While most mac and cheese dishes aren’t overly nutritious, this version is packed with protein, veggies, and whole grain pasta, so I feel good about giving it to Miss G and she’s just thrilled that she gets to eat a giant bowl of pasta and call it a day.
In order to get through our move, Miss G spent a lot of time playing independently, which is difficult when the majority of your things are packed and life as you know it is being turned upside-down in front of your eyes. In order to make things a little bit easier for her, each day that we spent packing, I’d set out a couple of very simple invitations to play with whatever was around at the time. I have to say, she handled the situation very well and even created a few fun activities of her own. Here’s some of what our little lady did last week…
Only 5 days to pack and a ton to do.
A going away gift. We have the very sweetest friends.
Progress…
All of the toys, books, games, and puzzles Gracen will have in Kuwait are in these two bins.
2 a.m. and finally feeling good enough about the progress made to go to sleep before picking up the moving truck the next morning.
Loading day.
Nearly finished.
A sad final dinner in her 2nd home… A towel as a picnic blanket, a bento box for a plate, a spoon borrowed from the downstairs tenants, not a vegetable in sight.
Farewell, little house.
Halfway through the 6 hour drive back to the Okanagan.
An hour away from our destination and dinner is served… In a car seat. Sardined between bins.
Whew! What a week it’s been. I’ve got to say that moving is probably one of my least favourite things to do ever. Several Christmases ago, my brother and I sat down with a pen and paper and listed off all of the houses we’ve lived in in our lifetimes and if I’m correct, this move will be my 52nd. Oy. I must say, it does get easier… Moving frequently has caused me to really think about what I hang onto and in most cases, if I haven’t used something within the last few months, I’ll happily give it away, recycle it, or get rid of it rather than moving it just so it can collect dust somewhere new. That being said, moving with a toddler {and only 5 days to pack an entire house} is not, in any way, easy. Gracen was wonderful through it all, but it was definitely tough. Between trying to be an engaged parent, keeping up with making healthy, homemade meals, attending final play dates and outings, and packing everything into boxes while a curious little somebody wants to take everything out, I felt spread thin to say the least. Sleep was even less plentiful than normal, which means patience was too. Buuuuuut, thanks to a lot of help from Brad’s parents in the final two days, we did it. We packed everything up into a moving truck {and two vehicles}, scrubbed down the house, handed over our keys, and said goodbye to the little old house that has been our home for the last two years {since we arrived home from our first stint in Kuwait}. Now we’re in the Okanagan for the next few weeks until our big, BIG move and I’m happy to report that we should be able to get the bulk of our stuff sorted/stored/put away this morning. Here’s to a little bit of downtime before our next adventure begins!
♥
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While we’ve done plenty of regular mess-free painting on our sidewalks and fence, today Gracen asked if I’d draw her something to paint. While maybe not as open-ended as I’d usually aim for, I do find that sometimes she prefers having a jumping off point, so I drew an assortment of shapes on the ground using sidewalk chalk. The activity was actually perfect for her new found interest of colouring in the lines, and when the water dried, it left our cement pad covered in beautiful, watercolour-esque shapes. So simple, but she enjoyed so much that she’s already asked to do it again.
♥
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One of the fun little things I’ve tried to keep up is having Gracen pick a new fruit or vegetable to take home and investigate during our weekly shopping trips. Though she seriously contemplated a papaya, she ended up selecting this particular dragon fruit today. This is the conversation that ensued while browsing the other aisles…
Gracen: What’s dis one called again, Mama?
Mama: It’s a dragon fuit. We’ll cut it open when we get home and see what’s inside.
Gracen: NOT a DRAGON though, right Mama?!
Hah! Silly little goose.
♥
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Gracen and I went skating for the second time today (see our first try here) and it was pretty great. We still rotated rounds of skating with the support with the extra fun chair rides, but Grae was a lot more confident today and skated for most of the time without me holding the support behind her.
Here she is in all of her skating glory…
That little clippity clop of her skates on the ice makes my heart melt.
