Labor Day Weekend

The last long weekend of the summer has arrived. Labor Day weekend is one of my favourites. I am not entirely sure why but there is just something about it. A certain feel or vibe is in the air. Everyone is relaxed and easy going from enjoying recent summer holidays. We are tan with crispy and freckled noses from long sunny days at the lake. ‘Summer feet’ have developed from the lack of wearing shoes. Fall, school & responsibilities are just around the corner but on this weekend, that matters not. Everyone is having a good time and hanging on to the last of the summer sunshine. If you live in the Interior, you also may be hanging on to 35 degree weather. Aside from a wedding on Sunday, we do not have any major long weekend plans. We will be lighting up the bbq non-stop, sipping on some sweet summer drinks, and feeling all the feels that this time of year brings.

Many of you know I am a lover of all seasons. The colors in the leaves & trees changing, the holidays that present themselves all of a sudden and disappear just as quickly. I love it all. It’s a festive passion almost that I plan to encourage my children to embody as well. The summer lovin’, the fullness of Thanksgiving, the spookiness of Halloween and of course the magic of Christmas. The fresh feeling you get when starting the New Year, the excitement of Easter, the easy-going fun that comes with May Long Weekend camping and the patriotic party that comes along with Canada Day. So much fun packed into one year that I find it impossible not to be excited about each season as they approach. I have a number of people in my life who have their favourites too. Some are winter people. They love to ski, snow mobile, drink hot chocolate and hike off into the woods to cut down their own Christmas tree. My mom has a green thumb and loves to create beauty in the garden. The gardeners in my life tend to gravitate towards Spring. Sunday football, chilli & stew lovers always look forward to fall. Though I LOVE all of these moments in the year, I think I have turned into a bit of a summer girl. I love hanging in the sunshine with my kids, eating watermelon for dinner, juicy peaches and corn on the cob. Packing up for the day to head to the lake and bringing most of the sandy beach home with us, finding it in our hair or beds for days to follow. Exploring where we live. If it has cell service, we probably don’t want to go there. Taking that leap into the water only for it to quickly take your breathe away, then adjusting and not wanting to get out for it’s warmer in the water and the sand is going to be way too hot on your feet as you scramble back to your back towel. Summer is a secret escape from routine, bedtimes and stress. Sure those are all present somewhere in our heads and I am not one for living in total denial. But it seems to be a lot easier in summer to ‘leave that for tomorrow’ and enjoy the rest of today. So one question I have as we approach a new season. How can we bring that summer feeling with us all year long. At Christmas time, I FEEL Christmas and vow to carry that happiness, joy and care for others in my heart all year long. On January 1st, we make promises to ourselves that the year ahead will be different than the last. The year ahead will be better. WE will be better. Better people, better mothers, better eaters, better at exercise and spending money. So my vow is to keep summer in my heart this year. Try to be more relaxed. Enjoy more moments with my family and be grateful for our time together and the experiences we have. Keep a little more adventure in my spirit and leave a few of those chores ‘for tomorrow’. I won’t be able to keep my tan or my flip flops and I am guessing it might be hard to enjoy sticky popsicles in the snow. But I can keep summer excitement alive in my family by being brave, playful and present. Everything that summertime requires.

Have a happy and healthy labor day long weekend friends!

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Beaches & Baby Bums

Well it’s finally June & summertime fun seems to be in full swing for us. May & June were so busy that I completely neglected my laptop and instead have been soaking up every moment of the day with my babies. Well that and managing my orders for my business and current stock for the farmer’s market every week. Life is busy! What do you do when you get too busy? Why you take vacations of course! I started the month off with a quick Runaway Mom’s weekend to Kelowna. I learned a couple things on this getaway. First, I still cannot hold my liquor if shots are present. No matter how sweet and girly-named they may be, they are the devil and a very quick route to being completely hammered. The second thing I learned is that you let a group of mamas off the hook of parenting for the weekend, things get pretty wild pretty quickly. Lets just say a lot of fun was had, and a lot of Vitamin Water was consumed for the following five days trying to recover all nutrients in my body I had destroyed. I fear the brain cells are gone for good though. So after returning home to my babies whom I missed SO MUCH, it was time to flip the script and get ready for a little family vacation to Osooyoos. The kids decided I should PAY HARD for skipping town on them. They accomplished this by not sleeping at all really all week long. Also being overly needy so that I found it almost impossible to get anything ready for the trip. It basically took me all five days to prepare. We finally got away on Friday morning though. Hubby is crazy busy with work so he was not joining us. My mom and I rented a lakefront townhouse for a week. Probably the best set up you can get with small children. Tons of space in the actual house so everyone had comfy sleeping quarters, play areas, etc. We also have a patio overlooking the lake with a bbq and a bit of lawn area for the kids to play on. Lastly, there is a fantastic outdoor pool and hot tub! Throw in the fact that we are dead in the middle of wine country and it sounds like a pretty perfect time to me! We are halfway through the trip and I think I have put a good ten pounds on between the good eating and the great sipping. But summer is a bit like December in that sense. Who cares! So far here are everyone’s favourite aspects of the vacation:

Me: Pineapple Ceasars (yes they are a thing), sleeping in (should not jinx it by talking about it), having all my meals with a view of a beautiful lake, and lastly, day-long playtime and fun with my babies. They have miraculously turned into excellent vacationers. Again, should not speak about this or even think it. The ability to jinx great behaviour is not a good thing….

Hallie: Chasing & ‘feeding’ the ducks, lounging on ‘Sophia’ our jumbo swan floatie, gummy bears & juice boxes. Oh and definitely going on shopping adventures downtown. This girl really does have simple needs.

