in my thoughts

and prayers. I cannot imagine how it feels to have a baby born so early. Christine seems to be so strong and is always so positive. She is amazing.
I can't stop thinking about her and her little baby girl.
Please g-d, make sure to take care of her and to ensure she has a very uneventful hospital stay.

wow, she's here

my dear friend Christine had her baby yesterday at 28 weeks gestation. Mom and baby are doing well.

Why Remember

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/other/remember/why

thank goodness...

all is okay with Chrissy. We were all so worried. Maybe, just maybe it was all our thoughts and prayers that is making her baby stay right where he/she should be!!

i took the plunge...

and bought a Graco Duo Glider. Let's hope this is it, as if i'm not satisfied this time around i'm just going to throw the whole need for a double idea out the window!

are you a morning person???

i am pretty good at getting up, getting going and doing what needs to get done in the mornings. My hubby is the same. We don't know how or why our son is a total freak in the morning. He cries, throws tantrums and is completely unreasonable (not that many 2 year olds are). We now just work through his madness and ignore the rants or else we never get him going where he needs to go!

graco = breako...is this really true??? so many people have them and seem happy with them so what am i afraid of? i really don't have anyone to impress and they r affordable...i think i'll take my head out of the clouds and get what we can afford!

adventures in baby wearing

While I was pregnant with baby M i decided that I was going to wear her a lot more than i ever wore E. I thought it would be a great experience for both of us. Bonding. That is what I thought we would do while she was being carted around in a carrier. While I do love wearing my baby girl I have been finding that my body was just not made to wear baby for long periods of time. Yesterday baby and I travelled down to the Babytime show sans stroller so i could be hands free...was a great idea in theory but after 4 hours of having the baby on my front i am really really sore today!! I have tried quite a few carriers thanks to my dear friend Fancy Pantsy-who has lent me a sling, Bjorn and Mei Tei! Each one of the carries has their benefits but each also has their downfalls. i won't post my opinions here as i would rather any reader who may come across the blog make a decision bases on their own experinces!

Today we are double stroller shopping again as I have realized that I cannot wear M and put E in the stroller for too long...

DNR

While watching Grey's last night I thought about the reality of do not resesitate(DNR). I always thought that if i were in a situation where i was unable to communicate what i wanted or i was no longer able to do things for my self- as in on life support- i would want to be allowed to die gracefully and just go without hanging on to possible false hopes....now that i am older my ideas seem to have changed a little or perhaps i am just more confused as to what i would want for myself in this situation. What i think about now is less selfish and more to do with my family...what would they want? how would they feel? is it fair to them?

How would I feel being in the reverse situation? What would i want to do if my parents were ill and in need of life support? I know they would not want to suffer and i know my father specifically has told me many times that he NEVER wants to be kept alive through unatural measures- i know what he went through when his sister was ill before the decision was made to take her off life support...and i would always want to respect his wishes but i imagine that is must be so difficult to let go...
what do you think?

i have been plagued...

with an inability to sleep. It all started when the baby was waking up for her night-time feeds and I wasn't able to fall back asleep. Now I just cannot fall asleep at all. I lay in bed for hours just watching the clock change. Sometimes I do drift off for several minutes but that always seems to be interupted by the need to get up and go feed the baby or to pee. This lack of rest is really disruptive to my life, it makes thinking straight hard- in fact i am often walking around in a total blur and i am unable to finish a sentence before forgetting what i was talking about in the first place. (well this is my new excuse anyway :)
I hope this is only temporary as i know that sleep problems can wreck havoc a persons life!

my 2 cents

Given the historic events of yesterday it feels as if I should post regarding the results of the US Presidental election. But i really don't follow politics that closely and anything i know is really hearsay from my husband and his family, as they discuss politics at length- often. I know that history has been made and that being the first African American President is a huge deal, i know that the vote was really close and i know that he better really prove himself an asset of all hell may break loose!

Disasters in the kitchen...

