Happy Halloween Eve Eve Eve!

We started our festivities yesterday with our momstown weekly playgroup! It was a lot of fun to get together with some other mommies and chat while our little ones painted pumpkins (or was supposed to) and ate all kinds of homemade treats!

Here's my two pumpkins  lounging before heading to the party!
Check out Rossi's legs....obviously underestimated how much he's grown in the past while and bought a costume at least one size too small. It was a little shameful but he made a cute race car driver nonetheless :)
BTW, I picked up their "costumes" on a rush trip to the mall one day at Old Navy. I really have a hard time spending $$ on costumes for this age, hopefully next year I can be a little more creative and make something for them....maybe.

 

Gone are the days of apples and bananas in our treat bags. Unfortunately some crazies have made it very difficult for us to hand out healthy treats. Of course when I was a kid, I really didn't appreciate the fruit and would have opted for the trick if that were the supposed treat. However, it's all in the presentation sometimes for these kids. Weelicious (one of my favourite websites) has a great number of recipes featured this week for Halloween. I am hoping to create a couple of these ghoulish creations myself this weekend to tempt Rossi if I can get around to it. I've already made 3 batches of these cookies. Both kid and adult alike have gobbled them up.

Please share any Halloween treats/recipes that you have had success with, I love new and creative ideas for baking for my family!

 

This year we will likely bring Rossi out to a couple of houses in the neighbourhood. Last year, Daddy took him to about 4 houses and he was done after that. He can be shy at times so he was content with just coming back home and rockin the dragon in his own environment. Gosh, he was really just a baby last year...sigh..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



HALLOWEEN TIPS FROM THIS SAHM



•  Attach some piece of reflective gear to your child's costume (especially for those T & T'ing without an escort.
• Respect allergies by offering peanut free options to your guests. Why not also add a diabetic candy or two? It's a real bummer for kids with diabetes this time of year. Most big box stores sell sugar free wrapped candy, check it out!
• If you don't want your kids to devour all the goodies in one sitting, come up with a candy compromise before the treating begins. But remember compromise works both ways - give in a little :)
• Fill your kids belly with a healthy snack/meal prior to the treating and eating. Get them involved in the cooking/baking. I find they are more likely to eat it if they help make it. This MAY help with the sugar gluttony
• If your kids are small enough and you can get a way with it, ration the goodies. Hide or divvy up into your own little treat bags to control the amounts - out of sight, out of mind right? (This is more what I do more for myself :)
• Host a party. Dress up, have some fun, invite friends!
• Above all,  be safe - if there is ever a question of safety - err on the side of caution.

Here's a great guide to Halloween from SavvyMom.ca. It has some really cool alternatives to the ever classic pumpkin sugar cookie, as well as some other great tips - sign up for their newsletter as well and get daily emails. Some I like, some I delete but see for yourself :)

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone!
Talk soon!

Thanks for Daily bread...and patience God :)

As suspected, there is a huge gap from my last post. There really isn't an excuse. I've certainly had a writers block with lack of sleep and have sat here many nights just staring, then gave up -  "I got nothin" and went back to surfing the net or more likely chores.

Keeva is still not sleeping well, in fact gotten a little worse this week. She's up at night every 2 hours or less. Sometimes I feed her, other times my wonderful hubs steps in to help get her back to sleep. This little smarty gets angry with the food supplier when I don't give in and feed her every time. And without getting into a huge debate or voicing opinions, nursing is not as easy as it seems sometimes. There are enormous benefits and for me, it is still the best option but there certainly are times when I wonder if bottle feeding would make things just a little easier. That along with anything else can be debated of course.

