ducky house

may

A little catch up on things and life. I hope you don't mind it in pictures. In fact I hope you don't mind that there are only a few pictures. I seem to roll that way right now. My camera has been left behind at home more times then I would like to admit and I can't actually remember when I last took some decent shots of the kids. Ugh! Thank goodness iPhone is helping me catch bits of my day. 

I was thinking about how busy life feels for me right now. I can't seem to keep up with it or find my rhythym -frankly, it's disconcerting.  I keep hoping and waiting for the second surge of inspiration and energy to hit me and daily I find it evading me. Maybe it's cyclical? or maybe I just need to look at life through new lenses. I don't know the answer. I also don't know why things feel so busy. It's not like I haven't always been running with something or another..., perhaps it's the age of my kids now? I find raising little children taxes your energy in a different way - you are exhausted overall and spend a lot of time doing repetitive tasks, but our outtings were always closer to home and more infrequent. With my older kids, they are more independent but guidance & conversation is huge and we seem to have more groups & outtings that involve driving. Though we've made a lot of effort at keeping those things to a minimum, you know the simple life, there are still a few things that have us leaving the house on a regular basis. Blah, blah, blah, I'm sure y'all know what I am talking about.

In search of a solution, I have made some changes at work recently. I have gone from 80+ hours a month to about half that. This past month has been the first time that I am working reduced hours. The first thing I am noticing on my reduced hours is a sense of relief that has washed over me. I feel like I am able to get a few things done around the house that have me chasing my tail and I feel less stressed overall. My ultimate goal with my new found time will be to start cultivating some blocks of studio time just for making, just because. Ahh, the good life - I can't wait! 

Of course no sooner do I reduce my hours at work then I have to pull semi-full time hours this coming week - a commitment I made pre-work hour reduction. It should be okay though. It's part of my job to be available periodically throughout the year in bulk hours when needed. After my week of chaos I will be back to my shortened hours. yay... and some serious making ~ can't wait!  

Photo details: 

~ my girls primping for a party, even miss lily dog got in on the action courtesy of the twinadoes.

~ at soccer: early season games can be freezing, thank goodness the warmer weather has arrived.

~ my self-love gift for those "making" studio times. 

~ mother's day love, the bunnies finally left me one tulip in my yard. They faithfully eat them all, in four years at this home I have never seen one bloom. 

smoke detector batteries

January is a hard month in these parts with the brutal cold arriving. I find myself spending increasing times indoors staying warm, drinking hot tea, reading books & earlier bed times. Why fight it right? I've also dubbed January "organization month". I'm inside for endless hours so it is a good time to catch up on unfinished things, declutter & tackle those monotonous projects that need to be done but always seem to be forgotten. 

One project that pops into my head throughout the year is changing the smoke detector batteries. It's one of those panic thoughts where I often find myself thinking "when did I last change my batteries" and then when I finally check, I can never actually remember the date change. Well I wisened up this time, pulled out the masking tape and voila: battery dates are labelled. Next time my brain goes into smoke detector battery panic mode, I will simply flip them open and note the last change date.

As for frequency, I've read two opinions that batteries should be replaced every 6 months or once a year. Please read though your manufacturers recommended date to determine your time frame for battery replacement. Oh and don't forget to test your batteries once a month to make sure the detectors are functioning properly (replace if necessary). Happy home and health to you. xox

** happy new year 2012 **

I trust my new year greeting finds you well? Maybe even a pound of two heavier, it's all good right? We had a wonderful Christmas with family guests in our home during the holidays. The hubby's parents came to stay with us and our boys graciously gave up their space for the grandparents. It was no trouble I was assured by both boys intent on seeing Nana & Papa. I love my flexible family (did I mention that the girls are sleeping our room again as we are working on a project in theirs...more on that later).

