Weekend Links

So I have this terrible habit of starting blog posts and then not finishing them for a couple weeks... or a month. The picture above was taken almost a month ago, when I first started this post. Oops. But in the meantime I was working overtime at my day job, working my normal weekend shift at my second job and we moved. Radio silence justified. The most awesome part of the last couple weeks was that we moved into a house! It's a rental, but I cannot describe how awesome having our own space is. It's just great. And here is my Friday collection of links that I've come across in the last month. ;)

A couple highlights from the apartment we are so happy to be out of.

I'm in totally in love with this hair colour.

An interesting post about Keri Smith's creative journey.

Ladies, have you ever been called bossy?

A really fantastic read by a father about his autistic son's life from the beginning to his 20s and how they reached him through his love of Disney. If nothing else, you really should read this one.

My jaw hit the floor reading Little Miss Momma's Hawaii vacation recap the other day and I read that she saw Jack Johnson there, at the beach. As if I wasn't jealous enough about the rest of the trip...

All the laminate flooring in our new place has me searching out cute slippers like these and these.

Gavin can't stop talking about Leprechaun traps this past week.

The warmer weather lately has me dreaming of camping! I know it's a little while off, but I can't help it.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Links

I'm sure it will come as no surprise when I say that the last week or so were an absolute whirlwind. Luckily, I got to take all of last week off to stay in Regina to be with family and help take care of my three year old nephew whose brother and parents were at the children's hospital back here is Alberta. The three of them managed to be back home less than a week after they rushed away to deal with my nephew's severe heart defect that had gone totally undiscovered for my sister's entire pregnancy and his first month of life, which was absolutely amazing. Apparently little Noah is already a fighter, appearing perfectly healthy the entire time and coming through a risky procedure with no problems at all. Words cannot express how grateful I felt to be able to hold him and hug his parents when they got back home. 

So I've had this half finished links post sitting in my drafts since before I left Lethbridge 10 days ago totally unaware about the wild week we were in for, I figured it was about time to post it!

I find the process of chocolate making so fascinating!

Kurt Vonnegut is also fascinating. 

This made me laugh.

And this had me dreaming of traveling the world!

How to ask better questions.

I've followed Dana's blog for years and love her new youtube channel.

I plan on reading/watching this soon.

I really enjoyed this perspective on teaching kids about swear words.

I've got a spot in my living room that needs something and I think it should be a globe. Here are three favourites.

Wise words.

And Gavin's favourite song by his favourite singer.

Matters of the Heart

Do you know how fast life can go from normal to insanity? I'm not sure I really grasped that fully until this weekend. Friday was Gavin's birthday and after spending the morning with Mason, we hit the road to spend 5 or 6 days in Regina. I didn't get time off at Christmas to come home and see everyone and I really wanted to get to see my new nephew Noah again since he was just born Christmas Day. The drive was uneventful, and my sister texted me in the afternoon to make plans to visit. I knew she was taking little Noah to get an echocardiogram done because the had discovered kind of randomly that his heart looked a little enlarged, but as far as I knew it all seemed pretty minor and just in case. 

When Gavin and I showed up at my mom's door Friday evening, she was just on her way out, with my three year old nephew, explaining that my sister and baby Noah were being flown a province over where they have a children's hospital and that he needed heart surgery! Needless to say, the last couple days has seemed to go on forever and also kind of flown by. One day everything is normal and the next the family member you would least suspect to need life-saving surgery is getting just that. Fortunately, everything since they got there (besides the scary diagnosis) has been good news. Apparently tiny Noah is a fighter and he is so lucky to have his amazing parents and some amazing medical staff there with him. 

We've all been checking our email approximately every 7 minutes, just in case there are updates and there have been many phone calls to keep the information flowing to the rest of the family. Times like this truly remind you what you have and to be thankful for the things that we sometimes forget are such enormous gifts, like healthy babies, devoted parents, free healthcare, and even well-behaved five year olds that are very willing to share their mom with a three year old cousin who doesn't really understand the whole situation. There truly are no words for how lucky I feel for everything at this moment.

Five.

Yes, five. 

Well, six birthdays, five full years.

Tell me, does a mother ever get used to these things?

I registered him for kindergarten earlier this week, and I drove right past the school first.

I made it in on the second try, but barely. I always thought it was a little silly when people talked about crying when they drop their child off for their first day of school. I don't think that anymore.

This boy is such a sweetheart. In five years he has gone from a sweet baby to a sweet and articulate boy. I say articulate because one of the most amazing things about him is his ability to put things into words. Almost daily he spontaneously pipes up with some sweet declaration of his love for Mason or I (or both). A couple weekends ago he randomly spoke up and said, "Mom, don't you know eternity means forever? I'll love you for eternity. Even when you pass away and I pass away, I'll still love you." We weren't talking about love, forever or death before that at all. 

He just melts my heart. I'm so lucky to be this sweet boy's mom.

Happy 5th Birthday, Gavin.

Weekend Links

Happy Friday! Can you believe it's here already? This week seemed like it flew by even more quickly than most. That is probably because last weekend was such a whirlwind. As a birthday surprise for Gavin we took off to the big city for the weekend, visited the lego store, stayed in a hotel and took him to their amazing new science centre. It was definitely a wonderful alternative to more toys. This weekend we have his birthday party! Let's not talk about how old is turning yet, ok? I have another week until I really have to face the facts. ;)
Here are some fun links from around the web this week...

If google was a guy.

This article had me thinking.

Could you live with just two hundred things?

A good song recorded in the bathroom of a bar I used to frequent in Regina.

Made me laugh.

I'm pretty sure Gavin thinks this is the kind of birthday party he will be getting, but I think it's going to make last year look impressive. I hope he won't mind!

Some seriously fun ideas for kids.

I think my house could use a kid-friendly diet cleanse.

Your kids on books.

Loving this pretty hair cut.

Have a lovely weekend!

Weekend Links

Gavin and his kiwi crate creations this weekend

Happy Friday! I decided to start a weekly routine of a link round up for a couple reasons:

1. It gives all my pointless internet surfing a point
2. I really enjoy link round ups on other blogs
3. It's a really blog post to write

Enjoy!

The world isn't so bad after all.

Accepting uncertainty - a skill I could definitely work on.

A fun quiz to map your speech, even though it doesn't include Canada.

Striking photos of soldiers before, during and after war.

See why our beauty standards are so skewed in under 60 seconds.

I have a thing for planners, here's two awesome ones on Etsy: one and two.

Jennifer Lawrence is so great.

This is me.

Gay uncles are important for evolution (I took some of the most interesting classes from the man who did the study!)

A song.

A fresh take on New Years resolutions.

Have a great weekend!

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to take a moment to say Happy New Year! I gave the blog a little update for the new year and simplified some things with the intention of being around here more this year. Being out of school definitely has its perks, but I do miss the creative outlet so I am hoping to start blogging regularly again in 2014. I'm not sure what will come of it, but I'm open to whatever it is.