• October- No Longer A Depressing Month

    30/09/2015 - By 

    I used to dread October. I saw it as the end of everything. October seemed like September’s dirge song. (Is dirge song a repetitive statement?) On top of that, I was always broke in October, so the planning for Halloween festivities depressed me. Every twenty year old knows that Halloween costumes aren’t free, and going out that night is going to cost you at least $100. Depressing. I was never big on Halloween anyway. I never got excited about planning a costume. My father did. Oh man, he would orchestrate the most elaborate costumes and try to get me excited…

  • The Guilt of Not Working

    28/09/2015 - By 

    Being a stay-at-home mom is a job. Actually, it is many jobs. Without breaks. Or bonuses. It is the hardest job I have ever done, and I have had 3 jobs at once. So why do I feel so guilty?   I think the image I found above is fairly accurate. (Thank you, internet.) Except in the last picture have her doing the laundry while booking appointments on the phone, drinking cold coffee, and filling out school forms on the computer…. at the same time as burning lunch and pulling on her jacket to go get her kindergartner…..and it’s what…

  • ‘Girl’ Does Not Have to Be A Four Letter Word

    26/09/2015 - By 

    Let’s talk about the word ‘girly’. People have attached a meaning to girly that I don’t see it as. It is synonymous, in our Western culture, with ‘airhead’, ‘weak’, ‘self-absorbed’ or ‘flaky’. This might sound a bit hardcore feminist but I feel that in our society- either subconsciously or consciously- men are seen as the strength and women are seen as vulnerable or weak. Being girly or feminine is seen as a weakness. Conversations happen all the time where a woman will say, “Well you know how I’m not girly at all, but I bought a dress! A dress! I…

  • The Power of Being Alone

    09/09/2015 - By 

    Wondering Wednesday: The Power of Being Alone. I recently had coffee with a friend who went on a month long trip and spent some of that time traveling alone. Normally an extremely social person who likes to have a friend along, she decided that this time she would do some of it on her own. She looked at landmarks, asked for help and had to trouble shoot some unforeseen problems with arrangements. She did it and feels proud (I am proud of her!) and is now more comfortable being by herself. She stretched her comfort zone to bring about personal…

  • My Favourite Fairytales

    08/09/2015 - By 

    My kids love fairy tales. My son, who is nearly 5, especially. My daughter prefers realistic stories about animal life in nature. My son loves the fantasy and bravado of fairy tales. He loves that an amazing miracle or something comedic can happen at any moment. When my son was two years old he began to love Disney and fairy tales a LOT. I can’t count how many times we watched Cinderella. He would pretend to be the prince that was saving her and it melted my heart. He wants to get to know every blonde girl he sees as…

  • Little House on the Prairie Memories

    05/09/2015 - By 

    When I was a child I read a lot of books about the past. I obsessed over Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables. My dresses from that time are a direct reflection of my tastes in literature. One is a brown dress with a peter pan collar and a small pattern of white flowers and small green leaves. It has long sleeves and goes well past the knee. I could have walked off the set of Little House on the Prairie or Road to Avonlea. I longed to live on a farm, washing my clothes on…

  • Looking Back to July: Saskatchewan Roadtrips

    02/09/2015 - By 

    This summer we went to the prairies, twice. Once to Northern Saskatchewan and one to Southern Saskatchewan. The one to the north was to visit Spiritwood, Saskatchewan and to stay with my best friend and her family. If you have never been to the prairies you should at least once. I know that the mountains get all of the fame, but it is really relaxing on the prairies- especially on the lakes and at farms. There is a sense of peace as you look over rolling hills or endless fields. When you can stare out at land and trees for…

  • School Time!

    31/08/2015 - By 

    My kids go back to school tomorrow. It’s insane how quickly the summer went by, but I guess that is what happens when you are on different road trips for 3/4 of it. I may have been a bit ambitious planning THREE different long distance trips in two months. Between the trips we had just enough time to unpack, do the laundry and pack up again. Something else I made a mistake doing was planning their last trip at the END of August. We don’t have enough time to get them back in to routine for school. Their sleep schedules…

  • My Daughter Inspires Me

    29/08/2015 - By 

    When was the last time you thought of a bigger goal than your own comfort? When was the last time you took time to protect your wellness and mental happiness? My daughter did each of those in two days straight and inspires me more every day. My daughter turned 7 years old yesterday. We threw a party for the Morison side for her, since her grandma was in town. We could reconnect the family and celebrate my daughter turning 7 years old. SEVEN. Six sounds so small and child-like still, but 7 years old sounds incredibly old. Little lady sounding.…

  • My Kids Learn How to Place a Call.

    24/08/2015 - By 

    Do you know what I realized as I dropped the kids off at their grandma’s for a week? I haven’t taught my kids how to dial a phone, or make an emergency phone call! I am kind of appalled with myself. So…before I left grandma’s house for the long drive home, I taught the kids how to dial my phone number and reminded them how to make an emergency call…and also what constitutes an emergency, just in case they thought not being able to find a toy counted. The wonderful off-shoot of this life skill being taught? My daughter has…