I live in Canada with my husband, two kids, and our dog. I'm an artist by profession and a 'maker' for the love of it (vegetarian cooking, baking, sewing, gardening, etc!). Enjoy your stay, find something fun to link to, have a great day!
Finally! Finally! Summer has reached Calgary (along with some wild flooding which this city's still recovering from). While I'm a little house-bound with a cluster-feeding three-week-old (ugh!), my toddler is ready to go!
Luckily the great outdoors is a lovely place to be, especially since we just had the lawn re-graded and sodded, getting rid of some terrible landscaping left over from the previous owners. And as long as we stay in the sunshine (sunscreened up, of course), the plague of mosquitoes mainly keeps away.
Outdoor play means outdoor toys. We love playing with bubbles, picking dandelions, pouring water and a "balance beam" made of a 2x4, but there are a few outdoor toys that I am crushing on on Mia's behalf.
We do have a Plasmart Plasmabike which Mia has been using in the basement all winter. I'm not sure if we will continue to use that as an indoor toy or bring it outdoors. It's so great on the tile floors downstairs, and we don't have a sidewalk in front of our house; just a sloped, bumpy aggregate driveway, so it would be a little tricky to ride out there unless we go on the road. We're on a quiet court, but who wants to take that chance?
Besides that, I would love for her to have the Little Tikes Sandy Lagoon Waterpark. I think she'd get an enormous amount of pleasure out of a sand and water play table, and this looks like a really fun one.
Photo from sears.ca
Can you imagine getting this Little Tykes Rocky Mountain River Race Inflatable Playset for your kids? It's enormous! I think it would fit in our back yard, but there wouldn't be room for much else! It would definitely be a neighbourhood attraction! I think I would have been in heaven if I'd had that as a kid!
Photo from sears.ca
If you are in the market for some great outdoor toys (or any other toys!), I have an exclusive discount code for you to use at sears.ca! The code is 941612912. The offer is 20% off all regular price toys on Sears.ca, valid from
July 12 (tomorrow) until July 18 (next Thursday). Happy shopping!
“Disclosure: I am part of the Sears The Baby’s Room Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”
I bet every family you know with kids has something - or many somethings - by Fisher Price. Their classic, fun toys and practical gear are on must-have lists for parents and kids. We certainly have used our share of Fisher Price toys and baby equipment in our family - and will be acquiring more as we head into baby #2, I'm sure!
Our gear favourite - and I mean, I could NOT have gotten along without it, especially as an overwhelmed first-time mum last time - was the Fisher Price Baby Papasan seat.
I'm not even sure this is still available, but it was a LIFESAVER. It allowed me to take a shower (with the seat within view). Go pee. Sit for a few minutes without a baby on me, knowing Mia was safe, secure and comfortable. She napped in it, sat in it, played in it and joined us at the dinner table in it so that we could eat with two hands free. Best. Thing. Ever. Would I have survived the first six months without it? Debatable! I am not sure it's possible to thank my sister in law enough for this one, as it was a gift. I am seriously kicking myself for passing it on to another new mum after Mia outgrew it. Sure, it wouldn't have fit in the car on our jam-packed drive back to Ontario... but it was so awesome... argh!
The current crush in baby seats (and we're going to need one very soon) is the My Little Snugabunny Cradle N Swing.
Music and motion (side to side or head to toe), a moving mobile, and a cute bunny plush... oh, it looks awesome. I like that it's gender neutral as well. And, not hideous - you won't be cringing at the way it clashes with your decor. Some baby seats are just garish, aren't they? Not this one.
One thing I loved about the papasan seat was that it was quite portable - this one, not so much - but it has way more features.
As far as toys go, we are enthusiastic over here about the Little People Animal Sounds Farm. Mia got it for Christmas and it's gotten daily use ever since. Cute little animals and movable parts make for fun farm adventures.
In fact, I decided to leave the batteries out until just a couple of days ago. When I put them in, the new sounds it makes
absolutely delighted her - it's like a new toy!
