It has been a year!

I didn't realize that it had actually been a year since I last wrote something! It has been difficult to sit and do it - lacking inspiration/anything I have felt to be worthwhile to publish. It's not like anyone reads this anyways ;) But let's do an update, for fun.

My last post was about a cook club I started. I was super excited about it too! ... it lasted about 3 weeks before I gave up on it. I had participation week one in sharing recipes, but I was the only one who cooked.... same with the next week.... by the third week i was the only one contributing... i give up easily. I still love to cook though! Guess it doesn't need to be a community effort.

I did end up finding a job! I have been working as a Chiropractic Assistant since December. It's an alright gig. The hours aren't the best (I miss my evenings with the kids Monday-Thursday) and it can be a little stressful, but it is work and good experience.

I got married! I think I remember posting that I would be sharing my diy activities as I went along.... turns out I didn't! (oopsie) - If I feel inspired/motivated to continue to write I will definitely post my projects. I actually worked ridiculously hard all year long to get everything ready for that wedding... I am very proud of myself.

My Veal Parmesan post has been getting a lot of attention spam haha - i have had to delete HUNDREDS of spam comments on that post for some reason - I get hundreds of hits to my blog a day because of all of the spam. I shared it on Pinterest one time.... I have no idea why it gets that much crap traffic.... I guess it happens to bloggers all the time but it is weird to me!

The kids are a year older - Hannah's second year in school is underway and she is loving it. Max is nearly 3 and getting smarter every day.

I think that's about it for now... nothing really exciting to report for myself - in a bit of a rut actually haha - hoping that some big changes coming soon will help me with that.

"Cook Club"

I love the idea of online communities. Ever since I became a mom my social life went DRASTICALLY down (as to be expected) and I noticed that my online presence increased because of it. I am a member of a number of 'moms' groups on Facebook and I love to follow blogs. That is why I started writing this blog in the first place. I don't have many readers, but that is OK. I like having the space anyways.

My interest in cooking has grown over the years as well. I have spent an embarrassing amount of time on Pinterest looking for recipes and reading many blogs on the subject. I also enjoy posting about my cooking exploits on this blog every now and then (although my food photography could be better... can't do much with a smart phone and a poorly lit kitchen :P). I had a thought yesterday that I would like to start a recipe sharing group on Facebook for local moms. Turns out, it exists already. Which is totally fine of course, but I kind of wanted to start my own, to kind of have a little project to work on. One of the other local moms told me that she used to be part of a group where they would all take turns recommending a recipe to each other, and they would make it and share their results. The idea struck me and I thought it would be super fun to do a 'Cook Club' with the same premise as a book club - everyone makes the same recipe and discusses it!

I have been able to recruit a number of awesome ladies from the other Moms groups I am a member of, and hopefully the word will get out! I am excited to see all of the recipes shared and to pick the recipe each week. Could be a great way to meet new people and learn a few things! The group also encourages people to ask questions and give advice, share their tried and true favourites, tips and tricks they live by and discussing the trials and tribulations of cooking for children :)

It is not JUST for local moms either - I have made it open to moms OR dads from wherever! I am sure tweaks will be made to the rules and structure of the club as time goes on (and if it gains any popularity, which I hope it does!) - for now it is just a baby and I am excited to see what it turns into :)

Come on over and join!

Veal Parmesan!

My love for Veal Parmesan goes way way waaaaay back. It has been my go-to dinner to order at a restaurant as far back as I can remember (that, or fajitas. But they aren't both often on the same menu, so I am not faced with the tough decision TOO often). It is just so darn delicious! A gigantic, mouth watering piece of veal, breaded and fried to golden, crispy deliciousness, baked in a bed of savory marinara sauce, topped with melted mozza and parmesan cheese. It is often served with a side of pasta and veggies, but honestly, who the heck cares what is beside it? It will never hold a candle to that masterpiece!

I was flipping through an old recipe book tonight. Its my moms, she bought it from the mom of one of the kids on my brother's baseball team who was selling it for her church in like 1998 lol. So it is a cute book full of recipes submitted by different families in that community. It has quite a number of great sounding meals I'd love to try. My mom has made the chidken parmesan recipe from there once before, and I remember it being ah-ma-zing! I was in the mood to make something different (after I was informed that I make too many casseroles and pasta dishes *cough*steve*cough*) and someone mentioned veal parmesan to me in a facebook group. The craving was implanted and it was decided. I found the recipe in the book and decided that I could probably just substitute the word 'chicken' for 'veal' and pretty much have no issues.

Turns out that yes. Yes you can.

