Kelsey Diane

Please excuse the mess

"Please excuse the mess but my children are busy making memories"

I can't even begin to express how much I can relate to this saying. One of the things that has shocked me the most about becoming a mother is the amount of cleaning and cooking that comes along with it. It's literally never ending. There is so much cooking and cleaning to be done that if I wanted a clean house even 90% of the time I would never get to spend time with my family. There is always laundry, dusting, polishing, organizing etc.

Someone once told me that I must be a perfectionist because a sign of a perfectionist is that if they can't have everything perfectly in order then they might as well have it a complete disaster which is exactly true for me! If I can't have everything looking just so then It might as well look like a tornado came through my

House and I can almost guarantee you if you show up for a surprise visit at my house in the middle of the week there will be dirty dishes and lots of toys all over the floor.

I spent a long time trying to find a good balance between a well kept house and time to really play with my kids. For a while I found myself flipping out at the kids because the house was a mess. I would literally spend 6 plus hours a day organizing, mopping, dusting etc. Who was I cleaning for? My kids didn't mind the mess and all they really wanted was my time. I decided I hated the mother I was becomming and I wanted my kids to look back and remember a mother that played with them instead of a mom that was always cleaning.

So to anyone who is going to talk bad about the mess in my house - I really don't care about your judgements because I've been busy doing something far more important then keeping a clean house. I've been making memories with my wonderful family. I'm sure one day I'll have more time to keep a clean house and when that day comes I don't think I'll look back and say "I wish I had cleaned more when the kids were young."

Are they all yours?

Are they all yours?

I get asked this question nearly every day.

At the grocery store, at dance class, I was even asked this in my own home last week when I had a repair man in.

When I answer that they are in fact all mine I usually get a disapproving look or a look of pity.

Sometiemes If I'm lucky enough I get some really ignorant person following the original question up with "have you not figured out what's been causing this yet?"

It's so sad to me that people can't imagine that I actually chose this lifestyle.

You see we live In a very selfish time where wants outweigh our needs and happiness is measured in material things so naturally it looks like I am failing in this game called life because I have to sacrifice my wants for my "large" family.

Of course I'm aware that if we didn't have three kids and just stopped at one we could be making yearly trips to disney or living In a much bigger house.

But everyone has a different path in life. If you never dreamed of growing up and being called mommy/daddy I'm not going to judge you so please don't judge me.

I'm exactly where I always hoped I would be.

I'm living my dream of being a young mother to a large(r) family with an amazing husband.

I never longed to travel the world or to be a career woman and I shouldn't apologize for that.

The togetherness, the big family dinners, holidays surrounded by many loved ones are dreams I had.

Of course not every day is a picnic and you may see me looking frazzled more often than not but isn't that the case in everyone's life no matter how many children they have or don't have.

The chaos is comforting for me and I love that everyday I get to wake up and spend my days raising these wonderful children that I was so blessed with.

I may be living a simple life but my heart is full.

Easy powder room update

I am so not on top of this blogging thing. I am also not as on top

of making our new house a home as I was hoping I would be 5 months in but we are slowly getting there. A couple of weekends ago we decided to tackle our powder room. It is the smallest room in our house and therefore the easiest and most adorable to transform :) It is also the bathroom that we all rush in and out of in the mornings so we needed it to be functional for rushed school mornings and we needed it fast. We bought our house brand new which means we had the opportunity to choose all the standard bathroom tiles ourselves. We chose a beige floor tile from the standard selections because honestly there wasn't much else to chose from that was neutral. We love grays, blues & whites so we had this sort of color scheme in mind when choosing a paint color. We went to Sherwin Williams and asked to see the greys with a beige hue in it. After going back and forth we ended up going with a grey called city loft. It is the perfect balance of grey and beige to tie in with our beige floor tiles. Next to tackle we're the dreaded builder bathroom fixtures. My Advice for new home purchasers - have it written in your contract to exclude all builder fixtures! It will save you lots of hassle down the road. They either silicone or cement them on which makes a mess and requires a little

Muscle to remove.

Above are the builders towel and toilet paper roll fixtures for our powder room. Below is how I removed them. There is probably a much more effective way of doing so but I had limited tools and when I get an idea in my head I need to get it done! :)! Since the fixtures are either cemented or siliconed to the wall I knew I needed to break the seal. I had a putty knife laying right beside me and it was thin enough to fit behind the fixtures so I used that and my teeny tiny muscles to break the seal.

