Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Halloween Treat Bags
Here's my latest creation...100% Cotton Halloween treat bags made by Neat Nat Style. A great alternative to the plastic grab bags sold in stores.
Perfect for:
-little grab bags for those special ghosts and goblins that will visit your house on Halloween
-special treat bags for Halloween party favors
Measures 4" by 4".
Buy 1 for $3.75 or save by buying 4 for $10. Contact me for discounts on bulk orders.
To buy, visit my Etsy page here.
Perfect for:
-little grab bags for those special ghosts and goblins that will visit your house on Halloween
-special treat bags for Halloween party favors
Measures 4" by 4".
Buy 1 for $3.75 or save by buying 4 for $10. Contact me for discounts on bulk orders.
To buy, visit my Etsy page here.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Leftovers
Join the host of Friday Night Leftovers here.
* This pregnancy is going really well and really quickly. HOWEVER...being pregnant when it is +33 out but feels like +38 is no fun at all. It probably wouldn't be an issue if we had an air conditioned house but we don't. Hopefully next summer.
* Samara's friend came over earlier this week. He has a screeching habit. If there is something good/bad/satisfactory/disturbing/funny/scary/sad, he lets out the loudest, highest pitched screech. It's almost enough to make your blood run cold. Guess who picked up on it? Now if Sam stirs in the middle of the night, she screeches (as well as several dozen times a day). It brings you out of a deep sleep faster than anything and then good luck falling back asleep with your heart racing!
* Speaking of sleep...it's been awhile since I've complained about sleep. It used to be all I talked about and then Sam finally "got it". Well...we've had a rough week. There are nighttime wakings that require our repeated assistance for her to get back to sleep. There are evenings where she refuses to go to sleep at all like last night when she screamed herself silly for 2 hours. I'd go in there and calm her down, things would seem fine, I'd tip toe down the stairs and it would start up again. Repeat the process many times over. It was not a good night. At one point I was leaning on the crib crying with her (a definite low point). I guess she's preparing me for the newborn stage again?
* Another sleep bullet...Samara has decided she's done with 2 naps. This saddens me because I loved every moment of those 2 naps. I'd take the morning nap to get my chores done around the house, workout, catch up on banking, etc. The afternoon nap I'd sometimes nap as well or just read, relax and then get supper started. Now with 1, I have less time to get things done around the house but there is a lot of freedom with being able to plan things around only 1 nap.
* On Wednesday, Shawn and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary. We even went out for dinner ALONE for the first time since around January or so.
* This is a really boring post. I'm clearly too tired to be funny/interesting. Congrats if you made it to the end!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Unsupervised Children
I read this post just now and I felt it was important to post the link. There are times I am driving and see children clearly too young (in my opinion) to be playing on their own, out riding their bikes, playing in the street, etc. No apparent supervision whatsoever. Is this right? Is it my responsibility to do something about it before something bad happens? Because I have never done anything about it...I shake my head and swear I will never allow that to happen in my family...I will never leave my children out in the open for someone to take...for something bad to happen. But if I were to do something, would that be overstepping boundaries? Thoughts?
The link I posted shared 2 different experiences where children were left alone. My 2 stories didn't happen to me but were relayed to me and happened within the past month.
1. At the neighborhood splash park, a child about 3 or 4 was found wandering alone in the parking lot, crying. My friend asked her if she needed help finding her mom and she replied yes. She walked the child back over to the splash park (which was at least 100 feet away, behind a building) and it turned out the child belonged to a group of children with 1 adult supervising all of them...a dayhome. When my friend confronted the woman, she replied nastily, "well, what do you expect, how can I watch 7 kids all at once?"
- okay, is that not disgusting? People have trusted this woman with their children. AND are paying her to watch them.
- if she can't handle that many kids, shouldn't she think about cutting back? Or if she can only handle them in a controlled environment (her home), should she not just stay there? Which, by the way, she is over the legal limit for Alberta anyhow...do the parents know this? Do they care? Are they turning a blind eye for a cheaper rate?
- my friend ended up doing nothing. Was that right? What could she have done? What comes to my mind is asking the woman what dayhome she ran and then attempt to get it shut down. Is that even possible if it's not regulated in the first place?
