On patience and getting down to their level

I find as the years go by that I have fewer and fewer patience. I have two pretty good ideas when it happened. When I had Leo I still had all the patience in the world. If he had little meltdown, it was no biggie I knew what to do. I actually have a video of us on a plane to Florida and Leo is restless and upset and I had a smile on my face.

When two kids are in the picture it's a different story. At least it is for me. Add to that the fact that they are only 20 months apart and you've go a whole new ball game. As my kids get older, they become more independent. More vocal. More demanding. And I'm constantly trying to figure out how to deal with it. I had a completely different upbringing than the one we're providing for our kids so it's all been an ongoing learning process (which it is for everyone, I know this...).

I get asked all the time how they play together and my answer is that they play really well together. They also fight really well together. I find the fighting so stressful sometimes, but I remember fighting with my sister. We'd throw things at each other! We'd sit on each other!

It's all coming back to me now...

Anyway when the high stress levels come into play, staying patient and calm is very tough for me. This is due to my need to control a situation (I am the oldest of three girls after all! ;)). I asked my friend the other day, who has three kids, where I can buy some patience. She said that you have to pretend. Only pretending takes patience too.

One day we had had a pretty stressful week and I just got down on the ground and sat at their level. I watched them. We played. We hugged. We laughed. There was no stress.

Every time I get down to their level it's like the stress melts away. They don't see a giant (ha!) looking down on them. They see their momma down on the ground looking at them and they love it. They respond well to it. I just have to remember this and keep doing it.

Tell me... are you a patient person? How do you deal with stress?

Handmade Christmas Stockings

Modern Striped Color Block Stocking via Good Wishes Quilts

Burlap Christmas Stocking via Twenty Eight 12

Personalized Burlap Stocking via Auntie Said Sew

Upcycled Fairtrade Coffee Sack Stocking via Been and Done

For the past several years, I've used the same stockings that I made using leftover fabric from my stash. But this year I'm on the lookout for something new. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas, but I'm open to something a bit different this year. I love the burlap look above and I think the ombre-style of stockings in the first photo are super cute. 

Anyway I found a few styles on Etsy that I added to my Christmas Market. Have a peek to see if you find something you like too.

Sometimes it's the little things...

Sometimes it's the little things that make you happy. I had a bunch of markers in a bin and they were always all over the place so I put them in a raisin tin and put some craft paper around it. Done. Pretty and cheap.

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PS: have you checked out my Etsy Christmas Market yet? Lots of cute things you can buy me! :)

Etsy Christmas Market

Minimilist white pottery pitcher & sugar set

Foldover leather bottom every day bag

Doha metallic gunmetal & natural hand printed organic hemp pillow cover

At the moment, I'm listening to jazz on Jazz FM and thinking of Christmas. Jazz seems to always do it for me: the warm melodies remind me of sitting by a fire, covered in a blanket while it's snowing outside.

It's also nap time for the wee one so the house is quiet and I started thinking about what I wanted to do for Christmas. Like most days I thought of Etsy and what I could get for who for the holidays.

Then I thought: how about I create a Christmas market and share it with everyone!

So here we have my Etsy Christmas Market. I scoured the site looking for things I love and that I thought others would love and put them in a favourites list. I didn't separate it by gender or theme; it's just one big list of pretty things to browse through as though you were at a sweet little market in town.

Have a look and see if anything catches your eye. If you need to come back, I've put a button on the side for easy access.

Enjoy and Happy Christmas shopping!

My favourite breakfasts

I truly believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It helps you get set up for what you need to get accomplished. If you don't eat a well-balanced, protein-rich breakfast, you're likely to crash and burn by 10 am (sometimes earlier!).

You may notice a trend in my favourite breakfasts: eggs. Eggs are just one reason I can't be a vegan (the other is cheese!). I love them and eat them almost every day. Here are just a few of my favourite breakfasts involving eggs (ok I threw one in there that doesn't have eggs!)

Kale & feta omelette with salsa and a side of rye toast

I love using leftovers from dinner the night before as a base for my eggs. This breakfast
I had leftover mushroom pilaf with a fried egg.

Oh look, more eggs! Egg on toast with cheese.

My hubby boils a bunch of eggs for the week and sometimes I steal them for my toast.
Add smashed avocado and you have a delish breaky.

The only egg-free breakfast in this post: spelt pancakes with peaches and coconut.
Oh my... my mouth is watering.

I also like to eat yogurt with berries and nuts, oatmeal with berries & nuts, or cut up fruit with nuts and ground flax a la The Thrive Diet.

What is your go-to breakfast?

Basement update

I've been getting a lot of visits lately from Censational Girl via a comment I left on her post about Vinyl vs Laminate flooring and I realized that our basement has changed quite a bit from my original basement reveal post and I wanted to post a little update.

About the floor, we installed vinyl plank flooring that looks like wood and we absolutely love it. I originally turned up my nose at the idea of vinyl in the basement, but when I saw the planks I quickly changed my mind. The vinyl is super durable and was installed directly onto the concrete floor which could be cold, but we opted for in-floor heating that's connected to our rads so the room is warm even in the coldest months. With the fireplace going and a tea in hand, sometimes we can barely handle the heat!

Anyway, on to the update. Hint: It's been taken over by the kids! (Just keepin' it real folks :))

I'm constantly on the look out for a cool tray to put all those bottles on!

In case you didn't notice, my oldest child is obsessed with trains

We decided to embrace the crazy colours that come with having kids and toys. We opted to keep the walls neutral, while adding in some colour through accessories and artwork.

It's been about three years or so since we finished the basement and we still really love it. There's not much left to do, but I would like to get a piece of glass to put over the desk as right now it's getting beat up by the kids' markers etc. Mark is also playing around with some ideas on putting some type of murphy bed down here somewhere, but that isn't in the immediate future. When the kids get older and all the toys are gone, I'd love to put in some storage and built in desks along the back wall.

So that's it! This is where we'll be all winter if you come knocking! :)

Super sweet little girl clothes

I started writing this post and thought to myself: "Have I posted about Swallow's Return before?" A little search on my blog told me yes, yes I have. These dresses are super sweet and deserve another post though! I love how beautiful, but simple they are. I especially love how the middle two pieces look like pieces of art.

Find these dresses and tops and more from Swallow's Return here on Etsy.