While I dearly love Christmas time, decorating & all that, I also equally love packing it up. There is something wonderful about heading into the new year with things decluttered & re-ordered. The slate feels clean & my heart is ever so optimistic. Do you feel the same? I'm not sure what you do in your home but in ours I like to enter the new year with family theme or phrase. It's nothing life shattering, just trying to get a little family unity going in the same direction if you know what I mean. The past couple of years our theme was something like "work hard", with the following year being "work harder".  Boy I'm glad those years are behind us because this year is totally different: "be positive" is the theme for us and boy am I ready for it. I think most of us could use more positive feelings & thoughts in our lives on a daily basis don't you agree? Whether you found your theme or are still trying to figure it out, why not join me in this space for some inspiration, reading & plain ol' catching up.

ps: don't forget the warm drink, see you soon, xoo. 

balance

I have a few million things to share with you about life, craft & our goings-on. My problem over the past year has been time, I feel really short on it, and brain energy for writing up a post is lacking. On top of it I never know if the things that I am working on are blog worthy or not, since this started out as my is supposed to resemble a craft blog. In the end I write nothing and that is not a great way to go for blog followers, sorry :( 

I'm on another big learning curve at this stage in my life. Learning how to balance all the things that are pulling at me: renovation planning, renovating, homeschooling, part time work, home responsibilities and relationships. I've been fighting with them all over the past few years trying to see which of them I can cut out and I finally realize that none of them can be cut out, they all need my attention and that is not a bad thing. Balance is the key and I've learned that balancing takes practice. It seems to me that for balancing to work you have to know when to let go, or walkaway and when to embrace. It reminds me of the "work hard - play hard" line of thinking with a "rest well" twist. I personally struggle with the last part - rest well - but my blogging absence has been teaching me the latter and by resting well, I've learned to walk away and let go.

In a perfect world I would be able to do it all, but I'm sorry folks, I'm just not that girl. While I like to think I can do it all, this 40 something girl has learned that tomorrow seems to take care of itself and has it's own list of things that need to be done adding to the previous days list (Ugh! but lets not go there, okay).

Why I am sharing this? Well, it's always on my mind, to explain my lack of blogging and to update you to where I am at and I think this explanation may be as much for me as it is for you. I need to make sense of my life, I need to journal these thoughts and days for what they are and because I don't think this is the end of blogging for me.

I am dabbling in a bit of everything right now because that is what life is demanding of me. I'm okay with it and I'm adjusting, I'm not kicking and screaming anymore and I feel less whiny about the whole thing. Yay, progress! 

So here's what I would like to do, I'd like to go through my gazillions of photos and chronicle what I can of some of the projects we've been working on for the past couple years that were photographed but were never blogged on. I don't intend on turning this into a home renovation blog, because I will be so happy when things are done, done, done; but I would like to share some of the changes we made because it is where my energy has been for so long. I will also continue you with crafty life posts as inspiration comes. Sound good to you?

One more thing... Happy Fall!  The weather has been beautiful here and the photos are from a recent walk we took through our forest where I followed that squirrel through the woods trying to get a photo of him, he was so fast and when he finally did slow down I snapped and snapped. It was kind of un-nerving as I had this ominous feeling like the big fella was going to jump on me and I would be explaining to the folks at emergency how exactly I got a bit by a squirrel on my head....ha! 

open

I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately. Some of it has been very good, some of it hard to swallow. Among a pile of observations comes the one that gives me the most grief, it is that as of late I am indeed my own achilles heel. I have this awful tendency to talk myself out of things before I even get started. I suspect it is why I am reading books 1 & 2 listed in my right side bar. It's also probably why my dad used to tell me when I was a little girl to "put can't behind the door and do it".  I didn't like it very much when he would say that to me, mostly because I didn't understand how to go forward. I'm still working on it btw. 

It is here where I sigh and say "why couldn't I be a first born with all their illusions of grandeur, they seem unstoppable".  In the pecking order in my growing up years I am the last of 13, yes I said 13! The baby of the family, my mum still introduces me that way on occasion. Umm, no mum, not much a baby anymore but nice try. I love her still for thinking of me that way. 

I married a first born, boy oh boy is he an overachiever. I suppose that is why we make a good pair. He honestly believes there is nothing he can't do, I believe that about him as well. He ran a major youth movement in his teens, put out a CD, wrote a book, jumpstarted a new career after a major life shift in his 30's, and all that before he turned 40!  His resume is kinda intimidating and yet I still get to tell him to clean the toilets and put the garbage out...yes!! 

