7 Things
7 Things:
Topics picked by the_bonster
Living in the City - I have to say that I LOVE living in the city. We have lived in Toronto for four years now with our kids. (We also lived here before we had kids for three years from 1999-2002, which was a completely different experience-lots of clubs, bars, and hanging out.) I did enjoy living in a small town quite a bit too, and I do miss that at times, but I feel like I have pretty much everything here that makes me content. I love our community (it feels almost like a small town at times) and that we can walk to everything including the grocery store, hardware store, bank, pool, splash pad, skating rink, school, all the kid’s friend’s houses, pubs and restaurants, subway, parks, movies, beach, coffee shops, stores, etc…etc….!! When we lived in the suburbs and small town I felt like I was always driving everywhere, now there are days we don’t even take the car anywhere. I also feel like I have met the best, most amazing friends in this area. There is a real feeling of everyone has your back and is looking out for your kids.
Everywhere we go we see people we know. I also really love being close to culture. It is really fun to go out on the town for dates or with friends. The only thing I would change if we could, would be to just have a huge yard where the kids can run around. Finley doesn’t know any different, and Chloe doesn’t really care, but Sophie misses the open green space to just run around in and explore. For that reason I would love to have some sort of a country home in addition to our house in the city.
Raising three girls - I love having three girls. In some ways I think it is easier to have them all be the same gender because they truly identify with each other and is so much easier with hand me downs and toys! When I was pregnant with Sophie, my first I wanted a boy-I thought it would be nice to have a boy as the oldest and a girl next, that way the boy could look out for his little sister. But then when Sophie was born I was happy she was a girl. I figured I wanted four kids, so I’d get my boy eventually. When we were pregnant with Chloe we found out she was a girl and a bit of me wished she was a boy, but mostly I was excited they’d be able to play together and be close since they were only two years apart. And it really worked out so well because they have become the best of friends. When I was pregnant with Finley I thought maybe it would be a boy, but deep down I for some reason knew that she would be a girl-that I wasn’t meant to have boys. I remember when I was having my c-section before they delivered her one of the doctors said he had three girls and if she was a girl I’d have such fun with them. When she was born he bent down and whispered into my ear, “having three girls will be the best thing that’s ever happened to you”, and it has been!! Now Chloe is kind of the bridge because she is two years younger than Sophie and two years older than Finley so she plays with them both. They are all so close and love each other so much. I’m sure as they become teenagers there will be lots of crazy hormones in our house, but I’m kind of hoping that they keep each other on the up and up!!
Favourite movies - Hmmm, I’m not much of a movie person. I tend to get bored or fall asleep. But, I do like some thrillers or comedies. Chris and I never agree on movies. He likes science fiction or horrors, which I cannot stand. I have absolutely no attention span for either of those for some reason. Movies that I have recently seen that I enjoyed are Bridesmaids, Black Swan and The Hangover 1 and 2, Limitless (yes I love Bradley Cooper), and Horrible Bosses. I went to see Bridesmaids with a bunch of girlfriends and then saw it a second time at the school where they had a mommy’s night out just last Friday. My friend Louise and I do movie nights once in awhile where we just have a girly night with wine and popcorn, and luckily we like the same sorts of movies. But really we end up pausing it half the time and just gabbing!! ☺
Cats vs Dogs - I’m a cat person. I have to admit I just don’t understand dogs. I didn’t grow up with them and have always been a little afraid of them. They are so scramble and slobbery. One thing that drives me nuts too is when owners leave them off leash and they come running up to us (Chloe is terrified of dogs too, not sure why) and the owner says, “Oh, it’s fine he won’t bite you, he’s really friendly”. That may be, but I still don’t want him jumping up on me and I wish you’d control your dog so that my daughter isn’t climbing up my leg and shaking with fear. Anyway, but that isn’t the dog, that is the owner. At any rate, I have always had a cat. I find them to be cuddly and super sweet. Some are friendlier than others and some can be quite ornery, but luckily I’ve always had decent ones. And the cat we have now, Ginger, is so sweet and friendly and patient with the girls. Finley loves her dearly and drags her around everywhere and Ginger puts up with it! She also finds us and snuggles up on our laps or sleeps with us. She is a great companion-kind of like my childhood cat, which makes me happy! Plus we can go away for a few days here and there and just put out water and food and cats are fine.
