Getting back my green thumb!

My background is in horticulture.  After Tyler had started his own landscaping business many years ago, I took an interest in the planting aspect of the industry and decided to go back to school to learn more.  From 2005-2007 I attended Seneca College in King City in the Environmental Landscape Management program, and I loved every minute of it.  We took courses in horticulture, arboriculture, landscape design, and greenhouse operations (among many other things).  I always loved being in the greenhouse and thought that working in one would be my dream job.

Well, not only will I get a chance to work in one, I'm going to have one!  Tyler's parents have just bought two hoop style greenhouses for the property!  One will be needed to keep the hops rhizomes in prior to planting, but hopefully the other one can be used for growing vegetables year round.

I am already going to have a wonderful sized vegetable garden to tend to which I am so excited about.  I have been reading up on growing vegetables and have ordered several seed catalogues so I can start deciding what varieties I want to start growing.  It looks like we might also have a local source for organic seedlings as well.

I would absolutely love to be able to grow as much of our own vegetables and maybe even fruits as possible, and not only that I want to learn about the different ways to preserve our produce so that we can eat our own fruits and vegetables year round and have less need to buy them.

The problem I'm finding right now is that my horticulture knowledge is rusty!  Not to mention I have never dabbled in vegetables.  The short stint I did working in the industry after graduating and before having a family involved landscaping gardens, not growing vegetables.  So I have a lot to learn and re-learn!  I'm also not sure how active I can be with a new baby, though I want to make sure I am still playing a role in all of this.

I know that a lot of this is going to be hands on experience and trial and error.  And I have a great team of people to help and support me.  Tyler is getting my garden ready for me and will help me plan and plant it.  He is so great at this kind of stuff.  We will all have a lot to learn when it comes to running a greenhouse, but I'm sure that we will figure it out as we go.

Have I mentioned how excited I am?  I am feeling a bit nervous and overwhelmed at the thought of it, but I know that we'll learn as we go and in a few years we'll be expert fruit and vegetable growers, all year round.

I can't wait to see all this happen.  I also can't wait to involve the kids in this, and hopefully instill in them a love for nature, plants, the environment, and taking care of the land.  I think they will learn a lot from helping us on the farm, and maybe if I'm lucky they will eat more vegetables in the process!

My dreams really are coming true!

The 52 Week Challenge: 2011 - A Positive Outlook

I don't know what I am thinking starting a blog post like this in the evening when my brain has essentially 'turned off' for the day.  I can already feel my eyelids getting heavy and I just want to sit here and be a lump until I call it a night in the next hour or so. 

But.....

I just so happened to check out Deb's Home Life Simplified site and came across the  52 Weeks to Simplify Your Life Challenge and upon reading the first challenge felt compelled to partake.  I love Deb's site and think it is brilliant, though I must admit I am not one to jump in with gusto when it comes to these life/self-improvement gigs (mostly because I am lazy!).  This one really called to me.  Right now I cannot promise I will follow through with the whole 52 weeks, but I am definitely intrigued!  And well, this first challenge I think would be a good practice for anyone.

So here it is, a post to look at the bright side of 2011.

Now, I confess that I already feel pretty good about this past year.  I know that in a recent post I gave a run down of what the year held in store for us, and there were a lot of not so nice things.  But I felt like I did a lot of soul searching this year, and I learned a lot about myself in the process.

Anyone who has read my blog up until now might already know that a lot has changed for us in the past two years.  In 2010 we had a new baby, and moved our little family 2hrs away from the only area I had ever known my whole life, where all my friends and family were.  My husband started a new job, and we started a new life.  And it was rough.  I really struggled to find my place.  I spent that whole first year here in a constant state of regret for having moved here.  While I have never actually suffered from post partum depression, all these changes so soon after having a new baby left me feeling lower than I ever had in my life.  My relationship with my husband really suffered, and I felt so alone in the world.  I really struggled with myself as a mother, trying to parent my toddler while also taking care of a baby that never seemed to sleep and left me in a state of complete sleep deprivation 24/7.  No friends to talk to, no time for myself.  In addition to all this, the entire move took a toll on our already hurting bank account as well, which made our situation all that much more stressful.

