Free nursing covers and slings

Attention breastfeeding mommas and mommas to be.  Uddercovers is once again offering their nursing cover's, baby carriers and breast pads for free, you just cover the shipping! 

I ordered myself a nursing cover, the Jones pattern, before DS arrived and paid about $10 for shipping. This is a good deal considering similar covers retail for $40+. 

My only dislike about the product is that when you wash it, it gets very wrinkled.  Not something a quick iron can’t fix and what should I expect for material made of 100% cotton? 

If you are going to try breastfeeding and don’t want to spend a lot check out the stylish patterns on www.uddercovers.com and www.sevenslings.com.  Enter promo code “Breastfeeding” at checkout.
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It's almost T-shirt Time

Ever since season 1, when no one was watching and advertisers were pulling out I was hooked on Jersey Shore.  I know some of you are rolling your eyes, but others who share the love of “Jersdays” with me know what I am talking about.

The new season of Jersey Shore starts again this coming week, August 4^th at 10pm on MTV. 

I just saw the previews of the upcoming season and it looks as though it will be full of drama, smushing, drunkenness and fist pumping.

Get your popcorn and poofs ready to watch the gang take on Italy.

Oh and if you can’t wait until then and need a different “trashy” show to watch, check out Geordie Shore on MTV.  I find the British accents hard to follow and the girls all look the same, but it is entertaining none the less.

My battle with the bottle

My little guy, Bodhi, is turning 5 months next week, I can’t believe it.  I am totally overcome with a variety of emotions, shock, excitement and nervousness. 

Bodhi got off to a rough start with breastfeeding and now does it like the little champion he is.  He is more than double his birth weight, cute as a button and strong willed.  He knows what he likes and the bottle is not it! 

Since I am self employed I haven’t taken any time away from work, but being that I work at home nursing my little dude hasn’t been a problem until now.  I have a meeting in another province in 6 weeks and I need him to be a bottle feeder by then. 

I have tried occasionally over the past 5 months and he would rarely take it and if he did I was never sure how much he took as he seemed much more interested in smiling and pulling at the nipple.   The last couple of days we have tried many things:

• Variety of bottles and nipples
• Mixing formula and breast milk together
• Warming the milk
• Heating the nipple
• Having him lay or sit in different positions
• Having other people try to feed him

 Nothing seems to be working and my frustration level is growing.  I would love to hear your success stories on how to make this difficult transition.   Will keep you posted on my battle with the bottle!

Swell 20% off Sale

My husband and I love surf inspired 

clothing. There is nothing that feels 

more like summer then throwing on a 

pair of board shorts and flip-flops.  

Being that we live in the great white 

north there is a lack of "surf" gear up 

here. 

A few years ago we discovered 

Swell.com.  They offer international 

shipping and free shipping for those 

who spend over $100 and live in the US.  

Until August 15th they are offering 

an additional 20% off their sale merchandise.  Just enter code SWSL6 at 

checkout.

Off to order myself some new stuff!

I'm a hooker

I am a hooker.  Ok, it’s not what you think...I am a closet crocheter  – if that is even a word.  Not many people know of my new talent, mostly because when I tell someone they scrunch up their face and say “oh that is nice, my grandma does that too.” 

I am not a grandma, not even close, but love my new found hobby.   I am a person constantly on the go that can’t just sit; I always have to be doing something. I find sitting in my comfy chair watching TV, with a ball of yarn and a hook relaxes me. 

How I got started
This past winter I was bored, pregnant and was looking at baby things on Etsy.  I found such cute baby hats and thought “I could do that, or at least try.”  Off I went to my nearest craft store, and picked up a beginner crochet kit.  It came with variety of hooks, a book and other items I had no idea what they were for. 

I should have saved my money because the book was of no use.  I couldn’t decipher what was happening in the photos and I was shocked that the patterns are written in code.  If you have ever seen a crochet pattern before you will know what I mean.

I then turned to YouTube to help me understand the basic stitches.  There are some great videos out there to help you get started.   I sat there for a few hours crocheting a square, tearing it out, crocheting the same square then tearing it out. After about 15 minutes of doing this my hands were cramping and I had a permanent concentration line across my forehead.  I was about to throw in the towel.

