When I Grow Up

When I grow up, I want to be like my 5 year old daughter.

I want to have her imagination, the ability to dream up magical worlds full of sweets, princesses and talking animals. High tea with imaginary friends, dance parties with Polly Pockets, and outfits consisting of sparkly fairy wings and bright pink crinolines.

I want to be lost in the innocence of naivety - seeing sunshine and lollipops through rose-coloured glasses. Dreaming of a future as an animal rescuer, princess, mom and doctor, and believing that I'm capable of doing it all and more.

I want to be a complete goofball like my little girl. To giggle until my belly aches and I fall to the ground, pink-cheeked and grinning. I want to make everyone laugh every time I say something, and to be able to tell intriguing stories that never end.

When I grow up, I want to have my daughter's youthful glow, her shiny virgin hair and silky porcelin skin. I want to have her limitless energy, able to run in circles until I can no longer catch my breath. Her fearless motivation to climb trees (right to the top) and to try new foods that may not look appealing to the eye at first glance.

I want to have her enquiring mind, her curiosity to know more and to be all-consumed when someone explains something new to me. I want to have her sense of inspiration when something new and exciting crosses her path.

I want to have her compassion, her selfless desire to help others and to take care of those who are younger than herself. Her acceptance and patience when constantly antagonized by her little brother. And most of all, I want to enjoy her all-consuming, unconditional love for her parents. Her unwavering knowledge that family is number one.

I may be older, and by the book I may be wiser, but when I grow up, I want to be just like my daughter, because although she is only five, there is already so much I could learn from her.

Linking up with my favourite Friday linky, #LetsBEEFriends










Adding this post  to the 1st Blogoversary Blog Bash in celebration of the fabulous bloggers Alison and Ado









And also linking up with Mama Kat who provided me with this fun writing prompt through her World Famous Writer's Workshop

Quotable Bits #12

Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths. 

- Etty Hillesum

When you're living a life of go-go-go, it's sometimes hard to remember to stop, take a deep breath, and enjoy the moment. I'm guilty of this and am constantly trying to remind myself of what is truly important.

Now it's your turn! Take some time out from your busy day and join some fabulous bloggers for some quotable bits.

Grab my button and add it to the bottom of your post. Then quote, write a post or add a picture, and link up!

Don't forget to check out other posts and leave some comment love.

TGIF

It's been a trying week - both personally and professionally. The kids and I have been very sick for the last 7 days, and frustrations at work have left me feeling less than enthusiastic about my career. With the Spring sun in the sky and my patience maxed out, I decided to stay home from work and take the kids to my favourite place.

It's been raining here for quite awhile now, so the bright blue sky and the calm ocean were welcomed with open arms. I love bringing the kids to this place on a weekday, when the sand is free for miles and it's just the three of us enjoying some quality time and much-needed fresh air.

The kids love to run around in search of rocks and shells, and I love to sit back and watch them, envious of their enthusiasm and thankful for this special time with them.

And nothing relaxes me and refreshes my optimism like the warm sun on my face.

The kids leave happy, exhausted, and full of a new appreciation for the outdoors.

And I'm left to appreciate our beautiful day while they are napping the afternoon away.

Here's to a peaceful and much-needed weekend, TGIF!

Quotable Bits #11

It's been a rough week in the Bee Hive. I've been really sick and haven't left my bed since Wednesday night. I had 5 house guests stay at my place for the weekend, and was barely able to keep up a conversation without having to return to bed for more rest. The kids have both caught my sickness, and now there's a whole lot of this going on:

With all that said, I didn't want to miss a week of Quotable Bits, so I'll keep this one short but sweet.

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book." 
~Irish Proverb

Now it's your turn! Pick a quote, post, and link up with us! Don't forget to grab my button and pass it on - the more the merrier!

Quotable Bits #10

"Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books." - John Lubbock

All of these photos taken on Instagram - follow me @bitsofbee

 

Now it's your turn! Pick a quote, write a post or add a pic, and link up to join in on the Quotable Bits fun! Don't forget to pass it on, the more the merrier!

Woman Bee-ing

Sometimes being a woman sucks. PMS, bras and tampons? And for those of us who have had babies, what about those Mama's Bits? But when you think about it, there are some pretty fabulous things about being a woman that I wouldn't change for the world.

I can multitask. I don't even care if this makes me sound sexist. Women can multitask, and men cannot. 'Nough said.

I get to indulge in Girl Talk. I'm sure men can get together and have some great conversations, but there is nothing like a night of chatter with a group of close girlfriends. There is a bond there that men will never understand.

I can find stuff. Again, maybe a sexist comment, but in my house, being female means being able to find misplaced items without effort. Even my 4-year-old can do this better than her daddy. "Where are my keys" he asks? "Check the right pocket of  your light blue jeans that are in a pile beside the laundry basket in our room" I say (without looking up from what I'm doing, because, as per #1, this mama can multitask).

