Did you know???

That if  you register to receive emails from RW&Co they will send you a %25 off coupon to use the week of your birthday!!! You can use this awesome coupon during the 3 days before and 3 days after your special day. All you have to do is print it off and show photo id.  Last year I took advantage of this deal and again this year. I totally lucked out this year as their %40 off the last ticketed price sale had just started and then I had an additional %25 off! SOOO I got 4 awesome pieces for under $65 (including the taxes!) I would have bought more stuff but I was on my lunch break and it's really hard to shop big with only 30 minutes for lunch.
I bought one pair of black dress pants. They are a size bigger than I would have liked to buy but the smaller ones just looked a tad too tight. I will have to get these ones altered to fit just right.
One brown cardigan style short sleeve sweater, which I can wear over long sleeve t-shirt style tops or even over short sleeve t-shirts later in the season.
One blue short sleeve sweater. It has quite a deep v-neck so I will definitely have to pair it with a camisole under (and it's a knit which is fairly sheer so i would have to layer it regardless)
and finally I bought an oatmeal coloured wrap style short sleeve sweater. It is also kind of low necked so I will probably have to wear it with something underneath as well. I debated a little about this one as it sort of emphasizes my pouch but i'm hoping this will inspire me to do more crunches!!
Anyway here are a few pics of the goods I scored. (tried to take some self portraits but I have no idea how to stop the flash reflection in the mirror from ruining the shots)

My Birthday Wishlist

In staying with the KISS mentality when asked what I would like for my birthday I answered, A bouquet of roses. Seriously. I have never ever been given a bouquet of roses. Not for a birthday, not for university graduation not for a random surprise so that is something I would really like.
BUT if I were to get something extravagant and totally materialistic I wouldn't mind one of these few selected item. (in no particular order)

 

To Hell and almost back

It's my time to moan and complain... i have been suffering from the worst headache ever-since Saturday afternoon.
My whole body was aching and in more pain than i can describe. I took Tylenol and more Tylenol to no avail. finally sat night i took Tylenol 3 which helped me sleep but did not stop the headache from returning in full force Sunday morning. I have been suffering ever since. I take Advil and at the suggestion of my doctor I have been taking Robaxacet to relieve the tension in my neck and shoulders but these not long term solutions. She also suggested massage, which sounds good to me but I have not been able to find the time as of yet. Hopefully Monday, as I had booked the day off to spend time with myself (happy birthday to me- massage would be a nice birthday treat if it weren't being done on prescription from the doctor to relieve major pain in the neck!)
Who knew a little stress added to tension could cause so much pain and suffering and for so long! Hope April brings healthy vibes about for all.

IS spring really in the air??

The winter weather is really starting to get to me. Just when I thought spring was on its way...another darn snowfall dumped the white stuff on us. I am just getting so tired of dressing the kids in their boots, coats and hats, I am tired of dressing myself in boots, coat and hat (well the hat has somehow managed to get lost somewhere in my house)
I see the spring clothes in store windows but I'm just not feeling it quite yet. Although I have noticed a few trends and styles for the spring I'll definitely be able to live with.

A viral cop-out

So my little guy was really sick the other night. He was tossing his cookies and was really upset by the nausea sensation. He had a low grade fever so I took him to the walk-in clinic where the doctor barely examined him and concluded he has a virus. I accepted this diagnosis without question because he's the professional right?
Well I remembered much later in the day that last winter I had seen that very same doctor. I'd had similar symptoms to my son, nausea, fever, sore neck and cough.That doctor dismissed what I had as a virus. The symptoms did not clear up in the 3-4 days he said they should, I went to my own doctor and sure enough I had a terrible infection in which anti-biotics were prescribed. That was the first round of 3 different anti-biotics to fight off whatever it was i had developed.
My question is, should I trust what this doctor says or do I take my son to his own regular doctor to make sure it's nothing more than a virus? Given this man's track record I'm not keen to trust what he says but might just wait to see how the little guy is feeling in the next day or two. (He seemed fine this morning and did not have a fever or overall pains so he went to school)

