This is 39

Yesterday was my 39th

I thought I would care about the number that continues to get higher every year. 

I don’t.  

I thought I would care about the wrinkles that show around my eyes when I laugh. 

I don’t. 

I thought I would care about the grey hair that has finally forced me to dye it again after a decade of au natural.  

I don’t.  

I’m really starting to understand that each year we get is a gift.  I am grateful for another year of memories.  Another year of laughs.  Another year of tears.  

This year it was the little things that made the day special.  Grady made me a homemade card without being told it was my birthday.   Two friends dropped off gifts unexpectedly.   James surprised me withta birthday cake.  To top it off, I ended the day with a glass of wine with my newest friend that just happens to live next door.  

Sometimes when you expect the day to just be ordinary it can turn out to be pretty extraordinary.  

Here’s to my last year in the 30s! Let’s finish off this decade with a bang!

Five on Friday

{one} A speeding ticket arrived in the mail this week.  I automatically assume it was James.  We went through a large period of time where they were coming faster then he could pay them.  Well, almost.  I would display them on our fridge as a reminder until he paid them and it would be a topic of conversation when we had company over.  Then, earlier this spring I got one.  A big one.  In a construction zone where the fine is double.  I paid it immediately and pretended it never happened.  When this new one arrived I was sure it was James, I've been trying so hard to obey all speed limits.  I opened the envelope hoping to see James car, but it was the van.  We both drive the van so I had to look at the my calendar to see what we were doing that day.  It was my ticket, going 50km/hr, in a school zone.  In my defence it was in an area I had never been.  Personally, I would prefer to shop my money away.

{two}Have I mentioned my friend and I recently broke up with our trainer?  WE have been training with the same guy for just over 2 years.  My workout partner just moved and wanted to drop training to buy a new car.  I was ready to be done.  I didn't love it anymore and it is a pretty expensive hour when you weren't sure you wanted to be there.  He didn't take it well.  He told us that he wasn't surprised, we didn't pay attention and that we were wasting our money.  Say what?  I was so hurt.  I considered this guy my friend and though I suspect he was acting this way because we took by surprise, he didn't ever apologize and that hurts.  We have been stuck with him for 2 months while use our remaining sessions.  It's a long story.  If I didn't like going before, I certainly don't like going now!

{three} Truth, I don't love that the kids are out of school.  While I know they love it, I worry they suffer from extreme brain drain while I am at work.  They get way to much screen time and I am constantly looking for something to get them out of the house or for friend to come over and play.  Part of the problem is that our nanny doesn't drive which means they have to stay close to home.  You can only spend so much time at the same park every day.... I much prefer the school year routine where I don't have to worry about what they are doing the hours I am at work.  We've put them in 2 camps and have 2 weeks vacation but that still leaves several weeks to fill....

{four}Our deck reno was money well spent.  We have a walk out basement and a high deck that until this summer didn't have stairs.  It was hard to use the deck because if the kids called from the backyard or the field out back you had to leave the deck, go through the house, down to the basement and out the back.  Now, those stairs are used constantly and the deck is my fave place to be.  Not a cheap project but so so worth it!  

{five}I'm suffering from a severe case of vacation envy. Ever since July long weekend when my instagram feed became filled with pictures of people on boats, in the mountains, and other exotic places, I've seriously wanted to skip town.  July is super busy at work so not only can I not take any days off, I also have to work my Mondays off.  I can't wait to hop on a plane Saturday to visit a bunch of VIP people in my life! 

Watch out SK, here we come!

Ready to Swim

A mere 4 months ago I shared my thoughts on shopping for swim suits.  Not my favorite activity, nor yours I imagine.  In that post I talked about Cupshe and how I wanted to order from them but I was too chicken to pull the trigger.  Deena  has ordered suits with success, so has my sister, but when I actually got to see my friend's suit in person in Penticiton I was sold!   Every day she came strutting out with a new super cute swim suit and each and every one was from Cupshe.  Less than a week later I had 4 suits headed my way.

It took less than 2 weeks for them to arrive all the way from China.  I immediately tried them on and all four fit!  For size reference I am 5'2 and wear a size 6 or 8 and I ordered all in medium.

This is the one that I wanted really bad.  I love the pattern mixing and the side holes on the bottoms.  I always look for the little details that make it unique.  I was a tad concerned about my fat pouring out of the holes but I risked it anyway.  Ironically, I liked this one the least out of the 4 suits.  I felt like the bottom of the whole hit my at a spot where I got a little over hang.  I will still wear it but it wasn't my fave like I expected it to be.

I have always wanted to try a high waisted bikini.  It is the area just over my belly button that I am self conscious about and this covers it while still showing a little midriff.  My girlfriend suggested that I get high waisted bottoms with some rouching to not only camouflage any bumps but to also add interest.  She was 100% right.  This was the last addition to my cart and also my favorite of the 4.  I must admit that it was a little complicated to get tied in the back.  It is a 2 man job.

