National Honesty Day

Today is National Honesty Day.  Now that I am a parent, I am realizing now why my parents drilled into my head the importance of telling the truth.  I lied as a kid.  All the time.  I hated getting in trouble, especially from my dad.  Now that I’m older, I know his bark was worse than his bite, but it was a frightening bark when I was younger.  But now that I catch my daughter telling fibs, I know my parents frustrations.  So here is to telling the truth and all the benefits it brings.

 

It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.  ~Henry Louis Mencken, A Little Book in C Major, 1916

If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.  ~Mark Twain

Who lies for you will lie against you.  ~Bosnian Proverb

No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar.  ~Abraham Lincoln

Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the world.  ~Thomas Carlyle

A half truth is a whole lie.  ~Yiddish Proverb

A lie will easily get you out of a scrape, and yet, strangely and beautifully, rapture possesses you when you have taken the scrape and left out the lie.  ~Charles Edward Montague, Disenchantment

Those who think it is permissible to tell white lies soon grow color-blind.  ~Austin O’Malley

A truth that’s told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent.  ~William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence,” Poems from the Pickering Manuscript

The Importance of Date Nights

We always hear how couples divorce or split up after their children have left the proverbial nest and everyone is left wondering what happened.  How after 25 years could they not make it work?  Why did they wait until the kids left home?  Many of these divorced couples will say that after the kids are gone, they felt like they were living with strangers.

When I was about 6 months pregnant, I have to say I wondered how we would adjust to being parents after having a wonderful dating life.  We dated long distance for 2 years before we moved in together and our daughter was born 2 months after that.  We had 60 days to adjust to being a live-in couple.  I thought for sure that we would struggle to give up all that we had to be parents.  After all, we led rather carefree lives.  We did what we wanted, when we wanted, how we wanted and with whom.  How would a baby fit into the mix.  Clearly these thoughts at 6 months came a little late as there was no way of turning back but the anxiety was mounting.  Call it pre-baby jitters.  I told Hubby that I thought that we would struggle with being a couple with a child.  However, when the Princess arrived, the complete opposite happened.  We adjusted fantastically to being parents, but we also began to disconnect as a couple.  He worked full-time bringing home the bacon and I was up all day and night with a newborn.  Neither of us had the energy for each other.  We spent whatever free time, money and energy on Princess and doing “family” things, but never “couple” things.  There were the typical arguments “Do you know what happened in this house today?!?”  and “I have been working for the last 5 days, I’m too tired for this.”   Hey, arguments happen, we’ve all been frustrated, tired and at our very wits end, but we didn’t like what was happening between us.

We came up with a weekly “date night.”  We arranged that every Thursday, after Princess was snuggled into bed, we would do something nice for each other and alternate each we.  So one week I would do something nice for him and the next week, he’d do something for me.  It didn’t have to involve money.  We didn’t even have to go out.  But to take the time, to show some appreciation, care, and intimacy to one another helped lessen the tensions.  For example, he would run me a bubble bath and light a million candles.  The next week, if there was a hockey game on, I would make munchie foods like bruschetta, nachos and buy some beer and we would watch the game together and I even wore his favourite team’s hockey jersey.  He knows I love romance and I know he loves hockey.  We took what we knew of each other and used that to make each other feel special.  Eventually, these once a week date nights turned into more than once a week.  We both love to cook, so we would find recipes we liked and made them.  We still found time to be a family and a couple and it has spared the tension.

Now that our daughter is older and we feel more comfortable leaving her with friends a family, we have decided to go out once a month, alternating each month like each week to get more out of date night.  Last Saturday it was my turn to do something nice, so I took Hubby for an authentic seafood dinner.  I’m not partial to it myself, but he loves it.  I took him to Diana’s Oyster Bar & Grill.  I was even blown away by the freshness and deliciousness of the food.  It was so good that Hubby wants to go back.  I know that I am young and have only been in a relationship for 6 years, but I take it very seriously.  I truly want to us to grow old together and that requires work everyday.  While there is a lot more to being in a relationship than dates, but I think setting time for one another and keeping that connection will help more than hinder.

Jack Be Nimble

William Wallace Denslow 1901

Jack Be Nimble

 

Jack be nimble,

Jack be quick

Jack jump over

The candlestick.

 

Roud Folk Song

Happily Married Week

This week is Happily Married Week.  So if your spouse is still your best friend, works extremely hard, has been with you through triumphs and tragedies, who loves you when you are at your worst, and at your best, through the days and the nights, then this week is for you.

While my hubby and I are not “officially” married, he is all the things listed above.  It will be 6 years this November and while there has been some bad times, there have been more good.

