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New Year Resolutions to be a Better Mom (Not Just a Better Me)

Every year I make the same resolutions that I think I should make, starting on January 1st, but for some reason by the end of month, I’m back to the same me that I was on Dec.31st:

Carly’s 2012 New Year Resolutions

I PROMISE that I will go to the gym at least 3 times a week …even though I hate the gym and can’t stand the idea of forking over hundreds of dollars to work out because , as I said, I HATE the gym!

I PROMISE that I will try my best to eat mostly REAL food and purge my cupboards of processed food… I end up throwing out hundreds of dollars of groceries ( I don’t actually throw them out, I donate them but then someone else has to eat unhealthy processed food), only to cave and restock my shelves with the same food the next month. It’s a vicious cycle.

I PROMISE that I will have more patience… like controlling my road rage when someone drives thirty kilometres in front of me in a sixties zone and I’m already late for an appointment… or not blowing a gasket when the list I made of things to do around the house only has one item crossed off it after 2 weeks and I wanted everything done NOW! ( Unfortunately my poor husband is usually the one getting hit by shrapnel from the gasket…last year I made a list of things I wanted done around the house before my son was born.  There were 15 things on the lists and because I was pregnant, I couldn’t do 90% of them so my husband worked like a dog to finish everything before my hormones attacked him. Sorry babe!)

I PROMISE that I will watch less t.v. (which I have an addiction to…especially now that there is reality television. Love it!)…and spend more time doing fun and interesting things like reading more, playing card games with my husband, going for hikes and generally taking time to relax. (One year I decided I would even cancel my cable in order to keep my promise of not watching t.v. but I ended up just renting a ton of movies instead which probably cost me more money and wasted more time in front of the television…but at least I could tell people I didn’t have cable…how silly was I!)

As usual, I made the same resolutions this year but when Jan.1st came around, I realized things were a lot different now because this year I’m a Mom! So I’ve decided that I will use this new role as my motivation for 2012.  Because by sticking to these promises, not only will I become happier and healthier but so will my son ( and also my hubby). As the saying goes ,“ If Mommy’s happy, everyone’s happy!” Plus I want my son to grow up in a healthy and relaxing environment and not learn my bad habits. The resolutions may be the same but I’ve tweeked them in order to stick with them this year and  fit my new mom schedule:

Carly’s ( aka. Mom) 2012 New Year Resolutions

I PROMISE to workout at least 3 times a week this year…but I will incorporate my workouts with spending time with my son and doing things I actually enjoy doing (Forget the gym!).  I will go to Mommy and Baby yoga classes, go for walks around Thetis Lake with the stroller, take my son to swimming lessons and work out my arms lifting my son in the air about 100 times a day and my legs when I jump with him while he’s jumping in his jumperoo (it’s like doing squats for 20 minutes but you don’t realized you’ve done them until the next day…my husband did this and could barely walk.) Plus the money I save on not buying a gym membership means we can save more for a family vacation this year.

I PROMISE I will eat mostly REAL food…but my motivation is that my son is now at the age where he is going to start eating whatever we eat so I want to make sure I’m giving him the healthiest food for his fast growing body.  He’s also going to learn about food through me so I need to be a good teacher and show him all the wonderful healthy fruits and vegetables there are out there and that they can taste good. And if I slip a few times and go through the drive-thru at Mickey Dees, I’m make sure to do this after he’s gone to bed because let’s face it, nobody is perfect and we all have cravings from time to time…he just doesn’t need to learn this one for many years!  Also by eating real food, it will force me to learn to cook better!  It’s a win-win!

I PROMISE to have more patience…because I want to teach my son this as well.  Plus I don’t want him learning the bad words that mommy says when she’s in the car and loses her patience (this seems to be the place where most children learn these words based on talks with my other parent friends…quick tip:you know you have a problem when the kids are also yelling at the driver in front of you to” F*&@#n  speed up.” Not Good!) I’m going to change my expectations and put that list in a drawer in order enjoy every fleeting moment with my son as he learns to walk and talk and take in all that is new in the world around him.  I will have to take out the list eventually but when I do I won’t freak out and simply try to complete one task each month.  My husband will be very happy about this resolution.

I PROMISE to watch less TV because…

a) As it turns out I  don’t really have time these days to watch TV ( so much for bon bons and soap operas like I was promised!) unless maybe while I’m breast feeding…maybe this is why they call it the boob tube? Hmmmm.

b) I’d rather do more productive things with my limited time (which is really only a couple hours a day when he’s napping.)

c) I want to use that time to recharge rather lose brain cells. I never thought reading a few pages of a book would become a luxury but it has.  My friend Nicole used to always tell me what a treat it was when she got to sit down and just read for a bit and I never understood until now!  Another friend once told me she used to get excited to go to the dentist because she’d get a chance to read a magazine for 5 minutes! And now I understand!

d) I don’t want my son to spend his childhood glued to the television…when I was a kid we were allowed to watch 1 hour of t.v a day, otherwise we were sent out to play outside till dark…and it was wonderful!

And unlike most years, I don’t need to print off my resolutions to stick on the fridge as a reminder because every time I look at my beautiful son Grayson, that will be reminder enough.  I’d love to hear what your New Year resolutions are this year and how you plan to achieve them.  Sometimes telling others really helps you stick with them. Happy New year everyone!

