five on friday

{one} I had every intention of recapping the weekend with my mom and then I got lazy and didn't upload the pics.  Monday, I promise!

{two}  I am having an extra extra long weekend since my office is moving this weekend.    Today the kids are going out to Calaway Park with Nana and their aunt and uncle so I have found myself with the afternoon to myself.  I'm using it to run errands and go to Costco.  Yuck.

{three}  Don't feel too bad for me though, I spent the morning at the spa with Stacey and then out for lunch.  It was a nice way to spend a Thursday!

{four}  After the spa, we went to the children's hospital to get Grady's blood taken.  He has been having lots of nosebleeds so the doctor wanted to take his blood and see if he had any deficiencies.  I went in with low expectations and Grady far exceeded them.  No tears, no screaming, no moving.  Just a perfect little patient that scored a huge chocolate bar from me after.

{five}  Back to school next week... Grady and I have been talking lots about who may or may not be in his class for Grade 1.  This lead to him telling me how short the summer was.  It only seems to get shorter as you get older buddy.

Happy long weekend!

Work Wear Challenge - Week 1

This week I started my second challenge with Alison from Get Your Pretty On.  This challenge was a work wear challenge which was right up my alley!  I figured that I would have all the pieces that I needed to do the challenge.  Well, it turned out I was wrong.  The challenge called for 3 collared, button up shirts.  Three!  I have zero.  I didn't think I wanted one until I saw it under the sheath dress.  Now it is on my list to purchase next month when me and the besties head to edmonton for our annual shopping trip.  So you can expect to see a few substitutions.... 

 

My favorite part of the challenge is waiting for the daily email.  I love being told what to wear and then interpreting to match your style.  It really is fun and adds a daily dose of excitement to my evening! 

 

Day 1 .  Solid Blouse + Black Pants + Statement Necklace + Leopard Flats

Of course, the first day of the work wear challenge was my day off, but I really liked how this outfit came together.  Alison showed a orange blouse in her example and that inspired me to go with orange as well.  Looking through my dresser, I realized I have a shortage of bright T-shirts, maybe that will be added to my shopping list to.

 

I love my distressed jeans and am scared that I am running out of time to wear them as they are kind of light.  Can I pull these off in the winter?

 

I also am a sucker for a great statement necklace and I love this one I picked up online for cheap, but it only words with certain outfits.  It is pretty out there after all.  I felt great in this outfit for a trip to the doc for the kids, a play center and a soccer game.  First day success!

 

Day 2.  White Button Down + Sheath Dress + Statement Necklace + Bright Flats

It was this outfit that made me realize I wanted a sheath dress and collared shirt. I love the look and I've never worn it before. This dress has a capped sleeve so doesnt' work for the look, but I will be keeping my eyes open for a grey one and a white shirt.

I do love teal, it is like a neutral to me.  I love the pop of red with the belt and shoes.  I was really pleased with this outfit even though I couldn't match the outfit to a tee.

There you have it, the first 2 outifts!  Tune in next Wednesday to see what next weeks outfits look like and also check out what some of the other ladies in the challenge are wearing!

Shoes to Shiraz | A Lovely Little Wardrobe | R Squared | Confessions of a Frumpy Mommy |

 I like Design Stuff | Positively Learning | Quilty Joy Joy |

Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After | Looks Like Lauren

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

You'd have to be living under a rock to not have seen or  heard of an ALS bucket challenge over the past few weeks. I was nominated by my sister over a week ago and I was too chicken to do it. Who would I nominate? Would they do it? I just donated and didn't do the challenge.

 My mom was here over the weekend and she had been nominated to do it and actually wanted the bucket off ice dropped over her head. She asked the kids if they wanted to do it to and they happily went to get their swim suits on. The result is priceless and has provided me with many smiles. Now I am kind of wishing that I did it to. Here is the video, password is ALS (all caps).

 
Bucket dump from Christy R on Vimeo.