Seriously, she plays with this every single day.
These are just a couple of the products on the 12 top must-have list for mums that Fisher Price has put together. Here's that list (if you're creating a registry or gift shopping for a tot, take note!):
Ocean Wonders Aquarium
My Little Snugabunny Cradle N Swing
Infant to Toddler Rocker
SpaceSaver High Chair
Discover’n Grow Jumperoo
Brilliant Basics Rock a Stack
Laugh & Learn Love to Play Puppy
Laugh & Learn Say Please Tea Set
Laugh & Learn Click ‘n Learn Remote
Brilliant Basics Stroll-Along Walker
Little People Wheelies Stand ‘ n Play Rampway
Little People Animal Sounds Farm
Generations of little ones and their parents have loved these products world-wide, and they have passed the test of time (and the test of children... a tough one!).You can read more about the Fisher Price Favourites at this special site they have set up.
Fisher Price and Mom Central are offering an exclusive discount code at Toys R Us for all of the Fisher Price Favourites - to give you 20% off!!! Awesome! Use the code FISHERPRICE20at Toys R Usuntil April 30th to receive the discount!
Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Blogger
Campaign with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of
my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
This review of the vTech Crazy Legs Learning Bugs Ladybug and the vTech 3-in-1 Zebra Scooter is my own opinion - you can watch the video and judge for yourself. These toys were not sponsored for review. They were purchased for my daughter.
This is my first ever video review so go easy :) If it is vertical on your screen, be patient - it's being processed and will be horizontal soon, says YouTube.
We got two vTech toys last Christmas for my daughter. It is now early June, so these toys are about 5 1/2 months old. And both are broken.
Let me preface by saying that my daughter is easy on her toys. She doesn't drop or throw them. She's a careful little girl and gentle with her stuff, not a rough player at all.
The vTech Crazy Legs Learning Bugs Ladybug was fun for a while. It played music and you can match the shapes by plugging in the 'feet' to the appropriate shape and then tap the bug on top to release them. It's pretty cute and the sound is not terribly loud. My daughter loves music and would play it just to dance to the music.
About two months ago, the music began to slow down and speed up randomly. Not a battery issue, it just seemed to start changing the tempo. Not the end of the world, though it did make it harder for me to sing the words to the songs for her.
Then last week, it began to play only little snatches of the voice or music in loops, OVER AND OVER. I am sure you can imagine how annoying that is.
Our other vTech toy, the 3-in-1 Zebra Scooter, was recommended by a friend who had a baby just a bit older than ours. Their daughter loved it so my husband picked it up as a special gift for Mia for Christmas. Special because we found it pretty expensive for a toy at $60.
It's a neat toy because it has three positions: a walker push-toy for littles just learning to walk, a ride-on toy for toddlers, and a scooter for when they're a bit older. Besides that, it has fun lights and buttons to push, music, and animal sounds and tidbits of information.
Mia used it as a walker for a couple months, and now happily rides it around. She loves the music and pressing the buttons. The other thing she's quite interested in is the way the seat can be adjusted up and down for the other functions, so we sometimes raise it up or lower it. And that's where the trouble is.
As you can see in the video, the plastic screw that holds the seat up in the scooter position has snapped right off in the middle. It can never be used as a scooter now. We hadn't tightened it too tight. It was simply the stress of torque on the plastic causing it to shear. Checking out the reviews on ToysRUs.ca, I can see that the same has happened for other people as well.
I contacted vTech Canada with the contact form on their website. I asked if there was a way to purchase a replacement screw for the zebra, and a way to repair the bug. Soon after, I received a form email telling me my email had been received and that I'd be hearing from them within 2-3 business days. Two weeks passed and I hadn't heard anything, so I called their toll-free number.
The recording on the other end asked if the toys were under or over 3 months old. Since we got them at Christmas, I chose "over". It took me directly to a recording stating that our toys were no longer under warranty. Five months old and broken, and they assume no responsibility.
