Posted on by raisingriblets

Mickey and Maskin’

We got ears, say cheers!


We did it! We did the Disney World thing – during a pandemic. Side note, we did do Disneyland before, when the girls were both under 3 years old and 6 months.

Here are a few things I learned on this dry run of Disney World (we will be back, fingers crossed).


Disney was a lot of fun, and my kids were all really good ages for different experiences at the parks, 7, 6 and 2.
This time we did Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We got on almost every ride at Magic Kingdom but really struggled with wait times at Hollywood Studios. Disney isn’t currently doing Fast Pass, and they’ve reduced park hours, which I have feelings about, but it really made it difficult to do everything we wanted to do in Hollywood Studios. We made the best of it. From what I’ve read, Disney is replacing Fast Pass with Genie+, a paid service to get onto rides faster. We will definitely take advantage of this next time we make the trip because we won’t go back without some type of pass system. It stinks that the only solution is a paid solution as Disney is already so expensive for families. However, money seems to be the only solution to all the world’s problems.


Magic Kingdom was phenomenal for our 2 and 6 year old. Our youngest is all about Mickey right now, and our middle is still into all things princess, so Magic Kingdom was where it was at.
Did you know that if your child dresses up in one of the princess frocks in Magic Kingdom, the cast members will bow and tip their hats to your little princess? This was definitely the highlight of her trip.


The ride that my 2 year old enjoyed most was the one we stood in line for the longest. I really wasn’t expecting him to go gaga over it like he did, and that was Mickey’s Railway in Hollywood Studios. His reaction and screams of glee made the wait worth it.


When visiting Disney, the Disney’s App is a must have for going to any of the parks. I had all of my tickets synced to my Apple Wallet, credit cards loaded into the app, mobile food orders and arrival times to restaurants placed through the app and park maps loaded, which was extremely helpful, especially, if you plan to divide and conquer. It makes meeting up again a breeze. Orlando, in general, is struggling with staffing issue, and surprisingly has impacted Disney. So, placing orders through the mobile app for a designated pick up time is really the best way to grab a bite without standing in line for hours. The app is also your tool to finding out when cavalcades of characters will do mini parades and finding out their locations since the characters no longer just roam the parks.


Unfortunately, our biggest disappointment, with the app, was trying to book the Rise of Resistance attraction in Hollywood Studios. Lesson learned – make sure to just book your entire party for the ride and then click OK, because if you waste time trying to click off the exact number of attendees, that may want to ride, you will not get a spot in line. Also, if you have any babies in the group, not associated to a ticket because they are under 2, it’s best not to load them into the app; they throw off booking this virtual queue.


We were a bit bummed about not making the ride, but for my 7 year old, the sheer expanse and commitment of the park to transport you into the lands associated with Star Wars, was more than enough for her. She was amazed to say the least.

Overall, the kids were thoroughly impressed and ecstatic over the entire experience, as all kids are. A few things to note for the adults though. Like I said, our next trip will be timed around once Disney has their new FastPass system in place. I’m also not the biggest fan of booking rides via the app at designated times. It sucks – you’re trying to enjoy the day, and are worried about logging on at the perfect time to get the tickets, and then your kids are disappointed when you can’t get on, is just a big bummer. I’d rather wait in line, and teach my kids that good things come to those who wait, not that good things come to those with the fastest fingers and data plan.


Some of my friends have asked about how I felt about Covid, traveling, and Disney? We opted not to fly, so my Mom and I embarked on an old fashioned road trip. I coordinated our arrival to Orlando with my husband’s flight arrival into Orlando (as his work isn’t as nice about time off). With not knowing how my 2 year old would fair being masked on a flight, driving and making multiple stops along the way, seemed like the better option with three kids.
Mom and I, Thelma and Louise’d it with the three kids, and honestly, I felt relatively safe traveling in the USA. Hotels are being majorly vigilant at this time. We opted for Hilton hotels since I’m an Honors member. I’ve noticed that they’ve made an effort to ditch the carpet in most of their hotels and up the use of bleach, which is evident, and honestly comforting lol.

We chose to mask indoors, for most of the trip, but it was nice for the kids to have the option to honestly forget, move their mask, or even just vocalize that they didn’t want it on at the moment, and for me to not have to meet them with resistance, in fear of being kicked out of a place.

In Disney masking was enforced indoors, and sanitation stations were everywhere. I do think that they should cap the capacity somewhat as there is definitely no way to physically distance massive throngs of people. I also think that they need to come up with a better way than having stand-by lines spill into walk ways, because that just adds to the massive pockets of people.


