Shrinking My Footprint

Since moving out to the country and becoming a full-time homemaker, I've become more sensitive to the impact my family and I leave on the environment. I've been working, slowly, at incorporating energy conscious, waste reducing habits into our lives. I know we could do better, but at least I'm actively trying to be more green.

(1) (<-- picture of the compost bin I want Mark to build) The biggest thing for us, that Mark still resists, is composting our household waste. I try not to buy paper towels, but I don't feel as bad when they go into the compost bin instead of the garbage when I do use them. I've found a remarkable amount of "garbage" that now goes into my little white garbage can in the kitchen that I use as temporary compost storage. I get giddy as I watch it fill!




(2) I've reduced our use of chemical cleaners for the house. I still have some around, but I'm weaning myself off of them slowly. My favorite replacement is good ol' vinegar and water (check out http://www.versatilevinegar.org/usesandtips.html). It cuts through anything, and I honestly love the smell after washing my floors. Clean, without that industrial irritation that I always used as the "clean" standard.



(3) We have big plans for a substantial vegetable garden this year. It's going to be alot of work (part of my weight-loss plan, no joke), but it will help us cut our purchase of non-local groceries, not to mention the taste of fresh produce is incentive alone!

I'm a bit nervous to be honest, about how much weeding will be required. We're planning on using organic methods as much as possible - no pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer etc. We'll see how it goes!








(4) Over the next few years, I plan on replacing all the lawn turf around the house and along the driveway with certified native grasses, shrubs and flowers. I know to some it may look a bit messy, as it will not be the immaculate green carpet of lawn to which we've all grown accustomed. The prairie garden will serve a few purposes: Low maintenance, environmentally sustainable, butterfly & moth habitat, native plants conservation, uniqueness. It's going to be a big multi-year project for me and I can't wait to get started!

Choosing the road less travelled...

I've always been a bad sheep. I don't follow very well, and if I must (as there are times we all must be followers), I try to do so in a way that I'm still different even if it's only in my own little mind. (A scary place to wander indeed)

Some big decisions and changes in my own and my family's life again is proof of my unconscious choices to be different:

1. Stay At Home Mom

Ok, ok, I'm not inventing something new here obviously! But how many of you know Moms who work when the babies are babies.. then transition to home full-time when the children start school?

Backwards? Not in CeeCee land!!

We have reasons, but it is humorous to see the reactions from people trying to figure out why we have made this move now. I don't even try to explain that it took me 6 years of marriage and two children now out of diapers to decide I like being domestic and want to do it full-time...

2. New family dog

So we move to the acreage and decide we want a guard dog. Nothing out of the ordinary there... so I complicate it and pick a breed that has few breeders in this area. Why? Just look at him! Now that's different.

Ok, ok.. again, there are other very good reasons we(I) chose this breed, but it does help that he's so different. (Poor, poor Buster - we're going this weekend to pick up his replacement).

3. Cattle

So with our new acreage I can finally have a few cattle once again. Grass fed, natural (hormone free) beef to put in the freezer is something that interests me greatly. I could walk, literally, down my driveway and buy cheap cows or heifers to realize this goal. But nooooooo... I want Highland Cattle! If you need to know why click the pic, there's more adorable pictures and breed history. (They are healthier beef in addition to being so cute).

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It's me and my family showing our personality and way of life. We're different, and I like it. Do you purposely make yourself different? I'd love to hear it! (I won't feel so alone, ha!) If you post it on your blog, send me an email or comment your address so I can link it here for everyone to see. Perhaps we can find some common ground in our differences, eh?

Finally Catching My Breath

I think finally, we're getting back to our new normal!! The last 3 weeks has been more hectic than I had even expected, and to top it off we've had a couple drama incidents just add to add extra flavour.

I was supposed to be done work on October 31, however I have had to change my plans and am now juggling what I can for work hours while keeping the kids full-time. Why? I had to fire the babysitter and I'm just not going to look for another one. We've had to much trouble and stress over babysitters so it's time to just be done.

Here's the story:
Conner's bus picks him up from his babysitter's house anywhere between 8:05 to 8:10am. Normally, I have the kids there before 8, so Conner goes inside for a few minutes before the bus comes. On Tuesday, I arrived at just after 8, so I told Conner to stand at his pick-up spot and I let his sitter know he was outside when I took Robyn in. We didn't talk long because she was trying to keep quiet so her children didn't wake up.

Zoom forward 35 minutes. I get a call from the school that Conner had missed his bus, and that some stranger driving by had picked him up from the curb because he was crying and cold. She gave me a cell phone number to call. I immediately called to find out that the lady had actually returned Conner inside to the house - after waiting with him and walking back to her house to get a kleenex for his running nose. She admonished me for dressing my son so poorly and then I thanked her for her help. (I was in a bit of a panicked state of mind with worry for my boy) I left work and raced to the sitter's to find him inside, still very upset. I basically ripped the poor girl's face off when she started going on about the bus not picking him up. She couldn't understand why I was so upset that 1. she didn't know he had missed the bus 2. he had been crying all by himself outside and 3. she didn't immediately call me

I got Conner to school, thankfully and he had a pretty decent day considering. Phew. So many things could have happened, my stomach was in knots the rest of the day and all of the next; I feel it roll every time I think about how scared and alone he felt.

People have asked, well why didn't he just go to the house? And I can see their point, but it shows how very little other people know my son. Other children may have done that, and they may also have taken the mitts out of their pocket and put them on when they did get cold. But Conner 's mind wasn't looking for solutions - he was waiting for the bus! I know he'll be misunderstood alot - most people see a beautiful, smart, happy little boy and can't possibly fathom some of his challenges. For the most part I take that as a success; it means he's managing well! But it also reinforces why he needs me at home full-time. I may screw up, and I may not always understand the why's; no parent or caretaker is perfect. But when it comes down to it, Conner needs me to be his full-time support more than I need to work part-time.

Here's hoping for a calmer next week!

BIG News!

Some may have noticed I have been missing for a week or so... well I have good reasons!

First, I had big news that I couldn't share yet - but I was BURSTING to tell someone so I stayed away from blogging because I knew that I couldn't resist the temptation. Then I got so tied up in loose ends that I couldn't sit down long enough to write anything that would have resembling a coherent post. So what's the news? It's two -part:

1) We bought an acreage! We were able to leap on it before it was formally listed, so it all happened very quickly... Monday we looked at it and made an offer- Tuesday we signed papers for it...

It's a town away, which means the kids will be switching schools - but the Kindergarten class already seems well suited to Conner. It has a lower child-teacher-aide ratio, and the Kindergarten teacher duos as the special ed teacher, less people for Conner to deal with! She has already set up appointments to meet Conner, and then two half days to integrate him into her classroom. I was unsure of doing this to him - but I think, I hope, it will be ok.

2) I quit my job! OK, well I actually put my resignation in for October 31, and then agreed to do some interim wage cover-off to train and mentor a replacement.. but I made the big first step.

It's funny, I've had reactions from huge congratulations and people happy for us as a family - to "well what are you going to do with yourself?". It's really hard not to retort with a biting remark, but I'm trying hard not to be so defensive. Yes, we'll be lowering our standard of living and giving up some comforts - BUT for Mark and I, the chance for me to stay at home and support the family has an immeasurable value.

I'm so excited for our next step that I'm giddy! So that's why I've been so quiet; with so many things up in the air and then the initial rush of paper signing etc, I've simply been indisposed. I might even start a new blog to timeline the restoration of the 1920's house that we will be moving into.