To Assume

Assume. I hear this word all the time.

I assumed.
My assumption.

It is something that we all do all the time. Why do we assume things? Why can't we put our hand up and ask the question to what we want to know versus just assuming and getting it wrong? Getting it wrong can have a whole trail of effects. It's like dominos, you push one and they all fall down. That's why it's best to know which domino to push so that it doesn't effect them all.

It doesn't matter where you are or who you are talking to everyone always assumes, in relationships, in families and at work. Stop the guess work people. Just ask and don't assume.

What it's like to be the sister of two brothers

It's a tricky one. Being the middle child and the only girl. 

As I grow older and now a parent myself I start to see that it becomes a natural thing for one child to gravitate to one parent while the other child gravitates to the other parent, giving these kids the one on one time they need and crave. By doing so, special bonds are created and memories that last a lifetime. Here's how I break it down from my perspective. 

The oldest child is the first one to form a relationship with their mom and dad like no other. For the parents it's their first time, everything is new, so they try and do all the right things to set their child up for success. Basically, more rules are enforced and the perfect child is created.

The second child becomes familiar to the parent. But loved the same no less. They know what to expect to a certain degree. So it's a lot less stressful and less rules are enforced. However, because it is now a girl different issues may now arise then they're used to. 

Now, that there are two children, the first child's time with the parents are now fewer than they were before. But at this special time, this is the moment where the parents now divide and conquer quality time spent with each child. It naturally works out so that the children get a parent assigned to them for their full dedication and attention. Planned or not. 

When a third child comes along there are joy and excitement and even more familiarity than before. They are masters at it now. Many of the rules that were set in place with the first child are now obsolete because the fear the parents once had were no longer valid. As the youngest of the three, that child is the family baby and will forever be known as the youngest of the bunch.  
With three children now the balance is thrown off. The parents are now forced to split their time in thirds. One on one time becomes more challenging.

The middle child can easily become left out. The oldest is the first child so that special bond is there and cherished. The youngest is the last and considered to be the baby of the bunch and cherished too because this is the last time they will every have a baby. Where as the middle child might then get left out or may feel left out so she has to be strong and competitive to get the attention she needs while she finds her place within the family. 

I think professionals call this the "middle child syndrome". 

"A disposition that generally arises with the middle child of three children in a household. Middle children often lack the attention that the oldest (the most important child) and the youngest (the parent's favorite child) receive."(-urban dictionary)

In the end, I guess for me I'm lucky that I was born a girl. It makes me special and I have a niche all for myself, Daddy's little girl. :-)

We are living in our most glorious, inglorious times.

It is the most glorious because we get to be apart of our children's best times. We get to see them laugh, smile, and grow into the men they will become. It is such an honour and privilege to be apart of that. 

The inglorious times because our days are like groundhog days; in repetition. Only a parent can understand the true meaning of that. Sadly, friends and family who don't have children, don't. That's the other half of the inglorious times we live in right now. It's tough to watch the lives of others flourish in frivolous events that will eventually shape their future; for good or bad.

These are the sacrifices we make and don't make for the sake of our children.

To be a parent is the utmost wonderful thing in the world, you just have to give in, accept that this is your role, your purpose and carry on strong. 

A good deal

Put your hands up if you like a good deal? Me, me, me. I do. I do.

I love to come up with really innovative ways to spend my money. Especially when it comes to decorating my house. I guess I'm one of those people who see's a piece of art or decoration and says "I can do that. Why should I pay top dollar for it." Well that's me and even though I have the best intentions of doing it myself the idea gets lost in my head and usually never resurfaces.

Well...

That's why when I saw this really cool mirror at Pier 1, for a fraction of the original price, I had to buy it. The only caveat was a few pieces needed to be fixed. But like me, I said to myself " I can fix it."

So far a year has gone by and notta. I have it sitting in my dinning room so that I can be reminded every day to get on it. Sadly, that's not working.

I guess my question is, why do I procrastinate? Just do it already so I can enjoy the piece on my wall every time I get ready to leave the house.

I'm thinking tomorrow. I can do this. I can get it done. Stained and hung before the days done. I have to. I just have to.

Stay tuned for the final piece.

Where do ideas come from?

As a creative, my mind is always thinking. Thinking of what the next big idea is or even the most simplest thoughts, what's for dinner, and what I should do with the kids today? Yahdah, yahdah, yahdah. I don't know about you, I can only say for myself, but I am a busy lady. Every minute is consumed with something so the only real time that I get to myself is, well... the washroom. No one can bother me there. The door is shut, locked and I'm left alone to my own thoughts. No one to interrupt my thought process. So, for me I do my best thinking in the ladies room. And because of this, this lead me to another thought. Why not be literal about it.

I pulled out the iPad and did a search for light bulb decals. Came across these really cool incandescent bulb decals from Blik. Feel in love right away. Placed my order and within a couple of days my decals arrived. Put them up and here we go. For every guest that uses my restroom will now be forced to come up with some sort of an idea.

It may not be the most ideal place to put decals but why not? Why not have fun. It's a great conversation starter.

Where do you do your best thinking? And are you willing to share that space with everyone?

