Friday Favourites

Linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favourites.

1. A couple of weeks ago for Momfessionals' Show and Tell Tuesday - Organizational Tips, I read someone's post that said to lay your clothes out for the week on Sunday night.  I started doing this and let me tell you, it is my new favourite thing.  It's like having a personal assistant who has already put together your outfit with all of the pieces collected in one place. This is definitely becoming a new habit.

2. I attended a networking event on Monday where we got to make our own chocolates, my favourite!     This is a picture of the ones I made (on the bottom).  They were made with really good quality chocolate so they taste even better than regular boxed chocolates.

3.  Valentine's Day is one of my favourite holidays.  I helped E with cards for his class this week.  These are Star Wars valentines that I bought two years ago, but this is the first year his class has exchanged cards so I finally get to use them.  I love a good pun and of course valentines are full of them. Some examples: "Quit playing games with my Hutt", "I really Obi-Wan you to be my valentine", "Our love will never Endor", "Yoda one for me".  There are other gems like: "I want to be the droid you're looking for" and "Valentine, don't make me spend the day Solo".

4. I talked about my current favourite show on Wednesday's post.

5. It's a long weekend in Ontario, my favourite kind of weekend.  Happy Family Day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Taking Kids Out To Eat

One of our favourite things to do is go out for supper, and we weren't about to stop doing that when we had E.  We go out fairly often with E and have done so since he was little.  When E was about three months old we met some friends at The Drake for supper.  After I fed him, we put him in his carseat and tucked him under the table.  When it was time to leave, we brought him out and the people next to us were shocked to see that we had a baby with us the whole time. 

If you are reluctant to take your young child out to a restaurant, I want to offer these tips.  The obvious caveat is every kid is different, I'm not an expert, but these are things we do that work for us.

Start young.

I think if kids get used to being out in public early on, then it will become a habit and going out will become easier.  E has not always the quietest kid at the restaurant but he is learning about how to behave when we are out.

Don't limit yourself to Boston Pizza and McDonalds.  

Not that those places aren't great, but there are many more options than these.  A lot of trendier restaurants offer kid menus with a few more choices than chicken fingers or grilled cheese sandwiches.  When choosing a trendy place, look for restaurants that have a buzz to them, preferably with music, and other families.  We like to go between 5:30 and 7:00 so that even if they are not typical family restaurants we're gone before the people who aren't interested in dining with children arrive. 

Patios are great for exuberant children.

Be prepared.

We had this little seat that we took everywhere so if there was no high chair then we could still strap E into his seat.  It works with just about every chair we've run into.  Bring extra food in case you have to wait for a table, or if your kid doesn't want what is on the menu.  This is obviously more important when they are younger and eating mostly soft food.  Not all restaurants have room for strollers or change tables, so be aware of those restrictions so you can plan around them.

If your kid needs a covered cup, bring your own from home.  It's also a good idea to bring a plastic plate, little fork, bib, and lots of wipes!

Also remember that not all servers have children, so they don't think twice about putting knives, full drinks, and hot plates in front of children.  Be aware of what's going on so you can limit accidents.

  

We like to ask for all of the food to arrive at once, rather than having E's come out as soon as it's ready.  If E has finished before we get our food we then have to try and entertain him while eating our own food.  

Speaking of keeping him entertained, although we do not encourage walking around the restaurant or iPhone games at the table, I usually remember to bring a couple of books or small toys.  A game of "I Spy" is always useful, and bonus if the restaurant has colouring pages. (Barque has colouring books and Playdoh.)

Queen Margherita Pizza has a word search

Be flexible

If your kid doesn't touch his main meal, and only wants to eat his french fries, that's okay.  If your kid is tired and getting fussy, finish up quickly and leave.  If you realize that it will take awhile to get a table, maybe a take out meal to eat at a park is a better option.  

