Does This Baby

The journey from my house to my parent’s house is 124 km, includes a ferry ride and takes just over 4 hours. I often treat the ferry voyage as an exclusive cruise through the beautiful clustered display of the Gulf Islands. I like to observe all the homes on the cliff of each island and wonder about their stories. Do people live in those homes all year round? Are they merely vacation homes? If it’s a permanent residence, what do the people do for work? What kind of work is available on the island? Could my parents retire there? It would be a faster trip to see them than going all the way from Coquitlam to Victoria. I love that trip though, especially when it ends with a greeting from my parents who pretend they were not waiting for my arrival the entire time.  There is a sigh of relief that finally I arrived, as I embrace them with a big warm hug. My mom wears the scent of freshly cooked jasmine rice. There is always a meal waiting for me, even when I tell her not to worry and that

Feminist is a word I'm finally comfortable identifying myself with. In my 20's I thought feminism was a movement that meant hating men, women against cooking and being better, tougher, or stronger than men. I didn't want to associate myself with a word that seemed so full of hate and hypocrity. Thank goodness for being in my 30's. Thank goodness for the internet and having unlimited access to feminist views that are varied and full of love. Thank goodness for feminist stay at home moms, feminist lawyers, feminist fashion bloggers and Feminist Emma Watson.  https://www.google.ca/amp/s/yourstory.com/2017/04/emma-watson-contemporary-feminism/amp/ Now I know that being a feminist simply means standing for equality. And whether male or female being a person that is active in creating equal opportunities for women.  As a mother raising two daughters, as a manager and mentor to younger women in my office and network, as a sister to an incredible woman, as a fri

I'm at the ferry terminal going home. My mom came with me to help out. They're adorable but it's definitely been a busy last six months.

Before the babies, heck even before the hubby, I knew when I had kids I wanted to live in the same city as my parents. But life happens. I moved to Vancouver for school, got married, fell into a great job, and bought a house. We've settled nicely into our life on the mainland. Elle starts kindergarden in the fall. I go back to work in November, and already have child care for Rosie in place. Every couple of years hubby and I consider the move back to Victoria. Lately, it's been a hot topic. I've been staying at my parents place for the past week. As I type, Elle is outside with my parents sun bathing in the backyard. There's laugher, and chasing, and hide and seek. And I'm kind of sad that we're going home tomorrow.

I delivered our second daughter Rosalie 3 weeks ago, on November 7th. She was 3 days overdue. Not a huge deal in hindsight, but at the time it was 3 days too long. I had an acupuncture induction session the day before she was born to get things moving. I guess it worked. She came fast, and furious. My first contraction was at 8:45am. I pushed her out at 12:45pm. There wasn't much time for drugs, great for baby, but not for mama. The labour was painful, but the whole time I kept thinking thank god I won't be pregnant  anymore.  This is the list of things I will not miss about being pregnant. Waking up to pee three times a night. Strangers looking at me and saying, "You're ready to pop, eh?". Strangers telling me I was going to have a boy because of how high I was carrying baby. Irregular bowel movements (like I need anything extra taking up space in my belly.) Finding a new stretch mark on my stomach. Having Braxton Hicks, and realizing that the car is p

It's been a crazy few months. I have pregnancy brain, and haven't been able to focus much these days. Also, my almost 4 year old is incredibly demanding and really doesn't care if I get time to blog. That's the partial truth... I've actually turned into a Pinterest whore. Any free time I get on the computer I'm looking up the latest food, and home design Pins. It's sick, but I justify it by all the recipes I've made since joining Pinterest . I often forget why I started blogging. I keep thinking that it doesn't really matter I'm not posting since no one is reading this. Then I realize I started blogging for me. To record milestones, to remember funny stories, and to practice my writing skills. One day I will figure out how to link my blog to my instagram account. But until then, here are some pictures from the last few months. 23 Weeks Pregnant Vacation on the Sunshine Coast, BC Me and my mom in the refugee camp in Thailand.