Tropical Traditions Natural Soap - Review and Giveaway!

***This giveaway is closed.***
Winner: Diane!

I've had the pleasure of reviewing several products from Tropical Traditions already (some of my favourites: the laundry detergent - great for cloth diapers! -, flaked coconut, and organic honey!). Each time I've been happy with the quality of the products and the lack of chemicals or additives. This company does wonders with natural ingredients.

I had the opportunity to try out some of their organic natural soaps recently. We were sent the unscented, lavender, and tea tree oil varieties. Here they are before use:
The unscented soap has just one ingredient: saponified organic virgin coconut oil. Who knew that coconut oil could be soap?! It is truly scentless and like all coconut oil skin products is wonderfully moisturizing.

The lavender soap smelled lovely and has only the addition of organic essential oil of lavender.

The tea tree soap (the unwrapped one in my photo) again only has added organic essential oils of tea tree and lemon to give it scent. I like the herbal/medicinal scent of tea tree oil (and the antibacterial properties); my husband said it "smelled like car cleaner", so I guess to each their own.

I loved how the bars lathered up well and I really felt after using them that I wasn't left with residue on my skin - just soft skin from the coconut oil, but no oily feeling. I could use these on the sensitive skin on my face without drying out my skin or having a bad reaction. I also like that they are so simple in their ingredients.

My one complaint was that the bars didn't last super long. However, if I had left them to cure, unwrapped in a dry location for a week or longer, I probably could have gotten more use from them. As it was, we busted these open right away and used them up.

The soap bars are now on special so it's a good time to pick some up!

Tropical Traditions has generously offered one of my readers the chance to try the organic natural soaps for free!

The giveaway:
A set of three Tropical Traditions soaps like the ones I tried!

How to enter: Head over to Tropical Traditions and let me know one other thing you'd like to try, OR one thing that you learned there. Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Extra entries (please leave an extra comment for each. If you already do any of these things, leave the comment - you do get the entry for it!):

• Subscribe via email to the Tropical Traditions newsletter
  
• Follow @troptraditions on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway for ONE entry, this is not a daily! You can use this if you like:

  #Win organic, all natural soap bars from @TropTraditions at Emily's Latest @emilyisland http://bit.ly/kOi4R2 US/CAN 6/27
  

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to Tropical Traditions – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
  

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺ If you already do any of these things, it still counts for entries!

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends June 27th at 11:59 MST. A winner will be drawn within a few days, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

Prize will be shipped by sponsor. Note for Canadian entrants: Tropical Traditions is not responsible for customs or duties that Canada may charge if you decide to participate in this Tropical Traditions sponsored blog giveaway. (FYI - it's unlikely to have a charge, being well under the $60 that incurs duty charges. There was no extra charge on my soaps, which came to Canada quickly and packaged well)

Dinosaurs, Hoo doos & the Badlands

(Sounds like a great children's book title!)

This weekend we visited Alberta's Badlands.

Drumheller, Alberta has the world's largest town mascot - a towering dinosaur (that you have to pay to climb up for a view from the dino's mouth. We didn't.). Mia was singularly unafraid, but played the part of mockingly terrified well for a photo! It's way bigger than it looks in this photo at 86 feet tall!

The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is one of the world's finest dinosaur museums, with lots of bones! It's amazing to think that T. Rex and Stegosauri roamed around these parts long ago. Definitely worth a visit if you're anywhere nearby.

We hiked the loop by the RTM and it was lovely, with the characteristic "popcorn rock" of bentonite clay and views of the gorgeous badlands, but we were swarmed by the little bloodsuckers. Mia was wrapped up in her carrier and a blanket and hat, so didn't get bitten at all.

The Hoo Doos, however, are probably not as awesome as you might expect. I mean, they sound awesome, right? Like something out of L. Frank Baum's Oz books! I expected the Wheelers to roll out from behind every corner. Alas, there was no Wheeler in sight (or maybe not; as I recall, they weren't very nice). The Hoo Doos are pillars of soft rock, topped by a hard one - creations of erosion. There are only a few at the location and the mosquitos are insane.
They do look cool.

Winner - Playtex infant products

And we have a winner:
Congratulations! Stay tuned for more giveaways & reviews coming soon. I've got some treats for the grown-ups coming up, and am working on some more for the little ones!

Thanks again to Playtex for the opportunity to try out - and give away! - some of their products for infants!

Sleep (what's that, again?)

I'm happy to report that, at nearly 16 weeks old, Mia is down to three night wakings. That's right - no sleeping through the night here. Even when just 5 hours of consecutive sleep is considered STTN, she hasn't broken her longest sleep record of four hours and forty-five minutes. She did that once, and only once - more typical is a three hour period during which I am so amazed and thankful that she is sleeping more than two hours at a stretch!

She wakes to nurse*, and for at least one diaper change** during the night. A typical night is - 9:30 to sleep***, wakes at 12:30 to nurse for 20 minutes, wakes at 3:00 for a wet diaper change and to nurse for 15 minutes, wakes at 5:30 to nurse for half an hour, sleep until 7 or 8am, often with a nurse at 7 before snoozing until 8.

So when the mamas on my birth club board are talking about a "4 month sleep regression" and complaining that their babies, who previously slept 6-10 hours without waking, are now waking up (the horror) three times a night.... sorry, ladies, I have NO SYMPATHY!

*About the nursing: Mia is exclusively breast-fed and will stay that way until she weans. I've got lots of milk, and don't feel that supplementing with formula or adding the empty calories of rice cereal to "fill her up" is the best thing for my baby. She's gaining and growing like a champ on breast milk - we estimated she was around 16.5 lbs, based on our home scale, and 25 1/4" long at 15 weeks - that's up in the 90's percentile I believe for EBF babies. And yes, I can tell the difference between night fussing/sleep noises and hunger.

