creativelykate

Alzheimer's Disease is death before death, and I'm terrified of it." - Joey Comeau I wrote this entire entry last Sunday during my 5 hour train ride... Once again I'm on board VIA Rail train 65 to Toronto Union from Dorval, Quebec.  For my friends and family who follow my accounts through social media, it appears that I am returning home from a fun-filled weekend away - no kids, a little shopping, plenty of good food, morning runs along the St. Lawrence, non-alcoholic wine and loads of good conversation.  Not to mention this was the first time in over 5 years that I've left home and my family to be on my own for a few days.  But below the surface and behind all the charming photos, this weekend had much more meaning and significance than I ever could have imagined...For the first time in 7 years I went to visit my father. I never wanted to make this trip alone and nor did I intend on waiting so long.  I should have done it...

    It's Friday afternoon and I'm en route to Montreal to spend the weekend with my dad.  I debated for days over taking the train vs. driving.  In the end, I opted for the train and now that I'm on board, kid free, coffee in hand and blogging...I'm realizing I made the right decision.  I feel as though this is the first time in a long time I've had anytime to myself.  For the past month I've been teaching kindergarten full-time.  The opportunity was offered unexpectedly and while at first I was hesitant to take the position, I'm truly happy I did.  It's been such a positive experience, but unfortunately has left me with very little time to do anything.  That being said, I'm grateful for this 5 hour train ride to Montreal and the chance to get caught up on some blogging.   This past week I took all 3 kids down to High Park so that we could see the cherry blossoms in full bloom.  It was quite the adventure and de...

  It's been 5 years since my hubby and I began hosting Easter Brunch for our entire family.  In the past we've had anywhere from 20 to 25 people and this year was no different.  Being 7 months pregnant I was a little concerned about everything coming together in time, but thankfully we had tons of help.  My brother and his girlfriend arrived from Montreal on the Friday evening and my hubby had Saturday off...with 4 adults at home the entire weekend, productivity was at an all time high.  Every household should consist of 4 adults when there's kids involved -ha!  We also asked that our guests all bring a favourite dish to contribute to the brunch.  This is a tradition our family has always participated in.  I love the idea because everyone gets to be involved and it makes hosting much more manageable and enjoyable.   This year we also celebrated Jordan's Nanny and Papa's 63rd Wedding Anniversary, several spring...

Lately I've taken an interest in making quite a few of my family's everyday food staples.  If someone even 6 months ago had suggested I take on such a task I would have said absolutely not...with 3 little kids at home, working almost full-time and being pregnant with our 4th, the thought of finding time to make things I can easily buy in a grocery store was rather intimidating and almost unpleasant.  Then one weekend not too long ago I found myself with an abundance of frozen raspberries in our freezer and somehow they had never been opened and were nearing their expiration date.  That's when it all started...I decided to pull out one of my most trusty cookbooks " Oh She Glows"  and turn to the page that in the past I had skipped over so many times.  Raspberry Chia Seed Jam...simple enough I thought to myself and with only 4 ingredients, I was sure I could whip up a batch in no time.  Sure enough it was one of the easiest recipes I ...

Twins!   It's been almost exactly one year from the date when I last posted on hairstyles for little girls.  You can check out the blog here: http://creativelyk.blogspot.ca/2016/04/adorable-hairstyles-for-any-little-girl.html .  It's so funny to look back over those photos and see all the changes.  I'll never forget the day I attempted my daughter Georgia's first pigtails...her hair was still so short but I managed to gather just enough in order to pull it back into two ponytails.  One of the reasons I love blogging so much is being able to look back over all the memories.    A few months ago I decided it was time to start gathering some new hairstyles and start attempting to recreate them whenever the opportunity was given.  Looking back I remember how challenging it once was to ask my daughter to sit still longer than a few minutes.  I had to have so many tricks in place to ensure she wouldn't get distracted an...