Goodbye Summer...

It's rained a lot this week, the evenings are closing in earlier and Heidi and I baked apple crumble this week... That means only one thing...

Autumn is on its way.

And with the arrival of my favourite season comes the slow farewell to summer; goodbye to warmer temperatures and long evenings, goodbye to the freedom of summer holidays, goodbye to bare feet and tanned shoulders. Farewell to a summer of wonderful memories made.

And so our little house is ready for the changing seasons too... Beach scene frames look out of place in front of a rainy window and blues and whites are ready to be packed away in favour of oranges, reds and browns...

It's been a wonderful summer, but I'm ready for change...

Autumn, my old friend, you are welcome here!

Real Life: Behind the Scenes at our House

I think it's fair to say that all of us like to put our best face forwards... The face we like the world to see... The "I'm sorted with a beautiful home, perfectly behaved children and I feel happy and fulfilled all the time" face, the "I never lose my temper, shout at my children or sulk at my husband" face. But I think it's also fair to say that we all know that's not reality.

I try and be real in this blog, and honest. Like most families across the country we have great days and awful days. And I suppose it's instinctive that I assume you would rather hear more about the good ones than the days we muddle through and it's all a bit chaotic and the girls are squabbly and I have a baby constantly attached to me. Because we have those days too.

I was chatting to a lovely lady at church on Sunday, and she commented on how idyllic it all seems, and while, yes, we are very blessed and we have lots of lovely moments, I realised that perhaps my blog has become a bit imbalanced in only showing the lovely moments, and not the 95% of chaos that surrounds the 5% of loveliness!

So I thought I'd share some of the less perfect moments around our household, the ones where the flowers die, and naked barbies are strewn across my decorative displays, where mountains of
washing need to be done and where the ironing pile is ever growing...

And also, I thought I'd let you in on the real reason everything runs like clockwork round here...

He's just the best

The Ordinary Moments - Play...

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning,

But for children, play IS serious learning...

Play is really the work of childhood"

- Fred "Mr." Rogers -

A weekend of sunshine, a garden calling, two little girls happy to be out while Mama and Papa got on with their weekend chores.

 A little Hütte with windows to clean, meals to be cooked and a tea-party courtesy of our lovely nextdoor neighbour who hands them fresh-baked iced cakes over the fence.

These are the ordinary moments of our weekends. The play. The imagination. The freedom. The opportunity to let the girls learn as they explore the world around them, as they reenact the daily life they see in front of them, as they "perform" Disney song after Disney song at the top of their lungs...

Sometimes I feel guilty when we spend Saturdays at home, when Dave and I get on with odd jobs and leave the girls to their own devices. But I'm learning that sometimes that's the best thing we can do for them. Step back. Let them learn to amuse themselves. Let them come up with their own games, use their imaginations, have space to get bored and learn that that's OK. Let them sort out their own disagreements and figure out a way to work together without us intervening.

It's all learning.

And in a world that is obsessed and saturated with constant entertainment and background noise and screens and having every experience life has to offer by the time you're five years old, maybe that's the best kind of learning there is...

Maybe that's exactly the kind of learning they need.

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Making space...

There's something about the drawing near of September. The last couple of days have been rainy and drab, and yesterday I lit my first autumnal candle... in August! It's far too early, but the last couple of days really have felt autumnal!

September for us means back to routine, it means early up, Papa back to work, weekday activities and the arrival of autumn. This year, there will be an added change. Ava is starting in Nursery class. Which means Heidi and I will have long mornings to pass on our own. I know one little girl who is going to miss her big sister dreadfully, and me? I really can't remember what life was like with only one child to look after! I will miss our big girl terribly, but I know she's ready for it, and I know she'll love it. I guess its chapter one in the book that all parents work through called "Gradually letting go"... I'm so glad we're right at the start of that book!

And so the end of the summer holidays is an opportunity for us to get our lives in order before the start of the new term... so far, three stuffed bin bags have gone to the charity shop, a large amount has been thrown out, and we are decluttering our lives.

Something about the country life I experience in Norway, combined with the onset of September and a new term, makes me want to strip back at this time of year. Get back to basics. Clear our heads. Clear our cupboards. Clear our drawers and baskets and hidden corners...

And there is something incredibly rewarding about it. About getting back to basics. About making space in your life, and in your home, to be able to appreciate it better.

