This Is Our Fight Song

I know that breast cancer awareness month is typically October, but this is a post that just can't wait. I recently found out that a friend of mine from high school has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. In school, Jaclyn and I were good friends. We are the same age. I remember her as kind and funny, with a positive and energetic spirit. The Jaclyn I knew was a loyal friend with a warm heart and one heck of a gifted soccer player. But, as happens so often to many, we lost touch after graduation.

Then last week, this video appeared in my Facebook news feed. Jaclyn, brave in front of the rocks that face her, shared her heartbreaking story with the world. She is married and the mama to 2 beautiful little children. She is now in the battle of her life. For her life. Here is her story.





Tough as hell, Jaclyn isn't giving up yet, and she needs our help.

• Please consider supporting one of the Jac Attack teams running this fall. There is one team for Run for the Cure and another at the Zombie Thrill Run. 
• Or sign up to participate in either of these runs yourself. I will be signing up for Run for the Cure in Toronto on October 4th and encourage as many people as I can to join me. I am running for Jaclyn.
• Share her video to help her raise awareness not only for her own fight, but for any other mamas fighting to have just one more day with their families because of cancer.
• Consider becoming a volunteer for the Chemo Angel program. Through this program, you can get connected with someone just like Jaclyn and send a little light and love their way while they are going through chemotherapy. (Just today I received an email that Chemo Angels are actively seeking new volunteers willing to write to patients in the U.S.)
• Go get your annual physical. It doesn't matter if you are 24, 34, or 64. This is no joke. Cancer in young women is particularly aggressive. Call your doctor today if it's been awhile.
• Be kind to one another. I can't even imagine what Jaclyn's days must be like right now, but I can only hope they are filled with kindness, compassion, and love. Three things of which we can always use a little more. Everyone is fighting some battle within. We just don't always know what it is. 

Like a small boat
On the ocean
Sending big waves
Into motion
Like how a single word
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match
But I can make an explosion
Fight Song - Rachel Platten

xo
Jenn

#jacattack

The Time Dawson's Creek Got It Right

Lately the Dawson's Creek theme song has been playing a lot in my head.....Cue Jann Arden..."I don't wanna wait for our lives to be over..."
Not because I miss the Dawson-Pacey-Joey love triangle (For the record, I'll always be Team Pacey), but because I find that Rob and I have been putting more and more things on our To Do list that we'll get to "sometime".
- Finally paint up the patches from electrical work done 5 years ago in the hallway? We'll get to it.
- Deal with the hole in our kitchen ceiling? Ya, we should do something about that.
- Date night? That's a good idea. One of us should text the babysitter.
- Family trip to Niagara Falls? Ya, that would be fun.
- A weekend away? Sure, when Sebastian is older. 

I think it started after I saw this post from Scary Mommy. I love Scary Mommy because they're edgy and controversial and help me not take myself too seriously. But when I saw this photo, I thought, I don't want to wait until Sebastian is 18 years old to feel like I can start living my life.

If this is our forever house, we need to finish up these renovations. At least the ones that just involve painting. If our friends invite us for a night away, we need to go. Date night once a month is not negotiable. A babysitter is not going to magically appear at our door with movie tickets and a dinner reservation. We have to figure it out. This is our life now. It's not going to start when Sebastian is an adult.

We're busy and tired and always worrying about disrupting the routine of our toddler, but I feel we're learning that he's more resilient than we think he is.

When Sebastian laughs or smiles his little three year old smile, it slays me. His whole world is what we choose to show him. What are we waiting for? This is our life. We've worked hard to get here.

There will always be nights at home when the clock strikes 8pm and the Netflix + wine combo is necessary. Parenting is such a battle between trying to get more sleep and having some time to do your own thing. But I want to try more to have that not be our night every night.

There will always be nights on vacation when our children aren't sleeping well in the hotel room. Does that mean we shouldn't travel? I hope not. There is so much to see and do and experience through their eyes. I don't want to wait until he's older. I want to start doing and seeing with him more now.

Faster than I like, Sebastian will be 18. I highly doubt I'll be done "parenting" then, but these moments won't be the same. They say the days are long, but the years are short. So, here's to making the most of the days and years we do have with our little ones.

xo
Jenn

Weekends are for Reading - Best Books for Toddlers

Here's a round up of the books that were read most often when our son was 2-3 years old!

I Spy Little Books
These board books were a fast favourite. I thought he'd get bored looking for the same things over and over, but he super loves these kinds of books. The key at this age is to get the "little" books so he can match the pictures and he doesn't need you to read the words like in the bigger I Spy books.



Hide and Seek Books
He quickly graduated to this line of books. It's the same idea, finding pictures on the pages, but the books is much bigger so it lasts longer. The only downside is that it's not a board book, so we're constantly repairing them. But we own all 4 in the collection, and they are still the most used books in our house to date.



Little Critter Books
I grew up reading these books, so it's fun to read them with Sebastian. They're usually a good length for a toddler attention span.



Marley Books
The author of the book Marley and Me, also wrote a number of children's books starring the famous Marley. Sebastian loves these books and all of the silly things that Marley gets up to.



Rookie Toddler Books
We went through a phase where these books were coming home from the library almost every week. Our son loved them. They are short, quick, easy to play with books that he enjoyed often.



Quiet Books
Because my mom is all crafty, she made Sebastian two beautiful quiet books. One with a variety of little quiet activities and another that was all about colours. They are stunning, and a really wonderful gift idea. I've tracked down a few on Etsy.

Custom Quiet Book from Rose in Bloom Creations

Quiet Color Book from Popeline Co.

What books were read all the time by your 2 year old?

xo

Jenn

Related:
Best Books for Babies
Best Books for 1-2 Year Olds

My Favourite Photos from Our Wedding Day

This is one of my favourite photos ever. That's me in my mom's wedding dress and my sister in our aunt's wedding dress. We were pretty cute right?!

This Saturday will be Rob and I's 6th wedding anniversary. If someone was to ask me for one wedding planning tip I'd say that make sure you have a great photographer. We loved ours, and he really kept us organized on the big day. I always love looking back at our wedding photos.

These two pictures always make me laugh because it looks like my bridesmaids are naked! lol

Looking back at these photos always makes me smile. I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into our wedding day, too!

xo
Jenn