Long Weekend

Hi Everyone. In Canada, it's a long weekend and we are enjoying lots of family time with a little real estate sprinkled in throughout the weekend. Earlier this year, Corey joined my in real estate and it is awesome getting to work together but there is a danger of not being able to unplug... ever! Living with your business partner can mean that you end up chatting about work A LOT, which means that we need to make an extra effort to focus on our family.

Today, we took the girls (including our pup, Lola) to a local park to ideally see some cherry blossoms without the High Park crowds. They didn't care much for the cherry blossoms but they LOVED the dandelions. When I was little, a babysitter told me that dandelions are yellow because spiders pee in them. For years, I was terrified to touch them. Today, I got to do the opposite and explain how cool dandelions are because they provide food for bees AND people can eat them too! It's so cool to see the world through their eyes.

A friend sent me a gentle nudge the other day to continue blogging and she is absolutely right. I'm working on some cool posts right now and some topics include: staging with vintage items, the kittens we've been taking care of and a fun little contest Corey and I have been having this weekend. Stay tuned and enjoy some fun over the next couple of days!

Building Sibling Bonds

For the past few months, Corey and I have finally been able to step back and enjoy the relationship Rudy and Maude are forming. It's a sweet friendship that's mostly nurturing, occasionally jealous and often silly! Watching Maude copy her sister's antics or watching Rudy help Maude get dressed is now one of my greatest joys as their mother. It's so crazy to watch them forming this bond that (hopefully) will last long past my own lifetime.

Until recently, their play still needed a lot of intervention. Rudy needed reminders to include her sister and they both often needed reminders to share but these days they seem to regulate themselves quite well. Sometimes, when we are out and about, the girls insist on holding hands the entire time. It melts my heart!

Many people ask us what we do to encourage the girls to get along so well. My first instinct is to say "nothing" and assume that it's just luck and their temperaments... and it is those things to a large extent! But when I think carefully, I see that we made some deliberate decisions early on to help curb jealousy and create a bond. Now these things have become habits for all of us but I'll share some of the conscious things we have done. (Not that we're experts, because we're certainly not! I'm equally interested in hearing your tips!)

• I remember when I was pregnant with Maude. We read so many books to Rudy and we made sure the books focused on the big sister more than the baby. We wanted her to feel really special in her new role.

• The first time Rudy visited me in hospital after Maude was born, I made sure not to be holding Maude so Rudy could climb into bed with me right away. Then I could gently ask "Shall we take a look at your baby sister?"

• In those early (newborn) days, "Baby Maude" seemed to find such cute little presents to give her big sister! Bribery works... and I learned this tip from my own mom!

• When Maude was a newborn (and still pretty boring to a toddler) we sort of gave her a personality by speaking for her to make it easier for Rudy to relate to her. "Baby Maude wants to know if she can listen to a story with you!" "Baby Maude thinks that's funny!" "Baby Maude wants you to sing a song to her!""Baby Maude loves you!"

• It goes without saying but we always make an effort to give them each individual time with each of us to show them how special they are so there's no need for them to compete for our attention. When either enters the room, they need to see our faces light up.

• We often speak as if they're a team: "What are you sisters up to now?" "You girls are so silly and funny!" "You girls are such awesome sisters!"

• We force them to share. If we are giving them a treat or even a snack, we usually give it to one and tell her to go and share it with her sister. This way, they get to practice sharing and they know it's their sister who usually brings them a treat.

• They each have several photos of the other in their rooms as well as photos of the two of them together. We like to weave a family culture into their daily life.

• We encourage them to kiss and hug their sister goodnight. Every. Single. Night. It's one of the last things each of them do.

• Finally, we encourage lots of silly, rough play! I think they bond more easily while running through the house shrieking or while jumping on the bed bashing into each other than they do playing quietly.

So now I'd love to hear from you guys. What do you do to build sibling bonds? Have I missed any really good tips? I'd love to hear what has worked for you! I'm especially interested to hear tips that may help as they get older. I hear the teenage years are tough! haha

Christmas Weekend Fun

It's almost Christmas and our gifts are finally wrapped and under the tree. Maude has been sick so we've been trying to stay close to home so she's comfortable.

Rudy had a blast this morning sliding down the hill in our yard and playing in the snow. There's something so sweet seeing kids all bundled up and toasty warm!

Earlier this month, we bought some plastic ornaments for Rudy to decorate. We use glitter and glue and tissue paper and it makes for the easiest craft. It might be craft time this afternoon!

While we were playing in the snow, we collected some fresh snow and made snow ice cream using this recipe.

Other activities we have planned for the next couple of days include baking shortbread cookies, tobogganing and watching this movie. Can you believe I've never seen it? We also may take this girls to see this festive street!

It has been non-stop action this month at our house between Rudy's Birthday, Hanukkah and now Christmas. I've also been really busy and work and Rudy started a new school this month. Our heads are spinning but we're excited to relax a bit over the next week.

