And We're Back!

It's been a crazy few weeks at our house and I just haven't been able to update! It started with myself and the baby getting a super bad virus that left us with fevers for a week! Then as we got better the toddler got sick! With that and the seemingly endless list of things to get done around our home, the days are flying by. It's scary sometimes how fast they go - I don't like it one bit. My babies are growing up too fast!

I will posting soon with some new item reviews and tips - stay tuned!

what a week

It's been so long! I didn't mean to stay away, really I didn't! I was sick - very sick. I could hardly find the strength to get through the day let alone type on the keyboard. I remember before having kids how I would take for granted the times when I was sick and I could just "rest". I could lay in bed aaaaaaall day long, drink juice and watch cheesy movies on the internet. I would get better quickly due to all this rest and relaxation. But not now. With two kids, being sick is a delicate balancing act. Trying to heal while also keeping the kiddos fed and clothed and changed. It involves a lot of "Hey, wanna watch Yo Gabba Gabba?" and napping when they are napping. It also meant that the instant, and I mean instant, my husband was in the door the baby and I were off to the bedroom to lie down and not get up unless it meant the bathroom or a water bottle refill.

During this week  the baby also got sick. Luckily this did not involve a lot of projectile vomiting, but there was plenty of poop. Yucky, watery poops and lots of temperature taking. She recovered quicker than I did. She had about 4 days of fevers, while I had 7. (I think her secret weapon was the breastmilk, hehe). There were some positives to be had this week too - lots of baby cuddling and I lost 8lbs. Hellooooo flu diet! It's definitely a challenge to get through a bad flu while looking after babies. It's not something I'm looking forward to doing again anytime soon, that's for sure! But it is do-able. My mom always tells me that when things get tough as a mom, you just do what you gotta do and she's right. You make it work! Next time though, I would much prefer having a nanny or two around to help out - hey, I can dream, right??

Want to color Rosie? Please, PLEASE color so Mama can sit here and close her eyes... just... for a minute............

5 things you might not expect when starting roller derby

1. It is all-ecompassing - What you think will be a fun, exciting past-time soon becomes one of the most important things you do. Your priorities shift and you soon find yourself scheduling your kid's activities around your practice schedule.

2. It's addictive - Before you know it you will be counting down the minutes until your next practice, religiously watching roller derby videos on Youtube while feeding the baby, and be searching online shops for some good deals on gear.

3. It sometimes like being in high school all over again - This one isn't a constant in derby, but it definitely happens. The drama. This was something I should have expected as I was joining a huge group of women, all from different walks of life, and spending hours on end with them. I wasn't prepared though for some of the drama that ensued when we first began. (Luckily the drama-mongers didn't stick around too long and our league is much calmer!).

4. It's expensive - You might think that you just buy your initial fresh meat package and you're set, but you will want to upgrade, especially when you start playing bouts. (Unfortunately in my case I never have any extra money, so I'm still rockin' the fresh meat gear I started with. This is definitely fine, but you do find yourself wanting to upgrade!)

5. The guilt - You will feel guilty. When you walk out the door for yet another practice or game or special training, your husband/partner will give you "the" look. The look that means "I understand you need your own time, but you're really leaving me with two babies again?? Especially the one that screams the minute you leave since she's no longer attached to your boob?" It sucks, but I have to go to derby. If I didn't, I would go crazy - I wouldn't be the mom I am if not for taking time for myself too!

barf all over the place

Today was a day filled with sore toes and baby barf.

The first half of my day was spent at a special roller derby practice with a guest coach. The first 45 minutes was spent working on getting comfortable being up on our toe stops. So ya... ouch! He's a great coach and is teaching us a lot of valuable things, but I feel completely invisible at his practices. It seems like he only sees the "star" skaters, the jammers. Fine, maybe he does, but I still work my butt off out there and will keep doing so! I am determined to be a better, more confident player. There are times when I'm scared to play or to scrimmage, wishing it was over or wondering what I've gotten myself into. I hate feeling like that. I just want to love it! Once the nerves settle and I get into the game it does gets better and I start to really enjoy myself. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy derby - I just find actually playing it can be pretty scary sometimes! Our next bout is on the 15th, so here's to hoping my confidence level is just a little bit higher by then!

Then my evening was spent with my 6 month old seemingly unable to keep anything down. She threw up her supper, milk, water - anything I gave her. She's now sleeping after a big feed and fingers crossed she keeps it in her system! I'd rather not have to run to the hospital with a dehydrated baby tonight thank you very much! Luckily she doesn't have a fever and is still pretty happy and playing so I'm thinking it isn't too serious. I hate seeing my babies sick! (Though can I admit that I do love the extra cuddliness when they are sick? Is that awful of me?) Hoping that by the morning we have our happy little girl feeling better!

you're never too old to play with toys

I spent my Saturday finding some sales and putting together a dollhouse.

We ran to Wal-mart with the girls to pick up a few needed items. I stumbled upon a Nuk "Freshfoods Food Mill" on half price (snagged it for $7) and since Tess is starting solids and I hate having to dirty up the big food processor every meal, decided to give it a try. Haven't used it yet but will be doing a product review on it once we see how it goes!