 I was so proud of Grady for just dumping the bucket over his head. His water was warmer than my moms, who I made fill her bucket from the hose, but he did put ice in it! Cooper shyed away from doing it on the video but proceeded to do it 8 times after and insisted on me taking of video of each one. This is the one we did right after he missed doing it in the group one. Again, the password is ALS (all caps).

 
Bucket2 from Christy R on Vimeo.

 I am so proud of my mom and the boys for accepting the challenge. The bucket challenge is raising so much awareness for ALS, which is fantastic, but please consider donating to this great cause and let's find a cure.

What love looks like

Today I am doing a guest post for my BFF over on her blog, shoes to shiraz.  When she asked me to guest post on love my first instinct was no way.  Too deep, too serious, not me.  I took a twist on what love looks like to me and a quote from a favorite movie to wrap it up.  Head over to find out which quote I chose from my favoirte romantic movies.  You may be surprised... or not.

The one where the kids lose everything

This week is camp week!  We decided to put the kids in summer camp this year to help break up the long weeks where the kids just play at home.  I'd be lying if I wasn't a little bit hesitant.  We went with a full day hockey camp for Grady, no brainer.  Then we had to pick one for Cooper the same week, so he ended up in Tumble and Twirl, a gymnastic camp.  Cooper of course wanted to do a sporty camp but alas, there was nothing offered for his age.

This week the kids attended summer camps.  Monday morning, my new day off, we loaded up the 2 kids, the hockey bag, the swim bag (they camp swims to!) 2 back packs, a lunch bag, and Nana, and headed to camp.  Nana would be driving the kids the rest of the week so we thought it was a good idea for her to tag along on the first day.  After seeing how hectic day 1 was, she was likely wondering what she signed her self up for! 

We arrived to a swarm of kids and parents and had to try and get Grady suited up in his hockey gear for his 9am skate time.  Once that was over, we had to high tail it to drop Cooper off at his camp at the other side of the building. I worked up a sweat on drop off that day!

When Marla dropped him off the second morning, she called to tell me that he had lost his neck guard.  There were more expensive things he could have lost.  It baffled me that he could have lost something. Every single item that he brought had his name in bright tape across it.  Certainly it would turn up.

Then Marla picked him up and I get another phone call that he had lost his hockey water bottle.  Again, there were worse things he could lose.

I get home and Jasmin tells me that he lost his lunch water bottle to.

Two days of camp and we are down 3 items.  From the beginning of camp I always said it would be a miracle if we got through the week and didn't lose something.  But, I did think we would make it through the first day!

That night we had a chat with young G about losing things and that he has to be more careful with his things.  His response was classic, 'But mom, I was having fun and isn't that what camp is about?'  Well played buddy, well played.

The next morning, the instructor gave Grady a different neck guard to use since they still couldn't find his.  All is fine and dandy until G comes home and says he saw someone else wearing his neck guard!  This name tag is bright red and I must have put it on the outside of the neck guard.  Grady of course wouldn't ask for it so Marla took it into her own hands the next morning.

She asked Grady which kid it was, and on the second attempt, she got the right kid that was in fact wearing G's neck guard.  She asked the Dad if maybe the one Grady was wearing was his and it was!  So they swapped back.

So just when Grady has almost all his stuff retrieved, Cooper comes home without his hat and water bottle.  When asked where the items were he said 'I lost things to, just like Grady!'. 

Oy, this camp is going to be expensive if they keep up this trend!

Weekend Wrap Up

For a weekend where we had nothing planned, we managed to fill it with lots of fun things.  Saturday morning was Grady's day to choose our activity.  He chose Westside which is the recreation center by our house.  I checked the hours for swimming which is usually what we head there for, but once you pay your entrance fee you can use anything in the facility.

In the past the only other thing we have done is ice or in line skate, but just the other day, Grady started asking about wall climbing.  Apparently, Caillou, the annoying 4 year old bald boy from the cartoon show, went wall climbing and got to 'ride' down.

Let's not forget the Grady is not my risk taking child.  He is timid, cautious, and is the first to suggest that you go first.  So I was doubtful.

We headed to the pool with our runners in tow in case the young lad decided he wanted to give the wall climbing gig a try, and low and behold, he did!