When we were on one of our away hockey tournaments this past season one of the Moms had a very similar suit on and it looked fantastic on her!  When I saw this similar one in grey it was an easy choice!

Finally, the fourth choice is this sport looking one with a zipper up the back.  The only issue I have with this one is that it is white.  Not because it is see through but because the sunscreen turns yellow on it.  I won't be able to wear the spray on these days, will have to resort to lotion.

I love, love, LOVE these suits.  There are trendy and cute while still providing coverage.  I've learned that when love your outfit you feel so much better about yourself.  I'm hoping to rock some beaches and pools on my upcoming summer vacations.

I forgot to mention the best part... each suit was $32 or less.  I got all 4 suits for about $100 USD.  That's a steal compared to the 2 I got earlier this season for $150 and truthfully, I like these better!

If you are in the market for a new suit, don't be scared like I was to take a risk on Cupshe.  I wish I would have done it sooner!

Finishing First Grade

Now its time to talk about Cooper.

Cooper has been ready for full day school for so long.  I think it is a second kid thing.  The wait was finally over and Cooper made his way to the classroom for full days this fall and hasn't looked back.

Waiting until Cooper was 5 to start kinder was the best decision for him.

On the first day of Cooper's third year of preschool as he watched his friends leave for kindergarten Cooper cried and didn't want to go.  I stood there as a parent wondering if we made the right decision, should we have just sent him at 4 years old?  You see, Cooper is a November baby and we decided to wait an extra year and have him start at 5.  I'm not going to lie, that last year of preschool was tough, he was so ready for school but in the end we wanted him to be the oldest in his class and not the youngest.  I'm so glad that we waited because it was worth it to see him excelling in the classroom.

Cooper had a great teacher.

I can confidently say she is the best teacher either of my kids have ever had.  After a year of a not so great teacher for Kinder I was so hopeful for him to get a better one for first grade where so much learning takes place, and our prayers were answered.  I knew Ms. P was a great teacher from the moment we met her a few weeks into school.  She already knew Cooper and the kind of kid that he was.  I was so impressed and only became more so as the year went on.  The last week of school I sent her an email telling her how she had contributed to such a successful year not only for Cooper but for the whole class and I cc'ed the principal.  I've never done this. I hope every child is as lucky to have a teacher as exceptional as her.  Fingers crossed she moves to grade 2 next year and takes Cooper with her. #dontholdyourbreath

Cooper has already established some great friendships.

Cooper is surrounded by girls at school.  There are only 7 boys in a class of 24 students so were so happy that 2 of his buddies were in his class.  The teacher assured us that while they can be silly in class she only has to give them a look and they get back in line, which often means finding a new place to sit!  I'd love to see these boys together again next year but being separated will force Cooper to make some new friends which isn't necessarily a bad thing as we learned this year with Grady.

Cooper is a leader in the classroom.

Ms. P told us that if she wants to make sure a job is done she asks Cooper. There is a large range of maturity levels in grade one given that there can be a year difference in age and at 6 and 7 that can be huge!  Cooper was allocated a bathroom buddy that he has to accompany to the facilities because one time the boy put soap in his hair and was no longer allowed to go solo.  Poor Cooper.

Cooper is excelling academically.

Cooper's report card is full of great marks and comments that show he is so ready for Grade 2.  At this point he loves math and want to read chapter books very badly.  He doesn't want to miss any school and really enjoys his classroom.  His eagerness to learn somewhat surprised me.  He seems to be my more laid back child but when it comes to school he is all in.  Having an older sibling plays into this because he always wants to keep up with the big kids.

This was a great year for Cooper and I was sad to see it end.  Great teacher, great friends... what else could a parent ask for??

Finishing Fourth Grade

Before the end of school is a distant memory, I really wanted to document Grady's first year at his new school and remember how proud I am of him for a job well done.

Can you spot Grady? 

Grady is my anxious kid.

He comes by it honestly as I suffer with anxiety myself.  So I get it and tend to protect him a little and always try to see things from his perspective.  We didn't make the decision to change him schools lightly.  He was excelling at his old school and had a great group of friends.  This past year was a transition year in our neighborhood as a new school opened near by and half of his classmates would be changing school anyway.  It was a good year for him to change as well.

He still misses his BFF.

He was lucky that one of his best friends was also changing to the same school as him.  This was instrumental in our final decision given his shyness in making new friends and handling change.  Despite this, he still talks about missing his BFF who stayed at his old school.  Thankfully we see him often and with their new independence of being 10 and old enough to bike solo he shows up on our doorstep often, which I love.

The transition was seamless.

