..nooks and crannies..

I think my favorite spaces in our new home are the smallest ones. The places where we attempted to capitalize on the space we had, so as not to waste a bit of it.

My first love in this house is the bookcases. It was really an afterthought as we started considering the interior finishes. Why not have a wall of bookshelves? In our previous home, we had bookshelves scattered all around the house in various rooms. I was constantly shuttling books from point A to point B, in hopes that I could remember where to find a book, or spark interest in one of my youngest readers. To have all of our books in one place seemed like a dream.

And I promise you, it has been a dream. My children are constantly finding new books in the bookcases. They enjoy organizing the books according to size, subject, readability...you name it. There are parts of the bookcase dedicated to crayons and colorbooks, puzzle books, and games. It's a nice change from the haphazard way things were organized before.

There are some empty spaces, and that is a good thing. I would rather these bookcases evolve, grow, and change with our family.

My second love in this house is my pantry. Or, as Isaac would spell it, my pan-tree, get it? I have never had a walk-in pantry before, and now I doubt I could ever be without one. Not only can I store numerous appliances, but also all of our dry and canned goods. Standing amongst these shelves there is both comfort and longing. Comfort in knowing everything is in one place -- that I don't need to look in hidden corners to find all that I need. Longing -- the wanting to fill these shelves with things made and preserved by my own hands, from my own garden. Someday.

In conjunction with the pantry, I also have a baking station. The idea behind the baking station was to have a part of the kitchen dedicated solely to my baked goods. Counter top material and height were to be "baking friendly," which meant a lower height and some sort of stone material. We were fortunate to find a remnant of soapstone to use on this little nook, and, properly seasoned, it promises to make the task of kneading that much easier, along with the reduced counter height (It has already shown promise).
 

I think, no, I know, Rich's favorite part, is that we can close the space up and tuck it all away. I can be a bit of a whirlwind in the kitchen -- especially when I am juggling bored young ones and baking. It is very easy to just shut the doors and walk away, either closing up shop for the day, or putting on hold the job of clean up for a later time. And no one but me ever knows the difference.

The last space that I have grown quite fond of is the mudroom. Initially we thought to make it a laundry/mudroom, as our old house was. I am so glad we moved the laundry to the side of the house with the kids bedrooms, and left the mudroom as simply, the mudroom.

It has a drain in the floor, which is genius for these winter days and upcoming spring days where nothing but muck is tracked in. Everyone has their own cubby with a drawer below and a cabinet above, which right now holds shoes and extra coats/snowpants. All winter gear -- hats, gloves, scarves -- are contained in the box below the cabinet. Coats, backpacks, and snowpants are hung from the hook within each space. Library books find a space on the shelf or the bench, wherever there is more room.

At first I thought it would not be enough room. Winter can be a beast with all the gear that can be involved. But it has proven to be more than enough room, and is a comfortable space to store exactly what we intended. I love that our doorways are no longer cluttered. I suppose I cannot say the same about that whiteboard chock-full of papers, eh?

It's these nooks and crannies that make this house our home. They are the bits that illustrate how our family lives, and what we value. Organization is important in a family of five. There are a lot of mouths to feed, there are a lot of papers coming home,  and there are a lot of personalities to keep entertained. The peace of mind that comes from knowing how to find what you need when you need it, is invaluable. I think that's why I'm so fond of these spaces.They aren't just an exercise in how not to waste space, they truly are my sanity savers.

..heart of the home..

Welcome to our home. I thought I would show you around a bit. Give glimpses of this space that we have worked so hard to create specifically to suit our family.

It was almost a year ago, when we purchased this land and began the arduous process of designing this home. Trying to sort our needs from our wants, and trying to keep in mind how our family will age and change.

This home is far from complete. Right now, our main living area is finished. Our bedrooms are (mostly) complete, and we have a full bathroom and a couple of half bathrooms that are more than enough for us right now.

The parts that remain unfinished, we'll slowly tackle one by one. The master bathroom, the yard, the deck, the basement.... yes, in due time, all of these parts will be worked on. Some sooner than others, but all with as much thought and care that has been given to the rest.

