We are remodeling our house. Now when I say remodeling, I don’t mean putting in another bathroom or changing our kitchen counters, I mean demolishing 1900 sq feet of a 3000 sq ft home. Knocking it mostly down and slowly putting it back together.

We bought an old farmhouse on 2.5 acres from a trust who disclosed nothing. The contract disclosures were bare. We took a leap of faith and fell into a money pit. Not to be confused with the money tree that we have long tried to grow. It’s a swirling vortex that we just keep throwing our salaries into.

We have no air conditioner ( we live in Southern California ) and the only heat in the winter  is a sad little gas wall heater and whatever logs we cut to burn in a big cast iron fireplace. The new addition will rectify this.

Our house was mostly made up of rooms with no permits. When they wanted a room, they built a room and definitely not to the building code. Some switches are reversed, upside down or just hidden. The more we demolish the more of a disaster we find we bought.
“Hey honey , I need a sewing room ”
” No problem dear I’ll have that up in a jiffy. Over on the neighbors side of the fence do ya? ”
That poor wee couple that were the previous owners died within 10 days of each other aged 90. God rest their souls ( please don’t haunt me).

Our neighbor is a cantankerous old bastard that sucks the life from my soul with his mean spirit , and if he was gasping his last breath I’d step over him.
What I mean to say is that he is difficult to live next to.
He made it his life’s mission to complain and try to bully us into changing the house despite us only moving in 6 months before and unaware of the problems he had with the previous owners.

We decided to take the correct measures to appease him and stop the city chasing us and decided to move a few feet over on our side of the fence.
This is no mean feat apparently and involves major changes to every room in the house.

 

We started this adventure in February of this year and it’s now the beginning of August. Only now are we getting permits and starting to lay foundations. Tens of thousands of dollars already and we are living in a home with plyboard for walls.

I’m told 6-9 months for completion but I’m not buying that story. Drawing up the plans took 3-4 months , many changes and squabbles with a designer who told me he didn’t like my choice of a blue house so changed it to brown and was very upset when I asked him to change it back. Most of our ideas were met with a smirk and an ‘I’ll show them’ attitude. A battle of the wills for sure.

Our builder is a friend ,and trustworthy…but I’m still not believing the timeline… only time will tell.

Remodeling is not for the faint of heart.

 

I am a stay at home mum. I don’t love not working but there are days that I know it’s the right thing to do. I do long for the days when I was a busy RN on the floor caring for my patients.

My mother was a single parent from the time I was 10 years old, she worked two jobs and was never home when school got out.
On the strange occasion that she might have a day off ,on a weekday, we were greeted with sandwiches and a glass of blackcurrant juice on arrival at home , and it was bliss!! It felt odd , but wonderful.

This week I received a phone call from the school, it was the school nurse, always a call I dread. Often it’s a bump on the head after a fall from the monkey bars or a sore tummy. Today though, my eight-year-old had somehow wet his underpants at school assembly. Could I please bring him a fresh change of clothing? This is totally in my job description as stay at home mum. Off I go to school with change of clothing, baby wipes and a plastic bag.

The nurse was very sympathetic to my son but my boy looked at me with such sad eyes when I arrived. He was embarrassed and apparently concerned that I would be mad at him for making me come to the school. All reassurances given and he was changed quick smart with a big hug.

I sent him back to class after offering to take him home, which he declined. He was instructed to ignore any students mocking him and if they did to tell his teacher.

On picking him up at 3 o’clock he told me that one little boy took it upon himself to tell everyone he could about his urinary mishap. As directed, he told his teacher.

Upon questioning by the teacher , the little boy admitted to making fun of my lad. My boy asked such questions as “why would you do that to me?” and ” how would that make you feel if I did that to you?” ( his teacher called me and told me all of this)

The bully boy started to cry at which point my son gave him a hug and told them that it would be alright and that he mustn’t cry.

Talk about turning the other cheek ….and he is only eight years old.

I am extremely proud of the way he carried himself, did not revert to anger or violence , despite his ADHD and impulsiveness.

I hope he continues to show forgiveness and strength as he grows.

I also hope he stops peeing himself at school.

I love cake.
I really love cake.

My favourite is a dark , rich , chocolate cake with ganache.

Let’s be reasonable though. I am not spending my time or money blending double cream with bitter chocolate for my kids , more often it’s a box cake with a dollop of frosting. Sprinkles too, if they are lucky.

Recently I’ve been messing with box cakes , adding real butter instead of oil, an extra egg and milk in place of water. Giving a more bakers flavour.

 

I wanted something simpler. Last night I mixed a box of angel cake with a box of devils food cake to make a mug cake mixture. The angel food cake has egg in the mix,  and so this is why chemically this works.