I know this sounds like a lot of terribly negative stuff for a post that is supposed to be positive, but bear with me here because I am getting to the point.  Afterall, dawn comes after even the darkest nights, and I consider the second half of 2010 and first bit of 2011 to have been possibly the darkest night of my life and it seemed like the sun would never rise.

After what seemed like a cruel and endless winter, spring arrived and with it the hope for a new chance to be happy in our new life, and not a moment too soon.  Simply being able to get out more once the weather was nicer was a huge step in the right direction.  In the spring we got a membership to the local Y, where I finally found some time for me.  I managed to put aside the martyr syndrome that meant I needed to be with my children every minute, and take time for myself to exercise.

As spring emerged so did everyone in hibernation.  Finally I was starting to see the same familiar faces at the playgroups that I had been going to for weeks.  Next thing I knew friendships were blossoming, and I was starting to connect with other moms in my neighbourhood.  That was another huge step for me, a breath of fresh air.  Meeting these women and starting to socialize was one of the highs of my year.  Since becoming a mother in 2008 I longed for other mom friends, and had yet to make any really good ones.  I was starting to think I would never meet anyone I could relate to.  I can't tell you how good I felt when I saw these friendships with these special women starting to take place.

Over the course of the summer I really saw my life turn around.  In fact, I have already blogged about it here:  360.  The change in how I felt about our life, about myself, about everything this past summer was one of the biggest changes of my life.  I really saw our life start to take shape, to take meaning.  For years we seemed so transient, never knowing where things were taking us, and finally it seemed like we were becoming grounded and focusing on what we wanted.

The end of the summer saw my husbands parents buying a property, moving here, and starting a business.  My husband quit his job, a job that he didn't enjoy, to work with them in starting their business.  From the moment he starting doing this I saw a change in him, I saw how he was now doing what he was meant to do in life.  It's amazing how different people are when they are doing what they love best.  I have loved watching him take so much joy and pride in what he does.  This family adventure of starting a hops farm has been an exhilarating and exciting event for us, one that leaves us in anxious anticipation of what the future holds.

Fall brought with it the exciting news that we would be adding a new baby to the family, something that I had been hoping for for a long time.  Even despite having a rocky first year with our second son, I always knew in a heartbeat I would do it all again and had hoped that we would be able to grow our family further.  To say that we are excited about this new addition is an understatement, we are ecstatic.

There are no words really to describe what 2011 meant to me.  It has been a year of change, of maturity for us as individuals, and as a family.  It has been the year where we have discovered who we are, what we want, and where we are going.  We have learned so much about ourselves and what we want out of life, and we are feeling so good about things going into 2012.

So in a list, the positives of 2011:

• I have taken control of my health and have started eating better and exercising
• I have made wonderful new friends and no longer feel like a loner
• We have finally sorted out our finances and taken measures to save and get back on track
• We have grown stronger as a couple, and as a family
• My older son started school and is thriving
• My younger son started sleeping like a champ and has become an amazing little toddler
• My in-laws have moved here and we have family nearby to support us
• We have joined forces with them to embark on the exciting challenge of starting a new business
• We found out we are pregnant!
• We feel like we have found our place, our home, and have begun to put down roots
• Oh, and I turned 30!  Which I have come to look upon as a very positive thing!

I don't feel like this post has done Deb's challenge justice, as I am just not good at articulating how I feel (though it is apparent that I am good at rambling on and on!).  Deb asked, and my answers are:

What energised you?  Exercise, feeling good about life, the new family business venture

What made you feel happy?  Making new friends, watching my children grow, seeing my husband happy at work

What made you feel at peace?  The feeling that we are finally on the right track

What positive people lifted you up?  My wonderful husband, my children, my new friends, my in-laws

What filled your "tank"?  Finally finding time to take care of myself

What worked to bring your family together?  Making a conscious effort to spend more quality time together

What is something that made you feel excited to dive right in?  Everything about this year!

What did you learn (positive things)?  I learned that I can be the person that I want to be if I think positively

What are you grateful for?  My husband, my children, my family, my health

I feel like a student and this was my homework assignment.  It has been a long time since I have been in school, and I think we tend to forget how good it is for us to challenge ourselves with assignments.  It's easy to think "I'm done with that part of life, I never want to go back to school!", but these kinds of challenges are what keep us sharp, and keep us learning new things.