Coupon of the Week:  So I’m sure some of you are thinking that your coupon binder is looking mighty empty after pulling out all the expired coupons on Dec.31st but do not fret: TODAY Proctor and Gamble are releasing their newest coupons and there are a ton of them.  You can find coupon inserts in your local paper AND order them online at www.brandsaver.ca.  Plus I’ve found a bunch of manufacturer coupons in the grocery stores this week.  Happy Hunting!

Baby's First Christmas: A Survival Guide for Parents

Awww…our first Christmas with our six month old son Grayson is over and while it was a bit more stressful than past Christmases with just the two of us, it was well worth it!  I’m sure part of the stress was the fact he’s been teething since December 1st but we still managed to get through it with very little scrapes and bruises.

It definitely was different for other reasons this year, partly because of our own expectations of how his first Christmas should go and partly because we had to work Christmas around his 6-month-old schedule.  From it, I gained some insight on what I would do differently or things I learned and so I thought I’d pass it on to the other first time parents out there who will have a baby before next Christmas.  (Note: if your baby is under 3 months old next Christmas, very little of this will apply to you as he or she will most likely sleep through the entire Christmas! Merry Christmas to you!)

1. Try to go get the picture with Santa done early in December.  If not, you will be standing in line for a long time and most likely lose your small window of opportunity to get a picture of your baby smiling (rather than crying) on Santa’s lap. We learned this the hard way as we waited in line for 45 minutes at the mall only to have our son start rubbing his eyes and whining just before we got to the end of it. And that was it… Window closed! We had to come back the next day and do it all over again and miraculously managed to get a smiling photo (although I believe this was his “I’m so tired I’m starting to go crazy so I smile and laugh for no reason before having a total meltdown” smile.)

Santa told us Grayson wanted an electric drum set for Christmas

2. Don’t wrap too many presents.  It takes your young child about 10-15 minutes to unwrap a gift as well as look over the present. Since most babies under a year need a nap every 1 ½- 2 hours, this only gives you…hold on…let me do the math..okay…enough time to do about 8-10 presents.  And really how many presents does a six month old need?? As we found out, wrapping paper and boxes the toys came in are way more fun to play with (and eat).

Barely touched the piano but spent 10 minutes playing with the box. Go figure!

3. Babies will put everything, I mean EVERYTHING, in their mouths so make sure to grab that wrapping paper quick before it becomes baby’s lunch. We were a bit late and before we could grab a small piece out of his mouth, it was gone!  I thought about checking later to see if it had made its’ way through him but then decided I wanted an appetite for Christmas dinner and just let it be. He was fine.

The moment before it happened...only took a second!

There it goes...those two teeth of his sure came in handy for him!

4. Space out present opening….and give yourself at least the whole day to get through them all. (If your baby is teething, add another day). After we managed to open a few presents at our house, we made our way to the grandparents house for more gift opening. Needless to say, we had to come back on Boxing Day so Grayson could finish opening his presents.

5. Don’t eat too much turkey as the tryptophan combined with the sleep deprivation will knock you out and leave baby to roll or crawl around the house by himself. We were in bed by 7:30am on Christmas day.

6. Take toys out of boxes and put batteries in them before wrapping so baby can play with them right away…they don’t have the attention span at this age (or any age really) to wait for you to read an instruction manual and put the toy together before play time. (and stock up on batteries as I’ve learned that basically every toy you buy needs at least 3-4 double AAs.)

7. If you have the room,  save the boxes the toys came in as well as the manuals so you can reuse them when you sell your toys used online.  This always adds appeal to your item and makes it sell quicker.

8. Calling all Breastfeeding Moms! If you want that glass of wine with Christmas dinner, make sure to remember to pump that morning so you have some food for baby before dinner. Thank God for electric double breast pumps!!!

9. Make sure that camera of yours is charged on Christmas Eve and has adequate memory for the 1000 pictures you plan on taking on Christmas morning. But don’t worry, if you run out of room, those grandparents will always be there to pick up the slack…each with their own camera.

And lastly just try to relax and have fun. Your baby may be all smiles on Christmas Day or all tears but either way his first Christmas will be special for everyone. And remember there are still the next few magical years where your child waits in antipation for Santa to come and put all the presents under the tree… just don’t forget to put out the milk and cookies.

Coupon tip of the week:  Right after Christmas day is the best time to stock up on items for next season.  Most stores sell off their Christmas decoration at 50-70% off.  As well, they do the same for gift baskets so stock up on these for birthday gifts for the rest of the year.  You’ll save a bundle and have tons of new items to enjoy next season.  Also if you want to dress your little one up in a Santa sleeper again next year, now is the time to buy it as they also go on sale drastically after Christmas.Happy New Year!

Finally a Christmas toy worth standing in line for: The Elf on the Shelf

With only a few a days before Christmas, hopefully you have finished your shopping for everyone.  I have yet to wrap my presents but am thankful that at least I’ve bought them and don’t have to go to the mall, currently filled with last minute shoppers freaking out over whether to buy their loved ones dress socks or fruit cake…cause everything else is sold out! (Quick hint:  get the dress socks!  Nobody likes fruit cake and the only time they say they do is if someone gives it to them for Christmas: “Oh Fruit Cake!!! Thank you so much…it’s my favourite!”) Uh-uh. No. Not true.

And if you are thinking you can still get the “it” toy of the season, forged aboud it (insert Italian accent here).  Every year there is one toy or gift that is the must-have of the year. People stand in line for hours outside stores waiting for the doors to open so they can climb over each other in order to snag the “best gift this year!”