When I was a kid, most babies were formula fed. I understand that with time, there has been more information surrounding the benefits of breastfeeding but I've heard horror stories from moms who have either chosen or cannot breastfeed. There is so much pressure that parents often have a guilt associated with feeding their baby!! That's outrageous!! Listen, I am pro nursing but that is my decision. To all you moms out there nursing or formula, we are all providing the best for our baby and are equally blessed to be able to do so. There are many unfortunate families who do not have the health or finances to provide either. Let's lay off the pressure on both sides and count our blessings. Gosh, that sounded a little "preachy", cool! :)

Keeva has never liked the bottle and as much as we have tried with expressed milk, she refuses to drink from one. We decided it was a good idea to at least introduce her to a bottle (to provide some freedom for apnts,etc.) and gave her one every day since birth. She never liked it so finally I gave up and stopped trying. Honestly I am fine with that, I do enjoy that cuddle time with her. At first I was a little frustrated but I know I'm lucky to be able to nurse her so it's cool. It is ironic however. With Rossi, I was never happy leaving him with anyone and missed him terribly if I had to. He was great with taking the bottle. With Keeva (as a second time mom) I'm more willing to take a couple of hours and go out and do some errands but of course she hates it and keeps me close to home or I take her with me, which is fine too. But wouldn't that bottle supplement be nice for that extra dose of caffeine, maybe a glass of wine? LOL. And what about those nursing bras moms? Zero support!! Could I feel any less sexy postpartum?  In perspective, I'm sure I'll miss these days where she is so reliant on me. So goes most challenges we face with our kids right?
Perspective and hindsight are things I say to myself every morning when my day starts without ample sleep. That and a prayer for patience today and everyday when my toddler asks me 1075 times why is....?why that....?...what's that?, where's it? I want to?..... and for my littlest bear when she's obviously exhausted and sleeps her common 20 min nap (although not to jinx myself, getting much better with the daytime sleeping).  All in all though my kids are the joy of my life, I'm blessed to have them both and thankful that these are only small challenges that we have to face. Rossi is the funniest little man, Keeva is Mrs. personality - always smiling and just melts my heart with every grin.



I ran downstairs to get my camera and look at this! Finally....a moment where I can see that these sib's are just gonna have the best times together!

Review ""Country Soaps by Marlene" continued

Hey All - just wanted to add a few notes to this review.
I went in search of Goat Milk Soaps on recommendation that it was great for babies and those with eczema so I searched (first for CDN suppliers) but then etsy and found several suppliers. Marlene was by the far the one with the best response and most helpful. Just to add to the review, she sells other goodies like scrubs, lotion,lip balms, etc. so I'd recommend checking it out. Keeva's skin feels "squeaky" when I use it in the bath but soft afterwards. A little different feeling than the usual high lather body wash I regularly use on her but definitely better results. Oooh and another important point to remember for mommies is that these soaps typically are not formulated "tear free" so you may have to use another baby safe shampoo for their hair - unless of course you are super careful.


One thing I did miss in the youtube video was her actual web address - she can be found at
http://hyenacart.com/countrysoapsbymarlene

I PM'd Marlene on etsy to combine some of the soaps I saw on her site with those on etsy - she was great about putting together a customized pkg. for me.


Here's a blurb:

About Goat’s Milk ~ Goat’s milk is very high in vitamins, minerals and proteins as well as high in lactic acid which helps exfoliate dead skin cells and soften your skin. We use natural oils such as olive, rice bran, coconut, pumpkin, grapeseed, perilla seed, fractionated coconut, palm, cocoa butter, avocado, lard, sweet almond and shea butter to nourish & moisturize your skin. We scent the soaps with pure essential oils and skin safe fragrance oils. Any coloring is done with skin safe colorings. All our soaps are hand cut, varying slightly in size and shape. It takes approximately 6-8 weeks from the day I make the soap to the time you’re able to use it. Some take 3 months before they can be used.
Our bar soap is Handmade from 100% Fresh Creamy Goats Milk No Added WATER !"

I'm thinking it was the fragrance oils that may have made me itch a little with the Pumpkin soap, who knows? The others didn't have the fragrance. Didn't really bother me enough to discontinue however.
Sounds scrumptious! If you prefer etsy, again  http://www.etsy.com/shop/countrysoapsbymarlen

CraschSAHM's webcam video October 20, 2010, 12:17 PM

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a quick post tonight (if that's possible).  Got an "Autumn Pumpkin loaf" brewing in the bread maker (I know cheater but I love that thing) - Thought I'd wish all you families a Happy long weekend spent together.