Teaching - I enjoyed teaching. I will go back to it and I’m excited about that, but I am not excited about the prospect of all of the steps and hurdles I will have to go through to get a teaching position again. It was very difficult to get into the Toronto District School Board and Durham District School Board when I did, but now I think it is even harder. So even with using my connections, it is going to be an ordeal. But I don’t regret resigning from those boards to stay at home with my kids. I have loved being able to be here for my kids. I always felt it was important for me to be home to raise them and instill their values, not a nanny or daycare. I always did enjoy being able to make a positive difference in the lives of the children I taught.
Favourite Pastime - I love spending time with my kids and Chris and my friends. I love going on trips, day or longer ones. I love shopping on my own or with friends-even better when I have money to spend!! I like to work out, volunteer at the kid’s school, entertain, and go to the beach. I really love to spend time with friends too. As far as hobbies go, I can’t really think of any, which makes me a bit sad. I tell myself that life is so busy I don’t really have time for hobbies, but when I tried to think of any I couldn’t really. ☹ Maybe I need to make a goal to find a hobby for myself that I enjoy!!
Marriage - I have been married for almost 15 years now! That sounds like a long time, and I guess it is!! We have been together almost 20 years. We have basically been together for so long that I can’t really remember life without him. Well, I can, but it was sooooo long ago, I was just a kid! We pretty much do everything together and always have. We don’t really get sick of each other. Of course we don’t always agree on everything, but we never fight for long. Since we’ve had the kids we’ve obviously had less time to spend just the two of us, but in the last six months or so, it has finally felt like we can get a babysitter more often and I’m not so paranoid because the kids are all old enough and have each other to lean on if they do miss us or anything. So it has been nice to get out more often together and with friends. I feel like we have a social life again and it is not always “just” about the kids, it is about us sometimes! I think that is healthy. It gets me thinking about when they are all grown up and all of the traveling that we want to do. We are going to have so much fun traveling the world. Not that I want to rush anything!! I want to enjoy all of the time in between watching the kids grow and change and mature and become independent!! I’m already seeing them change in front of my eyes! But basically, he’s the one who I want to grow old with and wake up beside for the rest of my life!! People always talk about their “soul mate”, and I believe in that. I think there may be various soul mates out there for everyone though. And I feel really lucky that I found mine so early in my life. Now we have such an amazing history and future to share!!
Topics picked by the_bonster
Living in the City - I have to say that I LOVE living in the city. We have lived in Toronto for four years now with our kids. (We also lived here before we had kids for three years from 1999-2002, which was a completely different experience-lots of clubs, bars, and hanging out.) I did enjoy living in a small town quite a bit too, and I do miss that at times, but I feel like I have pretty much everything here that makes me content. I love our community (it feels almost like a small town at times) and that we can walk to everything including the grocery store, hardware store, bank, pool, splash pad, skating rink, school, all the kid’s friend’s houses, pubs and restaurants, subway, parks, movies, beach, coffee shops, stores, etc…etc….!! When we lived in the suburbs and small town I felt like I was always driving everywhere, now there are days we don’t even take the car anywhere. I also feel like I have met the best, most amazing friends in this area. There is a real feeling of everyone has your back and is looking out for your kids.
Everywhere we go we see people we know. I also really love being close to culture. It is really fun to go out on the town for dates or with friends. The only thing I would change if we could, would be to just have a huge yard where the kids can run around. Finley doesn’t know any different, and Chloe doesn’t really care, but Sophie misses the open green space to just run around in and explore. For that reason I would love to have some sort of a country home in addition to our house in the city.
Raising three girls - I love having three girls. In some ways I think it is easier to have them all be the same gender because they truly identify with each other and is so much easier with hand me downs and toys! When I was pregnant with Sophie, my first I wanted a boy-I thought it would be nice to have a boy as the oldest and a girl next, that way the boy could look out for his little sister. But then when Sophie was born I was happy she was a girl. I figured I wanted four kids, so I’d get my boy eventually. When we were pregnant with Chloe we found out she was a girl and a bit of me wished she was a boy, but mostly I was excited they’d be able to play together and be close since they were only two years apart. And it really worked out so well because they have become the best of friends. When I was pregnant with Finley I thought maybe it would be a boy, but deep down I for some reason knew that she would be a girl-that I wasn’t meant to have boys. I remember when I was having my c-section before they delivered her one of the doctors said he had three girls and if she was a girl I’d have such fun with them. When she was born he bent down and whispered into my ear, “having three girls will be the best thing that’s ever happened to you”, and it has been!! Now Chloe is kind of the bridge because she is two years younger than Sophie and two years older than Finley so she plays with them both. They are all so close and love each other so much. I’m sure as they become teenagers there will be lots of crazy hormones in our house, but I’m kind of hoping that they keep each other on the up and up!!
