Monday, April 29, 2019

Magico Mayan Riviera Part 3

Apparently it snowed this weekend... so in an effort to cajole  some warmer weather, here are the final set of the last days of our Mexican vacay in March. 

An early morning walk through the resort. 







The water was beautiful that day. The Mayan had a ton of seaweed this time around but today it was clear.









My beautiful mama!!




My sister in law organised a mini-birthday dinner for our soon to be ten year old.  


At C's age, I had lost three out of my four grandparents. C is so blessed to have all of hers.


Delicious food as always. That night, we dined at the Caribbean restaurant. 


This cake was so delicious.


The entire gang. 
 

So much sunshine and sand.





A little face-painting and popsicle time.



All set to go..... 



Yay for Mexico!! Warm weather, family time, great food and a whole lot of fun!!


Have a magical Monday, friends!!





Friday, April 26, 2019

Friday Favourites- Our family rules

On the 10 things to tell you podcast, one of the topics Laura chatted about was family rules. We all have family rules-- you know those spoken and unspoken rules that govern our behaviour and mold our little humans into the people we pray they turn out to be... 

The podcaster also mentioned the family rules of our parents that have molded us, for better or worse, into the people we have become and have really influenced our behaviours. This really got me to thinking about my parents and our values growing up. My parents have always been very hard workers and very goal oriented people. They taught us that you  work hard, help each other out, eat healthily, focus on your family (we had quite the large extended family in Trinidad) and exercise often. So many of these things have influenced me and I still see it when my parents and  my in-laws come to visit us. They are always doing things to make our life easier  like doing fun outings with our girls, taking them to their activities and doing pick up and drop off from school. My dad shovels our driveway, takes down our Christmas lights and rakes our leaves. My mom always preps meals for future use or does laundry so I won't have to. They always make time to exercise wherever they are and because of that so do my brothers and I. 

So after thinking about it, the main two tenets that I think rules our family is to

Be respectful and work hard towards your goals.

Respect is something that we're seeing less and less these days and I really want my kids to be respectful- to each other, to us, family, teachers and friends. This extends even to their possessions and the planet we live in. And there's this working hard thing- yes learning should be fun either in school or an after school activity but phoning it in really isn't an option. Things are expensive, time is precious and other people are helping you as well. 

Image result for family

After consulting the real experts (my kids LOL),  and culling it way back, here are what we've come up with as  10 of our family rules.

1- Pull your weight. I have a problem with the mothers or parents doing everything. Everyone is responsible for specific chores and keeping their spaces clean. Also, offer to help if you see someone else doing something

2- Do good. Yes we pray both together and as a family but we also do. Actions speak so much louder than words. Prayer is very important but so are your actions. Don't lie,  cheat or steal.

3-  No screen-time on weekdays. Except for Little House and the Prairie that we watch as a family. 
This is getting harder now with homework being online and online learning apps but we are still chugging along now. My kids read, play, colour, do puzzles, play and fight together, sing or dance instead.

4- No shoes in the house-- especially on the carpet. In this wintery weather, ain't nobody have time to wash carpets. 

5- A place for everything and everything in its place.... something D always repeats to them. Another one of his goodies: On the floor, out the door. 

6- Limit the sugary drinks-- we don't do pop here and really limit the juice intake-- even the adult juice ;-). We also try our best to have a wide variety of fruits and veggies every.single.day. 

7- Build each other up, don't break each other down. We got this from A's teacher and we've adopted it as our own. Either to their faces or behind their backs. Words can really hurt. 

8- Move on. Be resilient and don't hold a grudge for long. It's so much easier to talk about it, move on and it is so much better for our peace of mind. 

9- Have an attitude of gratitude- for what we get and what we have. Be content! 

But above all kids:

10- Be respectful and work towards your goals!

What are some of your family rules? What rules did you have whilst growing up that influences you now? 


Happy Friday, lovelies!!



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





Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Lots of Life Lately...

This bad blogger here has a whole lotta life lately from the past few weeks... Here we go!

Right after the big 1-0, my parents came to visit to come and celebrate with us.... My kids love my parents coming to visit. My parents are very hands on with the pick ups and drop offs to school and activities throwing in before/after school treats and some shopping in the mix-- my kiddos lap it all up!!




I took them to high tea in this little antique store.











We went out a couple nights sans kids when the grandparents were here... I'm having a senorita-- or a smoky margarita. It was soooo good.


Guess who advanced to their yellow belt after the grading!


An impromptu happy hour  with our neighbours to start off the long weekend just right!!!


We decorated eggs, made and decorated cookies and fish tacos on Good Friday.


Oh and fancy pineapple margaritas.


We did a little day trip to the US on Saturday for a little Target, Trader Joe, Nordstrom Rack fix and ended with some PF Changs awesomeness. 


Not going to lie, I think I make a better chicken lettuce wrap than PF Changs now!!


Getting things ready on Saturday


After the mad rush



Starting Easter Brunch off just right!!



My friend from Japan, her mum and daughter came to visit and have brunch with us.




Fast forward to yesterday, a little violin festival, a couple gold ribbons and two first places for my girl in the two categories she performed in. SO super proud of how her very hard work paid off (with more than enough nagging from her mama) and all of her calmness in the actual performance!


Happy Wednesday, friends!!


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