I consider myself a pretty good cook. I can make simple meals and occasionally I'll attempt things a little more complex. My favourite part of being in the kitchen though is baking!
Recently we took the little ones apple picking and although the apple trees were mostly picked out we managed to still get a nice big bag of fresh yummy apples. I didn't want to waste any of the apples (I HATE wasting food and get very upset when we have to throw away rotten produce) so i decided to make a baked appled dessert. Now i have never made baked apples before and I didn't have a recipe so i was trying to do something i have never done before freehand...hmmm not a good idea!
The basic idea was to put the apples in a hot oven, after coring them and stuffing them with raisons and cinnomon. I did just that...but i totally forgot about them and two hours later smelled something super sweet coming from the kitchen. My baked apples burst and turned into baked apple sauce!! I have to admit that even though they didn't look the way i wanted not did they taste like what i was expecting they actually tasted pretty good!! Next time I'll have to set a timer and pay attention to them as i got distracted with other things and that was that!
anyone have a good baked apple recipe, with proven results???

Terrible Twos...

Oh boy. Nothing could have prepared me for the terrible twos! I am challenged on a daily basis with my patience, and parenting abilities. Who knew that there was not a hint of exaggeration involved when people described the hell on earth of having a very stubborn 2 year old.
This morning the fit involved his desire to wear his new Spiderman PJ's to daycare. There was no way we were going to allow that to happen- especially since the said PJ's are covered in dried playdough and other goodies after a weekend of refusing to take them off! (they are currently being laundered-something i had to do the moment he left for daycare!) Of course the fact that he had been up since 5 am due to the time change and was on a sugar high from his Honeycomb cereal didn't help the matter any!
Kudos to my husband for getting the tantrums under control this morning with a much needed "time-out"! This method of making fit throwing boy sit in a corner for 1 -2 minutes to calm down actually works for us! Thank goodness because I was pulling my hair out in sheer frustration at not knowing what to do!

The Must Haves

My brother and his wife are expecting their first baby soon. I am super excited to meet my nephew and to spoil him rotten :)
As I have mentioned before there are soooo many baby products out there on the market it can get really overwhelming for new parents. My personal recommendation on must have items...

a bouncy chair. This item gets used daily and has been a life saver on so many occasions. Both my kids have slept in this chair when they would nap nowhere else. They love the soft bouncy motion of this. And even when the batteries die and there is no vibrations they love it. The toy bars vary so much from chair to chair and I am not really sure it matter which one you get but we love ours.

swing. again a sleep aid for baby. Both my babies used the swing when they were really little to sleep. Now that the little one is almost 5 months she isn't as keen on sitting in the swing but we still use it on occasion. Our swing is borrowed and is obviously older as the kids who used it are now 7 and 3! There are tonnes of brands and styles to choose from but expensive doesn't mean better! I would probably get one that plugs in as batteries can get expensive and bad for the environment is disposed of incorrectly.

exersaucer. again something that gives you time for yourself (somewhat). Baby can play, bounce and have so much fun while you watch the smiles and giggles. Both babies could spend hours in our exersaucer! Although I think my older one liked it a little more than the baby does (but we'll see-she is still pretty young)

Jolly Jumper. I didn't get one of these for a long time as i thought we had no place to hang it. I finally gave in and got one after i tried it out at a friends house. My son loved it so much, i used to hang him up on the washroom doorframe and i would shower. This allowed me to peek out and entertain him while i was able to shower! We got the original JJ and I am looking forward to passing it along once we are done with it!

Those are the products that I would recommend to any first time parents. Of course some of them can't be used until baby is at least 3 months and able to support their own head.

NaBloPoMo

I have decided to give it a try this year...what do i have to lose!!

My first post...

Last night we decided to take E out trick or treating. He didn't quite get the point but was really excited to get to wear his Spiderman outfit. Unfortunately he was too frightened of the Jack O Lanterns to actually go up to any of the houses. He was also really really scared of some of the masked kids who came to the door. Of course some of those kids were way too big to be going door to door- and some who came weren't even in costume!
I was more disappointed than he was.
Maybe next year :)

Happy Halloween!!!

When i was a kid we would get hundreds of kids at our door trick or treating. As the years went by we started getting fewer and fewer kids coming. Then we had none...it's been many years since we needed to hand out candy on Halloween! I guess that has something to do with the fact that most people in my neighborhood were extremely orthodox and do not condone celebrating this "pagan" ritual. I think this is just a fun innocent reason for kids to dress up and have a good time! Unfortunately there are some nuts out there so everyone has to make sure they are safe...check your treats before you eat and of course- Have a fun, safe and entertaining Halloween!!

good bye to tradition

A favourite Toronto tradition is in it's last year. After 84 years the Hadassah-WIZO Bazaar is finally waving good-bye. This annual shopping tradition for many is something I personally have never been to but am going to attempt today. I will never get another chance!
I know the crowds start early but after much debate mom and I decided that leaving the house at 7 am and heading downtown to wait in line outside with baby was not a good idea...if i miss my chance to get the good stuff...OH WELL!! at least i can say i have been and maybe i won't be tempted to spend as much mula if the good stuff is gone :)
...wish me luck...i'm am hoping to score a pair of boots and a new bag, and of course some stuff for E and M :)

do your homework!

