Today is FRI-YAY!!! I need to catch up on reading and posting blog comments this weekend. I also need to catch up on vacuuming and laundry etc. Haha. I intended to post this last week, but I grossly underestimated how busy I’d be “momming” on the last day of school and didn’t quite get this post finished! oops! Here it is today…a few goals and plans we have as a family this summer!!

1) Go to 3 new-to-us beaches – we are surrounded by beaches in our beautiful province. We normally go to one or two that are closest to us – and while there’s nothing wrong with this (it’s still the beach and STILL awesome), I want to take the time to try out a few new ones too.

2) Go on some family bike rides – this might not happen until Molly gets a bit better on her two wheels, but hopefully by September!

3) See The Incredibles 2 or another family movie – Lucy’s never been to a movie theatre so this seems like a perfect rainy day activity for us.

4) Read 5 chapter books aloud – We have plans to read The Trumpet of the Swan since we loved Charlotte’s Web so much, and I’m also working my way through the Magic Treehouse books with Lucy now (Molly loved these a couple of years ago and still enjoys reading them herself). I want to try The Penderwicks too.

5) Try out 2 new board games – we are finally getting to the point where we can play games as a family and I think we need to do it more often so that our girls can learn how to lose gracefully (this will not be easy since both of their parents still struggle with this skill…lol).

6) Instill some more independence in my children – aka I don’t need to always get them their own glass of water and they are for sure old enough to put dishes in the dishwasher…etc.

7) Take a photo a day – of something!!!

8) Learn to play the piano – Molly is starting lessons in the fall but I want to work on piano with her before that too.

9) Visit this fun train in Windsor: It’s described as a 1/8-scale railroad, almost 1 km long. Super fun, I think!

10) Learn more about Anne of Green Gables in PEI – I’m so excited to go back to PEI with the girls and we have a lot of fun plans while we’re there, including visiting Green Gables house and seeing the Anne and Gilbert musical in Charlottetown PEI this summer (I am SO excited for this).

11) Enjoy some special playdates with good friends. We have several families that we love playing with, and I really want to have some adventures with them this summer

12) Enjoy some time at the splash pads nearby – there are a few we haven’t been to yet and I can’t wait to hit these up with the kids, maybe even with their friends too!

13) Spend a great day at Upper Clements Park 🙂 We haven’t been there since 2016!

14) Get better at swimming!! Swimming is something I am really good at because I did it competitively for 6 years as a teenager. One of my children, on the other hand, is still extremely scared of the water. We live by the ocean, so it’s important to me that my kids know how to swim well. They don’t have to love it all the time or pursue it, but they need to know how to swim. 🙂

Our girls are at an incredible stage of life right now and I already have a feeling that this summer is going to be equal parts exhausting and wonderful!!! 🙂

Happy SUMMER!! We had a glorious first day of summer yesterday, and today is just as gorgeous. Life is SO busy these days – summer brings soccer, socializing, and time outside. I *love* it in some ways, but there are definitely less moments just sitting around and relaxing, lol.

This is my first summer working part-time, and I can’t wait! Our girls will be home with me 2 days a week plus weekends (with Brian too of course). I’m a bit nervous because they sometimes start bickering when they have so much extra time together, but I’m also going to keep us busy and I can’t wait to adventure around the city and province this summer and really enjoy my time with them to the fullest. So my 14 Things Friday for today includes a list of a few goals/plans for the summer for me personally. I’ll share our family’s “bucket list” next week hopefully!!!

1) Stick to an exercise routine: running, biking, and yoga.

2) Read 5 “older” books. Almost everything I’ve read this year was published in 2018 or 2017. I can’t NOT be reading what everyone is talking about, guys!

3) Blog twice a week.

4) Slow down and appreciate the extra time I will be spending with my children this summer

5) DECLUTTER, especially in our basement

6) Continue learning French (duolingo)

7) Create a streamlined list/packing plan for camping

8) Enjoy more live music – I never, ever regret this when I make time for it.

9) Spend extra time with my adorable niece – because we love her so much!!!

10) Write 5 letters or send out 5 small packages to friends – just for fun!

11) Get to bed earlier

12) Work on Brian’s 3D printing business – he wants to start selling more of his fun items 🙂

13) Try 5 new recipes

14) Say yes more often – to friends, to the kids, to whomever – if there’s no real reason to say no, I want to be able to say yes we can go to the playground, yes we can meet for a BBQ…etc.

Any fun plans for the summer? Or the weekend? We have a busy weekend coming up, but it will be fun too! Next weekend is Canada Day, already!!! yay!!

