Last week winter FINALLY decided to show up here in Toronto! Yay! Hubby was away in LA, so the kids and I spent 2 nights and one day of his business trip sledding. It’s been AGES since I wrote about the kids or even shown you pictures of them, so below are a few that I took (yanno, in case you were in Sierra & Brooke withdrawl):
As a mom I feel it’s my job to make sure my girls are never embarrassed by showing up unprepared. If its library day at school – it’s my job to remember to pack the library book Sierra borrowed the week before to return, etc… I know at some point that I will need to transition that responsibility to her – but she’s only 4. Over the next few years I’ll slowly introduce her to the process of thinking about what she’ll need for the day. That said I’m also all for tough love – having her show up empty handed a few times will reinforce that the ultimate responsibility is hers, though she’s still a bit young for that.
This week my responsibility was Valentine’s Day. More specifically to make sure Sierra and Brooke had Valentine’s Day cards to hand out to all of their friends. This seemingly simple task is complicated by the fact that Sierra needed to bring cards to both her daycare class, and her Kindergarten class. (She goes to full day Kindergarten Tues/Thurs and generally every other Friday). Her schedule is a little wonky to say the least. I needed to make cards for close to 50 kids for Sierra and another 21 kids in Brooke’s daycare class. Due to the volume of cards, I didn’t even bother addressing the cards – I simply wrote “To My Friend”. Now this where we get to how mommy screwed up.
Wednesday night at 11 pm, I was dog tired from 3 busy week nights but I was up in my PJ’s addressing cards, slipping tattoos into the corners of the cards and taping heart-shaped lollipops to the cards. The Type-A part of my personality simply won’t allow me to just have the kids show up with the bare minimum of what’s required for the event. Oh no – they need to have the best cards and something a little extra for their friends. On his way to bed hubby hugged me good night and I got all pissy on him. Why should I be up doing this while he gets to sleep? They’re his kids too! Anyways, he goes and looks at the schedule and tells me that Sierra has Kindergarten (big school) on Friday. This meant that all of the three Valentine’s Day parties were going to be on Friday and none of the cards were due the next day. I happily packed everything up, went to bed and didn’t give it anymore thought – I finish all of the cards Thursday night.
The schedule Sierra’s Kindergarten teacher sent home was wrong and Brooke’s class changed their schedule… both of their class parties were on Thursday. Only Sierra’s daycare class party was Friday.
Both girls came home sad Thursday night – ‘cause mommy screwed up Valentine’s Day. Sigh – this parenting gig would be a hell of a whole lot easier if the school and daycare would at least send home accurate schedules.
Relaxation is a big part of living a healthy and balanced life. So fire up that fireplace, grab a glass of wine (I prefer a deep red, like a Merlot), a good book and a cosy blanket. Then put on the new SADE “Soldier of Love” CD. That’s what I did last night. This morning I felt energized, and ready to take on the world – I even felt so energized that I went and swam laps for 25 min before work!
Guess what? I have 3 copies of the new SADE “Soldier of Love” CD to giveaway so that you can relax and re-charge your batteries to my favourite sone “Bring Me Home” too!
Known for their one of a kind timeless sound, Sade has enjoyed phenomenal success both internationally and stateside throughout the span of their twenty-five year career. Since the release of their debut album, Diamond Life in 1984 the band have seen all five of their studio albums land in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart selling a total of more than 50 million albums worldwide to date. They’ve been nominated for American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and have won three Grammy Awards – first in 1986 for Best New Artist, then in 1994 for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group for “No Ordinary Love”, and again in 2002 for Best Pop Vocal Album with Lovers Rock.
Among the new tunes is “Babyfather,” “about how great it is to be a parent, what a great honor and privilege that is, and what a terrible thing that is to waste,” frontwoman Sade Adu recently told PEOPLE. “As long as you feel good about yourself, you can be a good parent, and then it becomes an endless fruitful cycle,” she says.