I personally have tons to be thankful for, too much for this blog to contain. This has been an eventful year with lots of challenges, all of which we got through and because of them have that much more gratitude.
I'm thankful first of all for health and strength for every day. My Dad experienced some health challenges this year and it really shook me as it did for him I'm sure. I'm soooo blessed with two amazing parents that I absolutely adore! Made me really think, health really is everything. We complain so much about the little things but honestly think of those who's health is compromised in some way, makes the little things disappear. I also had some scary points along my pregnancy with my second little angel Keeva, and minor challenges after she was born and gosh it made me love my kids even more, know what I mean? I am sooooo blessed to have all of these beautiful people surrounding me. A very supportive husband and amazing Daddy as my best friend (of course stunningly gorgeous as well). I'm blessed to be able to spend time with my kids, for food on our table, a place to live, and so much more.....you hear me :) I really am blessed, thank you God!!

I received some homemade goats milk soaps in the mail today from http://www.etsy.com/shop/countrysoapsbymarlen?ref=seller_info.
I just tried one of them on my lil Kiwi tonight but the bath was super rushed cause she was just not into it but I plan to write a full review on the soaps as soon as I try them out. YAY! My first review, maybe I'll even try and post a video on it?? IF I have a good hair day soon and can figure out how to do it, LOL.

Want to quickly mention though that I a few days after ordering these from a shop in the States I got connected to a lovely lady here in Ontario and let me just say that her soaps look delicious! I will definitely sending my requests to her as soon as I can rationalize it! Check her out

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Shelburne-ON/From-The-Blue-House-With-Love/156740807677676

Gotta run for now, check on the loaf (not sure on the success of that one) and hopefully get some cuddles in with my husband, again the most amazing person in the world!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Give thanks, everyday, be blessed!!

Cats......and the experts

Cats....never liked them really. No offense to my friends who adore their little furry friends. I've always been more of a dog lover. I always thought cats were the more snobby of our household pets. One thing I also hate about cats are their naps.......and I especially think children should stay far away from that sleeping habit...........sigh. Our little Kiwi has taken a liking to the feline sleep habit these days. She is now 4 months and has decided that a zillion 20 minut-ers are what she prefers. For the first few couple of months she was a great sleeper! Getting up only once, maybe twice/night, two short morning naps but a 3 hour one in the afternoon. Although definitely more of a "spirited" baby at birth, I was in heaven with all the sleep I was getting and my time in the afternoon for dinner prep, some play with Rossi and maybe even catch a little snap myself. But these days she gets up at night every couple of hours.Throughout the day, she only stays for 30 min max and she's never really rested. Sometimes I look back at the day and think I've spent most of it putting her to sleep.  Rossi (who's just about 2 1/2) wasn't a great sleeper at night until he was 9 months BUT when he got up at night, I'd feed him and he went immediately back to sleep. I think I recall him having 2 hr naps at this age. Now, again different story but I'll save that for another day :) But it really is true isn't it?, EVERY child is different. I was convinced that you could train any child with one method if you were consistent. But now I'm finding that is totally untrue! What worked for my lil Rossi doesn't work for Keeva...so as a second time mom, I'm sorta feeling like I'm starting afresh. And that goes for everything, not just sleeping. In my desperation yesterday I must have googled every method and scenario to come up with one that I was comfortable would work for Keeva. In my sleepy haze I was getting ready to bundle up the kids and head out to the local bookstore to buy a bunch of books from experts on sleep training.....then caught sight of the books that were already sitting on my shelf filled with theories that I already unsuccessfully tested.
I've always been the master researcher. When I was pregnant with Rossi, I counted exactly when it was appropriate to take a pregnancy test, knew exactly at what stage my little baby was growing inside of me and could almost predict his habits by the time he was born. I had researched all the best equipment, clothing, and made list upon list of preparation for our little angel to come home with us. Second time around........much less time on my hands (LOL), but I still do often spend too much time googling what do do with the toddler tantrum and more recently sleep training a cat napper.
But the more I think about it, the more I wonder about potential disservice we as moms do to ourselves and our kids by throwing out the mother instinct for expert opinion and popular marketing. I can only talk personally but I'm finding the more I read, the more stressed and defeat I feel over another "strategy" that has failed. Perhaps my strategies have been flawed with inconsistency over not having the time that some of them take to commit to (BTW, none of these people have more than one child to attend to, LOL) or because I get distracted by too many different methods and never perfect the one. But today, I went with my gut and FOR TODAY it worked. My sweet mommy (God I just adore her) said to me a couple of months back " Sometimes you have to do whats best for that moment". My most experienced mom friends have always said to me, try not to make it a big deal. So what if Rossi now has to sleep on the couch for his naps, so what last night I held Keeva longer than the 2 minute cut off for self soothing? I have a feeling that in a few years I'll look at my little angels and remember just how little those things mattered. All that being said, I definitely believe that kids do thrive on schedule and consistency and healthy and happy babies are ones who sleep well but I'm thinking I just might out down the books for a while and see if I can trust myself a little more with what I feel works for my little angels. After all, who knows them better right??!