I have never been one to do homework. Back in school i kind a' sort a' did my research and homework. I would really rely on others for help and always managed to get by...even managed through university this way!!
Now that i'm a mom i have realized just how important doing homework really is. There are many many baby products on the market and so many important choices to make. I have relied somewhat on the experience of others to guide me through what to buy and what to avoid. Unfortunately i have had to learn for myself that some products just don't work for me or don't have all the features i need or want. Strollers, car seats, baby carriers, toys and even choices on furniture to be made...cheap is NOT always better and what worked for one mom most definitely doesn't work for all moms.
Most recently i have been searching for a double stroller. I bought the Peg Aria Twin on the recommendation of a friend and was really unhappy with it. The basket sagged, the wheels got stuck and it just didn't fit through doorways as easily as it should. I found it very clumbsy to manouvere. It was light weight and was pretty good for going to the mall but not much else. Forget taking trips to the park or the zoo where long walks on pavement or uneven surfaces were neccessary. One double stroller gone...lucky i was able to sell it easily!!
The second one i got was great on the roads, moved well over uneven sidewalks and seemed pretty comfy for the kids too.Baby Trend Expedition Jogger..unfortunately once this mammoth was assembled we couldn't fit it into our trunk! Getting it through doorways was IMPOSSIBLE so i had to take the kids out of the stroller before getting into the house, fold this monster up outside and wait for Gav to come home in order to take it in and downstairs (which wouldn't have been a problem if we had our own garage) Lucky Toys R Us didn't give me any hassles returning it!

Now i'm eyeing another beauty...Phil and Teds sport buggy with a doubles attachment...all the reviews are raving about this...do i take the plunge? and do you know anyone in person who has this stroller, are they happy with it, do they find it easy to use, easy to fold, easy(ish) to lift into their trunk...don't feel like buying and selling so soon again!!

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

Join me and others you may know at the 2008 Breastfeeding Challenge. Saturday October 11 at 10 am. Click here for more details. Spread the word!!
If you are in Toronto the location will be North York Civic Centre at 5100 Yonge St.

what not to do...

i think it's very important for children to have wonderful memories of childhood...creating memories (and good ones at that) has been a priority of mine since deciding to have kids...but i now wonder if i am suffering some severe mommy brain as lately i have made a few really silly/stupid decisions regarding taking the kids places this summer

first mistake:
taking a trip to Niagara Falls for the day. We wanted to go to the casino just to look around but were told that we couldn't take the kids with us. Also the 2 hour drive each way felt a LOT longer coming home than it did going as we heard a symphony of crying for a good hour as both kids were hungry and definitely tired. I begged hubby to pull over so i could feed the baby and stop her wailing but he was on a mission to get home and wouldn't give in to my plea..

next mistake:
shlepping both kids BY SUBWAY (which was the only really smart thing we did) downtown to Buskerfest. It was way to busy to see any of the acts and navigating the intense crowds with a double stroller was nothing i want to try again EVER!!
Lucky for us the St Lawrence Market was nearby so we could escape the heat, walk around and eventually settle down at a table with some amazing yummy food from one of the vendors. We will definitely go back to the market but leave the bigger kid at home or go when he is in daycare! Buskerfest is something i will say "been there,m done that" about in the future!!

Getting a fancy sprinkler for our backyard...the boy just doesn't like it. He will beg us to put it on then scream his head off if the water comes anywhere near him...i want to yell "make up your mind already" but i do realize he is only 2 and that is part of how he learns etc...

I now realize that they are too young to really care where we go and taking them to the park is just as much fun and stimulating for them as going to all these fancy places...when they are older they will actually enjoy our effort and for now the local park and malls will be just fine!!!(btw fancy pansy- you told me this ages ago and i %100 agree with you...just had to figure it out for myself !!)

okay i got those things off my chest now i can go to sleep in peace :)