Currently (Aug-Sept 2019)

Long time no blog, but no energy to do a full recap of August and September 2019. Let's just say that the months absolutely flew by - both of them, and some days were more relaxing than others!! We had an amazing summer and I love this phase of life immensely but I can also see how the pace is going to be picking up over the next few years with two girls in school and extra-curricular activities. Busy times, but beautiful times too. I decided to change my format for my usual "What's New" post with Kristen and do a currently update :) While you're at it, go say hi to her and give her a little virtual hug.

Currently, I'm...

Enjoying fall in Nova Scotia. It really is the best season. This one has been a bit chillier, potentially due to Hurricane Dorian, but not as chilly as other parts of the country. The air is so fresh after the summer's humidity and the trees and leaves are so gorgeous.

Thankful for an incredible night away at White Point with my husband last weekend. We don't do this often, and this night away was a Christmas 2018 gift from my parents. We also rarely spend time in that part of the province and it is breathtakingly beautiful!!!

Thinking ahead to Christmas this year and changing the way I show my love to others at that time of the year.

Inspired by an Instagram discussion on Janssen's page this week about hosting people and not worrying about how perfect your food is or how clean your house is but just seeking out those in-person connections. I can relate to this so much, especially heading into the winter months, and I really want to embrace just having people over to our home to visit even if it isn't perfect.

Reading all the books! Show us Your Books' 5th anniversary is next Tuesday and I can't wait to chat about some of the excellent (and less excellent) books I've read lately.

Anticipating reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (illustrated version!) with Molly in October. It comes out next week! She is a bit more excited than I am, but the 4th book is one of my favourites and I'm dying to see the illustrations.

Also anticipating the new Frozen movie in November. Am I a mom or what? lol. But hello - have you seen the previews? I cried. Haha.

Eating delicious pumpkin soup with sausage in it this week. It is SO good. I will try to share the recipe soon because it was simple and provided us with 3 lunches this week (6 actually, 3 for both of us).

Wearing sweaters as often as possible, but also trying to squeeze in a few more days with my Birkenstocks too. Lucy wore a toque and a t-shirt to school one day this week. haha.

Watching not much - I don't really watch TV anymore, but we had cable at the resort we stayed at last weekend and I watched a bunch of Friends re-runs, Jeopardy, and Cash Cab and I was delighted. :)

Thinking of a few friends going through some tough times right now. I really wish I could be closer to two of them in proximity.

In disbelief that it will be a new decade in less than 90 days. 2020. Wow. 2019 hasn't been perfect for a lot of people, but I'm not opposed to saying that it has been one of the most pleasant and fulfilling years for me as a mother. Maybe not so much at work and in other areas of life, but it has still been a year of tremendous growth.

Missing those carefree summer days but I'm trying to find new ways to embrace those quiet family moments in the other seasons.

What's new with you lately?!

September Recap (What's New Link up!)

A bit late to the link up, but here I am! Sharing a bit of what we did in September for Kristen's What's New With You? link up :)

As with many others, September is a crazy month in our house. Back to school, Molly's birthday, and other random end-of-summer events always keep us busy. It's usually one of the nicest months in Nova Scotia weather-wise too and this year did not disappoint that way!!! 

Both girls went back to school - Molly is in second grade this year with a new teacher to her school (2/3 split) and she is enjoying herself so far. She was happy to see all of her friends again after not seeing many of them over the summer. Her only complaint about the first day of school was that they didn't do any math work. Haha. The child is obsessed with math (she gets it from her father FOR SURE, not her mother, unfortunately ;)). We are nurturing that obsession as much as possible, of course :) Lucy started 3 mornings/week at her same preschool as last year where she is 100% happy. This gives me 4 hrs/ week to myself at home (Monday and Friday mornings) and that has been lovely. Throughout September, I spent most of that time organizing the house and I still have quite a ways to go but it was productive! 

We spent time with lots of family and friends throughout September and lots of time outside. We celebrated our favourite 7 year old with a family party and a beanie boo adoption party with her friends! I will post more about that someday, but it was great!! 

