Anyone Else Need A Vacation From Their Weekend?

Our weekends seem to be getting busier as the girls get older. With ballet for my eldest, gymnastics and music class for my youngest, plus family get togethers, playdates, birthday parties and more, I need a vacation from our weekend!

We no longer have lazy Sundays where we can sleep in and relax. Chores have replaced reading the paper or going out for brunch. Don’t get me wrong, our weekend plans are great fun. The girls love their respective activities and I love going with them. They have so much energy that if we don’t get out of the house by 10am they start to go stir crazy. We plan playdates and other activities because they love them and allows them to use up some of their endless amounts of energy. It’s also a chance for us to catch up with our adult friends. But no matter how many activities we do, they just don’t tire out!

Yesterday, even after a playdate where the girls had a dance party, pretended to be animals and literally hopped around the house for two hours, they still had energy to burn! We took them swimming after Juliet’s nap and the only people who were exhausted after that were me and my husband!

How do you get the rest and relaxation you need to recharge? For me, it helps that the girls are in nursery school in the mornings which gives me a chance to work and write. At least I get a two hour chunk of time during which I can actually sit down for awhile and get things done. I am also very thankful that my mom comes over two afternoons a week to play with the girls. Making dinner is much easier when they are occupied!

I hear parents of much older children talk about a return to lazy Sunday mornings as their children start to sleep in and don’t need them anymore. While this sounds lovely, I already know I will miss their early morning snuggles, their wrestling, their dancing and all the time we spend together. Despite how tired I find I am most of the time, I know this period will go by so quickly and I don’t want to miss a moment!

Guest Blog by Sprout Right: How To Avoid Winter Flu's

I came across this posts for alternative ways to boost your immune system and avoid illness this winter and was happy when Lianne from Sprout Right let me post on the blog. I will definitely be printing this out to try and stay healthy!

How to Avoid Winter Flu's
By: Lianne Phillipson-Webb, www.sproutright.com
It’s cold and dark outside. Yes winter is coming and we all know what that means—colds, flu, and other bugs flying around the office, school or daycare, and then brought home to circulate the family.

So far I’ve heard of Norwalk hitting hard, lingering coughs and colds, but not the flu… yet. Whether you find yourself achy all over, warming up with a fever, that scratchy throat feeling or nose is running like a tap, it means something’s coming. Those damn bugs gotcha!

Do you go for the medicine cabinet, or vitamin cupboard? In my house, well you can guess, I get out my remedy first aid kit and start there. I pull out the oregano oil (mixed in some Echinacea syrup so we can get it down), probiotics, vitamin C, garlic drink and specific homeopathic remedies depending on what the symptoms are. My daughters know that feeling sick means the caster oil and cold wet socks are coming at bedtime too (I’ll explain that craziness later on).

That may sound like quite a list, but I really hate being sick. If I could just lie on the couch and let it ride, I still wouldn’t like it. So I throw it all at us. And it works. If we’ve had some virus or whatever bug gets us, it generally hits us less or leaves faster.

What can you do to help your family? Here are my top tips:

Find yourself a naturopath or homeopath. As well as booking an intro consult, ask if they offer phone/email consults for acute situations. I’m able to email mine with symptoms and get feedback of what homeopathic remedies that will help speed recovery and lessen symptoms. If you aren’t familiar with homeopathy, it sure packs a punch. Your naturopath or homeopath can help you with specifics, so don’t worry about not knowing what it’s all about.
Create your own remedy first aid kit.
Start with vitamin C. A powder is best and most versatile for the family. It should dissolve in water or dilute juice and can be downed in one or sipped throughout the day. Adults can take about 2000 mg once or twice a day and kids 200 – 400 mg per day (too much vit C = diarrhoea, so ease off if that’s the case). Chech out the link below for my favourite product, Ascorbate C.

Oil of Oregano has potent antiviral and antifungal properties. It is taken against colds and flu’s, candida and parasites. Start it as any symptoms start. Adult dose – one to two drops mixed in with juice. Babies and children – put one drop on the soles of their feet. *Oregano oil is not recommended for breastfeeding. Use for no longer than three weeks and dose up on probiotics too while taking it.

Echinacea is an herbal immune booster. It works best when you feel the start of a cold or other symptoms. Long-term use is not advised. Take for one week then not the next. Continue over the winter months.

Probiotics are a sneaky way to boost the immune system. It sounds kind of backwards, taking good bacteria when it will go to my intestines – but when you understand that about 80 per cent of your immune system is in your digestive system, it all makes sense. Check out the link below for a description of Genestra’s products that I’ve used for years.

When you are hit with something, these crazy sounding remedies can be used on the whole family.

Castor Oil - Rub a loonie size of caster oil on the chest, over the lung area, front and back. Do this before bed, and use a hot water bottle over the area if age appropriate.

