Happy Easter

Happy Easter weekend!

Here's the link to a cute little video of kids doing an Easter Egg taste test. Two of the littlest munchkins are my very own.

http://www.thestar.com/videozone/1157188

The girls were also in the Good Friday Paper with a cute write up about their reactions to the eggs. Here's the full article: http://www.thestar.com/living/article/1157529--the-dish-chocolate-easter-eggs#article

I'm Baaaackkk!!!

It's been two months since my last blog post. Sounds a bit like an AA confession. The Glow Baby blog has been sorely neglected due to a number of crazy happenings both as a business and as a family. The blog has taken a back seat to a busy life. But now that things are finally settling down (knock on wood), I am focusing once again on sharing my journey both as a business owner and as a mom.

Over the past two months, Glow Baby has grown and I have done amazing things that I never dreamed possible. I was the organizational expert in article about Back-To-School organization in both The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star! I attended my first trade show in Kentucky and had many other smaller but just as exciting accomplishments keeping me very busy.

On the homefront, Ainsley started JK!!! I can't believe that my baby is in real school now. It is amazing how much she is learning and everyday when she comes home she's learned a new letter or song that I can't wait to hear about. Juliet is almost three and in the process of dropping her nap (which had directly affected my work time). She is getting bigger and more vocal everyday and when we had her first playdate a few weeks ago, I felt that little tinge in my chest that made me a bit sad that my youngest is no longer a baby. I feel truly blessed that I am here to experience these moments with my girls even though some areas of my worklife have suffered.

I look forward to once again sharing my stories, ideas and tips. We've had a busy few months but this means I have LOTS to share.

Thanks for staying with us and get ready for some fun!

Keeping the magic when your child is a realist

What I love about childhood is the magical quality. Everything is new and mysterious. Unicorns, fairies, mermaids and other magical creatures are still a possibility and there are no limits to the imagination. While my eldest has embraced some aspects of fantasy, she is also a realist.

Recently Ainsley has been complaining that Juliet has been waking her up in the morning. Juliet will go into Ainsley's room when she wakes up and will wake Ainsley up so they can play together. Really cute, but Ainsley is not getting enough sleep. So I told Ainsley that I would put a magic spell on her door so that Juliet won't be able to come into her room in the morning. In other words, I locked the door.

Well, Ainsley used the potty at some point in the night which unlocked the door so Juliet was able to get in and wake her up in the morning. This is the conversation that ensued:

Ainsley: Mommy, Juliet woke me up again. The spell didn't work.
Me: Well, I will have to put another spell on your door tonight.
Ainsley: No mommy. You should just use a key.

Well, didn't I feel silly. As hard as I try to keep it magical, it seems that Ainsley will keep me grounded.

How do you keep things magical for your children?

Snip Snip

I'm sure that pretty much everyone has had a hair trauma in their lives. I've had a few. From seriously crooked bangs to a bad Sun-In experience, we all take a mini leap-of-faith when we step into the hairdressers's chair.

I do love getting my hair cut. I love the freshness and the instant change that comes from a hair cut. I will try anything once and usually tell my hair dresser that "I am in their hands". When it comes to the girls, I am definitely more attached to their hair than I am to my own. Intellectually I know it will grow back and it's only hair. However, when they sit in the hair dresser's chair I have to tamp down my urge to yell "Stop the cutting!" Think of a scene from "What Not To Wear" when the person getting the make-over has a total meltdown before finally accepting that they must cut their four foot long rats nest.

I am not sure why I have this reaction to the cutting of my daughter's hair. I really don't know why the momster in me rears its ugly head at this particular event. It's a good thing the girls are not old enough to want a tattoo as I may just have to lock them in their room to keep them from marring their beautiful skin.

So, at each hair dressing appointment, I tamp down my crazy inner-voice, smile and encourage the girls to have the fun the I have when I change my hair. I want to pass down the freedom that change can give them and the artistic expression one can have with their hair. I think I have done an admirable job as you can see from the pics taken yesterday.

The Mess That Just Won't Go Away: Part II

I wanted to include some pictures of what the room looks like everynight for about a minute before it is torn apart again.

The Big Decision

So after much debate and help from my readers, I have purchased a birthday dress for Juliet and one for Ainsley.

I chose......



For Juliet, the birthday girl. Even though I loved the white one, I could just picture how it would probably be ruined with the pizza and cake we will be having at the party. This dress is a dark blue (stains will not show) and it's girlie with the tulle skirt. I am sure she will be thrilled to wear it for her birthday. (Note to self, don't show her the dress until the day of her birthday or she will want to wear it)



I chose this dress for Ainsley as I think the eyelets are adorable. It's a bit more muted than Juliet's and can see it being worn with a shirt underneath for school as well. Therefore I will get more use out of it. Oh, and it was on sale! A total plus :)

I will be sure to post pictures of the girls wearing their new dresses.