SOLIDER OF LOVE was recorded in England and produced by the band and their longtime collaborator Mike Pela. For more info, visit SADE’s official website: http://www.sadeusa.com/
PRIZING: Three (3) winners will receive a copy of the new CD!
Prizing Value: $13.98 per CD
Please Note: All giveaways are open to US Mailing addresses only.
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling me how you like to relax.
As you all know I LOVE LOVE LOVE running! And I’ve been running a lot lately – so much that I haven’t had time to blog J Running is my #1 love (well besides my family), though I must admit I love my family more when I’ve been running. Sunday I ran 10.31k – it felt amazing! I also loved my family so much more that day (maybe because I got away from them for an hour?).
It’s been so long since I’ve trained for anything that I’ve forgotten how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Did I mention that I’m training to run the Mississauga ½ Marathon? Running, strength training, nutrition, rest, recovery, easy runs, hard runs etc… They all need to be carefully balanced when training for an endurance event. The last race I ran (besides the 10k in September) was the Mississauga ½ marathon 6 yrs ago! So after Sunday’s hard 10k I decided to run an easy 6k on Monday at lunch. Unfortunately I hadn’t properly rested my legs (took Sierra swimming Sunday night) and I hadn’t properly refuelled (not enough water, not enough sodium, potassium and carbohydrates to replenish my stores). Less than a km into Monday’s run my right calf cramped – the contraction was so strong that it caused some minor muscle tearing. I did Yoga on Tuesday (calling that an active rest day) then ran 5.88k through pain at ½ marathon pace on Wednesday. By Wednesday night I was limping around the house like a little old lady. I was in a fair amount of pain.
The thing is I’m one of those people that when I get an idea in my head, I’m going to do it come hell or high water. I’m a stubborn little mule. So I persisted through my training for a few days only to cause more damage. Yesterday and today I’m forced to rest – I’m supposed to do 10k tomorrow. I hope that by adding some rest and nutrition pieces to my puzzle that I’ll be able to be back on track next week!
PS – The other day I got an email from Amanda of UpSpring Baby who told me that she’s listed me as one of her Top ten Fitness Blogs for Moms. I was listed with some of my heroes, Lisa Johnson Fitness and Workout Mommy. What an honour! Thanks Amanda! (You can follow her on Twitter – she’s @Amanda-Upspring)
As you all know I LOVE LOVE LOVE running! And I’ve been running a lot lately – so much that I haven’t had time to blog J Running is my #1 love (well besides my family), though I must admit I love my family more when I’ve been running. Sunday I ran 10.31k – it felt amazing! I also loved my family so much more that day (maybe because I got away from them for an hour?).
It’s been so long since I’ve trained for anything that I’ve forgotten how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Did I mention that I’m training to run the Mississauga ½ Marathon? Running, strength training, nutrition, rest, recovery, easy runs, hard runs etc… They all need to be carefully balanced when training for an endurance event. The last race I ran (besides the 10k in September) was the Mississauga ½ marathon 6 yrs ago! So after Sunday’s hard 10k I decided to run an easy 6k on Monday at lunch. Unfortunately I hadn’t properly rested my legs (took Sierra swimming Sunday night) and I hadn’t properly refuelled (not enough water, not enough sodium, potassium and carbohydrates to replenish my stores). Less than a km into Monday’s run my right calf cramped – the contraction was so strong that it caused some minor muscle tearing. I did Yoga on Tuesday (calling that an active rest day) then ran 5.88k through pain at ½ marathon pace on Wednesday. By Wednesday night I was limping around the house like a little old lady. I was in a fair amount of pain.
The thing is I’m one of those people that when I get an idea in my head, I’m going to do it come hell or high water. I’m a stubborn little mule. So I persisted through my training for a few days only to cause more damage. Yesterday and today I’m forced to rest – I’m supposed to do 10k tomorrow. I hope that by adding some rest and nutrition pieces to my puzzle that I’ll be able to be back on track next week!
