Really, how did we ever do anything on the cheap without those Scandanavians?
(Photos by Chris.)
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To the lake
Tom’s family owns a condo a few hours away. It is where they spent many summer days growing up—swimming, boating, and enjoying their time together.
It hasn’t had as much use in the last decade. With the boys spread across the country, it was tough for them to get there. And with babies, it’s tough to travel that far. We took Neko out on the boat as a toddler, and she just got really grouchy about the life preserver.
With the kids a little older, we’re thinking it might be a nice place to visit again. Or as a getaway weekend for just one of us if we need a little quiet space.
I ran away for a few days to make a few updates and check the place out after five years away. This is the view off the back porch at sunset.
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Pumpkin family
Before the pumpkins went to live in the forest and become dinner for the deer, I thought I should capture this drawing.
Neko drew this picture of our family, and above our heads is something we each care about (records, chickens, horses, Blob, and butterflies).
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And…scene.
I had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.
I forgot that I had a meeting with our accountant, forgot to gather the paperwork for the accountant, and had a dentist appointment. (“Come back next week to drill out and replace your sealants!”) Because of the accountant meeting I was late for a photo shoot, my camera fell on the concrete (it’s fine), scheduled a meeting I now need to reschedule, and missed out one of our last gorgeous fall days.
And the children? They are tired and crabby because everyone is waking up at 5am, but still going to bed too late. I will soon be starting my petition to remove Daylight Saving Time from the calendar.
And the house is messy and we’re completely behind on the laundry. AGAIN.
I think I’ll move to Australia. (Where I happen to know it is currently sunny and they no longer observe Daylight Saving Time.)
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Skating
Skating night is always a bit if a frenzy. No matter how on time we are, it’s a flurry of getting the right size skates, lacing, and scooting kids off to the right classes.
And then unlacing, and turning in skates, and somehow convincing kids to walk in a straight-ish line to the car so we can all get to bed at a sort-of reasonable hour.
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Early morning lessons
In the wee hours, long before most of you get up, this household is already in full swing. This morning Neko decided to teach Shep and Ellery about dinosuars.
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Assembling fürniture
Since we moved into this house, all the kids’ clothes have been stored in our linen closet. This was a fantastic set-up. Think about when you have time to do laundry—when the kids are napping or sleeping. And then you have all this folded laundry, and a sleeping child where you need to put them away.
Which is why I removed all the shelves from our linen closet and installed hanging rods for clothes and baskets for socks and other things.
But now that the kids no longer nap, I can actually do laundry during waking hours. And I am growing weary of all the linens taking up our closet space and tripping over the vacuum cleaner every time I get something from the pantry.
So it’s time to move the kids’ clothes into their bedrooms. Thing is, when we built the house, we never put in closets. It was an added expense, and we weren’t ready to commit to where they were situated. We could build them now, but that’s a big investment, and I’m not sure the solution we pick now will be appropriate in their teen years. So in the meantime, we’ve picked up some Stuva from IKEA, and are creating a some space for clothes.
Just their height, this is a perfect system for the next space of time. Because in this house, you pick out your own clothes and get yourself dressed. Three kids is way too many to walk through that maneuver, especially in the wee hours of the morning. (But matching is clearly optional.)
As I assembled drawers, Neko demanded to help. And I’ll be, she put one together all by herself! I must get that kid woodworking bench up and running here soon…
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