Mickie & Minnie are coming to Town!!!

This year both Juliet and Ainsley are old enough for us to take them to a show around Christmas time. Last year we took Ainsley to Disney on Ice, Princess and she LOVED it. From start to finish she was mesmerized. We are super excited that we can take both girls this year and can't wait to see Juliet's reaction.

This year we have chosen Disney On Ice presents Mickey & Minnie’s Magical Journey. The website www.disneyonice.com has a sneak peek of what to expect at the show and the girls are already excited and watch it over and over! This show is filled with favorite Disney friends who the girls love. They will get to see Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse and visit the enchanting worlds of Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Ainsley's favourite), The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch and Peter Pan.



The girls will love the music and magic (and will probably dance through the whole show!). We are very excited to visit the Enchanted undersea kingdom with Ariel and Sebastian, a jungle adventure in the African Pride Lands with Simba and Nala, a Hawaiian luau with Lilo and Stitch and a trip to jolly old London with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.




I am so excited to be able to share this with the kids. I love taking them on adventures and giving them new experiences and I know this show will be a hit.

Tickets go on sale Monday, October 18th! If you are looking for a family friendly event to take your children to or a great gift for grand children, this is a fabulous option!

A Mommy's Dilemma

I find myself, once again, all by myself this weekend. I had to stay in the city today as I was attending a mom2mom sale in Brampton. Brett decided to take the girls up to the cottage to have Thanksgiving dinner with his parents and they will return Monday to have Thanksgiving dinner with my parents.

Now, upon initially hearing his plan, I thought about the time I will have to work, clean the house and do other things I normally do not have time to do. The dilemma is that I miss them! I was actually anxious on Friday before they left. I hate saying goodbye even if for a few days. I've always been this way but have done it millions of times (had a three year long distance relationship with my husband) but it never gets easier.

Brett often tells me to go and take the day off, go out and get a break. What he doesn't understand, and I try and tell him, that when I say I need a break, I don't mean a long break. I just need an hour to get something done and then I want to hang out with the girls. I like having the freedom of popping in and out but like being able to also have the girls around. What can I say, I'm attached.

I really try hard to keep my feelings hidden around the girls so that they won't have anxiety about leaving and I think I do a good job as they love the cottage and although Ainsley did ask me if I could come, she was find with me saying I couldn't.

How many other moms out there have trouble letting their children go and miss them when they are gone, even if it's for a short time? Am I alone?

Back-to-school and the exotic germs it brings

Okay, so maybe we don't get exotic illnesses here in Canada. However, I got an email today from my daughters' nursery school informing us that one of the children has Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Now, I have heard of this virus, really only in passing. I have never seen a child with it or have had it myself. So for me, it is exotic.

When I was in school the only illness that freaked me out wasn't even an illness. It was lice. I had it when I was six and still remember staying up all night having the nits picked out of my hair. I know my mom was traumatized by this as she never let us share any clothes, hair things, pillows etc. again. During Ainsley's first year at nursery school there was an outbreak of panic at the thought of lice in our home. Luckily we avoided it.

Today's email sent that same panic coursing through me. And this time I had no past experience to draw upon. I turned to my parent friends to ask what to look for, how sick my poor kids could get and treatment information. It turns out, this virus is really only exotic to me. Turns out it is fairly common in nursery schools and since it is extremely contagious, small epidemics will break out in classrooms.

So right now I am on the look out for the symptoms of HFMD and am watching my girls a lot more closely than I usually do. If they do get it, I hope it's mild and quick and that the bounce back quickly.

On-going Key debacle

What is it with children's fascination with keys? It is uncanny the way they know the real keys from the props. We have even given the girls real keys that no longer have a purpose on real key chains and they still prefer ours. Over the past few months, we have had our keys go missing many times.

This fascination started at the beginning of the summer. We were all packed up and ready to leave the house for a playdate when I could not find my keys anywhere! I searched the entire house with no luck. I had no idea where the keys were. I ended up borrowing Brett's key so we could make our playdate but I had pretty much written off ever finding my keys again. That night, I went to file some documents for work and guess what was filed away? My keys! After that I was pretty careful that I would put my keys where little hands could not reach.

