Kung Fu Panda

Since the end of the day has arrived, and I have a few minutes on my hands (and my husband is still playing the Wii) I thought I would prepare the kind of post that people tell me they want to read.

The kind of split-your-seams laughing type of story that makes people come back and keep reading/feeling sorry for me.

On Saturday my wonderful husband built some shelving to go inside our garage - we need the organization badly. If you have kids, you know what I mean. The *stuff* is unending. Bikes, hoops, balls, trucks, scooters . . .

In order for him to do anything power tool related, Thing 1 and Thing 2 have to be removed from the premises. Otherwise they want to "help", in their own special ways.

So I decided to make the whole day run smoother by taking the Things (minus the third) to the theater to see Kung Fu Panda. Pete had seen the trailers a few times and was very excited to see it. Being an avid Ninja Turtles fan, he was oozing with excitement to see something martial arts related . . . on the big screen no less.

I checked online to see what time the movie started. Website says 2:00. Fine, we better leave at 1:30. As I'm running out the door with the boys, I realize David is potty training so I head back in to grab TWO fresh pairs of underwear and TWO fresh pairs of shorts. And our travel potty seat. It doesn't fit in my purse, so Paul shoves it in a bag for me. Classy.

We get in the van and start driving. David is asleep before the back wheels have reversed out of the driveway. I immediately know I am in big trouble.

We arrive at the theater around 1:45. Pete says, "mommy, are you going to leave David in the car?". I quickly decide this would be frowned upon, so I pick him up and carry him inside. He does wake up, thankfully, and starts moaning and yelling once we get inside. Nice. I pull my hair in my face to avoid the glares from onlooking movie go-ers. I look up to see a big sign that says BOX OFFICE CLOSED and I realize I have to purchase my tickets from those stupid debit machines. With a 4 year old and a 2 1/2 year old starting to race around the lobby. I use the first machine. I look over to see David hugging another woman's leg, thinking it is me. I look away and pretend he is not related to me.

I select Kung Fu Panda as my movie and an incredibly large warning comes up on the screen declaring "this movie is not suitable for children". WHAT?

Isn't it a children's movie? I see dozens of other young children there so I decide to bite the bullet and go for it. The next screen asks me to choose the time. I frantically try to choose 2:00, but it's not an option. But 2:30 is. That is 45 minutes from the point I am at now. That is a long, long, long time to wait for a movie in toddler time.

I wasn't expecting what happened next. The machine starts glowing angrily and up pop the words "there is a problem with your card" or whatever jargon they use for NO TICKETS FOR YOU, LOSER. I quickly check to make sure my children both have a pulse, and I move ahead to the next line. Ironically, the same issue occurs. I reach a third machine, which also refuses my card, and then another card, and then my credit card. We are really not going to get tickets. I again check for my kids and see them trying to inch into the drivers seat of those little race car game things they always place in the lobbies of movie theaters. You know, to drive mothers crazy and entice their children into becoming Formula One drivers.

David decided he needs to pee. There are no washrooms in the lobby, however, they save those special rooms for those with tickets - yes, bathrooms at the movie theater are restricted. I beg the ticket guy to let us through, tell him we are "potty training" and I show him my potty seat. He lets us in.

Pete and David insist on using the same stall, so the three of us are in there. I get David up on the seat, he starts clapping (we have trained him to do this to celebrate the release of any bodily function into the toilet), but I see nothing has come out. False alarm. Back to the lobby.

I ask the ticket rep how I might be able to purchase tickets, for the movie that is not suitable for my children. He explains I can get tickets at the concession counter. Fabulous. I head over there.

There are now ten people ahead of me in line. The boys start their laps of the lobby once again. People begin staring as I urge Pete and David to just give up their hopes of exploring and just stand quietly next to mommy. While we wait. Forever. For the people ahead of us who can't make up their minds. They eventually open up another cashier and specifically wave us over - fantastic!!! As I move to the new line, I can see David laying on the carpeted floor, eating dried, stepped-on popcorn off the ground. My stomach turns a little bit.

We do manage to get our popcorn (obviously in overrated and overpriced Kung Fu Panda buckets) and drinks and movie tickets. We make our way to theater number five, and David has to go to the potty, again. We rush in with our popcorn in tow and sit on the potty. Nothing. We wash our hands again and go to find our seats.

We managed to get pretty good seats close to the front. I get two boosters and the boys sit happily with their popcorn and drinks for about 20 minutes. Happily, not quietly. I answer 567 questions - 565 of them are "when will the movie start mommy?". I'm slightly exhausted by this point and can only mutter a weak "soon". The previews begin and all is good in the world. There is some loud yelling and excitement during the Pixar's WALL-E preview as Pete tells the entire audience he is going to see that in Nova Scotia with his Nana.

And so the movie begins!!! It's cute and funny, in the first few minutes. I love Jack Black so I can already tell I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the movie. About ten minutes in, David starts to fidget. I tell him to keep eating popcorn and watch the movie. "I have to pee, mommy."

So I drag he and Pete back to the bathroom for a third time, in which the child still does not pee or poop or fart or anything. Back to our seats. By this time he really cannot sit still and gets up to walk around. (The theater is packed, the movie is actually sold out). I grab him a couple times and bring him back to our assigned seats (assigned by me!!). And although I should have seen it coming . . . I really didn't. David starts screaming, a high pitched, shrill type of scream that sort of causes one to be thwarted from his/her seat. Followed by a couple good "I WANT TO GO HOMEs". I felt defeated and really didn't know what to do. Pete was so totally engrossed in the movie he didn't even hear David screaming. I duck down - because I had been standing - and whisper to Pete "we have to leave, honey". He looks at me in disbelief. I can see his thoughts in his eyes - "we just got here, why would we possibly be leaving?". It causes me great pain to have to drag Pete out of there, but I had to do it. Nothing I could do would calm David down at this point. As we get outside I quickly tell Pete we will allow him to come back to see the movie at some other time.

"But it will be over, mommy." I tell him no, they run the movie over and over again several times a day so they will make money. He was pretty good about the whole thing, for which I was truly grateful. If he had melted down to the degree David did, I likely would have crawled in a garbage bin and curled up in the fetal position.

And so there you have it. This was the tale of the day we left Kung Fu Panda after seeing less than 30 minutes of the actual movie. After spending $43.50 on tickets, popcorn, and drinks. As we approached the lobby and started to leave the building, David once again started to disintegrate and began begging to go back into the movie. I took the boys home and learned a valuable lesson that day.

Children are more unpredictable than I will ever grasp.

Note: Yes, the boys have been to live movies before. David (at age 2 1/2) saw Horton Hears a Who and sat in his seat for the entire movie. He used kind words on that day like "thank you" and "I like the movie, mommy".

A Wii late in my Father's Day wishes

With my computer crashing non-stop for the past couple days (due to thunderstorms) I'm a day late with my Father's Day wishes! Lots of love to both my own wonderful father, and the one to whom I am married. You're both outstanding men!