So this week has been labelled "Operation Clear Out"... for the past seven days, we have sorted, thrown, organised, decluttered, cleaned and rearranged. And I actually feel like I have space to breathe again. We still have a way to go, but boy does it feel good.

And on that note I'd better head off... I've got another cupboard to clean out! In the meantime, I'm going to hope for at least one more week of summer weather before the autumn hits for real!

The day we hit the Country Living Fair!

A little while ago, my lovely Mum asked if the girls and I would like to accompany her on a trip to the County Living Spring Fair in London. We had gone together, with my sister, three years ago when I was pregnant with Ava and had a wonderful time. The opportunity was too good to resist.

Of course, it was only afterwards that it dawned on me that a trip with a two-year-old and a one-year-old in tow, might be a slightly different kettle of fish!

 

With Ava, at least, I could chat it all through in advance. Showing her the leaflet, and talking with her about all the prettiness of spring.

 

By ten o'clock yesterday morning, we were ready to roll!

The Fair was packed from floor to ceiling with stalls selling all manner of hand-crafted and vintage goods - homeware, soap-stalls, garden stands, antique sellers, vintage clothing, beautiful woodware, quilters, framers, artists... You name it, they were there.

We spent the first half hour, trying to figure out the best way to juggle with the combination of the girls and a single buggy. I'm not going to lie and pretend I wasn't wondering why we had bothered coming, but after a bit of manoeuvring around, we put Ava in the buggy and Heidi in the baby bjorn and there was happiness all round. Ava sat and played with her McDonalds toy, and Heidi took in her surroundings, pointing at everything and "ooh"ing and "wow"ing!

We learnt how to make a bird cake, how to set up a bug hotel and moseyed round the stalls at our leisure. A few purchases were made... Another pretty suitcase to add to Ava's collection, a pretty springtime plate (see above), a very cute owl print, and a beautiful handmade felt crown for birthday celebrations. I was tempted by a lot more, but at some point, you have to be sensible and realise you can't buy it an entire conference centre, however pretty everything is!

There were perhaps less homeware stalls than last time, which are always my favourites, but there was still a wonderful variety and everything was, as it always is, just so pretty and springlike.

I am so ready for this season!

  All in all we had a lovely time and returned home with two happy shoppers, and two exhausted girls. It was a lovely day out and I'm so glad we did it...

But I'm also so glad it's the weekend tomorrow!

Phew!

**I was not sponsored or given any incentive to write this post. The opinions are all mine.**

How to Spring Clean your house in manageable steps: 40 Bags... Savouring the Season Linky Party 25

It's that time again... the buds begin to show on the branches, the sunshine starts to creep through, the rain (finally!) begins to wane and the dreaded "Spring Clean" commences...

I've gone through a few phases on this one...

Phase One: Spring Clean? What's that?
Phase Two: Big plans = total overwhelming failure
Phase Three: 40 bags in 40 days...

The last one is an idea I would truly love to claim as the ingenious idea of my own brain, but sadly I can't. It is, in-fact, the brain-child of the lovely Sarah at Clover Lane (which after 3 years of blog-reading remains to this day my absolute favourite, number-one blog to read) who is a self-confessed obsessor over cleanliness and lack of clutter. I am not one of these. I mean, I like cleanliness, and I like order, but I am prone to leaving the odd (understatement) "pile" of "stuff" on the stairs for someone to trip over, or on the side of the piano, or... you get the picture.

ANYway... a few years ago, I came upon this little project that Sarah does every year to spring clean her entire house top to bottom and I have totally fallen in love with it. It's been my Spring project the last couple of years, and its the only thing that's worked.

It is genius... and works right alongside the Lenten period (which I know started last week... OK, I'm a little behind schedule this year!)

So are you convinced?? Why not join in the fun this year...

40 BAGS IN 40 DAYS

Step One: Make a List. Number 1-40 down the side of your page and by each number write down an area you want to declutter. The KEY is to keep the areas small and manageable... e.g. Day One: Bathroom cabinet, Day Two: Medicine Cabinet etc etc

Step Two: Gather your equipment. I have a little bucket that I keep everything in... disinfectant spray, a cloth, baby wipes, and a bin bag (preferably black). You're all set to go.

Step Three: Each day, I take a little bit of time to tackle that day's area. Some days it literally takes me 5 minutes, other jobs are bigger, so I leave them to days I know I'm going to be around. Some days I might be on a roll and cover a couple of days at once (always a bonus as then I get a day off!) Whatever you do, the key is to set aside ten minutes a day to tackle your area.

