Quick update

New posts coming shorthly! It's been a busy last couple of months! I'm back at work, the kids have changed daycares,  the house still isn't cleaning itself... busy.

Yesterday was Logan's 1st Birthday! Time flies. I wrote up a ''Dear Logan'' blog, using a blog application on my Ipod, but when I came to publish it... poof, vanished! And so, my ''Dear Logan'' blog will be late, but it's not forgotten!

Looking forward to getting back in the groove of writing regularly!

I Must be Doing Something Wrong

It was while I was nursing my almost-nine-month old baby back to sleep, for like, the 4th time sometime last week, that it hit me: I Must be Doing Something Wrong!!!

 Noah, my first son, didn't sleep for the first six months of his  life. He was exclusively nursed and slept in the playpen in our room. (ERROR!) He wouldn't nap on his own either, so we made a habit of napping together,(ERROR!) which truth be told, I more than welcomed.  After he turned 4 months (and had taken a total  of only five bottles, (ERROR!) he wouldn't have any). Being alone to handle nights, (ERROR!) since he would only nurse, I guess we can say  that I was somewhat sleep deprived. Noah would wake about ten times a night from the time he was four months old, and then when he turned six months, we moved him into the crib in his own room,  (FINALLY DID SOMETHING RIGHT!) I he finally slept through the night.

My ''No Spending'' Experiment

I'm a nutcase job when it comes to making my budget, on paper.  I think budgets are sexy, that' right... I said the ''s'' word. My budget is made for well over a year in advance, that way, I know, say, next February, that I'm not in the red financially, again, on paper that is. Doing this, as crazy as it sounds, makes me feel anything but, it reassures me. Yet, after careful review of my budgets over the course of the last few months, it would seem that we've always managed to overspend (read over-overspend)!  I planned to rectify this and spend only what was necessary for the next month. Apparently,  according to financial advisors, giving yourself a break from spending is a great method to get your budget back on track.

An Allowance Please?

My son Noah, randomly wanted to buy a toy car. When I told him that mommy didn't have the money right now, he then said he wanted to ''buy'' money. This had my hamster start running in his wheel, in other words, it got me thinking about the importance of teaching my kids a few lessons concerning money early on. While discussing this with my husband, we decided it was time to give our kids an allowance. Problem: We quickly realised that we have two different view points when it comes to what conditions should be considered in giving the said allowance. We could decide to give a fixed amount weekly so that the kids learn how to manage a steady ''income'', or, we could give them  ''compensation'' for the completion of chores or given tasks. Neither of us was convinced that our perspective was the correct one to have. What was the lesson we wanted to teach our millionaires-in-the making?

Only Fools Don't Change Their Minds: Project 52

For an introduction to Project 52, click here.

So, I've changed my mind, again. Yes, again, I know! I thought I had it, my great project idea I was going to present for 52 weeks. I went from attempting to present a new scapbooking page every week, (and not presenting any of course, none, nada), to opting for simplicity.  I had decided to write a specific weekly blog post on a subject that I know. I know about law and finance...yawn, Zzzzzzzzzzzz, snore,  and that's where I lost you I think. Sure, the plan was to make these two subjects interesting, perhaps even fun...(?) but a week passed, and I've been uninspired...How could I pull this off for a year(!)? The subjects I chose are out of line with the general aura of my little blog. I don't want Project 52 to have a different tone than the rest. (Note to self: think longer before posting).

Aveeno Baby Soothing Bath Treatment Review (1)

My little guy, Noah, has quite the problem, eczema-ish skin. Everything makes it react in some way. Too much dairy and he's covered in itchy, red plaques; dry, cold weather, and his skin is reptile like... Thank goodness for Aveeno.

Aveeno Baby Soothing Bath Treatment comes in a box with 5 packets. It is found in most pharmacies, or basically anywhere you'll find diapers. The box sells anywhere between 5.99$ and 8.99$.

Instructions on how to use the product are fool-proof. 1) Open packet, 2) disperse in bath. 3) Soak baby in bath for a few minutes.

The content, quite simply is natural colloidal oatmeal, which has been finely milled into a powder, and this powder, once dispersed in water, becomes a milky bath.

