Category Archives: Life

Life lately

Posted in Life by

I feel like life has been going by at 150 kms/hr lately and I haven’t really have a time to stop and blog much. So allow me to rewind a little bit and play catch up.

Just over a week ago I headed to my hometown with Isla and my mom for the annual rodeo parade and to visit family. The trip also coincided with my 10-year high school reunion, which turned out to be slightly uneventful but still enjoyable! You see – we had a very small grad class (evident by the photos in the link), and while you’d think it would be easy to organize something for that small amount of people, it wasn’t. Out of the eight people (yes, eight), who said they were coming, only three of us confirmed we were still coming, one of those three being the hostess (my old friend) and one being myself. We ended up cancelling the “official” event but I did go visit my friend and our kids played together.

As for the rodeo part of that trip – it was fun! I always enjoy going back to watch the parade, even if it’s the same thing year after year. I think being able to take Isla to watch it and see what I grew up with means the most to me. She loved watching all the parade entries go by, from the horses to the music, she was having a blast! I also learned that I can dress her up but I can’t take her out; I had bought her a cute little tennis-type dress and thought I’d put it on her, but she proceeded to lift it up and flash everyone, then she dripped jam from her bannock down the front of it. Oh well – that’s what happens when you’re a toddler!

Kyle and I also planted a tree a couple weeks ago! We’ve been wanting to for a while but have just never got around to picking one out, plus it comes with work – ripping up grass, digging a hole, and laying down mulch. But – we finally went and picked out a pretty red maple tree (so very Canadian) and got it planted. We put in a nice brick border and filled up the space around the tree with mulch. It looks so awesome and I can’t wait for it to grow big and tall! (Photo of it in this post.)

Isla also had a fun time in the yard with us while we were ripping up the grass and digging the hole. There were a TON of earthworms in the soil and she was enjoying picking them up and putting them in a bucket we gave her. Then, when I told her that worms eat dirt, she proceeded to fill the bucket with handfuls of dirt. It was too cute. I will say that she wasn’t so sure about the worms at first – she didn’t want to hold them and freaked out a little bit. She got over it in a hurry though ;)

Her face pretty much says it all.

Her face pretty much says it all.

In slightly more down news, Kyle’s grandma passed about a week ago. We kind of knew that her passing was coming – she had been in and out of the hospital several times over the past two years – but it was still hard to hear. His grandma played a big role in his childhood and Kyle had a lot of respect for her. Her service was this past Friday, so we headed to Ashcroft for the day, and Kyle delivered the eulogy. While it was a somber day, it was a good day. Kyle got to catch up with some of his family and rekindle his relationship with his dad. Isla also got to meet some of her 2nd cousins, and she got to see her cousin Logan. Let me tell you – she has a thing for babies and does SO well with them.

But back to more exciting stuff – I picked up a game of slo-pitch on Sunday which was a lot of fun. I really miss playing and wish I could commit to an actual full season of ball, and picking up games only pains me more sometimes. One day!!

My wonderful yoga instructor also announced that she’s just taking July off of teaching and that she’ll be back in August, which was wonderful to hear. I don’t necessarily have to find a new studio to practice at, but I may just do a couple of drop in classes here and there to keep myself in check. I may even do a hot yoga class just to see what it’s like, even though I hate being hot. (Amber, I give you permission to nag me to get this one done, ha!) In the meantime, her last class is this Thursday and I’m just hoping it’s nice enough for us to be outside.

I’ll also just mention that I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER how my little baby girl is going to be 2 years old on Sunday! How do they grow so quickly?! It makes me sad because she’s becoming less and less like a baby and more and more like an independent little girl. “I DO IT” seems to be her most used phrase these days – don’t even bother asking if she wants help with something. She also likes to tell me to “Go to the kitchen” if she doesn’t want me near her. Ah, from the mouths of babes ….

After Isla’s birthday on Sunday, Kyle is on holidays, so we’re going to have a fun week of adventure! I cannot wait :)

So tell me what you’ve been up to these days?

Life Lately

Posted in Life, Travel by

Life around here seems to have been a bit chaotic in the past month! Since my trip to the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast, the month of May flew by. How is it already June? I don’t even know. Anyway, we’ve been keeping ourselves pretty busy these days. With Kyle’s awesome Monday-Thursday work schedule, we’ve been packing our weekends with plans, and May was no exception.

Two weekends ago, Kyle had grand plans with the boys for a bachelor party. He’s one of the groomsmen in the wedding party (for the same wedding in which I’m a bridesmaid and Isla’s a flower girl), and the guys all went paintballing for the day, and then rented a townhouse at the local ski hill for the weekend. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little jealous that they went paintballing because I find it to be a lot of fun. Kyle even joked to the guys that I probably would have enjoyed the bachelor party more than I will enjoy the bachelorette party in July. (He may be right, we’ll see. That’s a whole different blog post, right there.)

Since Kyle wasn’t home, I hung out with my mom on Saturday. We hit up the Farmer’s Market, which wasn’t too exciting since it was just a lot of bedding plants; I much prefer the market further into the summer when there’s amazing fresh produce! I did get some ideas for a bridal shower gift, so that was a plus. We eventually grabbed some lunch and by the time we were done it was time for Isla to have a nap! When she woke up, we drove down to my mom’s for dinner and my grandpa ended up being in town as well, so he and his girlfriend joined us. After dinner, Isla and I went home, she went to bed, and I watched a movie On Demand – American Hustle! It was good, but maybe not as good as I thought it was going to be.

