Little Things

Appreciating the little things, that are really the big things when you think about it:

Homemade Rice Krispie Squares -  I had to make a few batches of these for various potlucks lately; they are really just the best.

Having friends over - E had a friend over last night and Q has a friend coming over tonight.  While we lived in the basement we weren’t able to have many people so it’s nice we can do it now.

Crossword Puzzles - I decided to buy the Globe and Mail Digital Subscription mostly so I could do the crossword.  There is one everyday, although they don’t have the same one on Saturday that is in the print edition. 

Drying ski clothes on the heater.

Souvenirs - E’s friend was in Brazil last week and brought him back a little souvenir. 

Little Things

Last week I saw this post shared by a few people on Instagram.  It was a good reminder of the little things that mean so much, even when we don't realize them at the time. 

I wanted to do a Little Things post to remind myself of my fortunes.

Walking to School - The boys walk to school together and it's wonderful for so many reasons, Dave or I only have to drive to school once a day (to get Q from after school care), the boys get some fresh air, time with each other, and opportunities to see neighbours and friends on the way.

Buying Dental Floss - I never used to floss my teeth so I always had tons of dental floss since I had the stuff the dentist gave me each visit.  Now I am a gold star dental patient and I am always proud when I need to buy new dental floss.

Sweaty Hair - It is so satisfying to have completed a workout, that I am healthy to do so and that I have time and resources.

Vacuuming carpet - I know that's random, but I really do love switching from hardwood or tile onto a carpet, it's so satisfying.

Morning on the subway - More specifically I love the random smells of everyone as we make our way down to the subway, change lines, and then get onto work.  I know that's weird, but it's the combination of hair products, perfume, clothing, etc. as people move around (it's not as good in the afternoons on the way home, haha!) is just a reminder of everything just trying to live their life, no one better than anyone else. 

Kids in our bed - For what seemed like many years, we often had a kid making their way into our room in the middle of the night that usually resulted in (a) being squished off to the side while we all tried to sleep, (b) trying to carry them back to their own bed, and maybe staying there with them, or (c) someone (ahem, me) going to sleep in the kids' bed, leaving the kid in the big bed. None of these things were ideal.  Very rarely now does anyone come in to our room, but every so often Q will come in early in the morning to snuggle in with us, and this past weekend, E came in. Since it doesn't happen all the time now, it was nice to have that extra time with them. 

Friday Favourites

Whew, Friday!

First of all, for those of you following the Alex Murdaugh case, which I dove into head first this week as the trial was wrapping up, how shocked were you that the jury deliberated for only 3 hours?!!  Anything that quick was bound to be a guilty verdict, and even though I am convinced he is guilty, I was still not expecting it to come so quickly (or at all even). I read a tweet where someone said they were on a jury once and as soon as they went to deliberate, they all took an anonymous poll and they all said guilty but then they sat there for another few hours in silence before telling the bailiff they were ready with their verdict.  So I wonder if that is sort of what happened here.  I retweeted this on Thursday after closing arguments wrapped up:

After watching a bit of the trial, I was reminded of watching the OJ Simpson trial (who incidentally made an interesting appearance on Twitter yesterday "weighing in" on whether Alex Murdaugh was guilty or not, what a world we live in...) and how much I loved Matlock and Perry Mason. Although I will never practice criminal law, I find it so interesting!

I stopped in at Winners this week to browse and had to buy these cute little things for Easter.  I never seem to find clothes at Winners, but their home decor stuff is adorable (and I did get some nylons at a decent price, so that was good).

And three small things that made me happy this week - fish sticks, grocery bins, and cough syrup.  

Having eaten fish sticks all the time growing up, I realized the boys had never had them and with Dave being out on Tuesday I thought I would buy them for our dinner.  They were exactly how I remembered them, and the kids ate them right up.

Pre-COVID when we did grocery pick up at Loblaws, we were able to exchange green bins instead of getting everything put in bags.  Then of course they stopped that practice because germs, although COVID is airborne, remember this is when some of us were washing our groceries.  I asked a few times if they were going to bring the bin exchange back and finally it's back!  I hate getting all those plastic bags so I'm glad we won't need to do that anymore. 

We have had shortages of kids and adult cough medicine for months, but this week I was able to buy a bottle of each.  I have had a cough and scratchy throat so I've been using the adult one, and it's nice to have a children's one on the shelf for future use. 

We are getting a big snowstorm tonight so we are heading up north early so we will be ready for ski club championship and banquet for Saturday morning. 

Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Little Things

As we continue to watch the devastation in Ukraine and people fleeing their homes, I was extra conscious of those little things in our life that we really do not want to take for granted.  

Overhearing your kids play together, nicely, using their imaginations, and hearing the little sayings they come up with. 

The licence plate game.  I drove E to a birthday party this weekend with two other friends and they started looking for the alphabet on licence plates. 

Running into a friend unexpectedly.  A friend crossed in front of me when I was driving the other day and she stopped to chat with me for a few minutes (and there was no one behind me so I could stay at the stop sign for a few minutes).

Getting a beer with your spouse at a bar.  We popped into our local pub on our way to a friends' place on Saturday night. 

Working on a puzzle. We love a puzzle at our house and it's a good time filler between breakfast and school, and between supper and bedtime. 

Warm sunshine.  Even though it made the snow a little slushy for skiing, it was still so nice to have warm sun and not be absolutely freezing for once. 

Chirping birds.  Spring is on its way and there is nothing I like more than hearing the birds in our yard.

Little Things - Online School Edition

As we get to the end of the school year with much of it being online, I wanted to appreciate the "little things" that accompanied our time at home with the kids:

Sleeping in - We usually drop the kids off around 8:00 at the YMCA but with school not actually starting until 9:00, then there is no rush to get up and at 'em.

Seeing classmates - We don't often get to know who is in the kids' classes and what they are like, but now we know all of the kids in Q's class, and many of their parents. 

Not worrying about every little sniffle - Now we haven't actually had any illness (knock on wood) with the exception of the first week at school when Q had to stay home for a few days, but any time they would sniff or cough, I would be hyper alert to make sure it wasn't an actual cold (let alone Covid!).

Not packing lunches - No explanation needed. 

Lunchtime errands - I like taking the boys with me to pick up our grocery order, library books, and other quick things during the lunch break. 

As much as I would love to just have them in school, there are good things about them being at home that I'm (trying to be) grateful for.

Little Things

A few "Little Things" I'm appreciating this week, that are really big things when you think about it.

An afternoon snack - cinnamon on apple.

Homemade pie crust.  I made turkey pot pie on Monday night for supper and the pastry was so good.

New shampoo and conditioner.  I treated myself to some Malin and Goetz products.

Noon skating. Even better when we had the rink to ourselves on Tuesday for about 20 minutes before anyone else showed up.

Cinnamon hearts.  My mom sent some Valentine goodies for us this week.

Little Things

A few little things I am appreciating right now...

 Going to a store without having to wait in line.  I'm not sure if I am just hitting the stores at the right time or they are letting more people in than they used to, but I like not having to wait in line. 

Watching a show with E that isn't a kids show.  We watched World's Toughest Race on Prime and it is nice that we can enjoy a show that everyone wants to see (except Q who is in bed).

Sports on TV! I like hearing the call of a baseball game on weekend afternoons and now playoff basketball.  I even enjoyed watching the Leafs (ahem, short) playoff run.

Eating outside.  We try to eat our supper outside most nights and it is a nice treat during our relatively short summer.  

Summer storms.  I love a good thunderstorm (when I'm safe inside that is!) and this week we even had some hail!

Little Things

Yesterday was one of those days where you really do have to appreciate the little things.   For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction (or something like that):

Q was happy to get dressed when he got up (not always the case) but then cried for about 20 minutes because I didn't let him eat the almond butter off of the spoon (I figured it wasn't a great idea since there are kids in his class that have allergies).

E made his own breakfast (oatmeal), but put the microwave cover on it and the oatmeal bubbled over and made a big mess.  (But not his fault)

Q stopped crying but then spilled shake on his shirt and needed an outfit change before we left.

Our cable box isn't working and I spent some time on the phone with them trying to get it fixed remotely, but it didn't work.  But thankfully I can still watch shows on the Bell app on my phone.

But we picked up some groceries (including a box of cookies the boys talked me into), read some books, E successfully completed some math work, I did my ab/pushup/squat workout, and the kitchen is cleaned up.  Plus I get to work from home tomorrow, which I am so appreciative of.

And I get to enjoy some leftover Thanksgiving wine and pie while I'm watching This Is Us (on my phone, see above).

This is not the usual format for a Little Things post, but it is still a reminder to pick out the happy little moments when you can.

Little Things

Appreciating those little things in life, that are really the big things when you think about it...

Lilacs - I would say this is one of the best smells in the world.  I always stop and smell them when I get the chance. 

Swinging - I pushed Q on the swing last week and did a few "under ducks" and he giggled and loved it all. 

A cardboard box - we made use of some cardboard boxes last week to make knight's armour and swords. 

