Randomly Ranted...

Life, the universe... you know, everything...

2010-07-20T16:52:00.000-04:00

Life has been getting in the way. Just letting you know. ;)

My new blog :)

2010-06-01T23:48:00.000-04:00

I have a new blog that is devoted to all things food, from recipes I have tried, food I would like to make, cool food sites and food in the news. I call it "Recipe Micellany" basically, because its a web recipe scrapbook. Check it out if you are the hungry type too lol

http://recipemicellany.blogspot.com/

Food funny of the day

2010-05-02T23:18:00.000-04:00

see more

It's kind of funny, because in my internet travels last night I had seen the Rachel Ray's brownie message bite things, and thought, 'if they were coated in different coloured white chocolate and placed in different shapes you could totally have tetris brownie bites'. Now obviously this isn't brownies, it's waffles, however I was happily surprised to find food in the shape of tetris. I should tell the people over at snackordie.com about this. That is this great little food blog about cookies and stuff you can make into video game omages. Brilliant.

baby update

2010-05-01T02:08:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I have been on to talk about the little man, so I thought I would take a moment to gush about the achievements of my now 8 month old son.

He is growing up so big and tall for his age, everyone who sees him thinks he is much older than he is due to his size. He is using things to stand up all the time since 7 months, his top teeth are now poking through to join his bottom two (groans about the new breastfeeding pains)

I am trying as much as I can to follow the baby led weaning ideas, although he still gets some purees and mush for a quick, easy meal, I try to feed what can be best described as toddler food to him to get his chew on. However, although it is easier to get him steamed carrot sticks, bread cut into rectangular sticks, partially peeled bananas and broccoli (today's lunch, he loves broccoli) I find the problem is that he loves the food soo much he trys to shove it all into his little mouth, and it takes some restraint not to immediately rescue the poor little guy, because he isn't choking, he is learning to chew and is gagging, completely different. Still, even though he hasn't turned 'blue' yet lol, I may have gave into my protective urges occasionally and fished out the half a cookie he decided he just must have entirely in his mouth... I hope he learns smaller bites soon for my sake, like I said, he isn't choking, it's just hard to watch. (most of the time he is just fine though, no need to worry, a child is more likely to choke on purees especially when being fed instead of controlling the feeding themselves.)

Well, there is always lots to say about Evan, but for now it is more that this is all the time I have to write about him ;)

A Great Way To Recycle

2010-04-20T02:04:00.000-04:00

Hey, everyone is talking about the environment this month (if they weren't already) and I stumbled across this great article from Junk Mail Gems that has a creative way to use old plates and vases to make cake stands :)
Check out the rest of the blog too, they have some great ways to save money and re-use things in interesting ways, I actually came across it while looking for DIY changing pad kit patterns. (Her's was more of a tote though, so I am still searching for 'the one' I want to make)

Check out the article here:
http://junkmailgemsblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/recycled-cake-stands.html

And here is a picture of the cake stand she made that made me fall in love with this particular article:

Swagbucks : the best free coffee I ever had

2010-04-06T01:00:00.001-04:00

I just thought that being very close to getting another free starbucks gift card with my Swagbucks, I should take the time to post about how great I think it is to be part of the Swagbucks community. I get most of my swagbucks for searching sites I already frequent, like yahoo, hotmail, blogs I follow and even lolcats. You don't have to always search through swagbucks, my husband won 10 sb for looking up 'Google' because he likes the results there better.

There are also points for swagcodes which are either cleverly posted or part of swagcode hunts to make it more interesting. You can get sb's for twitter posts, particpating in contests and no obligation offers, all for free, and win swagbucks to buy real things, and there are a lot of things to choose from.

More ways to get swagbucks? Trade in your old phone, or even your old video game consoles and games for swagbucks. Also, if you are online shopping anyways, why not go through swagbucks and earn some sb's for buying what you would have anyways ;)

Here is an article I found on Squidoo that debates search and win sites, swagbucks reviews well, that is for sure. http://www.squidoo.com/search-and-win , and unlike some 'free' things on the web, they are legit. They get their moneys from the advertising and data from your clicks and searches, so you don't have to spend money, but it can take a bit of time to get enough swagbucks to get what you want. However if you are patient this is a great way to get free stuff and no matter how you look at it, getting something for free for doing something you already do is never really a bad deal.

Oh yeah, and you can get swagbucks for referals too, so please remember to try through my link if you don't mind, lol. Just remember you are helping a stressed out new mom to get her treat of Starbucks that helps her manage to keep a straight head.

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/RandomlyRanted

Explaining the Easter bunny

2010-04-04T00:55:00.000-04:00

With Easter coming up it is true that there is too much comercialism going around, and that the holiday has been over-shadowed by a bunny that brings gifts of eggs for all the children, but even with all that I have always been curious about how the bunny became a part of this. In this link from yahoo.ca, it explains the origin of the Easter bunny. I already knew about eggs being about re-birth and I even know that hiding eggs has more to do with passover traditions but now my curiousity is finally quenched. Read for yourself :)

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/yahoocanada/100403/canada/explaining_the_easter_bunny

So happy Easter everyone, whether you choose to deck out in Easter swag and bring the bunny to your house or keep a more religious celebration with rememberance sans neon coloured eggs!

(the picture is from http://krazedkazoo.deviantart.com/art/Easter-Bunny-80604109)

Give me strength...

2010-04-03T23:40:00.000-04:00

8:45pm it started this night. Even though it was not the first time, I know this will not get any easier. Helplessly I lay next to my beautiful son, I stroke his back, I try to feed him, I coo in his ear, his father comes lie beside him aswell, he gently pats him and looks blearily to me. But he doesn't calm for any of it. He isn't even awake. It's as if he is baby sleepwalking without the walking. He responds but is deep asleep. It would sound fine. It would sound peaceful. If only he was not thrashing and screaming a blood-curdling scream like we had never known before last week. If only he wasn't having yet another night terror.

I can't believe at only 7 months old my poor little man is having one of the worst sleep problems I had ever even heard of: Night terrors. It has happened three times. I really never thought this could happen to us, to him, I don't know anyone in my family that has had night terrors, and I am sure someone would have told me if I had them lol, every little baby story about me was told over and over with me being an only child. Yet Evan is having what I could only describe as them. He is not hurt. There is nothing around him to scare him. He isn't even awake, its all a tramatic, exaggerated dream he can't wake himself out of.

Believe me, you can't wake him out of it either. The first one had us pick him up and take him downstairs, it was over 15 minutes before he woke up from the wailing and he was perfectly fine. I searched a lot about it right then and there. I had heard of this before. It perfectly matched what everyone was saying about it. I have tried a few suggestions to make things a little better that have seemed to help, like keeping his routine a little more stable, still bath every night, turn the sleep giraffe on for white noise, and do the 30min, 10min, 10min gentle wake to help him pass the sleep stage that causes night terrors.

It does seem to work. Except for the nights like tonight when I fed him to bed and fell asleep next to him. Instead of me waking him 30 minutes into his comfy sleep to help him when today was a stressful day full of changes to his routine, I slept peacefully next to him until 45 minutes after he went to sleep... waking to a gut-wrenching cry. I have had two teas to try and ease my own nerves. He sleeps for now. He is fine, and completely not hurt. At least he won't remember, but I am already trying to forget.

Appeasing 'little Shannon'

2010-04-02T00:43:00.000-04:00

The little girl in me screamed out when I was checking my various e-mails a moment ago. Little Shannon was in there shouting "OMG ... chalkboard easter eggs!!" I was really big on crafts as a child, and although I have little time for them as an adult, when I see a particularily cute or interesting craft, I end up dropping my normal 'heavy metal-listening, video gaming, venti white chocolate mocha loving' self and revert back to an 8 year old, yearning to pick up the supplies and make a million even if its not practical.