The kicker for me is that the very next thing the recording says is that I have the "opportunity" to purchase more vTech toys on their website. Um, really? Somehow I don't think we're going to follow the $60 we spent on the zebra and the $25 on the ladybug with giving more of our hard-earned money to vTech.
So my verdict on these two toys? Don't waste your money. You may get a few months' use of them but if they break (and based on my experience, it seems likely that they will), you're out your money and your child has broken toys. That is definitely not fun.
Mia is pleased to review the Little Tikes Ladybug Pillow Racer by MGA Entertainment.
One of her very first words is "bug" (well, "buh", which means: bug, bird, banana, bath, button, bunny, bum, and bear), and she looooves spotting ladybugs in the grass when we play outside. So what a treat to try the Ladybug Pillow Racer!
The Racer is easy for a parent to assemble. The wheels on the bottom are a lot like office chair wheels - they swivel in all directions, so no more riding a toy into a wall and not being able to turn around. This toy can spin! Not pictured in the above image (but you'll see it in the ones with Mia) is the anti-tip stabilizing piece at the front of the bug, so it can't topple forward.
The handle is the perfect size for little hands. Mia likes to hold on to it with one hand and take her dog along for a ride with the other! Another fun option is playing with the cute antennae!
One thing to note is that it is recommended to wear shoes while riding
the Pillow Racer. Mia was barefoot the day I took pictures, but really she should have had shoes
on. A wheel accidentally rolling over a foot would hurt.
The soft pillow top is comfy to ride on and good for cuddles, too. It is removable and can be washed - my one complaint is that it's hand wash. Of course the first thing Mia did was share her banana with the bug... But it came clean with a little spot wash.
The height is just right, easy for her to get on and off. I have noticed at play places some of the riding toys are too high or too awkward for her to get her leg over to ride or get down from a toy. She's about 31" tall and has no trouble with this one.
It's fun to push as well!
The Ladybug is very light. Mia can pick it up herself.
What a fun toy! Great for indoor play. I'm sure this will last her quite a while. At 16 months she is about 25 lbs or so, and it will handle up to 50 lbs! And I like that it has no batteries - no songs or noises that are annoying long after they are cute.
I never thought I would be impressed by Build a Bear. It's a weird concept and seemed totally gimmicky and lame.
If you haven't been (as I never had before today), here's how it works - you (for "you" assume you or your child, if your child is old enough) choose an unstuffed animal, you can choose a sound pack to put in it (for an extra fee), you take the animal to the fluff machine where a staff member fills it with blown-in stuffing. You can press the pedal to power the machine if you like. Once the animal is full, you choose a small heart to add to the animal. Then the staff pull the pre-stitched threads to close it up, and you can either take it home like that, or spend more money in the "boutique" on outfits, shoes and accessories (even small plastic branded wardrobes, ugh) for your stuffed animal. A little upsell attempt at the till to negotiate, as they tried to sell me some kind of mesh carrying bag. If you don't opt for the upsell, you can take it home in a printed house-shaped cardboard box (I opted out of that too - it would just go directly in the recycling).
All that sounds awful to me as I write it out.
But I had a $20 gift card and also a $5 off $25 printable coupon for Build a Bear
(click the link to get your own coupon - not affiliated or anything,
just sharing). So with $25 burning a hole in my pocket, we had to go.
We took our 15.5 month old daughter there today, and here's the thing... she LOVED it. I mean, she was in a grouchypants, complainy mood (molars, I needn't say more). And the minute we went into the store it was all squeals of delight. She's in a phase where she adores stuffed animals, so it was really no surprise. She spent a great deal of time hugging and squealing at the unstuffed animals, armfuls at a time, until we spotted The One - a chocolate lab much like our beast of a dog, Cadbury.
Pure joy!
The dog was $27 and we did not choose a sound pack or any outfits or accessories. Total cost to me after tax and my coupon and gift card? $3.10. She went to bed with it tonight.
So. Worth. It.
