Wednesday, July 31, 2019

What's Up Wednesday


One of my favourite posts of the month - a nice recap of what we've been up to!

What we're eating this week...
Sunday - Family BBQ
Monday - Grilled chicken, rice, Greek salad, pita, hummus, tzatziki
Tuesday - Burgers
Wednesday - Tuna Casserole
Thursday - I'm going out so the rest of the family is on their own!
Friday and Saturday -  not sure but will go out one night

What I'm reminiscing about...
My mom is up this week and we went to a BBQ with our cousins my grandfather's side.  Later we were talking about things my grandfather used to say, and things I will say because of that. 

What I'm loving...
Riding my bike to work.  On the two days this week that I took the subway, I really missed my bike ride.  It is a work out but it is so nice to be outside and I have more energy. 

What we've been up to...
July has been sun-filled and we love it.  We camped twice and had a couple of pool days. E has been enjoying his camps, and now he's hanging out with my mom this week.  

What I'm dreading...
Not much really - I don't like to think about the end of summer, so I won't!

What I'm working on...
I'm actually turning my mind to Q's and E's birthday parties and back to school supplies. I sometimes leave it too late and then am scrambling and am not left with many choices.  I did an order at well.ca last night to get E a new lunch box (Avengers of course!) and a new thermos. 

What I'm excited about...
To take a little summer holiday in a couple of weeks.  

What I'm watching/reading...
We just finished up Big Little Lies, so now onto Stranger Things.  I'm also watching Queer Eye.  I wrote about my July books on Monday.  Now I'm reading Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James. 

What I'm listening to...
I added Beyonce's new song, Brown Skin Girl, to my playlist.  It is catchy and I like that her daughter is featured on it. 

What I'm wearing...
New shirts from Nordstrom Rack.  I had to go up that way for a work errand (Chilean consulate to be exact) and decided to pop into Nordstrom Rack to see what they had. I got two new work shirts and two Zella shirts.  They are supposed to be workout shirts but I think they are most fashion shirts, not properly built for a good sweat. 

What I'm doing this weekend...
Not much of anything, maybe a beach day depending on the weather.  

What I'm looking forward to next month...
The August long weekend, we have no big plans, but a friend will be in town, and it is always nice to be in the city that is slightly less busy.  A day at Canada's Wonderland. And our trip to Lake Placid, NY, and Jefferson, NH.

What else is new...
I usually have a little Q story to share in this place - our child who used to like to go to sleep without too much trouble, is now into negotiating his way into more things - he wants to sleep in our room, in E's room, to watch a show on my phone, to go downstairs and play to read more books, to play with his toys in his bed, etc. etc.  It's a stand off on who will give in to what first, but he's so sweet, it's not like you can be mad at him!


Linking up with Shay and Sheaffer

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Weekend Recap

After work on Friday I met Dave and the kids at High Park for E's t-ball game.  Since I arrived first, I chilled out in the grass for a little bit.

E had a good game, and he even lost a tooth right beforehand while we were eating our picnic supper!

Ice cream cones when we got home. 


The next morning I went to my pilates class and then Q and I went to the liquor store on our way to the airport to pick up my mom.  While we were in line, Q just plopped himself down to play with Zuma and Chase (from Paw Patrol).

E had another t-ball game, and it was hot!  Q wasn't interested in sitting around at first, so we walked over to the playground but then just went to the canteen to get some treats.  All smiles after that. 

A bit of rain came down during the game so we scampered under the umbrella. 

Joining in on the post-game team huddle.

And then Q offered to take E's bag.


We got home, opened a couple of drinks and sat in the backyard while we waited for our pizza order and for E's friend to arrive for a sleepover. 


After supper we took the RC car to the park for a little bit, and then home for Q to go to bed.  The big kids were happy to sit in the front hallway with their chips, glasses of milk, and iPad.  It was the coolest part of the house I guess.

Pancakes and bacon for breakfast the next morning. 

In the afternoon we headed to my cousin's house in Brampton for a family pool party.  This was a gathering of the cousins from my grandfather's side of his the family - Papa's brother Bob is still alive and he came over from Oshawa with his son and daughter, and Papa's brother Allan's wife is also still alive, Helen, and these were mostly her children and grandchildren that were getting together.  It was a beautiful afternoon to be poolside and so great to visit with this side of the family! 


Q went back and forth from the cheesie bowl on the table and then back into the pool. 


So many little kids!

Aunt Helen and my mom

Uncle Bob and my mom

Our kids were the first in the pool and the last ones out!  Needless to say we had a good time.  

Monday, July 29, 2019

July Book Review

Just two books this month, I rode my bike to work a bunch of times so that cut down on my subway reading time.

The first book is the one that everyone has been talking about - Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens.

This is just as good as everyone says it is.  It takes place in the Southern US and goes back and forth between past and present.  It tells the story of a young girl that lives in the marsh having been abandoned by her family at a young age, but who has survived and thrived.  It sort of reminded me of the other books I read this year (those ones true stories) of women growing up to with remarkable and extremely challenging childhoods, but that go on to be scholars and authors of books.  This one is fiction and interestingly I thought it seemed much more likely to survive this childhood than the other true ones I've read.  Here it never really felt like her life was in danger and she did have a support system.  This was another book where I did not want to put it down and where I was trying to solve the murder mystery the whole time.  I think I would even read this again someday. 

And the second book is one I found browsing at the library - Amy Poehler's book, Yes Please.

