High Five for Friday! - Freebie Fridays & PPH Print Shop Feature!

I have always been envious of those who are able to blog uber consistently ... I on the other hand ... I'm motivated on Fridays (lol) & because of this Five on Friday link up! Here we go again!

// one

Who doesn't love freebies! If you're an uber cheesy, sentimental mama like me, who makes their kid pose for first day of school pictures, these are the perfect prop. Frame 'em, stick 'em to a wall (with some washi tape!), or simply have your kid hold up the sign! At first I was super proud of myself for thinking about the first day of school when I still have almost 2 weeks left (go me go), but now I realize that the American kiddies have already started! Ek! Well, maybe pin these or save em for next year! and to my fellow Canadians, print & snap away! :)

Click here to down these first day printables!
Pretty please, these freebies / printables are for personal use only! Please do not sell, distribute or recreate, xo.

// two

Don't you just love when your babies co-operate during a mini impromptu photo sesh? Just my two favourite littles in the whole wide world posing it up! Aiden's mastered how to tie his shoes after practicing for one night (he's super proud, and obvs - we are too!) & Miss Sadie has finally fit into the chucks that my cousin bought her for her birthday :)


// three

If you haven't creeped the non-book sections of Chapter's Indigo, you definitely need to! I've seen a few previews for their holiday collection via Instagram that hasn't made it on it's way to their online site just yet, but I am totally diggin' this, this & this. And free shipping with no minimum until Sunday, woot!


// four
A little deja-vu! I'm even more excited than I was this time last week :D

PPH Print Shop is being featured on PS I Adore You starting tomorrow! 

For a limited time, some of my favourite prints from our shop will be available for sale at a discounted price! If you haven't heard of PS I Adore You, be sure you check them out. They showcase great (usually handmade) products while offering them as a deal! Oh, and the best part ... they spread the word & raise awareness about childhood cancer. How awesome is that?! Happy shopping!

// five
Christmas Eve is in 4 months and 1 day ... #justsayin

follow along: BLOGLOVIN' | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER 

the obsession continues ...

& now for the boys!

one. two. three. four. five. six. seven.

I got the A approval on all the pieces, score!
I know most people think that it's much more "fun" to dress little girls, but since day one, I've always had a blast dressing A. I also like to think that he loves fashion and loves shopping with me for new threads (LOL). But since he's started school, I try not to have him wear his "cool" clothes. For obvious reasons (rips, stains, disappearing to the land of God knows where, etc). Except this guy refuses to wear sweats to school or anything remotely comfy ... um, Aiden - you have gym today, you have to wear sweats. Negative. He will not leave the house unless he's wearing skinnies - yes skinnies. We usually pick out his clothes together the night before and he's always agrees with me on the outfit selection (even when sweats are chosen), but come morning time ... a pair of his skinnies creep onto his legs and off to school he goes. He knows he'll get away with it because I'm still zzz-ing with Sadie-Q while Daddy takes him to school & as if Ryan will scold him on his outfit selection (LOL). I may have created a monster - at least he's well dressed :)

letters to you: my heart is bursting with proudness

Dear A,

Naturally, we were nervous for your 1st day of school - probably more than you were. But you did great! & you continue to love it every day. I had your parent / teacher interview a few days ago & us being proud is an understatement. You're learning, thriving and excelling. You're such a sponge & your curiousity and thirst for knowledge is refreshing! I know you'll do wonders in this world.

Love,
Daddy, Mama & Sadie-Q

just one of those days ...

Silly guy played hookie from school today. He usually up at the crack of dawn, shoving Ryan out of bed so he can get ready for school. But today was a little different, he was whimpering, sobbing ... really, really didn't want to go. First, Ryan had his foot down - he was laying down the law. Then I had my foot down. Then Ryan got soft and I got weak ... and well, Aiden stayed home to "hang" with Sadie and I. I guess we're all entitled to one of those days, once in a while.

Plus, I love when both my babies are home with me, weeeeeeeee!

our kindergarden-er!

The day came & went.

Aiden was beyond excited (you can tell by the photos below, he's smiling so big - he can't even keep his eyes open!). He was also more than pleased with his outfit selection. He's a bus-er, but we decided to drive him and drop him off yesterday. He couldn't even contain himself and barely said goodbye to Ryan and I. He marched right into the gated drop-off, playground area and was ready to start his day! He looked a little lost at first, but I'm sure he'll figure it all out. I, on the other hand, was anxious and the more I thought about my baby starting school, the more emotional I got (haha). Ryan had to peel me away from the drop-off gate, "Babe, it's time to go...".
I'm so happy & proud of you Aiden - I can't wait to hear all the stories you'll have!