Work for me has been totally insane mostly trying to cram too much work into 3 days/week. I also started French classes back up and yoga started again (no complaints but 2 evenings a week = tied up). Molly started piano lessons and step dancing, which has been fun. Easing back into all these activities has been a bit challenging but we all love them so it'll be good to have a routine. In general, the month just totally flew by and I can't believe we are celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. The time absolutely flies. 

I've been trying to follow along with Rachel Hollis' #last90days to really focus on how I want to end the year. Some of my goals surely fell right by the wayside this year and I'm not quite where I want to be. Her note about really just letting everything slide for the last three months until January really struck a chord with me because this is the most beautiful (and inspiring!) time of year for me and I want to take advantage of that inspiration to make some self-improvements BEFORE 2019. More about this another time too, I hope. 

I ended the month by going to see Shakespeare in Love (as a play) with one of my best friends - it was incredible and I am now seeking out some modern Shakespeare retellings because I forgot that I am a bit of a fan :) It was sooo good!! 

We have such a fun weekend planned with some special family time and time with friends. I love Thanksgiving and I will be back tomorrow with 14 things I am thankful for this year in honour of this weekend and my gratitude journalling :) 

Phew. What's new with you?!

June Recap

I feel like I've dropped off the face of the blogging earth! This happens to me every summer and I need to take more time to rest here and there, but we Canadians just LOVE summer and the great weather so we keep busy! Haha. Linking up with one of my favourites, Kristen, today to share a recap of June!! WHAT A  BUSY MONTH!! (It always is!) We were literally crazy busy every single day of every weekend in June. It was crazy and I can't even wait to exhale a bit this weekend.

We started the month off with Spring Fair at Molly's school, which I signed up to "organize" and this involved hours and hours of work. It was so fun though and I think the kids really enjoyed it a lot. I just wish there were more people helping out with it - but what can you do? The end of May into June is always going to be busy in our family because my father-in-law, husband, and brother-in-law all have birthdays back to back and we also have our anniversary and father's day in there. It's a lot of celebrating!! I cooked for my father in law, then we had take out and cake for Brian, and the next week we had a picnic with my brother-in-law. We also had two overnight visits out of town with Brian's 2 best friends and their wives/families (the groomsmen in our wedding), so that was really nice to catch up with them (but exhausting for the kids and me).

In the midst of all of that, the girls started soccer which is Monday/Wednesday nights for Molly and Tuesday nights for Lucy, and Brian started baseball which is every Sunday afternoon/evening and usually a Wednesday or Thursday night every week.

Anniversary date night (6 years!)

I love this picture of my girls

I went on Molly's year-end field trip with her class, and it was about 5 degrees that day. I'm not joking when I say that I wore my winter jacket and a headband. It was so cold. The field trip was at Citadel Hill, which is a fortress in downtown Halifax that has a lot of interesting history and is mostly outdoors (hence the warm clothing). It was fun!

This is how Molly spells "Citadel Hill" :)

 (June 14, 2018)

I took the girls to a bunch of playgrounds, as usual, and we also made it to the Summer Reading Club kick-off party at our library. Molly signed up to read 90 books this summer and she told the librarian that she will read them in English and French and not count any that I read to her. (She is counting audiobooks, however). She then went home and read 12 books in a day (picture books and one chapter book). #proudmom

We ended June off with the Canada Day long weekend this past weekend and that included Molly's last day of grade 1 on Friday (she was SO sad because she adores school). Brian and I also spent a night away on June 30 to attend a concert with our friends in Truro. It was lots of fun & I ran into an old roommate and his wife which was SO fun - I hadn't seen them in almost 10 years. Brian can't keep any of those roommates straight because I had 25 random roommates from 2006-2009 and I only have about 5 that I still like/keep in touch with. Haha. That's a story for another day. 

Canada Day was incredible but I will share more about that in JULY's recap!! Haha!! I did manage to read a few books in June too, though I will admit there were some days and nights when I was too exhausted to even think about looking at a book and that's summer life with kids for ya! I will share what I've been reading next Tuesday for SUYB with Steph and Jana!

