Domestic Goddess in the Making

Do you have an issue with toddler labour? Stop now if you do. Although, you will be missing out on some super cute photos.

If you have been reading my blog, like I am certain you have been, you will be aware that I dislike housework. I have days where I put on my Susie Homemaker clothes and give this place a good cleaning, but also have days like when I threw out our little wannabe Foreman grill to avoid cleaning it.

Don't ask, just keep reading.

I have recently recruited AJ, who is now approaching 22 months, to help me with random household duties. She is at her "I wanna Help Mommy" stage and I am just going with the flow. You would not believe how awesome she is.

Just take a look:

In addition to what you see in the photos, she also helps empty the dishwasher, puts the soap in and then starts it. Plus, she takes initiative and not only gets me a new garbage bag for our under the sink garbage can, but she puts it in too! 

I am raising a little Susie Homemaker, and I could not be prouder. By the time she is three I will be able to eat bon bons and watch my stories on TV. 

PS - When it was my turn with the Swiffer, AJ applauded and yelled, "Good girl, Mommy!" 

I would clean the house everyday for that :) 

Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

Ugh. Tearjerker this one. Especially if you have been touched by cancer in someway .... even more especially if you have been touched by adolescent cancer.

Now, I don't want to go too in depth with this review, as I am scared to give anything in the book away. But I do want to encourage you to read it. Don't let the aspect of the book being based on kids with cancer, scare you. This is a funny, realistic, insightful story. It will make you think a bit differently about the disease and how the people who have it see their situation.

The Fault In Our Stars, by John Green, is narrated from the life of Hazel Grace, a 16 year old who wears an oxygen tank 24 hours a day. She does not have much of a social life since a cancer diagnoses three years earlier, and yanked out of school. The only source of socialization she has, is a small cancer support group that she reluctantly attends just to make her parents happy.

In walks Augutus Waters with his bad boy looks and a limp. After losing his leg to cancer, Augustus is in remission and seeking an adventure in life. 

This story is almost a typical girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love story. The only difference is, they have cancer, and they see life differently than anyone without it. 

Yes, it's extremely sad and awful to suffer from this disease, but why do we always believe the one's with the illness don't see any humor about it? Seriously though. This book will make you realize that quite often it is those who are not living with cancer in their bodies that are emotionally hurt by it the most.

Let this book change how you see a sickness, see love and see life.

Super Nanny Who?

A change in your environment can really disrupt one's schedule, especially when you're a toddler.

AJ has always been an over achiever when it comes to sleeping. At three months old she was sleeping at the very least 10 hours through the night. I will never forget the first time waking up and realizing I hadn't heard a peep from her in 12 hours. I remember D and I both opening our eyes and just being still, listening to the silence. My heart raced and I wondered if she was even alive.

We had started the transition from AJ sleeping in our room to her own room, and it had been a concern of mine that I may not hear her if she woke up. I have since learned that pretty much any noise she makes in the night is picked up by my super sonic Mom ears. Even little sized 5 feet shuffling over the carpet on her way to our bed springs me wide awake.

Anyways, on this morning after an uninterrupted night of sleep, I was questioning what was real and what was a dream. After D and I both laid there stunned and worried for what felt like hours, we tip toed to AJ's room to make sure she was breathing. Thank Goddess she was. We crawled back into bed feeling like we hit the jackpot, but all I could think about was how she must be hungry.

A Mother always worries, right Mom?

AJ's awesome sleeping habits continued up until about two months ago. She all of a sudden began waking up in the middle of the night calling for me. At first I would go in and read her a couple books till she drifted back into dreamland. When that wasn't good enough anymore she wanted to come sleep with Mommy. Now, don't get me wrong I adore snuggling up to my AJ and having a snooze, but we all know what happens when a child invades your bed.

Let's just say that 99.9% of the time, I ended up at the foot of the bed with half my body hanging over the side. Whether I was getting up to urge her back to sleep, or letting her crawl in with us, I wasn't getting enough rest. I gave in, left her door open at night and allowed her to come and go as she pleased.

Once Bella moved in with us not only was AJ getting into our bed every night, but she had also lost interest in going to bed AT ALL. She seemed to be affected by some change in the house and wanted to just be with Mommy. Loved it. But was not loving the loss of the two hours of little freedom I had each night, not to mention the lack of bed I was getting.

Enter sleep training.

The idea is to get your child into a good bedtime routine, or in our case to get AJ into a routine again, and when your child gets out of bed, you silently place him or her back in. No words.  I saw an episode of Super Nanny once where it took the Mother 58 times to get her child to stay in bed. 58!!