Thanks Deb!

Coming July 2012.....

Here it is, the big announcement post.

You see where I'm going with this right?

Yes, it's true.  We're having another baby!  And no, it's not because we wanted a girl.  I'm already sick of the girl comments.  When we decided to add another child to our family, what we really wanted was a healthy baby.  Just thought I'd get that out of the way first off!

So we will soon be parents to 3 instead of 2.  Are we crazy?  Perhaps!  Sometimes I wonder how I can handle 3 when the 2 I have are handful enough.  I don't look forward to the early months, the sleep deprivation (I am not going to pretend I think this new baby will sleep through the night much before a year!), the constant feedings, the potential for another refluxy, colicky baby, or any of the other less glamorous things that come with having a tiny baby. 

I see how much easier things have gotten with my boys after they passed the baby stage and I think, we must be crazy to go through all that again.

But it's just temporary, and we know this.  Whenever I would think about adding a new child to this family, thoughts of the baby and toddler days aren't all that would enter my mind.  I would think of 3 children, growing up together, having each other to play with, and looking out for each other.  I would think of the future, of all the love and joy each child brings to our family.  I would think of when they are adults, and have families of their own, and the big wonderful clan we are growing here.  It's not just about wanting to be pregnant, or wanting another little baby, or anything like that.  It's about wanting a family.

Tyler and I both come from families with two children.  No complaints from either of us there.  But whenever I would see my friends or cousins who had many siblings, there was something there that I just never had growing up.  There is a closeness between all of them, very special bonds.  My brother and I are very close and always have been, so I can only imagine how much more amazing it could be if there were even more of us in the mix.  Sometimes in life, your siblings are the people closest to you, who know you the best.

I am so excited to be starting on this new venture.  Am I scared of the lack of sleep that is inevitably going to be upon us?  Am I wondering about how I am going to wrangle 3 toddlers by myself when we are out and about at the park and playdates?  Am I slightly scared of all the whining, the fighting, the difficult times?  Of course I am!  But it is an adventure we are fully willing to take on, because having our children has been the best thing we have ever done, and I can't see how adding one more would be any less great.

The estimated due date for this bubs is still up for debate.  It should be around July 9th, but at the ultrasound I had today the tech put my EDD at July 2nd.  As much as I'd love to be a week ahead of what I thought, I think I will stick with the first date for now since it makes the most sense for me.  Not that due dates are set in stone, still it is nice to have a general idea of where I am at.

This pregnancy has been great so far, much like my other ones.  I am a very lucky pregnant lady, free of morning sickness, nausea, heartburn, digestive issues, or any of the other yucky aspects of being pregnant.  I haven't even been that tired through the first trimester and have managed to keep up with life as usual, whether that has meant chasing the kids around or hitting the gym.  I have felt great, and feel very fortunate that I can say that because I know so many ladies aren't so lucky with their pregnancies and don't get a chance to enjoy it the way I do.

The cat is out of the bag and the official announcements have been made.  We are the types of people who tend to stay hush hush for the first 12wks while we process everything and make sure it's on track.  I did tell my friends almost a month ago now as we had a girl's holiday night and they would have known anyway when I wasn't drinking.  For our families we saved the big announcement for Christmas as we thought that would be a fun time to share the news.

To announce it to our family I made the boys shirts that hinted about the new baby.  T's said 'Leader of the Pack', and F's said 'Monkey in the Middle'.  I thought they were clever and obvious enough, but not for everyone I guess as some people still needed to be told the news despite the shirts!  Everyone seems excited though which is great as I had been worried we'd get a whole lot of 'Really, a third?' sort of responses.  Here is a pic of the shirts (I wish I had one of the boys wearing them, but trying to get both to stay still together long enough for a picture is a near impossible task).

The boys don't know what is going on yet.  I haven't really felt the need to explain anything to T as it is still so early and July is so far away.  Kids don't have any conception of weeks or months so I'm worried that if I get him excited about the baby too soon, he'll start getting impatient.  F is still too young to understand I think, though we will start to explain more to him as time goes on and he gets older.