If you are thinking of what to get a child (anywhere from 15 months to, I don't know, 12?) for a gift, maybe a gift certificate for Build a Bear would be a good one! It's a fun experience for them.
Mia is napping -:yay:- so I have a minute for a hot cup of tea and to catch up on my email. Hopefully it's not like yesterday's debacle, where it took me an hour and a half to get her to sleep and then twenty minutes later, a courier rang the doorbell, and the @#$ dog set off barking which woke her! Love the dog, hate the bark...
Don't forget to enter the two amazing giveaways I've got running now for my Canadian readers. I spotted the Sozo nap saks at Winners yesterday and they are SO fuzzy and cushy. Someone will be lucky to win one of those for their little one! And the Bright Starts toy looks super fun, I can't wait for Mia to open hers at Christmas, you can win one of those too!
It comes with six coloured balls, just the right size for little hands, and textured (with animal faces) so that they are easy to grab. The center has a ramp and a hole where the balls swirl around and drop down to one of four legs with catchers at the bottom. I have found that with one ball in the catcher, if another goes down that leg it sometimes bounces out and rolls away. Here's a ball in action - you can see how focused Mia is on it! I like that the balls are light enough and small enough for her to have no trouble picking them up. They're very rolly, though - on our wood floors I find I'm chasing them around!
You can also see here the gears for turning, and the fish, which has coloured beads in it that tumble when it's spun. Each activity triggers a different song or phrase.
The table has two modes - play and learn - which switch back and forth depending on what page of the book is open. Mia LOVES flipping the page of the book (we read together a lot and she helps turn pages). She flips it back and forth, so we hear "Let's play!", "Let's learn!" over and over! Here she is with that page... you can see the look of concentration on her face!
Here also you can see the alligator, whose mouth flips up to reveal a hiding spot (sized just right for a ball or maybe a treat!). The alligator triggers sound effects, or "open/closed", "up/down", depending on what mode the table is in.
There's also an orange spinner, which can hold three balls - a red lever spins them madly around and they fly off in all directions. I'm SO glad Mia hasn't figured this one out yet, as she's not got the focus at her age to go around picking up the balls!
There's also a cute caterpillar that is also a shape/colour learning tool and acts as a musical keyboard, and the 1-2-3 numbers pop up and make sounds or say numbers when pressed.
The last great thing about the Activity Table is that it is the perfect height for Mia to use as a walker. She's at the age where she wants to walk all the time, but is unable to balance yet - she's been using my fingers, which is hard on the lower back when it's all day long. However, she can lean on the table and push it along while walking - it's not meant to do this specifically, but on wood floors it works a treat. Here she is on the go!
You can use it without the legs for younger babies as well.
If there were anything I would change about it - the alphabet song that it sings says "zee" instead of "zed", and I wish for the Canadian market they would have changed that. I also wish that for Canada they would give a French option. **Edit: the French versions of all the Having a Ball toys should be out in the New Year!** And I wish the balls would always catch in the legs, and not occasionally roll out.
However, those are minor complaints. Mia spends more time playing with this than a lot of her other toys and I like that it has functions that entertain her now (at 9 1/2 months old), and she can grow into other elements of it. What she loves now are the book, alligator, fish, and banging it randomly to see the lights and hear the sounds. What she will grow into are the learning elements - numbers, alphabet, relating the sounds and songs to what she sees, as well as the more complex actions of the ball ramp, spinner, and gears. I think it will be fun once she realizes where the balls go once they drop through the center - and that they could fall into any of the four legs. I also like that it's not huge, it's a reasonable size.
The Bright Starts Having a Ball line has a bunch of fun toys (Santa's bringing Mia the Swirl and Roll Truck for Christmas! Shh!) and they are available in Canada (and the US) exclusively at Toys R Us. Visit Bright Starts for more information about the toys!
Bright Starts has generously sponsored a giveaway for my Canadian readers as well! They have sent me a Swirl and Roll Truck to give away!
