The Playhouse is Complete!

School has started and so hopefully I will be able to get more into the groove of blogging again. Man, distractions come in many shapes and sizes. And while most of the distractions have been my family, which is a good thing to be distracted by, it sure makes it hard to carve out time for me and my thoughts. Hopefully that time will begin again soon. Although, we just started potty training Miss P and that definitely has the foreground in my thoughts at the moment!

Well we did it. We completed a project!!! We are really good project starters. When it comes to completing the project on the time schedule that I want... not so good at. But we did it. This awesome playhouse was finished before the end of summer and that is a big win in my books.

So to recap the whole idea for this particular playhouse came from the blog vintage revivals. She has really great blueprints and instructions for the frame. (note previous post) But we did have to tweak the finishes. While she used a painters canvas for the roof and walls to give it a cool tenty feel I knew that that would not work in our climate. That canvas would get weathered and mouldy and not hold up well after a winter. So my husband and I went back and forth trying to figure out what the best solution would be. We thought of detachable roofs or just using a tarp and then a light bulb moment. We decided just to use the wavy plastic panels that are used on garden sheds and other structures. Seriously when we came up with it angels were singing up above. For our house we bought four panels and cut them in half. They were the perfect length and width. Seriously, they could not have fit any better. We also re-jigged the ridgepole to be two at angles to accommodate the angle of the roof better. We also put 2x4s at the bottom of the angles so we could attach the roof at the bottom as well.

For the walls we used lattice on all three sides. If we had thought it through we may have put up something in the middle of the long walls to give it support. If the kids push too hard on the walls they could break. But they are fine for now and the girls are really good about being careful with them. We liked using the lattice because it lets in a lot of light. Some play house are so closed off they can be pretty dark. This one is great because the kids can always see, yet it still gives a sense of privacy.

not sure what the fir branch is doing on the side. must be some sort of decoration :)

So it might not be the prettiest or cutesiest playhouse on the block but we love it. It is big enough and tall enough that it should be a nice hangout for years to come. And it was way cheaper than buying those prefabricated ones from the store. I see many tea parties and games being played in this house in the near future. Yay summer projects!

Yard Work, It Can Actually be Fun!

Miss V. and Miss G. preparing the front yard for their Fairy Forest

This week has definitely made me feel confident that spring has sprung. The weather was in the double digits for most of the week. I even got my first sunburn of the season. And, I think the snow has finally melted from all those shadowy places that snow usually holds out in.

With spring comes yard work and tons of it. Even though I thought I did a pretty thorough job in the fall, cleaning up the leaves and other debris, when the snow melts I am totally proven wrong. The leaves seem to have multiplied, little sticks litter the ground and holy pine cones Batman! In our front yard I have never seen so many cones as this year. There must be well over a hundred. As of writing this they fill about a fourth of the bin you see in the pictures, and we are not even close to being done picking them up.

Today the girls had the day off from school, and I needed the work in my front yard started. (I do not trust Miss P in the front yard at all. It is too close to the road, so it is hard for me to get out there and get it done.) I told the girls that the fairies came last night and told me that they love to dance in our yard and help their fairy flowers grow, but they couldn't get to their flowers because of all the leaves and pine cones. The fairies needed two girls to help them so they could come and dance. While Miss G. was skeptical of that story line, Miss V. loved it and soon both girls were out with their work gloves cleaning up. I know... I lied... but it worked and they are having fun. I hope not too much damage will be done to psyche.

After about 5 minutes they started planning more than picking up. They are planning to turn the front yard into a fairy town complete with university and "death school" (I don't even want to know). With a few gentle prods from me for them to keep going they kept up the work. While I still have lots to do out there, it is a start. I think the most important thing here is that the girls had a great time using their imaginations and are now so excited to make their fairy town a reality. I will make sure to post some pictures of their completed town, if they are actually serious about it that is.

What kind of yard work do you have planned? Do you use fairies as an excuse too?

Fall Fun

Well, the weather is getting cooler. The nights are getting darker earlier. I can definitely say that we are for sure in fall.

I love fall. I love seeing the leaves change. I love making big leaf piles. I don't like it when neighbours rake their leaves to the side of the road making it impossible for cars to park on the street. But other than that, I love fall.

I love the orange pumpkins, the red leaves and the brown memories of summer fun. I love the smell of foods being baked or roasted in the oven. I love the sound of the furnace turning on in the morning to heat up the house. So far that is the only time we have needed it on. The house has been able to maintain a decent temperature throughout the day which will be very nice for our gas bill.

This past Sunday we all went out and raked the leaves that were littering our driveway. I am not sure what type of tree is out there. I really must get serious and find out, but I think it might be part of the willow family... but it could really be anything. It has a billion leaves on it. They are slender and longish and when one falls, they all seem to. One morning we left for school and there was a few leaves on the ground. When we were walking back six hours later, you could barely see our driveway it was so covered in leaves. The girls thought that was pretty awesome.

