It is the May long weekend here in Canada and I am excited for some REST and RELAXATION at home with my family! To do this, I have given my back deck a bit of a much needed makeover, and I am sharing some fun products that are going to help save me time and allow me to really relax (AND PUT MY VERY PREGNANT FEET UP, LOL) with my crew of 6 kids.
To watch the whole reveal (the before of my back deck was pretty sad looking) click below.
I've also summarized my long weekend family fun essentials below if you'd prefer to read!
1. TIDY UP YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE
We FINALLY have some beautiful weather in Toronto and all I want is to spend every single second of it outside. But my back deck was incredibly dirty and full of debris from the many trees on my property- so start with a good clean. Shake off all the dust from your patio furniture, wash cushion covers as needed, tighten any screws that may have come loose in your furniture and get ready to add the pretty.
2. SET A BUDGET FOR NEW OUTDOOR ITEMS AND BRING THE BEAUTY
I like picking up new outdoor entertaining items every season because I find parts of my sets inevitably get lost or damaged every year, and let's face it, outdoor stuff is just fun and whimsical. I find I am way more adventurous in my outdoor decor than I am for items inside- anyone else like me and are more brave in their decorating decisions as they seem more temporary?
I always look for on trend pillows (pom poms and tassels!), colourful planters (I find these ones sell out super fast), and cute glasses / food accessories. This year I SCORED the cutest outdoor food cover cage that is adorned with POM POMS. The cutest.
3. PLAN SIMPLE, FAST MEALS
I am no chef- I appreciate that some people LOVE to whip up elaborate meals made from scratch with ample chopping and preparation, but it is just not my idea of fun. I like my meals to be delicious, healthy, and convenient to prepare. So when the team at M&M Food Marketinvited me to try some of their prepared meals I jumped at the opportunity. The prepared meals make you look like a culinary genius, and it makes preparing a meal whether it be on a weekend when you want to put your feet up, or on a weeknight when time is at a premium, crazy easy. Plus with their real food promise, there are no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners so you know what you are feeding your family is good stuff.
4. SAVE TIME SO YOU CAN PLAY
For me, long weekends are for RELAXING and creating family memories. My impetus for saving time in meal planning, meal prep, and other areas of my life, is motivated by wanting to be available and attentive to the little people in my life and be able to get down on the ground and play.
Little Tikes sent over some fun toys as gifts for my kids recently, and we had a blast. We got sent the Fun Zone Fountain Factory Table which has provided HOURS of entertainment for my kiddos large and small. I love how my little guys get to play, imagine, and build their fine motor skills, and my bigger guys get to fill the toy with water and help my younger babies out. We also got to try the Fun Zone Dual Twister, which fits one or two children and can be played with inside, or hooked up to a hose and played with outside! Watch my video to watch my little guy spinning away : )
5. PUT YOUR FEET UP!
I know I talk about this all the time, but I am such a believer in REST FOR MOMS. Whatever adventures your family finds itself on this weekend, make sure there is a little bit of rest factored in there for both you and the kids.
So make sure there's time to put your feet up, and relax. You will 100% find me on my outdoor sofa this weekend with a (non-alchoholic) drink in my hands!!!
What are your essentials for a fun family long weekend? Love to know in the comments below : )
Special thanks to M&M Food Market and Little Tikes for partnering with me on this post.
When I was a child, I dreamed of what my life would look like as a grown up. I dreamed up what kind of a house I would have (a red brick house with a white picket fence), the kind of car I would drive (my dream car when I was 12 was a pink convertible), and of course what my husband and kids would look like (I still pinch myself sometimes when I realize that I have 6 amazing kids!!!)
While my car isn’t pink, my adult reality has far surpassed my dreams:
But of course, what I never realized as a child was the amount of work that goes into taking care of a house or a car in your adulthood. From regular maintenance, to unexpected damages, to legal papers and getting home and auto insurance, the actual process of owning a home and a car can sometimes feel a lot less dream like.
As a busy working mom, I am always looking for ways to streamline my life, and save time and energy. So today, I am teaming up with the Canadian home and auto insurance company Esurance, to help make this important aspect of owning a home and a car a little less stressful.
While the “grown-up” realities of owning a home and a car aren’t always easy, getting the best home and auto insurance for your family shouldn’t be hard. Here are a few ways that Esurance makes the process of getting the right policy for your family an easy one.