**About the diaper changes: she will not tolerate a wet diaper. I've tried big inserts, and doubling the inserts in her cloth diapers; hemp, bamboo, and microfibre inserts, even - ick - disposables on our various trips, it doesn't matter. The girl doesn't like to be wet (and who can blame her?).

***About the sleep: There's no way Mia will go to sleep at 7:30pm as so many babies do. She's never been a good sleeper, and now that she's finally taking daytime naps I am simply grateful that she goes to sleep around 9:30. Sometimes it's later. I know that sleep begets sleep. Her daytime naps took ages to happen at all; for the first two months of her life she probably only slept 6-8 of every 24 hours. Even as a fresh newborn.
She sleeps in a bassinet beside our bed, at an incline due to her reflux, in a onesie with a flannel receiving blanket over her legs. She's strapped in (it's a Fisher Price bassinet with a restraint), so can't slide down under the blanket, and the blanket is firmly tucked around and underneath her, so she can't kick it up over her face. She was swaddled for a long time but hated it, and as she is finally growing out of the Moro reflex, we have stopped swaddling her entirely. She doesn't startle awake anymore. Once we are back home in Ontario, we intend to move her into a crib in her own room overnight, but meanwhile we are limited by what we have here at our temporary home in Calgary.

Basically... I'm not looking for advice, I'm happy she's sleeping well for her. Just had to vent a little about the whinging of the other mamas who have no idea how lucky they've been!

More weird things about Calgary

You knew it wasn't over, right? Calgary's different. I'm not saying bad, just different.

• It's dry. I mean really dry. Mia's hair has a wave in Ontario - here it's straight. I'm slathering on the lotion like nobody's business just to keep my skin from cracking. Saline nasal spray is a household necessity. Now, lately there've been rainfall warnings and a week of rain, so it's not been quite as dry, but still. On the plus side, my cloth diapers hung up after washing dry in just a few hours here, compared to a day and a half in Ontario.
  
• It's dirty. Don't take this personally, Calgarians. Not using salt on the roads during winter (it gets too cold for that) leaves little option but sand for winter driving. Only, it seems to be a mix of sand and pea gravel. By spring there is a swath 6 feet wide on both sides of every road of grit and stones. Oh, it will be cleaned up... by July, they say. Meanwhile, every other car has a giant crack across the windshield because of the flying gravel.
• It's windy. Very windy. One time, my husband and I were going for a walk with Mia in the stroller, canopy up to block the wind, when my husband said, "Hey, I don't even have to push!" Sure enough, he let go and Mia was blown across the field we were walking in by the wind at such a rate that I had to really dash to get my hands on the handle of the stroller. Yes, Calgary tried to steal my baby.
  
• It has private parks. Some neighbourhoods have these fenced-in green areas. I mean big ones, with lakes and such. I guess Some People don't want the riff-raff spoiling their scenery?
• It claims to have friendly people. Okay, but where? I have met a number of friendly people here - but they are all from somewhere else! The friendly folks I have met here are from Toronto, Edmonton, England and Ireland. The one native Calgarian I've met (not in a social situation, this was a cab driver) spent some minutes complaining about how unfriendly it is elsewhere... and on my daily walks with Mia, it's me (the Ontario transplant) saying good morning to the people I see on the trails and them reluctantly meeting my gaze and grunting. Am I hanging out in the wrong neighbourhood or something? Maybe all the friendly people are in the north end of C-town. Yeah, I'm calling it C-town.
  
• Milk. Where I come from, milk comes in bags. It's tidy, it's handy, it keeps better, it's the Canadian way. Here in Calgary, milk comes American-style, in an unwieldy 4L plastic jug that is heavy, gets gross crusties around the rim, and you have to return the darn thing to some place called the Bottle Depot to get your deposit back. Ugh! What a stupid system.
• Liquor is available everywhere. I know that's not exclusive to Calgary, but in Ontario if you want to get loaded, you're making a stop at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores (LCBO) or at the Beer Store. Those are the only two options (okay, unless you shop at the lame wine kiosks in the grocery store that have very limited selection, or make your own). Here it's wide open. The Real Canadian Superstore has an associated liquor store. The Costco even has one. There are independent liquor stores. There is booze everywhere. I like it.
  

Ah, Calgary. What a freaky city.

One thing that is awesome about Calgary is the proximity to the mountains (Wait - it's great because it's near great things? hmm. Would I be more great if my next door neighbour was great?). This weekend, we're heading to Banff to do some hiking and hoary marmot spotting. I love those hairy little guys. Just look at that cutie over there.

Did you miss my first Weird Things about Calgary post?

Glup bebe bandana Review & Deal Alert!

The fabulous Erica (aka Mama Ash) at Everything Mom and Baby sent me a Glup bébé bandana to review! This is a fairly new product in her store and, I think, a great addition to her lineup of products that aren't widely available in Canada.

The Glup bébé bandana has ties at the sides to make it quite adjustable and a panel at the back to keep the sun off sensitive skin! (My husband calls it a 'nape cape'.) It comes in two sizes. We were sent the six month size, but although Mia is just under four months, I thought it fit very well (and will fit all summer long).

While we were in Ontario last weekend, we got to try it out on one of the few sunny days they've had recently. Here's how it looks from the back:She's pretty wiggly, it's hard to adjust because of that, but you can see the back panel (which got folded over on her) is nice and wide. And from the front:There's my happy girl! Yep, adorable. Mia's rockin' the Romance print, and there are lots of other prints to choose from.

Glup products are made in Quebec. There's also a Glup drool bib available at Everything Mom and Baby - very cute! Mia's drooling up a storm lately so I've got my eye on these.

And right now there is a BIG SALE at Everything Mom and Baby on Glup products! The bandanas are on for $8 (from $15) and the bibs are $6.95 (from $9.95) (prices in Canadian dollars). Check them out here - the sale's on until May 31st!

