Timi & Leslie Giveway

Diaper bags, the go to accessory when outing with the baby. Have you seen the Timi & Leslie Diaper Bags. Drool. They are fantastic, fabulous and functional. I love them. I recently purchased one, and I am in love. I loved it so much, I grabbed two, one for me and one for a friend who is expecting in July. We both love our diapers. It comes with everything, including a cute little wristlet for mom to stash the purse essentials, debit, credit and starbucks card.

If you haven't checked them out yet, head on over, I'll wait...Ok, now that your back, you must enter the Plush Little Baby Giveway for the newest colour Cocoa Brown Annette Bag. Another drool worthy bag. And if I haven't convinced you, and it's free hasn't convinced you, how about the idea that it is the bag that Celeb mom's like Jessica Alba, Victoria Beckham, Alyssa Milano, Courtney Cox, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman and Faith Hill all carry one.  Alright now, go and entre the Giveway. Because it is FREE, and really who doesn't like free.

10 things about me

Not too long ago the world was a big place, but with the introduction of the World Wide Web, and new social media tools always popping up, the world seems as though it is getting smaller.

Sure you may have a mutual friend with someone across the ocean, a twitter connection with someone backpacking through Europe, but do you really know that blog writer? Over the past two years, I have been following some great blogs. Through the blogs I have learned a lot, but do I really know them. Not really, I don’t know their likes, or hates or what makes them, them.

In an effort to personalize and connect with you, my readers, I wanted to share 10 things about me that make me, me.

1. I love oranges, but I can’t eat them because they give me migraines. Boo.
2. I fell off a road and tipped over a 300-hundred ton truck when I was 18 years old.
3. I can’t get anything accomplished if the area is messy or untidy.
4. I am an only child
5. Sometimes, I wish I had siblings
6. I have no fillings, crowns or any sort of dental measures in my mouth
7. Goal for 2012 is to read 100 books.
8. I bite my nails
9. Pop makes me sneeze and hurt my throat, so I have to put water in it to tame the carbonation, and yes, people make fun of me.
10. I love the mountains, it is one of my favourite places to rest and relax.

There you have it, 10 things about me, which was actually quiet hard to do. Leave me a comment about something that makes you uniquely you.

I am mom, hear me roar

The past week, Twitter and the blogsphere has been blowing up about mom-wars. Here's my response.

Me, the Lil' Cupcake and my mom in Kauai last Christmas


Initiation is nine months, hours of painful labour, teething and sleepless nights. Building a family, raising a child and harbouring fond memories of each delicate moment is the invisible reward in which we seek.

My uniform is simple, a ponytail, comfortable Toms and whatever clean clothes are seen first when I stumble from the bed. My weapon of choice, a classic tote slung over the right shoulder ready with an arsenal of equipment for any climate, season or mishap. I am Mom.

I wear split-up, snot and slobber as a badge of honour. I often have smears, smudges and unidentifiable messes on my clothes. They are my battle wounds that I wear proudly and signify that I am a member of the not-so-secret society of warriors. I am Mom.

There is no special handshake or card; we are identified by the babies on our hips, the small hands in our hands, and the pictures on our phones.

We are gold card carrying member of the Starbucks club, Tim Horton's or Second Cup, which help us stay awake. We drink coffee like a champ and can pee faster than Michael Phelps can swim a lap. I have hearing that can put a dog to shame, and have hugs that can stop crying in midstream. We are Moms.

My little hawaiian princess. Photo by Modern Twist Photography

The future holds many decisions, lessons and rewards. The unknown is scary and exciting. Each milestone reached, each obstacle achieved, and every problem solved brings exhilaration only known by a mom.

With a nod and a smile, we are the same. Some will judge, others will snicker, but respect should be mutual. In the end, we all have a common goal: to raise happy and kind little people. No matter the choices we have each made for our little humans, we have made the best decisions for us.

Respect is mutual. We are the voices for our children, and we are Moms.

Wordless Wednesday

The Zoey dog

Cleaning house, au natural

I do not consider myself a crunchy mom, a granola mom, or a green mom, but I do try to make the best choice for my family that save us money and the planet. I am well aware of the harsh chemicals in cleaners and the impact they have on our air and watershed, not to mention our immune systems, but I am also conscious about how to have a clean, germ free home. I, like the next mom, had always used what my mom used, and what her mom before her used.

Like the old adage goes, a house is only as clean as it smells, and that smell was always bleach and harsh chemicals. The chemical smell always annoyed me and gave me a reason to hate cleaning bathrooms, not to mention the dry, cracked and irritated hands, persistent cough, and watery eyes that resulted after spraying down the shower. All this makes for such an enjoyable experience, right? If only I followed the directions on the bottle, you know the ones that say wear gloves when using cleaner and use only in well-ventilated areas. Right, because all bathrooms are well ventilated with the tiny fans and the windows that rarely open. When DH and I bought our condominium, I decided to switch to the popular brand green line cleaner. You know, the one with the yellow daisy, but with the traditional name still it on. I found the cleaners’ worked well, but they still had the smell, and they still irritated my hands.