Another thing I noticed is a lot of money is being invested in Disney Springs, and it is amazing. It’s clean, fun, great shopping and amazing eats. We ate at the Polite Pig (delicious BBQ) and The Boathouse (amazing surf and turf). Both meals were absolutely great. While Disney Springs is fresh and new – parts of Disney are really starting to show their age and need some attention, sooner than later. Hollywood Studios Mickey’s Railway, in the Hollywood Chinese Theatre, is a prime example of a building showing its age. Tomorrowland is essentially yesterday land, and needs a major facelift. Many rides appear faded. Sections of Hollywood Studios and Tommorowland, undoubtedly, need some TLC. Obviously, all things a child would never notice, because for them it was all magic and at the end of the day, that’s what counts!

Posted on by raisingriblets

Renovation Rundown – Kitchen Edition

We are totally in the 11th hour here, but I tend to perform better under pressure. It’s true, I am a total procrastinator whose best work is pumped out hours before it has to be turned in. And, here I am, one week away from returning to work, full-time, from maternity leave, and post maternity leave quarantine.

To say this year has been crazy is a major understatement.  I promised you guys updates on our renovation and I know I have, totally, been slacking.  I knew that doing a renovation in the dead of winter with a 6 month old would be hard but I was totally looking forward to the break in the weather to share more updates.  Then Covid happened and this renovation got all sorts of weird.

Standing in line at hardware stores, relying on Amazon and Wayfair, and trying to piece things together became a complex art form.  Then, when we finally moved in, trying to pull together pieces to style the place was a complete nightmare with the stores being pretty barren.  But, throughout this whole process I learned to just roll with it.

I am sharing my favourite room in the house with you first.  The kitchen, it totally was a labour of love, and I mean this in every sense of the word.  My hubby’s father, literally, built this entire kitchen, the boxes, the doors, the shelves, the painting.  Without him, none of this magic would have been possible. And the canvas he built it all on was literally torn down and put back together by my hubby’s sister’s boyfriend.  Having family to lean on during this whole process and still loving them at the end of it is something that I have to brag about.

Lets rewind, I have been flirting with the idea of a kitchen renovation since 2017, while at our old house, and the idea of a dreamy gray kitchen has always been high on my Dream Board (we used Flagstone Grey by Pittsburgh Paints to bring this dreamy gray kitchen to life). I was briefly tempted by the idea of black, but then went back to my original plan (I am loyal like that). We worked for a long time with what has come to be my friend Lee @thestylebox in Windsor, Ontario. She drew us a gorgeous gray kitchen for our old home but after much discussion my husband and I both agreed that we really had just outgrown our old home and as much as we tried to finagle a renovation, there just was not enough room for 3 kids and a fur baby. As the years went by, my father-in-law picked up carpentry again in his retirement and the stuff he was pumping out for friends and family was more than impressive. So, when we bought this home, I had two big asks. Would Lee help me come up with a new game plan for this kitchen and would my father-in-law build it. Luckily, they both said yes! After many revisions to the plan, torn down walls, and a dry wall fiasco, we put together this beauty.

The butler’s pantry lives where the old Master Bedroom closet used to be, and this was literally a dream come true.  Having a place to store the serving trays, odds/ends and gadgets, we don’t use on a regular basis, helps to make for such a more functional space.  Also, a place to work out of, while hosting really does make for much more enjoyable parties and get togethers.

So, lets get into the specifics.  Our kitchen was built out of birch, we chose birch because we knew that we would be painting it, it is cost effective and hard enough to stand up to 3 kids.  The flooring is an engineered hardwood called Military Hickory and most days I love it but in hindsight a shade lighter may have served us better with hiding the dog hair.  Hopefully, a Roomba is in my future and I’ll fall in love all over again with this hardwood like I did when I first saw it in the store.

We went with clean shaker style cabinets because I am all about clean lines and simplicity. Our matte black handles, believe it or not, I found on Amazon at an unbeatable price, and with stores shut down to the public, I needed an online option. Again, simple and clean. I was torn between knobs over handles for the upper cabinets, but truth be told, my nails grazing around the knobs at our old house destroyed the paint job on our old cabinets over time so I didn’t want to venture down that road again.

Wayfair for the win when it comes to the Zayn 1 by Gracie Oaks pendants.  They are simple, they pull together the matte black elements throughout the kitchen and are a breeze to keep clean.  Noticing a common theme here, I am all about efficiency and practicality.  It is a way of survival with 3 under the age of 6.

