AFTER PHOTOS!!

Here, finally, are the AFTER photos of our renovation. I am sorry for the lack of order with these photos. Somehow, I have lost my ability to rearrange uploaded photos as I want them. I have searched all over, and cannot figure out how to do this like I used to. Sadly, it is probably something ridiculously simple, but in the meantime - here are the photos! The one of the office shows the wall before it was painted, but you get the idea. Our wall color of choice for the mudroom was called Celestial Blue. Sounds peaceful and calming, doesn't it? The last 3 photos show the completed lockers. We ordered them online from the States, and after a LOT of researching, and almost settling on something not-quite-right, we found these. The kids got to choose the color they wanted, and I think they look pretty good together. I have my own locker, for my purse, gloves, scarves, etc. These lockers are fantastic - especially in the winter when everyone has so much more gear! We are really loving all the extra space and organization. Money well spent!

Running, Renovations, Roadtrips and Raw Food

I really don't set out to come up with a title that alliterates, but these 4 items were on my mind. I know it's been a long hiatus from the blog, but September and October were utterly crazy. I think November is a bit more calm, now that we're almost half-way through, but I certainly don't expect December to go by unnoticed.

We have settled into all our regular routines around here. School is going well for the kids, and they are busy with sports, piano, birthday parties and all that other fun stuff that kids get to do. I've been trying to keep up with my running as regularly as possible, and I've done a few races to keep myself motivated and focused. Connor and I ran a 5k race together in October - we had a great time running together, and I was very proud that he was able to run the whole time! He hadn't trained at all, so I was very impressed with him. I hope we can do some more races together in the future. It's likely only a matter of time before I have to work to keep up with him, so I should enjoy this while I can! This is a great time of year for running - the temperature is perfect most days, it's not too wet, and it's so peaceful running through the forest on a bed of fallen leaves and watching more leaves gently falling. The added bonus is soaking in the hot tub in the chilly air right after a run.

So, on to renovations! I have added before pictures to the blog, but don't yet have the during and after photos. I will be sure to post those once I have them ready. We had decided that we'd like to knock out the wall that separates our office from our laundry room/mud room, and move it over to create more space in the mud room. Our office was huge, and even now that it's smaller, there's still plenty of space. But we found ourselves feeling very crowded in our mudroom, with kids and backpacks and bags of groceries and shoes and jackets and laundry all getting in the way! So, the wall was moved over (not by us, of course), and the tile floor ripped out and replaced with cork flooring and the walls repainted, and now we have a much improved space! All we have left to do is to add "lockers", which come with seating, hooks, and shelves, and we should be completely organized. Those should arrive in the next couple weeks, and we're very excited to see the finished product. So far, I'm just enjoying all the extra space when doing laundry, and not having anyone getting smashed in the head by the door! (My kids have a habit of sitting down to take their shoes off right in the path of the opening door).

I was pretty lucky and got to take two vacations in the month of October. The first was by myself, for 6 nights, to BC. I spent a night in Vancouver with my cousin Frieda, and we ran the seawall together. Something to cross off my bucket list! Then I spent several days with my sister and her family, and we did a roadtrip to Oliver to visit my folks. It was great seeing my niece and nephew. I had a very fun morning (too short, of course) with my lovely friend Corina, and then I ended the trip by hanging out with my BFF, Carla. It was a fantastic holiday - so great to see everyone and to see the sights of BC (happy to visit, but Ontario is home!).

I was home about a week, and then we ventured out on a family roadtrip to Chicago, with my mother-in-law along for the adventure. We were gone for 4 nights and we had such a fun time. It was great exploring a new city, and between the Navy Pier, downtown Chicago, Soldier Field and the Lego Discovery Center, there was so much to see and do. I highly recommend visiting Chicago if you ever get the chance - it's a beautiful city.

Finally, (and I'm trying to give you the Coles Notes here) - raw food. I was asked recently if I have gone raw yet, and the question got me thinking. At first, I felt like maybe I had failed a bit, as I certainly do not eat a completely raw diet. But then I wondered, did I ever really plan to do that? Perhaps I saw it as the ideal to strive for but did not consider the feasibility. However, I feel like maybe I have succeeded after all. No, I do not eat 100% of my food raw, and I'm guessing that I never will. I have done enough research and reading to understand a lot of different perspectives. Some are very rigid and legalistic, others much more flexible and thus, more doable. One of my favorite perspectives on this subject is given by the writer of a blog called Choosing Raw, who doesn't advocate for eating 100% raw. She does, however, eat 100% vegan. I love her clarity, honesty and knowledge on this whole subject area, and have come to respect her opinions. Check it out if you want to know more.

