rain sunshine sandwich

it's back to rain again.
but when it was summeresque to celebrate Victoria Day long weekend
i made all sorts of plans for the coming months.
and picked wildflowers in the field
and got my kids together with their friends
and got D & I together with our friends (a wonderful family bbq with d's college buddy and family -- minus our middlest who was camping with his friend but with little c who dazzled the visiting teenage girls with his endless energy and vocal strength and the high schooler who made like youtube was visiting and they were not ;) a ridiculous amount of eating, multiple rounds of my fave new game (D + I won by a slim margin which i was surprised about given his nature as a man of few words), and a few glasses of red.
and again with our dinner party crew (who 2 years in have tackled nearly every theme dinner out there in style) this one was a curry chicken extravaganza with deck lounging cocktail hour to start and a campfire to end. i am one of the most unimpressive participants in terms of foodieness -- my theory is to let the true stars shine and just play a relaxed supporting role -- my low key contributions were a plate of cut up Chilliwack Fresh and a blinged out curry colored shirt.  
about that rain. its fine for the work week where it acts as a charm for soccer and encouragement to write instead of garden.

 wildflowers make me happy

 looking next door. little c's horse friends live there -- we don't know their names he's taken to calling them lucy and stan ;)

 gumboots pour deux

an intentional bid to teach confidence and gratitude. little c loves it as much as the middlest did when I started it with him when he was the same age. how it works: you write something affirming about the child specific to them and their character and abilities and they write something they are specifically grateful for. no repeats. it's addictive and so much easier than telling them to stop whining. (ok, still have to do that ;) but it's a good way to cap the night off. set a number before you start.

Discovering Purpose over a Platter of the Good Stuff

I've been thinking a lot about purpose. And it keeps coming up. (Ok, part of that is which books I keep buying) But even when I'm having it float around in my subconscious, other people bring it up. Because it's not just me thinking about it. We all are. Like last weekend when I was having a girls night in with my friend Jen (the sort of foodie you'd be lucky to know so that you can expect a charcuterie & cheese plate when you stop by at the last minute), talk floated from fluff (where admittedly it stayed for a long time -- this is weekend decompressing after all ;) to the big stuff like searching out your purpose in life. It makes sense that having purpose (which boils down to finding people to serve and help and seeing this life in terms of big picture living -- ie. most things are not worth sweating. people before things, etc. ) makes you happy. Go ahead -- look around you -- the most positive people have a good sense of this. And the good thing about delving into this during the busy seasons of life means it can be an organic shift in how you live your life and you won't land up in a quieter season feeling like "what was the point of all this?" Because you'll know. And you'll know your place in it.
recommended reading: this, and this and for parents this
I'd love to hear other about other great books on intentionally living. Feel free to share them in the comments.

It's my day off so I am digging into Good Books, hitting at least one thrift store, puttering around the house, and planning this summer's publications (it looks like my collection of short stories and a book on working motherhood will both be hitting e-book format). Happy long weekend to you, fellow Canadians.

having the friends over that inspired this bbq back for more this weekend.

of blogging and unwatched tea pots

It's been almost 2 months since I last blogged. You know who noticed and said something repeatedly about it? My mom. Which I found hilarious (she sees me nearly every Saturday morning when we have tea with my Grandma and sisters) and affirming (cue belated Mother's Day commercial musik) Who needs an impressive readership when you have Mom?

Then there was the scheduling. I tried a couple of times to get to blogging, and took some pics of recent happenings (the two youngest camping outside all last weekend) and the middlest crafting the most amazing bow and arrow with complete with trigger (making it a compound bow I guess which sounds a bit more dangerous) out of branches from the yard and yarn from his knitting collection. They're still sitting on d's phone. Aside from the pics, I was trying to picture when to put the blogging time in when I realized I also have trouble fitting lunch time in (I forget to take it until it's too late -- also the distractionary quality that causes me to boil water for tea a thousand times a day and forget to make it.) It's the working in flow thing, I am sure of it. But now that I know, I plan to combine the two when I can and sit down for a proper blog and a proper lunch. (today might not count -- ketchup chips shoved in my work bag when I was running out the door)

It wasn't until I read some pieces from Penelope Trunk that I realized how much I missed blogging and the reading of blogs. It's up there on my favorites list with peanut butter and jam sandwiches, playing soccer, coming home from soccer to find d starting dinner, and making lists that have random happenings on them.

