A Letter To Me

As I was driving today the song "Letter To Me" by Brad Paisley came on the radio and it got me thinking about what I would write to myself at 17 if I had the opportunity to write my younger-self a letter. First off, I know for a fact that no matter what I wrote back to myself at 17, I probably would not have taken even one piece of advice from it because like most 17 years old's; I knew everything!

I often find myself saying "If only I knew then what I know now..." and isn't that Murphy's law? It's funny how when we get older we find ourselves saying exactly what other's told us years ago! If I had the opportunity to write myself a letter to read ten years ago, I'd probably start off by saying how wonderful my life has become now. I wouldn't suggest that I do anything different because every mistake I made and every wrong turn I took has helped me become the person I am today. At the end of the day, it's not only about where I ended up today but also how I got here. Every part of the journey has helped mould me into the person, wife and mother I am today.

I now sit back and think about the letter that I'd write ten or fifteen years from now to myself today. I am pretty sure that I'd tell myself that these years when the kids are small will fly by and to cherish every moment that they are at this wonderful age. I'd remind myself that the hours seem long but the years will seem short and that every day is a gift. Once I started to think about what I would feel years from now, I felt this sense of self contentment. I feel like this was such a wonderful reminder to appreciate today because we don't know what tomorrow will bring. Enjoy every minute of today.

One Of Those Days...

Today was an especially hard day. I should have just gone right back to bed when I started it off by pouring liquid egg whites into my coffee instead of cream... but I kept on and took the kids to swimming lessons, lunch and a play date. The kids destroyed my house from top to bottom at least twice and I burnt dinner right before my DH walked through the door. It really was a lovely day!

I had been looking forward to an evening out with some women I hadn't seen in almost six months. I knew that if I was able to survive the day and get the kids to bed that I'd be out the door shortly after six o'clock and on my way to some wine & good conversation. At the last minute my DH decided that he wanted to go on a motorcycle ride with some buddies since tonight was the first rain- free night in well over a week. Naturally I said fine and that I'd pop by to see the girl's with the kids for 15 minutes before bedtime... totally giving up my "ME" time that I had been looking forward to for several days.

So, you can probably guess exactly how the evening went at a baby/child free get together with my two children...ya... well... exactly. It sucked. I spent the entire time chasing DD around and scolding my son every five minutes. I quickly gulped down my glass of wine, packed the kids up in the car and headed straight out of there like a rocket ship. I know first hand what it's like to leave your kids at home and get out for the evening; the last thing you want is to listen to another kid whine and scream! I'm okay with the fact that they probably didn't want us there but I broke into tears on the way home. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I got home and put the kids straight to bed and decided to burn off some of my steam by cutting the grass, pulling weeds and vacuuming the entire house top to bottom. YES, that was the "ME" time that I got today... I cleaned my house!

I don't blame my husband for what happened this evening because he's at work all day and comes home to deal with the kids who are tired and cranky from a long day. He deserves his outing as well, it just so happened that he planned his "ME" time at the same time that I had planned mine.

I've come across a new approach to friendship and childcare - affordable childcare. It's not coming to my city (yet!) but it's launching in 26 cities across Ontario this summer. I'm excited to see and hear what people think of this idea because it's something that is so simple yet so needed. I have a few friend's who do this already - This is a fabulous way to not only make new friends and network but to find somebody to help out when you really need that "ME" time.

http://www.sitswap.ca/ 

I didn't get my "ME" time today in the way that I had hoped & planned.... but my lawn looks great ,my house is clean & my husband is happy. I guess I'm half way there!

The Best Book Ever!

Last week a good friend of mine sent me a link to what could quite possibly be the best book I've ever read! After I laughed my butt off at it, I knew that I had to share this book with all the other overly exhausted parents out there! This book says it all! We've all been there and it's about time that somebody wrote a book like this! This book is genius and says everything that we are all thinking on the inside.. you know you think it! Even if you don't admit it - we've all just wanted our kids to just go the "F" to sleep!

