Easy Comeback

We got home from vacation on Monday afternoon.

It was a wonderful trip filled with family, food and fun in the sun. It was most definitely a vacation for the kids with visits to the beach, hours in the pool and visits to the East Hampton Library and the Children's Museum of the East End. I will be putting together a recap of our holiday hot spots (some less kid friendly and more adult appropriate) for Urban Expressions where you can read more about my East Hampton, NY finds.

Like most vacations sleep was an issue. Our first night the four of us packed into a hotel room. And while it was just a one night stop over Hannah didn't get to bed until 10pm (since she was swimming in the hotel's indoor pool while I put Alex to bed) and we were all up at 5am when Alex awoke with the sun. Needless to say we were at a local breakfast spot at 6:45 (it only opened at 7) and were shopping at the nearest Target by 8am.

Hannah decided to stay up with her cousins most nights and Alex decided he wanted to be up before the three dogs we were staying with, waking up at 5am sharp each day. While we were all exhausted it actually worked out well for our activities since he was up from his early nap by 9:30 most mornings.

But the most exciting part is that he totally regulated himself back to his regular schedule on his own. I had fears of post holiday re-ferberization but within a day or two he was back on schedule and even sleeping in until 7am. Yahoo!

So we're back to reality and into the groove but I have officially ended my maternity leave. I've upped the job search and am working on building my freelance career but at the same time leaving Alex each morning in his future daycare class while I bring Hannah upstairs to hers. I figure better to ease him into it seeing as we are in the building daily. Oh yes, reality is totally setting in. And while it's there I still want to enjoy the summer and my last 2 months at home with Alex.

So if you know of anyone looking for some freelance help in marketing, public relations, social media or editorial please send them my way!

Happy Summer!

Today is officially the last day of school! As we pack up for a family vacation and get ready to celebrate Hannah's great year in class 2B with a school wide BBQ, I thought I would share some wonderful articles that came my way this week.

Maybe you're heading off on a family vacation or celebrating St Jean Baptiste/Canada Day in town. Either way, take a little mommy time for yourself.

• Twenty five rules for dads raising daughters
• I don't own my child's body

And just because I can :) here are some of my recent articles with my new local Montreal finds:

• What's Happening this week
• Maison Boulud
• Dita Pilates
• Inniya's Cupcakes
• Sweet Lee's Rustic Bakery
• Bruxe General Store
• Top 5 Cupcake Shops in Montreal

Can you tell I've been busy? That's why I am so looking forward to sitting in the sunshine, reading a book (Patron Saints of Liars is next up for book club) and enjoying some family time, unplugged.

Wishing you all the best for wonderful long weekends and summer sun. See you next in July with a full vacation roundup.

Happy Canada Day!

Summer Fun

School is out in just a few weeks. I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by.

And while I've watched Hannah blossom into a girly girl who only wants to sport dresses, hairbands and ponytails what I really can't believe is that Alex is 8.5 months old. Crawling, eating solids and getting himself into plenty of mischief this little boy has grown up way too fast.

I'm not sure if it's the second child syndrome or the mom working on mat leave syndrome or a combo of the two but boy, is he a big boy! 

While we are active in a playgroup and attend a weekly music class I feel like he has been slightly neglected in the activity department. In Hannah's first year we did mom and baby yoga, infant massage, mom and baby pilates, playgroups, a music class and a gym class. Hmm...as I type that out maybe I overdid it :)

I did want to enroll Alex in a class at Le Petit Gym but from my experience with Hannah learned to wait until he was crawling. And now that he is on the move I reconsidered it but then shelved the idea. For a few reasons: 1. Its a good 20 minute drive 2. The class times are not ideal 3. Its expensive

I feel slightly guilty but while trying to rationalize it in my mind remembered that I had enrolled the entire family in the Mummies List Music in the Park. So while I have already spent $100 on a summer's worth of music I might as well take advantage and hit the parks as often as I can to entertain both kids.

I'll definitely be trying out Blossom Studio Yoga in NDG with Hannah and bringing both kids to hear Jennifer Gasoi at Westmount park. And we'll see who gets to spend alone time with Alex and I, perhaps Terry Joe Banjo.

Last year Hannah and my very pregnant self enjoyed a summer of music and I'm sure this one will be more of the same!

 

Everything is coming up Rosey

I'll use one word to summarize this week: Roseola.

High fevers, followed by a few days of whining and then pop, out came a bright red rash. Poor guy. And all along I thought the fever was due to teething. So I gave in and went to comfort and feed him during the night, just days after he had finally conquered a 7:30pm to 5:30am shift.

And now that the red rash is gone so are his wonderful sleeping habits. Last night, he was completely inconsolable so after 2 hours of crying we gave up on Ferber, turned off the lights and the monitor and just let him cry. I honestly don't know how long it lasted but when he was still asleep at 7:30am this morning I was panicked to make sure he was still breathing. Oh, the wonderful world of cry it out.

The email below was forwarded to me by Riley's mom. This one is great for a chuckle.

Sleep Training For Adults (From A Baby’s Point Of View)

OK, here’s my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 7 months. The first few months were great – I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or night. Then something happened.

Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep through the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse. I’ve talked to other babies, and it seems like it’s pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months. Here’s the thing: these Mommies don’t really need to sleep. It’s just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep–they just don’t need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle. It goes like this:

Night 1–cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it’s hard. It’s hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it’s for her own good.

