playing catch up - fall 2016

Well, talk about falling behind in my blogging duties! It seems I haven't written in nearly a year, which is just crazy seeing as there has been no shortage of stories and happenings in our little world...but it just goes to show how time really does fly. With a summer filled with boating, vacation time and another visit to our camp, September was quickly upon us. So, let's play a little catch up, beginning with the fall of 2016:

Starting School 
In September my beautiful girls began another year of school with Lady M heading off to Grade 3 and her little sister, Lady A, making her way into the trenches of Senior Kindergarten. Lady M began on the Tuesday after Labour Day and was quite excited about the teacher and classmates she had. Her happiness lasted just one month before school numbers forced some reorganization within the school and she found herself moved into a grade 2/3 split class with a teacher whom she feared quite a lot. It seemed that the change wasn't working so well for her, and my little girl was coming home in tears most days which was absolutely heartbreaking to Cal and I. So, with my parent advocate hat on, I paid a visit to the school, had a great meeting with her teacher and things have only looked up since then. She's had a great year so far...even now that the dreaded EQAO testing is on the horizon. (Provincial-wide testing required in grade 3 for those of you reading outside of Ontario!).

Lady A didn't begin school until the Wednesday after Labour Day which meant she had one whole extra day of summer. Lady M had distinct memories of her extra day she had before beginning SK and recalled that she got to spend the day with her Daddy and visit Marineland. Of course she shared this information with her younger sister, who was SUPER excited that she - naturally - would get this special treatment too! So off she and Cal went to enjoy their father-daughter day (and they had a blast!). Lady A began SK the next day, and while she's very ready to move onto the bigger challenges that grade one will bring, she's had a great year. She loves to take on leadership roles with the younger kids in the class (who are we kidding - she leads the older ones too). When I went in for parent observation in the fall, two little girls (both in JK) were sitting with Lady A and I at the round table and one told me "Lady A is so nice. She always helps me when I need it" - completely melting this mama's heart. Then the other one piped up to add "Lady A always helps me too!". Awwww.

Country Livin'

Ladies M&A watching the Horse Pull at the Fair

Since moving to our new house, we are completely embracing our 'country livin'' lifestyle. Where we live may not be true country to most people, but to us city kids, we basically live in the sticks. (Just ask my brother, who basically thinks I've moved to northern Sweden). We even had a wild turkey run in front of our car the other day when we were heading somewhere; and that happened right near the tractor dealership...so yes, I'd say we're kickin' it country style!

One of our favourite events this fall was heading to the Fair in our town...complete with rickety rides that look like they're going to fall apart, a demolition derby (Cal and the girls went to this!), a goat show and the horse pull which my girls watched with rapt attention! And one of the best parts, is that it's all just a 3 minute walk from our house.

We have also managed to move many of the girls lessons really close to home. Lady M began horseback riding this year, and the barn is just 5 minutes away. She is absolutely loving it - she seems so grown up and responsible when she's around the horses, and has taken to riding like a complete natural. She also started ballet for the first time, and the dance studio is one-minute from our home. Truthfully, I always thought ballet would bore the heck out of her, but after watching her dance a lyrical number at camp this past summer, I was converted. She absolutely loves her ballet class, appreciates the amount of french words in this style of dance, and pirouettes around our house all day long.

So, it would seem that country livin' is treating us quite well.

A Marrying Muffy 
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I happily hopped a plane to Vancouver, then continued on to the small town of Prince George in Northern BC where my beautiful friend Ashley lives. Visiting PG for the first time, Ashley and her fiance Jason showed me around and gave me a chance to see a little bit of their lifestyle after hearing about it for many years.

On my second day there, the three of us hopped in a car and enjoyed a four hour ride to Jasper, Alberta taking in the beautiful scenery along the way. I was over the moon to be her only guest, and maid of honour, at a picturesque wedding in Jasper that weekend. Between rock slides, autumn snowfall, changed flights and countless stories, my best friend married the man of her dreams in a beautiful cabin in the mountains, and we toasted the happy couple at the Jasper Brewing Company for their reception. Now, that's the way to spend Thanksgiving!

8 is Great!
In November, my beautiful oldest girl celebrated her 8th birthday. Seeming more grown up by the minute, we hosted a party for several of her friends where they had the chance to do crafts, decorate cupcakes, play games and just enjoy each other's company. The theme was Harry Potter, and we had a blast putting everything together to somehow recognize her current favourite book. It was Lady M's first birthday in our new house and we had  great time.

