it's my girls' world

Friday, April 9, 2021

T W E L V E

Tomorrow my first baby turns 12!!! I always say that C is my war buddy. We went through all the parenthood stuff together, she's taught me so much and continues to.

C continues to be kind hearted and helpful. She is so self sufficient, helping to make meals, sort laundry and walk the dog with minimal complaining. She is an amazing caregiver to pets. She is very determined and coins herself a feminist.

C is bright... she quietly chugs away at her projects and aces them. I love our mom daughter conversations and how opinionated and principled she is. After a really great chat with her, I think to myself, this is why I always wanted only daughters. There are moments of brilliance and intense introspection. After an initial adjustment, she took really well to home schooling :-).

This year, she has also been obsessed with Broadway musicals. She is especially a fan of Hamilton and Six... she has more playlists than I do on my Spotify account. She still does violin and still doesn't practise nearly enough. She also advanced to the gold novice team in swimming... early Saturday morning practices are not her favourite but the grilled cheese her dad gets her after are. These days she is focused on changing her "aesthetic" and her "room's aesthetic."

This has been a year of great transition, growth and beauty for this daughter of mine. Hormones have hit with a bang and sometimes we don't know what hit us.... Sidenote, Covid and not seeing friends also hit hard so it all contributed. The sass and the tears are there sometimes but so are many moments of laughter, silliness and hugs.

Happy Birthday, C! I'm so proud of who you are and so blessed that I was chosen to be your mother. I have a strong suspicion that come #13 you'll be taller than I am.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! XOXOX

Linking up with Andrea because if my firstborn's birthday isn't a favourite, I don't know what is....

Friday, March 26, 2021

Friday Favourites

Hello and happy Fri-yay friends! Haven't done one of these in a while so it's chockful of favourites from the past month!

1- Easter is around us and I'm so ready for it! Went to get some local treats (from Reid's for all the local people) for the kiddos the other day and loved their little display... As I hardly go into stores anymore, I was here for it!

2- Speaking of Easter, love these displays in our neighbourhood that a couple of our neighbours put up.

3- Got some flowers to celebrate the first day of spring.... the temps have been so beautiful and dog walks have been even more special than before.

4- Speaking of walking the dog, Toby is too cool for words.

Yep, he never used to be allowed on the furniture....

4- St Patty's was a Wednesday but we made it fun for us folk...

For that day at least, my kids got their fair share of spirulina....

5- I've been reading LOTS recently. Mostly on the Libby app but I was the first one to order the Priyanka Chopra book from the library. It was good, needed to dish some more tea but it was a nice read.

This little one made some yummy guac the other day.... She can whole avocados as a snack.

Then we made some homemade hummus. Another yummy treat!

And of course Sunday brunch has become a tradition even though lockdown has ended.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! XOXOX

Linking up with Andrea

Saturday, March 20, 2021

10 Questions to mark one year of the Pandemic

I haven't blogged for a hot minute as I've been so busy with work but wanted to pop in to say hi. This month makes one year since the real start of the pandemic on North America. I love this list of questions from the 10 things podcast .

1- What was life like in early 2020?

We were super busy in early 2020. Work was more hectic and it was lots going on in the evenings with after school activities. We were like hamsters in wheels. We did lots of meal prep and laundry on weekends, hunkered down for winter and were making quite a few plans for the summer. We took insurance on our Portugal trip "just in case" Covid becomes a big deal. Little did we know....

2- What was the biggest change?

So, so many changes. Definitely, the biggest change was how our day to day life of school, work and routine was switched up. We were basically at home for six months and the pace was so much slower. Mornings were glorious... Grocery shopping was an outing, fresh air was crucial, and the news had never been on as much.

3- What were your coping mechanisms?

It was a frustrating time for sure....We did lots of different things to switch it up and there was so many fun moments. We did drawing tutorials, tried new recipes, baked way too much, had online happy hours, went for lots of walks, fixed up our backyard a bit, and tried our hand at gardening. We also made a really big deal about different things like Hawaiian night, game days, birthday parades and seafood boils. We explored Ontario but also relaxed at home and enjoyed our backyard.

4- What did connections in your relationships look like?

We were never in touch with people who mattered as much as the last year. Lots of Facetime and when things opened up, lots of walks and a few outdoor gatherings when we were able to.

5- What will you remember most?

I will remember all the quality time spent: virtual or in real time. The family time, Facetime calls, Zoom parties, all the beautiful conversations, and how much comfort it brought us in such an uncertain time.

6- What was the biggest challenge?

I would say that would have to be not seeing my parents for more than a year. Add to my mom actually getting Covid, and the anxiety of that, it was very rough. They are now both vaccinated but with the borders being closed, I don't know when I will see them.

7- What was a beautiful memory?

Definitely the moment that we met Toby and then told the girls that he would soon be ours. He has captured ALL of our hearts.

The day that we met him.

8- What do you believe now that you didn't one year ago?

I did not believe that in my lifetime I would see a pandemic... I simply couldn't understand what quarantine and lockdown were and how resourceful we have all become. Now I just hope this is the only one that we will experience for a very long time if ever again.... I also didn't think that it would last this long... a year in and here we are.

9- What would you do differently?

Actually, I'm okay with how we did things...... I cannot think of anything to change.

10- What will you carry forward?

That so many simple things can bring us joy and there were many issues with quarantine but so many blessings as well. And family and health are more important than everything else!!!

What about you? What was your pandemic experience like?

Friday, February 26, 2021

Five Friday Favourites!

Happy Friday, friends! Here are our favourites for the week around here.

1- My Valentine's flowers were still going strong last week and this week. There are still a couple blooms left after almost two weeks. I trim the stems and change the water every three days and it's made such a difference.