Hello Cable-Free Life

The last two weeks in my home have been glorious. Why, you might ask? Well I did something that I've wanted to do for a very long time, and finally after several arguments with myself, I cancelled our cable. I have to say it is the best decision I have made in a very long time. At first it wasn't easy. There was a lot of this happening inside my head:

"Okay. NOW is the time, cable needs to go. I'm sick of it, I hate it, and I don't want it anymore"...

10 seconds later-

"Well, maybe I'll just get rid of the digital cable package and hold on to basic cable, just in case I need a TV fix. And I'll definitely NEED to watch the news. A person can't live in this world without up to the minute information on what is happening on the other side of the planet.......right??"

7 seconds later-

"NO. No-no-no-no. The point of cancelling cable is to CANCEL the cable. The basic package is not necessary and I don't need it."

5 seconds later-

"..........but what about that show 'Parenthood'??? It's getting really good now and I can't miss the next episode because the one girl is dating that guy behind her parents back and now she's gone and run away from home just so she can date him and......oh screw it. Cable's going." 

You know what the really sad thing is? I had conversations like that with myself for DAYS. It really shocked me at just how addicted I was to a box in the corner of my living room. What sealed the deal for me though, was seeing the immediate change in my kids just as soon as the power came on on the TV. They were instantly transformed into zombies, unaware of their surroundings and put into a state of complete mush-brain. It could have almost been turned into a game. Turn the TV off, they snap out of it and start playing. Turn the TV on, they freeze, flop onto whatever piece of furniture is the closest to the TV, and are motionless and unresponsive. I could have had fun with that. Anyway. After convincing myself that neither me or my children were going to die from lack of television provided entertainment, I made the announcement that there would be no more Dog the Bounty Hunter or Billy the Exterminator, and that was that. Not a whine or cry was to be had by anyone, surprisingly. The first day without the TV on was a tiny bit strange. There was a quiet in the house that wasn't typical, and of course we were all left up to our own devices to keep ourselves occupied. It turns out it wasn't that hard of a thing to do. I started catching up on books that I've been "too busy" (because of watching TV) to read, and Gabe and Vaeh started getting along in a way that I don't see very often. I started noticing that we would sort of migrate to the same areas to be near each other, even if we were doing our own things. I would be in my cozy chair reading a book, Vaeh would pull out a puzzle and find a spot on the floor right by the chair I was sitting in, and Gabe would put together a stack of books and plant himself right next to his sister on the floor. There would be this blissful, content quiet throughout the whole house while this happened; all of us peacefully enjoying our chosen activity but also silently enjoying the closeness of each other. We are a very close family as it is, but this was something new for us, and it was beautiful.

I can't say that TV has been non-existent in our home as we have started a nightly routine of watching Little House on the Prairie on DVD every night before the kids' bedtime. Does that even count though? And if I am absolutely desperate for a TV fix, there are always programs out there like Netflix and of course online. I can honestly say though, that we haven't missed one second of not having cable in our home, and it makes me wonder why I didn't do this ages ago. The last two weeks have been filled with baking, reading, crafting, conversations, cuddles under blankets, story telling by the fireplace, and a terrific feeling of freedom. I can't recall a time in my entire life where I didn't have cable. I grew up in front of a TV so it's no wonder why I was addicted, and the fact that it played such a prominent role in my life made me wonder if I could even do this without breaking out into a cold sweat and calling the cable company, begging for my service to be restored while I'm curled up in the fetal position. Let me tell you, if I can do this anyone can. It really does feel like breaking free from an addiction. It's a sad thing that something like cable can have such a grip on people, and I'm so glad I'm no longer one of those people.

Goodbye cable. Hello life.

A Little Bit of Grey, a Little Bit of Color, and a Little Bit of DIY

It's raining again today. It's been raining pretty much the whole week and then some. I don't mind rainy days all that much. Living your entire life on the West Coast of Canada, you get used to these things. Besides, our spring, summer and fall completely make up for the lack of color and abundance of 'damp' that graces us each winter. Plus, rainy days are usually an excuse for cups of tea, comfy chairs, blankets, books, fireplaces, warm socks, and every other cozy thing that I swoon over. Speaking of which, a picture to share:

This is my new favorite spot in my house. Rewind a few days, and this corner was virtually empty. The only thing I had here was my guitar on its stand. Before that, the Christmas tree. Before that, my tv on its stand. After Christmas I decided to leave the corner open in the hopes that I would find a chair to put here. For some time I've really wanted a cozy chair in this corner so I could sit with a good book and a blanket, or just to have the opportunity to curl up and gaze outside on a day just like today. After a spontaneous trip to my local thrift store on Thursday evening, I spotted something floral and pretty in the furniture section. Like a moth to a flame I glided toward the soft burst of color that my eyes have been craving for weeks, and there it was. My chair. I say that because the second I saw it I knew it was mine. It looked brand new, no signs of wear whatsoever. I gave it a thorough exam, unzipping the cushion covers checking for marks of any kind that told me of the chairs previous love, I scoured it for the smallest tear that would, to some, justify its finding a temporary home in a thrift store......nothing. It was mint. Then, I looked at the price tag. $39.99. I was elated. I quickly found a store clerk and had them slap a SOLD sticker on her, and she was mine. I very carefully loaded my new-to-me chair into the back of my minivan, the kids squeeling with delight as I did (I swear, they are truly mini versions of me), and home we went. As soon as I got it through my front door I knew this was meant to be. The colors on the chair went so nicely with the color of my walls, and when I placed it into the corner by the fireplace and the window, my living room felt complete. Not only was this chair a great deal, but it is the most comfortable chair ever and all 3 of us can even fit into it. I finally have my cozy-curl-up chair. I'm super happy. I had been comtemplating for awhile about buying the Ektorp chair from Ikea which starts at $250.00 CAD, but frugal me wasn't thrilled to pay that much, and I knew if I held out long enough I would find the perfect-for-me chair at the perfect-for-me price. The step stool/side table in the picture is from Ikea ($14.99 CAD) and with a little DIY it goes very nicely with the rest of my decor. I purchased two of them, sanded them a bit, and stained them with a dark brown stain and now they serve multiple uses in our home. We use them to reach things on the tops of our bookshelves, the kids use one each when we are in the kitchen baking, they make for great side tables as you can see, and we also use them around our kitchen table as extra seating and for seating for our daycare kids as the stools are slightly higher than our kitchen chairs, which makes them the perfect height for younger ones to sit and eat comfortably. I also use them when I'm on my laptop in the living room. Great little stools they are.