My husband, on the other hand, has yet to learn the lesson. Just three days later his keys went missing. We searched the house again top to bottom and he had to take my key for his car. This time the key was found in one of Ainsley's purses. Since then there have been a variety of hiding spots of for the keys. In the mixing bowls in the kitchen, in Ainsley's back-pack and in Brett's shoes. Today, Brett is missing his keys again. He said to me this morning that Juliet had been playing with his keys yesterday and he's actually said to her "Don't play with those Juliet, you will loose them". Yet he didn't take it from her. So it was no surprise to me that this morning, they were no where to be found.

Hopefully we have both learned our lesson to keep our keys out of the reach of little hands.

First Day Back at School

Today is Ainsley's first day back at school and this year Juliet is joining her. Ainsley was super excited to go back. This is her third year at this preschool and she loves her teachers! There are quite a few returning students as well so she still has her friends but the most exciting part was that she gets to show Juliet the ropes.

Juliet was pretty excited too. I don't think she really knew that we were going to school until we pulled up to the building and she recognized it from dropping Ainsley off last year. She then got excited and off the girls went as quick as can be to their classroom. I wasn't sure if Juliet would be ok although last year she never wanted to leave when we were dropping off Ainsley. When I went to say goodbye this morning, she waved and went off and played. Clearly she felt comfortable and was excited to finally get to stay.

I am so glad that the two of them are finally at school together. I think this will be a great year. The two of them are very close and play well together. I look forward to seeing them grow over the next year and make new friends. I am so glad I found a great preschool in our area. It really helps to minimize first day of school anxiety. For me especially!

Back-to-School Shopping Part 1 - My list

I have started to think about my Back-to-School shopping. Not only do I have to get the girls ready for school, but I have to think about what I will need for some of the business events I will be going to in the fall as well as our trip to Cuba in December. Late August is the perfect time to prepare for Cuba as there will be a lot of summer clothes on sale. I haven't done any real shopping for myself in a long time and am really looking forward to it. I will be heading to Buffalo and this year Ainsley will be coming along to shop.

I won't be able to make this trip until early September. I wish I could go sooner but with Ainsley's trip to England, followed by my husband's business trip the only day we could go with my mom and have Brett babysit Juliet was in September before Labour Day weekend.

Ainsley is super excited to be coming with as she loves to shop. We have started our list for this trip to keep us focused so we make sure that we get everything we need.

So far our list includes:

Mommy
-Laptop Bag
-Purse
-Tankinis
-dress clothes

Ainsley
-pants
-sweaters
-dresses
-skirts
-tights
-shoes

This is what we have so far and I'm sure as we get closer there will be other things we think of. Especially since we are heading to Target which I love! I have already been on their website to check out what they have and I can't wait. I wish Target would head North to Canada.

I miss you! Come home!

My week sans husband and eldest child is coming to an end. They will be back Thursday after dinner and while I have gotten tons done (it's actually quite amazing how much I can do with only one child) I am starting to really miss them.

I miss hearing Ainsley's stories about her day and hanging out with her and playing barbies or making jewellery. I miss my husband as he is my sounding board about business and life. It is a bit odd to not have his input on things.

I am glad that this separation is almost over. It's tough not having two of your best friends around.

Come home already!!!!

Day 1 as a Single Parent to one Child

It's wierd. It was definitely quiet last night when Juliet went to bed. I have forgotten how easy it is with just one child. There's no dividing attention. I have less dishes to do, less laundry, less stuff to pack in the diaper bag. There's no fighting over TV or toys. But it's wierd.

When Juliet woke up this morning she went straight to Ainsley's room and said "Ainsley?". She knew that Ainsley was not here and then she said "Daddy?". So I guess I'm not the only one adjusting to this change. Last night I felt a bit lonely without Ainsley and Brett but this morning I'm feeling better. I got an email saying that they had arrived safely and had a good flight (Relief). I think I was anxious about this and am now glad that they are okay. Only 6 more nights to go.

I have a plan for Juliet and I this week. We are going to do all the things that is hard to do with two children like go swimming at the pool. We are going to do a bit of back to school shopping which is great because it can be hard to tell a 3 year old that she won't be getting new shoes right now. We will go to the park, the library and I will get to spoil her a bit which I don't usually do. I am taking this time to focus completely on her and having Mommy and Juliet time.

I will also try and make some headway on tidying the house. It is time to go through the toys and take some to goodwill. This will definitely be easier with Ainsley away as she will often go into the Goodwill book and take toys out to play with. Toys she hasn't played with in ages.

But I miss her. I sometimes still feel like she is a part of me and when she is not around something is missing. I wonder if this will ever change.

Mommy Connections - Sanity Saver for the new mom!!

Saying that having my first baby was a huge shock is an understatement. I thought I was totally prepared for becoming a mom but I don't think that you can ever be prepared for the life changing event of having a child. I felt lost as times and lonely and isolated. I dreaded the day my husband went back to work and had a lot of conflicting thoughts about my loss of a natural birth (I had an emergency c-section) and my role as a mom.