Here is the recipe! I think it is easy (albeit slightly time consuming) and so worth trying out! (especially that sauce! So simple but so delicious!)


Veal Parmesan

I definitely don't have the right light in my kitchen to take food photos...... also I don't have a real camera.

This is the original recipe. I didn't alter a whole lot, but I will describe what I did.

For the sauce

• 1 large can of tomato sauce
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2-6 garlic cloves (depending on your preference) diced or crushed
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 green pepper diced (optional and did not use in mine)
• 8 large mushrooms (optional and did not use in mine)
• Dash of hot sauce (optional and did not use in mine)

Put a small drizzle of oil (I used coconut oil because I'm all on that bandwagon, but you can use whatever; canola, vegetable, EVOO, etc) in a sauce pan and start cooking the onions and garlic (also the peppers and mushrooms if you added them) until partially cooked.

Then, add the remaining ingredients and let simmer for 20 minutes.

For the chicken or veal

• 8 breasts/cutlets
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup bread crumbs (seasoned with garlic powder and parsley... I used an 'italian seasoning')

So you take your veal or boneless skinless chicken breasts (if chicken should be halved to be thinner) and drudge them in the egg, then flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. From there you transfer them to a preheated frying pan with oil about a cm deep.

You then fry them until they are golden brown on both sides. From there you transfer them to a baking dish with about an inch of sauce lining the bottom.

Cut up or grate mozzarella cheese all over your chicken in the baking dish, and add grated parmesan cheese (both of these to taste as I just eyeball it), add a little more sauce if desired and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 350º.

To serve with it i cooked up a little fettuccine to serve with the remaining sauce (i added in a big spoonful of herb and garlic cream cheese and a chunk of frozen spinach to change it up a little) and a 'california mix' of veggies.

As usual the kids weren't huge fans (can't get a standing o' for anything other than meatloaf with these kids) but Mom and Steve both gave it thumbs up :)

It probably won't work it's way into my regular rotation, but it is nice to have it in my repertoire for future use :)

Halloweenies

I guess I should have done this post yesterday or on Friday, but I didn't think of it and I am sitting up at 12:30 on Saturday night feeling like blogging. So I thought I'd share our Halloween - as 'fun and exciting' as it was ;)

So basically for the past 5 years, Steve has been trying to get me to go to Halloween Haunt at Canada's Wonderland. I have flat out refused. I do not enjoy scary things. Also I am pretty convinced that a haunted house/maze is the perfect place for real murderers to murder you. Because by the time it is discovered you have been for real stabbed, the murderer is long gone. I am convinced of this and no one will be able to fully convince me otherwise.

But, this year I was convinced to go. We had made plans to go with my sister and her husband, so I was looking forward to having another super scared-y cat with me. Unfortunately, the day we had planned to go it was a pretty cruddy day weather wise, and two of my sister's kids were sick (among other unplanned circumstances) so her and her hubby had to stay home. We totally understood, but it super-sucked! So Steve and I went and it wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be, but I still got the crap scared out of me a number of times! I am glad we were able to go, even though it was a chilly, semi-rainy night.

I am smiling, but I am not happy.

We decided to leave a little before 11, so we were able to still swing by my friend Hayley's Halloween party :) We really wanted to go (and we were going to go until we realized it was the same night we agreed to go to the haunt with Britt!) and we were going to do a couple's costume - Steve was going to be Phil or Willy from Duck Dynasty, and I was going to be a shot mallard :P Still disappointed we didn't get to put costumes together, but there is always next year!

On Halloween itself, I had to work until 5 (left at 4:30 and got home at the same time I would have if I left at 5... annoying) so Steve got the kids ready to go. Hannah in her pink Spidergirl costume (supposed to be Spiderman's daughter, according to the packaging) and Max wore his Dragon costume again from last year. They were both adorable. It was raining, but we had mild temperatures and the rain remained at a light drizzle the whole night, so it really could have been worse. Max was adorable trick-or-treating! We always say 'I love you' to each other when we leave the house or say 'bye' for whatever reason, so Max was telling all of our neighbours that he loves them haha - it was amazing... oh, and he was also trying to go in everyone's houses and steal their candy bowls :P Hannah did awesome, she remembered everything from last year, a true trick-or-treating professional!

These are seriously the only pictures I got (and I stole the Max one from Steve's pics) because by the time I finally made it hope, I had two very antsy, ready to rock kids. They were not into posing.

So Halloween was good, I am not a HUGE Halloween person like some are, but I enjoy it. Although I am happy it is over because now it can officially be Christmas time <3 

Happy Halloween everyone!

