Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Grati-tuesdays

I can't believe a week has gone by and it's Tuesday already! Well you know what that means....it's Grati-tuesday again.

1. My husband has been a very popular guy lately, there have been weddings, bachelor party weekends, golf tournaments and what else?...oh ya....work! He sure has been busy, so I was so happy to have some family time this past weekend. 

2. Just 1 month from today Alexis and I will be hanging out with my bestie and her daughter in Vancouver!!! So excited to have her visit and meet Alexis :) Love you Er!!!

3. Alexis and I love our walks these days, but although she is great company and I enjoy hearing her little singing voice as we be-bop around the city, it's always nice to have adult company. I am so happy that my friend Jill took time out of her crazy busy school schedule for a walk with us :)

4. Ok so this one is a little bit materialistic but I don't care....there is no rule saying that you can't be grateful for things on Grati-tuesdays! I found a fabulous pair of Nine West nude pumps that I have been lusting after for months for 50% off!! Now all I need is somewhere to wear them....

5. I just gotta say....it's so much easier to blog without a baby on your lap, so I am pretty grateful for this moment right now! Blogging with Alexis BESIDE me on her playmat and not on top of me squirming and hitting the keyboard at her leisure. 

♥ Lindsay

Friday, September 21, 2012

They have WHAT kind of ice cream?!?

This month in Vancouver we have been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather and so for our September family date we decided to go for a walk along the seawall for ice cream. Now I am not sure how far the walk is, but I am pretty sure it's enough to work off the calories in the ice cream....well that's what I tell myself anyway! Now, when I was pregnant I really didn't have many cravings....I was obsessed with lemonade but nothing weird like pickles and ice cream. If I did though, Mario's would be the place to go! They have different flavours every time I go and most times I am not adventurous enough to get a full cone, but I always love to get a taster spoon or two of red bean, garlic, black pepper or lavender just  out of curiosity. In the end I usually get my standby; two scoop waffle with chocolate peanut butter and orange creamsicle or if I am feeling 'healthier' I get a dairy free fruity sorbet....they have such yummy flavours like passionfruit, kiwi, watermelon etc. 
I thought I had seen every flavour imaginable, however this time, I was kind of shocked by one particular flavour they had available. It actually made me think about how much our world has changed since I was a kid. I am sure I would have never heard this conversation when I was getting ice cream with my parents at five years old.....
Mother: "Did you decide what kind of ice cream you want?" 
5 year old child: "Yep....I want the blue one"
 ~The mom looks at the one the child is pointing at, does a double take and says....~
Mother: "No, you can't have that one. That's for adults only....let's pick one from over here"  
I don't know about any of you, but when I was a kid, blue ice cream was bubble gum....you know the one with the cold hard gumballs in it that kept their flavour for 2.3 seconds. Well apparently times have changed because nowadays blue ice cream is Viagra flavored. WHAT?!? Yep, that's right....the little blue pill now has it's very own ice cream flavour. I am not a prude or anything....actually I think it's kind of funny, but it also made me realize that it is a very different world that my little girl will be growing up in, that's for sure! I am looking forward to when Alexis can enjoy ice cream with us and not just look at her parents longingly as we eat it in front of her, however, I am not looking forward to explaining to her why she can't have the blue ice cream! Yikes.....I don't want to think about it!
So for now, I choose to focus on how much she loves her walks, cooing to her mommy and daddy along the way and observing the world around her.


 Since it was an evening walk, we were able to go sans sun cover so Alexis could enjoy the scenery along the way.....

 but of course she fell asleep on the way home!



The scenery was beautiful and the ice cream was delicious as always....all-in-all a great family date night! 
♥ Lindsay

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Grati-tuesdays

For years I kept a gratitude journal that I wrote in nightly where I listed 5 things I was thankful for in my life. Those of you who know me well may ask if I did this simply because Oprah told me to? Well....maybe partially....I did get the idea from her show! But, although I may have started doing it because of Oprah I continued because I loved going to bed thinking about all the fantastic things about my life instead of planning my week, adding to my to-do list and obsessing over issues with work or relationships etc. I will be the first to admit I have a tendency to get caught up in the things that are going wrong and forget about all the things that are going right.....let's be honest I think we are all guilty of this sometimes right?!? This journal became a nightly reminder that, good day or bad day, there are always things to be grateful for. Now I am not sure when or why I stopped doing this.....but I find myself feeling the need to start it up again. My new life has me busy to say the least so it would be nice to take the time to reflect on the wonderful things about my family and being a mom instead of doing the things I feel like doing such as screaming, crying or taking it out on my husband etc ;)
My desire to notice moments of joy within the chaos + my love for word play
Grati-tuesdays.    
So every Tuesday I will be blogging a list of 5 things in my week that bring me joy.
(And BONUS....automatic minimum of 4 blog posts a week...sooo list item #16✓)

Ironically the biggest source of chaos in my life, also happens to be the source of a whole bunch of joy! With that being said I give you my first Grati-tuesday list about my baby girl:
1. Her smiling face and big blue eyes looking up at me from her bassinet every morning. So lucky to have a happy baby.
2. Her chubby cheeks that jiggle as we go over bumps in her stroller
3. Her gurgles and coos that combined with hand gestures, expressive eyes and facial movements make me feel like she is actually trying to tell me something. Can't wait until I actually know what it is!!
4. The way she twirls her hair when she is tired. I knew she was born with hair for a reason....to help her get to sleep :) 
5. How determined she is when she is trying to get those silly things that mom keeps putting on her feet off....and how proud she looks when after countless tries of rubbing her feet together and on her carseat etc she finally gets those shoes off!

Being 9/11 today....we are all reminded that life is short and I can't think of a better day to reflect on all that is good in my life. I'd love to hear from anyone who wants to join me in creating your own Grati-tuesday lists....so please comment if you feel like sharing your list!

♥ Lindsay

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Falling asleep through her 'firsts'

A picture is worth a thousand words....so without further ado. 
Our little sleepyhead sleeping through all her firsts!







 ♥ Lindsay