5 on Friday!

 It's Friday Thennnnn, its Saturday, Sunday, WHAT??!  😘

This week was cray, cray!

1. I feel like we had appointments every day this week. 

After quite a few months of Nilah & I boppin' around to appointment, after appointment, after appointment we sort of came to a conclusion/non conclusion about her speech delay... She is not on the Autism Spectrum, no sensory, nothing SPD, and maybe not even ADHD but maybe, ADHD.. basically that's just too soon to tell and probably not related to her speech delay either way.

Basically she's just a gal with a speech delay and a very expressive, emotional, empathetic, big ol' personality!! Sounds kind of familiar... huh.. so weird. 💅👻😘

We have seen so many people and my favourite (who I felt was most helpful) of the bunch was Early Intervention https://www.nsecdis.ca, Laura. 

She was very caring and compassionate, she spent a lot of time getting to know us, was super informative and even though Nilah most likely doesn't qualify for any further assistance, Laura is hoping to continue to advocate for her (and us) so that feels great. 

Nilah seemed to stump Laura just as much as she's stumped us and I feel like you can't help but want to "solve" the puzzle of Nilah! Thats how Laura and I kind of discussed it anyway. 

You see this sweet, smart cookie, teeny tiny (over) 2.5 year old girlie who can communicate SO well through almost zero words. 

It's both puzzling and impressive so you can't help but want to engage with her to see where she will go and if once the words come they just don't stop coming or if they continue to form super, duper slow and steady as they have over the last 2 years. 

Every week we do hear Nilah learn new words, even if they aren't clear, as a family we hear them and we celebrate that. 

This week she said water and bucket out of the blue during swimming lessons and it is so exciting to me whenever she says something she hasn't verbally said before.

She also communicated to me this afternoon by rapidly blinking and pointing to her eyes and then pointing to my eyes, that she wanted me to close my eyes.

Then she held out her hands and pointed to my hands to indicate she wanted me to close my eyes and hold out my hands so she could give me a gift just as Noelle had done a few minutes prior.

She acts out everything in such great detail and we usually know what she wants but it takes great effort from her to act out these scenes and its a game of charades where we get some of her words but not all so we have to keep trying to guess and its just quite taxing. 

My wish is that those words start to tumble out and my sweet little girlie can begin to relax a bit. 

I'll welcome the additional voice into the Clarke sibling wars.. aka the source of my daily headache.. hahaha

2. No Spend May though?!?!??! 

We have spent way too much on groceries this week, we have spent way too much on going out last month so I am all about chilling and grilling at home these next couple of weeks!

We haven't purchased anything for a week now. 

 I even stood in line at our local Tims... I did get my hair done (sorry but that was booked in advance lol) and I was starving afterwards... I went into Superstore to pick up a prescription and I desperately wanted an ice coffee, I found myself standing in queue but I hopped out of it before ordering and I said to myself 

 "Make it at home Bish" 

Say it with me now 👏💪

We are going to the Avril Lavigne concert this month and we're going to Sensea Spa.. 

I KNOW. gahh 

We have been cooped up for so longgggggg.

I feel like Nick and I are eager to live a little, ya know?! 

So I'm looking forward to both those things but I am trying to shop my closet and find something fun to wear to Avril, I have this feeling like I must go all out Sk8er Boi style.. maybe that's the high school emo in me. 

I will try and make some fun reels of me shopping my closet and finding the perfect look, stay tuned. 

3. I'm going to show you my nails.. I do not love my nails, they've always been brittle, they actually split like, peel.. IYKYK.

& I have been getting worse at picking, I can't explain it, I tried explaining on Insta but it sounded nasty so I deleted the stories lololol 

As it turns out this compulsive feeling can be a huge thing amongst us ADHD crew so that actually made me feel better about myself, I am not alone in this awful habit. 😂

One of the things that can help is getting your nails done and on schedule, but something else about having ADHD.. is that I never book appointments on time! 😭

This is 2 weeks grow out after I having a beautiful mani at Embrace Spa. 