Personally, I usually can’t see what all the big fuss is about for these “it” toys or who has decided they are the best gift to buy each yer.  Plus how is it in the spirit of Christmas to play tug-a-war at the mall with a stranger over a toy that their child will play with for maybe a few months and then sell at next summer’s garage sale?

I actually have a memory of watching television when I was six years old and during a commercial, there was a breaking news story about mothers fighting over Cabbage Patch Dolls.  People had actually been injured trying to outrun each other in the store to the display case in order to snag this “it” present.  I admit that I did get a Cabbage Patch Doll that year and loved it but I don’t think it would have been worth my mother breaking her arm over it if she had.

Funny story: my husband accidentally told me that even HE got a Cabbage Patch doll that year because his mom had found out it was the present that every kid had to have for Christmas.  Unfortunately he was twelve years old so the doll didn’t bring on the squeals of glee his mom was hoping for.  ( He wanted to make sure that I mentioned it was a BOY Cabbage Patch Doll he received although I’ve never actually confirmed this with his mom…have to remember to check this fact next time I speak to her.)

And of course, who can forget the Tickle Me Elmo frenzy of 1996 where people were selling them on the black market for hundreds of dollars as the demand was so great.  Again, it’s a fun kid’s toy but was it really worth giving up a small education fund for? (I just saw a used one at a garage sale last year for $2 dollars…need I say more! I’m guessing this was from the new and inproved Tickle Me Elmo of Christmas 2008).

I was watching the news a couple of weeks ago waiting to find out what this year’s “it” toy was and to my utter surprise it isn’t a giggling doll or a video game console or even the new I Phone 4S (I know..shocking!)  This year there’s finally a children’s gift that embodies the spirit of Christmas and holiday magic that’s worth standing in the freezing cold for hours for. And guess what?  It’s a book! That’s right, this is not a typo!  An actual book about Christmas that families can use every year as a holiday tradition called “The Elf of the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.”

Even the story behind this book is magical:  “After sending out The Elf on the Shelf to major publishing houses, only to receive rejection letter after rejection letter, Aebersold and Bell decided to self-publish. They created CCA and B, which stands for Creatively Classic Activities and Books, alongside Bell’s twin sister, Christa Pitts. Starting with only 300 copies of The Elf on the Shelf, CCA and B has since sold over 1.5 million copies.” (Courtesy of Wikipedia.Thank you!)

The book comes with a small pixie elf scout that the children can name and adopt.  The plot and premise is that this little elf observes the children during the day and then flies off back to the North Pole each night before Christmas to report to Santa whether the kids have been naughty or nice. (Can’t you just picture it now? Your kids are putting up a fight not wanting to clean their room and all you have to do is point to the elf scout on the shelf and presto…the room is clean! I told you this book is magical!)

The elf comes back each morning before the family wakes and never lands in the same spot so the kids have to go find him each day.  As well, they can’t touch the elf or he will lose all his magic and be unable to tell Santa if the children have been good or what they want for Christmas (they can’t touch him but they can tell him what they want for Christmas so he can report this back to Santa).

I know what you’re thinking right now, “I gotta have this for Christmas this year!!” But unfortunately because it is the “it” gift of the season, it is sold out everywhere. Trust me, when I heard about it I started researching online and couldn’t find it anywhere except from the Scrooges who demand five times the retail price. Now how is that in the Christmas Spirit? Their elf is not going to have a very good report to give to Santa this year!

But even if I can’t buy this gift for Christmas this year, I’ll be making sure to create a reminder for myself to look for it early in the New Year for my family. Because unlike those “it” toys that cause riots and injury each year only to end up on the front lawn, this book can become a yearly tradition that reminds the whole family to be nice rather not naughty.  And isn’t this what Christmas is all about anyway?

Coupon tip of the week:  In the spirit of Christmas, I would suggest, to those of you who have a stockpile in your house from couponing, to lighten your load this week and consider donating some items to the less fortunate.  A bottle of shampoo or a deodorant may seem an everyday thing to most of us, but to someone struggling, this is a luxury and would be wonderful to receive for Christmas.  Plus it will give you more Coupon Karma for 2012!  Happy Holidays!

Turn off that Oven!: Christmas Baking Minus the Burnt Cookies

Now that Christmas is less than two weeks away (seriously???), there are two words that have been secretly haunting me each day…Christmas…and…baking!!!

Usually each year I use Christmas as an excuse to make some delicious treats to bring to parties and have around the house over the holidays. I go all out and spend hours, making time consuming recipes in order to impress my friends and family.

There was this one year that I decided I would make gingerbread men to give as presents for everyone.  I slaved over these little guys and was so pleased with myself as I slid them in the oven to bake.  Unfortunately my oven can be a bit temperamental so when the oven bell rang, I opened up the door to discover that my gingerbread men all had burnt feet!!! As I had spent so much time on these little guys and had zero time to redo them, I shamefully still gave them as gifts and just decorated the feet to look like they were wearing little black boots…no one ever said anything to me but I’m sure those feet tasted more like real feet than gingerbread!

Nobody wants these for Christmas! RIP Mr. Gingerbread Man

Next were the gourmet rum balls where I had to melt three separate pots of chocolate making sure not to burn them (I burned one right off the bat!) and then form the chocolate balls, dip them once and put them in the fridge for a couple of hours…. then dip them again and put the in the fridge for a couple of hours…then…Sorry, you get the picture.  All this work and I think I only ended up with 24 rum balls which tasted amazing but everyone only got 1 ball in their cookie tin that year!