I think in the hectic consumer madness of the season (a friend mentioned today that Christmas is only five weeks away!), we sometimes forget what it's really all about. Here's a little reminder that the gifts which mean the most need not be found at the shopping mall.
From now until December 9th, Starlight Children’s Foundation is hosting their Annual Starlight Toy Drive. You can help spread holiday cheer to a Starlight Child or Family by donating as little as $20 to sponsor a holiday stocking. For children dealing with serious medical conditions, holidays often take a back seat. Many parents also don’t have the means to celebrate as most time is spent caring for their ailing child. Starlight’s multiple giving opportunities make it easy for people to donate and help make a holiday wish come true.
This program helps Canadian children who are seriously ill and their families celebrate the season. You do get a tax receipt for donating, and you can even donate in someone else's name, as a Christmas gift. Last year for my parents' birthdays, they requested donations be made to local food banks in lieu of gifts - they have enough 'stuff' and wanted to give instead. What a fabulous gift this would be for both the people who have everything, and for children who are truly in need of a little cheering.
The Starlight Children's Foundation Canada has been helping children with chronic, life threatening illnesses and life-altering injuries for more than 20 years. For more information, visit their Book of Smiles website.
I hardly got anything productive done today despite my best intentions. Not cool.
One thing that I did finish was this. Dress somewhat inspired by this one on Prudent Baby - one of my favourite creation/inspiration blogs (though my dress is clearly not as awesome), and bunny is from this Martha Stewart pattern. As you can see if you click the link, the MS pattern makes a bunny that looks like it has to pee. That's why I added the dress - plus, my bunny fabric was not all that interesting. The colours came out kind of weird in the photo, but the bunny is ivory with yellow ears, and the dress is more turquoise with little carrots on it :)
If I do it again, I'll want to make a new bunny pattern. I don't quite like the way the legs bend towards each other. Or the shape to the head. Or the long skinny arms. The pattern is just a little unconsidered. Am I being picky? I have an old pattern from a bunny my mother made (her own design) for me as a child... I should have started there.
So now I have this bunny and am not sure what to do with it. Etsy it? (Can I do that with a Martha pattern creation?) Or... I have a pregnant friend (no idea what the gender is yet), and a bunch of friends with little girls - it could be a gift. Or... I could do a 200 followers giveaway here.
I have a chiropractor appointment today, good thing because my back is KILLING me from the 10" of dense, wet snow I shoveled off the driveway yesterday.
I was thinking it would be nice for my husband to come home and actually be able to pull in the driveway. Little did I know that the plow would come by later and leave 8' of road unplowed in front of our house, with a 3' wall of packed snow at the edge of it. The downside of living on the inside corner of the street.... the plows always cut the corner! We end up having to shovel the street. ARGH. DH always calls the town to complain, not that it makes any difference.
And... I still haven't done any Christmas shopping. Yikes! I just realized how close Christmas is. I need to make a list or something.
A few giveaways for today:
For baby:
Win a Cloud B Polar Cuddle Cub at {Natural} Mommie. Ends December 18th.
Win a Belle baby carrier at Jabbering Jessi. Ends December 20th.
Win a $250 gift certificate to Moody Mamas (maternity & nursing wear) at Design Dazzle! Ends December 12th.
Win a facial exfoliating creme by Aguacate & Co. at {Natural} Mommie. Ends December 14th.
Win a Bravado Allure underwire nursing bra at Your Mama Reviews. Ends December 17th.
Win a whole outfit from Shade Clothing at petit elefant! Ends December 14th.
For anyone:
Win a $110 Visa card from Kodak at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous. Wouldn't that come in handy at this time of year?! Ends December 15th.
Win a $20 Sobeys gift card at CoolCanucks. This is courtesy of cqueen2 - if you are a Canadian contester you will recognize the name! Open to Canadians only! Ends December 14th.
One more chance to win a $20 Sobeys gift card at CoolCanucks. This one courtesy of toolman. Open to Canadians only! Ends December 13th.