We had a great Father's Day yesterday. The Things' Daddy earned himself a Wii for a hard year's work of challenging parenting. I was hesitant to buy it - and nearly didn't for they are very hard to come by, even now 18+ after its release - because I feared maybe my family would suffer the side effects of video game playing. Too much time spent alone in isolation, too much time spent not interacting with other family members (or any humans), too much inactivity leading to a non-healthy lifestyle. But I was assured by a number of Wii-owning friends that it is indeed a fun activity for the entire family and a good way to spend time *together*, while being somewhat active.

So, heck yeah. It's pretty fun. We haven't done a lot more than boxing and tennis, but it is basically as cool as they say it is. I only purchased two games - Lego Star Wars for Thing 1 and Diego for Thing 2. I was sadly mistaken in my beliefs that Thing 2 would be able to play the Wii, let alone have any interest in it. Pete can definitely play, and he loves it, but gets frustrated because he's still learning how to use the controllers. I'm sure he'll get the hang of it, and I'm sure I will too. In my search of a dozen stores in the Ottawa area to purchase the elusive Wii, I was unable to find myself a Wii Fit, which I also hear is pretty spectacular.

Did I just use the word spectacular to describe a video game?? Hmmm, somewhere pigs have grown wings.

I wanted to toss in the boys' new favourite pastime in the backyard. "Painting" our fence with "paint" . . . it is just water but they'll do it for HOURS!!!

And Thing 3 sporting a new outfit for the ladies who lunch. This sweet little linen number was a baby gift from Aunti Steph . . . dontcha thing the headband just pulls the whole look together??

A crafty mom's crafts are dwindling

It seems like forever since I've updated on any of my projects. Scrapbooking has been put on hold for the time being - too much organization needed for that right now. By the time I organize, plan and do lay-outs, well, I just wouldn't get around to any actual cutting and pasting. Scrapbooking takes longer spurts of time than I'm able to snatch these days. I have a baby book completed for Thing 1 (running from birth to 18 months), and I'm nearly finished Thing 2's. I haven't decided whether I should do a real book for Thing 3, or if I should do a digital scrapbook for her. It seem ironic (or just wrong) that a self-proclaimed "natural" and "environmental" mom is working so hard at a pastime so paper intensive and bad for the environment. So it's very likely I'll be bidding my paper books adieu and foraying into the world of digital scrapping one crafty day in the very near future.

I'm very new to digital scrapbooking and just learning it . . . although I really do love it and can see myself becoming completely engrossed in it when I have more time. What I've been working with is the Creative Memories StoryBook CreatorPlus - it's fairly easy to learn and user friendly. Tricia at "One Stop Shop for All Things Mom" did some great pooling of information and resources on digital scrapping, especially some freebies and sites where you can get great downloadable templates and other elements. Check it out if you're interested, it's well worth it!

I've also not done oodles of stamping and card-making lately. I do try to create all my own cards for birthdays and other holidays though, because I just feel someone who owns such an insane amount of craft supplies really and truly should not be putting any more money into the Hallmark empire. So I trudge down to my craft room (which is half of our laundry room) and piece together whatever creative juices I can to make a card for X person on X day. I used to get pretty motivated when I was taking classes regularly, but since I so rarely leave the house these days, I haven't been able to do that in a while. I'll get back in the saddle yet, you wait and see!!

So, one would assume that I haven't been doing a lot of beading lately either - that's quite true! I was busily putting together mommy bracelets last year, and was even branching out to start making baby bracelets. I had sold quite a few but just basically didn't keep up. They're very cute though and I'd love to make more for anyone interested . . .


One thing I admittedly have had time to work on lately are my baby blankets. I'm no expert knitter, by any means, but I enjoy knitting and find it is something that calms me. Some of my readers know my mom, The Nova Knitter, who is arguably one of the best knitters in the world. (She would never admit that but her crafts are absolutely stunning and beautiful and her skill level is superb.) Well, I'm no Nova Knitter but I really love me some baby blankets. I find them fun to make, and even more fun to give as gifts. I've made at least twenty in the past couple years! I'm currently working on one for one of my best bud's, K, who had her baby H back in April - I swear it's coming and he will have it before he goes to college!!!! I said I could knit, I didn't say I was very fast!


That's about it for my exciting craft update. Tune in next time . . . when I may have more to share.

p.s. Leah did not drink from the jam jar today :-( She was having nothing to do with that baby-bottle-look-alike marmalade jar with a nipple on top of it.

Not in a jam anymore

Like many other health-conscious moms out there, I jumped on the BPA-free wagon over the past year. We got rid of our plastic sippy cups and plastic bottles. We switched the boys drinks to Kleen Kanteens and found they though they were *cool* and really loved them. We only own two, however, which has created problems when pint-sized friends come over looking for a non-spilling drink. But since they're pricier than their plastic cousins, we haven't purchased any more yet ($17 here in Canada).

This week I raised my hopes once again that Leah, indeed, will someday take a bottle and give mommy a few hours break from milk production duty. I read on a message board that supposedly the Avent nipples (which remain BPA-free) fit on top of a Smuckers jam jar!!! I didn't think much about it until this week when I used up my very favourite marmalade in the fridge - yes, it was Smuckers.

You can likely see where this is going . . .

For fun, I grabbed one of the only Avent nipples I had left from the boys' bottles (which I had returned to Zellers for a refund when the Canadian government took a stand against BPA) and screwed it on my empty marmalade jar. Well, colour me EXCITED because that lil' puppy fit right on the jar!!! Thank you Mr. Smuckers!!!! I now have in my possession two BPA-free glass bottles with which to feed Thing 3 some expressed milk. One of the bottles I purchased before I had heard this fabulous news about the jam jars. Clearly it will be months before I earn another bottle, since most of the jam we eat comes from my mother-in-law (far better than Smuckers I'm afraid) and even when I purchase the marmalade, I am the only one in the house who eats it and it takes me a long time to empty an entire jar.


So I'm off to eat my weight in whole wheat toast and marmalade now . . . and to remain hopeful that our little princess will greet the jam jar with the same excitement her mother did.

A full plate and the postpartum body

I have had way more on my plate this week than any one individual should have . . . on one's plate, that is. I feel I am coming to an end of it and this weekend should mark the beginning of summer and a slightly more relaxed lifestyle. (Don't even begin to feel pangs of sympathy for me - I signed up to be a toy tester and thus it was explained to me in advance that I needed to complete lengthy reports and submit them to the manufacturers - I chose to leave that until the night before - am I in university again or something? And it was my very own noggin nodding up and down "yes yes" when the preschool committee asked me to take on the job of vice president next fall - except that that really means NOW because I seemed to have been hauled onto fifty million task forces just this week alone - HELLO, these are THREE and FOUR year olds, what tasks should they have outside of finger painting?????)

So I've only the time/energy/thought process for a couple things this evening.

Is it really necessary to have months of post-partum hormones wreaking havoc on my body? I carried this (wonderful, loving and adorable) baby for nine months, and then I had false labour for three weeks, followed by a very intense and painful (yet amazing and exhilarating) birth. It hurt like heck! Then I nurse round the clock for weeks, managing somehow to keep my household afloat and be a mommy to a 2 1/2 and 4 year old as well. Why, oh, why do I still have acne all over my NON-TEENAGE face now? I have little red bumps all over my forehead that look like a rash, except that they ARE NOT, they are pimples!!!! Make up doesn't cover it up, and frankly I don't usually have time for make up.

