Mother - Daughter Time (it's never too late)

This past weekend I had an opportunity to spend a little one-on-one time with my daughter Halie.  These opportunities are few and far in between because I usually have both of the girls with me and if I am being completely honest until the last few years they haven’t always been the blissful mommy-daughter times that I had always envisioned.  When Halie was younger she tended to choose spending time with Logan over me, and Anya would only ever want me, which created and supported a habit of Logan being more with Halie and I with Anya.  Over the last few years there has been a big shift in our lives, as the girls have gotten older and our lives have slowed down tremendously.  In a nutshell this has been our life up to this point:

•   Logan and I got married at 21.  I finished school and we bought our first house at 24.

•   I got my education degree and bam baby Halie arrives at 25.  I had no job so I jumped at the job opportunity, full-time Kindergarten teacher, when Halie was 7 months old (one of the best decisions I’ve made because this has opened many doors for me and it provided us with financial stability.  Yes it was hard to leave my baby but it was for the better good).

• Anya was born almost three years later.  Clingy, always craving to be held, needed lots of physical touch, etc. At the same time Halie went through a crazy terrible two stage, followed by the ‘fucken’ threes, which finally left her around the age of four.  (I know this is most peoples story)

• Back to work full time for a year, then I decided that I would apply to do my Masters in Education: Curriculum Studies in the evenings, while working f/t and juggling the rest of my life.  Have I mentioned that I have the best, most supportive husband/family ever!!!!

• I did that for two years and then took an educational leave from work, for one term to finish off my masters.  THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR ME!  Slowing down and having time with the girls was such a wake-up call.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved the learning that I did and am extremely passionate about my work, but I was reminded that my goal in life was my family and my children.  Not having to work provided me with a lot of time to be mom to both of the girls.  It truly was a informational four months.  Now whenever I get caught up in work, managing all our social responsibilities, playdates, activities, having a clean home, I step back and think, “Does this matter?  How much?  At what cost?”  

On the weekend Anya had a birthday party and I decided to leave the laundry, vacuuming, dirty bathrooms, cooking, etc. and I choose to spend some time with just Halie.   We’ve been doing this more often lately, a couple of times since December and I treasure the relationship I am building with her, it’s never too late.  I told my husband that I didn’t want him to join us because we need that time alone.  We had a blast playing mini-golf, then visiting my mom at Fabric Land (Halie loves to sew so she helped me pick out a fabric for a skirt that I want my mom to make me).   We laughed, had some friendly competition, I gave her tips without her giving me any attitude, she filled me in on her school friends, she told me endless stories and all around was happy to rub it into her sisters face that she got to spend time alone with her mom!!!  :)  

Halie's first hole in one!  She was super excited. 

Lucky hole #13. 

She is getting ready to join her dad on the golf course this summer.

The fabric she helped me choose for my skirt.  : )

Winter Blues (and white pants)

Today, I am linking up with some incredible bloggers who created this series Style Perspective.  It’s exciting and motivating to have someone give you a fashion prompt and then to see how people interpret it, giving you so many ideas of how to style your one item. These ladies are so good at this it’s amazing and a little intimidating. :)   Check out their Blended Blog for all their style perspectives.  Thank you for putting your wonderful minds, talents and creativity together to come up with the prompts.  Today’s prompt was white pants.  Since the weather here in Saskatchewan has been unbelievably awesome this year and the snow all melted away, spring felt literally around the corner.  Over the weekend I picked out this beautifully light, airy, flower power, shirt that just screams spring is in full bloom.  I couldn’t wait to pair it up with my white pants until I woke up to this…

 Needless to say I am not feeling springy (that word is not meant to be used in that context but whatever).  So instead I pulled this outfit together in a hurry this morning.  I do have to say that I absolutely love the crochet top on this shirt and though there is a dip right in the middle, it revels nothing!  

The one little piece of spring that I did incorporate into my outfit today are these cute flower flats that I picked up for $10 at Walmart.  Usually I don’t purchase shoes from there but I’ve worn these around the house and they are comfy and light on my feet.  

Have a wonderful hump-day!

