Harlow is a klutzy girl, just like her female parental (me). It’s a rare week when I don’t break a plate, bowl, cup or maybe even a lamp. I’m pretty graceful in terms of yoga and dancing (or maybe that’s just something I made up in my head) but in real life? Watch out, cause my feet get in my way all the time. Harlow is always falling, bumping a body part or tripping. We always hold her hand when we are walking, because it’s cute and little and we really want to. But also (and probably mostly) because then we can catch her when she trips. I noticed, when I’m comforting and wiping tears from my klutsy girl after a tumble – her sweet emphatic brother now reenacts her fall, in a goofy “look how silly I am” way (not in a hahah, look how silly you looked – way). He will hurt himself falling down a set of brick stairs just to make her laugh, and it always always works.
It’s amazing to watch and more amazing because, I know it’s a cheer up method he learnt from his Dad. A method of happy making that Chris is a master of and one that ALWAYS works on King, no matter what the issue. Chris will walk into a tree, or tumble in the middle of Yonge & Dundas (on that dirty ground too, ewww!) just to turn King’s tears into laughter. That alone is amazing, like every time I see it I think “man, I am lucky”. Now watching King take what he knows works with him and use it for someone he loves dearly – beyond amazing.
That thing called emulation is pretty cute, like King carrying Harlow (it’s also really crazy that he can actually pick her up and walk around) – because he sees us carrying her (no Chris doesn’t often carry me around like that) and it makes her happy. Emulation can also be the biggest punch in the gut, like when you really don’t like some behavior, a saying, or a maybe even a noise they make – only to realize they actually picked it up from you (teeth clenching, and a big long oooooohh nooooo! – then a quick: punch myself in the face). But let’s focus on just how cute and amazing little people are when they emulate us, and keep trying to be absolutely perfect and never show them any bad behavior (a giant HA, from this end of the room – but it’s worth a great try).
*Whenever I say the word emulation in my head, it’s usually accompanied by the tune from ‘Under Pressure’ – totally outed myself as the biggest weirdo.
· August 7, 2013 · in Daily,Real Life
No matter what, a trip to the Farmer’s Market always seems to make a day. Even those days we (Chris and I, mostly) wake begrudgingly and even a wee bit grumpy – a Farmer’s Market trip sorta sets everything back to zero and slaps a smile on our faces. I don’t know what it is; being outside and seeing all the other happy faces, the simplicity of the food and choices that are so amazing you can’t wait to go back next weekend – probably all of them. We always leave with our loot thinking, darn it we should have gotten more…usually berries. The kids and I hit up the market the past weekend, sans handsome husband – we had fun, but definitely wasn’t the same without my fellow tantrum tamer.
And then King took hold of the camera, and got some funny looks and comments from people – random tips and thoughts from strangers are always fun. 😉
Also I have a weird obsession (okay, maybe more of a like) with seeing peoples farmers market goodies, but only the farmers market loot – all the fresh food sorta makes me want to go out and buy some of my own and I love seeing the happiness that non materialistic items can create.
*we don’t eat a lot of tofu, due to the great soy argument and estrogen (but we like it, quite a lot). I tried the most amazing handmade, organic, no GMO and no gypsum tofu and had to buy it – like this stuff was so good I couldn’t believe it was tofu, and I think I was that annoying vocal eater (lot’s of mmmming, and oh my god’s) while eating it. Also that weird burger looking thing, is a lentil burger wrapped in collard greens from Earth & City – so much yum.
· August 5, 2013 · in Daily,Real Life
I get asked all the time about how to start doing yoga, or if I have any tips for doing yoga at home, or (maybe the most common) how I am able to practice yoga everyday. So I thought I would put together another post (I did one last year about hot yoga, filled with tips). I am not a teacher so my tips come from a fellow students, point of view. I kick my self in the face everyday (kidding, I wish I could raise my foot that high) for not “practicing” yoga regularly so much sooner. I say practicing, because I used to go to a yoga class every once in a while. Maybe every couple weeks or so, but I wasn’t practicing – I was just attending. And I didn’t actually know there was a difference until I became a full fledged got-to-have-my-daily-yoga-fix addict. So let’s start from the beginning (the attending), and hopefully I can share a few tips along the way. click to read more (it’s a long one)… READ THE FULL POST
· August 2, 2013 · in Daily,Real Life,The Sweet & Simple Life,Yoga
Yesterday I 100% followed King’s lead on where we headed, we ended up walking almost 9km and for almost 6 hours in total – our feet were tired but our faces had big smiles on them. Here are a few scenes I captured along the way.
^^Hold up your umbrellas!^^
^^Sprinklers are public property, says the kids^^
^^Stroller catnap^^
^^He loves to window shop and people watch, he is my son.^^
^^Stroller hair + Sandwich break – I am that Mom who always packs lunches^^
^^After a craft and story time break at a bookstore, someone drifted off to snoozetown.^^
^^When I had to tell him, how nervous him being crazy close to the water makes me – because worrying is like my second job, apparently.^^
^^When I noticed she worry’s about him too (and she didn’t even hear our conov, she was sleeping).^^
^^King and his camera obsession strike again^^
^^New book and quiet time by request.^^
· July 23, 2013 · in Daily,Real Life,Scenes from Yesterday
Our summer has been pretty amazing so far, how about yours? The only thing I wish I could fit in a bit more of is, maybe sitting down – just sitting on my butt. Usually our summer days are a bit crazy: I get home from yoga, we get ready and we go to a park (or playdate/activity) then we head home for lunch/naps, then back out to another park (or errand). We basically go go go all day long. I am like the walking chauffeur, taking them where they want to go or a fun place I think they will want to go to.
As awesome as this non stop party is, I’m having a really hard time keeping up with all other parts of my life. My home is not my favorite kind of tidy (it’s the kind with UN in front of it) because we are never home to clean it. My inbox is a sad over stuffed mail box, just waiting for some love. And blogging it has been tough to keep up with my personal (made up in my head) schedule. Yesterday I totally missed a post, for an anal retentively, organized and dedicated person like me it’s a bit crazy – and actually slightly anxiety inducing (slightly). I feel calm and relived when all is is in order and I am on top of things, my mind is clear and my creativity flows much smoother.
For this summer I am learning to stay on top of the things I can control, like keeping those smiles on my littles faces – and am trying to give myself a little slack in the other areas. So if you see a silent day on the blog or maybe my email responding abilities are a bit more delayed then usual, it’s because I am probably trying not to melt and having fun with my top two priorities (and probably my freelance priorities). I love Summer but also love the slightly more predictable schedule that Fall brings, for now I am trying to tell myself it’s okay to fall behind a little. Since really it’s only the pressure I put on myself that makes me feel like I’m behind at all – that and my (untidy) home pretty much screams it at me every time I walk in.
Harley’s Suit: c/o SUNUVA – King’s Suit:Zara
· July 18, 2013 · in Daily,Real Life