He didn't get to the top the first time, but eventually he got up.  The time  just before this photo, he made it within a meter of the top but wanted to come down.  He had to work up the courage to go all the way.  The instructors were great and while encouraging to keep trying, were respectful of the child's wishes.  When we first arrived the line was about 6 kids along but by the end he could essentially go over and over.  Cooper was very patient but he was ready to go well before Grady.  You need to be 5 to wall climb at that facility.

James took this video before the lady told him no taping is allowed since it is illegal to tape someones voice without their consent.  Seriously?  Password is grady.

climb from Christy R on Vimeo.

Shorty after we returned home, it started to rain.  Like pour.  The kids loved the rain.  At first we watched from the comfort of the garage and then Grady started to run around the yard and eventually started running wildly through puddled accumulating between the houses.  Love this action shot James captured.

We had to gear down in the garage and head straight to the bath to warm up. After playing in the rain you get cold very quickly.  It was great to see the kids squeal in delight and the smiles on their faces were priceless.  That is what being a kid is about after all!

Sunday morning, we started James' birthday with a breakfast you, James' choice!  What a great idea it was.  There is this diner that opened close by, Diner Deluxe, and I highly recommend.  The food was tasty, the service was great, and they have a play area for the kids.  They have a dinner menu as well and we will for sure go back to check it out sometime and request a table closer to the play area!

After breakfast, we did not go caneoing.  I looked into it, but you could only have 3 people in the canoe and I don't feel comfortable going in the canoe with one of the kids by myself.  Although we didn't go this weekend, we will go.  Eventually.  Plus, the weather was iffy this morning, it looked like it could rain at any time.  So.... we headed to the science center to check out the new outdoor Brainasium play area.  To say it was a hit with Grady would be an understatement.  He was crazy for this slide.

Because of the netting to get up the slide, Cooper couldn't do it so James went with Grady the first time.  He went down at least 8 times.

We ended the weekend with birthday supper at Nana's.  Perfect end to a great weekend.  The only thing that couldn't have made this weekend better was the kids sleeping a little later.  That will happen eventually, right?

Five on Friday

{one}  I am doing another fashion challenge with Get Your Pretty On.  We got the shopping list today and I don't thing I have to buy anything!  One item that is featured on the list which I will not be buying is a collared button down.  I will be substituting.  I love how it looks on others, but hate all the work that it takes to keep the shirt looking presentable, aka ironing.  This is a work wear challenge which is perfect for me as a working mom.

{two}  We were supposed to go away this weekend, but alas, plans changed.  It opened up our entire weekend as we hadn't scheduled anything.  I told Grady he could choose what we do tomorrow.  He is still exploring his options.

{three}  James birthday is Sunday, and since we are going to be home, I thought I'd let him choose what we do.  I'm sure he is going to want to go canoeing.  He has been wanting to for weeks and the kids and I are only so-so on the idea. We'll let him win this weekend, it is his birthday after all.

{four}  We went out for dinner last night with some friends and I woke up with a headache.  Oops, I guess I was a little liberal with the wine consumption on a work night.

{five} Thankfully it is Friday which means latte day in my world.  Coffee makes everything better... doesn't it?  Not to mention we have a fun dinner with friends planned for tonight. A great start to the weekend indeed.

Wordless Wednesday

Modern Day Motherhood

I have had this post in my drafts since 2012. Not the whole post, but the idea of discussing how motherhood has changed since I was raised more than 30 years ago and how technology has effected the way we parent.  While I can only guess what it must have been like for my mom to raise kids before the age of technology expanded to what it is today, I know how I feel as a mother raising a young family while surrounded by the pros and cons of having everything literally at our fingertips.

One thing I love about technology is being able to document my kids on the go.  Some of the the best pictures I have of the kids come from my iPhone.  They are spontaneous and unplanned and perfect in documenting what we do on a day to day basis.  They also allow me to take infamous selfies with the kids.  James is not very good at taking pictures of me with the kids so this allows me to be in the family vacation photos!  With this being said, I rarely print photos from my iPhone.  I upload the good ones to the blog (which I print in book form) or they just get stored away on my computer, never to be seen again.

