Maple Leaf Mommy

I'm excited to announce that Toggle Bandz  is one of my sponsors for the Handmade With Love Winter Giveaway which starts on Wednesday.

Toggle Bandz were created by  Amanda Duke. Frustrated with headbands available out on the market which would slip right out of her young daughter's fine hair, she developed the Toggle Bandz adjustable headband. It's a piece of wide ribbon that has been threaded through a special plastic toggle.  The toggle makes the headband adjustable, and keeps it snug and in place.  Amanda does custom orders and the ribbon choices are adorable. Plus her prices are ridiculously low. A plain Toggle Bandz only costs $3 plus $1.50 shipping. The ones with rhinestones and bows are $5.



If you read my recent review, you'll know that I'm pretty keen on Toggle Bandz.  So much so that I asked Amanda if she'd be interested in sponsoring a giveaway.  Check back in here on Wednesday February 2nd for the Handmade With Love Winter Giveaway, and your chance to win some Toggle Bandz of your own.. 

Warning: If cursing offends you, don't read this post.

I swear. I swear early and often. I try to curb my potty mouth around the kids.   Really I do. But it leaks out. Twenty some years of cursing is hard to keep tucked behind the varnish of mom-ness.

The baby now has a vocabulary of about a dozen words, and babbles all the time.  G-Girl, wanting to get in on the act, has started using a lot of made up words.   Klem, Dono, Vactu.  She assigns meanings to them, that change randomly, and then works on getting her sister to repeat them. I often find myself saying, "Use real words please."  Or, "If you're going to help your sister learn how to talk, could you teach her a real word?  How about Dog?  That's a good one."

The other day we had just finished tidying up the baby's bedroom in anticipation of naptime. We finished filling the toychest, closed the lid, and gave "baby bear" the honour of sitting on top of it.

 
Me: What's this bear's name?

G-Girl: Tickle Feet?

Me: Tickle Feet? That's a great name for a bear.

Her: No, it's Tickle Flet

Me: Tickle Flet?

Her: No Mom, Tickle Fl-et!

I proceeded to change the baby's diaper and get her ready for bed as G-Girl came up with one silly name after another.

Me: Tickle Flut?

Her: You're not pronouncing it right mom!

Me: Tickle Flet?

Her: NO!  It's Tickle Flee!

By this point we were both giggling, as she continued to chastise me on my poor pronunciation on one silly word after another until she arrived at....

G-Girl: Wait, I know.  His name shall be... Tickle Fuck!
Let's pretend I didn't hear that.

Me: Oh, Tickle Fleck?

Her: No, mom, I said Tickle FUCK.  His name is TICKLE FUCK.
Don't laugh. Must not laugh.  Must keep a straight face...

Me: I don't think that's a very good name for a bear. How about Tickle Feet?  I like Tickle Feet.

Her: No, I'm pretty sure his name is Tickle Fuck.
Oh crap, I'm giggling.  Straight face. Straight face.

Her: Can you say it Baby-G? Tic-kel Fuu-ck.
The baby echoes back something that sounds like "Gigel Fug"
I turn and look at the closet door for a moment, clear my throat and assume my best stern mom voice.

Me: No G. That's not a nice word. Fuck is not a nice word. Let's not teach Baby-G to say that. 

Her: But it's a real word mom. It is.  I've heard Dad say it.
Yeah you've probably heard Mom say it too, but thanks for letting that one slide kid. Sigh.

For the record, I did go on to explain that words like that are only for grown ups to use. Today, just for curiosities sake I asked, "Does this Bear have name?"  "Oh, that's Dono." she replied.  So thankfully the moniker didn't stick.  To me, Tickle Fuck the Bear? Totally unforgettable. To her it was just one moment in a day full of silly events. Phew.

I'm excited to announce that Annie Kayle Designs is one of my sponsors for next weeks Handmade With Love Winter Giveaway.

The lady behind Annie Kayle Designs is Stephani, a military mom.  Her specialty is military name tape bracelets.  She has fabric on hand from every branch of the US military; Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy. She also sells crayon rolls, spy bags, and other handmade items. Everything she does is custom and made to order. Take a look at her etsy store to see some of the cool items she has available for sale.


