How is this possible?

How it is possible that we are already looking at shopping for fall and winter? Summer just started. Madison finishes her first week of camp today, which means 7 weeks left and here I am going through clothes figuring out what she needs for fall!

Yesterday I mentioned Joe Fresh an amazing Canadian company. I used to love their clothes and shopped there alot! Since having the girls I haven't purchased a thing from the store but after being home in Canada a few weeks ago I fell back in love with the brand! The good quality and low price are key with kids!

I have my shopping list ready for a day in the city.

Here are a few things I picked.

Toddler Girls' Print One Piece // Pretty In Black Tee // Sueded Boots
Smile Days // Sequin Pocket Tee // Neon Jeans
Floral Stripped Tee // Sequin Skirt // Skinny Jeans

The sequin skirt and the camo shirt might just have to be her first day of school outfit. It's the perfect mix of girly and tomboy which is Madison!

Happy Thursday!

Hockey, Beaver tails & Poutine .. Oh My!

Happy Birthday to my home country, our neighbour to the north, America's hat---- CANADA!!!

And no.. I did not spell neighbour wrong.. that is the correct english spelling!

In honor of Canada Day today the little ones are rocking some "Canadian Cutie" shirts that my aunt gave them last week while we were in Canada. They are from one of my personal favorite stores - Joe Fresh! It used to be sold in the supermarket back in Canada (weird I know) but now they are huge! They have a gorgeous 2 story floor on 5th ave in the city which I need to make a visit to soon. I have some adorable clothes pick out for the fall for Madison's last year at Preschool!

Check them out..

Half way through June..

Already half way through June! Where has this year gone! 

This weekend was our first official weekend of Summer Vacation! School ended on Wednesday for Madison, and Thursday for me!

It blows my mind that Madison only has 1 more year left of preschool before she ventures off the kindergarten and Beth starts preschool!

Catching you guys up on everything over the past month would take forever, so here is the quick run down.

Beth is now 15 months, weighing in at 18lbs and just barely hanging onto the chart! She has become a very chatty little girl! 

Madison finished the 3's program and is looking forward to her second summer of camp!

Mommy is also looking forward to camp because Madison is going all day, which means lots of mommy and Beth time! Chris has been working hard and enjoying softball.

The girls and I try to make as many of his softball games as we can, Madison loves going because there is a nice park for her to play at.

If this past weekend is any indication of how our summer will be I should stock up on sunscreen, and make lots of room on my camera! We went to the Bronx Zoo friday with 2 of my friends and their sons, Saturday was spent at Community Day and we finished off the weekend on Pop's boat!

We have lots of fun things planned for the girls over the summer including some beach trips, Sesame Place and some awesome outdoor activities in the back yard!

I can't wait to share them with all of you!

xo's

Mother's Day Weekend

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and were spoiled by your spouses and little ones :)

Our weekend was a busy one, as usual! I was at Home Depot at the lovely hour of 6 am on Saturday morning to get the flowers for my mother in law's and the girl's godmother's gifts. I found a cute flower pot on pinterest that had children's foot prints on them as butterflies and I thought it was the cutest thing! We did the foot prints on Wednesday but I waited to plant to flowers. Everyone loved them!

Do you know who goes to Home Depot at 6 am on Saturday morning? Men doing their weekend projects and mom's who take every chance they can to run errands without their children. On the plus side I was home from Home Depot and Stop and Shop and coffee by 730 am and was ready to take on the day!

We spent the afternoon at a local varsity softball game and then headed over to my in-laws for our Mother's Day BBQ. It was a beautiful day filled with family and a special gift for Madison! Mike (Chris' brother) gave Madison her flower girl gift... a Barbie jeep! Madison was so excited and wanted to drive it home! 

Sunday was Mother's Day! Both girls actually slept by 7, which isn't normal in this house. They actually slept til 745! We started the day by heading over the local park for the Mother's Day 5k. I ran the same race last year, it was my first 5k ever so this year my goal was to beat my previous time (38:20) and I was also secretly hoping to place in the top 3 in my age group. 

It was so humid but I gave it my all! I did beat my previous time.. this years time was 33:25! The hills slowed me down but thats ok! I came 5th in my age group.. also fine! I am so happy with my improvement over the past year. I went from never running to running a 1/2 marathon and numerous 5k races! I am already looking forward to next weekend for The Running Goddess 5K!!!

