Proof!

Parenting is not always an easy job. Quite often I find myself questioning the way I parent, did I say the right thing? Did I act the right way? My goal is to raise two girls that are kindhearted, respectful, loving and honest givers. Our family motto is BE SILLY, BE KIND, BE HONEST! While it's important for me to teach the girls to be caring it is also important to teach them to be silly and have fun too!

As parents we work hard to teach our children the qualities we feel are important. When we begin to see these qualities and attributes naturally flow out of our children it's pretty awesome. This is what my oldest daughter recently gave me. It is strangely on coffin shaped paper but it's the words that are written on it that really matter.

The left one says Mom I love you every time I look at you, and the other Happy New Year Mom, I love you. This is just two of the six notes I have accumulated. I have started writing her little notes back as well.

She did this on her own and it's truly a refection of the amazing young girl she is. This is proof that we must be doing something right(wink). Moral of the story...... eventually you will get to enjoy the magic moments making the bumps in the road, time, frustrations and few gray hairs all well worth it. I promise!

My girls are my world and because of this I choose not to mention their names or show pictures of them on here for their safely. Believe me, if I was 100% sure there was no risk I would plaster this blog with nothing but tidbits and pictures all about them. There are some wonderful blogs that I follow that focus primarily on their children but for me to rest my head peacefully at night, I choose not to.

I am one proud Mama!

xoxAngela
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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas preparations are in full swing around our house. A Swiss Chalet festive special has been consumed and last weekend we attended the annual Christmas parade. The morning after the parade we awoke to find our elf on the shelf had returned. While we were asleep the elf decided to set up our Christmas tree (minus the ornaments & lights of course). We spent last Sunday afternoon nibbling candy canes and listening to Christmas music while decorating the tree."This is the best day ever," my youngest said.

The advent calenders have been opened which means the official countdown is on.  

Since I was little I can remember going to Swiss Chalet for the holiday festive special.This is a tradition I will never let go of.

Our Christmas tree is very kid friendly. I have tucked my fancier decorations away for when the girls are much older. What is the sense in having a tree if you can't enjoy it and the kids can't play with it right?

Hope you are all enjoying your preparations for the holidays!

Remember it's not about the stuff, it's about the feelings and the memories you create.

xoAngela
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Our Halloween

Our Halloween will consist of two Disney princesses, a Halloween obsessed husband who can't stop playing with the fog machine, creepy Halloween music, the dog barking every time the door bell rings and sugar-fueled children (and adults).

We love Halloween and we always go all out at our house. That would explain why we have a front yard full of spooky decorations, a devil/construction dude with a strobe light for eyes sitting on our deck and the creepiest ghost thing you ever saw hanging from the corner of our house. We are those people.

I will never forget the time my oldest (three at the time) went up to a house to trick-or-treat and was given a can of pop (something she was far to young to have).  She came down the stairs and shouted to us that the lady had given her a can of beer. "Wow," my husband said, "we are definitely going back to that house!" (lol)

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Hope you all have very safe and SPOOKY Halloween.

xoAngela
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Weekday Mornings With Children.....

I finally feel like I am getting this school thing down pat. It only took about two weeks but I think I am finally there (wink). Don't get me wrong, it's still extremely busy trying to get everyone out the door on time, but a bit of pre-planning has helped immensely.

Here a few things that have help my family get out the door for school/work on time in the mornings:

1.Pick out the clothes or have your kids pick out their clothes the night before. That way you can see and decide if it is weather appropriate etc. This could save you an argument and some time in the mornings.

2. Make lunches the night before. (I can't even imagine trying to do this and make breakfast and get myself ready in the morning)

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3. Have bag all packed with homework, library books, lunch money etc. all ready to go. In the morning all you need to do it pop the lunch in the backpack and your good to go.

4. Lay jacket, mitts and hat out the night before. This way you are not hunting for a lost mitten when you should be heading off to work.