And the hair loss . . . I'm clogging sinks around the house. I'm clogging drains I didn't even know I had. It's coming out of my head in clumps, mitt-fuls of it. I would fear I'd be bald soon if I hadn't been through this before and know that it will eventually stop falling out and will someday grow back. In the meantime, I'm arming myself with both a pony tail and a vacuum cleaner to get me through the remainder of this HLE (hair loss episode).

And that giant spider-vein thing on my right thigh? There are no words to express the disgust with which I look at that thing. I hear there is laser removal or something you can do to get rid of it . . . sign me up for that please!!! It is shorts season and mommy really needs to bare her legs again.

Although I can't complain too much about the weight loss aspect, I do have four lingering pounds I'm itching to shake. I'm not thinking the impending ice cream season is going to be helping me further that cause. I set my end goal as September so I still have three months left!!

Have I mentioned Thing 2 is potty trained??? I'll take a gold star for that one!

Brain cells fried - check!

I officially had one of those days that just fries your brain cells. One of those days that I assume people are referring to when they make comments like "oh, you must really have your hands full with three little ones", or "are they ALL yours?", or even, "have you lost your mind?".

I have lost my mind. Thing 1 is in some bizarre four year old alter universe in which he thinks he is king and he runs everything. We are all his servants, we do as he asks (or screams) and all is fine. If we choose to remain level-headed and realistic and do things differently than he has suggested, well then, all hell breaks loose.

And it's loose. He's been uncontrollably hyper for over a week. Running, yelling, not listening. One ridiculous, unending meltdown after another. He would give a competent drama queen a run for her money. To be completely honest, I'd guess he's after her crown. I think it's back to reading "Raising Your Spirited Child" for me. I need to regroup and reclaim my zen place so I can take on Thing 1 head on tomorrow. I assure you Mommy will win round two. I don't give up that easily.

Thing 2 has made spending the past few days with Thing 1 totally bearable. He's really grasping this potty training thing and it has my spirits completely uplifted and,well, soaring. While I commented that I felt he was far more stubborn than Thing 1 (this comment still remains accurate), he is falling into a potty training routine very much like our little friend Pete. After the first three days, he really started to "get it". He starts to whine a bit when he has to go, paces around a bit and then I chime in "do you have to go to the potty, David?", and off we go. Monday he only had two accidents (slightly my fault for nursing Leah when his little bladder was about to burst and not ripping Leah from my nipple fast enough to sprint to the bathroom with David before the little yellow liquid came), and today NONE. That's right, he peed and pooped on the potty ALL DAY TODAY. I'm ecstatic. Sad, really, how times have changed and bodily functions can make or break your entire mood. But if my dear, quirky husband says "UR-INE trouble" one more time, I think I'm going to lose it.

Thing 3 is also a ray of sunshine in my life and keeps me going when Thing 1 and 2 exhaust me. She is so uber-happy all of the time, I can hardly believe I am *this* lucky. But I also for the first time fear the answer to the very question I posed to myself when I got pregnant - can I handle three kids? Leah is so happy all day long, I end up ignoring her at times to discipline Thing 1 or rush Thing 2 to the potty. When I get back? She is *still* happy. Giggling, smiling, laughing, wherever she is and whatever she is doing. She melts my mushy mommy heart. Every minute of every. single. day. Dear daughter, I promise to make it up to you when you are older and we can hang out together and do all sorts of fun mom and daughter things, while the boys go off and play in the dirt and do other male-related activities.

In an effort to raise my spirits this evening, Paul came up with this:

I hope no permanent damage has been done to her little nostrils.

Thing 1 off on his last morning of preschool. I explained the glasses were four sizes too big, but alas, my words of wisdom are meaningless to a four year old.

Ramblings from a potty training mommy

I haven't kept up my resolution to blog every day lately. We've had a couple of interesting days around here and I'm afraid "blogging" got bumped down below "potty training" on my To Do list.

Yes, that's right, after commenting for the past 7 months (since Thing 2 turned two) that he "really is ready to potty train" and "he has a dry diaper in the morning", I was forced to give in. I feared committing to putting him in underwear full time because I am realistic enough to realize I will not be as lucky in potty training David as I was with Pete. He was an anomaly. It seemed too easy, because it was too easy.

Thing 2 is far more stubborn. But the good news is he doesn't want to wear a diaper now, and loves his underwear, so there's really no throwing the towel in at this point. Diapers are behind us. He doesn't *want* to use the potty, however, so we're stuck looking for those telltale signs and then rushing him to the bathroom. He gets very antsy and upset when he has to pee, and I can really tell he needs to go. Which is better than three days ago when he was still just peeing everywhere. So wish me luck, I'm in that "can't really leave the house to go anywhere or do anything" stage. It's super fun. (Yes, that is sarcastic).

Along with potty training in the past three days has come some beautiful, dripping hot weather. What better time to bust out our kiddie pool and brand new swimsuits?

Thing 3 looks all ready to hit the pool or cottage with her closest bffs . . . and a little bling on her suit to show she's all diva.

Thing 2 takes a moment to rehydrate after some heavy duty running around and water fighting.

Thing 1 sports his "surfer dude" look complete with hair to match.

"I'm gorgeous and glowing and I KNOW it."

The boys had more fun than ever just pouring buckets of water over daddy . . . over and over and over and over and over . . .

And cleaned up post-pool party and ready for a few cocktails with her friends!

And I'm off . . . to the potty of course!

Do you hear what I hear?

Because so many asked . . . yes, the barbecue was a success. The mommies (plus one token daddy) came. They laughed, they played, they drank, they ate, they chattered. They basked in the sunshine while my gorgeous,well-behaved cocker spaniel sat quietly in the corner of our yard, looking longingly at the burgers and dogs on the barbie, but showing such self-restraint that he looked almost like a statue. And while Thing 1 and Thing 2 played well with the other children, sharing their toys and playthings, laughing and running around the backyard while smiling the entire time.

O.K., I am partially lying. Everything from "gorgeous, well-behaved cocker . . . " didn't happen. The dog went nuts. He barked incessantly and just about decapitated himself from pulling so hard on his rope to see if he could reach some hot dog scraps. But he did appear cute, and all who came appeared to love him. Pete's preschool buddies were indeed well behaved, they were happy and played well with others. My children? Not so much. Thing 2 (still reeling from having given up his naps at 18 MONTHS OLD) was a basket case and completely tired. He a) fell off the slide and hurt himself, and b) became injured in a sword battle. Who knew preschoolers yielded so many plastic swords? Thing 1 was in tip top condition. Hyper beyond all belief and ear plugs in full force. I mean, what other reason would there be for him to not listen to one single word I spoke to him all afternoon??????

I actually had to google it, I was so upset.

Babycenter.com tells me what to do when my preschooler ignores me. I am to be "clear and realistic" in my directions and in my expectations. Check. "Don't run into the neighbour's yard." Simple, clear, direct, and imperative to safety.

They also suggest you "follow through" on what you say you are going to do. Check. After three warnings, and sending 7 children sprinting through my next door neighbour's garden, I pick Pete up and take him for a time out. He laughs at me.

