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