If I have a complaint about the Glup bébé bandana, it's this: I tossed it in the washer (with my whites, on hot) and dryer, and it came out so wrinkly that I had to iron it before Mia could wear it again. I am not an ironer if I can help it, so I found that to be a pain. Of course, on looking at the Glup site I see that the bandana is meant to be hand-washed or cold washed and air-dried, so it's on me for not following directions. However... who really hand-washes baby clothes? That's just crazy talk. Not that a hat needs frequent washing (or is that just me?), but still. Anyway, no harm done - I just took the couple seconds to iron it and it is back to looking great. It just won't get washed that often at our house is all.

I am a big fan of Everything Mom and Baby's commitment to stocking interesting (and often Canadian) products - like cloth diapers (including Charlie Banana diapers, which I love), laundry and mum and baby products. Erica is really nice as well! I recommend following her blog and liking her Facebook page for the latest news. Here's a tip: the Everything Mom and Baby blog often hosts giveaways!

A big thank you to Erica at Everything Mom and Baby for the opportunity to try out the Glup bandana! We love it. We were sent the product to review and keep, but our opinions are our own!

First airplane ride and a couple of good movies

Mia handled her first airplane rides quite well! Two four-hour flights down, at least two more to go before the summer's out (maybe four), and two giant ones to come in the fall when we travel to Europe.

She managed to wet herself about 10 minutes before takeoff on the way back to Calgary and so cried for the half hour it took for the seatbelt sign to come off. I'm sure the rest of the passengers were rolling their eyes and thinking she would cry the whole way home. Of course not! As soon as her diaper was changed, she was happy again. She slept most of both flights. What a good traveler!

By the end of this year she will have been to 6 countries and logged over 36 hours of flying.

Also, I watched two good movies recently that are worth checking out. Although I watch rather a lot of movies, I don't usually write movie reviews. Mostly I find movies are rehashes of the same old same old, or even close duplicates of each other (case in point: No Strings Attached vs Love, Sex and Other Drugs - if you've seen these you will know what I mean. And if you're going to watch one or the other, LS&OD is much more intelligent).

The first of the two I'm recommending today: Limitless. This didn't get a lot of press (that I saw - granted, I don't get out much and can't remember the last time I saw a movie in the theatre. I usually watch everything online). It had some weird, surreal moments, especially at the beginning, which I really liked. It has action, good-looking people, and a plot that really makes you think, with a couple of twists that keep it interesting. Recommended for a movie night!

The second movie I can recommend is called Me and You and Everyone We Know (from 2005). It's quirky and definitely for grown-ups (it has some very odd, non-graphic sexual discussion). It's about... people, I guess, and connections or relationships. I liked the indy quality (it's no Hollywood blockbuster). Definitely worth a watch if you're in the mood for something interesting and provocative. I saw this one on the plane back home and was surprised that such an interesting, off-the-beaten-track film was offered on Air Canada.

So there you go. A couple of goodies to look out for.

Coming soon: a review of the Glup bébé bandanna from Everything Mom and Baby

Winner - Healthy Options of Days Gone By

Drumroll.... and the winner is...
Congratulations! I'll email you shortly.

A big thank you to Healthy Options of Days Gone By for the great product sampler and the prize! Please do visit their Etsy shop. The products are really very nice, and the prices are great!

Stay tuned for more giveaways, and if you haven't yet, check out my latest one - my Canadian readers have a chance to win Playtex infant products!

Long weekend! BBQ time (with Wonder+ Simply Free)

As you know, we're a vegetarian family and I care a lot about what kind of food is on our table. I ALWAYS read labels to see just what's in the food I buy. I started doing this to check for hidden animal products when I became vegetarian, and the more I've learned about additives and preservatives, the more I pay attention to the ingredients list.

That's why I'm thrilled when a company - especially a huge, well-known brand - comes out with a product that I can rely on to contain ingredients I want to see (like unbleached flour) and none of the ones I avoid (like high fructose corn syrup and artificial preservatives, flavours and colours). That tells me the big brands really are listening when I vote with my wallet for real food! And that's exactly what you'll get with the new Wonder+ Simply Free hotdog and hamburger buns. Nothing nasty, just real food.

Wonder is made by Weston Bakeries - I remember the delicious smell of the Weston Bakeries in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario! I went to university there and ended up living there for 12 years. Every time I took the exit from the highway, the big Weston Bakery welcomed me home with the yummy scent of freshly baked bread!

This Victoria Day weekend, we're heading back to Ontario to visit family. I'm really looking forward to breaking out some veggie burgers for the barbeque. My favourite ever recipe for vegetarian burgers is a simple one that you can whip up at home - it's Mark Bittman's Nut Burger recipe which you can find at that link or in his "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" cookbook (I use cashews as the base, truly a fabulous burger). These will go great on Wonder+ Simply Free hamburger buns! If you're a carnivore, you'll find two burger recipes at Canadian Living's Summer Fun Comes Naturally site - and more new recipes to come at that site all summer!

Wonder is offering a neat coupon for the new product as well - it's a progressive coupon on Facebook. Like their FB page, and the more of your friends who also like it, the better your coupon gets - up to B1G1 free! You can find the details on this offer at Wonderbread.ca.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Wonder+ SimplyFree program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Weston Bakeries. I received a gift card and free product coupons as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

FYI – I'm happy to try the product for free and receive a gift card for my time in writing about it, but I want you to know - I don't promote products that my family wouldn't use or products that go against my grain. These new products by Wonder, to me, are a step in a very good direction for a big company. This IS the product I look for in the grocery store.

Playtex® Infant Products - Review and Giveaway!