May 24

Saturday Farmer’s Market

This past weekend was a crazy whirlwind, to say the least. On Friday we loaded into the truck to head up to William’s Lake to visit Kyle’s sister and our new nephew! Really, it was a long overdue trip to begin with since we’ve been meaning to visit her since she bought a house two(?) years ago, but babies just seem to make everything happen! We left Kamloops around 10 a.m. and after a stop for lunch (which takes longer these days because Isla is a slow and distracted eater), we finally got there around 2 p.m.

Little Logan was born on May 15 and weighed 6lbs, 10oz, and he was 20.5″ long – such a tiny little string bean! Isla loved holding him, and even demanded to have him back on her lap when I picked him up to adjust his positioning. (“NOOO! I DO IT!!!”) Eventually I got him back – I think one of the cats caught Isla’s attention – and then I got peed on – Fun! Actually, it was payback I’m pretty sure, because Isla pooped on Kyle’s sister when she first met her.

We headed home around 5 p.m. and didn’t get home until 8:30. Isla managed to have a short nap on the way home, but being in the truck for 6 hours in one day was way too much for her and she was getting pretty cranky by the time we were home. After a quick bath and a story, it was bedtime, because we had another day of travelling on Saturday!

Our good friends welcomed their baby boy, Oliver, on Wednesday. Since we already had plans to go visit them on Saturday, we ended up meeting the baby as well! Luckily, this drive was only an hour long and Isla handled it much better. Plus, she got to play with her friends the whole time we were there, which she absolutely loved.

Let me tell you, all these babies have been making my uterus yearn in a bad, bad way. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – trying for your second baby is a lot more frustrating and stressful than trying for your first. You have it in your head that you think you know all the signs and symptoms of early pregnancy, so you get anxious over every little cramp, queasy feeling, and desire for a nap. I know I just need to stop stressing out over it and remember that Baby #2 will happen eventually.

ANYWAYS – We got home Saturday around 3ish and worked on the yard a little bit (our lawn was a forest), and then ate dinner and turned in early for the night. Sunday was laid back with nothing but grocery shopping and relaxing at home – very muchly needed!

Of course, this week consists of mine and Kyle’s 3-year wedding anniversary on Wednesday, so I’m sure we’ll be doing something to celebrate on the weekend. Then next weekend is my grad reunion and Father’s Day, the weekend after that I have a bridal shower to attend, and the weekend after THAT is Isla’s 2nd birthday, and the start of Kyle’s holidays. WHAT THE HELL, LIFE? SLOOOOW DOWWWWNN!

How was your weekend? Do you tend to jam your summer full of plans on your days off?

Happy Birthday to Me

Posted in Birthdays, Life by

So, today is my birthday. Most bloggers would take the time to write a post reflecting on the past year and what it means to be whatever age they are now. I have a hard time writing reflective posts, but I’m going to give it a go and see what happens.

 

via we <3 it

28. That’s how old young I am today. Just one year away from being 29 – that eternal age that every woman claims to be once they are over-the-hill. Sometimes I forget that I’m closer to the age of 30 than I am to 20. I definitely have learned a lot over the past year, even though it seems to have flown by. (By the way – why does that happen as you get older – how time just seems to speed right up? Anyway… )

What does it mean to be 28? I mean, really? You can’t really identify with the early-20’s kids – the ones who are just graduating from university all bright-eyed and full of ambition, but you don’t want to lump yourself with the folks in the 30+ class just yet because you are indeed still figuring life out. (Not that all 30-somethings have their shit together.) I know that at 28, I’m still figuring out my career. (I talked about it in this post.) I feel like I could do 100 different jobs and still not find the “perfect” one, but sometimes, life isn’t about finding that quintessential dream job. I was employed by my dream employer at one point, but that sadly ended. Cue me regrouping and getting new training with a fresh set of skills. Are these going to lead me to the perfect job, dream-wise? Well, probably not, but it will very likely lead to the perfect job to help support my family – and sometimes that’s all that matters.

So what exactly have I learned in the past year? Well, I’ve learned that I’m pretty good at being a mom, which is one bright-side to job deterioration. I don’t know what kind of parent I’d classify myself as, but Isla is getting smarter every day and I love being able to watch her learn and grow.

I’m still learning that being an adult sucks. There’s bills and mortgages to be paid, and believe it or not, money doesn’t grow on trees. You’re forced to face the truth of situations and you really have to assess situations and figure out the best course of action. It’s tough and hard and most days I hate having to make decisions and would rather not do it, but I’m a grown-up with responsibilities not only to myself but to my husband and daughter too.

I’m content on where I am at 28. I don’t feel as though I’ve missed out on anything and am happy with every choice I’ve made to get to where I am today. I’m not really one to make a statement saying where I want to be at a certain age, other than happy and healthy. Cheesy, yes, but who wouldn’t want that?

Regardless of all this jibber jabber, I’m more than certain that I’m ready for whatever the next 365 days wants to bring my way, good, bad or otherwise. For today, I’m just going to sit back and enjoy turning a year older :)