WEEKEND KIDDIE POOLSIDE

After roughly two weeks of late September weather (no complaints here) we were given a true summer this weekend. It was Aaron's birthday on Sunday so we spent some time with my inlaws out in the country.

The boys enjoyed their kiddie pool. 

Aaron and I enjoyed out beer on the patio. 

Call me lazy but there is something so charming about the ideas of sitting...sitting and doing nothing but enjoying your thought. After having two energetic boys you learn to appreciate simple things like unbroken moments of thinking. Talk about simple things huh! 

I took the Monday off work, Aaron had that day off too so we took the boys into the backyard again for some pool time.

This time daddy joined in.

FROM THE WEEKEND

This weekend the kids went to grandma and grandpa's so that meant that Aaron and I got to be out an about not having to worry about bored/tired/rowdy little boys.

So for those that don't know, I was born in Canada but spent a good portion of my life (years 9 - 20) in New Jersey where my parents still live. Well Target JUST opened their first store in Ontario, 40 minutes from where I live! It's their pilot store so pretty soon there will be Targets just around the corner from me in only a matter of weeks. On Saturday Aaron and I drove to Milton, Ontario and visited. I would have taken pictures if I were so annoyed by the crowd and lack of merchandise thanks to it being the first satruday since it has opened. You can only imagine the chaos! The line to the checkout was...I am not lying...9 ISLES long! They had to curve the line down into the main isle and it stretch all the way downto number 9!

After Target we went somewhere a little calmer...ikea..and compared to Target, it was calm! Thing was that the Smith family was in desperate need of a new television stand and a coffee table. For both we went with the Hemnes line. We got the larger Hemnes TV Bench with the three drawers in Gray-Brown. I love them! We also got a few decor items from Home Sense to brighten up our the once very brown living room. New red pillows and a yellow picture frame.

We ate dinner, wonderfully delicious Chicken and Waffles from Harlems which is a soul food restaurant downtown. 

We spent the rest of Sunday relaxing until the boys got home. It's nice to be able to do this every once in a while, its also nice to see their little faces when the come back home!

Weekend of Birthdays

Well look at me, having an event-filled weekend! This usually doesn't happen folks. Most of the time I am sitting on the couch watching cartoons, playing school with Joshua...rather Mr. Smith, running around the house tickling the boys and making a nicer dinner (a dinner that takes longer than 30 minutes to cook).  Not this weekend. This weekend I was out and about!

Friday night my cousin celebrated her birthday at Marche, a restaurants where there are no servers, only people to clean your table. They give you a "credit card" so that you can walk around to all the stations to order food and instead of paying for it up front got getting a bill at the end of the meal they simply charge it to your card and when you check out at the end of the night you pay for your dinner at a cash register. This can be dangerous,  in my normal state I would be going from station to station swiping my card like there was no tomorrow. Thankfully I hate a huge lunch prior to that night so I wasn't really hungry. I order a crepe with strawberries, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on top...sooo not huge at all.

The party was held in a private room. The atmosphere so calming and the look of it screamed charm. It resembled a little log cabin and I was seriously starting to consider designing my house to look just like it. I am still contemplating this!

 Here is one of the birthday girl with her boyfriend. He planned the party for her. Aren't they cute?

This was what was left of my crepe before I realized that I should have taken a picture of it. oopsies!

As the weekend continued so did my parting ways! Last night my cousin's wife (I have about 24 first cousins, give or take) had an 80's themed birthday party! How fun right? In my last post I discussed the fact that my business unit at work dressed up in an 80's theme so I got to wear my costume again!





Sunday I spent the whole day just unwinding with the boys. There were super sweet and I enjoyed every minute with them. As I am about to head back to work this week I feel so happy that I got to spend all day doing "nothing" with them. Next weekend I am actually looking forward to doing absolutely nothing!

YOUNG COUPLE

 

This weekend the kids went to grandma and grandpa's house!

Usually when the boys back up their little suitcases with looks of excitement and joy washing over their tiny faces, I tend to feel an itch of what I call the I-miss-my-babies blues, however, I was so ready to have a solid weekend of alone time with my husband that I was so frigging excited. Oddly I feel guilty for admitting that, as if as a mother we are never suppose to feel excitement when you kids leave you, but I know I can't be the only one out there that feels this way from time to time, especially since the last date you had been on with your husband was when you went to see The Dark Knight Rises.

 Aaron and I got to act like a young couple again, we were carefree (for the most part) and spontanious, no checking in with babysitters or any of that nonsense, we were young. Sometimes we forget how young we really are. When I am juggling two kids, homework, parent teacher meetings, work, bills and all that grown up stuff our age get's lost in all of that. We are probably the youngest parents out of all of the parents in Joshua's class, but that is a whole other blog post!

On Saturday the boys went with the grandparents. Aaron and I got some "oh my dayum" good Five Guys burgers. We watched Paranormal Activity 4, against the advice of critics and indecisive public reviews, I say it was aight! After that we enjoyed dinner at an all you can eat Sushi restaurant. What I didnt realize is that for ever leftover piece of sushi on your plate you get charges $2!! Aaron and I shoveled down salmon and white fish down our throats! We were stuffed.