Personally, I'm really fond of these felt fortune cookies. The set includes blank fortunes that you can fill out and slip inside the cookies. And they come packaged in a cute Chinese take-out container.  What a unique valentines day idea!

You can find Stephani's items available for sale on the Annie Kayle Designs facebook page.

Don't forget to check back here on February 2nd for the Handmade With Love Winter Giveaway, and your chance to win something from Annie Kayle Designs.

And the winner is...


The winner has 72 hours to respond to my email, after which I'll redraw.

Thanks to Bibagogo for sponsoring this giveaway, and thanks so much to everyone who entered! 

Toggle Bandz  were created by  Amanda Duke, a stay at home military wife. Frustrated with headbands available out on the market which would slip right out of her daughter's fine hair, she developed Toggle Bandz adjustable headbands.

Some are plain strips of ribbon and others have bows, flowers, or rhinestones added to them.

The Toggle Bandz headband is a piece of wide ribbon that has been threaded through a special plastic toggle.  The ends of the ribbon have been professionally finished, so that they won't fray.  The special toggle makes the headband adjustable, and keeps it snug and in place.

The Toggle Bandz headband was relatively easy to get onto my super squirmy 11 month old's head.  The adjustment to tighten it to her head size was smooth and easy. Baby-G doesn't have enough hair yet to actually need a headband, but it looked super cute on her. The ribbon stayed nice and flat to her head.  And here's the really impressive part: After two hours of active play the hair ribbon was still on the baby's head.

Baby-G in her Toggle Bandz

Because of special toggle and the way the hairband adjusts to fit, I can use the same hairbands for both of my girls. G-Girl loved her new hair ribbon. Sometimes she gets antsy when I'm doing her hair. We both appreciated how quick and easy this was to get on. Again, it was easy to adjust, and it stayed on her head right through 'til naptime. The plastic toggle appears to be quite durable, and once adjusted the ribbon stays put. It doesn't creep, or slide.

I would definitely recommend Toggle Bandz!  Amanda does custom orders and the ribbon choices are adorable. Her prices are insanely reasonable. A plain Toggle Bandz only costs $3 plus $1.50 shipping. The ones with rhinestones and bows are $5. Plus she has a special up which ends January 31st - Buy three Toggle Bandz, get one free. Check out her webstore for details.

I was provided with two free Toggle Bandz for review purposes The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced by the company or the free product provided. 

I'm excited to announce that Shnookums Boutique is going to be one of my sponsors for the upcoming Handmade With Love Winter Giveaway.

Shnookums Boutique is a small Canadian retailer dealing in handmade hair bows, barrettes and more. Shnookums Boutique was created by Aimee, a stay at home mom who loves quality handmade products. She began creating hairclips for her own child, and then branched out into selling them.  Since then she's paired up with several other crafters to create Shnookums Boutique, an online boutique where everything is handmade by Canadians.

The website for Shnookums Boutique hasn't gone live yet, but they intend to carry: hair clips, Christening/Baptism outfits, flowers, crayon rolls, hats and much more.  Hence their slogan - a smidgen of this and a smidgen of that.  For now you can find Aimee's beautiful hair clips available for sale on the facebook page for Shnookums Boutique.




If you want to keep tabs on when the online store for Shnookums Boutique goes live, be sure to join their facebook fan page.

And don't forget to check back here on February 2nd for the Handmade With Love Winter Giveaway, and your chance to win several lovely items from Shnookums Boutique. 

The BraveStarr toyline was produced by Mattel in 1986. My husband had these toys as a child. I didn't see them until I was an adult, but they are pretty darn sweet. Some of the action figures have real "laser fire action". I would have been all over that as a kid. (How come Strawberry Shortcake never fired lasers, huh?)

The action figures came packaged with these cool "New Texas Daily News" newspapers, which opened up into a comic book, and also unfolded into a poster.