Please do share your experiences with me. Am I the only one up at night? Let me know what's going on with you and what has been successful!

We are still getting over colds in the house and unfortunately it didn't bypass me so I'm feeling pretty blah. You mommies know that a sick mommy does not have the luxury of cuddling herself away for the day with cup of hot tea :) Instead I got up and at em and make some snacks with Rossi. My head was a little cloudy so I burnt the first batch (not a fun moment for me). Check this recipe out again from weelicious.com (I heart weelicious:). We all love these little "crackers" and they certainly don't last long in our house.

Carrot Snack Sticks (Makes about 30)

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Carrot, finely shredded and thin (I use a heading packed 1/2 cp to avoid dry dough)
2 Tbsp Canola or Vegetable Oil
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the first four ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Using your hands, add the carrots to the flour mixture coating the carrot pieces with flour.
4. Add the oil and work with your hands to bring the dough together.
(You really have to be patient with working this dough together so that the flour absorbs the oil. If you are concerned that it is not coming together, just add 1 extra tsp of oil to the dough and work it with your hands forming a ball until it comes together.)
5. Form the carrot parmesan dough into a flat rectangular disk and allow to rest for 1-2 minutes then roll out 1/2 inch thick on parchment paper or a dry clean surface. (I used my wood cutting board)
6. Using a knife (I used pizza cutter), cut the dough into sticks, 2 inches long by 1/4 inch wide.
7. Bake on a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet for 15-17 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.
** Recipe can be doubled**
**After step 6, place onto a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Remove and place in a ziploc bag, label and freeze. When ready, follow steps 7-8, adding an additional 2-3 minutes baking time.


Gotta go wake up hubs from his little tuck in nap with the tod, in the meantime I'll go peak at my baby bear :)

