Wordless Wednesday-Refuge chez Mama Manuscripts

What we are up to...

1. Packing up to have a baby and enjoy some time away.



2. Painting the house "wild horses." (pictures to follow soon)

3. Enjoying the spring like weather.....and our first picnic of the season.



4. Filling our freezer with food from Sue Gregg's :Meals in Minutes." (review to follow soon)

5. Trying to get as much school work done as possible while keeping it easy and fun.



6. Fighting over who gets to use the sewing machine (with its newly found foot peddle) to work on their projects for baby.

When Mommy is Reviewing.....

my house goes to shambles.

This is after we picked up half of the wooden blocks!

We must have a new delivery person. We NEVER get flyers and Morgaine was impressed!

Yes, I'm attempting to post more than just reviews.....the theme this week? My messy house!!

I Most Certainly Did NOT Just Post This.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

My husband is an oil burner mechanic. He is highly dedicated to his craft. He is so dedicated that when our furnace started blowing black soot onto into our living areas last week he went down into our scary crawl space of a basement at midnight to fix the problem.

I, on the other hand, am not as dedicated to my craft as a housewife.

I most certainly did not leave the soot on my walls for a week and draw cheesy hearts in it on the bathroom wall. No, not I.



I most certainly did not also draw hearts on the living room wall and the top of the shower stall as well. No, not I?

I most certainly did not start cleaning the wall in Liam's bed room, look at it and get totally discouraged and decide to take a picture of the mess instead. No, not I?



I am most certainly not dreading having to actually get my act together to get the walls cleaned down today. No, not I.

Oh, yes, I most certainly did not let my kids leave the house looking like someone from Oliver Twist. No, not I.

I as a perfect housewife took care of it immediately while my husband was fixing the furnace so my family could have a nice clean home, right?

My Weekend

Feet up....



Textbook ready...



Homemade cheddar cheese and apple scones....




Mama tea for two (and a wee one)....



Finally, board games with the family.....



PERFECTION!!

The Joys of Being a Mother

There's been a lot of poop talk in the house these days....

I have this deal with the children that if they have a poo that is soft then I will be the one that wipes them (I had to strike a deal with them because I was sick of wiping every bum) but otherwise they MUST do it themselves. Well, we have a little something going on. I would hesitate to call it a flu and think it is much more likely the result of too much crappy food topped off with a TON of fruit and nuts. I've been called NUMEROUS times to the washroom to help wipe a bottom. As a result....

....I've been given the name CONSTA-POOP!!

Oh, yes, the joys of being a mother!!

On that note....ENJOY (and not, I will not be teaching this to the children...IMAGINE!!)

A Place of her Own

Ever since she's been born Morgaine has shared a room/bed with someone. As an infant she snuggled in close to Mommy and Daddy and then when she got too big for that, she and Mommy got a room together in the basement where it was cooler. Then, when Mommy had enough of that, Morgaine moved into Liam's bed with him. When we moved to Cape Breton, the room was big enough to have two beds. So she finally had a bed of her own and did really well with it. Liam and Morgaine have very different sleeping styles, though. Liam likes it dark and quiet. Morgaine likes the light on and to sing herself to sleep. Even though there's not a lot of extra room in out house we decided to give Morgaine a place of her own. Daddy cleared out the storage room and Mommy painted (pink, of course!).

Morgaine loves her new room.....



BUT somehow by early morning they usually end up with each other (sometimes in Liam's bed, and sometimes in Morgaine's) and their favorite things to do is to "camp out" in Liam's room on the floor!

What we are up to-Early December

In no particular order...

• Lots and lots of drawing....Liam is making up a fantasy book (mostly drawings), Morgaine is obsessed with drawing princesses and knights, and I am fooling around with my early Christmas gift of professional colour pencils from Mike.


• Gestating a wee baby BOY. 21 weeks along now and looking pregnant and feeling better.


• Hoping to get in a couple births as a doula/labour assistant before my wee baby comes earthside.


• Learning about Advent and trying to get back to a more natural family focused holiday with lots of crafting and baking.


• Learning how to play keyboard (sort of) with Kinderbach (review to follow shortly).


• Working on making the house ready for our spring time addition (we have a couple walls torn out at the minute and hope to get a bathtub put in soon).


• Enjoying drama class. The kids had a blast during their first semester with Class Acts Drama School.


• DESPERATELY searching for my USB wire as I have a ton of photos/post ideas ready but no way to get the pictures off my camera.