***This giveaway is closed***
Winner: Robyn

Just before Mia was born, I received a number of Playtex® products to try! Yes, that's how behind I am on reviews (sorry!!). I have had some time now to give some of them a test run and am finally happy to get this review written!

We received:(clockwise from left to right - the new Playtex® Infant Lil’ Gripper cup, Playtex® Drop-ins System, Playtex® First Sipster, the classic Playtex® Binky, and the Playtex® Ortho-Pro® Pacifier (with sterilizing cover, shown between the pacifiers).

What a selection for little Mia!

The Playtex® Drop-ins Original Nurser System is probably familiar to most of us, as it's been used for generations. The collapsing, BPA-free liner (available in helps prevent baby from swallowing air, and the NaturaLatch® nipple is designed to mimic a mother's breast. I honestly hate pumping and since I'm not away from her much, we haven't had a chance to test this one out. As she gets older I am sure I will want the chance to skip a feeding here and there, and this will come in really handy for dad or a babysitter to take over! This system is super easy because you don't need to sterilize the bottle; the liners are sterile.

The Playtex® Infant Lil’ Gripper cup is a brand new design. Of course, it's slightly above Mia's current skill set, but we are looking forward to using it with her when she's a bit older! This new product is squeezable and has a straw, as well as those easy to grip handles. Designed for children four months and up, it is meant to help transition to a cup. Mum can give it a squeeze to get the liquid started and show the little one how to sip, using the natural grasping and sucking abilities of even very young children. It is guaranteed to be break-proof, spill-proof and leak-proof, and comes in blue, purple, green and pink. It's BPA-free and phthalate-free!

The Playtex® First Sipster is the next step towards drinking from an adult cup. What I like about the design is that the handles are attached to the lid, so you never have to worry about the spout not lining up properly. Just like the Lil' Gripper, it's guaranteed to be break-proof, spill-proof and leak-proof! It's also BPA-free and phthalate-free.

The Playtex® Binky is another classic. It's meant to simulate the shape of mother's nipple and comes in many sizes and colours to suit newborns to older babies. I know every baby has a favourite soother, and I must say that this one is not Mia's. Again, BPA-free and phthalate-free.

However, the Playtex® Ortho-Pro® Pacifier has been good for those moments when she just wants to soothe herself with sucking but isn't hungry. My husband uses it to get her to sleep when she is overtired. I always felt kind of anti-pacifier, but I'll be honest... sometimes it's just the best thing to help her relax and I have accepted that.

Here she is just over a month old snoozing with the Ortho-Pro® Pacifier. I know those pants look way too tight - it's just the cloth diaper bulking up her booty! She has a tiny waist, a big belly, and a fluffy butt :)

And I can't resist posting one more pic of her with her favourite paci at six weeks old. What a cutie!

One thing I love about the Playtex® pacifiers both is that they are available in a two-pack with a sterilizing cover. You just click them into it, fill to the water line and microwave for two minutes to sterilize. So easy and convenient. We used this feature while on the road as we drove to Calgary - every night at each hotel we stayed at, we could be sure her paci was clean and germ-free. Not that we're super paranoid about germs, but it's so easy to do, why not? If it fell on the hotel carpet (ick) or ground, it's better than just trying to rinse it off or wash with harsh soaps that might leave a residue.

It is also very thin and shaped so as not to interfere with normal oral development (hence "Ortho-Pro"!). The handle has teething nubs, too. And like the other, it's BPA-free and phthalate-free and comes in different colours and sizes.

The only thing about the pacifier that is frustrating for all of us is that Mia can't seem to maintain a hold on it. She will suck, it falls out, and then she is upset because it's not in her mouth. She hasn't learned in all this time how to keep it in her mouth herself. She is starting to use her hands to hold it there finally, but is not particularly coordinated yet. Anyway, I'm sure that is just her special style...!

Playtex® products are available pretty much everywhere across Canada - check your favourite department store, pharmacy, or grocery store. You can check out all the product offerings at the Playtex Baby website.

You can also check out the new online forum Playtex Mommyville, which has resources, articles, product info, sweepstakes, and forums for mums! There's also a Playtex Mommyville Facebook page. It's Canadian, too :)

Playtex® has generously offered a prize package just like the one I received to one of my readers!
The giveaway: One winner will receive the five products I tried: the new Playtex® Infant Lil’ Gripper cup, Playtex® Drop-ins System, Playtex® First Sipster, the classic Playtex® Binky, and the Playtex® Ortho-Pro® Pacifier!

How to enter: Visit the new Playtex online community PlaytexMommyVille, and tell me something that piques your interest, OR something you learned from the website. Please be sure to include your email if it’s not public in your blogger profile! This is the mandatory entry - do this first!

Extra entries: Bonus time! Leave a comment for each extra entry.

• Become a fan of/"like" PlaytexMommyVille on Facebook (mention your first name and last initial in your comment). Already do? That counts!
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!). Already do? That counts!
• Tweet about this giveaway (once - this is not a daily!) and leave me the permalink. You can use this for your tweet, if you like:
  

  "#Win FIVE Playtex Products for baby (inc. the new Lil' Gripper!) at Emily's Latest @emilyisland http://bit.ly/lmAuFV Canada only, ends 6/1"

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments. Already do? That counts!
  
• Add my blog button to your blog - leave the URL. Already have it? That counts!
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to PlaytexMommyVille – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
• Let me know if you've tried Playtex products before - and what was your baby's favourite one? If you haven't tried one yet, do you plan to?
  

Please be sure to include your email if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends June 1st at 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be drawn within a day or two of the giveaway's end, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

A big thank you to Playtex for the products I received to test and the giveaway for my readers!