We went with quartz countertops with the Carrera finish, which helped me bring together the white island, a last minute curve ball I threw into the plan and the gray cabinets.  You see, I can be full of surprises too.

For those who know me, they know I am all about a good deal, and this massive sink, which is literally my best friend, was honestly a steal.  If you are reading this and are in Canada, you have kids, and you are looking to replace your sink and faucet, look no further then Costco.ca.  This massive sink that will hold the millions of cups my kids go through during the day and the faucet by Ancona was $399.99.  For  real sink and faucet! It’s dual mount and even when it’s full it doesn’t look full because it’s so big.  My old sink would literally have one pot in it, and I couldn’t even clean that pot without water being everywhere.  I am very passionate about this sink because I am mom and I will be doing dishes until the day I die, so me and the sink must be on good working terms.  It’s currently not online at Costco.ca but I have learned to check their site often as things come and go frequently.

The pot filler was also another Costco steal and its on sale right now (even cheaper than what we paid for it).  The water pressure is fantastic, my hubby thought it was something we would probably never use but he recently confessed that it is the best thing that ever happened to pasta night.

As for the appliances, they were one of our tougher decisions.  I have to admit, we used to own the Frigidaire Professional series, and honestly, I love the look of this line but there were two major drawbacks to our Frigidaire appliances that steered me towards LG this time.

The first drawback being the water pressure out of the water dispenser.  I thought it was just ours, but I tested my sister-in-law’s too and it just takes forever to fill a bottle of water with the Frigidaire Professional.  With 5 water bottles that need to be filled every morning having a water dispenser that gets the job done quickly is important to me, and this LG fridge delivers on the water pressure.  The stove was a major selling point too with the top being stainless steal and the knobs being angled upwards making it harder for little hands to turn.  These were things important to our family, not major things but it was what steered us towards choosing LG this time around.

I bought and returned a lot of stools for the island over the summer, but I have finally come to terms with these stools.  They’re matte black metal, again sticking to the theme (I love a good theme), but they also incorporate the warm wood which tie back to our floating shelves.  They are also super forgiving and easy to clean, which is always a bonus with three hooligans running around.  Again, another deal brought to you by Wayfair, you’ll want to check out here.  I love being able to share deals with you that may make decisions around renovations a little bit easier because, honestly, by the end of it, you really experience decision fatigue.  I had to take a break from it all for a bit because a lot of decisions, even really small ones, felt exhausting.

On another note, the Fiddle Leaf bush is real.  I bought it back in April at Annas Flowers in Kingsville, Ontario and I don’t know what it is, but if I buy it from Anna’s it tends to survive.  I had to have our photographer Daniel capture the plant in the pictures to, honestly, let the record show that I am keeping this thing alive and it is thriving under my supervision.

I am trying to think of any other detail that might be of interest to readers, so if you have a question shoot me a message. The paint colour is Agreeable Grey by Sherwin Williams and the trim and crown come from a Mill Shop in London, Ontario called Riverside Millwork Group. They were great to work with, offering extremely competitive pricing. It was installed by my amazingly, hopefully one day brother-in-law whose finishing work (trim and tile) is something to truly marvel over. I thought I had an eye; this guy takes craftsmanship to a whole other level.

We went from a kitchen that was literally almost the same length as our, just shy of 10 ft., island and while we made some amazing memories in that small kitchen having the space to allow the whole family to congregate around and snack from this giant island in our new home is something that I dreamed of.  My husband and I originally bickered over this island as he could not visualize how it would fit in the space and if you look at the old photo, I totally can see why he thought that.  The island is now the place where we all congregate the most, and it really is my favourite part of the entire design plan and home.

Well, there you have it, welcome to the heart of our home, the kitchen.  I hope this reveal was worth the wait.  Honestly, it has always been a bit tough opening myself up to critics but hey, such is life – que sera sera. 

Signing off now, I have to go make dinner in my new … kitchen (see what I did there).

Posted on by raisingriblets

Blessings in Disguise

I knew we were really lucky to live through our renovation at my dad’s place. I lived through a renovation, during high school, in this same home, and it was messy and inconvenient. So, when my dad said sure we could stay here during the renovation, I felt a sense of relief.

We were supposed to be in our house by now but because of unforeseen circumstances and having to rejig a few things, we were delayed.  Who would have thought that this would be a blessing in disguise. 