So, firstly I made sure she didn't eat anything to give her energy, I kept her she calm and made sure she knew bedtime was coming. She brushed her teeth, said her good nights and I read to her. The first night she fought me a bit and I had to silently place her back in bed about five times. Then it was as if the clouds parted and heaven shone a light on us. AJ laid down and said "Ok Mommy. Night. Love you." She simply learned, very quickly, to accept it was time for sleep.

The first night she slept "Aaaallll night!" as she likes to put it. The second night she was right into bed after some stories, but woke up at 1:30AM. Her first instinct was to come to bed with me, which was not in the cards. I offered to read a book; she refused. I offered to lay with her; she said no thanks. I said, "Ok night then." Kissed her and got up to leave. "Blue's Clues, Mommy" - she wanted me to read to her.

After the story was over I said "Night night baby girl, see you in the morning."

And I did.

It breaks my heart to feel like I am pushing her away, but it's more important that she gets the sleep she needs. And it never hurts for Mommy to get the sleep she needs too! It ends up being better for the whole household.

Right, Hunny?

My St. Paddy's Day Treasure!

While sitting on the couch this evening, D stuck his hand (for some strange reason) into the couch. This is what he found:

One and a half chocolate Cheerios, some popcorn twist pieces, a pink barrette, an allen wrench, a tums, a Disney Princess tic-tac-toe piece, some sort of Tiger Woods game and a Bratz foot. Oh, and some hair.

You have no idea how excited I got thinking about posting this on my blog. That is what my life has come to.

Then I had an even better idea! Let me stick my hand in the couch on my side! Here is what I found:

A rock, a baby spoon, a green crayon, some red piece of plastic and a fake mini My Little Pony.

What a wild and crazy Saturday night!

Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble

I have been cooking everyday, with the exception of a few Fridays, since Bella arrived in our home. I made a promise and kept it.

...............

Pausing for applause.

Thank you.

D and I never were ones for side dishes, other than veggies. Always lots of veggies. But since Bella has been here I am working side dishes into the mix. Nothing fancy, just things like rice, potatoes, a little garlic toast, or pasta sides. Ya know those little pouches of wanna-be pasta that make your dinner complete in the wink of an eye? Those.

I incorporated one into a meal this past week, and it turned out quite good if I do say so myself. But things didn't always look so promising. I had the pasta in it's milk and water bath, which actually sounds lovely, and I went to chat with D. After a few minutes forgetting what I was doing, I ran back into the kitchen to find this:

It was touch and go there for a bit, but in the end .... this Un-Domestic Goddess pulled it off. 

Take Notes and Learn

I am dedicating this post to my Papa Edgar who passed away on the evening of Sunday March 11, 2012.

There is supposed to be a lesson in everything right? Well, the more I go through life and experience loss, or even wonderful gifts from the Universe, I am finding that there is in fact a lesson in most things. If not everything.

During a quick 24 hour visit to Edmonton this past weekend, D mentioned that we should go see my Papa Edgar before heading south back to Calgary. His reason was simple, my Papa Edgar was a cool guy. We hadn't seem him since October last year over Thanksgiving weekend, where he got to meet AJ and Dan for the first time.

I think D found my Papa to be a cool guy because he actually was. He had the best stories from the war, and most recently, about all the people who lived in his building. He was so laid back and just a gentle, happy man.

We never did go see him.

That was on Sunday, and he passed away that evening.

I will just leave that with you and let you take away from it whatever you see fit.

Rest in peace Papa.

Yay, For Mom-preneurs!

I am an advocate for the Work-at-home Mom (WAHM). Not only because I am trying my hardest to be a WAHM, but I truly believe it makes for a better functioning household, which in return makes for happy Moms and kids. Not to mention Dads. A happy wife means a happy life, isn't that what they say?

I am the kind of Mother who does not want to leave her child for eight hours a day. I know there are some who need the freedom of a career and I totally get that. For me, I do want a great career, but I am so addicted to AJ that I can't bare to leave her side!

Sure, I say that now right? Have you met my daughter? No one ever wants to leave her once they are around her.

On my quest to decide what track to take, I found an amazing book at the library: How to Start a Home-Based Business to Become a Work-At-Home Mom. This book revealed hidden strategies to take your home-based business to a whole new level, and I also discovered ideas I never would have thought about. I mean, I read e-books, but to actually write one? Never crossed my mind until now.

This how to book, by Georganne Fiumara, got me really inspired to experiment with my writing, and to make a better effort to develop this blog. I always knew you could make money somehow by writing, I just didn't think I would ever have the opportunity to do it. I now see that I do.

How to Start a Home-based Business to Become a Work-At-Home Mom does not solely focus on writing, but gives tips and tricks for any kind of home-based business. Whether your goal is to become a photographer, web designer, virtual assistant or get into sales, this book is a must for your shelf.  If you need that kick in the butt to get your idea going, or even just want a little help to tweak your already up and running home-based business, get this book!