Well I'm off to finish my tea and to watch raindrops fall outside my window from my new favorite spot. I definitely think a fire in the fireplace is in order this evening. Have a cozy night! ♥

One Year Passes, Another Begins

It's New Year's Eve. The very last day that we will ever see 2010. Here I sit with my kids, all of us in our new Christmas PJ's, me typing away, them watching How to Eat Fried Worms on Netflix. It's just another night in our home, and it's just the way I like it. Last year I pretty much did the same thing, and spent New Years Eve with my little family. If we make it to midnight I will be very surprised, but it's not my goal. My goal for this evening is just to be. To surround myself with what matters most to me, and do the things we enjoy the most; being together, watching movies, snuggling, giggling, and not worrying about what the year has held or what the next year will bring. Yes, there are many exciting things already in the works that will play out in 2011 and if you continue to read my blog you will be able to follow along as those things unfold. But tonight that isn't my focus. I will wake up tomorrow like I wake up every other day, God willing. Tonight, well...tonight the highlights of my evening will be watching my son fall asleep in my arms, kissing my daughter's forehead and tucking her into bed, and making sure they both know how lucky I am to have them. That is something to celebrate.

All the best to all of you. Happy New Year :)

xoxoxo

'Tis The Season To Be Busy

I've tried to make an effort to post. Really I have. What can I say? I'm exhausted!!!! There's been a lot happening around here, being that it is Christmas and all. With all of the crafting and knitting and baking and activities and planning and preparing, plus the typical day to day stuff, and then add in a little volunteering....that's a heavy recipe of stuff going on. I'm not complaining. Not one bit. The absolute best part of all of this has been the ridiculous amounts of fun I am having doing all of these awesome, feel-good-warm-fuzzy activities with my kids. I had hoped to be posting regularly about them, but it just hasn't happened, so feel free to stay up to date via my Twitter posts, which are in the sidebar of my blog. I'm working on slowing down some, and spending time away from the computer has helped. I'm hoping to be back here very soon, but I can't say yet exactly when that will be. I will try to post as much as I can, even if it is short and sweet posts like this one until things get back to "normal"...whatever that looks like. I hope your December has been filled with warm-fuzzies and beautiful memories so far!



A handmade treasure to last forever (craft night with the kids)



Advent Activities

Well, as promised, I am sharing our activities for Advent. I hope maybe some or all of them will inspire or encourage you and your family to put a little bit of focus on togetherness, and maybe start your own tradition of an Activity Advent. Along with our activities, we also will be doing a Nativity Advent, which is 7 days long and will be interspersed with our activities throughout the month.

Here are the activities, in no particular order:

*Light the Lake- there is a lake just walking distance to my house that is surrounded by trees. In December the city lights up some of the trees with lights, and has vendors and activities set up in tents alongside the lake. It's a fun, low-cost activity (free admission, the only cost would be to buy things like hot chocolate or goodies).

*Make Paper Snowflakes- something so simple is so much fun. A great family activity and the bonus is you get to decorate your house afterward with your new creations.

*Light Up the Square- another 'light up' activity, but this one is a bit different. In our city there are a number of 'squares' or city centers (very small cities) that the city lights up. This one will have music, treats, arts and crafts, a lantern celebration, storytelling, cookie decorating, and my favorite; a tour of a historic house that is now a museum. Here we will have the opportunity to learn about old traditions, homesteading and how Christmas was celebrated and how a house was run in the early 1900's. It is rich with history, a perfect homeschooling opportunity, and something I really love to do.

*Bake Cookies Together- I think that one speaks for itself? Vaeh and Gabe both love to help out in the kitchen, especially when it involves baking.

*Donate Items to Shelter and/or Food Bank- remembering Christmas isn't just about us, incorporating a spirit of giving in with our celebrating is very important.

*Candlelit Dinner- another simple activity that could surprise you with the amount of joy it can bring, especially to little ones

*Craft Night- we all love crafts in this house, but more often than not we just don't get time to sit down and focus on a family craft

*Trip To the Library- we do this fairly often and the kids love it, but to make it an "event", we make it just a bit more fun. We'll bundle up and walk there instead of drive (about a 15 minute walk), and after we spend a significant amount of time there, we will pop over to the coffee shop on the corner right beside the library and sit and enjoy hot drinks

*Family Portrait- our first family portraits ever taken were in the summer of 2009, so there aren't many. A Christmas themed family portrait is definitely necessary

*Christmas Light Drive- something we all look forward to in the months before December. We compile a newspaper provided list of local Christmas light displays, and go on a driving tour of them all in one night, drinking hot chocolate or hot apple cider as we go. Last year we found some AMAZING walk-through displays complete with popcorn machines, cotton candy and hundreds of thousands of lights. Brilliant!

*Make Christmas Cards for Vaeh's Friends

*Paint Homeschool Room- we have been hard at work putting together our new homeschool room where the kids can have a dedicated space for learning together, or a quiet space for learning. This may not seem like a fun, Christmas-related activity, but Vaeh has been itching to have it painted, and to help me paint it, so this will definitely be a fun one for her.

*Wrap Presents for the Family -this is something else that can be overlooked as a fun time to spend with your kids. Of course you don't want to wrap their presents in front of them, but wrapping other family members gifts is a fun way to spend an evening.

*Make Gingerbread Pieces for Gingerbread Houses- a tradition in our house is to make gingerbread houses. This year I committed to making all of the pieces so we can actually EAT the houses (store bought kits are a bit on the stale side)

*Assemble Gingerbread Houses and Read Christmas Stories- fire included

*Christmas Eve Service at Church

*Bake Goodies For Family- another tradition. We always bake fun and delicious goodies for family members as part of their gifts. Last year we did Candied Orange Peels and they were a hit. This year we haven't decided yet, but I will most definitely post about it here.

*Winter Walk- this will be a walk where we go out and collect beautiful pieces of nature that remind us of the winter season and of Christmas. We'll then use these items in our craft night.

*Paint Window Scene- every year I paint the window at the front of our house with a Christmas related scene. This year Vaeh has told me how much she would love to help me paint, so we are making an activity out of it

*Mystery Events- these are sort of my saving-grace, so to speak. I have a few of these ones, and any time where I need to postpone an event or change the event schedule do to unforeseen instances, I pop one of these into a calendar pocket and when it comes time to pull it out, we brainstorm as to what we should do for an activity that day. It is very helpful too if a community event comes up that I wasn't aware of, I can replace one event with the Mystery Event label and we attend the new event that day.

*Christmas Movie Night With A Cozy Fire and Hot Chocolate- our favorite Christmas movie (or movies) will be watched. Some of them include A Christmas Story, The Polar Express and Home Alone.

*Toy Workshop in the Kid's Room- in an effort to keep clutter to a minimum, and to make sure the kids don't have more than they need, each year before Christmas we go into the kids room and go through their toys, bagging up things they no longer play with or want/need and we donate them. As awful as this may sound for a child-related activity, the kids really enjoy doing this and don't complain at all. They know that in order to have new gifts come in, we have to get rid of stuff we just don't need anymore.

*Vaeh and Gabe's Christmas Shopping- this will be an evening for the kids to do their shopping for family members.