Feeling Pinkalicious

I love pink!!!! I can’t tell you how excited I am to see blush pink all over the stores for the spring. I am in serious danger of dressing like the storybook character Pinkalicious, a character from the children’s books by Victoria & Elizabeth Kann, all in pink or shades of pink, from head to toe. :) Not to worry, I am not actually going to do that, but if I am not careful I could seriously end up with an outrageous number of pink items. That being said, I saw this cute little top at RW & Co and just fell in love with it. I love almost everything about this shirt, the color, the flowy, baby-doll look, and the lace trim that stands out just enough but in an elegant sort of way; the only thing I worry about is the delicate fabric that will snag easily.

 

After I got it home I just had to play dress-up and make sure I had enough items in my closet that I could pair it up with for both casual and work like occasions. I quickly found out that the top was super versatile and here are a few ways I plan on wearing it. I also suspect that it will pair well with my white jeans, which were in the wash, and a few pairs of shorts that are a part of my summer wardrobe. 

 This is what I wore to Anya's skating carnival today.  

 Have a pinktastic week!  ;) 

International Women's Day

March 8^th marks the celebration of women in much of Easter Europe.  The holiday emerged during the 1900’s, in various locations, and was closely tied to the recognition of women’s rights.  For some countries International Women’s Day is still closely tied to political issues, and for others it’s looked upon as a day to celebrate women of the past and women living in the present regardless of their religious, political, economic, and marital status. As a society, and as women, we should celebrate our right to choose who we want to be and what we want to do with our lives. To read more on the history of this day  click here. 

 

In North America this is not a wildly celebrated day, apart from probably people who have immigrated here and brought it over with them.  I grew up in Bosnia and Herzegovina and thus I have celebrated this day as long as I can remember.  I don’t ever recall celebrating this day in an elaborate way, that’s not really the point, but my dad always bought flowers for my mom and his mom.  When we immigrated to Canada many years ago, we choose to change, adapt and adopt many traditional celebrations.  March 8^th has stayed consistently important to our family and we have always celebrated it in some small way.  

 

As I become an adult, my parents also passed this tradition on to me by presenting me with flowers each year.  I don’t remember the first time that they gave me flowers for March 8^th but I know that it felt special. I am so fortunate to have a husband, who didn’t grow up with this tradition, who takes the time to celebrate me in this special way and is teaching our girls about it, by including them in the process and talking to them about it.  Each year my husband has flowers delivered for me from the same flower shop, I think he has a standing order there, LOL.  Logan and I generally do not buy each other extravagant gifts but I truly appreciate that once a year I receive a beautiful flower arrangement to celebrate the woman that I am including, mother, wife, friend, sportsperson, strong, intelligent, career-orientated, extrovert, task/to-do list master, women that I am.  

 

This year we took out my parents, my grandma, and our whole family out for dinner.  A few years ago I decided to start including my girls in on our lunch/dinner dates on this day because I hope to pass on the meaning of this day on to them.  Of course there were key people missing from our little crowd such as my sister and my other grandmother, but we hope they had a special day with their loved ones. 

What's dinner out without some goofiness from the kids.   

 

I dropped off some flowers for my best friend Amber on March 8th.  Amber and I met in Waskesiu when I was 15 years old and she has been one of my closest friends since.  She is a mother of two and  7 months pregnant with her third, a wife, a fun-loving, adventure seeking individual, extremely intelligent, an entrepreneur (just purchased her business), loves home decor, yoga and being out on the water.  I am glad to have her in my life as a support and someone who I can depend on to tell me the truth and tell it to me straight. 

 

All you lovely ladies, take time to celebrate yourself and all your accomplishments.  

Comfy Favorites

Last Thursday, after I went for my run in the morning, I was feeling sore, lazy, tired and I had no desire to get dressed in my usual work attire.  I wanted something comfortable, like my lululemon pants, but that isn't an option for work.  I had been cleaning out my closet on the weekend,  which is still a work in progress,  and came across this dress/tunic that I purchased a couple of years ago from Target.  I struggled to put it in the donation pile because it's one of the pieces I don't wear often but  when I need comfort, and to appear relatively put together, it's my go-to.  It was just the thing that I needed on that morning!  I paired it up with my black leggings, my jean jacket (which made it feel like spring) and my favorite booties that I purchased this year from Just Fab.  Overall I felt great all day and by mid-day my legs did not feel heavy or sore anymore!!!!!  

 

Dress:  Target (old)

Jean Jacket: Old Navy (similar) 

Boots:  Just Fab (similar)