There is no way I have time to create these holidays treats this year − not with a now semi-mobile, rolling across the floor, six month-old son! Plus, my baby brain would never allow me to actually remember to take the cookies out of the oven (even though I would hear the oven alarm go off!)  I can’t tell you how many dinners I’ve burned since my little guy arrived. I hear the bell and think “Oh, I better go get that” and then something suddenly distracts me and only when I smell smoke, do I remember there’s something in the oven.  I’m sure all you mothers out there can sympathize!

So to avoid the burnt cookies and the post pregnancy hormonal tears sure to follow, I’ve decided to do create all my Christmas treats this year SANS oven. That’s right. All of these recipes can be made without actually baking them − plus, they’re super delicious and take no time at all!
This first recipe is my husband’s absolute favourite Christmas treat…I usually have to make four batches each Christmas…two batches for friends and family and myself and two batches just for him (he has a bit of a sweet tooth!)

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
 • ½ cup Cocoa
• ½ cup Milk
• ½ cup Butter
• 2 cups Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 cup Coconut
• 3 cups Oatmeal
• ½  tsp Salt

Boil the first 4 ingredients for 5 minutes (do not boil any longer or they will dry out!…I actually did so on this batch while tending to my son. See below for example of what they will look like if you do this).

Look at that molten chocolate goodness!

Stir in coconut, oatmeal vanilla and salt. Immediately drop by teaspoon on wax paper and cool. Makes 3 dozen.

My husband will polish these off within the next day or two!

If your cookies do dry out at least you get to eat the rest in the pan! I sure did! Mmmmm!

This next recipe is new this year!! I going to try it this weekend which will allow my husband time to consume all the chocolate oatmeal cookies first!  But they look fabulous and couldn’t be easier to make.

No Bake Chocolate Snowball Treats

Ingredients

• 6 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups butter, melted
• 1 cup milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Mix until evenly moistened.

Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, for 1 to 3 minutes (depending on your microwave). Do not overheat or chocolate will scorch. Stir the melted chocolate into the graham cracker mixture; you may need to use your hands to make sure it is evenly combined.

Shape into 1 inch balls and roll them in the coconut. Store in an airtight container. Voila!

Please let me know what you think of these yummy treats if you decide to make them.  Trust me, you’ll thank me when you do and so will your family and friends who get to bypass having to eat burnt cookies this holiday!

What does your Christmas tree say about you?

I went on to UsedVic this week to look for more Christmas decorations for our tree (which is fake because my husband is allergic to trees! Boo!) Normally decorating the Christmas tree isn’t that big of a deal to my husband and me but this year is different because now we have a child. It made me realize that how we decorate our tree will become an important memory for our son. Christmas trees aren’t just a decoration, they tell a story about the people…their lives, their loves, their style and their traditions.

For instance, when I was a child, our tree was a mishmash of decorations, each with their own specific meaning or story to tell: the wooden rocking horse that my first and favourite babysitter Terri Zeigler gave us for Christmas and the shiny blue and white Christmas ball covered in cute baby christmas motifs that my parents got for me for Christmas when I was born:

There were the easily breakable multicolored glass christmas balls where at least one was broken each time we decorated the tree and of course the finishing touch in our household was tinsel!!!

Turns out these type of decorations are "vintage" now. I didn't realize the 80's is now vintage! God I feel old!

We would throw giant handfuls of it on the tree only to have my mother swoop in and straighten them. She learned this from my grandmother who would have her kids put the tinsel on strand by strand, making sure it was straight! Luckily my mom didn’t go this far! Whew!

My parents had also started a tradition of buying Christmas ornaments from places we had gone to for vacation like Disneyland and Mexico. It was so funny because whenever we went on holidays, my mother would make a point of searching out a Christmas store to find that perfect ornament for the tree. And for some reason, everyone town or city seems to have an all-year round Christmas store…go figure.  I heard a comedian recently joking that those Christmas stores must count down the days each year till it hits Dec.1st again! Poor guys!  At least I know they get some traffic from the tourists!

Nothing says Christmas like an ornament from Vegas!!! lol

I remember one year when my sister and I were older, we went to Mexico for a family vacation and my mother couldn’t find an ornament so instead, she tied a ribbon to this bright green plastic foot long beaker that we can bought at a bar filled with margarita!  That ornament always managed to find itself a spot at the very back of the tree. (I won’t post a picture of it as the ornaments at the back of tree are only to be heard and not seen!)

All this reminiscing made me wonder how does everyone else decorate their trees, and more importantly, why?  I started asking friends and looking online and realized that Christmas decorations are a way for people to express themselves and show their style (or lack thereof).  For instance, there are the people who can’t stand the cluttery, mismatched tree of memories like my childhood tree and prefer theirs to look like they were stolen directly from a department store. These people are the interior decorators of the world:

These people are seriously talented!!!

Then there are the trees that are decorated to show what you love.  I found these while searching for Christmas ornaments:

Come on!!! There are two Galileos that speak as well as light up! what Trekie wouldn't love these!

These would be great for a kid's christmas tree. I actually might get these!

Not for everyone I’m sure, but for those Trekies and Disney fanatics out there, these are the perfect additions to their tree! Even my parents have an ornament that may seem odd to most. Our favorite Christmas movie that we watch every year as a family is A Christmas Story. There is a classic scene where the father wins a contest and his prize is a lamp in the shape of a woman’s leg.  Absolutely tacky!!! So my parent’s found this decoration for their tree:

Finally there are those people who decorate their trees in ways that may be totally lost on most people:

All I can say is "Wow"!