There was a cartoon, which originally aired in 1987. Brought to you by Filmation Studios. The same folks who animated He-Man, She-Ra, Ghostbusters, and many other classic 80s kids' cartoons. I've seen some episodes of BraveStarr as an adult and have to say it's only so-so. (But then, I loved the He-Man cartoon as a kid, and rewatching it now I can't imagine how I sat through 25 minutes of it.) The general storyline is our hero Marshall BraveStarr is a Native American living in the far future on the planet New Texas where they mine a rare mineral called Kerium. "The rare, priceless ore that powered the interstellar drives of earth's spaceships" according to the comic that came with the figures. BraveStarr's Native American ancestry allows him to call upon the power of spirit animals to aid him. He works as a Galactic Marshall, keeping the peace in outer space and the fighting bad guys. Then there's the Stampede Gang, led by the evil mutant Tex Hex and composed of an assortment of "toy-a-riffic" bad guys. Most of the cartoon episodes revolve around the heroes preventing the villains from stealing Kerium ore.

Deputy Fuzz. BraveStarr's "Lil' Pardner" and one of the Prairie People, the original natives of planet New Texas.

The action figures from this series are rather awesome. They are larger then many of the figures that came out in the 80s and have really nice joints. For example, the hands can pivot -- nice little touches like that. Marshall BraveStarr and Tex Hex were packaged with a Laser Fire Backpack which shot infra-red beams and had "space-age" sound effects. The backpacks were also sold individually. These backpacks were pretty hefty.  They had to be to hold the fancy 80s infra-red tech and the 9-Volt battery which made them work. When you faced two backpack wearing action figures off against each other the infra-red beams coming out from the backpack triggered sound effects to let you know who's laser aim was better, aka who "got hit".

The villainous Tex Hex. The wanted poster in my New Texas Daily News assures me that he's the "meanest, most evil space outlaw leader ever!"

If you were a fan of the TV series you might be interested to note that Mill Creek Entertainment put out a press release in December announcing that they've bought the rights to the original series and it's to be re-released on DVD in May of 2011.

Also the fact that this site, www.bravestarr.org,  exists has me wondering if someone has bought the rights to produce a reworking of the show. Right now it's just a pretty splash page that reads "The legend will return..."

---

This round of ABC Wednesday I intend  to cover the alphabet from A to Z through vintage toys. Why? If you're curious, you can read more here - The Retro Toybox, A to Z in Vintage Toys 

G-Girl caused a minor panic when she managed to accidentally lock herself into the bathroom today.

I was upstairs getting the baby ready for bed when I heard some muffled thumps followed by her yelling "Mom, mom!! Help the door is stuck."  I stood at the top of the stairs holding the baby and watched as her father headed down the hallway to G-Girl's rescue.  "You've got this, right?" I asked.

My husband tried the handle to open the bathroom door and it wouldn't turn.  "Oh crap, I think she's locked herself in".  I headed downstairs with Baby-G in my arms to find my husband in a bit of a panic. "What do we do now?  We need to call a locksmith!" 

"We just need a slot-headed screwdriver." I assured him.  "Like that's going to help!" he said, going off in a huff to find the tool box.

While he was in the basement finding the screwdriver I was able to talk G-Girl through unlocking the door.
"See the button on the door?  You just need to turn that."
"But I already turned that button when I closed the door!"
"Yeah kiddo, that's why it's locked. You need to turn it again."
After about half a dozen attempts she managed to turn the button and I was able to open the door. Disaster adverted.

I told her that she should Never Ever turn the button that locks the door.  To which she replied, "You mean I should only turn it if I want to lock myself in?"  Argh. Given that earlier today she caught hell for shutting the bathroom door so that she could play with the Soft Soap, the answer to that was a "No. Definitely no." and "Only if you want a time out."

In the meantime my husband returned with the screwdriver in hand.  He tested it on the lock and was surprised to find that yep, inserting a slot-headed screwdriver into the outside and turning it does do the trick.

I'm having flashbacks to my childhood, when my brother and I would lock ourselves into the bathroom and get up to mischief.  My mom always used the slot-headed screwdriver to break us out. That screw driver ended up finding a permanent home in the hall closet, near the bathroom.  Which would be why I know how to jimmy an interior lock. If you're ever shy a screwdriver a nice long (think two inches) nail does the trick as well.

So yeah it occurred to me that "How To Pick a Lock" should be included in Mom 101.  That parenting class I took when I was expecting my first child? It totally over-looked these and other much needed topics. You know, the things you never realized you'd need to know; like "How To Remove Objects From a Child's Nose", and "Where to Hide the Treats". 

