Canadian Tire Helping Kids Get in the Game

If you're someone like me, you probably understand what it's like to not be able to afford to put your child into sports programs.  So if you're someone like me, you appreciate those that do help and provide that opportunity for our children that we can't.  Like those at Canadian Tire with their Jumpstart program.  

Did you know that Canadian Tire helps support children with special needs get into things like Therapeutic Riding?  As a parent of a special needs kid, I am truly grateful they do. 

During the entire month of May, Canadian Tire customers are encouraged to donate $2.00 towards the program and in return they receive a red ball - the national symbol for child's play.  

On May 25th, the fifth annual Jumpstart Day will take place at Canadian Tire Stores across Canada.  The day-long fundraising event is in celebration of Jumpstart's May Red Ball campaign.  Donations to Jumpstart help the one three Canadian families who cannot afford to enrol their children in organized sports and recreation.  All funds raised through the May Red Ball campaign and on Jumpstart Day stay within the local community to help local children.  Your donation could be helping your neighbour's children, the kids you see walking to school every day, helping kids feel involved and connected with their peers and not left out. 

Customers can help celebrate Jumpstart through the following activities at select stores throughout Canada.  

• Visit Canadian Tire Retail, Mark’s, Sport Chek, Atmosphere and Canadian Tire Gas+ locations across the country to make a $2 donation to Jumpstart in exchange for a red ball.
• Make a donation and be treated to a Go Clean waterless car wash at select Canadian Tire locations and help attempt to set a Guinness World Record
• Visit Pita Pit throughout the remainder of the month of May to make a $2 donation in exchange for a red ball and a coupon for $1 off the next purchase.
• Take part in the Buffalo Wild Wing, “Eat Wings Raise Funds” event happening Wednesday’s in May at locations across Canada.  Bring in a coupon from the restaurants’ website and Buffalo Wild Wings will make a donation to Jumpstart.

Canadian Tire invites residents across Canada to get involved and make a difference.

WHAT:                 Jumpstart Day celebrations taking place at various locations across Canada

WHEN:                 Saturday, May 25, 2013

                               

WHERE:               Lower Mainland locations hosting events are: 

2290 CAMBIE ST, VANCOUVER
1350 MAIN STREET, NORTH VANCOUVER
3059-152 STREET, WHITE ROCK
11388 STEVESTON HWY, SOUTH RICHMOND
2125 HAWKINS STREET, PORT COQUITLAM
11969 - 200TH STREET, MAPLE RIDGE
7200 MARKET CROSSING BURNABY
7560 VEDDER ROAD, CHILLIWAK

Moving Again?

I can't believe that just three short years from our last move that we're actually considering moving again.  Well, we are. Crazy, I know.  We've just about exhausted ourselves mentally and physically for the past few weeks trying to get our house in ship shape to even list.  It's amazing how many small things you let slide and how much clutter starts to take over our lives.

Well, I've been putting some of organizational expert Barbara Reich's rules in to play as I go through each cupboard and closet sorting and purging my way along.  It's a win win for me, my house is getting cleaner and I am donating some good items to the garage sale our school is holding as a fundraiser at the end of the month.

Still, I can only hope this house selling process isn't as painful as the last process.  It took us almost three years to sell our last house. THREE YEARS.  Mainly because it was a large expensive house in an area where only seniors could afford to buy it but don't want a house that big.

I still can recall the nightmare of trying to raise three small children in a house that was for sale literally the first 2.5 years of my son's life.  One showing we were just about to go out the door when my son picked that moment to throw up all over the floor.  We were frantically cleaning the floor, consoling the baby and ended up driving around in the van for an hour with a sick child and puke bucket only to come home and find out that the realtor never showed up.  I could have sat down and cried. I think I did.

It's amazing how much your family life can change in just three years.  We went from having toddlers running around to all three in school full time.  They may have been busy and active when they were little but they are even more busier and active and louder now.  Which is why we need more space.  Given that my oldest daughter has some OCD issues along with everything else, room sharing is no longer even an option. We all need our own space, something that I think is going to be even more important as they get older.  We picked this house based on what we thought we needed three years ago but unfortunately it no longer meets those needs.  Which is a shame really because I like my house.  If we could add on without adding on to our mortgage I would stay without question.