After using this product a few times, Noah's skin was visibly softer to the touch, the irritation had certainly diminished and the itchiness was gone. Gone! We use it every two or three days seeing that using it everyday would turn out to be quite detrimental to my wallet. The product is said to relieve dry, itchy, irritated skin, and so far, it has done everything it claims, and has brought much relief for my son.

The product also claims to''temporarily protect and help relieve minor irritaion and itching due to: rashes, eczema, poison ivy, oak, sumac and insect bites.'' I can't confirm or infirm these claims as I have not been in a situation to prevent my son's skin condition beforehand, and I'm not too inclined to say ''Hey sweetheart, why don't you go run in the ivy to see if this works to prevent a rash,'' but I can confirm that once the skin is affected, the product certainly helps. Perhaps using it longterm will prevent the breakouts before they occur, or atleast diminish their occurances? I hope so.

Two thumbs up from this momma for Aveeno Baby Soothing Bath Treatment!

This is Epic!

Okay, so, there's nothing really epic... I may have exagerated a little to get you to read this post...but remember, these are MY everyday truths, and so it's all about MY version of things, and thus, I can't be held to a standard of complete accuracy. So there!

My 8 month old son won't eat. Logan is just so completely infatuated with my boobs, he's decided that he could live on nothing but love and mother's milk. Can you blame him though?

Actually, he does want to eat, he just has no clue whatsoever as how to swallow the darn food...I mean, it's not rocket science. He prefers to gag and choke...it's liquid cereal for crying out loud!

Wordless Wednesday (1)

Toy Story Versus Disney Princesses

Today, while I was preparing my meal plan, grocery list, and clipping coupons for the week (cause I'm a mom, and that's what moms do. I think.), I dropped a Pullups coupon and Noah picked it up for me. Before handing it over, he looked at it carefully, only to decide he wanted the pink bag of diapers over the blue. Let me spell this out for you: Noah is a boy, they don't get any more boyish than him. The blue diaper bag is "Toy Story" themed. The pink bag is all about Disney princesses. Noah, my boy, wants a bag of princess diapers.

Jibberish can be Beautiful

So my blog has just survived a major makeover. It wasn't quite ''a day at the spa,'' but I,  we,  ok,  it, came out tweaked and trimmed, and ready to rock and roll. (Almost like when you go for a therapeutic massage and come out sore: you know the treatment did you good, but owie-iii). As we say in French, ''il faut souffrir pour être belle'' (One's got to suffer to be beautiful) ((Silly notion, I know))...Alright, enough with the parenthesis.

Why the change? Meh, who needs a reason to go to the salon (or the spa(!))? And, me being completely out of the personal makeover loop (hence, I did not have a said massage, although I really, really, really need one), with caring for a toddler and a sleepless, nursing. baby, (and those said kids both being boys so I don't have little girls to play dress up with, or have hair to style and nails to paint), I figured, a blog makeover was the next best thing. Brilliant or pathetic? Wait, don't tell me.

Project 52

As you'll recall from my ''Forgotten Scrapbooking'' post, I had originally planned to take on a 52 week scrapbooking project. I was going to create an original scrapbook page, once a week, and present it here, on my blog. That project didn't turn out too succesfull, actually, let's call it what it is, it's  been a total failure. Eeek.

Although it seemed like a great project idea at the time, I didn't consider how tired and busy I'd be. I didn't account for the kids being sick,  or myself. I didn't account for the lack of  motivation,  and most of all, I didn't account for the logistics involved in having the necessary material on hand, and ready; the pictures taken and printed and with all that, I had to come up with a brilliant and original scrapbook page and design,  Every week.

I'm not starting this specific project over. However, I do like the idea of doing something every week, for 52 weeks). I thought long and hard (yeah, this is where you laugh) about what I could do different this time, for this project to work out, and I came up with one notion: Simplicity.

I'm going to write a weekly post for Project 52. I'm going to share some knowledge that can be useful to others. It's going to be a post about something I know. So, What do I know? I know about law, and I know about finance. Don't shudder yet. The goal is to bring some light, and simplicity, even, dare I say it? Interest; Interest, in two areas, that, let's face it, tend to bore people. When at a loss for words in either of these fields, I'll write on a subject featured in the current affairs of the week. I'll try to focus on areas that can be encountered in daily life, and on areas that can truly be useful.