I think with my heart, not with my head. I'm not saying all women do this, and I'm not saying that men aren't capable of this either, but I do know that us women have strong gut feelings, and that we follow those feelings above all else. I think it's part of why we are made to be such great mothers.

I made these two. I gave them the gift of life - and that my friends, is an awesome miracle. Yes, daddy helped a little bit, but let's face it - I grew life within me, and I brought human beings into this world through my own personal strength. So for this, I'm taking all the credit thankyouverymuch.

I am a woman bee-ing, and I love all that it entails. Cramps, mood swings, and cellulite - I'll take it all for the joys that come with being a female.

Linked up with my favourite weekly meme Monday Listicles. Come join in on the fun!

The Invention of Lying

Confession: I lie to my children.

Before becoming a parent, I swore that I would never lie to my kids, that I would always be open and honest with them. But now that I'm a mommy of two, I realize that for me, lying is an essential part of parenting. I'm not proud of this fact, but in some cases, I've tried everything else imaginable, and nothing else has worked.

Fact: Lying makes my toddler sleep.

For about 3-4 months, my toddler wouldn't sleep. I tried crying it out, I tried rocking him to sleep, I tried playing music, and I tried letting him sleep in my bed. I tried giving him warm milk, rubbing his back, and even the Supernanny "sit in the room with your back to them" method. I literally tried everything.

One night, way past my breaking point, I had to pee and didn't want him to scream his brains out while I left, so I placed him in his crib, gave him a little pat on the back, and said "Mommy just has to go pee, I'll be right back, ok? No fuss, mommy will be right back". And you know what? While I was in the washroom, I came to the monumental realization: he was lying there, quietly waiting for me to come back. He didn't have any sense of time, so he had no idea how long he had been waiting for me. He just waited quietly for my return. I tested it out and didn't go back in, and you know what? He fell asleep peacefully - no tears.

Ever since then, I have done this almost every night. I go through the regular bed time routine, and when it's time, he points to his bed and settles in with his comfort toy. As I creep towards the door, he whines a bit, and I whisper, "mommy's going pee, I'll be right back, I love you". He rolls over, and he's out in minutes. Don't judge me, it works.

Fact: Lying to my 4 year old makes her listen.

Brushing my girl's teeth used to be a nightmare. I had tried asking nicely, using the firm mommy voice, singing songs, letting her do it, reading stories. Nothing worked. One day I decided to tell her a little story about sugar bugs. She had recently watched How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and was disgusted by his behaviour. Why didn't he have friends I explained? Because look at his teeth? He ate garbage and had stinky breath. He never brushed his teeth, and therefore had sugar bugs crawling all over his mouth. What did sugar bugs do? Eat holes in his teeth, making them black and rotten. What? You don't want to look like the Grinch and have sugar bugs rotting your teeth? Well let mommy help you, let's zap those sugar bugs away.

She passed her first dental visit with flying colours, loves brushing her teeth, and even asks me to double check to make sure the sugar bugs are gone when she's done. Bad mommy? Maybe. Great dental hygeine? Definitely.

Let's face it, we lie to our kids all the time to enhance their imagination, keep them young, allow them to enjoy the innocence of childhood. Why not benefit a little from it too? Our parents lied to us too: 

"Don't pee in the pool or red dye will appear around you and everyone will know that you peed"

"I have eyes on the back of my head"

"If you keep making silly faces like that, your face will stay that way"

"Santa's watching and deciding if you'll be on the nice list or the naughty list" 

When you think about it, your childhood was full of these little lies. I don't think these fibs have traumatized me, in fact, I think I turned out alright! Maybe in part because my parents convinced me to listen to them with their little made-up stories.

I'm convinced that the act of lying was invented (discovered) by a parent. Think about it.

What are some little lies you've told your children? Or have you been successful with pure honesty?

Quotable Bits #9

"I'm not a bit changed--not really. I'm only just pruned down and branched out. The real ME--back here--is just the same."

- Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Source

Do you ever sit back and look at your life as it currently is, and think to yourself, how am I a wife - a mother - a woman in her adult years, when it seems like only yesterday I was an awkward teenager with my whole life ahead of me? 

Sometimes a certain song will come on, or an image or a sound will bring me back, and those same feelings I had will be renewed. When I'm with my best friend, I often think that if I were to look in the mirror, I'd see my fifteen-year-old face in my reflection. 

My parents are always telling me that they feel younger inside, that they still feel like the same person they were in their twenties, and I've rolled my eyes thinking, ya right, like they even remember what that was like. But now that I'm a mom, I'm seeing life from the other side of the fence.

What about you? Do you still feel your inner youth shining out through your grown up eyes? What brings you back?

