We all learn through our own personal experience. Looking back on the last 18 months since Sasha was born, there are baby items I wished I had bought that would have been better investments (especially if you are planning on having more than 1 child). So if you are planning on having a child in the future or are pregnant, these are good items to purchase if your budget permits. For other ideas of suggested baby products, see my previous post about 10 essential budget friendly baby items if you want more ideas of baby items to consider.
Here are the 3 items that I truly believe would have been AMAZING to have from the beginning with a newborn.
I understand that every child is different but these would most definitely be useful to all babies !
One of the quickest meal you can make is soup. What I enjoy about it is that even if you haven’t been grocery shopping all week, you can usually find a carrot somewhere in the fridge maybe even one that is less than pretty. Although I tend to eat a lot of soups as a comfort meal during colder months, whenever I feel like eating a lighter lunch, this is often the way to go.
Do you find yourself standing in front of your closet in the morning and thinking “I have nothing to wear!” only to be looking at a closet full of clothing OR even skipping an event because you secretly have nothing to wear (and not really because you don’t feel like it)? Well you aren’t alone, I cannot speak for men here but I know this happens often to women. Yep, I am guilty of the “nothing to wear” scenario.
What to do?
It is as simple as changing the way you think when you are shopping.
Let me explain….
I have realized that when I applied these 4 simple steps, it completely changed my way of shopping and made it less time-consuming, less expensive and so much easier!
What color are your socks today ? Did you have to look at your feet before answering the question ? When you go shopping do you think « yes, today I will buy some new socks ? » It made me laugh writing these questions because I almost NEVER go shopping specifically for socks. One…
Have you ever said that you would parent your children in a calm respectful way ? Did you ever see a movie or even another parent lose control of their child in public only to have everyone staring at them thinking what is happening, is she a bad mother or is the child a bad kid ? Or do you feel like your always punishing your child for misbehaving either at school or at home ? These are moments we all wish we could skip or at least resolve as quickly as possible.
For this “currently loving” post, is a book called the NO-DRAMA DISCIPLINE by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, PH.D. published in 2014. You can also find the audio version here and the book here.
Sometimes there are books or in my case, audiobooks you come across which are home runs in their category. This book has specific examples from everyday life that supports each of their strategies. It makes it easy to understand and can be applied to ALL children and teenagers. They also mention the mishaps we sometimes do as parents. This book had great insight on how our approach to discipline changes our child’s thoughts. While is might seem complicated, it was great and I absolutely wanted to share some of their strategies with you.
Mother’s Day is a time to show our appreciation and to celebrate our mother or mother figures in our lives. While I don’t get a chance to see my mother that often since she lives across the country, I enjoy getting together with other mom’s that are part of my life here in Montreal. While my son is to young to realize what this day signifies, now that I am a mother myself, I find it more meaningful and important to be celebrating this day.
What to do on Mother’s Day?
This year I celebrated Mother’s Day with an afternoon tea at my cousin’s place. Being the amazing hostess she is, I knew that I would have to share this special day with all of you.
I am very happy to be sharing with you some oh so good recipes on the blog.
Have you ever eaten something and said “mmmm! I should really get the recipe for this ____.”, well this is has happened to me MANY times! I love to try new recipes and have have made some over the years that have been quite delicious and share worthy. This is what inspires me to share with you some of my favorite finds that you may cook\bake for your next meal. You will notice that most of these recipes are quite easy as unfortunately, we don’t always take the time to make 5 course meals.
So before you skip over this recipe as beets do not appeal to everyone and yes I am aware, let me start by saying I have tried this recipe with carrots instead of beets and it is also delicious! Nevertheless, this is a recipe I make over and over again as it is simple and very nutritious.
Since Mother’s Day is just around the corner, I thought I would do a post related to new mothers. We all know a women in our family, a friend, a colleague or even a friend of a friend that is pregnant. Eventually you will get invited to a baby shower, if you haven’t already. If you aren’t a mother, you must have had thoughts of “geez, what am I going to buy?” This billion dollar baby industry and the millions of products available are enough to make us panic.
What to choose?
Even if you decide on something, there are many questions we ask ourselves such as is it good for the baby?, Is it useful? Does it take too much space? Is it safe? or Is it only a gimmick to make us spend money? I know that this is how I felt before having a baby. So instead of only resulting to buying baby clothing (as I usually did) I will give you other inexpensive suggestions. I know that there are baby registries to help us but for a first time parent, we sometimes forget to add essential baby items.
During my first trimester, I was so overwhelmed with the amount of products that I googled and read so many reviews before purchasing or adding any particular item to my baby registry. I even printed a list of the recommended bare essentials needed. So when my sister asked me for some suggestions as she was invited to a baby shower, I thought it would be a great idea to share with others my “I swear by” favorite budget friendly newborn products that I pretty much used on a daily basis. So here are some affordable gift ideas for your next baby shower that I couldn’t live without.
Denim has always been an item in everyone’s closet. You might even own a few too many pairs since they come in so many washes and lenghts and designs. Spring had new trends of embroidered denim, patches, fringe bottoms and what I am calling a double denim style wearing different denim clothing together.
This post is a style inspiration for you on this double denim style and how you can wear it on a daily basis.
I think it’s safe to say that most people love to travel or wished they could do it more often. I am always happy to prepare what I will wear on vacation. To prevent from overpacking I have learnt to plan outfits from head to toe (the hat, the jewellery, the clothes, the shoes), and I try, emphasis on try, to wear my outfits at least twice mixed with other pieces to keep my luggage light (it always ends being the maximum weight anyways!). I used to pack lots of jewellery, shoes and handbags before I had Sasha but now I need to include his things in my bags too so I try to pick what will be more versatile.
The one thing I make sure to pack are colorful pieces that will match the tropical feel!
Traveling alone can be stressful, the preparation, the packing and the unknown of any new destination. Try adding a child to the equation which in itself is a whole other level of organization. I always try to be prepared for the unexpected, as you should be with a child. However, as a first time travelling to an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean with my family, there are things that I wished I had known before leaving. So here are some tips I have learned travelling to Cuba with my 14 month old son that may help you for your next trip.
During the winter months we all try to find ways to keep our energy levels high either with vitamins, caffeine, exercise or a quick vacation. I enjoy my morning ritual of a hot drink to get my day going. When I visited my sister-in-law she made me this amazing hot drink using the Vitamix blender adding this one ingredient that made it creamy and OH SO GOOD! I actually had a lot of energy for the rest of the day. It’s no surprise that it has been said that this is one of the most nutritious foods.
Do you wish that you had much more energy during the day to take care of your kids? Do you need a boost of confidence to meet with your new clients? Are you a nervous person? What if I told you that there is a simple way of altering your mood to give you a healthier and better life simply by adding color to your outfits.