Will work for food!

I am getting so darn frustrated looking for work. I am 28 years old, aren't I supposed to have some kind of career underway by now? I feel like all I have done in my free time is apply for jobs. I am thankful at least that it is fairly easy to apply for a large number of jobs with it all being online these days, but I feel like that just makes the competition even more fierce because anyone can sit behind a screen and apply to just as many jobs as I do... and all of the same ones that I do. I just remember when I was hiring at The Cash Store the amount of resumes that would fly into my inbox daily when we had our job postings up. And I remember sifting through them all, it would take forever. I had to simply scan the resumes for people with similar experience because there were too many people to look at those who didn't. I keep picturing that happening to my resume over and over. And it is. That is exactly what is happening to it. So because my previous work experience is a payday loan company, that doesn't make me qualified for anything more than that? Do I need to lie on my resume to make it seem like I have the experience they are looking for? I am more than qualified for a reception or administration position, but since I was a branch manager before, I get looked over, nevermind that my duties were the same as a receptionist goes through in a day. Maybe I just need to change my title from 'branch manager' at The Cash Store to 'receptionist' at The Cash Store. I bet that would work. And then if I am applying for a data entry job, should I say I was in charge of data entry at CSF? Is that what this job hunting thing has come down to? I am not about to start lying on my resume, but it is starting to feel hopeless to get in a new industry.

I just want to find something soon. I am thankful to have my part time job with Pet Valu (I get to hang out with the coolest African Grey and play with kitties!) but part time hours at minimum wage is barely cutting it...luckily Steve is getting a decent EI cheque and we live with my mom... otherwise I'd probably have to be out hookin' lol... just kidding?

I just want to give these kids a good Christmas and start planning the wedding of my dreams!

Hopefully the end is near.... anyone have any get rich quick schemes? :P

Time to Get Serious

Went to my best friend's wedding this weekend and it was amazing. I couldn't have had a better time. It was up north at the camp site where her and her husband worked as counselors. It was an amazing camp ground with everything you could need. They put us up in a fantastic cabin and the staff catered to our every whim. The camp is staffed by mostly young men in their early to mid twenties, and they gave me hope for humanity! I have never in my life met such polite and helpful people.

I got there in time to help out with decorating a bit, but they had already done an amazing job before we got there! The lodge had such a unique atmosphere as it was, and it was only emphasized by the amazing decorating everyone did.

Of course Erin couldn't have looked more beautiful. The morning was so much fun. Mimosas, hair and makeup, beautiful gifts, coffee and bagels delivered, great laughs and conversations. It was a great way to begin a perfect day. While it was rainy and windy, it didn't take anything away from it all.

We partied into the night and my beautiful best friend married hers. (And they had a photobooth!!)

I told myself that I wouldn't start to talk too much about our own wedding (did I mention we set a date? FINALLY?!) until Erin's was done, but now that it is over I am getting a little nervous! There is so much that has to go into this wedding and I am feeling a little overwhelmed about it. But at least I have a bridal party full of married women whose brains I can pick :P

Steve and I had originally decided upon a blue and red colour scheme for our wedding, inspired by this inspiration board I found on Pinterest.

I personally thought it was gorgeous (and still do!) and I was excited to give it a try.

However, the more I thought about it, I felt like it would need a lit lf details to pull off and we don't really have the budget for a LOT of details. So I have started leaning toward another scheme that I feel would be easier to pull off.

Keeping the same blue but changing out the red for the purple. I think it would be easier for me to put this together. Still using black as our accent colour, I think i have more options too. I have already found a bouquet I love and finding the right shade for my bridesmaids dresses is going to be a lot easier (going for the purple rather than the blue).

I have even thought of doing black dresses as long as there is a colour pop element like a sash or a slip (in purple)

Getting this wedding done on a small budget has been proving to be easier than I thought. We have gotten our venue for a great price, using a photographer family member, scored a cheap (and talented) DJ, found a fantastically priced caterer and we even won a gift certificate to a jewelry store for our wedding bands! I am going to get an amazing deal on my flowers and I am going to get my dress online, once I find a style I like from trying dresses in-store. While some of my little cuts might not be ideal for everyone, they work for us. The day is more about the celebration of us finally tying the knot and enjoying our time with our friends and family than it is about how much we spend on everything. I am sure our shortcuts will look just as good as a $25k affair.

We are doing a homemade cookie buffet for party favours and we have already purchased the bags (head start!). Just need to work out the centrepieces and other small details. I think we are doing well!

I will post pictures of things as we go :) This is going to be a lot of fun to plan!