Night 2–cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3–every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don’t give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT’S HARD! But she really doesn’t need the sleep, she’s just resisting the change. If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it.

Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with. My sleep sack tickled my foot. I felt a wrinkle under the sheet. My mobile made a shadow on the wall. I burped, and it tasted like pears. I hadn’t eaten pears since lunch, what’s up with that? The cat said “meow”. I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL. Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room. Too hot, too cold, just right–doesn’t matter! Keep crying!!

It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies’ internal clocks.

Sometimes my Mommy will call for reinforcements by sending in Daddy. Don’t worry Daddies are not set up for not needing sleep the way Mommies are. They can only handle a few pats and shhing before they declare defeat and send in the Mommy.

Also, be wary of the sleep sheep with rain noises. I like to give Mommy false hope that listening to the rain puts me to sleep sometimes I pretend to close my eyes and be asleep and then wait until I know Mommy is settling back to sleep to spring a surprise cry attack. If she doesn’t get to me fast enough I follow up with my fake cough and gag noise that always has her running to the crib. At some point I am positive she will start to realize that she really doesn’t really need sleep.

P.S. Don’t let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, no milk will come out. Trust me.

Growing Pains of All Ages

Yesterday I had both kids home. Not a big deal but definitely a day that required some planning. Or as it turns out, no planning at all.

You see, Alex has a mild fever and runny nose all weekend. Possible symptoms of teething. At 8 months, he is more than due. While I can't feel anything poking through in his mouth I know the poor guy is in a lot of pain. My sweet, smiley boy has become a total grump. Crying, kvetching and sleepy, he just isn't himself.

So plans to go to a 12 o'clock Pilates class quickly got shelved as the tears came streaming down his face before I could even get out of the door.

Then, Hannah who seems to be having some sort of "tantrum threes" pulls a few fast ones on me. The worst of them all was running from the park to my mom's house (right next door) by herself, not listening to my commands. All this following our morning activity of making a behavior chart with Xs marking the bad and stickers marking the good. At the end of the week, if there are more stickers than X's she gets a present. Needless to say, the 10 X's I gave her for running away are currently not working in our favor.

But in all honesty, the moment that lightened up the day was on the walk back home from my parent's house. The storm clouds were rolling in, I was pushing the double stroller and coercing Winston to stop smelling the roses. All of a sudden the skies opened up. Without a rain cover on board, we all got drenched (except for Alex who is small enough to stay sheltered). And we laughed about it.

I still smile writing this post. But think I have an even bigger smile on my face with one kid in daycare and the other happily napping :)

 

A Sweet Ending

Food Revolution Day came and went and with 6 weeks of intense planning I couldn't be happier with the result and the events that I put on for Jamie Oliver's Food Foundation.

And now with life settling back to normal, news that I received earlier in the month is finally sinking in. Sweetspot, the website I have been writing for over the course of the past 7 years shut down. It was an abrupt ending with literally no notice that has left my freelance writing career on the fence.

A deep sense of panic had me networking within minutes of hearing the news and I now have many prospects on the horizon as well as a new gig writing a What's Happening column for Urban Expressions.

While there is a definite void in my weekly writing schedule I know everything happens for a reason and now its time for me to sow new seeds and see what the future holds.

So to new beginnings...but before I officially say goodbye I wanted to share one of my last articles for Sweetmama that never ran. This one is definitely worth sharing with all you Montreal moms.

G’ymagine Opens a Fitness and Activity Centre in the Heart of the City

We moved to Old Montreal to be a true urban family. But it seems like whenever our kids want to have pure unadulterated fun, we need to head to the suburbs.

No more packing up the car and leaving the ‘hood thanks to G’ymagine. This new fitness and activity centre lies just west of Old Montreal in an unassuming space that is a whole lot of fun. Classes ($200/session) include ballet, hip hop, jiu jitsu, zumba and yoga and cater to children from four months to 12 years old.

And when class is not in session, we can always stop by to use the tumble room ($15/2 hours), fuel up at the luncheonette snack bar or sign up for a special workshop.

Now, that sounds like an urban oasis to us!

G’ymagine

www.gymagine.ca

1390 William (between Guy & de la Montagne)

514-419-7243

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day Comes to Montreal

I have been busy these days. Really busy.

Sure, I have a 7 month old, a 3 year old and a dog to walk but here's what's been taking up most of my time this past month.

Through my work at FoodFun, I have been selected as an ambassador for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day? Sounds pretty amazing, right? But what exactly does that mean?

I am spearheading a local initiative to promote Montreal's real food scene. What is real food? Food that is locally grown, homemade and cooked with love. Nothing out of a box, bag or drive thru.

I'm so proud to share two events that I have planned and an additional two that I have encouraged here in Montreal.

The first is the Real Food Market! Would love to see you there as it will be an evening full of tasty eats that is completely accessible and affordable for all Montrealers. Visit the official Facebook page to RSVP.

The second, is an activity just for the kids.

Spring is the perfect time to get their hands dirty and learn about where their food comes from. This pea potting activity will be held at La Tasse Gamine for a nominal fee on May 19th at 10:30 am.

And lastly, Appetite for Books will be holding two events. A Jamie Oliver inspired boxed lunch on May 18 for just $10 and a community wide bake sale on May 19.

All of the proceeds from all four events will be donated to Jamie Oliver's Food Foundation, promoting food education projects worldwide.

Hope to see you at one (or all three!) of the events!