Summer?

The breaks between posts are getting a little long, I know. I'm sorry! It's tough to post without an internet signal at home especially now that I'm a full-time working mama...It seems like free-time is especially hard to come by these days as well so sneaking away to a coffee shop to blog is not really an option. Anyway, I'm not complaining...This is just my new reality. We are currently in our fourth week with me back at work for 40+ hours per week and Teddy and Autumn are soldiering on without me at home from 5am-5pm Tuesday through Friday. It's been pretty hard for me to leave my little family at home for such long days but Teddy is so good with Squish and is a wonderful house-hubby so I feel confident that my baby is being well cared for and hugged and cuddled lots and lots. I always come home to a yummy dinner and find the two of them reading or playing or having a picnic in the back yard. Autumn is a big-time Daddy's girl and I'm pleased that they're getting to share some QT despite being super jealous that they're having way more fun than I am.

We are off to Victoria for the weekend and hoping to find a little car while we're there because we're MOVING TO TORONTO in August and we need a vehicle to adventure across the country in. If you're a Toronto friend, we are looking for a sweet two bedroom, dog-friendly suite in the Roncesvalles/Parkdale area. We'd be happy in High Park as well. If you hear of anything coming available in September, shoot me a line :) THANKS!

We're looking forward to some Grandma/Grandpa Kellogg time this weekend and hoping for some good luck in the vehicle-shopping department. No photos this post, but soon, I PROMISE! Hope everyone is doing great!

JUNE!!!!!

Hey Y'all!

I know it's been forever since I have blogged but there have been many changes going down in our world including our upstairs neighbours (with whom we shared internet) moving so we haven't been online and it's pretty tough to blog from my iphone...Y'know...Anyway, I've also been back at work full-time which has significantly minimized my free-time. BUSY DAYS! It's been crazy and tough but we're all transitioning well and Autumn and Daddy are really enjoying their QT. It's been okay, overall though I miss my little girl so much!!!

Though it's likely all in my head, she seems like she's growing up extra fast these days. I came home after my second full day back at work and Squish was full-on WALKING! She took her first steps several weeks ago but she is fully motoring now and I can't help but feel like I'm missing so much being away from her for 40+ hours per week. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not the first woman who has ever returned to work after having a baby.

My training for returning to work was in Calgary, so Squish, Teddy and I spent four days hanging out in Cowtown with Auntie Sass and Uncle D. Excellent times. It's so lovely to spend time with them, I wish they were still in Chilliwack. Having a baby really makes you realize how important family is. Sappy sap.

We also recently celebrated Great-Grandpa Fred's 87th birthday in Victoria and had a chance to spend some time with Auntie Kristi, Uncle Jeff, Uncle Rick, Auntie Dar, cousin Scott, Grandma and Grandpa Kellogg and Nana Stella. Autumn is so lucky to have such a big and amazing family. This was an extra special visit since we sadly lost Grandpa Fred yesterday evening around 6pm. We feel so grateful to have had an opportunity to say goodbye to him. He was a wonderful man who loved and cherished his family immensely. We will miss him very much. Thanks for all the laughs, love and the wisdom, Grandpa!

I promise that there will be a photo update soon. For now, here are a few recent ones.

walking like an old pro!

wrong way, squish!

yep, still bald.

silly hat, no pants lego party!

Mountain Adventure

My 30th birthday was last week and it was a crazy hectic work week for Teddy so he planned a little adventure in the mountains for him, Squish and I for yesterday. It was awesome! We started off in Squamish at Shannon Falls and had a lovely little picnic lunch in the sunshine. Squish was really excited about the waterfall and we took a zillion pictures. Next, we headed North to Whistler (I actually had never been to Whistler in the four years that I have lived in Vancouver...) It's a beautiful place though super busy and touristy. We had fabulous weather and had a relaxing little sit by Lost Lake then a little snack in the village before heading back to Squamish to check out the Howe Sound Brew Pub for a delicious pint and some dinner. Other highlights include seeing TWO BEARS!!!!!!! One in Whistler and a second in Squamish on our way back home. I can't think of a better birthday in all my 30 years :)

