Annual Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

I’m definitely not one of those moms (read: momfluencers) who plans gram worthy photoshoots at the farm.  Honestly I’d rather engage my kids in a 500 piece puzzle or take an early morning trip to the art gallery.

But once or twice a year, we head out to our local neighbourhood farm to support their small business.

The girls enjoyed “getting lost” in the corn maze and searching for the perfect pumpkin.  The fresh air and crisp air really got us in the autumn mood!

Pumpkins, Pumpkin patch, Barrel, Farm Visit, green grass, Gord, mini pumpkins

Making the most of your next art gallery visit (with kids)!

The kids had a PA day on Friday and we decided to go to the AGO!   PA days can be hard to accommodate as a working parent and our usual PA day is some form of winter activity and lots of TV.   But we decided to change things up and I took a day off to spend time with the girls!

It’s been about 12 years since the last time I went to the AGO (embarrassing!)  And in hopes of not repeating my 12 year absence, I got a yearly pass!

The girls had a great time.  The big open space, engaging environment and children’s spaces made for a great few hours of culture!

Collage, Art Gallery Tips, Art Gallery with Kids, Tips and Tricks, AGO, Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario, Creatives, Toronto Creatives, Artists

Art Gallery, That girl, millennial Mom, cultured, toronto creatives, Dundas, Toronto, art gallery

Below are some tips on how to make the most of your next trip with the kiddos to the art gallery!

  1. Plan to spend 2-3 hours at the art gallery. That might mean packing snacks, water or even a lunch
  2. Find out if the art gallery has amenities like coat check, digital passes & free stroller rentals. This will just help you plan your day
  3. Figure out what exhibits you want to check out. Maybe there is a limited time on an exhibit or maybe the theme/topic of the exhibit will resonate with your family (ex: for us it’s Indigenous or anything related to South Asian culture)
  4. View the art in different ways: up close, at at distance, on an angel and don’t forget to read the plaque!
  5. Talk about what you see. It could be as simple as “did you see the bottom of their shoes” or “how many of xyz do you see in the painting” to “what does this piece make you feel”
  6. If it’s a sculpture, copy what you see!
  7. Don’t forget to visit the gift shop :)
  8. Plan your next / follow up visit!

Blogmas | Gift guide for your daughters

Sharing some of the gifts ideas for daughters. These work perfect for kids ages 5-8 and include STEM/STEAM & skill building! Hopefully this provides some ideas or you can click directly on the link to purchase on Amazon.ca!

  1. Dot Lego bracelet making kits: Cute little way to design braclets using lego dots. Perfect way to keep kids entertained as a starter to legos for kids who don’t really like them
  2. Build a robot with Remote Control: funny enough, building a robot like this was my university capstone project, now I’m buying them for my kids christmas presents! Great for the kid who wants to try their hand at building and controlling a robot.
  3. Puffy sticker book: My kiddo loved another version of this book, it’s like playing dolls with thousands of possible outfits and activities.
  4. Dance gear: of any gear to support their extra curriculars: dance shoes, personalized sparring pads, high bar.
  5. Geodes kit: Awesome gift for the kid who’s into rocks and crystals. Adult help required, but you can actually crack the rocks to reveal the magnificent geodes.
  6. Viral Tiktok Bedazzler: no explaination necessary – will be a popular choice for the kids and their moms alike lol!
  7. Gimp: When kids are into making braclets, this is a great way for them to practice fine motor skills and following directions. This kit comes with key chain rings so can also be used to create gifts for grandparents or for school backpack zippers.
  8. Lego friends: A step up from Dots but not as complex as a start wars set with 1000 pieces. Kids can follow the instructions and make the kit in 45 min or less. Then endless hours of fun!

Want more? Follow my Blogmas 2022 journey here!

5 Ways to beat the winter blues & a trip to TO Christmas Market

When the whether dips, it’s not uncommon to feel seasonal depression.  With the sun no longer shining as much, the need to bundle up all.the.time and the persistent search of a warm getaway – it’s easy to lose perspective.  I am learning to give in a little bit.  Enjoy the warm soups, choose sautéed veggies over cold salads and drink as much tea as I want.

Here are a few other ways to enjoy the colder months…

Get cozy: fleece PJs (matching with family members? even better), fuzzy house coat, warm slippers and turning on the fireplace…!

A mug of your favourite warm beverage: Tea, coffee multiple times a day.  Better enjoyed with a friend.

Watch all the best movies or series: Ok so it’s true, Friends is leaving Netflix but there are tons of Holiday movies to enjoy this time of year.

A warm cozy bed: I love love love the feeling of getting into bed with clean sheets after a hot shower.  Switching to a duvet at this time of year can be wonderful.

Being grateful: Every morning and every night or really any time of day when you feel your mood slip.  Take a moment to breath and give thanks.

Another important thing to do in winter?  Get out of your house.  For a walk around the block, to an seasonal event or a winter activity.  Take a little more planning but you really won’t regret it.

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Going to weddings with our kiddos

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The last 2 weekends were spent busy with weddings.  It’s definitely a different season of life we are in, as we are attending weddings as parents of two children.