"Motivate your preschooler" comes next. Try not to say "because I said so". Check. What about "there are bylaws that exist stating you should generally not allow underage children to run rampant throughout the neighbourhood"? Please Paul, fix the fence this weekend!!!

"Use alternatives to no." Check. "Please stay in our yard, Pete."

And last, but not least:
"If your preschooler seems to ignore you more often than he listens, talk to his pediatrician about the problem. The doctor may recommend a hearing test or other developmental evaluations."

OH! Now why didn't I think of that? He's DEAF! Both Thing 1 and Thing 2 are! Time to fix them up with a couple o' hearing aids and we'll be just like new.

Checklist for next year's preschool barbecue . . . burgers, hotdogs, drinks, salad, ice cream sandwiches, sun hats, sunscreen, dog muzzle and HEARING AIDS.

:-)

The Preschool Barbecue

I'm hosting a lunch-time barbecue for Thing 1's preschool class mommies and tots tomorrow. That's right, you read it correctly. I sent a mass e-mail to the entire class (17 students) to invite them to MY home for a barbecue that I would host and at which I would serve food, drinks and snacks of all kinds. Me, the only mother in the entire school whose four year old is the oldest sibling - to TWO younger ones, one of them being a baby! I had become friendly with a few moms over the course of the year and really wanted to hang out with them a bit and see if we could continue our new blossoming friendships over the course of the summer. But I didn't want to leave anyone out or hurt anyone's feelings, so instead of just inviting my friends, I invited the whole group. And then (as if I'd been kicked in the head or lost consciousness for a minute) I suggested they bring along other siblings too.

Admittedly, it isn't going to be as big as I feared. Obviously the whole class can't come, many of the parents work during the day or have other commitments. So I think I can handle the seven or so parents coming, each of them bringing Pete's preschool buddy, and another sibling (yes, two of them are babies and clearly I don't have to cook for them). Another mom suggested a pot-luck lunch so several ladies are bringing some yummies of their own to add to my hotdogs, sausages, chicken burgers and veggie burgers. And I'm selfishly thankful that the egg and dairy allergy children can't make it . . . as I just finished smushing together 22 ice cream sandwiches.

They are *so* easy to make and uber yummsters. Take vanilla ice cream, mix in some chopped peanuts and chocolate chips (the ice cream needs to be slightly soft). Squish the ice cream mixture between two cookies, then re-freeze so they set. Delicious treats for kids of all ages! I'm hoping they're a big hit . . . and I'm demanding that they be eaten outdoors.

Speaking of outdoors, the masterminds at the Weather Network have really been toying with me today. We and our Things live in a small house, so having a large number of people over to my house IN THE RAIN is not my idea of an ideal post-preschool bash. Thursday's forecast has been changing faster than those fast-forwarded previews before a movie . . . one minute it says cloudy with a chance of showers, and within the hour it's changed to just plain rain. Well, the force must be with me tonight because the latest change is now in - an official forecast of 25 degrees (Celsuis) and sunny. How the weather can change from rain to sun is beyond me, but I'm busting out my sunscreen, floppy hat, and cute sandals!

As I'm finishing up my last minute tidying and snack making this evening (and I somehow managed to vacuum and mop floors and mow the lawn this afternoon while Thing 3 snoozed for hours and I conned P&D into thinking mopping and mowing were FUN) I realize that I am a bit nervous about this whole activity tomorrow. I don't know these people tremendously well. Although two of the moms got together when Leah was born in January and gave me the most beautiful and generous baby gift and completely blew me away, reminding me that friendship and caring are sometimes hiding in the places you least expect it. But, I digress. What if these parents don't like me? What if I do something wrong? Or totally offend them? What if I make some grave error in judgment and say something ridiculous because I'm nervous? What if I serve a burger to a vegetarian? What if my dog or children do something crazy that embarrasses me? (If you're a regular reader you know it will likely be the dog . . . eating human poop or something of the sorts again). But I refuse to give in to my insecurities and will take comfort in my belief that if I am nervous, then they are too. They are not coming to judge me, or what I'm wearing, or my home, or my children, or my food . . . they are just coming to get together with a bunch of parents who all have kids who are four years old and just finished their first year of preschool together.

Right?

Enhance this

Only my husband would take a shot of his boys centred around two shelves of liquor. He calls those shiny bottles his "family enhancers" . . .

Thing 2 refuses to believe that his beloved Ottawa Senators are indeed *not* still in the Stanley Cup play offs. You'll notice Thing 1 has just so much hair these days, and I've been putting off getting it cut because he hates it so much (the act of hair cutting, not the hair). Our neighbours have dubbed him the David Cassidy of our time . . . as a matter of fact when his preschool teacher asked him what his middle name was a couple months ago, Pete proudly told her it was "David Cassidy".

From the Mouths of Babes

Things 1: "Mommy, mommy, Leah just said her first word and you missed it."

Me: "Really, Pete, what did Leah say?"

Thing 1: "She said SANTA, mommy."

Me: "She said SANTA, Pete? Really?"

Thing 1: "She really did, mommy, I mean it and then she gave me that look that means she really likes me."

Later the same day . . .

Thing 1: "Mommy, you've got a nipple."

Me: "Um, well, now, yes I do Pete. I have two."

Thing 1: "No, I'm talking about this red one, right here (points to my face, more specifically, my chin)."

Me: "WHAT?"

Thing 1: "You've got a big red nipple, right here on your chin."

Me: "It's a PIMPLE not a NIPPLE, Pete."

Thing 1: "You've got a pimple then, mommy. Don't pick it."

Thing 2: "YOU'VE GOT A PIMPLE MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!."

Seriously, who else would keep me on my toes like this?

Has it been almost three years?

I was reading my Mom's blog and see that she just celebrated her third anniversary as a blogger. How cool is she? A grandmother blogging, and doing a pretty darn good job of it if I do say so myself (as a blood relative, of course!). Big congrats to her!! I ended up starting my blog after reading hers, and thinking it was such a great idea. I've come a long way, way back from my first post . . . when Thing 1 was just literally one and so wee back then. And Thing 2 was cooking in my tummy. Thing 3 was not even a conscious thought. Because we used to think having three kids was just for crazy people. And now we are certifiably insane.

I sat reflecting for a little while on the past three years. I know it's a cliche, but WOWZA has time gone by fast. As I lingered slowly over a glass of wine last night - because I really shouldn't have more than one glass while I am nursing Leah - I was struck with the recognition that I have been pregnant or breastfeeding for most of the past FIVE years. That's a lot of drinking I haven't been doing . . . or for those who choose to see the glass as half full, that's a lot of cocktails to look forward to in the future sometime. Join me in raising a glass of your favourite wine or spirits, to all that I have learned.

In the past three years . . .

I have made some wonderful, amazing and caring friends, many of them online.

I have underestimated my abilities as a mother.

I have been completely proud of my abilities as a mother.

I have loved unconditionally. I have been loved unconditionally.

I felt a terrifying fear during pregnancy and wondered if I could a) handle three kids, and b) love three kids equally.

I have without a doubt loved three children equally and with all of my heart.

I have even still had room in my heart to love the man I call my husband. I have not always been the perfect wife to him and I have sometimes been amazed that he sticks around.