I had the presence of mind at the time that I needed to get out of the house even thought I knew it would be hard. So I signed up for a new mom and baby class at a centre that unfortunately no longer exists. This was the best decision I have made. By attending this class, my maternity leave was completely changed from one that could have been potentially lonely to one where I made lasting friendships for myself and hopefully for Ainsley.

In this class we talked about everything. And I mean everything. We talked about our disappointment with our births (I was releived to know I was not the only one mourning the loss of the birth we wanted) to whether our husbands were supportive or not. We talked about our fears and anxieties that came with being a new mom and nothing was off limits. When the class ended after 6 weeks we all keep meeting every few weeks to check in with each other. I am still friends with a couple of these moms and it's really neat to see how our children have grown.

As I mentioned, the company that ran this program closed as the owner had her own baby. It was really disappointing to me that this centre was no longer running classes as I would have liked to join such a class again when Juliet was born to meet peers for her. Recently I have come across an organization called Mommy Connections. They have post-natal classes similar to the one I went through. They are new to Toronto but I think that it is fantastic that they are here. I recommend every expecting parent to check them out. Their classes are a great way to meet other new moms to spend your mat leave with and at the same time gain information about your baby and resources available to you.

Mommy Connections is a modernized Post-Natal Program & Social Network featuring 6 weekly sessions of expert presenters. Sessions are designed to enlighten, support and educate, plus give new mom’s a place to go and socialize with other new moms. Topics include fitness, nutrition, safety, infant communication, and more. The first class starts on September 21st at Swansea Town Hall and costs only $60 for a 6 week program. If you know anyone expecting you should let them know about this program.

For more details go to: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Toronto-ON/Mommy-Connections-West-Toronto/116945278352604?ref=sgm&__a=8&ajaxpipe=1 or check out their website www.mommyconnections.ca

My new hobby

My parents bought Ainsley a beading kit a few months ago and she has caught the bug! So I thought it would be great to learn how to make beaded jewellery so that she and I could do it together. I like doing crafts and now with etsy I have always thought wouldn't it be great to use my creative craftiness and start an etsy shop. I never had time to do this and I didn't really want to knit or sew which are two skills I can do but aren't passionate about it. So I thought I would take a stab at beading.



So I went and bought a book about beading and Ainsley and I went to the bead store and picked out the beads she wanted. We spent the afternoon creating bracelets and necklaces for her and this is what we made.





She has been wearing them everyday and now asks everyday to do beading with me while Juliet is asleep. There is no way I would bead when Juliet is around as that is a recipe for disaster. Now, this past weekend I had some time to myself so I created a necklace with a clasp and some more sophisticated beads. It was definitely fun to pick out the beads and create a unique necklace. I think I may start an etsy shop after all. This is what I made.





The necklace is made out of 20mm Purple/Pink Agate Coins and 20 mm Grey Agate Coins with 4mm Stone Amethyst Luster Beads. Now on to the next project.

Sleep - The Neverending Battle

This past long weekend, we took the girls up to the cottage. Sleeping arrangements can often be tricky as there are not always enough rooms for guests. So my husband decided we should let the girls share a room for the very first time. After I recovered from my heart attack, I reluctantly agreed to try it and see.

Let me explain why I was sceptical. My girls are 3 and 17 months olds. Ainsley is very good with sleeping. She is a deep sleeper and will stay in bed when it is bed time. She has always been a good sleep and when we did have to sleep train, she got the picture quickly. Juliet, on the other hand, is a very light sleeper and has fought going to bed almost every single night since she was born. She does not sit still and she has never slept in a bed before. In my opinion sharing a room for the first time in a new location was a bad idea but I was willing to be proven wrong.

Well, the first night Ainsley went to bed ok. We initially tried to put Juliet in the pack and play but she screamed in horror. So we piled some mattresses up next to her bed in case she rolled off (she is a very active sleeper), gave her some milk during which time she feel asleep. The girls slept peacfully for most of the night. I went in to check on them during the night a few times. The first time Juliet had rolled off the bed onto the mattresses and was sleeping there (so cute) but I moved her back onto the bed. She did not fall off again but each time I checked on her she was in a completely different position in the bed.

The 2nd night we tried this, things did not go smoothly. Juliet would not lie down in the bed. Everytime we tried she would get up and fool around. Poor Ainsley was so tired but Juliet kept climbing into Ainsley's bed and jumping on her. I ended up watching a bit of TV with Juliet and let her fall asleep and then put her into bed. But then Ainsley woke up in the middle of the night and Brett was worried she would wake Juliet up so he ended up sleeping on the mattress that was on the floor in between the girls.