Profound, I know. That's why it was so missed. ;)

 yes, I bring moss inside ;)

love heart collection from the boys is the best desk decoration.

weekend puttering and other joys

 little c's $ stash. he dipped deep into it today to buy his starter garden seeds.

 boys 2 and 3 garden-ing it up

 while I got crafty with repurposing a favorite wallet that had bit the dust.
steps to faux croc cards for the interested.

1. disassemble wallet, take off foam inside
2. cut heavy card stock into the sizes you want and fold, glue stick heavily on one side and
3. place the glued side onto the faux croc immediately
4. trim around the card edge
- the coin holding card was hand stitched and safety pinned into place.

 love this kind of low maintenance spring beauty

celebrating my mom's bday today. eeking every bit of weekend out. (stack of fluffy reads waiting on my bed between chores. did some thrifting this morning. now that I don't do thrifty chicks shopping co anymore, I always have a box on my dryer ready to be donated. it works out to bring a box, take a box. i'm thinking profit loss is definitely better than risking hoarding. off to write a scene and read a mag.

putting 4 springs of fake greenery in a pot and other things that pass as crafts

 a perfect girls night in (with a touch of crazy cat lady)

 the best kind of herbs to grow in your kitchen -- ok real ones would be nice, but then I would kill them ;)

 killer bowler documented. on another scrapbooking frenzy... the dining room is half laundry station half paper scrap storage

have been plunking around on the piano again. the kids playing their instruments. (littlest c is just back from fiddle camp where he did his celtic roots proud) and he and the middlest have been swapping up instruments (fiddle to electric guitar) to fair results. making me think I might pursue teaching them piano more aggressively. (as is actually getting around to it -- not tiger-mothering them) we'll see. a bit of writing took place at fiddle camp. now to get it organized.

outnumbered 6 to 1 if you count the cat

if there's anything sweeter than three creative quirky boys underfoot, it's four. we are first time hosts to a Japanese student through the program I help coordinate at the boys' school. it's been even better than I expected (and I had high expectations -- I sell people on hosting for the program -- you know I believe in it)
it's been a gaming, long-boarding, pokemon iron beading, hanging out with friends fest.
and I am learning as I go along. I was thinking to make spaghetti (a meal so typically North American we are all likely sick of it, but it nearly makes itself after a long day so we still do it) It turns out our host son eats it once a week at home (but with chopsticks) who would have guessed?

Banked time at work meant an afternoon off for me -- I had visions of manuscript reading, scrapbooking, and an immaculate house. I happily settled for a bit of thrifting, some side job paper organizing, a quick glance through a magazine, and another stack of laundry.

Living with a clue -- I'm trying to get there between the balance of striving for the vision and making peace with the reality. To that end, I finally handed in my "catch me later" email to my favorite (but full time job worthy) school mom committee -- after a six month stint where day job has amped up right when side job did too right beside (you guessed it) the committee which did too. When it rains it pours. But I am thankful to my friends who pointed out sometimes you have to pull out an umbrella for the sake of your family.

Looking forward to an evening of notebook scribbling, the magazine stack, some TV time with D on the couch and these boys of mine.

still loving our decision to scrawl our own calendar. nothing says march is under control quite like one of the ugliest unicorns you've ever seen (I don't like the middlest was going for a beautiful rendering) alongside some lucky coins. we're all polish over here ;)

the stacks

beside the stack of reads beside my bed, i am in love with the other stacks: sandwiches ready to enter lunchbags in the morning, the laundry that spends its days in the dining room waiting to be put away, dishes that breed whenever I am not looking. it is only when you look at them closely as the opportunity they are to love on your family in the little things that they resemble beauty -- too easily they are another round of the same dance for the trillionth time. 
currently reading "orphans at home". you know i made the kids do the cheesy quiz "relationship inventory: a survey of feelings about your dad and mom". very insightful experience. well, except for the high schooler who clued in fast and gave everyone 10s across the board to avoid entering into the dialogue ;)

 ♥ this adorable mirror -- plastic goodness from dollarama.

another day, another to do list. my sister swears that as soon as time changes, i will feel like i have more hours at my disposal. i'm counting on it.