Life Right Now

SO much has changed lately... my life one month ago was NOTHING like it is today. Like at ALL!

August started with the kids having their last day with their daycare provider/babysitter as we decided it would be better if Steve stopped looking for work after his layoff and just stayed home with them. I was sad to have to take them out as I felt she was doing a great job, but it made the most financial sense for us. We promised to keep in touch because our boys got so close... (but then she deleted us from Facebook a few days later.... which seemed kind of out of nowhere... maybe we're better off eh?)

SO Steve got to start DADDY DAYCARE! Hehe... I think he was super excited about it! He was also a little nervous for sure, he has never had sole responsibility of them before haha - but I had all of the faith in the world in him. Heck, on his first day he was making homemade baby wipes!

Unfortunately/fortunately (depends on your perspective) 'Daddy Daycare' only lasted one day.... as I quit my job that afternoon.(!) I was truly trying my best to push through and persevere... but I couldn't take it. The amount of bullying and gossiping and... just plain B.S that went on that place, became just too much to bear. I got the blessing from my mom and Steve and I just did it. I couldn't believe it. I was excited and nervous and in shock.

And unemployed. /so my new full time mission was to FIND A JOB! Now we had recently made the decision to move back to London in the new year, so I knew I didn't want to find a job that was so good I wouldn't want to leave it in 6 months.At the same time, I didn't want to take a job I hated. I recalled how much I enjoyed working at Shoppers Drug Mart so many years ago, and I wanted something in a similar field. So I set out for a retail position in a store that I could stand. I spent a solid week searching online and applying at a variety of jobs ranging from a bank teller to a cashier. I then decided that for the type of job I was looking for, I would need to go out and find this job in person.

So I printed off some resumes at the library, planned out my route and my stops for the day, and headed to stop #1: The Real Canadian Superstore. Just so happened they were interviewing for cashiers that day. And I scored an on-the-spot interview. And then got hired. I have this finding a job thing in the bag. I'm pretty stoked about it. I have respect for the Loblaw Inc company and I feel like I could grow with this job. And hopefully be able to find something great in London when its time.

Anyways, so that's awesome. On top of that, WE FINISHED PAYING OFF OUR CAR! OMG! :) We decided to start planning our wedding FINALLY (more on that to come I am sure) and my little lady started junior kindergarten today! 

So much has changed and it has been kind of exciting! I am sure I will elaborate more on everything as time goes, but today I want to show off my BIG GIRL going to JK!!

She was so excited! She was up at like 6:30 and dressed! Bugging us in bed and running around like crazy! We got her all ready and did some cute pictures that I would like to show off now :)

Here is my little collage :) As you can see she was STOKED :) Steve wasn't too happy but we still got a smile out of him :) I was too excited to think about being emotional until she walked into the classroom... then i REALLY had to hold back from sobbing! Max was sad too, he got really upset when she went in!

And here is my Pinterest inspired first day of school official photo :) I had seen many similar ideas over my pinterest days, and I told myself to always remember to do that... and I knew we had a great chalkboard easel so I was set :) it was a little mucked up from Hannah age two using crayon on it, but I think it gave it character :)

 

 Aren't those shoes rad?

I also had her sign her name :)

 So that's my life right now quickly summed up! Sorry for the rambling! I get like that when I have a lot to talk about!

I hope to continue to update a little more often as life continues :) I have a lot to share!

 

Roasted Garlic Mushrooms

Good afternoon all!

It has been some time since I have posted. Life got away from me and I stopped making the time. I am sure I will pick it up again soon.

The reason I am posting today is because I saw a very appealing and delicious looking recipe on my Facebook feed, with the instructions to share it so you have access to it in the future. I don't know about you guys, but the idea of having to scroll aimlessly through my wall in 6 months when I decide to finally make the thing (if I even remember about it in 6 months, which I won't) does not appeal to me. That is why I love Pinterest so much. I can pin and pin all day long and not have to worry about having to remember what I find. I just go to the pin board I am looking for (my various recipe boards are my most frequented) and I am reminded instantly.

The problem with these Facebook 'share' recipes is I cannot pin them! I thanks my mother-in-law for originally sharing the recipe, but from what I can tell, the post links back to a 'Getting Healthy' support group that I do not have access to, and that being said, I don't even know if it is an original recipe for someone on that page.

So I decided to post it here
.
*Update* a commenter found the source recipe, found Here!

Here is the recipe copied from the Facebook post in question: *I have not tried to make this as of yet, I am posting this so I can pin it and be able to make it in the future :) * But if you try it, please let me know how it turns out!