(Sadie hates hats, btw).

Shortly after we dropped Aiden off, Ryan headed to work.

Our home was ... quiet. Sadie took a nap and I was ... lonely. I could hear the clock tick - the first time in a long time. I started tidying the house & making the beds. But because of a mix-up at work, Ryan came home an hour later & had the day off! Definitely a pleasant surprise, because without him - I probably would have been, a wreck (LOL). Plus, I love enjoying his company - esp. without an agenda.  

I truly counted down the minutes until A came home.
Ryan, Sadie and I headed to the bus stop to pick Aiden up and as all the kids we getting off the bus, I thought - crap, did he not get on the bus? ... My heart was beating fast. I walked over to the bus door only to find our Aiden sitting in the seat right behind the bus driver. "He's patient & wanted to let everyone else off the bus first ..." O-M-G.

Aiden was wiped! You could see it in his eyes. As we walked home from the bus stop (while Ryan carried Aiden home) Ryan said, "Since school makes you so tired, maybe you shouldn't go back" ...

"But then I would miss all the fun"
Best response, ever. 

I'm so glad that you had a great first day Aiden! Hope you'll aways have his much enthusiasm for learning. Excited what the school year will bring & for your 7:45pm bedtime, hehe.

you're starting school?!

A little while ago we did a small overhaul of Aiden's closet. We has some chillier weather and needed him to wear pants versus shorts. Well, none of his pants fit - none. Oh boy.

So hard to believe that around this time last year, we took him to the ex and he looked like this ..

Now, he's grown over two sizes in all his clothes and two sizes in his shoes. Wahhhh! Our baby boy is truly growing up. We took Aiden back-to-school shopping a little while ago & got some pretty good stuff. Of course, I had to do some convincing & persuading for him to get sweats, lol.

The varsity jacket, he had to have. The best part was that Ryan swore that the jacket looked so familiar. We then found a photo of Ryan on his 1st day of school, so amazing!

On Wednesday, Aiden had a "meet & greet" with his teacher and ECE. His teachers quickly picked up on how curious Aiden was ... about the classroom and all the things inside. "He asks questions, that's so great!" His teachers seem "cool" (lol), they're young. They also worked along side together last year, which I like. They asked if we had any concerns about the full-day JK program & really my main concern is A will fall sleep! They said kids fall sleep all the time (lol) and they get used to being in school after a week or two. I also said that A takes a little while to eat his lunch. They said that the kids feed off each other's habits and energy. He'll adjust, don't worry!

I stumbled across these words on Pinterest and my heart just melted ...

So we'll spend the majority of the weekend prepping, labelling and organizing for the big day! I'm so excited for you A! Excited for you to make friends, learn lots and play lots. You've been waiting all Summer to start school. & stating Monday (from 8:00am - 3:00pm), our home will be quiet ... I'm going to miss you so so much!  

s t r e s s e d

I wouldn't call this studying per se, especially because here Aiden is, right beside me - wide eyed and no where near sleeping.
My attention span is little to none because the topic of discussion is rather dry, but mainly because THIS IS IT - my final undergrad exam! All I can think about is what will happen in the days to come & I can't focus on what's to happen tomorrow.

Maybe I should check how much this exam is worth?
Ryan, are you home yet?

....

the final straw

Every night, I work until the battery of my mac dies.

Working the night away, trying to recruit "friends" to take vids of themselves for a mini presentation for our Issues & Innovations class. Looking good so far, I'll post the final of the vid.

LAST WEEK OF CLASSES.

ONE MONTH UNTIL OUR CLOSING DATE.

BIG things, people. BIG up things.

Life is ... grand.

my application is in!

I meant to send it last Sunday, but after spending the entire night writing, editing, refreshing and editing my CV ... the online application asks to "describe yourself"! GRRR. Didn't I just do that in my 3 hour long process of writing my CV and updating my resume? So I got discouraged and stopped the application process. I let a week go by until I knew that if I didn't force myself to do so, there may be a chance that I miss the deadline. So tonight, it did it, I wrote one more paragraph about myself and a customer service experience and I clicked submit. I clicked it.

Now,

I wait.

Thank you for your interest in the grad@Loblaw Program!

We have received your application. If selected for an interview, you will be contacted by e-mail.

I dislike playing the waiting game.

Now, I wait.

& I cross my fingers.

it was a cold one in Toronto!