Well as I stated before, on Sunday we all went out and raked leaves. We made a very large pile. All of us girls ganged up on my husband and threw leaves at him, and he got us back. My 19 month old rain along our neighbours front yards... about four houses down and when I was looked to see what she was running to I had to laugh. It was one of those little tykes cars that are yellow on top and red on the bottom. It was sitting out at the end of their driveway with some other junk they were putting out for garbage day. By the time I caught up to her she had already settled herself in and was excited at the prospect of the drive. So, I started to push the car back to our house where it has a new home. There wasn't anything wrong with it, just a bit cobwebby. The girls had a blast pushing their sister around and pushing each other into the leaves.

the oldest and the youngest going for a ride in the car

I think the highlight was when we buried the middle daughter in the leaf pile. She thought it was hilarious. I did too. What a fun afternoon.

she was dressed up like a witch so you can see the tip of her hat and the points of her shoes

That sense of family togetherness, adventure and joy has buoyed me up all week. I am so glad that we have those special moments. Those moments, when there is no squabbling, there are no dishes or other household chores to worry about. We are all working together, laughing together, and having fun together.

Sometimes those moments are organic, like this Sunday seemed to be. Sometimes they need to be a bit more contrived by the parent. And you know what, that's okay. I think the important thing is that we contrive and then let it develop into an organic feeling. The kids don't know or care if some activities are planned or not, what they care about is feeling loved and happy. They want to feel those feelings, and if they feel it through something that you planned out, that is great. And if it happens all on its own, that's great too!

What do you like to do for fall fun?

Happy Thanksgiving for all those in Canada!

I Love This Time of Year

If I had to pick anytime of year that I absolutely loved more than any other, this would be it. It is warm but not sweltering. It is not humid, and even when it is it is bearable. The leaves are out in full and the flowers just explode out.

In our backyard there is a beautiful poppy patch. When I first moved in I knew there were poppies, but I didn't realize how much they can spread! Last week I saw all the poppy buds, and then a couple of days ago there were two flowers. That made me happy. I love poppies. Today I looked out from my dining room and this is what I saw!

Isn't that super exciting and beautiful. I love the bright orangy red colour. A house down the street has pink poppies in the front yard. I am tempted to go and get some seeds from their plants to add variety.

Also spread throughout our backyard and some in the front are these beautiful irises. They aren't the typical irises with the broad leaves. I love how fine their leaves are. Last year almost ripped them out because I thought they were day lilies. (We have so many daylilies in our yard and they are so tightly bunched, I need to thin them.) I am super glad I didn't.

I forgot to take pictures last year of what the gardens look like and what plants come in different seasons. This year I am going to be diligent so that way I know what I want to keep and what needs to go for next year. That's the thing with inheriting someone else's garden. You don't know what they have put in for different seasons, what are weeds and what aren't. This will be our second summer fully moved in to our house, so this is the year to keep track and figure it out for next year.

In the back corner of our yard we have what we have termed, The Meadow. It is a beautiful sea of forget-me-nots. My middle child loves to pick flowers and she was so excited to see all these beautiful  flowers free for the picking. My husband doesn't have the heart to mow them down yet as the kids are having such fun. I hope our neighbours don't mind as they do spread.

can you see the kids hiding in the flowers?

Next year at this time I will have my vegetable garden planted. We weren't in a position this year to get it done. We are concentrating mostly on getting the inside de-cluttered and so the garden needs to wait. There are only so many hours in the day and so much energy to be had. But, I am excited about establishing a nice veggie garden. I know my kids will be excited too. At least we have an awesome farmers market just up the street. I will be going there soon to get strawberries to make strawberry jam. Last year I made enough jam to last us the whole year, and give away some as gifts. Nothing is better then strawberry jam, especially freshly made. Yummers!

This time of the year is awesome. There are so many beautiful things to see and look forward to. What do you love most about this season?

Spring is finally here!

The Snow has melted. The grass is coming back to life. The shoots are showing! It is definitely spring. This morning while my little one was napping I was able to get some yard work done. I picked up sticks that fell during the winter and got rid of some leaves that fell after the snow came. It was super windy so I didn't get as much accomplished as I wanted, using a rake was pointless. But it felt great to be out in the sunshine and the warmth, despite the crazy wind. I am looking forward to getting the front and back ready for enjoyment and beautiful bulbs.

That's one thing about my house's previous owners. They did crazy things inside (we are constantly scratching our heads about something, a barn door in the basement? Really?) but on the outside they got it right. Last spring the coolest looking tulips came up and daffodils and poppies. Beautiful is the only way to describe it. Now it is up to me to make sure it stays looking good and not getting over grown. (Some of the things they planted was a bit too much of a good thing, but we're getting there.

Enjoy your spring day. Here are some pictures of what I found while out working in the yard. It definitely fills me with confidence that spring is actually in Waterloo!

Remember my winter picture from December? What a change!