When we moved into our new house, while we were expecting, my mom helped me clean the house. She went out, bought the cleaners and left a bottle of bathroom cleaner on the kitchen counter; it fell over and spilled on the counter and floor. It ate away the finish on the laminate counter and the floor. My husband cleaned it up before he went to work and threw the in the sink, it burned the stainless steel sink. The offending cleaner left black marks in my sink, a white spot on my floor, rough patch on my counter, and me wondering what caustic substance is in my household cleaner. Moreover, why am I using it in my house? At that moment, I decided all cleaners with unpronounceable names and chemical ingredients were no longer welcome in my house.

My search was not difficult I came up with many solutions. To narrow down my choices, I ask myself, can I pronounce the ingredients and if ingested, would I be ok? If the answer is yes, it can come in the house. If no, it stays at the store. Even though my cleaning products are generally safe, I keep them up and out of reach of the curious little hands that like to put everything into her mouth. I no longer use window cleaners – I use Norwex cloths. Toilet bowl cleansers or all-purpose cleaners are now replaced with all-purpose vinegar. I started using Method disinfectant for the Lil’ Cupcake’s toys and high chair, and I keep Clean Well hand sanitizer wipes in the diaper bag ready for use when we are out and about. I feel better about my cleaning products and the minimal impact they have on my family and my environment. I no longer have to worry about my hands or choking on fumes, but I still hate cleaning bathrooms, but my house smells fresh, looks clean and if I want to eat a piece of fruit off the floor, because I dropped it again, I don’t have to worry about what chemicals I am eating inadvertently, which is always a good thing when you have a child.  

A case of the Monday's

It’s Monday. That is all I can say about that. It’s Monday and once again, I have a big case of Mom Guilt.

As a full-time working mom, I often commute to work wondering why I do it. Why do I work? It is obvious, to pay the bills, and put food on the table, but other than that, why? I would rather be home playing with the Lil’ Cupcake, baking, painting toes and fingernails, reading stories and having living room dance parties. Now that sounds like much more fun.

According to Statistics Canada, 65 per cent of women in Canada are full-time working moms and another 20 per cent are part-time working moms. I could bet you, that most of the 85 per cent of these moms feel mom guilt at some point during the week. It is difficult to leave your child with people who spend more time in the day with your child.

Most women return to work for necessity, because they enjoy their jobs or for the most part a combination of the two. I am in the latter category, I really enjoy my work and I needed to return to pay the bills. I was excited to return to work, but conflicted because I had to leave my little girl. To realize that I would only get to spend a maximum of two to two and half hours with her every night during the weekday is terrible and the one thing that plagues my thoughts every Monday. These thoughts make me wonder, and search daily, for opportunities that would allow me to work from home part-time in addition to a career that gets me out of the house.

Honestly, I need to work. I enjoy working and I enjoy my career. As much as I love my family, to be the best person I can be, I need to work. I would love to work part-time in my career and part-time in a fun job. I was once asked what my dream job was, and at the time I named it, little did I know that I would achieve that dream job by 27, I’ve been in that dream job for three years, I’ve had a child, the dream has changed.

My dream job now consists of a multitude of things. First off, the organization has to be family friendly that is a requirement. Next, it would allow lots of creativity, writing, editing and creating layouts of documents along with picking suitable graphics. I would provide strategic communications advice for a variety of audiences. I would help build and maintain a brand and enhance an image. Sometimes help plan an event for local people to attend, and create the communications materials to supplement the event. I am organized, efficient and looking for the opportunity that will allow me the freedom to be with my family and still enjoy my work.  

In the end, daycare has been a positive experience for our Lil’ Cupcake, but the mommy guilt is casting a shadow on it all. I would love for her to stay at daycare, but have the flexibility to work three or four days and have a fun part-time job that would allow me to have financial freedom and spend the day with the Lil’ Cupcake. On those days we would play, dance and paint fingernails.

Pintrest Party Inspiration

The founders of pinterest, I praise your ingenuity. Pinterest, if you live under a rock, is a fabulous site that acts like a bookmark of all your favorite pictures on the World Wide Web. In a nutshell, it is awesome.

I have found so many ideas on there, it has become a hobby of mine, pin, pin, pin. I have begun to neglect other things, such as blogging, just to spend time look at pretty pictures and inspirations from pintrest. I've also found a crap load, 516 to be exact, pins of delicious recipes. I can't wait to try them all.

But with all the yummy looking food, Pinterest has also made we want to throw a fun stylized party, for what, I don't care, I just want to throw a party and serve finger foods, decorate my house in fun festive bunting flags, tissue paper pompom things and pretty napkins and table linens. And of course cupcakes, or a dessert bar.

Darn Pinterest for making my eyes twinkle with anticipation of throwing a party.