Then there's my husband who really wasn't sure about listing at all and kept hemming and hawing about the whole thing and then bam he sees a house this morning that he likes and all doubts are gone and he wants to buy it, like now.

Crazy.

My house is clean though.  Scary clean.

Zeemaid

Summer Traveling Tips with Barbara Reich

The summer traveling season is right around the corner.  Whether you’re traveling an hour by car to see the grandparents or hopping a plane to go halfway around the world, these tips will help you and your family get organized before you leave so you can enjoy your trip!  Happy organized traveling!

1. For airline travel, employ “the rule of fractions”. If there are four people in your family, pack a fourth of each person’s clothing in each piece of luggage.  If luggage is lost or stolen, everyone will have enough to wear until it’s found. 

2. Plan your wardrobe around three pairs of shoes (think metallic).  If you can pack one pair of shoes for all of your night time outfits, one pair of shoes for your day time wear, and one pair of sneakers, you have simplified and lightened your load.

3. Consider traveling with pop-up laundry hampers for your whites and colors.  Your hotel room will look much neater, and at the end of the vacation, pack the dirty laundry and fold up the hampers. 

4. Don’t be the only one not taking advantage of the “2 for 1 special”.  Do your research ahead of time.  Often there are coupons and discounts available for popular attractions and venues that can be found through a simple online search.

5. Charge cameras before you leave home, make sure you know how to operate them, and that they are working properly. Bring extra batteries and memory cards if needed.

6. Put a piece of hotel stationery in your children’s pockets.  Even older children and older travellers may forget where they’re staying if they get lost, particularly in a foreign country.

7. For longer trips, ship toiletries to your destination one week in advance through an online drugstore such as drugstore.com.  If you order enough, you may even qualify for free shipping.  You’d be surprised how much sunblock, diapers, and shampoo can weigh.

8. Bring a jump rope.  You can always find a corner of the airport to let your child get rid of excess energy before boarding the plane. Or they can use at a rest stop to stretch their legs.  And, you can use it to exercise if you can’t get to a gym.

Barbara Reich is a professional organizer who lives in NYC with her husband, thirteen year old twins and puppy. She takes a tough love approach to help everyone turn organization from a chore to a lifestyle. Her book, “Secrets of an Organized Mom,” is currently on shelves.  Find out more about Barbara at facebook.com/ResourcefulConsultants or @BarbaraReich

How Much Can You Bear?

They say that God never gives us more than we can bear but then I wonder why it was that he gave me a child that I couldn’t parent.  Not because of her, because of me.  I don’t have the patience or the skills to deal with her.  She makes me so incredibly frustrated to the point that I want to hit her.  I have to walk away. 

My husband isn’t much better.  He walks around with a frown on his face because he thinks I should just stop talking and wants the yelling to stop.  Yet, I hear him do all the same things when I’m out of the room and he will add in a few choice four letter words to boot. 

If I so much as grab her arm she cries abuse.  If I say something and mix my words up, she’s on it like a hawk.  If I say something that gets her really upset and I see that it upsets or was more important to her than I thought, I will try to come up with a compromise but she holds fast to what I first said. 

She hits her brother and than has a complete hissy because he marks up her shirt with lip balm.  Her uniform shirt that costs like $28.00.  The lip balm is the colour of grapefruit.  Over and over it’s how much she hates her brother and refuses to acknowledge that she prompted the retaliation by bugging him. I ask her to put her shoes on it’s a five minute rant about how I don’t need to tell her over and over again, why do I do that, can’t you see what I’m doing, I can only do one thing at a time, you tell me to do everything, what I’m supposed to stop putting my jacket on to put my shoes on and on and on and on it goes till I want to scream. 

I had to listen to her rant about how she can’t find her school fleece and come quickly to the deduction that her sister must have worn it and that she must have lost it at school and that’s why E can’t find it.  It’s only after her father says he’s leaving with or without her and walks out the door that she finally goes outside.  I walk over to the coat rack and in two seconds I had found the jacket, under another jacket to be sure but there just the same.

When she’s like this, I can do no right and every resolve at being patient quickly dissolves under the constant barragement of temper from her. I am not the mom I want to be.  I want to scream, I want to run away.  I am so tired.  Instead, I cry after they are all out the door. 

