Monthly Musings

 

1. Are you good at managing the weekly laundry at your house?

Yes, pretty good, although getting it folded and put away takes longer than I’d like to. 

2. Best tips for containing the kitchen and dishes chaos?

I’ve said it before, the best way is to clean as you go. Fill the sink with soapy water while you’re starting to cook (even better you have it ready if someone comes along to help you). When the meal is done, then there are usually only a few things left to tidy up. 

3. What grocery items do you always have on hand to make a quick meal?

Jamaican patties, chicken nuggets, eggs. 

4. Best tips for saving money on groceries.

Don't buy as much. Haha. But seriously, everything is so expensive, that I don't buy "all of the things" even if we like them. I meal plan as much as I can and avoid extra ingredients if I don't have an immediate use for them. I don't buy a lot of extra snacks since we will just eat them if we have them around, but don't usually need that many snacks. I see those social media of reels of people stocking their cupboards and fridges full to the brim and it's ridiculous. I consider it a win if our fridge is pretty much empty by the end of the week. 

5. Cleaning service, DIY, or is house cleaning overrated?

DIY, but cleaning is not my strength so although I don't think a clean house is overrated, you'd probably conclude that if you came to our house! We do our best to clean things up and keep things tidy, but its never 100% clean at once. 

6. Favourite cleaning product?

I like the Scrubbing Bubbles line for cleaning the bathroom. Lestoil is great for getting stains out of laundry (even white baseball pants!).

7. Do you try to use "green" products in your house?

Not really. We have a couple of things but it’s not a deliberate decision to buy “green”.

8. Do you schedule tasks for certain days of the week?

No. I have often thought about making a schedule but it never works for very long. 

9. What is the most overwhelming part of your week that you think you need help with right now?

Any night Q has a baseball game. They start at 6:00 and he needs to be there at 5:00, as it involves finishing up work, getting him something to eat, arriving on time, and then making a real dinner when we get home after the game. On those nights we don't often eat until 9:00, which is not ideal.

10. What part of your week do you think you excel at?

I'm very good at Friday afternoon/evening. I am always ready to embrace the weekend, make a cocktail, have something great for dinner, and relax!

What's Up Wednesday

 

What we're eating this week...

Sunday - steak sandwiches

Monday - Tortilla Casserole

Tuesday - Chicken Broccoli Pasta

Wednesday to Saturday - not sure yet.

What I'm reminiscing about...

Dave's cousin got married in 2018 and a few Facebook memories came up about that. I looked back at photos of that weekend. Q was just a little guy and not always happy about much, but so cute! And E was having a lot of fun with his cousins. 

What I'm loving...

We are watching the Little League World Series and cheering for Canada of course! Q plays Little League and last year the High Park 12s team got all the way to the national finals. Theoretically this is something that Q could do in a few years, wouldn't that be so exciting?! 

What we've been up to...

We have a rare break between Q’s baseball games - end of regular season and start of playoffs. It means we don’t have to rush out of the house and we get to eat real meals. 

What I'm working on...

Getting ready for back to school, see my post from Monday. The boys should also get their hair cut and I'll get some more things for lunches. 

What I'm excited about...

Listen, I am never giving up on our Blue Jays, and I don’t like talking about all of the various combinations of wins and losses that could take them into October, I’ll just say that I love this team, and I am excited to watch September baseball . 

What I'm watching/reading...

I am watching Sterling Point, Q and I are watching Junior Bake Off (on CBC Gem), and Dave and E are watching Breaking Bad. 

I bought the new Genevieve Graham book since I love all of her books. I am excited to dive into this next. 

What I'm listening to...

Our Prime Minster and Ontario Premier as we enter into (or continue) this trade war with the US. I read a good article in the Globe and Mail yesterday that notes Canada is fighting for its sovereignty and the Americans don’t know what the Trump administration is even doing. The Daily had a good episode on Tuesday about this, worth a listen. 

What I'm wearing...

The occasional sweatshirt. It has been a little bit chillier in the morning and evenings.  I have a good selection, and my Blue Jays one will be out soon as they make a run for the playoffs in the coming weeks. 

What I'm doing this weekend...

We have a cottage rented in Muskoka so we will be doing cottage things - swimming, kayaking, napping, bonfires, all that fun stuff. 

What I'm looking forward to next month...

First day of school, Q's baseball playoffs, Q's birthday, a Blue Jays game, Ukrainian Fest - September will be chock full!

What else is new...

I am currently obsessed with the Lindsay Clancy trial. I got into it late so it's just been the past couple of days that I've been watching all of the Instagram reels on this and will find the closing arguments on YouTube. I have a lot of opinions which I will spare you from, but we can certainly all agree this was a terrible tragedy.