Obviously this person is trying to tell us that he really likes guns and beef jerky!  Bullets and dried meat wouldn’t be my first choice for decorations, but I guess everyone has different tastes!

After searching around, I decided that we will probably follow in the tradition of my parents and begin collecting a mish mash of ornaments that spark happy memories each time we decorate the tree. It probably won’t look like a tree you can put in the mall or grab meaty snacks from, but it will be special because it will be uniquely ours and hopefully be something we can pass down to our son when he has a family.

Coupon tip of the week:  Two years ago we bought our first tree but had zero decorations for it. So the day after boxing day I went seaching and bought enough ornaments to decorate our entire tree for under $50!! Most stores that carry Christmas decorations mark their inventory down by up to 90% right after Christmas so if you’re looking for new ornaments at super cheap prices, this is the time to shop!  I’m talking beautiful $10.00 ornaments that you can buy for $0.50!  You could stock up so that you can decorate your tree completely different for the next few years.

Buying Toys Used is Great (If You Know How to Clean Them)

My mom and I had a similar dilemma last week regarding baby toys: She was out shopping and saw this adorable elephant toy.  It was really soft and had cellophane ears for baby to munch on and a belly that rattled. She wanted to buy it for her grandson but when she looked on the label, it said you couldn’t throw it in the washing machine or dishwasher to clean. She wasn’t sure how to wash it but bought it anyways (she can’t resist not buying something for her grandson!), with the idea of asking me how to clean it properly before giving it to him.

My dilemma was that I had gone a bit crazy on UsedVic last week and bought our six month old son Grayson a ton of baby toys and kids’ toys for some amazing prices. (On a side note, I have no idea how baby toy companies can justify charging $20 plus dollars on tiny baby toys that babies only chew on a few times! I think it’s criminal to charge that much for a toy just because of its’ brand…I won’t name names but Albert would be shocked at how much they are charging for his name!)

I managed to find someone selling six baby toys (two of which were brand new and two who were made by “Albert”) and only paid $10!! Check these out:

These would cost over $60 dollars brand new!

The other killer deal was all of these toys for $40!!!

This exact toy is selling brand new for $40...I got the whole lot for the same price!

The baby toys all had care tags, like the one my mom had purchased, stating you couldn’t throw them in the wash. The large lot of toys were mostly made of plastic so I definitely couldn’t throw them in the washer unless I wanted to make abstract melted plastic art!  Note: some hard plastic toys can be washed in the dishwasher but make sure they say you can on a label somewhere…don’t just assume! So the question we both faced was this…how the heck do you clean all these toys?

It’s not a simple question as you have to take into account that your child is going to put everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, into his or her mouth as soon as they get their hands on it! ( My son recently thought he could try to fit our 22 pound tabby cat into his mouth…he only ended up with a mouthfull of orange fur and a disappointed look on his face!)

This was taken just before the attack...I didn't get an actual picture of it as I was too busy pulling cat hair out of his mouth.

I started doing some research on good ol’ Mister Google and came up with a couple of ideas that I thought may be helpful to those of you out there who also like to spoil your children with toys from the VV or UV Boutique (aka. Valure Village and UsedVic! I always think you can make second-hand places sound much more posh if you add the word “Boutique” to the end of each name) but still want to be able to send them to college. I decided to go with the all natural way of cleaning as you really don’t want to put any chemical cleaners on those toys knowing they will always end up in your baby’s mouth.

 All Natural Ways to Clean Toys

I couldn’t believe how simple and inexpensive it is to clean toys with all natural products and you already have them in your house:

Baking Soda and Vinegar

Cleaning fabric or plastic toys that can’t go in the washer or dishwasher:  Mix one cup of white vinegar with one cup of warm water. Spray toys with the mixture of vinegar and warm water and wipe down with a soft cloth. This applies to fabric baby toys and plastic toys that can’t go in the dishwasher. Also I found that some of the used car toys I bought had the stickers peeling away quite badly so, after spraying them, I just took a butter knife to them and scraped off all the stickers. They looked a lot newer after this.

Before being cleaned...

After!

Cleaning plastic toys that are heat-resistant: place plastic toys that are heat-resistant (make sure it says so on the label first) in the dishwater on the top rack. Wash as normal (I wouldn’t add detergent, just use the heat to clean) and let dry fully before returning them to the toy box. If you want, you could also spray them down afterwards with the vinegar solution just to be on the safer side.

Cleaning stuffed animals that you cannot put in the washing machine: Put them into a large plastic bag and liberally sprinkle them with baking soda. Shake the toy in the bag and let stand for 15 minutes. Vacuum or brush off the baking soda.

After spending a Sunday afternoon of cleaning, with these helpful tips, my affordable toy finds looked almost brand new!

So next time you find a wonderful, but rather dirty, used toy at your local thrift store, remember that a little elbow grease and some good ol’ vinegar and baking soda can put that toy happily and safely into your child’s hands and mouth!

Coupon Tip of the Week:  Here’s great way to spread the Coupon Karma around.  Next time you are in the grocery story with your binder of coupons, leave a few coupons next to the matching product on the shelf if you know you’re not going to use them.  That way the next person who does need that grocery item will be pleasantly surprised to find a coupon they can use to lessen their grocery bill that day! I’ve left coupons a few times and the Coupon Karma Fairy has always paid me back with coupons I’ve needed, found in the grocery aisle.  It’s all about spreading the Coupon Love!!