Sunday the husband and I left the city!

 

We ventured off to Niagara Falls which we have dubbed as "Our Place".

 

This is definitely our "go to" destination because there is just so much to do here. I must also mention that the fall colours were absolutely amazing here!

 

Apart from viewing the falls, we stoppin off at the Hersey store where I got some peanut butter chocolate fudge! the aroma coming from that place was abolutely heavenly. We also picked up a gift for the boys so that they would know that we were thinking about them on our time away.

Clifton Hill is amazing. It reminds me of The Shore, yes the Jersey Shore that I use to frequent when I was living at home. There are games, rides, haunted houses, gift shops..and yes a t-shirt shop!

Not to mention that every where you look, there is a spectacular view of something.

 

After that we drove back to the Toronto area and went to the movies again but this time we watch something that was adored by both critics and fans, we watched Argo (I highly recommend it). We grabbed a drink and some wings at a local restaurant and sat in the bar section, you know the section where Aaron and I would never bring the little ones? Yea! we sat there!

The great thing about having a whole weekend to ourselves was that we got to focus on only "us" again and remind each other why we got married in the first place, cause lets face it...marriage isn't always rainbows and unicorns.

Today  Aaron and I were both give the day off from work so we slept in, then grabbed some lunch at the new PF Changs that opened in our area. Yes I know, this place has been around in the States for a while but this is the first one in Ontario and probably all of Canada for that matter.

After that we did a little grocery shopping sans kids. It's funny how it feels going up and down the isles, searching, looking, comparing things without feeling the urge to rush through it all because someone is poking someone else.

However I found that not having them there meant that we took twice as long to get out, plus we ended up forgetting things. I guess the kids kept us organized! On the car ride home, I broke into a box of cupcakes and endulged. It was a great way to end out time alone! 

REFLECTING

It rained all day yesterday.

I spent a good portion of my time at work staring out the window. I watched the clouds roll in thick and dark as the rain pelted the pavement in the parking lot and I felt happy. I felt warm and cozy. I felt like curling up on the couch watching daytime television enjoying a bowl of hearty chili or comforting bowl of soup. I was stuck at work

I missed family time and I miss the weekend.

Aaron I started the weekend off with a dinner and a movie date! We rarely ever go on dates, if we go once a month it's a bonus so we use the time we had to reconnect.

On Saturday my family planned surprise party for my uncle. It was one of those fancy parties at a hall, which gave Aaron and I a chance to get dressed up for a party! We had a blast though, it was great seeing everyone, dancing, eating wonderful food and when we had our fill of that Aaron and I walked along Main Street, which for a suburban town was very lively even at midnight. Have you ever been to a new place, whether you were on vacation or even a stop off on your way to somewhere else while road tripping, and you instantly feel alive, refreshed, like you were home? I loved the town that this Main Street resided, and my heart and soul was overwhelmed with its charm. I have to make this place my home, no matter how much money it will take!

 

Being that the party of Saturday was a surprise my poor Uncle O has organized a barbeque for himself on that Sunday. The C family would never let a party go to waste so we enjoyed each other's company for another day. The best part of all was that my Father in Law dropped off the boys at my Uncle's house. My heart swelled with joy the moment I saw them! Weekends are big for me since I work full time, so having my entire Saturday spent without them was hard, the good part was that Monday was a holiday, which made up for it!

 

 

I spent Monday relaxing with them. I took them to the park and got them ready for Senior Kindergarten and Daycare the next morning. The events of this day will have to be on another post!

*Still doing all of this from my iphone
 

WEEKEND REVIEW

This weekend I spent my time doing something that a mother with hardly any time does...

Absolutely nothing.

On Friday the boys got their haircut...finally
 

I spent Saturday relaxing with my kids at home. I took them for a walk to the convenient store.

 

They both got ridiculous lollipops but I bought them anyway... you know the kind that squirts gel onto the lollipop and they drink the gel off? Gross, I know.

We baked a mini cake and some cupcakes. Out of the box is good enough for me!

*Yes, I realized that the bowl was way to small! Had to transfer it when cake mix got everywhere lol

 

 

 

On Sunday Aaron did some grocery shopping. I was so grateful that he did it without me so that I can spend the morning continuing to relax with my boys.

Aaron had to work today which sucked because I like to spend my weekends with my whole family. Conveniently he will be home right as Lucas goes to bed so Aaron, Joshua and I get to spend some quality time together. Lately it seems that I've been living for the weekend.  Don't get me wrong I love my job it's just that every time Monday comes around I start an internal countdown to the Friday. I suppose this is something that all working parents face, deciding whether or not it's worth it to be away from your family especially if you are working not because you have to but because you want to. When is the biggest reasons why I continue to work is because I want to teach my children to have passion for something. I see so many stay at home parents who have such passion for what they do that it's truly remarkable. I was never good at being a stay-at-home mom the dishes were never done, the cleaning took place 30 minutes before my husband came home and admittedly I fed them way too much junk and let them watch way too much TV. Oddly enough I do a much better job at parenting when I'm working during the week. I don't know why that is but I feel more organized and I don't feed my kids junk and they don't watch as much TV. Maybe I just work better under pressure.

 

So that was my weekend just the way I like it!