I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it, but there is still time to enter my giveaway as well for a box of delicious PC Chocolatey Chai Tea... I am still loving this although I've managed to cut back from my original 4 cups a day to just one! Luckily I don't think it has caffeine - or at least if it does, it's so minimal I don't feel it (and I can usually feel it these days, since I kicked the caffeinated habit).
Tomorrow I doubt I'll have a chance, what with all the little last minute things before we travel. Well, maybe, but don't count on it. So here's one last list before we head on vacation for a week. There are so many giveaways lately, it's great. I hate to think I'll miss any while I'm away! :) Though... lazing around Mexico is a pretty good consolation.
For baby:
Win a $25 gift certificate to Adorable Baby Clothing at Health, Beauty and Family. Ends December 3rd.
Win a Baby Emi jingle bells anklet at Simple. Ends December 10th.
Win a Little Twig Mini Gift Set (bath products) at Organic Girl. Ends December 10th.
Win Angel Baby bedding at Project Nursery. Ends November 27th.
Win a $50 gift certificate to Maukilo Toys at BabyLuxe Daily! Ends November 26th.
Win either a Bodysuit & Beanie (newborn) orLong Sleeve Tee (sizes 1-6 years) from Pipi Child at {Natural} Mommie. Ends November 28th.
I hope it's a great day where you are. Here it's eight degrees and sunny - lovely! Not exactly warm, but I console myself with the knowledge that by this time next week I'll be on the beach in Mexico!! We totally need a vacation after this difficult year, and it's also our first anniversary (the marriage hasn't been the difficult part!). I can't wait. And I am VERY excited to come home and start decorating the house for Christmas. I wrapped my first Christmas present yesterday :)
I thinkmy website for my artwork is all fixed now. I'd love to know if you see any problems with it. One of these days I will have to redo the whole site as I used a mix of programs to design it and they all leave a little garbage in the code. But hopefully that day is not today!
Now I've got a few giveaways to share with you! Loving the Christmas rush on giveaways.
For baby:
Win a $25 gift certificate to Maukilo Toys at Momma in Flip Flops2! Ends November 22nd.
Win a set of art cards by Wee Gallery at Cute Like Me. Ends November 23rd.
Win a 18” 7.0 – 8.0mm Lavender Freshwater Pearl Necklace from Pearl Paradise at A Wrestling Addicted Mommy. Ends December 1st.
Win a 6.0-7.0 mm freshwater Pearl Necklace in black from Pearl Paradise at Jolly Mom. Ends November 23rd.
Win Cream perfume at Mommies Angels. Ends November 30th.
Win Fit in Clouds Ballet Flats at Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends November 24th.
Win a L'Occitane Shea Vanilla Caress set at Wishing Penny. Ends November 28th.
For anyone:
Win a $40 gift certificate to Every Little Bit at Canadian Natural Mama. They have loads of great eco-friendly gift ideas. Ends December 9th.
Win a holiday art tote by Stubby Pencil Studio at Katydid and Kid. This would be great for kids but also kind of sweet for grown-ups who like artsy stuff or interesting office supplies. Ends November 28th.
Win an Aromatherapy Gift Set by Natural Sundae at {Natural} Mommie. You know men are secretly into nice scents, too. Ends November 21st.
Win a L Letterpress kit at iDiY! Ends tomorrow, so hurry.
Win a set of 10 pretty letterpress note cards by Sweet Harvey at Boutique Stitches. Ends November 30th.
Win a Golden Moon tea set at Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends November 21st.
So, I've been having some trouble with my other website lately - the site for my artwork. Sometimes the images aren't showing, and sometimes there's weird random text instead of my pages. The company that is hosting my site had a server crash, and since then my website's been booched. They've moved it to another server, I've re-uploaded the entire site, and it's looking okay on my end - but my husband tried it at work and said it's still messed up when he looks at it. Can I ask you a big favour - could you take a quick peek at my site and let me know if it looks right to you, or if you're seeing strange text and places where it looks like there should be images, but there aren't? And, what browser you're using? I'd really appreciate the feedback. I'm trying to get this sorted out before we go on vacation... it looks so unprofessional to have my site down!