Helpful Tips (and Warnings) for First Time Parents

I almost bought this book on UsedVic then realized it wasn't written for new parents...Darn!

My little boy Grayson is turning 6-months-old next week and I think I’m in shock over how quickly it has all gone. As my friend Anita said yesterday “Where is the pause button?” It got me thinking about how overwhelming it can be as a new mom in those first 6 months and how thankful I am for my mom friends who were there for me, giving me such good advice. My favourite advice came when my little man decided it was time to inaugurate me into the official mommy club by pooping on me. I had been forewarned by my friends with kids that this would eventually happen; I just didn’t know when or how. Here’s how it all went down:

I was attending my best friend’s four-year-old’s birthday party so I’d gotten a bit dolled up and wore my favourite TAN skirt and my BRAND NEW tank top. I was bouncing my little bundle of joy on my lap while chatting with friends when suddenly I heard the familiar sound, “Toooooooooooooot.” Now, something you should know about my son: He hates getting dirty and so he always lets me know right away when he’s pooped by crying (this is actually a hereditary trait passed down from his father who also hates all things messy…and may also sometimes cry about it.  Tee-hee). As he was still happily cooing, I assumed this was just gas…Oh how I was wrong!

Look how happy and totally unaware I am of what is about to happen! Though, the look on my son's face makes me think he knew!

I smelled something all too familiar, so I lifted up my son to find myself covered in bright neon orange nastiness!  Obviously the bouncing motion had helped move the mess from the bottom of the diaper and gradually squished it up his back, allowing it to billow out of his pants and all onto me!

I quickly passed my son to his father, who held him about 3 feet away from his body (remember his fear of things messy) while I grabbed a bunch of wipes (about 100, I think) and began wiping what I could from Grayson and my clothing. After changing my son and sarcastically thanking my husband for his help, I looked down to find my skirt and shirt still stained bright orange. Luckily, I was surrounded by parents who gave  helpful hints on how get these stains out for good.

This made me think of some of other helpful hints – the kind you won’t find in the parenting books you read for 9 months. This is advice I’ve received from my veteran parent friends since having a baby and so I thought I would pass them along to brand new parents out there.

1. When (not if) you get baby poop on your clothes, immediately wipe it with cold water. Then when you get home, fill up a sink with cold water only and let these clothes sit in there for DAYS. Each day rub the material together to release some of the stain until you can no longer see it and then throw it in the regular wash. This saved my favourite skirt.

2. If you’re carrying your baby around in a car seat and he’s crying, lift the car seat straight up in the air and back down several times and this will usually stop him from crying. I think it just confuses them more than anything.

3. If you have to give your baby liquid medicine with an eye dropper, blow on their face as soon as you have feed them the medicine.  The blowing triggers an automatic response to swallow so they won’t spit it back up in your face. This works till they are about 6 months (I tried it recently and no luck!)

4. Do not change your newborn baby on anything you do not want to throw away. I.e. Your couch or the quilt your great grandma just made for the baby. Their first few stinkers come out as sticky black tar and nothing, I mean NOTHING, gets these stains out.

5. Don’t bother buying a ton of either newborn or 0-3 month size clothing as your little one will grow out of them before you have time to blink.  We seriously have 20 outfits he never had a chance to wear.

Finally, the best advice I received from my friends is this: When you are totally sleep deprived, haven’t showered in 4 days and are sick of wearing the “Eau De Parfum Baby Spit Up”,  just remember that this is all TEMPORARY. So try to relax and enjoy every second watching your precious baby grow.

Hope these tips help and remember you WILL get pooped on so just laugh it off and hope you’re somewhere near a sink.

It’s Movember! Ladies, You Don’t Have To Grow Moustaches! (unless you really want to?)

You’re probably wondering why the men in your town have suddenly time traveled back to 1975, when Burt Reynolds was king, and are now sprouting some pretty gnarly (and frankly, rather weak) moustaches. Well, that’s because it’s Movember, the month where men raise money and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer. How? By asking for donations from friends and family for their moustache growing efforts. This has become a worldwide fundraiser with over 173 million dollars being raised for prostate cancer research globally since 2003.

Now I’m sure there are women out there with the ability to grow moustaches and if you want to rock the mo’ this month, I say go for it!  But for fair-haired ladies of the world such as myself, growing a moustache  to raise awareness for men’s health is sadly out the question. So I pondered…how do women show their support for Movember? Thankfully, after some digging, I found three fabulous ways that women or Mo Sistas can support this important cause without having to sport a five o’clock shadow!

1. Get a moustache tattoo!

Don’t worry…it’s not actually tattooed on your upper lip! I was at a comedy show last week and this young woman Eleina was pulled up on stage by the comedian who asked why she had a bandage on her index finger.  She giggled and then pulled off the bandage to reveal a tiny moustache tattooed on it and then cleverly raised the finger to her upper lip to model it.

How fun is this! I'm really contemplating getting one.

I spoke with her after the show and she told me that a local tattoo shop was offering moustache tattoos (also called fingerstaches) during the month of November with most of the proceeds going to prostate cancer research. What a fun way to raise awareness and also turn into Charlie Chaplin whenever you want! Turns out a lot of tattoo shops are offering this during November so ladies, if you’ve always wanted a tattoo but couldn’t figure out what, this one is pretty darn cute and definitely a conversation piece.

2. Wear moustache accessories

A friend of mine told me about a local designer friend of hers named Alexis Kastner (her design company is called Jovee) who has created a “Movember” line: a series of amazing moustache-style jewelry and custom made wallets and cardholders, with ALL proceeds going to prostate cancer research.