The colour is Beckoning Begonia and it is so gorgeous, the perfect pale purple with a tiny bit of shimmer.

I am going to book another mani stat (I know no spend 😅 but that's more about purchasing food and clothes all while having loads of food and clothes at home).

 I did grab some Colour Street from my friend Stephanie and I will link her group here Stephs Clean living Group Click here

The good news is that I haven't been tempted to peel my nails since getting this shellac mani and I would say this is the longest and strongest they have been in a long time! 

Don't judge me because I already know my cuticles are the worst ever and my nail beds suck! 

Just call me Karen 😉

4. TV TV BAY-BEE

We love tv, obsessed, 80's baby, 90's child. 

The Staircase on HBO is good. Definitely worth a watch if you're familiar with the story. 

If you're not familiar, I suggest you start with the documentary on Netflix, its about 4 years old now and this HBO show almost seems like the Netflix doc refilmed with well known actors in place of the real people. 

Colin F is AMAZING at recreating the vibe of Michael Peterson. 

Colin is just an amazing actor, very impressed. 

And I am Toni Collettes biggest fan, she is incredible and if you haven't watched The United States of Tara.. well boy, buckle up and head all the way back to 2009 and start there. 

The Girl from Plainville on HULU is also very well done and worth a watch. 

Watch it just for Elle Fanning. 

She is an unreal actress and seems like she's doing it with so little effort! 

She must have prepared like crazy but seems so casual and looks EXACTLY like Michelle imo.

I have to go watch everything else she's ever done because if its half as good as her acting in this one.. 

I will be a satisfied viewer.

5. 

Trash Monday is starting up in 2 days!! Hopefully... weather pending!

Its been a rainy spring and that's really held me back from Trash diving

but the temp is rising and hopefully I will be out and about searching in peoples garbage for some gems!!

This little stool was from the very start of my Trash Monday series, which started over 2 years ago!!

Been trash hunting for many, many years before that but now it has a name! lol

2 years!!!!

Whoa baby!!!!

I know many of us have been together almost as far back at 8 years now and I just wanted to say 

THANKYOU for hanging out with me and growing with my fam jam!

I have been really struggling to find myself again, putting my family first but also finding time to do some things I enjoy and of course share it with you all 💗

I want you to know how much you mean to me and how much I enjoy this blog world and connecting with everyone.  Thanks so much for being here! 

Have a Great week 💝

Hit Or Miss Monday!

 It's time for Hit or Miss Monday!

A big hit was finding these jeans at Winners for $25!

I looked up the brand and I am more confused than ever because everything on the site is sold out and it seems there is some connection to Kendall and Kylie??

Anywhoo, I know that Winners is hit or miss (hehe) for even finding something that you've seen someone else buy so may the odds be ever in your favour!

I did try on another pair of Jeans from this brand in the same size but they did not fit, so as the old saying goes try before you buy!

$49 for this pink dress, oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no.

Noellie took me shopping and she loved this print! Too bad the fit wasn't a hit. 

Winners/Homesense is my absolute favourite place to pick up porch decor.

The outdoor rugs and pillows are gorgeous.

I did not bring these home with me but it was close!

Nails Inc is one of my absolute favorite nail polish brands!

I always pick it up at Sephora but oh my goodness, now that I know its at Winners, I will never pay full price again.

This Pink and Orange duo was one I wanted SO badly a couple of years ago.

I never forget a beauty product so I even went back for the link to my friend Renees post -

See Renee's swatches, click here

Renee herself is another one of my hits!! She is such a rockstar, she is a working mama, creates amazing blog posts and inspires me with all of her beauty content.

I just got giddy scrolling back in her feed looking for that nail polish pic, so many fun beauty looks and incredible nail art.

These baskets are the stinking cutest thing I've ever seen!!!

So I am kind of lying about the 'miss' but I would love to DIY it.

I have all the materials and I think I could make it, I've been saying that since Valentines Day when I also saw this style of rainbow on a pillow at Walmart but maybe someday soon I will get the time!