The heart of our home is the kitchen and family room space. Open floor plans work well for us, as we like having a common area. Everyone can be doing something different and we are all still in close proximity to each other, whether it's playing a game, reading, knitting, cooking a meal, playing music, or watching TV. This communal space is comfortable, and the views are quite peaceful.

We opted for a kitchen island that has bench seating. This eliminates the don't-lean-back-in-your-chair reminders that became so frustrating. Instead, we deal with the sit-upright-and-eat reminders, which are marginally better. That, and the crumbs that invariably fall between the cracks in the bench. (Did I mention there's storage space in those benches?)

The ongoing theme as we constructed this home was to utilize every space we could. We didn't want wide open spaces that served no purpose. Even the wide open spaces we have in the basement are filled with basketball games, skateboarding, and tennis practice. I'm certain I will regret the decision to allow this as things are slowly broken down there....

But this main living area? Yes, it is nice. It's funny to think that this home was all a twinkle in our eyes one year ago. As we stood in our wide open field talking to the excavator, I remember he lifted his measuring stick and told us where the floors would be in our home. I sat there in awe, not knowing what to think. And now here I sit (on a chair) on that floor, grateful for all that we have accomplished in a year's time. And eternally grateful for the new life we have here in this little town.

..hibernation..

I feel as though this blog has been in a deep sleep for the past few months. It makes sense, really, as there have been so many things going on in our lives since last August. I am just starting to feel a sense of rhythm that has been missing or fractured since our move to Wisconsin.

It's not a bad thing at all, I promise. Like my middle child, I do struggle with change. However, with this move, I have found that the good far outweighs the bad. As I look back on the last 5 months, there have been those moments of frustration, moments when I'm feeling so overwhelmed I'm not sure where to even begin. But more significantly, I have been allowing myself to just enjoy many of these changes. A new school. New friends. New routines. New interests. New schedules. New places.

I remember and sometimes long for, the old. But I truly am relishing the new. We are forging a new path, together as a family. It feels marvelous to have Daddy home every single night. We can attend school functions together, we can gather for dinner every evening, and there are no more tearful goodbyes on Monday mornings. Instead, they have been replaced with, "Daddy? Ok, you're going to school and we'll see you at dinnertime? You promise?" because sometimes it's hard to forget the old routines. 

So it's time to wake this space up again. Time to share some of the *new* with you.

 

..amidst chaos..

Oh my, time continues to pass quickly. What have we been up to? Well, let's see....

Visitors. We've had lots and lots of visitors, some from across town, some from a couple of states away, and others from a half a world away. All visits were exactly what we hoped: fun, relaxing, with so much catching up accomplished. We have some amazing friends and family, I tell you.

Vacationing. We took our first vacation to a lake. Some dear friends invited us to their family cabin, where we enjoyed all manner of water sports: tubing, skiing, swimming, boating, and fishing. We all had a fabulous time! We look forward to being able to stay longer next summer....

Building. Our house construction is underway. Heavens, the delays. Part weather, part permits, I'm grateful that going into this process my expectations were low. While the delays have set us back about a month or two at this point, the hubby and I would much rather have things done right than rushed for the sake of meeting a deadline. And honestly, it allows for more time to pack and make decisions...lemonade out of lemons, no?

Packing. In the midst of all these delays, we have still opted to move. We have found a temporary place that is more than adequate for the short term. It may be small, it may be without some of our things, but it will allow the kids and hubby the opportunity to start this new school year together. What a novel idea, living in the same place during the school year, eh?

Games and tournaments. We have weathered 3 tennis tournaments and 9 flag football games this summer, with countless hours spent at the park or on the courts practicing. These children of mine love being outdoors and playing their hearts out, and I certainly enjoy watching them.

Canning. Of course. This season we did not do a CSA, since our living arrangements through October are questionable at best, but I have found bits of time to preserve. Strawberries, black raspberries, and corn are all I have done so far. I wish I had time for more, but I can say that I now know how to pressure can. And now I am questioning why it took me so long to muster up the courage to do so.

All in all, it's been a grand summer. We're embracing a new school year in a new place. It's both exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. But this summer? Well, we can look back and say it has been a good one.

..my dad..