*Game Night- the kids get to choose whatever game(s) they want to play and we all sit down together and play

It can be difficult to plan a full month of activities in advance. Doing this involves having a regular calendar on hand so you can see any classes or activities you may already have going on, so you don't double-book yourself in a sense, and so you ensure you don't cancel an activity because you forgot about dance class or Bible study or what have you. For us, Vaeh has a girls club she attends at our church every Thursday evening, so those evenings will have to have the activity completed during the day, or it will have to be something that can be accomplished before she heads off to her group. Also, activities that involve traveling and admission fees may want to be set up for a weekend, and/or around a payday if things are a bit on the tighter side of things in your house (which they are for most of us, especially around Christmas!). I make sure the kids don't know what the activities are ahead of time, so if I need to change around activities they aren't disappointed. It also feeds into the element of surprise and excitement, so that is a big bonus! We always pull out the day's activity on the morning of that day. This is very helpful and I highly recommend it.

I think the most important thing about the Activity Advent, is to focus on what your children really really love to do, and run with that. Also, if there were certain traditions you have been wanting to incorporate into your family, but weren't sure how to incorporate it or you weren't sure if it would be well received, having it as one of the advent activities can be a great way to do this and try it out. By incorporating this tradition into our family it has helped immensely to take the focus off of presents and receiving, and has put the focus on spending time together as a family, about growing closer, and about how we can do things for others. That right there is the best gift I could possibly receive for Christmas. 

It Has Begun

Christmas has finally made it's way into our home. Usually I have a strict no-decorations-until-December-1st rule, but the weekend before the 1st is acceptable. Right? Considering how many people I see on Facebook, posting that they have put up their trees and decorated their houses before our Remembrance Day (November 11th!!!!), I think I'm okay.

I am a total Christmas NUT. I love everything about it. The lights, the music, the decorations, the snow (if we're lucky!), fires in fireplaces, being cozy, hot cocoa, desserts, baking, candlelit Christmas Eve service at church, the excitement in my children's eyes, and the most important thing of all, the celebration of the birth of our Savior. I warn you ahead of time, this month of blogging is probably going to be heavily doused in Christmas joy, blissful coziness, and wintery love.

On Saturday, after turning on Praise 106.5 FM and hearing Christmas music being played, and after baking a very delicious loaf of banana bread, I have to say I really got in the mood to get everything set up. I pulled everything out of my storage closet and the kids and I got started. Last year I invested in a gorgeous 7' fake Christmas tree from Canadian Tire. They had a phenominal sale on, and this tree cost me $79. AWESOME deal for a tall and gloriously full tree, and it was the very last one, the display model in fact. I couldn't pass up such a good deal so the very kind employee that I dealt with took off all of the decorations and boxed it up for me. I ♥ Canadian Tire. While I absolutely love the look and smell of a real tree, I don't love the maintenance. From a frugal perspective, I'd rather spend a bit for a fake one that will last years and years, then continually fork over $30-$50 each year.

It took us the better part of Saturday afternoon to get all of the decorations set up, and the tree fully decorated, but we did it. Gabe was mesmerized by it all, as he has pretty much forgotten Christmases past, so this was almost all new to him. And he, at his tender little age of 3, appreciates beautiful things so much it almost made me teary watching him gently touch the ornaments, and ever so carefully place the baby Jesus in our nativity scene, or when he looked around the living room at the twinkling lights and in his little voice said "Mommmmmmmy. It's booofiful". Vaeh kept repeating over and over again "I'm having so much fun!!". She is my little assistant and adores helping me with anything I'm doing. She also loves everything I do about Christmas, almost as much as I do too. Christmas has taken on such a special new feeling once I became a Mom, and even more-so when it became just the 3 of us. We've actually been able to celebrate Christmases as they should be celebrated, full of love and joy and happiness and togetherness. I cringe at the memory of Christmases just a few years back, and that's not how it should be. So we have new memories now. Beautiful ones. Memories that project the love of the Lord and His guidance in our lives, and memories that are full of hope for what is to come for us, in the new year, and in our new life.

These santa and trees candles were in my home every Christmas when I was growing up, so they have some sentimental value to me. This year I've been working at making sure santa wasn't the focus of Christmas so we only have a few santa related things out.

This is our 'activity advent' that I bought last year. You can read all about how we use it here. In the next couple of days I will try to post the list of the activities we have planned in case any of you were looking for some ideas for your advent. This year will be slightly different with the calendar though, as Vaeh is learning to read, and really well, so the element of surprise for what our activity will be may be lost. I know she will peek at the paper ahead of time and read it. She's very impatient. Wonder where she gets it from.

This is something else that has been around my home for years. It plays 'Hark! the Herald Angels Sing' and the angel moves in and out of the church, the doors closing as she goes in and opening as she comes out. I cherish it :)

Well I' m off to cook dinner and then do some knitting. There is much to get done before December 24th!

Love Me Some Fall

Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to find out I had the day off, so after breakfast the kids and I headed out for a walk to the mailbox and to play in some leaves. The streets in our neighborhood are covered in a gorgeous blanket of crunchy redness and it was just too hard to resist stomping on all of it. I thought it would be a great opportunity to collect some leaves for our compost bin as well.

 Composting has gone well for us and has been a fun experience. In the hot days of summer we encountered excessive amounts of fruit flies taking up home in the bin and that wasn't so pleasant. I'm still learning though and realized it was because I had too much food stuff in the bin, not enough browns (leaves, grass, newspaper, etc.) and I wasn't stirring. My bad. Now that the weather has cooled there is not a bug to be seen and the bin smells like wonderfully rich soil.

As we headed out yesterday, the kids couldn't contain their excitement for our walk. I don't know what it is, but my kids have a tendency to *always* run to the mailbox.

On our way back from the mailbox we headed for the leaves. I think they enjoyed themselves. What do you think?

 

As it turns out, we had a bit of an audience.

After our noses started to match the shade of the leaves on the ground, and our fingers curled up inside of our coat sleeves, we decided to head home. Within minutes of us taking off our shoes and coats, this is what it looked like outside.

 It was a lovely walk, and even lovelier to come back to a warm cozy home minutes before a rainfall. I love this time of year.

A Pattern To Share and A New Plan

Ahhhhh, it's good to be getting back into the old swing of things. Writing here always makes me feel so good, it's a wonder how I can get too busy to do it. Hopefully that won't happen anymore.

I've been asked by a dear reader if there is a pattern available for the crocheted throw I made awhile back (it is actually a throw but I called it a blanket as I made it for Gabe and for his little body it's a blanket!) so I thought I would share with everyone in case others were curious and were wanting to make the throw as well. So here are all the fun details. There IS a pattern for it, but I followed it fairly loosely and changed it a tiny bit, such as not using the blue in it. The pattern is free and it can be found here. This was the first actual throw I've done so it is very beginner friendly. Any trouble I had I simply jumped on over to YouTube and searched for how-to videos on particular stitches I was having trouble with. YouTube is great for beginner knitters and crocheters. I highly recommend it! In the future I promise to share more details about what I'm working on so anyone who is interested can try it also. I'm actually in the process of crocheting another throw for my daycare girl who I will be giving it to for Christmas. I will share that in another post.