It wouldn't be practical to spend my 'allowance' on this, as I still think the baby needs food and stuff ;) but you should all check this out if you are interested in something unique this easter.

http://www.styleathome.com/how-to/simple-projects/project-tiny-chalkboard-eggs/a/230?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sah_dd_100331

By the way, my local church message board on their lawn reads " Easter is more than something to dye for"

its been busy, baby

2010-03-26T00:06:00.000-04:00

It has been busy, baby, literally as of late. My sometimes fussy but always handsome and charming son seems like my new 24 hour job, and although sometimes it has been getting easier as he gets older (better breastfeeding, more sleep, better routine etc) he has hit the stage that backtracks and makes it hard to do anything but look after him again: separation anxiety.

Granted, he is not as bad as some babies I have seen. He is fairly polite to strangers, only cries a bit when in a strange pair of arms, like the other day when my grandmother came over. She hasn't seen him much and has been having health problems, so he was unfamiliar with her, but only cried a bit and tried to stay brave. Grandma understood, and said he would not be healthy or smart if he didn't go through this stage, so its okay. He even lets me go into the kitchen when he is entertaining himself with his toys on the living room floor, but sometimes even going to the bathroom leads to a scream of a wail from my dear 'abandoned' baby boy.

So, I may not update that often for a while. It will be fine, he will grow out of it, and besides, I pretty much just do this blog to vent anyways. I spend my time alone, my husband at work, my aunt is my only 'active' friend to speak of. She works and I only see her about once or twice a month, and other than that, I only have my son to talk to.

When I say active friend, I mean that there are many people who have passed through my life that are great people that I consider my friends, some I even talk to on facebook. However, I do not have any social contact with them making them great people and friends, but unactive friends.

I don't go for 'lunches with the girls' because I have no girls. I don't have coffee to catch up with anyone but my husband (who I love more than anything and who is my best friend by the way) and I take my walks with my son. Sometimes I just need to talk to someone. Sometimes that someone is my blog. Sometimes that is all you really need, to just get your thoughts out into the world, and out of your head. Like I said, its been busy.

Fess Up Friday

2010-03-05T01:06:00.000-05:00

Today's confession: Laundry. I have mentioned laundry different times, but today I will just elaborate on how laundry is one of my worst examples of not being the perfect house wife.

'The worst??' you say? Well, in my mind I can think of it that way, as far as household chores go, it is actually one of the more easy ones. Put the clothes in the machine, add soap, machine does the work. Transfer to another machine or hang it up. It isn't like the old days of handwashing everything and I do not make my own soap, so when compared to things like the fact I don't have a dishwasher, I am the dishwasher and with only one sink, laundry should seem a breeze. It doesn't seem to go that way.

It doesn't help that I have no drawers (I mean no drawers, no dressers, no shelves, just buckets and boxes) So clean and neatly folded clothing does not have a home in the end. Sometimes I find I am only folding to make more room in buckets and on the couch, especially now that I have all that baby stuff to clean too. I just don't seem to take the time to fill the wash and dry it very often. Some nights the baby had adult towels for baths because there were none clean, and as I take the bath with him (I am the baby bath seat, it has just been easier that way for us) I sometimes end up 'air drying' and I am someone who dries between their own toes due to not liking to stay wet and cold. The cold Canadian winter wind cuts through our few unrenovated unisulated walls and catches you right up the backside when you least expect it...

Looking around right now I have a towel at my feet from a baby bath, one on the change table, a large pile of towels and clothes on the bathroom floor across the way, and although I can not see them, our bedroom is littered with clothes I am sure, and I know there are 3 pairs of pants down in front of the television! (Road slush on pant legs makes for wet socks and floors so sometimes pants don't make it too far in the house, let us not think too dirty right now hehe)

Laundry. Should be so easy, yet ends up being the chore that gets away. I could make excuses, but that isn't what this is about in the end. Until the days of 'The Jetsons' when everything truely does it's self, I am sure there will be a pile somewhere, lurking in my house. Taunting me.

(On a side note I have RetroTune on my tv, and recently have reseen the flinstones and the jetsons, and have discovered I liked them better when I was little. Seeing them now I end up yelling at the tv because of how sexist they both are, completely projecting the housewife stereotype... I am not a feminist, infact if life wasn't so expensive I would much rather stay home and raise my son and feed my husband, but rewatching those shows let me just say, I didn't realize when I was little how bad it was. It's a classic, but I am glad those shows are in the past. Today's tv may not always be the best for our kids, but we shouldn't just let our kids watch old cartoons we haven't seen in forever before rewatching them ourselves to see if they are appropriate too. The good old days of television had its dark spots too, so just make sure the morals and messages in the shows they watch reflect your own. Then again, sometimes won't hurt them, and like I said, I didn't remember how bad it was, so our kids probably won't either. The kids are as likely to actually become Fred and Wilma as they are of turning into a Camero and catching animals in tiny balls that shoot fire.)

...and it foams!

2010-03-05T00:37:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I am reviewing about a hand soap dispenser, but here I am, feeling giddy about one enough to write about it.

Let me start from the beginning. I have always loved getting thing for the house, useful things especially, like kitchen gadgets and mail sorters, things that are nice looking but serve a purpose, so when I aquired my last soap pump, I thought it was the one. I was wrong. I was sick of getting the cheap little plastic one-time use pumps (that actually are not cheap as you can get mega bottles of soap from many stores including my beloved Costco) and having them clog up and get gross and end up in the trash, so I bought a nice clear plastic with chrome pump soap dispenser. Here is what I learned from it about buying a soap dispenser:

#1 - No matter how 'pretty' don't be tempted by chrome. The chrome starts to peel off the pump, and ends up all over, and sticks to your hands. If you are in a hurry, the towel does not take those pieces off, and I have found them later near my baby's toys, in the sink and all over the place, and I don't believe that would be safe for my baby, pets or myself to ingest.

#2 - 'Test' it in store. Now I don't mean put soap in it of course, but check how it opens to fill, how sturdy it feels and how it pumps. Testing them you can tell when one has a flimsy cheap pump that will not work well over time, and the old one I had was horrible to fill, got a large crack down it's 'pretty' clear side oozing soap everywhere over time, which cakes and hardens. Caked on soap foams forever and is unpleasant to clean.

#3 - Don't buy clear. I know they look nice, but in retrospect it wasn't the most convienient. What if when hand soap goes on sale you have multicoloured goo to display? Clear only looks good when it is actually clear too, so you have to clean one regularily and dry meticulously to make it still an attractive feature instead of displaying messy finger prints.

Okay, so my new one, the beauty it is, is white porcelain with a brushed stainless steel finish on its pump. The pump is firm and the containter is sturdy, and the best part about it is that it foams! It may not have been the cheapest one there ($16.99 CDN at walmart) but it does save on soap as you put 20% soap in, 60% water and leave the 20% for air to make the foaming action. One full soap container contains only 20% of soap, meaning my giant Costco hand soap is going to last a long, long time, and lets just face it, whether you are a kid or a grown up, foam is still cool.

So there you have it, an entire post on a soap dispenser. At least this one should be around for quite a long time, maybe my son will take it with him when he gets his first house, but I suppose we should get him walking and talking before we pack him off to move out ;)

Fess up Friday

2010-02-26T09:21:00.000-05:00

I know I know, I haven't even had a new post since the last friday. Being a mom and a wife does seem to take the time away from you and before you know it, a whole week has passed, having never taken a real moment to yourself. It happens.

My confession for this week: procrastination. I will try to explain it away, but in the end, that is just what it ends up being. I always have the best intentions to get the whole pile of dishes done instead of just the dish I need. I plan to vaccum instead of laying down a blanket for my son to play on just until I find that time to do it. The laundry heap on the couch will be allocated to the designated buckets. It's all in the plan.

Then at the end of the week, with my teething and fussy son demanding me all day and the naps he is taking becoming my naps as well, I find that if someone will be up on the weekend I have a mad scramble to catch up with all that was 'in the plan' for that week, that just didn't get done.