So all in all, not a success. I'm not quite sure what we will do the next time we are up at the cottage but I am glad to be home where the girls are in seperate bedrooms and Juliet is in a crib that she cannot escape from. Yet.

Toronto Hospitals push for breastfeeding

I am all for breastfeeding. I breastfed both my girls for at least 10 months of each of their lives. I am happy that I was able to have successful breastfeeding relationships with both of them. However, they were not easy to establish.

I have been reading the recent articles about the push in Toronto hospitals for breastfeeding as statistics say that most new moms are not breastfeeding their babies exclusively 6 months after their child's birth. While I think that breastfeeding should be encouraged in the hospital and that breastfeeding clinics are wonderful if they are able to provide support to moms; what I find objectionable is the militant approach suggested by some doctors to stop providing formula in the hospital.

I truly believe that if formula had not been available to me with my daughters, instead of a successful breastfeeding relationship, I would have given up and not had one at all. I had a c-section with Ainsley after 12 hours of labour and pushing and oodles of drugs. My milk did not come in for 4 days. Ainsley was a hungry baby and started losing weight. She had lost 10% of her weight before the hospital finally suggested I supplement with formula.

I had never considered formula at all and took it for granted that I would breastfeed. However, my daughter was hungry, losing weight and I felt like a failure. The supplementation with formula bought my body the time to catch up and produce milk. I found the whole breastfeeding process up to this point very stressful and to be able to feed my child and satisfy her hunger with formula enabled me to relax and take the time to learn to breastfeed properly.

I feel uncomfortable with nurses and doctors taking formula out of the equation all together as it is sometimes necessary. It can be helpful and ultimately, the health of your baby is most important. Ironically, after the initial 2 weeks of formula Ainsley drank, she refused to drink formula after that and we exclusively breast fed until we started solids. With Juliet, I gave her one bottle of formula a day while breastfeeding the remaining feeds. This one bottle gave me a little break and I breastfed her until 11 1/2 months.

Breastfeeding was not easy for me when I started and it was discouraging at times. There is a lot of pressure on moms to get it right. I think some of this pressure needs to be taken off of moms and it should be ok to tell them that breastfeeding is not always easy, you sometimes have to work for it, but that it is ok if you struggle because there is support out there. The key is education and making the support available.

I welcome your comments about your own experiences with breastfeeding as almost every mom I know has had some sort of difficulty.

The Presents my children leave me

I love watching what my girls do with their toys. They often do not play with them as one would traditionally do but this is what I find so charming about young children. They have the imagination to see how else something can be used. In addition to creative playing, the girls also find creative places to put their toys. I often find a puzzle piece in my pocket or a small toy in one of my shoes. I don't understand the reasoning behind this but apparently both my children feel these are appropriate places for these items.

Last night, when I was getting ready to go to sleep, I found quite a few presents from my girls. In our bed was a large bead necklace and a purse. Tucked in under the covers. On my bedside table I found a diaper left by my eldest for what purpose I do not know. On my bathroom counter was an action figure from the movie monsters versus Aliens. Each item was put in place by one of my daughters. Either because they felt that the item fit there or they were distracted and abandoned the toy for another.

At times it is frustrating that no matter how many times we clean up, there are always toys underfoot. However, I think it's fascinating to try and figure out what they were thinking when they put the half-eaten apple under the couch.

The light at the end of the tunnel?

I am finally seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel. The past 7 weeks (starting with my tonsillectomy) have been very tough on our poor family. Just when I was starting to feel better after my surgery, we all came down with a nasty stomach bug. Just when we were all feeling better from that, we all got a cold. The number of days that Ainsley was able to go to nursery school was cut in half which was very tough. Talk about cabin fever.

Then when we were getting better from the cold, I was advised by my doctor to keep Ainsley and Juliet away from other children for the week before Juliet had eye surgery to repair her strabismus. We needed to make sure that she didn't get sick so we could have the surgery done. We have waited for almost a year for this date so I wasn't taking any chances.

Ironically, the day before the surgery, I got the stomach flu again!! This was the second time in 3 weeks. Luckily it was quick and I was able to be with Juliet before and after her surgery. I would have felt so guilty if I wasn't able to be there for her.

So now, Juliet has recovered from surgery, no one has stomach bugs or colds (knock on wood) so I am hoping that we might have a few weeks of health. I was so glad that I could take Ainsley to play with her friends at school today and we could get back to our regular routine. Which means I can once again focus on the business.

Here I am, back in action. For how long? Who knows.