Weird things about Calgary

Coming to a new city, there are always little things you notice that seem strange.
Here's what's weird about Calgary:

• Drivers heed the speed limit. I have seen this bizarre phenomenon in Nova Scotia as well. Motorists actually drive at the speed limit! In Ontario, 10km above is the norm. Seriously, everyone does it - and people honk if you drive at the posted limit. I'm not saying that's right; it's just the way it is. But here in Calgary, if it says 30km (eg in a playground zone), everyone drives 30 km/hr. Really. Weird, right?
  
• Drivers stop for pedestrians. Even when I'm crossing a road with a 60km/hr speed limit, not at a cross walk... they'll stop. If you tried that in Ontario you'd either better be quick or you'd wait a loooong time for a break in traffic. Here, all I have to do is stand anywhere near the side of the road and everyone stops and waves me across.
• The streets all have the same name. Have you ever tried getting around in a city where every street is called the same darn thing?!? It's incredibly frustrating! The neighbourhoods are all named, and each street in each neighbourhood has a name based on the neighbourhood's name. For example, in the neighbourhood Evergreen, you'll have Everridge Drive, Everridge Close, Everridge Lane, Everbrook Street, Everbrook Gardens, Everoak Way, Everoak Circle, and on and on in that manner. I got lost my first time out walking... I am going to have to start leaving a crumb trail or something. Who thought up that idiotic system?
• The housing looks funny. I guess there's no clay around, because a brick house is nowhere to be seen. Sure, there might be a little decorative brick here and there, but in general, houses are completely siding or stucco. How depressing to have every subdivision in varying shades of greige! Not only that,
  
• The driveways are concrete. That's weird to me, because back home suburban driveways are (in general) asphalt. I would think it's a pain in the rear to shovel snow off of a concrete driveway because of all the seams. And they do have to shovel all winter long. However, I hear the snow here is lighter than at home because it's so cold in winter.
  
• They have enormous rabbits. I mean, we have rabbits in Ontario. They're cute little things. The rabbits here are bigger than cats and wander around during the daytime, even! Wow. They're really BIG! DH insists on calling them jackrabbits (which they are) - but I just call them Big Freakin' Monster Bunnies.
  
• Groceries cost a bundle. I'd estimate 20-40% more than at home. Wow. At least the taxes are lower!
  
• The washing machines play little electronic tunes. Okay, this one is probably limited to the one in the condo we're renting! It plays a little happy tune when the laundry is done. And there's no way to turn the sound off. Weird.
  

Hm, that's all I can think of for now. I'm positive that there are more weird things going on out here, though.

I wasn't done... there are More Weird Things About Calgary

Healthy Options of Days Gone By - Review & Giveaway!

***This giveaway is now closed!***
Winner - Jen M!

A while ago (and I mean a while... this move has really thrown off my schedule here), I was contacted to try out some mum and baby products from a small, family-run company called Healthy Options of Days Gone By. How fun! I loved the pack of products I got to try.
Included were:

• two dryer sachets (only one is pictured)
  
• Tiny Hiney Body Powder
• Tiny Hiney Hand & Body Creme
• Tiny Hiney Diaper Creme
• Vanilla Comfort Sugar Scrub (that's the one I keep in the bag - it leaked a little but the bag caught all of the leak! Now they package scrubs in reuseable glass jars - no more leaks!)
  
• three lovely soaps (only two are pictured)

Since I received the products, there have been some improvements in the packaging! Besides the scrubs going into glass containers, cremes and salves now come in tin containers (no more plastic), and all the labels are recycled paper! I love seeing a company that is already going with natural products make moves to reduce their impact on the environment as well.

We love the Longing for Lavender dryer sachet. I'm using all-natural, scent-free detergent now, and the sachet is full of lavender flowers, adding a lovely fragrance to our clothing. You just pop it in the dryer and leave it - to renew the scent just give it a squish. I was also sent a Rescue Me Rose dryer sachet. I have to say that rose scent is not my cup of tea, so I passed it to a friend - who loves it! What I like about these is the ease of use, the natural contents and of course the way our clothes and linens now smell just lightly like lavender :) They are VERY reasonably priced at only $2.50!

The Tiny Hiney body powder is a talc-free powder for baby. I admit to occasionally using a baby powder on myself when it gets hot as well. It is silky smooth and all natural. I love the little glass shaker it comes in, too!

The Tiny Hiney Hand & Body Creme I find slightly oily to the touch, but it does work wonders on dry skin. The air out here in Calgary is super dry compared to Toronto, and I am in need of a good moisturizer! The base is beeswax, and it is filled with moisturizing and essential oils to make a real treat for your skin.

Mia (cross fingers) hasn't had trouble with diaper rashes (I accredit this to her intolerance of a wet diaper, and using cloth diapers), but it is good to have the Tiny Hiney Diaper Creme on hand. I don't want to use anything with parabens or phthalates on her, and I also need any cream to be compatible with cloth diapers. I can't vouch for that, but using a liner with it would likely mitigate any oils getting onto the diapers.

The Vanilla Comfort Sugar Scrub is a nice treat for mums (or dads!). It is made with raw sugar and provides a good solid skin scrub. It smells lovely. To look at, it is dark and oily, but it leaves skin refreshed and moisturized. It contains Vitamin E to help heal and regenerate skin.

We also received three of their lovely cold-processed soaps to try out. We tried Sweet Southern Green Tea, Tiny Hiney with Flowers, and Tiny Hiney body soap. Again, very nice. I thought it was funny that there were bits of real tea leaves in the Green Tea soap. Little black bits surprised me in the shower until I realized what they were :) I found it lathered really well and left my skin soft.

What I like best about these products is that they are all natural, no chemicals. The packaging is simple, rustic and charming (some of the samples I received are in different packages than the ones you would get when you shop). Overall, really lovely natural products, and all very affordable as well.

