Time to Get Organized!

I have always found it difficult to accept the passage of time without regret that I haven't done more and been more.  I frequently reflect on what has been and what I've done.  More often then not, it motivates me to do differently in the future.  Sometimes I am successful; sometimes I have to try again.  And again.

2014 is now over six weeks old.  Whether one is given to setting resolutions or goals on New Year's Eve or not, there is something about a new calendar year that instills reflection and planning.  I'm not sure many people can truly escape the nostalgia that presents itself as the clock counts down on December 31.  Then that magical second between 11:59 pm and 12:00 am strikes and provides us unadulterated freedom to begin re-writing our own story.  A clean slate, if you will.  A moment is taken, whether willingly or unwillingly, to reflect upon our accomplishments, disappointments, happy and sad times.  It's a moment to speak to ourselves and make the promise of trying, once again, to do and be the best we can.

This year I determined to change my perspective even though I don't usually make resolutions.  I have always liked to be somewhat of a bohemian drifting with a come-what-may-for-the-day attitude.  However, with a large family to manage, a home that needs tending and work that has deadlines, how can I seriously continue to live in my bohemian bubble?  Oh sure, it was fine when there were mostly babies and toddlers in the house, but school has changed that.

I have spent a lot of time reflecting and have set some (ehh hmm) goals.  Aak!  I can't believe I am actually saying this!  I am NOT a goal-setter!  I'm not an organized, everything-in-its-place house manager.  I'm just not, it doesn't resonate well with me since I've never done it.  But for quite awhile now I've been looking at what is not working in my habits and our home.  It comes down to this: organization.  So, whether I like it or not, I will have to become organized.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I love the idea of organization!  My hurdle is that I don't know how to get there.  So, I've looked at the advise of what works for some fellow bloggers.  I've questioned my sister-in-law who, in my eyes, is the queen of getting it done and making it work.  I pinned anything I found online on Pinterest so I could find it again when I needed it.  And I have talked it over and over and over again with my very patient husband.

One day, not long ago, I took the plunge and started.  I actually took time to write out the many thoughts whirling through my mind to consolidate them into a list of goals.  I printed off some worksheets and guidelines I think will help keep me on track.  And to top it all off, I compiled all of these into a "household binder" so I can easily access it and use it.

Now I'm taking it one step further.  I am typing this out for others to read when they stumble upon my words either by choice or by chance.  Now I am accountable to at least attempt implementing these changes.  I have known for so long they are necessary but, due to both reluctance to change on my part and circumstances that I couldn't change, I have not yet begun. 

But what better time is there than now?  Tomorrow is a fresh new day ahead of me without any mistakes, disappointments or failed attempts written on its pages yet.  (Thank you Anne Shirley!)

A Canadian Winter

Snow!  It's definitely what winter is all about this year.  Snow and cold.  A true Canadian winter with piles of deep snow, huge snowbanks and plenty of snowstorms.

Personally, I like being storm-stayed at home when the winter winds are howling and the lake effect snow squalls are, well, squalling.  The forced isolation is a nice reprieve from the constant expectations of daily life.  It's an extra holiday from school for the boys.  Lovely wood heat makes our house cozy.  We are all tucked safely at home without anywhere to go or anyway to get there.


Near the beginning of January the first massive storm system moved through our area and shut everything down.  It extended the Christmas vacation from school for an additional three days.  The temperatures were a numbing -25º C (-13º F) with a windchill of at least -35º C (-31º F).  The snow piled up deeper and deeper.

When it finally stopped storming, it was time to dig out.  Friday afternoon Nicholas was already outside helping Daddy clear the deck when the big boys got off the bus.  Before they had time to get out of their snow clothes I sent them out to help shovel.  Under daddy's supervision, they worked hard dumping snow over the railing where a snow ramp formed from the ground below to the top of the deck railing.  Shovels were quickly abandoned to be replaced by sleds when they realized what they had constructed.  Daddy held the sleds in place while they scrambled up, over and on so they could fly down the ramp, across the backyard all the way to the edge of the trees.

Dylan and I watched through the sliding doors in the kitchen while I made applesauce pop tarts.  They were a yummy treat added to the expected cup of hot chocolate when they all finally came in. 

Although we hadn't set out to teach the boys a life lesson that day, they experienced the satisfaction and joy of playing on something built by their own hard work.  Weeks later the ramp is still there waiting to be used whenever it's not snowing too heavily, blowing too hard or just too cold to be outside playing. 