Police officers (on horses!) - Toronto held the big Raptors Championship parade and the police did a great job of keeping everyone safe, generally and when things got a little scary with the shooting.  Early in the morning when I was walking through Nathan Phillips Square, I saw a police officer and I said thanks for keeping us safe.  Then I snapped this in the afternoon as I walked north on Yonge to find an open subway station. 

Little Things

Celebrating the little things in life, that are really the big things when you think about it.

Having time to read my book.  I love reading but I don't often have long periods of time where I can read without feeling like I should be doing something else.  Now that I take the subway to work, the only real option for passing the time is reading.  It is nice to just sit (or stand most of the time) and read.

Preparing for overnight guests.  My mom and aunt are here this weekend (although for a funeral, sadly) so I made beds, cleaned the bathroom, and thought about what we would eat.  

Great fans. Our former Raptor, Demar Derozan, came back to Toronto this week to play with his new team after being traded.  The fans gave him a rousing ovation and the organization put together a great tribute video that they played during the game. Everyone says Toronto has the best fans, and they were certainly that on Friday night. 

Conversations in the car.  When I was driving to E to choir on Thursday night I mentioned Nana was coming up for a funeral.  So then we got to talking about dying and funerals and stuff.  It is very interesting to hear how his mind works and to answer his questions. 

Reading in church.  Our church has a lay reader every week and this week it was me.  I like to participate in the service when I can and share the Word. 

Little Things - Part 16

Celebrating the little things in life, which are really the big things when you think about it!

Scholastic book orders.  This weekend E and I sat with the book order forms Q got at school and picked out a few items.  E picked a book for himself and one for Q, and gave me the money for them.  I picked out a few Thanksgiving and Halloween books.  I remember getting the book order at school and since our town didn't have a big book store (although we did have Flemmings!) it was exciting to see new books to buy.  And probably a cat poster too!

A new ingredient.  I made this recipe for our upcoming week and got to try out lemongrass for the first time. Of course the asian grocers had it at their stores (although I think you can sometimes find it at Loblaws) so it was easy to find.  The flavour and smell is divine.

A new book.  I picked up Crazy Rich Asians at Indigo and can't wait to dive in.

Football on TV.  I don't follow along as much as I used, although I am still rooting for the Packers, but I like hearing the familiar calls and commentary on a fall Sunday afternoon.

Filling out forms.  E has brought home a variety of forms over the first few weeks of school and it always my job to fill them out and make sure they get back to the teacher.

Listening to a choir.  Our church has such lovely music and I really appreciated hearing the choir sing the anthem this week.  I sit in one of the front pews so it is almost like my own private concert.

Taking your kids to the office.  This isn't something I have to do often but last week I had to bring Q with me for a couple of hours.  He did pretty well, ate cookies, and watched Netflix on my phone.

See thee lists of the past Little Things I've appreciated here.

Little Things - Part 15

Celebrating the little things that are really the big things when you think about it.

Kiddie Pools - When the weather is hot we like to get the kiddie pool out, although mostly it is just used for filling water guns, it is so nice to have some relief from the heat.

Karaoke - Our office building complex had its annual BBQ last week and they always have karaoke.  I love watching karaoke, it is always entertaining.  Either people are horrible (mostly) or surprisingly good, but if the song is good, it doesn't matter, it's great.  I had so much fun watching someone rap to Shaggy in "Angel" and do the Backstreet Boys.

Bike Ride - For the past two Saturdays I biked to my workout class early in the morning.  It is so nice to get outside and be active.

Driving with the windows down - I absolutely love having the windows down when I'm driving, with some good music blasting, and singing along.  I know it is hot out, but I'd rather be a little warm and enjoy the weather than blast the air conditioning all of the time.

Little Things - Part 14

I wrote on Monday about holding your kids a little closer so I thought I would do a post about the Little Things that was kid themed.  Celebrating the little things that are really the big things when you think about it.

Holding hands and walking slowly.  Q is getting heavy and does actually prefer to walk on his own.  He puts his hand up to hold our hand and comes right along.  We have to stoop a little bit and walk slowly, but it is a nice way to travel.

Being woken up by your brother. Both boys love to go into the other's room to wake them up, and the one who is still sleeping wakes up with a smile and a hug.

Spelling tests.  We used to use the good old orange Campfire notebook to write our spelling words, E's class doesn't have those, but he has had several spelling tests this term.  We help him practice his words and he does it without much complaining and is pleased when he gets a good mark.

Bath time.  It doesn't happen every time, but Q definitely prefers it when E has a bath with him.

