Workin' it Wednesday

Linking up with Shay and Erika to talk about how I stay sane during the holidays.

Start planning early - I know what I need to get done but if I turn my mind to it early enough (think Halloween) then I can start crossing things off my list sooner rather than later.  And then take things one at a time.  Get out the presents that need to be mailed first and then worry about the gifts for the people who will actually be here on Christmas Day. 

Embrace the chaos - Part of what I love about the holidays is the preparation; I wrote a post a few years ago here about how I love getting ready for Christmas.

Keep what works and know that there are things that just won't happen and that's okay - We like to do a lot of fun things over the holidays, some of them are successful and other fall flat.  We keep the successful ones and then drop the other ones. We have some traditions but we still need to to adapt over time for what works for us. Last yearr we didn't get to go to the Santa Claus parade because it was just too cold and we didn't want to take baby Q out for too long, we could have been disappointed about missing this "tradition" but instead we just watched it on TV.

Make copious notes - I have a Google Doc that contains all of our holiday plans and I refer to it several times a day.  I also have various notes on my phone for gifts, groceries, to dos, etc., and  I write everything into my calendar. 

Shop online - I love going to the mall and I usually get there a couple of times during Christmas, but when I can, I will order things online and get them shipped to my office.  Rather than searching through a mishmash of toys at Wal-Mart or Toys R Us or trying to find a size at Old Navy, I can easily pick out what I want online. 

Order photo cards - I used to write a Christmas letter and hand write the cards,  For the past few years we have done photo card.  It is much easier to pop the cards in the envelopes and give a link to this blog for those who want to know what is going on with us. I still hand-address the envelopes and write a couple of lines on the cards, but I can get it done quickly.

Have a party - I always wanted to have a big open house to welcome neighbours, friends, co-workers, and family to celebrate the holidays with us. We have done that for the last three years and the 4th annual party is happening this Saturday.  This is good for a number of reasons - we can visit with lots of people all at once, we make lots of cookies and stock up on appetizers and alcohol that will then carry us through to Christmas, and the party happens mid-month so by the time it's over, we can sail right through to Christmas Day with only a few things left to plan. 

Throw in a treat, drive around the neighbourhood, or holiday movie whenever we can - We can't schedule everything in, and I don't like doing that anyway, I prefer things to happen organically, so we just fill in any free moment with a touch of the holidays.  On the way home from school and work, take a detour down a different streets to see their lights, watch part of a holiday movie during the week, pick up a peppermint cake pop while doing errands, etc. 

Remember the real reason for the season - Spending time with loved ones and celebrating the wonder of Jesus' birth are what it's all about.  

Workin' it Wednesday

Linking up with Shay and Erika for Workin' it Wednesday.

Today we are talking about planning for Christmas.  

I start planning for Christmas around now.  We have a busy September and October with back to school, Q's birthday, Thanksgiving, E's birthday, and Halloween.  I am not able to start focusing on Christmas until those things are out of the way.  This year I actually turned my mind to it before Halloween but just briefly.  

I plan everything out in a Google Doc so I can look at it from home and at the office.  I've been working off of the same plan for the last couple of years so I don't need to reinvent the wheel, I just need to make revisions. 

We have been doing roughly the same plan for our Christmas Party the past couple of years so I don't need to think too much about that yet.  I have the food planned out already and I have a rough schedule for shopping for ingredients, baking, prepping the food, buying the alcohol, and tidying the house the week and day before.  I will make some tweaks to this depending on my schedule but it has already been thought through once so I don't deviate much. I will need to place the order to rent the glasses soon and deliver our neighbour invitations this week.  

The next thing to think about is getting some photos that will work for our Christmas card.  We don't get professional photos done but we will just use our tripod and take a few shots to see what works.  I like to get these done before December 1 so I have lots of time to send them out.

We will get our tree around the first weekend of December so we have lots of time to enjoy it and get the decorations out.  

I have tried to set a budget for gifts this year so hopefully that means I can buy everything and be done without picking up a bunch of last minute things.  Last year I did a good job of having everything wrapped well in advance of Christmas, and I'd like to do that again this year. 

I also make a menu for the week of Christmas when we have guests.  We need to fit in lobster, turkey dinner, fondue, oysters and appetizers, and maybe a night out at a restaurant or two.  This year we will have Dave's parents and sister visiting. I like to make sure we have lots of food in the house so no one goes hungry and special foods that we only get around the holidays but also nothing too intricate that takes hours to make.  

We have our visit with Santa booked at Sherway Gardens so putting together outfits, writing a letter, and printing off the photos go along with that event. 

All of this stuff is written in my Google Doc and I check it daily to make tweaks and remind myself what needs to be done.  I also make notes and reminders on my iPhone for certain events that come up.

