Mid-Winter Break

We just had a mid-winter break at my school, which meant a four day long weekend. Last year during this break I took advantage of living with my parents and went to London with my good friend Kristin for four days. What a luxury that seems like now, just hopping over to London for a weekend! Gah, I miss pre-Covid travel! Even though I didn't get to do anything quite as exciting this year, it was still really nice to have a break from work. I like my job, but all the things that come with it like commuting, waking up early, and dressing in professional clothes can be a real drag five whole days a week!

On Friday the teachers at Ella's school also had a professional development day, so she was home from school as well. That morning we did our usual: drive down to Oakville, pick up coffees from Kerr St. Cafe, take the kids to the playground by the lake, throw rocks in the lake. It is literally our favourite family outing. The kids always love it, the view is gorgeous, we all get fresh air and exercise, and there is good coffee. What's not to like? 

We have also added climbing on the rocks as another activity both kids like. Ella can scramble to the top quite quickly, and of course Ollie tries to follow her. He then inevitably gets stuck, causing him to yell "heeeeellllllp" over and over until he is rescued by Andy or me, which is pretty hilarious. 

This was such an enjoyable morning. Everyone was in really good spirits. Andy and I have recently noticed that it is getting easier and easier when we go out with the kids. They can both climb in and out of their own carseats, they walk a lot more without wanting to be carried, they can do a lot on their own at the playground. We are on the homestretch of toddlerhood with Ollie and I must say, it's pretty nice!

Friday afternoon I did my first real strength workout in, I don't know, years?? This year I've been great at doing yoga and walking dailyevery day, which has been fantastic and I feel pretty healthy overall. But now I'd like to build up some strength, so that as I get older I am building up bone density and protecting myself from injury. I downloaded the SWEAT app, from Australian fitness trainer Kayla Itsines. For those familiar with the program, I've started with the Beginner Zero Equipment home workout. There are three strength workouts to follow each week for four weeks before you move past the beginner program. The level was pretty perfect for me, doable but challenging. I was sore for two days after my first workout so it must have done something! 

Once I finished my workout I got on to my main goal for the long weekend: sorting out all my old photos, journals, memorabilia, and documents that I've stored at my parents house since I was in university. What a job! It's a hard thing to get done quickly, as everything has a story or a memory tied to it. Having moved all over the world, I've gotten pretty ruthless when it comes to what to keep. "Wendy doesn't have a sentimental bone in her body" were the words of my mother, which was a tad harsh in my opinion! I do alwyas try to think about the Marie Kondo approach, and keep only things that bring me joy. So I still have a box full of carefully selected photos, letters and other keepsakes that I'm taking to Australia with us.

The hardest part was deciding what to do with my journals. I kept a journal fairly regularly from 1998 - 2007, and only started again after Ollie was born in 2018. So I had like 20 or more journals, mainly from my late teens and 20s. I ended up keeping all my journals from the year I was an exchange student in France (1998-1999) and then just a random selection throughout the years. I would have liked to keep them all... but in reality I'm not sure how much of my 20s I really need to remember, haha. What I kind of regret is I have nothing from when I met Andy, or from when Ella was born. My mom's theory is that I when I met Andy I was in a happy period of my life, so I didn't feel the need to journal then. An interesting theory and a nice thought, so sure, we'll go with that!

Friday nights Ella has swimming lessons at our local recreation centre. I am SO grateful that the city of Mississauga has started swimming lessons again this month, and the procedures seem very Covid-safe. Ella is in a class of four, and Andy has to go into the water with her as the instructor stays on the deck to teach. There are only two sets of lessons going on at the same time, so each group of four students has half the pool. Considering how spaced out everyone is, and that there is no evidence that Covid is spread through water and swimming pools, I feel like this is a pretty safe activity for the kids to be doing right now. 

On Saturday morning my mom and I went to yoga. Again, this is run through the city and there is a maximum of 8 participants in a super huge room. We were all way more than two meters apart and the class is 45 minutes long, so even though we can take off our mask for the actual yoga, I feel the risk factor here is low. For me, the benefits I get from practicing yoga in a led class outweigh the minimal risk of Covid exposure. However, I still clearly feel the need to justify my choices, as I know everyone has a different level of risk tolerance duing the pandemic and I totally respect that. 