Another thing I've enjoyed is connecting with other moms via blogs.  While I am not an active commenter, I follow multiple bloggers from accross north america that have kids the same age as mine.  I find it so interesting to see how people in different area of the world raise there kids.  I see many similarities and differences in how other moms parent and have enjoyed reading about the daily lives of other woman I relate to.

While the above can be a pro, I've also noticed that most people only post about the good stuff (myself included). No one wants to write about how on road trips their kids throw shoes at their heads when they get mad (Grady does this) or how they had a blow up fight with their husband.  People just don't write that stuff and I can't say I blame them.  Most write about the fun things, the happy things, making their lives seem perfect compared to your own.  It is hard not to compare yourself to what another woman writes about how well behaved her kids are when you feel yours aren't or about how one kid can read and your kid can't. 

I am constantly aware that while I feel that way about other peoples blogs, some may read my blog and feel the same way.  While I am busy writing about our trip to the outdoor pool, I failed to blog that by the end Cooper was screaming and he cried the whole way home and whined for the next 2 hours.  Or how on our road trip to Kelowna, we stopped to pee 3 times in the first hour and the kids were terrible the entire way there.

Personally, I have to work at remembering that all those 'perfect' woman out there have the same frustrating moments that I do and also choose not to blog it.  I hope.

Pinterest also has this same effect.  The amount of cool food you can make, crafts, birthday party ideas are endless.  Do I do any of it, NO!  I like to look at other ideas, but realistically, I am not a pinteresty kind of lady. I stick to pinning fashion and recipes, things I am good at and interested in.  While it is great that some moms enjoy this type of thing, it is not for me and I have accepted that is not the type of mom I am.  And that is O.K

Next, let's tackle facebook. Another method that can bring you down if you are not careful.  Few people post anything other than the best news.   New job, new baby, new husband, perfect day, perfect picture, perfect families.  Like blogging, it is so easy to compare yourself to others and make comparisons.  Now a days, us moms put so much pressure to keep up with what everyone else is doing, especially when it is so readily available to see via social media. 

Let's end on a positive.  I love how I can send a quick text message to one of my fellow mommy friends to ask her how her first day of work is after maternity leave, to wish a friend or her sweet baby a happy birthday.  Sometimes a random text from a friend can make you smile and turn your day around.  Real woman, real life.

While I sit here and try to imagine life without my iPhone, ipad, texting, facebook, blogs etc, I am not sure that I can.  I can not imagine having to pick up the phone every time I want to talk to someone or try to keep in touch.  But with that being said, if I had to pick up the phone to talk to someone, I may not do it as often, maybe I would be more present with my kids and family.

Again, it comes down to moderation.  Being able to put your phone away when it counts.  When you are out with friends, your husband, or your kids.  Even in a time when technology is every where, maybe we need to step back every so often and remember that these luxuries weren't available even 10 years ago.  We are the one of the first set of woman parenting under these circumstances and figuring it out as we go.  Or I am anyway. 

I often wonder how the next generation of moms will differ from us.  I remember the days of no texting and even email.  When I was in high school we wrote paper notes, paper! People even 10 years younger than me probably don't remember a time that they didnt' text or have facebook.  How do you even raise kids in an environment were cyber bullying exists?  It just goes to show I have a lot to learn in the next few years about technology and teenagers.  I hate to say that I am thankful that there was no facebook when I was in high school!  But the hours I logged on the phone was something else!

Before I sign off, I leave you with the 2 posts that prompted me to draft this email 2 years ago.  While I'm sure all of you have seen them before, it just strengthens the argument that moms feel judged and compared to each other all the time. For the record, I support the 2nd article that explains how a mom at the park on her phone is not a bad guy, she is just managing her very busy life and grabbing a few moments to herself while her kids play peacefully.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765622681/Dear-mom-on-the-iPhone-Let-me-tell-you-what-you-dont-see.html?pg=all

http://friedokra4me.blogspot.ca/2013/03/dear-mom-on-iphone-i-get-it.html

There is some food for thought on this Monday morning. How do you feel that technology has made parenting harder or easier in your life?

five on friday

{one}  Last night I completed day 7 of an ab challenge.  It is getting harder, let's just say that.  Given that I find doing a 35sec plank hard right now, not sure how we are going to get all the way to 2.5 min!