We didn't hear a single complaint. There were 4 grade 4 classrooms divided into 2 pods.  While his friend wasn't in his homeroom, they were in the same pod which means that they did all their field trips together.  While I really hoped for them to be together, it was almost a blessing to have them separated as Grady was forced to expand his social network within a group of 25 kids he didn't know.

He made so many new friends.

It was a slow start but over the course of the year he found his people.  By the end of the year there were 4 of them in the classroom that stuck together.  I hear about them often and he has had a few play dates with the boys outside the classroom.  We are fortunate that the kids he clicked with live close by since kids come from all over the city to go to the school.  I'm sad to see the school year end and to see the boys separated. However, they do ask them their top 3 choices of friends the like to see so I am optimistic that he will have at least one of these friends in his class.

Academically speaking I've seen a jump in accountability and responsibility.

I'm not sure if it is the school or the age but I've noticed a huge difference in the accountability Grady takes for getting his homework done and his permission slips signed.  I don't (for the most part) have to chase him down as he knows what he needs to get done and initiates it himself.  Most times it is right at bed time.....  He needs to work on the timing.

I've also noticed that they have transitioned from learning for 'fun' and learning to 'learn'.  The structure they have reminds me of junior high.  They have lots of tests with marking and are learning in a more targeted way.  In the past it seemed like the subjects all ran together and there wasn't a clear science/math/social studies but rather a mix of all of the.  Again, this may be age and not school but I love seeing that he is thriving in this environment. I believe just from what I've seen in the first year that they are building great habits that will follow them through the rest of their many schooling years.

Grade 4 was a success!

After a year at the new school I can see us staying there until grade 9 when he will transfer back to the local high school.  I love the unique opportunity he has had this year and I am so happy we took a risk because the benefit has been huge.

Second Annual Camping Trip

We just got back from a great weekend of camping.  I am not a camper, but once a year we pack up enough stuff to last a week instead of the 2 nights that we are away.  This year I made several observations about our camping trip.

You can never have too many marshmallows.  The kids strived for the perfect marshmallow and refused to eat the burnt ones.  They threw more marshmallows in the fire then the did in their mouths.  But because of that they also went through 5+ bags between all the kids.

What I learned about making smores this weekend?  Bring chocolate covered cookies instead of graham crackers and jersey milk.  The chocolate actually melts and doesn't fall out.  The chocolate covered celebration cookies were dynamite and already on my camping list for next year.

I used a list making app to pack everything and it worked like a charm.  As we were sitting around dinner on Saturday I was adding things to my list of things I wish I would have had, i.e. a camping griddle for my stove and table cloth clicks.  I may already have one of each on their way thanks to Amazon Prime!

The boys really liked the fire.  They wanted their own 'kids' fire to sit around, which would have been fine except for the fact that they were trying to build a bonfire and did a pretty good job.  They needed an adult present at the fire at all time to make sure no one fell in the bonfire and to supervise ax activity.

Another thing I learned is that you have to spread your legs when you chop wood in case you miss then you won't hit your nuts.  #thierwordsnotmine

If you were quiet while you sat around the camp fire you got to hear them really talk.  We may have found out each of their crushes from just listening.  Also there is interesting conversations when most of the kids were just coming off their first dose of sex ed.  Let's just say the campfire talk was memorable.

We way over packed again.  For the kids especially.  Grady literally wore the same shirt all weekend.  He would take it off and put it under his pillow so he could grab it easily in the morning.  Cooper on the other hand spend part of his weekend commando because he was too lazy to look for his clean underwear.  The kids could have packed one change of clothes each and still had too much....

I noticed a huge difference in independence this year.  They all had bikes and they would want to bike to the baseball diamond or the bmx park, yes, bmx park!  Grady would hesitantly go but would want to know we were coming.  Cooper on the other hand went and didn't look back!

We survived a weekend without wifi.  The kids didn't even ask for any type of electronic the entire weekend.  They were too busy being kids.  Football, baseball, kick the can, biking, swimming.  Interestingly enough, about 30 minutes before we left, 3 kids piled in the van buckled up and got on their devices.  The minute they started thinking about the city they wanted to power up.

When you don't use your phone, it is easy to lose. I have been keeping my phone in the tent pocket  and James literally packed up the tent and was putting it in the bag when I came back from the bmx park and asked him if he took my phone out of the pouch, which he didn't.  Sure enough, I pull out the tent and there was my phone exactly where I left it.

Why is it that Grady gets up at the crack of dawn every day in the city and we take him camping where the sun comes and lights and heats up the tent early and you can hear everything happening outside the tent and Grady sleeps until 8:30.  Like out cold.  I'll never understand it!

While we have Grady sleeping great, James and I had to get up to pee in the night both nights.  I never get up to pee and then when we are tenting and no where near a bathroom that is when the urge hits.  Must be from all the beer.

