Urban Suburban Mommy

Monthly Archives: July 2019

July – Getting Booked

Posted on by Posted in Inspiration, Urban Suburban Mommy .

Nah, if you haven’t committed a crime by now, then you’re definitely at an age where that mug shot ain’t gonna be pretty, so don’t bother to start. I want to get booked in a more literal, sit-down-and-read-a-book-without-interruption kind of way..

I used to read voraciously. I ripped through a book or two a week. If it was any good, I’d already read it.

And then I had kids.

It was like my brains melted and my free time was vacuumed out at source. If it was longer than a blog post – more truthfully an Instagram post – I didn’t have the time or brain cells to read it.

But now that the kids don’t need me *every* second of the day, I have some time to read. Only thing is, I don’t know what to read. Nobody I know reads at the moment. We’re all looking at each other, like “I know I used to like this, but where do I start?”

Solution time!

UrbanSuburbanMommy.com hooked up with Indigo to feature their book club selects! I’ve always been a fan of Heather’s Picks (Indigo CEO and Chief Booklover Heather Reisman knows her stuff!), and over the years I’ve learned which employee picks to follow. I’ve decided to forego trying to catch up on the last decade of literature and just jump in!

Here are Indigo’s July book club picks (Oh the irony of pick #3! Mom-approved)

Heather’s Book Club

Heather’s pick is Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan.
It’s a historical novel based on the improbable love story of writers Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis.
For more information on Heather’s Book Club, click here.

Cookbook Club

The July Cookbook Club pick is Vegetables First by Ricardo Larrivee, a vibrant celebration of the tastes, textures, colours and possibilities that vegetables have to offer.
Visit indigo.ca/cookbook-club each month for some free recipes.

Cookbook Club is a cool concept and fits perfectly in the social media-sphere. Indigo wants to encourage people to try out dishes from the Cookbook Club pick, and then share them at a potluck – or share them on social media – now that I CAN do!
Post pics with the hashtags #contest and #CookWithIndigo, page number for a chance to win the next month’s cookbook!

BFF Book Club

The July BFF Book Club pick is More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth. In this part-manifesto, part-memoir, the revolutionary editor who infused social consciousness into the pages of Teen Vogue explores what it means to come into your own—on your own terms.

The coolest part? The BFF Bookclub is partnered with Bumble – a women directed social platform. Indigo offers discounts on the bookclub book if you’re registered. Bumble BFF members can access discussion starters for bookclub meetings. And in true bookclub style, there are bookclub special events which members may find themselves invited to – how’s that for a bookclub experience and the perfect Mom’s Night Out!

For more information on the Indigo x Bumble BFF Book Club, click here.

Would love to hear your picks, let us know!


You Only Get 18 Summers

Posted on by Posted in Bon Voyage .

I admit it. The ending to Toy Story 3 tears me up. 

Every. Single. Time.

It starts with the scene where Woody watches through a hole in the box as Andy says goodbye to his Mom, who has just walked into his room and is struck by how different it looks with all his favourite things packed away for college.

I know I’m not alone. This family favourite movie tugs at the heartstrings of every Mom out there. [Urban Mommy Elisa says “This. Every time.”]

We know it’s going to happen. In fact, we WANT it to happen. We want to see the children we’ve raised to adulthood go off to college or university and start the next exciting chapter of their lives. It’s so exciting and bittersweet all at the same time.

If your kids growing up feels like it will be here before you know it and you wish you could slow down time, then there is no better time to create those memories. No better time to make these last few years before they fly the nest truly count.

Research shows that families who travel together develop life long bonds that don’t easily happen any other way.

We only get 18 summers with our kids before they are wrapped up in college, jobs, friends and boyfriends/girlfriends.

Wouldn’t you love to make those few summers unforgettable? Planning a fantastic vacation for your family is a great way to do just that.  It’s an investment in your family.

It’s memories they will carry with them long after you are gone. It’s the things they will tell their children stories about for years to come.