I apologize if anybody feels offended by this book; but I'm a good mother and I take good care of my kids but by the end of a long day with them - I just want them to go to sleep! I am driven nuts by the "I have to go pee" and the "I am thirsty" a million times over and over! My mother jokes that my husband and I dance around downstairs after we put the kids to bed! I admit it - sometimes we do feel like singing "It's the most wonderful time of the day..." with big grins on our faces! We're only human! :)



The Good Old Tantrum

Before I became a parent, I had all the answers to being the perfect parent! Now that I am a Mama to two little ones I find myself sometimes having no answers and feeling completely lost! I remember seeing women in the grocery stores with their screaming kids putting up a fuss over a candy in the check- out aisle and thinking to myself  "That lady has such horrible kids! She should discipline them & leave!" and only a few short years later I found myself at the local Wal-Mart with a huge pregnant belly and a screaming toddler kicking, biting and pulling my hair because he didn't want to sit in the shopping cart. I can recall people around me giving me dirty looks and probably thinking the exact same thing I thought years before... But I couldn't just leave because my two year old didn't want to sit in the cart - I had groceries to buy & prescriptions to fill and I honestly didn't care who watched or who talked about me! I just continued on my way as he kicked & screamed the entire time... and it totally sucked!! By the time I got home I was totally exhausted and frustrated beyond belief!

I now know what it's like to go weeks, months and even years without a good night's sleep and what it's like to never get to eat your meal all at once or at a decent temperature! I warm my morning coffee up in the microwave at least 4 times before I am able to finish it & I can't remember the last time that I was able to put my feet up & just relax... rest ?? what's that ? lol

I've just learned to live with temper tantrums & accepted that sometimes people will judge me and probably give me dirty looks or wish my kids and I weren't there! I try my best as a mother and sometimes I just have to shut out the world around me and continue on my way.... even if they kick & scream.. and bite & cry!

A Mother's Worst Nightmare



DS at 5 months old

 This past week has been completely insane! Baby G got sick just over a week ago and our entire house has been upside down ever since. As I was sitting in the hospital room as she slept last week, I was reminded of the first time I ever had a sick child... it was truly my worst nightmare.

It was Easter long weekend of 2008 and life was great! My DH and I had just bought our very first house, planned our first family vacation as a family of three and were starting to plan our wedding for the upcoming summer. Everything was perfect!

We put our then five month old DS to bed and settled to watch a movie.In the morning my mother (whom we were living with at the time) came into our room to get him so that we could sleep in and get some rest. Not even an hour later I heard my mother screaming from the top of the stairs for us to come upstairs quickly because she thought something was wrong with the baby.We came up the stairs to find him blankly staring into space with no expression on his face - it was as though the lights went off inside his head. He was completely unresponsive; yet breathing normally.

We quickly put him in the car and drove to the closest ER... I remember running into the Emergency room with his limp body in my arms screaming like a crazy lady "Help my baby - something is wrong with him!" My normally happy & active baby was totally limp & unaware of anything going on around him. The nurses took him from me and quickly rushed him into a room. After a few minutes I went into the room to see him and he was perfectly back to normal - smiling, laughing and cooing. I couldn't believe my eyes. As I turned to my DH and smile, I looked back to see his small body convulsing and his eyes rolling back in his head. Doctor's quickly rushed in and I was pushed out of the way... crying and in total hysterics I couldn't understand what was happening to my poor little baby.



The day we went home from McMaster

A few hours later the doctors talked about brain tumours, meningitis & epilepsy.. the doctor's suggested that we go to McMaster Children's Hospital because there was nothing more they could do at our local hospital. We were at the Children's Hospital for 7 days and went through M.R.I's, E.E.G, Spinal Taps and an insane amount of blood work. My DH and I only left our son's side to have a shower at a hotel room that the Ronald McDonald House provided for us - but only left if there was a family member to stay by his side.

The entire time we were at the hospital going through procedure after procedure, I kept thinking to myself "Why would God give me this beautiful child for five months and then do this to me? What have I done to deserve this? What has my baby done to deserve this? and why us?" But as I walked the dark halls at night hugging my little boy, I would meet other mother's that were there doing the same thing. I realized very quickly just how many sick children there are at these hospitals and that my son's seizures were so minor compared to the cancer & awful diseases some other children had.

We ended up leaving the hospital after 7 days with very few answers. He was unable to be diagnosed so he was diagnosed by default with "Infant Epilepsy" and was put on medication to control the seizures. It was at that moment that I realized how truly precious their small lives are & how quickly things can turn. I decided that I wasn't going to go back to work & that staying home with him was what I needed to do.

Four years later; here I am with another precious miracle and a fantastic four year old boy who is as normal as healthy as every other little boy!

DS at 3 years old

I am truly grateful for their health & don't take anything or any minute for granted because there are parents at those hospitals who have to go home without their children... I was lucky and I am blessed.

