crayon art

It has been several weeks now since I had seen the crayon art idea floating around the web and thought it would be a fun idea to do with Little Miss L. I quickly learned this project would be one that I would finish on my own. Little Miss L. enjoyed picking out the colours she wanted to use, calling out each colour as she went and placing the crayons ever so carefully in place. Then it came time to use the hair dryer, she was like a lightning bolt and bolted right out of the room. I guess she still has not overcome her fear of the hair dryer. I love love loved the end result, I love the burst of colour it adds to our playroom.

Only a few supplies are needed. Hot glue gun, hair dryer, canvas, and crayons.

Little Miss L. picked out her favourite colours and lined them up.

Next step is to hot glue each crayon onto the canvas.

Made sure the hair dryer was on hot and high and then let the hot air do it's magic. This project can be messy, so it is best to do outdoors. If  the great outdoors do not work for you, place lots of newspaper down. 

I love love loved the finished product!

It fits perfectly into our playroom. Every time a child comes over, they love to point it out.

blogoversary!

One year ago today, I wrote my first blog post. I can't believe how quickly a year has gone by. I have met some amazing people along the way, heard many inspiring stories, and it has served as a constant reminder of events, moments, and feelings I may have forgotten if I had not wrote them down. Thank you to everyone who has made it possible and continue to read my blog. Every comment and follow counts - I am truly grateful for each and every one of you. Everyone raise a glass of bubbly, alcoholic or not, to in love with the small things' first year!

weekend catch-up

Can we say ROAD TRIP! This past weekend, we packed our bags and headed to Toronto to visit our good friends. Little Miss L. was especially excited because she was going to visit her Prince Charming. We were dreading the long drive and really didn't know what to expect but luck was on our side as both children co-operated and we made it there with out killing each other. It was so nice to spend some quality time with our good friends, I really wish we lived closer. The weather was beautiful - we enjoyed some fun at the park, walked the streets of Toronto, stopped for some yummy Greek food, and ended our trip with a coffee on the patio... yes, we are still spending time outside in the middle of November! The trip wouldn't be complete without a stop over at my parents...

This is the facial expression I received when I told Baby D we were going on a long car ride.

Baby D getting all cleaned up for the trip.

All cleaned up and ready to hit the road.

Prince Charming.

Little Miss L. and Baby D had a blast on the wooden rocking horse.

Prince Charming woke up and decided to get dressed all on his own. He wanted to impress the Little Miss by wearing a tie. Note: his pants are on backwards.

I turn my back for one minute and they are kissing in the park.

They were having a swinging good time.

These men look good with their babies.

Greek food - bring it on says Little Miss L.

Such a beautiful couple. Thank you again for having us. We are so excited that your family is expanding, can't wait to meet the little one.

Seriously, these two were inseparable the whole time.

A chance to stop at my parents can't be missed when we always wake up to grandpa's famous breakfast - it sure was good!

teething remedies

"I love your blogs!! Especially when you have helpful tips for first time moms!!!! Anything for teething?"- Stephanie G

I love love love receiving comments from readers! It not only allows me to share my experiences as a parent but it is a great way to meet and learn things from others who are in the same position or have gone through what we are experiencing now. When I received the above comment from Stephanie, I thought it was the perfect topic to cover. Every parent faces the teething milestone at some point during their child's life. I have realized in the last few months that every child experiences things differently. For one child, the teething process might not even phase them, while the next child is in such pain nothing seems to help their pain go away.

We have top teeth.

We have bottom teeth too!

We were lucky when it came time for Little Miss L. to cut her first tooth. We knew her gums were bothering her and we wanted to make her as comfortable as possible by using natural remedies. We first tried using several different teething rings. Little Miss L. did not want to have anything to do with them. The materials were all hard, and a lot of them were too big to fit comfortably in her mouth.

We were on the hunt to find something to relieve her pain and learned that simpler is often better. The number one remedy that worked for Little Miss L. was a washcloth. We would either run it under cold water and allow her to suck/chew on it or we would run it under water, wring it out, and then place it in the freezer for ten minutes or until desired texture. Which option Little Miss L. would prefer depended on the day.

Our second go-to remedy was cold fruit or vegetables in a mesh feeder. Little Miss L. loved watermelon, cucumbers, carrots, celery and even frozen bananas. She would spend hours and hours chewing on the mesh feeder.

When we couldn't alleviate her pain, the last resort teething remedy we used with Little Miss L. was Homeocan homeopathic teething solution.  Within minutes, it would have a calming effect.

When all else failed, Little Miss L. always seemed to find something that did...

guest post with mezaun hodge - a motivational story

Hi everyone, first of all I want to say that I am very honoured to be a guest blogger. Well my name is Mezaun Hodge and I am a mother of an amazing 11 year old named Zak (Zakariyah) and the wife to my soul mate Josh. I work full time as a Case Manager in the Social Service field and I have just started my own fitness business which keeps me very busy. A little about me is that I was married before in a not so great relationship and had a lot of issues to deal with. It was after that break up that I realized I wanted something more and that I knew I had to be strong for myself and my son physically and mentally. Too make a long story short I wanted to try new things and experience new things, there were no reason why I couldn’t except for myself holding me back. So I tried numerous activities things that I was told I couldn’t do before because I wasn’t committed or I didn’t have it in me. So I always wanted to learn to rock climb so I took an outdoor climbing course, I wanted to try four wheeling, so I signed up for four wheeling and I always wanted to travel and experience different cultures and help out so I talked one of my best friends into doing a volunteer placement in Peru. So we spent almost 3 weeks in Peru, a very rewarding and humbling experience.

