i need a good read

Have you read anything good lately?  Anything that I might love?  Something that you couldn't put down?

I need one of those... this is soo good I'll forget that there is a million inches of snow out with no end in sight... types of books.

I mean I'm not that hard to please....

let me be more specific...

if the book involves real life tragedy... count me out

now if you were to find this book in oh the fantasy section or perhaps even the young adult section... you might just be on the right page.

give me a vampire + love triangle that I haven't read and you will have hit my jackpot.

so... read anything good lately?

by ZoiShop via etsy

my new favourite jeans

I have a serious case of the winter take two blahs.  I mean we could see our back deck just a few days ago and now all we see is snow.  Clearly the groundhog was wrong this year.  Winter is here for a while more.

Of course I have a few things around to keep me smiling... two of them being of the baby variety and another in the form of a new favourite pair of jeans.  The last pair of jeans that I bought was a year ago and they were maternity jeans.  Come Christmas my Mom was lightly suggesting that I should pick out a new pair of jeans (I mean maybe I was walking around in jeans that were literally falling down... maybe)...  So I did some couch browsing and found that shopbop carried my forever favourite Ava jeans.  They arrived Christmas morning in a box from my parents.  Unfortunately when I put them on I realized that they were just too straight and just not skinny enough so I sent them back.  A couple of weekends ago my Mom and I made the trek to Holt Renfew (where I actually felt like I was in a museum of sorts .... my.... have things ever. changed) and I tried on the Paige Verdugo jeans.  Loved them.  They look great and are super flexible... which is a must when you spend half your day rolling around on the floor.

via

yeah I didn't get them in mint... mine are lighthouse... but I'm liking the mint too.

do you have a pair of favourite wear until they split down the butt jeans?

i have the appetite of a lumberjack

Yeah Andrew threw that line out there the other day.... something along the lines of Ash... you have the appetite of a lumberjack.  I initially took offense.  But I think it's kind of true.  I eat constantly and find myself strategizing throughout the day what I will eat next.  It's kind of like I am pregnant (minus the chicken mcnuggetts + dairy queen milkshake + pizza kind of days... yeah... I had those) ... only I'm not.  I'm feeding two babies... but I often wonder if this appetite will ever suppress.. back to my I only eat to sustain myself (kind of) days.

Andrew is the good food lover.  I am (was) more the I eat because I need to type.  In our house growing up I got the child's portion... because I wouldn't eat more than that... and it kind of stuck forever... well until I got pregnant.  Now I look at what Andrew plans on eating and ask him to put more than that on my plate.

so maybe I do eat like a lumberjack right now...  and food tastes so damn good.

are you breastfeeding and perpetually hungry?  tell me I'm not the only one!

everything she makes looks amazing!  via smitten kitchen

on keeping the magic alive after babies

I've always believed that you have to put effort into something to make it good and if you want it to keep being good, you have to keep putting that effort in.

Enter TV free tuesdays.

A few weeks back Andrew and I had a date night (funny how I use to think the term date night was a corny term used to define specific time spent with a husband... I mean why would you need a term when you did that all of the time... well I need that term now since date nights are necessary and do define when we actually spend quality one on one time together) after this date night I thought about how nice it was to spend time together away from the television, internet... you know... all of that technological noise... and proposed a perma date night... tv free tuesdays.

Andrew was game so tuesdays were officially declared tv and internet free in the evenings.

what a difference.

Don't get me wrong.  We aren't sloths who sit idly in front of the tv day in and day out... but come 7 pm it is just so easy to through effort out the window and fall into a routine of laziness.  I mean we have tons of quality family time together but our habit was to eat dinner and then sit on the couch and watch tv (or blog, or surf well usually both at the same time for me).

So far we've spent tuesdays doing yoga videos, having actual good conversations and throwing back a few glasses of good wine (okay the wine is likely cheap but the fact that it is wine makes it good).

Of course I sort of forget that we decided this every week and then come tuesday morning when I think about the day to come I realize that tonight will be quality...

