Knowing When to Say No

I attended a great networking event this week and came away with a prospective new client. After he sent me is mandate, I was a bit overwhelmed. While I could have easily accomplished the task at hand while sitting at an office desk, this time around it seemed daunting.

So while the money and experience would have been nice, I said no. Not wanting to get in too deep, I knew I would be breaking off too much.

I have yet to hear back from the client but my decision to say no got me thinking that I've been saying that word a whole lot lately.

Unfortunately, it is usually met with a grin and a laugh. Yes, my daughter who loves playing with the electrical outlet covers and the dog's water dish thinks that when I say no its a game. We can also add biting on to the list. So what's a mom to do?

My face is totally serious. My voice is strong. But she just smiles at me and keeps right on doing as she pleases. I've tried to mix it up with uh uhs and finger waving but nothing seems to work.

I try not to say no too often so she isn't sensitized to the word but there are some things (like the possibility of electrocution) that I just can't let go.

So how do you discipline a 12 month old who thinks she can do it all?

The Kid Scoop

I am thrilled to announce that some of my blog posts will be appearing on the Montreal-based Kid Scoop Cafe.

A blog on the Kid Scoop website, this fun spot features witty commentary from local moms. My recent Tori Spelling post now shines in the Kid Scoop spotlight. Check it out here.

And take the time to look around the Kid Scoop site. It's a great "all in-one reference for kids activities" in Montreal. Easy to search, your family will never be bored with an endless list of local events and classes.

Though I haven't acquired one yet, the Scoop Card seems amazing too. Much better than the Mummies card, in fact. For only $35, you can get huge discounts at local businesses. 172 deals to be specific!

That's today's scoop. More to come...

A Weekend of Wonder

This weekend we participated in Ski for The Children's, a wonderful event that took place in Stowe, Vermont with proceeds benefiting the Montreal Children's Hospital.

The day got off to a beautiful start at Mt Mansfield with perfect spring skiing conditions. I hadn't hit the slopes in nearly two years (last winter's belly bump got in the way) and the conditions sure made me feel like I had been out of it for way too long. Surprisingly, my legs aren't hurting at all after plowing through the heavy snow.

The event was a huge success with over $109,000 raised for the cause. Thank you to all of you who helped us support such a commendable event. The apres-ski took on a whole new meaning as the kiddie korner (Hannah and 3 friends) really made us realize why we were there.

We do not yet know what the Hospital will choose to do with this impressive sum of money but it will certainly go to improve the quality of care that is provided to children.

I tip my hat to the event organizers and look forward to participating in next year's event.

The Wrong Fit?

So on the topic of shoes, I ordered two pairs of sandals for Hannah from the Mama Bargains website. They arrived just the other day and I got worried when I opened the box because the shoes looked so big.

But now, when I compare them to yesterday's purchase they don't seem that big. Yipee!

I might not be jumping for joy come the summer time when these Squeakers are giving me a headache. But can you really go wrong with a pair of gold sandals? I think not...

These Shoes were Made for Walking

Bye bye Robeez, Hello walking shoes!

Hannah is now taking up to four steps on her own. Barefoot is best at home, but when we're out and about a good pair of shoes will keep her warm and safe.

So today we went on a big shoe shopping trip. With a mission to not spend $80+ on a pair of shoes that she will outgrow in 2-3 months we headed to Toto n Dot on Sherbrooke Street in Westmount.

I picked that store for a few reasons:

1. I wrote an article about them upon their opening and found that they had a great selection and a super friendly owner.

2. I thought I could take advantage of my MummiesList card discount which I rarely get to use.

3. It is close to home

So after finding out that Hannah has very small feet (17/18 European, 2-2.5 American) we were pretty limited in our shoe choices. That, coupled with my desire to not get her a pink pair of shoes (since she has lots of red clothing) left us with very few options. The pair that would match the most featured a pink butterfly - totally not my style. I knew that upon showing them off to her dad, Hannah's first pair of shoes but not get the applause they rightfully deserved.

So with the help of the Leah, the friendly owner, we found a basic pair of brown boots, on sale. Not whistles or bells here. Just a comfortable, supportive pair of first walking shoes. And being the fashionista that I like to consider myself to be, I had the great idea to change the laces to a fun metallic gold or any colour to match the outfit of the day. No, I did not factor in the time of lacing up a pair of shoes to colour coordinate them to an outfit. And no, I didn't realize that finding 27" laces in colours other than black and white isn't the easiest task.

But, I will give Leah a call tomorrow and hope that she can hook us up with some funky laces. On another note, we unfortunately weren't able to take advantage of the discount seeing as the shoes were already on sale.

Happy with our purchase, on the way out of the store, my mother pointed out that our new brown boots weren't really appropriate for party wear. Looks like shoe shopping trip #2 will be scheduled soon.

Hmm...perhaps my little one will be following in her mom's footsteps with a slight shoe fetish.

Shop a little, Sell a little

You may have noticed that the ads on my blog have disappeared. It seems as though Google AdSense believes my blog has risk for their advertisers, ie. they are being charged for clicks that aren't legit. Hmmm....I guess money really doesn't come easy.

Well, to make up for my new lack of ads I will, from time to time, post some items for sale on this blog. As a writer I receive quite a few samples in perfectly new condition. With no use for some of them, I might as well offer them up for sale here.