What are you doing over the break? Do you have plans for NYE? Friends of ours are having a bunch of families with kids over and we're going to have an early countdown at 8 so the kids can crash after in the basement and the adults can stay up for the real countdown. Fun, right?

Season's greetings and have a wonderful and safe holiday! Happy Tibb's Eve, if you like to drink! ;)

Meet Maude!

I have the best excuse in the world for not blogging in July. Her name is Maude and she has consumed our lives and turned our world upside down this past month. Life with just me, Corey and Rudy had become so routine that I suppose I actually imagined that life with two would feel just as easy and natural.

HA HA HA HA! Obviously, that is not the case and it will take time for us to find our groove as a family of four. So far, we've discovered that "sleep when the baby sleeps" is easy advice to follow with the first but not so easy when there's a toddler who needs to be entertained, bathed, clothed, fed, driven to camp... you get the picture! Not only that, but she needs lots of love and reassurance that she still holds a HUGE place in our lives and hearts. I'll talk more about the things we've been doing to ease the transition in another post but so far, Rudy seems quite proud (when she's not indifferent) of her sister.

With so much to do, it has taken me a little while to find my groove as a new mom again. The newborn stage has never been my favourite and I don't bond as easily with my babies as some moms. Part of this may be due to the fact that I feel hyper-aware of Rudy's feelings and I sort of feel like we've betrayed her a tiny bit by having another baby. Silly, but hormones make you feel funny things. Still, it's hard not to open my heart to my sweet Maude. She looks a lot like her sister but is still entirely her own person!

Already, we can see how alert and interested she is in the world around her. From the day she was born, she was lifting her head and trying to hold herself up with her arms and it looks like she may be just as tough as her sister.

Photo credit for Rudy's photos: Danielle Perelman Photography

Maude was born earlier than expected and we weren't quite ready for her. I was still working, the nursery wasn't yet finished and we hadn't had a chance to tell Rudy what to expect while I was in the hospital. For a very Type A person like me, it was kind of traumatic not to have things go according to plan.

I have lots of posts coming in the next few weeks which will cover the early days, her birth story and (of course) before and after shots of the nursery and the secret room. I'm excited to share what we've been doing now that we're starting to feel whole as a family again.

I'll confess that in the first few days, I felt a bit broken. We weren't sleeping; Maude was crying all the time and keeping us up; Rudy was totally freaked out because I'd been in the hospital so much and my hormones were going crazy. My mom was staying with us (thank goodness) and I told her one night that I loved Maude but we had been so happy as a family of three and I feared I had messed with a good thing and ruined everything. Moms often know best though and mine reassured me that our life would mend itself but it would just be a bigger life than before.

I'm relieved that it's starting to feel like my mom was right. We were shattered for a few weeks but we're putting the pieces back together. Each day seems to get a tiny bit easier and sometimes we are actually able to get something productive accomplished and it makes me feel like myself again. We've managed to have a couple of dinners at family restaurants and I'm starting to see glimpses of our new life with two amazing girls. When that happens, I can see that it is very big and very full. We are lucky.

Mother's Day

An old friend told me I should be getting back to blogging (Thanks, Nat!) and she's right. I hope it's been a Happy Mother's Day for all and I'm sending best wishes to all the amazing mothers, mothers-in-law, stepmothers, grandmothers, foster mothers, mothers-to-be, those trying to become mothers and most especially mothers who have lost a child.

Each year, Mother's Day seems to creep up during my busy time at work but this year we still managed a family trip to a local farm over the weekend. Rudy loved her pony ride and we were amazed at how well she holds on for herself this year! At home, we're juggling toilet training, my work schedule, renovations and my third trimester so things can get pretty busy but Corey still managed to make Mother's Day special for me.

I've been wanting a 5 year (one line a day) journal for years but kept forgetting to pick one up. I first heard of them when one of my clients used one to propose to his (now) wife. Corey (knowing that I hate waiting) gave me my Mother's Day gift earlier this week and I've been enjoying reflecting on the day each night and jotting down a couple of notes. It's really neat because each page has room to write a few lines on that same date for the next five years so I'll get to look back and see how our lives have changed over time.

Rudy gave me a gorgeous bouquet of hand prints. Am I the only one who adores these cutesy school crafts? I was actually really excited to see what she'd made me for mother's day, although I sort of miss the 80's when we gave our moms handprint ashtrays. Ha!

Noticing that we have hardly any photos of me and Rudy during my pregnancy, Corey made a point of taking some while we cuddled and read together in bed.

It was a simple, perfect day. We're enjoying the peace and quiet before Baby M comes to shake things up!

Saving Family Memories

Note: This is not a sponsored post. I just wanted to share a cool app we've been enjoying.

When I was little, I just loved curling up with a huge stack of family photo albums.  I enjoyed seeing photos of relatives and of us and hearing the stories that went along with them.  Just thinking about it feels cozy and nostalgic.

