The quiet timer.

Today was one of "those days" where the kids were all talking a mile-a-minute, all . day . long. There were a few times where I actually had to yell my answers to them, to get the point across that they didn't need to yell as they were standing right beside me. Oy vey. I suppose it's because I have 3 of them trying to talk over each other, that the noise level goes from 0-10 in a split second.

This was a conversation I had with Madison today :

Madison : MUMMY! CAN I TELL YOU YUMPIN? [mummy, can I tell you something]

me: SURE MADISON  - WHAT IS IT?!

Madison: ouch mummy! don't YELL!

me: ok are we having quiet voices now, or do I have to keep yelling?

Madison: Mummy? are you yewin' [are you sewing]

**********{insert raised eyebrow mixed with eye-roll here.}

thrilling..right ? No, she was that distracted, all day long. So Madison was distracted beyond belief, and yelling every word ; Mason was in school until 3pm and then was in the constant 'bug mode' where he essentially stands with his body always touching Madison in some way [...nice..eh?? UGH] Manning was just a mad man all over the place- and it seemed as though they all wanted food, from 3pm straight through until 7pm. I actually said after dinner, that the kitchen was closed and will re-open again for breakfast.

My sister was visiting today [Hi Rachel!! ] and we ordered Chinese for dinner- mmmmm Citi Wok. yum! Madison, swooped in like the vulture she is. Your food is not safe, when Madison is in the room. She's a humming bird, hovers near everyone's plate and just zips across the kitchen back and forth, reaching up and trying to snatch food off your plate with her hands. You turn to grab your fork, there's little fingers in your food trying to take noodles off your plate, or she's picking the piece of broccoli and stuffing it into her mouth as fast as she can. She asks if she can have some, as her hand is already burried in the red sauce. *yuck!*

So I created the quiet timer tonight- so my sister and I could attempt to eat dinner in peace. Kids can scarf back their food faster than fast, just so they are hounding you for something else. You ask them to clean their room, it takes them days - but they want dessert [in our house that's anything sweet, can be as simple as a cookie or some fruit] and their food is off their plate in record time. They were all buzzing about just as Rachel and I were ready to sit down and eat our Chinese food, while it was still hot- and the demanding questions started. The loud voices started. The bugging started. My patience was wearing thin- so I turned on the kitchen timer, set it for 30mins and I told the kids, until this beeps- I  am not here. I will not get you anything, I will not help you do anything. I do not want to speak to you, I will not answer questions. Leave me alone!

2 minutes elapsed...and Madison goes " mum? I think I heard the timer-yep, it went beep" . nice try kid....nice try.

So we ate our dinner in peace, it actually worked- that plan has been filed in the brilliant folder. ;-)



this kid, never stops eating!



Air your grievances.

Whether you write them down, say them out loud, or paint them on a canvas- get them out there.  I cannot stress this more- if something is bothering you, don't just sit there and mull it over in your own mind. It's so important to get these feelings off your chest, tell the person who's causing you these stresses and if you can't tell them directly- work on it by yourself until you can. Practice with your friends, recite what you would say to whoever it is, until you're confident enough to stand up for youself.

I am at home all day, esentially for 16hrs a day with no face-to-face adult interaction...every.single.day. This is enough to cause stress in anyone's life- and for me, I usually take my frustrations /stresses out by fabric shopping, and sewing intricate pieces in my sewing room [ya...I know...I'm so exciting, it even scares me sometimes haha]. Today- I let it all out, talked it through with the person I was frustrated with and aired my grievances. I felt as though I was getting absolutely nowhere in the beginning, but as I kept going [and ...I had a lot to say!] I started calming down, and I relaxed my furrowed brow and took a deep sigh. of the 10lbs of bricks on my head, I lifted about 7lbs with that one conversation.

So while the issue is not fixed,and I am in no way over it- I have relaxed a little bit, I'm able to get on with my day without that constant anger/disappointment in my heart.

So- my advice to you with this post- is scream it from the roof tops!! Don't be afraid to say  what is on your mind, or what you're feeling. Everyone is entitled to feel as they please- don't ever tell someone they're not worthy of a feeling and nobody should ever tell you that either! Find a creative outlet to get your everyday stresses out , painting, photography, sewing, drawing,whatever!! Heck, you can even find a more physical outlet - but find something that you love to do.

ok I have a secondary piece of advice. Don't ever surpress your dreams because of what cards life has dealt you. I have been so preoccupied with babies and well...life, that I forgot how much I adore my art, and being creative. I recently got back into my art, and I have now fallen in love with decorating my home and coming up with great creative ideas for pretty much everything. It's making me a much happier person [I was happy before...but now I'm super-happy ;-) ] it's helping in every aspect of my life, as a woman, a mother, a friend, and a wife. So- find something you love, and do it. Fit it into your schedule if it means you're going to bed at 1am on a Wednesday.