Something else I have been working on is a new plan for the house. I'm very big on lists and writing things down, and I've found that I am much more productive if I write down my goals for the day or for the short term. It really helps me organize my mind. If you are someone who tends to get flustered and overwhelmed like I do, try writing everything down. I am all about being more productive these days, especially with how busy I've been so today I started jotting some plans down for things I would like to change and/or implement. The list will no doubt grow, but for now I think it's a good start and I'm going to incorporate it into our days beginning today.

-Early to bed. This is something I have always struggled with, and something I know I need to work on changing. I've *always* been a night owl, but the problem with that is most days I don't have the luxury of sleeping in, and I'm one who absolutely needs at least 8 hours. 9 hours is the best case scenario and leaves me feeling totally rested and energized the next day, which equals me being much more productive. Starting tonight I'm going to try a 10:30 bedtime and see how that works out for me. If it enables me to get up earlier then I can also start my day with a personal and private Bible study, which is a great way to start the day.

-Get ready for bed. Yet another thing I struggle with. I'm very much in the habit of going to bed at what I think is an okay hour, and then lying awake for the next 60 minutes which actually puts my bedtime at an hour later than what I had intended when I went to bed in the first place. Instead, if I go actually get into bed a good 30 minutes before my intended bedtime, and do something like read or crochet or listen to music, I will wind down nicely and come my actual intended bedtime it will be much easier to fall asleep right away. My plan here is also to make sure that everything I need to get done after dinner, such as tidying up and the like, are done ahead of time so they aren't cutting in to my getting ready for bed. I will also do this with Vaeh, as she tends to stay up until about 10:30pm reading in her bed. Now I will tell her she can go to bed 30 minutes early and have reading time and then lights out, and if she doesn't choose to do that then it's lights out right at bedtime.

-Earlier dinner. In order to succeed with the first two things on my list, an earlier dinner time is necessary. A typical dinner time for us is between 6:30 and 7:00pm. My last daycare kiddie leaves at 6:00pm and that is usually when I start dinner. This has caused a lot of problems for us in the past, mainly because Gabe is a very slow eater. More often than not he is still eating at 8:00pm which is his bedtime. Starting today we are going to have dinner at 5:00pm and while we are eating my daycare kids can have a snack so they aren't feeling left out. By the time my last daycare child leaves we will be done dinner, and even if Gabe takes a bit longer to eat it won't matter. After that, my evening is free to finish other things up.

-Family worship. This is something I have heard many families do, but never tried it myself. We would read bedtime stories together when the kids bedtimes were at the same time (which used to be 8:30pm) but now that they have different bedtimes it has become harder to do story time. With family worship in the evenings, set at a time well before bed, we will curl up on the couch in front of a fire and I will either read from the Bible or read Bible stories to them and then we will have prayer time together. This one I am really excited about starting. Not only is it important to pray and worship with your family, but it is a special bonding time that I'm really looking forward to having.

-Weekly movie nights. As a family we watch quite a lot of movies together at home, but we don't have a scheduled movie night, so when our movie nights do happen they tend to happen spur of the moment and it ends up not being as enjoyable as it could be because things get forgotten and feel rushed. When we decide to watch a movie, we rush through dinner and then we're too full for popcorn during the movie, then we aren't sure which movie to watch and we just don't get settled, and before we know it the kids are up past their bedtime because it took us too long to get it together. A planned movie night will give us time to do just that, plan it. From time to time, if the movie is worth it in my opinion, we will venture out to the theater on our scheduled movie night.

-Chore charts/things to get done. In the morning I will sit down and write out (in the form of a list of course!!) what needs to get done each day and our goal will be to accomplish the things on that list first in our day. Each of us will have our own designated things that need to get done. I'll have to be a bit creative with Gabe, but I think this is a great way to instill responsibility in to them, and show them that we all need to work together to help things run smoothly in the house. I'm also going to do up a chore chart which I will make at the beginning of each week, where Vaeh and Gabe will have daily chores, or jurisdictions as the Duggars call them, that they will be responsible for. It will be small things such as sweeping the kitchen or tidying the bookshelf or getting together dirty laundry in the house. When they complete a jurisdiction they will get a reward certificate or slip that they will collect and can cash in with me each week or two. They will be able to cash them in for money to put in their piggy banks, or they can cash them in for a special activity that will have a designated slip value (ie: game night with their choice of game will cost 5 slips/certificates/dollars, whatever I call the reward, lol).

So that is what I have so far. I'm really eager to get on this as just reading it I feel a great sense of peace, that this is going to help immensely.
You may have noticed these last couple of posts have been quite picture-free. I've greatly neglected my poor camera along with everything else and have hardly taken any pictures these last few months. I'm making it a priority to take more pictures so not only can I tell you about what's happening around here, but I can also show you, because that is just a lot more fun. I'm also considering adding some video posts to the blog once in awhile. We will see how that goes.

xo

Ack! 3.5 Months!!

Yes folks, that, embarrassingly, is the last time I have posted on my blog. But wait!! I have a note from my Mom! Okay I don't, but I do have a really good excuse reason for my absence and all around neglect. It seems I have entered into a significantly busy season of life. As if being a single Mom wasn't busy enough. We did seem to be going at a good pace for awhile there, taking it easy and handling things as they come. That season has passed. I miss that season. To be honest, I think what happened was I had been putting off a lot of things and just focused on enjoying a slower pace. Those things that I've put off are now screaming to get done (more like I'm screaming at myself to do them) and I've gone into accomplish mode. Now that Autumn has arrived (which I'm ecstatic about as it's my favorite season!) classes have started up again for the kids and activities are abounding. Vaeh is back in dance class (hip hop again, of course) and is also now participating in a girls club at our new church (YES! We found a great church!! I'll have to share soon). She gets to hang out with a group of girls from grade 1 to grade 5 one night a week for an hour and a half where they sing songs, do crafts, bake, have sleepovers and grow in their relationship with God. It's fantastic and I'm so completely happy that she is fellowshipping with other girls and is making new friendships. *sigh*. That makes my heart content right there.
Gabe has been keeping me *extremely* busy with his turning 3 and not wanting to be a recognizably sweet child anymore. Maybe that's a bit over the top. He does still have his moments where he rubs my cheek and looks intently into my eyes, saying in the most adorable quiet voice "I love you Mommy. You know that?". The other moments of the day, I want to pull all of my hair out. Really. This boy has skipped the terrible two's altogether and has moved on to the terrible three's. I should have expected this, as Vaeh did the very same thing. At two she was the most perfect child, sweet and angelic. When she turned three she developed this attitude where when people would ask me how old she was I would say "Oh she's three, going on thirteen". When she turned four she snapped right back into sweetheart mode and has stayed that way ever since. I am hoping Gabe is the same. Boy am I ever. The last few weeks he has decided he no longer needs naps and most days doesn't have one. Mommy on the other hand, *knows* he needs naps because come 5pm he is running around the house throwing toys, hitting, not listening to anything I say, climbing on furniture, being mean to his sister and the daycare kiddies, and basically being the complete opposite of my sweet guy. *sniffle* My patience has been wearing very thin lately. I keep reminding myself this is just a season, just a stage, and for the most part that helps.

