dollar store - beware! on to round 2 baby!

to all my mama friends out there...you have to read this. i subscribe to today's parent magazine and read an article this morning regarding dollar stores and being very cautious about things you buy from there. here are a few snippits that i thought were too important not to share:

"Steer clear of metal objects including jewellery, key chains, trinkets, or small toys. There's no way to know whether these items contain high levels of lead or cadmium - heavy metals that are toxic when ingested, yet widely used in dollar store items because they're inexpensive."


"Lead is also commonly found in paints and glazes...so avoid painted goods - anything from toys to tableware. In 2008 Health Canada recalled 7,000 toy guns sold in dollar stores because the paint on them contained lead over the federal limit, and in 2007 issued an advisory on 140,000 packages of pencils with high lead levels in their coating"


"Some items may look like trusted name brands, but consumers need to be wary of counterfeit products that might not be safe. For example, in the past five years, dollar stores or other Canadian retailers have sold counterfeit products, including shampoo contaminated with disease-causing bacteria, toothpaste containing chemicals found in antifreeze, toothbrushes with improperly secured bristles posing a choking hazard, and household batteries that exploded and burned children. To minimize your risk of getting duped - and hurt - by counterfeits, avoid name brand products if the packaging looks flimsy, has an unfamiliar label or contains misspelled words."

any thoughts on all this??? it kind of shocked me. i'm not a huge dollar store shopper but it really opened my eyes up to realize that not everything we buy is what we think it is.

i'm sure some readers may think i'm a germaphobe or too cautious by reading this, but those who know me know that i let my kid chew on things he shouldn't, he crawls around everywhere, and i'm extremely relaxed as a mom. this kind of stuff is just too scary not to pass along. lead paint? antifreeze chemicals? i wouldn't want that for myself, let alone my children!

on another note, how about those canucks???? they seriously kicked ass last night. an unfortunate goal late in the 3rd period tied the game up and my heart actually stopped. i almost had a bit of doubt in my heart and was on the edge of my seat holding my breath...and then came burrows...oh burrows how all vancouverites love you right now. you never gave up, you worked your ass off all game, and it paid off! we're on to round two and i believe that this IS our year!

happy hump day everyone!

happy easter!

wow, what a weekend! our weekend was so crazy busy, but so super-amazing! friday was a holiday so we lazed around a little in the morning, had lunch with my family, took kingston to the park, and then left kingston behind with his grandparents so we could head out to vancouver and see stevie nicks & rod stewart!

the show started out with a few bumps...5 of the 8 of us were walking through the gates together. 3 of us got through no problem, and 2 of us had our tickets flagged as if we'd already entered the show. very weird. my mom didn't receive the tickets in the mail in time so they said they canceled our original seats and printed new tickets for us to pick up at the box office. we assumed that something went wrong and our new seats just weren't registering. and what really happened? my mom's neighbors yanked our tickets!!! and the morons stayed in the seats. okay, first of...opening mail not addressed to you is a federal offense you morons. and secondly, if you're ridiculous enough to even attempt to use someone else's tickets, don't sit in the same seats!!! did they really think that since our tickets didn't show up that we just wouldn't go to the show? anyways, we hid behind a little banner thing and watched who security pulled out of our seats...yup, it was them. losers is all i have to say.

saturday we had turkey dinner with my family and it was such a delicious dinner. best turkey we've ever had, super yummy ham, garlic mashed potatoes, vegetables cooked to perfection, caesar salad....so good! the night started out wonderful. the weather was absolutely lovely....19 and sunny! we had an easter egg hunt outside for the kids and they loved it. we had some minor blips in the road, but all in all it was a great night!

sunday we had brunch with cameron's parents and my parents out in yarrow. we went for a garden walk, talked about their property, enjoyed great food, and watched the hockey game.

we won't talk about the game too much....this house has their fingers crossed for game 7. they're crossed tightly and we haven't given up....

i will post some pictures later tonight when kingston naps...he's woken up now and i've gotta go rescue the jailbird from his cage....err, crib.

happy easter to you all! hope it was a fantastic weekend.

beautiful surroundings

most of my family and friends know that my inlaws have the most beautiful garden ever. it's so lush, colourful, full of life, and so incredibly well cared for. this week the flowers are really starting to bloom. some aren't quite out yet, some are half-way there, and some are out in full and are just absolutely lovely.

grandpa took baby k for the garden walk. lots for the little guy to learn! 

babies can always take time to smell the flowers. 

