Chic Kitchen

Our current kitchen was functional. It had cupboards, appliances, and room for a table to eat at. I can't count the number of times people told us "oh your cabinets are fine". Sure, they were okay, but the lack of space to truly cook in, coupled with me burning the countertop (oops), the constant purge of kitchen utensils and appliances, and rolling of the portable dishwasher was getting a little old.

More than that, though, the lack of freezer space that caused us to play freezer jenga almost every quarter was frustrating.

I think we truly started on the path to a new kitchen after we drooled over the full fridge and full freezer unit. 

It went on sale around the time for a honey of a deal around we had J and we wanted to buy it, but just couldn't swing it financially. So we started to figure out a budget to finish off this project, then we started the tear out.

Believe it or not, that is the last deconstruction that we will do in the Hobo-Chic Project - we've literally torn every room apart. The kitchen was the last hold out.

Being that the kitchen has also been the draftiest & coldest room in the house for the last little while, we opened up all of the walls to check the insulation. We weren't surprised to find a lack thereof.

After adding some insulation to ensure the kitchen is much warmer, and quieter, and removing the cabinets to give to a friend & selling our old appliances online, we found some wonderful retro flooring.

We debated leaving it, but no, the show must go on. Ripped out all the old vinyl (x2 layers, of course), and added a new sub-floor.

We also replaced all the windows and doors in the kitchen and added a new side door to make our side entrance a little easier to come in at instead of a tight stairwell.

More on this crazy door situation & our new side deck next post. We went through the regular routine of drywall, taping, mudding, sanding and painting, no big news there.

About this time, my mom, J and I took off to Edmonton to await baby #2, so every day I would get new update SMS message, they went a little something like this:

Floor done in just 3 days!

Our cabinets were in the week they were suppose to be. They did beat P-baby to Edmonton (she was late by 12 days), however we needed the handyman himself, so the project got put on hiatus for a week or two while we delivered some of our best work.

After only 3 days in hospital, back at home, the guys got right back to work, with my dad in the mix too. And now, we have the pantry and one wall of the cabinets assembled. Unfortunately, our cabinets for over our lovely full fridge and freezer were ordered in the wrong size, so we're anxiously awaiting their replacements.

In the meantime, we are working on the deck outside for the new door, the sink being put in the kitchen, installing the dishwasher, the plywood counters, drywalling the hallway, picking out handles for cabinetry & debating what goes where.

Phew!

I am not Superwoman.

If you're not going to read any further than this, here's what you need to know:

YOU CANNOT DO IT ALL.
The end.

I admit, it's not the first time I've heard this. My parents always told me this, over and over again. Indeed, after I typed that, the voice in my head was my dad saying it.

We've been on the fast track a while now - buy a house, get engaged, get married, move 3500 km from our support network, buy another house, get a dog, have a kid. That's a lot for four years.

When people ask me about my kid, I always tell them that parenting is the best job I've ever had, but it's also the most challenging. I get a few double takes at that one. I don't think every parent would tell you it's challenging. I think we forget to tell everyone about the challenging part; we see all the happy faces,

But in the meantime, you're missing what I look like now - after 3 days of sickness & teething. I had my first shower today in that time, my hair is gross, I'm in my pjs (the shirt is on backwards because J almost fell head first off the bed when I put it on). THAT, is the reality of being a parent. That sure, we have the above times, but also these ones:

They are important too! Remembering RIGHT NOW when he has been hacking and keeping me awake for two nights. I still love the child, but my patience is tried, my body is tired, and I just want to be able to sit down and do something for mama. It isn't always possible - sometimes because you love them so much, you just have to "get 'er done" and find a moment of peace where you can.

I think the Swedish proverb says it best: "love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I need it most."

When we first took prenatal classes, the instructor went around the room and asked us, "What will you relax upon/give up when you are a parent?" and after a few people went before me, I was still completely dumbfounded by the question. Give up? Most other individuals said they would relax on having a super clean house. That was not, and is not, me. I had a hard time wrap my head around the question. I don't honestly think I gave a good answer on that one. I was still thinking about it.

In short, no one is Superwoman, and we cannot do it all. With parenting and having fun with J taking up more and more of my time (and rightly so), there are things I have to let go on.

So, almost a year in a half later, here is what I've changed or given up:

• I cannot do everything that everyone asks of me. I have to say no sometimes.
• Our house isn't clean, it isn't even tidy. It looks like a toy bomb went off in here.
• I am giving up on doing laundry once a week. It doesn't work.
• I cannot lose the weight I'm trying to lose; I don't have the time to do it properly.
• I forget to eat until I'm starving.
• I am giving up on crafting in my free time. I have no free time and no space.
• I've given up trying to keep up with blogs, email and Twitter. I call people when I have time.
• I am giving up on matching socks. I spend way too much time matching socks.
• I have given up trying to walk my dog every day. I do it three times a week.
• I give up trying not to carry my phone 24/7 and unplug. It's my lifeline.
• I give up doing things most evenings
• My free time (the little that exists) is freaking precious. It's okay to hoard some of those quiet moments for myself.
• I have given up on having a clean, organized car

I'm striking things from my list that are deemed as unimportant or not as worthy as my time, by hiring other people to do them or just giving up on them if they are not important to health or hygiene.

