Our Easter weekend

I know Easter was kind of a while ago, but this is where I am at in life. Easter weekend is when some of our friends come back to our town to visit their parents, so I try to make it easy for us all to get together if I can. This year we did a big brunch because so many of us are parents of little kids, so we kind of need our social life to include them and also be around nap time and also allow us to maybe have a drink during the day.  

We had maybe thirty people here for a brunch. I went a little crazy with weird desserts like pavlovas that look like fried eggs, and Ina Garten's lemon loaf. This is what I have concluded: the recipes that are kinda weird and take forever and have ingredients you don't usually buy are not huge sellers at a brunch. It seems to me that people really just love quiche and bacon and cookies and fruit. I ended up throwing out pretty much all these little baskets I made from phyllo pastry that I had filled with whipped cream and berries because no one ate them. I didn't even want one, because phyllo pastry is soo messy. Also, I have learned that you can NEVER have too much bubbly and orange juice. Everyone loves that. And also a pitcher of Caesars will get drank for sure for sure for sure. 

My sister and mom and brother's girlfriend are 100% for all the crafts and baking activities even though we all act like we think it's lame and messy. We also tell the kids that the cookies and icing and candy are not edible. We are monsters I know. 

The cousins were loving the puddles. We are lucky that the flooding does not effect us at all, and we just end up with soaked kids every time they exit the house. 

We did the unicorn swirl Easter eggs, and it was fun for two seconds, and then we put all four cousins into a shower because it was the messiest. Then we let them throw the eggs off the deck because honestly the eggs were not that pretty and they were a little smelly after a certain one-year-old kept squeezing them until they cracked. 

We did lots of bubble blowing and catching. At 1.5 years old, Will basically just wants to drink the bubble liquid, but the other kids love chasing bubbles. We are considering getting a bubble machine if it means we can just sit and watch while the kids run around.

My lady trip to Toronto

A few weeks ago I took a little weekend trip to Toronto with a group of girlfriends. These are ladies that I knew in high school, but got really close to in University. Some of us were roommates for the entire four years of our undergrads and beyond. We have all made an effort to get together via a trip or to attend each other's weddings over the years. Like everyone, we are all super busy, so it was pretty amazing that we were all able to do this three night/two day trip. We chose Toronto because it was easiest for the six of us to fly there from the four different places we live. 

On the Thursday night after work, Cohen and my parents took me to the airport while Jon put Will to bed. We took this pic through the security glass. He loves going to the airport. I had actually been super sick for the days leading up to the trip. I seriously considering bailing on the trip because I was so scared of ending up super sick on the airplane. But I knew I would have such huge FOMO, I had to go. On the way to the airport, my parents gave me two pieces of advice: stay medicated and have a few drinks. By the time our flight left, I felt better, but my voice was completely one hundred percent gone. 

(lots of giggly Ubers)

I flew with one of the girls who lives 20 minutes from me. We met our friend who lives in Bermuda at the airport and shared a cab to the hotel, where we met two other friends. I think we got to the hotel at maybe 10 pm, and talked for four hours straight to catch up. I honestly could not talk, but the ladies would all lean in for me to whisper a story once in a while.  

(tea and Prosecco)

On Friday we shopped at the Eaton centre, hung at the hotel pool, and ended our night at this super loud and fun Japanese restaurant with sake bombs and octopus balls. So good. 

On Saturday we went to a high tea at the Ritz-Carlton, returned to the Eaton Centre for more shopping and checked out the market. The high tea was really cute and fun. We loved checking out the other guests who wore huge fancy hats and dresses with Alice in Wonderland style. 

At the high tea, we asked our super nice waiter where he would recommend for supper. He suggested a secret restaurant that has a secret entrance you can only enter if you say secret words. He had us at "secret." So we went to this "regular" restaurant and told the hostess we wanted to see the champagne room. Then we were seated and we ordered champagne and oysters. Then we were summoned into a champagne room were the host pulled on a bottle and made a wall slide open. We walked through a dark hallway and down a few stairs, and we were suddenly in a completely different restaurant. It was really packed and impossible to get a table, but we hung out, ordered fancy $20 drinks and took pictures in the only place you are allowed to: the red bathtub. It all felt fun and very millennial. Eventually we got hungry and tired so we left via the red velvet rope in the kitchen. 

(the red bathtub in the unisex bathroom)

(elevator selfies, always)

(I never buy shoes, but I bought shoes)

That last night, we got back to the hotel after our secret restaurant experience, ordered pizza, and chatted for a few more hours. We all left early on Sunday to return to our normal lives. The whole weekend is such a nice blur. I am so grateful to have these friends who have known me for so long and know my stories because we have the same stories. When I was growing up, moving every two years, I couldn't have predicted I would have these kind of longterm forever friends. 