5. Have a chore list/chart for your kids to do in the mornings. At the end of the day reward with stickers if everything is checked off. If they know to brush their hair and teeth it saves you from having to ask them over and over.

6. If anything is going to be different in the morning it is good to tell the child the night before to alleviate any extra stress on kids and parents in the morning. Example... a parent has to leave for work much earlier and will not be there to assist with the morning. This could save you a ,"I want Mommy to do this" episode in the morning. Telling them the night before gives them time to prepare for the change in routine.

7. Get the kiddos to bed early. My kids typically are in bed before 8:00. This allows them to get a full nights rest before the 6:45 wake up call. It is also very helpful for parents to get to bed early too (not 8:00, but you know what I mean). I get up before the kids to do a few things and have a wee bit of quiet time for me.

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8. Plan out the mornings. In our house my husband typically gets the kids up, dressed and starts breakfast while I am finishing getting ready. Then when I am done my husband does what he needs to do to get ready and I finish breakfast, getting bags packed, and making sure teeth/hair are brushed etc. It seems to work well for us.

All these steps do seem to keep the flow of things relatively stress free for the most part.  Although on occasion a morning can completely flop and end in tears no matter how much you plan it out. We all have our off days on occasion.

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Wishing you all many happy mornings.

xoAngela
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A Trip to the Fair....

I can remember as a kid always looking forward to the fair coming to town. Back to school always seemed to coincide with the fair as well.  I loved the rides and all the delicious treats.  There was an amazing amount of energy and excitement that came with each visit. I still get this wave of excitement as I walk through the gates with my own kids.

This past week we packed up the family and  headed to the fair. The girls are both old enough to enjoy all of the kiddie rides now. When I was a kid my favorite ride was the scrambler. This year I took my oldest on the scrambler for the first time. Yup, we sure got scrambled. I spent the entire ride making sure she would not go flying out. It went a bit faster than I had remembered (wink). It was a fun ride though! She liked it, no doubt!

Besides watching the happy faces of our children on the rides the next best thing to do was EAT!

Every year I look forward to eating at least two DIPPY DOGS. So what is a Dippy Dog?  Well.. a Dippy Dog is the most amazing tasting hot-dog wrapped in the most delicious batter and deep fried. Ya sure your thinking, whats the big deal? It sounds like a Pogo dog. No way! Dippy Dogs do not even come close to tasting like a frozen Pogo dog. These puppies are made on the spot and served pipping hot with your choice of either ketchup, mustard or maple syrup. My favorite is a combination of mustard and syrup, so yummy! I dream about these all year long, no joke, (wink).

Aside from the food and the rides we did take in a laser show.  It was really cool but it lasted a whole eight minutes, not super impressed. My oldest says " is that it?" Luckily the last night made up for the short laser show. They put on a fantastic fireworks display that I have to say.... was spectacular!

 Well until next year........ bye NBEX, (aka FREX).

xoAngela

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These Eyes....

The eyes don't lie......  or my eyes anyways.  My hectic schedule leaves me feeling a bit sluggish at times. When I feel this way, I look this way, which is very tired.  

My motto is.... if you can't make it, fake it.  Sure you were up half the night with your little one but hey a few good products and know one will ever know. (wink)

These are my three best buddies in times of need:

Bobbi Brown Corrector - Light Bisque, this is a super creamy light weight corrector that I apply with my finger tips under the eye. This helps to take away some of the darkness.

After this I apply a very small amount of tarte's amazonion clay full coverage concealer. (I bought this at tarte's last 30% off sale, but cannot find it now) This is a little thicker formula so I gently pat it under the eye very carefully trying not to tug at the delicate skin. This is a bit lighter than the corrector so it really helps to brighten up the under eye area.

Once this is all blended in I set it with a dusting of bareminerals mineral veil. This is a shear mineral finishing powder that helps lock everything into place.