Christmas Traditions

Oh, that's right. I have a blog.

We had an epic adventure recently finding a Christmas tree. In our neck of the woods, it involves going out to the forest and chopping one down. Needless to say the trees aren't exactly picture-card perfect, but they are real.

We tromped out one particularly snowy day with toddler and doggie in tow to find the perfect tree. We ended up with a large blue spruce. In fact, when we came over, we realized the tree was actually taller than the garage (oops), so creative pruning was in order. Eventually it was able to fit into the house.

As another on-going Christmas tradition that we started this year, we took to the ice with our local arena's free Skate with Santa afternoon, and J got to take his first glide around with his daddy.

J loved the ice (quel surprise) and Daddy had a good time showing this future skating star the ropes. The event itself was awesome, and we bumped into several of our other young friends trying out the ice with their families too.

Unfortunately, on Christmas, we all came down with the flu, so suffice to say, we didn't take many pictures as we looked like zombies.

Due to our illness, things sure took us a lot longer than intended to put together - all of J's toys were "some assembly required!" We need to plan better for this for next year by having our toys/books etc for him wrapped and assembled before December so when the ones come in from our generous families we can be prepared and put those together too.

Doug received a few tools, a new gaming keyboard, a few video games and DVD's, some clothing, a few books and other things I'm probably forgetting.

I was overjoyed to recieve kobo ebook gift certificates, an AeroGarden (more on this), a cargo liner for my car (which I'm jazzed about), lots of clothes, books, and an ActiFry.

Together, we received a TV that we are hoping comes today at Sears. Our TV broke approximately 3 months ago and we've been doing without. I only miss it when I'm folding laundry and watching movies with Doug, but I admit it will be nice to have it back.

BUT more on the AEROGarden 7.... I started the seeds on December 27, so it's been about 2 weeks, and so far here is the result:

I'm growing an assortment of herbs and so far the Lemon Basil has just taken off and is growing the strongest.

I'm really excited to start seeds in it this year around March. There is a special seed starting tray for it, and I'm really enjoying watching everything grow while it is -15 C outside, it's nice to keep the green thumb alive!

Canoeing with a Toddler

We have been actively searching for things to do with our little family on our "days off", which are few and far between with two full time jobs, renovations, a busy toddler and a lovable border collie.

One of our local outdoor enthusiasts maintains an email list called "Peek a Week" that features different hikes and adventures you can participate in throughout the year. Although I follow it and am always intrigued at all the adventures, we had not yet participated. Luckily, one that came up was for a Family Canoe trip, with mention of boats being available, so our family jumped at the chance to get out on the water.

Of course, with a 14 month old, this provided to be an additional challenge and required a little more thought. I know some parents wouldn't even attempt this, but a challenge has never stopped or slow us down before.

Here's what we learnt:

1. Pack smart. Don't forget sit upons, beach towels, snacks, juice boxes/sippy cup, hats, sunscreen, extra set of clothes, water and snacks. Don't bring anything that you would be afraid to see wet (aka your phone or camera!) 
2. Sitting still is not a toddler. And this is one of the main parts about canoeing. Think about your child and how this goes together for your family. For us, I created a place between my legs, by my feet that J could sit comfortably, and I could help him if the need arose. It was also tall enough that he could stand on the padding and see over the boat, and see the other people who were with us on the trip.

3. Think about what you'd like to sit on. The bottom of a canoe gets chilly, and sometimes wet. You need to provide a place for your toddler to sit on. We took an old pillow, beach towels, and my yoga mat (repels wetness) and made a comfortable little nook by layering them on each other.

4. Provide distractions. J loved putting his hand in the water and letting it trail, although he wasn't quite tall enough to do so. We daisy chained some water proof toys together with teething rings, and used a carabiner to secure it. J could throw it overboard, and it would float along beside us. The rope that was attached to the canoe, we could do the same with. I didn't bring any toys I would be sorry to see at the bottom of the river. I imagine a milk bottle or pop bottle would float along with you well too! We also brought snacks and his sippy cup so that J could nosh on the go too.

5. Expect that they will fall in. Because they will. J managed to fall in in the last 3/4 of our journey, and that's why he was wearing a PFD (lifejacket). I expected he would do this, so I quickly dropped my paddle and pulled him out with the hook on his lifejacket. It was over in 3 seconds. He didn't even yell, because I had the towel ready and waiting, and he just got a mouthful of water. I had him dressed in his bathing suit & UV shirt, so he dried out quickly.

6. Expect the toddler may fall asleep. I'll admit it, if someone else was paddling, I'd fall asleep too. J did fall asleep around his regular nap time, and while we stopped for lunch, he dozed on. I used my lifejacket to prop him in the boat while he snoozed.

7. Know your skill. I admit, we did fall down a little bit on this one. We are fairly novice level canoers, and the first part of our journey, we had no problem once we got into a rhythm, however the end part of our journey involved whitewater and was a little above our comfort zone. We also tipped about 4 times. If we knew then what we know now, we probably would have taken the canoe out at the half way point. Without the help we had, this could have spelled disaster for  us, especially had we been alone.