Now it is true I don't get hard on myself for this. Truth be told, I do have a teething son, a husband that works long hours and finds himself too tired to help with the clean up detail, and no storage to put the clothes and even most of the groceries into. But I also know, deep inside that every moment I just took that minute for my sanity could have been something done around the house. I claim procrastination in the name of my mental health. The house may not be perfect, but neither am I, and the dishes may still be there at the sink, calling to me to do them, but re-runs of the Gilmore Girls do not watch themselves afterall ;)

Fess up Friday

2010-02-19T01:51:00.000-05:00

... fess up? I suppose I can support the cause of vanquishing the myth of the perfect housewife.
My dirtiest little secret is my mastery of a secret, yet wholey remarkable ancient skill I lovingly refer to when I speak to my husband as "Hide S*** Kung-Fu". We will refer to it as HSKF for the purposes of this blog.
HSKF involves a centered sense of being and the ability to get a phone call from a friend or rarely seen family member and then partake in using the 20-30 minutes they may have given you to conquer each room, seeing the mess and garbage and envisioning the perfect inch-in-the-drawer in the kitchen, space behind the couch and the wall, box from last night's dinner that can be loaded and shoved into a convenient spot and so on and so forth.
Then there is the dirty clothing pile rush. We are still in the throws of re-decorating as budget see's fit, and thus have 0 clothing drawers, closets or dressers to put nice clean clothing into... just buckets. Still I find the powers of my HSKF kick in and defeat the evil clothes pile and banish it into an unseen corner of the bedroom, including the mass of towels, soiled baby blankets and sleepers.
Depending on the person coming over (Some people are more forgiving of a bit of a mess than others) I can usually use every crack and crevice available to me, even between appliances if I have to.
Last, but not least, if there is no time to do the emmense stack of dishes before me it is time to sort dishes into piles to make them take up less space, run the hot soapy water and fill the sink to max. compacity. If I am lucky the soap suds will come up and envelope the dishes sticking up above the sink line. In case of over-flow, at least the piles make the counter look cleaner...
So there you have it. I was not cut out to be a domestic deva by any means, however, with my HSKF I find that some people can be amazed at how much I have *accomplished* while caring for such a young breastfeeding baby at the same time ;) It will be our little secret.

status quo-ing

2010-02-16T02:44:00.000-05:00

As I casually browsed my facebook status application, shuffling through the many different postables for a funny or relivant status to call my own, I stumbled upon a status that read : "be thankful for what you do have, not for what you don't". Now I do think it is a great thing to be thankful for everything that we have been blessed with, many people do without a lot of the things we all take advantage of, however I feel that this has been worded in a very wrong matter.

Just think about it. I can think of many things that I am thankful for not having, though life can change everything in a heartbeat. I am thankful I don't have any horrible disease like cancer, or any horrible ailments like HIV. I am thankful I do not have a hole in my roof or baldness or even athlete's foot. Of course a list like this could go on forever, but it does pose the question that most people do not ask, yet maybe we would all be more grateful if we answered it for ourselves: "What are you most thankful NOT to have?"

Murphey's Law

2010-02-08T10:27:00.003-05:00

"Whatever can happen, will happen"

My husband's birthday has come and passed now. The cake pops didn't turn out how I thought they would, I think I made them too big to dip probably, but at least they tasted fine.

Our saturday night bowling turned into having no plan when everyone invited had their own conflicts in life and half backed out, which then became us going to try and watch Avatar, which in turn was sold out, so we watched Legion. Not that bad of a movie, still want to see Avatar though.

That was my first night out since Evan was born. It was good to get out of the house. I lack inspiration to write as of this moment, due to a teething baby on my lap, however I may find time later to do more interesting writing, lol though I have my doubts. Murpheys law you know.

Planning and pacing

2010-01-25T23:11:00.004-05:00

Coming up early next month is my husband's birthday. For a bit of a change I suggested we go do something instead of just us going to east side mario's again, like we usually do. Now we will be going to dinner at a different restaurant and then bowling with friends. It's as if his mind reads what I don't though, as we decided that he asked if we could have someone look after Evan while we were out.

Here I was planning out bringing an exersaucer and all sorts of things like that, I hadn't even been thinking about not bringing him. I somehow thought he would want his son to share in his birthday, but I guess I understand it can be a nuisence to lug a fussy baby everywhere we go.

So now my aunt very kindly agreed to watch him that evening while we celebrate, and will be keeping him at my place for that duration. Its hard to think of not being there with Evan, although it will be nice to get out of the house, and I trust my aunt very much, it is just that I practice attachment parenting. In layman's terms that means the opposite of cry-it-out, also meaning every time he cries I get him and reassure him all is right in the world, instead of leaving him as if his cries don't mean he needs me, even if just for support.

I worry, although I know I shouldn't, that all the world's drilling in of these negative parenting proceedures may end up in my coming home to a baby who has been left to cry and wail his little broken heart out because he was clean, fed and napped, so 'there must be nothing else wrong'. I know I am overreacting. I know she wouldn't do that. But I wont be there. And he gets really upset sometimes, so much that even my husband and I don't think we can do anything and find it hard to keep holding and walking him. If that happens, will they put my baby down, close the door and have a drink from my liquor cabinet? I hope not.

For his birthday cake this year, I am opting to make Pistachio Cake as pistachio pudding is one of his favorites, only for a twist, I am going to do the cake pops I found on Bakerella and turn them into... uh... dirtier version cake pops, I know they will be enjoyed. Well... with the exception that I personally despise pistachio pudding, but with icing and cake it might be better. I will give it a try. Here's the links to the recipes I mentioned:

*Pistachio Cake - - - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pistachio-Cake-IV/Detail.aspx

* Cake Pops - - - http://www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cake-pops/

Now I will just have to find the time to go to the Bulk Barn and get the required ingredients I don't have. Lolipop sticks, skin coloured white chocolate chips, styrofoam block, and I have to pick up the cake mix and pudding too. Maybe I will do two cupcakes to go with it as the main 'cake' ;)

...now you've got your head in the clouds...

2010-01-24T00:39:00.004-05:00

Here I go again... dreaming of all the things I would love to do to my house. I haven't even got the master bedroom finished and I am still dreaming about someday, if I can save up, all the things I would love to do to my kitchen.

Visions of painting and new hardware on the cabnets, more cabnets added built-ins, microwave vent thing above the stove (technical, I know) smokey grey glass subway tiles adorning my backsplash, blues and greys and blacks and whites, I could go on and on. I can see every little detail in my head and it just wants so bady to come out of there, it is dark and scarey in there and the other thoughts are fighting for attention posing serious rioting risk in there, however I am unable to just throw our finances towards every whim of a dream I have.

Lets start again... on room at a time Shannon, it will come in time.

I swear I had patience before Evan came along ;) Every once and a while it seems to disappear and leave me with the sense that I really wish that I could have everything done in the house, have all the money I need and be able to do nothing but spend time with my husband and son. It seems reasonable to ask, however I think it is a farther out goal than I would like to admit.

I recently viewed a newsclip as I don't watch the news due to panic attacks, I occasionally click the yahoo.ca stories that interest me to keep "current". It was all about this woman who had cut her food bill in half for her family of 6 by planning her meals for a whole year. I usually have trouble picking dinner out for tonight, let alone what I want in july... that is commitment. She and her husband sat down after they realized that they were blowing money on impulse buying at the grocery store, so they got the whole family to make a list of their favourite and least favorite foods, then created meals from that, then assigned different meals to every day of the year.

She buys all her food in bulk and on sale, (they showed a cupboard full of rice-r-roni that reminded me of my mac and cheese cupboards after my costco trips sometimes) she freezed individual portions of all that she could, and seemed really happy that she never had to guess what they were having for dinner.

Last week I was prasing myself for finding the time to grate some of my costco cheese and freeze it for convenience, and now I am thinking about how I should kick it up a notch. Sometime it would be lovely to sit down with my husband and plan out monthly, I don't think I am ready for yearly yet... baby steps... but as I am always looking for a way to make our life more affordable, this could be a big tool if I use it. Googling (or swagbucks-ing as I tend to search through it) meal planning holds all sorts of resources for anyone out there looking to do this themselves.

The free sample market has been a bit sparse as of late. I signed up for my free cereal sample at kashi.ca, and that is all I have found good in weeks. Canadian freebies (linked at the bottom of the blog) hasn't had many interesting things lately, but I keep meaning to do more coupon searches to help the grocery bite... uh I mean bill... its not as exciting as things I have seen in the states with couponers getting free groceries, most Canadian stores have coupons that can not be doubled and policies that do not allow the coupon to be worth more than the purchases, so you could get it down to a penny with the right coupons, but free is improbable at most places.