Roasted Garlic Mushrooms

16 even-sized open cup mushrooms, stalks cut level
3 tbsp corn or vegetable oil
75g unsalted butter, softened
3 cloves garlic, chopped very finely
2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
50g fresh breadcrumbs


Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Lightly fry the mushrooms, cap-side down, in hot oil for 20 seconds.

Arrange the mushrooms in a shallow roasting tin with the stalks facing upwards.

Mix together the butter, garlic, thyme, lemon juice and seasoning. Spoon a little garlic butter on to each mushroom, then lightly press the breadcrumbs on top. Either refrigerate for later use, or cook immediately in the oven for 10 minutes.

On Your Fourth Birthday

Oh my gosh. I feel like I was just writing my post about your third birthday. That was the fastest year I can remember. We have been living here with grandma for exactly one year now. You still talk about your "old house" it's funny. I didn't think  you would still remember enough about it to bring it up. Funny the things we remember.

You experienced an entire year of being a big sister. I must say, you have blown me away. That boy adores you. He loves you with his entire heart. He lights up when you come near, he screams for you, he stares at you with such love in his eyes. And the best part to me is that I can tell the same is coming from you. Thank you for making this past year of learning how to be a mommy of two so easy and beautiful.

You became one whole year older too. Before my very eyes, but until I stop and think about it, I tend to forget that you're growing up! You are so smart. You learn new things every single day that blow my mind. The other day you were playing with your toys and told me you were planning a big party. "The Centennial" you called it! how does a little one like you know what a centennial is?! So hilarious.

We have such a great birthday week/weekend ahead of us! Just today(/yesterday) you had a birthday party with Tracey! I managed to be able to have the day off with you for your birthday, so Tracey celebrated with you a day early! She is very good to you guys! And now tomorrow (/today) is your actual real birthday! You are officially 4 years old! 4! I have a 4 year old child! You are registered for kindergarten in the fall! Before I blink you're going to be in high school and telling me where to go! ;) - We are going to see Christina at Swag Hair Studio tomorrow to get your hair done! Aside from your bangs we have never cut your hair! We are going to have a fun girlie time :) Then, once your hair is all cut and styled we are all going out for dinner! THEN on Friday you get to go to London for a sleepover with Nana and Grandpa! And THEN you have TWO birthday parties this weekend! You are going to get CRAZY spoiled! Haha

I love you Hannah :) I hope you have the kind of birthday that makes you excited for the next one :) You deserve the world and I hope someday I can give it to you. But until then I will give you unlimited love and support for as long as I live. Thanks for 4 amazing years. I can't wait to see what you have in store for me. Well, I am a little nervous for what you have in store for me actually :)

I LOVE YOU BIRTHDAY PRINCESS!

I blame work

I can't believe I managed to neglect this blog for so long - I loved blogging a lot (even if I didn't have much off relevance to talk about) - I guess I just never expected to lose so much time.  Between working about 45 hours a week and trying to be there for my kids and spending time with my hubby, I hardly have the time to sleep. 

I would like to make more of an effort again. .. maybe I could promise to post once a week. .. I think I can handle that :)

Life has been good though, despite the busyness - my kids are amazing. .. max is hilarious. .. he is almost 15 months old and has such a personality.  And Hannah is turning 4 in less than two weeks! She is all registered for kindergarten in September :) I can't believe it,  but we are pretty excited for her.

I would like to start doing more for myself.  Even if that means staying up later than normal to do something I enjoy - I think I should take advantage of that.

Signing off for now - hopefully I can go back to keeping up with this blog - at least do better than now!

A letter to Max.

Dear Max.

I can't believe you are one. One year old. My second child is One.  My little baby boy.

You have been such a pleasure to be a mommy to. I cannot imagine a sweeter little man. Thank you for making me smile on a daily basis. Your relationship with your sister touches my heart. You sure do love that girl! And boy,  does she ever love you!  I know it is inevitable that your relationship will change over time and you won't always get along,  but I am cherishing these moments. I know they are fleeting.

You overcame the challenge of your injured skull and we got to feel real fear. I am so thankful that you came out of that as happy and healthy as you did.