This weekend was so busy. Here's what we accomplished in the two days:
ripping out the old shelf and rod in our closet, repairing the walls, repainting, and installing a great new system by Rubbermaid that has loads of storage and shoe shelves (finally!) - it even has drawers! Love it.
putting up the Christmas lights... I know it's early, but it was so nice to do it on a rare warm day in November than a freeze-your-buns-off day in December!
bringing in our patio set for the winter... aw.
making 2.5 litres of applesauce with locally grown apples from the market. Yum!
making an apple-cranberry loaf
making 8 meals' worth of butternut squash soup. Loading up the freezer with fall harvest goodness!
making two loaves of spelt bread. I love my Kitchenaid stand mixer (which I won in a contest last year)! We used to have a bread machine, which was great, but when a small plastic part in it broke and Black & Decker wouldn't replace the broken piece (instead telling us to throw out this large countertop appliance and buy a new one), we opted not to get a new one. Not cool to add to landfills rather than replace a 50-cent part! B&D gets a big thumbs down.
making chocolate ice cream (without an ice cream maker!). This one's for the grown-ups, as it's full of Baileys and rum! Mm. It's so easy, too. Though if you do make it, expect an overnight freeze time - the four hours the recipe says is not long enough. Maybe it would be, if you put it in a shallow container (I didn't think of that until too late). I confess, I had a spoonful at breakfast this morning :)
cleaning the house... just a regular weekend task, but it got done along with everything else
installing blinds on four windows. We finally got rid of the last of the 'temporary' paper blinds that have been up for two years since we moved in!
Hosting our great friends for dinner. They brought their sweet daughter, whom I adore!
I think that's all! Good stuff. Isn't it satisfying to get stuff done?! Ok, I'm finished bragging about our accomplishments... With Christmas on the way, the blog giveaways have really ramped up lately! Here are some giveaways for today.
For baby:
Win a set of fleece pants and a tee (for girls) by Brooke Van Gory Designs at Diapers and Dimples. Ends November 21st.
Last night I dreamt that the doctor's office called and told me once again to rush to the ER as my levels had spiked. Phew - just a dream. I woke up especially anxious.
The night before, after driving my getaway car directly into his mansion (it got caught up on a big sweeping marble staircase - oops) I was hired as a personal assistant to Pierce Brosnan, who apparently (in my dream) is very absent-minded and also enjoys walking around in the nude. Let me just say that I loved him as Bond (and way back when, as Remington Steele!) - but didn't particularly want to see him naked, although he is in great shape. I did like the awesome boots I got to wear in the dream. Pierce, if you're reading, feel free to send me some boots, size 6 1/2. You have great taste in women's footwear.
Weird things happen in my head while I sleep!
Some giveaways for today:
For baby:
Win a $50 gift certificate to Maukilo Toys at Your Mama Reviews. Ends November 10th.
Win a $25 gift certificate to Maukilo Toys at Katydid and Kid. Ends November 15th.
Win an audiobook copy of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones at A Bookish Mom (I love audiobooks!). You've got to watch the movie trailer, it looks awesome! Ends November 5th.
Hi, new followers! There's a giveaways list at the end of my day's post, as usual - just scroll on down if you don't want the blather :)
Early this morning I went over to the new Winners store that opened here in my town. The store opened at 9:00 and they had advertised that the first 100 people in line were going to get gift cards, ranging from $10 to $100 in value.
When I got there, there were about 70 people in line already. For a chilly fall morning I was surprised to see so many women there. I hit the back of the line and settled in to wait. From the time I got there to the time they handed out the cards, about 25 new people joined the line AHEAD of me. WTF? People were joining friends, meeting up with others and basically butting their big butts in line ahead of all the people that were waiting there before them. NOT COOL, people.