My New Year Begins Tomorrow

The first day of 2014 is winding down.  Boys are in bed, dishes are done.  The busyness of the holiday season is officially over.  I sat drinking a cup of steaming tea while the Christmas tree lights still twinkled.

Tomorrow I will truly begin this new year.  I will fold the baskets of clothes that have sat unfolded these last days.  I will sort and put away the gifts still scattered beneath the tree.  I will sort out the pile of winter coats, skates, helmets and boots littered in the entrance.  I will once more begin the laundry cycle to rid our rooms of the mountains of unwashed clothes.  I will plan the meals we will eat for the last few days of the boys' vacation from school.

Tonight I will just sit and enjoy.  I will reflect on the year we left behind with the stroke of midnight barely 24 hours ago.  I will think of the happiness reflected on the faces of my boys as they enjoyed the wonder of the holiday.  I will make mental notes of how to accomplish it all in a more timely, less stressful way next year.

Memories were made.  Happiness was given and received.  Wonderful food was eaten.  The holidays were celebrated with family and friends.

Tomorrow I will start my new year and all the fullness that life will bring each day.  Today I will embrace the year we just made wonderful with laughter and music and smiles and hugs.

Creativity, Recycling and Stuff

There is a randomness to creativity that shapes something wonderful into being from where there was once only stuff.  One never knows what may trigger a creative impulse to spring forth.  Part of the beauty of creativity is that it isn't only about the finished piece.  Instead, it is mostly about the act of doing, of following the ebb and flow of ideas, trial and error, and ultimately to finish with a sense of completion.

Creativity abounds in our house!  Imagine the multitude of things that can come into being when there are so many busy little minds whirling with ideas.  ALL the time.  It truly is a beautiful thing.  However, there are times that the creative juices just overtake the house, and not in a good way.  But that is all fixed when we have clean-up time and things go back where they started and are ready for the next round.

We have an overstuffed craft corner where the boys are free to paint, cut up paper, play with play dough, glue, colour, stamp, whatever takes their fancy.  I add things as I find them knowing that someday it will be just the perfect bit for someone's something.  I love it.  It is where a lot of this creativity is brought to realization.  But I hate it too; it's always a messy mess with the bits spilling on the floor where they are left.  Believe me, they are not limited to only the stuff in the craft corner.  As long as they ask, they can make use of most things that inspire them.

Morgan has discovered the art of recycling.  Not putting cans and boxes into the recycling bin to be recycled, but instead using the cans and boxes from the recycling bin to re-create into some thing.  I have said many times "Morgan, sometimes recycling just needs to be recycling!"  However, I was quite impressed with his use of recycling for this project. I'm not sure I can say he has "re-purposed" the box, but he certainly re-created it.  He was so proud of his pinata!



Despite all the mess and bits and stuff, I wouldn't change a thing!  Creativity is such a part of who my boys are and I embrace and encourage it in each one of them.  After all, what would our house be without all the stuff?

Finally FIVE!

Waiting is not easy when you are four.   And yet it seems there is always something you have to wait for - wait your turn, wait for your little brothers, wait for mommy to finish, wait for your big brothers and daddy to come home.  Probably the hardest is that you have to wait until your birthday so you can become the magical age of FIVE!

Evan and his "cake"

Evan has been waiting a really long time for the day to finally arrive.  Sometime during the night of November 23, while his eyes were closed, that magic happened.  In the morning when he opened his eyes and said good morning to mommy he was no longer a little boy of four, but was instead a big boy of FIVE.  He giggled with giddiness when I said "Happy Birthday" to him and kissed his sweet cheek.


To make it even better, we made it "the weekend of Evan".

Birthday Fun!

Saturday was the birthday party day when he invited four of his little friends and Nicholas to celebrate with him.  Of course, when you have four brothers all of them are part of the fun.  However, Evan was very specific that Nicholas was an invited guest.

Cupcakes and Christmas ornaments

 All of my boys love making stuff so I wasn't surprised when Evan asked to decorate cupcakes at his party.  I think all of them enjoyed the glittery-gluey mess of decorating the ornaments too.  It took the promise of snacks to stop the running, but once they started it was also fun making a lovely birthday party mess.

