maple and scone

Edinburgh is a beautiful city filled with history and enchanting cachets. We fell in love with the city within minutes. This small city is very walking friendly but not very stroller friendly. Being over 3000 years old, it is built in layers with many stairs to connect streets and neighborhoods. Apart from this small challenge, we loved the city and its people. We've traveled many city in America and in Europe and both thought Scott's were by far some of the friendliest people we've encountered. We went to the same restaurant two nights in a row, and already felt like the local regulars. We were greeted with warming smiles and personal chit-chat. People constantly offered help and were warm and welcoming when we needed something. We fell in love with their accent and their personalities. Visiting Edinburgh in autumn was ideal. The architecture, that is a bit Gothic, was enhanced by the fall colors. You don't go to Edinburgh for the food but it wasn't bad eit

Playing outside is one of our favorite activities. We love spending time outside. Little A. imagination is always fueled by the noises he hears, the wind and the trees and plants that surround him. He's always observing, playing and asking questions. He is so involved when he's outside.  When I see him play and discover, I always think of this quote:   “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning,  but for children, play is serious learning.” Being outside is teaching him to be present and grateful. It's teaching valuable life lesson s,  resiliency, but  most importantly, it's teaching him to value and respect nature. When we are outside, there are very few guided play and that's the way it should be. Little A. will play with sticks, plays with pebbles, jump in puddles, climb rocks and tree stumps, and run with all the joy in the world. He is learning to  maneuver in the world . Cautiously but with resilience! Little A

I love taking pictures of my son. I love capturing his funny mimics, his adventures and our daily life. My husband on the other hand, never, and I mean, never thinks to take pictures. We end up with albums of our son alone or with his dad. The odd few pictures of me we end up having are selfies, oddly positioned timed pictures or from the random person that may be with us that day. There is no consistency in pictures of myself with my son. I wish my husband could take a nice picture. However, I think he is genetically and physically unable to do so. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason professional photographers and selfie sticks were invested! Because of the inability of husbands to take nice, creative or even centered photos of us with our kids! Most nice pictures of myself and my son are completely orchestrated! This picture was taken on a ledge with a timer! This beautiful picture is completely staged because I want to remember sleeping and cuddling with my son

Living in a new country is a crazy experience. It's exotic, it's an adventure, but for me, it's been mostly a great humbling experience. Yes, I speak the same language. Yes, our cultures are similar. Yes, we share a Queen.. whatever that means. Yes, we celebrate many similar holidays. However, nothing seems the same to me. I have such a hard time understanding some people. The accent, the pace and the expressions they use are often new to me. In the past, I would of simply pretended to understand and go on with my day. Now, I have to actually understand, because this person may be my family doctor or the police officer trying to warn me. The food is similar but the names often require me to do a quick Google search: Who knew Gammon was a type of pork like ham? Who knew clotted cream would be delicious? Who knew spotted dick was a desert? Well, in most cases.. I find myself simply starting a conversation with someone near me and simply asking what is it? Pe

Coming from the second largest country in the world, a 45 minute flight anywhere doesn't take us very far! Here in Europe, you can fly from the UK all the way to the Netherlands in this time. Once in the Netherlands, little A. got to meet his Omi for the first time and play with his "cousins". Between visits, we explored the country, enjoyed Dutch sweets and great beers. Seeing the sea, the sand dunes, the fields, the windmills was so therapeutic. It felt so good to be around things that are, somewhat, familiar! I love the Netherlands, the people, the food, the scenery, the way of life. We biked, walked, took the bus or the train everywhere. It felt liberating and little A. was in heaven. We came back a week later, energized and ready to welcome the fall. -M.

It was a picturesque trip. We took the  back roads  for hours. Going through small villages, fields, herds of sheep and cows. We stopped and picnicked by a river. By this description, you would think it was perfect. Not so much... We decided to cheap out on our hotel for this road trip...and it showed. We slept in our clothes, left the hotel as soon as we woke up -6:30 am and showered the second we got home. EKK! The last leg of our trip was full of twists and steep hills and poor little A. couldn't handle it from the backseat. He threw up his whole breakfast all over the car and his brand new car-seat. And to top off our first road trip was accidentally extended by over an hour because someone misread directions (ahem.. that would of been me, oups) in pouring rain, in a stinky puky car, a cranky child that wanted out of this disgusting car seat and two snappy adults that desperately wanted to shower. So folks, the pictures were pure perfection, but they don&#