Cold Wet Socks – This is a great natural remedy for coughs, colds and congestion. Here’s what you do:

Before bed, make a pair of cotton socks with cold water, squeeze out excess water. Put the socks on the feet and cover with wool or wooly overtop. As crazy as it sounds, it really works. I’ve got up in the middle of the night before to re-wet my socks so I stop coughing. It’s better than cough medicine.

I have not made either of these up, they’ve been around for years. I know it sounds completely nuts, but I promise you it really helps!

Check out SproutRight.com here for more information on specific supplements.

Other suggestions include:

Avoid sugar – I know, I know, you only feel like snacking on comfort foods. Sugar can suppress the immune system for a period of hours, so it might be the difference to one day off to a few.

Drink immune boosting herbal teas and ease off the coffee and milk – don’t send me packing with my ideas just yet – let me explain. Your body (or your kid’s) need fluids so herb teas are warm, wet and also can help give a boost. Dairy products are mucus forming, so you may find yourself not needing any help in the mucus-producing department (both coughs and colds), so just shelve it for now.

Try the ‘Garlic Bomb’. You are at home anyway so it doesn’t matter if you have garlic breath. This one is probably only for adults, not kiddies. Fill a mug with boiled water from the kettle. Use a garlic press to crush a clove of garlic into the water. Add a teaspoon of honey, a squeeze of lemon and even a chunk of fresh ginger if you have it. Drink it all. The garlic bits at the bottom too.

So now that you’ve got more than enough ideas of how to make this a healthier winter, go stock up and be ready for what comes!

This is not meant to take the place of medical advice or a visit to the doctors.

Oh! The Cute things they will do

Okay, so my title is a takeoff from the Dr. Seuss book Oh! The Places we will go, but this post is all about the adorable things children do when they are young so I thought it was fitting. My youngest, Juliet, is a character. She is a very social and happy child and makes me laugh. She has her quirks like most children and today I wanted to write about her latest which is where she sleeps.


Juliet decided in August while both Brett, my husband, and Ainsley were in England that she would no longer sleep in her crib. One night, she woke up in the middle of the night and I went in to comfort her and put her back to sleep she screamed bloody murder. She then tried to climb out. Hint #1 to mommy that the crib was getting old. So I laid her mattress on the floor and that’s where she spent the remainder of the night. I was hopeful that this was an anomaly as I was in no rush to lose the caged in qualities of the crib but at nap time, the same thing happened and I took the hint. The crib was passé.

Since moving into her toddler bed, Juliet has found other places to sleep. While she does sleep in her bed, she has been exploring other options. We started off not using a gate on her door as for the first few nights she stayed in her room. Then we found her sleeping on a box of diapers in the hallway (I kid you not). The gate went up.

Juliet’s favourite alternative to sleeping on her bed is her pottery barn chair (see picture). Not quite sure why but we often will find her asleep here and move her to her bed. The other night though, she found a new place. My husband was putting Juliet to bed while I put Ainsley down. I finished and realized about 20 minutes later that my husband was still in Juliet’s room. I peaked in and saw him asleep on the floor covered in a blanket, which after speaking with him realized Juliet had put on him. I looked around for Juliet, first searching the bed then the pottery barn chair and could not see her anywhere. I then noticed two little feet dangling off the end of the rocking chair. Juliet had climbed up into the chair and this is where she had fallen asleep after tucking her daddy in.



All in all, we think it’s hilarious that she can and will fall asleep in the oddest of places and we do wonder what will be next. Her closet? The carpet? On top of her toy box? Apparently she isn’t picky.
What adorable things do your kids do?

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.

What is your toughest time as a parent?

Today is day four of a stomach bug that has gone through our household. I was sick a week ago and it took me 6 days to start feeling normal again. Juliet came down with the illness on Friday night and the poor thing was sick all night. She is slowly getting better and is starting to eat food. Ainsley was sick twice Sunday night but seems to have recovered quickly.

I find it very tough as a parent when my kids are sick. I feel so badly for them when they are sick and the only thing you can do is comfort them. Last night for the first time since Juliet was just born she slept with us in our bed. We as a rule don't sleep with our children because I find that I don't sleep well and they don't sleep well. However, last night Juliet could not be consoled and for the sake of my sleep and her sleep I caved and we slept. I just hope she doesn't expect this to become a routine.

I am starting to see the end of this illness which has put a strain on our washing machine and my husband is thankful that we had a ton of sleepers for Juliet as we definitely needed them!!! I hope that we now will have a period of health for awhile.

Each time they get sick I find that I am able to deal with it a bit better but it's tough. It's emotionally draining and it's tough not being able to leave the house for days. At least Brett and I are a pretty good team and work well together to get our kids back into fighting form.

What do you track when your child is sick?

Hello Readers,

I am brainstorming for new products to add to the Glow Baby line and I've been asked by a few people to create a sick log for their children. I have been lucky enough to not have gone through any serious illnesses (neither of my daughters have had a fever yet) so I am asking other moms to weigh in on this.

What do you track when your child is sick?

What would you want to see included in a sick log?

Thanks to all who participate. I appreciate getting feedback from other moms. Please feel free to invite your friends to comment.