While I love our new home, the yard needs a lot of TLC and, honestly, a month of being home with the kids might have been a challenge there. Entertaining them in a barren backyard. However, being at my dad’s has been full of wonder and exploration.

I would be lying if I said this whole quarantine and virus hasn’t kept me up at night, not to mention our family suffered a great tragedy of losing a loved one way too soon during this time (not to Corona), but a few things have brought me great comfort. 

One being my husband and his time in the Marine Corps.  He was born for moments like this. He has been prepared for the worst since touring countries that literally saw their daily life change over night. This kind of stuff doesn’t make him nervous because he is always prepared and has a plan, and that is the greatest comfort. 

Another thing we have under our belt is that my parents have always taught us how to do things ‘old school’, from gardening to canning to bee-keeping, and with the uncertainty of the days to come, this makes things a little easier. We’ve baked with my mom and learned to bake bread with my aunt and the smells coming out of the kitchen are ones to remember. 

But this 21 acre property that my immigrant grandparents bought by scraping dollars together has offered my kids some of the best memories these past few weeks. From exploring the neighbouring golf course my grandfather once owned to filling buckets with estranged golf balls, climbing sand traps, sliding down them in our boots and wading through the golf course ponds. We’ve started our garden, killed time teaching the kids to chip golf balls, and collected so many worms. Getting messy and muddy at the farm has proven to be one of the biggest blessings.

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Two Tours and a Renovation

People told us, if the two of you make it through renovations you will make it to your death beds lol. We’ve made it through two deployments and now a renovation and guess what? I still love him! My hubby and I can argue about some pretty silly stuff, but I have to say he usually trusts my opinion whole heartedly, which made this renovation a breeze.

Our weirdest set back came down to a strange notice about the septic tank from 1996. It was in some violation of a code that doesn’t even exist anymore. While I am still trying to navigate this topic, and have spoken to numerous people who are supposed to know what to do with it, each person is as perplexed on the issue as the next person. Septic companies have said that the tank functions perfectly, and nobody can figure out what the heck this regulation from 25 years ago was all about, but hey, whatever. I’ll continue to pursue the issue. It’s what I do best, annoy people until I have answers (I’ve literally made a living out of this).

I’ve been the kind of person who pretty much knows what they want without a lot of thinking on any matter. I think I planned my wedding in a week because decisions aren’t hard for me. I knew the look I was trying to achieve and that made things a world easier. This renovation was really no different.

I have ordered something from almost every supplier in the YQG area and many have gotten used to me trailing in with a one year old on my hip. He has been to window shops, flooring stores and gets excited when we pull up to Lowe’s in anticipation of the car carts. I’ve learned about drywall, return air supply, gas lines, furnaces, installation and water heaters.

I’ve been racking my brain about the easiest way to share the experience, and I’ve concluded breaking the reno down, room by room, for ya is easiest, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Tile and hardwood this week. We’re getting close to a finished product. Check out our hardwood from the Flooring Store International in Lakeshore. To see more of this floor called “Military Hickory” check out my IG stories @raising_riblets.

Posted on by raisingriblets

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Inhale and exhale.

I am finally taking a long overdue deep breath. 

The holidays for my family is such a culmination of traditions from all over the globe, and while it is insanely busy, I would not trade it for the world.

My husband and I were once referred to as ‘unicorns’ at the US Embassy in Toronto, and while I sit back and think about it, I could not think of a better way to describe our family. My husband and I are both dual citizens of Canada and the US within our own right; his mother being a US citizen and my mother being a US citizen.

Our children are now dual thanks to my husband’s service in the Marine Corps. We live in a border town, he works in the States and I work in Canada, and we are literally the most freakin’ grateful individuals – reaping the benefits of both amazing nations.

But that’s not even the half of it – my husband comes from a mixed heritage being mostly French Canadian/Métis and Pennsylvania Dutch.  He grew up attending Roman Catholic school and going to mass in the Lutheran Church – phewwww.

My family is Serbian Orthodox which in its own right is steeped in lots of old world traditions.  So, with that said, the holidays begin for us with American Thanksgiving and stretch all the way to Orthodox New Year (January 14th).

We rotate Thanksgiving annually between my husband’s family in Michigan and my family in Pittsburgh. This year we packed up the crew; along with my mom and set off for Pittsburgh where we spent time with my grandparents. My grandfather is an Orthodox priest – we spend a lot of time keeping things pretty conservative when he is around.


Thanksgiving dinner this year fell during Advent so on top of having a traditional turkey dinner, we also had a full seafood menu lovingly prepared by my aunt. 