I should catch some sleep soon, so that is all my ranting for tonight... sigh, now I get to return to my dreams for the house... don't even get me started on the living room...

Stains out. No Doubt.

2010-01-15T17:20:00.002-05:00

I was just looking at a random coupon sitting on the desk. I felt the need to type something here but am drawing a bit of a blank in the ideas category to write in this blog today. My little boy is making noises in the crib near by. I left the tv on downstairs because I never really meant to come up here in the first place, but here I am.

Things are well. Hopefully my muse will return to me later :)

T'was the week before Christmas...

2009-12-22T03:03:00.002-05:00

*Shannon
is looking at her list of stuff to bake...If you don't hear from me by Monday call an ambulance I've been buried alive in the flour.*

That is my status on facebook right now, lol. I have to start making my famous cheesecakes before christmas. I am going to make the pumpkin swirl cheesecakes this year. The Eggnog ones were good from last year, but the crust that I made for it was revolting, resulting in eating the cheesecake carefully off the crust instead of enjoying it thoroughly. This year it will be a graham cracker crust with some pumpkin pie spices in it, nothing too fancy but it should be good. :)

I have these mini springform pans to make them in, so everyone can have an individual cake, and I plan to make a stencil from a picture off the computer and spread some pearl petal dust on it to make a shiny etable chistmas design on each one. Getting the cream cheese and eggs at Costco helps the cost of this endevour, though since this is about the only present I can really afford to get everyone, I want to make it nice.

My grandma will freak about how I shouldn't have baked anything, but let her have her moment ;) She worries too much and when she sees baby Evan all will be forgiven. I have the grandma who doesn't want any gifts at any time, ever. When I was little I used to get away with making presents for her, but when I got older she foiled that one too... but it is her choice.

Boo, I just realized my dark hot chocolate has disappeared from my cup, and Evan will soon need his night feeding. I am afraid to say that he is mostly sleeping in our bed, despite good intentions to have him sleep in the bassinet (though not for much longer as he is already flipping over both ways at 4 months) or in his crib, I have been a drained, sleepy mommy and end up falling asleep while lying down to feed.

Even though it may be a bad habit, I actually wish I could go back in time and tell myself to learn to lye down to feed earlier, because my moods and sleep were much better for it, and I remember sitting up for hours with this wonderful hungry little baby who feeds for HOURS sometimes, and thinking about how if I pass out from exhaustion I would have dropped him beside me and how horrible I would have felt.

Never happened though, but if anyone around me gets pregnant I am armed and loaded to give them more info then they ever wanted to know. I was the only one in my close family to start breastfeeding, except my cousin Sarah, but I didn't even know for a long time she had breastfeed because I didn't meet Alena until she was a toddler.

No one had any advice for me, and if it wasn't for the lactation consultant, a blessingly free service here in Ontario, the mixed info from the nurses would have ended me up unsuccessfully feeding, and I am sure I would have had to add formula. Now he is in the 80th percentile of weight for his age, and the doctor still can't believe its the same baby and that I exclusively breastfeed. She says I must have pure cream ;)

Evan is not getting much in the way of presents from my husband and I, as he is soo young and doesn't really need all the commercializm at this age, but I wonder how much stuff he will get from the family. We are having a gathering at boxing day with my mother's side of the family, and my dad is coming too. It will be stressful as my mother will be there as will be my aunt who has been inadvertantly causing stress in the family, but I hope the power of Christmas will make this alright, or at least the power of drinking, haha.

You touch my tra la la...

2009-12-02T00:54:00.003-05:00

I wish I had a pair of headphones at a time like this. I am just thinking about how nice it would be to blare some music right about now, but at 1 in the morning with a sleeping baby and husband in the other room... I somehow get the feeling that would not be wise.

I am hoping this weekend to be able to get the house a bit more clean. I really need to start putting up the christmas decorations. This will be our first christmas with little mister chub-chub and I would like to have a bit of atmosphere in the air.

I will have to go out and get a lot of christmas decorations as I have never been much for christmas... probably a dollarama trip for that or maybe walmart. Depends where we are really.

There is always the hope that the boys will get some work done on our room. Not much I can do to help right now, I am designated 24 hour baby caregiver so I don't have much in the way of time to get anything done. Besides, I can't wire...

2009-11-29T02:49:00.001-05:00

trying to make a living...

2009-11-29T02:24:00.002-05:00

Time has not been a luxury lately, as I spend most of my time trying to keep baby and house. I am currently trying to learn about couponing and saving and samples in my free time, hoping to save a few bucks here and there.

I am really nervous because we may be making a vehicle change in the near future, and with our finances tight, even though we need a four door with the baby carseat wrenching my husbands back in the two door hatchback, I hope we don't end up even more pressed for money due to it all.

wish me luck, thats all I have time to say... busy lady I am haha...

In da middle of the nite

2009-11-12T01:10:00.003-05:00

It has been quite a while since I have last had a chance to update this little rant-room. My little Evan is growing so fast, already days away from being 3 months old and growing out of everything. Already in 3-6 month clothes and not even 3 yet, I must have gotten over the breastfeeding hurtle to a certain extent, still I will keep trying my best to keep it up. Insert a 'that's what he said' and then move on.

Life for me as of late has been all about trying to get a bit of sleep and feeding, much like Evan's goals are to spend all the time accepting said feeding and sleeping. Would be a bit more likable if the sleeping was long enough for me to even walk away from him for three seconds and feedings didn't last for HOURS but hey, that must be why he is getting so 'healthy' and growing out of everything, eh? ;)

It feels like sometimes I don't even get to see the world. The blinds are all closed so I can feed anywhere, so I don't see the weather, the sun, sky, trees, ... really anything at all and even though he's almost 3 months I still haven't figured out his 'rythem', so it is hard to get organized to go out on my own. I crave the weekend when there is my husband and usually a few visiters to get me out of the house and help me with Evan to get to that point, but even then the outings seem so short and are usually even shorter for the sudden wails to be fed that come from my poor disorientated baby.

He is smiling now, hasn't laughed yet but with the way he babbles I bet it will be soon.

Anyways, as for my constant quest for frugality, free stuff, and good veggie recipes, I haven't been able to keep too well to a budget but we do find deals, willing relatives and left overs on gift cards to help with baby stuff.

For free stuff I check my e-mails for free stuff page newsletters and canadianfreebies.ca, and I sent away for a completely free snuggie, they even ship it free. That will be about 10 weeks, but who cares for a free sleeved blanket.

No recipes as of late, I didn't have time before the baby came to do my freezer meals, so for quick meals it has been mostly kraft dinner with added veggies and sometimes spicy cheese. Costco has this amazing organic shell pasta and cheese in a mega pack (what isn't in a mega pack there, I will never run out of tomato soup, that is for sure...)

So now that I am just rambling on, all sleep deprived and not making much sense, it is 1:30 am and the baby is sleeping for one of the longer short sleeps, so I should probably go to bed, also then my husband might get to remember who I am and go 'oh that was the woman I married... didn't used to have those stretch marks though...'

A contest worth blogging towards

2009-10-18T00:15:00.003-04:00

On one of my favorite blogs to visit, http://newlifeonahomestead.com/ is an interesting contest for those of us who like to blog and enjoy having a pleasing space to blog within. Kendra, the 'main attraction' of this charming little blog has offered the professional design talents of her sister in the form of a banner for your own blog as the reward for her contest. With four easy ways to enter, it is definitely worth the glance at!

http://www.sashwhystudio.com/

^the designer who will make the grand prize

While you are there you should definitely take a chance look at the content, as she is a talented writer who draws you into the stories of her struggles and triumps in being self-sufficient, frugal, and a better member of society and also has many tips and insights into making your own products and saving money.