Unfortunately because of the way the builders install the bathroom fixtures your going to end up with holes in the wall. Luckily mine weren't as bad this time as they were in my last house but I did have some damage to repair. I used DryDex spackling because I love how it goes on pink and turns white when it is dry. After the paint went on we went shopping

for some simple art and organization pieces. Our biggest obstacle with 5 of us in a 1300 square foot house is storage and keeping clutter free. We bought an adorable medicine cabinet with a fun pop of colour to keep all our medicine/band aids/hair tyes etc organized. Here is the end result of our simple powder room makeover. It's hard to tell from the pictures that there is a change in paint colour but the builders paint was a lot more yellowy beige and the after is as grey-beige. Our 5 year old walked In the bathroom after it was done and said "wow! It actually looks like a bathroom now". It's great how a new coat of paint and a few accessory changes can transform a powder room. The total cost of our powder room was right around $150.

Budget Breakdown

- Paint -

Shwerwin Williams City Loft

I forget the exact amount but let's say $50.

- Medicine Cabinet -

Ikea - Gunnern $39.99

- Toilet Paper Holder -

Ikea - Lillholmen $9.99

- Stainless Steel Toilet Brush -

Ikea - Barren $7.99

- Metal Bucket Garbage Pail -

Dollarama - $3

- Floating Shelf -

Target - on clearance for $4.99

- Stainless Steel Towel Hook -

Ikea - can't find the name but believe it was $8.99 for 2 of them

- Octopus Art -

Target - I believe it was around $26.99

Grand total - $151.94

Time

is something everyone could use more of. Moms especially could always use an extra few hours in the day. I recently stated eating gluten free for health reasons and one of the things I was most worried about was missing out on my favorite comfort foods. Another thing I worried about was the time and effort that gluten free eating would require. A few months into it and I am finding the transition to be surprisingly easy! One of my favourite comfort foods for busy mornings are muffins.
I've tried a few different gluten free muffin recipes and they all usually ended up tasting like hard cardboard and I couldn't even finish a whole muffin it was so bad.
Last week I played around with a new gluten free recipe and was blown away when half of the muffins I made were gone within 15 minutes of making them!
The whole family loved them and had no idea they were gluten free!
These muffins are going to be a staple in our house so I doubled up the recipe so I always have the mix available. I'm always looking for ways to spend more time playing with the kids and less time baking/cooking/cleaning/preparing :)
I also started shopping from the Honest Company and so far I am in love with their products.
The scents are so lovely and I love knowing I am keeping my family safe from harmful chemicals in everday products.
The other perk is that it is deliverd monthly right to my door - one less stop at the store for me means more time playing with my kids.
What are some of the things you do to make more time with your family ?

Best Ever Homemade Gluten Free Muffin Mix

8 cups of gluten free flour

2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups of brown sugar
4 tsp of salt
3 tsp of cinnamon

You can store this mixture in an air tight container for up to 3 months.

To Make the Muffins

2 cups of Best Ever Homemade Gluten Free Muffin Mix
2 tsp of vinegar
1 1/3 cup of milk
2 large eggs
1/2 of melted butter (or applesauce)

add 2 tsp of vinegar to the milk in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes
in a large bowl mix 2 large eggs and 1/2 of melted butter- add milk mixture
Mix the wet and dry ingredients and bake at 325 for 40 minutes.

I added chocolate chips and coconut to this mix but you can add in any fruit etc that you love :)

Enjoy :D

When your a mom sometimes a shower can feel like a vacation. Sometimes I lock the door and just sit for a good 10 minutes beside the shower before even going in so I can have those 10 minutes of me time that are so needed in a busy mommy day. This weekend I was lucky enough to get to escape on a real mini vacation. I went up north to my best friends cottage for a girls weekend. It has been over 2 years since the last time I slept away from my kids and husband

And it was wonderful. (Although I missed my family like crazy) I layed in the sun, drank wine, read magazines in peace and laughed with good friends. On Sunday I drove home from the cottage and picked up my husband to go downtown to meet my mom, nani, brother and step dad to go see Queen with Adam Lambert at the Air Canada Centre. The show was incredible but I couldn't wait to get home to my babies. It's funny how when your in the chaotic day to day moments of being a mom you find yourself caught in thoughts of what life would be like if you had all the freedom in the world again but take me away from my babies for 1 night and although I loved every minute of relaxation I found myself craving the chaos and cuddles.