2. Another friend was at the lake. She noticed a commotion in the water and saw a lady running into the water where a child was practically drowning. The child was MAYBE 2. She pulls the kid out of the water and while the kid doesn't need mouth to mouth, he is clearly coughing up water and gasping for air. Then the woman starts yelling, "WHOSE CHILD IS THIS?" Over and over...and gets no responses whatsoever. Her husband joins her and they start racing around the beach trying to find this child's parents. Finally, a woman (who doesn't even stand up or look worried in the slightest) says, "oh, it's probably mine." WOW. I guess the lady who had rescued the child lost it at this point and started yelling at the woman and threatening to call the police. In the end, nothing was done. No one was called because the husband calmed down the lady and said it wasn't their business. Do you agree?
The link I posted shared 2 different experiences where children were left alone. My 2 stories didn't happen to me but were relayed to me and happened within the past month.
1. At the neighborhood splash park, a child about 3 or 4 was found wandering alone in the parking lot, crying. My friend asked her if she needed help finding her mom and she replied yes. She walked the child back over to the splash park (which was at least 100 feet away, behind a building) and it turned out the child belonged to a group of children with 1 adult supervising all of them...a dayhome. When my friend confronted the woman, she replied nastily, "well, what do you expect, how can I watch 7 kids all at once?"
- okay, is that not disgusting? People have trusted this woman with their children. AND are paying her to watch them.
- if she can't handle that many kids, shouldn't she think about cutting back? Or if she can only handle them in a controlled environment (her home), should she not just stay there? Which, by the way, she is over the legal limit for Alberta anyhow...do the parents know this? Do they care? Are they turning a blind eye for a cheaper rate?
- my friend ended up doing nothing. Was that right? What could she have done? What comes to my mind is asking the woman what dayhome she ran and then attempt to get it shut down. Is that even possible if it's not regulated in the first place?
2. Another friend was at the lake. She noticed a commotion in the water and saw a lady running into the water where a child was practically drowning. The child was MAYBE 2. She pulls the kid out of the water and while the kid doesn't need mouth to mouth, he is clearly coughing up water and gasping for air. Then the woman starts yelling, "WHOSE CHILD IS THIS?" Over and over...and gets no responses whatsoever. Her husband joins her and they start racing around the beach trying to find this child's parents. Finally, a woman (who doesn't even stand up or look worried in the slightest) says, "oh, it's probably mine." WOW. I guess the lady who had rescued the child lost it at this point and started yelling at the woman and threatening to call the police. In the end, nothing was done. No one was called because the husband calmed down the lady and said it wasn't their business. Do you agree?
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Another Giveaway!
Not from me this time but from my good friend, Amanda. Check out her giveaway at kabukikreations. She's so talented at pretty much anything crafty. She made this super cute dress for Samara:
You should also check out her Etsy shop here. You won't be disappointed!
You should also check out her Etsy shop here. You won't be disappointed!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Zoo Recap
* The drive to Calgary: Samara is asleep before we even reach Lethbridge city limits. I say nothing to jinx this but turns out it doesn't matter because she wakes up 45 minutes later and stays awake the rest of the drive. BUT...does remarkably well. She doesn't fuss, cry or scream bloody murder like I feared. She does however eat her weight in Cheerios and leaves about the same amount in the back of the truck and in her car seat.
* The zoo is fantastic. We meet up with a girlfriend of mine that I met in our prenatal group and her son. We get there about 2 hours before closing which ends up being good because everyone is leaving for the day so we get to see the animals without crowds of people around. The animals were especially active and Samara really "got it" for the first time so that was super fun. An old German woman comes up to Shawn and Samara and comments how cute Sam is and how she looks like a little German princess. Hmmm...
* We drive by our old house. I wasn't expecting any changes because I stalked it the last time I was in Calgary, about a month ago. But...I was wrong! They replaced the garage door, replaced the front door AND replaced all the upstairs windows. It looks really fantastic. I'm really happy to see the new owners improving the place. These were all things we had on our own to do list and never got the time/money to do it before we left.
* We got out for supper with Shawn's aunt and uncle. Samara knocks over a glass of water on the table and Shawn's lap while I'm in the washroom. She is super squirmy the entire meal, Shawn and I both leave feeling like we've had major workouts. But she ends up being the best behaved kid in the restaurant. Yay!
* Samara sleeps like a champ. She even sleeps in until just after 7 with no wakeups. We hardly even get it this good at home anymore so consider this a true reward. **To prove this fact true, she was up last night from 3am-5am for no apparent reason.