A New Favourite

Was browsing Bath and Body works recently for a new hand cream. I have been suffering from extremely dry hands this winter and needed immediate relief. The scent-free policy in my office can make it somewhat difficult to find products that work and are not offensive to those with sensitivities. Anyway I noticed a whole stack of %50 off products and decided to give this one a try. I have had the softest hands ever since. The skin around my thumb which is normally cracked and bleeding is now healing and no longer painful. My knuckles have also stopped bleeding. I am in heaven! Off to B and B again today to stock up on this. The only reason they have this on sale now is the packaging will be changing soon and they need to get rid of their stock. At $10 a bottle, this is a real steal!!! And the scent is so light that nobody even notices...I am the only one who occasionally gets a  whiff of lemon/citrus if my hands come up near my face. Very nice!

a short rant

I was stopped at the mall yesterday by one of those hair straightener sales ladies. Normally I don't mind stopping and letting them try to sell me a new straightener. I never buy them but when they are through with their shpeel my hair usually looks pretty good. This time I told the girl I was on my short break and didn't have much time. She persuaded me to sit for a minute anyway. I did. Then while she was playing around with my hair all I could smell was strong cigarette smoke. Really, if you are working in a job touching people's hair and standing such close proximity to others why are you smoking? She absolutely reaked I actually had to hold my breath. After a minute or two I got up and told her I had to go, then muttered under my breath that she smelled too strongly like smoke for me to sit any longer. I hope she heard me.

V day...and the big return

Today was my first day back to work after a 5 week break. I was sort of looking forward to the return as being home and not doing much other than cleaning, cooking and shopping might get a little old. (although I have to admit I love the way my house looked while I was off- so clean and tidy too!)
I logged into my computer and was greeted with 300 emails to go through. I was off for 5 weeks not 5 months! I couldn't believe it! After spending most of the day reading and deleting emails I am ready for a nice romantic Valentine's Day evening with my dear hubby....well not really but one can hope! We did get my parents to babysit last night so we could go out for dinner without the kids. We went for sushi to Ginza. Not exactly a romantic choice but it was good food and the price was reasonable. After sushi we went to Indigo to browse the books. This is something we both love doing! I actually bought something and he did not- normally it's the other way around.
Just lusting after a nice bouquet of red roses. In my 30something years I have never once been give a dozen roses. Sure I've had the single rose and bouquets of other flowers but I really want a dozen roses wrapped all nicely handed to me by the one I love! Not too much to ask for...is it?

Looking for thoughts and feedback

My daughter was recently invited to a birthday party. I know this is nothing new nor is it exciting but the form in which she was sent the invite and some other things got me thinking. The invitation was sent via Echoage which is a nice idea but the problem here was I didn't actually receive the invite. My email accounts are set up so that almost anything sent to me via an outside source (as in not in the contact list) goes straight to junk mail and then deleted without reading (prevents a large amount of viruses on our computer) The mother of the birthday girl then sent me an email asking if we were coming to which I replied I didn't know we had been invited...altough it all worked out in the end. But that isn't the real issue here...the real issue is that invite said that in the name of the "environment" please refrain from bringing a wrapped gift and just give a donation instead. Half of what you give would be going to a charity chosen by the birthday child and the other half would be used to purchase a gift the child really wants. I was leary of this whole idea as I thought it was kind of tacky to ask for money rather than gifts even if the premise of the request is the help the environment and give to a charity all at the same time. I know that the money isn't going to be used for a gift, it is going to be put into an RESP and saved for the child's future- which is great but at the same time didn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. In the end I did donate towards this cause as I was just too lazy to look for a gift and I could just pull out my credit card right here in the comfort of my home.
I am just wondering what any of my readers think about this new age of birthday party gift requests! Is is okay or tacky ??

