a rainy Wednesday

A cup of green tea, a break from school and a rainy Wednesday morning is the perfect time to update my blog. There is a lot going on and a the same time not much at all, kind of a weird feeling. We are very busy trying to get all the little jobs done to get the house on the market, the real estate agent said she could show it any time but we'd (mostly me) would like to have things in a neat orderly state....I just think better when that happens.

On Monday, Michael spent the whole day cleaning out the garage....I should have taken before and after pictures but I forgot. It really does look much better, this morning was a 'big' garbage day so we were able to put out all the unwanted things that we can't normally put out. We still have a few things that have to go to the envirodepot, left over paint, a broken VCR etc. They won't take that stuff with the normal garbage so we have to take it ourselves. There is also a slew of cardboard to be broken down and bundled. I don't know why we let it get out of hand but now it looks better and I can breathe a little easier. Next is the basement, which for some reason is always hard to manage. As Michael says 'How do you eat an elephant? One mouthful at a time.' Wallace doesn't really get that but I am sure he will as he faces challenges in life.

Yesterday Wallace played the piano in the Lunenburg Music Festival. He played Andante in G major, which is also one of his pieces for his Grade 1 Conservatory Exam in June so it was good practice. I don't think he was that nervous but it was good to have him hear others play it too, that way he gets to understand what his teacher means when she is instructing him. He tied for 3rd place. He was pleased, so was I.

The boys are back into swimming lessons, this time they are on Sunday afternoons which means for the first time in about 2 years Michael is able to come with us. Wallace is in level 7 and is doing very well, he appears to be the strongest swimmer in his class and the most willing. Michael was impressed with how much he has improved. When we move we will have to have him tested to be placed because he has done all his swimming in a pool that is only 5 ft deep and he can touch if he needs too. I am sure the next pool will be both deeper and bigger and I think that might a mental hurdle, I could be wrong....been wrong before will be wrong again.

We finally figured out how to get John into the pool and enjoy it.....are you ready for this.....goggles. Michael suggested it. He was so right. Wallace's teacher who is a good friend gave John a pair, we brought them home, practiced in the tub and when we went back on Sunday it made all the difference in the world. He put his head under the water, and didn't seem to care when the other children were splashing. Water in his face has been such a hang up for so long I can hardly believe that something so simple could make such a difference. He isn't able to do all the other things that are expected but I think that will come, now that he can relax and not worry about the water in his eyes. Micheal said that John grinned the whole time he was in the pool, he was so proud of himself.

Well that is the update for now, we have to get back to spelling and the rest of school. Anyone know of a good writing program for someone in grade six, we want to start writing papers, stories and essays. It has to be basic and have a strong teacher component because this is not this teachers strong suit.

Today's Pictures

This is the weather we had today.....the flakes were the size of loonies.....we had this for about 10 minutes, then hail for 10 minutes, then sun shine for 10 minutes and back to sleet.

The weather was crazy and my sinus' were wreaking havoc in my head.
This was Michael's job for today.....we always do this to ourselves....we think the job is small.....it is just a floating floor in an 8 by 10 foot room....how hard can it be?
Then you realize that you have remove the washer and the dryer, lift the sink (it didn't have have shut offs so we couldn't remove it), remove baseboard, and door molding and the piece of wood that joins the hard wood floor in the hall to the old vinyl floor.
Michael worked hard all day...except for going out for lunch....but now its done and the washer and dryer are back in place and all we have to do is paint the baseboard and molding.
I think it looks great. I hope Bailey won't be able to dig a through it any time soon.

A conversation about Fair Trade

We as a family usually dwell mostly on the true meaning of Easter but there is always a little bit of chocolate and usually an egg hunt in there as well. This year we had an extra conversation about where the chocolate in our chocolate bunnies and eggs came from and what the money we were spending was actually supporting. It was quite an enlightening discussion. In our research we found out about the slave labour farms in the Ivory Coast. Wallace was very upset to think that boys his age were forced into slave labour. The conclusion that we came too was that we as a family would only buy Fair Trade chocolate, cocoa and coffee. Michael made a good point about rather doing without than making a child suffer and just because we don't see that child suffering doesn't mean it isn't happening and now that we know our conscience can no longer be clear when purchasing these goods. Do these things cost a little more? Cost to who, can one really put a price on a child's life?