I do feel that I have succeeded, though, in dramatically increasing the amount of raw food that I eat on any given day. While dinner is rarely a raw meal, breakfast almost always is (usually a smoothie) and lunch often is raw or partially raw, and snacks are usually raw. Other changes I've made are to cut back on the amount of meat my family eats, to add a lot more fresh fruits and veggies to our diets and to slowly cut back on processed food. Some people may accomplish these things cold turkey, but in our family, the gradual process seems to be working. It's easier to get everyone on board this way. I'm thankful that my family is receptive to the positive changes, and I make sure to regularly talk to them about the choices we make. I am realizing that perhaps "going raw" isn't my ultimate goal, but rather, "going healthy" is.

On that note, I'm going to drag myself away from the computer and get to bed for some healthy sleep! Thanks for checking in!

Raccoon Update

Thanks to a good set of pruners and the neighbor's saw, our tree, now looking a little naked, should no longer be an accomplice to raccoons getting onto our roof. Keeping our fingers crossed, and hoping the raccoons haven't done any damage already.

So I was breathing a sigh of relief, as this was yet another potential disaster averted, when my next-door-neighbor (who lives alone and is currently a little out of commission with a fractured ankle), phoned me. I have run a few errands for her already, getting her mail, picking up a prescription for her, etc. I was happy to help when she said she needed something from the grocery store, even though I wasn't planning to go there. Then she mentioned she needed dog food. Odd, I thought, as she doesn't have a dog. I thought maybe she meant more cat food for her many cats, so I was trying to come up with a time I could help her out. Then she dropped the bomb that she needed this giant bag of dog food so she could feed....wait for it....the RACCOONS!!!! She said she had enough for tonight but not enough for tomorrow. I just about fainted. I knew she feeds them already with her kitchen scraps, which we most definitely do not like, but she actually spends money on domesticated-pet food to give them??!? Truly unbelievable. I have since phoned her back and let her know I can't make it to the grocery store. I refuse to help with that. If she needed, you know, food or medicine, or toilet paper, I'd be glad to help. But since we just likely averted raccoons (see previous post) from getting into our attic (which would likely cost somewhere in the range of $1000, no joke, to remedy), I refuse to encourage those animals. I know they'll come around regardless, but I am not going to be a part of that. I'm just sayin'.

So, do I have a right to not help her based on what she asked me to do? It's probably not illegal, but it is stupid, in my (and many other peoples') opinions. Would I have said no if she wanted me to pick up cigarettes for her, or something else along those lines? It really does not sit right with me. Anyway, that was my day!

'Coons on the Roof, or, Why My Husband was Hanging out the Window Holding a Water Gun in the Middle of the Night

It's 11:11pm. I've turned out the light, a little later than I might have liked, but 8 hours of sleep should be just fine. I'm tired after working today and getting ready for the kids to be off to school in the morning. It doesn't take long for me to drift off to la-la land, not really awake, but not really sleeping yet. My eyes pop open at 11:23 as I hear the pitter patter of little feet walking nearby. I look to see which child has come into our room, but there is no one. In fact, it is extremely rare that any of the kids come into our room at night.

And then I remember, as my mind clears away the fog of dozing off to sleep, just who is making those footsteps. Just a couple weeks earlier, we had heard this same noise as we were falling asleep, and had finally thought to look out our bedroom window at the roof that is just below. We had stared straight into the face of a raccoon, just 2 feet away, not the least bit concerned that he'd been found. I ran straight to the open window, and looked out just in time to see a raccoon creeping carefully beside the drainspout, down the roof. I made a scary noise (at least I thought it was scary) at it, but it just looked dolefully at me and kept walking.

