Less than half the size.

The laundry had to get stacked and share the back entrance and play area. It is functional though and I actually do laundry, well we would all fall on our faces coming in the door if I didn't so I kinda have to now.

And at the end of the night we wind down sitting and having quiet family time. We seem to all gravitate to different spaces but since the house is small we are all still together and close. It is different but I like it. I like that all our living spaces are connected. We end up being more connected too.

That wraps it up for now. I would have uploaded more but our internet is slow out here. Not dial up but still slow. I can no longer watch videos on u-tube or facebook. Apps take a day or two to load. It's a different pace out here. 

My speed though. I finally feel like we are home.