Gluten Free Bacon Cheddar Scones
2 cups of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Bisquick Mix

1/4 cup of bacon cheddar garlic butter2/3 cup of milk 3 Eggs

Cut the bacon cheddar garlic butter into gluten free Bisquick mix

using two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and eggs.

Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet or a greased muffin tin.
Bake at 425 until golden brown.

Those of you who know me know that lately I have been eating mostly Gluten Free.
Before you all roll your eyes and say ``oh, another one of THOSE`` know that I am not eating this way to lose weight or to be trendy.
If I could indulge in all things gluten all day everyday I would but unfortunately I can`t.
Since I can remember I have suffered from what Dr's called IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).
I also have suffered from low iron, chronic fatigue, eczema and severe bloating.
After having Luca last year I started developing really bad rashes on my arms, feet and elbows.
I went to the Dr. who prescribed cortisone cream like many times before but this time the rashes were not going away.
I talked to a friend who was in school studying to be a nutritionist and she suggested cutting out gluten from my diet.
I cut it out for about 2 weeks and noticed a world of a difference.
Not only was my rash less inflamed but I found I had about 10x the energy I usually have.
I ate something with gluten in it during this trial and within a couple of hours I had a rash all over my lower arm.
The day after I had consumed gluten I had a migraine and felt so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.
Since then I have been doing my best to eat gluten free.
I won't lie and say I am enjoying eating only gluten free.
I miss my gluten but I don't miss gluten nearly as much as I thought I would.

Probably because the thought of the rashes and exhaustion coming back terrifies me.
( and probably because most potato chips and french fires are glutten free WOO HOO)
I am going to see the Dr. in the next few weeks and I am going to mention to her I'd like to be tested for Celiac.
I sincerely hope I don't have Celiac and im crossing my fingers that it is something completely different than a gluten intolerance.
I would really love to just eat all the yummy stuff I used to eat without worrying about feeling like crap the next day or breaking out in a rash but I have a strong feeling this won't be the case.

There are so many great products available for people on a gluten free diet but I find most of them taste like cardboard.
I have been sticking to good old meat, veggies and fruits for 98% of my diet.
I know I need to try to incorporate more grains into my diet but I am slowly trying to figure this gluten free thing out.
I did find one gluten free product that I am happy to say does not taste like cardboard at all!
Betty Crocker makes the most delicious gluten free Bisquick mix that I have been obsessed with so I hope all you on a gluten free diet can enjoy!!!

Emma & Audrey's Glam Girls Room

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

On Saturday we woke up early and went to the Farmers Market
We didn't end up buying anything other than Ice Cream but it was nice to get out for a beautiful day and see a wonderful community gather to support one another and enjoy some live music.
Tonight I am headed downtown for a concert with a friend.
I'm really looking forward to a night out.
The girls and I did some planning for their new room this weekend as well.
Before we moved I had the girls pick their paint colour and they went with a pale aqua colour.
We talked about what sort of things they wanted to see in their room and Emma suggested a
"Glam Room"
She's such a girly girl.
I asked them to give me 1 idea each for their new room, something they really wanted to have in their special space.
Emma said she wanted pictures of her favourite singers - Katy Perry and Sabrina Carpenter.
Audrey said she wanted Christmas Lights in her room.
There shared room is really tiny and we have just enough room to fit their bunk beds and a dresser so it's important we keep their room simple.
Emma asked if she could have a mirror in her room so I think a small round mirror will be perfect.
I'm planning to put a shelf underneath the mirror so she can put her brush and some lipgloss etc. on it.
Target had these adorable knit poufs a while back and I'm hoping I can find the same thing when it comes time to complete their room.
It would be perfect to sit on to read and can tuck away in their closet when not in use.
The girls and I sat together and made up a little Glam Room inspiration board.

Homeowners Club Series - How we got into the housing market before age 25.

I have been asked a lot of questions in the past few weeks about our recent home purchase.
People are curious how we got into this crazy housing market at a young age and what steps they need to take in order to join the homeowners club. I am no expert but I would love to share our experience with other young people hoping to become home owners.
Every Thursday I will write a new post about becoming a homeowner and what life as a homeowner is really all about.
Today I am sharing with you how we managed to get into this housing marking before the age of 25.

Our First Home

When I was the young age of 20 and my husband three years my elder we purchased our first home.

