Saturday, April 13, 2013

New home, new priorities

Lichen!
A new chapter of our lives is about to begin. It feels like buying our own home is something we've dreamed about for so long, it is hard to believe that it is actually happening in only a few short days.
We have been lucky enough to live in some beautiful homes over the years, but none of them were truly 'our home'. Now we get to finally settle and build our life in a place that is all our own.
I'm feeling so excited about so many things, I thought I'd share some of my hopes and dreams for our new home.

1. Develop a true sense of community. I can't wait to get to know our neighbours, and become an active member of our new community. I'm ready to join an association at the local school or community centre, and just get involved and feel a part of something long term.

2. Grow our own food. We have never had a space to garden so this will be my first ever attempt at getting to know an outdoor space and learning how to grow and preserve my own food. Putting in some raised beds will likely be our first step this summer.

3. Keep our house more organized and clean. No more clothes not being put away or beds not being made, it is time to give all of our belongings a permanent home and take responsibility for our space. I'm going to try and get Caleb to help out with this goal, and I'm planning on giving him some of his own responsibilities. Just last night we decided that one chore he could take over is clearing and setting the table. We've officially given him the title of  'table captain', which he seemed excited about. We are going to try and give him an important role and make it seem as exciting as possible!

4. Stick to a family budget. This will be a really positive (and necessary) step for us to take and I actually can't wait to crunch the numbers and create a plan for us to stick to. Geez, that truly was an adult statement!

5. Have my own space to get creative. We'll soon have a home office (!!) and a workshop in our basement. I can keep all of my supplies in one place and hopefully I'll be inspired to take on lots of craft and DIY projects. I have big dreams in this department and I can't wait to get started.

6. Sort out our night time routine, once and for all. It's time for me to admit it - Caleb, at 3 years and 3 months, still isn't sleeping though the night. I think it is partly our fault, partly Caleb's personality and partly the various living situations we've been in over the past 8 months. I shared a bedroom with Cale in Jamaica for 4 months, then things didn't improve too much during our time at the glass house. We have one bedroom which is an open loft, so our sweet little fella sleeps only 1 meter away from mom and dad.  We take turns putting him to bed each night, which means we actually lay in bed with him until he is asleep and then we sneak away for a few hours before heading to bed ourselves. Every night, Cale wakes up crying and I roll out of one bed and into another, and end up sleeping with Cale for the remainder of the night. Every night. I'm ready for this to end and to finally get a good sleep routine going that will benefit all of us. Uninterrupted sleeps are still a fantasy for me, but I know we will get there. I think since Cale has never had a 'comfort item' he still uses me as his security blanket. When he wakes up in the middle of the night and his beloved blankie (me in this case) is not beside him, he starts to cry. Time for him to learn to self soothe once and for all. As always, I'm always up for hearing advice from others who have dealt with similar sleep issues. I know it can't just be me who has found themselves in a less than ideal sleep situation 3+ years later...surely!


Bring it on mom, I'm ready!

2 comments:

Grandma Linda said...

WONDERFUL BLOG ASHLEY! I am so happy for you all to finally have your own place.
I just wish it were next door to us :)

Kathy said...

New house, new beginnings! I am so happy for you guys! Now that Caleb will have his own room, that can become some of the 'thrill' of staying in his own bed, with a special toy, maybe a special sticker chart for staying in bed all night? We give Monica a sippy cup that she keeps in bed all night so she doesn't need to call us for water, which helps. We are going to doing some cottaging/visiting with Monica in a sleeping bag this summer, so I will be feeling your pain about her staying in bed!