Then a couple of years later I was very lucky to meet my husband who is very supportive in everything I do and knowing that he is in my corner means the world to me. The thing was, is that I wasn’t in good shape fitness wise. We would go on a hike and I would be trailing behind trying to catch my breath which was so embarrassing when a little dog and an 8 yr old is way ahead of you telling you to hurry up. I decided if I wanted to keep up I better get working on it. I turned 40 this year and I did not want to be watching life on the sidelines! So with the help of my husband and son we began working out, we joined the YMCA and we did more hikes and climbs. Approaching 40 was hard because I saw it as getting older which means I won’t be able to do certain things. SO I promised myself when I turned 40 I wanted to be in the best shape of my life. I’ve been attending workshops, classes, information sessions etc to learn more. At age 39 I got my Personal Training Certificate and presently working on my Nutrition & Wellness certificate. I may not be a size 2 or 4 or a 118 or even 120 lbs.…but I am in the best shape of my life. Fitness is not measured by you’re weight or your clothing size. It’s measured by your energy level, you’re outlook on life, and being excited to try something new or old. Often women feel they don’t have time for fitness. But you need to make the time for yourself and to better help your family. If you are sick with no energy how can you help your family? If you were told you could decrease the chances of osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease with just 20 mins a day 3 to 4 times a week wouldn’t you do it? This may mean waking up before the rest of the family to get that workout in. In 20 mins you can do a full body workout. I know a lot of women are afraid to join a gym, you don’t have to. Just exercise at home to a DVD or go for a run. Within one to two weeks you will notice a difference. I know for me now if I have a headache and I exercise, it disappears. I know it’s hard to get started but once you do it gets easy and becomes second nature. Time is huge factor. If you have kids, involve them, go for a hike, play soccer with them. Or when there at their sporting activity do your activity then. Rearrange schedules to get that time in, have older children help with chores etc. In a world with increasing obesity, and processed food it’s more important now to take care of ourselves. As women we tend to put ourselves last. We need to stop doing this.

My new business is called Amazon Fit. I offer classes that come with coaching sessions to empower women. Often times we go to an exercise class and were motivated during that time, but when we leave then what. With Amazon Fit I also offer optional outings such as hiking. Sometimes we don’t know what activities we like or what is out there, so with Amazon Fit I have guest instructors come in and teach various types of classes. The purpose is to introduce women to fitness and to give women the tools to lead a more active lifestyle. The best thing is that you’re doing this with other women who want to learn as well. For more information go to www.amazonfit.com or if you have any questions on how to get fit or any nutritional questions please email me at meazun@amazonfit.com.

I’ve learned that what we do in this decade affects what we do in the next decade. I don’t want to be that lady who is on meds and living in a nursing home. I want to be that lady who is hiking mountains with her grandkids, who if living in a retirement home wins the limbo contests or is the one who stands on her chair to yell BINGO when she wins!   

something white for something right

On November 5, 2011 I had the honour of attending Something White for Something Right benefiting The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. This was the third year Marry Me Productions and several sponsors hosted the beautiful and very touching affair. For many of you reading this post, breast cancer has touched the lives of your mother, sister, friend or friend of a friend. Events like these are especially important for many reasons. It allows us to raise money for further research and hopefully one day finding a cure, it reminds us to take a minute and preform self breast exams, and it also reminds us how important love and support are to fight this disease. It also gives us ladies a chance to wear our wedding dresses again, and let's be honest, who doesn't want to do that?!?!

It was time for me to get out of my mommy clothes and clean myself up!

And the preparations begin...

When do you have a chance to wear your wedding dress at the same time as your friend?

We had to have a little fun...

My absolutely stunning friend Megan.

Our mini photo shoot before the benefit.

I wouldn't have wanted to share such a special evening with anyone but you.

Silent auction - great prizes!

The ladies had the chance to get their make-up done.

Local radio deejay shows his support by wearing a gown. I must say white looks good on him!

Everyone looked absolutely beautiful.

It was interesting to see all of the different styles of wedding dresses.  It truly showed everyone's unique personality, yet  everyone had one common goal.

Mrs. Meggy reads the menu for the night.

The food was mouth-watering, especially the dessert.

I definitely got my hands into the candy bar.

Such a wonderful event, something I will support for years to come.

It was amazing to watch the sea of white dresses sway on the dance floor. 

weekend catch-up

Busy, busy, busy - life as I know it. This weekend was spent celebrating friendships, raising awareness for a good cause, and lots of cuddles with my two precious babies. I could not have asked for a better weekend.

I had the honour of attending Something White for Something Right with my good friend Megan.  It was a beautiful benefit to raise funds for breast cancer research. Check in tomorrow, where I will share our night with all of you. 

I love love loved dressing up in my wedding dress again.

I loved spending the evening with my gorgeous girlfriend.

I love love love Sunday morning breakfast with the ladies. Good food, lots of laughter and a great time to catch-up.

Baby D loved hanging out with all the ladies too!