We spent a lot of time lounging, eating and watching Disney+. My uncle could have been a standup comedian in a prior life so we also spend a lot of time laughing to the point of almost peeing our pants.

Because Thanksgiving fell so late this year, I literally had the house set up for Christmas a few days before our 5-hour drive to Pittsburgh. When we got home Christmas festivities were literally in full swing.

A few of our weekends were spent in Michigan shopping and visiting my husband’s maternal side. His maternal grandmother, currently, has 15 great grandkids under 10 which is absolute chaos when we get together, but honestly, some of the best memories of our children’s lives. His grandmother is literally one of the most thoughtful gift givers – pouring her heart into handmade quilts for the grandkids and gifting us Kennedy half dollars collected by my husband’s late grandfather.

By December 25th we attended 5 family Christmas’ and by January 5th 3 Friendmas’. Two birthday parties (my dad’s big 60th), one date night, a wrapping present party with my husband’s step-grandparents, a night at Greenfield Village with friends and my mom, my daughters first singing recital and my middle baby’s first piano recital. A Christmas Concert/Turkey Luncheon at the kid’s school, the town parade with friends and my mother-in-law, St. Nicholas Day and finally Orthodox Christmas where my daughters débuted in the Nativity play as a lamb and singing in the children’s choir. And a “PARTRIDGE IN A FRIGGEN’ PEAR TREE.”

We baked, we gingerbreaded, we arts and crafted, we shopped, movie marathoned, gameboarded, laughed, drank and cuddled in matching pyjamas and we went to bed exhausted – ‘while visions of sugar plums danced in our heads’. But, when the kids tell me that their family is the best, I am renewed with new energy every time. It is so fun to be able to introduce our children to family traditions, some of which have been passed down for literally hundreds of years, while we create new ones. I am blessed to have married my unicorn of a husband and to share all these unique experiences and traditions with our kids.

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Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

I’m the type of person who gets really cozy and comfortable when things are good, I mean why rock the boat? I promised myself when I turned 30 I would step outside of my comfort zone and do things that make me feel a little uneasy because without risk there is no reward. I also wanted to show my girls that it’s ok to try things that are new or something you couldn’t picture yourself doing. Setting new goals and challenges are all a part of the journey.

Step 1. Start a blog, so far this journey has been really gratifying; have I become a blogging world sensation over night, no. But have people come up to me and said, ‘loving your blog,’ yes! And that is more than enough for me. I wanted to write stuff that was honest, true and gives people warm fuzzy feelings. Something that makes them feel like home when they read it. If I am doing that for you, yay!

Step 2. Move and start a home remodel. Moving with 3 little kids is like an Olympic sport, I think we placed bronze in this category, near the end I’m pretty sure my husband and I were just stuffing things into the storage bin – only the strong will survive. Also, this is the first time we ever ran into a snag with closing a home (mind you this is only are 2nd home) – and let me tell you snags and closing a home is a sure fire way to shed a few pounds. Remodel starts this week, stay tuned for more pictures and updates.

Step 3. Try one of those supplements people lose a ton of weight on and claim to be changed from. I did it, I jumped on the band wagon – the Herbal Life bandwagon. I did it for a few reasons, one being with kids I am always just stuffing whatever I can grab into my mouth – at least with the shakes I’m getting some essential nutrients; not just table scraps. Another reason being I really like some of the girls in this accountability group and the way they set goals and inspire others to do the same.

The holidays are upon us and the new year will be here before you know it. I’ve got a kick start on my resolution and so far stepping outside of that comfort zone is proving to not be too uncomfortable.

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So Long Sweet Summer

Autumn is here and I love the changes it brings with it. The air is crisper; the leaves are changing and all things apple and pumpkin are in full swing. But I have to say this summer was one for the record books. I cannot believe how much we did and saw this summer, especially with a new baby. I was anticipating it to be a low-key summer with me still trying to ‘navigate the water’ with 3 little ones but baby made it so easy to just have a summer of pure chaos and fun with his laid-back personality.

I know sometimes it can be tough to find things to do to appease the whole family but I have to say I am pretty impressed with what my husband and I were able to swing.