First Day Back

I haven't  posted anything about my little man's ordeal over the last few weeks/months. Today I have decided to share.
Back in July at his 4 year check up the doctor detected a murmur.(a very diligent and skilled doctor I might add- not his usually pediatrician but a replacement who was only at that office for 2 weeks!)  He decided to send my little man for a chest x-ray, an ECG and later an ECHO. After those results came in we were referred to a pediatric cardiologist. We finally got in to see him late September (in true Ontario Medical system style). It was strongly  recommended he go for surgery to have the defect/hole closed. As this wasn't an urgent case we requested the procedure be done in January as we had a vacation booked for December, something we'd been planning since August-before we even knew he'd need surgery.
During this whole waiting period between finding out he'd need to have surgery to the actual date of the operation I was calm and confident things would go well. Other members of my family were freaking out to the point that I was getting almost angry with them. There was crying, praying and a whole sense of gloom around here for quite some time. Closer to the date of the surgery I was starting to feel guilty for NOT being all freaked out and crying.
Once the time came for him to go to the hospital we tried to prepare him and spoke to him about what was going to happen to him. A child life specialist at Sick Kids also showed him how the tubes would be put in him and how he would be given medicine for sleeping. She was really awesome with him and he took to her very quickly! We tried to reassure him things would be okay and he had nothing to worry about. Unfortunately I had a very bad cough/cold- (the doc said it was a respiratory infection but not pneumonia) Either way this illness prevented me from going to the hospital for several days, while he was recovering in the ICU. That was the hardest part of this whole thing. I wanted to be there for him and I wanted him to know I really wanted to be there. He was in no condition post-op for talking on the phone but we explained to him that I was really sick and couldn't come but would come as soon as I could. He spent three nights in hospital (we were told he`d be there 5 but they felt he was ready to come home earlier!) and enjoyed the playroom there quite a lot. The giant Hummer toy and Pirate Ship were well used during his stay.
Once we got him he was very clingy and would not let me out of his site. He followed me everywhere-if I got  up to get a glass of water from the kitchen, he`d be right behind me, If I needed to go to the washroom, there he was. He slept in my bed with me for the first 3 nights and has been waking in the middle of the night to come to our bedroom every night since. We wonder how long this will last!
Lots of people came by to visit while he was there. He was showered with attention (naturally!!) by all his family and friends. Everyone was so  wonderful during the whole ordeal. He received more Spiderman colouring books and action figures than one kid could ever possibly need or use!
Today after 2 weeks he is back at school for the first time. He was very upset and nervous about going back and leaving me. His teacher asked him to be her special helper today. I do hope that he is happier and more comfortable before the end of the day!
Tonight at bath time we are going to try to get off more the bandage goo that is still stuck to his neck, tummy and arms! Not sure what to use for that but am going to look for some tips soon!

A night out

We went to a wedding last night. It was FREEZING out but we still managed to get all dressed up and look pretty darn good-IMO!!
My baby cousin got married to her high school sweet heart. I mean really, she is 15 years younger than me-and I am pretty sure I babysat her once or twice!! The wedding was beautiful, the flowers and decor were top notch and the food was yummy too.
I bought a new dress for the occassion and I was really happy with my choice. The dress is made of stretchy material and fit really well. The only issue I had was the under garmet I wore. It was the same one from my own wedding 6+ years ago and it was way too big on me. I will have to look for a proper strapless bra for any upcoming occassions I may have as I can't wear that corset thing again...very uncomfortable!
Also got fab new shoes !! I am no longer a Browns Virgin. That store used to scare me as it's so expensive and the people one normally sees shopping there are not the ones I normally hobnob with but since it was sale season I thought I'd give it a try. Glad I did!
anyway here are some pics of the evening. Enjoy :)

thank you

thank you dear neighbour who took an extra 5 minutes to snow blow my driveway the other day. It is due to good people like you I don't have complete doubt about mankind! When I thanked you over and over again you just said, Of course, we're neighbors!!!

dear jerk who decided to pass me in the oncoming traffic lane because you decided the speed limit wasn't fast enough...I really hope you arrived alive because you  acted like a maniac and gave myself and others on the road a real scare. There is no reason to drive that aggressively on a side road, in poor weather conditions!

Who Knew ???

This post deals with girlie stuff. If you are male or related to me and don't want to know details than stop reading now!

A conversation with some friends recently made me realize my desperate need for new bras.  My old standby was feeling really wrong in fit and left very large red gouges around my bust line each and every time I wore it. I decided to go for a professional bra fitting at CHANGE. This store is fairly new to Canada and one opened up a little while ago at the Promenade Mall. I had bought a nursing bra from this brand once at a speciality bra boutique and loved it. The woman working at the store measured me and I discovered (as is so often the case) that my bras were all completely the wrong size. I was wearing 34 or 36 C cups while I am really a 32 F!!!! I honestly had no idea that my bras were so off size! I had assumed I would likely be a B cup but an F cup??? I was flabbergasted! After trying on several I found 3 I loved and bought- yeah for me they were all on %70 off sale!!! If you need bras and want a professional fitting, I honestly recommend this store! The selection is also amazing there, so you don't have to get "functional only" colors and styles, they have lots of pretty ones to fit every body type too!