A townhouse that I blogged about here.
When all my friends were making College and University plans in high school I was making plans to save money to buy a house.
I had a goal in mind - I would own a house by age 20.
I planned to work, avoid renting and save up a down payment.
Looking back now dreaming about College and University probably should`ve been my biggest priority but live and learn right?
I never quite understood why my friends were so eager to get out of their parents house and start renting.
Of course I wanted to finally feel like an adult and have my own space but
why would I give away my money to make someone else richer?
I did end up renting and going to College for about 6 months and I absolutely hated it.
There were bugs in my apartment, the halls smelt like cigarettes, I was terrified in the parking garage at night and I was spending money to live there and making someone else rich.
My rent (although split between a roommate and I) for a 2 bedroom apartment was actually more expensive than our first mortgage.
I quickly decided after my lease was up that I would never ever rent again.
Instead, Louis and I decided we would suck it up and live with family until we were able to save up a down payment for a house.
This was back in 2009.
We lived with my in-laws, then my grandma then my dad.
It wasn`t easy - we were also expecting our first baby and newlyweds.
Of course we wanted our own space but we knew that would come eventually if we just held out for a while longer.
I was constantly looking at the MLS and New Home Section in the local paper and keeping my eye on the market.
This was right around when the recession was going on in the US which made housing prices on new builds drop quite a bit in certain areas to appeal to nervous home buyers who were worried about a possible recession in Canada.
One day while reading through the paper I came across a builder about 20 minutes north of where we currently lived who was slashing their prices in order to bring in new buyers.
They were dropping house prices from the 240s to low 200s and on top of this they offered a 7,000 of the purchase price if you chose to opt out of upgrades.
The house was in a small(ish) town that didn't have the greatest reputation but I knew this would be a great move for us investment wise.
It was in the newest subdivision in the area, with a park and a school and a plan for the highway to extend right up to the neighbourhood.
We made a call to a mortgage broker and let him know that we were hoping to put an offer in on a house for 200,000 we gave him our info and he gave us a pre approval.
We went in that weekend and put a deposit on the house.
This was 5 years ago and looking back now, our financial situation was a joke.
I was on maternity leave when we put the deposit down and my income was under 15,000.
Louis was only making $16 an hour.
There was no problem getting a pre-approval then and our deposit was only 5% down.
That was then and this is now because my oh my have things changed.
It is not this easy to buy a house now and it takes a lot more hard work and money to get into the housing market 5 years later.
I am so thankful we got into the housing market when we did because I fear that if we didn`t we would be renters right now but I will talk about this in another post.
Next week I will blog about all the steps we had to take the first time around to get our house, get the mortgage, all the associated costs etc.

Moving sucks.
sorting, packing, lifting, Realtor fees, relocating.

None of the above appeals to me.
What sucks even more than moving?
Moving with kids.

Our oldest daughter is 5 years old and in her 5 years of life she has moved with us a total of 6 times.
This past year alone we have moved as a family of five 3 times.
After a long wait we are in the home that we plan on being in for at least the next 5 -10 years.
Moving is hard on adults so naturally it is even harder on kids.
I have had a lot of people asking how we moved and settled so fast with three little ones so I thought Id share a few tips on moving with kids.

Involve your kids
I cant speak for every ones kids but our kids don't cope well with change.
Change is especially difficult for our oldest daughter who likes to feel in control.
{not like her mother at all....}
To make things easier on our kids we would drive by our house every week to see how our house was coming along. I remember driving the kids by the day that they had just started breaking ground and explaining to them that in a year our new house would be where this dirt was. They were so excited and they loved seeing our house turn into a home each week we would drive by.
If you aren't buying a brand new home you can still involve your kids by showing MLS listings or driving by the already built house.

2
Purge Purge Purge
I actually really enjoy purging and a new house is like a blank canvas, an opportunity to start fresh.
Don't bring the junk with you! Take only what you love.
There is something so liberating about getting rid of crap you don't use or need!
We got the kids involved in this as well and explained to them that there are many people in need that we could donate our stuff to and make really happy.
The kids loved putting bags of their clothes, toys and books for kids in need.
Our oldest daughter actually came up to me about a week after we purged nearly 20 large garbage bags to GoodWill and said
"Mommy, I am so happy we got rid of all our stuff. We had way too much stuff!"
Not only does purging make less for you to physically move but I have found since our purging that our kids play more and fight less with less stuff around.

3
Get the kids excited about their new rooms
One of the first things that our kids asked when we told them we were moving was
"What about my room? What will it look like?"
Talk about their new room with them and get them excited!
What colour do they want it to be? Do they have ideas for a theme?