We kicked off the summer with a weekend in Toronto. While Toronto can be overwhelming it is a great place to be for families, there is something for everyone. We like to stay at the Sheraton Centre Hotel when we go to Toronto it is close to everything, the rooms are spacious, clean and you can always find a decent deal online (bear in mind this is Toronto we are talking about). The selling point for our family is this hotel has a pool our kids love. The pool is fully equipped with puddle jumpers for the kids, pool toys, and a full-service cabana for mommy and daddy. You literally can spend the whole afternoon poolside without having to leave your lounge chairs. You would never know laying by this pool that you were in the heart of a bustling city.

Another bonus is the Sheraton is close to a lot of great restaurants. Our favorite being Drake One Fifty. This place has a cool vibe; the food is all sourced locally and is delicious. It is nice without being pretentious and I have not run into a bad meal here. My kids are obsessed with their meatballs and from the pasta, to burgers it all gets a 10/10 from us.

A new place we discovered this round was Kiva’s. If your kids are like my kids they love bagels. If we are having a day where I just can’t get them to eat anything I can almost bet my entire life savings that they will indeed eat a bagel. Bagels are life with kids, a home without bagels is not a home. So, when we vacation we scope out where the bagels are – no bagels; equals anarchy. Kiva’s is a win for our family.

Our oldest right now is on a big kick about being a scientist when she grows up and our middle is a dinosaur lover so it was a no brainer that we would be visiting the Royal Ontario Museum, this is not your ordinary museum there is so much for your little one to touch and explore and it has one of the largest dinosaur exhibits in North America. We spent hours going through the dinosaur floor and CIBC Bank has sponsored a huge hands-on children’s area where the kids can dig for dinosaur bones, try on chainmail, play in a teepee and just let their imaginations run wild. The ROM comes highly recommended by our kids and me.

My husband works crazy hours so summers can get a little long for mama – thank God my mother is a school teacher because boy do I lean on her for a break during those long summer days where you have heard, “I’m bored,” for the bazillionth time. Mom and I got brave this summer and decided to take the kids on a Nana/Mama road trip and I have to say we did it and boy did we do it well!

My mom had been reminiscing about her childhood summers in Ocean City, Maryland, so we thought what the heck let’s do it. What kid doesn’t like summer days spent ocean side?

My mom is a Pittsburgh native so we planned to spend a few days with family in Pittsburgh to break up the trip. I have seen and done a lot in Pittsburgh but this trip I experienced one of my very firsts with the kids. Sarris Chocolate in Cannonsburg, PA. My kids are candy freaks, I am not going to deny it, it comes to them honestly my husband and I have a weak spot for candy. My uncle knowing the kids’ love for candy loaded us up into the car one night for a ride to Cannonsburg and honestly probably the best chocolate I have ever had.

Sarris is like walking into a small scale version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The ice cream parlor offers that old-world charm and seriously amazingly creamy delicious ice cream that my kids devoured. I literally some days just crave a Sarris chocolate bar and have to resign to the fact that I won’t have one again until I visit Pittsburgh at Thanksgiving time (phew that isn’t too far away). So, after visiting the family we packed ourselves up again and hit the road for Ocean City.

We booked our stay at the Hilton Oceanfront Suites and boy does this place deliver. The access to the beach cannot be beat. If you have little ones this hotel’s location makes going to the beach so easy. You are steps from the beach so when one of the kids got crabby, a bed for a quick nap was a few steps away and this made life so much easier. The pools at this hotel are glorious. There is an indoor pool for rainy afternoons but the kid’s pool is where we were posted up most days. This pool has a view of the ocean so you still feel like your beachside all day. My kids floated in the lazy river for hours and slid down the slide probably a thousand times by the end of the week. The hotel does a great job of having crafts and events poolside for the kids. My daughters are still rocking their hair wraps they got by the pool. They met poolside ‘mermaids’ who did face paint and ate poolside nachos for lunch. The baby slept on a lounger every day next to Nana while listening to the waves of the ocean crash.

It’s always a plus when a hotel is close by to some good eats and I have to say we lucked out again with this hotel’s location. We stumbled upon an amazing Mexican restaurant just two blocks away called Mother Cantina and baby and I could not get enough of the guacamole. The kids have never been one for tacos but they devoured the tacos here (so much for my cooking) and my mom who is a take it or leave it kind of gal when it comes to Mexican cuisine is still talking it about. On our last day in Ocean City we stumbled upon Barn 34 for dinner, but from what I hear its breakfast that they are known for. Dinner here, however, was a home run as well. Lots of great seafood options which my mom and I are huge fans of and a great variety of options for the kids. They fancied up the kid’s chocolate milk with whip cream and chocolate chips and now the kids ask me for chocolate milk like in Ocean City (sorry out of luck kiddos). If your kids are like mine they also love subs, subs are something that again if they are hunger-striking I can convince them to eat and in this case the Hilton is literally kiddie corner to a great sub shop named Anthony’s (also a liquor store – with a very wide variety I may add) and again I will add we were within walking distance of bagels with Shmagels Bagels being literally a 5- minute walk from the hotel.

