Weekend Recap

 Our Friday was not super exciting but that was okay.   E went off to camp and then after Q's nap we went to Walmart (whoop whoop!).  Yes, those are our four bags of chips on the conveyor belt.  

We went to pick up E from his camp.  It was pyjama day and the dear soul picked out these ones with the fleece pants and long sleeved shirt.  He did change into his swimsuit for water play when they went outside, but fortunately the school is air conditioned so he wasn't sweltering all day.  After this photo I realized he'd forgotten his hat so we had to walk all the way around the school again to find it (which we did).

After supper we took some time at the playground.

On Saturday morning Dave went golfing so we took a trip to library.  But first, this happened...fresh croissants from Patisserie 27 on Jane.  Delicious!  Arguably the best in the city.

At the library E got stickers for his 6th, 7th, and 8th books read for the book club and he got another leaf for the wall.   The goal is 12 books for the entire summer, so we will try to reach this goal this week!

Spot the fox

There it is!

When Dave got back we drove up to Shelburne, Ontario, to visit my cousins.  They have a golf tournament and dinner (with raffles and silent auction) to raise money for chemo patient care bags in memory of cousin Lynne.  It was chilly up there but we had a nice visit with everyone. 

E's bombing around in the golf cart with the other kids and Q just crawled around.

High class tastes with the Oban scotch

This setting was too picture perfect.  If E had stood still for any amount of time I would have been able to get both of them in a photo.  No filter on this.

Blue Steel

Chowing down on some corn

Lee-Anne, Melanie, and Chris starting the raffle draws.

The next morning we weren't sure what to do with our day, then I opened Twitter and saw OpenStreetsTO was trending so we decided to go down there. Parts of Bloor Street and Yonge Street were closed to vehicle traffic from 10 to 2.  We took the subway down.

Some street meat for the boys

There was a drum display going on by the Royal Conservatory of Music.  

Some lawn games on Bloor.

When we got home E had a friend over.  Q was very interested in what they were up to.

We made some chicken, veggies and dip, and potatoes (care of Jean!) for supper and my dad came back to spend a few nights with us before going home.   We watched King Arthur and Game of Thrones and called it a nigh! 

Summer Lament

Now is the time when everyone is talking about the end of summer (although there is still one more official month of summer) and what they didn't do and how terrible the weather was, etc. etc.  

To begin, I thought the weather was quite pleasant here in Toronto.  It was not super humid but the days were warm and mostly sunny.  Since I spent most of summer off of work, I was outside a lot and walking to do errands, working out in High Park, and trying to get to the playground after supper.  I don't remember every single day, but I do know that my plans were rarely impacted by rain.  I appreciated the lack of extreme heat and humidity (although I do love it when it happens) because it meant easier sleeping for Q (and the rest of us) for both his day naps and at night.  Without central air conditioning, the humidity means an algorithm for windows open/closed, curtains closed, and fans on/off (and positioned correctly).  Last year I remember being very hot in the evenings (and being pregnant, it was even more uncomfortable); this year it was usually a good temperature and we could even have our windows open in the evenings for some breeze.  So to those people that said we had terrible weather, I disagree.

However, because of the lack of extreme heat, it meant we didn't go swimming as much as I would have liked.  I really like going down to the Sunnyside or High Park pools for a dip, especially in the evenings, but we only went once.  It is also more difficult with Q since he goes to bed so early, getting him ready for swimming takes longer, and he can't swim...so we can chalk it up to that.

We also missed out on some biking this year because Q was too small for the bike trailer.  I think he could go in it now, so as soon as we fix my bike tire, then we will go for some family rides.  E is getting really good at riding his bike so I definitely trust him a lot more than I did last year.

Another thing I would have liked to do more, but I will also blame this on Q, is go out to eat more.  Our window of opportunity for dinner out is smaller than it once was (although he is pretty well behaved), but also we didn't want to go out as much.  I was off work and only getting paid EI so our meals out couldn't be as plentiful as we would have liked.

We also missed out on the zoo, Centre Island, the beaches in Toronto, more Blue Jays games (we only went once as a family), Friday baseball evenings in High Park, and the kids street fest in Bloor West Village (we were away).

But we did do a lot of fun things and we especially enjoyed our trip to Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.  We got outside as much as possible, used the BBQ, ate local fruit and vegetables, and simply enjoyed our own company.  I don't really lament the things we didn't do, because we just replaced them with other fun things.  There are many seasons of life, and this one, with a baby, means we just do different things, but we're still having a good time as our family of four.  In years to come, we will be biking all over the city, swimming at the drop of a hat, renting paddle boards and canoes, and patio hopping all weekend.

And like I said, summer is not over.  We have some more visiting to do, E is spending a few days with his grandparents, we have another camping trip, a weekend at someone's cottage, and the local produce is still in full force.  I am not ready to let go of summer yet.

Friday Favourites

I can't believe it's time to link up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favourites again.

On Wednesday, Q and I met E and his friend at the park after camp.  His friend's nanny has been picking them up at 4:00 and taking them to play until I could get there after work.  Since I wasn't working on Wednesday, I could meet them.  Even though they are getting older, they still loved chasing the bubbles around (and so did 2 year old sister).

I'm back at work now so I wrote about my maternity leave yesterday.  I took ten months off and it was glorious.  Thank you Canadian government and my employer. 

I got bored with the last season of The Bachelorette, but I have tuned in again for Bachelor in Paradise.  I like a few of the cast members and I think I will be sufficiently entertained.  

Summer is not over yet.  There is still time to enjoy lots of favourites - peaches, corn, ice cream cones, and iced drinks from Starbucks.  I haven't had a Frappuchino since my birthday, may be time to pick one up again...

That's it for me today.  Enjoy your weekend!

Mat Leave

Although I won't be working full time for another month, the majority of my maternity leave has concluded.  I feel very fortunate that I was able to take such a long time off.  I did a day in the life post of a fairly typical day with Q here.  Of course this was after we had ourselves a bit of a routine of eating and sleeping.   That kind of summed it up - napping, tidying up, going to the gym, running errands, watching some TV, and making food.   I probably read a bit more than I usually do, and I rewatched a few seasons of Mad Men (before it went off Netflix) and I'm still working my way through Downton Abbey.  Here are some highlights of my maternity leave.

Family of Four

Home from the hospital

We did a lot of snuggling at the beginning.  I really cherished the time when I could hold a sleeping baby.

We went for walks up the street.  October was unseasonably warm.

We hosted a birthday party for E.  Q slept in his bouncy chair throughout the whole party.

We tried to recreate some photos that we had done with E

E in 2011

Bundled up to help me rake leaves

Napping in the afternoon

Bundled up to go outside

We spent a week in Jamaica.

Spending extra time with E was also a nice side effect of taking a maternity leave with a second child.  I would pick him up early from school on Mondays and Wednesdays.  He kept going to the YMCA after school care for the other days (since giving up our spot would mean we wouldn't get in of September).

For March Break, E spent the week at home with us.  We went to the AGO and other fun things.

Q and I did swimming lessons in the morning.

We met various people for lunch

We walked E home from school when the weather was fine (and even when it wasn't. We walked in the cold, and the rain).

We went to the baby and mama movies at Humber Cinema.

We spent the first week of summer home with E.

We cheered a successful road trip down east.

We spent a lot of time at the library.