Princess Magpie

Princess Magpie has been into beauty for a while.  Last Christmas she wanted things to do with hair styling, and this Christmas she wanted real adult makeup and nail polish.

Ever since she got it she has been practicing.  She puts makeup on Princess Snifflefritz and on herself.  She is getting pretty good too.  I can totally see her being a beautician when she grows up.

Here she trying Cleopatra makeup.

And this is me after I visited her 'beauty salon'.

First Snow

We had our first snow of the year today.   The girls were so excited and went directly out to play in it.

Making Me Smile

This was one of those days when I put puttered around moving a lot of things and fixing up random things.  Most of it is not very photogenic but I did want to share some parts that are making me happy.

I love this corner of our front porch.  

Watching the little girls spend hours at the desk in our playroom/classroom makes me happy.

I don't know why but the window ledge in our homeschool resource room makes me smile.

So glad we found our homeschool calendar and all its parts!

The pumpkins on our breakfast table makes feel all in the mood for the season.

The Kids Were Happy With This One

Today I got a good start on the playroom/ classroom.  I need more shelving and toys storage but I am happy with where it is so far.

This is looking from the classroom to the playroom.

This is looking from the door of the playroom to the classroom.

This is the TV watching nook

This is the little kitchenette.  It could use a coat of paint.

This is the toy storage.  It is all sorted, believe it or not.

This is the classroom. I haven't hung the chalkboard yet and I have pictures and things for the walls (here and in the playroom).

Well That's Another One Done.

Today I tackled the playroom/classroom and the dining room.  I still have a little ways to go in the playroom/classroom, but I am really pleased with the dining room.   I haven't gotten my pictures up, but the main peices are mostly where they are going to be.

I'm Loving It.

As I work to dig us out of boxes, I am struck by the beauty of the trees surrounding us.  This tree keeps catching my eye.  The orange is so pretty!

The girls are having fun finding things they can use to decorate their rooms.  They are loving having their own space to be but it is cute to see how much the little girls miss each other at night.  It will take a little getting used to.

This is how Princess Snifflefritz has decorated.

Princess Belle has settled in pretty well

Princess Magpie still needs a few of the things I have picked out for her.

HOLY COW!!

We are only five days away from the day the first truck comes to take our stuff to the new house (we are using two trucks)!! The countdown is on and I am both nervous and anxious for this to be over.  The girls are finding ways to entertain themselves as I continually pack more and more of their stuff. 

And I like to plan our new house.  I really see us staying their a long time and it is fun to try to decide what we are going to do.  Since this house has wood stoves, wooden beams and lots of that sort of character, I want to continue that in our bedroom.  Maybe because it if fall right now and the air is crisp, right now I am thinking that I want our room to be cozy and comfortable and to remind me a bit of a wood cabin feel.  That would appeal to Prince Charming since he doesn't tend to like the floral quilts I have been drawn to in the past. 

Here are some pictures I have found inspiring:

Not so bad

I am feeling so lucky, the repair man was completely reasonable and fixed our washer and it only cost us a little money!!!  We have had some unexpected expenses this month.  And on a month that we are moving, we could have done without it, but I think we will be just fine.  Planning helps prepare even for those things that you don't expect I guess. 

Kicking Butt!!

This little man is kicking Autism's button and surprising me every day.  Today he decided to eat "paghetti moonles" (spaghetti noodles)!!

This afternoon I cleaned his room, packed up a lot of his toys and gathered the rest of his clothes to wash and sort.  I am finished the checklist I made last Monday!!

GREAT!! Zipping Right Along

I am pretty proud of how much I got done today.  I am working hard and the work is Zipping right along!  The shed is empty, every item of clothes and most blankets have been washed, and the kitchen is pretty much packed!  It has been a LONG HARD process, but it is great to be getting it done.  Last stop . . . Little Prince's room.  It will be so nice to have a month left to go and be almost all ready to go!

Still in the Stacks

I can't believe  how much stuff we have stacked in that little leaky, buggy, yucky shed we have outside.  On the upside, I am working really hard today to get everything out of it and hopefully I will get it done today.  If not all the way today, tomorrow morning at the latest.  I am putting it all in stacks in the classroom and we are being overtaken by boxes in there! 

I am working on washing every item of clothing that my kids own and then sorting and through what will move with us and what will go to donations.  Here is the stacks of laundry so far!

I will say that working from breakfast until my body gives out every day makes me realize just how old I really am!!

Monday Madness

I spent the day packing for our move.  I am seeing progress which feels good.  And while yet another expense was added to my list today, I do feel like I am doing my best to get a handle on things.

