Pinspired

Today I'm linking up with Sheaffer at Pinterest Told Me To to recreate an outfit inspired by Pinterest.  I actually hadn't been on Pinterest in ages but started peeking around to see what inspired me.  

At first I started searching randomly and then I decided to get a little more targeted.  I bought a cream blazer at H&M a week or so again and while I love it and think I will get lots of use out of it, I wasn't exactly sure how to wear it.  So I took to pinterest for some ideas.

This first look was a definite win.   I like the distressed jean with the blazer.  I would never have thought to just throw it over black. I am not good at mixing neutrals.  While I could have worn any color and type of shoe with the outfit, I opted to stick neutral and wear my nude pumps.  I can see myself wearing this outfit often.

I can't say this next one was a winner.

I was drawn to this picture because of the leather pants.  I have a pair and am always looking for other ways to wear them.  I also love the blazer in the picture.   And while my blazer isn't the same fit, I thought I'd give it a try.  I don't so much mind the outfit, but I am all about wearing a longer shirt with leggings.  While she pulled it off great in the photo, I didn't so much.  I would wear this outfit by swapping out the leather leggings for a simple black pant.

While I was on pinterest I saw the below pic that would be a perfect use for my military jacket I purchased in the fall.

I was too lazy to grab shoes from downstairs, but it I were to add shoes I would wear my brown booties.  I love the simplicity of this outfit.  Jeans, a white tee, and a jacket.  Super comfy and classic.  I also tried it with a bright spring scarf I picked up at Superstore over the weekend.  To be honest.  I like it without better.

I really enjoyed re-creating the outfit using pieces I already had.  It is a great way to expand your wardrobe choices without spending a penny!

Wordless Wednesday - Traitor

Movies

James was out last night and after I put the kids to bed I sat down for my nightly dose of TV.   There was nothing on the PVR so I looked through Shaw on Demand.  I couldn't decide what I wanted to watch.  I wanted something that I'd seen before because I had a few things to do while I watched, but at the same time I wanted to enjoy it.

I browsed through the movies and I had it narrowed down to Can't Buy me Love and Defiantly, Maybe.  You have to remember Can't Buy me Love, the one where a nerd makes an arrangement with the popular girl to pretend to date him.  One of my favorites from back in the day. Not to mention Patrick Dempsey is in it.

Definitely, Maybe was a less popular one but super cute where he is telling his daughter about how he met and fell in love with her mother while in the midst of a divorce.  Truthfully, I couldn't remember what it was about so I had to google it, but I did remember that I really liked it and that Isla Fisher was in it.

While I was flipping around trying to find either one of them in the long long list of movies, I stumbled across Pretty Woman, one of my favorites of all time, and the answer to which movie I was going to watch was an obvious one.

I love the movie.  It is right up there with Dirty Dancing, what I would deem my favorite movie ever.  I watched it over Christmas this year.....

Pretty Woman was released in 1990, I was 11.  If that doesn't make you feel old, I don't know what does!  That was over 20 years ago.  I watched the movie all. the. time.  I knew all the words.  I still do.  There is something about watching a movie from your childhood that feels good.  It brings back memories and I enjoyed the whole thing.  For the 30th time.  

Not to mention the music.  LOVE the music.  I had the soundtrack and sang along with all the songs as they came on.  Music is so powerful with the brain and the memories it brings back.

Some of the other movies I've loved over the years and could watch over and over are Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Girls Just want to have fun, Love Actually, Adventures in Babysitting, Ghost, and the list goes on.... What are your favorite movies of all time?

Reading

On Wednesday night I had a meeting at school about reading for Grady.  It was for all Kindergarten parents and was supposed to help us with helping our kids to read.  I wasn't really all that interested in going.  James had other commitments and Grady had hockey.  For me to go to the meeting I had to arrange for Nana and uncle Dave to bring Grady to hockey and get his equipment on.  Not to mention I really enjoy watching Grady play and seeing his excitement as he gets off the ice. 

BUT, this was a meeting related to his education, so I put on my big girl pants and went to the school while my family broke apart and went in other directions. After the meeting I was glad that I went.

The meeting was essentially a kick off to the school reading program.  Starting next week, Grady will be coming home with a book that we are supposed to read together each night and that he may read to a volunteer in the class room on the day they bring there books back.

