Quick Check In.

The last couple days have been pretty busy around here, but it's been so nice to really start getting things checked off the honey do list (mainly mine lol). We got the coops electrical all inspected and bulbs replaced, got the anti theft fixed on my expedition, got some electrical done in the garage, got the trees marked in the new garden are, fixed the chainsaw, knocked down all the trees, got the majority of the coop cleaned out, gazebo set up, etc etc. I feel like I haven't stopped!

I have to admit it's a great feeling to finall see the end nearing on a couple of projects that have been on my list for months. I'm forced to take a bit of a breather right now and rest my back, but plan on getting my butt outside again soon. Hopefully the weather stays good so I can get a bunch of other stuff sold off this week, and finally get to the end of the downsizing we started in September of last year. It's a great feeling to let go of stuff that really doesn't fit you're life anymore.

I'll post more pics once I finish the work on the coop and get the other side cleaned out. I'm so excited to get it all done, and bring some beautiful birds home!

~ Niki

Quick check in.

Today was spent running around delivering stuff I had sold on the local buy n sells, picking up a new pressure tank for the house, grabbing a few groceries, and trying to get as much done while it was snowing/raining as I possibly could. The kids got to have a veg out day after they helped me load up the truck and did all their chores. 

I'm really looking forward to having hubby home tomorrow. Sometimes it's just nice to have that extra bit of adult help around the house. That being said I have a mountain of laundry to tackle, supper to start, cleaning to do, as well as chicks that need their food and water filled for the second or third time today haha. I still can't get over how quickly they are growing up.

Last night was the first night they stayed on the shelf in their tank over night and didn't get brought into my bedroom. The cats actually left them alone other than staining at them through the glass. This for me is great news! Anytime I can cut even one small job out of my day frees up my ability to do something else. 

Well that's it for this check in ... I'll pop in again after I get some stuff done around here.

~ Niki

Busy Easter weekend.

Today has been a crazy busy weekend in our home. Not only was hubby home, but it was Easter weekend. Normally I do the big full on meal, but this year I cut it down and spent the extra time helping hubby, cleaning, and planning.

We did a bit of transplanting, and I got even more of that done today along with starting my herbs etc. I love having my hubby home. That being said I love him working too lol. This current job seems to fit nicely schedule wise. He works 3-5 days during the week and is home on the weekends. It's only a temp gig as he's doing it to help get a friends business rolling in a new to them field. Plus it helps put some cash in the bank since he has been laid off since Valentines Day.

He left again early this morning and will be back sometime Friday. We have really awesome family and friends that are letting him crash in their spare rooms as he's a bit of a nomad right now bouncing from one place to the other. It's nice for him that he's able to catch up with everyone too.

Well this girl needs to get back to purging and listing stuff for sale if I'm ever going to get this homestead going lol will post again tonight if I get a chance!

Stettler Day 3

So today was a little slower, and honestly my feet were rejoicing for it! Still made some amazing contacts. I was even asked to do a makeover session next time I'm in town! YAY! That will definitely be in the works!

Looking forward to being back on May 2 for the women's show. Gonna see if I can work in a makeover party for that weekend! Now to get my booth packed up, get the truck loaded and head home. As much fun as this has been I'm missing my family and can't wait to be home to tuck in my boys and veg out with hubby before bed. 

See you soon Stettler! Thank you for an AMAZING time! ❤️❤️❤️

Another Road Trip, Another Trade Show, Lots of Excitement.

So I had another trade show this weekend in Calgary! I have to admit my favourite part of these trade shows are all the people I get to meet that I normally never would have. The fact that all the vendors are so open and friendly makes things that much more enjoyable. This one I made some really awesome friends! Not just people you meet once then forget about, but true friends. I really felt a connection with some of these ladies and I can't wait to get to know them better.

This time I don't have pictures of my table because I spent too much time chatting to take any haha.

I did get to sneak in a visit with hubby's aunt again, which was wonderful as always.

The trip home however was the most exciting part of all, and not in a good way. Overnight we figure someone had tried to steal the tire off my husbands new truck. I was going 110 km/hr down the deer foot trail in Calgary when the vibration turned into a banging. After pulling over and checking it out I noticed the lugnuts were finger tight. 

