Spreading the Word: Diaper Need

I was reading this article recently about Diaper Need. I've never even heard about it until this article popped up on my radar as I was scanning for something to occupy my time.

Diaper need is when a family doesn't have the funds to provide enough diapers for their baby/child. Huggies has reported that 1 in 5 families in Canada have experienced this.

Here are the two articles I've read: One and Two.

Thinking about little babies and children being kept in dirty diapers because diapers are expensive is so troubling for me.

Before I had TheLittleBear I would be sad and compelled by things like these. But now, it's so personal. It's painful to think about TLB not having everything she needs.

In Vancouver, Canada the resources for families with Diaper Need are your local food bank and BabyGoAround.

Lone Wolf'ing It

TheDapperGentleman is in London for a couple of days.

Things that I'm currently thinking about are:

1. Is that noise a mouse...

2. Is that noise a mouse...

3. How about that noise...

As you can tell, I'm paranoid about mice. 

Oddly, this mice paranoia has seriously increased starting the minute TDG left 

for his flight.

I'm so lonely that I'm rethinking if sleep training TheLittleBear was such a good idea.

When she goes to bed, I finish up the chores, but then I'm left with so much alone time.

This alone time is definitely something I crave when it's scarce, but now that I have an 

abundance, I'm so lonely. 

Wish me luck in surviving the next couple of days in my solitude ;)

Fall TV - Four Top

Speechless.

There is something about Minnie Driver that I respond to. I love every TV show she does. I loved About A Boy and I love Speechless.

If you also loved About A Boy, you'll like Speechless. She's kind of the same character in both, but in a good endearing way.

Fall TV - Triplets

The Good Place.

Who doesn't love Kristen Bell.

Enough Said.

Fall TV - Duo Duo

No Tomorrow!!!!

Such a cute show. It's about a girl who meets someone who believes the world is going to end in 8.5 months. I found this one on Netflix. It's coming out every Wednesday. Yay!

Fall TV Shows - Numero Uno

Hi Friends,

In honour of Fall TV coming back I though I'd share some good ones that I've come across.
This first one isn't new this season, but I recently discovered it on Netflix.

Quantico got me hooked! I was watching all day all night for a couple of days straight. It's the perfect binge watching show. I can't share any of the plot points or it would ruin the show. The first season is on netflix and season two just started :)

More Dork Jokes

TheDapperGentleman and I were walking around our neighbourhood one day.

TDG commented: Is that house still for sale?

B.i.t.G: No, it's sold. The sold sign is on the bottom. It's just not that visible because we're far away.

TDG: Why do they leave up sold signs for so long?

B.i.t.G: I know right, it's like show me the paycheque, not the pay stub. LOL, LOL, LOL!!!

...

...

...

TheDapperGentleman did not laugh as much as I did...

So, I had to explain the joke to him.

B.i.t.G: It's funny because no one wants a pay stub, they want the money. So leaving the sign up is like taunting people. Get it? ;)

TDG: I understood the joke...

B.i.t.G: You understood the joke because I explained it, hee hee hee.

p.s. I told this joke to an accountant friend and she laughed hard!

p.s.s. You see TDG... I am hilarious. I just need to find my audience.

Organized Obsessed

As you may have already known...

I'm organized obsessed!

My obsession has now taken over TheLittleBear's snacks.

I line them up in rows...

And I even reorganize the snacks as they get disorderly as she eats them :)

Rory Lately...

It's been awhile since I've updated you on Rory's Life.

Lately, Rory has been spending her days and Granny and Grampy's house.

She receives a million belly rubs and cuddles a day.

She spends her time divided between guarding the front yard and back yard.

When she's finished with her daily guarding duties, 

she spends her time amongst the giant sunflowers :)

Fun Facts... About Me :)

1. I love reading. I love reading fiction, non fiction, cartoons, everything. If you follow me on Instragram you’ll have seen all the books I’ve devoured lately.

2. The one thing I crave when I’m feeling sad is a nice run. There is something about running (even in circles) that calms me and helps me work things through.

3. I took up sailing a couple of summers ago and it has become my happy place. Whenever I hear water, I’m instantly brought back to the peace of a sailboat.

4. When I see Shelties, I tear up. My first family dog was a Sheltie. His name was Meister (pronounced My-ster). My bedroom door didn’t close all the way unless you pushed really hard, and he knew that and would sneak into my room at night. I miss waking up and almost tripping over him.

5. I have kept a journal ever since I was twelve! I still have them all and occasionally will re-read the drama that was my life as a teenager. It's crazy that more than half my life has been documented. I hope upon my death, someone burns them all. No one should have to read the thoughts that went through my head during puberty ;)
               Fun Fact (within a Fun Fact): Any time I ended an entry and I was in school,
               I would always end by writing, "I have to go and do some homework now." Yup,
               I was 100% a nerd :)

Book Review, The Real Finale

I just finished this book in the nick of time to include it in my week long book review.