What oddball Mom tricks do you have? Or wish someone had thought to pass along?

The other day we went out for breakfast with my Dad, and G-Girl decided to impress him with her language skills.

We were just wrapping up our meal when G-Girl proudly proclaimed, "Pip, I have to tell you something. My 'tend mousies have been teaching me things. They taught me how to say Hello in Chinese!"

At this point I'm thinking she is going to come out with something she picked up on TV.  Like maybe she really does know how to say Hello in Chinese, from having watched Ni Hao, Kai-Lan at my parents place or something.
 
"Come here Pip, come close and I'll tell you..." She waited until my father leaned in close and then she shrieked in his ear, emitting a high pitched "Eeeeeek. Eeek. Squuueeek."

People in the restaurant were staring at us, as I quickly told her to "Hush!".  I told her is wasn't appropriate to yell in a restaurant, and that it wasn't nice to yell in her Pip's ear.

 "I wasn't yelling Mama, I was squeaking." she noted the look of dismay on my face and cut off my next sentence with "What?!  That's how mice talk!"

If you've been reading about the Bibagogo in my recent review/giveaway and you were considering purchasing one, here's a great deal. Catherine from Bibagogo has given me a 15% discount code to pass along to my readers: "CanMoms".

Bibagogo in Rainboots pattern. Too cute!

This 15% off code can also be combined with the Combo Deals listed in their storefront (Save $10 on 2 or $15 on 3). I also wanted to note that they have flat rate shipping of $5.95, regardless of how much you get or where it's going to (within Canada and the U.S.).

And if you're hoping to win a free Bibagogo, don't forget there's still time to enter my Giveaway. 

PVC ALF

Anyone else willing to admit to remembering this silly sitcom fondly? Actually, what I remember liking was the rather bad Saturday morning cartoon.  I still remember the theme song.("Gordon send us into outer space, cause there ain't no one like you in the Melmacian race...").  It helped that my younger brother's name was Gordon.  I loved teasing him that he was actually an alien from the planet Melmac.

This is going to require a bit of a back story.  Before I started this mommy-gig I was a lady of many hats.  I worked part time at the local Arts Council, I went to the University part-time working towards my degree in Classical Civ, I made art, and I sold vintage kids books and toys online. I closed up the online business in September of 2006. G-Girl was born in July of 2007.  I also finished up my degree just before she was born.  I remember I skipped the graduation ceremony because being 8 or 9 months pregnant and wearing a Graduation gown over full dress in the unairconditioned auditorium was just not going to happen. And I worked at the Arts Council right up until two weeks prior to my due date, at which point I went off on maternity leave never to return.

I started my online business in July of 2000.  I sold vintage toys on eBay and on my own website. Toys from my own childhood, from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Toys like Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers, He-Man, Micronauts, Fisher Price Little People, Get Along Gang, My Little Pony, Thundercats, all that good stuff.

It was a legit, tax paying, over-the-table, business. I hated the book-keeping and the accounting, but other then that it was great.  I didn't make oodles of money, but it was great for a side job while attending school. When we decided to have a child, I closed up the business.  The main reason was I wanted to be able to earn maternity pay. As long as I owned my own business and was self-employed I would never be able to claim E.I., despite the fact that I was working and contributing to it. (The rules for the have actually changed in the last few years and apparently you can now claim E.I. as a self-employed individual if you choose to pay into it.  I haven't really looked into it so I'm hazy on the details). Also when I started the business I created it as a partnership between myself and my husband, which just ended up being a pain come tax time.  The easiest way to get his name off of the business was just to close it down. Oh, and I had chosen a pretty goofy name; Gilvan Blight's Trading Post. I later started calling myself The Retro Toybox, but officially the name was unchanged. Again, the easiest way to change the name was just to shut it down. So I  closed up the business with the intention of reopening it at some point in the future. That was over four years ago. I'm thinking I should probably get around to reopening it, solely in my name, and under the new much cool moniker.