Happy Friday!!! This week has been a bit busier than usual, but it’s been full of incredible activities that have been good for the soul, so I can’t complain. I got over my cold and got some good rest this week too. We had our first SUPER summery day followed immediately by a day that required me to wear my winter coat…so that’s Canada for ya 😉

Today we’re off to visit with some of our close friends visiting from Ontario and I can’t wait to see them.  I decided to share 14 authors whose books I will always pick up – meaning if they publish something new, I am on it. I haven’t necessarily read every book by these authors yet, but I’m sure I will someday for most of them. I think every reader has an auto-buy author out there – who’s yours?

1) J.K. Rowling – Of course, Harry Potter everything, but I also liked A Casual Vacancy more than I expected to. And she is writing a new children’s book (Best news ever!!!!) I enjoyed the first Cormoran Strike book that she wrote as Robert Gailbraith but haven’t read the rest of the series yet. (More crime/PI/nothing like HP but well written). She is awesome on Twitter and I love that she uses her fame for good.

2) Louise Penny – if you’ve read any other posts on this blog, you probably know that she is one of my favourites and I will follow Gamache to the end of the world. Next in the series comes out in November and all my limbs are crossed that Netgalley gives it to me sooner because it has been a year since I’ve been in Three Pines. (These books get really good around Book 4 – A Rule Against Murder). She was amazing to meet in person and she sends out a nicely personal newsletter every month, which I love.

3) Taylor Jenkins Reid – I’ve loved everything she has written. My least favourite was Forever Interrupted and my favourite is either One True Loves or After I Do.

4) Fredrik Backman – he’s not for everyone, but man I love his writing so much. Beartown and Us Against You are my favourites but I also loved A Man Called Ove on audio. I still have to read Britt-Marie was Here and then I’ll be caught up with him.

5) Katherine Center – I bought 5 copies of Happiness for Beginners and gave 3 of them away. I kept on and I have plans for the last copy. I love this book so much. I also really enjoyed How to Walk Away, her newest book, and The Lost Husband. I need to get at her backlist sometime. Here’s an Instagram post I shared last year in which I attempt to replicate the cover of The Lost Husband:

When I first saw the cover for #thelosthusband by @katherinecenter, I really wanted to create a picture like the cover! Since we started gardening this weekend, Molly (aged 5 3/4) took this photo for me. #prettybooks #bookcover #katherinecenter #goodbooks swipe right to see the actual cover.

A post shared by Heather Hines (@heathershurrah) on May 29, 2017 at 1:52pm PDT

6) Rainbow Rowell – I had kind of forgotten about her but I re-read Attachments earlier this year and remembered that I love her books. Except Landline – I didn’t love that one.

7) Dan Brown – say what you will about him, but I love the Robert Langdon books. The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

8) Julianne Donaldson – I wish she would write another book because Edenbrooke is unparalleled in historical proper romance, in my humble opinion.

9) Sally Thorne – The Hating Game is so funny, so readable, and SO good. I can’t wait for her next book early next year. She also has an awesome facebook page that she is really active in and I love her as a person.

10) Helen Hoang – The follow up to The Kiss Quotient comes out next year and I’m sure it will be wonderful.

11) Liane Moriarty – I’m dying to read her new book that comes out in November. I have enjoyed her books immensely and I still have 3 left to read. Big Little Lies in particular is a reading experience I will never forget (SO intense) but What Alice Forgot is probably my favourite of hers.

12) Andy Weir – The Martian will probably always be my favourite by him, no matter what else he writes, but I still liked Artemis and these books are a bit outside my comfort zone so I like that about them.

13) Gretchen Rubin – she just has such interesting ideas on habits and life and I love analyzing people’s personalities and figuring out why some things come easier to some people than others.

14) Mariana Zapata – I hope she has a new book coming out sometime soon because it feels like a million years ago that I read Lukov (it was in February, lol).

I have the WORST cold ever the past few days, so this list is a bit more of a smorgasbord than I expected it to be, but all of these things are VERY true and on my list of dreams somewhere!!! Some of them are definitely very achievable and others – maybe someday!!! Here are 14 Things I’d Like to do Someday for Fourteen Things Friday.

I am also having a lot of issues with comments on the blog lately but hoping to work through that this weekend. Is anyone else struggling with this?!

1) Visit New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Scotland, and Ireland. <– these are the biggest places on my list of places I’m dying to visit

2) Go on a belated honeymoon for our 10 year anniversary – we never really went on a “real honeymoon” because we already had Molly so we are setting our sights on hopefully doing something in 2022!

3) Visit Harry Potter world in Florida / / See The Cursed Child in London or NYC !!!!

4) Have a job (maybe even part time) that relates more to my love of reading – maybe even just volunteering a lot at a library 😉

5) Complete a sprint triathlon – I think this is totally more doable for me than a half or full marathon…I just don’t like running that much!