Now it's your turn! Grab quote, post, and link up with us!

Flaws & Faux Pas

One thing I hate about job interviews is the part where they ask you, "what is your greatest strength, and what is your greatest weakness". While part of you wants to be completely honest, you end up giving an answer that is geared towards what you think they want to hear. "My greatest weakness is that I can be a perfectionist, I like to pay a lot of attention to detail". Bullshit. If that were my greatest weakness I'd be a Saint! When I started to write this post, I took the same approach - how can I write a list of the things I'm terrible at, without making myself sound bad?

Well I'm throwing that plan out the window and writing a list without worrying about being judged. I guess that leads into the first item on my list of "What I'm Rubbish At" for this week's Monday Listicles meme...

1) I'm terrible at doing things without worrying about what others will think of me. I'm insecure. I'm constantly wondering if I will be judged, if people will make fun of the decisions I make.

2) I'm terrible at watching what I eat. While I'm wonderful at ensuring that my children eat healthy well-balanced meals, I cheat myself and stuff my face with fatty cheeses and breads, poutines and butter-drenched popcorn. I can't help it, I love food - especially the kind that isn't the best for my body. I have literally made a healthy dinner for my kids, and then had pizza when they've gone to bed.

3) As much as I want to be more environmentally friendly, I'm terrible at recycling (I promise this is one fault that I'm devoted to working on). Sometimes it's just easier to toss something into the trash. I do recycle, but it's something I need to improve on. Ironically, I've been approached to write a few (paid) posts on how to teach your children to live green - and I've committed to this task, mostly because I think that it will force me to do a better job of it myself.

4) I throw like a girl (and not in the "women can be exceptional athletes so this can be taken as a compliment" kind of way). I grew up as a dancer. All of my extra-curricular time was packed with ballet, jazz and tap dance classes. I didn't learn how to throw a baseball or dribble a basketball or kick a soccer ball across a field. I regret this in my adult years and hope that my children will learn the necessary skills to thrive in various sports settings.

5) I can't bake to save my life. I can cook a mean dinner, and I can work a bbq like no other woman I know. But baking cookies, creating masterful birthday cakes, and cooling a freshly-baked loaf are not on my list of skills. I blame this on my mom who is the best baker in the world.

6) Although I'm quite the chatterbox, I'm terrible at making phone calls. This is partly because calling someone makes me nervous - Will they be busy? Will there be an awkward silence? I've become so used to communicating in person or through emails, that the phone conversation scenario for some reason freaks me out!

7) I'm rubbish at being patient. When my dogs barks one too many times, I snap. When a driver goes below the speed limit in front of me and then changes lanes without signalling, I blow. And when my children constantly repeat the same word over and over and over again, my head spins.

8) I don't exercise. I'm surrounded by runners and athletes (heck I work for a professional sports team with  a staff full of fit people), yet I despise structured exercise. I love being outdoors, I even go for long walks with the family every weekend. But ask me to go to the gym, or to join you for a run, and I'm out.

9) I'm a very tidy person, in fact many people would say that I keep a very clean home, but the truth is, I'm terrible at keeping up with the deep cleaning. I'm the kind of person who will tuck away the mess in a hallway closet, or in a storage closet in the basement, and worry about it later (out of sight, out of mind, right?).

10) I'm stubborn as a mule. I don't like to admit when I'm wrong (especially when I'm arguing with my husband). And when I AM right, I won't just let it go. It has to be known. I'm that person who keeps every single email from work, and when someone tries to throw me under the bus for something that has gone wrong, out comes the incriminating email that proves my innocence.

What are you rubbish at? Make a list and join in on the fun!

#febphotoaday Photo Challenge

Another month, another fabulous photo challenge prompted by the lovely @fatmumslim!

I'm in love with this monthly meme, and hope it keeps going for the rest of the year. Not only do I love it because it nurtures my desire to take pictures and to be creative, but it gives me something little to look forward to each day. I try not to look ahead so that each daily prompt is new and exciting. It also allows me to keep a photo journal of the things I've done each day!

If you don't know how it works: @fatmumslim posts a list of prompts for the month like the one below. Each day, you take a photo using the provided theme, and post it on Facebook, Flicr, Instagram, Twitter, or any other photo sharing program, and tag it with #febphotoaday so that others who have posted can find your pics too! It's a big creative photo love fest, and it's simply splendid.

The list:

And my pics:

I've started the March prompt and I'm already loving it! I'm looking forward to trying more creative techniques, and incorporating more unique takes on the prompts each day.

Follow me on Instagram (user name: bitsofbee) to see my daily pics (and many others that I take - I've become totally addicted to this App).

To view my photos from the #janphotoaday challenge, click here

If you're playing along, send me your Instagram name so I can follow your photo adventures too!