The girls had an extra day off homeschool today to give me some time to pack and to make up for the fact that Little Prince didn't go to sleep until 10:30 this morning and a result this mommy is feeling exhausted and a little overwhelmed.

The girls took turns  helping pack and playing outside.

Yay! I can breath

Well, I am relieved.  The only suitable house here in town is not going to work out for us (there is a reason that in a place with so few rentals this place has been for rent for almost 2 years!!!)  and so Prince Charming and I discussed it and we are going to stop waffling around, I am going to stop feeling guilty and we are moving ahead with our original plan.  We are moving to the city as a joint decision.  It isn't my fault, I am not dragging us.  I am going to be near all the places and people I have missed and it may take time to get a place but that is okay, we know that however long it takes us, that is where we are going.  I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders.  I can breath.  We are going home to HRM, to all the old places and all our old friends and we are both okay with it. 

BTW, I am so happy!  So very happy!!!  I am so relieved!!!  I could do a dance!!!

Turning it Around

I know that yesterday was just awful.  I was heartbroken that my whole family was so upset about not moving into that house.  But today, I am feeling better for several reasons.

First of all, if someone is so completely hard to deal with when you are just trying to rent their house, they won't be easier to deal with when you are renting from them.  I don't want to feel like a guest in my own home and I am pretty sure that is how she would have made my feel. And truthfully, I don't need a horrible landlord in my life.
 

Secondly, when we lost that house the only thing I was sad about (other than my kids being sad) is that I wasn't going to be near my friends.  It clarified my priorities.  I miss my crew, I miss group trips to Costco and to the meat market, I miss Tupperware evenings, I mess girls nights out, I miss holiday meals together, I miss coffee turning up at my door when I am having a sleepless couple of days because of Little Prince. So in looking for a house that is safe for my family, I need to be near my friends.  Because, like the song says, "You can't make old friends".

Thirdly, the realization that I need to be near by friends, helped me pick a location that I wanted to move to.  It took some negotiations with Prince Charming but we have found some areas near the city that will be good for my family and good for me too.  The things is, when we moved here it was for everyone else, I kind of knew I would miss my people.  I gave it an honest try, and I really could stay here. I do like it here (it is truly lovely, I feel like I have been a year and a half vacation), but in staying here I would be compromising for my family like I usually do and just this once I want to be included in the list of priorities when we pick somewhere to live.

Losing that house and being so heartbroken over not being near my friends led to a conversation where I came clean about what I wanted.  So we are going to take our time and budget and plan and consider but in the end we are going to end up near the city.  I am happy to be near my favorite shops, my favorite festivals, my friends, easy transportation, lots of services for Little Prince and lots of conveniences for us all.  We cans still enjoy the waterfront, the water and the boardwalk we just get to enjoy the city while we are at it. 

Just a note, when we told the girls, they all danced around with excitement. They are completely excited and apparently missed the city too. All day long since we made the decision everyone has been coming up with things they are looking forward to about the city. 

I've been thinking

I have been thinking about how things work out the way they are supposed to.  For me things seem to fall into place how they should, I just have to have faith.  Even the bad moments, when I get through them lead to really good ones.

Like this new house.  If I had stayed in my last one with my wonderful neighbors, I would never had looked outside Yarmouth for a new home.  The house wasn't right, (it wasn't safe for Little Prince and there was NO storage) but it wasn't bad enough to force me to really need to get out.  This house we are in now has really low rent, so I can save money, but it is so completely hideously ramshackle, unsafe and slum-like that I REALLY needed to get out.  This house broke my heart so much that I was willing to look outside Yarmouth, outisde the lack of housing here, to find something better.  And because of that, I did something I wouldn't have done at our old house.  I looked around the province just to check out the availability of houses big enough to fit our large family and our special needs.  And in an unexpected way, I found a home that perfectly suits us and our dreams.  It is in the country, it is large, it has lots of room for my kids to play, it is safe, it is well-built and it is lovely.  I would never have found that here in a price range I can afford and because of how bad this house is, I found it for my family.

That being said, I don't feel like this house was a mistake, it was simply a stepping stone to better things to come.  My children will enjoy a house where they can make noise if they want, with a yard they can play in, with a beach across the road, a yard to play in, trails to walk, and farms nearby to visit.  I am honestly excited about this step in our future.

Another bonus about this house is that is only half a hour from a big town and only an hour and a half from the big city.  I can load the kids up and we can go to town for fun adventures.  We can enjoy the festivals, our friends, the shops, all the good things about the city and then drive home to our farm in the country.