Spring according to my iphone

The weather here in Toronto is giving us a bit of a run for our money. It's warm. It's cold. It's warm. It's cold. But alas, I guess that's what spring is supposed to be like. I got a new computer last week which means more blogging for me! I've missed it... and haven't missed it at the same time so we'll see how this goes!

I'm trying to keep the kids outside more often than not so they can get the much-needed fresh air they need after the winter. We've checked out Corktown Common--a must-visit if you're in the that area of the city. I couldn't get the kids off the giant slide!

I bought new running shoes for the 10k I'm running in June and have started a bit of training for that. I'm using Mark's Garmin watch to track my running and decided to wear it to school drop off the kids the other day and found out that we walk almost exactly 1 kilometre every day to school which  means that I'm walking 4 kilometres everyday back and forth. I was so happy to discover this! What a nice way to get some extra exercise into the daily routine without even realizing it.

We've been keeping up with the meal planning and one day the kids got all my cookbooks off the shelves to check out all the yummy things they could help to cook. We also decided to plant some veggies from seed this year and after two days we already saw something sprouting up... is that even possible??

I cleaned up the porch a couple weeks ago and I'm very excited to get moving on finally making a new cushion for our porch couch. I'm going to get some fun fabric from Tonic Living and make it myself. I've made cushions before, but never with piping so I'm determined to do it this year. I love sitting in that little nook with my book during the summer.

We also celebrated Mark's 40th birthday at Cellar Door--a local restaurant that we love. Finally Mark rode in the Paris to Ancaster race this past weekend and finished an hour sooner than he thought he would. I'm so proud of him and I'm in constant awe of his energy. We need to figure out how the can pass that on to me!

So that's a bit of our spring so far. I'm looking forward to the warmer months that's for sure.

ps: Yes Mila wants a dog after walking our neighbour's dog Oscar home from the park!

A change in perspective

Painting via Siiso

Well it's January 27 and this is my first post. The truth is that I have a few posts I'd like to write, but my computer seems to have different plans. When I try to work on a photo, my computer crashes. I'm finally getting it checked it out next week.

Until then I'm taking it as a sign. I found myself saying: Oh well a lot.

Oh well. I'll keep it slow.
Oh well. I'll open my eyes.
Oh well. I'll be with my family.
Oh well. I'll read my book.

I've been reading Hands Free Life and it's changing my perspective. I can feel it already. I felt it on page 36 after crying for the fourth time. The main premise is to be present. Stafford doesn't want you to get to your '40s and '50s and realize that your kids are gone and you never really got a chance to get to know them because you were too busy doing other things.

Like staring at your phone all the time.
Like sitting at your computer every chance you get while the kids play underfoot.
Like working all hours of the day.

Even though I'm a stay-at-home mom I struggle with being present. I like a clean house. I love Instagram. I love Netflix. But this book is making me realize that I really need to live life on the outside of those things.

I encourage everyone to read this book. It's helping me to figure out what's important to me.

Don't get me wrong... I'm still going to like Instagram, Netflix and a clean house, but I'm going to shift things in a way that will allow me to be present with my family when they need and want it.

I wish you all a Happy 2016 friends!

Dixie Orchards pumpkin patch

We took a little drive up to Caledon to visit Dixie Orchards. It's a quaint little farm north of Toronto that is kind of off the beaten path. Small crowds, coffee and apple cider, a small market, a few animals, tractor rides and of course pumpkins! I think Leo had the most fun playing with all those trucks more than anything. He was in heaven.

We got a few pumpkins and hopefully they last... the squirrels like to eat them around here. Little buggers.

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My sister's wedding shower

I had a little garden party wedding shower for my sister Kaitlynn over the weekend for her friends and fiancé's family in Toronto. I was so happy that everything was in bloom in the garden and the weather was perfect that we could have it outside. It was a beautiful day! My sister is getting married August 1st and we can't wait for the big day. Love ya sis!

This boy.

It's not until I'm laying on the floor with him playing tic tac toe that I realize how much I miss this boy during the day. He was my first and will always be my first. I snuggled with him and read to him when he was just six weeks old. The fact that he rarely closed his eyes made me realize that he would be observant (he is) and that he would always be asking questions (he does).

Did you love me when I was a baby? He asked me this morning while eating his cereal and milk. Mila was still in bed and it was just the two of us.

Oh I certainly did, I say. You were such a sweet baby, but you know something? I still love you so much even now. My voice cracked while I was saying this because I realize he's not a baby anymore. When did that happen?

Even on the hardest days (they're getting easier now; they'll get harder again) I realize that I'm just not ready for them to grow up.

A Sunshine Tea & Baby Shower

This past weekend my sister Kaitlynn and I threw a baby shower for our sister Stacey in a gorgeous condo party room in mid-town Toronto. She's due at the end of May and we're so excited to meet Baby Sunshine. You may notice that I don't have a ton of photos (we were still getting ready when people arrived!) but you can get an idea of what everything looked like.

We decided to have a tea party type shower after watching the Russian tea party episode on Downton Abbey (please tell me you watch this show!). Kaite and I worked hard making a bunch of cute decorations, but when we got to the party room we decided not to use half of it. As I mentioned, the room was so gorgeous. I could have moved in right then and there! We decided to keep the decor minimal with yellow tulips, food, tea and tea cups of course! 

Kaite has a ton of tea and she thought it would be nice to put them in little glass containers and guests could help themselves. We also made a lot of food like delish vegan brownies from Oh She Glows and chocolate chip cookie bars. We also bought a few cakes from the patisserie at Loblaws (have you seen these new patisseries?) - I love the little yellow one!

In terms of games, we wanted something fun and not cheesy especially because it was a co-ed shower so we opted for baby shower bingo and a 'Who's My Mama' game from Creative Union Design. There was also a pool table in the room which helped keep things fun!

Overall the shower was a great success. Stacey was able to see many friends and family and she received some pretty wonderful and thoughtful gifts. Best of all Stacey and Carlo had big smiles on their faces the whole afternoon which is the best gift of all in my books.

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?

Saturday

This past Saturday was a fun one. We went for a walk east along the Humber Waterfront Trail to a little park south of Ellis Avenue. It was a big walk, but the weather was beautiful so it didn't really matter.

The colours of the leaves were bright against the blue sky and goes to show that you don't need to go north to take in the colours of fall.

After Mila's nap we headed over to my sister's house where we left the kids for the night. Did you read that?? Overnight! My sister said she's been wanting to take the kids overnight for some time so we decided to bring them Saturday. It was so nice of her and her fiancé to take them.

My sister lives beside the GO train so we said our goodbyes and hopped on the train downtown to our favourite Italian restaurant Paganelli's (formerly Romagna Mia). We've been going since we started dating in 1998 (wow!) and have been back several times with friends and family.

Meanwhile, my sister and her fiancé Alex were carving pumpkins and making pizzas with the kids. So cute!

A photo posted by kdodge (@kdodge) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:00pm PDT

After dinner, we popped over to The Beer Bistro for a pint before heading to Massey Hall (my favourite place to listen to and watch music!) to take in some fantastic musicians as part of Dream Serenade: a benefit to raise funds for The Beverley Street School. It was amazing. We got to see so many fantastic musicians in one concert setting, all while raising funds for a great cause. My heart was bursting after this event!

Photo via Aesthetic Magazine Toronto

It was a wonderful day and evening! Thanks so much to my sister and her fiancé for making it happen! xo