6) Join a Master’s swim club – I can see this happening sometime in the next 10 years or so – the closest one to us isn’t super close but I’d like to get back into competitive swimming.

7) Take a yoga course (not YTT but something more condensed) – someday!

8) Do a long-term French immersion program – I mean a month or so in a French community. This will surely not happen until my children are grown.

9) Play the fiddle more in public – I used to do this all the time at sessions and it has fallen by the wayside. I’d also like to play in a wind ensemble/orchestra or join a choir again someday – not sure when!

10) Write a book (possibly a children’s book – TBD) I have afew plans for this but none of them are anywhere near fruition.

11) Learn how to skate, snowshoe, or ski better. We live in Canada, come on!!! I need to embrace winter sports a bit more.

12) Spend a week at Celtic Colours – this is a huge music festival in Cape Breton in October and some year I just need to book the week off and spend it down there with kindred spirits

13) Meet a favourite author – anyone will do! I’ve already met Louise Penny but I would love to meet J.K. Rowling or someone else!

14) Grow old with this guy: (Happy 6th anniversary, Brian!! [tomorrow])

We are celebrating by going out for supper if I’m feeling better!! XOXOX

Have a great weekend everyone!! See you back here for SUYB on Tuesday June 12!

Happy Friday!!!

This has been a busy week with sooo many thoughts swirling around in my head. The long weekend was magnificent and left a lot of time for relaxation with the family, visiting with friends and extended family, and getting things done around the house indoors and outdoors. I also saw I Feel Pretty (so many thoughts on that), got completely addicted to all things ROYAL WEDDING, and listened to the majority of You are a Badass (some food for thought in that one!). I’m really starting to embrace the lovely weather and soak into the summer pace of life around here.

The funny thing about life is that you can’t predict the future. However, I know myself pretty well and today I’m sharing 14 things I *might* never do. Some of these are uncertain still (the dog in particular) but I’m confident that for the next little bit, these are things I’m not interested in:

14 Things I Might Never do:

1) Skydive – I have absolutely zero interest in ever doing this. Kudos to those who do, though!

2) Bungee jump – Same as the first one – looks kind of cool but no thanks!

3) Go on the gravitron or the zipper or another super spinny ride – I have been sick to my stomach twice on this ride (that’s right – I didn’t learn the first time ;)) My tolerance for amusement park rides has gone WAY down in my thirties than in my teens. Imagine that 😉

4) Move out of Nova Scotia – This one could happen, I have no idea what the future holds but I highly doubt we will ever move out of Canada permanently.

5) Own a dog – We had always talked about owning a dog, and it is still on the table but I’m not feeling the pull yet. I LOVE dogs, but I’m just not sure if we are ready for all of the responsibility yet (and may never be). We are allergic to cats so that one will likely always be off the table, unfortunately. IF and when we do ever decide to get a dog, I really want a hypoallergenic one 🙂

6) Run a marathon- I might work up to a half marathon someday, but I just don’t know if I have the desire to run for longer than a couple of hours at a time.

7) Go to a NFL game – maybe this will happen someday but we aren’t big fans of any of the teams so I don’t think it’s super likely. I’d rather go to a baseball or hockey game any day 🙂

8) Have another baby – Anything can happen but we are pretty decided on sticking to being a family of 4 🙂

9) Get my PhD – When I finished my Master’s degree tons of people inquired about this and while I may further my education someday, I don’t see myself ever going this route (WAY too much research and schooling for me ;))

10) Read War & Peace – my grandfather once told me that this was the best book ever read. I was a teenager and I tried 5 times to get started with this book before finally telling him that I just couldn’t do it (years later). He replied that he had never read it either. HAHA. I do, however, want to give Anna Karenina a shot on audio!

11) Eat Brian’s hot peppers – Brian grows some of the hottest peppers in the world. I can barely tolerate jalapeños so these are a no-go for me.

12) Be a bridesmaid again – Almost everyone I know is married, but I really enjoyed being the matron of honour for my sister!!!

13) Go waterskiing – I can think of a lot more fun things to do in the water

14) Get a tattoo – I am a bit too indecisive for this although I have nothing against them in general.

What are some things you might never do?!

Next week I am hoping to share 14 things I WANT to do someday! It’s a bit more fun!! 😉 Happy weekend everyone!!!

TGIF!!! Holy smokes, this week got the better of me. No idea what was going on but I was exhausted, on the verge of tears sometimes, grumpy, and distracted. Heading into the long weekend with a more positive outlook after a great night of sleep last night 🙂 Thank goodness!! Weird feelings. Happy May Long weekend!!

