Absent

I apologize for my absence. Ironically my lack of blogging has every thing to do with blogging. I decided to design and make my own outfit for the Vancouver Mom, Fabulous event, honoring Vancouver's top mommy bloggers. I'm been sewing away in my spare time which is only a few minutes here and there. The outfit is coming together nicely and I can't wait to blog about the event! Thank-you so much for your votes. While I wasn't a winner I feel honored to have been nominated! Elasticpantcity is dear to my heart and I look forward to what the future holds for this little blog.

I Love My Job

Last night our pillow talk went something like this:

"Ben, do you think I can survive the kids when you go back to work tomorrow?"

"Honey, you've done it for three years with one, and eight months with the other. You'll be fine."

I think every mom would agree that an extra body around the house to help with the kids is bliss. Whenever Ben's home I can divert Levi's three-year-old angst towards his daddy. When Jethro needs a face to chew on, there's Ben (prickly, but still soothing). The kids have also discovered the joy of synchronized crying. That's when I really want to run for the hills (or the beach). 

As Ben's vacation drew to a close I had some serious anxiety about how I would manage Levi and Jethro on my own. Today was the test, and I rediscovered something about myself: 

I love being a mom. I love my boys and their sticky hands and snotty noses. I love the smell of their hair and the twinkle in their eyes when they give me the special "mommy" smile. The smile that's been around since they were newbies to this strange, new world and found comfort cuddled up to mama's breast. Today, Levi got socked in the face with a Nerf Gun. He wanted his mommy to wipe away the tears and kiss him better. Jethro has finally graduated to an up-on-all-fours crawl, which led to a mega face plant. When I picked him up, he didn't stop crying until I nursed him. To know that God has given my body the ability to ease the pain of my little baby is a miraculous and beautiful thing (as much as I complain about my boobs always being on duty, I could have worse problems). There's still the menial tasks of wiping butts, laundry, laundry, did I mention laundry? But I even find joy in serving my family in those hard, less gratuitous areas. 

I survived the day, exhausted but content. I love my job. I love being a mom. 

 

Anniversary Song

This is what I woke up to this morning. Ben is a reminder of God's grace in my life, His undeserved merit and favour. Ben always speaks well of me, encourages me in my dreams and rebukes me gently when I'm being irrational and silly (Which, is hardly ever).

*You still have today and tomorrow to vote for Elasticpantcity as one of Vancouver's Top Mommy Blogs.

Caught My Eye

Last night I attended a private affair to celebrate the opening of Redfish Kids Clothing's first flagship store in Vancouver. Previously Redfish was only available online and in select boutiques around the world. The popularity of the brand has exploded since it's inception in 2005 and opening a flagship store became a natural next step for Co-Founder's Lorraine Kitsos and Kristy Brinkley. A second flagship will be opening in West Vancouver in the coming months.

The flagship at 851 Hornby Street is exquisite in it's curation of the vibrant, beautifully designed Red Fish label. The boutique also boasts a careful selection of handpicked items from quirky children's art books, to giant stuffed flamingos and jewelry for mother and daughter. The time honoured brands behind these additional store items are names such as Petit Bateau, Steiff Germany, Raplapla from Montreal and Playsam Toys from the UK.

The flagship has been designed to maximize the impact of the colourful prints Redfish is famous for. The clean, white aesthetic, and glass-topped display tables give the store a cheerful, open feel and the children's seating area makes it a welcoming environment for families to shop in. Lorraine told me that everything from the "tree" displayed in the front window to the wonderfully detailed wall paper were in house designed, making the store a true labour of love. 

I could have spent hours discovering all the little details that makes the Redfish Kid's Clothing Flagship a must visit destination. Not only for local Vancouverites, but also for visitors from around the world sourcing locally created, sweat shop free children's clothing. 

The Grand Opening for the store is on Saturday, June 2nd during regular store hours, 10-6 PM, and continues on Sunday from 12-5 PM. There will be crafts and face painting for the kiddies, and plenty of eye candy for parents. Come and celebrate with Redfish!

Beatrice: faithful Redfish Model and daughter of cofounder Lorraine Kitsos wearing one of next year's looks

Sensesational!

Engaging the senses is one of the best ways for a child to learn and the Vancouver International Children's Festival is a feast of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell! We used our festival activity pass to visit the three-year-old friendly tents. Levi was in his element making a new puppet friend in the Sock It To Me Tent. He has a wild imagination and so Mr. Puppet will now join the ranks of Jesus, Chickadee and Owl in the forever friend group. 

Ben is on holiday and we're making it a raw food week using the Eat Well, Eat Raw book. Usually our vacay's tends to go hand-in-hand with gorging. But really, isn't a holiday supposed to be about feeling healthy and refreshed by the end of it, instead of well, fatter? Our raw food festival lunch included the Sun-Dried Tomato and Carrot Burgers and the Red Pepper, Dill and Cashew Ricotta as a dip.

The Soundscape area was a huge hit. It was a cacophony of joyous noise that only kids can make when bashing together various hand made instruments.

What could be more whimsical than a labyrinth made of bunting, created by the hands of wee ones?

Jethro spent a lot of time snuggled up in the Ergo but the Festival had a fabulous Twist and Toddle Tent for 0-5's to play around in. I love this little guy so hard. Look at that baby tongue and crazy hair! 

The Vancouver International Children's Festival runs until June 3rd on Granville Island. Don't miss the chance to take your kidlets!

P.S. You can still vote for Elasticpantcity as one of Vancouver's Top Mommy Blogs!

My Pedro

Can you spot me? Look for the bad perm, big glasses, skinny legs and awkward smile. Every one has an awkward phase but mine lasted for 19 years. Remember Napoleon Dynamite? I was his female counterpart. 

Maybe Elasticpantcity is my Pedro, Napoleon's friend with the boldness and confidence to run for class president. The vote for your favourite Vancouver Mom Blogger is now on and you can vote for up to five of the fabulous mommy blogs featured on VancouverMom.ca. I'd be honoured if Elasticpantcity made it to your top five list!

Shameless

Yippee! Stephanie, you won the passes to the Vancouver International Children's Festival.You can pick up the passes (on the day you wish to use them) on Granville Island, at the Festival Box Office. In other news, Elasticpantcity has been nominated as one of VancouverMom.ca's Top 30 Fabulous Mom Bloggers! Voting for the Top Mommy Blog begins on Monday so watch for the link. The prize is lounge wear from DIA, and I wouldn't mind that one bit, so please get your vote on. Shameless, I know, but my jammie bottoms look like a dog has chewed through them and my hubby has noticed. 

One of my favorite things to do is take photos with my sister-in-law, Lizzy. She always has such a unique view and captures the moment perfectly.

My children wouldn't pose with me but Pepper was a great replacement. He's such a big fuzzy, wuzzy bundle of love.

Here's a behind the scenes shot. I didn't realize there was a ladder on the other side of the treehouse. I think there's an analogy for life in there somewhere... butt I'm tired so I'll leave it at that.