I Bring My Son In The Women's Bathroom & I don't Care Who I Offend





I can't believe I'm even about to write this post.

To me, this is one of those no brainer parenting decisions. 

When we are out in busy public places, I bring my five year old son into the women's bathroom with me, without a second thought.

I've never even questioned my decision in doing this until yesterday, when a man at the movies not only questioned my parenting choice in the matter, but made it seem as if I was committing some sort of crime. 

As I was walking with my son into the women's bathroom at the movie theatre yesterday, this man  was standing directly outside of it.  Later, I realized he was waiting for his daughter who looked to be about eight or nine.

I smiled at him as I was walking by with my son and he looked at me holding my sons hand and says

"He's a little old, isn't he?" 

I didn't quite fully process what he said to me, so I politely respond

 "Pardon me?" 

He replies

"He's a little old to be going in there with you."

At this point I was thinking to myself "there's no way this man is for real, he must think my son is a lot older than he looks"

I look at the man confused and say

 "He's five."  

 I expected him to respond with an apology and say something along the lines of him thinking my son looking older than he is, as this often happens.

Instead, his response was this:

"Yeah, five is a little old to be bringing him into a women's washroom, don't you think?"

At this point my mind is blown and I'm starting to get angry that this man is implying that I am doing something wrong and making me and my son feel this way.

I respond to him:

"No, I don't think he's too old."

At this point his daughter is walking out of the bathroom and he grabs her arm and starts walking away with her with an appalled look on his face, as if he was taking her away from something evil and he turns back at me and says in an angry tone 

"You really don't care who you offend either, do you?" 

In which I respond

 "No, I don't."

When we finally get into the bathroom my son looks at me and says 

"Why is that man mad at me, Mommy?"

This man made my son feel as if he was in trouble and totally ruined my experience at the movies.
It takes a lot to make me upset, but this had me furious.

How dare a stranger make me feel guilty for trying to keep my child safe?

I'm all for kids being independent, but there's no way I'm letting my vulnerable five year old son, walk into a busy bathroom full of grown men. 

If there's a single stall bathroom that's a totally different story, but a public bathroom with 20 stalls and urinals, no way!

There are too many variables. 

Unlike a women's bathroom where everyone is fully clothed and there are stalls and locked doors, the men's bathroom can be scary for a young boy.

What if there was a predator inside?

What if he couldn't figure out the bathroom lock and got stuck inside a stall?

Of course eventually, a line needs to be drawn.

I won't be bringing my son into the women's bathroom when he hits puberty.

My nine year old goes into the bathroom on her own, but at five years old, you bet my five year old is coming with me into the women's bathroom in busy public places where there are no family bathrooms available and I really don't care who I offend. 


My Child's safety is #1.

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Girls Shared Room - Cost Breakdown




Hope everyone had the most wonderful Christmas.
We had a great time celebrating with family at 3 different celebrations.
Christmas Eve we went to my in-laws where we have a feast of fish, a catholic tradition.
Christmas morning was spent at home followed by an afternoon at my dad and step moms and Boxing Day was spent with my mom and step dad.
It was so great spending time with family. 
We kept gifts minimal and only got the kid a few gifts we knew they would really love.
This way, they actually remember and appreciate what they are given and gives us the opportunity to really focus on what Christmas is, Jesus.
We also teach our children about Saint Nicholas, who was known for being generous. 
Generosity is defined as the quality of being kind and generous.
We let the kids pick gifts for extended family this year and they also had their hand in helping wrap and decorates the the gifts.
Of course, with young children instilling generosity is always a work in progress, but a quality we value in our family.

As promised, today I'm sharing the cost breakdown of the Girls Shared Room reveal.
Like I said in the original reveal post that you can find HERE , we worked on this room for over a year.
Partially because life got in the way, but this also helped budget wise.

We were also very fortunate to partner with Wayfair Canada who gifted us a few pieces to complete this room and local artist, Little Lief Creative who gifted us the Llama prints.








I'm so happy with how this closet transformed to work area turned out. 
The shelves are Bekvam spice racks from Ikea that I spray painted turquoise years ago and reused them for this space. 
You can find them HERE for $6.99
The gold flower bowl is also an Ikea find that we purchased last year for $19.99. 
You can find the bowl HERE.

The desk was a one of a kind clearance find at Home Sense Canada that I found for under $100.
The LED Cloche is a SALE item from Indigo.ca. 
It's still currently on sale for $14.00 down form $35.40 and it makes a perfect night light.
You can shop the sale HERE.
The Llama prints that I mentioned above are from artist Little Lief Creative.
They were gifted to us but they have animal prints starting as little as $9.75.
Visit the shop HERE.

The "Hello Beautiful" light switch frame is from Claires Boutiques.
This was also purchased sometime last year and while I can't remember the exact price, I know it was under $20.

This gorgeous pink chair was gifted to us from Wayfair Canada but you can find it HERE  on sale for $139.99 regular $163.99 for two chairs. They also come in a variety of colours. I have my eye on the green for our dining room. 