1. It’s fast and efficient
With Esurance, you can get a car and home quote online quick and easy. There’s no waiting on hold for a phone representative. You simply fill out your information on their website, and are directed in a comprehensive manner the best options for you. Inputting your responses online means that you can do this virtually anywhere- on your phone, in line at the grocery store, or on your laptop while holding your baby. Sometimes my life can get really hectic- and filling out a form at a time that works best for me is just so convenient.
2. It’s competitive
Esurance is changing insurance for the better, leveraging technology to reduce some of the costs that encumber traditional insurance companies. With an award-winning website and innovative tools, tech-savvy consumers can save money with Esurance through a myriad of incentive discounts for those who qualify- check out 10 ways you can save on home insurance here. I also appreciate that the website does a really great job at explaining EVERYTHING in detail, in regular language, that I can understand. Being able to understand all of the options available to me helps me with feeling less overwhelmed, and takes away the stress of knowing where my money is going.
3. It’s reliable
As a part of the Allstate family, Esurance is a reliable choice for insurance, offering anytime, anywhere service just a click, call, or tap away. When you are dealing with things as serious and unnerving such as the theft of a car, or unexpected damage to your home, it’s comforting to know that there is is someone there for you who is going to have your back. So regardless if you’re a first-time homeowner, or a sawdust seasoned home owning pro, Esurance offers support and advice for all.
As an interior design professional, I get to help my clients realize a lot of dreams. From beautiful furnishings, to personalized art, I love helping families thrive at home, and design a life they truly love. And while I don’t like to dwell on some of the unfortunate things that are a reality of home and auto ownership, it is important to be prepared, and feel empowered in making decisions that will help your family thrive.
For more information on how Esurance can help your family thrive, visit www.esurance.ca
A special thanks to Esurance for partnering with me on this blog post. I do a lot of research to ensure that any brand I partner with is going to help your family thrive- so please know opinions are my own.
We recently returned from a week long Caribbean adventure on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas. The ship was spectacular and my children had a pretty epic adventure. In my son John’s words, “it was literally the best thing ever!”
My husband and I, while we enjoyed various aspects of the experience a great deal, aren’t convinced that cruising is for us. There are things that I think every family should know before making what can be a fairly expensive investment- so I thought I would round up some of the things to consider if you’re planning a cruise experience. (And if you are looking for my candid thoughts both good and bad, check out my YouTube video here).
To you decide if a cruise is right for you, here are some things to consider:
1. DO CROWDS MAKE YOU ANXIOUS?
With six kids, getting from point A to point B anywhere in life is an accomplishment. So I really don’t like crowds and try my best to avoid them. By the nature of how a cruise ship is designed (like a mini city on water), crowds are inevitable, and I think unless you spend a ton of money and go for the exclusive level rooms / clubs / restaurants, expect to wait in line, deal with crowded elevators, etc. wherever you go.
My husband is an introvert and I kind of feel like cruises are designed for extroverts! So do keep in mind your tolerance for crowds when you pick a ship- look for smaller ships for a less crowded experience.
2. ARE YOU A BUFFET PERSON, OR A SIT DOWN RESTAURANT PERSON?
Many cruises offer incredible buffets included with your ticket fee, with a great mix of healthy foods, treat foods, and cultural foods.
I love me a good buffet, don’t get me wrong, but what I really enjoy is being able to converse at a languid pace with my family at the table and really just be present and have great conversation. It’s just not the same with a buffet with everyone getting up and down (and of course trying to balance kids plates and your own plates is a logistical experience).
While many ships have beautiful sit down restaurants, the sit down restaurants are often at an additional fee, so if you value a sit down experience be prepared to spend. Some ships offer value packages when you pre-pay for these specialty restaurants, so do look into that to save some money.
3. DO YOU LIKE TO EXPLORE CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS OR GO OFF THE BEATEN PATH?
While at port at a destination, you typically have one or two days, depending on your length of cruise. The ships do a great job of curating various experiences you can do while on land within these cultures, but they are definitely the “highlight reel” so to speak- definitely offering value, but you can only experience so much in a few hours.