Patterns

I then stumbled upon what is now my favourite Etsy shop – Speckled Frog Crochet.  The patterns were so adorable, reasonably priced and were for  beginners.  I was sold and made my first purchase.  The pattern was emailed to me almost immediately with this note:

“If at any time you need assistance please feel free to contact me at this email."

How great is that?

My first hat turned out pretty good, sizing was a bit off, but I have figured that out now and am a hat making machine. 

Not sure what I am going to do with all my creations, but I just keep making them.  Here are some of my firsts...

If you are considering taking up this hobby and becoming a hooker too, pay the Speckled Frog Crochet Facebook and Etsy pages a visit. 

Other great resources

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyVPUBgDnJg
• Ravelry had many free patterns you can use to experiment

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Sparkling Goodness!

My household has a serious soda lover! Not only is it so NOT good for you, but it is also expensive and all those cans and bottles are not good for the environment. 

At Christmas I decided to buy a SodaStream Soda maker for my DH as a gift that would keep on giving.  Sometimes when you buy these novelty type products they fade and get shoved in the back of your cupboard and forgotten about.  Well I can happily say our soda maker sits proudly on our counter 7 months after being purchased – and it is not collecting dust! 

Our SodaStream gets used a number of times each week to make delicious, ASPARTAME FREE, sparkling water, soda and flavoured waters.

Positives:

• There are a variety of SodaStream machines to choose from that will suit everyone's kitchen decor.
• A wide variety of flavours to choose from that really do taste like their bottled/canned counterpart.
• Can order your SodaStream supplies online if you don’t have a retailer near you (Sears in Canada and selected WaterDepot stores carry these).
• Can customize the amount of bubbles and sweetness to your own taste.
• Everyone who has access to regular tap water can use this system.
• Saves you money in the long run!
• Environmentally friendly reusable bottles and refillable CO2 cartridges

Negatives:

• The plastic bottles cannot be washed in the dishwasher
• My dog does not like the “buzzing” sound the machine makes – it is really funny to see her run out of the kitchen J
• Initial start up cost can be a bit high. The lowest priced kit starts at $99 and some models go up to $279

If your family drinks a lot of soda water or pop I highly recommend picking up a system for yourself.  You will be doing something good for yourself and your family.

Get your family back to the dinner table - Giveaway

Juggling a new baby, work and daily house work is not easy and I am sure any mommy can attest to that.  Figuring out what is for dinner is another daily chore that shouldn’t be difficult, but a lot of us with busy schedules find grocery shopping and preparing meals to be just that – a chore.

More often than not I end up throwing something quickly together and we eat when we can – no sit down family dinners.  

When I had my son I was speaking with a friend, who also just had a baby, and she told me about a cookbook that would not only help me make healthy family meals (most under 500 calories), but would also help me with my grocery shopping.  I was sold!  I ran off to the local bookstore and picked myself up a copy of Eating Forward by Sandi Richard.

Our household is not filled with adventurous eaters, chicken and rice is more than a common occurrence.  The meals in this book are things that regular people eat and I think that most people with kids would easily try these meals – the crispy lemon chicken and calabrese lasagne were just two of our faves! 

This book is super duper fantastic and it turned me into a bit of a foodie.  Every week I was excited to see what we would be having and my family loved trying new foods.   

Sandi has created a system that provides you with 10 complete weeks of really delicious meals (5 per week).  Following her system frees up time in your life and helps you plan everyday family meals that you can enjoy together.   

Here are a few of my favourite things about this great book:

• This is more than a cookbook, Sandi teaches you how to pull together a delicious healthy meal and create weekly shopping lists to help the entire family participate in the meal prep.
• This book doesn’t just contain recipes, but entire meals.  Some of these can be made in 20 minutes or less!
• Each week comes complete with a shopping list (Eat Sheet) that is broken down by category, and can be downloaded and printed from eatingforward.com.
• Each meal indicates prep time so you can choose which one you should have on which day based on your time constraints.
• Every recipe contains nutritional information, including information for those with diabetes.

This book has changed the way we view dinner time. I highly suggest picking yourself up a copy so you can love your family dinners too.