I have learned how much work marriage is, and how every effort put forth is totally worth it.

I have read 947 parenting books. I have countless times, after finishing said books, picked up the phone and dialed my mother to ask her "what she would do" if she were in my shoes. I have even followed her advice, even after I probably muttered "uh, but things are just different now, mom".

I have learned to love myself for who I am, and to embrace my own flaws and imperfections.

I have second-guessed my decision to be home to raise my children while they are small.

I have exploded with joy and pride while watching my three Things blossom into amazing little people.

I have been filled with tremendous anxiety and stress.

I have overcome anxiety and stress and somehow have become a calmer, more grounded person.

I have sought acceptance and approval from others.

And I am still learning that while friends and family are important, it is only my own acceptance and approval which is paramount.

I learned how to make lemonade from lemons, and that thinking positively can change your whole day.

I think I found my purpose in life.

Nothing fits the giant baby

I'm patiently waiting for some hot weather so the giant baby can start wearing cute little baby dresses. She officially doesn't fit in any cute jeans or capris and several of her "spring" weight pants can no longer slide up over her girth. It's a challenge getting her dressed in the morning, and I only had a third baby hoping it would be a girl, so I could dress her in cute things, RIGHT? ;-) And while I am proud (and distraught at the same time) to have a daughter of mine blessed with her mother's *athletic* thighs, YOU try finding something other than leggings to fit this:

(mental note : this is the first photo of her, ever, with no pink on)

So if we could just jump a few degrees to that category we all know as "hot", I could put her in flowy dresses and matching little diaper covers without fearing I was going to freeze her. She'd be comfy, we could change her easier, and all peace would be upon us. No more digging like a madwoman and searching for some top to match the crazy patterned leggings we seem to own.

Since a number of people have asked me this lately, here you are, all three Things at four months old.

Thing 3

Thing 2


Thing 1

Don't diagnose online!

So waddyathink? So far so good on the new design! I knew immediately when I saw this graphic that it was exactly and completely what I was looking for. It's perfect. See Thing 1, 2 and 3 playing at the park? With a mom, a dad, and a dog? Yeah, dude, that's us and the whole silhouette was just screaming "a crafty mom's blog" to me. Although it's remarkably not representative of anything crafty. But, heck, we're flexible around here so I decided to go with it!

We (the *collective* we, meaning Peter, David, Leah and I) packed up and headed downtown to see the doctor about Peter's face. Our regular doctor was not in today, so we saw one of her colleagues. I was impressed, he was on time, pleasant, and good with kids. He was remarkably calm when he walked into the room to see David taking apart a wooden represenatation of a prostate. Hmmmmm. I only have two hands, and well, there were four of us crammed into his tiny office.

He asked me what we were in for. I said "my son Peter has what appears to be a staph infection on his face. I googled it and I believe it might be impetigo".

"You know, it's a very bad idea to seek medical advice online, and even worse to try to diagnose any type of rash on a child. There are so many grey areas in which you could make a mistake."

"Yes, doctor, that's why I am HERE, in your office today. What do you think it is?"

"It's clearly impetigo. If you googled impetigo and looked for a photo, a picture of your son would be there."

"Oh, thank you. So I guess my online diagnosis was correct?"

"Yes. THIS time."

He gave us an antibiotic prescription and off we went. Completely painless :-)

Yo yo yo - I think we've got staph!

I don't like to be one of those know-it-all moms who diagnoses her kids' ailments on the internet. Yet, I am, and I did; and I have a strong hunch I'm right on with this one. Poor little Thing 1 has a staph infection . . . on his face of all places. It started last Friday when he and Thing 2 were warming up for their big break with the WWF (wrestling federation, not wildlife you tree huggers out there!). David kicked Pete in the face and he got a slight little bump above his lip. By the next morning it was red and started to look more like a little cut, almost a blister. Within another 24 hours, 2-3 other little blister areas were popping up right next to it. They were starting to look pretty gross, and were oozing a bit of honey-coloured goo (that is my non-medical terminology, lol). Finally he had a couple more, one near his eye and then, today, one on his chin. A dad from Pete's preschool mentioned he had something that looked similar - and that it was a staph infection and was fairly common.

I raced home and googled "staph infection" and learned that staph is the shortened name for Staphylococcus, a type of bacteria. These bacteria can live harmlessly on many skin surfaces, especially around the face. But when the skin is punctured or broken for any reason, staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause an infection. BINGO! When I scrolled down through the staph infection info, I read about impetigo. It described Pete's symptom's to a T ("an impetigo skin infection begins as a small blister or pimple, and then develops a honey-colored crust. . . impetigo doesn't usually cause pain or fever, although the blisters may itch and can be spread to other parts of the body by scratching") - YES, that's what he has!!! Apparently it often clears up on its own, but since Pete's is not clearing up so well and is in such a difficult area of his face to keep clean and have him not touch, we're popping into to see the doc tomorrow. He now looks pretty gross and I feel bad about other people/kids looking at him funny.

You know, Thing 2 had the exact same thing on his tummy two weeks ago. We thought he had a rash or something weird from his diaper, but it looked exactly like this and took a week or so to disappear. Pete must have contracted it from him.

The impetigo-faced child had his first night of organized soccer this evening! It was so freaking cute to see him running around the field in a real little uniform (yes, we are pathetic "sporty/competitive" parents who stuck their poor four year old in a real soccer club), shin guards and cleats to boot. I can't believe I forgot my camera. You'd think if I could gather and haul enough crap for three kids to a soccer field less than five minutes from my home, that I could remember a camera. There were several of Thing 1's teammates having complete meltdowns and tantrums out on the field, while their worn and ragged parents were trying to coerce them back out with the rest of the players. As Pete ran around the field chasing the ball with the other kids, not needing instruction or urging at all from his parental units, it reminded me (proudly) of just how far that little boy has come in the past year. I mean, as of last September the child had never been away from me and I had concerns he would never go to preschool . . . and here he is playing soccer and graduating preschool next week.

*sniff sniff*

Grasping for straws

I think Leah is teething. This seems to happen progressively earlier with each child. Thing 1 was almost 12 months old when his first pearly white popped through his gums. David appeared to be teething for a couple months before his first made an appearance at around six months. And now poor Leah at barely four months old.

I could be wrong, I've certainly been wrong before. You'd think with two children with most of their teething behind them that I'd have learned something about the cues and symptoms of teething. Nope. Not really. I've become that mother who basically says "oh, he's teething" anytime her child is grumpy or tired. And then maybe four weeks later a tooth will erupt and I'll still wonder if there was any correlation to the "grumpy" day. I'm going to go out on a limb and declare teething as the most difficult challenge I've met in motherhood. Your child is in pain, when they are young they cannot even explain to you what they are feeling. It hurts, and they often end up with a plethora of other unpleasant side effects . . . clear runny nose, runny, messy poops (which may or may not at any point result in a sore bum and diaper rash), low grade fever, difficulty sleeping, general crankiness, etc.