Also, because we are all 35 this year, we all have similar histories with technology and social media. Five of us lived in an apartment where we shared one landline. We had zero computers and no wifi. We had to walk to campus to a computer lab to do our schoolwork, and guys had to call our landline to ask us out. The only pictures we have from our late teenaged years and early twenties are physical pictures that came from the odd disposable or little digital camera. Lots of the stories we have are just in our memories and we loved telling them to each other again. I could write forever about how valuable I feel my female friendships are. These are the ladies who have gotten me through some really challenging times in my life, and these are also the ladies who are my biggest supporters when I have done something positive in my life. 

Our March break weekend in Moncton

We almost always get an Airbnb when we travel because it is so nice to be able to put the kids to bed in one room, and then hang out in another room. But lately, our Airbnb situations have been a little sketchy, and also we wanted to have access to a pool for this little two night trip we did for March break. Jon and I don't have March break off, so Cohen was at day camp all week, and then we all drove the hour and a half to Moncton on Thursday night. 

The minute we got to the hotel, Jon asked if they had any suites or adjoining rooms, but they were totally booked solid because it was March break. So this is what we did: I put Will to bed first in our pack and play while Jon and Cohen hung out in the lobby and read books. The hotel had a little popcorn party in the lobby each night, so Cohen was in heaven. Then when Will was asleep, Cohen snuck in to his queen bed, and Jon and I hung out in the bathroom. Jon took all the pillows from the room and made us a little bathroom couch. We had a beer and listened to podcasts and it was actually kinda ok. 

The hotel pool was cool BUT so stressful for me. Will is wild and was constantly trying to get away from me and basically swim around. Like he really thinks he can swim. I just ordered him a lifejacket. We also did skip hop jump with my sister and her kids. That place is insane! So good. My sister and I were a teeny bit envious of the moms of slightly older kids who could just chill with a coffee on a bench while their kids ran around. 

It was Jon's birthday, so we all went to Eastside's for supper. We made a reservation for 5, which meant we beat the rush, didn't have to wait at all. We ate tons of bread and pasta. 

We went to my sister’s house midway through the day so the younger kids could nap and we could have lunch. The kids gobbled down their tuna sandwiches, which is rare. Later I asked Cohen what his favourite part of the day was. He said lunch at Kiki’s. So pretty much the expensive stuff we did is a little lost on 5-year-olds and tuna sandwiches win. This trip made Jon and I feel optimistic about our future travels with our boys. I’m wishing such a happy 38th birthday to my partner in life. 

Family day weekend

This past weekend we celebrated Family Day for the second year. It’s basically just a long weekend in February. Since our kids are so young, I kinda feel like every day is family day, but a holiday is always nice. 



On the base, they had some activities at the gym, including the huge bouncy castle and about twenty plasma cars. This was the first time Cohen has ever gone into one of those bouncy castles. He was always scared to go in. He loved it. Will was wild, and kept racing through the crowds of people to try to get into that bouncy castle. The tiny baby bouncy castle was so boring to him. He preferred being bounced like a ball in the huge one, getting balls whipped at him by kids ten times his size. He is a handful!

We did a little snowshoeing in Lindsey Valley, which is less than ten minutes from our house. As usual, the prep work for a little 45 minute walk in the snow is exhausting. By the time we get in the car to go, Jon and I are both kinda wondering if it’s worth it. And then it always is somehow. It’s so great to be outside with the boys, walking through the snow. 

The boys and I did a bunch of baking. Cohen is suddenly really into muffins, so that’s our thing right now. In the past, he is exclusively interested in the part of baking that involves eating a ton of chocolate chips from the measuring cup. I mean, I get it. I also love a fistful of chocolate chips at times. 

Also, both boys are very into their costume box right now. Actually maybe always. I would say that every single day, at least one of them pulls out the costume box from the closet. We have probably a dozen capes, and they all get so much use. Love my little Batman. 

Our Valentine’s Day family date 2019

We has such a great Valentine’s Day date with our little guys. Jon and I have never been super into the valentine’s day romantic restaurant dinner, even before we had kids. And now we pretty much make Valentine’s Day about the boys. 





Cohen loves doing family dates so much. He especially loves getting dressed up in “sharp” clothes. The boys are mostly just into the avocado rolls and the deep fried banana dessert. 

I am so lucky to get to celebrate little holidays with my three guys. Sushi works so well for us because we are in and out in like 30 minutes. We order a few rolls right away, and then just keep them coming until dessert. It’s weirdly becoming one of our favourite family restaurants.