Your heart, and your mind will be greatful.

playing with my camera again. tutu and headband courtesy of Pixie Glitz tutus.

Why I'm a fence-sitter.

10 reasons why I'm not so crunchy...
[again, in no particular order]

1. I use medicine and listen to doctors. When my kiddos are spiking a high fever and my natural remedies aren't working, I will turn to over-the-counter meds. When those aren't working, I go to a doctor and get them what they need. I've had babies getting xrays and ultrasounds, they've had antibiotics and have even been hospitalized. If  you advocate for your child, and are educated and prepared- you will get the answers, advice and help that you need. If you just sit back and let the doctors come up with it all on their own, often times you'll be dismissed. I appologize to doctors in advance because I am a mother who never quits-and I've had specialists at Sick Kids hospital tell me to never apologize, and to never change. They appreciate parents like me, and wish they dealt with more of them, instead of basket cases.

2. I use disposable diapers when I have absolutely no cloth ones left  [major laundry day!]

3. I had my boys circumsized, and my girls ears pierced. Well- Mia's aren't done yet, but I plan to do them before her bday.

4.  I formula feed. I suppliment with formula {we're a Neocate family} and my 2yr old Manning is still on his Neocate Jr. and will be until he is 3.

5. I love designer labels. I can't help myself...I love luxuries- Michael Kors, Coach, True Religion, Citizen for Humanity, Tiffany's...I love pretty things. my newest fave- Lulu lemon!

6. I'm self conscious about my weight. Not sure if that has anything to do with crunchy or not crunchy..but I figure it makes me human, so I'm putting it out there.

7. I have a major weakness for Hellulva good dip and chips, and sweets. oh....and Lucky Charms. I love me some lucky charms.

8. I let my kids cry-it-out , in their own beds/cribs. I do believe kids need to learn to self soothe and if I know my kids aren't hungry, are clean, not bleeding or sick- I will let them cry it out for a little bit


9. I'm not afraid of vaccines. I know they all have a reason to being administered, I don't fear they're going to cause disabilities in my children.

10. I love makeup {and showering, waxing, getting my hair done..etc}- and it's not made from dirt and rocks. I love Sephora and shop there for little things here and there. I don't wear a ton of makeup...but I have a great collection!

11. {bonus} this point is just in general : I will not take parenting advice, from anyone who has never been a parent themselves. I won't take breastfeeding advice from anyone who has never breastfed, and I won't take tips on cloth diapering, from anyone who has only used disposables.  ....and for those of you reading this blog- you shouldn't either. If someone has never been in your shoes before, as in...NEVER , why are you letting them tell you how you should parent your child? You'll just drive yourself crazy.


I posted these points for this simple reason: I am sick of people who are close minded. You often hear about those who are one way , or the other- you rarely hear of those who sit on the fence. Well..here I am, a fence sitter. I see the best of both worlds, I appreciate everyone's efforts and I try to do the best for my children I can. I know I'm not perfect...although I'm pretty damned close, { ;-) } but I know that just because I do things a certain way, doesn't mean that anyone else has to follow suit.

Hair Mask how-to:

So since I've already been asked, and I'm sure others will want to know- here is the mask I make for my hair. [keep in mind, my hair is parched on a good day. it does get natural dread-locks underneith, thanks to natural wave under, and bone straight on top. I also *may, or may not* ;-) colour treat my hair.

you need: a food processor, or blender.
                * 2 overly ripe avocados [think, almost ready to be tossed]
                * 3 tbsp olive oil
                * juice from one lemon [seed are fine]
                * 1/4C honey
                * a splash of green tea

Blend them all in food processor to make a thick paste. Coat your hair, wrap in towel and let it soak in- I left mine for 1.5hrs [yes, really!!] wash, rinse. enjoy.

to add more shine to your hair, you can also add 1 raw egg.

why I'm sorta 'crunchy'.

Ok for those of you who don't have kids, or don't know the term crunchy- it doesn't mean dirty. It refers to parenting style- crunchy as in, "crunchy granola" .. you know, the birkenstocks and wool socks, never owned a razor, dread locks, zen....... ok thats not me- but I'm sort of a little bit, crunchy.

here are the top 10 reasons, in no particular order.

#1: I co-sleep. I absolutely LOVE snuggling with my littles in bed. I unwillingly co-sleep with 2 kids [Mason and Madison] and willingly, with one [Mia]. Manning is the only one who stays in his bed..for now. Mia is in her own crib now, beside my bed- but I love love love, bringing her into bed with me to  snuggle, feed, and sleep. it's so peaceful, dozing next to a beautiful baby.

#2: I breastfeed. I have breastfed all 4 of my beautiful babies, with different experiences with each of them. Some great, some good,some bad, some exhausting. I'll dive into that another day- but for now.. Mia and I have a wonderful nursing relationship. She's a champ feeder- but has just recently  cut her first tooth and enjoys trying it out on me. OUCH. she's the first baby I've braved nursing with teeth- the others I decided teeth were the final straw, but I'm sticking it out with Mia , hopefully until she's 1yr.

