Wednesday, February 28, 2018

What's Up Wednesday- Feb 2018



Eight days until Mexico!  Here's what's going on in our little lives!

What we're eating this week?
A whole lot of easy since I'm just returning from a trip to NYC and work is ramping up. I'm thinking breakfast for dinner, turkey burgers and soup. Oh and Friday will be a takeout kind of day.

What I'm reminiscing about
My little trip to celebrate my mom who turned 60. My brother from TNT also came and all of our family (18 of us) went out to a nice dinner to celebrate my mom. I also did a video that brought many a tear to my emotional family. 



What I'm loving
This picture of two of my favourite five year olds and their beautiful braids. 
And that I got to spend lots of time with my nephew this weekend. 

What we've been up to…
The usual: swimming, dance (times two), music (times three), skiing (which ended last week) and school. 

What I'm dreading…
We have a swim meet on Saturday and the last race ends at 930 PM. Not fun with kids whose bedtimes are 8:30

What I'm working on
Lots and lots of bank statements. 
Summer scheduling
Kids' summer camp plans. So far, it's STEM, horse back riding and a girls' camp. 

What I'm excited about…
Is it too early to be excited for some stellar summer plans

What I'm watching/reading…
I watched my first episode of The Resident and I loved it. 
And for reading, I did a whole post recently. Lots of reading going on!
And I  discovered with my Prime Membership, I can download ten magazines to borrow at a time-- so I borrowed lots on the iPad to read. 

What I'm listening to..
Podcasts and my girls' selection of music in the morning. They can be very bossy persuasive.

What I'm wearing…
A spring jacket today! But I have a sinking suspicion that I'll be back to winter stuff by Thursday!

What I'm doing this weekend…
A swim meet, the Oscars, laundry, working out and loads of family time.

What I'm looking forward to next month..
MEXICO, ceviche and margs.

What else is new?
My little lady lost her tooth and was SO excited!!


 Linking up with the lovely Mel, Shay and Shaeffer

Friday, February 23, 2018

Friday Favourites- Recent Reads

Happy Friday! I'm in NYC for a little birthday celebration for a very special mom (mine) but let's talk books in the meantime. My library card has been working hard for the last few months.



Usually, when I find an author I like, I read all her books... in rapid succession. Colleen Hoover was one of those last year. This is her newest book and sadly, I have to say my least favourite in all that I read of hers. It's about Merit who is going through more than her fair share of angst- and though she is a teen- it's not the garden variety teen angst. She wasn't very likeable initially but grew on me, only to have the story end before I thought it should. I hope there's a sequel planned. 

This was a book club read . Two sisters, separated from each other wrote this story. One adopted, another with her birth parents. One severely abused by her birth parents, the other so loved by her adopted parents. Some parts of it were difficult for me to get through (with the abuse of the little girl) but it was very interesting overall. 

Kristan HIggins was another author whose books I read all of last summer. This might be my favourite of hers yet and she has really matured as an author. The protagonist has gone through quite a bit in her 30+ years of living but I totally enjoyed her character and grit through it all. I really didn't know how it was going to end and I loved that. I would reread this one for sure. 



This one reads as a series of short stories about a small town in main with one central character featured in each story- not a very likeable character- but I found myself rooting for her through the book and empathizing with her and her struggles and insecurities. It reminded me of books we would have to study for English Literature class in high school. A good read for sure. 



Taylor Jenkins Reid was my find for this year and One True Loves might be my very favourite read for the entire year (and it's only February so that is saying A LOT). So then I began reading all her other books. This one provides two ways that life could have taken the protagonist if she made different choices. Have you ever had any of those cross road moments where life really could have taken you in different directions? Though I appreciated the plot, the book however was just a bit meh. I was waiting for the end to explain if it was a dream or not or for some sort of closure and I didn't get it. 

What have you been reading lately?


Linking up with
Caroline and April for Five on Friday!
and Andrea, Erika and Narci for Favourites on Friday
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Monday, February 19, 2018

February-long weekending

Long weekends are awesome. Especially the first one after the holiday season. We headed out with some of our very favourite framily to Rochester for some good times.

We got there on Saturday and headed straight to PF Changs to feed all of these awesome kids who had their very own table right next to us. I love it when they are so close yet so far away!