My general goal is to have most things done by the time we have our party so then I have the week or two leading up to Christmas to just make food and enjoy the season.  We have a couple of parties, the children's choir and symphony concert at church, and of course Advent and Christmas Eve services. 

Workin' it Wednesday

Linking up with Shay and Erika for Workin' it Wednesday.

Today's topic is how we make our homes cozy.  Being cozy at home is one of my favourite things, it gets me through the winter. 

Blankets - We often have several blankets on the couch so everyone can snuggle up to watch a movie or TV.  

Fireplace and radiators - We live in an old home and we have the old fashioned hot water radiators. They give off such a nice heat.  We added a fireplace in our living room this past year and we love turning that on in the mornings and evenings when we need that extra push of heat. 

Lighting - I like side lamps and dimmed overhead lights; luckily the previous owners of our house put in numerous pot lights on dimmers in the living space.  And everyone's room has a lamp in addition to the chandeliers.

Winter snacks - To me tea and popcorn is a cozy comforting snack.  It works for warming your body and soul after shovelling snow, spending the day outside sledding or skiing, or just to watch a movie.  I also like making an afternoon cup of coffee, or pouring a cozy glass of red wine, which to me, always taste better in the winter.

Workin' it Wednesday

Linking up with Shay and Erika for Workin' it Wednesday.

Today's topic is transitioning your wardrobe to fall.  

I have a couple of nice blazers that work well for a jacket both at the office and on the weekend with jeans.  One is from the Gap, it's blue, and the other is from J. Crew and it's orange.  I try to find them on sale and at the outlets.  I'd like to find a grey one and a black one which would be even more versatile.  I like blazers in the winter too but since they are hard to fit under my winter jacket, then I tend to wear them more in fall and spring.

I also love a good button up shirt and bonus for ones that work with jeans and with a skirt for work.  My favourite are the boyfriend fit shirts from the Gap.

I have a lot of ballet flats which are perfect for work and for the weekend, but I also like casual sneakers and Toms. 

Of course a scarf is a huge part of my wardrobe for the fall.  I have them in all colours so I have something that matches everything. 

For the kids, we love sweatshirts and sweaters over jackets.  This will still keep them warm outside but it's also appropriate to wear inside if required.  I don't mind splurging every once on this because we do get a lot of wear out of them. 

E has an Abercrombie hoodie, sort of like this one with a fuzzy hood.

Q is wearing E's old clothes but we love these sweaters from the Gap.  We have the 2012 version of this sweater in red.

Workin' it Wednesday

Linking up with Shay and Erika for Workin' it Wednesday.

Today's topic is getting ready for back to school.  It may seem a little early to be thinking about this, but school starts in less than a month and it's time to get ready!  

First of all I need to enjoy the "lazy" days of summer.  We aren't exactly lazy but we don't have as many commitments for the rest of August.  I always feel like we are in a whirlwind from September to Christmas and this year will be no exception.  

E is starting Grade 1 this year and although they don't have a list of school supplies to purchase, he does need a new backpack and lunch bag.  I also want to get a few things for his desk at home so we can keep up with his school work.  

He's had a Herschel backpack for the past two years and I really like them.  The new model has a chest strap and an outside water bottle holder.

They also have matching pencil cases.

He will need some new pants and long sleeved shirts, and shoes of course!  I know I'm not alone in this, but my child busts through his sneakers like they are made of paper.  

I love these joggers.

and a good henley.

I'm also starting to think about extra-curricular activities.  Both kids will do swimming lessons during the week.  I've found a couple of options for basketball on Saturday mornings for E and a parent/tot gymnastics class for Q, but I need to confirm a few details before I can sign up.

(I know this is soccer, not basketball, but it's sports related)

I also want to think of new ideas for lunches.  I did a pretty good job of filling up his lunch bag last year and this summer for camp.  It helps that E eats mostly everything.  Things that definitely help are the thermos for leftovers, putting lemon juice on a cut up apple, sunflower seed butter (SunButter, no nuts, safe for schools) and jam sandwiches, and keeping wraps in the freezer to make an impromptu quesadilla.  I'd like to try to make more homemade baked goods, even though they are treats, at least I've made them instead of resorting to another packaged snack.

Cupcakes are healthy right?  Well if you call them muffins, you can get away with anything!

Bring on Grade One!

Workin' It Wednesday

I do a weekend recap every week, and I did this past weekend's on Monday.   But in keeping with the format of other Day in the Life posts I've done, I'm going to go through Saturday again with a little bit more detail. 