Then I watched this video about a lovely girl named Rosie and I am reminded of all the special things that my E is.  That she is so much more than the temper and the impatience and the irritation.  I am especially reminded from this video that I need to hold onto all the wonderful things my daughter is and celebrate those things with her. I need to figure out what helps her to calm down and how to moderate my language so that she doesn’t feel like she’s been bossed to death or attacked.

Like I said, it’s really not about her.

It’s about me finding a way to parent this child without making things worse.  Finding a way to get a handle on her and how to navigate through these tricky morning situations.  Patience alone isn’t going to cut it but if the good Lord could send an extra measure my way, I would appreciate it.

Zeemaid

Technorati Tags: children,autism,asd,asbergers,parenting fails,parent,moms,behaviour,difficult,stress

Getting Springy with Hallmark

I love this time of year and with sunny days upon us, I can just feel my mood lift and spirits soar.  Of course, with spring time also comes babies, graduation, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Which means shopping, shopping and some more shopping.  Not that I am complaining, I enjoy checking out Hallmark Canada for unique gift ideas that will please my friends and family. 

Here are  just a few gift ideas from Hallmark’s spring line.

Thumpin’ Thumper - This little guy thumps his foot and says one of three greetings.  He is definitely soft and plushy and a huge kid pleaser.  Just $14.95 with the purchase of three Hallmark greeting cards or $24.95.

Mason – Interactive Story Buddy and Mason’s New Friends interactive storybook 2.0. Mason is a love-worn teddy bear who’s been left behind by his previous owner, only to be rediscovered and loved again by his new friend, Jacob.  Includes one story buddy, one storybook, one read along audio CD and free access to digital story time.  My kids loved this plus little guy.  He is unbelievably soft and cuddly and a delight to read along with the children.   MSRP  $34.95

Blooming Expressions – Fabric petals open to reveal a special message and a glittery butterfly.  All are showcased in a beautiful vase and plays a lovely melody.  MSRP $24.95 or without music $19.95.  These are really lovely and will contemplate any décor.  I’ve actually chosen to leave mine open because it’s just so pretty.

Magic Prints – Create a personalized gift with Magic Prints.  Mess-free Crayola Magic Solution reveals handprints or footprints from children or pets.  The solution only works on Magic Paper and washes up with soap and water.  What a great idea and so easy to use. MSRP $24.95

One-of-a-Kind-Creation Frames Mom, Dad, Love.  - These are really, really cool.  So cool, in fact, that I already hid mine away so that my husband doesn’t see it. At first glance, I wasn’t sure how I would make this work then I saw that I didn’t have to.  Shutterfly does all the work by allowing you to customize your digital photo and prints it out to the proper specifications.  How cool is that?  I’ve used Shutterfly in the past and it’s a great company to order from. Special pricing on the Mom and Dad frame $14.95.  Love frame is $24.95

New Pics ‘n’ Props for Mom, Dad, Grandma & Graduation – Tells stories or show your love with photos in a creative new way using Pics ‘n’ Props.  Each kit comes with special props and a frame or album to store your memories.   This is another great idea.  The kit I received was for graduation 2013 and I know a special grad that is going to love this.  It’s a big time in a grad’s life so why not remember it with some cool props.   Priced from $16.95 – $24.95.

Of course, these are just a few of Hallmark’s spring line. There are many, many other cool gift ideas like beautiful mugs for Mother’s Day and hilarious Star Wars Bottle Openers with sound.   For more gift ideas visit Hallmark.ca.

Zeemaid

*disclosure – I received the above items in order to review and blog about them.  No other compensation has been received and all opinions are my own*

Technorati Tags: Hallmark,Canada,Hallmark Canada,products,product reviews,Grad 2013,Father's Day,Mother's Day,Blooming Expressions,Interactive Story Buddy,Mason,gift giving,holidays,spring,summer

Near Epic Easter Fail

My oldest child is 10 and I am definitely reaching the point where I am getting tired of trying to sustain the make believe of tooth fairies, Easter Bunnies and Santa.  In fact, I have been known to mention about how much we paid for something so they better darn well treat it better, when oops that item was supposed to have come from Santa.

The greedy little buggers that they are can’t even remember what presents Nana bought never mind Santa. 

Yet I had an out this morning and did I take it, no.  I bent over backwards to keep the belief alive.  What with us all having the flu twice in three weeks and being off work with the kids on spring break, I had been behind in my Easter preparations.  So I ran off with SIL late yesterday afternoon for a quick dash to the drugstore to find something for my kids. 