Saturday was great too! Squish and I had to leave Teddy at home in bed with the flu to attend a little dinner with some  friends at The Eatery. It was really fun! Squish had a ball charming the wait staff and everyone around us. I ate so much food and delicious cake and left the evening full and content. Teddy was feeling a bit better on Sunday morning so we celebrated Mother's Day with brunch at a little diner down the street then hit the photo booth for an updated ridiculous family photo session. All in all, it was a really great weekend. I am feeling very lucky :)

The news that I was ranting about last entry is that we are moving house! I'm pretty pumped about it and looking forward to some positive change. I have also applied to school for the winter term of 2013 and am feeling really good about life in general. ALSO!!!! We have a new little family member!!! Congratulations to Autumn's Auntie Melissa and Uncle Stafford and a huge welcome to baby Cole! He's so freaking cute, it's insane and we're dying to meet him. Lots of big things happening lately! Exciting times for everyone :)

A few recent pictures:

FINALLY playing with her Holtztiger animals. 

Enjoying mama's bday BBQ with Elliott.

OMMMNOMNOMNOM!

Cheeky Squish enjoying a frozen treat.

Orzo face.

Sweet baby sharing treats with Elliott.

Our mountain adventure begins!

Daddy and Squish hiking up to Shannon Falls.

Mama & baby

Getting our picnic ready!

Daddy and baby enjoying the scenery.

"Let's go check out this tree fort..."

<3

BEAR!!!!!!

Lost Lake. A pile of snow and a bunch of Aussies swimming :)

Daddy finds us a nice shady spot to rest.

The water was freezing. Those people on that floating dock are nutters.

Tantalus lookout. Seriously breathtaking.

Photos can't do justice to how beautiful this place is.

Love him.

Howe Sound Brew Pub. 

Diamond Head, Squamish.

Til next time!!! xoxox

Hello legs!

I thought I'd show you what success I had with our faux-fudgesicles...

They're awesome. 

In other news, our life is about to change drastically as our wee woman has been working on her first steps over the course of the last couple of weeks. She is still not quite confident enough to take off running, but she probably could...

Check her out...

I'm turning 30 in two weeks. I feel like my twenties sort of blew by, but such is life...Anyway, we're in the process of planning a little dirty thirty family holiday...It looks like we are destined for a little cabin on Galiano where we can all decompress before I go back to work at the start of June. I'm really excited for our little trip...Not so pumped for going back to work. More news to come! There are so many changes coming up for us!!

DIY Mama

I grew up in a house where my mom basically did everything from scratch. Between her and my nana, they sewed a lot of our clothes and halloween costumes, baked our treats, knitted our toques and scarves, grew some of our food, pickled and preserved our garden goodies, etc. It was a lovely little life that my sisters and I had. I have very distinct memories of my mom making juice and yoghurt popsicles for us in the summer time. Yesterday was a really nice day, and my mom sent me a great recipe for healthy fudgesicles, so I thought I'd whip some up. THEY ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!
Here is the recipe:

5 medjool dates (pitted)
1/4 cup agave
1 banana
2 avocados
5 TBSP carob powder
1/2 cup water
1 cup coconut milk

-Put the dates in your blender and cover them with 1/2 cup h20. Let them sit for 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into popsicle moulds, freeze and EATTTTTTT!

They're seriously so good and guilt-free. Autumn will be a faux-fudge covered baby at snack time today.

I have become kind of obsessed with searching through pinterest for crafty diy ideas and fun little recipes. I saw this and had to make it. If you have a little girl and a sewing machine, you should make one too. It took me 10 minutes and it's so cute!

I think we can safely say that spring has sprung in Vancouver. It was a lovely warm weekend and we spent lots of time outside. Let's hope it sticks!! I am SO over winter/rain/clouds, etc. Autumn has a cute new UV suit that needs wearing. Here is our girl at the park yesterday. We couldn't stay too long cause it was super sunny and squish refused to keep a hat on her head. Wish me luck this summer!