What's red and has wings?

While I realize this post comes a little late, I still feel the need to share. This past Halloween my oldest son told me that he wanted to be a RED AIRPLANE. Ok. No problem. Well... except there was a problem, I couldn't find a red airplane costume anywhere. However, I did find images of red airplane costumes on google. One of which was made by Pottery Barn, USA. So I tried to track it down. Found a few on eBay. Wicked right? No. Try they were sizes 7-8 yrs of age and it was last years stock. I found no luck and Halloween was fast approaching.

Because I am always thinking something, I decided to take on a big project; make my son's Halloween costume. How hard could it be? Right? Well, considering I've never made a costume, yet alone any piece of garment before I figured meh what do I have to loose? Aside from my son having no Halloween costume at all. :-/

I enlisted my mother, who is a sewing genius, and we headed off to the fabric store.

We decided on felt and fleece. Figured it would keep him warm if we had a cold Halloween night. It had to be RED so most of our fabric was RED. But we added a few other fun colours for the small details. We measured him up and attempted to make the pattern. Which I might add was a nightmare. Buy a pattern and make something from it is easy, for the most part. Making a pattern and sewing it and hoping it will fit, is another thing. At last we figured it out. It took us a while and a little help but we managed.

In the end, not bad for a couple of rookies. It was hard work and I am truly thankful I have a Mother who is a genius when it comes to sewing. Logan loved it and wore it to daycare and all of Hallows eve.

He had an amazing Halloween, what more can a mother ask for. :-) Except maybe for a decent picture of the little guy.

A surprise visit!

About three weeks ago, I thought that it would be a great idea if my older brother Paul and I took a trip out to New Brunswick to see our little brother Nick for a surprise visit. I called Paul that same very night, he thought it was a wicked idea too but he didn't know when we should go - I thought the sooner the better.

To be quite honest I was missing my little brother, we got to see him over the Christmas Holidays but it just wasn't enough time.

So... with that in mind I started to check out flight times and prices. Called my brother Paul the next day and gave him a few dates and options. Before you knew it we had already booked our flight and hotel room and were set to fly out in three weeks time.

Meanwhile, as this was being planned, our brother Nick had no clue what was up. We wanted to make sure that we were able to spend time with him considering we were only going to be there for a weekend. So, I got in touch with his girlfriend, Virg. She was amazing! She was able to get Nick off of work on Saturday and Sunday and keep a huge secret that she was dying to tell.

The three weeks came up fast. Feb 3rd was finally here. Paul and I had never been so excited to travel and hang out with one another. To be honest, I can't recall when us siblings ever got to hang out exclusively... got to be at least over a decade, for sure. But what I can say is that we brought the best out of each other. 

And we're off...

Paul and I waiting to board the plane.

On the plane. Ready to take off.

About to land in Moncton, New Brunswick.

After we landed in Moncton, New Brunswick I thought to myself that this is probably the smallest airport that I've ever been in. Only three gates and one security check. Very unusual considering I'm used to traveling to major cities with bigger airports. Virg came and picked us up. We packed the car and were off to the hotel to drop off our stuff.

We stayed in The Hampton Inn by Hilton. When we got there we were bumped to a Whirlpool suite with only one California king size bed. For couples this would've of been a great bump, but for a brother and sister - yah not so much. None the less, it was a very nice room. Super clean and modern. Too bad we never got to use the Whirlpool.

After we checked in we made our way to Main street. Got something to eat and headed over to the Keg for Drinks. The Keg is where my little brother works. We thought that it would be a great idea to wait for him to finish his shift and then surprise the shit out of him.

Needless to say, he was. He was so shocked he didn't even know what to say, think or do. Which is rare for him.

Nick just seeing us for the first time.

A super happy bro.

Paul, Nick and Virg.

The three of us. Paul, I think at this point, was up for 29 hrs +. He just came off the night shift before leaving.

The next day we headed out to the slopes. We traveled to Wentworth ski hill in Nova Scotia. Paul and I were excited to see two provinces in one weekend. Total score! Nick, Virg and I snowboarded and Paul put on skis. Thank goodness Nick and Virg know what they are doing because without their help, Paul and I wouldn't be landing 180s and 360s. NOT. But we were doing jumps, landing some and falling a lot with others.

Entering Nova Scotia

Really cool artwork inside the Chalet.

In line waiting for the lift.

Grabbing lunch.

Getting ready to head back to Moncton, NB. Needless to say, it was a wicked, fun filled day and I'd do it again in a heart beat.

Sunday was a great day to chill, considering every inch of our body was sore. Must of been all those jumps Paul and I landed. Well... didn't land. lol. We spent the day hanging out with our little brother. (Just thinking about him makes me miss him even more and wishing he was just around the corner so I can chill with him for an extra 10 more minutes. But that's just not reality.)

In the end, Paul and I were so happy that we hopped on a plane and got to spend the weekend with our brother Nick. Some really good bonding time. We hope that we can do it again this summer, but with the whole family. Can anyone say "road trip".

On the plane coming back home. Bitter sweet. Miss ya buddy. We'll see you soon. xo.