If exploring off the beaten path is more your jam, I think you could still do that within a cruise experience, but there is something to be said of slow travel days, spending time with locals like other resort or Eco-tourist type experiences can gain you.
4. DO YOU GET OVERWHELMED IN MESSY, SMALL SPACES?
As an interior designer, the space I sleep in, and having a tidy space, is really important to me. I knew it was going to be a challenge to live in smaller quarters than we are used to at home, but thought that we would be ok for a week.
We were not. Clutter really impacts my anxiety level and I found it challenging to keep our room clean and our stuff organized. I would definitely advise looking into the cost difference between a standard room and upgrading to a suite, as this can have a large impact on the way you relax.
As I mention pretty candidly in this video, I am not convinced a cruise is the right fit for our family, but I would be interested to see what a smaller ship experience would be like, or if we returned to a larger ship, if the cost of upgrading to larger accommodations would be worth it to me.
What about you? Do you cruise and love it? Or are cruises not for you? Love to know in the comments below and for more of my thoughts traveling with family, check out these posts here and here. And for lots more thoughts on cruising, hit play below.
Hello my friends! I feel like it's been a while since I have shared what is going on in my family, so today I am sharing an update on what it is like to be a working mom of 6, and share a tool that has been really helpful in navigating through life as a mom on the go [and today I am on the go with my youngest son in our new Bugaboo Bee⁵]!
Working mom of six… even whenI read that I feel tired! But as I share often on my Instagram and my YouTube channel, navigating life with my large crew has been equal parts enjoyable, equal parts challenging, but most of all really, really fulfilling.
Motherhood, like anything, is a skill. It has a learning curve. You can feel like you have it all together one minute, and then feel like you are going to lose your mind the next moment. Add on to that the very real pressures that come with a job outside of the home, and it can all be a difficult space to navigate. As I have told many of my first time mom friends, I think having your first child is harder than having six children in a lot of ways! There is such a steep learning curve with your first child, and such a drastic change in your identity, your regular schedule and your body!
But with eight years of this motherhood gig now under my belt, and six gorgeous humans who I get to call my children, I have a little more confidence, I am way less hard on myself, and I have learned strategies that help me to persevere through the challenging parts of motherhood.
When people ask me, "how do you do it?" I honestly don't always know what to say. But I will share this: one strategy that I have learned is an absolute necessity to thrive in motherhood is self care. And let's just say I have failed pretty epically at it over the years. But what I have learned is that if we want to be good moms, good contributors to society, and generally nice people to be around [lol] we have to listen to our bodies, listen to our emotions, and take care of ourselves so we can take care of others.
This weekend I spoke at event [a really fun ladies tea event in Oakville on the topic of creating family memories at home] and I knew that I would be pretty tired after it. So I booked a babysitter, and made sure I would have enough time on the way home to do something I LOVE- which is to spend time on the waterfront in my home of Toronto, Canada.
We only hung out for about thirty minutes- but boy was it restorative. There is something so soothing to me about water. I love how peaceful it is, how vast it is, and for me it is just so restorative. I live in a really busy city- and I just love how even in my urban dwelling I can escape to a scene like this for a moment of rest. [It doesn't hurt that there was a pierogi food truck nearby- so yummy]
It can be really challenging to make rest a priority. For many years, I didn't think rest was important enough to hire a babysitter for, and spend money on to achieve. But what I find is when I rest, I dream. I am a dreamer. I love having the space to just think. To listen. To recalibrate. And my spouse, my kids, and myself are all better off as a result.
With my large family of six kids ages eight and under, one of the ways we make our family work, and make it easier for me to have this self-care time, is to have more than one stroller. This way, if I am doing something on my own with the baby, and my husband or a babysitter is taking care of the rest, whoever is taking care of my other children has the flexibility to take my older kids out on their own adventure.
The Bugaboo Bee⁵ stroller makes traveling with my infant on my own really simple. It's compact design makes it ideal for my urban neighbourhood- it's narrow width is easy to navigate around crowds and shops and the suspension design makes for a smooth ride on my self-care trips to the water (or the mall, lol).
It's also incredibly flexible- it has integrated attachment points for things like coffee cups and a comfort wheeled board [no need for adapters], customizable colours on the faux leather handle bar grips and changeable wheel caps, and my favourite, the Bugaboo Bee⁵ has 700 possible design configurations- so you can customize your stroller to your heart's content.