4
Organized Packing
The key to settling in your new place faster is to be organized.
Pack your moving boxes by room and make sure you label!
I found it was really helpful to make a list of what was in each box and I would label with a number so I could get to what I needed quickly.
For example I would label the box Living Room 1
Then write a list like this:
Living Room 1
books
cds
etc.

4
Plan for Help
We are fortunate enough that we have amazing family who was willing to help out with the kids while we did most of the moving and unpacking.
This made our move so much easier because we were able to work 12 straight hours moving and unpacking and had everything pretty much unpacked and in place the first day we had the house.
If you don't have anyone to watch the kids have a plan to keep kids occupied.
Coloring sheets, rainbowloom and Ipads are all great but in the chaos of the move the kids will be more interested in "helping" move than playing.
Have a couple of boxes ready for their rooms that they can help unpack too.

5
Have FunMoving is stressful and exhausting.
At the end of a long day of moving put some pillows and blankets on the floor, order some pizza, pop in a movie and break in the new house pizza party style :)

I have a confession to make.

I am 100% overwhelmed lately.

It's amazing how things like Social Media can really fool people because this past week I have received at least 5 texts saying how amazing it is that I have such a beautiful house, and everything so put together with 3 young kids.
Social Media is great for creating illusions my friends.
Moving to a new house, returning to work after maternity leave, dealing with a very anxious and insecure 5 year old (more on this another day) ,a potty training toddler, teething baby, trying to find time for friends, three kids, my husband and if I'm lucky throw in 5 minutes somewhere for myself.
I am exhausted just typing all that out.
I remember after I had just had Emma at age 20 a lot of my friends asking me if it was easy to be a mom.
It is easy to love your child(ren)
It is easy to worry about your child(ren)
It is easy to transform from a totally selfish girl into a selfless mother who would do anything for their child(ren).
But being a mom is not easy.
It is amazing but not easy.
Not at all.
There are many amazing days but today was one of those really rough days.
It started off with our youngest son wheezing from his asthma and miserable from teething.
Followed by a talk from the teacher about concerns of our oldest Daughter.
Which resulted in this mama breaking down and crying right then and there in the kindergarten classroom.
And I had half an hour to get to work.
I ended up calling in sick so I could take Luca to the walk in.
The mommy guilt was really kicking in.
Why hadn't I taken him to the Dr. sooner?
My work is amazing and is so so good with giving time off when needed for my children.
I often wonder how moms do it when there work isn't so flexible.
The day also ended in our oldest falling off the monkey bars and breaking her wrist.
After 4 hours in the Emerg she has a splint on until Friday when we go back to the fracture clinic for her real cast.
She is already taking reservations for spaces to sign her cast. :)
Today was rough but I have a loving husband and three kids who call me mom and I am so thankful for that.
This post is mostly for a good vent.
And to let other moms out there who are trying there best and feeling absolutely overwhelmed know that they are not alone.

Honey, We're home!

Hello!

It's been a while since I've posted on this little blog.
Since I last posted we have moved in to our new house and we are almost settled.
In my last post I wrote about living small.
We bought a 1.300 square foot townhouse right off the plans.
This past year we would drive up at least once a week and watch as our house was getting ready to soon become our home.
Truth be told every time we would look in our front windows into our unfinished house I was worried that this house would be too small for us.
I had visions of us tripping over each other on a daily basis.
We have been living in our house nearly 2 weeks now and I am happy to say that we have yet to trip over each other!!
It really is all about planning your space and finding the right pieces of furniture.
Storage is key for us so we made sure we used a lot of multifunction pieces in our house but more on that in another post.
Here are a few sneak peaks of our new home.

.. checking in on our new house under construction ..

.. before our counter tops were installed ..

.. loving the neutral builder beige walls, seriously! ..

Family Outings

I'm always curious as to how other young families spend their weekends.
We are not the kind of family that can sit at home and watch movies in our PJs all day.
Not that there is anything wrong with that, oh how I would love to be able to sit still long eneough to enjoy that, but every one of us seems to be more content when were on the go.
Pretty much the only time we spend the day in our PJs watching movies are if were all horribly sick or the weather has us in a funk.
A typical weekend morning looks like this for us...