When I closed up I still had MOUNDS of stock.  I had a bedroom with all four walls lined with bookshelves, ( floor to ceiling, plus the closet), absolutely chock full of vintage toys and doodads.   I wish I had taken photos.  It was sort of impressive, in a terrifying kind of way. We emptied that room out to make a bedroom for G-Girl when the second baby came along.  I condensed everything as much as I could, packed it in boxes, and moved it down into the furnace room, where we managed to somehow squeeze four bookcases in next to the laundry machines. 

eBay is not the market place it once was, or the market on vintage toys has really dropped, or both.  This stuff is not worth half of what it once was.  A lot of it is no longer even worth my time to list it to sell.   I try and get myself focused on selling something, I pick something out, I look it up and find out it's not worth a tenth of what it was last time I looked. It's depressing.

So basically, I have toys. Tons and tons of vintage toys, and puzzles, and books, and video games, and TV trays, and bed sheets, and you name it. Too much stuff. Crowding up my house. I am a hoarder and a collector.  I don't have the heart to pitch this stuff and I need to get rid of some of it. I need to start listing stuff again on eBay.  Also there is the whole "Oh Boy We Really Need Money" and "This One Income Thing Sucks" thing.

What I really need is some motivation.  Some accountability.  I figure if I boldly announce to the world that I intend to list some new toys every week, it will give me the kick I need.  As to how to pick out what to sell, well ABC Wednesday just started a new round, so I'm planning on doing an A to Z in vintage toys.  Starting with my next post, A is for... Well you'll have to wait and see.  And I intend to list at least one matching item on eBay for every A to Z post.  So I'm aiming for one item a week minimum.  Which considering I used to average 20-70 should be an obtainable goal.  And if I don't post something, well call me out for it. Please.

So here's the plan... 
I'm going to make a post every Wednesday highlighting one vintage toy. And at the same time I will list at least one matching item on eBay.  I intend to use photos of items I actually have on hand to illustrate the post. However, I don't want to violate ABC Wednesday terms of service so I won't be linking directly to any eBay auctions. I'm not trying to sell anything to you guys. More just trying to use the public eye to keep me moving. And I do love vintage toys! I love talking about them and reminiscing on my favorites. Overall I think this should be a fun series of posts, and I hope you enjoy it.   

If you're interested you can find my eBay account here.
(Yeah, there's nothing up there right now... I'm working on it, I'm working on it!)

And my website is here: www.retrotoybox.com
(Side note: I made that website by scratch in notepad years ago.  It's a little old school, and not quite up to Web 2.0 standards.  For one thing, I can't get the ABC navigation bar that I made to work in Fire Fox.  If any kind soul out there knows how the heck to fix it, I'd be ecstatic.)

I've had some people question me on how to do this, and I've had some people make a few mistakes while trying to enter my giveaways.  So I thought a post explaining how to enter a giveaway on a blog was in order.

There's going to be a few discrepancies when entering a giveaway on different blogs. For example some blogs will ask you to enter your info into a form to enter the contest.  Most, mine included, require you to post a comment.  The directions I'm about to give are for my blog in particular, but should be pretty much the same for any Blogger/BlogSpot blog.

The first thing you need to know in order to enter is how to leave a comment on a post. To enter you will need to make a comment on the giveaway post. Scroll down to the bottom of the post describing the giveaway and look for the spot where it says "Post a comment".  There should be a big blank box for you to type in.  Once you've typed out what you needed to say for your entry click on "post comment".

This is what I mean by comment box. Type your comment/entry in here. And by the way I love comments on my non-giveaway posts too!

If you are on the front page and not on the specific page for the post that box at the bottom won't be there.  Instead you can scroll down to the bottom of the post and at the very end, just to the right of the time stamp it will say "# comments" (eg. 25 comments, or 0 comments).  If you put your mouse over that text you'll find it is a link and clicking on it brings you directly to the comments section of that particular post.  If there are bunches of comments, as there normally are on a giveaway, you'll still need to scroll to the bottom to find the Comment Box.

Click on "115 comments" to get to the comments page.

Okay, so now you've figured out how to leave a comment, what should the comment say?  Well most of my giveaways have multiple ways to enter.  You can do any or all of them.  You can enter just one time, or many. It's up to you.  Sometimes one of the entry types will be specified as the Mandatory Entry, in which case be sure to do that one first. Then you can go on to do as many of the optional or bonus entries as you desire.  I'll break down each way you can enter and exactly what you need to do.

