Siding Update

We've nearly finished the siding now. I think Curt said there are 19 rows left on the East wall. Curt has gone back to work this week so we are back to working only evenings & weekends. We should hopefully finish up the siding this weekend. We are both exhausted, more Curt than me I'm sure, since he was outside working more than me. Its alot of work going every day like that. Curt felt like he was sleeping in each day by getting up at 7:30 rather than 5:30 but with Kyle here there wasn't much sitting around in the am. They worked 8-5 or 6 every day and most days it was below zero until close to lunch time. Working outside in the cold is not fun, I generally just got misserable being out there when it was cold. If I wore my rubber boots I felt like I was walking on ice and if I wore my shoes my feet got wet & cold. Once my feet were cold my whole body was cold and I got grouchy. If I rememberd to put an extra layer on I was usually ok but since it is March and not December it wasn't my first instict to layer up. I would have to say that siding in March is not ideal. It would have been much easier if it was 25'C outside and dry around the house but we just want to reach that magic 97% done and it will be a great to cross this big one off the list.

It was a treat to have Curt home for the two weeks, I know the girls really enjoyed it. Every time the door would open Luca would say "Dada?" Nice to see him in the morning and at lunch.

This week I have to catch up on all the things that were left undone. Yesterday was a huge grocery shoping trip, and today is the house. I have the task of finding my house under the mess that was created. I was either busy trying to help of I figured why bother, another round of mud is just going to come into the house in a couple hours. Today is the day to get the mud out and get it all cleaned up.

I'll post a picture of the front later today.

Half Way There

We have now completed over half of the siding. I shouldn't say we since I haven't been much help outside. These two girls of mine sure take a lot of time, energy & attention. When I did try to get outside I spent more time getting the girls all dressed up in their outside spring attire (mud pants, boots, coat, possibly mitts & toque depending on the temp) and then undressing them and cleaning the mud off any exposed parts when we came inside than I did helping the guys. My prissy little girls did not like having mud on their hands and needed their hands cleaned promptly when they realized they were dirty. I think they will come around to playing in the mud, they better because that will be their outside life for this spring.


I did get a couple days outside to assist thanks to each Grandma for taking a day to watch the girls. It has been great to have Kyle here helping Curt, well worth the money. This is definitely a two man job and we would barely be started if he wasn't here. Plus we've learned a few building tricks from him so that's a bonus.

The mud hasn't been much fun to work in, we are all carrying an extra 10Lbs on each foot and everything is covered in mud. The dump of snow yesterday really didn't help either. It was just starting to dry up around the house and now it is mud city once again.

An Ode to Jode

Stats

Leather Paws

Grandpa Jody

Papa Jode


Happy Birthday Dad

Siding / Anniversary Wishes

Today we start back to work on the house. The Siding has been delivered and Curt has the next 2 weeks off work to put it up. We have a helper coming out since siding isn't really a one man job especially the fiber cement board that we're using and I have to tend to the girls and can't be out helping the whole time. Having a paid helper will keep us working, no lazy mornings and late starts with lots of breaks, its back to the grind. I'm excited to see some progress again, especially something big and visual like siding however I don't really want to do the work. Right now I feel like a kid and in my head I'm saying "I don't wana go to work" I'm sure once we get going I'll be OK. Every project we finish gets us one step closer to done.

Happy Anniversary to my Mom & Dad today!
Look at all you've made.

Bags

I am thinking I need a new bag solution. I left the house the other day with my girls myself and bags. I had the diaper bag, the snack bag, an extra bag containing library books and outgoing mail and the stack of empty cloth grocery bags to be returned to the van. All those bags and I forgot just one more... my purse. I had my big weekly grocery trip planned for the day and no money. I really didn't want to have to drive home to get my purse and then back to town, it would have wasted a half hour driving time and then we would have to have lunch at home before returning and I would be grocery shopping during nap time and the shopping trip would be even less enjoyable. Thankfully Curt works in town so I was able to go get some money from him. I get so frustrated when I forget things or can't find things and it seems to be happening alot lately. I need to get everything organized!