Favourite movies - Hmmm, I’m not much of a movie person. I tend to get bored or fall asleep. But, I do like some thrillers or comedies. Chris and I never agree on movies. He likes science fiction or horrors, which I cannot stand. I have absolutely no attention span for either of those for some reason. Movies that I have recently seen that I enjoyed are Bridesmaids, Black Swan and The Hangover 1 and 2, Limitless (yes I love Bradley Cooper), and Horrible Bosses. I went to see Bridesmaids with a bunch of girlfriends and then saw it a second time at the school where they had a mommy’s night out just last Friday. My friend Louise and I do movie nights once in awhile where we just have a girly night with wine and popcorn, and luckily we like the same sorts of movies. But really we end up pausing it half the time and just gabbing!! ☺
Cats vs Dogs - I’m a cat person. I have to admit I just don’t understand dogs. I didn’t grow up with them and have always been a little afraid of them. They are so scramble and slobbery. One thing that drives me nuts too is when owners leave them off leash and they come running up to us (Chloe is terrified of dogs too, not sure why) and the owner says, “Oh, it’s fine he won’t bite you, he’s really friendly”. That may be, but I still don’t want him jumping up on me and I wish you’d control your dog so that my daughter isn’t climbing up my leg and shaking with fear. Anyway, but that isn’t the dog, that is the owner. At any rate, I have always had a cat. I find them to be cuddly and super sweet. Some are friendlier than others and some can be quite ornery, but luckily I’ve always had decent ones. And the cat we have now, Ginger, is so sweet and friendly and patient with the girls. Finley loves her dearly and drags her around everywhere and Ginger puts up with it! She also finds us and snuggles up on our laps or sleeps with us. She is a great companion-kind of like my childhood cat, which makes me happy! Plus we can go away for a few days here and there and just put out water and food and cats are fine.
Teaching - I enjoyed teaching. I will go back to it and I’m excited about that, but I am not excited about the prospect of all of the steps and hurdles I will have to go through to get a teaching position again. It was very difficult to get into the Toronto District School Board and Durham District School Board when I did, but now I think it is even harder. So even with using my connections, it is going to be an ordeal. But I don’t regret resigning from those boards to stay at home with my kids. I have loved being able to be here for my kids. I always felt it was important for me to be home to raise them and instill their values, not a nanny or daycare. I always did enjoy being able to make a positive difference in the lives of the children I taught.
Favourite Pastime - I love spending time with my kids and Chris and my friends. I love going on trips, day or longer ones. I love shopping on my own or with friends-even better when I have money to spend!! I like to work out, volunteer at the kid’s school, entertain, and go to the beach. I really love to spend time with friends too. As far as hobbies go, I can’t really think of any, which makes me a bit sad. I tell myself that life is so busy I don’t really have time for hobbies, but when I tried to think of any I couldn’t really. ☹ Maybe I need to make a goal to find a hobby for myself that I enjoy!!
Marriage - I have been married for almost 15 years now! That sounds like a long time, and I guess it is!! We have been together almost 20 years. We have basically been together for so long that I can’t really remember life without him. Well, I can, but it was sooooo long ago, I was just a kid! We pretty much do everything together and always have. We don’t really get sick of each other. Of course we don’t always agree on everything, but we never fight for long. Since we’ve had the kids we’ve obviously had less time to spend just the two of us, but in the last six months or so, it has finally felt like we can get a babysitter more often and I’m not so paranoid because the kids are all old enough and have each other to lean on if they do miss us or anything. So it has been nice to get out more often together and with friends. I feel like we have a social life again and it is not always “just” about the kids, it is about us sometimes! I think that is healthy. It gets me thinking about when they are all grown up and all of the traveling that we want to do. We are going to have so much fun traveling the world. Not that I want to rush anything!! I want to enjoy all of the time in between watching the kids grow and change and mature and become independent!! I’m already seeing them change in front of my eyes! But basically, he’s the one who I want to grow old with and wake up beside for the rest of my life!! People always talk about their “soul mate”, and I believe in that. I think there may be various soul mates out there for everyone though. And I feel really lucky that I found mine so early in my life. Now we have such an amazing history and future to share!!