By this time Stefan was awake, but the raccoon was now out of sight. How I wished I'd had a spray bottle to spray in the critter's face. I went and rounded one up while Stefan kept an eye on things from all the windows. (We actually have windows facing 3 directions in our room). The spray bottle turned out to be pretty wimpy, so I ventured out into the backyard, hoping no raccoons were going to leap out at me, and managed to round up a couple of the kids' water guns. Stefan was now looking out, or rather hanging out, the front window. The raccoon had started around the back, and was now at the front. He was watching not one, but two raccoons, as they used the tree beside our driveway to get onto our roof and the roof of our neighbor's garage. At least now we knew how they were getting up there - previously a mystery. While I was getting the water gun filled, Stefan had thrown the spray bottle at the raccoon that was slinking across our driveway, and had hit it, likely scaring the cr*p out of it.

But there was still one raccoon on the roof, carefully trying to stay out of water gun range. Stefan kept shooting, but that was the last of the raccoons that we saw. It was actually quite hilarious if you could have seen the two of us, prowling around our open windows, armed with dangerous water guns, just waiting to attack. We eventually got back to bed, but I didn't fall asleep until well after 12. So much for getting a restful night's sleep. We are getting very concerned that these critters are trying to get into, or have already gotten into, our attic. That would be a disaster, and very expensive to remedy. From now on, those water guns are loaded and ready to go by the window at night and hopefully that will be enough of a deterrent. Oh, and Stefan is going to do some pruning this evening as well.

I tell ya, last summer it was the snakes that always seemed to be hovering around. This year I've hardly seen any, but the raccoons are now hovering around brazenly. It certainly doesn't help that my neighbor treats them like pets and feeds them on her back deck. These creatures should be a little more afraid of people, but they're not.

I've had a very successful summer of gardening, and am already starting to rip out some of the plants that are done. I'm still having a bounty of tomatoes, chard, spinach and kale, but the cucumbers, corn and lettuce are done for the season. My carrots never amounted to anything, but I'll try again next year. I will post a few garden photos, most of which were taken at the end of July, so you can see how much it grew in just one month. I'm already plotting out next year's garden.

Two out of three of the kids are back to school today. Connor is off to grade 4 and Taya is off to grade 1. Logan has a (very slow) gradual entry over the next week and a half. It's a little quieter around here without them - I sure hope they're having a good day. Taya's teacher seems very nice and I've heard a lot of good things about Connor's teacher, his first male teacher. Can't wait to hear all about their day! Tomorrow is the start of piano lessons - Taya's first one! We'll see how that goes!

Summer

I love summer. And, just to clarify, I. LOVE. SUMMER. It's true - I could handle summer all year long, especially the weather part of it. I suppose I would eventually want the kids back in school, but the weather could still stay warm/hot and I'd be quite happy.

We're having a pretty good summer so far. We've had a really fun trip to the beach (best beach in Ontario), lots of swimming at friends' houses, lots of hanging out in the backyard, some VBS, some swimming lessons, some picnics, trips to the farmer's market, trips to the library and lots more fun stuff. The kids have been sleeping in the basement for the whole summer so far - since we haven't been camping, I guess this is the next best thing! For the most part, they've been getting along really nicely, although some days I do tend to get a little anxious for school to start! But not too anxious. Taya has started her competitive gymnastics, which will continue through the fall, winter and spring. All three have improved dramatically in their swimming lessons, which we are very happy about. Money well spent!

My garden has taken off like crazy. I've taken some updated photos (which I will need to post) and the amount of growth in a month has been unbelievable. Our sunflower now stands over 10 feet tall, with a giant yellow flower as its crowning achievement, and a "stem" the thickness of a small tree! It's stunning indeed. My two surviving cucumber plants threatened to take over not only the garden but the lawn as well. Out of those two plants, we have already eaten numerous cucumbers, much to the kids' delight, but their season seems to be winding down already. Our corn is slowly but surely producing cobs, none of which are ready to eat yet, although Taya is salivating already! Her absolute favorite food in the world is corn. Our 4 tomato plants have also threatened to take over the garden and the lawn, mainly because I didn't stake them. Lesson learned for next year. However, despite my lack of gardening know-how, the tomato plants are producing a ridiculous number of delicious red tomatoes. Some don't even make it into the house before Taya gobbles them up. My cages have served their purpose beautifully. All my greens were able to grow without interruption, and we have had countless salads from them. My romaine has outgrown its cage by several inches - who knew lettuce grew so tall! We often pick kale straight from the garden for snacking on, but other than salads, I've been using the kale, chard and spinach in my smoothies. I love going outside in the morning and picking my breakfast out of the garden! I'm so thrilled that despite some initial disasters, our garden has actually amounted to something, and we've learned a lot of ways to improve it for next year. I'm already hoping for more garden space next year!