To Discipline or not...that is the question

What does one do when one is with another person's kid and that kid throws the biggest fit one has ever seen? EVER???
We took the boy to see Disney on Ice today. We also took another child-whom I will call guest. They both really really enjoyed the show. They were completely mesmerized and impossible to distract while the show was happening. It was lovely. They were enjoying their $7 popcorn each, they had juice and cheese strings. All was going really well. Guest asked me if we could go look at the toys for sale. I said fine we could LOOK but not buy.
Then the trouble started. Guest decided she wanted to buy one of  the toys for sale.  We said no way. The items were all stupidly over priced and if she got something then we would have to buy a piece of junk for our son. That was not going to happen. Her lip started to pout, her eyes started to swell and the tears began, quietly at first, then when we just ignored her she started wailing. I mean screaming and crying to the point that she looked like a crazed lunatic. She was kicking and hitting and it looked like she might almost throw up. This lasted an entire hour.
Now my kids can give it a go. But I have never honestly seen anything like this in my entire life. I don't work with kids and after this episode- frankly I'm glad I work with seniors! and if this had happened pre-kids...not sure I would have had any!
What would you have done in this situation? We absolutely were not going to give in and buy a toy for her- especially after this display of completely spoiled, very unattractive behaviour. We didn't want to show our son (who was actually an angel today, after a previous evening of slightly dubious behaviour!) that this type of behaviour warrants a reward of any kind, as she was our guest we really weren't sure of the limits set for her by her parents or grandparents. Time outs, ignoring her or walking away were not options, what on earth to do?!?! Threatening to call her mother wasn't working, actually calling but not reaching her was problematic - we were really at a complete loss. Once getting past the embarrassment of stares and snickers of passers-by we (I should say my husband, I was in too much shock to actually get past her crazed behaviour) eventually managed to calm her down to point where she could walk on her own and not be dragged along the Skywalk on her knees to the subway! Once this tantrum of epic proportions was over she reverted back to her usual sweet self-very much like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
We then enjoyed a nice lunch at Mr Greenjeans- but did not give in to requests for dessert!  

to snow tire or not

We have never changed our tires over to snow tires. This year I feel that we really should do it. I never realized the significant safety differences but after reading articles on this issue I am now convinced that putting snow tires on is the way to go- especially as we drive little ones around all the time.
Just wondering if any (if there are any!!) of my readers use snow tires, and if so what type or do you have any recommendations on brand, place to go etc...

Tips and Tid bits

Since starting on Weight Watchers in January 2010 and losing close to 25 pounds lots of people have been asking me to share my "secret". I first want to make it clear that it is no secret. I tell anyone who comments or wants to know how I did it the absolute truth. I joined Weight Watchers, followed the plan and it worked. They then often want to know what it is I eat, so I thought I'd just share it here and give them my link rather than explaining over and over again...
here is a typical day/week of meals

Breakfast  7:15 am
28 grams all bran buds stirred into one source yogurt, banana

or

54 grams of Kashi Honey Puffs Cereal with 1/2 cup 1% milk, banana

or

one PC Thins Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with 1 tablespoon light peanut butter, banana

or

one packet of weight control oatmeal (any flavour) made with 1/2 cup %1 milk,banana

Snack  10:30 am
Coffee with milk and sugar ( won't ever give up sugar for sweetener in my coffee!!)
AND

6 almonds
or
carrot and celery sticks
or
one apple
or
2 triangles of Laughing Cow Cheese
or
All Bran Bar

Lunch

7 cups of salad consisting of either spring lettuce mix, romaine or  spinach AND 1/2 diced cucumber, 1/2 of a pepper (either yellow or red), cauliflower, 10 grape tomatoes cut in half, and either 1/4 of an avocado, 1/2 cup of beans/chickpeas or 20 grams of cheddar cheese or can of flavoured tuna or 2 oz  diced cooked chicken AND 1 tablespoon of dressing-any type.
Sometimes I'll bring left overs for lunch but usually stick to my salad. and very rarely I'll do the food court lunch in which i choose either a chicken skewer from the Greek place with salad or a turkey sub no mayo from Subway.

