About a boy

I was trolling blogs late one night recently and came across a post on Cup of Jo about having a baby boy, that totally resonated with me.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I told everyone I just wanted a healthy baby, but secretly I craaaaaavvvvvved a girl. The importance of having a girl had been instilled in me by my Grandmother who would say "a daughter is your daughter for the rest of your life, a son is a son 'till he meets a wife". Who wants to slave over a kid for years only to have them ditch you every Christmas once they're married? Not this cat!

So I got my girl. Once we got past the colic and sleep issues, she was sweet as pie.

So when I got pregnant again, I was pretty agnostic about the gender of the baby. After all, I had my girl so was convinced I wouldn't be abandoned in old age.

And then I had a boy and everything changed. This guy has me wrapped around his chubby little finger. My heart swelllls every time I see him.

Girls are great, but I simply under estimated the bond I'd have with my boy.

What suprised you about motherhood?

Midland

This weekend we rented a house with some friends near Midland, on Georgian Bay.

I had never been here before, and here is what 'had me at hello':
- It is shockingly close to Toronto; only about 30 minutes past Barrie
- The beach is not only gorgeous and ocean-like, but it is perfect for kids...a deep length of beach, a very mild incline, and tons of fun 'tide-pool-like-puddles' for kids to play in.
- You feel like you're away, but real grocery shopping and a decent latte is a just a short jaunt by car in Midland.

...driving 3 hours up to Muskoka is looking less glamourous.

Our weekend was fabulous:
- Communal meals
- 7 kids in a bath together
- Bike trips on country roads past idyllic animals at pasture
- Blue sky at the beach
- True small town charm....kids get free ice cream at the local corner store!

Corralling crayons

Last year I purchased a few of these plastic containers from Lindsay's shop. They have proved to be the perfect little containers for crayons, as inevitably those cardboard boxes break. The OCD side of me likes the way these ones stack, and how pretty the coloured crayons look through the clear plastic (until my daughtered covered them with Dora stickers!).

I take these containers with us when we travel, but it is also a nice way of giving each kid their own little set of crayons if you have multiple kids coming over (read: battle royale averted!). 

Street sale! Selling....and buying!

This weekend was our annual street sale.

I've been purging stuff from around the house and saving it for about 4 months. My prices were low - everything was $3 or less; most items $1 or less (except for the Wii, which was $30).

My actual sale prices were much lower thanks to the aggressive negotiators that yard sales attract! Items that I priced at $1 (like a $50 never used BBQ tool set) were counter-offered at 25 cents!!! In some cases I caved, but if the buyer irritated me I refused to budge. As a result I'm left with a lot of stuff, but I'd rather give it to the Goodwill then feel like I got schooled by a savvy yard saler.

The most fun was the shopping that Mr. Miles and I did after I closed up shop: I found lots of great Gap Kids clothing, a vintage FP airport, and a treasure chest of gimp and beads for my daughter.

Fun!

PS: I apologize if you see something you've given me in my sale photo!! I promise I loved the gift at the time!...but I have too much stuff in my house and just hadddd  to purge!

Beach glass

Yesterday we headed to Locarno beach in Vancouver and collected some beach glass and driftwood. For our post-nap craft we glue gunned the soft pieces of glass onto the cedar. It is now sitting on a plate stand on a shelf in Grandpa's office. Perfect...except for when my daughter's fingers got caught in the hot glue.

Do you know Bob?

Today my mom and I did some cross-border shopping with the kids. I picked up these shoes for my daughter - they are called "BOBS", and are made by Sketchers. They look mysteriously like Tom's, and similarly give a second pair of shoes to a child in need....but I think these are cheaper....am I bad to buy the cheap brother of feel-good charitable shoes????

Adorable, either way.

Kid's art display

I have long been trying to figure out a fun way to display some of my daugher's art.

Today we took two cool knobs that I bought at a Zara Home store (in Barcelona - it was amazzzzzzing), afixed them to the wall (with special plugs for screws) with a satin ribbon in between, and hung some art using colourful clothes pins from Dollarama.

Colourful, cheap, personal, and easy. I love it!!

Birthday party bust!

Saturday was my daughter's 3rd birthday party and although I think the kids had a good time, it was a bit of a disaster on my end.

First, the City never showed up to open the facility I had booked (Withrow House Clubhouse) so I had to beg a random city worker to let me in.

Then, the Sportball coach that was supposed to facilitate an activity for the kids didn't show up!

...and would you believe I double confirmed both of these contracts in the preceding week?

I am spending this week with my Mom, who is the hands-down expert at writing angry letters. I am in training!

UPDATE: One of the founders of Sportball called me tonight. She was extremely appologetic and backed up her words with swift action.

Loot bags

Oh, loot bags. You are a tougher nut to crack than I expected! How to find items that are in keeping with the party theme, that 3 year olds will like, that parents won't throw out, and aren't prohibitively expensive.....mon dieu!

In the end I decided on:

- A paddle board (those rackets with the elastic cord with a ball attached on the end)...too advanced for 3 year olds?...maybe

- Sports stickers

- A twisty straw

- Lolly pops and pop rock candy

- A bouncy ball

- A sports medal

....all from the Dollar Store, Bulk Barn, and The Party Store.

A Bulk Barn birthday

This weekend was my daughter's birthday, and we celebrated with friends at Lake Simcoe (we're having her real party next weekend).

We had a Dora pinata (15% off at Bulk Barn; start the car!!) and a purple iced cake with creepy Dora faces on them (also courtesy of BB).

The pinata was fun until Dora got decapitated and my daughter burst into tears...ooops - perhaps I should have anticipated that. We did it, we did it, we did it, yeah!