But seriously though, all this has me thinking that life is too short to wait for the stars to align and for all my ducks to line up in a row in order to do some of the things I'd love to do. You see I'm never in a rush, I have an over abundance of patience and don't thrill from the stress of deadlines, but sometimes you just gotta get a move on. In the spirit of carpe diem and NOW, I have re-opened my etsy shop.  I've filled it with vintage (sheet) treasures as well as some handmade goodness and have a ton more stuff to add. I realize that I most happy when I create and make things. I'm most drawn to my kids when I do the things that energize me. It's something that has been on very short supply for me for the past year (creating & energy) and I am only one who can rectify the situation.

I'll be re-examined my priorities over the next few months and arranging my schedule to provide me with a regular time for making, in addition to the homeschooling. At the very least it is a change, and I'm long overdue for the pot to be stirred. Go over and take a peek at the shop and support this handmade mumma if you feel so inclined.

 

hello july

You sure started out with a bang! No sooner did I post my summer goings on then we had another trip to the emergency room that very evening. This time however it was not one of the kids rather it was my mum. She was walking in a park when a young girl on a scooter ran into her knocking her over. What followed was: she couldn't get up...she knew it was bad...a trip to the hospital for x-rays plus a CT scan revealed my mum's hip was broken. Argh and $%&*@#% for her. A bugger of way to start the summer.  

My mum is a very active 80 year old who never spends a day in bed, to see her lay in bed waiting for her turn in surgery was both nerve wracking and frustrating. Finally 3 days after the fall she had her surgery - a partial hip replacement, pretty amazing what they can do surgically. She started walking (with a walker) on her new hip by day 2, day 3 she did stairs and by day 7 we brought her home with us. We have given her the girls room as it is on the same floor as the kitchen, LR, DR & deck. We have some fancy gadgets in the bathroom like toilet armrests to help mum in her daily needs. I get the pleasure of giving her a needle every day - not really my forte but live and learn right? 

Our summer holidays have re-adjusted themselves, first week was all about hospital visits and moving furniture to get a room set up for mum. Second week was spent close to home making sure all was well with mum. This week we have enlisted some help (for my mum) so we can sneak away with the kids on a few day trips to the local events & beaches...and maybe even a movie or two with my sweetie ♥ (I'm so behind).  Not exactly the way we had planned to spend our three weeks of holidays but right now flexibility is a very good thing and I'm feeling grateful that things were not worse (for mum). 

Until I stop by again, Happy Weekending. xxx.

in my corner...

...summer is officially here and that means so many, many good things: 

...the weather is giving us beautiful warm days of sunshine sprinkled in with overcast days of shade and even a sprinkling or two of rain.

...our friends have returned and they have brought with them new little ones to love and admire. 

...our school year is ending today and now we turn our attention to some serious outside play - bring it on!

...the garden has been planted and the veggies are growing, the flower pots are blooming and green is always our favourite colour. 

...soccer season has ended for the summer, bike riding is a daily occurrence, we've made one trip to emergency so far and popsicles continue to make an appearance in the grocery cart. 

...I am excited that mr. duckyhouse will officially be on holidays for almost all of July in which we will soak up his goodness with lots of play, beaching, day trips, and yes even some more renovations. 

...I am picking up my camera again after a couple difficult months and realizing that it is through the lens that I am inspired to live a more grateful life. 

...hoping your corner is filled with grateful memories too! 

♫ ♪ ♫ ♪

Hello hello... 
I'm at a place called Vertigo...
It's everything I wish I didn't know
Except you give me something
I can feel, feel...  

♫ ♪ ♫ ♪

U2 was in town on Sunday evening and of course I had to take them in, my own hometown?  No brainer, right?  

Check out the awesome spectacle (courtesy of iPhone - which also means don't judge the clarity of the photos - iPhone only goes so far). 