PS – The other day I got an email from Amanda of UpSpring Baby who told me that she’s listed me as one of her Top ten Fitness Blogs for Moms. I was listed with some of my heroes, Lisa Johnson Fitness and Workout Mommy. What an honour! Thanks Amanda! (You can follow her on Twitter – she’s @Amanda-Upspring)
Last week, as I was leaving work I encountered what was obviously a daycare centre taking a group of toddlers out for a walk. I don’t normally pay attention to the people I pass on the street, my mind is usually in over-drive thinking about my work day, what I should cook for dinner, and what fun activities I can do with my children when I pick them up. For whatever reason (fate?) I looked down at the children to flash them a grin because they appeared to be the same age as my daughter Brooke. Unfortunately instead of happy smiling faces, I was greeted with the faces of toddlers bawling their eyes out, snot and tears streaming down their faces, with tiny little red hands … That day we had our first snowfall of the winter season and the temperature was hovering near 0C (32F) – the darling kids’ hands were freezing!!!!! At first I was apalled at the daycare – who would send their children to this place? But then I realized that the care providers were rotating their own mittens around to the children. They were doing all that they could and were trying to get the kids to walk as fast as possible to return to the centre.
I contacted the day care centre first thing the next morning and offered to bring winter clothing for the children and learned that many of the children in their care are dropped off by their parents without proper attire. This is a subsidized daycare and they told me that many of the parents don’t send them with hats & mittens (or extra clothing in case they get wet – ie: underwear and socks) and that they are badly in need of these items to loan the children when they go outside. Here in Ontario, the Day Nurseries Act states that children must go outside for two-hours of fresh air every day. This is great for the kids who have proper attire, but doesn’t fit well with these kids who would be better off in a warm child care centre then out getting frost bite.
Today I gave that daycare centre an early Christmas present, I gave them a bag of mittens, hats and socks that I bought over my lunch last week and I also gave them clothes that my children have outgrown. I’m blogging this to urge you to consider doing the same – there are children in our communities who need more than toys for Christmas – they need the basic necessities too. Please consider these children when doing your Christmas shopping, when you contribute an unwrapped toy (as I know you all do), please drop in a pair of mittens and a hat too – their poor little red hands will thank you.
Last week, as I was leaving work I encountered what was obviously a daycare centre taking a group of toddlers out for a walk. I don’t normally pay attention to the people I pass on the street, my mind is usually in over-drive thinking about my work day, what I should cook for dinner, and what fun activities I can do with my children when I pick them up. For whatever reason (fate?) I looked down at the children to flash them a grin because they appeared to be the same age as my daughter Brooke. Unfortunately instead of happy smiling faces, I was greeted with the faces of toddlers bawling their eyes out, snot and tears streaming down their faces, with tiny little red hands … That day we had our first snowfall of the winter season and the temperature was hovering near 0C (32F) – the darling kids’ hands were freezing!!!!! At first I was apalled at the daycare – who would send their children to this place? But then I realized that the care providers were rotating their own mittens around to the children. They were doing all that they could and were trying to get the kids to walk as fast as possible to return to the centre.
I contacted the day care centre first thing the next morning and offered to bring winter clothing for the children and learned that many of the children in their care are dropped off by their parents without proper attire. This is a subsidized daycare and they told me that many of the parents don’t send them with hats & mittens (or extra clothing in case they get wet – ie: underwear and socks) and that they are badly in need of these items to loan the children when they go outside. Here in Ontario, the Day Nurseries Act states that children must go outside for two-hours of fresh air every day. This is great for the kids who have proper attire, but doesn’t fit well with these kids who would be better off in a warm child care centre then out getting frost bite.