#3: I selectively vaccinate. I get all the routine vaccines that are recommended by the Canadian government, but I've delayed some to space them differently than the "schedule" has them spaced and I also opt out of the ones they 've added in the last 5-10yrs. I have done a lot of research on all the vaccines the babies receieve and am confident in my knowledge and decisions. My kids all have their vaccines up-to-date by the start of JK.

#4: I cloth diaper. Yep- I even use the pinned ones, the old fashioned flats and prefolds. But I prefer the new-age cloth diaper,which I sell in my shop!! [http://www.maplebottoms.ca/] I used to make diapers for Mason,  before I could afford the fancy ones, now I've got a collection of sorts ! I've always had 2 kids in cloth at once, at different ages. You can pretty much ask me anything about cloth diapering...and I probably know. I was also in a youtube commercial for a cloth diaper safe detergent product!! [ watch here! ]

#5: I make my own baby food. Have you ever smelled a jar of baby food from the store?? I started making my own baby food, when I opened a jar of meat/veg. for Madison, and the cat came running as though I had opened a tin of wet cat food. UGH. it smelled just as disgusting as cat food- so I make my own using garden-fresh produce, and organic pureed meat [yes..I do buy that, frozen]

#6: I babywear. I love my stroller, but sometimes wearing a baby is so much easier. I even got a hiking backpack and get my husband to wear a kiddo when needed. And everyone knows, a man who wears his baby/child - is so incredibly sexy. [it's like Gin....a "panty-dropper" ;)  ]

#7: I make my own hair conditioning mask with kitchen ingredients. Yep- avocados, olive oil, lemon juice, green tea, honey. Ah-May-ZING.

#8: I use all natural laundry soaps and stain treatments. Have you tried The Laundry Tarts ? I also like Nellies, also Canadian.

#9: I have a vegetable garden in my backyard. We grow tomatoes, green beans, onions, garlic, herbs...and corn last year. ha! That's what Mason wanted to plant...this year I might plant carrots!

#10: I love swaps. I love to trade for kids items, handmade items, clothing, household items, etc. Why spend money, when chances are you've got something to offer someone else ? Bartering, is back!

bonus #11 : I had 3 fully natural births and loved every second of them. Mason was my only partially medicated delivery and it was awful- hence the no meds going forth.

minutes after an amazing natural [drug-free]birth, Madison meeting her new baby sister.

Twice as much deliciousness!

Well,

I became an auntie again- to TWINS! My nephews were born on the 28th of March, I got to meet them tonight for the first time. They are scrumptious! So incredible, seeing two beautiful new babies at once. It still amazes me how the human body can create life to ONE baby, let alone multiple. Ah-May-ZING.

So baby C is the tiniest little thing, less than 5lbs now. I can honestly say I've never held a baby that small before but it felt so natural. He's the tiniest, sweetest little thing. My heart just melted when I saw the two. S is precious as well, and so snuggly! He is a carbon copy of his big brother M, who is now almost 3.5yrs old. Speaking of big brother...he is so proud, and looks so so big now that he's got two little munchkins in his house!

What a great way to end my otherwise chaotic day! Although- I did enjoy my visit from a great old  friend from University, and her little baby girl who is now 5months old, too! Lots of baby love today..just heavenly!

Love is all around you, embrace it!! <3

OMG

If one more person asks me if Mia was a preemie....I think I'm going to SCREAM. Right there, in their face, just ....scream.

Everyone gushes over my beautiful Mia, they always tell me how amazingly beautiful she is, how sweet she is, blah blah blah. Then they say- she must be so brand new!!

Mia sampled her first ever french fry today and LOVED it. I figured, hand-cut fries that were made fresh for our lunch were a safe bet to try for the first time instead of greesy fast food crap. The server came over to the table and we said " oh well she loved her very first french fry!" he looks and says " how new is she, she must be brand new!"..... right- as if I'm going to give my newborn baby, a friggen french fry. But it's true, people look at Mia and think she's  maybe about 2months tops. When I tell them how old she is, they give a look of concern like there must be something wrong with her, or as though she must have started out at a mere 2lbs or something. Someone said I should make a shirt for her to wear...and I think I might.

Mia will be 7 months on the 4th of April [ holy crap, how did 7 months come so fast?!?!] and she is still in her nb and 0-3month clothes. So yes, she's tiny. Is she heathy? She is so incredibly healthy, eats like a champ, advanced in her milestones, she's perfect- she's just petite. {she is also the most amazingly adorable little baby you'll have ever laid eyes on..seriously}

beautiful headband courtesy of Podee Olee sewing company! https://www.facebook.com/messages/532317180#!/podeeolee