4 tablespoons of the mix with 2 tablespoons of water , in a mug , stirred , and into the microwave for one minute.

Cake.

Not the best cake ever , but perfectly acceptable for 3 small children for an after school treat.

I’ll save the fancy cake for birthdays, and for me.

Spring is here and the bees are busy in the blossoms of our fruit trees. I like Spring , shaking off the winter blues and getting ready for the sun on our faces again. It’s a time of birth, rejuvenation, and new beginnings.

Our skin has been shielded, and dried out over the winter months. I made a recipe today to get my lips into tip top condition for the pretty lipsticks of summer.

My friend Becky had sent us some honey and it was almost done. I wanted to preserve that flavour a little longer.  She’s in Illinois and hopefully will be sending us more soon.

I have a love of all things lemon, so why not combine these two flavours ?!

I am thinking I might use it as a hand balm also and will experiment with almond oil instead of coconut oil , and with different essential oils.

the children might actually use it because it tastes so good ( only a lick taste , not a spoonful of course)
Lemon and Honey Lip Balm
recipe

1/2 cup grated beeswax 🐝
1/4 cup coconut oil
12-15 drops 🍋 essential oil
1 Teaspoon of honey 🍯
4 -6 Small tins

Heat coconut oil and wax in a pot over a very low heat until melted. The color will be a beautiful translucent gold. Add the honey and lemon oil. Stir gently and pour into prepared tins. Allow to set ( does not take long).
*The beeswax from hobby lobby and Becky’s honey. Use the online 40% coupon off if it’s not on sale.

*Little tins I found at Dollar Tree , 4 for $1. Wish I had bought more now

 

 

I tasted the most delicious melt in the mouth cookie this week , a 3 ingredient peanut butter cookie.

My initial disbelief that this doesn’t have flour in it was only finally proven when I made them myself, yes I am a sceptic.

The recipe is :

1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 cup of sugar

Mix , drop small balls onto baking sheets and press down with a fork.

Bake for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees.

Don’t over cook or they will be crispy. This recipe can be doubled or even tripled.

I used a cookie press to be fancy, but to be honest, the ball ones with the fork pattern were thicker and tastier in my opinion.

I have a set of round and oblong looms which I have been using to make infinity scarves . Today I found another use for them on YouTube …slipper socks

My mother used to knit socks on 3 open ended short needles and they were beautiful! I am clunky with my crafts and knitting is not my forté . I knit too tightly and often had holes where there shouldn’t be from dropped stitches.

This video is easy to follow and I made a pair in under 2 hours. Use chunky wool or double 2 ply, it’ll go quicker.

Warm feet ahead !!

I always wanted to be a mother of a large family. I got what I wished for, four children ,and for the most part , they bring me great joy.

But let me tell you, parenting is very hard work, emotionally and physically.

I was a very independent child, fairly responsible, and even if I had to copy someone else’s homework, it was always handed in on time ! I did not like being late for anything as it gave me great anxiety , and still does. This came from my mother who is never on time for anything.

I always believed that I would make my children into good citizens by teaching them basic human values but lately I’ve been questioning my own parenting skills.

My children are 21, 8, 7 and 4. The eldest is in his third year of college and a millennial. I need not say any more about him. He fits the model.

The younger siblings are quite spoiled in so much as they don’t want for anything. They have iPads, Wii game systems, toys, bikes, international vacations and the list goes on. There is always food on our table , they get taxi’d everywhere by us, homework is supervised and they are never late for school.

This morning I started thinking perhaps it was time for a fall. They need to learn to take responsibility for keeping their room tidy, getting up when I ask them to , or even setting an alarm and getting themselves up , as I had to do. I believe they should know how feels to be late for school, without their homework done and have to explain themselves to their teacher. Thus preparing them for employment later in life.

Life is not easy and by enabling my children, I am actually making their life harder in the long run and setting them up for emotional ruin. It’s that popular saying just now about ‘every child getting a trophy”, why should they?

In my day it was called the school of hard knocks and I believe it is time for a comeback. Integrity, respect, timekeeping, compassion, kindness, and manners are all learned and followed by example.

My children will have to start fending for themselves in the real world in a short time and I need to be the one to have prepared them ,not having wrapped them in bubble wrap. They need to learn that the world does not revolve around them and that life can be cruel, rewarding, and a happy place all at the same time.

Once they are adults and have their own children , they will look back and realise the time outs ,the need to use a tissue or napkin, to chew with their mouth closed, being grateful, opening doors for their elders, giving up their seat on a bus, a simple thank you to a server , making eye contact, putting down the phones at meals, washing their hands, the need for apologies and replacing of broken toys with their pocket money , were life lessons preparing them for the big bad world.