Ocean City is an easy and fun family destination for kids of all ages. The boardwalk is loaded with activities; my kids are still at an age where the pool and beach are more than enough but literally, there is something for everyone.

Our last big trip of the season I give full credit to my hubby for suggesting. He threw out the idea of Tennessee and originally Nashville (I think he forgot we had kids – I will be going there without them thank you very much lol) but after some back and forth on Nashville he suggested the idea of Pigeon Forge.

If you live in a state or province where school starts after Labour Day let me tell you the last week in August is when you want to visit Pigeon Forge. We had the place to ourselves. It was amazing, no lines to do or see anything! From Wonderworks to Dollywood the kids could go on what they wanted over and over again without having to wait – it was the stuff dreams are made out of.

Dollywood is absolutely a wonderful location for families to visit – there are so many rides for little ones to go on. The park is extremely clean, there are areas to rest all over the place (and breastfeed) and it was a huge tick off of my bucket list. For those of you who don’t know, I played Dolly Parton in a 6th-grade play and I was totally in my glory at her park.

We stayed at The Inn at Christmas Place, this place is like being in a giant Hallmark Movie which for some like my husband was a tad bit overwhelming (he grew to love it) but for me was like a dream come true. When I booked the hotel, I worried a bit was this going to be a bit over the top, possibly too much? It was a fleeting thought because really TOO much Christmas – is it possible? No, it is not possible, this place is decorated beautifully it is decked out but not in a way that makes you nervous or want to gag. Its decorated in a way that is totally magical and makes your kids’ eyes bug out of their head in awe.

The hotel goes above and beyond in terms of service, offering milk and cookies every night before bed, free hot breakfast that is delicious, Santa and Mrs. Claus pop in periodically to visit the kids and they even offer nights where Santa puts on a Christmas concert around their breathtaking fireplace. Like, come on what is not more magical than all of this?! If I haven’t sold you yet, the hotel has two great pools that my kids played in until they were prunes and then they slept the entire night.

Pigeon Forge is located minutes from the Smokey Mountain National Park, and I need to return to this park during the Fall. I can only imagine how breathtaking the Fall foliage would be. I have visited a lot of National Parks and this one is at the top of my favorites list. With a little bit of research, I learned that there is a Great Smokey Mountain Railroad, my husband is 32 and can you believe he has never been on a train?! I did not hesitate to book this excursion to check that off of his bucket list and boy did the ride deliver. The kids had a blast and it was just the right amount of time for them on a train. The layover was in a beautiful spot close to Nantahala Gorge where you can have lunch by the water and the kids can climb a ropes course. I have to warn you though don’t be like me and my friends – leave with ample time, we got held up in traffic through the park because you have to go through Smokey Mountain National Park to get to the train depot. We literally made the train with seconds, and when I say seconds I mean seconds to spare.

Tennessee is a great family trip if you’re in the Ontario/Michigan area we broke the trip up in Lexington, KY which made the drive super easy and manageable.

We signed off with Summer this weekend on a girls’ camping trip. Anyone who knows me knows I am not the biggest camper but alas my husband’s family loves it and so do my girls. I suck it up and I actually do have a lot of fun once you drag me there. This trip was planned by my husband’s grandmother who is well into her 70s and has more energy than me and my sister-in-law combined. My girls, my niece, grama and my SIL spent the weekend at a small campground in Wheatley, Ontario called Campers Cove. It has great beach access and is the kind of place where you don’t have to worry about what your kids might get into.

We told the girls creepy stories as they eagerly listened by the fire, we ate a lot of hotdogs and marshmallows and got in our last swim of the season at the beach. There were a lot of firsts for my oldest, she lost her first tooth and learned to ride her bike with the help of her older cousin. The weekend was a hit, the first of many girls camping trips. The secret to camping I find is having great company and between my girls, my niece, SIL and my husband’s adorable grandma we’ve got this covered.

Camping, Pigeon Forge, Ocean City, and Toronto come Mom-Approved from this mama of a 5, 4 and 6-month-old.

Summer was a blast; I am sad to see it end. On to Fall adventures. Thanks for reading my friends.