The most endearing thing I find in Rainbow Rowell's writing is the relationship between her characters. When her characters have dialogue and experiences together.

This book was a lot like Attachments. 

The two people you want to see more from don't interact as much as you'd like. 

Aside from that, I like it. 

I wouldn't yell from the heavens for everyone to read this, 

but for a nice little escape it was a perfect read. 

Oddly, I'm finding that I love young adult fiction more than I like adult fiction...

Young people seem to have more exciting lives in fiction than adults do.

Isn't that odd?

:)

Book Review, The Conclusion

I first read this book before I had TheLittleBear.

When I read it, I was hurt that this guy who had a wife and children

would leave them to head into the forrest.

Being that I was struggling with trying to conceive, 

it made me too upset to finish the book. 

When I revisited this book, it was after TheLittleBear came into my life.

At first I was still upset that he would leave his family.

But then I got it. 

Even though he is a spouse and a parent. He is still a person.

He wasn't defined by these roles, or any titles.

He had a calling and he respected it, so he headed into the forest.

Even though its been weeks since I've finished this book, 

I still think about the lesson learned and the adventures had.

Doppler is one I'd definitely recommend.

Book Review, The Trilogy

I'm an extremely intelligent person. 

I received the highest mark on most of my accounting exams.

My highschool friends would call me a nerd...

But I am not smart enough to read Jeffrey Eugenies!

I loved the narrative, but the references to other reading he makes in this book

made it hard for me to stay within the story.

I found myself wondering what I was missing, having not ready everything 

his characters have read.

If you are way smarter than I,

this book is your friend :)

Book Review, The Sequel

I'm posting these reviews in the order that my Instagram says I've read them in ;)

I really love Rainbow Rowell. 

I think you'll really have to love her in order to get through this book.

I found that there were a lot of boring parts because the main characters

don't interact on a personal level very much. 

In the end, 

it was worth the read. 

I don't think this is a book I would recommend though...

Maybe pick this up if you're really hungry for a Rowell fix.

If you have a stack of other books that peak your interest, 

maybe don't pick this on up...

Book Review, The Beginning

Loved it, Loved it, Loved it!!!!

I find Mindy Kaling hilarious and very insightful.

I love that she doesn't have to conform to the "perfect woman" stereotype.

She is who she is and it's so refreshing.

I would highly recommend this light read.

It's fully of funny anecdotes and personal insight.

Walking With A Future Gardener

TheLittleBear has been very keen on touching plants during our walks lately.

She points to a plant she wants to touch and I bring her over for her to inspect.

It's truly the cutest thing!

Now that she's walking, she's exploring the plants even more.

Today on our walk, everyone commented on her plant touching ways.

Here are some plants she was keen on:

Weeds, but oh so pretty. 

More weeds...

but they are the perfect height for short bears.

(photo credit)

TheLittleBear spent a good ten minutes feeling and shaking this mini tree.

Sewing is My Adrenaline Rush

Some people drive fast cars...

I sew fast to get the same rush ;)

This is from a blanket I'm sewing for TheLittleBear.

p.s. minky/velour fabric is the worst,

but the softness is irresistible to me.

My love of softness outweighs the test of my patience it creates.

p.s.s my seam ripper and I have become very close friends 

since I started working with minky and velour fabrics. 

Dinosaurs Attack!

This weekend I went out with a girlfriend.

We didn't know it at the time, but we were transported to Jurassic Park!

Here are some pictures and videos 

This is when I texted TheDapperGentleman to tell TheLittleBear I loved her,

and to use my life insurance money for something fun ;)

Luckily this one is behind a boat load of fences!

The mama Triceratops...

and her baby. 

To be honest, I did find it odd that there were dinosaurs in the city...

but I'm not one to judge. 

Plus, I thoroughly enjoyed chasing down these dinos. 

It felt like I was playing that Pokemon game everyone keeps talking about :)

The Daughter of Woman ;)

(photo credit)

TheLittleBear's attempt at imitating this painting...

To make food  more interesting I experiment with giving her food in different shapes.

Sometimes I'll cut them up, other times I'll keep them whole.

Beware of this method of feeding kids...

If you give them food whole, they then know what it looks like in it's normal non cut up state.

So when you go grocery shopping, you'll have to fight them to not eat all the veggies as 

you put them in the cart ;)

On multiple occasions I've had to stop TLB from taking bites out of everything in the shopping cart.