The chair is super comfy! 
I use the second chair in my office and it's been a game changer design and comfort wise.



The gorgeous blue and pink wall hanging was another clearance find from Home Sense Canada that I purchased for $15.
I happened to find it a few days before we finished up the room.
In my opinion, it completely makes the space and sets the tone for the room.




The standing mirror is the Knapper Standing Mirror from Ikea.
There are hooks on the back and room to hang up the girls dresses on the back which is perfect for their shared room since we took out the closet to make room for their desk area. 

You can find it HERE for $49.99

The bookshelf is the Flisat dollhouse from Ikea.
It can also be hung on the wall.

You can shop it HERE for $39.99

We created a sort of built-in look for the girls TV using the Ikea Songesand 6 Drawer dresser that you can shop HERE for $299  and the IKEA Kallax 8 cube shelf storage that you can shop HERE for $99. 
The baskets were found at a local store on clearance for $10 each.






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Merry Christmas 2018



I say this every year, but I truly cannot believe it's Christmas Eve.

It seems the older the kids {and I} get, the faster the days and years seem to pass.
Mama's of little ones, it is absolutely true what people say about the days being long but the years being short.
While my kids are still young, we are out of those baby, toddler and even preschool ages.
I have three school aged children and it feels as if I just blinked and we are here.
{excuse me while I go cry and get all emotional haha}
While there are still challenges as the kids get older, they are different than they were in previous years.
I get more sleep, they know how to clean up after themselves and I can head out the front door without packing any sort of bag at all.
There are sibling fights and many boundaries being tested as we creep up to the pre-teen years though.
Our youngest also was diagnosed with ADHD which has been quite emotionally draining. 
Let's just say, I'm no stranger to phone calls home from the principal, and we are constantly trying different strategies with him at home to help his impulse control.
We also found out he is gluten intolerant, which has changed the way we look at food at home.
They are all such wonderful children though and I am so proud to be their mama.
This past year has been a huge year of growth as a family.
Louis and I celebrated TEN years of marriage this past summer, which is absolutely mind blowing! 
It feels like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle.
Everyone told me I was too young to be marrying at nineteen, but when you know, you know.
I don't recommend getting  married so young to everyone, but it's the story that was meant to be written for us, and while we've definitely had our ups and downs, it's what worked for us.
Our marriage, just like any marriage, is far from perfect.
We've had our fair share of fights and we are complete opposites but we both love each other, and at the end of the day that's what matters.
Louis is my best friend and I'm so thankful I was given the opportunity to do life next to such an incredible, selfless man.
2018 was also the year we discovered our love for family road trips. 
You can see our trips to Tulsa, OK HERE & HERE.
Pittsburgh, PA can be found HERE, HERE and HERE
We also got family photos done by the talented Adrionna Marrissa Photography for the first time in a few years.
I'll leave you with those below.
Hope everyone has a Blessed and very Merry Christmas.
Love,
Kelsey





















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Shared Girls Room Reveal with Wayfair Canada




It's finally here, the Shared Girls Room Reveal! 
Back in November, I shared a blog post in partnership with Wayfair Canada of my vision for this room and explained how I had been in the process of making over this room for over a year! 

You can see the full Inspo post HERE.

We've been in this house for 3 years now {time flies!} and I had plans to have this room updated long before now, but life kept getting in the way as it tends to do haha
Now that it's done, the girls are so happy with their shared room and spend majority of their time up there together, which makes me one happy mama! 


This is an official BEFORE photo from the Realtor.ca listing of our home when it was for sale 3 years ago.  
It was painted green and had a huge bunk bed that made the space seem very small but I saw the potential! 
What you can't see from this BEFORE photo is this awful wood shelf that was in the right hand corner of the room that took me 2 hours to remove and patch haha.




Since there needed to be two beds in the room I wanted to make sure we chose a very neutral colour that would make the room feel light and airy and appear bigger as a result.
We used Home Hardware's Beauti-Tone Designer Line in the colour "Milk Moustache"
which my friend Bethany of This Little Estate had used in a project that I had seen and absolutely loved.





The girls wanted their room to feel "girly" so as soon as I saw this pink ruffle bedding at Wayfair Canada I knew this would add the perfect touch of "girliness" { if that's even a word haha} I feel like because we went so neutral with the walls we could get away with bedding that was so pink haha
The beds are Matheny Panel Bed's, also from Wayfair Canada, and were at amazing prize points compared to other similar beds I found.


I picked up this Bohemian Wall hanging from HomeSense Canada as a last minute finishing touch.
It was on clearance and in my opinion, completes the room and adds some fun bohemian flair. 
The mid century modern bed side table was given to me by my grandmother and is a very special piece in this room.