I *think* I can see a little lump beneath the surface of Leah's lower gums. I rubbed it and it does seem to feel lumpish (my new word of the day). She's been pulling her ears for a couple days, hard enough to leave little scratches all over the side of her head. She's been having trouble napping and even waking at night - which she hasn't done in a while. (Don't throw a shoe at your screen, it's just statistical - eventually one gets a child that sleeps through the night early on). She cried a number of times today, another hand I'm not typically dealt in the course of my day. So I'm interested to see if my theory is right and Thing 3 will get her first tooth at four months old, winning the "earliest to get a first tooth" contest and putting her big brothers to shame.

Groan - I bought the Beco

If you've become a regular reader you might have heard, earlier this week, about my obsession with a new baby carrier. I already have two, a baby bjorn and a pouch-style sling (this is not the site I got mine from, a good friend made my pouch sling for me). There are benefits to both styles, and David in particular was a big lover of the pouch sling. I wore him in it for months and months. The bjorn is great too, for perhaps less, err, hefty children. I'm finding the design of the bjorn doesn't lend itself to much comfort while I'm carrying Leah - which can easily be up to two hours on any given day at the park. I have noticed after the past month or two increasing pain in my upper back, shoulders and neck, which I attribute to long days with Leah in the bjorn. It's just not a very ergonomic design. And the sling was amazing when she was younger, but seems too restricting to her lately. The giant baby is so active and needs to kick her legs freely to be most happy.

I happened to be in Westboro yesterday after taking Leah to the doctor, so I popped into Milkface Nursingwear just to check out the Beco carriers. Big. Mistake.

It was love at first sight. As soon as I clipped that soft cotton carrier around my waist and adjusted the ergonomically curved shoulder straps to fit my height, I knew I wouldn't be leaving the store without it. The benefits overwhelmed me . . . and in case you're interested:

* Comfortably fits users under 5’ and over 6’ and everyone in between
* Ergonomically curved shoulder straps
* Built-in infant insert enables baby to sit higher in carrier
* New redesigned body style
* Three section ergonomic waist belt
* Inside panel enables to pass baby front one parent to another
* Easy and safe front and back carry
* Removable hood and storage sleeve on the waist belt
* Newborn to toddler up to 55 lbs (PERFECT b/c I can technically use it for any of my three Things!!)
* Lightweight and Stylish (important to me that it fit in a diaper bag)
* Hands free nursing (bonus!! Can feed anywhere!)

As I walked out of the store $100 poorer, I knew I would have to play up the benefits to Paul when I got it home. The "I really need something more comfortable to carry Leah around the neighbourhood in" wasn't likely going to carry a lot of clout with him. I needed to show him the benefits and long-term value of the Beco, and they needed to be GOOD. I needed to convince him of the potential resale value AND the money we will save by avoiding future gigantic chiropractic bills. But better yet . . . I remembered some of the boys' clothing I had sold to a local consignment shop; I popped over there (it was down the street from Milkface - I mean, is that a sign OR WHAT?) to find out the money in my account was just slightly more than the cost of the Beco. Whoop Whoop. I bought me a new carrier.

Leah LOVES IT. She slept in it this afternoon at the park for two hours. She is comfy and secure, I am comfy and have yet to experience any discomfort, or reach for the Advil bottle. It was meant to be. My only minor complaint would be they didn't carry any funky, stylish colours so I had to opt for plain brown (my other option was skull and crossbones - um, no thanks). I didn't want to order a custom carrier and have to pay shipping.

So here we are earlier tonight in all our glory, ready to take Rudy for his evening walk.



And totally unrelated, here is Thing Three getting better at sitting up. She likes to sit up and look at her toys now, to shake the bejeebers out of them and then giggle :-).

Dandelions and the giant baby

Sometimes it takes a four-year-old to revive you from the coma-like state in which you wander through your busy, hectic day. Sometimes I'm really on auto pilot, and that's simply so I can accomplish everything I need to and to make sure all three Things have food, clothing, clean diapers, and oxygen. I'd like to smell the roses every single day, but I just don't have time. Or I don't make time.

Today as we were driving home from preschool, Peter looks at a large empty field we pass on our drive. It's completely jam packed full of dandelions and is bright yellow. There are literally thousands of them. Pete says "look at all those dandelions mommy . . . they cover that field like a blanket and are so beautiful". As a grass enthusiast who has been on my hands and knees more than I'd like lately yanking out those precious little yellow weeds from my own lawn, I was completely struck by his comment. Any child would think this perennial herbaceous plant is a beautiful, sunshine-y yellow flower, while any adult would consider it a complex weed. I decided to spend the rest of my day focusing on the hidden beauties I often miss as the minutes pass by into hours.

And I did promise an update on the giant baby, aka, Thing Three. She is a healthy, vibrant, pleasant four month old today. She tipped the scales at Dr. Cooper's office at 16 lbs 9 oz and is just over 24 inches long. So she is officially only a few ounces shy of Pete's weight at 12 months!! Impressive. I asked the ridiculous question "am I over-feeding her?" to which the doctor assured me that it is not possible to feed a breast-fed baby too much, that her weight will taper off soon and the rapid gaining will slow down. I follow the feed-on-demand philosophy so I feed Leah whenever she seems to want it, or I at least offer her a breast and let her decide. But she sleeps through the night, so it's not like she's nursing 24 hours a day or anything. So after the dandelions I decided to just sit back, relax, and enjoy my robust and chubby "giant" baby.

And relish in the satisfaction that, NO, she does not need to be expelled from her Peg Perego infant carrier car seat just yet (the seat's limit is up to 20 lbs, or 26 inches long, whichever comes first). That horrid switch from portable baby able to be taken anywhere asleep, to baby in convertible car seat from which you must wrench the little body from in earnest, trying not to wake up and disturb said baby. When the time comes I'm thinking of putting Pete or David into this Britax Frontier(which I learned from a fellow gardener is going to be available in Canada in June or July - WOWFANTASTICWOW) and having Leah move into the Alpha Omega.

But for now, another month or two of car seat freedom for me!!!

Hey . . . someone reads this site!

I'm very excited. People read this blog. And I found out today that it is truly useful to some. I couldn't be happier. I added a ticker to count hits on this site a week and a half ago . . . and apparently quite a few more people than I thought are actually reading this. Or stalking me.

I packed the Things up today to visit my friend J, who has a daughter Pete's age and a new baby a little younger (and significantly smaller!) than Leah. While chatting about her "higher-than-average-needs" baby and fussiness, she told me she'd clicked on Tricia's blog link and read her reviews of baby carriers. She ended up purchasing a Moby Wrap b/c she'd read about the success that Tricia had with hers!! That's fantastic and I know that Tricia will be both floored and thrilled to find out someone is reading her blog :-) J said it has made a big difference and that her baby K really loves it . . . and now she can actually leave her house and take her older daughter to the park to play!!! Success!

Our visit went quite well. Visits with our little family can sometimes rival a circus sideshow, but all went well and the kids all seemed to have a good time. I didn't bring my camera and missed some choice shots of David and Pete wearing some of R's *bling*. Not sure if daddy would have approved but that's ok, the game evolved into a jewelry heist anyway!!