We had a rough first year of lots and lots of nursing and little to no sleep. Who would have thought I could keep up with that appetite of yours! I am proud that we did so well together :)

You are cuddly,  snuggly, hilarious, handsome, adorable, happy,  giggly,  wiggly, hungry, healthy, sweet... I could add to this list all day. I just want to thank you for being you and for completing our family. I dont know if you will ever be made a big brother, and if not we are so happy and satisfied that we got you to make us a whole :)

I cannot wait to see the crazy things you will come up with in your second year - we love you Max . .. happy birthday big man xoxox

Me Poorsta

This rage comic describes my existence. I spend way too much time falling in love with way too many things online with $0 to pay for them lol... oh well... gave me a laugh, at least others can relate!

xo

Obligatory New Years Rambling :P

2012 was a great year, and probably the fastest one that I can remember (which says a lot when the year has a whole extra day!) - the best part was completing our family when Maxy was born! That started the new year out just right :) It had it's bad moments (like our nightmare with Max's skull and most recently with the passing of our friend Codey :( ) but I try to focus on what made it great!

We moved in with my mom which was a big adjustment, but I think things have been going well! We had a great summer with the kids, heading to Wonderland many times for some summer time family fun! We got to watch Maxy in his first year learn and discover this world. We got to watch Hannah make the beautiful transition from only child to a very proud big sister! Steve and I bot got promoted positions at work and we look forward to being able to save our money to get our home.

My new years resolution? To host next year's New Years Eve party in our OWN HOME. Can we do it? If we work hard enough I think we can.

For now, we will continue living this crazy life and enjoy each other.

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Festivities!

I hate that I haven't gotten into a groove yet since being back to work. I can manage the shower, sleep, get up, go to work part just fine... and the come home, make dinner, eat, play with the kids, bath time, story time bed time part as well. But doing anything for myself? What's that? lol... in the couple of short hours I do have at the end of the day, my energy has just been so zapped that I cannot muster up enough to do more than watch a show. Maybe it was been to do with all of the hectic-ness that comes with Christmas time - thinking about plans, making plans, organizing gifts, shopping, wrapping... I guess that makes a lot of sense... December was a weird month to start work.

But it is worth it for Christmas. I love Christmas. Always have and always will. I will never understand the "bah-humbug" types whatsoever. I am sure it is hard if you do not have the means to give the gifts you want to give, or to get to the ones you love for the holiday though... I can imagine this time of year can be hard then. But you just can't shake the Christmas spirit in the air. Everywhere you go, everyone is bustling about. I just love it. I love the lights, the trees, the parties, the chance to dress up, the chance to dress down, the food , the laughs, the people. The kids! Watching a child as you get closer to Christmas is amazing. The wonder in their eyes, the magic in their heads. Anything is possible!

you can even turn a princess into a pirate...

We had an amazing Christmas - we spent the weekend before in London visiting our families down there -- Saturday was at Steve's mom's, and then my Dad's, and Sunday was at Steve's dad's. Our kids got so spoiled we honestly didn't think we would have been able to bring everything home! By the time we were done at Steve's dad's, we ditched our suitcase and squished all of our stuff into eco bags, every single toy had to be removed from it's box/packaging, and every inch of the trunk and available space between the car seats was taken up. It was un real. And Santa hadn't even been yet! 

Although I am a firm believer in Christmas being about giving to others and being with those you love, getting a new food processor, the books you wanted and killer new boots is pretty damn AWESOME!

Seeing my daughter's face when she opened her water baby made the day for me :) Santa listens baby girl :)

I hope everyone had as magical a Christmas as we did! Looking ahead to a new year full of possibilities!

Sunday Night

I am sitting here tonight watching the interfaith prayer service for the Connecticut tragedy. Everyone who knows me knows I am not religious, but I respect those who are. I am watching this and it is beautiful. Sometimes I wish I did believe in something. I think I would fear less, and find comfort in having a place to turn during rough and sad times. But, I don't. But faith sure is a beautiful thing. I imagine it is the only way someone can survive the loss of their child. How could you carry on? I am watching the slideshow of their beautiful and innocent faces and I am crying. They are all so perfect. I see my children in each and every one of them. I try to imagine what those families are going through. It must just be hell on earth. I cannot send my prayers, but I can send my love. I send them all of the love I can muster. I hope you all find the strength to carry on.

I love to hear Obama speak. He is right. We can't tolerate this anymore.

We need to make this world a better place for our children. They deserve to see this world as a magical place with endless opportunities. Sitting here, I don't know what we have to do. But I guess when we feel helpless we can start by loving. We need to love each other. We need to be tolerant of everyone's differences, and instill that into our children. We will never get rid of the bad people in the world, but we can do our best to keep love in our homes.

We have no way of knowing how much time we have with those we love the most. So let's spend it looking into each other's eyes and smiling. We need to tell each other constantly that we love them. There needs to be countless hugs and laughs straight from our guts. We need to respect and encourage each other. Always hope for the best for each other. We need to try and put aside differences, grudges and jealousies. I know that is not an easy task, or even a possible one, but we need to try to keep this in the back of our minds. Even if it only comes back to us once in a while, it is one more moment we are made to stop and appreciate each other.