Jackson: Hmmmm talk about simple needs. Loves to sit on the grass and watch the ducks. Likes to climb the stairs. Loves mealtime and wrestling around in mama’s big bed.

Gramma: I haven’t asked her yet but I have a feeling the view of the lake and all of the wine are probably up there on the list.

Now if we could just get our booties to a winery! I doubt it will happen but maybe we can pop into a few on the way home simply to purchase a few bottles. Don’t think my kids will tolerate a tasting or tour hah! Come Friday we will hustle on home, only to get the trailer ready and take off again for a weekend of camping and baseball! All this vacationing will either leave me completely relaxed or totally exhausted. Stay tuned!

All Of The Things

I am titling this post ‘all of the things’ because that is literally what we have been doing – all of the things! Every since I got back into sewing and started my little side baby biz, every day seems to be jam-packed with things to do. Whether it be for that, or for playing catchup on getting housework done (yuck, who needs that), getting ready for baby boy, or simply having fun with Hallie. Life has been BUSY! Makes me wonder how much busier it can get when the second baby arrives but I am trying not to think too much about that. Now that we are living in Kamloops too, the weather is much warmer than on the coast. It feels like summer as already arrived. It was 20 degrees this morning on my back patio. As I hide out under the patio table umbrella mid-afternoon, it is actually a scorching 32! It’s only a couple days into June too! July and August are going to be much hotter. I foresee lots of beach time and water parks in our near future.

So a little recap on the business and life with a crazy toddler!

I do not have a website or an Etsy page yet (YET!) but I have started a Facebook page. Please feel free to wander over here and check it out, or my Instagram feed here. Even without a huge social media presence, things have been picking up nicely. I have had a number of online orders and am getting some action by participating in the weekly Farmer’s Market. So far the response has been great and people are LOVING what I am making. Here’s hoping it just gets better! Once I square away some free time (that doesn’t exist) I hope to set up a website and have a proper ordering system. If you have done this, message me tips! Help a fellow mama out! It’s all very new to me and I often feel like I am fumbling my way through the dark. Fun & scary!

Trying to manage all of that with a toddler certainly has been interesting. Every single day that child is more full of life and personality than the day before. She is WILD too! Her current obsessions include closing all of the doors in the house, jumping on my bed and burying herself under pillows, screwing and unscrewing lids to squeeze pouches, watered down iced-tea, bananas, and helping pick up dog poop. In keeping up with her love for dogs, her favourite show appears to be Paw Patrol and choice of music still appears to be hip hop. We are hanging on by a thread to spoon feeding though I see the end of that happening soon enough. Miss independent love to feed herself while simultaneously launching food across the kitchen at my head. Each mealtime is it’s own adventure, full of messy surprises. With all of her development and total toddler craziness comes a whole lotta love. She is so affectionate and obsessed with mummy and daddy. Loves to cuddle and hold hands. Sometimes I wonder how my heart will grow bigger and fit MORE love for another baby. I am told it happens quite naturally. Can’t wait to experience it first hand! Only about five more weeks to go and I will be knee deep in baby love for TWO kiddos.

The pregnancy is going well I guess. Not as enjoyable as my first. This time round there is a lot more discomfort and overall body pain. There was way more ‘morning sickness’ that occurred all damn day and night and in general, I have complained a lot more. My husband has been a saint of sorts. But we are the final countdown and I have been healthy throughout so there is absolutely no reason at all to be such a whiner. My doctor even offered to do a sweep at 38 weeks, thinking I am probably ready to get this party started. After weighing the options, I am all for it. Maybe baby boy will be a little bit early.

Last but not least is the life adjustment of having my mom living close by. By close by, I mean downstairs! I love having her here. Boy does Hallie love it too. There is something to be said though about another ‘parent’ around. Sometimes I feel there are now three adults trying to raise my kid. It can be quite trying on my patience actually. I keep telling myself that God helps us through these situations but giving us the opportunity to BE more patient. I think Oprah has said that too. Moments where we can really stand up, look deep into who we are, maybe bite our tongues a bit and smile through it LOL! I think it is easier to do that too with a bit of wine, which I plan to have plenty of help from this summer. Anyone else back to living close to their parents now that they are adulating with their own family? Feeling like a teenager again? I would love to hear your experiences, the good the bad and the ugly.

For now, back to juggling it all! My next post I am so excited to share some home projects I have been working on as well as getting the back patio ready for some serious summer lounging. Hope the sun is shining where you are and you are enjoying the day, and all that it brings!

Summertime Fun With A Baby

Well that post title just about sums up our life these days. That and being way too busy! Between day-to-day chores, appointments, road trips to Kamloops and everything in between, we are still managing to soak up the sunshine and enjoy all the mommy and baby time that we have together.

Canada Day BBQ Planning

Canada Day is almost here! Every year I say we are going to have a big party (much like Cinco de Mayo) and every year time sort of gets away with me. Plus a lot of people take vacations this week every year too so

Hot Summer Days On The Westcoast

If you are living anywhere in B.C. right now, you certainly know about the crazy hot temperatures that we are getting lately. It has been smoking’ hot for quite some time! We have been back and forth from the Coast to Kamloops as well and it does not feel all that different no matter where we go.

Baby’s First Camping Trip

We did it! We survived Baby’s First Camping Trip. Or should I say, I did it! She handled it all like a champ and I managed to not pack everything we own for her in hopes of a smoother trip. Bit it went very smoothly! Last week Hubs and I loaded up the car, and with baby and gramma in the backseat, we headed North and East for the flat lands of Alberta!

Summer Essentials

We are about halfway through our Vancouver summer here and my oh my, has it been a toasty one!