FRUGAL EFFORTS

Today I did something I said I'd never do......I dyed my own hair, GASP!!! Part of being a SAHM is living on one income and really changing line of thinking -need vs. WANT. Now, those of you who have known me for awhile, know this is really different for me. I used to be the one sporting the new trends, hair in perfect place and killer heels. Of course those of you who have known me that long probably didn't know that these two pregnancies have awarded me with silvery strands in my once beautiful LONG (that's gone too) brown hair. I've always cringed at the $50-70 payout for colour treating my hair and knew of so many ppl who dye their own so thought I'd give it a try. And why not go herbal? So I picked up the Hemp hair dye yesterday at the health food store. Without over analyzing, I hid myself away during nap time today and started mixing the witches cauldron. These are the thoughts that filled my head:
"WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING? Is this really worth it? Can't this just be the one thing I can splurge on? Oh God, what if it turns out Auburn, oh God, not AUBURN!! People will start calling me Sandi Rinaldo" (Don't get me wrong - so fashionable and talented, but honestly - does she not have a new hair colour every night???)" But I continued on, saying what the hell - I hate my "in between" hair style now anyways, this can't get worse. So long story sorta short...it turned out pretty good. YAAAAAYY! $12.99 vs. $70.00 - another steal and organic too! Healthy right? - That's pretty well what I tell myself every time I spend money lately - healthy so worth it :) LOL
Despite my dramatic episode today, I'm pretty happy giving up a lot of the luxuries for myself these days. I've had to make some purchases to fit this new body of mine, but I'm happy to spend my days (dare I say even outside) without make-up, in lounge pants and nursing-friendly loose fitting shirts. No I hope I haven't let myself completely go but I've definitely cut down on personal expenses.......or tried to....gosh, this week has been bad though hasn't it? I guess the reform is still a work in progress :) All that being said, holy moly - we spent $56 on Rossi's shoes yesterday, what the heck???!!! to be truly fair, I really tried last week - I shopped at all the mall stores but our little elf has the fatest little feet and we can't fit that wide foot to fit into anything less than $35  - do you feel my pain moms? And all that money for maybe 4 months when he grows out of yet another pair of shoes. Dahhh, that pains me. Really.
Today we spent the day together inside. We were all happy to stay in today and let Rossi recover from his cold and hopefully get some housework done (like that ever happens). My wonderful hubs encouraged me to take an extra few zzzzz's with little Kiwi's first morning nap. Before I knew it, it was 10:30 and Frank was in full play mode with both the kids in their rooms. What a great daddy he is and such an amazing husband to tackle the two and let me sleep, love him!!! After I had my late morn coffee, Rossi and I made our weekly baked treats "Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies" courtesy http://weelicious.com/2010/09/23/banana-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/

we substituted the chocolate chips for pecans since I wanted to swap out the sugar for some protein. And get this, NO ADDED SUGAR, NO BUTTER, NO EGGS!!!

These cookies came out wonderfully chewy and so sweet! If you haven't ever checked out weelicious.com, please do! It has the tastiest healthy recipes for kids and often the prep is kid friendly so it's fun to have them dig in with you as well. I find Rossi eats it if he helps prep it. No, they aren't paying me..if they were I'd have gone to the hairdresser today instead of enduring the 40 minute panic:)
Keeva and Daddy played till we were finished and made fresh OJ for the little sicky......hmmm, which gets me thinking....I'm sure Rossi's germs got baked out in the oven right? :)

Keeva is still getting used to camera, hence the frightened eyes, LOL

Overall, a wonderful day in the household. Now, back to getting that kitchen clean before the week starts again...how I really do miss my working buddy throughout the week, 6pm doesn't come fast enough baby, not just because you take over care of the little boss but because all three of us miss you so much when you're not here dancing with us, xo

Workoholic

Try to be quick today cause I'm on duty. Management is giving us a hard time - no hour lunch or coffee breaks, I think I only took two bathroom breaks today (that can't be healthy), one accompanied by a little man. Because I couldn't go buy my lunch I haven't eaten and it's 4:23pm and 5pm is definitely not looking like punch out time. LOL, Welcome to parenthood!!
I always look so forward to weekends, not because I can really take the day off (with having our newbie) but because at least my husband and I are one to one with the little bears and they surely can't overcome us both.....maybe. But today is not as eventful as most weekends cause yet again one of the kids are sick. I'm already finding that a family of four shares everything and colds/flu's are a revolving cycle. I think one of us has been getting over a cold for at least a month now, such a bummer. Our lil tod Rossi woke up from his nap on the couch (YES, on the couch) yesterday with a squeaky voice and today it's progressed to full blown barks, squishy nose and cherry eyeballs. I brought him out to a regular apnt yesterday and he announces to everyone in the waiting room "I don't feel weow today". I think everyone in the room wanted to come over and snuggle up to offer some relief to this obviously bummed out clever boy.
So today's challenge is giving extra cuddles to the little boss and trying provide some relief to his terrible cough. If anyone knows of natural remedies that can be concocted from the household pantry - please let me know. I've tried hot water, honey to coat the throat and really prefer not to go to the puffer route - we hate it as much as he does. So alas no naps for lil Rossi today, gonna make for an interesting evening.....