It's Father's Day. Let me start out first by saying how much I love my husband and the father that he is to our children. That said, I'm paying tribute to my own father today, a man whom I adore.

I think for Father's Day, I will make a batch of Thousand Island dressing. My father always enjoys telling the story of when he attempted to make Thousand Island dressing for himself and Mary, my stepmother. He had a hankering for the sweet-tart goodness, and thought, how hard could it possibly be? Salivating wildly, he started with a mixing bowl and all the ingredients at the ready. He began the process, trying to find the "just right" proportion of mayonnaise to ketchup. It involved tasting, adding a bit more ketchup, tasting again, adding a bit more mayo. As the story goes, he switched from a small mixing bowl to a medium sized mixing bowl, to a large one, making enough Thousand Island dressing to feed a small army. He thrust himself wholeheartedly into the process, throwing caution and all common sense out the window...until he had in front of him the perfect Thousand Island dressing. Much to the dismay of my stepmother, this was the same salad dressing that probably dressed salads until they couldn't stomach another piece of romaine with that salmon pink nectar pooling on their plates.

I have always been proud to call my father my dad. Coming from a family of divorce, there certainly were times of hardship. I did all the things kids from divorce do: ask why, blame myself, and worry about what my future would be like with a dad that lived so far away. Having almost 40 years experience being a child of divorce, I can say with all sincerity that I have great appreciation for how my parents handled the divorce. My mom never said an unkind word about my father, and my father never said an unkind word about my mother. There was a mutual respect that made it easier on me, and allowed me to freely love both of them -- and not feel badly about it.

Could my dad have been around more? Sure. I like to think that the years he went "radio silent" were probably the years that he didn't need to witness. The awkward, gangly, boy-crazy, angst-ridden teenager that I was would not have mixed well with a man who was stressed in every way possible--physically, emotionally, financially. I am convinced my relationship with him today is as strong as it is because we did have some years apart. And to be honest, my dad has more than made up for the time that he lost.

Whether my father realizes it or not, he has taught me some very valuable life lessons. He would laugh and think that I was being ridiculous by saying that, as he credits my mother with most of the child rearing success. While I will not disagree that my mother was a profound influence in my life, I would argue that my dad was equally as influential, albeit in a different way.

Here are just a few of his tidbits:

1. Laugh. Try and find a reason to laugh everyday. Usually it will be because of yourself.

Truer words have never been spoken. Some of my favorite moments with my father were doubled-over, tears streaming down my cheeks, and gasping for breath. Talk about an ab workout. There were the "Pit" games gone mad, the ruthless cheating at "Uno," or my personal favorite laughing fit with my father during the final scene in "Victor/Victoria."

2. Don't be scared, be smart.

My mom had a way of instilling fear in my sisters and I. She was a worrier of the worst variety. My father, however, always kept a cool head. When it came to fears, he had little sympathy. He grew up in an era where if it didn't kill ya, it made ya stronger. He encouraged us to think before we panicked. Sometimes fears are your mind playing nasty tricks on you...you should never stop living because of them.

3. It's okay to say "I love you."

This was never expressly told to me by my dad, but he was always good at telling us how much he loved us. I still, to this day, give my father a hug and a kiss when I'm saying hello or goodbye. I love that he is freely affectionate and always reminding us of how he feels about us. It was one of the reasons I forgave him for all of his mistakes. All that mattered was that I knew he loved me.

These lessons and so many more, I carry with me everyday.

As a parent myself, I enjoy seeing the little bits of my father that my children carry with them. Isaac has the athletic prowess that I imagine my father did as a young boy. Evy, who is named after my dad, possesses a need for precision in her playing, building, and drawing, much like my father uses precision in his work. Margot is my risk-taker, never afraid to try anything, even if it involves an injury. Similarly, my dad has always enjoyed adventure -- traveling the world, trying new things, even having endured an injury or two.

So on this, Father's Day, I think about, appreciate, and simply love the man I call Dad. He is so perfectly my father, that I wouldn't change a single thing about the person that he is. Well, perhaps I'll just make sure when he visits next, we have some Thousand Island dressing on hand.

I love you, Dad. Happy Father's Day.