Once the weather started cooling and the fall rains began, I decided that being car-free and biking full time wasn't a completely viable option for us. We did great with it during the summer, and while it did have it's challenges (planning ahead a lot, weather issues, time constraints, travel distance limited, etc.), I'm glad we did it. Aside from the weather, I realized how unsafe I often felt being out with my kids. I've never had an experience to really justify my feelings here, but I felt very vulnerable. I like to think I live in a safe area, but there is stuff that goes on quite frequently around my neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods and for awhile they seemed to be escalating. I found myself looking over my shoulder a lot, and having worst-case-scenarios go through my head more than I cared for. With our activities that we have happening, and daylight savings time in the fall, I would very often be walking around in the dark which made me uncomfortable. Another factor was just the lack of proper cycling infrastructure. I couldn't get comfortable riding on the roads alone, let alone pulling the bike trailer, and drivers were showing that they just weren't happy with me being there either. After giving it some careful thought, I decided that this is probably just not the right time to be trying to do this, and perhaps I could give it a go when the kids are a bit older and we are all more experienced riders. So with that I put insurance back on my van and really haven't looked back. The second I got in the drivers seat after months of not driving, I instantly felt safe. Isn't that funny?? I mean, really, when you consider how unsafe vehicles are, the fact that I felt safe there is bizarre. Knowing that I wasn't going to be completely vulnerable anymore though, was a huge sigh of relief. I don't enjoy the costs associated with driving, but I am staying much closer to home these days which I figured out quickly how to do while we were biking everywhere, so I'm not spending as much as I very easily could.

So right now I'm at a place where I'm really enjoying getting things done, and feeling quite satisfied with my accomplishments, but I'm also fighting with myself to find time to rest and relax and do things I really enjoy not just stuff that *has* to get done. Once the kids go to bed it gives me time to have Bible study or read or crochet or just do whatever I feel like. It's really nice, but it's not nearly long enough!! I've been working on getting to bed earlier (no more of this 12am/1am business) and unfortunately that cuts into my very precious me-time. You want to know something though? I'm really making a point to enjoy every second of my crazy-chaotic-busyness though, because every night when I go to bed and I see my babies' sleeping faces it makes me miss this time even though it's still here. I know there will come a day when they will be old enough to not need me as much, or want to spend as much time with me. And then there's the day where they will be grown and moving on to their own lives. Just writing that is bringing tears to my eyes. As much as they can drive me crazy, pulling me in all directions, they *need* me. My job right now is to be their everything. Being a parent is a blessing from God ( Psalm 127:3-5) and I embrace that blessing everyday. I couldn't ask for a better job, or a better gift. So as much as I may complain, or as busy as I may get, I'm incredibly thankful. This season will pass soon enough and we will enter into a new one that is full of new experiences and new adventures and I will embrace that season just as I embrace this one.

With that I leave a promise to be back here often to update and share, and a super awesome video that has become my new theme song that a good friend of mine has ever so thoughtfully shared with me. Hope you enjoy it!

Time Away, Simplifying and Finished Projects

These last couple of weeks I decided to step back and take a bit of time away from all of the common day distractions that keep me so tied up time and time again. Mainly television and the computer. Instead of checking emails every 10 minutes, updating statuses every hour and watching garbage on TV, I dug into some wholesomeness and feel-good activities. Stuff I've really been needing mentally, spiritually and emotionally. I don't know about you, but I often feel so overwhelmed by all of the "stuff" out there that we all can't seem to live without these days. I find
myself anxious, flustered, stressed out and wired, like I've had too much coffee to drink. I really needed this. The first thing I did was grabbed my crochet hooks and got to work on a blanket for Gabe that I had been slowly piecing together. It was my first actual project and it took many, many, many hours to complete but once I did, wow. It felt fabulous. Working with my hands is so incredibly relaxing and therapeutic for me, so this was fantastic. Of course with crocheting being as addicting as it is, I also crocheted a produce bag and I'm working on a ring. Pictures to come. During the times when I am crocheting, Vaeh will put on a DVD of The Sound of Music and the three of us will cheerfully sing the songs together. Other times it will just be the sound of each of us doing our own thing together. Vaeh has been a very, very busy girl playing with her modelling clay, sculpting miniature watermelon and banana bunches for her miniature make-believe picnics in the park, or a row of hearts to show me "how much she loves me". The sound of creativity and fun is a much sweeter sound to fill the air then the sounds that come from the idiot box, as my Dad used to call it. I've been leaning closer and closer toward cancelling cable but I'm not quite there yet. In the meantime, long bouts of keeping it turned off is perfect.

After finishing Gabe's blanket I got motivated to do other things around the house that I've been meaning to get to. Namely, Vaeh's bedroom. Slowly but surely I've been working on each room of my house, painting and organizing, to put my touch on things and make my home as cozy and as reflective of me as possible. Not all rooms are completed, but I had done a lot of work on the living room, kitchen, powder room and my bedroom. I've been promising Vaeh a real bedroom for a few years now. When I was with my ex, we moved around so much because of his problems that Vaeh hasn't had a real bedroom. We never stayed anywhere long enough to decorate and make it her own. That really made me sad, especially since she wanted a room that was her own so badly. Every little girl wants a little girl room. The plan for her room was that she would share it with Gabe once he outgrew sharing my bed with me. Her room wouldn't comfortably accommodate two beds, so bunkbeds was the answer. I had an idea in my head of the type of bunkbeds I wanted to get for them but buying a new set was out of the question. I happened to be browsing Craigslist last week and low and behold, I found the perfect set. Thankfully I had a little money put away and I was able to get them. I don't have pictures to share yet but I will in the next few days. So with bunkbeds purchased, I picked out a paint color and got to painting their room. It took me all day to clear out their room, wash the walls, paint two coats of paint, let it dry and then assemble the beds, but it was so worth it. Doing things like this makes me really proud to be on my own. It makes me feel strong and completely capable of getting things done, feelings I didn't think I would have when I was just venturing out on my own as a single Mom. I'll be the first to admit that it does present a challenge, but it's not impossible. It's empowering. If you aren't being challenged, you aren't growing. Plain and simple. I'm incredibly grateful that I took the time to learn certain things throughout my life. I never left things like programming the DVD player, changing light fixtures in the house (involving rewiring), being tech savvy, home repair, etc., up to the guy. I always figured stuff out on my own (which is a big part of my personality) and it has helped me immensely.

