Five Blondes » random

On My Mind

Kate — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:34:06 +0000

So much is on my mind lately and I just feel the need to get it out.

-work: I don’t mind being back to work, much to my surprise. I really thought I would hate being there and being away from Hailey but I’m handling it well. However I don’t like that now I feel like I have no time to do the things I love to do. Like play with Hailey, show her the world and take photos, which is something else I love to do. It makes me sad to look through my recently taken photos and have nothing to be proud of because they were all taken indoors, when the light was bad and I was chasing after a toddler, or running away from her because when she sees the camera she must have it. It’s tough for me to think about, because I had so long (1 year) to myself and Hailey. We could do what we wanted (mostly, Hailey’s naps are pretty important to her) and we got to hang out together. Now I live for 4pm when I leave work and get to go see her, but then I get so exhausted and can’t wait for 7pm (aka get ready for bedtime), which makes me feel horrible because I never get to see her, so I should love the time I get with her, which brings me to my next point…

-toddlerhood: Hailey is becoming a vocal testing toddler. She is happy go lucky sometimes and grumpy crying the next minute. I know this is normal with a toddler but it’s such a hard stage. It’s so hard when she only wants to be with me while I’m cooking or cleaning (which rarely happens these days to be honest), if I’m not holding her she’s crying at my feet with her arms in the air to be lifted up. I love that she has such a personality, but I could really do away with her grumpy times.

-wishing time away: I’ve also started doing something since I’ve been back at work, which I know lots of people do- wishing for the weekend. Monday arrives and I already dream about Saturday. But we are getting busy in the barn again on the weekend, need a babysitter for Hailey and before I know it the whole weekend has passed and I’ve hardly seen Hailey any more then I did during the week. So as I wish my life away, Hailey gets older, we get closer to the new baby and time flies by. I need to learn not to do this, but it’s so hard.

This is a photo free post because I don’t even have any photos I am half proud of to post in here.

To sum it up: work is alright, time is lacking and Hailey is growing older.

Welcome to December

Kate — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 02:56:04 +0000

December won’t be as awesome as November on this blog, I mean we already missed one day of blogging and I’m sure will miss a few more here and there. I think we succeeded so well in November because we had a schedule and no one wanted to let the other sister down. With no schedule to blog, we let life take over (appropriately so) and blogging happens when inspiration strikes. Like right now!

Today was a funny day in the life of Hailey. I’ve heard of parents keeping journals of the funny things their children say/do and I think I need to start one for myself.

Hailey is really into finger food over purees. Today I cooked up some carrots/peas to give to her. For dinner I put them in a bowl and placed the bowl right on her tray. She looked at me with such awe and started laughing her head off and would touch the bowl and laugh and laugh. I never knew bowls were so funny.
Our stroller is a bit broken right now. The side straps pulled out of the fabric so we have it in the house so I would remember to call and figure out what I need to do with it (I have to bring it to the store and it has to get sent away. boo to that). So the seat and the hood are in the living room, a fun new toy for Hailey. I watched her crawl into the seat that was laying on the ground (the hood was lying next to the seat) and thought it was cute. I went about doing something else and when I looked back she had pulled the hood over onto the seat. Just like if she was riding in the stroller. What a smart girl I have! Photos to prove that fact follow.

First where the hood was before Hailey got all smart. This is the first photo I have taken of a cat in months, poor neglected Chase, well by me at least Hailey loves to kiss him waaay too much (photo lower)

My baby Hailey being cute after she pulled the hood over(/grumpy, but wouldn’t you be too with 2 new teeth coming in at once?)

That’s the end of the cute stories, here are more cute photos.

Hailey kissing dad under the hood.

This girl loves her cats. She also loves to open mouth kiss Chase. Gross I know, but I have no idea how to get her to stop trying.,

Hailey is getting so close to walking. She will stand lots now, so we try to coerce her to walk to us, but she will either reach as far as she can without moving her feet, or will slowly sit down. I really don’t think it will be long. Also one sock FTW. Put two socks on this girl and she will have one off before you know it. She gets more traction that way.

Where are the Five Blondes?

Kate — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:34:07 +0000

I’m wondering the same thing myself…

Erica is busy working working working and kicking butt in dodgeball.

Micaela is busy being a 6 month pregnant woman, working 3 jobs!