We need to try and see the world with the innocence that the children do.

Remember them

Remember them. Remember their faces and their names. Ignore the psychopath who stole their lives and the innocence of their peers. He is a nobody who doesn't deserve the space in our thoughts. In ten years when someone says "remember that tragedy in Connecticut?" I want us all to be able to name these innocent children and teachers, and not their killer.

Remember THEM. Remember the heroes. 

Something for my kids to find

So I have discovered that there are various journalling books out there - not like a plain book to write in each day, but pre-organized journals that ask you specific questions or focus on certain aspects of your life that force you to think outside the box when keeping tabs on yourself. I love the idea of journaling.. I ADORE the idea of journaling (that is why I try to blog as often as my life allows me to) but I don't find my day-to-day life to be particularly interesting.

I looked up the Q&A a Day journal on amazon when I first heard of it and I think it is awesome - the idea of it being a DAILY activity would make me hesitant because I know myself, but I would still love to give it a try. I also browsed through the related books and there are so many variations, it almost makes you want them all! I keep an amazon.ca wishlist going for Steve if he ever is looking for a birthday/Christmas gift for me - I save things that I might not think to mention to him (I get him to do the same thing too) - tonight he gave me an early Christmas gift (surprise, surprise; the captain of not being able to keep a present hidden :P) and it was this book:

MemoRANDOM Lists, Memories, Miscellany

I'm pretty stoked about it! The layout is super cool and it really is random like it says.. there's no date, there's no specific structure.. you can fill things in in the middle before you do at the front... it has very interesting ideas of what to write about/list - from what you ate today to who would you cast in a movie about your life - so neat. You can pick it up and write in it whenever you like. You can finish it this weekend or take 5 years to complete. It is up to you. Which is so perfect for me :P

A big reason why I wanted to journal was because I want something for my kids to look back on and learn about who I am now. My Papa wrote in his diary every single day for years. Nothing major; the weather and something he did that day; gardening, work, dinner out. It is so neat to look back on now that he has been gone for a long time. It has been 16 years since he died (whoa.) and it is nice to read through and have memories brought back.

So I want to fill this in, and I want my kids to find it one day. I might not officially give it to them, but who knows. I just want them to read it years from now and find out about who I was in my late twenties. I know I would think it was totally amazing to find a journal written by my mom from back then :)

"Who's in charge here?!"

Hello all!

 I have been slightly MIA this week because I am back at work now! Bye bye mat leave :( It was very very hard saying goodbye to you (and I am still not okay with it). But my first week back at work has been going pretty good. I am back at the same company I was with before, but as a branch manager, so I got promoted! Go me! I had a lot of negativity and resentment about losing out on a month of maternity leave, but I have decided to try and be more positive. I just didn't want to leave my babies! Can't afford daycare right now, but we found a woman doing home care who has a little guy that is the same age as Max. The kids like her and so far she seems like she will do a good job. They start there tomorrow. What they don't tell you about having kids is that this stuff is the hardest part! Yeah you lose a lot of sleep and there's a lot of poop and crying, but leaving them in the care of someone else? I'll take no sleep a hundred times over! It is so nerve wracking! I know everything will be all good, it is just getting into the swing.

So somebody put me in charge of this place! Yikes! haha - thankfully all of the day to day stuff came flooding back to me once I began working on Monday, so it has been a pretty easy transition. I have been slowly learning my new stuff (but due to unforeseen circumstances my boss hasn't been able to spend much time training me) - Steve has actually been in my branch helping me out (he is the branch manager of the other location) so that has been pretty interesting :P 

All in all I am alright with getting back to life and getting out of the house, earning the "big" bucks :P

Only problem I did not expect is the serious lack of work clothes that I have left... looks like I know what I will be spending any Christmas money on!

High Five for Friday! (what a week!)

Well I have had a week. I had all of these blog ideas coming to me this weekend (and I think most of them are sticking around in there lol so hopefully I can spew them out before they go away!) but life just got in the way!