* We meet up with Shawn's friend Jay for breakfast. Samara is super squirmy but ends up actually sitting in the high chair for a good portion of the meal and eating like a normal child. SUCCESS!!
* Samara falls asleep as we leave the city but wakes up when we stop for gas. DARN. She never returns to sleep during the drive. BUT...again, is amazingly good. She plays with every toy I pack, some things that aren't toys and eats more than I've seen her eat. But it works, so who cares?!
* The trip is a total success. Does it make me any less scared to travel on my own? Nope! Because I know I can't be that lucky twice in a row! It was also WAY easier because I had backup. I don't know how single parents manage!
* The zoo is fantastic. We meet up with a girlfriend of mine that I met in our prenatal group and her son. We get there about 2 hours before closing which ends up being good because everyone is leaving for the day so we get to see the animals without crowds of people around. The animals were especially active and Samara really "got it" for the first time so that was super fun. An old German woman comes up to Shawn and Samara and comments how cute Sam is and how she looks like a little German princess. Hmmm...
* We drive by our old house. I wasn't expecting any changes because I stalked it the last time I was in Calgary, about a month ago. But...I was wrong! They replaced the garage door, replaced the front door AND replaced all the upstairs windows. It looks really fantastic. I'm really happy to see the new owners improving the place. These were all things we had on our own to do list and never got the time/money to do it before we left.
* We got out for supper with Shawn's aunt and uncle. Samara knocks over a glass of water on the table and Shawn's lap while I'm in the washroom. She is super squirmy the entire meal, Shawn and I both leave feeling like we've had major workouts. But she ends up being the best behaved kid in the restaurant. Yay!
* Samara sleeps like a champ. She even sleeps in until just after 7 with no wakeups. We hardly even get it this good at home anymore so consider this a true reward. **To prove this fact true, she was up last night from 3am-5am for no apparent reason.
* We meet up with Shawn's friend Jay for breakfast. Samara is super squirmy but ends up actually sitting in the high chair for a good portion of the meal and eating like a normal child. SUCCESS!!
* Samara falls asleep as we leave the city but wakes up when we stop for gas. DARN. She never returns to sleep during the drive. BUT...again, is amazingly good. She plays with every toy I pack, some things that aren't toys and eats more than I've seen her eat. But it works, so who cares?!
* The trip is a total success. Does it make me any less scared to travel on my own? Nope! Because I know I can't be that lucky twice in a row! It was also WAY easier because I had backup. I don't know how single parents manage!
Baby Dream #1
I had my first baby dream last night. There were some positives...the baby basically fell out during one push which I didn't even feel (HAHAHAHA, I guess that's why it's called a dream?!) and it was a boy (I'm not actually hoping for a boy, I'd be happy with either but it was cool to have a boy in my dream). The negatives?? Well, the baby had 6 toes on each foot, one hand had 6 fingers and the other had 7. What in the heck do you think that's supposed to mean?!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Friday
Join the host of Friday Night Leftovers here.
- We're going to the zoo today. Sounds fun and easy, right? Well...it involves a 2.5 hour drive one way. And Samara is notorious for being a bad travel companion. I'm scared but we're going with Shawn so at least with 2 people, it should be manageable. I will blog and post pictures when we get home tomorrow.
- 15 weeks until the baby gets here. Gulp. It sounds really soon. I told myself I wouldn't stress about anything until the end of summer...and that's just about it here!
- I could still use some more opinions on the stroller situation.
- Yes, I finally caved and got the Big Mac I was so desperately craving. It was gross. Not surprising, since I find McDonalds and fast food to be gross. That fixes my craving though. What really surprised me was the cost. I think the last time I had McDonalds was probably 7 years ago? A meal deal (or whatever they call them) at that time cost me $4.27. This time, it cost me $7.13. Ouch! Pardon my rant, but wasn't the whole point of fast food supposed to be that it was fast and cheap? If I were to feed my whole family on McDonalds, it would cost close to $20. For that price, I can get one of those quickie rotisserie chickens, a salad and some buns from the grocery store...feed the family supper AND have leftovers for lunch the next day.
