The sweaters are coming out of closets and the leaves are turning crimson. The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. It’s officially fall!

Summer is great because you can enjoy the outdoors all day, every day. But don’t miss out on the fun that’s still to be had. Your family can enjoy every last bit of this fresh, crisp fall weather before you’re officially locked indoors with the bitter snow whipping at your door.

Here are some fun family ideas to enjoy this perfect season:

There are millions of parents who suffer with anxiety and yet still need to perform the job of parenting. Anxiety doesn’t stop us from needing to get the children ready for school, packing nutritious lunches, or driving them to after school sports. We must continue to do this all with the tint of anxiety colouring each activity of the day.

I am thankful for sticky hands that may leave their marks on the walls but still reach for mine when walking down the street.

I am thankful for pouting lips that cry often without provocation but still call for mommy every morning.

I am thankful for flailing arms that may tantrum without reason but still wrap tightly around me to express their affection.

I am thankful for innocent eyes that flash with anger when they don’t get their way but still search for me when faced with uncertainty.

Talking about race can feel uncomfortable.

Talking about race with young children can feel next to impossible.

There is a litany of things that you keep to yourself about parenting. You don’t read about it in parenting books and you definitely don’t share it with your friends who don’t have children.

But other parents? Oh, they totally know.

They know about your not-so-secret secret. You might not talk about it with them but they know, all the same. In fact, they probably have different versions of the same shameful secret.

The secret world of lies. 

There are a lot of things I can do for my children. A lot of things I will do. I lot of things I do, do.

But driving a van is where I draw the line.

I know it’s a ridiculous hang up to have. I know I’m making a huge mistake.

I really do know how practical they are. I honestly get it. My in-laws have one and every time I borrow it, I’m astounded by how much easier it is to get from point A to point B.

What do you see when you look in that mirror?

Look a little closer and tell me what you see.

Do you see dark circles and heavy bags from sleepless nights and endlessly long days? Or do you see glowing eyes that sparkle at the very sight of your children? Expressive eyes that have shed tears of exhaustion and joy from the abundance of emotion that comes with raising children. 

As parents, we never want to appear self-indulgent. It can be one of our greatest fears.

But let’s stop and think about this for a minute.

The definition of self-indulgence by Merriam-Webster is:

excessive or unrestrained gratification of one's own appetites, desires, or whims.

Really, what are the odds that, as a parent, you’re ever really self-indulgent? Perhaps child-indulgent or family-indulgent but I doubt many of us are excessively gratifying our own appetites, desires, or whims.

I lost my grandmother very recently. She was the only grandparent I had left, instrumental in my upbringing, and I am devastated.

For those lucky enough to know, we know that a grandparent’s love is unlike any other love. It is magical. 

Just a few weeks ago Canadian YouTube comedian Jasmeet Singh, better known as Jus Reign, was clearing security at a San Francisco airport. As a turban-wearing Sikh, he revealed he is accustomed to ‘random checks’ and didn’t think much of it when he was asked to go to a private room for further screening.

Please keep in mind, he stated that this was after he had already complied with the following:

I can’t be the only one who looks to my phone as an escape. Whether it’s an escape from a toddler tantrum of epic proportions or a preschooler acting out her not-quite-teenage angst, it’s an easy way to temporarily pretend that the situation will resolve itself. Or, at the very least, they’ll become bored of it and move onto something else.

So you’ll have to forgive me if I pick up my phone, log into Pinterest, and mindlessly scroll for a few minutes.

You try living this life.

Parenting isn’t for the weak, that’s for sure.

Living with a food allergy can be difficult, but travelling with a food allergy can seem downright impossible! Parents of children with allergies often have to worry about a multitude of scenarios when travelling, whether it is lack of options, contamination, or - more generally - ignorance of staff.

When our family travelled to Walt Disney World earlier this month, we were worried about the same things. As a family with many dietary restrictions, we were concerned that we’d have a hard time managing it. We were wonderfully wrong!

When you become a mom, there’s one thing you realize very quickly: nothing is for certain. You cannot be sure about anything, because everything becomes dependent on your children and their needs. It takes some getting used to, but eventually you stop fighting the battle and realize that’s just the way life will be for the foreseeable future.

Except... there are always exceptions.

And these exceptions are the 3 Universal Truths of Motherhood, and are what I know for sure:

Do you ever think about what could have been? I find myself doing just that every once and a while.

Especially this time of year.

I had a miscarriage almost four years ago. My child would have turned three this month.

When my oldest daughter rushes back to school, the air becomes a little crisp, and the leaves start to change, my mind begins to wander back to what could have been.

As a minority living in Canada, I have some insight into what it is like to be marginalized in society. I am not an expert on the topic nor am I the best example of it, but I can say I have some understanding of it.

That being said, I’m also a parent and in recent years, one of the most stylish design ideas for children has been the teepee. They are undeniably trendy right now.

The only problem is that some First Nations are seeing them as an example of cultural appropriation and aren’t happy with it.

If you know me, you know I love summer. I really do. I live for these rare few months (weeks) (days) of hot weather.

I know I'm not the only one. Most people love summer. Everyone smiles a bit brighter and laughs a little louder during this time of year. It’s the extra vitamin D, I think.

Summer is the golden child, the eternal favourite who can do no wrong.

But....(yes, there's always a but!)

There are parts of summer that are less than ideal. Downright miserable, in fact. Miserable enough to warrant a rant.

A parent’s job is never done. And yet, I cannot help but try to get everything done. I bet you’re the same way.

Laundry piling up? Let’s get it done. So I (and likely, you) huff and puff to get it done until there’s not one single dirty item of clothing in the house. For exactly 43.8 seconds.

Not even one minute of respite from dirty clothing.

Apparently I’m an idiot and don’t know anything. Want know how I know? My four year-old daughter told me so.

“Mommy, you don’t know ANYTHING!”

It takes a special kind of idiot to be told that you’re lacking intelligence by a four year-old. Want know what kind of idiot?

A parent.

It takes a freaking parent to be the kind of idiot who gets told by a four year-old that they know nothing. Not one single thing. Nil. Nada.

I can get along with almost everyone. I’m pretty easy-going like that.

But.

(There’s always a but, isn’t there?)

But there are certain types of people I just don’t understand.

It doesn’t mean I can’t get along with you. It just means that much like calculus, I just don’t understand you.

You know who I don’t understand? Well, truth be told, lots of people. But I’ll stick to the ten to come to my mind first. So here goes, in no particular order:

It’s confession time.

Do you ever peek at your partner’s phone?

(Slowly raises hand.)

I do.

Yes, I do. I admit to occasionally looking at my husband’s phone.

Usually it’ll be right after he’s looked at it and laughed.

What? I want to know what’s so funny, too.

Unfortunately, I’m sorely disappointed most of the time. His funny is not my funny. His funny is a mix of Ridiculousness and Jackass. Basically, he’s a fourteen year old boy.