Since our house is so small {1000 sq. ft for five of us} we decided to take out the closet to make a dedicated homework area the girls could use. 
We purchased a standing mirror from Ikea with storage space that the girls could hang their dresses on behind and the rest of their clothes go in a shared dresser.
The desk was another clearance find from HomeSense Canada and the gorgeous pink chair is from WayFair Canada. The legs look like they are wood but they are metal for easy gliding and better durability. I love that it is so aesthetically pleasing and super comfortable.
The book shelves were from a DIY project I did years ago with Ikea Spice Racks and the gorgeous Llama prints are custom made from my favourite local artist Leah Strattsma of Little Lief Creative
I use her for all of my custom art in my home - you can check out her art HERE.


BEFORE 


AFTER


When we first walked through the house I fell in love with this little area in the girls room that they refer to as their "stage". 
It's the perfect area to make their room feel like their own little living space, which is much needed in a house as small as ours with so many people. 
We created this sort of makeshift built in using a dresser and storage cubes from Ikea.
The wicker baskets I found at a store called Solutions on clearance as well.
The house book shelf was purchased originally as a doll house a couple years back from Ikea, and now makes the perfect little book shelf.
The vintage car piggy bank and little wicker doll on top of the dresser also belonged to my grandparents that gave me the mid century modern night stand.
I love that there is a mix of new and old in this room.

Next week on the blog, I'll be sharing a full cost breakdown of the room.


A big thank you to Wayfair Canada, Little Lief Creative for partnering wit me on this room reveal and AMP Studios for capturing the room so beautifully.




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Gift Guide: For Her Under $50



The tree is up and the twinkle lights are hung! 
Christmas music is on 80% of the time in our home and Christmas shopping has begun!

Last week, I shared my Gift Guide for Girls that you can see HERE.
Today I'm sharing a gift guide geared more towards the non kid girls in your life: your sister, mom, aunt, bff, co worker etc! 

I've rounded up 9 Gift Ideas for HER and everything is UNDER $50! 



How beautiful is this dishwasher safe mug? Perfect for the coffee loving girl in your life.
If you happen to be reading this blog post the day I posted it (11/28/2018) it's on sale as part of Macy's Cyber Monday until the end of the day for $11!

For the beauty loving girl in your life, this Infinite Shine nail lacquer is the most gorgeous shade of pink. Part of OPI's lacquer system line that claims to need no touch ups all week long! 
Bonus: It's on sale this week for $12.60

I mean, have you ever met someone who doesn't love the Golden Girls?
This figurine is perfect to make any desk happy.

For the travel loving girl in your life. 
How fun is this dinosaur luggage tag?! 

Protect your phone from scratches and bumps with this gorgeous phone case inspired by Morocco. 
Made by Burga, they also have all your MacBook, iPhone & accessory needs.

This exfoliating brush is a must have for every girl who wants soft skin.
This would be perfect paired with a bath bomb and candle.
Shop it this week to save 50%!

This vegan, gluten & cruelty free lipstick comes in 12 shades.
It is currently on sale for $3 - stock up while you can!

This tee has been on my wish list for a while now, and I may just buy it for myself this Christmas.

I'm a huge fan of Rifle Paper Co. and love that they are bringing back the charm of the little black book in this ever increasing digital world. 
On sale RIGHT NOW for $29.94

Happy Shopping!! 

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Kids Kringle - Kids Give Back




Can you believe we are only a few days away from December?!

The holiday's are fast approaching and while this is a happy time of year for most, for some people it's a time of worry.

Most kids are asking for toys and clothes for Christmas, but there are also many kids right in our local community that are just hoping for a nice meal to eat.

 I believe it is so important to give back any way you can this holiday season. 
There are many families in need of food, so lets teach our children to give back and help our local community.

I'm so excited to announce that I've teamed up with the owner of Glama Gal Barrie and local blogger Adriana of Chaos & Caffeine to host a fun holiday event: Kids Kringle.

Bring your kids to Glama Gal Barrie { 21 Commerce Park Drive Unit #21} on November 30th between 5PM - 8PM for a fun evening of SLIME and Manicures

The cost is $5 & a Non Perishable Food item per station.

As local Barrie mamas with TEN kids between us, our hopes  are to bring our community together and inspire kids to help other kids in need this holiday season. 


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DYNAMITE Black Friday SALE starts TODAY

Dynamite's Black Friday SALE starts TODAY!

Shop Dynamite's Black Friday Sale to get 40% off on ALL orders.

FREE shipping when you spend $25 or more.




BLACK FRIDAY SALE - 40% Off All Orders at Dynamite + FREE SHIPPING on $25+! Offer valid until 11/26 at 7AM EST.





Click HERE to see my November Try On at Dynamite
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Gift Guide For Girls




This past weekend we got all our Christmas decor out of the garage and put up our Christmas tree! 
This means it's time to start rolling out the Gift Guides! 

I am so excited for Christmas this year! 
Okay, I'm excited every year....but the kids are at such great ages! 
They're obviously all old enough to understand what is happening and it's not as chaotic as years in the past.

Today, I'm sharing Gift Ideas For Girls.

I didn't target a specific age group for this post but I'd say these gifts are good for girls ages  3 - 10.
There are various price points as well.

To shop - all you need to do is click on the product image.

Happy Christmas Shopping!

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