Katelyn is busy rolling around on the floor with Hailey.

Leah is busy on a job search in Toronto and currently sick with strep throat. yuck!

Lauren is busy with school and cheerleading in Ottawa.

Hopefully we will be back with posts soon!

(and because a post is not a post without a photo in my eyes)

Psychic Babies

Kate — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:29:08 +0000

I’m pretty sure that as babies we were all born with psychic powers and as we got older we lost those powers.

I’m sure everyone has heard that when babies are newborns, babies know when you are stressed and they are crying. There are stories of people putting on headphones while carrying a crying baby, going into their own zone with the music and the baby calms down. Also who hasn’t heard a story of a toddler pointing to a woman’s belly saying baby, only to find out later that the woman was pregnant, or saying twins and pointing to a belly and again later finding out that there are twins!

These babies are not psychic because we know the moms are pregnant, but Micaela happens to only be showing a little bit and yet Hailey seemed to know there was a baby in there!

Check out these cute photos:

(sidenote: I promise Hailey does not wear this shirt every day, she only wears it on game days and because she looks extra cute those days I took a lot of photos)

Here’s another photo of a psychic baby, this is a photo of my friend’s baby playing with the baby in the belly of my co-worker!
We certainly have some smart babies!

Bits and pieces and fifteen weeks.

Micaela — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:57:54 +0000

On the weekend I introduced Kent to his first folk festival! Actually, I didn’t know it was his first until he told my aunt while we were there! ha. We spent a beautiful day in the city of Orillia at Mariposa Folk Festival which is at a beautiful location right on the lake with three of my aunts. We both got to see two of our favourite artists (Deep Dark Woods and Serena Ryder), and what is better than sitting around on the grass listening to music and eating junk food all day? Not much! Kent, me, and my aunt Rosie escaped for half an hour to swim in the lake. Perfect day! Kent is definitely a folk festival convert. Our second one might even be this weekend!
Here’s a couple pictures from Mariposa:

To the left is the band we like, Deep Dark Woods, and the two on the very right are Sharon and Bram of “Sharon, Lois and Bram”!! Canadian kids should remember them from the Elephant Show. They did some kids performances at the concert, but here they were singing silly songs about being drunk and cheated on. I was a little scarred.

Our baby has things! Nothing makes the arrival of our baby more real than baby stuff in the house! Kent’s aunt gave us this at a baby shower for his sister and brother-in-law on Sunday:
And my mom gave us this little bunny! This isn’t a clue – we are not going to find out what we’re having, but I think she’s resigned to the idea that we are destined to be a girl-only family:*Okay the picture won’t post, but it’s a pink and white stuffed bunny! I’ll try again later.*My aunt Louie spent the day at Mariposa working on a sweater she’s knitting for the babe:

So basically, all of these people have done more to prepare for the baby than I have. hmm.
I’ve started going to yoga a few times a week. I’ve gone on and off in the past but it was always with my sisters Erica and Katelyn and usually with our cousin Lara teaching. I miss all the laughing we did in class, here everything is so serious! I know that’s how yoga is supposed to be, but I really don’t have that “zen” mindset and don’t think about my breathing and poses in the right way. I don’t think I ever will, and I’m okay with that. My laughing classes were way more relaxing than breathing could ever be! Someone raised their hand in class today and the teacher was all, “I am not taking any questions.” I think she was mad at that person though for coming in halfway through the class. It’s good though, overall! Today at the end of class when we were all laying down (I’m so not a yogi that I don’t even want to use the correct term for it even though I know it, haha) I started zoning out and my thoughts made no sense and after I sat up I couldn’t even remember what I was thinking about or if I was even awake. That was kind of cool. Another thing – I didn’t tell the teacher I was pregnant and at one point she told me to suck my abdomen in… awkward!
Our wedding albums arrived today! I know it’s been almost a year, but it took me a while to choose the pictures for our proofs, and then our photographer was in Africa for a long time. We have one for us, and one for each of our sets of parents. I love them:
I don’t have too much to say about pregnancy. I feel pretty normal. I’m fifteen weeks along and I just checked – apparently the baby is as long as an orange. Wow, that’s actually pretty big. Kent was making fun of me because last night I was laying on my back on the couch with my shirt above my stomach and my hands on my belly like I was nine months pregnant or something. I think now that I’m feeling more energetic and showing a bit more we’re both starting to get excited. Before it just seemed surreal and in a way it still does, but the other night Kent told me he saw a dad and a little girl on the subway rubbing noses and it made him a little sentimental. Every time I see a blonde child with curly hair I think about what ours will look like. Kent and I were both blonde with curly hair so that’s what our child will have, I would imagine.
I love the stage Hailey is at now! When I first saw her on Sunday I said hi to her with a big smile, and she flashed a huge smile back at me. It’s much more rewarding than her previous, “You are absolutely insane, why are you looking at me” expression… which was pretty cute too though! She did great at the shower she attended and had lots of smiles for everyone.
That’s about it for now! For the next two weeks I’ll just be working on the online course that I’m taking so I can teach more courses in high school. After supplying for five months I’ve decided high school is where I want to be. Then we’re going camping/cottaging for a week!
Sorrrry, no fifteen week photo…