The Giveaway

Cookingfortherushed.com has graciously donated a cookbook for one (1) lucky winner so you can experience the Eating Forward system.

Mandatory Entry

Leave a comment below telling me what features of Eating Forward you think will help you the most (i.e. the colour coding of recipes to judge how much time I need to prep for a meal)

Daily Entry

Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. 
#Win an Eating Forward Cookbook from Food Network host Sandi Richard and  @mominworkPJs  http://tinyurl.com/3fyhbll #giveaway Cdn & US 8/03.

This can be done once per day.  Please leave your profile name and link to the tweet in the comments section.

Additional Details

The giveaway will end on Wednesday August 3, 2011 at 12pm EDT and is open to residents of Canada and the US.

The winner will be contacted via email and have 48hrs to respond.  I use Random.org to pick the winner.  Good luck!

Beat the heat with free swimming in ON

With the extremely hot and dry weather we in Ontario have been having nothing feels better than spending a day at the pool with the kiddies. Once again Tim Hortons has been gracious enough to sponsor free swim days at pools across the province.   

So grab your suit, a towel and head out to your nearest pool. For locations and dates please visit  http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/difference/free-swimming.html

Getaway for Less with Groupon Getaways!

If anyone has fallen in love with couponing sites (Groupon, WagJag etc) like I have you may already know of Groupon’s newest site, Groupon Getaway.

Groupon has teamed up with Expedia to offer you deep discounts on hotels around the world – Anyone up for a stay at the Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City.  If so, a 2-night weekday stay can be yours for only $149!

As with other Groupon products, you can sign up for emails with offers based on geographic areas. I put in my city (Toronto) and up pops deals for cities like, Vegas, Miami, Toronto and even Bangkok.   One difference I am noticing between this site and the regular Groupon site is that the offers are valid for 5 days so you have time to think about your purchase before having to jump at it.   

Consumers who buy a getaway package do not have to book their stay at the time of purchase, but note all packages, like all Groupons, have expiry dates.

Happy Travels!

Well, who doesn't like to shop in their PJ's?

About a year ago I stumbled upon Well.ca.  If you haven’t heard of this site let me introduce you....Well.ca is “Canada’s largest online health, beauty and baby products store.”

They sell a wide variety of products:  from household cleaning products, to vitamins, magazine subscriptions to everything you could need for your little one and best of all they offer free shipping to anyone in Canada (YEAH!).

I have ordered a number of things from them and have never had a problem.  Shipping usually takes a couple of days and they have never ran out of stock on items I have ordered.

I also love that people review the products on the site.  So if you are debating about trying a new skin cream or mascara read up on what others have to say BEFORE you buy. 

Oh and did I mention they ship anywhere in Canada for FREE???
Why not take a moment and have a peak at their latest and greatest sales items?

Need a card printed?

I recently ordered myself some new business cards. I like to order smaller quantities as I like to mix things up a bit and have some variety – and why not?

I wasn’t sure where to get them from and stumbled upon an online printing company called moo.com. All the reviews I read were positive so I thought I would give them a try.

What does moo.com print?

• Business Cards
• Mini Cards – this is my next order!
• Postcards- can be used as save the date for weddings, or to promote your new products     
• Greeting cards/holiday cards – family holiday cards or customer appreciation “thank you’s”
• Sticker books – use on product packaging or create your own monogram for your wedding
• Accessories such as card holders, envelopes and unbranded boxes

You can use some of their gorgeous pre-made templates or easily upload your own design. All standard card orders are printed on a smooth matte laminate or you can upgrade to a 100% recycled stock.

One of the things I LOVED when printing my cards is something called Printfinity. This system allows you to print a different design or photograph on every card in the pack you order, now talk about variety! This would be great if you had a variety of products you wanted to show people or is a great way to test out creative treatments.

The one thing I was hesitant about was their shipping. They indicated it could take a month to receive, but I figured it would be worth the wait. Well to my surprise my cards showed up in less than 2 weeks! It was great timing as I was able to hand them out this weekend and a networking event and everyone really liked them and was impressed with the quality.
If you are in need of some printed marketing materials, check out Moo.com.

And when you are ready to order search online for a promo code before ordering - I found one that saved me $7.00!