I currently have this style DIY rainbow hanging in the girls room, I made it during the OG 2020 lockdown and would love to try my hand at another one. 

Another lie!

I love this table but I do not have it in the budget to bring home with me so I am going to attempt a DIY of something similar to this one too. Stay Tuned :)

This Freaking Mario walkie talkie is picking up someone else talking and I am NOT here for it.

Smuggling this out of the house first chance I get 😂

Epicure Pulled Pork is fantastic and so simple. Set it in the slow cooker and forget it. 

Makes an awesome slider, or sloppy Joe style burger, can be served on its own with veggies and rice, and is even better the next day.

Epicure Queso was not my fav and I gifted these to my friend Sarah.

Picked these sugar cones up from Giant Tiger last week because I had a nostalgic moment but I also sent these along to a friends house since my body can't handle a cone full of sugar like it use to 😂

And that's a wrap!!

Whats something that has been your hit/miss of the week.

Happy Monday!!!

Five on Friday!

 It's Friday Yeahhh.

Well it's Saturday as I just couldn't get myself typing last night after Mattea's loss on Jeopardy! 

She had such an amazing run and all of Canada is so proud. With an extra special shout out from the East Coast and Nova Scotia in particular, we will never forget how she brought us together and inspired so many. So happy for her! Congratulations!

She wrote this really lovely blog, click here to read all about her Jeopardy! adventure

1. Trying to get back into doing fun looks with the girls hair (and mine too! see below)

Noelle has developed her own sense of style and likes to wear her hair down lately so I haven't had as much fun with updos recently and Nilah likes to copy her big sister.. but I have been able to get a few "do's" in and this bubble braid is soooo simple yet so cute!

All you need is elastics and starting at the front continue adding a little more hair to every section. 

Its really not a braid at all but its a nice tidy way to keep their hair back.

2. Nilah and I went for her hearing appointment and it went great! She seems to be right on the mark for everything and she followed all their instructions so well, even when they were a bit advanced. 

She had her ears looked at with some scope things and then we sat in the booth while she listened to instructions on when to put pegs into a peg board, she pointed to photos, etc, etc and everything was perfect. 

The only request is to come back within two years just to keep an eye on some possible damage to some little hair things (look I am no doctor and don't have the wording in front of me Lolol) basically they're a bit imperfect but it could be from her grinding her teeth etc. Which if you look at any photo of Nilah smiling you will see her jaw is always wonky and she's a grinder, but at this age there's not much you can do. 

3. May the 4th be with you! Star Wars Day was this week and I did not get my buns tutorial up before the date but I will try to get it on instagram soon, may as well since I already filmed it! It will just be very early for next year, love being super ahead of the game 😆

4. We said GoodBye to Uncle Jac's house this week. 

He moved near us about 6 years ago & it was very sad to say goodbye, we are going to miss him so much but the market is hot and now is the time to sell if you've been meaning to. 

So onto a new chapter and I hear he's going to visit us even more than before! aka I decided he will. 😂 

5. Giant Tiger had some super cute matching dresses and some Mothers Day T shirts! If you're reading this on May 7th I have some other examples in my stories on Instagram. 

The pricing is good, dresses for kids $15 each and $18 for mine but the T shirts is where its at! Only $5 each or 2 for $8!

Old Navy also has some amazing matching family outfits right now and I am HERE FOR IT. 

Hoping to grab 1 or 2 before our Summer Vacations.

I always try to order a size or 2 up from what the kids are currently wearing because you can squeeze a couple of years out of things if you try to plan the sizes well. 

Thats it for now! Will keep things short and sweet because I have a million things to do! Would love to get back this week with some hits & misses posts, a thrifty Thursday post and my Easter tradition post that I've been wanting to share but who knows what's really going to make it live! 

Proud of myself for publishing 5 on Friday 3 weeks in a row now!😆

If you start a 5OF tag me in it so I can have a read 💗

Happy Weekend!!!!!!