November 24

Sunday, November 24, was his actual birthday.  We followed our family tradition of having the birthday boys' choice of supper (Evan chose pizza) and giving him our gifts.  After the big party the day before, we spent the cold, wintry day watching movies, playing in the snow and eating popcorn.

Although the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow the day he was born, I told him that not every year will have enough snow for sledding on his birthday.  I clearly remember bundling up in snow pants that barely fit and pulling not-quite-2-year-old James and Morgan in their sled during the days before Evan was born.


Five years can bring so many wonderful things.  Evan has brought joy, laughter and sweetness to our lives.  He is my little buddy and I am so blessed that he is my son.  You made it Evan!  You are Finally FIVE!

Lazy Eggs

Just in the dining room there is a lovely selection of recipe books handy for me to peruse anytime I feel compelled to try something different.  Some of these books tell a story of familiarity as they fall open to pages marked with splatters and notations that transform a recipe from just a dish to a delectable dish.  There are others though that have only scribbles of disappointment.

I love cooking.  I love recipes.  I especially enjoy trying new recipes.  There is gratification in presenting a mixture of ordinary ingredients made wonderfully different than how we've had it before.  But I have noticed that I am leaning more toward recipes and food choices that allow me to simplify.  I am truly appreciating easy preparation, fewer steps and basic ingredients.  In this transition from complexity to relative ease, I am surprised to find our meals are generally better as they are less stressful to get on the table.

Recently Sunday's pizza night could not be when Luke had a workshop to attend that evening.  Instead, I tried this recipe and it has become a favorite in our home.  We call them Lazy Egg since I saw a similar one on Pinterest named that.  It's easy and fairly quick using whatever ingredients are on hand.  The ingredients are layered in a sprayed muffin tin and baked in the oven so that the eggs are all done at the same time.

Ready for the oven.

Lazy Eggs Or Muffin Tin Ham & Eggs

Ingredients
Ham - 2 slices per muffin cup pushed down to make a well
choice of chopped veggie: spinach, mushrooms, tomato, peppers, onion, or whatever else you have on hand
optional: grated cheese or bacon bits
egg - 1 egg per muffin cup cracked and poured in the center of the well
salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
Place ingredients in each muffin cup in the order listed above. 
Bake for 12-15 minutes until done to your taste. 
Pop them out of the muffin tin and serve with toast.


I made as many as I had slices of ham here.  This left a few that weren't consumed so I stored them in the fridge and they warmed up nicely the next day.

Ready to eat.

Sunny-side up eggs for a family of seven are not the most timely egg choice since I am only able to cook a few at a time.  I have yet to succeed in getting enough to the table for everyone while they are all still warm and the yolks soft.  Yet we all enjoy a dipping egg and eating together.  With this recipe, my timing issues are of no concern since every egg comes out of the oven cooked perfectly at the same time. I take them out of the oven when the whites are set but still slightly soft so they are perfect by the time they get to everyone's plate.

I believe the boys all agree this recipe is a keeper.
  

My Sleeping Baby

His face is transformed from mischievous cutie to that of an angel.  His cheeks are soft pillows for his long, blonde eyelashes to rest on.  His even breaths in and out are rhythmic.  His hands are pliable in their relaxation; fingers gently curled.  His warmth seeps through his sleeper into my skin.  There is tranquility in holding my sleeping baby. 

From the moment I hear him awake in his crib until I finally place him there again at night, his motion is constant.  He is 15 months of energy and life and love and kisses.  He has four big brothers to keep up with.  He has so much world to explore.  He has conquered the climbing-of-the-chair, so he stands on them triumphantly.  He touches EVERYTHING his little arms can stretch to grab; if he can't reach it, he simply climbs up to get it.  He thinks what he does is ever-so-funny, so he does it again, and again.  He sits in the middle of anything his brothers are doing; literally in the middle.  He empties the recycling bin onto the floor repeatedly.  He helps.  Oh my, but he loves to help.

And then finally, at the end of the day when he has tired from touching and climbing and laughing and doing, he lies still on my lap for a moment.  Sometimes he is still long enough to fall asleep.  In that moment I don't care that the dishwasher still has to be filled and put on, or that the floor still needs to be swept, or that lunches still have to be finished, or that a load of folded laundry still needs to be put away.  I just sit.  I watch him sleep.  I absorb his baby warmth.  And every challenge of the day is forgotten because I am holding my sleeping baby.  I am content.