Questions Questions

The lovely Censie over at Building Our Story tagged me in this, so I have to do my duty and answer...then tag 8 of you mama bloggers!

Do you think you're hot?

Absolutely not! I've come to appreciate my body, and am very proud of what I've achieved in my *almost* 12months postpartum, but I wouldn't consider myself "hot". I have my moments where I feel like a Yummy Mummy, though!

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Complete and utter cuteness :)

When was the last time you ate chicken?

To be honest, I dont even know. A couple of days ago maybe? I'm having some tonight, I know that...

What were you thinking while doing this?

When was the last time I ate chicken!?

Do you have nicknames? What are they?

Shan, Shanny-poo, Moosh, Honey/Dear (from C), Shans/Shanny (from my Mama), Beans (from my Dad), Scooter, Shananegins

Tag 8 Blogging Friends

Jenni from Jenni From the Blog
Holly from Mama Plain and Tall
Emily from Em&M: Plain or Peanut
MrsC from Never a Dull Moment
Melania from TransAtlantic Blonde
Andrea from My Attempt at Motherhood
Melissa from Our Journey
Shizz from Baby Shmizz

Y3W: Party Sneak Peeks!

We've had quite the busy week of playdates in Stratford, swinging on the swings. Meetings with Ovarian Walk coordinators and conference calls. Shopping for new clothes for Mama (size 9!!! WOOT!!! and XS shirts! Yahoo!) and cute shorts for Monster.

My brain is a wee (read: lot) fried at the moment, so here's a sneak peek at Owen's bday plans!



Look like fun, huh??

Tonight, once we're all finished cleaning up the yard (our grass has gone to seed! It's been so wet here, and we have poor drainage, that we couldn't cut it for the past two weeks!!), I'm going to work on a special Wish Box for Owen.

I got the idea from my favourite Tampa Mama (now in Tallahasse...bah). It's basically a box, decorated or not, monogramed or not (Owen's will be decorated, with his name on it somewhere) that people can write wishes on pieces of paper and put them in the box. The box will be given to him when he *gasp* moves out of the house for college so that he can remember all of the people who were there celebrating with him on his friend birthday, all of the people who love him to pieces, and all of the special moments and wishes that they have for him.

I think it's a great idea, and I can't wait to create it for him...then hide it away in our closet and deny that he's getting older and...*gasp* cry when I have to give it to him when he's 17 and off to college.

2 Weeks Today

Owen is going to be 1 year old in two weeks today.

WOW!

I got an email from What To Expect the other day...all about what to pack in your diaper bag and advising to have it ready and in the car for that all important trip to the hospital.

While part of my thought "Uhm...pretty sure I already did that, and I have the scars to prove it!" another part of me thought "Holy moly, that really was a year ago!"

So much has changed, even within the past couple of weeks! Owen is standing all. of. the. time. now, and wants nothing more than to make music. Yes yes, he's my little musician! Yesterday, we were in Stratford with my playgroup and we went to Family and Company, a fantastic toy store with a tonne of unique goodies. All 5 of the kids were sleeping on our walk there, but as soon as we walked into the store, they all sprang to life.

I showed Owen this crazy wrist band thing, that had 4 jingle bells on it. BIG MISTAKE! I couldn't get them away from him! He was SO incredibly happy, shaking his bells and making...music!

So...I decided to do what every one of you parents are probably going to think "She is certifiably INSANE!" for. I bought him a drum.

He's just like his grandpa. He LOVES music, loves to dance and loves to sing. Definitely Mama's boy in all of those categories, so I wanted to get him his first musical instrument for his very first birthday.

Poppa would be proud.

Have a Minute?

Do you have a quick second?

The Art Gallery in Woodstock, ON is in serious peril of being sold...even before it's been able to open its beautiful, colourful, wonderful doors. The mayor is lobbying to sell the space to Fanshawe College...and the Art Gallery will be no more.

In a society where it's so....economical...corporate...cold...every city needs an Art Gallery and every city needs colours, inspiration, creation!

Take a minute to sign the petition here

Sweet Stella's: Y3W Friday: Silent Auction Donations (needed!)

Sweet Stella's: Y3W Friday: Silent Auction Donations (needed!): "Happy Friday everyone! Onto a post that I've been planning for the whole week! Some of you who are personal contact already know that I'm ..."

Ovarian Cancer Canada - London Mini Walk of Hope

10km, 5km, 1 hope

Diarrhea and the Baby

My poor poor Monster...

All of last week, he and I were both fighting colds. While mine was draining through my face, his little body was fighting infection and trying to rid itself of toxins through his poop.

What started off as a few poopy diapers here and there, ended up being diarrhea from Tuesday-Thursday, and let me tell you...DISGUSTING!

I think that's the one thing about parenthood that I was not prepared for, and something that I absolutely will not miss whatsoever.

Now! He was so poopy that he ended up with a horrible diaper rash, and even blisters. Knowing that it's pretty common kept me fairly calm, but there's no way that it was comfortable for him.

He is, however, a boy and will not complain if something like that is bothering him. He'll sit in his poop all day (or night) long without a peep!

I know alot of you out there may be plagued with this issue, so I wanted to share what worked for us!

During the Day

- as much bare bum time as possible. This helps in a few ways...first and foremost, airing their bums helps to keep it dry. Secondly, the bambino won't poop without a diaper on, so it gives Mom and Dad a break ;)
- antibiotic ointment or cream (such as Polysporin) on the blisters during bare bum time. This will help them heal, prevent infection, and will prevent them from bursting
- LOTS of Penaten in a clean, dry bum, prior to a diaper going on. We did this for every single diaper change and it really made a difference

At Night

- warm bath of warm water+2tbsp baking soda. I don't know why it works, but a good Mama friend suggested it as it really helped her baby girl, and it really does work!
- dry bum completely
- antibiotic ointment
- LOTS of Penaten cream

What he ate also made a difference. While he was sick, all he wanted was mushy foods so he ate alot of...
Oatmeal
Applesauce
Blueberries
Plums
Cherrios (his go-to comfort food!)

Notice a theme? All things that are high in fibre, which clearly didn't help!

Remember that BRAT diet from when we were kids (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)? Well, it really does work and why I hadn't thought about it sooner is beyond me.

Part of our issue is that Owen was completely normal mood wise, and still roaming the house, climbing over things, walking around tables/chairs/jumperoo/us like crazy, so I knew that he still needed the protein to keep his energy levels the same.

SO! Rice+applesauce+chicken makes for a very lovely dinner, as does rice+applesauce+garlic pork, and rice+applesauce+blueberries for breakfast!

One thing to keep in mind is balance. Too much rice and he'll clearly be constipated. Not enough, and well...you end up dealing with a lot of poopy diapers.

Good luck! It makes for a very, very long week and I was very thankful that it happened when we were approaching a long weekend so that C could take on the brunt of parenting this weekend and I could have a mental rest and get ready for another busy week!

Have remedies that you'd like to share? Post a comment!

Poochy Lips

I first saw a baby do this when I was visiting a Mama friend in Florida over Christmas. Her adorable daughter, by far, has THE BEST Poochy Lips EVER!

Owen just started doing it a week or so ago, so I thought I'd share.









He gets very excited when he does it, because it often results in a Poochy Kiss from Mama