After the race Madison and I headed for mani/pedi's followed by brunch at a local southern restaurant that we have all fallen in love with! 

It was the perfect Mother's Day!  I am so lucky to be a mom to the 2 most amazing little beauties (yes I am biased) in the world. 

... Ooops!

Well it has been over a month since I last posted .. I had been doing so well. Sorry!

Anyways if you have been following my instagram (kimmurray36) you have probably seen we have been so busy over the last month with weddings, baby showers and just life!

I will do my best to catch you guys up on whats going on here but this post might just be a bunch of photos.

In April my brother in law Mike got married!! Madison was Krissy's flower girl and she did an amazing job! The aisle at the church was really long, so we were all a little nervous for her.. but she did it and was super cute :) Chris was the best man, and I must say he killed his speech!

At the end of April we hosted a Baby Q for our good friends Kristin & Lance. We are so excited and can't wait to meet Lucas *hopefully soon*.

We have been so lucky with the weather the past few weeks, besides a few days of rain it has been really nice! We have enjoyed every minute of it! The girls have been playing outside everyday and Beth, who is now walking everywhere, is loving it! She is so interested in all the new outdoor toys.

We made it to the local carnival last week where Madison met up with a few of her friends with school! She had a blast! Last year she was still a little to small for most of the rides but this year she was the right size for all the smaller ones! She even tried the Dragon Coaster... but that ended after one go around because she was screaming so much, the man was nice enough to stop the ride and let her off!  

Oh well.. try again next year!

One of the most exciting parts about the last week was Madison's first dance recital!! She rocked it! If she was nervous she did a great job at hiding it. Sunday morning she woke up and was ready for her "big day".  Her entire group did a wonderful job, no meltdowns = winning!

We are so proud of our little lady and all the hard work she put in to learn her dance!

 Check back soon.. I promise it won't be a month between posts!

Strawberries + Yogurt....

Growing up every year we would sell MacMillans cookie dough and muffin dough to raise money for our school. My favorite was the Strawberry Yogurt Muffin dough.. yes the dough. I liked the muffins but I would sneak spoonfuls of the dough when my mom wasn't looking.

The other day while grocery shopping I came across Strawberry Yogurt muffins in the grocery store, so I picked them up for the girls to try and they LOVED them. It brought me right back to my obsession over them!

I decided to try to make a healthier version then the ones I found in the store. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups of all purpose flour

3/4 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/2 cup of fat free plain yogurt

1/4 cup of butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups of fresh or frozen strawberries coarsely chopped

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients. 

2. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla. 

3. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. 

4. Fold in strawberries.

5. Fill muffin cups coated with cooking spray or lined with paper liners two-thirds full. Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

 Yield: 1 dozen full size or 36 mini

We are huge fans of mini muffins in our house because they are the perfect size for the girls and they are easy to pack in lunches or to grab when we are running out! I prefer the mini muffins to help with my sweet tooth. I get the little bit of sweetness without over indulging.

Safe to say these are a hit with the little ones and with mommy too!

Beth Turns One

Wow!

Almost a month ago this little one that gave me a run for my money in the last few months of pregnancy turned 1!!

The past year went by so fast, she is not walking yet but she has taken a few steps here and there, the most being 3 in a row. She is doing things on her own terms and that is how its been since I was pregnant! We had a scare around 32 weeks that she had stopped growing and after some steroid shots and a little bit of rest the girl shot up 2lbs and made her grand entrance!

We celebrated Madison's first birthday in 2012 with a cake smash photo shoot, here is my favorite shot from that shoot!

So of course I couldn't pass it up this time around! 

I went into the shoot thinking that Elizabeth would love it and would smash the cake to pieces.. boy was I wrong. She hated it! She didn't like the texture of the icing.. but our amazing photographer Francesca from Little Whimsies Photography did an amazing job at calming her down and getting some great shots!! 

I am so happy to be able to share these with you, as you have watched her grow from being "baby Murray #2" with all my pregnancy updates to her own monthly updates and now a happy, determined little girl FULL of personality!

She also looks a lot like her big sister.

So here you go! Enjoy :)

 This gold chain was all that would keep her happy after the touched the cake!

 And finally my personal favorite of all the photos, as mean as that may be.