Last year when they were on tour we seriously considered taking a road trip to take them in. We've done it before, in 2005, they were not making a stop anywhere near us so we packed the van & kids and headed over to Vancouver. Crazy trip, crazy long drive (2400 kms), crazy young kids, the boys were 6, 4 and the girls were 4 months old. We brought my mum with us so she could watch the wee ones while we danced the night away to familiar tunes. So worth it.  But last year the voice of reason (which sounds the same as my voice) put the reins on travelling last year. With the reno eating up our finances I talked the hubby down with an off the cuff "maybe they'll go on tour again and hit our lil' ol' city". They were due after all. The last time they made their way to the 'Peg was in 1997. 

When they announced the second leg of their tour and Winnipeg was on the list, I knew there would be no question that we would go. The hubby (member of the fan club) got pre-sale tickets for his sister, himself, me & our 11 year old son!  Yes indeed, our son wanted to come so bad that he used his own cash to pay for the ticket. Sweet!  Our seats were great, 4th row off to the side.  At the concert Ben was so excited to hear and see the band that he has listed to since he was a little guy. He managed to stand on a chair the whole concert without fatigue - what a trouper. Of course he is now be ruined for life as any other concert he attends in comparison will have a really hard time living up to a live U2 show. Rock on Irish boys!   

off, in all senses of the word...

As I write this post I am thinking that it would be lovely to tell you that my absence has been due to mr. duckyhouse whisking me away for a week long adventure to some far off exotic land. Alas, it is not true. Instead I have falling off the blogosphere radar for family doings and general unwellness. 

Mr. duckyhouse's parents arrived a couple of weeks ago for a surprise visit and left yesterday to return to their homestead. It was nice to visit and break from our daily routine. We enjoyed extended family time, visits and eating out for Easter - oh boy, it was nice not to cook a big meal this time around - thank you mom & dad, xxx. 

The girlies took a while to get over their spring colds but not without sharing with me first. I was dragging my feet all last week but with a little help from vitamin D, I'm feeling back to normal.

Mr. duckyhouse was away on business for a few days, he headed off to the east coast for a conference that lucky bugger. He wanted me to join him, but I'm still stuck on the logistics of travelling and leaving kids behind. One day...

     

My beloved B-meister, Benjamin, turned 11 and we had his customary birthday party over the weekend with some crazy weather to match, it snowed again. Thankfully it is all melted and I hope I won't have to type the word snow again until November. His outdoor soccer season just started as well and that looks to keep us hopping a few evenings a week (or maybe that will be a dad/son deal). 

Birthday's and such make me realize things are spinning fast and the kids are growing up too quickly for my liking. I can't spend a lot of time thinking about it or it does a number on me. Life is all about moving forward and embracing the stages and I especially need to remember that this week as I feel a bit in a funk. Rationally I know it isn't real, I always tend to feel a bit off during/after being sick, it will pass as it always does but sometimes it really does kick me down.

Thankfully I believe in being gentle with myself, loving myself at all stages - all moods. I believe life is what you make it and when you can't make your day into anything special, that is when being gentle with yourself really helps. For me that means not getting much done beyond being with the kids, some stretching & exercise, reading and lots of hot baths. If you're wondering where I've been, that pretty much sums it up. I'm embracing my week of non-productivity and I write in optimism that the ol' funk will lift. Thanks for listening, even if you don't understand, it helps. Be back with a fresh perspective soon. xxx

the melt

During our break last week, we took a walk around a local park to view the spring melt in action. I always think of spring as my least favourite season because of the messiness. In my brain it should be a cleaner process: winter ends one day, snow melts for a day or two, and we all begin our life outdoors - very tidy and systematic.  Ha! not that way in these parts, it usually takes a month or two for the snow to disappear and during that time the streets are so dirty from all the gravel & sanding that our city does to the winter roads so our cars don't crash into each other. 

But all this got me thinking that the man side of spring and nature side of spring are two different things. On the one hand we have the mess that man creates by necessity and on the other hand nature does spring so beautifully. The snow melts, the water pools and waits to find a place in the ground, our feathered friends return to their summer nesting ground, trees come alive with buds and blooms, days grow longer and the sun grows warmer, while more critters and creatures wake up to show their faces.

;

I can't think of anything in those descriptions that I don't like. In fact I love it all!  Yay, Spring!