Just a few days before, Lady M and I had taken a piping class at our local Michaels store - learning the finer techniques of piping icing onto cakes and cupcakes. The class was just $10 each - a real steal! Having signed up weeks in advance, as they day drew closer, I was fearful that I didn't have all of the cake decorating supplies we needed. So, the morning of the class, I called the store to confirm whether I needed to bring any additional items. The person on the phone said "didn't you get the list when you registered?" Ummm, no. I did not. He then began to rattle off the looooong list of items that Lady M and I required...oh, and we'd need two of everything of course.

So, thanks to the recommendation of a good friend, we learned that the Wilton items were much less expensive at Wal-Mart, so off we went. Well over $100 later, we had everything we needed - so much for that $10 steal of a deal! We arrived to the class to find out it was just the two of us who had registered, which was awesome. We also learned that the kind sales clerk on the phone had only given us 1/2 of the required list of items.

Oh well! We managed just fine and learned all sorts of techniques and had a great time doing it. Lady M is a natural when it comes to this sort of thing, but more importantly, I love having time where she and I can just be together. At 8 she is growing so quickly, and I love any time I get to spend with her.

A Decade 
Just a few days after Lady M's birthday, Cal and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We even managed to take a day off work and get away for one night, which was lovely. We had a nice escape to Collingwood where we enjoyed dinner out, got our boat into storage and warded off one woman's best attempts to get us to buy into a timeshare!

Most importantly, I'm so grateful to have spent the last ten years happily married to him, and look forward to the next ten!

Holiday Fun

Heading downstairs on Christmas morning

I'm always a fan of Christmastime, and this year was no different. Though I started to wonder if some of the magic was slipping away when Lady M began questioning whether the big guy was real in November. While it seemed like the jig may have been up, she did a complete about face and continued on through the season a true believer.

Both girls had a holiday recital at their school, and unfortunately I couldn't attend Lady A's this year, so Cal and my Dad were there to support her. Lady M had one at her school, and Cal couldn't attend that one, so my dad and I did! Clearly, Dad was the constant on the 2016 recital circuit - I believe he also made it to both of my nephews shows too! Lady M joined the choir this year, so on top of the presentation her grade 3 class did, she also sang numerous songs with the choir - so lovely.

I took the full two weeks off over the holidays, which I just love. I enjoy the time with the kiddos, and knowing that their holiday break is also mine. We visited with family and friends, did crafts, had outings and just enjoyed the down time where we didn't have to wake up and rush out of the door each morning.

On Christmas day, they crept down the stairs in their matching jammies and the day and the rest of the holiday was just lovely.

Cal was able to take some time off over the holidays too, and we headed up north to visit some of his family. Though snow was minimal all over this year, they certainly had more than we did, and we all had a chance to go snowmobiling. It was Lady M's second time, and Lady A's first. It was also my first time - a great experience!

As usual, our fall and early winter were filled with fun adventures, and it was a great way to end 2016.

my healthy quest...and 30 things update

My little Lady A hit the 6-month milestone two weeks ago. Hard to believe that six months have flown by in the blink of an eye, and that she's half way through her first year of life. It means we have a little more time between feedings and fewer naps, ergo, more awake time! With this somewhat 'found' time, I have a chance to focus a little more on me for the first time in a while.

With that said, I'm on a quest to get back to being healthy and fit...a place I haven't been in a few years, since having my munchkins. In between having Lady M & Lady A it was easy to set getting fit aside, knowing that I was planning to become pregnant again. But this time, my family is complete, so no easy excuses!!

My sister-in-law has recently graduated as a nutritionist, so with such great knowledge at my fingertips, I would be silly not to work with her, so I am! Thanks to her encouragement and ideas, I'm trying new recipes, making small changes to the items stocked in my kitchen, and drinking more water than I ever have before! The thing that's even better, is that these little lifestyle changes positively affect my entire family.

On the workout front, I continue on with my Zumba classes as often as possible. (To read about the moment I fell in love with this 'exercise in disguise', check out this old post). In fact, in just a few days I'm off to Instructor Training so I can not only attend these fantastic classes, I can teach them too!

I've also found a great Stroller Fitness class that I've been attending for a few weeks with Lady A; I'm working muscles I haven't worked in ages, and its awesome. I'm currently competing in a 'Biggest Loser' challenge with them, trying to win a big gift certificate so I can take even more classes over the winter and continue to challenge myself in new ways. And the best part? I can take my girls with me!

So between the nutrition, fitness classes and a little challenge on the side, I think they're all great steps. And its working to achieve one of the goals that I set out for myself earlier this year in my 30 things post.

Which brings me to a little update on that front. Its been 3 months since I first outlined my goals, so in an effort to stay on track, thought I'd provide a little update as to where things stand...

