polish

I think every mum has ideas in her head about what she will and won't let her children do. Some people pierce their baby's ears at a young age, others wouldn't dream of it. So when I took my munchkin for her first haircut at one year and they asked if I wanted her nails painted I quickly said 'no'. You see, I just didn't think that my sweet little baby needed painted nails.

The next few haircuts were the same story:

Stylist: Would you like her nails painted?
Me: No, thank you. (Thinking to self: "not a chance"!)
Stylist: Would you like a balloon for her?
Me: Sure, thanks!

So, I pass on the nail polish, she gets the balloon and her nails stay untouched.

However, a couple weeks ago I got a mani/pedi, and when I came home my little girl was completely fascinated by the pretty paint, and even more so by the cute white flowers painted on my purple toes. Seeing her excitement, my hubby said "when do you think its ok to paint her nails"? I responded with: "I really don't know!"

I guess my 20 months of collected motherly wisdom (!) made me believe I would just instinctually know when the time was right.

So, tonight I took her in for a haircut and when the stylist said "would you like her nails painted?" I said "sure!" without much hesitation at all. My little sweetie sat up on my lap, plunked her right hand down on the table and sat more still than a seasoned salon-goer who has this done every week. By the time her 4th nail was being painted, her left hand was gently placed beside the right awaiting her second hand of polished nails.

We left with a sweet haircut, cute pink nails, and one very happy little girl. I guess the time was just right.

No pierced ears quite yet though.

what's the opposite of a green thumb?

Tonight I was out for a run, and before I left my hubby asked me if we could pick up the weeds (that I had previously pulled and placed in a pile) in our backyard. Trying to get going, I said we could get it done when I got home. So, off I went for a nice run, and when I returned home, sadly, he hadn't forgotten the plan! With the little one sleeping upstairs we promptly went to the backyard to pull the weeds.

Yes, its nearly the end of July - I likely should have done this a few months ago, but we don't spend much time in our tiny backyard, so it hasn't been high on the priority list. My garden in the front yard is planted, so at least it looks beautiful out there!

Walking around the houses in my community, I must admit, I get severe garden envy. Some people have these stunning gardens - bright colours flourishing, and all neatly kept. That's the sort of garden I want. Unfortunately, when I get outside to tend to mine I just want to plant the flowers and have them take care of themselves from that point forward. (Does that mean I need perennials?)

Cal joined me in the backyard for about 4 minutes of weeding, when the munchkin started crying up in her room, and he went up to check on her. As I continued my work, I suddenly realized that perhaps this was all orchestrated, and Cal somehow convinced the munchkin to cry as soon as she heard us in the backyard. It all seems very clever to me; unlikely, but clever.

In any case, I got the backyard tidied up, and can sleep well tonight knowing its a little bit better than it was when I woke up this morning! (And Cal would probably like me to note that although he didn't return to the yard work, he moved on to do some work out in the garage).

So, my love for gardening just may not exist. I would be glad to design the garden, and purchase the flowers, but the upkeep and I just don't get along. If red is the opposite colour of green...I think I just might be a red thumb. So if anyone knows a good gardener...I'm in the market!

a pile of clothes

In most aspects of my life I'm a very tidy person. I've always had impeccable school notes; even in university I had well-placed, tidy doodles neatly taking up every empty space in the margins. My office space is immaculate, everything in its place and it's regularly swiped with the lavender-scented antibacterial wipes I keep in my overhead cabinet, always within arms reach.

So, why is it that I always have a pile of clothes beside my bed?

Growing up, I always had clothes on my bedroom floor, and my parents were forever after me to tidy it up. In university, that same pile followed me to each of my apartments...and the darn thing has followed me into my adult life too! The whole bedroom can be clean, but (much to my husband's chagrin) there, to the right side of the bed, he can almost always count on the ever-present mound of varied fabrics. At least I'm consistent!

Tonight I spent three hours cleaning the house...I did some work on each floor, but the greatest part of tonight's cleaning adventure was spent on the top floor, in my room, on the right side of the bed, hanging everything up...again.

My mum has reminded me that I'm now modeling this behaviour to my daughter...am I really setting her up to have a pile beside her bed for several decades of her life? I sure hope not. Thankfully, so far she has a propensity towards tidying and cleanliness...let's hope she gets my academic and professional tidyness and applies it to her room when the time comes.

a little pink room

My sweet baby girl is not quite a baby anymore. In fact, she's rapidly approaching the tender age of two, speaking in full sentences, clearly telling us everything she wants (and doesn't want), and participating in activities in a whole new way. I am loving this stage, and enjoying all the things she has to offer.

However, this growing process comes with some changes too; the one we're facing right now is transitioning from her nursery to her "big girl" room. Hard to believe we're already at this point. When I was pregnant with her, we didn't know what gender she was going to be, so the nursery is a lovely sage green colour, with clean, black furniture. However, now that we have our little girl, its time for an all-girl room! She's moving into a different bedroom, where the walls are already a sandy brown colour, so naturally, her room will now be pink & brown! So far we have nice, new white furniture, and a pink and white bedspread, so we're part-way there. Next up, i have several crafty projects I want to complete to finish decorating the room and tie it all together.

Here's what it looks like so far:

Its still rather stark, so with a little love and a lot of pink, this room will be complete in no time. I'll keep you up to date with all my projects once they're underway. (Hopefully over the next couple weeks!) Stay tuned...

blogging...

Lately I've really been enjoying flipping through various blogs about everything from home organization, cooking, parenting, fitness and crafts. I have a few friends and family members with blogs I read faithfully, and have thought of starting my own on several occasions. So, I suppose its my turn!

Our little family of three has a lot on the go these days...as the mum of a 20-month old daughter, we're experiencing life with a little wonder who is learning to communicate more and more every day. As a young professional, I'm living a life that has to strike a balance between work and home commitments. In my spare time I've taken up running in the last couple of months, so am finding time to run, keep up with my weekly pilates class and still have lots of time to hang out with my hubby and little munchkin!

I'll try to keep you up to date with our family adventures, exciting online goodness you might like to read and projects and activities we're doing in our daily life, and hopefully you'll enjoy what I have to say!

Oh, and by the way - mango calla lilies were the flowers we used at our wedding, and I love them. Seemed like a fun name for the blog - just in case you were wondering!!

Please feel free to leave me a comment if you're passing by...I'd love to hear from you!