Today was chilly.

We've been rather lucky that we haven't had such a bad winter, actually it's been spring like conditions for the past couple of days, but goodness, today was a cold one. Particularly a bummer for Aiden as he just recovered from a high fever and a bit of a cold only to have to leave the comfort of our cozy home to venture off to Burlington for the day because mama has lecture and daddy's gotta work. He looked so cute all bundled up, scarf, toque and tiny red mittens.

My day consisted of lunch with Ryan at South St. Burger Co., which I don't think I can handle again because of the size of the damn burger. Ryan always craves pizza, burgers and subway. I rarely eat pizza, can chow down on the occasional burger and get sick of subway fast. After lunch, I drove down to the city for my lecture (when you're driving, it's hard to feel the wind chill, so I never realize how cold it is unless I'm walking from Union Station to campus and vice versa).

In class today, we had about 30 students from Amsterdam sit in on our lecture. They were in Toronto for the week to experience the retail atmosphere of the downtown core. They shared with us about their visits to various retailers naming Nike, Walmart and Loblaw as stand outs, tourist retailing in Niagara Falls, the incredible vision that is the Toronto Eaton Centre and told us how ecstatic they were to watch a Marlie's game and see the Raptor's defeat the Miami Heat! Something I thought was so cute: "we just don't quite understand the concept of, uhhh, a what is it, called, there's so many food choices, a food court - we don't have food courts, we've never seen so many people eating in the same place at the same time". Hehehe. What I thought was particularly interesting was the fact that they were 3 year students all working fulltime in management roles while doing their Bachelor's degree. Such a different mindset and concept then here in North America. Takes much determination, time management skills and focus to be in such a competitive atmosphere. Definitely a pleasure to have them attend. Such an outing bunch of individuals who provided us with some insights on retailing in the Netherlands.

last one!

Today, starts the first day of my last semester of university.

(finally)

Excited to be finished, excited for what will come next.

Applications are being accepted as of January 18th, you better believe mine will be in there.

Picking some brains of school friends who graduated last year, mixed feelings everywhere.

After school, I have a date with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and our bathroom, woot.

and then, I want to do this.

finally, a day off from the maddness!

I have no idea how I'm going to be able to work full-time post graduation. Working FT for the past 4 weeks has been exhausting, mentally, emotionally and most of all physically. I'm making a New Years resolution, but keeping it to myself - you never know who's stalking your blog, :P

On the up side, finally got to check my Fall 2009 grades. GPA of 3.7, ain't to shabby :)

Three more classes & I'm finally done, finally. Highly anticipating, super exited, can't wait for what's next. 2010 will be BIG, I can feel it.

back to the daily grind of student life

I feel sleepy.

It's definitely different this time around. Even though I'm only taking 3 classes this semester, I also have work, Ryan & Aiden! It's only the 2nd week & I'm already finding it difficult to juggle my time between what school demands & hanging out with my boys. Aiden can be so demanding some days - sometimes he just really wants his mama! Ryan on the other hand, understands when I have to put him on hold, hehehe. BUT, it's only SEVEN more months! & then I'll finally have my undergrad degree under my belt!

As much as it's a challenge, I love the change of pace. Different scene, different people. Being downtown, amongst all the hustle & bustle of every day life is such a treat. I love learning about what will interest my future employers, mentors. As much as I want this whole process to be over, I'm terrified of what's next? Ask me what my dream job is, & I don't even think I would have an answer for you.

Ok, real life: HR Director for an apparel organization

fantasy life: SAHM, with a small scrapbooking store :)

What different lives!

school stuff

I've been devoting most of my time to a productivity analysis paper for my online class. Problem is: it's a group paper & one of the hardest things about online classmates, if having everyone place forth the same amount of effort as you do. Crappy. So, here I am, placing forth lots and lots of time and energy into this 16 page paper. When in reality, I'd rather be playing with Photoshop. Annnnd, of course, spending time with Ry & Bunky.

I'm scared to go back next semester, even though it's just PT. I really don't want to leave Aiden. Separation anxiety.

Okay, back to this paper.

I'll be back with more thrilling things!

As much as I love love distance education classes, I'm getting lost in my readings. Sometimes, I don't even think that anything that I'm writing in my current new application assignment makes any sense. But I'm just trying to get it done so that I can start spending some time with you.
Times like these makes me wish I had my damn degree already!

So I started Aiden's First Year album. Rocky start. Somehow, even with a paper trimmer - I still can't cut straight lines. But I'm leaving it the way it is.

Imperfections brings out character.