I've been meaning to share for quite awhile on this blog about my allergies - a small miracle may have occurred! I've had seasonal allergies at least since highschool. They have always been very predictable, unpleasant, but thankfully shortlived. While living in BC, they showed up for 3-4 weeks at the end of May, beginning of June. While living in Alberta and Manitoba, they showed up for usually 4 weeks at the end of June and for much of July. In Ontario, it was usually the middle of June. Obviously there is something pollinating during those seasons that my body really didn't like - I've never figured out exactly what. For years I just fought through extreme discomfort - crazy-itchy watery eyes, sneezing, itchy ears (not fun at all). Once I finally discovered Reactine, I was able to mostly, although not completely, get rid of the symptoms. Still, it was something I dreaded every year, especially because this was one of my favorite times of year.

Anyway, in all my reading and research over the last year on all things food and health related, I came across somewhere (I couldn't remember where) about how a diet much higher in plant-based foods will help your body deal better with allergens. I was looking forward to putting this to the test, seeing as how I've been drinking daily green smoothies for just over a year, as well as having a dramatic increase in my fruit and veggie eating, and a decrease in processed foods. Well, June arrived, then left, and barely a sneeze to speak of! I kept waiting for something to happen in July, but since we'd had such an early spring, I knew I had probably gone past allergy season. I had only the slightest inklings of my former allergy unpleasantness, and never once had any full-blown symptoms! Normally, I go through a full package of Reactine just to stay comfortable. This summer, I took 2 pills, and then not because I really needed them, but more as "insurance" for a couple times I really couldn't be worrying about symptoms. I'm not a huge fan of medication, so this was very exciting for me!

All that to say, I think I'm an allergy-free girl! I realize this isn't earth-shattering news and I haven't cured any deadly diseases, but I've seen first-hand the amazing results of a plant-based, whole foods diet. Imagine if I can eventually completely get rid of all the bad stuff! I'm not there yet, but this is certainly encouraging. I am just really excited to see what happens when we treat our bodies better. I don't understand the exact science behind all this, but the results seem to speak for themselves!

It's time for us to be heading off to swimming lessons. Please don't give up on me and my sporadic blog-writing. I haven't given up, and I promise to be back!!

Have a happy summer day!

June Stuff

I've just spent the last while trying to change the background on this blog, thinking it was definitely time for a change. However, I have been frustrated at every turn, following the steps exactly, and it's still not working. I guess you'll have to look at palm trees for a while longer yet. I found a really cute strawberry background that I want to use, so I'll just have to keep trying.

Our last month or so has been full of company from Calgary, birthdays, gymnastics, a piano recital, running, and lots of fun school activities. We've had mostly fabulous weather so far, and have spent many hours enjoying our backyard. Speaking of which, I made it almost to the end of May without seeing a single snake! Thrilling. However, we did happen to see one, although that was the only time. Thankfully, the kids were outside at the time, so while I leapt onto the safety of the deck, they came running over to see it, where they proceeded to actually FIGHT over who got to touch it and hold it. If it weren't for their matching brown hair and eyes and a striking resemblance to their mother, I would swear these children didn't share a single strand of DNA with me. Anyway, after they'd all had a chance to interact with the snake (why would a person want to do that, I don't know) it finally got away from them into the tall ferns, and hasn't been seen again. I'm still not letting down my guard, but I'm feeling a little better about things. (I never did tell you about the snake skin we (I) found stuck in the chicken wire protecting my strawberries. Horror.).

I managed to get my garden completely dug out, and then we dumped a very large amount of soil all over the bed. I planted kale, red chard, spinach, romaine, corn, cucumbers, beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes and onions. Unfortunately, much of it was eaten shortly after it came up, but some did survive. Apparently, rabbits (assuming that's who is eating my garden) don't like kale, and they also leave cucumbers and tomatoes alone. Some of the corn survived as well, and the onions are meant to deter them. My mother-in-law was here for a week, and we spent a bunch of time building (as in hammer and nails and wood) cages/boxes to place over the garden to help protect it. I've since replanted a lot of the greens, so we will see if these boxes do their job. Taya's favorite item from the garden so far is fresh green onions. With all the gorgeous sunshine we've been having, with a bit of rain mixed in, the garden seems to be thriving. It won't be long before I can actually pick some of my kale to throw in my smoothies.