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50/50

Serious question. How do working moms ever feel like they are giving 100%?

This is something I have grappled with since going back to work after baby number one, but you would think ten years into a career, three babies later, a soul crushing pandemic after – that this feeling of only ever being able to show up as half an individual would go away. But as time ticks on the pressure to make an impact & the crushing weight of time adds increasing pressure to prioritize what matters in both worlds.

Feeling like I’m just getting a passing grade, makes sense essentially I’m working another job while on the job. But when I listen to these ‘successful’ women or moms that fit into these neat little social constructs of what it means to be the perfect mom or a successful working mom – I can’t help but be cynical. I guess what I am trying to say is when career orientated women or family orientated women offer shallow advice like it’s just about prioritization I can’t help but think why the hell do we under simplify financial stability and being a present mom – it’s absolutely soul crushing and is not helpful. Both child rearing and work have such a profound impact on a women’s mental health.

I’m not looking for accolades, or affirmations on how I show up as a mother or in the workplace. I’m looking to level set and to affirm mothers who feel this feeling of 50 and like no matter how hard they prioritize they never quite feel like they are getting it right – I see you. No amount of self help, personal biographies, mommy blogger tips of tricks can eliminate the feeling of only ever being half present – because all of it is important and you are just one person with a million priorities all of which need your attention and I think the thing you need to hear is it’s hard, it’s all important and you are just one person and no one has a great solution.

I just want to give you a virtual hug and let you know as confusing this state of being half present is that your not alone and I have no tips and tricks just love and affirmation that what your feeling is real.



Posted on by raisingriblets · 1 Comment

This is 30

Paying Homage

Wow, 30 years old. Starting my birthday right, feeling like it is so fitting to pay homage to the things that made me who I am today and got me to this point in life pretty unscathed.

First, my parents have always been my number one fans. They are beautiful human beings who taught me how to love, respect and be true to myself always. We have always had an open and honest relationship and for that, I am forever grateful.

My family. From my pesky yet adorable younger brother who forever taught me how to deal with the male species – to my supportive and fiercely independent, free-thinking, brave and remarkable grandparents. My team of ‘always there for you’ aunts and uncles. My cousins who were my first friends and our friends who have always been like family.

My hubby. Your steadfast determination and ability to set a goal for yourself and unrelenting determination to get us to that goal I have always admired. You were first and always my best friend and our love has stood up to some unique challenges. Thanks for always having that vision.

My babies (human & canine). You made me mommy and taught me what it means to love, you’re my heart outside of my body. You taught me how to give up control ‘as much as I can’ and let the forces of nature and God’s Plan or whatever you believe in that controls ‘the dices of life,’ take its course.

My faith. You have helped me through always. When I have prayed for an answer or need peace of mind you are there. You are unwavering and while I can be selfish, you never turn your back on me.

My culture. It’s loud and a proud but has always given me a sense of purpose and sense of being a part of a greater community – something I feel is so important in helping a person feel like ‘they belong.’

My home. You have always embraced me with a sense of comfort and protection and have watched over me and my family. From the country, I call home (immigrant family & forever grateful), to the town we live in, to the four walls we call our house.

Thank you. If you know me or you don’t know me, just know that I am a very thankful person.

Cheers to 30!

Posted on by raisingriblets

The House That Built Us

We found you when we were desperate. You came to us at a time that we had so many anxieties. We were young and expecting our first baby and in a fury to find a place to call our home. I have always loved dealing with female realtors (no offense to the male ones, you rock too) but I always find that the mommy realtors understand the term ‘home’ in a whole different way. Our realtor was an angel, she found you so quickly and guided us to you.

When we found you, you were empty, overgrown, painted an imaginable peach colour and quite frankly looked sad. But I saw you, I saw you for what you could be – home.

We didn’t have much money – Sean was just out of the military going back to school, the baby was a new part to the plan. I had just finished my masters with a load of student debt and a part time job.

But things began to fall in to place – the job at the credit union taught me how to balance a budget and live off of spaghetti and love. Family helped us, whether it was financially or by giving us their time.

Overtime our circumstances changed, two amazing jobs – one for myself and one for my hubby fell into our laps and we invested in you.

We made you beautiful, we spent weekends making you the most perfect home. We brought all of our babies’ home to you. You were unwavering. We made amazing meals in your kitchen, laughed in your living room, splashed in your bathtub, and opened presents from Santa in front of your fireplace.

For you I am grateful, I will never forget you, the memories that you have blessed us with I thank you for.