I typically don't pick up a lot of autobiographies, it seems like everyone writes a book these days, but I saw this at the library and I am an Amy Poehler fan so I decided to pick it up. I really liked it, and then I realized that I usually do like autobiographies when I read them so I should try to pick more.  I was a Parks and Recreation fan and also loved Amy on Saturday Night Live.  The book is funny, of course, but I also enjoyed hearing her behind the scenes stories from SNL and Parks, and about her friendship with Tina Fey and Seth Meyers. I also liked learning about her career; you think that these people are just actors, but they do so much more, are so talented and work really hard. I can't seem to find anywhere to watch Parks and Rec but I want to rewatch that series.  

Seth Meyers wrote one of the chapters of the book and reminisced about the rap that Amy performed on SNL for Sarah Palin.  Seth reminds us that Amy is 9 months pregnant and is actually rapping.  So here it is for your viewing pleasure (I tried to skip over the Fox News anchors intro of this clip, so hopefully that worked).  

Friday, July 26, 2019

Friday Favourites



We enjoyed another beautiful week here in Toronto.  The weather was perfect, all sun, no rain, and very little humidity.  I rode my bike everyday this week and it was so nice to be outside.  It was even a little cool when I would leave the house.  My new bike has improved my time to get to work by about 5 minutes.

E enjoyed his rock climbing camp this week. They went to Joe Rockhead's in Liberty Village and did both climbing and bouldering in the mornings, then swimming in the afternoon - perfect!
While E and I were at soccer practice on Wednesday, Q and Dave had some good times at the park.


We booked the rest of our summer vacation this week.  We are already going to New Hampshire but decided to spend a couple of nights in Lake Placid on the way.  We have been there in the winter (read about that trip here) and it seemed like the perfect summer getaway as well.  We just wanted somewhere to swim in a lake and/or pool, go for a hike, and have lots of options for food and drink. 

The local cherries are out and they are so delicious!! We haven't made any recipes with them yet, just eating them on their own.  So good!


Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, July 25, 2019

These are the days...

These are the days...

- That you're answering question after question starting with "Mom?"

- That your living room looks like this:


- That you're soaking day old dirty underwear that was sent home from daycare

- That you're running from work to evening sports

- That you're realizing it's difficult to teach someone to read

- That you're making sandwiches as supplementary supper since your child doesn't want what you made

- That you're greeted with a big hug and smile when you get home

- That you're singing lullabies and holding hands in the dark

- That you get to go for bike rides and shoot hoops with your child

- That you get an ice cream or popsicle after supper, just because
 

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Day in the Life

Last week I wrote about what a typical day looks like.  On Monday I documented our day to give you an example.

We woke up around 6:30 and could hear Q calling out that he was awake. I got dressed and him half dressed and we went downstairs.  He wanted to watch a show.  Typically we do not watch TV in the morning during the school year but we are a little more relaxed with that rule in the summer.  So I put on a show and handed him a mini-pita while I got breakfast and E's lunch ready.

E's lunch is packed - leftover pizza, plum, cherries, pretzels, and a fig bar.  He didn't need the plum and fig bar and they came home at the end of the day.

First breakfast for me - yoghurt with strawberries, almonds, hemp hearts, and cacao nibs.

Dave had an early meeting so that meant I would be taking the kids to school/camp.  Since I had extra time, I made the mango/apple chutney for our supper. 

Around 8:15 we left the house to drop Q at school.  He is usually pretty excited to be there.  On this day we could not find his indoor shoes so there was a bit of confusion but he just kept his outdoor shoes on for awhile.  Lots of hugs and kisses before leaving him. 

We dropped the car off at home and then E and I climbed our bikes to head to his camp. 

This week it is a Jack of Sports Rock Climbing camp. 

We locked up his bike, I signed him in, and then I headed to work on my bike.  It was a very pleasant ride, the humidity from the weekend was gone.  After I locked up my bike, I realized I needed something more to eat, so for second breakfast I got a Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich and coffee from Tim's.

I got settled at my desk and then joined a call with a colleague in his office. 

I had no idea what I wanted for lunch, so I took a walk over to Union Station. 

I actually by-passed the outdoor market (for once!) and decided to try the Thai noodle place in the food court.   I wasn't overly impressed with my choice so I don't think I'll go there again.  I took my noodles back to my office and watched a bit of Queer Eye on my phone. 

In the afternoon I worked on a variety of projects and then had some cherries and my own creation of an iced americano. 

I got on my bike to head home shortly after 4:00.

We had red lentil curry for supper, with pearl couscous because we were out of rice, and the chutney I had made earlier that day.  Q's face in this photo is him saying "I don't want that, I want a sandwich", and that's Dave getting up to go make him one, which is kind of him.

After we ate we got on our bikes to go to E's t-ball practice. 

The practice is long (1.5 hours) but we usually all go since it is good for Q to be outside playing rather than just being at home.  (and just to keep it real, this picture was taken shortly before I helped him go #2 in the woods, potty training is always glamorous). 

It started to rain just as the practice was winding up.  We biked home, got the kids in bed, early for once, and finished tidying up the kitchen.  I usually go to Pilates on Monday night but decided to stay home.  I folded my laundry and the towels while we watched Big Little Lies (S2,E2) and an episode each of The Office (group weight loss)and Seinfeld (parking garage). 

Then we were in bed by 10:30, which is good for us!