I tightened them as much as I could and drove 7 km down the road going 30 km/hr to Canadian tire hoping they would be able to tork them up and I could get a tire iron. Well in that 7 km I managed to snap off one of the bolts. The service staff there were amazing! They torked up the remaining 4 and even checked all the other lugnuts/tires. They charged me nothing to do this either.

After talking to my husband, and confirming with a friend we decided I would get a tire iron and continue my trip home, stopping every 50 km to check the lugnuts were tight. It was a LONG trip home to say the least. 

I did stop in Edmonton at our former neighbours who went over everything for me, and had picked up the bolts we needed to fix the tire when I got home. After a coffee there and quick visit I was back on the road. Eventually I made it home. This was the longest trip yet for me, and I could really go without anything like this again haha

~ Niki

Typical winter "no running around" "home" day.

Get up, make coffee and go stand outside and have half a smoke. (Half because not only am I trying to quit, but it's normally -40c in the mornings or at least feels like it)

Now if the kids aren't up already I either take advantage of the quiet and sit down and do some work (I run my own business, actually a couple of them ... Again another upcoming post), or enjoy the quiet and read a few pages in a book.

Once the kids are up the day officially begins. Breakfast needs to be made (or brunch depending on what time it is) so I get that going, very rarely do my kids have cereal for breakfast, they eat it if they get up before me or if they are in a mood for it, but generally breakfast consists of omelette, breakfast casseroles, eggs on toast, bacon, oatmeal, pancakes, you get the idea. Not a quick pop it in a microwave and poof breakfast in 2 min. This kind of cooking also means extra dishes.

Now I'll eat quick with the boys then go have the other half of my smoke from when I got up.

Next is doing up the pile of dishes that are dirty now. Before you ask, no we don't have a dishwasher, we moved from a 3000sqft house in the city with all the extras (stainless steal appliances, front load high efficiency washer dryer etc) to a 900sqft house on 20 acres. No there's no room for my dishwasher so I sold it! Along with all our other appliances because I'm done living in the rat race of needing to have the best of everything, and need to get back to basics!

Normally the kids are or have been working on their chores during this time. Which consist of, feeding/changing water for the dogs, feeding/changing water for the cats (times 2 since we have an anti social cat that like to be in the basement all by herself), cleaning cat litter, and if it snowed they start the first round of shovelling which is all the walkways and paths (again we're on an acreage there's lots of paths.

Once they have eaten, and chores are all done they generally get some screen time. Which normally means they are playing minecraft or wow with friends, which also means Skype calls as well. Some days they choose to play together on their Xbox, and others ones on computer the other on Xbox. Either way they get some free time.

While they are doing their free time I normally try to do some laundry or cleaning, in between answering emails, doing work, paying bills, baking, ordering this that and the next thing for hubby, or again any combination of the list. It is very rare that I just sit around doing nothing if I'm lucky I'm on my second cup of coffee at this point which is probably cold.

Then we do what most people consider school work. Kids will either work on a lapbook project, have a movie to watch, do research online, work on crafts, cooking, baking, worksheets, experiments, etc. my boys are constantly learning from the min they wake up until the min we go to bed.

In between I'm normally still cooking/cleaning/working when they don't need me. We also have had lunch and a snack or two by this point. Again generally real food, not a microwaveable dish although some days we do have that kinda thing.

Once that's all done the kids would normally go outside start working on shovelling the driveways, take out garbage, burn the burnables, etc. and I'd be starting supper. They also do a second round of food/check the water for all the pets if they haven't done so already.

We eat together as a family, especially supper. That is one meal that we make sure we have together. Whether we eat at the table or on the couch while watching a movie it is together.

The kids deal with the supper dishes and I try to deal with work or school or more things for hubby as well as fold and put away any laundry. 

The night really depends on a lot of things, but is generally family time. 

Once the kids go to bed I take care do any other business/school stuff, catch up with friends, read, clean, bake, sow, crochet, knit, paint, etc. Then crawl into bed myself. 

In between the craziness of the day I've also smoked a few more cigarettes (half at a time), drank more coffee, and had a couple phone call convos with my hubby (the kids talked to him before they went to bed too). 

This is a typical "no running around" "home" day in the winter. There of course are many variations of it, including me helping them shovel outside, snowball fights, running remote controls outside together, taking hikes through the snow to take pics, so on and so forth.

~ Niki