♥
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While on Christmas vacation in the Okanagan, I finally came across something I’d been on the lookout for for a while now… Old-school double-bladed skates. ☺
And though we didn’t get around to a family skate session while on vacation, today my little lady and I stopped by Hillcrest Centre for their weekly preschooler skate.
Gracen was really excited about trying skating, so we got suited up and hit the ice. At first, we skated hand in hand, her taking quick small steps on the slippery surface and I doing my best to balance the both of us. After a few minutes, I realized we’d both be better off starting with one of the plastic support apparatuses (thank heavens for them!) It was so much easier, especially with my rusty skating skills involved. Grae stood in front with me behind her and all was good. In fact, we happily made it all the way down the ice and halfway back again before she took her first spill. That’s when things started going downhill a wee bit. While she’d been confident and happy for the first bit, after the fall she was anxious and much more cautious. Though I got her up and having fun again, she told me several times ‘Dis ice is soooooo slippery. Too slippery, Mama!’
In an effort to turn things around, I offered to push her on a chair for a bit like many of the other parents were doing with their kids. Needless to say, with the risk of falling removed and the fact that she could glide across the ice at super speed without really having to put forth any effort added in, she loved it.
With spirits boosted from a good long chair ride, we hit the ice again and tried holding hands and using a cone for support.
It was short, but overall I’d say our first ever skating session was a success. Gracen left happy and she says she’s excited to go again next time. Can’t ask for much more than that. ☺
♥
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Whew. Today Gracen and I spent over 2.5 hours driving, an addition 1.5 hours sitting at border crossings, and 3 hours bopping around Bellingham running errands and getting some shopping done. We powered straight through lunchtime and nap time, and through it all, Miss G was an absolute pleasure.
This girl. She’s my sidekick, my partner in crime, and my biggest fan. And I couldn’t love her more.
I’m one very blessed mama.
♥
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One of my favourite memories is the many family movie nights that filled the weekends of my childhood. They often involved treats (um, hello blue fish, shoestring licorice, and pink popcorn!), floor beds, and cheesy feel good movies, which landed them firmly in the extra special category as far as family activities were concerned.
Since having Grae, the idea of starting a little family movie tradition of our own has always been something I’ve looked forward to. While Grae doesn’t have a whole lot of experience watching television and is still a little young for movies, our dreary Vancouver weather brought about a spontaneous first family movie afternoon today. (Okay, it was more like a first movie 30 minutes…but who’s counting, right?)
With a couch-turned-bed, heaps of pillows and blankets, a ridiculous amount of stove popped popcorn, we settled in to the original Toy Story (which was the Pixar movie I found with the lowest age rating on www.commonsensemedia.com). It was Grae’s first ever movie, my first ever Pixar film, and our very first attempt at a movie afternoon as a family of 3. It lasted for as long as it took Grae to fill her belly with popcorn, but I’d say it was a perfect beginning to a tradition in the making.
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When I told Gracen that we would be headed to the Okanagan for the weekend, she immediately exclaimed that she was excited and started listing off all of the things she wanted to do while there, one of which was “Old MacDonald’s Farm”. Confused, I asked her what she meant. Her response? “Old MacDonald’s Farm – apple treat drink!” Such a funny little thing. With that, I knew she actually meant Davison Orchards, home of the appleanche (a pure apple slushy drink we let her try this summer).
So this morning, after a little sleep in for Brad and I and a little play for Grae, Manmaw, and Poppop, my girl and I headed into Vernon for a Davison visit. The orchard was extra beautiful today… sunshiny, packed with pumpkins, and sprinkled with autumn displays. Gracen loved every minute as always, and thought the pumpkin people were especially funny.
“thankful” // first stop: animals
goat feeding
donkey love
greedy sheep // corn barn
farmer grae // climb
corn maze // pumpkin family
sunshine // hoedown
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Photos edited with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.
headed out // lunch for two
Vancouver sunshine plus an impromptu dinner picnic at the beach and ocean-dipped toes makes for a very happy mama and babe.
a trip to the bookstore // magical stickers