Murphy’s Law Sucks

I’m not sure how much Murphy has had to do with this but it seems like once again the holidays roll along and the flu strikes.  It’s day four of spring break and I have already done more laundry in those four days than I do in an entire month.  Let’s see, two complete bed changes in one night including quilts, sheets, favored teddies and those stupid waterproof sheets that aren’t so waterproof, I’ve shampooed the carpet three times, sanitized an entire bathroom from top to bottom not to mention constant vigilance on the other two washrooms in the house and washed my hands every time I so much as touch one of the sick kid’s germy cups.

The best part? (insert heavy sarcasm)  This is the second time in two weeks that we’ve gone through this.  Never mind the last time was over Christmas holidays. Seriously?  There ought to be a law on how frequently you can get sick.  Why not add it to our schedule for that last week of January every year.  I would clear my schedule, make jello and make sure I have plenty of gingerale, popsicles and clean puke buckets on hand.  I probably would even go so far as to lay saran wrap down on every carpetable surface of my house.  Makes so much more sense, right?

What is it going to take to break this flu cycle?  I’ve wiped down every surface in the house, boiled toothbrushes and relentlessly nagged my children on washing their hands.  Nothing makes me more annoyed than when my 5 year old breaks down in a crying fit because I’ve made him go back and wash his hands.  OMG. 

To top it off, family are here visiting (not staying at my house thank goodness) that only come three times a year and when they visit we spend a lot of time getting the kids together.  Unfortunately, with the latest flu victim this morning means that we won’t be able to get together and once again, I’m stuck at home with three sick children and running a household on little sleep.  Gee, reminds me of when they were babies. 

I’m just selfish enough to resent all the things that I haven’t been able to do this week and relieved that we didn’t make special plans this week. 

In the meantime, I’m going to try and figure out how to build up all of our immune systems so we can break this stupid flu cycle. 

Anyone have any ideas?

 

Zeemaid

Technorati Tags: children,healthy eating,sicknes,flu,fever,vomit,parenting,spring break,murphy,law

Nurturing the Soul of Your Family–Book Review

We are in the third month of the year and I am still heading forward with positive intentions of improving our lives and making this a better year than last.  Part of that process is finding peace, peace for myself and for our family life. 

Nurturing the Soul of Your Family is written by Renee Trudeau, an award winning author and life balance coach/speaker.  

The essence of the book is to help readers learn to:

• Find their center and move through chaos and uncertainty with renewed strength and ease;
• Live in greater alignment with their values and what matters most
• Slow down, live more intentionally and know what’s best for themselves and their family
• Release old fears and learn to live more in the present moment

This isn’t an easy book to review.  There is so much to it and, quite frankly, so much required in order to really absorb what it is that Renee is trying to impart.  While sharing her own personal stories, Renee challenges you to take a moment and really pause and reflect.  To ask yourself, “what do I need, here and now”.  To realize that self-care is more than just a trip to the spa.  To identify baggage and past family relationships so that you can move forward baggage free.  To build a tribe and ask for help.

So you can see why I say it isn’t an easy book.  It requires some time and honest self-reflection. I think we would all benefit from taking the time to slow down and re-connect with ourselves and our loved ones.  The practical teachings and exercises in this book can help you to do just that.

For more information on this and other works by Renee Trudeau please be sure to like and tag the NURTURING THE SOUL OF YOUR FAMILY @nurturingthesoul  or visit Renee Trudeau’s website. 

Available for sale now on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound

How about you?  Do you feel the need to slow down and regain some peace in your life?


Zeemaid

* Thank you to the publisher of Nurturing the Soul of Your Family, New World Library, for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own. No other compensation was received*

Technorati Tags: Renee Trudeau,nururing the soul,family,family health,women's health,women,order,renew spirit,selfcare

Secrets of an Organized Mom–Book Review

Okay, so I’ve had a chance to dive in and read Barbara Reich’s new book “Secrets of an Organized Mom” and the first thing I want to say is “holy crap this is such a good book”.  Very articulate of me, I know.  Seriously my friends, if you are struggling with organization this is a must read for you. 

I was a little disappointed at first that this book has no pictures.  However, it quickly becomes evident why this is the case and why it makes complete sense not to include pictures.  As nice as it is to see photos of really organized spaces, it very rarely translates into something you’d be able to use in your own space or could afford to do.  This way you get the tips and ideas and still feel that it’s possible to achieve.