Advent is Just Around the Corner

This year has certainly flown by for us. Christmas is just around the corner but before we celebrate Christmas we must also celebrate Advent. Growing up, Advent wasn't really celebrated in my family, though we did attend Church. For a couple years, I attended Our Saviour King Academy in Newfoundland and the emphasis put on Advent was really refreshing. At least weekly (if not daily) all the elementary school would get together and light the advent candles and there would be scripture reading. I also knew a few families that would partake in the tradition as a family (that I got to partake in from time to time). I really enjoyed it. However, as the years went by Christmas got more and more commercial for our family and I have never been very much into the hustle and bustle of shopping and Santa. Now for the first time, Mike and I will be away from our families for the holidays and I am hoping to bring in some of our own traditions (okay, the tradition I would like to start) to the season.

This year, starting on Sunday, the 29th of November, we will be starting a study of advent that you can find here. We may not actually do the lighting of the candles but I hope to do the reading, scriptures with the children. I feel that it is important that they know more about the coming of Jesus. We have read about it before but I think it is time to go just a little bit deeper and I think that my son, who yes, still loves the Bible will especially enjoy this exploration!

Feel free to join us if you will.

Virginia Soaps and Scents

Product: Sample soap kit and laundry soap starter kit
Company: Virginia Soaps and Scents
Price: Various prices (check website for details)

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was excited (and somewhat surprised) to receive a delightful little package from Virginia Soaps and Scents. As someone who likes to play around making my own lotions and potions, I was inspired by the Spargur family who took a homeschooling history lesson and turned it into a work at home opportunity. Virginia Soaps and Scents have created a variety of handmade soaps, lotions, linen sprays and more. As a member of the TOS Homechool Crew, I received 3 sample size soap bars (fresh orange, coconut lemongrass, and oatmeal, milk and honey), one sample shampoo bar, and a starter laundry soap kit to try with my family.

Homemade Soap Bars

My whole family enjoyed these soap bars. Containing quality oils, these soaps felt really rich as we washed but did not leave behind a greasy feeling residue. I had been experiencing dry skin as a result of pregnancy and as soon as I started using these soaps the problem went away. My husband and I loved the fact that these soaps did not melt away in the shower like other natural soaps we have used. In fact, in the month we were using the soaps we only needed about one and a half sample bars (1.75 oz each) for our family of 4. Their standard bar size is 4.5 oz for 4.50$US, so definitely a good value for the price. It's also worth mentioning that Virginia Soap and Scents also makes gourmet soaps that are absolutely beautiful. They have also started selling sampler kits and gift packages that will likely be on my list of stocking stuffers this year.

Shampoo Bar

My son, Liam, and I enjoyed using the soap bar (my husband is set in his ways and my daughter does not have enough hair for me to say whether it worked well for her or not). The first time I used the soap bar it was an experience. My hair felt really, really tangly and my head was pretty itchy. I was not sure that I would want to continue with it. I did, however, and by the third washing or so, some beautiful hair started to emerge. My very frizzy hair was not longer flying all over the place and it was quite wavy. The best thing of all, though, was when I was brushing my son's hair after the first time he used it and he said "hey, Mom, you aren't pulling my hair." His hair that is usually quite tangled was easy to brush for the first time since he's been a baby. I had to say that me head still itches when I use this product, but I don't have any dandruff and neither my son or my husband (who I convinced to try the soap once so he could tell me if it made his scalp itch) have had this problem. I would still continue to use this product despite the fact.


Laundry Soap Kit

I enjoyed using the laundry soap kit to make our own homemade laundry soap. The instructions were easy to follow and the final result turned out looking like laundry soap, thick laundry soap, but laundry soap just the same. It seemed to clean the clothes well and I liked the fact that there were no harsh chemicals/detergents in the product. The mixture ends up quite thick so I would recommend not pouring it directly into the washing machine as it could easily all come out in a big glob. I know that some members of the Crew used a measuring cup to scoop out what they needed. I found that if I shook it well before using then it wass easy to pour. I will likely try to make our own laundry soap from now on as a result of trying this product. As I like to have a bit of a scented laundry detergent I would likely add a couple drops of essential oil to the mixture once it has cooled.

I was very happy with the products that I received from Virginia Soaps and Scents and I invite you to visit their website to view all their products and learn more about the pricing. I do believe that their products are competitively priced and I would not hesitate to buy from them. It's nice to be able to support another homeschooling family with a product that I truly believe in.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

On Gaurd!!

(don't mind the dust bunnies....under the couch doesn't always get the attention it deserves and besides they like it under there).

