• Almost Two Months Since We Moved.

    It has been almost two months since we moved from the other side of the city. I didn’t think it would feel very different, but it has, and that has shocked all of us. It is different in a lot of good ways. Our street is quieter, for one. Before, we lived on a very major road that everyone seemed to use for commuting. We were just off a highway, so cars would forget to slow down and would roar through our street, forgetting to look for kids, despite the fact that we lived four blocks away from a school.…

  • Looking Back On Myself as a Formally Judgmental Mom.

    I used to be so judgmental. I was judgmental because when I was a new mom, I felt out of my depth and wanted to feel like everyone else was doing it wrong if I felt that way about myself. Sound familiar? Now, I see a mom walking her kids to school with her pajama pants on and my immediate thought is not, “Omg, make some effort!” Now I think, “Maybe that person has athletic shorts underneath like I do for their workout when they get home,” or, “Maybe those are her comfiest pants,” or, “Maybe that parent was dealing…

  • When We Open Presents

    Hunter had 3 birthdays to go to this month. It made me think of a switch in how we do things at ours, that I thought we would share, in case you wanted to try it, too. Birthday parties have changed a lot since the ’80’s. When I was little, you went to birthday parties and they were always the same. You would show up at their house in a nice dress or good pants and greet the birthday girl or boy. Then, everyone would play some games like pin the tail on the donkey or guess how many sweets…

  • Isabella the Future Hockey Star

    My daughter, Isabella, is her own person. She needs things to switch up a lot, is naturally fidgety and is very vocal and competitive. She doesn’t put up with any long-term B.S. – in fact, we have been called a couple times to the school when things have gotten physical between her and someone teasing her (almost always a boy). I recently bought a pair of pants for Hunter that were a bit too big for him, so Isabella wears them now and they are her fave pants because they have the most pockets for collecting rocks and specimens to…

  • Summer Trip to My Mom’s House

    Last week we went to my mom’s house for a summer visit. She lives in Saskatchewan, where there have been wildfires this year! Despite the smoke being blown in to her area, we still managed to enjoy the hot weather outside…although sometimes it became too hot for us. My mom lives in a small town of about 20 people. It is like being out on a farm. Her yard is fairly big, with a ton of big established tress. When you sit on her front porch with a cool drink, you feel like a Southern Belle. The porch has a…

  • So Our Camping Trip Was a Fail.

     I think I come off to some as someone who prefers to be pampered. Who likes things around me to be happy. I am Type A, who loves a plan and things to be properly in their place, to be sure, but I am adaptable when need be. I do like my bed. But I am not against camping at all. I’d rather be at a rustic cabin, cuz that is what I grew up knowing, but I have been camping in my teens. I’m not quite the stepmother-to-be from The Parent  Trap (Hayley Mills, I love you). When I…