This book is a very easy read and so long as you read Chapter 1 “The Basics: some truly simple ground rules” the rest of the book can be read according to what area of your home you want to tackle first.   Full of tons of great ideas and some new perspectives that I had never thought of before.  Like labeling.  I have spent hours organizing my children’s toys into their own bins only for it all to end up mish mashed together again.  I’ve all but given up.  On reading Barbara Reich’s book, I realized that I couldn’t expect the children to remember my system of organizing their toys unless I labeled the bins.  I can’t wait to try again. 

Today’s guest post is brought to you by Renée Peterson Trudeau, a life balance coach/speaker and recent author of a new book “Nurturing the Soul of Your Family”.  I have recently received a copy of this book for review and will be posting my thoughts shortly but in the meantime, I thought perhaps you’d enjoy this article.

Five Ways to Nourish and Renew Your Spirit

It’s 1976, and my mom and dad are sitting quietly with their eyes closed, hands resting upward — thumb and index finger touching — while my younger siblings crawl on their backs and shoulders. My older two brothers and I sit nearby, holding our own meditation poses, bored, rolling our eyes and counting the minutes until this ritual will end.

Our Government is Letting Children Down

Parenting a child with autism is no walk in the park.  If you’ve been following along with me for the past year or so, you will know that we are in the process of obtaining a diagnosis of ASD for our oldest daughter. 

We have had countless disappointments and setbacks but still we held on because we were assured that by the 1 year referral anniversary we would have a date for assessment.  We have now reached the one year mark only to be told that it could be another 8 months.

8 Months. 

Why?  Because of funding cutbacks and too many children are being diagnosed.  It is highly probable that we won’t even get the diagnosis because of how high functioning our child is.

#Night Buddies–Book Review

 I love reading with my daughter and I am so glad that even though she is now reading at her grade level, she still wants me to read with her every night.  Of course, now that she is nine going on ten we’ve upgraded from picture books to chapter books. 

While I’ve been enjoying introducing her to classics such as The Secret Garden, Little House on the Prairie, My Side of the Mountain and most recently, The Hobbit, it’s nice to find a new set of stories that we both haven’t read to enjoy together. 

So I was happy to check out Night Buddies – a new chapter book series for children aged 7 and up.

Getting Organized Tips with Barbara Reich

There's a definite theme going on around these days.   I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to get my life in shape and get more productive in 2013.  I'm talking in all areas of my life too.  So I was super excited to receive a copy of "Secrets of an Organized Mom" by Barbara Reich in the mail today.  I really could use the help!

I'll let you know my thoughts once I've had a chance to dive in but in the meantime, here are some tips from the organizational lady herself, Barbara Reich. 

Getting Healthy with Supplements–femMED

Part of getting healthy in 2013 for me isn’t all about losing weight although that’s a big part of it.  There are many aspects of our health that all need to come together and basically become more balanced.  Where there is no balance, things start to fall apart.  That’s true about any aspect of our lives, not just our health.

Of course, being busy with children, work and all the cares that falls on our shoulders it is so difficult for us to find the time and the ways to care for ourselves.  How often do we put the needs of our families first before our own.  How many times do you put back a treat for yourself (like a new set of art pens) because you know the kids need new boots and the pens would be an splurge even though it might feed some creative outlet in you.  (Yes, I really did put the pens back and regret it although their boots look great).

 

Having Fun With Valentines

So all the bloggy experts tell me that if I want to get a Valentine post submitted to search engines in time to actually show up in Valentine searches, it needed to be done like two weeks ago.  Nice thought and while I wrote it down on my “blog calendar”, as you can see reality has set in and I am now rushing through Valentine card production like my kids are on a chain gang. 

Thank goodness a trip a few weeks ago to the big City (to watch the Hobbit) meant a long awaited trip to Michael’s where they had all their Valentine kits 40% off. Of course, it was tough to decided on which kit to purchase since with three kids I needed to get the most decorations out of the least amount of boxes.

I chose these ones because each kit contains 32 butterflies that you can insert a lollipop into.  A far easier chore than last years hand cut heart butterflies with pixie sticks.  While they were cute, they were a lot of work.. for me.  So I’m glad I found these kits.  Not to mention the extra decorating sparkly form hearts and flowers are so plentiful that I’m saving one whole package to use on different crafts.