1. Become a creative entrepreneur as an exciting side project
• Haven't made it too far on this one, but I will get there! 
2. Complete Zumba Fitness instructor training
• All set to go this Saturday, and I couldn't be more excited!! 
3. Donate blood (hopefully on a regular occasion, but let's go for once to start)
• Hmm, I'll take this one as a reminder...I need to go do this. One of my friends said she'd like to join me, so I think we should make a date! 
4. Have an impeccably organized home
• Slowly, but surely...this is an ongoing process
5. Learn Adobe Illustrator
• This one is in the works! I think I may take a class in the New Year if I can find some time.
6. Reach my post-pregnancy goal weight
• As mentioned, the nutrition plans, and fitness goals are all leading toward this one... 
7. Read a minimum of four books for pleasure this year (yes, that's a lofty goal with two munchkins in the house and lots of school reading at any given time!!)
• I have finished one so far, and am working on book number two. The first was Mini Shopaholic (yup, that's right, total chick lit!), and now I'm reading Smart Couples Finish Rich. Might as well work on my financial future while I'm at it, right?! 
8. Share more stories on my blog so my girls will have a great memoir of their childhood
• Trying to write more whenever I can. I think I need to figure out some form of measurement on this one though...I guess as long as I'm writing more than I did last year overall, then I'm achieving this goal. 
9. Start teaching a regular Zumba class
• I can do this once I'm a full-fledged instructor! 

So there we have it...that's where I am with my annual goals; definitely some things to work on, but I'm making a few of the goals a reality already, so I feel like I'm on the right track. Feel free to hold me accountable to anything you read here!! 

what shall we read next?

Reading has always been one of my favourite things to do, but lately it seems my pleasure reading has been replaced with journal articles for school and toddler storybooks. Both of these actually make me quite happy, but somedays I really miss having a good book on the go. Perhaps when my course finishes next week, my maternity leave begins (also next week), I might rediscover this ever-precious personal reading time, but I guess we'll see.

In the meantime, I'm thrilled that Lady M has discovered the vast world of literature. Up until a couple months ago she enjoyed stories, but now she is just devouring them and can't seem to get enough. We sit and read a pile of books at a time, and I love seeing her get into the story and process both the pictures and the text.

One of the latest stories in our rotation has been "Pajama Time" by Sandra Boynton. Now, I'm sure every parent out there has at least one - if not ten - Boynton books on their shelves because her stories are wonderful. They read like little songs, and I think I have as much fun reading them as Lady M does listening to them. They're sweet, fun and the illustrations are great. What more could you ask for?

The other stories I'm pleased to say are in the current selection list are a couple of the Little Miss & Mr books - you remember them, of course. Who could forget the classic adventures of Little Miss Sunshine, or Mr Noisy? I LOVED these books when I was younger, and when I was in England several years ago I restarted my collection. I was at a bookstore in London and they had them on sale, and I can distinctly remember thinking, "someday I'll have kids I can read these to", so I purchased several from the series. Now here I am, 8 years later, with a sweet little tyke who is hanging on their every word.

Currently we are reading Mr. Funny and Little Miss Naughty. Mr Funny has encouraged us to learn several new funny faces, which I'm told she is now using to help cheer up the younger children at daycare - that's my girl! And we're learning important lessons with Little Miss Naughty about how to treat people with kindness and respect, all the while giggling our way through the pictures and words.

My favourite part of all her story time though, is that she is now "reading" the story back to herself, or to Cal & I. She's remembering so many parts of the story, and will retell it based on the pictures she sees as she flips back through the pages. Its so exciting to see her relating to books in this way, and to see her storytelling and recall abilities emerge.

So although my own reading adventures may be a bit slowed right now, I'm more than happy to dive back into some of my favourite children's books, along with lots of new ones with my little Lady M. Plus, whenever we are reading stories, the baby on its way tends to kick like crazy, so I think I'm going to have another little reader on my hands in a very short time, and I can't wait to share more and more stories with both my munchkins over the years to come.

30 day challenge - part iv

Let's continue on with the exciting 30-day challenge! So far, its taken me four days to get through the first 20...I like this trend! Again, if you're itching to catch up, visit parts one, two and three by clicking on the respective number. Or, moving right along to days 11-20. Enjoy!

Day 11 – a habit you wish you didn't have
Well, I mentioned this in an earlier post (a pile of clothes), but I really wish I wasn't so inclined to having a pile of clothes on my bedroom floor! I think I've been better since I wrote that post (although there was a mild explosion upon returning from our week at camp, as the entire week's packing ended up beside my bed; but that's beside the point). Although improving, this is definitely a habit I wish I didn't have! 

Day 12 – something you are OCD about

My handwriting. Anyone who knows me will surely agree with me here - its very important for me to have tidy, beautiful handwriting, I just can't help it! But, it sure makes my work notes, school notes and to-do lists look very pretty! 