It's hard to believe though that when T was F's current age of 20mos, we were just about to have another baby.  It was tricky having them that close.  This time the age gap between F and the baby will be 26mos.  I'm still not sure though if that will be much easier!  Still, we are up for the challenge.

This baby is going to be a surprise.  We found out with both the boys what we were having as I was just too impatient and needed to know.  This time I don't feel I need to know, and since it is likely our last we have decided to go for the whole experience.  It doesn't matter to me what we have, though I know Tyler is kind of hoping for a girl!  In my mind, there is no point wishing for a boy or a girl.  It already is what it is, and we will love it all the same.

Needless to say this is very exciting news for us, and we are very happy about adding another to our clan.  We look forward to this next year, and all it has to bring.

So long 2011!

A lot can happen in a year, so it's not surprise when there are good and bad to look back upon.  For some there may be more of one than the other.  Hopefully for you there was more good than bad.  I seem to be hearing a lot of mixed reviews about 2011 through FB and other such mediums.

So how was 2011 for us?  Well, let's see.

The first several months of the year did not shape up too nicely.  Early in January Tyler lost his beloved Aunt Lisa very suddenly, and her passing was shocking and devastating to us all.  Within a few months we lost two more special ladies in my family, my Aunt Rachel lost her battle with cancer, and my great Aunt Gisela (known affectionately as Auntie) passed away suddenly and unexpectedly the same week.

Earlier this year as well a special friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 30.  She fought bravely and her strength was not to be overcome.  I am happy to say she is now cancer free, and I hope that she goes on to be that way for many many years to come.  While I am sure she will be happy to leave 2011 behind and look forward, I'm sure she will also never forget it.  In a few weeks time I will be doing the Tubbs Romp to Stomp out breast cancer, and I will be walking (um, snowshoeing) in her honour.

2011 was not kind in other ways.  Tyler's grandmother had a stroke which she is still recovering from, and we hope for continued improvement though it is still hard to say if she will fully recover.

And finally, not to let the year pass by without one more loss, sadly my dad's very close long time friend Taeman, once again another sad victim of that horrible cancer that affects so many.

But we must consider the good as well, though sometimes it is so hard to see through the bad.  This year we had a wonderful summer, and we made a lot of new friends here.  This is the year that we came into our own here since moving.  There have been a lot of ups and downs, but I think in this department there were more ups. 

I turned 30 this year.  Not sure whether to consider this the bad or the good!  While I wasn't looking forward to leaving my 20's behind, I have felt fully ready to embrace my 30's, so I suppose it was a good thing.  Circumstances surrounding my birthday meant that the big event really didn't get to be as exciting as I had hoped, but my wonderful husband made sure it was still special for me.

Tristan started Montessori this year which was a huge change for all of us.  Initially it was hard adjusting to (I think harder for me than it was for him!), but we soon saw what a great thing going to school was for him and he has grown and learned so much since starting there.  Now I can't imagine having never starting him there this year, it just seems like the best thing we could have done.

Probably the biggest and most exciting thing for us this year, was when Tyler's parents bought their property and decided to move up here.  At the beginning of 2011 we would have never believed the turn our lives would take with this endeavour, but it has truly been an amazing blessing.  Their project to start a hops farm has given so much meaning and motivation to our family, and to Tyler especially.  I have seen such a positive change in him since he was given the opportunity to quit his previous job and work on this project with them.  It really is something he was made to do, and he loves doing it.  I am so happy to see him doing something that he fully enjoys 100%.  This project has been so exciting for all of us, and it's nice to see it taking shape.  I can only imagine how much more it will take off in 2012.

And finally, another exciting thing 2011 has brought us, is the discovery of a new addition to the family.  That's right, while I haven't made my official announcement post yet, I will whisper it here.  We are expecting another baby!  More on this big news to come.

So will I be happy to see the back end of 2011?  Well, we don't have much of a choice in the matter.  In less than 12hrs it will be gone and we will be on to the next year, full of surprise and promise.  I say so long 2011.  You have brought much sadness, and much happiness, but the bottom line is I prefer to keep looking forward.