Treebobs and the Runaway Cauldron - Audio Book Review

What are #Treebobs?  Treebobs are little elves full of mischief and fun.  The latest release is titled THE TREEBOBS AND THE RUNAWAY CAULDRON.  

With their best friends, the fairies, the Treebobs enjoy nothing more than foiling the dastardly plans of the forest’s two resident witches, Badlot Barbara and Rotten Rena. Join in the madcap antics with the Treebobs newest concoction, as the fairies and wicked witches go banana bonkers when Rotton Rena's mother enters Rena into the great egg and cauldron race.  Poor old Rotten Rena just has to win or mother will not be pleased!

I recently had the opportunity to download and play this unique series for my children.  This series couldn't have come at a more opportune time as I had been wanting to find an audio series that we could play in the van on our road trips.  Not just any children's audio books would do.  The story can't be too long and it has to engage children of three different ages.

The stories in this series each run approximately 16 to 17 minutes, just long enough to play two stories on the way to Nana's.  As well, the silence that reigned in the van for the entire time the stories played speaks for it self.  I did find my oldest, who is 9, was the most interested in the stories as she was the first to beg for another story to be played.

Getting Fit in 2013

Every year I resolve to get more fit and #lose weight and it seems every year I fail.  This year; however, I am determined will be different.  I am approaching 42 this year and am tired of settling for second best when it comes to my health and fashion. 

I had to go back and re-write that sentence as I put fashion first originally.  Am I really that shallow?  I don’t think so, it just goes to show how much we take our health for granted. (and how tired I am of the selection of affordable clothes for weight challenged women)  Until a crisis strikes. You would think being diagnosed with diabetes two years ago would have a significant reason for getting my butt in gear.  Same goes for the high blood pressure I’ve been dealing with since the birth of my youngest.  Apparently regular exercise can help lower your blood pressure.  I kept it up for three weeks and now almost 6 years later, I’m still dealing with side effects from the medication that I am still taking.

Boogie Wipes - A Review

If you haven’t guessed from the name, Boogie Wipes are for wiping boogies.  But not just your average every-day wipes, Boogie Wipes are moist, saline nose wipes that instead of chafing your sensitive nose helps relieve and soothe that irritated organ.

My son gets frequent colds and when he does, the snot just seems to flow endlessly for the poor kid.  To his credit, he tries to wipe his nose and hates it when it feels wet and stuffy but inevitably he ends up with a red rash between his lip and nostrils and just about raw on the edges. All I could do for him was apply a little bit of vaseline as soon as I saw the redness start to develop. 

So I shouldn’t be surprised that this product was developed by two mom’s whose children suffered the same.  They had an idea and took it a step further by developing the first ever saline nose wipes.  Little Busy Bodies Inc was formed in 2007 and after a lot of research and development – Boogie Wipes was born. 

I think this is a great product.  It helped my son so much.  Gone was the irritated nostrils and gone was the vaseline smear on his lip.  I did have to keep on top of him or he would have gone through the package in half an hour since my son is a wipe once and toss kinda kid.  Still at $3.99 a package or $9.99 for a family size, I think these wipes are affordable and worth the expense for saving their tender skin. 

Boogie Wipes come in an easy to dispense package, much like baby wipes or hand wipes and comes in scents like Great Grape and Menthol.  The menthol is particularly great since it’s gentle scent helps unclog stuffed up nasal passages.  Much more pleasant than Vicks I can tell you.

Not just for wiping boogies, they are also great for wiping little faces in a pinch.  My kids hate it when we’re out and all I have on hand to wipe their dirty faces is those sanitizing wipes.  Yuck.  Toss Boogie Wipes in your bag and you’re covered.

For more information visit www.boogiewipes.com

Have you tried Boogie Wipes?  What is your go to comfort for treating a cold?

Zeemaid

*disclosure – I received a package of Boogie Wipes in order to conduct this review but was not compensated in any other way. The opinions herein are my own and reflect my true experiences with the product*

Technorati Tags: product review,Boogie Wipes,product,reviews,children,colds,sneezes,dry skin,nose,saline wipes

52 Weeks of Pinterest - Week One

Who has not heard of Pinterest these days.  It’s huge in the blogging world for promoting all sorts of blogs from DIY to cooking to parenting to home schooling.  You name it, it’s on there.  However, when every day non bloggers start mentioning things they saw on Pinterest, you realize just how big of a sensation Pinterest really is.