Day 13 – a fictional book
Hmm, I talked about some of my favourites in a recent post (my favourite reads...), but one I didn't mention there was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Its a really interesting book - with a rather unique premise. I would definitely recommend reading it if you have a chance, or if you're feeling lazy, you can just watch the movie, which I haven't seen, so please don't ask me for my opinion!

Day 14 – a non-fictional book
I don't think you can ever go wrong with Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. I'm not sure I can even count how many times I've read this one over the years. If you haven't read this, your school system has failed you. Please immediately run to your nearest bookstore or library and get a copy. Thank you.

Day 15 – your dream house
Ooh, I wonder if my wonderful real estate agent is reading this?! ha ha! My dream house will be large, but not too large! Minimum 4-bedrooms, 3-bathrooms with a spacious master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom that boasts a soaker tub and stall shower. 

It will definitely have a big family room, big dining room and huge kitchen so I can entertain big groups of family and friends. And one GIANT pantry (that is perfectly organized and stocked) so I can entertain on a whim, and cook fabulous meals each night! In fact, everything will have awesome organizational ability - hidden drawers, closet organizers, secret storage compartments, etc. My home will also have a beautiful window seat on the sunniest side of the house, where I will sit and read!


The basement will likely be converted to a music studio for my hubby, so he can have that floor. (Aren't I sweet honey?!)

I will have a gardener who looks after all of my pristine landscaping, and a housekeeper who keeps my abode party-ready at any time. The house will be nice and tidy, but lived in and homey, and likely full of toys! Everything will have hand-selected designer furniture, decor and although my lovely dog Dakota will live there, it will somehow magically be dog-fur free!! 


Excuse me, I need to go negotiate a raise.

 
Day 16 – a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
"My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw. My dad played it for me at my wedding, and although I was so worried about the length of his speech in the moment (ever the planner), every time I listen to it now I'm in tears. Its beautiful. 

 
Day 17 – an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
I most proudly display my daughter's art work right now...its the most adorable thing ever! 

 
Day 18 – my wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Ahh, my wedding. It was the most fabulous day...everything was done in teal and black, and it looked perfect for a good, Canadian winter wedding! (We were married in November). We had 4 bridesmaids, 4 groomsmen and my photographer called me Tricia all day. Umm, thanks - my name is Kristin. 

The party lasted to the wee hours of the morning, and I'm proud to say I still have friends who talk about our wedding nearly 4 years after the fact. I loved my dress, had a gorgeous coat that my mother-in-law handmade for me, and my girls looked stunning in their dresses too. Of course, mango calla lillies were our flowers! I'm happy to say that if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing...especially my groom.

 
Day 19 – a talent of yours
I can share a shot perfectly with my darling friend Ashley. We're very proud of this accomplishment. Just ask us; we'll show you. 

Day 20 – a hobby of yours
Right now, running! I took up running this past spring and I absolutely love it! I took a clinic through Running Room and completed my first 5k race in July. The girls in my clinic were awesome, and since the end of the clinic the group of us have continued running together on our own time and we are training to complete a 10k race at the beginning of November. 


Until next time...

my favourite reads...

Whenever I'm teaching up at camp in the summer the discussion inevitably turns to books at some point during the week. There are three of us on the teaching team, and we each love to read. We especially enjoy sharing some of our yearly favourites, and jotting them down in our respective notebooks to read in the upcoming year.

Personally, I wish I had more time to read...but, I find I'd rather play with the munchkin, and then catch up on riveting reality television when she goes to bed! However, I still find time to read whenever I can.

In talking about this last week, I felt compelled to share some of my all-time favourites in case anyone else is looking for their next great read....enjoy!

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (or Someone Knows My Name in the US)
Lawrence Hill is actually from my home town, and I had the pleasure of working with him through a Creative Writing class I took back in high school. He critiqued some of my writing, and I remember it being a really great opportunity.  I love his writing style, and The Book of Negroes is an incredible story about one woman's journey through the slave trade. Its amazingly well written.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
With the movie having just been released, this story is heavily talked about in the media right now, so it's fresh in my mind too. I read the book a couple of years ago and fell in love. Who doesn't love the idea of eating delicious food in Italy, practicing yoga in India and becoming better acquainted with your true self in Indonesia? Well, maybe that's not for everyone, but that's my kind of trip.

Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
This is an incredible story written by a woman as she experienced the German Occupation of WWII. Meant to be a 5-part 'suite', she was killed in Auschwitz in 1942, having completed only the first two parts. Her two daughters found the manuscript in a suitcase, in barely legible handwriting, 60 years later, and realizing the masterpiece they had on their hands, published it. It's an incredible story.

Well, let's start with those three, and I'll save more of my favourite picks for another day, another post.

Happy reading!