Today I gave that daycare centre an early Christmas present, I gave them a bag of mittens, hats and socks that I bought over my lunch last week and I also gave them clothes that my children have outgrown. I’m blogging this to urge you to consider doing the same – there are children in our communities who need more than toys for Christmas – they need the basic necessities too. Please consider these children when doing your Christmas shopping, when you contribute an unwrapped toy (as I know you all do), please drop in a pair of mittens and a hat too – their poor little red hands will thank you.
On Monday night, when I got home from work I read the most heart breaking tweet from my Twitter friend Shellie (@Military_mom) regarding the drowning death of her two year old son Bryson in their back yard pool (her original tweet has now been removed from her account, so I can’t share it with you).
In that instant my heart broke. Shellie had just moved into a new house with an inground pool. I don’t know the exact circumstances surrounding the accident, but that doesn’t matter – the fact is, her two year old son Bryson fell in the pool and drowned. Shellie and I have tweeted for about 18 mos. We don’t know each other well – but we have tweeted and she has offered tweets of support over the past while as I deal with my hubby’s frequent travelling. So I find this accident particularly heart-breaking. Her son Bryson was the same age as my daughter Brooke.
Pools are dangerous and accidents can happen very very quickly. Contrary to popular belief – you don’t “hear” someone drowning. They slip in with a small splash and sink to the bottem. A weak swimmer may attempt to swim and make some splashes, but a non-swimmer will simply sink, panic underwater and swallow water. I’m a trained lifeguard (NLS) – so take my word for this.
Bryson’s death is tragic and a very unfortunate accident. It also serves as a reminder to us that water of any volume is dangerous. A person could slip, fall, hit their head and go unconscious - if there is a volume of water high enough to cover their mouth and nose they can and will probably die – they may not suffocate, but they could drown from what is known as secondary drowning – fluid in the lungs.
We all know we should watch our children around pools, that our children should wear life jackets if they can’t swim, to keep our pool gate and sliding doors locked etc… But are you aware of these tips that aren’t so obvious?
Never, ever leave toys in a pool – these are child magnets, typically a child falls into a pool while reaching for a toy. This includes any pool – wading pools, above ground pools and inground pools. Clean up all of the toys when exiting the pool so these won’t tempt a child.
Teach your child to lay belly down on the pool deck to reach for toys in a pool. I have an inground pool in my backyard and have taught both of my daughters how to reach for toys. Model this behaviour – when you reach for things in the pool, lay down. The chances of falling in are greatly reduced when your center of gravity is low and children will do as you do, not as you say. (This also applies to those of you who don’t own pools as children visiting a house with a pool often don’t know basic pool safety).
Keep a working phone on your pool deck. You never ever know when you’ll need to make an emergency call. (I’ve actually dropped one of our phones into the pool while following this advice – hubby was mad that we lost one of our handsets, but at least I was trying to be safe).
Don’t answer your phone if it rings while you’re on the pool deck with your kids. Accidents can happen in that second when you turn your back to answer the phone – turn the ringer off if it’s too much of a temptation for you.
If you ever have to rescue someone that has fallen into a pool keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be pretty – jump in and grab them by anything you can grab – their bathing suit, hair etc. The goal is just to get that person out of the pool ASAP.
Educate your guests. Before allowing your friends and their kids to go into your pool go over some safety rules ie:* Tell your guests to watch their own kids.
* Tell them where the phone is
* Teach them and their children how to reach for objects in the pool
* No running on the deck (this is because you can trip and fall in)
* If you can’t swim wear a life jacket
* Model pool safety
My final bit of advice is so important that it deserves to be bolded and in a paragraph of it’s own:
Please do not put a pool in your yard, or buy a house with a pool without taking a lifeguarding course. Swallow your pride and join the 18 yr olds at your local community center and learn some pool safety, learn how to rescue submerged victims, perform A/R, CPR and some basic first aid. Why live with a ticking time bomb in your backyard without learning how to detonate it? The cost is minimal compared to the cost of a human life. You will learn a ton about pool safety that will eliminate the need to ever do a rescue.