The Best Chair - The Svan Chair



Baby G in her Svan Chair



This might actually be the best, most amazing baby purchase we have made thus far as parents to two little munchkins! The Svan chair is by far the most elegant yet modern & practical high chair I have come across as a mommy! I am in love with this chair and clearly Baby G is too! :)

My first reason for absolutely loving this chair is the sleek design of it. In comparison to the other high chairs we have owned, this one by far has the smallest footprint in our kitchen. We don't have a large kitchen to begin with & our kitchen it totally open to our family room - so it feels even smaller with all the toys & knickknacks hanging around. With two children in our house, space is for sure at a premium!

The Svan chair is not only practical but it's stylish too! Almost every single person that comes into our kitchen comments on how 'cool' and different the chair is and it matches perfectly with all the darker wood tones in our house. You'll easily be able to match this chair to your style between wood tones and cushion colours :)

The one downfall to the Svan chair is that it doesn't offer any sort of recline option for younger children. So Baby G wasn't able to use this chair successfully until she was about 10 months old even though the recommended age was 6 months. The chair is quite easy to clean & comes with a plastic tray cover so that the wood underneath stays nice. The plastic tray doesn't come off as easily as the traditional high chairs we've own previously and can be a slight pain when you've got your hands full.

The chair can be used with or without the tray which is perfect for eating at the table with the rest of the family. When the tray isn't needed, it stores neatly behind the chair! Seems like Svan thought of everything with this wonderful chair!

At $349.99CAD for the chair and $39.99CAD for the cushion; the Svan chair might actually be the most expensive high chair I've come across so far! However, this chair will take your child up into adolescence with the weight capacity of 200lbs!! (obviously you would remove the infant insert after 2 years or so!) lol

I give the Svan chair a 5 star rating even though it comes with a hefty price tag! I'm in love with the design & small footprint. This is one piece of baby gear that doesn't make your house look like a daycare!

Pros:

• Beautiful design
• Strong, sturdy & built to last
• Easy to clean - nowhere for food to get caught
• Small footprint: light & easy to move

Cons:

• Expensive!
• Plastic tray can be hard to get on & off
• Cushion is fabric not plastic so it's difficult to wipe clean

Cowmooflauge : Our Latest Addition



Back Seat of my DH's Car



Our newest car seat purchase arrived yesterday - finally! Baby G has had her Britax Boulevard CS in Cowmooglauge for a few months now & ever since hers arrived my DH has been asking for his own cow 'racing' seat! So, we here it is: The 2010 Britax Parkway SG in Cowmooflauge!



The Parkway in two pieces out of the box

 I thought it would be fitting to offer a brief review of our newest car seat addition.

The only booster we have ever owned before this new Parkway arrived was a Sunshine Kids Monterey , so it is the only seat that I am able to compare this to - good thing they are almost the exact same price and similar in quality!

The first difference between the S.K booster and the Parkway would be the fabric; the Parkway's fabric is identical to the Boulevard and it's extremely soft and plush! At first glance it looks like it's white and black; but there is a lot of beige tones in this seat that make it easier to hide stains! :) The second main difference between these two seats would be that the S.K seat offers an adjustable width feature as well as steel bars for added strength; either of which the Parkway offers!

The first negative of this booster would be that it doesn't offer a latch connection (which the S.K Monterey does!) Britax does have a Parkway that has a latch connection (Parkway SGL) however, it's slightly more expensive & doesn't come in Cowmooflauge... so it wasn't any help to us!

The Parkway does offer a "Safe Guard" strap which is a plastic piece that attaches to the seat belt to help prevent 'submerging' in the event of an accident; seems like a thoughtful addition which no other booster seat offers. It could potentially become a pain in the rear since it's one more thing to connect; but I do see the extra safety that it offers & will do my best to always remind my DH to connect it:)

The cup holders on the seat are just okay... but it's a step up from the Boulevard and the Advocate that don't have any at all! For a $300 -$400.00 carseat I would expect a cup holder! The new generation seats offer an optional cup holder for $14.99.

Overall, the Brtiax Parkway SG is a good seat - it seems quite safe & sturdy, looks great in the car & DS seems to be comfortable in it (not sure if it's because he is really comfortable or just because it's a cowseat! I'll probably never know!) lol

For the $139.99 price tag it's by far Britax's most reasonably priced seat but because it doesn't offer the latch & lack of usable cup holders; I give the Britax Parkway SG a 4 out of 5 stars.