I think I need to start carting less things back & forth to the van. I don't know about the whole diaper bag. Right now it holds a spair outfit for Nollie and a diaper & outfit for Luca at the least. Maybe I should just keep this in the van and save myself packing it back & forth every trip because generally it doesn't even get touched. Sometimes, however I need to pack more diapers and extra panties & pants for Nollie if we're going for a long day out or PJ's if it will be a late night. What would I do if the bag was in the van and I needed extras? I've started using a seperate snack bag wich includes a Nollie & Luca's water bottles and a snack. I could put this into the diaper bag (I used to) but I don't really need to bring the whole diaper bag into play group any more for diapers or changing clothes so if we have a seperate bag I can leave the daiper bag in the van and only get it if the need arises and bring the snack bag inside. Usually I get Nollie to carry the snack bag anyway. My purse is just a small little thing right now, big enough to hold my wallet and that's it. Now my wallet is a bit of a monstrosity holding all the cards that I really don't use but maybe I will, however that's another story. I kinda like the small purse right now because it keeps me from carrying extra stuff that I don't need. My purse gets hung on the hanger with my coat so I generally don't forget it. I then have a pile of stuff that doesn't fit into any other bag but needs to come with me so I grab another cloth tote bag and fill it with outgoing mail, library books to be returned, movies to be returned, my coffee cup or water bottle etc. So on a simple trip I'm leaving the house with four bags. Oh don't forget the camera. If anything eventfull may happen I also cart the camera bag/box. I don't pick up the camera the whole trip and then I cart it back into the house. Seems a bit ridiculous. I know Curt would be quick to tell me it is. Maybe If I started using a bigger purse I would have room for more odds & ends like outgoing mail or snacks. Perhaps this means I need to buy a new bag, the perfect bag, or make one, with new fabric and a new pattern. Oh no, I think rather than organizing I may be shopping.

Happy Birthday Mama

Lyd-Mar

Mother

Grandma

Happy Birthday

Mothehood Is...Finding Balance

Sew Liberated is doing a series of posts in the theme of "motherhood is..." I loved this one by Maya of maya*made. So simple, so true. Motherhood is...finding balance.

Hope you're finding balance today.

25 Years A Sister

Happy Birthday to my Sister Courtney.

Thank you for your outgoing nature, your caring heart,

your beautiful smile, your thoughtful spirit,

your listening ears, your observant eyes,

for exaggerating everything & keeping us laughing.

We Love You!

We've Got Worms!

I got our worms today for our vermicompost and I'm so excited. I started with your basic Rubbermaid Tote, not too deep since the red wigglers are surface dwellers. I washed it out since the bin was in my basement and I have no idea what all has been in it. I drilled holes all over it with the smallest bit I could find in our house. Holes on the bottom for drainage and on the top & sides for aeration. In theory the worms could probably fit through the holes but it is in there best interest not to so I doubt they really will. I put the bin on a lid from another bin to catch any moisture that leaks out. For bedding I choose shredded newspaper since I happen to have a pile of it right now. I ripped the newspaper in to shreds, soaked it in water and then rung it out so it wasn't too wet. The worms need a damp environment to live. I then put in some fruit & veggie scraps and put the worms ontop. I covered them up with dry shredded paper and put the lid on. Done. My intention is to get a stacking system going so that when the worms have been working away for a while and have a good amout of castings I will remove the dry paper and put second bin with large holes in the bottom of it right inside the first one and start feeding the top bin. Eventually the worms will all work their way up to where the fresh food is and I can use my fertile compost from the bottom bin without removing all the worms. I'll let you know how it all goes.

Without The Web

Our internet air card died last week and I have spent the last week without my favorite addiction. I was nervous but it was actually no problem at all. Knowing the internet was not there I did not feel the pull to just check one thing and then get stuck staring at the screen looking at all the cool things I could be doing but not actually doing them. I'm not sure exactly what I did in the last week. Work on the house? Nope. Spring cleaning? Nope. My sewing machine did make a few appearances on my kitchen table and I managed to finish this cute little apron for Nollie. Of course we had to make a batch of cookies as soon as it was done to test it out.
I'm glad to be back online and excited to keep crafting.