Maybe we are the only ones who watch tv way too much... maybe not.  But if you are like us, I dare you to try it.  I think you will love it.

I know I do.

The End by EllaKSverdlov via etsy

chaotic recap... seventh edition

Oh what a wonderful week.

If only Andrew could take a day off work every week...



this was our Valentine's Day...



We played inside.  We went for a long walk outside.



I took a million pictures...







We opened presents...





and Andrew cooked... and made chocolate dipped strawberries... with PC the decadent chocolate chips... best way to eat fruit ever.

and after we put the girls to bed...

we had our own stay-at-home date







during dinner I remember saying that this was the best Valentine's day ever... and I meant it ... and we've had some spa filled, gourmet restaurant style vdays of past.... this one topped them all.

the rest of the week seems to pale in comparison but here goes...

I've realized lately that there are far too few pictures of me + the girls... since I am often the one taking the photos... so I will have to get all preggo self portrait style and shoot me some pictures in the mirror...

Alice looked a little confused at this whole approach

like Mommy, what are we even doing?  You point the camera at my face not at that shiny reflective thingy!

sorry but Mommy's gotta do what Mommy's gotta to do to prove that she was here... through all of this...

don't worry... the camera will still mostly be pointed at you...

so I can catch faces like this one.

and so I can catch you two in the act of talking to each other

of making each other laugh...

and the things you do to reassure each other that you are here...

I will never get tired of watching that.

....

I received a surprise in the mail this week....



Michelle whom I guest posted for last friday said she sent a little something in the mail.... well it turned out to be a lot more then a little something!  I can't wait to try out all of this stuff with the girls!  (especially the memory foam changing pad... that pad looks comfy!)

........

Alice has decided she prefers to feed herself... here's a little play by play of how that discovery went down...

where's my food?

I'm gonna eat this strap if you don't hurry up!

Mommy!

alright... that worked out just as I'd planned... Mommy came at me with that thing that puts food in my mouth and I successfully stole it from her!

now if I shove it far back in my mouth will the food just fall off?

come on food, fall off already!

what is this whole using my mouth to lick off the spoon deal that Mommy keeps talking about?


oh well... mission accomplished for today... I'll tackle that whole getting food off the spoon on my own thing another day.


....


yesterday we got some good news...

Andrew got a new job...

at his current job...

so I felt like baking (and drinking wine)...

blueberry muffins yum....

happy weekend!

we got high chairs

We started off by feeding the girls in the bumbo... on top of our dining table... yes yes I know.... never put a bumbo on top of a table... sketchy... but we did it... well supervised of course... while we were waiting for our boon flair high chairs to arrive...

and arrive they did.

Heidi is guarding them.  We could have used her outside when they arrived since instead of ringing our doorbell the delivery man decided to leave them next door, leaned against their door... in the snow... lovely.

yeah... I put them together... it took 5 minutes.

voila!

they're a hit.

and worth the wait.

ps. yes that's a scrunchie in my hair... don't judge me until you have sticky hands pulling at your hair all day.

bring on the food!

love day surprise

I woke up this morning and Andrew was going to get up to get ready to go to work... only he didn't

he surprised me by booking the day off... to spend Valentine's day with us...

via 

did I mention that he's making spaghetti + meatballs for dinner tonight... as I type...

i love this man.

happy valentine's!

making friends

step one... approach the person / cat of interest...

step two: establish something in common... in this case a mutual desire to see what exactly the other breathing being is...

step three: dive right in with abandon...

if only it was this easy for everyone.

i'm not here today

I know... I wasn't here yesterday, or the day before, or the day before...  but today I am somewhere else... online that is.  Michelle from Barla Banana asked me to share my infertility story over on her blog.  Michelle is a fellow Canadian and her shop carries some great brands.  She also blogs over here about her life, children and renos included.

so pop on over and read my story and while you're at it check out her shop.

....

I may not be here but Alice and Isla have insisted that I include a few photos... I mean what kind of mother would I be if I let a week go by without posting pictures of their fleeting moments as babies... not the kind that gets lots and lots of smiles... so here goes...

Happy Weekend!