Healthy Options of Days Gone By has VERY generously put together a Momma/baby gift basket for one of my lucky readers! The basket contains:

For mom:
Longing for Lavender Bath Soap
Kiss Me Goodnite Bath Soap
Longing for Lavender Bath Salt
Longing for Lavender Body Powder
Tiny Hiney Hand Cream

For baby:
Tiny Hiney Bath Soap
Tiny Hiney w/flowers Bath Soap
Tiny Hiney Body Powder
Tiney Hiney Diaper Creme

Wow. This would make a fantastic baby shower or new mum gift, or a wonderful treat for any family.

The giveaway:
One winner will receive the fantastic momma/baby basket described above!

How to enter:
This is the mandatory entry - do this first to qualify for bonus entries!

Visit Healthy Options of Days Gone By and tell me your favourite product, OR something else you learned there.
Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Bonus entries: (please leave an extra comment for each. If you already do any of these things, leave the comment - you do get the entry for it!):

• Like Healthy Options of Days Gone By on Facebook (leave your first name and initial!)
• Follow the Healthy Options of Days Gone By blog
• Heart Healthy Options of Days Gone By on Etsy (leave your Etsy name!)
  
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link to your tweet! You can do this once a day and you can use this tweet if you like:
  

  #Win a Healthy Options of Days Gone By natural gift basket for mum & baby at Emily's Latest! @emilyisland http://bit.ly/km3E2o US/CAN (5/17)
  

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends May 17th at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn within the next day or two, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

Winner - Comfy Rumps! & Road trip pics

Finally! Sorry for the loooong delay. We spent four 12-hour days driving across the country with a 10-week old, a week trying to find a short-term, furnished, affordable place to live, and a weekend starting to settle in for the three-month stint here in Calgary.

The winner is....
A long-time follower and a super sweet person.

On the road, Mia spent a lot of time doing this (thank goodness):
Some time being entertained by Mummy and Superfrog:And, of course, some time doing this (we all felt his way at times - it was a LONG drive!):Are any of you in Calgary?

Bear with me...

Things are crazy around here. We learned on Monday that we need to move across the country for three months... and we leave Friday morning. It is about 4 days of solid driving. With a 10 week old baby.

We are madly trying to arrange dog care, house care, lawn & garden care, getting a rush passport for Mia (we're driving through the States as it's shorter), what to do with our mail, and packing.

Did I mention we don't have a place to live there, yet? We'll stay with good friends for a few days, but can't impose too long. Finding a furnished short-term rental that allows children and is close to my husband's work will be a challenge.

It's all very high-stress, as you can imagine! So please forgive me as the blog takes a back seat for a little bit. I do still have reviews and giveaways that I've committed to, but they may be delayed a bit longer.

One more song for Mia

This is the last-resort, put-her-to-sleep song when she's crying up a storm (like today... she logged about 6 hours of crying so far! Darn vaccinations!)

Seated baby on bouncing knee...

Mia likes to ride the horsey knee
bumpity, bumpity, bump bump bump
Someone call the cavalry!
bumpity, bumpity, bump!

bump, bump, a-bump-bum-bum
bumpity, bumpity, bump bump bump
bump, bump, a-bump-bum-bum
bumpity, bumpity, bump bump bump!

Someone else needs to take the reins,
bumpity, bumpity, bump bump bump
Mia's performing a circus act
bumpity, bumpity, bump!
She is standing on the horse's back
bumpity, bumpity, bump bump bump
Juggling *animals front and back
bumpity, bumpity, bump!

bump, bump, a cow and horse
bumpity, bumpity, bump bump bump
bump, bump, a frog and moose
bumpity, bumpity, bump!

... and so on. Mia has juggled fruit, houses, dog toys, utensils, anything I could think of. Eventually she falls asleep! It is a little fun for me, too, as I try to come up with new things for her to juggle.

Nursing stories and baby songs

What could be more fun than thrush, milk blisters or mastitis? How about all THREE at once? Throw in a little reflux as well. Yep. Nursing is superfun these days.

Despite the hurdles, I wouldn't trade it. Mia's gained over a pound in the last two weeks alone, and there's no worry with breastfeeding of obesity or diabetes. I love the after-nursing cuddles. I love her milky smiles. Her first laugh (a sleep laugh - she hasn't done an awake one yet) was when she fell asleep while she was nursing.

(I've also managed to hook myself up with some tendonitis in the wrists - it's from picking her up so often. I knew having a baby would be hard on my body, but I wasn't expecting wrist problems!)

So we have a couple of songs for Mia that we always sing, and I thought I might share them. The first is a soothing song. I swear it is magic - I just made it up (which you can tell by the lyrics) but it works very quickly to take a crying baby down to a sniffly, cuddly one.

*chorus*:
Don't cry Mia, Mia don't cry.
Don't cry Mia, Mia don't cry!

There's nothing wrong with you,
You're just fine
Where's my happy girl -
Let's see a smile!

Not too complex! Works wonders. My stepfather calls it blatant propaganda :) I don't think the melody is one I copped off another song... it's an Emily original. The following verses I just make up as I go depending on the situation. She had her two-month shots today, so today the next verse was all about the doctor giving her needles and how brave she was.

The next is the nursing song. She gets so upset when she's hungry. I do see the cues and respond, but she escalates before I can get myself ready to nurse her. Nursing at this point still requires an extra cloth for the leaks in the other boob, a cloth tucked in underneath where she's nursing because she dribbles, and a baby washcloth over her shoulder for the same reason. Without these things it's a messy prospect, believe me. So while I assemble the equipment, I'll sing her a song to let her know it's coming. To the tune of Here Comes the Sun, by the Beatles:

*chorus*:
Here comes the boob
Here comes the boob
and I say, it's alright.

Little darling, it's been a long and lonely naptime.
Little darling, it feels like years since you've eaten!
*chorus*
Little darling, the smile's returning to our faces
Little darling, it feels like years since you've eaten!
*chorus*
Little darling, I've got the boob all ready for you
Little darling, it feels like years since you've eaten!