City living

Like many city-dwellers, we have a small back yard....like postage-stamp small. So I am always looking for activities that don't take a lot a space. This water table is smaller than your average plastic pool. It is intended for kids to stand and play in the water with their hands, but my daughter uses it as a personal jaccuzzi. It keeps her occupied for hours in the summer. Bliss!

buyin' and sellin'

My husband is away for a few days, so last night the kids and I headed to the Chalet Swiss for some family friendly grub. The Goodwill is conveniently located next door, so we couldn't resist popping in.

I scored this Pottery Barn Kids rug for $15 (retails for $166 new)!!! It's in perfect condition. I don't need it, and don't even plan to use it.....it just seemed like too good a deal to pass up, so I'm going to list it on Craigs List and see if I can make a few pennies for the "paint the house" fund! Don't judge....I'm on mat leave!

UPDATE: Sold for $80 2 days after posting it on Craig's List! Woo hoo!

Kid row

Yet another baby/kid store has opened on the Danforth. Jet Baby carries the coolest stuff (Beatles and Bob Marley t-shirts included!) and has a 'deal of the day'. Yesterday I scored this great Hatley sun hat for my daughter for $16.99!

Here is a summary of my favourite Danforth stores for babies and kids from West to East:
Ladida (has great stuff for adults too!)
Fab Baby Gear (They also have an Ottawa location)
Jet Baby (they also have an Oakville location)
Treasure Island Toys (Their Crayola construction paper is priced lower than Wal-Mart's!!!)
Silly Goose Kids

We still need something like Moms to be and More, but we're off to a good start!

Good from far, but far from good

For my daughter's birthday party we have rented a multipurpose room at the park clubhouse near our house. It's a great facility, but lacks personality. Last night I whipped up this simple construction paper bunting to add a bit of colour to the room. I think it will go well with our 'sports' theme. I have no patience, so the flags are not all the same size and many of the edges are jagged....I'll just have to hang it extra high so no one notices!

Cards from the heart

For occassions like Mother's Day, I have my daughter make cards. I buy blank cards at Michaels or Staples, and we personalize them for birthdays, Christmas, or whatever the occassion may be. This way I am never scrambling for a card at the last minute! Who doesn't like receiving a homemade card decorated with colourful scribbles, right??

Preserving perfect moments in time

Every day the weather is getting nicer and the kids are getting a bit more independant. My job as their Mom feels easier. Freezies, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk are all we seem to need in the summer. Bliss.

This afternoon we wandered out for a coffee and ended up perusing the toy store. I was feeling particularly nostalgic, so I picked up some blocks of colourful clay to preserve the little hands and feet that keep me company all day.

These ornaments will be finished off with some brightly coloured ribbon from Mokuba and will adorn doors in our house, always reminding me of my little munchkins.

PS: The clay I bought is called Sculpey and is similar to one I had as a kid called FIMO. It bakes in the oven in 15 mins. Easy peasy. These make cheap and cheerful Christmas ornaments - great gifts for Grandparents!

Ok, now I think it's done....

I blogged a few weeks ago about finally finishing decorating my daugther's room...well in the end it wasn't quite done. This weekend I added Ikea's Maskros ceiling light fixture. I absolutely love it; I think it perfectly suits the look I was going for in my daughter's room - cheerful, feminine, but not too precious.

Ok, now I think it's done. Finally.

Note: This light does cast some distinct shadows. You can control this effect by hanging it quite high so the shadows are largely on the ceiling, but either way I wouldn't recommend it for an office or task oriented space.

At the window

My daughter spends a lot of time at our front window, watching the world go by. My mom brought her these sticky jellies to play with. They are great. They keep my daughter occupied which gives me more time to get things done, and they allow her to create new colourful designs every time she uses them.

A dinner table for toddlers

I have blogged previously about how practical I find it is to have a 'kids table' around the house....colouring, crafting, reading,.....our table gets used by my daughter and her friends all day.

Tonight it is going to be the dinner table for my daughter and her friend Penny. The key components I used to make it kid friendly are:
- One of my Grandma's old card table cloths...it fits perfectly on a table of this size,
- Appetizer forks/knives at each place setting,
- Plastic 'crystal' glasses, from Red Letter in Yorkville
- A few tulip blooms in a votive holder (the vessel is nice and small so it requires only a few blooms, and if it spills there is minimal water to clean up!)

bon appetit, kiddies!

Ji ji ji ji ji jiggggly

My daughter is having a friend for dinner, so we decided to make green Jello Jigglers for dessert...very healthy, indeed. I opted for the regular Jello instead of the sugar-free variety since I'm wary of aspertame (along with fat-free potato chips and Communists).

Good thing these girls are only 2 and won't notice that my shapes are flawed...I had trouble getting the Jello off the bottom of my Pyrex dish....next time I might give it the lighest spray of canola oil first (or use a bit less water so they're firmer).

Either way, these are good old fashioned sugary fun.

Here is the recipe I used (from www.cooks.com):  

- 2 1/2 c. boiling water
- 4 pkg. (4 serving size) or 2 pkg. (8 serving size) Jello gelatin, any flavor
- Stir boiling water into gelatin. Dissolve completely.
- Pour the mixture slowly into 13 x 9 inch pan.
- Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Jigglers will be firm after 1 hour but may be difficult to remove from pan. Dip bottom of pan in warm water for 15 seconds to loosen gelatin.
- Choose a fun shaped cookie cutter. Press the cutter into the Jello and then lift the cutter straight up. Use your fingers to remove jigglers from the pan.