While on the subject of baby carriers and baby wearing, I should mention that I heard this recommended by a friend and am secretly lusting for it. It looks like the perfect combination of my hotsling-model (designed and made by another talented friend of mine) and the baby-bjorn. I'm finding as Leah gets heavier (stay tuned tomorrow for a weight check in on the giant baby), the bjorn is not that comfortable and hurts my shoulders, even though I know I have it adjusted correctly. The regular sling is just not her thing all the time - she is a very active, jumpy, leg-twitching baby and loves the bjorn b/c she can kick to her little heart's content. The Beco Butterfly is supposed to be comfy and useful up to 55 pounds! You can place baby on your front or your back, and the design is totally ergonomic and thus totally comfortable for mommy. Thing 5 (otherwise known as Paul) would "skin my hide" if I purchased another mode of carrying my child, so for now the Beco remains unobtainable for us . . . unless I win the lottery sometime in the coming weeks.

Maybe I can convince him buying the Beco is cheaper than a future chiropractic bill ??????????

Keepin' it safe

Being what I would term a "relatively-safe" mama, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Safe Mama website from my friend Tricia's new blog. It's a "one stop resource for child safety, product recall, health and well-being", and does appear to have a tremendous amount of useful information on its website. It offers tips and information on keeping your child(ren) safe, and brings a lot of the information floating around on different sites to one concise area, making it easy to click and find what you're looking for. The moms running this site also offer "cheat sheets" on BPA-free bottles, cups and storage containers as well as safe sunscreens and chemical-free body care products. It's an American site, but the information is still entirely relevant, and more importantly, helpful.

And I thought I'd also take a moment to throw in a plug for my all-time favourite safe cleaning product, Pink Solution. Although I had been using chemical-free and safe cleaning products for a few years (I was a fan of Melaleuca and Nature Clean) I made the switch to Pink last September. After dropping Pete off at preschool, and David off at Granny's for a couple hours, I zipped over to Costco to try to stock our home with the basic necessities like food, liquid, and toilet paper. I was abruptly stopped by a young man doing a demo on a new, non-toxic, biodegradable and chemical-free cleaning product. I wondered why he stopped ME - do I scream "tree hugger" from a distance? Did he catch a glimpse of the "I just want to clean my house without impacting or harming my children or pet" desperation in the corner of my eye?

Regardless, he had me at the first little stain he scrubbed out of his tiny little piece of demo carpet in front of him. The slight OCD tendencies in me kept me listening and wanting, so badly, to believe that something this good could be true. Natural? Good for you? Safe? But does it work? I broke into mass hyperventilating the day I gave up my Windex for cleaning my windows . . . I had beads of sweat dripping down my forehead when I thought I'd kissed that "streak-free shine" goodbye forever.

YES, IT WORKS. Pink Solution is a " natural enzyme cleaner, which when mixed with water, emulsifies dirt, grease and grime, and restores finishes to their natural state. This means that it will not only clean, but will actually brighten surfaces that most cleaners dull, such as stainless steel appliances and fiberglass bath and shower stalls. The enzymes will emulsify even the oldest stains, which means that so long as there are not permanent dyes involved, even the oldest of laundry and carpet stains will be removed. Also, it contains no chemicals, and can be inhaled, eaten and used without any gloves, with no ill effects." And YES, he ate it in front of me. He took a big old scoop of that white goo and swallowed it.

I was sold, I bought it, and I've never looked back. I have found the perfect dilution for my windows, my laundry, toilets, bathtub, countertops, stove, etc. I love to use the full paste to scrub out stains on clothing (yes - it whisks away that mustard breastfeeding poop stain from any adorable little baby outfit), carpets and floors. Can you spray it and wipe things clean with a gentle flick of your wrist? NO - let's be realistic now, shall we? No product without chemicals is going to disintegrate dirt and grime on contact. The Pink Solution takes a bit of elbow grease but I personally enjoy a little work out when I clean, and there is nothing in my home that isn't as clean as it was before I switched products.

One of the most satisfying things about using the Pink products is that the boys actually help me clean. I give them each a cloth and a spray bottle with the diluted solution and they follow mommy around the house, spritzing and wiping away.

To music. And, yes, we dance too :-)

Not a hair out of place

Time is precious when you're a mother of three young Things. It's become so precious, actually, that I haven't managed to schedule myself a hair cut yet in 2008. I finally found some time and managed to book an appointment to have my hair coloured and cut (figured I might as well get as much bang for my buck as I could, right?) this past weekend. It was delightful and exhilarating to sit quietly for 90 minutes in a comfy chair while somebody else took care of me. When Joanne asked me what I wanted to have done, and what colour I wanted to have in my hair, I just sort of looked at her, stunned and in another world. I hardly cared what I looked like when I left the salon, it was all about the *act* for me. But, she knows me well and took good care of me. I am now the proud owner of a nice head of rich, brown hair (basically my natural colour without any more gray roots!), slightly shorter, and more layered.


We had a not-very-exciting long weekend. The weather wasn't typical May warm weather in Ottawa, so we were inside a bit more than we'd hoped. I spent several days laughing hysterically after watching the season finale of The Office last week. Seriously, there's not much funnier on television these days. If you're not a fan, then I assume you don't share my dry and sometimes unique sense of humour. I was in love with the Supertramp rendition at Toby's going away party - WAY too freaking hysterical.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 kept themselves busy for the most part this weekend. They built a ship and sailed the seven seas . . .


And then they tried desperately to appear cute. Hmmmmm, they've got that down pat I think :-)
No new pictures of the giant baby, she slept and smiled her way through the weekend. She will be four months this week and I'm intrigued to go to our doctor's appointment on Thursday to see how much she weighs. If you want to check out a cute lil' 8-pounder, see my new nephew Hunter on Lauren's blog. He is just gorgeous!!!

WELCOME BABY HUNTER!!!

We are all so excited this morning to be welcoming the newest member of our family!! My sister had her a little boy this morning, Hunter, weighing in at 8lbs!! He and mom (and dad and sister Reese) are doing extremely well. The birth was pretty speedy (I warned her about this only yesterday - those sneaky second babies like to come out fast!) so Lauren didn't get an epidural but did just fantastic! Pete and David are thrilled to have a new cousin and we all cannot wait to meet him soon. I just spoke to Lauren on the phone yesterday and she was saying she didn't want to have the baby over the long weekend. WELL, no worries on that front sis, he gave you a break to enjoy your long weekend with your new family :-)

In other news . . . I went for my first post-Leah run the other night. Through much muscle pain and fatigue, I learned I am *truly* out of shape. It's been almost a year since I have run, and I barely made it a km or two. So now that the weather is nice there are no valid or reasonable excuses why I can't run in the evenings and get myself back into shape. I seem to be stalled in my weight loss too - I have a final five pounds to go but they are proving to be a little deceptive. I'm hoping the running will help shake off a pound or two. But, seriously, I think eating less ice cream would do it too :-).

Protecting your children from the sun safely

Today they are forecasting 25 degrees (Celsius) and sunny in Ottawa. Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? Of course it is, but with all the sunshine comes increased risks of sunburns and skin cancer. Being a mom who prefers to take the natural route when possible, I find myself completely spinning sometimes with all the information available about sunscreens.