My veggie readers be aware that this site is mainly about a home farm, and may contain content that you may not agree with, mainly eating animals, so have an open mind if you enter and if not then I suggest stearing away for everyones sake. I have a carnivore for a husband and am open to others not making the same life choice as me, though I do tend to avoid the articles about 'the non-vegetable garden' lol.

its all for him

2009-09-29T16:40:00.002-04:00

I haven't had much time for this... I will when I can, because I like to, not because of my following (I have none) but for now its all about him.

Evan

2009-09-19T18:55:00.003-04:00

My new little man

In the middle of the night...

2009-09-01T03:17:00.003-04:00

Here I sit at 3 in the morning, pumping milk like the specialist wants me to in order to obtain greater milk flow for my baby. I suddenly realized a while ago that if I do this in front of the computer that I can occupy myself here catching up on internet time instead of sitting aside boredly trying not to wake the child while staring off avoiding eye contact with my yellow pumping captore.

This has been an odd excuse for 'me time'... it feels weird after every feeding (which is every 3 hours) to go plug myself in to a machine and entertain myself... I would prefer my me time to involve a snack or a tea, maybe a nap... can't pump and nap though... that would be a mess...

I only have to do this for 15 minutes after the feed, so I guess I should value my moment in front of the computer... oh and pat myself on the back for typing this completely one handed...

Days go by...

2009-08-30T19:15:00.002-04:00

Its been a while since I have had a chance to post something new. August 15th, the day I was getting ready to go to my own baby shower ended up being the day that our little Evan wanted to show up. 8 hours later without an epideral (pat myself on the back) he came into the world at 7 pounds and 7 ounces.

Of course there was a frantic rush of people trying to help us, as we had been waiting until after the shower to finish off getting the 'small things' on our need list for baby, and the furniture was not even all put together. Then it came to being at the constant beck and call of my new infant, which thus meant that this blog may not get as many updates for a while.

We just have to get into the 'zone' and then I will be able to make more time for life. As of now with breast feeding, I really only have feeding and changing as my life. I probably should even go now, the grandmother is holding him but it wont be long until senior fussy-fuss wants mom to come and be at his mercy again. I will say he is the most adorable time bandit I have ever seen in all my life, so I guess it is alright :)

omg... I can't be sick.

2009-08-13T16:12:00.002-04:00

Okay, of course I can be sick. In fact, its probably way overdue, as I never had morning sickness and have had a fairly easy and healthy (maybe except for mega weight gain but my doc's not worried so neither am I...) pregnancy.

I have been wiped out for a good week or two taking frequent naps. I think it is mostly due to the fact that we have been getting a little hot and humid weather finally this summer, and after all, I am only about 3 weeks away from the due date.

This morning, however, I did not feel good. Last night I took 3 tums for my heartburn (2 didn't do it) and still woke up this morning with it back just as bad. I got Randy off to work and was finishing off my oatmeal when I just couldn't eat anymore. I went to the bathroom, and then tried to brush my teeth to get the heartburny bad taste out of my mouth so I would hopefully feel better. That was probably the set off right there, because at the end of rinsing was when I ended up back at the toilet... face first. So much for breakfast.

Well, when that was done I actually felt much better, but still not too great, so I re-brushed the teeth and went to nap/sleep for most of the day. I have only poped one tums since then, so I am taking it as a sign that I can get back up again and do a bit of moving around... however it really curbed my housework and prep plans.

They are already fallen way behind, however I am very relieved and exceptionally grateful that my aunt is planning to come over on monday to help me with housework. When she offered I felt guilty about taking the help, but I just couldn't say no. It has been just too much for me to accomplish on my own, and with the baby here so soon it could be anytime now and everything in shambles, not to mention the mother-in-law coming to stay with us soon (*groan) I don't even think in my condition there could be a way for me to dig myself out of this hole by myself.

I seen my neighbours today and they said I must just be itching for the baby to come and end this suffering, especially after I told them I was sick today, but I just don't think they understand... I don't want the baby to be here yet! I plead with my belly for my son to just hold on a while longer while his daddy and grandpa finish the master bedroom so I have somewhere to sleep when the M-I-L arrives, and so that I have time to finish assembling the furniture, getting the carseat in and inspected, packing my hospital bags, prepping freezer meals, catching up and housework and after the baby shower this upcoming weekend I will have to make the last frantic dash to buy everything I didn't already get or get gifted for the baby hopefully not with the baby already here.

I am good with september 5th. I really am. Randy and I are both born on the 5th day of our birth months, so it would be really neat if Evan carried on that weird little coincidence. Even with the date 3 weeks away, health and belly permitting, there is just sooooo much to have done by that time that mentally I don't even know how I will cope with it all.

Oh yeah, and I have to prepare my birth prefferences for my next doctor's appointment so we can discuss it and see if my wants are even possible... oh soyjoy I look forward to all the busy times ahead, maybe I should stop stressing about this before I throw up again :P

le sigh

2009-08-10T15:00:00.002-04:00

Well, I don't have the energy to do a large rant about my family reunion, but it definitely lived up to a lot of the hype. A lot of drama and uncomfortable situations... but there were a few good moments.

Today is hot outside and even though I am inside it is wiping me out. I took a three hour nap only a few hours after getting up, and only half the dishes got done so far. I still need to finish them, do laundry, clean up the bathroom (may get postponed today though) take the stickers off the baby crib and clean it down, wash the bedding and assemble it on with the new mattress, clear off the box containing the change table so it can be put together, make a list for our rather large shopping trip tomorrow (important, yet somehow still gets put low on the list.)

There is also vaccuming, mopping the kitchen, the fish tank needs another water change (the husband is supposed to have done that a while ago as it is HIS fish that I don't want to take care of, but it needs to be done) I still have tonnes of preparing and organizing to do before the baby arrives, and I have a doctors appointment on wednesday, dad wants to come work on the baby room this week, my baby shower is on saturday...

... and almost everyone who has seen my big buldging figure with the now appearing to be dropping baby boy in it is saying I wont make it till september 5th. I think I will be a week or so early... but I am not ready yet for the delivery. I don't have a bag packed, we are missing tonnes of stuff, the bedroom is in complete destruction, we still need to set up the room we sleep in for Randy's mother (don't even get me started on how disappointed I am that I don't get my first month ever as a mother to myself with the baby and have people forcing their way into my home and encroaching MY space... really don't) ...

There is just too much to do, and as I type it I hope that the stress of it all doesn't make me go into even earlier labour than before... wouldn't that be a kick in the butt...

Well, this typing is not getting anything more ready for Evan's arrival, and I still haven't had lunch due to my nap and its 3 in the afternoon, so even though I am drained completely I must at least attempt to do something. Wish me luck...

I never could get the hang of Thursdays

2009-08-06T15:52:00.004-04:00

"This must be Thursday," said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer, "I never could get the hang of Thursdays."
- The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Today ... just another day that I have managed to do pretty much the equivalent of nothing. Randy worked in the early afternoon and we both have partaken in sleeping in this morning instead of using our time for anything of use.

Tomorrow is yet another doctor's appointment in which hopefully I can get the time of day from this extremely busy baby specialist we have been so 'lucky' as to have. Perhaps I will remember half the things I want to ask and will actually find a voice to interrupt him and vocalize them instead of waiting for a chance that never arrives due to him always being so darn busy all the time.

Saturday is my first wedding Anniversary though :) I am hoping that will come out well. I am looking forward to it, even though with the baby costs and not being able to go anywhere really and how stressed out my husband has been I highly doubt I will have much to look forward to besides not having to make dinner, but it will be nice to have some alone time with Randy as we have been constantly either busy or in the company of others and have no time alone anymore as it seems.

Sunday will be the family reunion at my grandmother's house... I bet I will have quite the rant after that happens but for now I will try and keep it on the back burner so I don't worry about it... worry is bad for the baby anyways. Just the thoughts of these things put a knot in my stomache that the baby so kindly just tried to kick free of me ;) Trying to be helpful already, I should eat some fruit or something healthy to thank it. You always mean well and want to be healthy for the child, but in the end that box of cake mix and 2L pop from the convienence store always end up winning out. At least vitamins should help out with that... and with a few head spins I have been needing more sugar and calories to keep me and the baby safe... so cake can't be all bad.