And speaking of heart's content- how much fun is this bassinet fabric design? I love the denim and the butterflies (my three year old is a big fan of the pinks ones)! In my work as an interior designer I just love to have beauty all around me- and this stroller is no exception.
To learn more about Bugaboo and dream up your own design, learn more here. And for more self-care strategies for busy moms, watch here.
How do you take care of yourself as a busy mom? What tools help your family make this possible? Love to know in the comments below.
Cheers to designing your beautiful life,
xo Lisa
Special thanks to Bugaboo Strollers for partnering with me on this blog post.
After the summer we have had (which included a sick child in hospital, a car breaking down on our way to Florida, altered vacation plans, increased expenses, and a general necessity to rely on God and be flexible), I've been reflecting a lot on what it means to be a good wife and mother.
Because there are so many days where I feel like I am absolutely failing at both.
There are days when I scream. Where I nag. Where I am less than gracious. Where I honestly feel like giving up.
And then I take a page out of my own book. Literally- I comb through past blog posts where I discuss struggle and what it looks like when you come out of it and I am reminded there is always a new day. There is always a do-over. And to quote the lovely Cat and Nat from Social Commons, having a bad day as a mom doesn't mean you are a bad mom- you just had a bad day being a mom.
So for today's post I am re-posting an excerpt from a past post. If you feel like you're having a bad day as a wife and mom this one's for you.
Last weekend, my husband had a work conference in Montreal- so the kids and I decided to tag along for the ride. Smoked meat and poutine, cuddles in big comfy hotel beds and quality time after working like a maniac- so needed! I am so thankful for the weekend we had. I am most thankful for the time to recalibrate and be reminded of what my most important job is.
I put in a lot of time developing myself professionally. Recently I was in Colorado for The Platform Conference, yearly I invest in business coaching of some kind, and I am pretty obsessed with reading and gathering info on social media strategies, good business practices and becoming a better interior designer and communicator in general.
But how much time do I invest in being a good wife and a good mother? The honest answer is not very much. So in Montreal I brainstormed a few concrete ways I could invest in being a better wife and mom. Here they are in no particular order:
1. Do more the night before.
This has proved to be pretty awesome for our morning routine, and therefore all of our moods heading out the door for school. And for those of you in Toronto or anywhere north of the equator it seems, you know how much more effort it was this week with snowpants, boots, mitts, hats, etc. etc. etc. So I am disciplining myself to attempt to lay things out the night before. School bags with letters / forms already filled in get laid out by the door, and lunches mostly packed saved for the things that are perishable and are pre wrapped in bags in the fridge. I have to work on getting them to lay out their clothes the night before- hoping to instill that habit in them (and myself!) too.
2. Turn my phone off for uninterrupted, aimless time.
Or at least put it away out of reach. I think I need to make a "sacred time", where the phone is away. In this time I want to invest in just being present and aimless. Ask my kids questions, be present to my husband in conversation, be available in an undistracted manner. I need to work on this. Update: since writing this post I did a 30-day social media fast which was life changing.
3. Be more grateful, and verbalize my gratitude.
This one is simple. I need to be more grateful for my spouse and my kids and let them know that. If I had a jar and I had to put a dollar in for the number of times I got irritated in a day with everyone, vs. the times I spoke grateful words to them it would be pretty sad to see how full that jar would be.
4. Be more romantic.
As a mom of small kids, romantic gestures of any kind are admittedly quite neglected at the end of a day full of demands. The relationship I have with my spouse supports the rest of the relationships in our house, and establishes a culture of care and kindness. My kids learn about love by watching the way I relate with Josh. I best treat him with some fondness ; )
In the fast pace of our life with 4 kids (update: now almost 6!) and busy work schedules, there are days that we feel like we barely survive. But there are also days that we thrive. I want more of the latter, and experience has shown me that if I put into practice some of the goals I set out above, like being more organized and more attentive and less distracted, we really do feel great. At mass last Sunday at the gorgeous and historic St. Patrick's in Montreal, this was read in the first reading: "Her children stand up and proclaim her blessed, her husband, too, sings her praises" (Proverbs 31:28). I hope to live up to this both for my own personal standard and for them.
How do you invest in your job as parents and spouse? Love to know your best practices in the comments below.
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