There you have it. This is Project 52. I hope you'll join me and discover a bit of information that you may not have known... and perhaps, perhaps, even enjoy it!

Change is Good

Just a brief note to mention, as you've probably noticed, that my blog is going through a massive reconstruction phase. Changes should be complete soon.

Feel free to make any suggestions by sending a contact form, which you will find in the menu options by clicking ''Contact.''

I'm trying to make my blog as user friendly as possible, all the while being aesthetically pleasing.

Stay tuned for my new segment entitled ''Project 52''.

If you haven't become a fan of My Everyday Truths,  please join me on facebook by clicking  here, or come tweet with me: http://twitter.com/kathryngiroux.

See you soon!

Kate

Dear Noah,

My dearest Noah,

Today, you turned three. You've been my rascal for three wonderful years.  Sometimes I wish I could freeze time and keep you exactly how you are right now.   You've brought me more joy than you'll ever know. I've loved you more than any words could possibly describe.

You're my constant reminder to strive to be better in anything, and everything, for you. You make me want to be a model worthy of your admiration. I want to teach you everything you'll need to become a happy, little man.

It's been three years already, and yet only three years, but then again, I can't imagine a life without you. Even today, your smiles make me all buttery  inside. You  know exactly how to get to me.

We've have lots of firsts together. You're my first child, my first baby, my first son. I've been a mom for the first time with you. We'll have a lifetime of figuring things out together, for the first time...Thank you for choosing us as your parents, we're so blessed, so very blessed.

Noah Getting Into Trouble

Just last night I wrote about how I know that Noah will probably have a knack at getting into trouble once in school. Well... It's begun!

My daycare provider was  thrilled to inform me that today, during naptime, my dear Noah decided to get out of his play pen... Uhoh. But wait!

Noah joined his little friend, William, another rascal, and they decided to have a party in the bathroom.

 I heard a huge thump in the monitor, and then over and over again,  a noise ressembling the toillet shutter being smacked closed....

But it was too late, these two little kiddies had already emptied the water from the toillet bowl with little bowls. There was well over an inch of water on the floor in my babysitters`s bathroom! Noah was wet from head to toe! Let's hope the toillet was clean!

Oh Noah!

Third Birthday Milestone Mommy Anxiety

This week, I'm being faced with a dilema. I'm having to come to terms with a milestone: My little coconut is turning three next Monday and we're celebrating with immediate family this coming Saturday.  Three!  Yikes!

I've been a mom for three years. (!) My heart stopped being  my own three years ago. Worrying daily has become a daily way of life. I look at my baby, and realise that he is no longer that, a baby (although since Logan has arrived, he still insists that he's our little baby).... He'll always be my first baby.... although he's becoming such a cute big boy! 

Who has my little Noah bear become over the last three years? I remember looking at him when he was just a little bundle of a baby, and wondering who he'd be, how he'd be, what kind of character he'd have. Was I in for a surprise!

Absence

Just a brief note to explain the lack of any recent posts:

1) First, both kiddies were sick, in other words,  the only spare time I had,  I caught up on sleep, or tried to at least.
2) Our 2008 home pc screen died.
3) My sweet Noah spilled my coffee over our new summer of 2009 laptop...(ouch!)
4)  Laptop is dead, R.I.P
5) I  don't blog from my Ipod, I  can`t  blog from my Ipod.

Now, kids are kind of healthy, (as healthy as can be with this hot again, cold again temperature we're having) Next, my brother has loan us his pc screen, problem number 2 solved. Third, My dad has relinguished his dinosaur of a laptop (it'll have to do for now). Four, well,  can't do anything about that one. Sniff. And thus, I'll attempt to get back in  the groove of blogging since I do miss it tremedously... However, I still haven't completely caught up on my lack of sleep, so be kind,  be patient, don't judge! :-)

Cheers!

K

Get Organized With Google Calendar

Busy! Busy! Busy!

I'm an organisation nutcase. Really. I live to make lists! I can never wait until January each year, only to get started in a brand new agenda!