I'm not sure why, but this whole reading thing terrifies me.  I am no teacher.  I lose patience. I get frustrated.  I worry about failure.  I pressure myself to not do all the other items mentioned.  I worry that I don't have the skills to teach him to be the best reader he can be.  I know that a large part of learning happens at home, but it scares me to pieces to think that I will not be able to teach him what he needs to learn.

The things like reading and writing, the essential skills, are the ones that are scary to me as it is so important that he master these skills at some point.  I am looking forward to helping him with his math homework in the future.  I know and understand math.  I do not know how to teach a kid to read.  Something that now is so basic is something I don't remember learning.

The idea of potentially forcing Grady to sit down and read every night seems like such a daunting process and that it will be met with a fight.  He seems to listen so well to others but when it comes to listening to his Mama, it doesn't seem to come as easily.

As the meeting went on I became less intimidated by the whole process.   They explained that at this stage we shouldn't be spending much more than 5 minutes on the book.  The first book we may only look at the pictures and talk about what the book may be about. The second night, I may read it to him, and finally on the third or fourth night after he has heard the story a few times it will be his turn.

The meeting gave several strategies to get the kids reading and surprisingly sounding it out was not the top one. I was surprised that looking at the picture for guidance was a favorite and using the first letter sound.  They reminded us that using a reading finger is great and memorizing the story isn't a bad thing.  We took home a handout that I will post on my fridge to remind me of the ways I can help my little reader.

One of the big take aways I got is that you need to make your child feel like they are a reader.  She said that some kids in the class say they can't read and that the most important thing is getting rid of that attitude.  Our kids are already 'reading' by learning the sounds that letters make and by recognizing their name or other words.  They ARE readers.  I know that Grady would be one of the kids that would tell you he couldn't read so my number one priority is making sure he understands that he is a reader and in building his confidence.

That very night he picked a valentine book to read and it was the perfect book to read as there were flaps with a picture on it and the word underneath.  I encouraged him to read the word under the flap he started by sounding out the first letter and I encouraged him to look at the pictures and he got the word.  I cheered and told him he read it.  He was all smiles.  While he may have looked at the picture to help him with the word, I had a chance to build his confidence and start him down the path to enjoying reading.

Not only did I encourage him, he encouraged me and built my confidence.  As scared as I was to start the process of teaching him to read, I realized after one short little session that maybe it won't be as dreadful as I first imagined.  Maybe, just maybe, I can do this. 

Wish me luck!

Family Day Weekend

We kicked off our family day weekend and Valentine's day with haircuts for the kids. James and I have started celebrating Valentine's day the night before valentines day to avoid the crowds. We don't do gifts, just a fancy dinner with wine. The kids chose red for the color in their hair.  For Valentine's day if you ask me, for team Canada if you ask them.


Has anyone else's kids enjoyed watching the Olympics?  My kids have learned so much about different sports and are happy to watch whatever sport it on, especially hockey of course.  I came home from work one day and Grady told me who won the woman's hockey game and what the score was.  Crazy!
After haircuts, we strolled over to Starbucks for cake pops.   A valentine treat.  We don't give the kids chocolate for valentines day yet.  They get and eat enough treats how it is.  Instead this year the kids got some second hand mini sticks and nets I found on Kijiji.  The kids were happy enough to get those.

Of course we played lots of hockey with the new nets and sticks. 

Saturday Grady's soccer was cancelled but Cooper still had his sports class.  Grady and I headed out to run a few errands and met up with James and Cooper to watch the end of class.

I spent the afternoon getting groceries and cooking a nice meal for us.  My friend Serena is a great cook and she was telling us about these great recipes.  They sounded so delish I couldn't wait to try them.

Saturday night we had these dishes with a crusted Basa fish from Safeway, the above photo was taken as I devoured the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Here are the recipes, roasted sweet potato and pear dish and kale and apple salad.  I actually made the salad dressing for the salad and it was super easy.  All I needed to buy that I didn't already have was the poppy seeds and the cidar vinegar.  I think the Kale salad will be a weekly staple at our house.  I loved the sweet potato and pear dish but James isn't a big sweet potato guy.  So while I loved it... I need someone to eat it with me!  If you are coming to our house for supper anytime soon I may just swerve you these 2 dishes!