Clipping Coupons, Not Corners

Last week my 3 year old and I were out shopping at Walmart when he turns to me and says "Did we remember to bring our coupons?" lol Even at 3 years old, he already knows that we only buy things on sale and we almost always use a coupon!


Some might say that I spend too much time searching for coupons, clipping coupons and then organizing my cart according to the coupons I have.. but, at the end of the day we've saved a ton of money using coupons. We use coupons for almost everything! I'm sure that almost everyone has seen the TLC show "Extreme Couponing".. and although I wish I could do what they do, I've done pretty well!

Fellow blogger Jackie has put everything on her blog that you would EVER need to know about couponing in Canada; where to get your coupons, where & how to use them etc..

http://jackiesway-tosavebig.blogspot.com/



On average, we're able to save $20-$30.00/week on house hold products,food & baby gear! That's pretty good!

And YES, I do stockpile!! I have a garage full of diapers, a closet full of bodywash, soap & tooth paste as well as a cupboard FULL of babywipes! lol

Call Me Car Seat Crazy!

Anybody that knows me can tell you that I'm a wee bit car seat crazy! I drive my poor DH crazy by policing our children in their carseats everyday and constantly changing carseats in our cars! He can't keep up anymore, but he's learned to just let it be! lol

The decision of forward or rear facing, booster or harness.. low back or high back, side impact protection or not.. ahh! It drove me crazy when I first started looking into car seats for our kids!

It wasn't until my DD was born that I realized how important the purchase of the right car seat was. My DS is on the larger size in the 99th percentile for both height and weight; so when we picked a carseat for him we didn't realize that at 2 years old he would outgrow it and need a larger seat! We figured that we would pass along his old seat to DD... and she is a tiny, petite little thing! She's in the 20th percentile for both height and weight. We soon realized that the carseat that once worked for our son wouldn't work for our daughter and it got me thinking that although all car seats may be safe, they may not all be equal in how they protect our children and how they fit each child individually.

So, the hunt was on for the perfect carseat. Now, I needed two carseats since DS was too big for his previous seat, but too small and too young for a booster seat.

So, after a few months of trial and error as far as fit for each of them as well as a perfect fit in our cars went, I came up with the two best car seats I could find for each of them and our budget!

At 399.99CAD, the Britax Advocate seems like a huge (literally!) waste of money! It wasn't until we tried and tested it that we realized that this was the perfect seat for DD :) She absolutely loves the seat - she even cries when she has to get out of it! She has never once (yet!) complained to get in the car and usually falls asleep during the car ride. Who wouldn't? It's like a lazy boy in the car! lol

For my DS who is three and a half but a whoppin' 43lbs and 42" tall; I needed something that would keep him harnessed for as long as possible! I looked into the Britax Frontier since I figured that the Advocate was great for DD - BUT, I wasn't very impressed with the Frontier... it had a $299.99CAD price tag and it didn't seem very sturdy - at least not as sturdy as the Advocate. We stumbled upon the Graco Nautilus and it seems to be the perfect seat for a tall, heavy toddler who isn't ready for a booster seat. This seat will harness him upto 65lbs (just like the Advocate) but it will also turn into a high back AND backless booster! Best of all; I scored this for $199.99 !

Riding in the car is by far the most dangerous thing my kids do.. so, it's so important to me that they are as safe as possible - even if I drive everyone else crazy!

Me In A NutShell

So, here goes my first blog ever! I am a 20 something stay at home mother of two beautiful children. I'd like to call myself a "CFO" - Chief Family Officer! I'm a micromanager of everything that happens in our home. From short order cook to professional boogie cleaner :) 

Since September 2007 when my first bundle of joy arrived I've decided to dedicate my entire life to my wonderful husband & family... though some days it feels like it might be easier to just run away! Now, three and a half years later I have a rambunctious 3 year old son & an attitude filled diva of a daughter who is only 18months old and knows that diamonds are pretty & shoes are better in multiples!

Raising a family on one income has been an adventure in itself... the life of clipping coupons, thrift stores & on line mommy trading has kept me busy & on budget! We don't live a frivolous life, but we're doing well :) We've been though job losses & unexpected expenses... but always seemed to figure out how to manage it all!

The idea of Adventures in Munchkin Land came to me when people kept asking me how we do it.. how we manage life with two kids, a mortgage, cars, vacations etc on one income. I'd pass along tips here & there about the frugal, simple life - and the thought of starting a mommy blog to get my ideas out, pass along wonderful offers & ideas came :)

So, here it is :)