For the past few years I've followed the information being released about the dangers of regular, chemical-based sunscreens. There is a particularly informative document on Naturopath Lisa Vecchi's (of Oakville, Ontario) website. You can download a document entitled the Dangers of Sunscreen and Bug Repellent. It's two pages and a fairly quick read.

There is a chemical in most commercially available sunscreens that offers questionable safety b/c it easily penetrates the skin and is a strong free radical generator. Dr. Lisa encourages us to get a daily dosage of sunshine without sunscreen - of course being careful not to do it during peak hours or without a hat for protection. She suggests about 10 minutes or so, and then recommends applying sunscreen afterwards.

The Pure Know How site also offers some detailed and informative stuff on sunscreens, UV rays, SPF and more. They also recommend natural sunscreens. For the past few years, I've used California Baby and been quite happy with it. However, I'm thinking of trying Mexitan this summer, mostly b/c it is available at Lilou Organics here in Ottawa and I can buy it locally without having to pay shipping and duty from the United States.

I'll be honest, it doesn't rub into the skin and disappear as easily as chemical-based sunscreens, but after a bit it does disappear. Pete, our *picky* child, doesn't always love the white film left initially, but like last year . . . he'll get used to it :-)

Warning: too much cute stuff here

Well, if this isn't enough to keep me going on the "hard days", then I guess nothing will. If you have more than one child (and I'll even let you read on if you only have one), you'll know *exactly* what I mean. But, if this tugged at my heartstrings any harder, my heart would be ripped out and lying in a mess on the floor.

Since I promised to share some new golden nuggets of information with everyone, I'll talk today about one of my favourite sites to peruse for new threads for my kids. The Inspired Congo is a great place to find unique, WAHM-designed stuff for babies and kids. Click on the Hyenacart Shop so you can scroll through and see a variety of home-made and designed clothing and accessories by a number of talented ladies. I own a number of things from Nita at Hot Salad - and it's all amazing quality, cute, and super kid-friendly. The boys have a couple things they've worn since last summer, the clothing still looks brand new and washes so well. I've often had comments from friends (and strangers) about it so I wanted to share my secrets! Check them out! Leah is the proud new owner of this, and although it won't fit her until next summer, it's going to be super comfy (notice the diaper cover to match - way too cute!!).

I also just wanted to throw in a thanks to my family for a wonderful Mother's Day. We had a beautiful brunch at our neighbourhood pub (cannot beat Eggs Benedict there) and Paul surprised me (I'll use the term surprise *loosely* here!) with a necklace I'd been eyeing from Amos Pewter. It's gorgeous and I love it. I'm addicted to hand-crafted jewelry and this is definitely my new fab fav.

And just for good measure, to send you on your merry way:

We licked our leaky dipe problem!

Some of you know that I have been complaining as of late that Leah's diapers have been leaking. What is the point of using cloth diapers when they leak at every change and her clothing is wet too? Then I'm changing diapers every hour - not to mention putting a fresh, dry outfit on my babe. That's more time than I have during the day, and more than I'm willing to spend on extra laundry. I was perplexed and frustrated to say the least. The culprits were my Fuzzibunz, a pocket diaper that you stuff with a hemp or microfiber insert for absorbency. Well, they were leaking out the sides of the fitted legs - I wasn't sure if it was b/c Leah is chunkier than the boys were at this age and thus the diapers didn't have a snug fit, or if they were just too worn and used b/c Thing 1 and Thing 2 had worn them.

After researching online until my eyes were bloodshot, I went down to talk to Suzy at The Extraordinary Baby Shoppe. She said I likely needed to strip my diapers to get rid of unwanted detergent residue (which renders the diapers pretty much useless b/c they no longer are able to wick away the wetness). I told her I'd already stripped them using hot boiling water, but she gave me a baking soda and vinegar recipe to try. Well, it seems to have worked!!! I am beyond thrilled. I truly didn't want to use disposables (my reasons are tremendous cost savings; as well as for environmental reasons - I don't want to be filling up landfills with something as difficult to break down and decompose as disposable diapers) and was not excited to need to spend more money on new cloth dipes. I mean, I'm saving thousands of dollars using the same set I originally bought four years ago.

But, the desire to keep my girl in the cutest, finest, softest cloth dipes around, led me to pick up a few new dipes . . . seeing as I had made the trek all the way over to Parkdale to go to the store anyway :-) (Hey, is that the voice of reason I hear?).

These new Happy Heiny's are adorable. Similar to Fuzzibunz but with velcro instead of snaps. And I had wanted to try the new bamboo diaper from Bummi's for a while. Check out these sweet Bamboozles!! These need a cover, but I already have several at home.

So I'm off for now - yes, to change a diaper. But not an entire wet outfit :-) Colour me excited!!!

A day for Mother

Happy Mother's Day to every mom out there. There is only one day a year made for us, so enjoy it for every last second :-) I wanted to share a little poem I wrote for my own mom.

My Mother

My first memory of my dear, sweet mother

Is of her tucking me in, pulling up my cover

And off I went to sleep each night

With memories of her arms around me tight.

As I started to grow, she picked me up,

She cleaned my scrapes and put juice in my cup

She broke up fights between my sister and I

And helped with my homework as each year would go by.

She took me to skating and told me I was “good”

Even when my spiral didn’t look as it should

She encouraged me to read, and to fill my potential

To do well in school and earn any type of credential.

As time ticked by, I became a moody little bitch

From a cute little girl, that had been quite a switch

But that sweet mother, she loved unconditionally

She stuck it out, she always cared so traditionally.

Then she waved goodbye as I left on my way

To go to school in Ontario one bright sunny day

We were both very scared, but little did she know

That all she had taught me had prepared me to go.

I blossomed and learned to own my actions

To not worry what others thought, or need their reactions

To be true to my self, and loyal to friends

Has gotten me further than following trends.

But it wasn’t until I myself found a man

And married him out near the beach and the sand

And started a family of my very own

That I truly appreciated how fast time has flown.

Now that I have three babes in my nest

My own sense of motherhood is put to the test

The true and unending love that one mom can feel

Is something my own kin have helped to make real.

So today I understand all the small things you did

Like staying up all night when I was a sick kid

And showing your patience and your love and your pride

Helping me with that bike I learned to ride.

So now, mother dear, I dig down deeply to tell you

I appreciate, love, respect you, and thank you

For all that you did; and all that you are

You are one spectacular mother by far.

Changes to come . . .

Here is Princess Leah in one of her finest spring outfits. She's doing very well lately, truly blossoming into a real interactive, fun, smiley baby. She laughs and coos and likes to *play* with her brothers. She sleeps well and eats well. What more can one ask for, right?

I've decided to change things on my blog a little bit, to really try and spice things up (you know, like a Mexican burrito!). I'm impressed with my friend Tricia's new blog My one stop shop for all things mom, that I am hoping to do something similar here. She shares and comments on a variety of things related to being a mom, and well, since I couldn't be more submerged in being a mom right now, I am in the same boat. I'd like to start sharing ideas, web sites, tips, products and information that I like and in which I believe. While I'm not an expert in all areas, I am certainly aware and informed on a lot of issues surrounding how I raise my three children.

Of course I will still share photos of my cuties and my craft projects (which I suddenly have very little time for), but I hope some of my loyal readers will continue down this path with me.