Friday, April 29, 2016

Friday Five!

Here's just a few little random snippets of our favourites this week that don't specifically warrant a post all on their own. 

1- My new desk and chair that we got for the corner of our bedroom is exactly the little space I need. I didn't want a full out desk with storage and drawers etc. Just a place to put my (shared for the moment) laptop. Maybe a notepad and pen. I love their clean lines and simplicity and the chair is pretty comfy too. I don't love that there are already little fingerprints that are all over it and it's even more glass to clean on this already glass filled house. #firstworldprobs


2- C had a day off and we had the most lovely morning before picking A up from preschool. We had breakfast in a diner and did some shopping for a few hours. One on one time with C is kind of rare so we had fun! A's turn is next and we have a trampoline park playdate followed by lunch with her little friend.




3- This house came with a specific drawer for spices… Knowing my OCD/org junkie that I am, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I put it to good use. The kids (mostly C)  helped as well- peeling the price tags off the bottles, getting them ready to wash and printing labels off the label maker.







It's the little things, right?



4- Even though I have a little stash still, I couldn't resist the BBW sale this week (and coupon on top of it) so I got my summer scents in order! 


5- And these cuties….




 She is slowly dropping her nap and I'm not ready for it. She usually falling asleep in the car after…grrrr. 
But seriously, I love sleeping kid pictures!




Happy Friday!

Linking up with 
AndreaErika and Narci for Favourites on Friday
Amy for Hey Friday
Amanda for Friday Favourites


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Thursday, April 28, 2016

9 ways to get those greens in



Yeah, there are moments that my kids have more sugar than I'd like or a less than optimal supply of veggies in their system. And the same goes for me… especially when it's nutella- I can't keep that thing in the house- i.just.cant. But I try as much as possible to get those greens in. Kale, spinach and arugula are all pretty tasteless so I sneak them in whenever I can. From the nutrients they provide to the many benefits to overall health, it just makes sense to get them into your system. Here are just a few of my favourite ways to get those greens in….

1- Eggs
I love to chop up lettuce or kale and then  have it in my eggs- either as an omelet, in a quic or scrambled with veggies- I also throw in an onions, peppers and mushrooms as well if they're on hand. I heard they're great scrambled with tofu also but I haven't tried it.

2- Sandwiches
Instead of lettuce which is awesome but not as much of a nutrient powerhouse, I throw in spinach or arugula instead.  And these go well in pressed paninis too, as cooked spinach is way more palatable than wilted lettuce… ick!

3- Salad
obvs :-). Even with the harder kale leaf- like one of my favourite salads here.

4- Pasta
 a handful of spinach towards the end of making your pasta just wilts them and isn't a very strong taste. Also pasta salads with arugula and kale are awesome like these here and here.



5- Pizza or flatbread
 chopped spinach or arugula as a topping as yummy or blended into the base sauce at the bottom

6- Sauces and marinades
As weird as this one is, I recently threw a couple kale leaves to blend into my meat marinade and it was awesome. It didn't even turn the meat green or anything. Just darkened it slightly. The same for different sauces.

7-Stand alone cooked veggies
Cooked alone and wilted with some olive oil or butter, garlic and onion as a simple side veggie. Or mixed in with other veggies for a stir-fry. Or maybe this spicy Indian spinach dish

9- Soups
I throw greens if I can into my soups, chilis and stews. Or this awesome spinach side dish/soup that we grew up with in the Caribbean. 

10- smoothies! 
Lots of detail about this one here.



So as a sidenote, I didn't mention other leafy greens like chards, mustard greens, collard greens and dandelion leaves as they are stronger tasting and a little less kid friendly…. Having a slight Napolean complex as well, I'm not a fan of bitter so though I'll have it at times, I don't make it for my family. Oh, and I totally omitted kale chips because as much as I try to love them, I kind of don't. 

What about you? Any other ways you sneak those greens in?

Linking up with Annie and Amanda.
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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

What's up Wednesday, April 2016

And we're at 600 posts! Yay, me!

Now onto some catch up...


What we're eating this week?
Monday- chicken vegetable tortilla soup (that we'll eat the rest of the week for lunch)
Tuesday- Salmon Salad (with pasta for the kids)
 Wednesday- leftovers
Thursday- we usually go meatless and I get very creative on the day
Friday- C has a birthday party so the rest of us may go out to dinner


What I'm reminiscing about
My kids are growing up soooo fast. I mean, seriously… they are turning into real people. So I'm reminiscing about when they were just babes and wishing but not wishing that time would slow down.


What I'm loving
My overnight moisture mask from Origins
The slowly warming up weather
My newest smoothie obsession that I just can't get enough of- I add greens too
When my seven year old told me this morning "You do a lot for us, you know?" 
When my three year old unexpectedly naps at the right time. She's been trying to skip nap and falls asleep in the car just when I'm ready to do a trek to pick up C and then she's cranky. fun. 