All in all, it was a great family day out and everyone had a good time. We realized afterwards, we had paddled about 12 km by our rough estimating, so that was a great workout too!

I was so happy with how well we had all done, in September, Meagan and I went after a geocache that was on an island in one of the local lakes, and for this trip, we also took our border collie, Milton. God love the woman, she is the best activity partner I've ever had, and like me, she doesn't back down from a challenge either.

Here's what I learnt about caching and canoeing with a dog and a toddler:

 1. Use a dock if you can. We found lifting things in and out of the canoe using a dock was a lot easier. I could hand things into the boat to Meagan instead of having to wade out to it.

2. If you don`t know what the dog will do, put him in last. We worked a system where I handed J baby into Meagan, then I lifted in the dog. Meagan then lifted Jonas into the middle of the boat, and I lifted him between my legs. This worked until the dog scrambled out, so we re-started the whole procedure. Putting the dog in first would have not worked out for us.

3. Be prepared. I know, I mentioned this above, but this day was a lot colder on the water and I was grateful I had remembered a sweater for my small friend. He was also a little fussy so his Nuk came with us, and I was so glad to have stuffed it into my pocket. I frequently dipped it into the water, and this was very amusing for many dips.

4. Bring your leash. We didn`t leash our dog to the boat (in fact, I would never do this), however, we did have a jaunt on the other side  of the lake at the group camp site. You never know when you might need it.

5. Dog`s like footing. Canoes are pretty slippery,  we found this out in the first few minutes of the dog in a canoe. We had to speak to him and reassure him before he would relax in the boat, his toenails didn`t give him any grip. Next time, I might bring another yoga mat for my dog friend or a shower mat would work well too.

6. Relax! Dogs (and toddlers for that matter) will pick up on this if you are stressed. Fake it `til you make it, baby. We talked the while we were paddling and this helped relax everyone in the boat.

Til our next adventure! What is the craziest thing you`ve done with your toddler or dog.

Once upon a time... three years ago...

Once upon a time....we lived in Ontario.

We didn't have a dog, nor a toddler.

In fact, we didn't really even have a front or back yard. We didn't renovate our house (just a few little organizational projects).

It was just the two of us.

We spent a lot of time together, and spent a lot of time with our families.

Needless to say, life has changed a bit since then - those glorious days of sleeping in, brunch at Symposium, hugging our friends and relatives on a regular basis are no more.

3 years ago today, I married my best friend on our 5th anniversary of being together. It was an amazing day. I don't think either of us ever felt so supported or surrounded with such positive energy.

That being said, reviewing our wedding photos, we've lost some of our family and friends since then, through death, moving, and much other life events that have happened. I miss them dearly; and some of the photos made me cry a little.

Lately, life has been busy - and its been tough to make time for each other in light of all of the things that furry creature, and rapidly growing toddler need. But in thinking of where we are now, I have to think back to where we came from, those two people.

On the day of our wedding rehearsal, I received a phone call while I was literally standing at Camp Kawartha that would start the process to change our life in a direction we couldn't have anticipated. I was so excited that I was even being considered for a position in Alberta.

My partner in crime, D, to his credit, when I gave him all the details later, was remarkably cool and calm (one of his best features in my opinion, he's my rock). In the space of a month, we decided for our new little family, moving West was what we would do. We did not take this lightly.

We knew we would be 3,500 km away from all whom we hold dear. We knew that when we had issues or emergencies, we would only have each other to rely on.  We knew this would alter our relationships with families and friends, and that sadly, we would even lose some of those relationships because of our move. I think it speaks our families' character, and our own desire to start our own family that we took that plunge.

Maybe I don't say it enough, but I'm so proud to have D as my husband, partner, and best friend. I'm also now very proud to be a mom to J, who looks just like him.

Whirlwind Update

Things have gone a little off the rails for our family since Spring. We have been busy, and are trying hard to find our balance in every day versus our projects and spending time with each other. Anyone with kids will know, add in working and all the rest of the daily things you do, and sometimes it's near impossible to find a moment to yourself.

So... a whirlwind update....

-Mr J man started to walk, holy cow.... and then run.... and then throw everything off every surface he could reach.

-We gutted our living room in March. Since then, we have been living with it in a half finished state, which is great for playing in, albeit not the prettiest! (more on this coming).

-We applied for our second Eco-Energy grant, and got over $2,000 back from the Government.

-We watched two of our neighbours cut down 200 year old trees with sadness.

-JBaby turned "ONE"... holy man.

-We took a trip to Ontario that nearly ended in disaster, but managed to attend One Sweet Love's wedding, see a bunch of our people (including some new babies!), and hit both cottages. 

-Our garden produced mighty zucchinis, spinach and much more tastiness.

-We took our 14 month old canoeing (and everyone survived).

-I pickled 25 lbs of cucumbers single handedly.

-I took my first solo vacation as Mom down to Kelowna to pick up a bestie and see another bestie.

-The new local spray park opened and we had a blast!

-TONS of geocaching. Hit over 300 found!