The best way to end a great weekend is with ice cream and a group photo!

Not even my Mom could find me in the blue hat!

This year there were 21 of us in total.  2 girls, 10 boys, 9 adults, and 2 dogs.  I didn't really realize how many of us there were until I saw this picture.  Taken just before we left, unshowered, full bellies, and big smiles.

Already looking forward to next year!

My Month in Numbers: June 2018

June was busy, really busy.  How did spring become busier than winter?  Right, we put the kids in alternating soccer nights meaning soccer every single night.  Big mistake, big, HUGE! Let's see what I was up to in June.....

2: successful soccer seasons completed! Cooper kicked butt on his team an scored more goals then I can count.  We probably should have put him in competitive since some of his team had never played soccer before which put him in a league of his own, along with his 2 friends on the team.

Grady's team had a rock star season as well. I can count the number of games they lost on one hand and they were all great games.  He got to play with a few of his best friends which meant a lot of socialization for the boys, and the parents!

4: nights I spent with this beauty and her kids.  Her annual visit has become one of my favorites and one we all look forward to each year!  How are we old enough to have known each other for over 20 years???

21: kilometers ran in Banff with 3 of my great friends who love running as much as I do.  This is my second annual half marathon and I hope to keep running with these ladies for the years to come.  I insisted on taking my picture with this bear.  I may have a sh*t ton of chocolate in that brown bag.  I earned every single calorie of those sweets.

3: nights were spent in Penticton a mere days after I got home from Banff.  We stayed in a giant house with a pool drinking vodka and laughing so hard I cried on more than one occasion. I was too busy having fun to take pictures other than this selfie just before our plane took off.  We've already rebooked for next year!

10: years ago I became a Mom. How can my oldest baby be 10 years old.  10!!!  I feel like he is still the little toddler boy that liked to sleep with me and hold my hand.  Oh thats' right, he still is!

2: hours spent volunteering at Sports Day at the chalk station.  Apparently it is a sport.  These goof balls barely stopped at my station long enough to get a picture taken.

3: jackets ordered, 3 jackets returned.  After all the training I've been doing i realize that I need a wind breaker/rain resistant jacket.  i really, really like the one below but I also really, really want it in black.  The other 2 didn't fit right.  So, I will keep waiting for that perfect black one.  It is out there somewhere..

2: kids done school for the year!! Check ya later Grade 1 and 4!

8.04: seconds is my record on speed stacking.  Have you ever done it?  It's addicting and harder than it looks.  They had it at Sports Day (again, a sport?) and Cooper  talked about it non stop and insisted on buying it with his own money.

That's a wrap on June!  Bring it on July!

TBB Asks: All About Vacation!

Today I'm feeling sorry for myself as all my other fellow Canadians are enjoying the day off, but instead I am cooped up at my desk on day 1 of the second quarter.  Accounting lingo... So while I am not on vacation, I am always thinking about it!

1.  Heck yes, I'm going on summer vacation yes.  I have 2 weeks away planned and I'm still working on a third....

2.  I am all about relaxing on vacation. My favorite vacations are ones that involve a pool and book.  With that being said, when I go back home to visit, it is a cram it in vacation.  I have so many places to be and so many people to see. 

3.With my job, I can't take vacation the first 3 weeks of July and Grady goes back to school mid august, so as you can see, my time for taking summer vacation is tight.   I usually aim for the last week in July and one other week in August if I can swing it.

4.  I've never cruised.  I don't like to fly and I'm scared that being on a cruise would be like being on an airplane. So, no to cruising.

5.  My favorite vacation tradition is to head west to Kelowna with the kids each summer.  This will be our 7th year and I just love it.  It feels like Hawaii except we can drive there.  And there is no ocean.  Wait, maybe other than the pool it isn't like Hawaii at all!  Ha!

6.  My most memorable vacation was the one we took to San Diego with my Mom.  Unfortunately it was memorable because our plane ride home got cancelled and we were stuck in the airport for 24 hours with a 3 year old and a not even one year old....   We went back 3 years later for a wedding and it was my most memorable couples trip.  We stayed on Coronado island and it was a fantastic weekend from the beach runs, the spa, and the facility.  Top notch!

7.  I've learned over the years to pack light.  Once you have kids, your suitcase space becomes a lot more restricted! 

8.  We use VRBO for all our family vacations.  The idea of cramming 4 people into a hotel room for more than a weekend sounds horrible to me.

9.  My favorite thing to eat on vacation.....  that's a tough one.  If we are by the ocean, it is always fish.  In Hawaii, I like the coconut chocolate covered almonds.

10. Since I live in a rather cold climate, we always choose hot vacation.  It doesn't feel like vacation until I've found a pool or beach!

I love this time of year when we have the entire summer to look forward to.  The summers are so short and we have to make the most of them!