Nowadays, we always come prepared with snacks and dinner (as food is usually not served at kid friendly times).  We usually need to bring a stroller.  Most of the rules we have at home go out the window for the night (i.e.: sure have some more cranberry juice, no veggies on your plate no problem!)  Sitting on the floor to watch the bhangra performance is a rite of passage for a child at Indian weddings.

If you think taking kids to a wedding is a chore – you are right because you can’t really enjoy the wedding.  Well that’s not entirely true sometimes you have friends and family who help out but usually it means you are leaving no later than 11:15pm.  But taking your kids to a wedding (if it’s been approved by the bride and groom of course, usually Indian weddings are) is a perfect opportunity to practice teaching your kids respectful behaviour (i.e.: to be silent during the speeches or sitting still for a little longer than normal).

I personally know this time is FLEETING.  There will come the day when my kids will say “nah we don’t want to come!!”   :roll:

So I’ll enjoy taking them along while they don’t know they have a choice  ;-)

Lolo’s 2nd birthday

Holy shIt this is a long post!  I wanted share some photos of E’s birthday celebrations and I didn’t know exactly what to write.  And then the words just started flying off from my fingers to the key board to the screen.  I decided to publish this for my memories and for Miss E if she ever wants to know how she entered the world…!

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I still remember the days leading up to Lolo’s birth 2 years ago.  It all started on the Friday before she was born, March 3 2017.  Our current family of 3 had gone out to dinner and started to walk around the mall letting Miss S ride the coin rides, a typical family date night tradition for us that we had become accustom to for about a year at that point.

As we were walking around the mall, I started getting intense pains – which I honestly though were gas.  Gas that was coming and going.  Thinking back on it, the pain was pretty intense in that I had to stop walking and just hold a chair, wall, pillar – really anything for support.  I know now they were contractions, but they weren’t consistent and went away later on that night.

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The next day I also had the contraction pains on and off, but again by the evening when we headed to my in laws for dinner, all the pain had disappeared.  I figured I was going to go into labour soon, I just thought I was a 3-5 days away.  I was really banking on being able to take my vacation starting Wednesday of that coming work week, but I really should have taken a clue from when I was pregnant with Miss S – these girls won’t let me take a vacation 😜

Sunday March 5 2017, around 10:30am, contractions started again and quickly became very regular.  I was focused on my breathing telling Miss S that I was doing “yoga breathing”.  And she knew something else was going on.  I’ll always remember to this day what she said to me: “mummy, you are doing yoga breathing because my baby sister is coming soon”.

We put down Miss S for her nap and Mister A started tracking the contractions on an app.  They were getting closer but because I had 2 days of disappearing contractions I figured I should take a shower to calm down.  Before getting in the shower, we called my parents to let them know the status.  I continue to have contractions in the shower and it was then I realized this might be the real deal.  I got out of the shower got dressed, called my parents, got emotional, they said they were on their way, so I did my make up and Mister A loaded up the car.  By the time my parents arrived I was in full on labour but doing a good job of breathing through the pain.  My dad said that if the baby was coming to just pull over and call 911 as they could deliver the baby on the side of the road. 😬

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We started to pull out of our neighbourhood only to realize I had forgotten my purse…! So we turned around to grab it.  The next 27 minutes were a blur but completely reminiscent of a movie scene of the husband trying to speed to the hospital with his labouring wife screaming at him to drive faster.

We arrived at the hospital around 3:35pm.  On the walk up to labour & delivery triage I had 2 contractions and was even offered a wheel chair by a nurse who was returning to her shift.  I declined and continued having contractions but waddled and breathed my way through them. As soon as I got to the desk I told them I wanted a female doctor with slender fingers.  They asked if it as my first and I said no, and everyone went into serious mode: “She’s 38-5, multips, we need to get her checked”. I got checked and I was 7cm (way further along than I was expecting).  I told the nurse I had to use the washroom, and she warned me not to push 😟

I remember them clearly saying “she’s multips, mother is multips, multips wants an epidural, multips x min apart”.  I finally asked what “multips” was, the nurse told me that mothers of multiple (multips = multiple) children usually go through the last phase of labour pretty fast – so they wanted to act quickly.  Within 20 min of being admitted I was in a labour room and they had called for the anesthesiologist. I was 8cm when I got the epidural and I was glad to finally have had it.  It was around 4:30pm when I finally was able to just lay back.  But not for long…! The nurse was in and out checking the monitors, fixing the catheter, adjusting my position.  Mister A had to make all the calls, take pictures, call the nurse when I had questions.  Around 5:50, I was checked again and it was time to push.  I pushed maybe 4-5 times and the doctor told me to stop.  Turns out the cord was wrapped around her neck twice hence why the nurse had to keep checking the monitors and adjusting me.

Miss E was born at 6:12pm on Sunday March 5 2017.  She cried non stop until about 8:30pm.  Mister A asked I could put her back 😬

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All sarcasm aside, she is our cuddle bug and she completes our family.  She has the most mischievous yet contagious smile, she loves broccoli and running after sister.  She’s very stubborn and head strong because she knows what she wants.  She reminds me every day that kids are not obligated to their parents.  She and her sister always show me that they belong to this earth and we can only guide them to be strong, independent and good people.