Usually by the time we get to the second verse, she's where she wants to be. I'm hoping with repetition she will learn that the song means she's just about to get what she needs and that lets her relax off the crying a little. And hopefully the Beatles' estate doesn't sue me for mangling their song!

Winner - Gypsy Jewels!

Time to draw a winner for the $20 gift certificate to Gypsy Jewels! Someone gets to treat herself with really lovely jewelry or something to make breastfeeding a little easier -

Congratulations! I will email you later today, or feel free to drop me a note if you see this before you get my message!

Don't miss the new giveaway for a ComfyRumps diaper, folks!

ComfyRumps Review and Giveaway!

***This giveaway is closed***
winner: Jennifer!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned, but we're using cloth diapers. It wasn't a unanimous decision around here, but I think my husband is a convert now that we've had a good chance to try them out. We started using cloth after the first week (just to get past that meconium and overwhelmed new parent stage), and have only used disposables when it's way more convenient (like when we spend the day far from home visiting family. I know, we could take cloth for that but toting them around seems a pain).

Mia in one of her ComfyRumps - still on the smallest setting, which has fit so far from 8-12lbs.

I've got a whole pile of different brands because I wasn't sure what would work best for the baby before she came. I have some of the 'big name' diapers, some WAHM diapers, and some from smaller companies. I ended up buying a dozen pocket diapers from ComfyRumps and they are our number one go-to diaper every day! No kidding, whether or not I had a review diaper from this company, they are the one brand that has been our favourite and here's why:

• a great fit from 8lbs to 12, where she's at now - and still lots of room to grow Edit: Still fitting well with no leaks  and room to grow at 19 lbs!
• no leaks. Not a single one.
• they come in lots of colours, prints, and a fuzzy version with fuzzy prints too... cuteness!
• great fit and the one size style means they will fit until she's out of diapers
• the snap style prevents wing droop and allows for a lot of adjustments
• the company is Canadian (although, the diapers are made in China)
• the ridiculously affordable price!!!

Let me get back to that price for a second. The plain colours are $7.25 (!), printed are $7.50, plain fuzzy wuzzies are $7.75 and fuzzy wuzzy prints are $8.00 (all Canadian dollars). Compare to some of the big name brands at $30 a diaper! This was a big factor in me ordering so many without trying them out first and I'm very happy to say that it was a great purchase for me.

The outer is PUL (no cover required), and the inside is microfleece. It's very soft. It has lost a tiny bit of the softness after so many washes (as any microfleece will) but I only noticed that when I got the replacement diaper. The insert is a three-layer microfiber, and is very absorbent. One more thing I love about this system - you can hold a dirty diaper by the front and give a couple good shakes, the wet/dirty insert falls right out into the diaper pail. No touching required! Love.

ComfyRumps are in heavy rotation at our house and have been for 7 weeks now. They are in great condition still, with one exception. I had one diaper delaminate after 4 weeks' use. I am sure it was simply a faulty batch of fabric (it was the only one of that colour that I had, the other 11 diapers are still looking great), and when I contacted ComfyRumps to let them know, they sent out a replacement immediately. Great customer service.

Overall... if you're looking for an affordable, reliable, quality diaper from newborn and up, take a serious look at ComfyRumps. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Now for some great news... ComfyRumps has offered a fantastic diaper to one of my readers!!!

The giveaway:
One winner will receive a ComfyRumps cloth diaper!
How to enter:
This is the mandatory entry - do this first to qualify for bonus entries!

Visit ComfyRumps and tell me your favourite diaper, OR something else you learned there.
Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Bonus entries: (please leave an extra comment for each. If you already do any of these things, leave the comment - you do get the entry for it!):

• Like ComfyRumps on Facebook (leave your first name and initial!)
• Follow ComfyRumps on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link to your tweet! You can do this once a day and you can use this tweet if you like:
  

  #Win a @Comfyrumps diaper at Emily's Latest! @emilyisland's fave dipe for newborn & up http://bit.ly/hQMJMJ US/CAN (Ends 4/22) #clothdiapers

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends April 22nd at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn within the next day or two (as long as I'm not in labour!), announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

Markham Mom to Mom Sale

I don't know if any of my readers are local (in the Markham, Ontario area), but there is a mom-to-mom sale coming up on April 9th at the Markham Fairgrounds.

I went last year before baby Mia was born and got some fantastic deals. It's kind of like a giant garage sale of all baby stuff, from other moms and some companies as well. I had a good time browsing. It was really crowded and last year I didn't even have a baby in tow - this year it will be a little more work with a stroller to push through the crowds, but I plan to go all the same.

If you are interested, they have a Facebook presence and the main website for more info is here.

Conversation

This is what it's like -

Ghee!

Ghee? Did you say ghee? Ghee!

~big grin~ Elk!

Oh, elk! Good girl!

Elk elk! A-boo!

A-boo! A-boooo!

~grin~

Smiles! Good girl! Big smiles! Yay, Mia!

~grin~ ~spit up~

~sigh~

And that's pretty much the highlight of my day.

I used to be more interesting.

Before (that's Before, with a capital B), I'm sure I had other things to talk about. What was life full of - work, food, movies, restaurants, going out with friends, sewing, baking, gardening? I can't really remember. I do remember swearing I wasn't going to be one of those boring people who can only talk about their babies.

Fast forward to today, and my main topics of conversation these days are:

• sleep
• milk
• Mia
• ...
  

Yep, that's it. I am officially one of those people. Hey, at least I don't talk about poop. Much.

The reason is this: she takes ALL of my time, 24 hours a day. I have very little time for anything but nursing, changing, soothing, diapering, endless laundry, stuffing cloth diapers, putting away baby laundry, wiping up spit up, leaving a trail of baby washcloths, burp cloths and baby socks as we go, and picking it all up as well. It took me three hours to put away the dishes from the dishwasher the other day. One day I vacuumed with her in a sling - that was a MAJOR accomplishment!