Love it!

Definitely a one-of-a-kind item!

She custom makes these!

I interviewed Alexis via Facebook and asked what her experience with this idea has been.

“I’m a one-man-band making all these pieces but it’s been a real trip! I actually have to hand turn my sewing machine so, for example: each moustache keychain that I make takes me at least an hour to sew!! Madness I tell you, but for a good cause!!”

All I can say is what a commendable and unique way to use your talent and time to support such a great cause!

So how about instead of spending $15 this month to painfully have that “ladystache” waxed from your upper lip, you think of buying a moustache necklace to show your Movember support whilst also being fashionable!

(If you live in Victoria, you can buy these items from Lark and Sparrow Boutique or you can order directly via Alexis’ Movember Facebook page.  I also recommend “liking” her Facebook page as she’ll be doing random contests to score free moustache swag!…And we all know how much I like free stuff!!! Tee-hee!)

3. Make that moustache man in your life shave it off!

Instead of getting the men in your life to grow moustaches for this cause, why not collect donations for your husband, father or brother who has been hip to the moustache trend all his life, to shave it off!  Trust me, this shows a lot more conviction and sacrifice for a moustache man to actually shave off his sacred upper lip friend…Just ask him and he’ll tell you it’s like losing a part of himself. Also, this is great way to inconspicuously get your boyfriend or husband to shave off that moustache you have always secretly hated! LOL

My father did this a few years ago…he’s had a moustache since he was 15 years old! But for charity, he auctioned the rights to shave off portions of his moustache at his office. He raised over $600 and for the first time in his adult life, his face was hairless. We, as a family, commended him for his valiant effort but later on, agreed that the moustache needed to come back (the words “Uncle Fester” kept creeping into our head every time we looked at him.  Tee-hee…sorry Dad!)

Now there is a moustache to aspire to for all you men trying to grow one right now!

But if tattoo needles scare you, you’re not a jewellery person and no one in your life sports an upper lip friend, remember you can always donate to this important cause (The guys at UsedEverywhere have formed Team Used Moustache for donations.)

Personally though, I  like the idea of women walking around this month with fingerstaches, sporting moustache earrings and secretly eliminating the dreaded hairy upper lipped friends in their lives!  Happy Movember everyone! I’d love to hear what other woman are doing to support this cause!

*** If 50 people “like” this post, I’ll post the photo of my dad sans moustache aka. Uncle Fester! Tee-hee! Love you Dad!

Coupon tip of the week:  One great way of stocking up on items you use is to be aware of the monthly sales cycles.  Each month, stores will always put certain items on sale.  For instance, because of the holidays, baking ingredients always go on sale in November.  So stock up on flour, sugar and evaporated milk now.  Plus you’ll usually find coupons for these items around this time of year.

OMG! Christmas is Almost Here! Relax with a DIY Facial

You probably look like this around Christmas!

Christmas is officially upon us!  As I mentioned in my last post, not a single moment was wasted last week tearing down the Halloween decorations and putting up the Christmas ones.  With ONLY 46 MORE DAYS till Christmas (Seriously? That sounds like a lot of days to me! ) some people are already switching to panic mode, running around frantically shopping for the perfect gift for all 100 people on their Christmas lists this year.  Not to mention, the kids who have been writing out their own Christmas lists since Dec.26th last year.

For example, I was at Costco this weekend, which is normally pretty hectic — but with the holiday spirit in the air, the place was crazy. Almost every shopping cart was either loaded with various toys for the kiddies or the must-have decorations for the season. They had these Christmas ball decorations for the tree that were the size of a small child and literally every second person was buying a set!

What size trees are these people buying???  Is there a new trend this year where you are supposed to decorate the 20-foot Douglas fir in your front yard?

Watching all these people tripping over each other to score the giant Christmas balls got me thinking…we all need to take a big breath before the Christmas Holidays actually start (the official date is Dec.24th, not Nov.1st!) and give ourselves some time to relax!  This especially goes out to the Moms of the world as it’s usually Mom who shops, Mom who cooks, Mom who bakes and Mom who decorates for the holidays! The best advice my friends gave me when I got pregnant and became a mom, was to make sure to take some time for myself each day, whether it be having a bubble bath, reading a book for 5 minutes or simply remembering to take a few deep breathes.  I especially think this advice comes in handy around the holidays.

I was fortunate to heed this advice a few weeks ago and take advantage of a discounted spa treatment I had purchased on one of those great online coupon daily deal sites. It included a 1-hour organic facial (my first one!) which was amazing! As I was lying there being pampered, I realized that this could be something anyone could do for themselves at home.  Now I know most people at this time of year would say they don’t have time, but really all you need is 20 minutes and you will feel like a new woman (or man…men need to pamper themselves too, you know!) So based on the facial I received, I did a little research and figured out what I need to give myself an at-home facial:

DIY 20-minute facial

1. Cleanse your skin with your usual cleanser applying in circular motions from your neck upwards. Then wash off with a hot wet towel.

2. Have a hot bath so that the steam can open up your pores making it more receptive to the mask treatment. Add some lavender oil for maximum relaxation. If you don’t think you have time for a bath, fill a bowl with hot water (not boiling) and add a couple of drops of lavender oil. Place your head above the bowl of water with a tea towel over your head, and then breathe deeply for a few minutes.