Another thing I've been doing to create a little bit of mental peace is going grocery shopping early in the morning. Since we walk to the grocery store I decided it would probably be a good idea to do it earlier in the day. Traffic is calmer, the weather is cooler and the grocery store is near empty. Because I have daycare kiddies coming to my house in the morning I need to make sure we get home in time to welcome them. This is our shopping schedule:

-Leave home at 8:00am
-Get to store by 8:30am
-Shop until 9:00am
-Get home at 9:30am
-Welcome the kiddies around 10am

Some days I have kids arrive earlier than 10, so I plan our shopping trips to fall on days where they aren't coming until 10. This has worked out really, really well. The walking has been great, especially shortly after waking up. We typically don't have breakfast until we come home as I've found walking on an empty-ish stomach just feels better, in the daytime anyway. A walk after dinner feels great too. Shopping in a large grocery store that is almost empty is INCREDIBLE. I can't stand the lineups and chaos of packed stores, which is mostly why I avoid going to malls and shopping in general unless necessary. I have a very sensitive personality (see here and here about being highly sensitive) and things affect me more than the average person. It took me a long while to understand this, and now that I do I embrace it and love that I am highly sensitive. I don't always take care of this side of me though, and more often then not I get caught up in life and things and forget this very important part of me and before I know it I'm completely frazzled and overwhelmed. This will be something I work on for sure.

So I'm working on cutting back on things. A lot. I need more peace in my life and more things that stimulate me emotionally. I've committed to only checking emails twice a day, with the hopes to reduce that further to once a day in the near future. I'm working on reducing my aimless internet browsing to only looking up specific things when the need arises. This alone has cut back on my computer usage immensely. I only visit my Facebook page every other day or so and I've even gone as far as cleaning up my friends list, removing "friends" that I don't talk to regularly, if at all. So far I've removed almost half of my friends list, and I plan to do more. Simplifying to me isn't about making things easier. In fact, simplifying your life can be harder in the beginning, but it does get easier. Even exciting. Living simply is about cutting back and decluttering. Whether that be in your home, your office, your schedule, your mind, activities you participate in, your wardrobe, whatever. The old adage of "less is more" couldn't ring more true. And once you see the benefits of cutting back and/or organizing and/or decluttering one area of your life, you'll want to do more because it feels so good. I plan on doing much more.

Our First Car-Free Emergency

Last night was a night most parents dread. A night a car-free parent hopes never happens. Just as I was about to tell the kids that it was time for bed, Gabe slipped off of the armrest of the couch that he had been sitting on, lost his footing when he landed, and went face first into the edge of our stone fireplace. It happened so fast and instantly he was crying. I scooped him up and hugged him while he cried and then told him to look at me so I could see where the owie was, and as soon as I looked at him I saw it. He had split his eyebrow open. It started bleeding immediately and as I rushed him to the bathroom I took a good look at it. It was deep, and I wanted to panic. All of these thoughts ran through my head; what do I do? Does he need stitches? Do I go to the hospital? HOW do I go to the hospital?! I have no insurance on my vehicle, and I'm not about to ride my bike toting my injured son the 25ish minutes it would take to get there by bike. What if he went unconscious on the trip? Should I call my Mom? What do I DO?! I sat him on the bathroom counter and grabbed the hand-towel sitting there. I got it wet and placed it on his wound. He had stopped crying by then and looked a little scared, probably because he knew by the way I was acting something wasn't right. I told Vaeh to get the phone and dial her Grandma, my Mom. She had just left my house maybe 7 minutes before this happened, and of course doesn't own a cell phone. Wouldn't you know it. I knew she wouldn't be home yet as it takes 15 minutes to get there if there is no traffic, so I'm not really sure why I called. I suppose I had hoped she had gotten home in record time, or maybe was about to get home and would see that I called on her call display and would call me back. I started thinking that if I could just wait long enough for her to get home, call me back, drive back to my house and then take us to the hospital then everything would be fine. I lifted the cloth on Gabe's eyebrow to look at his injury again and saw the blood running down his face and was reminded of how deep the cut was. Nope. We need to go to emergency and we need to go now. I scooped Gabe off of the bathroom counter and put Vaeh to work, asking her to grab our shoes, shorts for Gabe (he was in his underwear), a blanket (I wasn't about to look for a shirt for him), keys, check for Care Cards (our medical cards), get my purse, close curtains, lock doors, turn lights off and she did it all with excellent speed. We hopped into our uninsured van, Vaeh sitting beside her brother pressing the cloth against his head and off we went, praying. We said prayers that no police would bother us, we said prayers that Gabe would be okay, and we said prayers that the fuel gauge hovering a hair above the empty line would get us to the hospital. Again, wouldn't you know it. Lets recap: injured child, Mom just left my house, Mom doesn't have a cell phone, no insurance on my van, no gas in the tank. Lovely.
After getting stuck at 3 red lights and trying to remain as calm as possible, nervously glancing back and forth between Gabe and the fuel gauge, we made it to the hospital. We hurried in to emergency and boy was I relieved to see 1 other person in the waiting room. That almost never happens. After waiting a couple of minutes to see the triage nurse, we were given a form, Gabe's wound was rinsed and bandaged, we were sent to another desk to have another form printed out, sent back to the first desk where we got the first form and gave the second form to the same triage nurse, and were then told to sit down and wait. By this time, maybe 30 minutes later, the waiting room was full. Talk about timing. Thankfully Gabe was completely his normal self during all of this, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over all the sights and sounds of the emergency room, and thankfully the waiting room had a children's playhouse to entertain kids. I tell you, you would not even know that my little man had anything happen to him. He was laughing with his sister, playing house, telling anyone in the waiting room who would listen all about his owie, and striking random conversation with whoever else was nearby. I was so proud of him. We waited in the waiting room for about 30 to 45 minutes before we were called in to a nearby room that held beds separated by curtains. There was a young man and woman in the curtained off bed beside us, the young woman getting stitches on her finger. I heard her wimpering and moaning and I started to worry. How would Gabe handle this? It was just after 10pm so he was tired, he's never been to the hospital before, never had stitches.....I thought for sure he was going to flip out. The nurse that took us into the room had me sit Gabe on the bed so she could put a freezing gel on his eyebrow. She explained to him that she was going to put some medicine on his owie and that it was going to be very, very cold, like a popsicle. He nodded in acknowledgment and understanding, and then she asked him to lay down. He did as she asked right away. He flinched a bit while she applied the gel, and instinctively raised his hand as if he was going to move her hand away from his head but he put his hand down, and she was done. We were told it took 15 minutes for the gel to freeze the area and then the Dr. would be by to see if stitches were needed or if we could go another route. 15 minutes turned into 45, and after playing about 100 rounds of "I spy" and starting our third round of "The Sound of Music" songs, the Dr. finally made his way over. He peeled off the large plastic sticker-like covering the nurse had placed on Gabe's wound to keep him from touching the medicine (Gabe didn't like that too much! Try taking a big band-aid off of a deep gash and an eyebrow! Ouch. Still, he didn't cry.) and told me that we could get away with not using stitches but rather a medical glue to glue his wound together. I was SO relieved!!! The Dr. applied several coats of the purple glue while holding Gabe's wound together, and after 3 minutes or so was finished. Gabe lay on the bed perfectly still, admiring the stickers he had been given by a paramedic that was in the waiting room, and also by the nurse who took us in. 3 stickers in total. Lucky guy. The Dr. finished up, told me how to care for Gabe's wound from there on out and then advised Gabe not to operate any heavy machinery after a head injury. He was a nice man :) Gabe sat up and the Dr. walked over to a fridge just a few feet away. He turned around and had a popsicle for Gabe, and for Vaeh (who was amazing during all of this!!! She even got some stickers too.). Gabe was elated and so was I. My poor little guy. I wrapped him up in his blanket while he devoured his treat and we left the hospital. As I was buckling the kids into their carseats, I realized we still faced the issue of no insurance on the van and next-to-no gas in the tank. Again, we started to pray.