Sunday morning I headed to my Barre Class with Gina and I loved it again.  I think this may be my weekly routine!  I rushed home to eat lunch and shower before Grady's first skating lesson of the session.  From there it was onto burgers at Nana's.... Yummy!  There is nothing like a BBQ'ed burger in the winter!

Finally on Family Day we spent the morning at the outdoor rink skating with our neighbors.  I'd like to say that it was fun, but Cooper cried and off and on the whole time.  He really wanted to keep up with the big boys but he can't skate that fast.  With that being said, the kid is improving daily.  He is on the ice at least once a week and it is amazing the progress he is making.  Grady didn't even skate at his age!

After skating, we decorated some signs and headed to the hitmen game. 

This was our second game and last afternoon game of the season. The kids had a blast. I was kind of bored, but I live in a house of 3 guys, I better get used to watching hockey!

It was different this time as they love hockey so much this time so they watched the game and were interested.  They started getting a little wild half way into the 3rd period.  Can't say I blame them as it is a long time to watch hockey for little guys.  The hitmen won 7-1 so the kids had plenty of opportunities to cheer.  And believe it or not, Grady was the one dancing this time!

Password:  goal

Hitmen from Christy R on Vimeo.

We had 4 big signs saying Go Hitmen Go and the logo above, hoping to get on the jumbotron, but we didn't.  Started to wonder if the cameras actually go as high as we are sitting.  Maybe next time.

Overall it truly was a family filled weekend.  The only time we spent apart was when I went to the exercise class.  It was filled with togetherness.  Sometimes good and sometimes not, but filled with memories non the less!

Little Red Riding Hood

Do you know the story of the Little Red Riding Hood? I sure didn't.

We've been going to the loose moose theater for kids this winter and the kids have been loving it (the the adults to!).  This past weekend we were scheduled to see Little Red Riding Hood.  I wasn't sure how familiar the kids were with the story so we consulted You Tube for a little reminder.

We pulled up one that had been viewed the most and started to watch.  To my horror, the big bad wolf ate Grandma AND Little Red Riding Hood.  Then a hunter comes by and cuts out Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood unharmed.  Then they fill the wolf's stomach up with rocks to teach him a lesson.

I turned to James and said we got a bad version of the story and thought nothing of it.

We show up to the theater on Sunday afternoon and we were given our front row tickets. You don't actually know where the seats will be until you arrive.  We sat down right in the front and Cooper kept telling me we were too close!

The play started, and low and behold, the wolf ate little red riding hood.  In this version, Grandma cuts her out and they fill the wolf's belly with rocks.  I could not believe that this was actually the ending.  Apparently, i did not remember the ending to this child hood classic!

Despite the somewhat gory ending, the play was fantastic as usual.  Such a great little find if you live in the area!

Oh- and Happy Valentine's Day!

Another Look at Fitness Classes

Today we are going to chat a little bit about fitness again.  While I don't talk about exercise often or ever on the blog, it is a huge part of my weekly routine.  As I discussed a few weeks back, I am very new to fitness classes.  I did my very first fitness class just over a month ago.  And a month to the day, I did my first barre class.  Let me tell you how that came to be.

While on vacation I did some circuit training classes.  I loved working my neglected abs.  Can I tell you a secret, I never did sit ups.  Ever.  Unless they made me do them in gym class.  I loved the upper body work out I got from doing the class as I never ever work on my arms.  While I could run a 5k without batting an eye, I was weak.  I wanted to change that.

When I got back from vacation I continued with the free classes.  They are scheduled to end in February and I wanted to find something I could continue to do past February in the event that they do not continue the classes (which I am praying they do!).  The butts and gutts instructor told us about a studio that was opening just a few neighborhoods away, The Sweat Lab.  It offers yoga, spin, and barre, all classes I had never done.  

I started to research barre which one of my friends did and I knew she loved it.  I found a perfect description here:

what do you do in a barre fitness class?

Every Barre Fitness™ class is fun and empowering class set to today’s hottest music. Classes begin with a warm up focusing on postural strength and alignment, followed by a series of upper body exercises using light weights. The ballet barre is used to sculpt the lower body, abs and for flexibility training. Then it is down to the mat with a fitball for core work and a relaxing and invigorating final stretch.