You can read past Little Things posts here.

Little Things - Part 13

Celebrating the little things in life which are really the big things when you think about it.

Balloons - We had a celebration at church a couple of weeks ago and E was so excited to bring home a balloon.  He chose red of course.  Then we played with it all week.  So much joy from such a small item.

An award - Each month, E's school has an assembly and two or three kids from each class are given a the Character Development Award for the theme of the month.  This month, E was picked for Teamwork.  He was very proud to go up and accept his award.

Nachos on the couch - This is not something we do often, but we made some nachos for the Super Bowl and let E stay up and eat them with us.  Such a treat and we did a good job of keeping it clean, note the multiple napkins and towels on the ottoman.

Having your child sit on your lap, no matter how big - At soccer this week as we waited for the previous game to finish up, E came and sat on my lap.  He's getting to be a big boy but I love having him sit with m. 

Cheering for Canada - The Olympics are here!! We love the Olympics around here and are so excited to cheer for our country.  So many countries around the world have complicated histories and politics, and simply waving your flag can be difficult; we appreciate that we can be proud Canadians!

Little Things - Part 12

Celebrating the little things that are really the big things when you think about it.

Facebook Memories - I love coming across those little moments from years' past.  This is E dressed up in his Hudson Bay sweater to visit Santa when he was 1.  Q wore the same sweater this year

A day off - I needed to get a few things done on Friday so I took the day off.  I am fortunate that there are times when I am able to take a day off of work

A bite of bagel from your brother - E was eating his breakfast on the couch and gave Q a piece of his bagel to munch on.

Real Christmas tree - We always get a real tree.  I love the scent that it gives off.

Bird Feeder - I bought a little bird feeder at Bulk Barn the other day and we put it up this weekend.  Hopefully some little birds will make their way over (and that the squirrels and racoons can't access it).

Little Things - Part 11

Celebrating the little things, that are really the big things when you think about it.

Colouring - E and I worked on some colouring one afternoon.  A calm way to spend some quality time. 

Bouncy Balls - Q loves bouncy balls.  We have a few we have collected over the years and now they are finally coming in handy.

Staying in for a storm - Yesterday when the weather was wild, we really had no choice but to stay inside, watch movies, nap, and take it easy.  

Buying an apple from the Scouts - I bought an apple on Saturday on my walk up the street; there is something special about enjoying a crisp red apple on a fall day.

Having some shows saved up to watch - It's one thing to have a Netflix show to watch, but I also love the anticipation of having a regular TV show saved up in my recordings.

   

Little Things - Part 10

Celebrating the little things, that are really the big things when you think about it.

Morning Light.  I am up early most mornings, but it has been cloudy recently.  The light blue and yellow skies, with some pink sometimes, are so pretty.

Matching PJs.  E and Q got matching pyjamas for Christmas and they wear them occasionally at the same time.  When we were in Blue Mountain we all ended up in the same bed. Q had trouble getting settled down, but E held his hand as they both drifted off to sleep.  The matching PJs just made it even more special, my heart was full. 

(These are the PJs, but this photo is from January)

Folding laundry.  I am happy to fold little shirts and pants, and match little socks together.  

New conditioner.  I bought the Shampure conditioner from Aveda the other day.  I love opening a new product and the smell is like I've just come from the salon.

New spring growth.  We cleared away some dead leaves and trimmed the old branches from the garden this weekend.  New life is showing through.

Nature in the city.  In our backyard we have a family of chipmunks living in our backyard, a pair of cardinals, woodpeckers, many squirrels, the occasional raccoon (or four), and other chirping birds.  It can be quite the scene at times and that's just our yard, we are lucky we can go for a walk by the Humber River for even more wildlife.  

You can check out my other Little Things posts here.

Little Things - Part 9

Celebrating the little things, that are really the big things when you think about it.

Warm laundry.  I don't always get the laundry out of the dryer right when it is done, but when I do, I love the warmth.  I tipped the clothes over Q, which he liked, and he "helped" me fold them.

A puzzle.  We enjoy doing our Christmas puzzle, so I asked my mom to bring up an old puzzle I had when I was young so we could work on one after Christmas.  It is a collage of Disney memorabilia with a lot of detail.  I last put it together 1994!

Clean sheets.  I like to wash the sheets on Sunday so we can start our week out with a clean bed.  I love getting into bed when the sheets are fresh. 

A good hymn.  On Sunday in church we sang "I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry", number 644 in Voices United, if you're interested (Mom!).  The words are really moving, it is a new favourite of mine.