I recommitted to myself...and I couldn't be more proud

Some days it's easy, and some days it's not, but I am committed to being the healthiest me I can be. When I got my Apple watch last January I worked hard and closed those rings every single day until August, and then I got a new phone and lost all of my progress. It killed me and somehow killed my motivation too. I didn't go completely back to doing nothing, but I certainly lost my drive for a few months there. 

Getting a dog has certainly made the daily exercise easier to accomplish. I knew the responsibility I was taking on when we got him, and I am just as committed to him and his well being as I am to my own. We're a team, me and my Koda bear. 

This is the face I look down at on our walks together. I just love him so much and think he's just the cutest thing in the world. He has brought some much needed joy to my life at the end of one of my hardest years ever. I feel like the world just knew exactly what I needed, and it may just be this fur ball right here. 🐾🎔

 

Spending quality time with my middle

My Jordie boy is such a middle child, in every sense of the word. He is my quietest guy, he demands by far the least amount of attention, he is the most obedient one, he complains the least, he is the easiest going of the bunch (just like his daddy), and he just loves me through all the chaos of our life. 

He cherishes alone time with me whenever he gets the chance and his favorite thing to do together is play games. Our favorite up to this past week was the card game Kings Corners, but other ones he likes are checkers, Battleship and Uno. Last weekend we taught him how to play Ticket To Ride and he is hooked! Earlier this week we got KJ to bed early and James was still at baseball so we sat down to play a round and he absolutely kicked my butt. I really enjoyed this quiet time with him to just chat and to watch him carry out the strategy that he had learned the first time we'd played it on Saturday. This kid is a smart cookie and a very quick learner. So much like his daddy in so many ways! 

Pretty darn proud of himself! 

I love you so much Jordie boy and I hope you want to continue to play games with me for many many more years to come! 

Girls weekend to the city!

Instead of birthday parties this year we've decided to do family trips instead. We're trying to spend money on memories instead of stuff and stress! The boys trip is coming up in March to see the Mini Pop Kids in Abbotsford, but a few weekends ago it was Kennedy's turn to take a trip with Mom and Auntie Ra to the city to see the Paw Patrol Live show! Ang and I have taken each of the kids to a show when they were toddlers so when I saw the tickets come available for PP, I knew I had to ask Auntie Ra if she wanted to join in!

Off we went first thing Saturday morning!

First stop off the ferry was OLD NAVY! 

She was so cute "ooohhh Mommy. this is PRETTY....you buy for ME?"

Waiting for Auntie in Lululemon! 

Finally off to Ikea and excited for Smaland...only to see it full...and even on the tip toes just a bit too small! Unhappy little KJ girl for sure

So to make up for it we got $1 frozen yogurts

Happy girl playing her puzzles which me and Auntie shopped!

Full buggy and happy smiles

Tired girl at supper at Boston Pizza

Way over tired snuggles at the hotel at 9pm! 

The next morning we were off to the show at 9:30!

Cutest little Skye ever!

Loving her $30 (!!) light up wand...which died before the intermission so we returned it for a t-shirt and stickers instead!

Trying to show off her tail!

She was so excited to dress as Skye that day! 

A little selfie just before heading in to the arena

Found our seats and time for a few group selfies

Hard to get one where she's looking, not blurry, and not smiling weird! hahahahaha!

 

Such a pretty little girl waiting for the show. The late night the night before definitely caught up with her and she was tired and grumpy but still did really well.

 

She sat quietly through the whole show and was fascinated by the costumes! 

Big fake smiles with Auntie Wa (she can't quite say Ra yet) :) 

Walking back up to the the hotel to head home!

So tired but refusing to nap so gave her a cookie to stop the whining!

Sticker book time while waiting for the ferry

Finally on the last ferry and having some much needed down time with her puzzles! 

A new first in the Barrows house - Jordie lost his first tooth!

He was so excited and scared at the same time! It had been wiggly for a few weeks and was bugging him every time he ate and he was whining about it. We had tried to pull it for a few days when finally on the weekend I told him that if he went to the dentist on Tuesday and it was still hanging on that they would probably just pull it. He's not a huge fan of the dentist so I was pretty sure this would be the thing that would get him to the final place where he was really ready for it to come out. He has tiny little teeth too and I couldn't grab it so I used the old toilet paper trick and it popped out super easy. He was SO excited and couldn't wait for the tooth fairy to come. BUT, of course worst mother in the world here...I had no money in my wallet that night! Ooopss.....so the tooth fairy forgot one night and then made up for it the next night.

Reading his note from the Tooth Fairy! I'm so impressed with his reading skills already at the end of Kindergarten!

 Pretty excited to get $10 for his first tooth! 

NOTE: This happened a few weeks ago but it's been absolutely ridiculous for us with work, school, baseball, etc so I'm just getting to finishing the blog post now! Didn't want to not record this momentous occasion with a post so I'm doing it late!

I never thought I’d be a hockey mom....

....but that’s exactly what I have turned into! As I walked James down the dressing room tunnel today to get suited up for his factory hockey camp I was struck with this feeling of how I honestly never thought I'd be a hockey mom and now look at me go! I spend 2-3 days a week at the Complex and have finally become comfortable with tying skates and getting them into all the gear correctly!

No one in my family ever played hockey so it was such a foreign concept to me years ago when James told us at 5 that he wanted to start playing, even though he had never skated a single day in his life. In the pre-novice days they encourage parents to go on the ice until the kids can skate and those first few months were so awesome because Jim couldn't really skate much either! Father and son learning to skate together!

Now here we are 4 years later and this big guy has his heart set on being a goalie and I think he might have what it takes to do it. He has a long way to go but we've really seen his passion shift this year as he's been allowed to spend more time as goalie.

I'm actually excited to see what the next year brings for this awesome little man of mine!  

Fun Day 2018

Another year is just about done at Westview Elementary and another Fun Day is done too! I know I've said this before but I truly LOVE being a part of the Westview PAC family we've got there. I love helping out with organizing events, fundraising and making decisions about what we spend the money on. I also like having a bit of an inside scoop on what is going on at the school. It helps me when I tell James that I know everyone and that someone is always watching him so he better behave himself :) 

For now here are the highlights of the day! We were so lucky that the rain held off for us!

Next year I'll have two monsters in the school and even more fun times ahead!