Irish Roots

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today I am thinking about what it means to be Irish. First off, I am from a large Irish Family. My Mother was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She came to Canada in 1967 and settled here to raise her own family. I have been to Ireland on many occasions for holidays. It is interesting that everytime I travel back to where my family came from I meet cousins that I have never met before. If you knew me well you would know that I am proud to be Irish. My Mum is from a family of 12 children. All of whom are still living in Ireland. After my Grandfather passed away, my Mum was wanting to go back to Ireland to live, so she and my father packed up and moved in 1999, on March 5th. I remember saying good bye while holding my one year old son Ryan in my arms wondering what this truly meant.

They moved into My Granda's home, and made it their own. I was fortunate to have brought my own two sons there for a few visits. I love just being able to pop in to a relative's home for a visit, or go for a walk into town, no car needed. The door is always open and you never need an appointment to visit like here in Canada. I love the lifestyle, milk is still delivered to the door, you visit the bakery for fresh baps and go to the butcher for your meat. It is a very friendly place where everyone says hello! I try to visit not only my Aunts and Uncles, but my cousins and their children. I love to travel around all of Ireland and soak in the rich history that is our homeland. I am the first ever relative from my Granny and Granda's immediate family that was not born in Ireland. So my roots are deep. I visit the graves of my relatives, and the places where my Mum grew up and went to school. My parents spend 6 months here in Canada and the other times in Ireland. They have been very fortunate to have been able to spend time with Family on both sides, but there will come a time when their health will not let them do so. This is the part that scares me, will I ever go back to see my huge Family or is this it. The last visit was three years ago when I went for one week by myself to visit my Mum. We had a fantastic week and I have never been able to do that before with out the kids. I still want to visit to keep the history alive for my Children. My Sons Ryan (17) and Kieran (13) love visiting and exploring the Emerald Isle. Right now I am putting together our Family history and writing stories that I have been told to keep the memories alive so I may pass those down to my grandchildren some day. So every St. Patrick's day I make an effort to prepare an Irish meal and decorate the house. It is a reminder to slow down, enjoy Family and reflect on where we came from, the beautiful green Island that is Ireland! 

Planning our week

Sunday is my usual planning day. It is where we as a Family take the time to come together and plan out what our week will look like. My husband does the meal planning because he cooks a majority of the meals throughout the week. I schedule all appointments and then we talk to the kids about upcoming ski days and hockey practices. We have been using Google calendar for all hockey games and events. This is shared between us all. I also have a huge master calendar in our kitchen where it is visible to see. This saves so much time and there is no confusion to what is going on and when. Right now we are on March Break here in Ontario. So this week there is no real schedule. We will do whatever comes up and this will depend sometimes on the weather, for example skiing. We also like to do our groceries on a Sunday afternoon. We tend to have a lazy morning and then get ready. So first we will check the cupboards, then the fridge and the freezer chest downstairs. We will check the flyers to see what is on sale. Then after that is done we will compile a list of items that we need. I like to stock up on items that we use on a regular basis like butter and meat. These items are expensive, so we wait for sales. This process only takes about 20 minutes or so and will save us time and money.  There are so many apps now available that have flyers on line, making it easier. Stores often have points that you can accumulate for free groceries as well as Air Miles too. Coupons are also a great way to save money. I will post a list of sites below where you can get them for free. Most can be printed off at home for your convenience. Most grocery stores offer coupons at the front of their stores, instead of the shelf where the product is located. As always, make sure that you check the date of expiry and amount you can take! Have fun planning!

• Save.ca
• Websaver.ca
• GoCoupons.ca
• KraftCanada.com
• Smart Canucks.com
• Healthy Essentials.ca
• SaveALoonie.com
• Brandsaver.ca

Be sure to sign up for free to these sites and start saving now!

Thanks,

Susan

Welcome Friends!

Hello friends, welcome to my blog. This is where I will write about my family and my life experience.

I live in a rural community and I have discovered that this is truly where I am most happy. I am raising two teenage sons with my Husband of 20 years. I love making our house a home where friends and family feel safe, comfortable and cared for.  It is always a pleasure to host special occasions for my Family such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Birthdays and Christmas. Follow along as I share my experiences of gardening, homesteading and raising teenagers!

Feel free to leave and comment and let's connect!

Thank you for visiting,
Susan