  

Take out tacos from Mad Mexican

Media Wednesdays

Shows we are watching right now:

Downton Abbey (PBS)
Walking Dead (AMC) - this just started back up this Sunday, and it is still on our PVR
Girls (HBO)
House of Bryan (HGTV) - This one just ended this weekend.
The Bachelor (ABC)
Open Gym (NBA Canada) - This is a behind the scenes with the Raptors show.  I always enjoy seeing the players in "real life" where you get to see their personalities.

We also just finished The Affair.

We actually watched 7 episodes on the weekend to complete the season.  It is on Showtime in the US, and TMN On Demand in Canada.  It won best Drama TV Show and Best Lead Actress in a Drama at the Golden Globes.  Joshua Jackson is in it too, and since I love him I knew I would have to see this show.

Young Pacey

Grown up Cole Lockhart

I won't give anything away, other than to say the acting is phenomenal, and the structure of the show is quite unique.  It's one of those shows where you know something is going on, but it isn't all spelled out for you.  The first season is 10 episodes, and if you have the opportunity to watch, you should.  It is definitely adult content so just keep that in mind and know to expect it.  Can't wait until Season 2.

Weekend Recap

Well we are in the dead of winter here in Toronto and I'm actually enjoying our snow.  We had a lot of cold weather early in the winter but no real snow that we could play in. Now we have a lot and it's fun to be outside.  I even secretly enjoy driving in winter weather.  Of course we have all wheel drive and snow tires so I'm better off than some people but I really do enjoy the challenge of controlling speed and braking.

Anyway, we did enjoy the snow on the weekend, which is good, because it never stopped for the entire weekend.

The snowflakes on Saturday morning were long and flat, the looked like coconut flakes. 

We headed out to swimming but the pool had just been fouled so E's class was cancelled.  So we headed home after a quick stop at the grocery store and cleaned up. 

I put up a couple of hearts in the trees leftover from Christmas.  (Side note, can this actually be called a tree if it fits on our windowsill?)

My little helper adding sprinkles to our Valentine's cookies.

These cookies were ridiculously easy.  A box of cake mix, two eggs, and 1/3 vegetable oil.  Roll them into a ball, place on a baking sheet, press down with a rubber scraper. Baked at 375 degrees for 9 minutes.  Then top with icing.  I made my own and added some almond extract. They are so good, and they are already gone.

We invited some friends over for Saturday afternoon.  The kids played really well together (and by together, I mean separately but near each other) and we all went out to the backyard for some sledding.  They stayed for supper and we made some tacos, simple but yummy.

When it was time to go, E helped his friend with her boots which was hilarious because it basically looked he was saying "okay, time to go, how can I help you get out of here faster?"  Then we said, he should help her with her coat, and he picked it up but instead of actually helping her, he just placed it on the floor in front of her so she could put it on.  I guess that is the daycare way of helping someone with their coat.  We laughed.

On Sunday, we went to church where E again volunteered to answer a question, but I didn't know what he was trying to say.  

E talking on his cell phone, hilarious imaginary conversations.  We don't even talk on the phone that much so I don't know where he gets this from.

We went for a walk on Sunday afternoon down by the Humber River.  We pulled E on his sled and we saw some cross country skiers and some snowshoers.  Not sure if I want to invest in cross country skies now, but this would be a great place to use them.  Dave made a little fort for E in the front yard when we got back.  I told Dave it is probably illegal to make snow tunnel and snow forts now because they can collapse and suffocate children.  Then we reminisced about the snow forts we used to make as children.  Ironically (?) the roof of this fort did fall down before it was completed, but everyone got out safely. 

Next weekend is a long weekend in Ontario so we may try to do something different. 

Random Thoughts

This blog is always a mishmash of randomness.  And this post is going to be the ultimate in randomness.

Some thoughts I've been pondering lately:

When people post photos on Instagram of themselves that are not selfies, but clearly edited and taken with someone else's camera, how can they qualify as "Instagrams"?  I thought unless it was a #tbt (Throwback Thursday) post then I thought it had to be instant?