 this is looking back to the yard from where the house is.

one of cameron's favourite trees.

is this not one of the most beautiful places on earth??

looking back to the house. you can see the house in the distance.

showing kingston the little rainstick-sounding buds.

k loved looking at every flower. he's so interested in everything it just amazes me.

he got the fuzzy little covering off one of the flowers and was so proud of this thing. such a precious little man.

the sky was blue, the flowers were out. a lovely evening garden walk.

looking back from the house again. there's a big vegetable garden to the left too.

there are a few more pictures that i wanted to post, but for some reason stupid blogger won't let me post them properly and you'd have to twist your neck to see them. i'll post them on my facebook because i think they're beautiful.

this was the perfect end to a long, hellish day at work!

happy monday everyone! hope your week is great. it's a short week for all the workin' folks out there! yipeeeee!

the life of a working mom

wow. what a whirlwind the last 2 weeks have been! i thought i was busy before, but holy moly my life has been flipped upside down! i feel like i haven't stopped to smell the flowers in days...and i haven't!

i had one girl that i was training with say that she only got 2 shifts the whole summer when she started. i was feeling super discouraged hearing that. i assumed now that my training was over i would sit and wait, and wait, and wait some more for my phone to ring and hear that i could pick up a shift. today was my first day that i could be called and BOOM, i picked up 4 shifts over the next couple months. 2 this week, 1 in may, and 1 in june! sweetness....

right now i'm not so set on getting that many hours because i'm still on maternity leave. the more i work, the more gets deducted (dollar for dollar) from my mat-leave. in other words, i'm working for free. no thanks! i want to enjoy my baby thank you very much....come mid-may when my mat leave runs out i will start to panic, but until then i will enjoy my shifts, learn what i can, and enjoy my time with kingston...my precious little man!

juggling schedules is so tough. i want to see my friends, i want kingston to see his. i want to see my family, and cameron's family. it seems like the only time i get to see my inlaws is when they rush over here to babysit for me! the last few weeks have been great with my family. i've seen all of my siblings and my parents a handful of times...that was a rarity before so i (and kingston) have loved it.

speaking of schedules...the baby is sleeping, the laundry isn't done, toys are everywhere, and dinner hasn't been started. time to get cracking!

happy monday folks...it's a new week! i will try to write a more detailed update of my life later on...

play date!

today we had a playdate with our good buddies and the kids had a blast together. i had to share a few photos from their fun afternoon...

 avery loves her rain boots. she was having a difficult time putting them on...wonder why?

baby E is getting so big now. his blue eyes are captivating and he's such a sweetheart! 

kingston and avery playing nice together. they usually do, but she's the older one and sometimes reminds him of that....it's only fair, right? 

 baby E all snug as a bug. he snoozed here for a bit.

avery is such a pretty girl. her wispy blonde locks, her gorgeous blue eyes, and her precious smile. such a sweet girl.

it was such a great morning and afternoon. i cherish all the time i get with another adult, and having someone for kingston to play with is always a blessing. he loves other kids, and he loves to just play.

hope your tuesday was also filled with a few of your favourite people...

unconditional love

it's another one of those mornings for me. i'm awake early, my baby is asleep, i didn't sleep all that well, and i'm feeling lazy. i'm sitting in bed, the tv is on in the background, my coffee is still warm, and i've got my laptop and my blackberry close by. this morning is different. i have tears rolling down my cheeks. i'm not sure if they're tears of joy, or tears of sorrow...but keep reading and decide for yourself.

my best bud in the whole world has told me about an amazing blog post a handful of times. i've never gotten around to reading it....until this morning. i follow several blogs and often spend mornings catching up on my readings, but today i chose to go back in time and finally read kelle hampton's birth story for her daughter nella.

mama's, get your tissues and read this: Nella's Birth Story

honestly, read it.

i thank my lucky stars every single day that i was blessed with a happy, healthy, loving, little boy. when i was pregnant i often had fears that he would have something wrong with him. i took every precaution available. i took my extra folic acid. i never even took a sip of alcohol, i cut back on my coffee, i didn't eat sushi, i didn't eat rare meat. i really did as much as i possibly could. hard to believe that sometimes, that just isn't enough.

i absolutely believe in fate. i believe that everything happens to us for a reason. kelle's blog post assures me that my beliefs are so true to me. i couldn't imagine how i would feel if the doctor put my little baby in my arms and i looked down at him and saw something less-then-perfect. it is unbelievable how much love a mama has for her babies. unbelievable. what i love about nella's birth story is how honest kelle is. i love that she shares her doubt, her agony, her fear.

