it's my girls' world

Happy Monday Friends... and happy last week of school, Canadians!! I got this idea from Sarah about a lil' recap of our school year and knew I had to do it also!

A came into Grade 1 French Immersion after graduating from our awesome Montessori. I was a bit worried about the adjustment but girlfriend embraced the change with lots of little girls in her class (out of the class of 23, there are 17 girls). She chats so much about her friends and their day to day activities. We had a rough start with a mat leave replacement teaching them until March--- oh the things I can tell you, friends! But in March, her wonderful teacher came back in and we saw so much growth and development and teaching of the curriculum.

A is not my reader. She is  probably the strongest reader in her class but she really doesn't love it and barely picks up a book. The Raz Kids app that the school pays for is awesome because of the 'rewards' it gives the kids and she will do that but I'd like to get her to love reading more. I'm going to try hard (or hardly as she says it which in her  vocabulary means really hard) this summer. She prefers doing math games, art projects or deciding the guest list for her birthday party. She is in an enriched math program and she really enjoys it. She loves writing and her phonetic spelling might very well be my favourite thing in my life right now-- words like speshul and purrfect bring me lots of joy. 

She is obsessed with hand sanitizer and singing. She is quiet and hard working in class. I've had the opportunity to volunteer in her class when her current teacher came back working with the kids on reading and writing and it's been a pleasure seeing her interacting with her peer group and listening so intently to the teachers words. Next year, we are going to work more on extra curricular as well encouraging her into a couple school clubs (providing that the teachers aren't on strike).

C is now in Grade 4 French Immersion and she still loves the French. She loves learning and the principles that she espouses really impress us. She is in a 4/5 split which comes with it's challenges with the girl politics and class room dynamics.  I've had to speak to her teacher a couple times to monitor certain developments and I also have conversations with her about ignoring things, respecting others, rising above it and knowing the right words to say. I'm not always impressed with her peer group and the conversations she relays to me. 

She has also had a very strong teacher. The teacher is a very critical thinker and encourages autonomy, taking ownership, leadership and advocacy. All life skills that will come in handy in this changing world. I've had a couple interviews with her teacher and she always has such positive things to say about C and her attitude, socialization and values.... but her desk needs to be cleaner and she is distracted at times. 

C is my reader but so much so it's been distracting in class. Her teacher came up with the idea of not keeping her books in her desk and it has helped greatly with C now focusing on more attention to detail instead of very quickly trying to get through her work so that she can read. She loves math and  health most! 

C is more of a leader than a follower and is very strong with her extra curricular life at school. She does choir and PALS (leading games during outside time)  and she has tried things like yoga and bucket drumming to see if it's for her. Next year, she is excited to become a lunch room monitor. 

So great years for both girls, always areas for improvements and always room for growth for them and for us as parents. Here's to a great summer, my girlies. 

Yay for Friday! This gorgeous, sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy weather is just perfect for all the reading I've been doing lately... Here are just a few of my recent reads. 

 So I drank the blogger Kool Aid and read Where the Crawdads Sing. Well actually, I listened to it. A quiet town in North Carolina, a "Marsh Girl" who basically raised herself and a murder that she is being blamed for.  The writing was very detailed, I found myself in the marsh, on the edge of my seat for many parts and felt all the feels for this orphan. The ending blew me away as well. Very surprising.

THis book and the author's style of writing was akin to Judy Blume, one of my favourite authors of all time. I immediately put her other two books on hold in the library. It's set in the city, focused on and around the time of the Obama campaign and two aspirational politicians and their wives. The author really captured the hopefulness of the entire Obama campaign- I'd recently read Becoming and it really did read the same way. I thought it was brilliant, detailed, nuanced, realistic and complicated!

When perusing Amazon, I realised that Kristin Hannah was a very highly author whose books I'd never read. This one  was about family and friends dealing with the early death of  a mom and the damaging years that followed. I couldn't read all of it at one time. It was emotionally complex, heart wrenching and eventually hopeful. 

I really needed a lighter read after the previous one,  so this one by Nancy Thayer totally did the job! A marriage, a blended family, lots of beach fun, summer eats-- a quick read that gave me all the summer feels!!!

This novel by Jojo Moyes was another great one. Two totally opposite people whose lives-- well, they kinda suck-- they get together on a road trip with two teenagers en tow and a smelly dog. Funny, relatable and an unlikely love story with dips and turns along the way, this was another good one.

What's been on your bookshelf lately? 

On a Cup of Jo, the topic was How Has Your Life Surprised You? This got me thinking... as a teen chatting with my high school girlfriends, we had all these earnest and lofty plans for ourselves... Where would our lives take us? Of course each of us would meet the love of our life (some of us thought we did already-- spoiler alert, we were wrong). Would there be kids? We'd all end up with wonderful careers... and balance it all. If my teen self had a look into the future though... just a few things would surprise her...

First off, though I was never consumed with the mortality of my parents and can't imagine life without them , I'm so happy that my parents are here and so healthy still. My parents both lost at least one of their parents when they were young adults. At my age, my dad had lost both of his. I am thrilled that my kids get to experience all of their grandparents... something I was never fortunate enough to have.

My teen self would have been surprised to see where my academic/professional life has taken me. I loved accounting  and wanted to pursue it but the accounting program at University wasn't really recognised so I studied Management studies with a focus on HR. I sort of fell into Marketing as it was the first job offered to me out of University and stuck with it through my MBA and then my career after. Was it my life passion though? Though it was a whole lot of fun, I'd have to say no. When I decided to leave the corporate world, I was totally okay with it. So much so that recently when my old manager asked if she could recommend me for a job that she was leaving in our field, I was inclined to say no. And now, I'm back into accounting... slowly trekking along... on a totally part time basis but I really do love it. 

I would also be surprised at how independent I am. I know... adulting is independence. But I grew up with my dad taking care of lots in our house. Now, I feel that I'm the one to do a whole lot of heavy lifting as well-- figuring out plumbing technicalities, car stuff, travel insurance, the health of four people, legal matters and a bunch of other stuff. I'd like to say that I kind of  rock at this adulting... some days anyways. 

As a teen, I was super skinny... so my teen self would be surprised that I'm not scrawny anymore. Ha!I was a weakling though-- my phs-ed grade was never my highest. That being said, teen me would also be surprised with how fitness is a huge part of my life with me aiming to exercise five days a week-- and most weeks crushing it. I may not be a super model, but I am strong, fitter than I've ever been and I can crush a tuck jump. 

I'd also be stunned to know that we made our home in Canada... a place I'd never even been to before D and I started dated. And to tell you the truth, I didn't really love it when I came-I thought it was cold, sterile, I had no family and not a lot of friends and I missed my homeland of Trinidad so very much. Fast forward many years and I love how full life is with the family life us four have cultivated, the friendships we've developed in our little city and how we've made our house a home. 

What would also thrill me beyond all belief is that I have daughters. Growing up with brothers and male cousins and not always a whole lot of estrogen, I craved a daughter but always thought I'd have a son. In my heart of hearts, I wanted two girls and I'm so thrilled (and a little shell shocked ) that I'm blessed with two. 

Life isn't always how we planned but sometimes it can be even better though the journey was hard. 

So tell me now, what in your life would surprise the younger you? What would (s)he say about it all?