5 on Friday!

 It's Friday yeah, its Saturday, Sunday... 

Monday again already?!?! HOW?!?!? hahaha

Did I not *just* publish last weeks 5onF ??? I haven't even followed up on comments and here I am posting again! I think the only way for me to form this habit again is to make it happen, so here I am sitting on the couch with Nilah while she cuddles into me watching Paw Patrol. 

I first tried to get her to play independently, which is a huge no go for Nilah Baby.

Never have a had a child so addicted to me but also annoyed by me hahah. 

So then I tried Cosmic Kids Yoga in the background to see if she would get into it but no luck, she loves it and if Noelle was here it would be a good distraction but she wants me to do it with her and I just need a sec to push this out then I'll Yoga it up. 

1. This week has been a whirlwind and I could definitely use some Yoga!!

We had a meeting with Early Intervention for Nilah as she's still not talking a whole lot, she's about 6 months to a year delayed in Speech which pretty much means she has a dozen or so actual words but the rest of her communication is acting out scenes like we in a game of charades all day everyday haha

Everyone who comes into contact with her is blown away with how well she communicates without language and it is amazing but its also incredibly taxing on Nick and I so I would love to get her moving forward with whatever services she can get at this time. 

Next week we have a hearing test as she hasn't been tested for hearing since a baby and if she's not properly hearing that could be a huge reason as to why she hasn't developed speech, what if she's hearing muffles?? So that's our first (actually like 1000th bc I've been running around town like crazy setting up all these things then getting bumped to the next person but who's counting?! 😜)  appointment. 

I saw this online and it reminded me of us. hahahaha

2. Noellies Dance Competition last weekend!!! It was an amazing time and she did incredible! This was her first big performance in front of a large audience and I was so impressed by her and all the dancers. 

I drive myself crazy with the kids sports and crazy schedules but I just love seeing them do their thing, having fun, spending time with friends. I am definitely a crying mom and I NEVER would have thought I would be but it's so moving to see them work together, & support each other. When you watch children do something they love it really does make you forget all the pettiness going on in the outside world and it makes me feel so hopeful and excited for the future! They all did wonderful and our entire Dance School did a Star Wars performance with 75 people involved.. it was unbelievable! 😍

We stayed at the Prince George Hotel after that as we had Mooseheads Tickets, whoo whooo. 

We had the tickets for the final home game of the season for quite some time but it was a last minute decision to stay at the hotel and it did not disappoint! Talk about a fun time.

We had planned to take Nilah with us and she had her ticket etc but we ended up sending her home with my parents after the Dance comp because she was exhausted. 

Oh, I should mention we were at the Dance competition from 7am to 2:30 hahah so everyone was tired and I am SHOOK that the older kids were still going with the energy they were going with. 

We went straight from Dance to the hotel to drop stuff off, to the game which was AMAZING. 

The Moose won 5-3 and it was intense the entire game with the final 2 scores making it into the final minutes.. & seconds of the 3rd period. 

Then we came back and swam at the hotel for hours and again 2 more times in the morning! We are water babies and the pool at the Prince George is awesome because it has an attached hot tub.

3. Tippy Tips for crazy lives!

I am a super packer!! LOOOOVE packing and organizing, getting ready for some time away. 

Snacks, snacks, snacks, I try to get some fun or different snacks for the kiddos for different occasions, think Birthday flavoured Gold Fish crackers... ooooh awwwwhhh . 😂

Water, water, I purchased 2 flats of water bottles because I know we will need it. 

I packed each of the kids a special treat bag. My mom gifted them each these little bags with their names on them a couple of years ago and I filled them with some small toys from the thrift store ( you definitely do not have to buy more things but digging through the toys you have and pulling out some items that have fallen off the kids radar for a while is another way to make old feel new again!). 

For Elliott I always pack a book and a deck of cards, I also found an EYE SPY style Diney card game at Walmart for $7 and I thought it would be fun for travel. 