So....what's new with you?! 

What's New: February recap

February flew right by me in the blink of an eye. Yes, it's true, it is the shortest month so it's a bit quicker anyway. We also  have 3 of my 5 immediate family members (my own siblings/parents) with birthdays in the month as well as copious friends. My children attended 4 friend birthday parties and then we had all the family ones too. SO much celebrating!!!

Now that March is here (just barely ;)), it is starting SO much to feel like spring! We have (knock on wood) had the mildest winter in Nova Scotia this year that I can remember since I've moved here, and it's been kind of weird, actually. There hasn't been much snow to play in (or to shovel/scrape off the car). It freaks me out a bit when I think about it too much, but it has reduced some of the winter stress with commuting to work/planning for snow days etc. It has been grey and rainy though and there were a few blah days due to that.

Linking up with the wonderful Kristen and Gretch to chat about what's new lately and to share what we did this month:

Making a snowman

Celebrating Valentine's Day

Celebrating a birthday :)

Brian also got a 3D Printer in February and he is OVER THE MOON so excited about it still. He has printed some cool things - a few fun bookmarks for me, a DIY guess who game for the kids, and a bunch of knick knack type things that he is really excited about. Haha. He also printed me this amazing lamp with lithophane photos of our family. I haven't seen him this extremely passionate about a hobby in awhile so I'm happy for him :) Here are a couple of photos, these are printed completely in plastic and they are sooo cool.

We also did a few fun family activities like heading to the Discovery Centre, a family walk in the sunshine, and a bunch of time at the playground. I have way more pictures but most of them are already over on Instagram and I've shown my kids enough here for one day ;)

Personally, I did some running, made a few new delicious recipes, read TONS of books (some of which were amazing and I can't wait to chat about more soon!!), and saw almost every friend I have who lives locally.

March brings March break for the kids, daylight savings time, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and Lucy's 4th birthday!!! :) Can't wait even though that last one is pretty bittersweet :)

So, what's new with you lately?!



What's Saving My Life this winter

When I saw that Modern Mrs. Darcy was hosting a link up listing the positive, helpful things that are "saving your life" during this sometimes-gloomy season of winter, I loved the idea. I suppose you could say that I don't hate winter as much as some people, and we have mostly had a milder winter than usual this year, so that's been nice, but it can still be a bit of a dreary time of year. Here are some things that have really made my days a bit brighter/kept me sane/increased my happiness during the grayer and darker days of winter in Canada :)

1) Winter running - When I can motivate myself to get out the door, I actually really love winter running. Fall is my favourite season for running because the temperatures and scenery are absolutely perfect, but winter is nice because you don't get too hot! Especially now that we are seeing a bit more daylight, this is something that I've really been trying to do at least once a week to keep me sane (and in shape :))

2) Vitamin C & D supplements - I don't always remember to take vitamins, but I have noticed a significant improvement in my overall mood since I began taking these two vitamins daily. I think the lack of sunshine really depletes vitamin D stores in particular so this one is extremely important.

3) Our Instant Pot & other small, easy, appliances - I've been using the Instant Pot to make yogurt and prep meals for the week. I have a whole post coming next week about my love for small household appliances ;)

4) SOUP - When winter hits, I absolutely crave soup for lunch so I've been making it in large batches, freezing it in muffin tins and grabbing a few "muffin sized" portions for lunches. It really fills you up, warms you up, and can be so healthy! I'd love to share a few of my favourite recipes sometime.

5) Good books and Goodreads - Honestly, this saves my life all the time because I love to read, but winter is such a cozy season for reading and I have really been embracing that lately. Granted, I have also spent a lot of "reading time" browsing social media, which has been nice in its own way ;)

6) The cold sock treatment - this is one of my favourite methods for healing from a cold. I have no idea why it works, and I know it sounds SUPER weird, but it is way cozier than it sounds (your feet don't actually feel very cold due to the warm layers over top of the cold sock).