In belated honour of mother’s day last week, I wanted to share 14 things today that help me to be a better mom. These are personal and they are just things that work for me. But who knows – whether you’re a parent or not, something here might resonate with you too 🙂 Being a mother is just one part of my life, but sometimes it can feel very all-consuming so I was happy to take the chance to reflect on it here.

1) Working part-time – I’m not cut out to be a stay at home mom, I don’t think. NOT that there is anything wrong with that choice. I also found life to be very overwhelming with babies and working full-time. So when my current position became available at 60%, this was really the best of both worlds for our family. My husband’s job is often extremely stressful so this works for us. I won’t work part-time forever, and I know not everyone is lucky enough to be able to do this even if they wanted to, so I try not to take it for granted.

2) Wine – every once in awhile. Especially helped relax with a newborn from time to time 🙂

3) Coffee – 2 a day at exact intervals. ❤

4) Sleep – for me and for the kids. We have strict bedtime routines for our kids and I try to get 7 1/2 hours per night if I can – it makes SUCH a big difference in our energy levels and mood.

5) Yoga – once a week at a formal class which is incredible, but a couple of nights a week on my own. Even just taking the time to take deep breaths when I am frustrated really helps.

6) Simply on Purpose on FB and Instagram – I love her and her parenting advice. Truly inspring.

7) Screen time limits – again, this one isn’t for everyone and I respect that, but our girls know that they only get maximum three shows on Netflix per day or a movie on a weekend, and that means that they are not constantly bugging me to watch something all day long if they have already had that time. It is usually in the afternoon and much less on weekdays when we have limited time together as a family. It works for us so far (I’m not naïve enough to assume this will always be the case ;)). We also have designated times when my husband and I are not with our phones – aka at the dinner table, for instance.

8) 3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms podcast – I just started listening to this a few weeks ago and I am obsessed. Each episodes is approximately 30 mins long and gives you three immediate take aways to implement with your parenting, if you choose to do so. Amazing guests and discussions.

9) Having mom friends – I recently made an amazing mom friend. I am so happy to have this person in my life because she has girls who are similar ages to my own and they all play well together. We have similar parenting ideas and values. It is amazing. A lot of my friends are mothers now and I love having people that can relate to it. That being said – any friend is a great friend – being a mom isn’t a requirement!!!

10) Quality time with my husband and with each child – This is 2/3 of my family members’ love language (my husband and my oldest daughter). My youngest daughter’s is probably physical affection – she is soooo cuddly 😉

11) Saying yes if I can – Cup of Jo posted about this recently and I found myself nodding along. Why not say yes if there’s no harm in doing so? There are so many “no” moments but I’d like to add some yes moments every day whenever I can.

12) Exercise and fresh air – the cure for everything, sometimes.

13) Different meals – lots of people out there disagree with this, but for us, what works right now is having slightly different meals than the kids. We like sauce! And spicy things! The kids don’t. We eat low carb mostly – the kids do not. For suppers, I make a plain-ish meat, a side for us, and a side for the kids. (EASY sides). Then some vegetables that are either raw chopped veggies for the kids or frozen veggies. It’s a bit more time consuming but it keeps us all healthy, so it works?!

14) Music & dance parties – as often and as silly as possible. Music really makes everything better. Everyone grumpy one morning? Hard to be grumpy when you are listening to Disney songs! Just my humble opinion 😉

When I was on a high school trip, I came across this book in a gift shop called 14000 Things to be Happy About and decided that I had to have it. It’s pretty random and the “things to be happy about” don’t all necessarily apply to every person but it is uplifting and it made me smile more than once over the years. Here are a few things to be happy about as listed in the book:

-melt in your mouth food
-full freezers
-watching children ice-skate
-hot appetizers
-gentlemen rising when a lady enters or leaves a room
– strawberry-rhubarb jam
-turkey trots
-a romantic holiday with one special person
-learning to like yourself better

ETC.

Today I wanted to share my own things to be happy about. It’s been a pretty happy week here – a fun birthday party for 4 year old twins, the first BBQ of the year, 4 gorgeously sunny blue-sky spring days in a row, plenty of time in that sunshine, kids in a happy mood, warm-fuzzy books like this one. Of course, it’s rainy now, but that too is allowing me to step back and catch up on things indoors.

I feel like most of these things are pretty self explanatory 😉

1) Hot coffee
2) Swings
3) Sparkling water
4) Hugs
5) Comfy jeans
6) A good hair day
7) Yoga
8) Bluetooth headphones
9) Slow cookers
10) Cheese and crackers
11) Running shoes
12) Rain boots and puddles
13) The ocean
14) The library

Anyone have any fun plans for the weekend?! Our girls have a superhero running race tomorrow so I will share their Wonder Woman costumes I made this week 🙂 Other than that we are taking it pretty easy and enjoying each other’s company this weekend. Happy Friday!!!