Step Four: Be lethal. Empty out said area and chuck anything that hasn't been touched since the year before; half used conditioners, jeans with so many holes they're now officially indecent, toys the girls have forgotten about (hence the black bin bag... prevents a sudden rekindled interest in that toy!) Chuck what needs chucked and take whatever you can to the charity shop.

Step Five: Once everything's emptied out, give a quick spray of disinfectant and clean the drawer/shelf/box/cupboard in question before packing the "to-stay" items back in again.

It is quick, easy and effective... and by Easter you know you have a house that has literally been cleaned top to bottom. It is such a good feeling!

Of course, its also a time to reflect. To recognise the absolute abundance of "stuff" that we have accumulated, and remember, and practically give, to those less fortunate than ourselves.

So, who's with me??!

Link up your springtime posts below! Spring-cleaning, Spring adventures... anything and everything which is #SavouringtheSeason and please, please, PLEASE do go round and comment on each others. Even if its just the couple before your link!

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SO glad spring is finally here!!!

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Project Playhouse: The Building Phase...

Project Playhouse in underway!

We've gone for a joint birthday present for the girls this year - a little playhouse that they will hopefully use all summer long. I was feeling very inspired by some of my fave German and Norwegian bloggers and thus the idea was born.

And on Saturday, it started to become a reality!

SO exciting!

Me, my Dad, and a tonne of tools

:D

We finished the house around 7pm... it was pitch black and we were working with a little pocket torch, and I couldn't get any photos because it was so dark... this week's aim is to paint it and decorate the inside ready for Heidi's birthday on Tuesday.

I have a sneaking suspicion the two little  girls in our household won't be the only girls enjoying our little Hutte!! I have to admit... I'm pretty excited myself...!

Clearly still a child at heart!

* * *

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Threading little beads...

Keeping a clean house is like threading beads on a string with no knot on

- Amish Proverb - 

Wowzers. If ever there was a proverb that rang true with every housewife across the country, it would be this one! Yesterday I was up early... Really early. Like 5.30am early. Ava has had a chest infection, and while she's much better now, the lingering cough seems to disturb her in the morning hours. I hear a quiet thump, a little pitter patter, and next thing I know there's a cosy little body snuggling into mine and asking to go downstairs for some warm milk. I managed to hold her off for 45minutes, but she's basically a little windmill and no fun to sleep beside, so at 6.15 I gave in and down we headed...

I find getting up early hard... But let me tell you, I never regret it. By 8am I had both girls up and dressed, downstairs dusted and hoovered, bedding changed and the bathroom cleaned. Those early hours may be painful, but my word are they productive! I'm almost tempted to set my alarm for 5.30am every morning (I said almost) just to get on top of everything.

Getting on top of everything. A funny phrase. And one that I am increasingly realising is actually humanly impossible. I discovered the little proverb above this week and it rings so TRUE with me. One day, you may get on top of everything, but the very next morning, the toys will be everywhere, breakfast will be spilled on your hoovered floor and there'll be a fresh pile of dirty washing.

How do we respond? It's easy to feel despondent and yet as with everything, we have a choice. Sitting on my kitchen window sill is one of my husband's favourite bible verses...

Rejoice always, pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances...
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

It's a good reminder when I'm feeling loaded down.

So yesterday I rejoiced in housework... Not always an easy task... But being grateful that I have a family to care for, a home to look after, mouths to feed, clothes to wash, toys to clear away. Sometimes I realise I just need a healthy dose of perspective, and then I remember that though those beads keep slipping off that thread, it is such a gift to have such precious gems to thread in the first place...

Larder Makeover: The Big Reveal

Ok... So its only taken 3 years of daydreaming, months of planning, weeks of Pinterest scouring, 2 trips to IKEA and a trip to B and Q, but finally... It's done! And I'm SUPER-pleased with my newly organised larder makeover. Remember how it looked before??

Yuck!!!

Drumroll please!

Ta-da!

I have dreamed about one of those gorgeously organised Pottery Barn style larders for years and we picked this one up at our local antique shop three years ago. It's been perfectly pretty on the outside, and perfectly practical on the inside (in that its done its job in storing our food) but I guess I could see some hidden potential in the depths of its shelves that needed to be unearthed.

So I drew myself a plan on a bit of scrappy paper, measured up and decided that it was time to use the space a bit better. A little explanation... I've actually managed to get MORE in the larder than I had before, even though it looks like there's less!