Beyond that, giving your children the gift of travel, exposing them to different cultures and experiences is priceless. They’ll learn far more from those experiences than they will in any classroom.

Whether it is something as simple as meeting a favourite childhood character onboard a Disney Cruise or traveling halfway across the world to visit the Grand Palace in Thailand, those memories will be priceless for them, and for you.

[Urban Mommy Elisa says “Too true, those 18 years go by too fast. My boys were just babies and now we’re more than half way done. My family took a 5 month break from urban life to travel Europe in 2018. It’s something we treasure. It’s time and money that couldn’t be spent better. A year later we still talk about what we saw and did with wonder. It’s inspiring, rejuvenating, and the experiences and memories are truly priceless. If you want some advice on extended travel, I’m always happy to discuss our adventure, just comment or get in touch. And Clara is the perfect person to help plan!]

Clara Power is a mother to 2 well traveled kids, Andrew and Lauren.  She is a Personal Travel Advisor at her own travel agency, Clara Power TPI, which is in association with Travel Professionals International.  As an active traveler having visited over 35 countries and almost every continent, (still working on Antarctica), Clara is no stranger in understanding the unique wants and needs of families travelling together making her your expert choice for creating those special family vacation experiences.  Her agency is also recognized as an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner due to her extensive knowledge and superior service.

Do not hesitate to call her today to learn about what she can do to help you plan a seamless and enjoyable vacation!
cpower@tpi.ca
clarapower.ca
ClaraPowerTPITravel

tpi

Originally published on Clara Power Restless Traveller

Disclaimer – UrbanSuburbanMommy.com does not receive any financial or product/travel compensation from Clara Power TPI. We believe she is an exceptional and extremely knowledgeable travel agent we and love her insight and advice. She’s just too good not to share!

When are the “too old” for…

Posted on by Posted in The Struggle is Real, Urban Suburban Mommy .

I don’t know when it happened. They were just so small. I was buying strollers and navigating solid foods and trying to decide which schools and which daycares – and now they’re 8 and 10 9 and 11. Wow, it’s been a year since I’ve tried to put these thoughts into words.

What a difference a year makes. Every year is an entire lifetime. And now they’re not just little kids. Both boys are around 5’4″ and they’d weigh in as welterweights – they’re big little big boys!

But they’re still 11 and 9. They have nightmares and want to climb in bed for a snuggle. One is more brave while the other is still apprehensive about doing things alone and I still have a hard time letting them run free and untethering the leash and having them out of my eyesight. I’ve been eagle-eye for a decade and I just can’t stop myself!

They’re so big and tough – until they get a boo-boo, and then they want mommy.

So when is too old? Is 9 and 11 too old? I don’t want it to be too old!

My husband and I were on the same page up until now. I still love the middle-of-the-night snuggles – he thinks it’s high time we get to have a decent night’s sleep. I can’t fathom sending them back to bed alone – yet he doesn’t see it.

Dad thinks they can be left alone at home, I stress and have a “no eating” rule when I leave for any length of time because I’m sure they’ll choke and the house will melt and the kids will be beamed up by aliens. And the dog… oh the dog…

Double digits is a weird time of life. The 11 year old definitely shows signs of puberty. That squeaky voice is dropping, his sillies are getting silly on a more mature level, he’s starting to talk about the future in terms of his own interestst that go beyond “I want to dwive a po-lice car and a choo choo twain when I grow up” to what he likes about math and where he wants to go to university. When did this start??

The little one isn’t far behind. They’ve got chores and responsibilities, but how many chores and what kind of responsibilities are appropriate?

And now I wonder – there are 50 million baby books out there. Babies are easy. The doctor and every mom group on the planet can tell you when to starts solids and what the safest car seat is, but where is the help when you need to let your kid take the bus alone or when they start asking questions like “Why do people do sex when they don’t want to make a baby.”

I’m not sure I’m ready for this age – but I’ll let you know how it works out!