3. The next step is to exfoliate your skin. Mix oatmeal with honey (try not to eat it first!) and apply to your face in circular motions. It feels weird but smells good. Gently massage it into your face in circular movements. Wash off the yummy goo in the sink or with a wet cloth.

4. Next comes the mask. The woman at the spa used an all natural honey mask which smells great. You just need 1 egg, 2 tbsps of honey, a splash of milk and 1 tsp of vitamin E oil. Separate the egg yolk from the egg white. If you have normal to dry skin use the egg yolk, and if you have normal to oily skin use the egg whites. Place the portion that you are going to use in a small bowl. Add the honey and mix a little bit. Now add the vitamin E oil and a very small amount of milk. If you use too much milk, the consistency of the facial masque will be too liquidy and the mask will not apply properly. Leave on for 5-10 minutes – pop a couple of slices of cucumber or cold tea bags over your eyes whilst you are waiting for the mask to work. Then wash off the mask.

5. Now massage your skin with whatever daily moisturizer you use and voila!  A new more relaxed you ready to face the holiday madness!!!

Now you look like this around Christmas! Much better huh?

And for an added bonus, if you really want to relax, I highly recommend purchasing one of those home foot spas to put your tootsies in while you let the mask set.  Pure heaven.  In stores they are pretty expensive but I managed to find some brand new on UsedVic for around $20.

Now…take 3 deep breathes and relax…and try not to think that there is ONLY 46 MORE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!!! Tee-hee. Just kidding.

Coupon Tip of Week:  Don’t feel embarrassed to ask for coupons from your friends and neighbours. Last week the P&G and Smartsource coupons came with the local paper and there were some really good ones like Pampers diapers. Most people just throw these out in the recycling so why not ask them to simply put them aside for you to use? This way you can really stock up on items when a great sale comes along.

How to Cure the Post-Halloween Blues: Go Shopping for Halloween Deals!

As you may have figured out from my previous blogs, Halloween is my absolute favourite holiday. So you’re probably thinking that yesterday, on November 1st, I woke up with a fun-size chocolate bar hangover, tired and depressed that it was all over again this year… and you would be WRONG!

Since I’m too old to trick or treat (or at least that’s what everyone tells me…I was one of those kids who trick or treated until they were 16…the only time I was thankful for being so short!), November 1st is my time to go trick or treating for some sweet post-Halloween deals! You can find some amazing deals the day after Halloween on decorations and costumes which will save you a ton a money for next Halloween!

Yesterday I headed out bright and early to the local Shoppers Drug Mart in search of some spooky decorations to use next year in our makeshift haunted house (I actually think our house may be haunted but my husband has told me sternly that if I try to summon the ghosts with the Ouija board, he’ll move out. What a scaredy cat! LOL)

I started to snicker when I walked through the doors of Shoppers; several staff members were frantically pulling Halloween skeletons and ceramic pumpkins from the shelves and sticking clearance stickers on them while other stafff simultaneously opened up boxes of Christmas decorations and placed them on the same shelves.  There’s literally no time for consumers to mourn when it comes to holidays… “Attention!  Attention! The reign of the Halloween holiday is officially over…long live the new holiday Christmas!!!”

From the fallen Halloween wreckage, I managed to find some pretty amazing deals on some really cool decorations for next year. Here’s what I left with in my trick or treat bag:

This scary pirate will be a wonderful addition to my graveyard next year!

This next little guy will definitely be used as an annoying “trick” at next year’s Halloween party:

Bad to the Bone Grim Reaper

This ghoulish guy will look great peering out our window with its’ glowing red eyes:

I think I'll name him Skulley

And of course I needed a festive decoration for the door:

Isn't this the most beautiful wreath you've ever seen? Is it wrong I want to put it up for Christmas?

Finally I found the perfect scary decoration to put out for the trick or treaters next year to give them a fright.  It’s so good, it could be straight from Disney’s Haunted Mansion!

The Book of Dark Magic

Okay! Okay! I lied. There were a couple of more things I couldn’t resist buying.  One is for my son next year and one is for me.  Can you guess which is which?

I couldn't resist...I just love those mini snickers and for some reason they don't make me feel as guilty! (Even when I eat 10!)

Here is a breakdown of what I paid for each item compared to what it originally cost on Oct.31:

Pirate Tombstone: paid $5.99 (original price $19.99)

Bad to the Bones Grim Reaper: paid $5.99 (original price $24.99!!! Crazy!)

Grinning light up Skull: paid $4.99 (original price $14.99)

Skull Wreath: paid $5.99 (original price $19.99)

Book of Dark Magic: paid $9.99 (original price $29.99)

Box of Chocolate bars: paid $5.50 (original price $13.00)

Skull flashlight: paid $1.99 (original price $4.99)

After all was said and done, I left Shoppers spending $40.44 for all of this and I saved $87.50!!! Well worth the trip!

So all you adults who love Halloween and miss trick or treating, grab those recyclable shopping bags and head on out today to find some great Halloween deals of your own! I’d love to hear what some of you find!

Coupon tip of the week:  Shoppers Drug Mart offers a great points program called the Optimum club.  You can earn points on everything you buy and then use those points towards your next purchases.  They also offer Optimum points club days almost every month where you can earn up to 20x the points on your purchases when you spend $50 or more.  This is a great way to earn extra savings on things you normally buy.  On club days, I buy everyday food items like milk, eggs, cheese, cereal etc. as well as any cleaning or baby items on sale and I usually leave with at least $25 worth of points towards my next purchase, if not more. Points programs are also available at many grocery stores and are a great way to save money!