What we've been up to…
Enjoying the weather when its nice out- gardening, walking, going to parks and having the occasional ice-cream.  
Getting back into blogging more regularly
Trying to eat healthy with little to no results-- grrrrr. Maybe it's the sugar I still inhale on weekends!

What I'm dreading…
My brother and his family are leaving Canada soon after spending the last year here. And maybe sooner than we anticipated. Oh how we'll miss them!

What I'm working on
Spring sorting and cleaning up.  
Getting things done in our new home-- there is always something to do here! I'm still waiting for some more stuff to be done to post some final updates.
Getting next year's extra curricular life organised
Planning for summer with the kids
Letter sounds with my three year old and math with my seven year old.

What I'm excited about…
Nice warm weather! Oh and a certain ten year anniversary coming up!

I saw a daffodil peeking out of our new garden and I got unexplainably excited!
What I'm watching/reading…
Grey's Anatomy, The Catch, Season 2 of Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce (a guilty pleasure), DWTS (Niles and Wanya for the win) and Little Big Shots with my littles
I'm not currently reading any novels but my magazine list is Good Housekeeping, Dr. Oz' The Good Life and House and Home-- all on my kindle- 'cause books are apparently so 1999

What I'm listening to..
The Google Play app and Here To Make Friends- this HuffPost podcast that recaps the Bachelor and is hilarious! I'm listening to older podcasts in the gym and car when my kids aren't around.

What I'm wearing…
Leggings, jeans, thinner shirts and tunics,  flats and toms and an off white spring jacket that's on it's last legs! 

What I'm doing this weekend…
C has a party so the rest of us will go to dinner. I hope to visit the farmer's market and then I have a mini facial on Saturday, then we head to Toronto on Saturday where my sister in law and brother will babysit and we will go out to dinner with Darin's cousins to celebrate their joint birthday. Another kid party on Sunday and maybe some friends coming over. I also hope to get some time to do some more laundry/garage/spring cleaning! 

What I'm looking forward to next month..
My in-laws come to visit and my parents might too! Darin's birthday and yay for warmer weather!

What else is new?
We are opening the pool this Friday!

 Linking up with the lovely Mel, Shay and Shaeffer


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Monday, April 25, 2016

April Weekend Fun!











This weekend---

+ I started it off with a bang, organising my spice drawer- bottles, label maker and all! Don't say I don't know how to have fun! 

+  I made bang bang shrimp wraps on Friday to start off the weekend

+ we did just a bit of spring clean up in the front yard

+ I picked up my very own desk and chair! 

+ we babysat my friend's kids for a couple hours and the four kids were awesome together. Lots and lots of play and fun-- I was even able to get some laundry in while keeping an eye on them. 

+ D and I had date night in and we feasted on delicious spiced carrot salad, mediterranean lamb tostadas, beautiful red wine and yummy cupcakes that my friend bought us. 

+ we went to Wonderland(it was a company friends and family day)  for our inaugural visit. Separate post coming soon. 

+ I had my first beavertail for the season-- but I followed it up with a salad at home after-- ok and maybe some leftover bang bang shrimp… it's all about balance, no?! 

Linking up with lovely Biana for weekending

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Friday, April 22, 2016

Friday Favourites


Let's do this!


1- I got this pancake pen and used it over the weekend. I'm still getting the hang of it and my batter was too runny but it's the only pancake that A had. She is my anomaly-- she does not like sugary breakfasts at all. #whoisthiskid


2- I'm kind of loving the new show 'The Catch.' It's suspenseful and I like the chemistry of the main actors. Not my usual kind of show for sure but it's been good!



3- I'm still in love with my Fitbit Charge HR. My mom gifted me one for Christmas.  I'm the type of person who is competitive with myself and I'm always checking my steps. This lets me do it on the band and not have to check my app all the time. The price is really great too for the convenience. And there's a watch so I don't have to get up at night to check a clock all the time. (I wake up several times at night. I'm so weird like that. My favourite time to get up is between 2 and 5am and realise I have a few hours left to sleep). 

4- Loving the email I got from Amazon gifting me three magazines this month. I chose The Good Life (Dr. Oz's magazine), House and Home and  Good Housekeeping. Just call me Susie Homemaker!

5- And finally, some smiles.

How I am some mornings to get my kids out of the house on time….



How I wish nap time would go...



How it usually goes instead these days….



When it's girls's night, we send messages to each other like this...


When the night actually just turns out like this instead… oh and snacks!



In my head, when someone tries to take a bite of my carefully measured out, portion controlled food.



How I really feel about kids' movies. 


And just in case you're my family and just come here to see these cuties…

'cause apparently feet belong on the table...



And as we are 'gangsta!


Linking up with 
AndreaErika and Narci for Favourites on Friday
Amy for Hey Friday
Amanda for Friday Favourites

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