Noelle and Nilah lose their minds for any Dollies and barbies so $2.99 grab bag from Value Village made their entire weekend.

OOOOOH a seam ripper is a AWESOME tool to keep on hand for easy plastic hair elastic removal!

Removing hair elastics between dance sets or removing hair elastics from wet pool hair. 

You have to use the seam ripper hack! I actually put our name label on this one because I can't lose this baby! 😂

4. I grabbed myself a Mani Pedi yesterday!

I had an appointment at a local in home salon but we miscommunicated and it was postponed so I ended up calling around on a whim and got into Embrace Spa which I had not been to in years but was always a favourite of mine and is also where I went to get my Wedding Day Mani Pedi :)

I also applied a Self tanner last night and haven't showered yet so I am quite golden. 

5. I've been using and testing lots of makeup!!

Grabbed this super hyped Elf Camo CC cream and my first impression.. I am not blown away. 

it was ok, definitely that slippery CC cream and will slide all over your face, not cover intense things like breakouts or rosacea (no biggie that's normal for a CC cream) but it was just ok.

I will continue to use and report back! 

I might be the perfect coverage for light makeup summer days but for me it wasn't It Cosmetics CC cream level of goodness. 

Okie doke, that's it for now, will chat soon!

Have a GREAT WEEKEND muah muah 😘

Five On Friday!

 I have been blogging everyday in my brain for months and months now, but it never makes it online! Gah so frustrating to have all the ideas and plans but never have the time and be organized enough to execute. 

Even this petty little blog entry that I am not going to properly edit probably took me 2-3 hours because "working" with the kids around me is impossible, especially with Nilah who is my little sidekick and "talks" to me legit 24.7 :)

I told Nick yesterday if our Nilah-Baby doesn't have ADHD I will be shocked, floored, gob smacked! haha 

She does not speak many words yet but she acts out what she wants to say and she's incredibly aggressive about having you listen to her but the thing is, it never turns off. She needs my attention, needs to "tell" me and show me things or hold my hand or pass me something on even a 5 minute car ride. When the other kids would just look out the window or pull off their socks or whatever kiddos do while in the car and being quiet, Nilah does not have this down time vibe and she is showing me the water and the construction and, and, and, and Lolololl She's a little firecracker. 

Then by the evenings I'm too fried to think, can't see well because astigmatism, words don't string together, plus I have all these big plans of watermarking my photos, promoting them on Pinterest, SEO, blah de blah.. all too overwhelming..  so I just don't do anything, & that seems like the better solution in my ADHD brain lolol

But a few friends of mine from the old Canadian Beauty Bloggers Network do this little round up of 5 on Friday and they drop 5 details from their week etc. It's such a nice way to hear what they have been up to in a quick, digestible way and if I could just get into the habit of it I know I would be thrilled to have all those posts to look back on down the road from now. 

See Renees Blog here See The World in Pink Link

Easier said than done since I've been trying for 3 months to get it together. 

SO here we go today!!!

This will probably be more than 5 since I have so much bubbling out of me right now and its been sooo long!! Miss you bloggy and miss you readers!!

1. Easter!!!!

It was Easter Weekend last week and Nick was working half the weekend so we moved the Bunny and the turkey to an earlier date which worked out wonderfully because it was a beautiful sunny day and we got some gorgeous photos outside and had a fun Easter egg hunt. 

The kids had THEIR BEST EASTER EVER. 

Their words not mine hah

They are at such an amazing age now for fun and games and excitement. 

They honestly have been so good lately and thoughtful towards each other and it was just so nice to be together with simple, easy activities, I didn't feel stressed about anything, whatever I had on hand I used - whether it was for decorating the table scape, our Easter outfits or the Easter egg fillings.

It was so nice and now I am kind of sad its all over!

It's also gotten easier since I've implemented the list system LOL 

On busy or crazy days it takes me about 20 mins to write out a list of everything that has to be done, then Nick and I tackle it, as individuals and scratch off what's done. 