{two} Tonight we are going out for dinner to celebrate Jenn and I's belated birthday.  I have the privilege and honor to share my exact birthday with a great friend which means that we get to celebrate together.  For the record, she is older than me:)

{three}  Every Friday morning I start my day with a latte. The rest of the week I just drink office coffee.  The new coffee shop in my building makes a wicked spanish latte.  It is essentially a latte made with part condensed milk.  yummmy.

{Four}  One of my goals recently has been to become more fit.  Yes, I've always exercised, but I want to eat better and build more muscle.  Cardio has always been my thing and I've been making an effort to push my self out of my comfort zone and take some strength classes.  So far I haven't hated it as much as I thought I would.  I'm switching gyms next month when my office moves and they have way more classes than my current gym. I'm really looking forward to seeing what they have to offer.

{five}  Along with the classes, I've been trying to make changes to what I eat.  I've been using My Fitness Pal app to track what I am eating.  It is really useful, and free.  What I've learned from it is that I need to add more protein to my diet.  I've added cottage cheese to my grocery list but if you have any other high protein foods that you would recommend, let me know.

Long Weekend Recap

This was an extra long weekend for me.  I had 5 days off.  A freebie on Friday when the office closed for the day and Tuesday as my regular day off.  It was a little like a stay cation.

Friday I went to a barre class after 2 weeks off and man did my rear end hurt for 2 days.  A good hurt, but still!  A sign I need to get my butt to class a little more often!  From there I went hunting for shoes for the kids (and did a quick walk around of the ladies shoes because why not!).  I think I am going to splurge on a pair of Sketcher go walk shoes so wanted to see what they had to offer.

The afternoon was filled with Calaway fun.  Surprisingly, I didn't take a single photo.  We were there for close to 4 hours and nearly closed down the place.  All in all, a fun start to the weekend.

Saturday we were all geared up for a day in Canmore with our friends from across the street.   We arrived at the Nordic Center to find these signs everywhere.

Let's just say it didn't sit well with the moms.  We were going to do the grassi lake hike but the lady at the information center said there was a bear in the parking lot of the trail head that morning.  We aborted that and decided to do a short hike around the nordic center.  We had done half our hike when we looked at the top of the path we had just walked and saw the above sign.  Oops.  I swear there wasn't one at the bottom.

We hiked for about 2.5 hours which was very surprising.  Cooper needed to be carried for the last 30 minutes.  Dare I say we got lost?  Well, more lost in the paths.  There were so many we had a few wrong turns before we round the right one.

It went way better than I expected and I'd still like to do the grassi lake hike at some point.

Last year we spontaneously ended up at quarry lake for a swim in our underwear.  The kids.  This year we came prepared and brought our suits.

It was perfect timing.  As we walked up it started to spit.  The water cleared out and many people left.  The sprinkle lasted a few minutes and there were way fewer people.  The kids may have stayed there all day if let them completing their sand castle.

Sunday we had a birthday party at a local spray park.  It was a perfect day for it.  Warm but not too hot and slightly overcast.  There was zero shade and I may have melted if it were any hotter!  Not the kids thought, that water was ice cold!

The mom did a great job and planned a mini Olympics for the kids and adults by family.  Grady did great at the wheel barrow races and actually won!

Heritage Day Monday, we spent at Heritage park.  We hit up the ferris wheel first while the line was moderately short.  While the kids get to go there on a regular basis with Nana, this was James and I first trip of the season.

For those of you that have been reading for a bit, you know we had our reception at Heritage Park and get an annual shot when we go.  Grady was melting down as we walked by so James promised me we would make another trip in the fall.  I will hold him to it!