 There's something about a brand new agenda: filling it with schedules, special dates, writing neatly in different colored pens assigned for different categories. Ahhhhhh... The bliss! I've even bought a brand new agenda, after "messing up'' my initial brand new agenda, with less than neat writing, or errors. In January, it has to be perfect (Although come October, I pretty  much just scribbble whatever I need to in it).... (Don't be fooled however, everything is super organised on paper perhaps, in action, not so much...) These days... an agenda is never enough. Let me explain: Me, work, appointments, meetings,  kid # 1, kid #2, kid #3, doctor's checkups for all said kids, vaccinations, dance lessons, art lessons,  hubby's irregular schedule, pay days, things to do, custody for kid # 1... All these categories quite simply, do not fit in one agenda. This being said, I refuse to carry more than one agenda. ...

The Best Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies... EVER!

Today, I'm bored. Noah's at daycare, Hubby is working, and baby is sleeping. I could nap, I could clean the house, I could re-write my ''Get Organized!'' post that I managed to delete, but, I was craving cookies... and so I baked. I looked up various oatmeal cookies, and played around with a few of the recipes, adding a little bit of that here, and taking out a little bit of that there, only to discover that I had made the Bestest, chewiest Oatmeal-Cinnamon cookies a mouth could hope for.... and so I had to blog about it too.

1 cup butter or shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tbsp vanilla essence

2-3 tbsp molasses (3!!!)

1 cup of flour
1-2 tsp cinnamon... I use one and a half.

1 pinch of salt (1 tsp)

1 tsp of baking soda

3 cups oatmeal (Not instant)!!!

optional: Chocolate chips, nuts, raisins... I didn't add anything, except for my last batch, where I sprinkled a few miniature chocolate chips to please the kiddos!... and most probably the hubby aswell!

Action:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Cream the butter or shortenning along with the sugar

Combine with eggs (well beated beforehand)

Add Vanilla essence

Add molasses ( I actually forgot the molasses until the very end, but still added to the batter, and the cookies still turned out delish!

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, the salt, the baking soda and the cinnamon. Sift together.

Combine to the egg-sugar mixture.

If adding any of the optional additions, do so  now.

Add oats last and stir mixture together.

Spoon onto greased cookie sheet. (Confession: my cookie sheets were's so neat, and so I decided to add parchemin paper, and grease that... horrific idea. The cookies were pretty much glued to the paper... but oh so tasty and I know because I had to help myself to the bits and pieces I had to scrape off... of course!)

Bake for 10 minutes (either top rack or bottom rack). Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and let cool... and Enjoy! Get in my belly!

CONTACT ME

PR

To Come

My Big Brother: Happy Birthday

It's my big brother, Alex's Birthday. He's turning 31...old. I should perhaps write 31 years old... nah. Seriously though, my brother is probably one of the bestest guys out there... Yo single ladies, he's a bachelor. No, nothing is wrong with him either!

Who is Alex? Alex is a man of principle, a very by the book' type... I think he would probably even turn me in... or my dad (if we had something to be turned in for): It must be said that he is an RCMP (police) constable. True story: Alex was visiting with my dad, whose known to be quite the prankster. My dad, very cooly told my brother that when he had finished his shift at the hospital, he went out to grab his bike to ride back home, and discovered that it had be stollen! (Gasp)! My father said that he then noticed on the bike rack, a bike similar to his, and so, he took it. He told my brother to go look on the patio to check out his  new bike. Reaction: My brother became VERY bothered. He was quiet for a few minutes. My dad saw how he was disturbed and told him it was a joke... Alex fessed up that he was actually debating turning in my dad. Ouch.

Hospital Checklist and What to Expect...

First, let me apologise to my male readers, seeing that this post is mainly for the expecting mother... and perhaps the spouse who is curious.

In order to complement my Baby Essentials post, I thought it would be useful to provide a comprehensive list of what to bring to the hospital in the baby bag AND in the mommy bag.  I've also included a glimpse of your hospital stay (for non-cesarian births).

List:

Baby Essentials...

It seems that many friends or people that I know are having a first baby. With the excitement of actually having a child, comes the excitement of shopping for the said child!

What to buy? WHAT TO BUY!?!?

Pumpkin Cinnamon Spice Cake, or Bread, or Cake...with Maple Frosting. Yummo

I'm supposed to be keeping away from sweets, but as I've mentionned in my ''Sabotage'' blog, that's not really working out. So, in keeping with my utter failure, and to make myself feel better, I made cake, er... bread... or cake. Let's call it bread for the sole purpose of making  it sound healthier than it is... At least it's not too processed, as it is made from scratch.