So, on today's selling block:

Bonne Bonnet Bugaboo stroller Canopy cover

Add a little more pizzazz to your stroller with this "pineapple" print cover

New in box

Retails for $98 US

Price: your best offer

Bella Tunno Clutch

Perfect for a night out when you don't want to lug around a diaper bag

"Wild Thing" pattern

New with tags

Retails for $32 US

Price: your best offer

If you are interested, please email me.

Confessions of an (Online) Shopaholic

I admit it. I love to shop.

And with the luxury of just logging on to some of my favourite sites it couldn't be easier. I plead guilty to being a shopaholic these past two days.

Granted I wasn't shopping for sandals or handbags or jeans. In fact, call me a bad mother but I was buying Hannah's birthday gifts a few days late. We knew what we wanted but I knew we could get a great deal if we waited it out.

So, yesterday I picked up two Juicy Couture charms on Beyond the Rack. A rhinestone pear (Hannah's favourite fruit) and a banana split (which she sampled in Cuba). The idea - from Emma's mom - is to buy her a charm bracelet and add on a charm every year. Well at over 60% off, I stocked up.

You would think I would stop while I was ahead but then today on Gilt the Fatboy Bean bags I have been drooling over were also 60% off. While the brown junior bag sold out quickly I was able to snatch the Marimekko floral bag.

Now that Hannah has double the gifts, at more than half off, hopefully my buying streak will wear off.

It's just so tempting to log into my email at 11am and wait to see what goodies will be offered from Babysteals, Kidsteals, The Mini Social, RueLaLa and more. Today I added a new one to my list, BTrendie, thanks to Asher's mom.

Oy vey! A shopaholic could certainly get out of hand on these sites!

One!

Today Hannah is one year old!

1 year and 24 hours ago today I was woken at 4am with what felt like a mild case of period of cramps. Not knowing what to do with myself I got into the kitchen and started baking. The contractions came and went, and then stopped after taking a bath as per the nursing station at St Mary's Hospital. I finally made the trip to the hospital at 7:30pm and was greeted by my new baby girl at 3:30am (the night of the time change, so it was really 2:30am).

Wow. It seems like forever ago. But also just like yesterday. Luckily, the memories of my epidural wearing off at around midnight are all but forgotten.

We celebrated yesterday with a small family party. We were expecting Hannah to dig into her cake but she preferred to make a mess with her own slice rather than ruining the entire cake for everyone. So considerate!

And today, we will have a low key celebration, just the 3 of us.

Thanks to all of our friends and family for their birthday wishes. But more importantly, thanks for your support during this first year as we navigated through the maze that is parenthood!

Mommy Spelling

A few days ago I wrote about celebrity moms. Well, now it's time to reveal my favourite. You might be a bit surprised but my pick is Tori Spelling. Yes, that's right Donna Martin from 90210.

This mom of two has documented her life on tv with shows like Tori & Dean Inn Love and the latest Home Sweet Hollywood series. Always guaranteeing a good chuckle, these shows are so true to life.

But what I love most about Tori Spelling are her books. These beach reads include sTori Telling and Mommywood.

On our recent vacation, I plowed through Mommywood, with stares from my husband every time I laughed out loud. Yes, the stories are hysterical but there is also quite a bit to be learned from Tori's experiences.

Lesson 1: Keep a 1st birthday party low key

Live performers, life-size monkey cakes and tons of strangers probably won't make a 1 year old happy, so keep it simple.

Lesson 2: Watch out for swimming diapers

In Mommywood, Tori recounts the first time she took her son Liam swimming. He pooped in his swimming diaper and she wasn't aware that these diapers literally spread the poop everywhere. She recounts how she was told to take the diaper off over a garbage can but couldn't figure out how to do that with just two hands.

Well, lesson 2 came in handy about a day after I put down the book when Hannah pooped in the pool. Luckily between the two of us we had four hands to spare as we dangled Hannah above the garbage can, peeling off her poop-ladden swim diaper.

And the lessons go on and on.

Even Tori's Twitter account is informative. Yesterday she posted that her two little ones had a terrible night's sleep which could probably be blamed on the full moon. Ah, so that's why I was up at 2, 3 and 4am!

Yes, I would wait until these books come out in paperback but I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to Tori Spelling's next book release...unchartered terriTori!

Baby Steps

Baby steps - it seems to imply doing things little by little until you achieve your final goal.

Well, as Hannah makes her first baby steps she seems to be doing it anything but slowly. Always a fan of standing she has suddenly taken to walking with the help of her push cart. And I don't mean a few steps here or there. Yesterday, she literally walked from one end of the house to the other with just a little help navigating a carpet and the dog bed.

And this morning she took two steps by herself between the butcher's block and the dishwasher.

Wow! I thought I definitely had a few months to enjoy crawling before I had to worry about full fledged walking. But with the rate things are going, I think she might be making strides by the time her birthday rolls around next Monday.

As she sits beneath my computer desk pushing the printer button off and on, off and on, I really can't believe how quickly time has gone and how many milestones we have watched. Holding her head up, sitting, eating solids, saying book, waving goodbye, crawling and now standing. Makes you realize that the next few years will be even more incredible!

Maybe baby steps refers more to parenting than the child's actual development. Namely, learning how to take it all in.