Does everyone have a drone with which they can take overhead shots of their food?

Do Kate and Will dress Prince George on those formal clothes because they are royalty or because this is how kids dress in England?  Shorts and knee socks, collared shirts, embroidered overalls?

What is the appeal of Katy Perry? Her songs are pretty good, but they seem kind of formulaic, and I don't think she is as "hot" as people seem to think she is.

Why is a sequined body suit the outfit of choice for Madonna?  Is there no other outfit she could where?  Britney Spears also sported a series of bodysuits at her show in Vegas, they were not flattering.

There is no CTRL-ALT-DELETE on a Mac.  All of those buttons exist on a Mac but to achieve the same thing, you press Option-Command-Esc.  Is Mac just trying to be difficult?  Is CTRL-ALT-DELETE copyright protected?

Friday Favourites

Linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favourites.

1. Holidays are my favourite.  I was telling E about Valentine's Day and that we would get some candy, and maybe make a heart shaped pizza.  And of course we say I love you and give each other hugs and kisses.  He asked if someone was going to bring us candy (like Santa, I assume), and if we would put up Valentine's lights and read Valentine's books.  I said no to the lights, but that we would put up some heart decorations.  I wasn't sure about books, but I went to the library this week to pick up my hold, and I found one!  The library is also one of my favourite things.

2.  On Thursday night the lawyers at my firm went bowling with an accounting firm (whoo hoo!).  I love bowling and I am usually fairly good, but I was very inconsistent this time.  It was fun though.

3. On Thursday I blogged about some of my favourite restaurants in Toronto.  And then I was able to meet a friend at one of them, and ordered the affogato for dessert. 

4. Yes, winter sucks, but these trees wrapped up against the cold in Mississauga brighten my day whenever I see them.  Whoever thought of that is brilliant; this is so much better than plain burlap.

5. I saw this on Pinterest this week and had to pin it.  For someone who likes to plan, sometimes it is difficult when your plans don't always work out.  I love this bible verse, and try to remember it when I am feeling disappointed when things don't turn out the way I want them to. 

Hope you are enjoying your Friday wherever you are, and thanks for reading!

Toronto Restaurants

There are so many restaurants in Toronto, and there are always ones closing and opening so it is impossible to keep up.  I've had restaurants on my list of ones to try since we moved here and we still haven't been.  And ones that were on my list that have since closed before we could go.  #firstworldproblems

We do have our favourites that we always go back to and know we will not be disappointed:

The Drake - We have been going here for awhile.  I love their brunch menu (now especially because of the Little Drake for $6 for kids), but also their dinner menu.  They have a great patio both at street level and on the roof.  It's trendy, it's on the west side, and is always a great place to take guests.

Pizzeria Libretto (Ossington) - This is the best pizza place in the city.  Other places make Neapolitan style pizza, but this is my favourite place.  And I always save room for dessert, their affogato (gelato with espresso poured overtop) is amazing.  This is a great family restaurant too, although they do not take reservations, so you usually need to be prepared to wait.

Real Sports - One of the best sports bars in North America.  When it first opened we went all the time, then it got a little too crazy and pretentious, impossible to get a table, set seating times, etc. But it's calmed down a bit and is a great place to go before a Raptors/Jays game (we never go to the Leafs), or to watch a game.  They have a pretty good menu all around, but we usually get wings, and beer, of course.  The music is loud when the game isn't playing, and E is always entertained by that and the numerous televisions.

The Harbord Room - The Harbord Room makes the best burger I've ever had in my life, no word of a lie.  They also have oysters and fun cocktails, so I'm all set.  It's small and if you don't have a reservation you may have to wait.  Sitting at the bar is always fun too since you get to interact with the bartender.  This is not a place I would take E, too small and always busy, not the right crowd.

Honourable mentions go to the Biermarkt on King West, Fresh on Crawford, Queen Margherita Pizza, The Keg (Haunted Mansion and York St.), Beer Bistro, and Barque