So here's a little guided tour!

The doors: This was the bit I've been day-dreaming about for years! Down the left hand door, I painted the upper panel in blackboard paint. My plan is to put the meal plan up there every week. I also hung up an onion basket I bought for a bargainous price in Norway this summer. Down the right hand door I screwed up 4 IKEA spice racks and have packed them full of tea, coffee, spices and condiments!

My next step was to sort out the top shelf - the larder had brackets for a shelf (so there obviously used to be one) so all I needed to do was measure it up and buy a piece of wood to create the top shelf. However, I'm not particularly tall, so I decided to build a half shelf to make my baking items easier to reach. The shelf is half the depth of the rest of the larder, but just perfect for storing all my baking goods...

Yes, I know, I need to re-label. These labels have been on for about 2 years and they need an update, but hey - there's only so much a girl can do!

 Boxes that are easy to pull out and store all those half-full bags and packets and bottles!

You just can't beat good old IKEA for storage solutions - I'm loving these plastic 365+ cereal containers. And the jars...

And I finally have somewhere to keep my washing powder and my recycling! Again, IKEA came up trumps!

So there you have it! My new and re-furbished larder. Let's just hope it stays that way!

Someone else rather likes it too...

Out with the old, in with the new!

I am increasingly learning that life is all about seasons...

The other week a friend mentioned to me a post I had written a while back about my cleaning schedule. I am a massive fan of routines and to-do lists, and Ava, who was 6 months old when I wrote this post, was at the age where babies are happy to sit and play while Mama whizzes around with hoover, duster and baby wipes (the most multi-functional item ever invented!) in hand.

Oh, boy; those days are long gone!

I want our home to be clean and tidy and organised; but I also want it to be manageable. And with a two-year-old and a 7-month-old in the picture, I've pretty much waved goodbye to my old way of doing things. I DO think that as the one at home, there is a responsibility on me to do the bulk of the housework. Its only fair when you have a husband working all day (although I must admit he is fab and does far more than I think he should do!) but I also have found that spreading the work out over the week doesn't work for me anymore.

Our family grew last March, and with two children, life became a bit more manic - I struggled to remember what I was "supposed" to be doing, what needed doing, or when things had last been done, and to be honest, my response to feeling a little bit overwhelmed by it all was to let it go a bit...

Cue disaster zone.

Add in a month's stay in hospital and a summer away from home, and you can imagine what it was like. If it hadn't been for Dave, the house would most probably have resembled a bomb site.

It was frustrating and I felt like I wasn't really achieving anything, and I felt I wasn't fulfilling the role I was meant to. And so I ended up being grumpy, and feeling guilty, and then feeling guilty about being grumpy...

And so evolved my cleaning day.

Hello Blitz-the-house Monday!

On Mondays, I put Heidi down for a nap at 9am (as usual), and then its all systems go... I strip down the beds, stick a wash on, clean the bathroom while Heidi's settling and then I dust and hoover upstairs while Heidi's in her initial deep sleep. That way the hoover doesn't disturb her. After that, Ava and I head downstairs and I have a good hour left of Heidi's nap to get the rest done. Whatever doesn't happen on a Monday, doesn't happen. I found that hard at first, but I'm learning that I need to be realistic, and actually, in a weird way, knowing its my one opportunity keeps me motivated and makes me get on with it. I can't put it off til "tomorrow".

The thing is, I'm holding it all loosely, because I've no doubt it will all change again when our circumstances change. Right now, it works for us, and the extra incentive of a cup of tea at 11am (or lunch if we're running a bit behind with getting everything done in time!) with my lovely friend Anna post cleaning morning helps me have a target to work to too!

I don't have this sussed. The down side is, I no longer really get to do the "deep clean" stuff - you know, the proper clearing out drawers and cupboards, cleaning out the oven, descaling things etc etc, but you know what? That's OK for now. I just need to find other opportunities to do those things and they aren't going to get done as regularly as they used to. Keeping our home clean and safe, with clean clothes and food on the table is the main thing. And ultimately, my priority is not having a show-home house that could be part of the Ideal Home Show. Its providing a home for our family.

So today, while you're reading this, I'm probably flying round the house with a duster in hand while Ava creates chaos behind me!

What do you do to keep on top of your cleaning? Do you have a system? Have you found there are "seasons" in life where you have to let some things go? How do you stop becoming too "house-proud"? I'd love to know your thoughts!