"Dear Lord, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease get us home safely. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease don't let there be any police along the way" (we emphasized that part A LOT when we drove past the police station).

We made it home safe and sound by 11pm. Thank you God.
Because Gabe hadn't lost consciousness, the Dr. said he should be totally fine to go to bed and me not have to worry. He told me it wouldn't hurt to check on him through the night just to put myself at ease but that wasn't an issue as Gabe sleeps in my bed with me (I practice Attachment Parenting, in case you are wondering why my 2 1/2 year old is still sleeping in my bed! See also Co-Sleeping). When we got home I thought it best to squeeze in a little cuddling time, just to unwind a bit from everything that had just unfolded. We curled up on the couch, all 3 of us, and watched a program about dinosaurs on the National Geographic channel. As their eyelids started getting heavy, I gathered them up and we all went to bed. Gabe slept just fine, right through the night, and woke up feeling great.

Through this situation I learned a couple of things about this whole car-free/car-lite lifestyle, doing so as a single parent of young children.

1. Don't get rid of the minivan. I had considered that if things went really well with us not needing the van I would eventually sell it. Now I realize that having it on hand, just in case, is really a smart idea for us.

2. Always make sure there is some gas in the van at all times.

I want to end by saying that I don't condone driving a vehicle without proper insurance because it is not safe and not all that smart. I also want to say that I admit taking a taxi to the hospital, or worst case scenario calling an ambulance, is definitely an option in situations like this and yes I probably could have utilized them. But considering this was the first major incident like this, I jumped on my first instinct to just get Gabe there as quickly as possible, and that involved utilizing the vehicle that I had on hand. I'm incredibly grateful that I had that option.

Today has been a much, MUCH better day. After walking to the mall this morning to hit up a sale at Old Navy for $1.00 flip-flops (now that is a frugal price if you ask me!) we headed over to Chapters to spend some time reading, snacking on treats at the in-store Starbucks (I had a $5.00 gift card I had won months ago) and playing with the train table in the children's area. We were having such a nice time in the gorgeously air-conditioned building that we decided to stay for story time and crafts. After spending about 4 hours in the store just hanging out and having fun, we agreed that we would try to head over there every Saturday for stories and crafts. Being a book and craft lover, I think that's a nice way to spend a too-hot Saturday afternoon with the kiddies, don't you? Fingers crossed this new ritual doesn't come after any more hospital-related incidences.

Birthdays, Biking and Bad Moods

It has been a busy week! It started off with a celebration of my Mom's birthday with a family dinner at a nearby restaurant. My Dad had the idea to treat us all to dinner and the restaurant they chose just happened to have a location a few blocks from my house, so I suggested we hold the dinner there so me and the kids could walk. I figured since I was always the one driving out to them whenever there was an occasion, (most of my family lives in their city, which is only twenty minutes away from me) maybe they would be okay with coming out to my neck of the woods, and they all did. So far my family has been great and supportive of my move from driving to biking/walking. I do get the occasional "Really?! You're going to WALK to the store? Isn't it a little far, with the kids and all? I mean, it's almost 6 blocks each way" and to that I just kind of chuckle, and then realize that used to be my mindset as well. It's been almost 2 weeks since I took the insurance off of my minvan and parked it, and I still haven't had one ounce of regret. I walk past my van everytime I leave the house and I've yet to look at it with any longing or wishful thinking. Instead, I look at my bike trailer as my new car. I've made two grocery trips with it so far, both walking trips, and I am in love with it. If anyone is looking to buy a bike trailer I highly, highly recommend the Croozer 535. With Gabe in it, I can fit all of our groceries and it's still super light and manageable to push home. Some grocery stores are a little more difficult to maneuver it in which can be a bit frustrating. The Real Canadian Superstore (or Loblaw's) is great and I have no issues with the Croozer there. Other stores like Safeway leave me with an inch of clearance going through the store doors, and I have to use the wheelchair checkout, but other than that it's a dream. I think the best part of it though is the fact that we are getting outside and walking more as a family. No more excuses about not being able to carry enough stuff in an umbrella stroller, or not being able to go out when my daycare kiddies are over. Parking my van has actually given us more freedom (I didn't ever drive daycare kids), which I wasn't sure was possible.

The other day my Mom stopped by so I could go to an appointment and I of course rode my bike there. It was a 20 minute ride in each direction and it was a mostly cloudy, slightly cooler day which was fantastic. When I was headed home I got to an intersection where the light was red. At that intersection I encountered my first "grumpy driver". I was stopped at the line, waiting for the light to turn green. I "took the lane" (instead of remaining to the right of the lane, I hugged the left of the lane) while waiting because just through the intersection I had to turn left onto a dead-end side street. A woman pulled up behind me in a car and instantly laid on her horn because she wanted to turn right and I was in her way. We had a very short conversation that consisted of her telling me I shouldn't be in the middle of the road, and me telling her that I was where I should be. Our conversation was only about 15 seconds long and ended with an eye roll and a "WHATEVER" from the driver. To be honest, as short-lived as it was, it did shake me up a little bit. It was only my second time being on the road with cars, and she was pretty upset with me. More than anything I think it caught me off-guard because I was really hoping that I wouldn't have any kind of encounter with a driver, ever. I suppose that was wishful thinking. I think it taught me to really prepare for everything while on the road, and it also taught me that drivers really aren't aware that the rules that apply to them apply to cyclists as well. 