I know it’s winter and pool safety is not the first thing on our minds right now – but because of this tragedy I wanted to write and share this post before I forget. I also will be republishing this ever summer as a PSA. Have a safe and happy winter folks and please keep my friend @Military_mom in your thoughts and prayers.
For more great posts, please visit: http://www.momontherun.net
One of the hardest things in life is to find balance – Work/Life Balance. With our hectic, busy lives, it’s very important to your well being to turn off the noise, sit back and relax. But how do you relax? Well, you could try by popping in the new Michael Buble CD “Crazy Love” into your CD player.
‘Crazy Love’, Michael Bublé’s first CD in two and a half years, features two original songs along with his always original take on 11 standards from various eras. The multi-Grammy winning artist hunkered down in recording studios in LA, Brooklyn , New York and his hometown of Vancouver for the last six months to make his ‘ultimate record about the inevitable roller coaster ride of relationships.’ The first single, ‘Haven’t Met You Yet,’ written by Bublé (with Alan Chang and Amy Foster) is playing on radio now.
Buble’s unique style, combined with his jazz and big band influences, really give these classic love songs a special touch. Bublé has such an amazing voice and a knack to make timeless love songs appeal to all generations. The songs on Crazy Love will touch anyone who’s in love, ever been in love, or is looking for love. It’s a song that spans the different emotions you feel when you love someone, and it’s simply a great CD that you may find yourself listening to over and over again too!
Here’s a teaser of his song ‘Haven’t Met You Yet’:
Shop: You can purchase Crazy Love on Amazon.com and at other retailers online and nationwide.
5 of my lucky readers will have the chance to win a CD copy of Crazy Love by entering this contest.
To enter: Leave a comment below telling me how you find balance. It doesn’t matter what it is – just leave a message telling me what it is before the giveaway closes at 11:59 PM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 to enter!
Extra entries: Click that Retweet button in the top right corner to tweet about the giveaway and leave me a SEPARATE comment below telling me about it!
For more great posts, please visit: http://www.momonthrun.net
One of the hardest things in life is to find balance – Work/Life Balance. With our hectic, busy lives, it’s very important to your well being to turn off the noise, sit back and relax. But how do you relax? Well, you could try by popping in the new Michael Buble CD “Crazy Love” into your CD player.
‘Crazy Love’, Michael Bublé’s first CD in two and a half years, features two original songs along with his always original take on 11 standards from various eras. The multi-Grammy winning artist hunkered down in recording studios in LA, Brooklyn , New York and his hometown of Vancouver for the last six months to make his ‘ultimate record about the inevitable roller coaster ride of relationships.’ The first single, ‘Haven’t Met You Yet,’ written by Bublé (with Alan Chang and Amy Foster) is playing on radio now.
Buble’s unique style, combined with his jazz and big band influences, really give these classic love songs a special touch. Bublé has such an amazing voice and a knack to make timeless love songs appeal to all generations. The songs on Crazy Love will touch anyone who’s in love, ever been in love, or is looking for love. It’s a song that spans the different emotions you feel when you love someone, and it’s simply a great CD that you may find yourself listening to over and over again too!
Here’s a teaser of his song ‘Haven’t Met You Yet’:
Shop: You can purchase Crazy Love on Amazon.com and at other retailers online and nationwide.
5 of my lucky readers will have the chance to win a CD copy of Crazy Love by entering this contest.
To enter: Leave a comment below telling me how you find balance. It doesn’t matter what it is – just leave a message telling me what it is before the giveaway closes at 11:59 PM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 to enter!
Extra entries: Click that Retweet button in the top right corner to tweet about the giveaway and leave me a SEPARATE comment below telling me about it!
For more great posts, please visit: http://www.momonthrun.net
This blog is about me - Janice, a wife, mother, employee, runner, softball player, internet addict, self-proclaimed recessionista and a completely obsessed New Kids On The Block fan.
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