I know it will get easier. It already has, really. We're trying for a schedule of sorts, and it's actually working - she's had two nights in a row now that have been better. Better means she's up every even hour to eat, burp and settle - which takes an hour. So I'm getting 4 one-hour stretches of sleep a night now. That is an improvement. I've realized that I've actually been sleeping with my eyes open (literally - I wake up and I immediately need drops in my eyes, they are so dried out).

I know that my sense of self and having a life outside of the baby will return as well. Eventually.

For now, I'm devoted to her care. It's my only job, my life's work and my passion... even at 4:00 am, when I'm dead tired and she's starving.

And this is why I have very little else to talk about these days... There's no room for anything else in my life right now!

Gypsy Jewels - Review and Giveaway!

***This giveaway is closed***
Winner: Leigh!

I have a great line of products to share with you today. Gypsy Jewels is an Etsy shop featuring gorgeous jewelry as well as mama products. Juliea is a doula so, as you can imagine, she's well in tune with the needs of mamas! Of course, the jewelry is not just for mamas - her gemstone bracelets and necklaces are lovely on anyone. Check out these beauties:I love this silver leaf necklace - isn't that pretty?
And this malachite and rose quartz birthing bracelet is not only lovely, but the stones are meant to stimulate contractions. I have read elsewhere that these stones are excellent for fertility!

I love that Juliea has taken the time to research the stones and tells what they are known for in the product descriptions. Whether or not you believe in the power of stones, they are so pretty!

Besides the jewelry, there are also the mama products and this is where I come in. I was able to review the Mama Munchies cookies and a nursing clip.

The Mama Munchies cookies are full of goodness that helps with lactation. So not only do you get to eat cookies, it's for the baby - and you don't have to share! They are organic, and contain ingredients that are beneficial to your health as well as helping out with milk supply. Plus, (this is really important) they are delicious! Nothing like feeling like you've done yourself and your little one a good deed by eating a cookie :) I loved the cranberry and walnuts in them, and that they are not overly sweet, just sweet enough. Yum.Plus, they are perfectly freezable so if you're still waiting on baby's arrival, you can pick them up now and be prepared. I know this first hand as I received them in January and as you know, Mia joined our family in mid-February. The cookies tasted absolutely fresh when I brought them out of the freezer.

The nursing clip is wonderful as well. I had the chance to try this out recently - I'm not that shy about bringing the boob out for Mia to nurse, but there are certain situations where I'd rather not show the world. The clip is way smaller than dragging along a big cover, and you can use whatever's on hand as the cover itself. I had a blanket handy so that did the trick. I really hate carrying luggage for the baby - my diaper bag is a small tote - so keeping accessories to a minimum is key. This works for me!

The clip is pretty fabric with a lead-free clip on each end. You can see that the clip has plastic 'teeth'. I remember this type of clip back in the day when they were made with jagged metal teeth! Nothing like that here. It is fabric-friendly so you don't have to worry about damaging whatever you use as a cover. You could use a napkin at a restaurant, your jacket, whatever you have on hand.

Here we are using the clip... do I look tired? I AM! And yes, I am sitting around on the couch wearing only a nursing bra on top... Par for the course these days, I'm ashamed to say. At least I have a little modesty using the blanket as a cover. Mia's little legs in her legwarmers and socks look like doll legs, but I assure you she is under there munching away. It's pretty much all she does besides snooze (never at night). Here's the great news for you! Juliea has offered one of my readers a gift certificate to her Etsy shop! VERY nice! You could pick up something for yourself, or any of her products would make great gifts.

The giveaway: One winner will receive a $20 gift certificate to spend at Gypsy Jewels!

How to enter: Visit Gypsy Jewels, and tell me something that you love, OR visit Juliea's doula website, Crowning Lotus, and tell me something you learned. Please be sure to include your email if it’s not public in your blogger profile! You MUST do ONE of these things for the mandatory entry; if you do BOTH, leave an extra comment for a bonus entry!

Extra entries: Bonus time! Leave a comment for each extra entry.

• Follow Juliea's blog (publicly)
• Heart the Gypsy Jewels shop on Etsy (leave your Etsy name)
  
• Become a fan of/"like" Gypsy Jewels on Facebook (mention your first name and last initial in your comment).
• Follow @gypsyjewels on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!).
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!). Already do? That counts!
• Tweet about this giveaway (once - this is not a daily!) and leave me the permalink. You can use this for your tweet, if you like:
  

  "#Win a $20 GC to Gypsy Jewels (Etsy) @ Emily's Latest. @emilyisland @gypsyjewels http://bit.ly/hggDOY US/CAN 4/7 jewelry & mama products!"

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments. Already do? That counts!
  
• Add my blog button to your blog - leave the URL. Already have it? That counts!
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to Gypsy Jewels – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
• Tell me - do you believe in the power of stones? I am open minded about it - not fully believing, but not disbelieving either! Kind of a "can't hurt, might help" attitude!
  

Please be sure to include your email if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends April 7th at 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be drawn within a day or two of the giveaway's end, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

Winner - Fairhaven Health Breastfeeding Support!

Late, I know - this one ended on the 17th! Random.org considered the entries and here is the winner:

Congrats, mama! I'll be emailing you shortly :)

Stay tuned for more giveaways for mums and babies... I know things are moving slowly around here but they are coming, I promise. Good ones, too!

Meanwhile, for your entertainment, here is another photo of my favourite little girl. This is the dark side of Mia - she definitely has her smiley moments, but this happens too! This is just the start of a raging and inconsolable crying fit she had after tummy time today. Thankfully, a nap on mum solved whatever the issue was.