One lady well behind me started yelling at some of the people that butted in line. She spent about 10 minutes telling them off and then loudly complaining about others who were butting in. The butters (?) basically laughed her off and acted all put out and defensive. Rude. I was actually happy to hear someone voicing what we were all thinking - get the F to the back of the line.
Then - then! The lady who had been so vocal decided to join her friends up ahead about 30 people. Hello? Hypocrite or what?!
Anyway. It was just rude, the whole scene. People were getting so angry and eventually the store staff just came out and handed out the cards to the first 100 people they saw in line (about 200 people showed up). I did end up getting one - $10 - hardly worth waiting for, really. And guess what? I was one of the last 5 people to get one. When I was probably at about #71 in line when I got there.
I mean... how hard is it to line up? Didn't we all learn the skill in daycare, kindergarten, etc? At what age do people decide, "Oh, I don't have to be polite. I don't have to do the right thing. I don't have to follow the rules of society."
So... I got a little Christmas present for DH with it and got out of there. Madness.
I've got my ultrasound at 2:30... wish me luck... I am anxious and upset about the whole thing. I need to know what's going on... things are just not right with me. I'm trying not to worry as I don't know what's happening. But the not knowing is scary, too.
Ok, enough grumpy ranting! Here are some giveaways for today:
For baby:
Win a HALO sleepsack in brown, size small (10-18 lbs) at Mama's Money Savers. Ends October 20th.
Hooray! Today's the big day... the painters are here! Our house is finally being painted after living with 'builder's beige' for two years.
Yesterday was sooo long as we cleaned, moved all the furniture into the center of each room, emptied the closets, then cleaned again all the spots where furniture was, and wiped down all the baseboards. it took about 8 hours to do the upstairs. The tv and curtain rods had to come off the walls, the beds were disassembled, it is some serious chaos up there.
We haven't done the downstairs yet (well it's clean but not the moving and second round cleaning), they are starting on the upper floor. I am SO excited to have colour in our home!
Last night we slept on the two sofas pushed together - of course hubby got the long sofa and I got the loveseat! I was so squashed all night. I don't think I got a wink of sleep. And tonight I'm teaching until 10pm... it will be a long day!
A few giveaways to share with you today -
For baby:
Win $75 worth of Burt's Bees Baby Bee skin care products at Organic Girl! Ends September 30th.
Win a Hotslings baby carrier at My Charmed Life. Ends September 30th.
Win a Fisher Price Trio Building Set at Mom Central! Doesn't this remind you of Tinker Toys? I loved those. These look equally fun! Ends September 27th.
Win your choice of a pair of shoes from Must Have Shoes at Jabbering Jessi. They have a huge selection, this would be great for adding to your fall shoe wardrobe! Ends October 9th. This is part of Jessi's Back 2 Blogging Bash - check out all the giveaways while you're there!
Win a Blush topless undershirt at Helping Mommys Win. Ends September 24th.
For anyone:
Win a $75 Old Navy gift card at Bargain Moose! This is for Canadians only! Ends October 7th.
Ostensibly for children, the Nintendo DSi would keep anyone entertained. Win one at Mom Central. Ends September 27th.
Win a Sophia's Gourmet Salad Dressing Sampler at Sweeps4Bloggers. Yum! Ends September 26th.
Finally! Finally! Summer has reached Calgary (along with some wild flooding which this city's still recovering from). While I'm a little house-bound with a cluster-feeding three-week-old (ugh!), my toddler is ready to go!
Luckily the great outdoors is a lovely place to be, especially since we just had the lawn re-graded and sodded, getting rid of some terrible landscaping left over from the previous owners. And as long as we stay in the sunshine (sunscreened up, of course), the plague of mosquitoes mainly keeps away.
Outdoor play means outdoor toys. We love playing with bubbles, picking dandelions, pouring water and a "balance beam" made of a 2x4, but there are a few outdoor toys that I am crushing on on Mia's behalf.