We can both delegate tasks to the kids and no one is constantly asking me what to do next, where XYZ is, etc. 

Its a detailed list so it takes some time to jot it all down but it empties my brain from holding all the 

"to-dos". 

It's also helped to outsource some of the food for holidays. 

I love the tradition of making my Nanny's Stuffing and Butterscotch pies etc but having all the house things and food things and fashion things and game things and, and, and, on my list makes me crazy. 

So we've been splitting up the food, I will do the turkey, stuffing and small sides but my mom will do the potatoes and carrots and turnip and my sister will do dessert, something like that has taken a lot off my plate (literally) and made holidays more enjoyable, less cray cray.  

*I've been wanting to take better care of Noelles curls because she has such gorgeous hair!! I've been doing it and look how pretty! She's so lucky, I want to make sure she takes care of that gift!! I would love to have her curls, I hope she embraces them.

2. Been getting back out into the world and trying to see some local businesses!

The Press Play Cafe is amazing! So much fun for the kids, toys, games and the food is awesome.

Halisi Cafe is also bomb dot com! The food is incredible and fresh to order, would love to see these local businesses thrive.

3. So March was Mend IT March for me and I also wanted to write about all the things I saved, sewed or renewed but I didn't have time haha 

Some simple ideas are just to sew what you need to, glue what you've been meaning to, strip the dirt out of things like these floor steamer pads. 

I didn't have the exact stripping ingredients but I always improvise and I had oxy clean so I soaked them in the tub with the oxy and hot water for hours, stirring and scrubbing. 

Then I rinsed and used some stain removing sticks that I had on hand, I gave them a really good hand scrub and rinsed then I put them in the washing machine and looky look at how much better they are!

I don't want to buy new pads until we buy a new floor steamer so I wanted to give these babies a little love and now I feel like they're actually going to be cleaning again instead of just pushing nasty pads around all over the dirty floor - ick 

4. Nick surprised me with Stars on Ice tickets!!!!!!

I LOVE figure skating, I am obsessed. 

I've been wanting to see Stars on Ice and Disney on Ice for 1000 years so I am so excited and obviously went shopping because I need a new outfit in case I meet Elvis Stojko.

I didn't buy this blue jumpsuit but it is so nice! I love the look but I pee too much for a jump-suit hahaha

5. I took everyone to their Naturopath intolerance appointments and I've had everyones result appointment! So, I've basically lived at the Naturopath the last 3 months hah.

Do you want to know the results...??!?!

Nick, Elliott, Noelle, & Nilah are all THE EXACT SAME. 

They're all intolerant to Potatoes and Sugar. 

And then each with a side of something

Example, Nicks body needs more calcium, Elliott needs magnesium and Noelle needs Potassium. 

I will get more into these results in another blog post because its too much to unpack here but the good news is because they're all the same that makes my life so. much. easier. 

My intolerance came back as Dairy, Soy and Sugar so mine is quite a bit more complicated and honestly I am not surprised as I'm the sickest but knowing I can control what I cook and what I eat is such an easier task than telling a 2, 4 or 7 year old that they can no longer eat XYZ or they have to eat differently than their siblings. 

Its a bit unusual for them all to be the exact same and not have any mix of my intolerances or a different intolerance in there but honestly I am just so happy that we know what's what and that it feels so manageable and that hopefully none of the kiddos will ever feel as sick and awful as I do! Nick has intolerances but as of now it doesn't really affect his day to day so I would love if the kids had that same privilege yayayaya. 

And that's a wrap! 

I'll stop with that list for now but will be back soon with more, so much more to say.

HAHAH

We have a very full weekend so it will be Nice to recap at the end of next week. 

Nick already worked an OT shift yesterday so he's down to less time off and we have to be at a Dance competition for 7am this weekend which will put this night owl family to the test. 

I know the only way I will make it is to have EVERYTHING ready to go the night before, down to the tiniest of details so I have to hop to it!

Have a Great weekend and catch me up with your 5 on FRIDAY!