Me and my Hubby

We met at a party during my first year at university, and the moment he walked in the door, my heart pounded so hard, I thought  it was going to pop out my very chest.  No one, and I mean no one, has ever made me feel like that.  I told myself that he would be mine one day.  It was by fluke that we even met that night.  He didn’t go to my school, was down visiting a mutual friend and almost didn’t come.  We had a great time for those 3 days, but when it was time for him to leave, neither of us got each other’s contact information.     I spent the rest of my summer thinking I let him go and I had missed my chance.  By the next fall, I was living with our mutual friend and another girl.  My friend came down to my room and told me it was his birthday and I should call him.  I thought to myself “would he even remember me?” So I did it, I called him and left him a message on his phone wishing him a happy birthday.  It was three days later when I got a text message from him.  After we started speaking, it came out that he thought about me all summer and wished he had got my number too.  We talked everyday and as he lived in Toronto and I was in Ottawa, a 5 hour distance between us, we didn’t know if long distance would work.  I mean, we only had ever seen each other for 3 days.  But we gave it a chance, and 6 years later, we have  a daughter and are living our lives together.  Now I’m not one to believe in fate, but something drew us together that weekend and we have enjoyed every day since!

What is more surprising is that we are  complete opposites in almost every way.  He is a city boy, I am a country girl.  He loves the cold, I love the heat.  He’s a conservative and I’m a socialist.  He is the strong silent type, I’m a chatty Cathy that wears my heart on my sleeve.  He’s a morning person, and I am a night owl.  He enjoys hockey, and I love discussing the prose of Lord Byron.  I’ve been to Europe and the United States, he’s never left Ontario.  But somehow we make it work.  Perhaps it’s that we both love to debate and given the amount of differences we have, it draws us together. Or maybe there is something behind the adage of “Opposites Attract” but  I can say he is my best friend and I couldn’t imagine my life with anyone else.  I hope that we will be like one of those old couples that die at a ripe old age and on the same day, and are holding hands into the hereafter!

Melonhead Children’s Hair Care

Melonhead

When it comes to my daughter’s hair, only the best will do.  And that is exactly why I take her to Melonheads Children’s Hair Salon.  This salon only does haircut’s for children and the hair stylists have the patience that would rival that of a Zen Buddhist.  Instead of chairs, the children can sit in trains, planes and automobiles.  The price is reasonable and there is a wall of toys that you can buy for your little one’s after getting their hair done.  There are many locations all over Ontario and definitely worth checking out for your little one’s next haircut.

The Princess' First Haircut

“The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe” by J. Randy Taraborrelli

   “I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” – Marilyn Monroe

Without Marilyn Monroe, we wouldn’t have that iconic white dress over the street grate.  Without Marilyn Monroe, we wouldn’t know diamond’s are a girl’s best friend.  And without J. Randy Taraborrelli, we wouldn’t know The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.   Taraborrelli blows the rumours of Monroe out of the water and leaves nothing but the truth.  You will learn about her tumultuous childhood, her family’s history of mental illness, her half-sister, her confrontation with the man she believed to be her father, Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, JFK & RFK and the FBI, but last but not least, her sad spin into barbiturate addiction.  For my full review, click here.

“His first hand accounts from the people who knew her blows the myths, the rumours out of the water and leaves the truth, naked and exposed for all our prying eyes, needing to know more about Marilyn.  The candor leaves your nerves raw, your heart ache and your soul weep.  Taraborrelli lets us all into The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.”

 

Who likes free stuff?!

It was has been widely argued that from birth to 18, children cost approximately $250 000 and that doesn’t even include tuition!  That is a lot of change!  So whenever you can get deal, you got to take them.  I have compiled a list of sites where you can sign up from free stuff coupons and samples!

1. Free Parent Stuff Free Parent Stuff is an online newsletter that searches the web for the latest samples and sends them to you once or twice a week.  Occassionally you will receive an email if there is a special discount that is going on.  It is easy to sign up.  I have received free Olay products, diapers, wipes, formula, recipes, Pull Ups and other mommy and kid stuff.
2. Pampers Pampers allows you to join Pamper’s Village and you will receive free samples, coupons (and no mere $0.50 off, more like $2 – $4.00 off) and other promotions.  I am a Pamper’s fan and that was what my daughter used for a majority of the time.  I have to say that the amount of Pamper’s sample diapers I received would probably have amounted to at least a full box.  Granted not all at once, but 4 or 5 here and there.  But it adds up in the end!
3. Huggies Much like Pampers, Huggies has the same kind of program.  They will send you samples and coupons, and also send you coupons for non-baby stuff like batteries, and other household essentials.
4. Nestle Baby Club  I signed up for the Nestle Baby Club while buying maternity clothes and I received a Diaper Bag, Baby Formula, Baby cereal and a growth chart…all for free!
5. Similac Club For all those who formula feed, you can receive containers of formula for joining the Similac Club.  I received at least 4 containers, not little bags, but actual containers of formula plus coupons for $15, $10 and $5 off.  With formula costing what it does, you can’t go wrong!
6. Kids Free Samples This website offers a wide variety of free kid samples and coupons from an array of trusted baby and child companies such as Pampers, Huggies, Enfamil and Similac and many many more!
7. P & G Saver  This site provides you with a coupon booklet of coupons for products that you yourself choose from and they mail them to you.  I received a booklet of $50 worth of coupons!

