Sweet Stella's: Y3W Friday: Halloween Mask GIVEAWAY!

Sweet Stella's: Y3W Friday: Halloween Mask GIVEAWAY!: Yes yes, you read that right!! Since I just adore these lovelies so much, I'm going to giveaway ONE CUSTOM handpainted and embellished MASK...

Where have you been!?

I guess that's what some of you might be thinking? Where the heck are Shan, Col and baby Owen??

Well...we've been busy!

Mama's been busy running Sweet Stella's, organizing photo shoots, helping GodMomma with her wedding, chairing the Walk of Hope for Ovarian Cancer...

Daddy's been working like crazy, travelling for work, running the Sunshine Foundation golf tournament, and dealing with Mama being crazy...

Owen's been mastering a few new things!

• Favourite words: BAH! (bath), bum, good, go, uh-oh, mom, mama, da, dada, na (nana - this started TODAY and she doesn't even know!), gpa (Grandpa - my dad, when I talk about him, I call him Grandpa), and bafa (breakfast), mag (Maggie - I'll ask him when his kitty is and he makes a "k-tee" sound then says Mag!)
  
• LOVES to help put on his clothes first thing in the morning
• LOVES to take off his pants during naps in the afternoon
• WALKING

Yes yes! He's walking! Finally!! It's more like run-for-5-feet-and-fall-over but we'll take it! He gets so excited and he's transitioned his little booty-shake dance into a full booty-sway dance now when he gets really excited about how far he's walked.

I promise! Video's coming!!

We've also had an amazing addition to the family! Col's cousin Mike {and his lovely wife Angela} had a bay almost two weeks ago now!! little Aiden George! I'm super jealous because Col and Papi will get to meet the little guy in a couple of weeks when they travel (again) for business.

anyhow! That's all for now! I'll try try try to be better, but please bear with me! The next few weeks are crazy!

Sweet Stella's: Talk-To-Me Tuesday: Hiding Veggies

Sweet Stella's: Talk-To-Me Tuesday: Hiding Veggies: So many mama friends of mine lately have been asking how I lucked out and got such a great eater. I think alot of it has to do with the vari...

The Blue Balloon {Part 2}

Balloons are even more fun with Daddy

Bellflower Books Blog: Guest Post Series ~ Post by, Shannon Szemenyei of ...

I'm guest blogging today over on Bellflower Books, for their Meaningful Person series.

Hop over, give it a read and leave some love.

PS: grab a tissue

Bellflower Books Blog: Guest Post Series ~ Post by, Shannon Szemenyei of ...: My Dad Meaningful Person Guest Post by, Shannon Szemenyei of Sweet Stellas I’m not really sure where to begin with this guest post. When I...

Mama Needs a New Bag

Well...the unthinkable happened. My lovely SkipHop Via Messenger bag is no more...like literaly needs to be thrown out.

I was unloading it today after being away all weekend (Bachelorette Party weekend in Collingwood! woohoo!) to wipe it down and give it a wash and there was this terrible stank coming from it.

At first I thought C had left a dirty diaper in the wet pocket...open it up and EW!

I almost threw up in my mouth.

Mold, moisture, stank and just general unpleasantness

So, mama's...looks like I need a new bag.

Comment with your suggestions! Below are some styles that I love...







Criteria for the new bag:

- decent sized pockets for wipes and diapers inside (I really only need 2 pockets)
- a pocket for my wallet
- a pocket for my blackberry
- diaper change pad included (or a pocket for it)
- decent sized middle pocket for toys, sippy cups, sweaters, socks...books...anything that Owen might need while we're out and about
- stroller clips (MUST!)
- decently affordable

Officially Cleared

This is a post that I've been meaning to write for a little while now, but wanted to wait until it was official.

Wednesday of last week marked a very awesome day in my book of mommyhood. I had my last meeting with Sue and Gaetane, my health nurses that have been coming to see Owen and I since he was 3 weeks old.

We went over routine things like how did I enjoy the program, what did I like and not like, and most importantly, how did I feel a year later.

Admittedly, I was emotional. Not in the I-can't-do-this-without-you way, but in a I'm-going-to-miss-you! way. In anticipation of the appointment, I started thinking about where I was a year ago.

Thrown blackberries, soothers and remotes. Fits of screaming and anger.

Pumping a measly 1.5oz every 2-3 hours. Blogging in the middle of the night.

Not sleeping for hours on end. Nap training during the dead of winter and feeling trapped.

Now, where am I?

It felt so good to tell them that I'm actually happy. I feel like a mom; seeing Owen smile at me, reach for me, toddle over and sit on my lap while we watch Shrek together, snuggle into me when he's scared or hurt...it all makes me feel like a mom, and I finally like that feeling.

Finally, I feel like I can breathe, like I really do know what is best for Owen, like I am the light in his world and his Mama and Daddy are the most important people in his life.

So, that's what I told them.

Their response? They were so incredibly proud. Like...over the moon proud of this Mama for getting through Post Partum Depression.

In terms of Owen's naps, they said that they want to bottle me up as an example for the other mom's that they see.

When it comes to baby food making and toddler feeding, they love my enthusiasm for making everything fresh and wholesome for Owen.

When it comes to mama-kiddo relationship and bond, they see the light in his eyes when he sees me and giggle when he half-walk-half-crawls over and into my lap for a kiss.

I can say this with 100% certainty now...I'm officially cleared of PPD, and it feels pretty awesome.