After a long day working in the shops, Dutch Husband and the girls came to get me and we headed out to Kits Beach.
The idea was a stroll along the waters edge to hunt for beach glass.
I love beach glass.
I have a little antique silverplated creamer filled with last summers treasure and am hoping to build up our budding collection.

Hunting for beach glass is fun.
Unfortunately, those lovely tumbled bits of magic are hard to come by, so we also tend to gather other treasures - bits of tumbled shell or pretty pebbles.

Watching the sunset we decided it was officially time to go home but Anika felt we had to stay a bit longer since "we haven't found enough pretty things together"
I swear, she said this.
It made me do a little happy dance inside.
I did however point out that, yes, we had found a few pieces of shell and some glass together and that tomorrow was indeed, another day.

Unfortunately, I will be in the shops all day and the girls will go to the beach with their loving daddy - I will meet up with my brood after we close for the day.
The waters edge and it's infinite treasures awaits.

My juggle of business and motherhood continues...

life lessons

I have been baking cupcakes allot lately.
Allot.
Bad enough that I end up eating most of them - me and cupcakes/fish with bicycle - not so necessary.

They aren't even the good homemade-from-scratch-cuz-I-am-amazing-mom-of-the-year-material.
They are from a box.
A box purchased at SuperStore.
Insert gasp and clutching of pearls here.

I'm even eating one now, as I write this.

How did this happen?
I think there was some vague idea that I should start honing my cupcake skills for future school bake sales and fundraisers.
After all Amalia Rose is almost a year old, any moment now I will be called upon to provide some sort of baked good for some sort of event. Right?

I had some notion that cupcakes, like a good soup, would be difficult to master and was a skill I'd best start working on right away.
I decided that to come out of the gate with a 'win' was best, shore up my confidance as it were, thus the box of cake mix. How can you f-up a box of cake mix?

Apparantly, you can't. It comes out 'perfect' every time.
Spongy, moist and oh so perfect.
Every. Time.
And easy.
I can rock star a batch of cupcakes for a crew of hubbies buddies in forty minutes from start to finish.

I have become "TBW" (the better wife) amongst hubbies friends.
Hubby is basking in the reflected glow from my cupcake glory.

How can I possibly now risk trying a real recipe? the box is so...so...easy.

growing pains

It is now 4:16 am.
Still time to be sleeping.
I am not.
Baby has two new teeth and countless others that are tormenting her and subsequently...me.
I have been up twice now to soothe her.
I am no longer sleepy.
I know that she will cry out again in an hour or so.
I seem to be back to those nights of two hours sleep at a time.

No one really warns you about this.

I'm finding that there are allot of things that no one really tells you about.

I guess if you really knew what you were in for you might think twice and then where would we all be?

I met a woman the other day who had raised seven kids.
She told me it was a conspiracy the way we women forget.
I guess that explains the seven kids.

Finding the balance of business woman and mom is an ongoing challenge. Add to the juggling act - wife, lover, elderly parent caregiver, taxicab, boss and loyal friend.
I know that I am not alone and I do take comfort in that.
I also appreciate just how fortunate I truly am - I run my own business and get to have my baby with me.
I am a lucky girl.
A stressed out girl, but darn it, lucky lucky lucky.

Today was a day filled with life's little, and not so little challenges.
I found myself this afternoon needing a good cry.
Sometimes the strain of being a grownup can be too much and a good cry seems to be not only necessary, but right.

I feel better now.
The world is still big and scary and challenging but it's also still full of possibility, hope and magic.