life isn't easy. but each bump in the road makes us stronger people. they make us better people. they make us appreciate what we've been blessed with.

i highly recommend everyone follow kelle's blog. it really is a true testament of unconditional love.

happy tuesday everyone, live today to the fullest and remember to remind everyone how much you love them. life is too short to keep things in.

money, money, money, money

before i get into my monday blog, did anyone watch the celebrity apprentice last night? i realize that gary busey is a bit of a wack job, but holy freak-out meatloaf! what a crazy spin on a very successful team of celebrities. wow... on another note, his apology was really heartfelt and warmed my heart a little. grown men apologizing is kinda cute haha.

back to my weekend...i survived! i worked three separate shifts with the city this weekend and had a great time. i met some wonderful ladies that i will be working with and thoroughly enjoyed the adult interaction. i learned some new things, met some cute old clients, and left feeling a new appreciation for my home and my family. in order for me to pick up real shifts at the rec centres, i need to train on opening and closing at both facilities in abbotsford. i have completed all of my training at mrc now! i just have a couple more training shifts to schedule and complete at arc and then i'm on my own.

i need to have this all figured out and really be in the "swing of things" by the middle of may. why the middle of may? because that's when my maternity leave is done and i'll need to replace that income by then. we also have dreams of having another baby one day and i will really need to re-qualify for maternity leave again. it can be stressful thinking about all these future plans, but taking things slowly makes it a lot easier. figuring out things as i go is something i'm pretty good at. i tend to fly by the seat of my pants and live a very spontaneous life. things are slowly starting to fall into place for me and i'm happy with how my life has turned out.

i opened up at mrc on saturday morning and then we headed into delta/surrey to have lunch with a couple of my siblings and my mom. we ate at vera's. not too bad. we laughed a lot, ate a lot, and had a great visit. it was really fun.

saturday night we had a great time with our friends. we enjoyed a delicious steak dinner, complete with garlic bread and mashed potatoes. it was delicious. cameron made the best steaks he's ever made and i ate my whole piece. never do i do that. we sipped great wine, enjoyed a cold beer, and indulged in a couple mojitos. really, it was fantastic. it felt like 5 years ago pre-babies when we used to just sit and do nothing. it was so much fun. we have some great friends and i absolutely love our time together.

sunday i spent the day at home. my dad came over for breakfast and coffee and surprised kingston with a really cute harley davidson jacket. we looked at mountain bikes online and played with kingston on the rug. it was super relaxing and just what i needed. i headed off to work at 6:15pm and it was kingston and daddy time. they ate dinner together and had fun doing boy stuff at home. when i got home from work i did nothing but cuddle and play with my baby. he was so happy to see me come up the stairs. it was such a great feeling. he's such a charmer and he knows what he loves. i've never felt love like i get from him before. it's absolutely the most special feeling in the world.

well, it's monday morning....i'm done my coffee, kingston is still in his pajamas and hasn't had breakfast. i need to be out the door in 45 minutes so this blog has to come to an end.

enjoy your day. i hope it's a great week ahead!

i'm a workin' mama

well, today was a big day for me. it was the first day for me going to work as a mom. it was so easy. i thought i would be so sad, and i wasn't. i love my baby, i love my time with him, but i also love feeling like i contribute to society. today i went for my facility orientation at mrc (or the wave pool for us 80's kids). it was great!

i was shocked at how little the facility has changed. everything looked just as it did when i was 10 going to toonie swim with my siblings. the only difference is that they've added in a second waterslide and have done a bit of an addition to the weight room. welcome to the time-change machine, we're now heading back to 1992....

either way, it was great! it felt good to get out and interact with adults. it felt good to learn something new. it felt good to get started with an employer that i know i will be with for the long haul. i've never felt that way before.

i always say how i love my baby, and i love my home....but being away really makes me appreciate them both so much more. it feels so good to walk in the front door, see my little man peer around the banister and his face instantly lights up. nothing in the world can replace that feeling. i really look forward to getting more shifts with the city. in order to accept shifts though, i need to learn how to open and close both facilities. i figured i would get that out of the way as soon as possible. soooo....it looks like this mama is getting up at 4:30am tomorrow in order to get to the "wave pool" by 5:30! wowza that's early.

is 4:30am considered morning or middle-of-the-night??

i have a great weekend ahead though, so i'm so eager to get it started....

happy friday everyone. enjoy your weekend!