I liked the idea that the Sweat Lab was less than 10 minutes from my house and I decided that barre interested me the most out of the three options.  I decided I was going to try a class.  I sat on it for a week before I called to get more info.  Then I sat a few days before finally registering and paying online. 

I paid, I had to go.

This past Sunday was the big day.  I put on tight lulu yoga pants and black tank and hoped that I'd fit in.  I was nervous.  I paced that morning wondering what it would be like, who would be there, and would I be the worst in the class.  James didn't get it and thought I was crazy for being so nervous.

But I did it.

I arrived the recommended 15 minutes before where I found out the class was wait listed. Great, it is a full house for my first class ever.

I walked into the class and felt alone.  Most people were there with someone and were chit chatting with a friend.  I was friendless.  I noticed the girl beside me was alone so I initiated chatting with her.  She had done one other barre class a year ago and this was the first time at this studio.

I looked around and took note of a few things.  Everyone was about my age.  I expected this since it is in a family neighborhood.  Most were in lululemon nice outfits.  Myself included, I hope.  Many were in full makeup, which I found odd, I had no makeup on and had not yet showered.  

I thought everyone was going to be so good.  Everyone seemed to look the part.

The class started and it was exactly as described above.  A warm up, upper body weights, barre work, abs, stretch.  It kicked my @ass.  In a good way.

There was no cardio, yet I was dripping in sweat.  Even the tips of my hair were wet from hitting my wet shoulders.  i just couldn't beleive how much of a work out it was.  My muscles were shaking in the class while I tried to work muscles I never knew existed. 

I was not the worst, but I was far from the best.  The instructor made is look so graceful and easy.  Not to mention I would have killed for her cute workout outfit, complete with leg warmers.  Which I am now looking for by the way.  They were super cute, and oh so 80s.

I was not loving it during, but I loved how I felt empowered after.  I finished!  I came home and bought a punch card online and booked a class for next Sunday morning. 

Here's to making positive fitness changes and having the courage to try something new.  I love that I love exercising again.  

Winter Essentials

Anyone else feel like this winter is going on and on and on?  I certainly do.  Nothing like  brightening it up with a little chit chat on fun winter gear.  If it needs to be cold out we may as look cute trying to stay warm, non?  Check out my post on Deena's blog for a little look into what is keeping me warm this winter.

How we are keeping busy

On a typical evening, afternoon, and even some mornings before school, you will find us in the basement playing mini sticks.



Look closely, I am wearing the fur vest.  See , it even works for a game of hockey with the kids!

We have a great set up in our basement. The boys received a fort building set from Grandma for xmas and promptly used it to build 2 nets. James taped a rink on the floor with a center line and circle for the puck dropping. We already had mini sticks given to James as a gift before we had kids. So with all that already handy, we were set to play.

 

While you may think that it is Grady who always want to play, I would go as far as to say that Cooper asks just as much if not more than Grady. Almost every morning before work one of the kids asks to play hockey. Mommy doesnt' play hockey in her work clothes. While I often try to convince them to be the crowd cheering or the referee, I sometimes put on my helmet and get into the game. That is what being a mom to boys is all about, learning to do things that you didn't have to do growing up. In my case, I had a brother equally obsessed with hockey so we were known to have the odd mini stick game around our house.

 

Another thing the boys are recently into are hockey sticker books. Another thing I am familiar with from my childhood as my brother had them. You know the ones.... you buy a pack of stickers and each sticker has a number on the back and you match it in the book. I bought the book before our trip and then couldn't find any stickers for them. Sold out everywhere in the city that I checked. Then go figure, they had so so many at the sports store in Maui. We planned to go back on the way to the airport but with being late and all we decided against it.

 

I was at Walmart shortly after we got back and checked like I always did for the stickers and they had almost a full box. I bought 20 packs. Not to give all at once but when they ask if I can pick some up on the way home from work I say sure. The way they are going through them I am wishing I bought more! AT $1 a pack it is very easy entertainment and the kids are working on numbers at the same time. Kind of.

All in all, the kids are still full force into hockey and I don't mind it all that much as it gets them away from the TV and they burn some energy. Win, win really.