It is an easy to read, cleanly written guide. You won't find any business jargon that forces you to access your online dictionary, nor will you find yourself confused on what the writer is saying. Georganne knows her stuff and teaches it in a way that anyone can learn from.

I urge you run to your local library, bookstore, or even better log onto Amazon to order your copy today. If you are looking to start up your own home-based business this book is for you!

Also, please join Georganne on Facebook and Twitter, and visit her website for other neat tidbits of info and encouragement on being a work-at-home Mom.

Five Words

AJ: "Water Mom."

Gramma: "Audrey say, cup of water please Mom."

AJ: "Water please Mom."

Gramma: "Cup of water please Mom, try to say five words, Audrey."

AJ: "Five words."

And Guess Who Wanted To Make The Wedding Cake??

Me.

Yup, I actually considering making our wedding cake. I have now totally thrown that idea out the window after trying to make my Mom a birthday cake yesterday.

Here is my little helper

I sprayed the pan this time I swear I did! 

Just a wee little dip in the middle. No big deal. 

I didn't have any icing so I used year old candy melts. Hard as rock. Then I found a tube of white icing that was probably older than the candy melts. Maybe a year and a half? It was a full tube, but all I got out of t was an H. 

Happy Birthday Mommy! 

Dirty, Contaminated Lemons No More!

Today I am taking time to introduce you to a couple of amazing people. The men behind LÉMONESSE.

Corey and Adam Leja are brothers who developed a product to replace dirty, messy, seed filled lemons for your water. Not just to use at home though, but to carry with you, which is awesome! And the best part of their product is that it's all natural. It might as well be a clean, fresh lemon wedge in a little packet.

One reason I love this idea is because of the Orange Peel incident at a chinese restaurant years ago. I believe I was there having dinner with my Mom, her employer Danny, and his daughter Jorden. I was goofing around with Jorden, and we took the oranges that were there on our plates for garnish and put them over our teeth and smiled. We thought we were so funny!  Then my Mom pointed out that the orange peel in my mouth still had a sticker on it. I imagine if the orange had actually been washed, there would not have been a trace of a sticker.

Gross.

Ever since then, I have been leery to order any kind of beverage with a piece of fruit in it like a lemon or a lime. The Orange Peel incident was traumatic enough, so I anticipate this fabulous product.

Corey and Adam's brilliant idea is not the only reason I want to bring attention to them. If you know me at all you know that I am a social media advocate. These guys have some of the best social media skills I have ever seen!

They founded Lemonesse in 2010 and are getting closer everyday to the actual launch of their product. But in the meantime they have been managing a kick ass social media campaign, which in return has created a huge buzz for Lemonesse. Not only that, but they are on top of all the new media tools that can be used to promote their company. They hold contests on a regular basis, engage their followers constantly, and yet are not saturating the web. They make their presence known without being annoying. I am certainly not tired of hearing about Lemonesse.

The real push I got to write about Corey and Adam was something they brought to my attention yesterday. They came across a video made by a young man who is, right at this moment, desperately seeking help with his weight. Corey and Adam didn't just ignore his plea, or simply "share" the video, but they responded. They created a "call to action" and reached out to their followers and contacts they knew could help. It is so easy these days to share a video and say we need to come together and help a cause, but to actually follow through? It takes real special people to do that.

Corey and Adam have inspired me to take my social media for non-profits business Just B Socialized to a whole new level. And I swear to Goddess that I have been drinking more lemon water because they have proven to me how good it is for your body and soul. I simply cannot wait to purchase their product! I hope my friends and family are prepare to get Lemonesse as gifts from now on too. Haha.

Dora, The Justin Bieber Of My Life

There I was .... in the tub accompanied by Dora bubbles with a Dora band-aid on my finger, and in walks a toddler wearing Dora PJs.

Dora.

Thanks For The Massage, Swiffer

I had a weird thing happen today.

Bella had a tummy ache this morning and decided to take the day off from school. She slept for a while then had some chicken noodle soup, and relaxed. By about 2PM she got some energy, as most of us do when we are feeling better, and she started cleaning.

Mom is coming to visit this weekend, so Bella took it upon herself to clean the basement and get the spare room prepared. As she was working away I was up in the kitchen doing my own thing, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the pantry, and playing with AJ.

A little later on she came upstairs, took even more initiative and started to clean the front entrance and living room floor. She swept then brought out the Swiffer Wet Jet.

This is where it gets weird for me.

I was sitting on the couch watching TV and she was swiffering along the laminate floor at my feet.  I all of a sudden began to feel a tingle. Almost like I was getting a massage, or someone was playing with my hair.

I was in a relaxed sort of hypnotic state.

Was it because someone else was cleaning my floor? Or was it the back and forth motion that calms most crazy people?