I've made this recipe before. I messed it up a little the first time... and this morning, apparently, I didn't learn anything from my previous experience. The recipe calls for a 13 X 10 banking pan. I don't have a 13 X 10 baking pan, so I used whatever round cake pan I had. Mistake. This made the 30 minute baking time turn into 1h15 minutes, the worst part... when sticking a sharp knife in the middle to verify the doneness, although it came out clean... the middle was still kind of mushy. In any case, it still remained one of the very bestest delicacies (cake, bread...whatever), I have ever eaten! (that doesn't have any chocolate). Ok, back to what I was saying... I didn't learn. I still don't own a 13X10 dish (note to self: buy one!). And so this time, I used a bread pan (so I can respectfully call it bread right?) Well, after an hour and a half (recipe calls for 30 minutes ?!?!?), I took my cake (bread) out, tested with a knife, (came out clean), and flipped the pan to remove the cake *bread* from it. and the cake *bread* split down the middle with oozy pumpkin.... crap. What did I do? Stuffed it all back in the pan and tossed it back in the oven for 15 minutes. It came out ready.... and a complete disaster. Ha!

SABOTAGE

I'm a victim. I'm a victim of a vicious attempt to mess up my plans. The culprit, is none other, than my dear husband, Dan.

 I set up to do something. I had my mind set but a stick has been put through my wheels. I had a plan...but there it goes, down the drain.

As you'll recall in my "Welcome 2010" post, I didn't have any health resolutions per se... they were a given. But, I did plan on making healthy changes. I wanted to cleanse my system of all the crap out there (or in here I should say). I wanted to avoid processed foods (with small exceptions here and there...How anyone can live without chocolate is beyond me!) I wanted to eliminate white floured foods (white pasta, white bread, etc), and I wanted to avoid sweets (minus the occasional chocolate.... piece).

Bring your toddler to work day..... I wish

I wish it was '' Bring your toddler to work day'' for my husband tomorrow... But then again, being in a police patrol car, probably isn't the best idea for an almost 3 year old. (I'm sure he'd have a blast with the sirens and all though)!

I played with Noah a lot this morning. Later today however,  I wished that naptime would last... longer... than it did. But it didn't of course. Noah was a sweetheart for the rest of the evening. (I'm solo with the  kiddies- D is evening shift)... (sigh)...

But tonight.. bed time... ouch. I put Noah to bed , no problems. It was even easy... I then proceeded to go to my room to nurse Logi as usual... and then it began. N started calling for me. Usually, this wouldn't be much of an issue, but keep in mind, I have a baby attached to my boob. So, I apologised to Logi, and went to inform N that it wasn't the time.

Nappers

Yay! My toddler is asleep… and.. Drumroll… so is my baby. Ok. I’m cheating. The Baby is sleeping in the swing (only way he stays alseep longer than 30 minutes for naps)…


Truth be told, I’m loving the down time. Truth be told even more?…. Today, I almost wish that nap time would extend  into the evening… where, both would get up, eat… and go right back to bed…

Oh don’t you judge me, if you’re a mom… you’ve secretly wished this as well!

But then again… when I see the horrors of Haiti on the tube, I’m so grateful for my rascals!… How I love em so…. but, not enough to wake em!

I should probably be doing some scrapbooking... hmmmm... I'll go "plan out'' my first page to come... yeah... that's what I'll do

Scrapbooking update

Well..........This is going to be harder than I had imagined... My little 52 week scrapbooking project is not up to speed obviously. I have not even begun any pages. Heck, I haven't begun printing pictures or deciding where to start at that!

How to get started? Well, first I need to organise my "stuff", meaning, bring everything upstairs. I have organisation drawers for all my scrapbooking stuff, but, it's all "down there", in the basement where I rarely go. Not helping. Everything used to be well organised, but in the last year, I've purchased a few more things here and there. For Chirstmas, I also received a few more things to add to my scrapbooking stuff collection (Thanks mom, thanks babe!)...This, should help... but where are all these new additions... well, let's just say that I have to organise everything in the respective drawers, binders, etc, where they belong... cause right now, I just piled, and dumped everything ON TOP of the drawers. Oh the mess! (This might partially be why I fear the basement...)

relationship post

post coming soon