Baby Sign

I thought I would post a little update on our progress with baby sign. This was something that we started working on when Autumn was 4 months old...It took a while, but we are really reaping the benefits now. Autumn can sign for "milk", "more" and she can let us know when she is "all done" eating, bathing, playing, etc. I felt like those three were the most important signs for her to know: "milk", "more" and "all done". We are also working on "water", "drink", "hungry", "eat" and "dirty diaper".  Teddy and I are also trying to teach her some manners with the signs for "please" and "thank you" but so far we haven't had any luck with those. I think we successfully mastered "hot" the other day when squish put her fat little hand on the base board radiator. I guess that's one way to learn...My poor little bub :( yikes! Anyway, I just wanted to put it out there that baby sign has been an incredibly useful tool for communicating with a person whose verbal skills are, well...there really aren't any verbal skills to be had. haha! I shouldn't say that. Squish can say mama, dada, nose (which actually sounds more like nay) and hi. She's very smart. She has also started dancing this past week...Which is pretty much the most hilarious thing I've ever seen in my life. She's all head and is really kind of spastic in her movements. But she is definitely dancing! Haha! My graceful little squish.
Anyhew, baby sign has taught me that babies understand a whole lot more than what we give them credit for. If you are interested in learning more about baby sign, this website has a lot of useful information. I intended from the get-go to sign up for a course with Autumn but never got around to it and have managed just fine. I think a course would be beneficial if you were interested in learning more than just a few basic little signs like we have done and there is no shortage of classes in Vancouver as well as instructors who do in-home tutorials.
Good luck, mamas! Happy signing :)

As promised...

I have tested out a few different recipes for natural & homemade household cleaning and skin care products over the last few weeks and I thought I would share my favourites. Teddy and I really started rethinking what we were using to sanitize the surfaces in our home when squish recently started putting kisses on every little thing in sight. Teddy has always opposed my use of bleach to clean things and can tell immediately when he comes through the door if I have clorox'd anything in the house over the course of the day. He finds the scent nauseating and doesn't want any of us breathing that stuff in. So I broke down and hopped on the vinegar bandwagon...And let me tell you, that stuff is sure stinky but it cleans like the dickens! And baking soda...What a miraculous little powder. Anyway, here are my favourite recipes:


Laundry detergent

2 cups pure soap (ivory, sunlight, etc)
2 cups borax
2 cups laundry soda

Melt grated soap in boiling water and pour into a bucket with the borax and soda. Top up bucket to 2 gallon mark. Stir, add 40 drops of your favourite essential oil, stir again, cover and allow to set over night. It will gel. Use 1/4 cup per load of laundry.



All-purpose Cleaner

1/4 cup vinegar
2 cups water, boiled and cooled.
15 drops orange/citrus essential oil (citrus is great for killing kitchen stinkiness)

Mix it all together and pour into a spray bottle.


Air freshener (Diaper pail deoderizer)

1 cup water, boiled and cooled
15 drops tea tree oil

Pour into a spray bottle on the 'mist' setting. It works like a charm!
You could use other essential oils as alternatives, but tea tree oil is great for killing bacteria. Lavender and clove also have anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties so they could be good options also.



Facial Cleanser

Castile soap. That's it.



Baby Body Wash

Castile soap. MMhmm.


Face/Body Scrub

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
1/4 Cup Sea Salt
1/4 Cup Sugar (white, granulated sugar is great for this)
15 drops of your favourite essential oil (I used a vanilla/lavender combo--AWESOME!)

Smash it all together and store in a sealed container. Use a quarter-sized blob on your finger in the shower and massage into your face and neck. Presto.


Facial Moisturizer/Diaper Rash Cream

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
3 Tbsp pure shea butter
10 drops Tea Tree Oil

Smash it all together and slather on after a good wash/scrub. Your skin will feel awesome.
OR apply liberally to a red bum. This is the best diaper rash cream I've tried.




I had a lot of fun with this project. I'll post more recipes as I try out more things. Happy cleaning!