The week ended with a celebration of Canada Day at a park just down the street from my house. I love it when events happen just a few blocks away from me so we can walk! I also love supporting local community events because I think we need more things going on around us that drag us out of our houses and force us to come out and socialize. It amazes me how much the sense of community has diminished in society. We all (well, most of us) congregate to neighborhoods, complexes and buildings to live in, close-knit and tight with other people, but how many of us know our neighbors? How many of us even smile at our neighbors? I often sit and think about how we are on this planet at this moment in time with all of these people, who, like us, are on this planet at this moment in time and yet we are strangers. And we like it that way. I suppose that is a topic for another blog post though :) All in all it's been a really great week. My yard/garden is slowly but surely coming together (pics to come soon!!!) and we may actually have a glimpse of summer weather next week. Now that is good news.

I didn't get much of a chance to take too many pictures of our Canada Day celebrations as Gabe was not in the best of moods. He's been going through some terrible 2's stuff lately, and he's added in a no-more-naps agenda just to make things interesting and keep me on my toes. I'm still fighting him on the latter. Gabe + No Nap = Terrible 2's On Steroids. I've also found it a bit difficult to take all of the pictures I want to take when I've got two small kids to manage. I've only got so many hands! I'll leave you with a few images of what I did manage to capture of our day. Enjoy your weekend!

A Lovely Little Garden

I'm really working hard on making my little yard into the prettiest garden I can. Living in a townhouse, I have a small yard with a patio area, which unfortunately doesn't leave much room for planting pretty things and growing yummy food. I'm trying to be very creative in how I manage the space because I would like to grow as much of my own food as possible, as well as have room for little bursts of color that make me happy. I started my garden last year not long after I moved in, and planted some Bee Balm, a Daylily, Bleeding Heart (my favorite!), some Pansies and some chives and parsley in a planter box. I had also begun upside down gardening which was a first for me, but with my little space I thought I'd give it a try. I grew cherry tomatoes and cucumbers last summer and they turned out wonderfully! If you are tight on space I highly recommend upside down gardening. It is super easy and we had so many tomatoes and cucumbers to eat. My Mom, who is an avid gardener and knows her stuff, couldn't believe how big my cucumber plant was and how much it was yielding. This year I'm doing Beefsteak tomatoes, cucumber again and will be trying zuchini which I read does very well upside down.

Tomorrow I'm going to do some work in the yard and hopefully will have things finished by the end of the week. I'm going to be building an above ground garden bed and will be picking up the supplies for that (simple 2"x10" pieces of wood and some screws) but first I need to dig out the area where that will go. I also need to dig out some small unruly bushes that are taking up valuable space in the corner of my yard and will put my new composter there. I will of course cut up the bushes I dug up and those will be used to start my compost. Once that is all done I will prep everything for the autumn planting season, which will hopefully be a little truer to a typical autumn than our summer has been to a typical summer. We finally hit 20 degrees celcius today and the sun made an appearance. It was magical. We have hardly had any sun this past month and it has been a little depressing. I'm hoping the sun is here to stay, at least for a while. My garden hopes so too.

Ants and My Final Week of Driving

Yesterday I had an exterminator come out to my house to investigate my ant problem and see what he could do. I told him my situation, he explained his 6 month guarantee of no ants, told me he used a non-toxic chrysanthemum-based spray, I said that all sounds like bliss, and he went right to work. 10 minutes later he was done. In just 10 minutes I was ant free. I could not believe my eyes!!! I searched everywhere for ants in my house and in my yard, and all I found was ONE in my kitchen, and it had already been meandering around for awhile, but moments later succumbed to his demise. If you've never had an insect problem before, I cannot express to you the absolute relief I am feeling. I feel like I have my house back from some force that was unstoppable. I really felt helpless, as funny as it sounds considering I was up against such a small creature. There is not one single ant to be found on my patio, where before there were soooo many. I never wanted to go out there, and that was really disappointing, because I've been working really hard at making my little backyard into a usable garden and a peaceful place to sit and enjoy long summer days and warm summer evenings. There were so many ants in my grass and in my dirt where my pretty little flowers are growing, it was really disheartening. Walking out there yesterday felt amazing! To top it off, last night I had the best night sleep. I didn't have one creepy-crawly feeling, no creepy-crawly dreams, and I slept ever so nicely. I am on cloud 9 today :)

This week marks the final week that my minivan will be insured. My insurance will be up on Sunday and then that's it. I've been working hard to get as much done as possible where I need the van, whether it be to pick up large items, or travel distances that are more difficult without a vehicle before I take it off the road. On Friday I am picking up a big compost unit that I'm purchasing from the city for $25.00, which I think is a great deal, and need the van to pick it up. I've been wanting to compost for quite some time now, but in all honesty thought they were a lot of work, I thought I didn't have the room, I thought you
had to use worms (and I don't have anywhere to bring them in to during the winter), I thought they attracted bears (which we have a lot of in my area, sometimes in my complex) and I thought they cost too much. After actually doing a bit of research on the subject, I found that they really aren't much work at all, and if I can re-purpose a lot of food waste into nutrient rich soil for my garden, instead of tossing it into a garbage can then hey, I'm a fan. I will definitely share my composting journey on my blog. Also on Friday I am picking up the bike trailer I talked about in a previous post. Lastly, on Saturday I am taking Gabe and Vaeh to see Toy Story 3 at the theater. We don't go to movies all that often mainly because of the cost, unless it is one that we have really been anticipating seeing. Toy Story 3 is for sure one of those movies, and yay me, I have a half price coupon for my admission! The theater isn't far via driving (about 10 to 15 minutes) but it is not at all accessible by bike with kids in tow and I'm not quite ready to tote the kids around on transit in certain areas of town because I just don't think it's totally safe for them, or for me. So these trips I'm okay using a vehicle for. After this weekend there won't be a trip to the theater for a long while, but luckily the mall just down the street from my house is having drive-in movie nights in the summer in their parking lot. We plan to bike-in :) There is also a company called FreshAirCinema that has an inflatable movie screen that they set up in parks throughout the Lower Mainland for people to come watch movies, totally for free. You bring chairs, blankets, toys for the kids, picnic stuff, whatever and you spend an evening chilling out in the park. I haven't been to one yet, but we will be all over this during the summer. I'm very excited to be parking my van. I'm excited about the challenge that lay before me. But more than anything, I'm thrilled that I'm taking a step away from my reliance on oil. Whenever I drive by the gas station and see the $1.12 per litre gas price (that's what it has been at for the last few days) I have a little giggle to myself knowing that very shortly I will no longer have to worry about that cost, and that feels good. Not only that, my health is going to improve as will my quality of life, my childrens' health will improve as will their quality of life, and I will have a little bit more money in my pocket, and that is always a good thing.

(photo courtesy of www.amsterdamize.com)