Q and I were up at 6:00.  No luck getting him to go back to sleep in our bed, so we got up.  I put on an episode of Downton Abbey while Q played around on the floor.    Then it was breakfast time.  I usually just blend up whatever fruit we have to add to Q's cereal.  I'm sure he could handle eating bits and pieces on his own but I feel like he should keep on with the iron fortified cereal for now.  

A little playtime after breakfast.  His favourite part of the dinosaur set is clearly the plastic scenery sheet.

Since he was up so early, he went back to bed for his morning nap before 8:00 so I had a few minutes to drink my coffee, eat my breakfast, flip through the LCBO magazine, and watch Wimbledon and the Tour de France.

I took a picture of this page because this is one of the rosés I like and I had this Sunnyside Session IPA at Bryden's the other day and it was very tasty, I'll have to look for the cans next time.

After Dave and E got up, I walked up the street to buy some ingredients to make some baby food.  Of course I bought all kinds of stuff and then remembered we were going away for two weeks.  I've made some baby food and also incorporated some into our menu.

When I got back, we all headed up to the Baby Point Club to attend a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle birthday party for one of E's friends.  They had a bouncy castle, lawn games, a craft to make your own nunchucks, pizza, and lots of buddies.   Bonus, on the way up, we ran into other friends at the playground who were attending a birthday party across the street. 

When we got home, we watched some of the Blue Jays game, and I made up some baby food.

Carrots and peas

Dave had the idea to go for a swim so when Q woke up, we drove down to the Sunnyside Gus Ryder Outdoor Pool.  E worked on his swimming; I think he just needs more confidence and practice without his floaty thing and then he will be okay.  

We stopped on the way out so E could climb on the dinosaurs

When we got home, I made a quick dinner for Q, and Dave and E had their leftovers from the night before, and then they went to play tennis.  The local tennis club has public hours on Saturday evenings so they went down to hit a few balls.  This is another sport that we'd like E to get into but he needs to mature a little bit first.  He took lessons last year that were semi-successful, but he wasn't super into it yet.  I think the Wimbledon watching has encouraged him to try it again though.

While they were gone, and after Q went to sleep, I sat outside with a drink and a book.  I'd love to spend more time out here but I'll take the small pockets of time when I can get them.  I must have been quiet because two chipmunks came to visit, one just ran under my seat, but the other one charged at skipped towards me from down the hill.  I screamed both times.  They're cute and all, but I don't want them that close to me.

After tennis, E had some dessert and licked the plate clean (with my encouragement).  

After E went to bed, we watched Snowden.  I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I don't know why I thought that, I love movies that are based on true stories, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is such a great actor.   It's one of those stories where I knew about it, but didn't really know many of the details, so it's well worth the watch. 

I can't say that this is a typical weekend day in the summer, we don't usually have a birthday party, and go swimming (and tennis!) all in the same day, but we do keep busy and we always have yummy food. 

Thanks for checking in!

Workin' it Wednesday

Linking up with Shay and Erika for Workin' it Wednesday.

Today's topic is keeping kids entertained during the summer. 

Last month I posted about planning for summer camps and holidays.  I feel fortunate that E gets to go to day camps for a lot of the time so that when he is at home for a week or so I really appreciate the time we have to explore the city and have fun together.  The cliché about dreading the summer because you have to deal with your kids does not apply here.  

So when we do have a few days together and we aren't travelling anywhere, E is easily entertained with a playground and if there is a coffee shop nearby, then I am also happy.  If you're in the West End of Toronto, these are our favourite playgrounds:

High Park - We spend a lot of time here, and there are a lot of fun things to see and do, but the Jamie Bell Adventure Playground is a frequent stop for us.  I will say that it can get a little crazy since it is so popular and because it is made of wood, it can be hard to keep your eye on your little ones at all times.  The last time we went E was wearing a white t-shirt and a Blue Jays hat so he looked like everyone else, big mistake, but I trust him more than I used to that he won't run away or go off with a stranger. 

Dufferin Grove - The playground isn't even the best part, it's the muddy ditch that the kids get to dig in with a variety of provided tools and materials.  

Budapest Park - This has some fun equipment but also great views of the city and lake, and usually an ice cream truck parked nearby.

We also love a good splash pad and pool.  We usually go to the Sunnyside Gus Ryder outdoor pool but have also gone to the High Park one.  The splash pad at High Park is the most convenient for us, but we also like the one at Marie Curtis Park and on the Toronto Islands (unfortunately the Toronto Islands will be closed to the public until at least July 31 because of flooding). 

Since E is at a camp all day, or we spend a lot of time outside, when we are at home, we don't mind if E watches some TV to take a break.  He never stops moving when we are outside so the TV time allows him to rest.  We also get him to help us out with stuff around the yard or in the kitchen.  Husking corn is always a good task for kids.

Looking forward to the final bell of school!