WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SEND YOUR HUSBAND CLOTHES SHOPPING

Ugh. So let me preface this by saying that I love my husband so much and I appreciate everything that he does because he does do a lot...however, there are two things that I dread asking my wonderfully loving husband to do. What things? Cooking and shopping for clothes for the boys. Now don't get me wrong. Aaron can pick out great thing, if only they were always the right size but sometimes things go haywire.

One thing I do before going shopping for a specific item is to do my homework online. I virtually go from store to store to compare styles and prices so that I can map out my plan of attach for the mall.  The only day I am always able to go shopping sans kids is on Friday after work since I get off early. Aaron had today off so I entrusted him with the task for picking up fall coats for the boys. I even gave him a list of stores that I has researched and found great prices and style for so what does my lovely husband pick up?

You can kind of see in the picture that the material of the coats are slightly shiny/plastic it reminds me of those wind breakers from the 90s. I swear the pictures make the coats looks alright but you need to see them in person, to touch them, to really understand where I am coming from.


Did he go to the store that I suggested? Negative!
Did he spend less money than he would have spent on the coats at the stores I suggested? Negative!

So tomorrow after work, I am high tailing it back to the store he got them from, returning it, the going to the stores on my suggestion list and buy new ones.

*sigh*

Now after writing I feel like I am coming off as that controlling wife who doesn't let her husband do anything but I swear to you I am not...except when it comes to cooking and shopping for clothes for the boys. Other than those two things I am totally laid back, I promise you.

Honestly though? I am making a big deal about the jackets or are are we seeing eye to eye on this one?

SUNDAY

I haven`t had the chance to truly enjoy the magic that is a Sunday afternoon in a long time.

Aaron works a lot of Sunday`s. It`s the dreaded launch month as all the universities so the all the departments at the office are under fire right now as all the new students start their programs, especially Aaron`s department. The only Sunday he will have off in September with be the 23rd and we as so looking forward to that. Thankfully with the approach of October his weekends will start to free up.

I spent a good portion of today wearing Aaron`s big fluffy sweaters, not bothering to step out of my sleepy clothes.

I wrote this post :)

I oversaw my 5 year old doing homework while his little brother pretended to do his as well. Monkey see monkey do! I then reminded him that not everything has to be perfect and thought that I should tuck that piece of advice away for later use when I fell like I have to take on everything and have all done just so.

I helped to build Lego houses. Should have been an architect.

I put a two year old in time out.

Then daddy came home and wiped away little tears and made Sunday actually feel like Sunday a.k.a. Family Day. We ate dinner together and while I was cooking the house was ruined again but I guess that is all apart of having a family and making the most of your time together.

TIMELESS RECIPES

With the comeback of Starbuck's fall lattes, I can now ignore the calender and say that it is officially fall! The S family has put away the air conditioners, the big ugly fans and traded them in for big fluffy comforters and full pajama set. I woke up this morning to a crispy chilled room and loved ever minute of being buried underneath the warmth while breathing in and feeling the cool air on my face. I love fall. Every red, orange and yellow moment of it starting at the tops of those colour changing trees and overcast skies, going down to the dewy grass sprinkled with brown leaves.

What can I say? I love big cable knit sweaters and cardigans. I adore brown leather boots and fall coats, not to mention the fact that fall means the start of holiday season for us; Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas!

I have a plan for this fall. This fall I plan on baking more as well as making soup at least once a week. A few weeks ago I made a butternut squash soup and it was lovely! An amazing thing about this recipe is that it's super easy to make. It's not the kind of meal that requires your attention, you kind of set it up and forget about it while you attend to other thing. Another great thing is that my kids loved it and it's so hard to get my oldest to eat any sort of vegetables.

So here is the recipe I used courtesy of All Recipes.

Butternut Squash Soup

  Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

 

Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.  

Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

 

 I found that I didn't need to add anymore stock on to my soup at the end. It was perfectly creamy!

This batch gave serves about 6 people.
 

BACK TO SCHOOL AND GROWING UP

I wanted to write this post a lot earlier than now, but I waited until we go our new computer.
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(He was so happy to take this picture...can you tell? hehe!)

The first day of school seems to be a rite of passage for most mothers, especially those who stay at home and whose children have never been to daycare or preschool. It's not just the first day of school, for many it's the first day your little will leave your comforting side to step into a teeny tiny part of the world that they will get to discover with their peers. I am so excited for Joshua and Lucas when I look back and reflect on my own childhood, my school days and the times in my life where I was able to grow into my own. Childhood is a notion that adults often simplify "being a kid is easy, you don't have any responsibilities, wait til they get into he real world!" I admit, I use to utter these phrases, often when I became overwhelmed by the realities of life forgetting just how tough and how important and how much responsibility it takes to be a kid.