7) Taking a warm magic bag to bed - I love to do this in the winter and curl up with a warm magic bag on my neck/shoulders while I read for a few minutes before falling asleep. SO cozy. This is just such a pleasant way to get into bed.

8) Bullet journaling, Project 52 weeks, and fun markers/pens - It's fun to doodle sometimes! I have also enjoyed all of my 2017 lists and random thoughts during this season.

9) Carbonated water - this feels like a treat but has zero calories. Brian carbonates it for me with his keg system (for homemade beer) and I add lime juice to it, but I also love this stuff.

10) Board game nights - we have had a couple of board game nights so far this year and I love it. Brian got a subscription box with board games in it for Christmas, so we're excited to try out some new ones too!

and a bonus one:

11) Sunshine!!! - It has been spectacularly sunny in Halifax this week (although still cold), and it has raised my spirits (and everyone's!) SO much. It is glorious to feel some warm sun streaming through the windows these days.

Happy weekend, friends!! Hope there is something that is saving YOUR life right now. Feel free to share any thoughts on this :)

A Day in the Life, January 2017

This post has been in the works for awhile, but I finally managed to track my day! I personally love reading this post on other blogs because I am a bit nosy. This particular day was pretty typical for January 2017. Molly is 5 and in kindergarten (French Immersion), Lucy will be 3 in March, and Brian and I both work full-time so this is what a typical weekday looks like for us.

5:10 am - my alarm goes off. I push snooze once and hop in the shower . Sometimes, I use 20 minutes of time in the morning to work out but I had yoga last night and it was an intense class.

5:30 am - after getting dressed and putting some mousse in my hair to air dry, I make my way downstairs to the kitchen while everyone else is still asleep. This is my "quiet time" in the morning but also my most productive and busy time. I make us breakfast sandwiches using this fun appliance, put a whole frozen chicken in the slow cooker with some spices, and make lunches for all 4 of us. It is a bit of a crazy time, but I don't mind it.

Molly comes down at 6:15 and starts eating breakfast. Brian brings Lucy down around 6:30 and she starts eating too. The girls are extra cuddly this morning and decide to "help" Brian make our coffee.

I sometimes like to put them up on the counter top so they can be close to me but I'm not holding them

6:30 am- The kids get dressed, and we aim to get out the door by 7 am. This involves reminding kids to eat their breakfast, braiding hair while they are eating, cajoling them into clothing, and listening to a bit of whining, packing backpacks with school things, all while watching the clock. As usual, I breathe a deep sigh of relief when we're all in the car at 7 am.

7 am - 7:30 am - We all leave the house together. We drop Lucy off at her home daycare down the street and drop Molly off at her before/after school daycare. Lucy didn't want to go today, which is rare for her, so I feel a twinge of mommy guilt. After we drop them off, Brian and I have about a 10-15 minute drive to the bus terminal to chat about the kids, our schedules, and to argue over the radio station ;) He drops me off at the bus terminal and he parks at work (for free:)).

7:30-7:50 - I take the bus to work. This is when I get to read my book and drink my coffee and sometimes admire the sunrise over the Halifax Harbour. It honestly feels like the most relaxing time of my morning some days :)

8:00-4:00 - Work. My work day varies - twice or three times a week I spend my day doing 6 hours worth of neuropsychological testing with patients who have neurodegenerative diseases (MS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease) or possible memory problems. The other two or three days are spent writing reports, scoring assessments and other general office work or test preparation. Today, I'm seeing a patient, so my day is super busy and I often don't really get a break or much of a lunch. I also wore my new red flats today (LOVE them) :)

The work day does go by pretty quickly and I finish up in time to walk over (~15 minutes) to catch a bus to meet Brian. I call my mom to chat on the way over to the bus. I also found it funny that this was one of my snacks today:

"Helicopter Heather" cheese stick

4:00-5:00 - take the bus to meet Brian (aka more reading time), pick up the kids, and get home. We usually eat supper right around 5:00 and today is no different. We enjoy a delicious chicken that cooked all day in the slow cooker (=mommy win) with a side of sweet potato fries done in our new Actifry, and frozen peas that just need to be reheated.  The kids get to watch one show (today they picked Tayo the bus) in the living room on Netflix while I'm prepping supper and Brian gets to chill out on the couch or help with the kids :)

Brian and I also end up sharing some of our caesar salad with Lucy:

5:30-6:00 - play time with the kids for me. Today, we did some puzzles on the floor and read some books (Molly has homework which is reading in French) but then they started playing together nicely (school AKA Molly is the teacher and Lucy is the student), so I got some supper dishes cleaned up and loaded the dishwasher.

6:00 pm - bath time for both kids tonight - they decided to have one in our en suite tonight but there were no fights, so it was a success!

6:15 - 7:00 - Pajamas on, read a bunch of books, have a quick bedtime snack and off to bed. Brian almost always puts Molly to bed and I put Lucy to bed - this is because Lucy will have a tantrum if I don't put her to bed. She has let Brian do bedtime a few times lately though and she won't give him any problems if I happen to not be home at bedtime.

We are super blessed that our kids typically go to bed without much difficulty, go to sleep right away (or at least don't come out of their rooms), and sleep until at least 6:00 the next morning.

7:00 - 9:30 this depends on the day, but tonight I finished cleaning the kitchen a bit, watched a few episodes of Brooklyn 99 with Brian, did a quick yoga video, read my book and went to bed around 9:30. Brian stays up after I go to bed and plays video games or exercises. That's our day in a nutshell!

November Recap (What's New link up!)

November was a pretty low-key month overall, and that was just what we needed in our family. I didn't even take very many pictures so this post will be a bit boring but I like the idea of looking back on each month and I can't NOT link up with Kristen and Gretch for What's New With You?

I only worked the first Friday in November and had the next 3 off for various reasons (Remembrance Day, sick, vacation day). It was nice to have 3 long weekends in a row and I could get used to that!! We went to visit my sister, brother in law and niece on the first long weekend and hung around their house/playground and did some shopping. The girls loved it, and Lucy loved playing a different piano:

It is always so fun to see my niece (almost 1 year old!) and spend some time with family. The girls did great on the drive too (one hour each way).

We spent the next "long weekend" overnight at a friend's house for their son's 8th birthday. It was a great night with some adult beverages and board games after the kids went to sleep. BOY was I ever tired the next day though.

I also got the majority of our Christmas shopping done (mostly online) because we have an Amazon Prime trial right now...so awesome. It is such a relief to be in a good position with regards to shopping and I also know it was smart to spread it out over a few paycheques.

On the last weekend in November, Brian and I went to Fantastic Beasts (I wasn't even sure if I wanted to see it but I'm SO glad we did because I loved it!) I spent the next night binge-watching Gilmore Girls with one of my best friends and that was fun too. Look at our awesome Luke's Diner mugs!! I am totally up for talking about the new episodes if anyone wants to e-mail me!!!!

This month, Molly got her first report card from school and she is doing incredibly well, which we knew but it was such a relief to talk to her teacher and hear positive feedback about our child and parenting. I am so happy with our decision to put her into French Immersion this year and she absolutely loves school which makes our lives as parents much easier.

November went by quickly, but it was a good month. It was nice to have some downtime on the weekends and we definitely made some progress on house-cleaning, house-sorting, and preparations for December. Tomorrow we're getting our Christmas tree and decorating this weekend (the girls are BEYOND excited!) We have all been a touch under the weather off and on this month, so the downtime was really something we needed.

My reading was allllll over the place this month, and we also started watching Season 5 of Suits so that is taking up some evening time :) can't complain though!!

On to December - one of the most festive and fun months of the year! Our girls are so excited for Christmas this year and I can't wait to celebrate with them.

I have a few fun posts planned for December including a day in the life, some book round up favourites posts, goals for 2017, reflections about 2016 etc. etc.!! Let's hope they all come to fruition! haha.

What's new with you lately?? Anyone want to chat about Gilmore Girls?!