A trip to the wine store and Target were musts-- we may or may not have gone to Target on 3 separate occasions in the three days we were there. #nojudgementzone. 

The highlight for the kids was the Strong Museum of Play



The kid size grocery with the very realistic food was a BIG hit



These two are the best huggers I know so when they hug each other it's something special!





The Sesame Street set was more exciting for the adults than the kids. 

Pasta for dinner is always good. 

Lots of movie watching, chatting and snacks a good weekend did make. 

The best hair braider there ever was.

So much fun and so little sleep all weekend- three out of the four of us napped on the way home.

And this week is just going to fly by!!! 


Linking up with Biana for some weekending!


Friday, February 16, 2018

Friday Favourites- Valentines 2017

Happy Friday, lovelies! Here are a few of my favourite shots from Valentines' Day 2017

Can you believe this candy dish is empty now- some people went a little crazy

We are trying to minimize stuff in our house so I went totally low key with my valentines for the girls. D got a little more- because #truelove.


A was all about heart shaped everything. 




My sweet got me these beautiful roses- it was C's idea to mix them up with some pink-- I think she made the right choice. 

And some very good quality chocolates from a local chocolatier which we are all slowing sharing as a family. 


With her work on display at school Girlfriend is doing fourth grade math! 

After dance and  sorting out the valentines , we had a lovely meal from a local gourmet shop on our wedding china with some vino. 





We were supposed to watch a movie after the kids went to sleep but instead spent some time sorting out a whole container of single sided socks. True romance at it's finest.... and of course I failed to take a picture of my forever Valentine with me! 

Make the weekend a good one, friends! We are heading out of town with some very favourite friends of ours. 



Linking up with
and Andrea, Erika and Narci for Favourites on Friday




Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Meet my Valentines

Happy Valentines' Day! Hope your day is filled with red, pink, chocolates, hearts and lots of love. On the day of love, meet my loves and five reasons I love them so.

Sidenote, thanks Beth for this awesome idea.

D

 I love-
- how his mind is always on. 
- what an awesome dad he is
- his brilliant sense of humour
- that when he cleans up, he does a better job than anyone else in the house.
- that he is intrinsically a good, good person



C- 


I love:
- how resilient she is
- that she loves reading so much- girlfriend will read an instruction manual with much interest- and that she remembers so much from her reading. 
- that she can already swim, play the violin and the piano, skate, ski and ride a bike better than I can. 
- how easily she makes friends and inspires loyalty in them. 
- her thick, healthy hair 

A-

I love: 
- her free strong spirit and soul. 
- how easily she entertains herself with her toys and art supplies
- that she is the best hugger 
- that she dances like no one is watching--- with some super awesome moves too.
- her bright,  beautiful 1000 watt smile. 


So many others in the random love list:  my parents,  brothers,  aunts and other family, in-laws, framily, girlfriends, blogging girlfriends and my kids' teachers-- both my kiddos have the best group of teachers this year. 

And other things that I love: 
appetizers, summer, yoga, family dramas on TV, fitness, vacation planning, Target, chocolate, my iDevices, shopping, reading, a happy hour beverage, the holidays, hot tea with milk. 



What's on your love list? 


Happy Valentines' Day, lovelies!




Monday, February 12, 2018

Healthy Turkey Meatballs

My family is crazy for these meatballs and so was instagram after I posted a pic.  I found them when I was on the 21 day fix but I've been making them ever since. So healthy but so flavourful. I usually make a double batch to last us the whole week.

Ingredients:

  1. 1 pound lean ground turkey
  2. 1 tsp  salt
  3. 1 tbsp mustard
  4. 1 tsp paprika
  5. 1 large egg
  6. 3/4 cup quick oats
  7. 3 cloves garlic, minced
  8. 1/4 cup of chopped fresh herbs (I've used cilantro or basil depending on the side I've served it with but you can basically mix with any herbs)


Method:

1- Mix all the ingredients except for the turkey together. I use my mini chopper to blend it all together.


2- Add the herb mixture to the turkey and mix until well combined.

3- Shape into 30 1-inch balls.

4- Bake on parchment paper in a 400 degree oven for 16-20 minutes.

Serve with whatever side you desire. I make it with pasta for my kids or spaghetti squash or salad for the grown ups. 

So easy but so yummy! 



Make your Monday an awesome one, friends!

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