it's my girls' world

Friday, January 24, 2014

Birthday celebrations

I had a wonderful, relaxing birthday filled with beautiful family moments and warm wishes from near and far. I felt special, loved and appreciated.... the feelings you should feel on your special day!

Firstly, Cassia told me the day before "Mommy, you take care of everyone. It's our turn to take care of you." She called Darin in work the day before and she reminded him to get balloons, streamers and an eleven (?) layer cake. She made a present for me and she was insistent that I not open it until my birthday. She was so sweet and thoughtful and caring all through my birthday.

On my actual birthday, my family woke me up with hugs and kisses and told me to come downstairs for a special treat. There were balloons everywhere, a delicious breakfast and a cranky baby D woke her up early to be part of the celebrations- bad idea! Then it was off the school, work and the gym. D, A and I had a late lunch in a bakery, I left them to get a mani/pedi and then it was home for cake. At night, the adults went to a really cool indonesian restaurant with some friends followed by $4 martinis (we are all class) at a neighbourhood restaurant.

Happy Birthday to me!

Let's get this party started. By party, I mean let's go to school

My post workout drink

Lunch with my sweeties

Smoky nails like all the cool girls!

Chocolate hazelnut cake

Though it seems like my house is on fire, it's not. It's just me turning 35.

Mona and I

Having some milk (wink, wink)

Thanks family and friends for all the phone calls, text messages and great wishes. They made my day so much more special. And it doesn't stop there. My mom came in for NY for a quick visit and this weekend D and I head out to Toronto for our first adult only weekend together since Cassia was born. I'm so excited!! To be continued......

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

35 things on my 35th--- umm, I mean 25th

Happy Birthday to me!!! In honour of yours truly, here are 35 truly random things to celebrate my 35 years on this earth. (got the idea from Leah over at Everyday Love)

I was born in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean
I love to accessorize- the funkier the better.
I had never seen Canada before deciding to move here
I cannot be easily surprised. In fact, only my 21st party thrown by my best friend and my baby shower has surprised me
I met Darin in TGI Friday's in Trinidad
I had spinal fusion surgery when I was 14 to correct a severe case of idiopathic scoliosis. Because of this, I have a steel rod in my upper back
I call both Trinidad and Canada home
I am a creature of routine especially with my kids and especially during the week
My favourite colour for walls are a pale blue
I am embarrassed to admit that I watch The Bachelor- Sean Lowe is my favourite bachelor so far
It's hard for me to say no- except to my kids
I save my emails and texts- especially the sentimental ones
I love chocolate--- when I check the menu for dessert, I usually gravitate towards the most chocolaty item
I was a very skinny kid. Oh to have that metabolism again! But then again, I was also quite the picky eater.
The year I moved up to Canada was the most difficult one in my life so far
Elin Hilderbrand is my favourite author. I reread her books every summer and I preorder every single book of hers
I love leggings but really don't like jeans too much. Jeggings on the other hand...
I love a to-do list and make one almost everyday
I cry very, very easily
I am obsessed with scented candles but I am very fussy with my scents so it is very difficult to buy candles for me
My firstborn reminds me of myself more than anybody else in the world
I love asian fusion cuisine most
My greatest fear in the world is something (healthwise) happening to my family
I get nauseous often- especially sitting in the backseats of cars for long trips
I really learnt to cook after I got married-- I'm a quick study!
I believe there is inherent good in everyone.
I cannot ice-skate- never learnt in hot TNT and now because of my back I can't learn
I broke my left pinkie when I was 25 and only realised it last year
My two most favourite vacations so far were Italy (pre-kids) and Turks & Caicos (post kids). I hope to go back to both these places
Though red wine is my drink of choice, I love a really good, really dirty martini
I love my sleep. I can't operate on too little sleep- I get 7 hours almost every night.
I don't like clutter but at the same time don't like totally sterile surfaces--- a little bit of stuff is good
I cannot play team sports (sudden jarring movements affect my back) but I love to work out in a controlled environment
I laugh lots but no one makes me laugh more than D.
I make a really, really big deal about birthdays!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Everyday life in 2013- Week 3

Week 3 already?! Whaaatttt???? Here are our snapshots from this past week.

Day #15. Once again ( I have a feeling it will happen once or twice each week) I didn't take a pic. Check this lady out though. Asleep midway through lunch. We've transitioned from a midday nap to an early evening nap but sometimes we get pretty tired.

Day #16

Anjali at a playdate at a friend's house. My friend is a teacher so she always has great ideas or great activities for the kids to do or make. Little A couldn't help putting the (non-toxic) paint in her mouth several times though.

Day #17

Look at my four year old eating with training chopsticks at a Japanese restaurants. We were quite impressed!

Day #18

Arisa's birthday. We went to Ajax for a beautiful tea princess party. Check out the girls' faces.

Day #19

Mexican lunch (and margaritas) at my work out buddy's house. Yummmm. Here are the kids totally ignoring each other.

Day #20

Love my girls!

Day #20

My morning smoothie chockful of good stuff. This morning's drink contained strawberries, a small banana, greek yogurt, kale, hemp seeds, chia seeds and unsweetened almond milk. Yum.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Gymnastics

We do a couple extra curricular activities. I think it's an important part of raising a well rounded kid. In Trinidad, growing up we were more academically focused as it was so competitive at an early age to get into the best schools. Both kids do music and then Cass does dance as well. LAst fall though, they both did gymnastics at the Dynamo Gym on a Saturday morning. Cassia loved it. She would be racing around to her different stations, performing the activities with gusto and always peeking to see if I was watching her. Anjali... not so much. We did a parent and tot class so either D or I would be with her. Initially, she couldn't really walk that well so if I could read her mind I'd bet she'd be saying "really people, seriously? I can't walk but you expect me to jump and roll". She would ask to be held almost all the time, be a bit whiny and sometimes just flat out refuse to do stuff. It was a gong show.

However, as the weeks went by, she began to enjoy it more. She started to like the trampoline lots and she enjoyed falling in the pits. She began racing around and exploring more also. She can't walk in a straight line on the beam to save her life but it was fun nonetheless. In fact, I'm a bit sad that the class is over. The next stage up is from 18 months to 3 years and that one my friends, she is not ready for! Maybe next fall!

Lots of help from her instructor