Tagged!

I have been tagged by the Jill of All Trades!  I have to admit I’m not very good at these games but here is my attempt!

‘Tag – you’re it!’ – The rules:

1.You must post these rules.

2.Answer the question the “tagger” listed for you in their post.

3.And create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

4.Choose 11 people to tag and link to them in the post.

5.Let each blogger know that you have tagged them.

 

The Question I was asked was; What would you do if you had a weekend all to yourself?

If I had a weekend all to myself, I would have a Lord of The Rings Marathon, curl up in my favourite pyjama’s, eat a big bowl of popcorn and catch up on some much needed zzz’s.  Eventually I would get bored of movies and I would get myself motivated and I would go for a run, write and read.  Not to mention have a candle lit bubble bath.

Now…here are the blogs I have tagged;

A Mothers Luv:  What is your favourite thing about being a stay-at home mom?

mplsmom: What has having a son taught you?

Boca Frau: What inspired your last post?

The Ossington Kitchen:  How did you come up with the name for your blog?

iGameMom: What is your advice to first time bloggers?

StompingEggShells: What do you do to keep your children busy?

My Body The City: What advice would you give your younger self?

Swim Bike Run 3NDURANCE:  What do you tell yourself before each race?

Just Another Rabid Reader:  If you could only take choose 5 books to keep and get rid of all the rest, what would the 5 be?

CanadianMommyTime: What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Mafa: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

 

 

 

 

 

Foods that Prevent Cold and Flu!

The Bio-Oil Challenge

I know I earned my stripes!

 

Raise your hand if you have stretch marks as a result of being pregnancy.  Mine is.  And I am proud to say it too, although that wasn’t always the case. For quite some time, I was embarrassed by these marks and wouldn’t dream of wearing anything that was revealing.  My stomach was locked up tighter than Fort Knox.  I was 5 months pregnant when I first noticed them.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I began to show very early on, and by 5 months I was asked if I was carrying twins.  It wasn’t until I was down visiting my parents when I first noticed them.  I had gotten out of the shower and was standing in the mirror getting ready when I saw those dark purple lines sprawling up my abdomen.

 

“Gah!!! What the hell?  Where did they…oh my god, when did they?  Aaahhhh!”  I was turning over and over in the mirror, finding more and more lines running up from places and directions I never thought they would ever come from.  They looked like the Evil Ghost’s hands in a horror films, reaching up to capture the youthfulness of my skin.  My mother heard my shrieks and came running.

“What’s the matter?”  She asked, her breath ragged.

I pointed to my stomach, looking for some sympathy.

“Oh wow,” she said.  “I never got stretch marks when I was pregnant.”

Kick me while I’m down why dontcha!

While my mother was blessed with incredibly, even freakishly pliable skin, those genes clearly skipped me in utero.  I was even more distressed after my daughter was born and the incision from the c-section horizontally sliced the vertical lines.  My stomach was now the crudest road map of downtown Toronto!

“The C-Section scar is Bloor Street, the long line to the left is University Avenue and this line over here is Bay Street.  Oh this line, see how it gets thinner here, yea, that’s Yonge Street in rush hour!”  Hey, you have to laugh at yourself sometimes.

While I have now come to terms with them, even find the humour in them, I still want them to be less noticeable.  So when I was given a bottle of Bio-Oil, I thought, why not make it a Bio-Oil Challenge?  On the bottle, it says that if you rub the oil on your body, twice a day for three months, in circular motions, the marks will become less noticeable.  The stretch marks will never go away and results vary from individual to individual, but the product claims in time, they will fade.

In a study done in 2010, it found that on day 15, that 95% saw a significant improvement and by day 57, 100% saw improvement more than double that at 2 weeks.  So I am trying my own challenge and see if this stuff actually works.   I will say that I am not getting paid to do this, and I am purchasing the bottles myself, granted the first bottle was given to my by a family member.  The oil is peachy in colour and the smell isn’t too bad either.  You will need to wash your hands after rubbing it, otherwise you will have oil everywhere.

I will write back in 3 months and let you know how it goes.  No fibs, no exaggerations, just honest consumer opinion.  Now, I won’t be posting any before and after photos as I don’t wish to give anyone nightmares or scare women off getting pregnant.  So while my stomach is a crude map of downtown Toronto, it is a road map I took to motherhood and a trip I was glad to make!