The kids are getting much braver on the rides and have started going on the Caterpillar ride this year and Grady tried the swings with me this weekend.  I can't wait until they get a little more adventurous on the rides.  I am probably going to regret that I said that.

We finished off my 5 day weekend with a trip to an outdoor pool that I really had no idea existed.  Apparently there are seven outdoor pools in the city.  It was a great afternoon spent with a friend and her baby who I didn't really get to talk to because she was busy feeding the baby and I was busy making sure my 2 kids didn't drown.

We chose the mount pleasant pool because some of the other shallow pools weren't working.  This one had a mini slide in the super shallow end and a big slide in the deep end that Grady decided to go down without a life jacket multiple times.  When did my baby boy lose his fear of the water?

My big kid loved the pool and could have stayed all afternoon.  My younger boy wanted to wear his water wings in the deep end and that wasn't allowed for some silly reason.  I was that mom that got approached by the life guard multiple times because I was breaking all their silly pool rules like no water wings and no flutter boards in the deep end...

I have no doubt that we will return to one of the outdoor pools again this summer.  A huge success.  And I forgot to mention how warm the water was.  Like I just jumped in and wasn't cold.  Getting out was another story.

I finished my extra extra long weekend with a barre class.  The exact same way it started.  Today, it is back to work!

Kelowna - Things to do outside the pool.

While we obviously loved spending time at the pool, there is so much more to do in Kelowna.  Even when the weather wasn't great for a few days I had a list of indoor/non pool activities to keep us going.

This was actually on the way to Kelowna.  We've been going to the enchanted forest every year on our way, but this is the first year we discovered that you can go on a nature walk with a boat ride!  I think this may be one of my favorite moments of the trip.  Cooper was terrified but persevered on my lap.

On our Vernon excursion, we went to Davison Orchards.  Such a quaint little place with a cafe, fruit and veggies, 2 play areas and a tractor ride.  It is a must see if you are in the area.

The kids got goofy while we were waiting for the tractor ride to start.

After the orchard in Vernon we stopped by a family friends place and the boys were lucky enough to get to go our on the Seadoos.  All the boys, including the big one, loved it.  Cooper was a speed demon while Grady cried at first.  It is really coming through that one is more cautious than the other :)  James said this was his favorite part of the trip.

We also played a round of mini golf.  This course had the option of regular mini golf and a golf green course where is it like actual putting greens.  We tried the putting green one and in the future we will go with the traditional version.  All Grady wanted was a hole in one and this course was substantially harder than he was used to leading to some frustrations.

We rented a pontoon boat for an hour one morning. Neither James nor I drives a boat and this one came with our very own driver, Ron.  Since it was a quiet morning on the lake, each of the kids got a chance to be the captain.  I was worried they would think it was boring but it turned out to be a real hit.

We had one day where it rained most of the day.  I found an indoor play center that was 5 min from our condo.  The kids loved it.  Went in and came out 2 hours later.  I brought my book and read while they played.  It was heavenly!

The afternoon of our rainy day, after the play center, we headed to the movies where we saw Planes 2.  Although the reviews were terrible apparently, both James and I liked it better than the first one.  Ironically it was all about forest fires and almost cancelled our place in West Kelowna as the forest fires were raging in the days leading up to our vacation.

Grady also specifically asked to go to McDonald's.  It was our last day and we knew we must squeeze it in and that we would never hear the end of it if we didn't go.  The play center there is pretty cool though so I can't say I blame him.

We also went to a Kelowna Falcons baseball game. I thought it was so cute that Grady insisted on bringing his ball glove.  The kids were interested for about 15 minutes and then they started goofing around.  It was the last night and we were all tired so we did not stay long but it as a great experience.

All in all is was a perfect little family vacation.  The only thing that could have made it better for me was to tack on an extra week and add some extra sunshine.  It is safe to say that Kelowna will see us again next year.  Even the kids are talking about it already.  I'll leave you with the family selfie taken at the ball game.

 

If you are looking for a place for a family vacation, Kelowna is a great spot!