This little combo seems to do the trick at hiding my less than optimal nights rest.(wink)  

What's your secret? I shared mine.

xoAngela

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A Hard (but short) Goodbye

My oldest daughter has become really good friends with a neighbor of ours. She jumps at any and all opportunities to play with her. When they are not playing she is busy making her pictures and telling me stories about what the two of them did and what they plan on doing next. My daughter has become slightly obsessed and totally engrossed with that fact that she has a BFF.

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Now that it is summer, the two of them have been playing outside lots. They spend most days running back and forth from house to house. It's pretty sweet!

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The other day, my daughters friend told us that she was going away for a few days. Although she was excited, she was still sad to leave my daughter. Before coming back into the house for the night the two of them exchanged sobs and hugs and said they would miss each other. I then brought my daughter into the house to comfort her and to help talk her though these emotions. She started to feel better when I suggested we make her a "surprise" craft while she was away.

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I can remember when I was young how difficult it was to say goodbye to someone you cared a lot about, even if it was only for a few days.  Even now I often have a hard time saying goodbye to friends and family whom I won't see for a while. Like mother, like daughter I guess.

It is so rewarding  (and maybe a little selfishly sad) )to see my little "big" girl spreading her wings and forming relationships and becoming the sensitive, loving, caring and kind girl I hope and pray for.

I will never ever forget my first real BFF. It was my first day of kindergarten and the bus driver encouraged me to sit with her. I remember looking over at her sitting alone, her feet dangling back and forth as she waved me over. We were like two peas in a pod from then on. When I look at my daughter and her friend I am reminded of that friendship. It was a pretty special time in my life, and I can see the same in my daughters too.

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Aren't BFF's the greatest?
Sending lots of love to all my Best'ies!
xoAngela

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Rainy Day Spa Party

I have been trying to plan a kids "spa day" with the girls for a little while now. There has been so much going on the past few weekends that we could not find the time. Well this past weekend we decided to make the time. Here is our "girls only" spa day party! (don't think hubby was too upset about be banished to the basement to watch the tube)

Number one is to have lots of choices. Kids love spending time going through the colors.  I think this could possibly be the funnest (word?) part.

I started by soaking their feet in a warm water mixture of bubble bath and epsom salts. Once dry I then applied cream for a mini relaxing foot massage. Next is the polish. The girls were allowed to choose two colors and we created a pattern by alternating the colors. Once the polish was dry we applied some flower decals and finished with a top coat of sparkles to seal everything in.  

I think they turned out pretty darn good!

To finish off the "spa experience" we decided we should have a tea party. I pulled out the tea set and set up the plates with treats and fruit. We talked with pretend accents as we sipped our tea and ate our snacks. 

It was a wonderful rainy day activity spent with some pretty special young girls. 

I honestly don't know who had more fun, me or the kids!

(Now if I can just get them to give me a pedicure I will be all set, ha ha)

xoAngela

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Adventures in "Children's" Shoe Land (#2)

In a earlier post I wrote about trying to find lanterns for my front porch. I thought I might find some at Target although most of their summer decor seemed to be gone. While in Target though I did notice all the shoes were 40% off. Wow, hello!

A couple of weeks ago my oldest daughter got very excited when she went to put her summer "church" shoes on and realized they did not fit anymore. It's funny how happy kids get when they see they have grown. So I figured 40% off would be perfect for finding my growing girl some new shoes. You know me, I like a good deal and rarely ever pay full price for anything. 

I found the sweetest shoes, two pairs for my oldest and one for my youngest.  My youngest is actually the beauty queen and would be very disappointed if there was no shoes for her. So I walked out of Target with no lanterns (my reason for going), three pair of shoes and a children's bedding set. Isn't that the way it works, you go in for one thing and end up walking out with four other things?

Canadians are pretty new to the Target world but I have to tell you I am very impressed, I absolutely love shopping there. They have the sweetest kids clothing and shoes as well as home decor and cosmetics. Two big thumbs up from me.

Whats your take on Target?

xoAngela
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