Well my fingers (and feet) are swelling again so I think I will put aside anymore writing for today. I still will most likely not get anything else done around the house... but I will just have to let it slide for now I suppose.

So I am a hippie...

2009-08-02T14:12:00.004-04:00

Last night was another great saturday bonfire at my neighbour's house. Hanging around a fire late at night just talking about whatever and relaxing in lawn chairs. Last night however, my friend somehow ended up 'outing' me as a vegetarian. I know that seems like a silly thing to say, its not like I am hiding it or anything, it is just that people have heavy stigmas around the topic and automatically think I am a fur-spray-painting-lecture-you-to-death-vegan-hippie-type when I am really just a lacto-ovo vegetarian who is married to a carnivore and wouldn't spray paint a fur just because that would be redundant... someone would have to go out and kill something else to skin and replace said fur that was ruined anyways.

You don't change minds by force.

That is just the point right there, I am not trying to force anyone to do anything. I am not an activist. I just want to attempt to be the change I want to see in the world. No matter what actions I take, no one can change someone's mind for them, they have to want and believe it themselves.

So back to the story at hand, the moment my friend mentioned this to my neighbour immediately he starts rambling on about his horrible pescatarian relative and the hippie food they were forced to eat that gave them hives (they were probably allergic, but it is bad manners to make a meat-eater eat crazy unheard of foods when they are already uncomfortable about the veg-thing... plenty of foods they already eat could have been made veg instead) and how her child was raised without sugar or anything and resents her mother and how she was loopy and believed crazy things... this was exactly the reason I didn't want to mention it.

Then comes the enevitable meat eater comment... 'well, what do you eat?' And my answer always ends up being 'everything else'. Like I stated, I am not an activist. I just want to co-exist and try to enjoy life and respect people's personal beliefs... it gets a bit harder when I am being disrespected myself though.

As always, the newly made attacker always calms down and somewhat accepts that I wasn't threatening their sovernty, and the topic is dropped.

... At least it didn't stray into me being pregnant and vegetarian... so I have something to be thankful for at least :)

freezing my 'assets'...

2009-07-31T23:36:00.000-04:00

Well now that the freezer is set up and a few things are getting done towards our many renovations I find I am looking again at my freezer prepping for the baby. I actually found myself fairly excited over the concept of making freezer casseroles and stuffed peppers. I looked up tips for freezing and articles on OAMC (once a month cooking) and various vegetarian recipes so that I don't have a boring freezer life, but how can it be boring with all the options?

I found a recipe for a cabbage roll casserole, and that one truely makes me excited, because my aunt used to make cabbage rolls when I was young and I loved them, but I haven't had anything close to that experience in years due to the fact that you just don't see vegetarian cabbage rolls, its just not done. I hope this one works out well :)

Alot of the best freezer planning and meal planning advice and recipes I have found came from this site: http://www.momsbudget.com/ which also covers money management and decor too, so it is one of my more visited pages.

Also, in case you were curious, this is the cabbage roll casserole recipe ;)

OAMC Vegetarian Cabbage Roll Casserole(serves 10)

4 cups cooked brown rice

1/2 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 cups mushrooms, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cups sunflower seeds

1 head cabbage, shredded

4 cups tomato juice or tomato puree

Optional sweet-sour tang:1/3 cup brown sugar (add to sauce)3 tablespoons cider or rice wine vinegar (add to sauce)1 cup raisins (add to rice with mushrooms)

In deep, heavy pot saute onion, pepper and mushrooms in oil until tender. Add garlic and seeds. Add rice.

In large pan layer 1 cups juice or puree,then 1/3 of cabbage (approx.) then 2 cups rice and vegetable mixture.

Repeat twice. Pour remaining juice or puree over top. Cover and freeze.

To serve, place directly into 350 degrees oven from freezer. Bake 1 1/2 - 2 hours or more until cooked through.

Food Ideas Of Interest...

2009-07-24T17:16:00.000-04:00

Hmm.. with the weekend approaching I thought I would post a few links about things you can do with food.

New tricks for your coffee:
http://www.browniepointsblog.com/2009/05/10/new-tricks-for-your-coffee/

Utilizing Leftovers:
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/utilizingleftovers/Utilizing_Leftovers.htm

List of foods that are better to buy generic:
http://www.momsbudget.com/groceries/genericgrocerylist.html

(This one isn't really that much about food but has a lot of frugal tips that are great!)
Tips for the Truly Frugal:
http://www.frugaltimes.com/frugaltips.html

Hopefully someone can find some use out of these links :)

Finally

2009-07-22T00:06:00.001-04:00

I finally did it :) I cleaned every dish in the house ! Now if only the rest of the housework was done too.... But I never thought I would see the day. It has been a while. Every time I get some dishes done there is always a few left behind to haunt me.

Sure I ended up making dinner afterwards, but it is the principal of it, I got to see a dishless house even if only for and hour.

Time keeps on tickin'...

2009-07-19T22:48:00.001-04:00

Well a bit more of the flooring got done today. I can only hope we get everything gets done before the baby but I am afraid that my already wavered optimism will not hold for this, as we are only about a month and a half away from the due date and with me as big as a house it may seem odd to some (being my first baby and all) but I think it may show up early instead of late... Leaving us very little time to prepare everything for the child.

So much to do and so much to get, but until the flooring goes in and the bedroom is done, we are not finished and set up in the baby room meaning if we don't get the other stuff out of the way the crib won't even be set up when the baby arrives... which would be stressful to say the least. And my wonderful little freezer I got hasn't got the chance to leave the box let alone get hooked up and ready for my baby prep food. I can't set it up due to that whole 'I shouldn't be lifting heavy things' clause, and I think a freezer counts as heavy.

As I get more incompasitated, I am less and less able to help get this crucial stuff done, and am at the mercy of my husband and father to finish the job, although neither seems in a rush despite the fact I nudge occasionally at the fact the baby is almost here.

Don't even get me started on the baby delivery though, because between feeling people thinking I won't be able to handle the pain and the doctors being so uninterested in me they haven't even had any paperwork done for the impending delivery that topic will have me typing for days, crying a little, then waddling over to the corner store for more chocolate therapy... sigh

But more flooring is down :)

Write-off...

2009-07-16T23:26:00.001-04:00

Oh boy, today was not a good day for me. I think my hormones went on the run again, but they were assisted by crappy events so its not all their fault. First off, my doctor's appointment was supposed to be today, that was what the receptionist wrote down for me anyways... but when I got to it the office was closed. The receptionist was there and opened the door, we told her we had an appointment, she checks and says it was yesterday, today the doctor is is the operating room all day and there are no appointments. She ended up rescheduling for monday afternoon, but Randy arranged to have today off for the appointment, and I don't drive so the poor guy had to switch his shift for monday to accomodate the new appointment.

Everything set me off into tears after that happened, it was like nothing could go right anymore. I just wanted to go to sleep and put the day behind me, but unfortunately tonight was when we planned my revized birthday present, taking me to see the new Transformers movie. The movie was good, it was nice to go out, but it really is like there was only 20 or so people in the theatre and they all had to sit around and crowd me. Some twerp kid kicked my seat, some boy who sounded more like a girl sat directly next to me and laughed and screamed and even clapped very inappropriately during the movie... *sigh* I had tryed to pick a spot away from people but they all moved in beside and around me. If we weren't trapped there I would have moved to the front where the entire front section was completely abandoned and comfortably free of people.

Even little things got to me today, like our orange julius being more of an orange crapulus, Randy turning on a tv show I don't like and watching it after he had rushed me off the computer not long before so that we could get ready and not be late to go catch said movie which was supposed to be my enjoyable birthday present... can you take prozac while pregnant?? (just a joke, I don't take prozac...)

Hopefully tomorrow isn't the same write-off that today was... :(

the wishlist rant re-post

2009-07-14T17:23:00.000-04:00

This is a re-post piece from one of my posts in june, where I just ranted about what I would like for the baby as my wishlist, just in case anyone was still curious lol.