So this year, since our decision was so new and I haven't yet been able to find Fair Trade Easter candy, their chocolate consisted of a few large chocolate bars. They really didn't seem to mind.

On a lighter note and to illustrate John's complete lack of understanding of the aforementioned conversation, today we were at the Pastor's house for dinner and when his wife served the dessert, of ice cream cake, he said, "Miss Sharon, is this Fair Trade ice cream?" We chuckled and had to give the back ground to the question.

This is where we started our investigation, maybe you'd like to do the same.

another Dentist trip

We had a very busy day....it is only 20 to 8 and I feel done in. John had a follow up dental appointment at 9 am in the city so we left the house at 10 to 8 and for a homeschooling family who lazily starts each morning it was like trying to be out of the house by 5 am. John was called in shortly after 9 and was all happy and ready to go, we showed the dentist where his mouth was hurting and she said it was probably just a molar trying to erupt rather than an infection in one of the teeth he already has. She then prepped him for a mold....the empty hole where she extracted the tooth needs a spacer. I've had molds done, and I've been with Wallace when he has had them done, but I was not prepare for the scene John would display. We told him it would feel funny but he had to stay still. It took the dentist, the dental assistant and myself to hold him down and he still fought and screeched. Michael said that he heard it out in the waiting room and it is no small dental office. He got himself so worked up that he threw up, and his eye were covered with petechiae. They believe that they got a decent mold....we'll have to see is what the dentist said. I hope it is OK because I don't want to go through that again. It was rather embarrassing.

After we were done there and since we were in the city we went over to Home Depot to look at flooring for our laundry room. The dog has scratched a hole in the flooring and into the sub flooring....she a good dog but has this one ridiculous nervous habit. We found an industrial floating floor, called Allure tile, I just tried to find an image to show you but I couldn't fine one I'll have to take a picture after Michael get it installed. Hopefully he will be able to do that this weekend.

Then home to do some school.

Then to town, a 30 min drive, for a medical appointment, grocery shopping, the office supply shop, and the music store to pick up John's next music book which wasn't in stock so I have to go back before his lesson next Monday.

Then home to put the groceries away.....Thank you Michael!!.....and make supper, steak fajitas and salad.

Then clean up from dinner, bathe John and put him to bed and that brings me to this point....falling asleep as I type. Tomorrow is a mostly home day, just the library, a visit form a friend and Olympians. I...must....go...to....bed....early.

The house

The master bedroom, has a walk in closet.

John's room, it also has a walk in closet as well as the 'toy' closet that you see.

The up stairs bathroom.

Wallace's room. It is the smallest at 10'x 10'.

The Den.

The living room.

The kitchen.

The veiw from the back yard.

The view as you come up the driveway.

We are trying to get the house ready to sell. Today I took photo's of each of the rooms except the main floor bath and the basement. What do you think, anything need to be changed.....I'm not talking about major reno or even paint, I'm talking about furniture placement etc. The only picture of the outside that I could find were taken last spring before the greenery around the front had really bloomed and the back view has John in it....no he doesn't come with the house.

It is good to be back....

but I miss home. I just wish that I could visit more often. Hey wait a minute that will soon be happening, Lord willing.

While I was a home, Mom, Dad and I drove to the new city to scope out the neighbourhood that we hope to make home. It is nice, but not too high class. It is close to lots of things, and by close I mean within a 20 min walk or a 5 minute drive. It is close to a mall with a grocery store, close to library and community center, close to the church we hope to be attending and a school if we ever need one. It seems like a pretty good place and the homes are affordable as long as we get a decent price for this one.

I have enjoyed my home here, it is lovely and in a beautiful setting but I have missed the conveniences of having every thing close by. I guess I am a city girl at heart......wonder if there is someway to countrify my small space in the city, then I can have the best of both worlds.

Making my Home a Haven Week 2

Tammy's post this week is about setting a bed time so that we will be better able to function/ thrive the next day. She asked what would be a good bed time considering family, schedule and individual needs. I came up with 10 pm. I am going to endeavour to stick to it this week. That means the t.v. and the computer should be turned off earlier in the evening and the knitting must also be put down. Can I do it? I'll report back next week and let you know how I did.