My little guy came down with a nasty cough last Friday/Saturday, and it just kept getting worse. I assumed it was a cold and that he would wake up the next day with it loosening up, but it never did. It just got stronger and deeper. I started getting really concerned on Tuesday. We were in London visiting and that morning it seemed like he was doing better, but through the day the cough was relentless. So frequent and often resulting in bringing up mucus. Once we got home that night, I fed him and he fell asleep. I started packing up for the hospital having decided to take off once he woke up (assuming it would be any moment). I was convinced at that point that it was bronchitis or some other chest infection. Well he never woke up (which is something he never does lol) so he clearly needed the rest, and I brought him to emergency the next morning. We were there for over 8 hours! His oxygen levels were low so they put him on the mask with liquid ventolin (which was something he just loved lol) - but it wasn't clearing him up like they would like. The Dr. decided last minute to do a chest x-ray (ugh) and she said that she saw a little "fluffyness" so she wanted to treat it like pneumonia! Which is something I really wanted to hear, especially with Hannah starting to cough at home. The next day they sent me to the hospital in Oakville for a pediatric clinic to follow up. The Dr. there further examined his x-ray (far more thoroughally than the ER doc) and said he wouldn't call it pneumonia (yay!) - but he did find that Max was displaying signs that he was at risk of developing asthma (as life-long chronic asthmatic, my kids getting it was one of my biggest fears). It seems like he will be one of those kids that will need some extra help when he gets sick, and could potentially develop asthma from it. But it could also clear up by around age 6. So we will just have to see what happens! At least I am the mom for the job! I am quite the asthma pro (and so is my mom!). All I care about is today he was finally acting more like his old self.

But anyways, it's Friday and I do not want the day to end without linking up with Lauren for "High Five for Friday" - even though it was a rough week with Max having all of his problems, and now Hannah catching it, there is ALWAYS positives :)



1. Girls night! As I mentioned on Monday, I got out of the house without kids in tow for the first time in ten months :P It was refreshing and a blast :)

2. We (the kids and I.. Steve had to work) hit up London town for some visits on Tuesday. Got to meet my lovely Stephie's new princess Sydney. What a little doll she is! And we got to spend some time at my dad's with him, my step mom, my sister, her kids and Steph and Syd. It was loads of fun (except for Max's increasingly worse cough) 

3. So I am officially starting work on Monday. I met with the regional manager this week and she wants me to take over a branch. So we rushed and scored ourselves a babysitter. While I am not too happy to be going back to work and ending my mat leave early, and having someone else hang out with my preciouses all day and not me, I know it is a positive thing. ...now to find my work clothes...

4. Did some Christmas shopping online this weekend. I discovered that I enjoy online shopping because then all of the packages arrive it is like mini Christmas for me :P (do you think the blur tool helped? ;) lol)

5. Lastly, the HIGHEST 5 is that my little boy is on the mend, and even though his sister is sick, she was already showing signs of improvement tonight before bed. I am so thankful to have a couple of healthy and happy little ones. And while it is one of my fears come to life that Max is now at risk for asthma, I am thankful that I have so much knowledge on it and I live in a country where healthcare is free and easy to come by :)

We should all take a cue from these guys and learn to smile even if we are sickies :)

Thanks for stopping by today :) Let's hope next week is a good week.... 

This weekend I

"Happy" Monday! Thought I would sneak a quick post in before I go to bed (it is technically Tuesday right now, but since I haven't gone to bed yet, it is Monday to me)

I thought I would link up with Syndal again for her "This weekend I" party


 
This weekend was alright - I did some great Christmas shopping online on Black Friday (which has only recently become a "thing" here in Canada since our Thanksgiving was a month and a half ago.... I think our retailers are hella-smart for starting BF sales... keeps us shopping here!) - I spent less than $200 and I got 7 people finished, plus a few things for my kids. I'm even more impressed now that I did the math! :)

I won't show the items I got as gifts because I think certain people may read this, but I WILL share a shirt I scored for Max - I was originally browsing for my nephews and I saw this.. I LOVE navy and stripes! I couldn't resist, I had to add it to the cart! (and at $5, I couldn't NOT do it)

/link

Saturday night I got to go out with my girlfriends :) It was the first time I went out without Max in tow since he was born (in January!) and before that I was pregnant, so going out wasn't as thrilling. It was so great! We didn't do anything wild, just went to Boston Pizza for some drinks and apps and catching up :) Two of these girls I have known since 9th grade, and the other since senior kindergarten! It really refreshed me so have some time for myself and to get some good laughs out! Steve however didn't have the best first night alone with Max, but he was developing a nasty cold we have discovered, so can't blame the little guy!

Somehow I managed to only get one shot that night, and it was a funny looking bathroom mirror pic haha, but oh well, love that girl! 

And then Sunday was just low key... caring for my sick little man

Only babies are this happy to be sick :) 

Hopefully he is starting to get better tomorrow - I am hoping to make the treck to London for some visits before I go back to work :)

How was your weekend?