The word "career" has really changed for me in the past couple of years. For me it often meant trying to keep myself, along with other people organized, staying interested in the financials (never was an expert at that) and of course picking out the best corporate attire to "dress for the job you want, not dress for the job you have". These days though, I'm more career oriented than ever. I said to my husband, when we discussed me staying at home, that I really wanted to make a career out of being a mom. You know, keep up on the latest articles (parenting mag's), bring them to break out sessions (or playgroups), and try to always cook them homemade not processed foods and treats (at most buy the organic "cheaters"). And can I say that this is by far the most challenging job that I've ever had! You hear it from all parents but really...it is hard some days right? And looking back, one was a breeze!! Two has posed new challenges and is really kicking my time management skills right out the door. One great friend of mine (love you B!) said it right when she said "we are tricked into having another baby we have these sweet little people and then we get think another will be fun, we get pregnant and then they turn 2 and it is too late to turn back". I LOVED that. Of course we are both so in love with both of our children and adore every minute with them but they certainly are right about those two's being challenging...yikes!! But honestly, this may be the most challenging "job" ever but it really is the most rewarding. We could be having the craziest day, thinking today just might be the day I turn in and have a breakdown and those big gorgeous (brown in my case) eyes look at you and say "I yove mommy". Ahhhhhh,  now that's pure job satisfaction!!!

Here's a couple of pics from our day, we did venture out a little - Keeva and I went to the health food store (she's so organically conscious, LOL) and Rossi and Daddy to mastermind next door. R was pretty pooped afterwards but Keeva was kicking it tummy time and rollin over with ease!
BTW, some people have been trying to post but couldn't w/o being a blogger member. I think I MAY have fixed that so try again. I'm really still figuring this out and yes I do realize how simplistic this site is...I'll get there. It's on my "scorecard", LOL.

The Adventure.....to remember

There are two people in the world. Those that collect their thoughts daily in handcrafted thick binders filled with beautifully lined coloured paper. They document every thought. They own the prettiest pregnancy diaries filled with memories of their first discoveries of pregnancy (along with every else reaction), first kicks, maybe even their first nausea moment:). Every moment of their child's life is clearly defined by dates, times and feelings. Their likely never to forget a birthday, anniversary or special occasion. Aw, their seen as the most thoughtful people because they just never forget, they're such good moms because they remember exactly every moment and have pictures to prove it........and then....there are people like me, LOL.
I probably have about seven different journals in my house right now. Each one has one or two entries spaced about a year apart. I start with the best intentions. The diaries are gifts or books that I thought were pretty to contain my memoirs. I sit down with a nice java and feel so good about writing. But then I realize how overwhelming it is to fill in the missing spaces with what has happened in my life since the last entry and I find it exhausting most nights to rev up to write. BUT, the entries that I do find are amazing times in my life. The first feelings of finding  true love with my gorgeous husband, seeing my angel children for the first time. The other day I found a journal of when I first moved to Toronto "on my own" and most of you know what that meant in my life. How good it felt, where I was in that space of time. Then it went on to read about how I felt when I first met Frank and how I hoped it wasn't too good to be true. Sooooo, I am at the point in my life where I just can't let these moments be forgotten. I've realized that with a blink of an eye, your newborn is 2 yrs old and then it's time to start thinking about school...what???! And since I have a terrible memory I've decided to start this blog. Every moment is precious, my kids are precious and worthy of so much more than forgotten memories. I'm hoping that everyone who reads this blog will keep me accountable to writing at least once/week about my "SAHM (stay at home mom) adventure.
I'm hoping that this can be a reference for other mommies. I'll include reviews of all kind of stuff - recipes, baby/mommy products, and living frugally (is that a word?!!) BTW, that's another post...living frugal :)
Really my two children inspire me daily and this blog will help me to start thinking creatively as well...whatever that means :)
Sooo join me if you please, remind me to document and enjoy this Adventure of motherhood right along with me.

One last thing, I am so new at this and not really blog savy so you may see this sight change a lot from the initial post......talk soon!