Treehouse

Apart from the redhead in the pink this was our crew.  We hit up Treehouse for a fun afternoon (because there was no school - woot woot!)  Two of our sweet little friends came to help with the girls and we were super grateful for their youth, strength and stamina because our kids certainly could have stayed ALL day they were having such fun.  Alyson had heard really good things about Treehouse and it did not disappoint. There were seriously so many fun things in every corner of the place. It was on the pricier side but worth it.

 It was especially interesting to see what the kiddos preferred. The massive slide was probably the favourite for most and so great to do it as a group :)

 So when we go again we will eat tons on the drive to play (snacks were ok but obviously they make money on their concession) and wear tshirts because it got hot, but then again we played hard carrying and climbing in the structure. Seriously fun times!!!!

~ Mrs. P

Mutart Conservatory

I appreciate a good 'ol family outing and the Mutart is a wonderful winter must. We took our Saturday and hit Stella's ballet class, did some to-do list stuff in the morning but then used the afternoon for family fun.

 The Mutart Conservatory has four different pyramids that each have different vegetation. Three are permanent and one has a rotating exhibit which is currently a Japanese Garden. So fun!!! The gong was hit upon entering, upon leaving and may have been hit a few times in between because it is soooo darn cool.

We try to hit the Mutart at least once a year, in the winter is better because it feels like a bit of a vacation :P  Always great to watch your kiddos experience and learn! Love these ladies.

Love the little moments we were able to steel with them. 

 

 

Till next year mutart!

~ Momma P

dad will do it

I am all for gender equality but honestly moms and dads are just different!

The big guy and his little ladies have a blast together.  He does things with them that I would NEVER/COULD NEVER do, case in point picture above. They have special little things between them that I am just not a part of and I am ok with that.  The girls and I have our own things. I read once in a book that the most influential relationship is the cross gender parental relationship, which for our girls would be their dad.  He is the first man in their life and it makes sense that they will measure all other men against their old dad; 

 

how are they treated? 

how are they helped? 

how are they spoken to? 

how should they treat other guys? 

 

We had a lot of time to think about our roles of mother and father, literally years, like many years to watch other parents, listen to their advice. So going in to this parenting gig we have high hopes. Thank goodness apologizing and forgiveness are part of how our family rolls.  We are both working on measuring up to our dreams as parents and I kind of think the dude is nailing it!

~ Mrs. P

Disney countdown

We are heading to Disney World in 10 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This fall our Hinko family got serious in their Disney planning and booked a trip for our whole extended family. This trip has been talked about for years and this is the year.  We are all jacked up and really looking forward to this break. Each of us is pumped to escape and enter the 'happiest place on earth' (their tag line).

Being the nerd that I am we have started our countdown calendar and I pulled out our travel journals the other day. Yeah for vacation!!! 

(Yes Stella is not wearing her skirt, she is in a phase of really taking control of her wardrobe!)

~ Mrs. P

a piece of me

Caitlin Connolly - A Piece of Me

It has been 3 months since losing our baby.   I have moments of sadness, it is hard on the heart.  I have found myself having those feelings of grief emerge at various times; watching my girls with friend's babies, packing up the Christmas decorations wrapping each of our family initial ornaments and just times when I get thinking about where I would be in the pregnancy. There are other feeling that come; bitterness, anger, frustration BUT I must let those go and not give them space in my life, no taking away from the great things I have to be joyful about.  Interestingly they are similar feelings to those we faced while working at our infertility. We march on though!  I have such gratitude for the two little sweethearts I have been blessed with here on earth (they are currently belting our 'Let it Go' on the karaoke machine).  

A friend introduced the artist Caitlin Connolly to me and 'A Piece of Me' has resonated with my soul, I hope to own a print of it someday!!! Being a woman and motherhood holds such tremendous privilege.  It is truly the gamete of emotions with the greatest joy and the greatest sorrow. I have done my best to use this experience to draw me closer to my Heavenly Father and grow in a good way, instead of wallowing in bitterness or anger.  There is a book a dear friend lent me and a line from it I repeat to myself when the sad emotions come...."address the emotion and then let it go".  The book talks about how it is ok to have whatever emotion you have going on, just don't dwell there as you work through your grief.  It was such good advice and the experiences gathered and shared in the book were such a validation of my feelings, I am normal ha - who knew!!!  I have another friend who is due just a week before when our due date would have been and I will treasure that little man (they recently found out the gender).  I adore the family but I feel like he is going to be particularly special to me. As other friends announce their pregnancies I have great happiness for them and then a little piece of my heart aches for our family, this is just how it is. 

I have found great solace the beauty of the earth and feel that watching the sun rise, the colours of the sky, the snow covered evergreen trees, this is a gift to enjoy and take in, it brings peace to my soul.

 I also feel like I have had a perma-prayer going on these last few months. Can I dare say that I am grateful this experience has given me that.  I know that there is a plan for me! I know that my God, my Heavenly Father knows me and the feelings of my heart. I know that everything will be ok, it is ok!

 I have also tried to treasure and relish in my little ladies even more!!! Graham, I and these two awesome little women, this might just be it down here and I DO NOT want to waste any of our time wishing for more...we can't control that, so come what may. Both Graham and I have tangible, little, special reminders (totally a 'me' thing to do.) I treasure the necklace I had made which is meaningful to me and Graham uses a key chain I made for him.

 Our family theme for 2014 was to 'labour diligently' (it was part of the scripture Moroni 9:6). I feel as though that is what I ought to do with this experience, keep labouring (clearly not in a pregnant kind of way ha)!  I want to be better, do better.  I have such gratitude for the women I have been entrusted with. Is parenting still hard? Heck ya but my appreciation for them has been magnified!  I also often think about my sidekick and say to him that I didn't even know how lucky I was at 21 when we committed to eternity together. It is probably getting annoying but I tell him often because that is just how I roll, but I could not have asked for someone better suited to be my partner.

So I conclude this post by saying that we are marching on.  

Our little baby in heaven is still a piece of me, just as my girls here are.  I am grateful for motherhood and womanhood, all the things that I get to experience.

- Mrs. P

helpers

So I prefer to shop alone, honestly it is just easier.  Shopping alone only happens about half the time so the other half of the time we go into Safeway hoping that this car is available.  It is heavy to push but sooooo worth the entertainment it brings. The girls giggle and laugh and I'll wiggle the cart, they did good today! At bedtime when I asked their favourite part of the day, Amelia said "driving the cart and playing princesses with her Stella".  After returning home from getting groceries the ladies spent the afternoon playing together (always warms a mother's heart).

~Mrs. P

Toronto Interior and Design Show

Fun times with my girl Amy at the Toronto Interior and Design Show.

The speakers were fab and the exhibit was awesome!  Such a visual feast.  We had a bit of a walking adventure getting to the convention center the first day and then figured out the subway instead of walking back to the hotel for the remainder of the weekend.

 We were right beside the CN Tower, pretty cool. Made Amy take a few selfies at the show and then in her business hoodies.

Lovely to have endless time to talk and catch up.  Her up coming builds are super hip and we had fun pouring over those plans brainstorming.  The exhibit booths were full of innovative, unique things, seriously so cool. It was such a great weekend. I felt honoured to attend with her, I was her 'consultant' :)

~ Mrs. P