I'll keep this short for today, but I've added some updated photos (the garden before, the garden after, a close-up of my kale, one of the flowers in our pond, me finishing my race, and Taya's birthday cupcakes - easiest ever!) Ciao!

May Happenings

It's been a little while since I've written, so there's lots to fill you in on, but I will do my best to be brief (whatever that means). We've had lots going on lately and we are now smack in the middle of May, the busiest time of the year in our family.

First off, today we are celebrating 16 years of marriage!! I can't believe I'm even old enough to have gotten married legally and still been married that long! I'm doing lots of reminiscing today - we had such a great wedding day with so many special people involved. I wouldn't change much about that day, other than perhaps my hairstyle. Although my dress looks pretty dated now, I think it was pretty cute back then! I'm pretty thrilled with my choice of husband, too - it's worked out quite well. :)

We celebrated Mother's Day with our great friends Steve and Angie and their kids - they are our family-away-from-family here in Ontario. We've also got a few birthdays coming up - I'm turning 36 and Taya is turning 6! I'm not sure which number is more shocking. It feels like not so long ago that I was big and pregnant with Taya, while celebrating my 30th birthday and our 10th anniversary. Connor turned 9 last month, marking his last year in the single digits. I'm glad Logan is still 4 for a little longer.

We have decided to not renew Taya at her talent agency. It was a fun and interesting time, and it was pretty exciting for her to have two jobs with Canadian Tire. She is often in the flyer, and it's great to page through and see her. She's in there again this week. She has been accepted into the competitive program for gymnastics, so we'll be focusing on that instead.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you'll know about some of our back yard adventures from last spring and summer. I am thrilled to report absolutely no slithery sightings so far this spring!! Stefan has seen one, but I have not. I know this is probably too good to be true, but I'm enjoying each snake-free day!! Don't get me wrong - I am not rolling around in the grass with my eyes blissfully closed, or walking barefoot through thick bushes, but I am feeling like maybe, just maybe, we can have a snake-free summer! (I know, I'm totally delusional, but just humor me, please!). I always do a careful check when I head onto the grass, because I don't need any *surprises*.

I have spent many hours over the last few weeks digging up a fairly large bed which was totally covered in some kind of ground cover that has ridiculous roots. It is now done and is ready for me to plant my garden!! I really have no idea about planting a garden, and there's a good chance the bunnies will eat my garden, but I'm going to try anyway. I'm hoping we have some success. The kids are very excited to get started.

I've been running a little more regularly these days, and am preparing to do a 5k race in June. I ran the same one last year and am hoping to improve my time this year. The race is to support a local charity that helps survivors of breast cancer, so of course I am running in honor of my mom, and also my aunt, who is a survivor. (Here's a shameless plug if you want to support me!).


Two lessons I've learned recently: 1) Never drink your green smoothie at the computer without a lid on it, or you may run the risk of spilling it all over the keyboard. (True story. I was almost more sad about wasting my precious smoothie than about possible damage to my keyboard! My husband was more worried about possible damage to the keyboard than about my precious smoothie. Huh). 2) Never leave your child at piano lessons without first making sure that he actually goes in the house, because there just might not be lessons that week, and you may have forgotten due to a brain that was operating at levels causing information overflow. (True story. I am truly thankful to the nice woman who stopped and waited with Connor for half an hour while I did my errand. I felt like the worst mother ever. I ALWAYS check to make sure he goes in, but that day, I did not. Don't know why not. A happy ending to this story, but I felt AWFUL for my boy, who couldn't figure out why I just left him there).

This weekend we are off to Leamington for my cousin's wedding reception - can't wait to see relatives and celebrate with everyone! Next week, we are looking forward to the arrival of my in-laws for 10 days. The kids are so excited to see their cousins, and I think the grown-ups are all pretty excited too!


Not sure where the last 5 hours have gone, but it's getting close to school pick-up time, so I'll leave it there for now. Thanks for checking in! Happy May to you!