Our cats are all on edge. They've taken to hiding. They crouch in corners. I've even caught them trembling. Why on earth would our incredibly mellow kitties be so on edge. What could possibly phase them?

Here's what?



Yes, we've done it again. We've let a kitty tug on our heartstrings and we've taken her in. She looks nice and calm, doesn't she? She wonderful with the children and always underfoot. She a little fur ball. But goodness, does she have personality. Each one of our kitties have had the opportunity to witness her fiery side and let's just say the fur was flying. So yeah, "Mama" (she recently had a litter of kitten, no we don't have the kittens, IMAGINE) has the run of the house.

Sleeping on the couch....



sharing the bed with the humans.

No wonder the others are on guard. One of the reasons we got her was to be a companion to our other young kitty but right now she's a bit more than what we bargained for! Poor, poor George! I am sure that with time she'll mellow out and fit right in but until then, I'm sure it will be an interesting few days!

For my Dad

We've been doing a fair amount of yard word in the last couple weeks and I told Dad that I would get some pictures up so that he could see what we've been up to. Welcome to my blog (website), Dad!



We've added cedar mulch along the driveway and walkway.



and around the trees in front of the house.



These were the branches we had cut down when I took the picture. We have almost double now because we decided to take down a bush that was lining the side of our yard. It did not look like it was going to grow and we will likely put up a fence in its place.



This is where the garden is going to go (the place that I had told you about isn't so good...the more I dig there the more buried treasure I find....old frying pans, china, rusty bolts and stuff). I'll start digging it out this week but I don't hold much hope for the vegetables that we have started.

I guess that is about it for now. Please come back again, Dad. Add this site to your favorites. I try to post at least a couple times a week.

New 1 week (okay 1 month) Challenge

Back in the day when this blog was new I decided that I was going to make my office a sanctuary in one week and for only 20 dollars. Well, I've decided to take on a bigger challenge this time. Our old house had a really amazing kitchen and this house, well, the kitchen is the room that needs the most work. Mike was handy enough to get it functional within a couple weeks of us moving in but it still needs significant cosmetic work. My new goal is to fix up the kitchen in one month (okay, I had thought I could do it in 2 weeks but after a couple days of work with little progress I've decided to give myself a little more time) and not spend more than 150 dollars. It'll mostly be a bit of elbow grease and A LOT of painting.

Here are some before pictures:







I also hope to do as much as I can on my own but I needed someone to help with some heavy lifting so I enlisted Mike's help on the weekend and we moved the deep freeze to the spare bedroom in order to finally have a functional laundry room and pantry.



I couldn't be more thrilled with the results. It even gave me room to unpack a few more boxes. Things are finally coming together and I think the results are going to spectacular!

The Last Two Photos

My camera will ever take....

Unfortunately, moments after these photos were taken my camera met an untimely death as it collided with the floor as I was downloading these photos to the computer.

I'll likely be sharing some pictures from the past for the next little while. I had the chance to look back at some pictures today and I'll likely share some of them over the next while until I can get back in business with a new camera.

We're Packing Up

                              Next time I check in we'll be in Nova Scotia, folks!!

That Right! We're moving out and moving on!

Our most anticipated move has nearly arrived. We're all looking forward to the changes that are heading our way in the new year.

 

May your new year be filled with many wonderful things!!

Welcome to the Family, George

Well, you've official been adopted by my daughter....so welcome to this wild and wonderful family George!!

We hope that your stay with us will be pleasant and you'll always have your fill of tuna. You've added to our family already, furry friend. We look forward to all the new adventures that we will have as a family, both of the furry and not so furry variety, in the next year.

With that, I am signing off for the next few days to spend time with my family and friends doing all the wonderful things the season has to offer.

So from George and the rest of the Miller-McMahon clan....SEASONS GREETINGS and may your new year be filled with much happiness!!

'Tis the Season

for rosy checks...

Liam's Cheeks were posting on this site just a little over a year ago. There is still nothing better than the rosy, healthy cheeks of my children!

Yep, that's right.....

...it's snowing.

It looks an awful like  my picture of the first snow last year. It just happened to fall a month earlier this year. Thank goodness the kids seem to have forgotten that we decorated the Christmas tree on the first snow fall last year!!

Finally, the Final Basement Update

The moment we're all been waiting for. The basement is FINISHED!!!

Our family room:

Guest Bedroom

Computer/Sitting room

Sorry the pictures aren't the best...darn that sunlight!! (You might get more pictures when we get the blinds up if you are too sick of our basement by now *lol*)