Dinner
I find dinner to be the hardest meal to plan for. As most working mothers this is the most challenging time of the day. After coming home from a busy day at work, the kids have been at daycare/school and are really tired- need to fix dinner, entertain the kids and get a whole ton of chores done around the house to boot it can be so difficult to make healthy choices the kids will like.
I refuse to eat a different meal than the one I cook for the rest of the family so I just have to be careful about portion control. Since I do have a food scale this is easier than if i didn't have one. I weigh and measure almost everything.
Since the usual reaction from my son lately for whatever i make is UCH...YUCKY, we decided to plan our weekly meals together. This has been so helpful and has seen us through the last 3 nights with no complaints and crying fits-and the kids have had more than just peanut butter on bread for dinner!

Some examples of dinner;
3 ounces chicken breast, steamed cauliflower, 1/2 cup of rice
1 cup of pasta 1/2 cup vegetarian  bolognese sauce
3 ounces tilapia cooked any way (this is about 1/2 of a HUGE fillet from the fish counter) steamed carrots, small baked potato with 1 tsp of becel
2 oz of beef with sauteed vegetables and 1/2 c rice
I find that buying prepacked foods makes life  a lot easier and I am able to count my points easier too. A family favourite is fish sticks, and sweet potato fries.
I also make a lot of vegetable soups. My favourite is cabbage soup which also happens to be the most healthy and least caloric of them all. The slow cooker is really helpful for this!
I eat cheese but really limit it to one serving by weighing it, (shocking how little cheese one serving is!!) or just stick to Laughing Cow Light. For 2 triangles it is only 1 point.  I have also had to cut out my snacking considerably. I used to eat chocolate chips from the bag before bed...don't do that anymore, and I could eat a whole bag of mini rice cakes in one sitting (still CAN do that-but choose not to) I also no longer eat cereal out of the box while watching TV.
The whole trick is making the right choices and learning what works and doesn't work for you. I remember commenting at one WW meeting about eating the same thing everyday-I am totally good with that-but most people there groaned and said they couldnt' do it- but that totally worked for me-and i try to stick to it!

changes....

well my commitment to working out in the morning has been more challenging than I thought it would be. I have however been getting on the elliptical in the evenings instead. I do like watching my favourite programs while working out but I used to feel so much more productive when working out in the mornings...i guess I can't have it all!

Pre-New Years Resolutions

Last January I resolved to take the bull by the horns and get my butt in gear to lose the baby weight once and for all. I managed to lose 25 pounds but was really really good about eating well and not so good about exercising diligently. I did start out the year getting on the elliptical 3-5 times a week at first but as time went on that slipped down to 1-2 and lately it's been nil.
During the late summer and early fall I started running. Again it wasn't that regularly and usually only when FP kicked me in the butt to get off the couch. I did complete one 5k and felt awesome about it but then only ran once after that.
Now that it is December and the New Year is coming up fast and furious, I decided I want to get back to the basics of exercising right and of course eating right too.
Since working out the evenings just doesn't work for me (I'm just too tired and honestly I have so much to do around the house-as I've discovered the house doesn't clean itself and meals don't get cooked on their own!!!) I have committed to waking up at 5:30 and getting on that elliptical for 25-35 minutes a day. It is a great way to start the day and gets me up to do other things before the rest of the family is up. This morning for example i was able to load (and turn on) the dishwasher, throw in a load of laundry and tidy the kitchen a bit all before the chaos called morning started! (and of course help get the kids ready for their 7:20 departure AND to top it off I was able to shower in the morning-which i love to do but normally don't because of time restrictions. (and morning showers really do wonders for my hair)
I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to keep up this commitment to myself for daily exercise!!

Some Things I want to try...

I saw a commercial recent for these Goody Spin Pins. I think they look amazing. Just wondering how well they would work on really thick hair. My experience with these products in the past hasn't been that great but I'm willing to give them a try...now off to try and find them in stores!

This product from Sephora looks interesting too. I have been trying to grow out my hair and as a result have been putting it up in ponytails a lot lately. Hercut perfect ponytail  might just help me get the perfect pony...okay might go a try this out today...and if the result is great, I'll buy!

Still searching for the best eyeshadow for me I am looking to get something like this.
I love Sephora!