Hup Holland Hup

Kate — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:24:50 +0000

Guess you don’t need to guess who we are cheering for today!

Hup Holland Hup!

There are two kinds of people out there.

Leah — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:48:37 +0000

As a result of having had a seizure a month ago, I’ve lost my license. What I really want to write about is how much it sucks, and how much I hate being so dependent on other people, and how I just want to get in my car and drive to the mall to get a better pair of work shoes (ones that are more conducive to walking thousands of kilometres a day) and how I want to eliminate waiting from my existence and how being on the c-train behind the car that killed a little boy yesterday put a serious damper on my day. I know that last one sounded … trivial, and I will acknowledge that my problems are most definitely first world problems, but they are problems, they are real, and they are mine.

So now that I let that all out (insert big sigh here) I will talk about something I have learned since becoming a full-time transit user.

There are two types of people that take public transit: The kind you wouldn’t mind getting stuck sitting beside, and the kind you avoid sitting beside.

Today, friends, I am going to teach you the very basic and easy ways to become the former and avoid the latter.

1.) First and foremost, SHOWER. And when you shower, use soap. This one is very basic, yet unfortunately people seem to be confused about it.

2.) Wear clean clothes. If you are taking public transit the chances of being in very close proximity to another person are extremely high. If your shirt smells and you think no one will notice, they will. I promise.

3.) Deodorant is your friend. Probably your best friend (even though you may not know). Perfume, on the other hand, is NOT your friend. Don’t choke those around you with your cloud of stench.

4.) iPods are excellent companions on public transit. But not everyone around you favours the same genre of music as you, so turn down to volume to a reasonable level.

5.)Don’t talk to the person next to you. People take public transit to get places, not to make friends.

6.) Don’t talk loudly on your phone. A short, quiet phone call I can understand. But please, if you are going to yell and swear and rant or laugh and exclaim, take it outside. You are disturbing those around you.

7.) Don’t give yourself a manicure on the train. While being productive on the bus/train can be helpful, I don’t want your dirty nail filings flying all over my lap.

8.) If a senior citizen, handicapped person, or somebody with a child comes on the train, offer them your seat. Don’t think about it, don’t count on somebody else doing it, just do it. It’s the courteous thing to do.

9.) Don’t stare at other people on the bus/train. I don’t care if you think that girl is hotter than Heidi Klum or perhaps she has a giant wart on her forehead – staring is rude and that person does notice.

This is by all means not an exhaustive list, so what would you add? What irks you about your public transit neighbours?

*This has been a public service announcement from Leah.

Greater thans, à la Kyla Roma

Leah — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:56:01 +0000

Borrowed from Kyla Roma (and Michelle Woo)

vegetables > fruit

original Nintendo > Wii

country music > pretty much anything else

thunderstorms > light rain

(good) wine > beer

trucks > convertibles

running paths > treadmills

talking on the phone > texting

adventurous vacations > all-inclusives

open windows > blinds drawn

dinner parties > restaurants

extreme temperatures > average temperatures

five o’clock shadow > clean shaven

camping > hotels

What are your greater thans?

Taking the long way around.