Tuesday 'Off'

Yesterday was my day off for the week to spend time with the kids and get things done around the house.  This week I had a self-inflicted busy day and before I knew it I was exhausted and wondering why I ever thought cramming this much into one day was a good idea.....

My day started at 7am when the kids crawled into bed with us.  A nice late-ish start to the day.  I had my coffee and took my time getting ready for my day of volunteering at the school.  Apparently I took too much time as Grady and I were racing out the door at 8:55.  We ran the whole way.  Despite the bitterly cold day, Grady and I did not get cold on our walk.

I spent the morning with 20 kindergartners and actually enjoyed myself.  It was library day which I had never seen and Grady was the special helper today.  He got to be the first in line for library and got to wash the tables after snack.  Lucky him.  It was a nice morning.

Because I was at the school already, I arranged with one of the mom's to have a play date in which I would bring her son home after school.  It sounded like a good idea when I planned it but it also meant no break between volunteering and play date.  We walked home with our neighbor and he ended up joining the 'fun'.  Me, three 5 year olds, and a 3 year old.  Insert panic.

All in all, the kids played really nicely.  They played hockey for near an hour, had lunch, and a snack.  Cooper is generally my problem on these plays because he tries to hard to keep up with the big kids and sometimes he is just left in the dust.  He gets upset and often cries. Poor guy.....

I ended up driving his friend home at 315 and drove directly to art class for 345.  Again, no break between play and art.  Thankfully my friend Susan, whose son is in the same art class, invited us over for a short visit.  And I mean short.  We barely have time to take our jackets off and catch up on our day and it is time to load up to pick up the kids again. Not to mention for 2 weeks in a row, one kid cried most of the time and the other one never wants to leave.  Its a great time of day to irritate the kids :)

From art class I hurried home to cook dinner for the kids and head out for supper with some girlfriends.  While I usually wouldn't schedule a supper on a day like yesterday, we only meet about once a year and that was the night that worked best for everyone.  So... I just went with it.

In the end it turned out to be a good thing.  I was tired and needed to relax, and what better way to do that than with old friends and margaritas.

Somehow, the day left me feeling that I needed a day off from my day off....

Package

While we were away a little pink package arrived on my doorstep containing the faux fur vest I talked about before I left.  Technically, it arrived at the post office and I had to go and pick it up. Whatevs.

On first inspection and try on, I wasn't sure about it. I'd never tried on furry vest and I didn't really know what to wear with it.  My fashion motto is to only have one 'out there' item so I don't feel overwhelmed, so I was looking for a neutral outfit.  I considered wearing with my leather pants but decided they were still an 'out there' item.  For me anyway.

I vowed that I would wear the vest to work on my first day back no matter what.  So I did.

Vest:  Goodnight Macaroon

Blouse:  Zara

Pants: R&W

Booties: Nine West

I just realized while writing about the booties that my booties must have moved out of the 'out there' category as I wore them with the vest.  I know it makes no sense others, but it does to me.  Ha!

Anyhoo... I opted for maroon pants and a black blouse.  Since I wasn't sure how comfortable I would be in it I wanted to keep it low key and blend it in a bit.  I was somewhat happy with the outfit.

The next day, I was headed to Susan's for a quick played, and since she was one of the forces behind me buying the vest, I thought I should wear it over.

When I picked the vest up to put it on I noticed some elastic poking out the inside of the vest.  On closer inspection, you were supposed to cinch the vest yourself.  Like you would the waist of a jacket.  OMG, when I did this, I liked is SO much better.  It changed the whole shape of the vest.

Vest:  Goodnight Macaroon

Shirt: The Bay (Buffalo)

Tank: Target (long and lean by Mossimo, you need one of these for layering. I have 4)

Leggings: Hue

I loved how this outfit turned out and have no regrets about the vest.  I didn't even put it away after the last time I wore it because I know I will wear it again soon.  I think I like it more with the casual look, but I will give it one more attempt at work before I declare it a non work item. 

Here is a photo of the back after I cinched it.

I still can't believe I missed this the first time I wore it. One of the things I loved about the vest and why I bought it in the first place was because the back was so cute. It just didn't look right when I first looked at it but I totally missed the elastics inside. Now it looks exactly as it should and I am happy.