6:00 - 6:30 Kids wake up

6:30 - 7:30 Girls watch cartoons while Daddy and Mommy get dressed
7:30-8:15 Breakfast
by 9:00 all the kids are dressed and ready for the day
At this point we usually decide as a family what we want to do for the day..
Majority of the time we like to find a park to go to.
We have a few favourite parks we like to frequent.
We love Fairy Lake in Newmarket.
A good chunk of my childhood was spent at this park watching fireworks, attending festivals, watching the train go by as I picnicked with my mom and brother.
Even my dad learned to skate there when he was a little boy.
The park has become more beautiful with age and there is now even more to offer with a splash pad in the summer and free outdoor skating in the winter.
The park is always full of friendly smiles and often you can see local talent performing.
We also love the summer Farmers Market it now hosts.
Another park I used to love as a kid was High Park.
I don't think I went more than a handful of times as a kid but I sure have fond memories of seeing such a beautiful place.
We took our kids for the first time this past Sunday and they loved every minute of it.
I had forgotten about the outdoor zoo they have set up there and our girls were thrilled to see animals in a park!
Unfortunately since it has been a super cold winter the flowers on the trees hadn't bloomed yet.
I love taking our kids to see new places.
The town we bought our house in is a very small town and although I love the comfort in such a tight-knit community I want our children to grow up knowing about more than just their small town.

New house wish list

Seventeen more days until we get possession of our new house!

I am freaking out a little about all the things I have to get done in the next 17 days but I am so excited to start this new chapter.
My mat leave is also up and I start back at work next week which will be a huge adjustment especially in the midst of moving.
Our closing date is exactly 1 year from the date we moved out of our first house and we are so ready to be in our very own place as a family of 5.
Waiting a whole year for a house to be built is really hard for someone like me who obsesses over room layouts and furniture pieces.
I think I must have drawn out about 45 different possible layouts for our new house on our floor plan from the builder.
We kept the majority of our furniture from our first townhouse but we do need to purchase a few big items such as beds for the girls, dining table, accent chairs.
As a young family with 3 kids we really need to try and be as budget conscious as possible so we have mostly been looking at Ikea, overstock and thrift shops.
Some items I have my eyes on...

These amazing Eames look a like chairs are from Overstock.com.
Only $200 for 2 chairs!!
I am so excited about this because I have been looking for chairs like these all over Internet land and the average price seems to be between $200-800 a chair.

This dining table from Ikea.
Only $299 and can fit up to 6 people.
They have a bigger version as well but this size is perfect for out teeny tiny townhome.

I have been seeing this children's bed from IKEA a lot lately and I love love love it!
I have to admit that when I saw it in the store I wasn't wowed by it but after seeing it used in several kids rooms on Pinterest I have fallen in love.
I also love the price tag - under $200!!!
I love that it can be used as a loft bed, bunk bed, or canopy bed.
We are planning on using it as a bunk bed and it gives me such piece of mind that it is not super tall, and there is almost a built in bed rail so I don't have to worry about any terrible falls. I also love how the bottom "bunk" is right on the ground to give it a very lounge type feel.

What are your favourite budget friendly home stores?

Living Small

I've mentioned a few times on this blog that we are waiting for our house to be built.
I don't know if I mentioned though how teeny tiny the home we purchased is.
When we bought it we realised 1300 square feet and 3 bedrooms isn't a lot of space for a family of 5.

Our first townhouse was 1400 square feet and truth be told, I complained about the size A LOT.
And now I have bought another townhouse even smaller than our first home.
This past year has been one big eye opener.
I'm a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason.
I really think the purpose of us selling our first house was to show us how incredibly greedy we were.
We bought our first house when I was 20 and Louis was 23.
How many people can say that?!
Things we complained about were that it was way too small, that it was a 15 minute drive to the nearest mall, that the schools weren't great.
boo hoo.
Looking back now I can see that we were those greedy entitled me me me generation complainers.
I remember being at a church group with on of the ladies I work with and talking to an incredible woman who had 5 children and lived in a 2 bedroom house for 30+ years.
She said they were the happiest years of her life.
It's no secret that my whole life I've wanted to grow up, get married and have 4+ children and live the domestic life.
I've never been one to dream to travel the world or have an amazing career.
I wanted to marry my best friend, have his babies and be there to raise them.
My calling in life has always been to be a mother first and now that I am living out that dream and have had some life learning experiences I am putting that role first in all decision making.
We bought a small house again because we realised that although 1300 square feet is a bit tight with a family of 5 it allows to live without struggling too much financially.
It is a roof over our families head - a place to make memories and a place to call home.
Yes, our children are going to have to share bedrooms but I`m okay with that and our girls are actually thrilled about it.
I am so looking forward to moving into our 2nd home and this time to really understand how lucky we are to be able to call it ours.