I go to bed at night, sometimes sad and guilty because I’ve told my children off or they have been sent to bed without dinner for stealing snacks but deep down in my heart I know that if I let them off with these ‘petty crimes of childishness ‘ , it could affect them in the long run.

This isn’t everybody’s way of thinking ,but it is mine. If, at 18 years old ,my children find themselves in jail for a crime they have committed or been an accomplice to , they will stay in jail for a least one night before I pick them up even if they are free after a few hours. They need to understand the severity of their actions ( and fight for their shoes).

I love my children and that is why I am about to become a different parent. It will be subtle and they might never notice, but I will know, and I will smile as they graduate high school , college , cry at their weddings and as I hold my grand babies knowing I made these kids into ‘good people’.

Christmas is over and the relatives have left. Now it’s my turn to clean up the aftermath. There are dishes still waiting to be cleaned, beds to be changed and dirty floors to be mopped.

I’m a practical person so I decided to start at the front of the house and work my way in. Also, my husband is putting in a wall heater in the far back office , and this way I don’t hear his drilling and swearing at the previous owners for shoddy workmanship.

Our tree is still up and will be until after New Year as I still love to sit in this room with the wood fire on and enjoy the tiny sparkly lights, sipping a glass of fine red wine ….anyways I digress.

I hate Legos.
There I said it.
I have stood on too many and yelled at all my kids for leaving them scattered on the floor. I instituted a no Lego out of the bedrooms rule , and yet, it still appears in the kitchen, the bathroom, in the yard , in the cars, once it was even on my bed , well you get the point.

Whilst I was vacuuming today in my pretty front room , I saw a glance of a little yellow Lego head. I did not hesitate but sucked it up. I actually smiled as I did so like some mad , heartless , sadistic housewife hell bent on cleaning her house with no care for her children’s feelings.

Slowly afterwards I started thinking of how that might be the piece they cry for because it’s missing, or that it’s somehow a special collectors block. I rationalized with myself that it’s too bad , that they shouldn’t have left it there in the first place and I had no choice but to suck it up. Then I turned on myself and berated myself for being a Lego sucking Monster that my children would despise.

Seriously now , this is Mothering 101 and I had 2 choices. Deny I had ever seen it, or do the right thing and fish it out the dust.

All of this over a 10c piece of plastic crap has me feeling guilty and now sifting through all of the dust and fur balls I just spent an hour cleaning up.

Aaaargh , they got me again.

Our youngest boy age 6, has become a habitual liar and commits thievery of snacks and small items on a constant basis.
Apparently , according to my research , this is a phase that all children must pass through.
Silly boy is caught every time and is punished by being sent to bed, no snacks for a week, no TV , but still nothing deters him and he lies to our face, even if caught red handed.
It’s odd ,because he is a nervous little fellow ,and you would think he’d want to stay under the radar. Perhaps it is the negative attention he craves.
My boys have taken so many ridiculous items to school in the past, that each morning I search their bags. This morning the littlest bag was jingling with coins.
I asked him where he was taking them and where he got them from. He became very flustered which is usual for him and wouldn’t answer me , again being silent as is his go to.
He eventually told me that he took them from a small bowl I have on the kitchen table.
Stealing is not acceptable in our house and he received a telling off he won’t forget.
Once we were in the car on the way to school I calmly asked him why he took the coins.
His answer ” well there’s a boy in my class called Zachary and his cousin was born with only half a heart and they’re collecting pennies to help him get better”
I felt like crap and told him that all he had to do was ask, and a bag of pennies would be sent to school.
I encourage my children to talk and ask for things but still this phase is a very difficult one and I will be glad when it’s over.
They truly want for nothing and live a very comfortable life.
Why lie and steal? If you want the chocolate cookie , ask for it , you might just get it.

 

I use my sheepskin boots for when we go glamping, and in the winter around our property. They are so generic that people make fun of white girls with Starbucks wearing such boots.

I wanted to make mine custom and so when I spotted
these in Costco for $30 I was sold. 

I thought briefly about dying them a crazy color , or painting them wonderful hues. In the end , I was drawn to a tool I had buried deeply in my craft room, a wood burning tool. I read up on it and apparently it will work on leather too.

I looked up henna designs as I’m currently a little obsessed with the art of body painting. Probably because I’m too OCD to have a tattoo , it needs to be temporary , and able to be changed if required or desired.

I had to freehand this design as I couldn’t find a way to transfer my design onto the boot. I used a pen as pencil didn’t show up dark enough. I was nervous.

I heated up the tool and it burned beautiful dark lines into the suede fabric. The smell was a little funky but not horrible.

I’m delighted with the end result.

These boots are now made for walking…in my style!