- I had an overreacting mom moment yesterday. On Wednesday evening, it looked like Samara's one eye was kind of red. I kept an eye on it (ha,ha!) to see if it would get worse overnight. It didn't go away and seemed slightly worse on Thursday so with the help of Google, I was convinced she had pink eye. I got her into the doctor right away (okay, that's a big plus for Lethbridge vs. Calgary!) and by right away, I mean with our own family doctor within the hour, and turns out...I'm a crappy google doctor. She doesn't have pink eye. She may have ruptured a small blood vessel in her eye, from crying or scratching her eye and that's what the red is from. I was so convinced she had pink eye and had spread it to me. What is it about seeing a pink eye that makes your own eye start to itch?!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Stroller Advice
Samara and her future brother or sister will be 19 months apart. I'm looking at what I need to get and am stumped on strollers. HELP!!
-do I necessarily need a double stroller? I have a beautiful Beco that could easily carry Samara OR the baby while the other child goes in one of 2 single strollers we already have.
-we'll be getting a Chariot (or a similar knock off) no matter what...so walks outdoors, running and cycling will already be taken care of.
-if you do recommend getting a double stroller, what kind? One where they sit side by side? Or one in the front and one in the back? Or the sit and stand models? Why?
I could really use your 2 cents! Keep in mind that the baby will be born in December. While it's slightly milder where we live, we still have gross winters and won't necessarily be doing a lot of walking until the Spring.
-do I necessarily need a double stroller? I have a beautiful Beco that could easily carry Samara OR the baby while the other child goes in one of 2 single strollers we already have.
-we'll be getting a Chariot (or a similar knock off) no matter what...so walks outdoors, running and cycling will already be taken care of.
-if you do recommend getting a double stroller, what kind? One where they sit side by side? Or one in the front and one in the back? Or the sit and stand models? Why?
I could really use your 2 cents! Keep in mind that the baby will be born in December. While it's slightly milder where we live, we still have gross winters and won't necessarily be doing a lot of walking until the Spring.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Hair be gone!
Samara's bangs were getting super long. I've always taken her in to get them trimmed and it's a hassle...especially since they grow so fast. I've actually lost count how many haircuts she has had in 15 months. So (and you can tell where this is leading, right?!) I decided that it can't be that hard and I will just do it myself. After all, I trim my own bangs from time to time and I've given Shawn 2 reasonably successful haircuts. It's not quite the same thing it turns out. She would not keep still and I thought my scissors were sharp enough but no. Sigh...they look a little "feathered" but not too bad. I'm not sure if I will continue my attempt at home hairdressing or not!
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Mmm...chocolate...
I had to take Samara in last week to get her weight checked. I know she's perfectly fine but we have to go in more often than usual since she used to be in the 90th percentile for weight and slipped. She STILL doesn't weigh 20 pounds...almost though. 19 pounds 9 ounces which puts her in the 10th percentile for weight and 30.25 inches which is the 50th percentile for height. So, when we had a rainy day on Friday, I had a craving for brownies and figured why not fatten Samara up by letting her lick the beaters after I made icing!
I think she liked it.
I think she liked it.
Friday, August 13, 2010
24 weeks
The great news about 24 weeks is the baby is "viable". What does that even mean? Well, if the baby were to be born now, there's a really good chance he/she could survive. That gives a bit of relief but I'm more than okay letting this baby stay inside until he/she's full term!
The baby is now developing tastebuds and if he/she is anything like the rest of the family, he/she already has a sweet tooth!
Here's how I looked last time at 24 weeks (I totally tried on these pants today just to see and I could easily do them up where here they're wide open...can I get a hell yeah for only gaining weight in my belly this time around...so far?!):
And this time (and yep, these are ridiculously lame maternity jeans...I can still wear some of my other pants but these are really comfortable!):
The baby is now developing tastebuds and if he/she is anything like the rest of the family, he/she already has a sweet tooth!
Here's how I looked last time at 24 weeks (I totally tried on these pants today just to see and I could easily do them up where here they're wide open...can I get a hell yeah for only gaining weight in my belly this time around...so far?!):
And this time (and yep, these are ridiculously lame maternity jeans...I can still wear some of my other pants but these are really comfortable!):
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Waterton
Let's see...when was it...the weekend before May Long way back in 2006. We took a weekend trip to Waterton National Park and Shawn proposed to me at Cameron Lake. He had a great plan to have us canoe down to the middle of the lake and with the mountains surrounding us, he would propose. Due to the altitude, it turned out the lake was still frozen, so, he got down on one knee in the snow and proposed. I would've loved to include a before and after picture but the proposal picture is trapped on a computer that crashed and I'm waiting for the pictures to be retrieved from the hard drive. We returned to Waterton for the first time this past weekend...married, with a 15 month old and expecting #2 in just a few months!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