(UPDATE: We learned yesterday that we are moving back into a lockdown in our part of Ontario, so no more swimming or yoga, boohoo!)

Saturday afternoon was spent doing more sorting out of documents, this time all my old school reports. My mom has kept a picture I drew when I was in kindergarten, it's me as a teacher doing math on the chalkboard. Kind of crazy that my 5-year-old self already knew what I was going to be when I grew up!

I took a break in all the sorting to go on a bike ride with Ella. She is still using training wheels, but is getting better at balancing on the bike. She is more confident now, and riding faster, so I'm sure it won't be long before we take the training wheels off.

My mom made these butternut squash, broccoli and chickpea pizzas from Minimalist Baker for dinner on Saturday night. She made her own pizza dough in the breadmaker, and Ella loved helping to roll out the dough and put the toppings on the pizza. 

I thought the pizza was delicious but the kids were not impressed when we said we were having pizza and then put this in front of them. A basic cheese and tomato sauce slice would have been much better recieved.

After dinner we drove around with the kids looking for lights on houses. Some of the lights were to celebrate the festival of Diwali, and some were definitely more Christmas themed. In normal times I'd scoff at Christmas decorations in November, but I think we all need whatever we can get to make 2020 a bit brighter.

Just like when we did this at Hallowe'en, the kids were beyond excited to see all the houses lit up wtih decorations. Ollie kept asking "where are the pumpkins?", which was super funny and cute. He forgot all about the pumpkins when we got to this house, and instead kept shouting "look at the giant Santa! Did you see the giant Santa!" He could not stop talking about the giant Santa, and is still bringing it up a week later.

Ella was enchanted by the whole display, and ran around excitely inspecting each lit up figurine. Driving around to check out Christmas lights will probably become a regular part of our weekends up until Christmas, and we are going to set up our tree and decorations this weekend. I am totally ready to get into the Christmas spirit!

All weekend Ollie had been asking for waffles, so I finally made some on Sunday morning. This is my go-to recipe, they are made with whole wheat flour and are totally sugar free (well unless you top them with maple syrup and chocolate chips like we do). The kids LOVE them. The other great thing about this recipe is it makes heaps of waffles so we always have lots left over to freeze, making it a handy, quick snack or breakfast during the week. 

Ollie has (or, I should say had) swimming lessons on Sunday mornings, so Andy took him to that while my mom played with Ella, giving me time to do more sorting. I came across all these funny letters my brother wrote me while I was in France. He was 14 years old at the time, and that year the teachers in our provice went on strike for nearly a month. In order to keep up his writing my mom forced him to write me a letter every day. They are super cute to look back on.

It was very windy and rainy all day on Sunday, so we just had a chilled out day at home. I had a go at making vegan spagetti bolognase, which was easy AND tasty. I used this recipe. Instead of ground beef, you crumble tofu, mix it with some spices, and then bake it in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Once the tofu is done you mix it into a marinara sauce and it looks and tastes as good, if not better, than a meat version. My dad and Andy didn't even realize it was tofu until I told them!

Sunday night we watched the first episode of The Crown season 4. Hello Princess Diana!!! 

Monday was a regular school day for Ella, but still a day off for me. Andy, Ollie and I drove down to Oakville/the lake. Andy went for a haircut while Ollie and I picked up some cookies and coffee and walked around downtown Oakville, eventually making our way down to the lake. I don't often have one-on-one time with Ollie, and it was SO nice to just be able to hang out with him and follow his lead. He is at such a super funny and cute age and really a lot of fun to be around. 

When we got back home it was time for Ollie's nap, and I got my second SWEAT workout done. I am feeling super motivated about this workout programme right now, and am excited about challenging myself and getting stronger.

Monday night for dinner I made baked sweet potatoes topped with avocado crema and black beans, from my Oh She Glows cookbook (recipe here). This was SO yummy, I will definitely be making it again.  

And then just like that, my mid-winter break was over, and it was back to reality Tuesday morning. What a difference a four day weekend makes though, I felt like I had a real break from work and felt nice and fresh going back. Five more weeks until Christmas, time is certainly flying by!