An Afternoon at Maplewood Farms

We went to Maplewood Farms a couple of weekends ago.

Here are some pictures of our adventure :)

The horses were very alert. 

They knew when people were looking at them and they came right over to "Nay" 

at us. 

Baby goats, baby goats, baby goats!

The.Cutest.Thing.Ever.

My New Job as a Book Surgeon

Dr. B.i.t.G and Surgical Nurse TheLittleBear performed Book Surgery today.

I'm happy to report that all patients will make a smooth recovery. 

As you can see from the pictures, I don't think my career 

should lead into plastic surgery... ;)

If you're interested, 

tools used were:

Packaging Tape

Scotch Tape

and Scissors 

B.i.t.G Holmes Is On The Case!

Once upon a time...

There lived a nice, quiet family.

There was a MummaBear, TheDapperGentlman, and TheLittleBear. 

They lived a peaceful life, that was quite predictable.

One day, they had a celebration.

It was a grand celebration, with balloons, streamers, and a watermelon cake. 

Everyone who attended this grand event had a wonderful time, 

especially enjoying the delicious watermelon cake ;)

Then...

A couple of weeks after the celebration...

A terrifying balloon started haunting this quaint family.

One of the balloon (we'll call him Mr.M-Balloon) from the celebration became possessed!

Mr.M-Balloon started to fly around the house...

He would sneak and scrap the ceiling to make terrifying sounds...

He would creep up behind the family and scare them...

The family became terrified.

They would see Mr.M-Balloon out of the corner of their eyes

stalking them around the house. 

The family hid in their rooms to get away from Mr.M-Balloon...

After more than a week of being terrified,

MummaBear captured the balloon and quarantined 

Mr.M-Balloon to a safe corner of the living room. 

From there on, 

Mr.M-Balloon stayed put. 

Living the his remaining days 

in the safety of his corner.

The moral of the story is...

Large Foil Letter Balloons are worth their price 

because they last for weeks :)

... also... 

balloons are scary!

A Celebration!

A couple of months ago we celebrated a special event!

Here are some pictures :)

The above is the hair clip that TheLittleBear wore.

It's a shiny crown that clips in your hair.

We made a watermelon cake.

The first layer was peaches...

Then strawberries...

Ta Da! Watermelon cake. 

It was sooooo delicious. 

We set up this cute general store.

Do you need some fruit from 

Mr. Owl and Son's Family Grocer?

p.s. I painted the Rory picture ;)

Who Do You Root For In Movies?

I was watching a Netflix movie the other day called Tallulah. 

The bare bones description is a girl steals a kid from a mother in NYC.

I'm not sure if I was supposed to be rooting for kidnapper, or the mother...

but I was rooting for the kidnapper!

Even in the end when the mother comes to her senses and truly misses her kid,

I was rooting for the kidnapper to be able to legally keep the kid. 

It makes me think about the How I Met Your Mother Episode, 

where Barney explains why he roots for the bad guys in every movie. 

Here are the quotes if you need to jog your memory :)

A Running Joke

A few years ago TheDapperGentleman and I were joking around about us opening a store for organizational products because I love organizing so much. Nothing brings me more joy than someone asking me over to their house to help them organize something. I love it!!!!!!

I love love love starting a new job and being able to organize everything. File folders... label makers... file folder tabs... binders... creating folders, sub folders, and labelling data files... mmMMmm sounds like heaven...

So, back to the running joke.

I said that the store should be called Organization Organization. The first organization being the act of organizing and the second organization referencing a company/or group of people. Then TheDapperGentleman said, "Ba-Zinga! Organization squared!" But I countered saying that it wouldn't make sense because if organization was a number value it would be one and one squared is only one. So the essence of that would just be one organization... (you may insert math dork joke here ;))

Then I joked that when we answered the phone we would have to answer it, "Organization squared, if organization equals to a value greater than one. How can we help with your organizational needs today?"

Now this joke comes up any time we even think of organizing anything, and I laugh every time :)

You Gots-ta Research

(photo credit)

My brother and I were talking about learning how to ski this winter.

My cousins who already know how to do winter sports responded with, "you just have to go up and do it."

We said, "nope, that's not how we learn... We need to google techniques, acquire some research and testimony books, then devour all the information, wait a couple of weeks and find more books... then devour those... then maybe do even more googling and youtube watching... then take a person to person hands on class, then finally try it on our own." You have to be prepared... ;)

My brother and I are the biggest academic nerds ever. We must research everything! I've been researching weaving techniques for a year now, and haven't even felt ready enough to buy materials...

This stringent research technique has also applied to sailing. Currently I have 15 sailing books, 46 websites book marked, 6 sailing magazines, and 4 survival books.