I’ve even heard it referred to as “porn” for women.  I could easily kill an hour just browsing and re-pinning whatever strikes my fancy and with a mobile app on my Android phone, it’s right at my fingertips whenever I have a few minutes to kill. 

Still, what do we do with all those pins?  Do we actually get around to trying any of the crafts or recipes on there?  So easy to “pin” for later that never really happens.  So that’s why I came up with



I am going to attempt to try one Pinterest thing on my boards a week.  (I figured 365 days of Pinterest was just way too much of a commitment). 

Enter Week One

I like to crochet but am not a great pattern follower, which I am told by a knitter is typical of people who crochet.  Go figure.  So when I saw these pretty flower coasters, I figured I would give it a try since the pattern seemed simple enough.



Pretty aren’t they?   Originally posted on Mollie Makes.com and you can find the complete pattern details there.  Of course, I never have the right type of materials on hand and so while I had crochet cotton on hand mine was a 70.9g weight while the pattern suggests 50.

The brand I used was Lily Sugar’n Cream crochet cotton.



My first attempt at re-creating the pattern.  I used a 3.5 hook and so you can see it’s a larger pattern and the lacey detail is not quite as defined.  Still the colours are pretty and it crocheted up quickly.  I have to admit, I did struggle with a couple parts of the pattern and it wasn’t until about the 10th one I made that I finally got the instructions. LOL



By switching to a smaller hook (2.5) I was able to make a tighter pattern and thus you can see the lace detail more.  Still, I think I’d like to get the crochet cotton used in the original photos because they are just so Springy and cheerful.

These coasters make great gifts too.  My mother-in-law loves the colour yellow and I found a really pretty yellow and white striped crochet cotton and whipped up a set of 6 coasters for her.  When I say these whip up quickly, they do indeed.  I actually crocheted about 4 coasters once on a 1 and a half drive.  Yes, I crocheted in the car.  Frequent scenery checks keeps you from getting motion sickness.

Well that’s my first week of 52 Weeks of Pinterest.  What will I try next week?

Zeemaid

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George’s Special Dry Cream

The harsh winter season can be especially tough on our skin.  I, for one, am struggling with chapped lips and dry hands from the cold.  While there are many skin care products out there, I am always looking for something that is not only fragrance free with no additives or irritants but is also non greasy.  Being Canadian made is an added plus.


George Doherty, a pharmacist, was looking to create a cream for local Albertans to help combat their severe dry skin from the harsh winters.  He never dreamt that when he created George’s Special Dry Cream in his kitchen with his wife’s cake mixer that it would become one of the top selling therapeutic skin moisturizers in Canada.  George’s Special Dry Cream is said to work on a variety of skin conditions such as Eczema, Psoriasis, sunburn, windburn, cradle cap, Winter itch, flaky skin, tough elbow skin, radiation therapy, sport chafing, swimmer’s itch, dry hands, foot problems including those associated with Diabetes.

Now neither I nor my family suffer with any more severe skin issues other than dry skin so I cannot attest to it’s healing powers.  What I can say after having tried the cream is that it did work to relieve my dry skin and I found it to be long lasting making my hands and heels much softer to the touch.  It is a creamy cream if that makes any sense.  Lots of skin care cream is more like hair conditioner, almost watery.  The texture of this reminds me a little of Noxzema face cream. It rubs in very quickly and absorbed speedily.  I didn’t have the urge to wipe it off, like I do with heavier skin care cream. 

While the information provided says this product is fragrance free, I assume it means fragrance free from perfume like additives because it certainly has a scent to me.  It is a light scent, almost minty maybe spearmint, which I assume comes from the ingredients used in making this product. It is a pleasant smell though and doesn’t linger long.

What I like most about this cream is that it does not include harmful ingredients like Parabens and Urea which both products have been shown to cause cancer with prolonged use.  Did you know Parabens have been banned in Europe? 

I also had an opportunity to try George’s Light Special Moisturizing Lotion which is gentle enough to use everyday and can be used by those with sensitive skin.

With a suggested retail pricing from $2.99 to $14.99 and three different sizes to choose from, it is a very affordable skincare choice.  For more information and tips using George’s Cream visit his website at www.georgescream.com

Zeemaid

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