I also ran to my parent's home to pick up a few things from the attic. Tess needs some of the bigger baby clothes I have packed up so I grabbed a few things for her. I also found my old Playmobil mansion dollhouse. This was the thing of my dreams when I was young. I spent several years pining over it until my mom and stepdad surprised me with it one Christmas morning. They were up until 2am putting it together, down to the last individual petal on each individual flower. It was beautiful, I was in love! Putting it back together today for my oldest daughter brought back so many memories of wonderful playtimes. Rose's eyes almost popped out of her head as it came together! She played with it the rest of the day. I am a HUGE Playmobil fan and have several sets besides the dollhouse. Rose will definitely be getting a few sets for upcoming birthdays and Christmases but I'd love to start collecting again for myself too!

Tomorrow is a special roller derby practice as we have a guest coach in. Pretty excited for it as I'll be picking up some new wheel bearings I'm buying from a teammate and I plan on trying a new setup for my wheels. I'll get back to you on how I like the bearings and wheel placement! I'm going for some more grip when I'm digging in to push someone off the track! Oh Roller derby, how I love you! It's my twice a week time all for me, where I'm more than mommy and wife - I'm my alter-ego, I'm an athlete, I'm powerful. Since starting it when Rose was just 5 months old I feel like my life has changed drastically for the better. I've made new friends, am in better shape, and have gained a ton of confidence. If you're interested, check it out - see if there is a local league near you!

(Me in action as Sirius Block - Photo by Kevin Molyneaux)

KidCo Go-Pod Review

Not long after Tessa was born I knew I would eventually need to get out the large exersaucer we had used for her sister. I loved it, she loved it, but we had a problem. Our home is very small and I didn't think we would be able to fit it easily in the living room. I searched for a solution and found it! The KidCo Go-Pod!

 This is one pretty cool baby toy! (As you can see Tess agrees!). It's portable, folds up very small with the push of one button on the leg (as shown below) and comes with a travel bag. Perfect for when visiting family and friends, perfect for our small room as we can fold it up and stick it in the corner at the end of the day. It's also great for taking outside to give the younger baby somewhere to safely play as the older kids run around the lawn. There are drink holders and straps for you to attach whatever toys you like. (It does not come with any toys, you can use the ones you already have!).

There are a few drawbacks however. A smaller baby sinks down pretty low in it and they can't see over the top. Tessa still had lots of fun in it but seems to enjoy it more now that she can sit more comfortably in it. It also doesn't bounce like the traditional exersaucer, which I do miss as Tess seems to love the bounce in our old one that we use at my parent's home. She still has fun playing with her toys though and isn't too bothered.  As shown in the photo, there seems be some pulling on the fabric from the weight of the baby sitting in the pod. There are several layers of fabric though and it doesn't seem to affect the strength or feel like it's going to let go. I will be keeping an eye on this and update the review if anything changes. Otherwise it's very sturdy and good quality.

In all, I'm very happy with this purchase. It is something we purchased new at Toys R' Us at a price of $59.99, so we're glad it's working out!

More information can be found on the KidCo website here.

raising kids on a budget, bein' thrifty

I'm a thrift shopper, a coupon cutter-outer, a sales hound. My husband has a good job as a computer programmer, but is doesn't earn much yet as he is still a "junior" programmer. Me staying at home with the kids means money is super tight so I have to find ways to get what we need without paying much for it. I'm a thrift shopaholic! I love it! Even if we had tons of cash you'd still find me searching the isles of the Value Village!

My first daughter is a big girl. Weighing in at a hefty 11lbs 10oz when born, she grew fast. So fast in fact she outgrew all of the hand-me-downs I was given as well as outgrew the older child I was given hand-me-downs from! She needed the next size up nearly every few months. If I shied away from buying second hand I'd be in the poor house right now! Instead I went to my local thrift shops. I was able to buy her complete wardrobe for each season for usually under $70. For baby and children's items I joined a local Facebook buy/sell/trade group and can almost always find someone selling what I'm looking for.

When daughter #2 came we decided to save even more by going the cloth diaper route. I was extrememly lucky enough to have an awesome friend who gifted me several hundred dollars worth of Flip diapers and inserts and love them. (I do admit however there are days I just go disposable if I'm feeling particularly lazy, but that's another post for another time....). I've not tallied the figures, but based on the few times we have to buy her disposables, I'd say we're saving big time

They say raising kids costs thousands of dollars a year, but if you're willing to do a little work, buy second-hand, do some research, it doesn't have to. We are making it work on much less and it's really not that hard! You just have to be willing to give up on having those shiny new baby things, fresh off the shelf! Believe me, your kids won't notice or even care!

Let me tell you a little about myself...

My name is Julia, and I live a pretty normal life, mostly! I am the proud stay-at-home mama of two little girls. Rose is two and a half, Tess is six months. Days are busy, time flies by, all while trying to keep the girls fed and clean/organize our little home. We live in just under 800 sq ft so finding ways to keep tidy and organized is very important to us. Many of my product reviews will most likely revolve around this (and toys for the kiddos too!).

I know, I know, I said a "mostly" normal life, right? Sounds pretty boring so far, but at least twice a week I am no longer "mommy" and become Sirius Block, #970. A roller derby player for Prince Edward Island's Red Rock n' Roller Derby! My position is blocker for our house team, the Moonshine Maidens. We train hard, play our hearts out, and have a ball doing it! I am so proud of how far I've come since I began over two years ago. This explains why there will also be roller derby products reviewed!

So hope you'll join along on this crazy ride, get to know me and my family, and maybe learn a few things too!