I threw in the survival books because I don't want to be stuck on a dessert island and not know how to survive. You have to be prepared for all scenarios! No one wants to be Gilligan, or a character on Lost. 

In my first sailing class I was the keener who read the entire book before the class started. I had to pretend I was dumb and not answer all the questions he was asking just to tone down my keenerness...

I was starting to look like a nerd, and not in a cute way, but in an I Know Everything about Everything ha ha ha... Kind of way.

Sailing People are super laid back. My hyper overachieving ways don't jive well with the ways of the sea. I know the sea and I can work it out. :)

An Amazing Sailing Documentary

(photo credit)

Have you ever watched a documentary that made you feel compelled to do something? A couple of years ago I watched Maidentrip. It's about Laura Dekker sailing around the world by herself as a teenager. 

After this documentary I started sailing lesson and it has been amazing! There is no peace like the peace you feel on a sail boat. There are no motors, only the peaceful sounds of the waves splashing against your boat. 

I often think about the feeling of sailing when I'm having a stressful moment. Remembering the rocking of the boat and the peacefulness of it all brings a calm over me. 

If you can afford it, I would highly recommend taking private lessons. This way you get to spend your entire time learning and enjoying the quiet of the ocean :)

Avoiding a Diaper Rash

TheLittleBear had a diaper rash I couldn't get rid of when she was a newborn.

The only thing that worked was washing her bum in the sink with soap
every time she pooped and then applying breast milk to her bum.

I would have a small container for bum breast milk in the fridge and use that 

throughout the day. Breast milk is seriously magic! 

Did you know there is a difference between refined and unrefined coconut oils?

I didn't know this until I happened upon this info while watching a cooking video.

Refined coconut oil doesn't have a smell or taste, but unrefined does.

I started off buying the Spectrum Refined coconut oil. But because it was 

pricier, the next time around I bought the cheep stuff (unrefined).

Boy oh boy was the a mistake. It smelled like coconuts, but not in a good way :)

This stuff is amazing for moisturizing babies and preventing diaper rash. 

It also doesn't have a taste when you use it to cook so it's great to use 

when cooking food for your little ones!

Let's Talk About Poop Baby

Starting solids had reek havoc on little babies.

Or when they are very tiny and haven't learned 

the amazing skill of passing gas easily  :)

This video on how to give your baby an I Love You massage

helped me out a lot!!!!

When TheLittleBear was a newborn I used this to help her 

with tummy issues.

Now that she is older it's great to help her get things 

going when her stools are a little tougher to get out.

Hope this helps you in your baby poop journey ;)

How I Made A Pouch For My Tula For Under $10

I discovered something about myself since having TheLittleBear.

I love love love to baby wear. I love baby carriers because they keep your baby close

but help you to be hands free.

In the beginning I had the Beco Gemini Baby Carrier. I loved that I didn't have to have 

a baby insert. As TLB grew I knew I wanted something with more support for her legs.

I research and researched and loved the Tula. 

However, no baby carrier is perfect.

I loved the Tula, but I longed for a pouch like the Ergo.

I loved the idea that you could throw a couple of things in the pouch and 

not have to carrier a purse. 

The Tula does has a pocket at the waistband, 

but it's small and only holds my wallet...

So I made my own pouch for the Tula Carrier.

I was at Old Navy and saw the perfect bag. It was only $5, so the price was right 

for my experiment.

You will need:

1. A Clutch that folds over. Mine had a magnetic part that kept it folded. 

The magnetic part is super helpful to keep the carrier attached to the Tula in the middle.

2. A hammer, snaps that match the Tula snaps, a zipper, needle and thread, 

and a snap tool. I got my snaps from here. 

3. A stitch remover and pen.

4. And finally pins. 

 

The first step is you want to attach you Tula snaps to the clutch. 

Measure out the distance of the snaps on your Tula, and mark it on the clutch with your pen.

Then follow the directions from your snap provider and attach the snaps.

The next step is to remove some of the stitching on the side of your clutch. 

Most clutches have zippers on the top, but because it folds down you won't be able to

reach it when you have it on your carrier. 

And it wouldn't be ideal to remove the new pouch every time you needed something.

Once one of the side stitches have been removed pin and sew in your new zipper. 

Then you are going to want to either remove or sew together the zipper at the top.

I did this because I didn't want TLB to have her back against a rough zipper. 

If your clutch doesn't have this problem then you can skip it :)

And...

Ta Daaaa!

Finished :)

It looks exactly the same so if you want to use it as a regular clutch you can.

Here's how it looks on the Tula.

I didn't think of this at the time, but the top fabric 

provides a nice soft place for TLB's neck.

I hope this helps you in your baby wearing adventures :)