Currently he is learning how to navigate the world on his own. This week we continued the process of growing up both my boys started school. Joshua is now in Senior Kindergarten and Lucas is attending full day daycare (luckily they are going to the same place). Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten and very different. First in JK Joshua only went for a three hours a day, in SK it's all day now that I am working.

He has also received "homework" for the first time! He takes home a work package on Wednesday and has to return to school to be checked on Monday. He has actual subjects such as Language Arts and Math twice a week and Science once a week. On Fridays he learns Mandarin! For the area we live in Mandarin is an important language as we have a large Chinese population in Toronto. When I looked at his curriculum for the year I have to say I was a bit surprised at the amount of work he had to learn but he does have an entire year to learn it and I trust his teacher's ability and judgement.

I walked through the book store the other day (it's like a church for me) and I passed the ever famous Dr. Seuss book "Oh the Place You'll Go." This book so fitting for people of all ages and it's truly fitting for a kid just beginning his way through his big kid world.

"And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go

....be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way"

- Dr. Seuss "Oh the Place You'll Go!"

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
 

THOUGHTS ON THREE

*Disclaimer: All of this was done via iphone because my computer decided to die which has accounted for the lack of pictures.

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Recently the idea of having a third child came up for discussion with my husband. To be honest having a third child is not something that I had envisioned myself planning for. I was quite content with having two boys, needing only two car seats/booster seats, not having to switch over to a big huge SUV or minivan, but now I think about it, the more I love the idea of having an SUV or minivan. There would be so much more space and it will make road trips even more fun. Oddly enough I never envisioned myself having three small children but I have envisioned myself having three adult children, heck even four! It's just getting there that was the scary part.

*Joshua and Lucas. Summer of 2010*

Pregancy with Joshua was a breeze! I did of course suffer through the dreaded morning sickness but that only lasted 4-5 weeks and literally as soon as I hit my second trimester it was like I was walking on clouds. I didn't start showing until I was 18 weeks and even then it was just a little bumb. My pregnancy with Lucas however was a whole other story. I was sick for TWENTY weeks and I started showing at 8 weeks not to mention every part of my pregnancy with painful in some way. I vowed to never get pregnant again!

I look at these two, and think about how much I like things the way they are. At least now I have one kid for each hand, I dont know what it would be like juggle the little ones by myself. Wrangling them can be difficult as it is,  but it's not overwhelming to the point where I fear going out in public with the two of them alone. Aaron and I are an equal team. One handles Lucas, the other handles Joshua then ..1..2..3..switch! That is the art of tandem parenting, and it works because we are not out numbered.

But then I realized I was living my life based on fear.

Really, what was I afraid of? Many parents have three children and some of those parents are single, surely I was loving enough and able enough to raise another child. What I needed as a large dose of self confidence. I have to look at all the thing's I've been able to do well as a mother then look at the things I had not done so well and use them as learning experience. I have to push myself and test my own limits in order to see what I am truely capable of.

*Some time in early 2011*

So Aaron and I talked about it, actually we texted about it...or, it could have been an email. We decided that filling our home with more love and laughter was going to be the best decision ever. There were a few other deciding factors for me, the honest to goodness truth is, that neither of my boys were planned, they were just wonderful surprises. I missed the experience of planning a family, I missed out on taking a few months to a year in order to get my body ready with the right vitamins, calculating when I would ovulate, talking to the doctor about it and all that fun stuff.

Aaron and I decided on the year and month that we would start the baby dance, so to speak, but before we do there are a few things the Smith family would like to accomplish before baby number three comes along.

Disney world with TWO kids

Get to my goal weight (20lb to go!)

Our second honeymoon, just the two of us

Take a family vacation to the Carribean

Purchase our first home

Get a second car

Get promoted (either of us)

I was really inspired by The Art of Making a Baby blog. I never knew that such preparation when into planning for a baby, then again this is coming from the mom-by-surprise. They prepared  for their pregnancy 6months to a year before they started trying and remarkably they ended up getting concieving on their first try! In efforts to cure this bout of baby fever I've decided to start monthly or at least semi-monthly pregnancy theme posts Once my blog grows I would love for those to be guest posts! If you are interested email me and you don't have to be currently pregnant or even a parent to participate!

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!