Linking up with Shay

I'll be back tomorrow for Monthly Musings but then off for a late summer holiday. Catch you back here next Friday. 

Weekend Recap

I had an exciting Friday with a trip to Costco after work! Haha. But Dave and E went golfing on Friday, and when they got home we watched The Amazing Race. 

Dave golfed on Saturday morning in the Member-Member event. The rest of us had no plans on Saturday so instead of sitting around Q and I went to High Park to watch the all-star baseball games and home run derby. Lots of friends were there so we had a good time hanging out there all day.

We got home and then it started pouring, it was good that they were able to get all of the baseball games in that day. We had dinner all ready to go but were waiting for a break in the rain to start BBQing the steaks. The break in the rain never did come but we got cooking eventually. 

Q has been asking for waffles for awhile so I finally a chance to make them on Sunday morning. He was very pleased. 

I spent the rest of the morning cleaning the bathrooms. Nice and sparkly.

We made squares with Oreos, M&Ms, and Kit Kats. 

Dave and Q went to get some new skis, E went to the gym, and I did some errands.  When we all got home from and things tidied up, we were going to sit outside and it was a little cool so Q suggested we do a fire, so we did.

Then we played a game of Yahtzee and ate our dinner outside. It was a nice evening. 

Ready (?) for Back to School

We have two more weeks until the kids head back to school. Are we ready? Maybe not, but we’re getting there. Q has had the same backpack for about three years and it was looking a little worn so we thought it was time to get a new one. He wanted the same style and same size, and just a different shade of blue. Hershel definitely holds up well so this one should carry him through for another few years. 

(E got a new backpack halfway through last year so he is good to go.)

We also got these adorable shoes for Q. Aren’t they so cool?!

(I’ve offered to buy E some new shoes but he says he’s good for now.)

These lunch bags have also been around for a few years and after a fresh wash, they are ready to go again.  I got these from Fluf, and yes, the corners are a little worn, but they are still in good shape. I don’t like to buy new things every year if the other things are fine. 

I always try to institute some good habits for the start of the school year - no TV or iPads in the morning, reading practice, making lunches the night before, etc. - but I’ll admit that they never last as long as I want them to, so wish us luck that we start out strong!

Grade 5 and Grade 10 - here we come!

Friday Favourites

Friday again! Let’s go!

I started my Monday morning off right with a good book, a coffee, and a little outdoor time before I started working.

Because I hadn’t gotten a workout in all day I decided to go for a walk. I love that I get to go through the woods and walk beside the water while still being in the heart of Toronto.  We are so lucky to live where we live.

We set up the badminton net in the backyard and had a few family games. It really is a fun sport!

My dad was in town and got to golf with E. 

Q pitched in his house league game on Tuesday. He did well!

He also had some private pitching lessons. He was doing some bicep curls (with 5s) beforehand.

Last house league game this week. The team finished in the number 1 seed, so bring on the playoffs!!

I golfed on Thursday night and got to meet a few new people. I didn’t take any photos but I was pleased they bought back the green goddess salad as a special.  It was delicious!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Rainy Days

We have pretty great summer weather in Southern Ontario but we occasionally get a rainy day. I don’t like when I need to cancel plans because of it or if I need to drive on the highway with heavy downpours. There are some nice things about a rainy day:

No guilt about staying inside, you can watch movies or read and not feel like you should be doing something else. 

Plants and grass get lots of water. Yes, I’m officially old if I’m saying “well this will be good for the lawn!”

The rain usually breaks the humidity and that’s a relief. 

Thunder and lightning are exciting to listen to. Noting of course when you are safe inside. 

Rain sounds are calming. I love listening to rain on the roof and there are two parts of our house where I get to do that. 

Weekend Recap

This weekend recap is short and sweet.  It was our first weekend of the summer without a baseball game or practice and we all sort of felt like this:

We did go over to our neighbours' house for drinks that evening, our first opportunity to get together with them. Q came over for a little bit to jump on their trampoline.

Dave golfed the next morning. I did a little cleaning, made an apricot tart, and then got the boys going for a walk. 

First stop was the baseball card store.

Then we got Booster Juice, picked up a library hold, and continued onto High Park. 

We took the stairs down to the forest path.

From there we watched a bit of a tournament happening, and then went swimming. Followed by an ice cream cone and then home on subway in time to watch the Blue Jays game. We made some smash burger sliders for dinner. E went for a bike ride with friends, and Q had a friend over for the evening while their parents were out. A busy day but not many photos!

On Sunday Dave went to golfing again. I got up to do a workout, then got groceries, and did some yard work. My dad arrived for a few days, and we watched the Blue Jays game again.

That night we made pizzas in the pizza oven. they all turned out really well.