Now, I'm a big fan of Instagram and even posted some tips for taking better phone camera photos here.  I love the convenience of always having a camera with me and in some ways, I love that we're so great at documenting special moments these days.  On the other hand, I often wonder how many of these photos Rudy will actually get to see.  Will she follow me on Instagram and see all her old baby photos?  Will she one day ask me to remove them all from social media?  (If she does that's her choice and totally okay with me!)  Will she ever sit and look at them with me so I can share the stories behind all the silly photos?

One of our goals in the new house is to keep family memories and photos more accessible. We've also been playing more music but that's a different post. :) Recently, we've been trying Chatbooks and so far, we love it. The app automatically creates and orders mini albums from my Instagram photos and ships them to us. Each book is a really fun surprise and Rudy already loves looking through them. Toddlers are so self-absorbed that a few photos of themselves or even a mirror can occupy them for hours! ;)

We've also been making an effort to actually hang some family photos in this house. How do you display family photos in your home?

First Snow

Can you believe we've had snow twice in the past couple of weeks?  Does it count as the first snow when it barely sticks to the ground?  I'm still in denial that winter's almost here.  I suppose it's the right time of year but it still feels too early!  It also reminds me of all the grown up things we need to do like change our tires and do something about the driveway at the new house so it's not slippery this winter.

This fall has flown and I'm a little sad that it's over but I keep reminding myself of all the cozy winter things that I love: Christmas (especially the lights and displays downtown); curling up with a good book or movie and a crackling fire; taking Rudy tobogganing, our (new) family tradition of a short winter getaway to Great Wolf Lodge.  Those are my winter happy thoughts!

We decided to embrace the cold weather the other day and bundle up for a nice long walk.  It's funny how kids don't seem to feel the cold because they're too busy exploring and being active.  We ended up having a lot of fun.  It's probably one of our last family walks in our current house.  Here are some photos if you'd like to see:

First Photos of Our New House!

It's been a whirlwind but we've taken possession of our new home!  We haven't moved yet but our packing is well underway and we've been visiting ouvr new house daily to take measurements and make some early design decisions.

We've already encountered a few hiccups with our renovation plans (which should always be expected) and we're rolling with the punches so far.  I'll outline some of these hiccups in separate posts but I always remind my clients to budget more than they think they'll need for updates and we're seeing the truth behind that advice firsthand.  Even so, the buzz of excitement is still very much alive and I'm excited to share some of the first photos of our new home.  These will serve as the "before" shots as we begin to update the house.  For now, I'm leaving out the bathrooms and basement, although I'll get to those.

I'll start with the floor plans for those of you who like something to reference when I mention our plans.

The main floor has two entrances: One off our driveway that leads to the hallway beside the kitchen and a second entrance (which is a more traditional entrance), which allows you to turn left into the living room or right into the 4th bedroom, which will serve as my home office.  This is the second entrance.

You'll have to excuse the photos, not only am I not a professional photographer but I snapped these on the day we took possession.  The former owner was still in the process of moving out and his dog was running around.  :)

Here's the living room.  We love all the light in this room, as well as the ceiling beams and the wood-burning fireplace.

I'll mention again:  The cute white dog in the photos is NOT OURS... In case any of your were thinking we'd adopted another pet and worried about our sanity.

The living room leads into the dining room, which is quite large and has a sliding door to the back yard.  It also has the same lovely wood ceiling beams, which we loved right from the start.

The "view" from the dining room, looking into the living room.

Back in the living room.  This one was taken last night when we brought Rudy for a visit.

The kitchen is small and I can't wait to renovate it but it's not going to happen in the near future so we're going to live with it for now and get creative with storage.

Across the hall from the kitchen is (what will be) our family room.  On the floor plans, it's labelled as a sitting room and servery.  In the past, it was a part of a home denture clinic that the previous owner ran for years.  I think a lot of buyers had trouble making sense of the choppy floor plan and figuring out what to do with these rooms but we immediately loved the idea of getting another main floor family room, which we had expected to need to sacrifice when we moved.   Once the wall and sinks are removed, we'll have a great space for play and TV!

The 4th bedroom in the floor plans will serve as a main floor office for me.  There's already an outlet in the closet for my printer!

Upstairs, we'll be taking the 3rd room and giving Rudy the 2nd bedroom.  Our new bedroom is large enough for a kind size bed!  I may be more excited for more sleeping space than anything else in the house.

Rudy's room (the second bedroom) is a mirror image of our bedroom.  It's going to look lovely when it's finished.

The room currently labelled as the "master" will serve as our 3rd bedroom for now.  Eventually, we'd like to extend the top floor to make the room larger so that we could actually use it as our own room but currently, the sloped ceilings would make this room less functional for two adults.

Well, there it is.  There's a lot to do but we'll start working on the house little by little.  Before long, it will feel like home!