Well, if anyone cares to know, I care to tell, so I will do it here :)
First off, I would have to say one of my biggest wishes is for green items. I don't just mean the colour, although it is true that the baby's room is painted green, and has a jungle theme, and green is the optimal choice of colour for me. I truely mean I hope that as many people as possible take into account that I would prefer ecofriendly options, like organic cotton and bamboo blankets, glass feeding bottles, natural wood toys, and healthy body products that do not test on animals or contain harsh ingredients. (I have sensitive skin anyways, so the baby probably will have that as well)
In my opinion, eco options and useful items go much farther than memento items, because although I will treasure every moment with little Evan (thats what we plan to name him) we are not 'that couple' who will be keeping every last toy, clothing, hair from every month, spit up, etc. as keep sakes... I would rather live in the moment and for me its just not important to hoard mementos.
So here's a few things I would be interested in:
*gDiapers starter kits and refills, as this is the diapering route I am choosing. they are flushable and a good compromise between disposables and cloth diapers. They can be found in joannes place and kelseys in peterborough (health food and product stores) also online at gdiapers.com
*soapnuts, they are also found in health stores, and are chemical free sensitive skin cleaners good for laundry.
*gift cards, the best way I could think of to help someone else when I have to get a present is to think of what they need. Sure that outfit is cute, but sometimes a big help can come from stuff that is needed like groceries, meals out, home depot (for those of us living in a construction zone like me) even coffee cards, or cards to places that will sell the things that were not given as gifts, forgotten items like a fence for the stairs or something childproofing etc...
*'The best thing or advice you ever got' this gets forgotten a lot, but a lot of people have been mothers already, and I life experience can be very useful. Just think of the most important thing you had when you went to school, go to work, are out of town.. you wouldnt want to live without them items, there are probably many things that mom's have been given or got that they would never have made it without, or a piece of advice that saved them so many times, these are the kind of things I would like to know about :)
*coupons. yes, I said coupons. for a lower budget gift that I think would help emensly, a card with coupons in it saves time and money and the effort is always appreciated. Vegetarian recipies are welcome additions too
*one of those babybjorn front carrier things. I like the idea of carrying the baby hands free without all the luggage everytime.
Well, thats my few ideas so far, take 'em or leave 'em. I already have a stroller, crib, rocking chair, change table and baby monitor. I am interested in finding a bassinet for the side of the bed instead of lugging the crib in the bedroom, and keep that home depot in mind, as we are still taking apart the house and putting it back together before the baby arrives.
This should be fun, I hope.

Just another manic monday

2009-07-13T11:22:00.001-04:00

This weekend we actually got started on the flooring for the baby room. It was very refreshing to see something getting done on the house, and I hope the momentum can be kept... although since we are going away this up coming weekend it may put us a bit farther back.

Today I am just trying to get some things done around the house again. Still trying to finish the dishes, haha, but every time I get close they don't get finished and then more pile up behind them.

I actually did do a fair bit so far though. I went outside my house and attacked that bush infront of our house. (that is a picture of our house from last year, but that large coniferous monster of a bush in it is what I was clipping. ) I filled a paper lawn bag full of clippings off of that bush and the tree to the left. I may have over done it, I felt a bit gross when I got back in the house so I have been taking it easy before I go back full tilt into cleaning and organizing.

So much to do and so little time. I found a check list on The bump (offspring of theknot.com and the nest) Although my own personal list follows closely to their list, actually shocking me at how alike I was thinking to it, they have a lot of the grunt work like pre-freezing meals and such to be done before week 32. I am now at 32 weeks and 2 days, and I just got the freezer for my birthday. I haven't even got to start meal freezing yet, let alone the fact they say I should have most of everything done and should soon be on relax detail. I did beat them to the last day of work though, lol. I do realize I went earlier than most woman do, but I know now more than ever that it was necessary even though it is tough, and I am hoping that my 'catch up' period will still have me as ready as I can be for when the time comes.

Now I just need to prioritize what I should get done next. Probably the dishes, but I also need to attack Randy's fish tank, should vacuum again since its still a bit of a mess from pulling the carpet out in the upstairs hallway, should sweep the little clippings off the front deck... bathroom... windows... move stuff out of the room we are going to be tearing apart... sigh. I can only do what I can though.

I wish I had connections to be able to get supplies cheaper though. No one I know works at Home Depot so I can't take advantage of any discounts. Sure I get free labour from my knowledgable husband and my father the carpenter and jack of most trades... but scraping the money out of our butts just to get a box or two of flooring can really get ya down when you see how much needs to get done. My dad said "its a 10-15 year job" about my house this weekend, and I know he meant well, but that was a pretty low moment for me.

Oh, add paint and trim touch ups to my long list of chores before I forget...

My favorite Pancake recipe

2009-07-12T08:11:00.001-04:00

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My favorite Pancakes
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Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups flour
3 teaspoons (tsp) baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar (preferably cane sugar)
2 tbsp. ground flax seed
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
3 tbsp. melted butter or veg. oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
1/4 tsp. vanilla ( I add a bit more, about a cap full)

Margarine or butter for frying

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients. In separate bowl, beat egg, add milk. Make well in centre of dry ingredients; slowly add egg-milk mixture. Add melted butter or oil. Stir quickly till just mixed and batter is still lumpy in appearance. Drop batter onto hot pan or griddle (on my electric stove the best tempurature is about 6 or med. high) to desired size of pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and golden brown on bottom, then flip and brown on other side.

You can add a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips to this, or fruit and or nuts if you want a variation. My husband says it tastes more like waffles than pancakes, but that is what we like about them. This is a variation of the five roses cook book pancake recipe, over time I have just adjusted it to my tastes ;)

2009-07-12T07:58:00.001-04:00

Well, today, if my dad decides to still come up, will be all about working on the rooms. Hey, its not the best way to spend a weekend, but so much needs to be done it is a welcome thing to start floors and ripping out the master bedroom before the baby comes. Ideally I would like the master bedroom to be done before the baby arrives so I have somewhere nice to sleep, with drawers for my clothes instead of baskets, and with a ceiling fan to help with this heat.

Speaking of heat, that is why I am already up and at it this early on a sunday morning. I woke up sweaty and uncomfortable, and figured at least I could combat that with a shower. Now I am up though, and am really daydreaming about that ceiling fan that exists in the room that will be the master. Coincidentaly the computer resides directly under it at the moment...

Soon I really have to book my birthday present. Randy's gift to me this year is to let me go to the spa and get that prenatal massage I have been wanting. I have never been to the spa, I am not really a girly girl in the least. Never had a pedicure or a manicure or much of anything. Right now in the midst of latter pregnancy though, pampering in all forms suddenly seems like a worthy experience. I would probably just be happy with a pedicure as I can hardly reach my feet anymore.

What more could I ask for?

2009-07-09T23:15:00.001-04:00

Today while we were out obtaining items and travelling on Randy's day off, we stopped for ice cream. Could I possibly even think about doing a long involved post when that is just about all a pregnant girl can hope for in a day. ;)

The downward spiral...

2009-07-08T19:25:00.001-04:00

My efforts in catching up and keeping up with the housework have been diminished over the last couple of days due to being exhausted. Although it is disheartening to look at all the work ahead of me and see I am losing valuable time to get things done, I found myself sleeping in today and not really acheiving anything more than a load of laundry and a few dishes. (that isn't including the dishes I still need to finish from before, just caught a few plates back up)

More disheartening yet is looking at this room, my future bedroom, and the floors, and the unfloored baby room and thinking about how I am helpless in these respects to speed this work up. The real work that needs to get done is all lifting and ripping things apart... there will be insulating and drywalling and inevitably painting and flooring and even when that is all done we still need to assemble the baby furniture.... *sigh*.

I will just try and keep comforting myself with the thoughts that maybe it will get done, and that my exhaustion is from the baby and will not be every day. Eventually I will catch up with the work around here and soon I will be preparing for the arrival of Evan.

... then the worrying starts again, I have to finish my name change still , I am only half in one name and half in another. I still need to get maternity stuff worked out, there is less income and more to do... *double sigh*.

By the way, with all the renovations I would like to add home depot gift cards to this list of good ideas for baby presents. I am sure the baby wants the renovations done as much as I do. There, it kicked in agreement. ;)

2009-07-05T13:27:00.001-04:00

another year.. alright.