Micaela — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:26:08 +0000

For a person who is definitely a homebody, I sure do seem to move around a lot. About seven months ago, Kent and I moved to Toronto for his job, and while I think where we are is okay, I would not say that I have thrived here. I have such a strong sense of what home is, that I’m not sure anywhere else could ever take it’s place. The job market in my field is depressing right now, but it’s a good sign that I am wanting it bad enough that I am still hoping and trying to get in. For me anyways, it’s hard to feel good about my life a lot of the time when I’m working in a coffee shop, even when it’s a cozy place and I harbour some serious love for some of the old men regulars whose faces light up when they see that I’m working, who ask, “do you have a few minutes?” and point to the empty chair next to them.

I feel like this recession has hit me hard, and it’s very frustrating at times, especially since I had a good, secure job before I decided to go back to school last year. I take the blame for it, I knew that it’s a tough field to get into right now, and really, I could only have been working since September. In the grand scheme of my life, three months is not very long. In the grand scheme of the past three months however, it’s forever. But I know that when it does happen, I will be very happy with what I’m doing, and even more grateful because of this extra time it took to get there. I know there are a lot of people who just work to pay the bills and don’t actually enjoy it, and I’m not willing to do this with my life (but Micaela, isn’t this what you are doing right now? Good point…) Lately some opportunities have come up and while they are not THE opportunity I am waiting for, they are new paths to help get me there and new ways to feel satisfied and good about what I’m doing with my life. So I’m excited about that.

When I look back on times in the past, I think “you know, you had it really good and I wonder if you even knew it?” I’m sure you know the feeling. I bet that’s how I’ll feel about this, what I have right now, someday. Maybe I’m not making tons of money, but I’m learning a lot about a line of work that Kent is interested in going into someday, and there is a lot I can help him with now. Maybe my boss is not a pleasure to work for, but I am learning a lot about how not to treat people, ever. I’m learning how to not let people’s actions get under my skin and ruin my mood or my day. I’m finding other things to fulfill me that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. I’m able to define myself for who I am, not as a person in a particular role in life.

Happy Things

Lauren — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:45:48 +0000

This week has been a very blah week, so I have found myself on tumblr and weheartit looking at pretty pictures a LOT…probably more than I should with 2 assignments and a midterm coming up. (It’s okay mom, they’re getting done, this is just a break!) On my account on weheartit (amazing website by the way), I have 11 pages of pictures that I’ve “hearted”, and on tumblr I have “liked” a whopping 531 posts. Unfortunately I rarely reblog them, sooo my Tumblarity is…Zero! Haha, I wanted to post some pictures that I’ve hearted on weheartit that have been becoming my Macbook background like it’s their job, soo here ya go! (I had to cut this down a lot..and there are still 20 pictures, I hope you enjoy)

I used to make millions of collages. Clear tape was my best friend, and all my magazines were all cut up!

Had to include this in here. It looks so amazing, and I wish I was there right now. I might be alone on this, but I WANT SNOW!

so. cute! All of them!

Also had to add this. Oh hello Bode…move to Ottawa and ski with me! That is all. Who cares about all your scandals, you are still amazing.

Definitely makes me wish I could draw.

This kind of looks like my shelf at home…

Dresses, dresses, dresses! I didn’t used to be a dress girl, but lately I want to wear one every day.

Not too sure why there are…bolts(?) in her face, buut I love her hair, and I want to draw this.

This looks so comfy right now

Thinking we should incorporate a ladder into our bookcase at home..(seen here in Erica’s wedding photos at Last Forty Percent!)

Such cute patterns!

I want this lipstick! I have become obsessed with lipstick. I had pink for Micaela’s wedding, and I just recently bought red for our Cheer pub.

Anyone else (in our family or another specific family who owns it) think this looks like the party barn? I pretty much want this as my wedding.

Baby!! I literally tear up every time I look at a picture of Kate or talk about Razzle. Which is funny, because Kate says I’m the only one who didn’t cry when she told me. I argue that it is because I was out of the room (surprise, surprise) and she didn’t actually tell me. Don’t worry though, not getting any ideas!

Does this remind anyone else of Oma’s house? Scrabble and tea!

This picture is so cute with the candy canes and the desserts together!

This picture is SO ADORABLE! It is Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof (from Buffy!) and their daughter Satyana on Halloween dressed up as, obviously, a Kangaroo family!

Last one- I love everything about this picture. The purse, the adorable dress, and of course the jean jacket. So cute all together.

Also making me happy (at this very moment actually), is Lady Antebellum! Particularly Need you Now, and Looking For a Good Time.

What is making everyone else happy in this weird, tired weather?