See you in 2012!

Watch This Space!

Christmas craziness is upon us.  Starting today the next 4 days will be filled with food, family, food, friends, food, fun, presents, food, and all the good stuff this season brings (did I mention the food?).  I can't wait!  We've been so busy preparing and still have so much to do.

But, when I get back and have some time to actually sit down, I've got some exciting things to say!  So stay tuned!

Best Butternut Squash Soup Ever

Mmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 tbsp butter (or more if needed)

1 small onion

1 celery stalk

1 medium carrot

2 medium potatoes

1 medium squash

5 or 6 sprigs fresh tarragon

32oz chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup cream or less (optional)

salt and pepper

1 tsp curry powder (my husband's secret ingredient, he tries to put it in everything)

1 tsp pumpkin spice (nutmeg & cinnamon)

plain yogurt and parsley for garnish

Melt butter in saucepan and sautee vegetables for about 5mins.  Cover with broth and simmer for about 40mins.  Once vegetables are cooked, add tarragon and cream (if you prefer a creamier version) or more broth if needed, and spices.  Use a hand blender to blend everything until smooth, add more broth if thinner consistency is desired.  Garnish with a dollop of plain yogurt and some chopped parsley.

I think this makes about 6-8 servings but I'm not sure.  I always end up chopping up a bit more vegetables than the original recipe called for, and since I don't have a very large pot I had to use two.

This is the best butternut squash soup ever, hands down.

Still At It

Life is much as it's always been around here, busy with kids' activities, school, playdates, going to the gym and so on and so forth.  What is not happening around here much lately?  Blogging and housework.  I was much more motivated to keep up with both in the spring and summer.  I think that is always the way though, as winter approaches and the days get shorter and colder, it just seems harder to keep up with everything so somethings slide.  No big deal, I'm sure the motivation will be back....at some point.

So my house is in a bit of a constant state of disaster.  I do the bare minimum to get by, but that's about it.  We do need to do a pretty thorough cleaning soon, but I'm not losing sleep over it. 

As for the blogging, well I have no excuse!  I'm just not as interested in keeping track of every little thing as I have been in the past.  There will be other phases of mega blogging, but for now it's like the housework, the bare minimum gets done.  Not that anyone else really cares!  But it's for me anyway, so it can get done when I feel like it.

Tristan is doing great with school and he still loves it.  His teachers enjoy having him there and he has made so many friends.  We're so thrilled that he is thriving there, it really seems to be such a great environment for him.  Next week is his Christmas concert and I can't wait to go see him.  The kids have been practicing songs for it and he likes to sing them at home.  "Deck the Halls" is his favourite.

Things are great with Finn too.  He is talking loads now, though only I understand him as he pretty much only uses vowel sounds.  But the words are there, and he is really trying, so I'm sure the rest will come with time.  He is loads of fun, and he's really growing in confidence.  Just in the past week he has started enjoying going to the childminder's at the YMCA, and he doesn't cry when I leave him there.  He even enjoys playing with the other kids and toys while I'm gone.  The ladies have commented that they've noticed such a change in him.

I'm still trying to work out as much as ever, though it never seems to be as much as I'd like, probably only 3 or 4 times a week.  I'm excited for the new winter schedule as there are lots of programs that I can do.  There is hula hooping workshop that I am going to register for that should be loads of fun, but most exciting is, zumba is back!  YAY!  So my week is pretty full between spinning, zumba, 20-20-20, hula hooping, and trying to get into the gym here and there to do a bit of strength training.  The good news is, all this exercise has got me feeling great!

The holidays are upon us and as much as I enjoy Christmas, it really is such a stressful time of year.  Between wanting to spend money on presents but not being able to, and juggling all the family events that we have, it usually ends up being a chaotic time.  We are last minute people and are never prepared for the holidays.  It sneaks up on us every year and we are always left doing all our shopping at the 11th hour.  You'd think we'd learn our lesson but we never do!  Every year I resolve to be more organized but it just doesn't happen.  Maybe next year.....

So that is life with us right now.  Not terribly interesting and yet never a dull moment.  Can't believe another year is winding down and excited to see what next year has in store for us!