Canada Day aftermath-ing

2009-07-02T23:24:00.001-04:00

Last night was the fireworks, we almost missed them due to my craving for a bag of purple cotton candy. Don't get me wrong, we were there over an hour before the fireworks, yet the fireworks started just as we got out of the line, and we hurried over to the lake to get a better view. That was how long the line was for this cotton candy. A guy actually came down the line and had us prepay for the bag to try and speed things up, but the line was huge and I guess they just couldn't keep up with the demand...

I feel bad for the people behind us. After prepaying no one is going to just walk out of the line, and since we just barely caught the fireworks I can only imagine that the people waiting patiently (or not so patiently in the case of the mother of two behind us who was swearing about the situation) behind us had to settle for the view over the trees from the line up.

I haven't mentioned it was really good cotton candy yet though. Cotton candy usually doesn't taste like much other than, well, spun sugar, but this stuff actually had a grape-y taste, it caught me off guard. It was pretty darn good.

I spent most of today tending to bug bites and trying to catch up on massive house work. I hope I can get as much ambition tomorrow to try and get the rest of it done. I don't want to spend my entire leave never resting and playing catch up. Bleck.

I made it through...

2009-06-30T22:13:00.001-04:00

Today was it, the last day. I somehow made it through, though half way in if you had seen me you wouldn't have thought I would make it. It was a rough day, full of stress and not great for my health. I will not miss that. I will have to stop by occasionally to see the people I worked with though, they made it livable to get through a day.

Tomorrow is Canada Day, and I am looking forward to spending the day with my husband waddling around (me waddling, not him) and seeing the fireworks. I have been looking forward to that for a while. I should probably throw in a load of laundry so I can wear my red and white shirt... or at least have clean undies lol.

Soon I will be delving into thoughts and queries as to how to make my life easier and more frugal for when the baby arrives. as for now, I need to take a day or two just to relax and celebrate the many possitives I haven't got to focus on... although I don't know if 26 is a big possitive, I think still being alive is worth celebrating too :)

It's life Jim, but not as we know it...

2009-06-29T22:26:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is the last day, that is, for me at my job before I go on maternity leave. I am looking forward to being away from work, from bending, lifting and being on my feet all day while pregnant, yet change is always somewhat hard for me and the uncertainty involved in the future makes this process bitter-sweet in the end.

It will be good to be able to focus on getting ready for this big life change. I have to catch up on house work (which has been a fail since it started to get harder to stay at work having no energy left to do it) and also I have plans to organize my life more and to plan freezer meals to make my life easier after the arrival of the baby. I know that sometimes it is already hard enough to get a good meal on the table and that is just for me and Randy, I am sure future me will appreciate the effort of pre-making meals for a couple of months and putting them in my soon to exist freezer, that is going to be my birthday present from my father.

Hopefully there will still be motivation left after all that to keep on with the renovations, ... I would love to actually have a proper bedroom with drawers for my clothes *before* the baby comes instead of after he graduates if you know what I mean.

a floor would be nice too, in that category...

Oh well. I love my husband, will love the baby when it arrives and should at least try to have faith that what is supposed to happen in my life will happen, and nothing more, and nothing less.

At least Randy is going to take me to the fireworks on Canada Day. I love the fireworks display, Randy even proposed after a fireworks display during a trip to Niagara Falls :) heck, that was even a Canada day so it is like a little anniversary on its own. Our wedding anniversary will be August 8th, I can only imagine how round and pregnant I will be then, so I dont see romantic trips and big events planned for then, I will not be 'traveling' well at that point.

It will be my birthday soon though, July 5th, so I am hoping to coerse my way into seeing the new Transformers movie (meniacle laughter...) Although I dont think it will take much coersing to get to that goal. I might as well have made the baby room transformer themed instead of jungle themed.. but I think I made the wiser decision.

A girl can wish...

2009-06-28T21:32:00.001-04:00

With the baby fast approaching, everyone keeps asking "what do you need?" and off the top of my head I usually draw a blank. When I find those perfect items, I usually post them as a link in facebook, but I know from my experiences there that so many other people are posting things that no one is likely to have even seen those posts, what with all the 'mafia's and 'glamgirls' and 'if you were a shoe/element/ninja turtle/animal etc. what would you be' things real content can fade into the background.

Well, if anyone cares to know, I care to tell, so I will do it here :)

First off, I would have to say one of my biggest wishes is for green items. I don't just mean the colour, although it is true that the baby's room is painted green, and has a jungle theme, and green is the optimal choice of colour for me. I truely mean I hope that as many people as possible take into account that I would prefer ecofriendly options, like organic cotton and bamboo blankets, glass feeding bottles, natural wood toys, and healthy body products that do not test on animals or contain harsh ingredients. (I have sensitive skin anyways, so the baby probably will have that as well)

In my opinion, eco options and useful items go much farther than memento items, because although I will treasure every moment with little Evan (thats what we plan to name him) we are not 'that couple' who will be keeping every last toy, clothing, hair from every month, spit up, etc. as keep sakes... I would rather live in the moment and for me its just not important to hoard mementos.

So here's a few things I would be interested in:

*gDiapers starter kits and refills, as this is the diapering route I am choosing. they are flushable and a good compromise between disposables and cloth diapers. They can be found in joannes place and kelseys in peterborough (health food and product stores) also online at gdiapers.com

*soapnuts, they are also found in health stores, and are chemical free sensitive skin cleaners good for laundry.

*gift cards, the best way I could think of to help someone else when I have to get a present is to think of what they need. Sure that outfit is cute, but sometimes a big help can come from stuff that is needed like groceries, meals out, home depot (for those of us living in a construction zone like me) even coffee cards, or cards to places that will sell the things that were not given as gifts, forgotten items like a fence for the stairs or something childproofing etc...

*'The best thing or advice you ever got' this gets forgotten a lot, but a lot of people have been mothers already, and I life experience can be very useful. Just think of the most important thing you had when you went to school, go to work, are out of town.. you wouldnt want to live without them items, there are probably many things that mom's have been given or got that they would never have made it without, or a piece of advice that saved them so many times, these are the kind of things I would like to know about :)

*coupons. yes, I said coupons. for a lower budget gift that I think would help emensly, a card with coupons in it saves time and money and the effort is always appreciated. Vegetarian recipies are welcome additions too

*one of those babybjorn front carrier things. I like the idea of carrying the baby hands free without all the luggage everytime.

Well, thats my few ideas so far, take 'em or leave 'em. I already have a stroller, crib, rocking chair, change table and baby monitor. I am interested in finding a bassinet for the side of the bed instead of lugging the crib in the bedroom, and keep that home depot in mind, as we are still taking apart the house and putting it back together before the baby arrives.

This should be fun, I hope.

Let's get it started in here

2009-06-28T21:12:00.001-04:00

As I approach my two last days of work before my maternity leave begins, I want to be excited about the leave itself, but I have been finding it difficult. Every time I go "this many more days left" someone is always there to say, "and then you have this long until you have to be ready for the baby and do you have everything? and what about the fact you wont be making your paycheck aswell?...etc. etc."

Suddenly even though I need to relax more with the baby on the way and am so looking forward to not working (I hate working for a living) I find the joy of it ending sucked right out of me.

It wont be long now until I will have a wonderful little boy to fill my days (and nights) with workload (and joy, dont get me wrong) and before I know it I will be reluctantly rejoining the workforce and this will have been all been a pass in history.

I wish I could say I could tune out the negatives to at least have a moment of piece to myself, but with every comment I can already feel that I will be 'working' twice as hard at home as I did at work just to prove I do deserve this, that it isnt a bad thing that I am not working, and that despite the pay cut and soon to be extra mouth to feed that everything will work out, because I wouldn't let this fail.

Anyways, I will probably use this blog to vent about things like that, and make my baby wish lists and post things I like... and whatever else I feel like at the moment. right now I spend most of my online time between facebook and looking up frugal tips to help me manage the new life I blindly step into. Oh and lolcats, but that really is just for the hell of it, now isn't it?