1. Publicly follow Maple Leaf Mommy on Google Friend Connect.
If you're not familiar with Google Friend Connect, it's a quick way to track blogs that your interested in.  To follow my blog on Google Friend Connect look for the widget in the right hand tool bar and click on follow.  You can sign in using an account you've already created at Google, Twitter, Yahoo, Aim, Netlog or OpenID. Once you're signed in you click "follow" and then "done".  You have to have your privacy settings set to public, meaning that others can see that you're following my blog.

Here's what the  Google Friend Connect Widget looks like.

After doing this  you would leave a comment saying something like "I follow you on Google Friend Connect (or GFC as most people shorten it). Followed by your email address if it isn't publicly visible in your Google Friend Connect Profile.

2. Follow Maple Leaf Mommy on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway.
If you're not already following me click on the link, head to Twitter, and click on the box below my profile that says "+ follow". You can Tweet any old thing you'd like, as long at it links back to the giveaway page. Or you can cut and paste the suggested Tweet that I've provided. You can leave a Tweet once daily, for a bonus entry once per day.
After doing this you would leave a comment saying something like "I tweeted." or "Daily Tweet".  Followed by the permanent link to your Tweet.  To get the link look at your Twitter feed and look at the tweet you just posted.  In the bottom left hand corner of that particular Tweet there will be a time stamp.  It will say something like "56seconds ago" or "4 minutes ago".  Click on those words, right on the time stamp and it will bring you to the direct permanent page for that tweet. Then you just cut and paste the URL into the comment box.  It will look something like this: "http://twitter.com/#!/MapleLeafMommy/status/27133014299385857".

Click on the time stamp to get to the page with your tweets' permanent link.

3. Like Maple Leaf Mommy on Facebook.
To "like" Maple Leaf Mommy on Facebook you can either click on the link and head directly to Facebook where you can choose to "like" my fan page, or  you can find the Facebook widget in the right hand column and click on "Like".

Here's what the Facebook widget looks like.

Once you've done that just leave a comment saying something along the lines of "I like you on Facebook." followed by the name you use on your facebook account.  If you don't want to give out your full name just put the First Initial and your Last Name (eg M. Leafmommy).

4. Subscribe to my blog by email.
To become an email subscriber either enter your email address in the widget along the right hand side (where it says "Subscribe via email - enter your email address") or click on the link and then enter your email address, and click on "complete subscription request".  You will receive an email confirming your subscription.  You will need to click on the link in the email you receive and activate your subscription for it to be live, and for it to count as an entry.  
Once your done that leave a comment saying something like "I am an email subscriber." followed by the email address that you subscribe under.

5. Visit the sponsor's website and answer a question about what you see there.
Such as tell me your favourite item available for sale on their site, or name a pattern that you like, etc.
After visiting the sponsor's site via the link provided you would leave a comment containing your answer. eg. "I really like the Ham n Eggs pattern", or "My favourite item is the ToyRobot2000".

6. Follow @sponsorname on Twitter.
If you're not already following the sponsor, click on the link, head to Twitter, and click on the box below thier profile that says "+ follow".
After doing this you would leave a comment saying something like "I follow sponsor name on Twitter" followed by your Twitter handle. eg. "@mapleleafmommy" or "@mynameis".

7. Like SponsorName on Facebook.
To "like" the Sponsor on Facebook just click on the link and head directly to Facebook where you can choose to "like" them on their  fan page. (In one of my actual giveaways the line "SponsorName on Facebook" will be a link.)
Once you've done that just leave a comment saying something along the lines of "I like SponsorName on Facebook." followed by the name you use on your facebook account.  If you don't want to give out your full name just put the First Initial and your Last Name (eg M. Leafmommy).

MOST IMPORTANTLY...
I need to be able to contact you if you win! Make sure you have your email address visible in your Google Friend Connect profile. If you are not signed and posting linked to an email address, PLEASE leave your email address in your comment.  If you are concerned about spammers harvesting your address write it in the format yourname (at) gmail (dot) com or something similar.

ALSO PLEASE NOTE...
With any of the above, you don't have to be a new follower.  If you are already following myself or the sponsor, you can just go ahead and leave a comment.

AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT...
Each entry needs to be in a separate comment.  One big comment listing off all the ways you entered will only count as one entry.  You need to leave a separate comment for each and every entry.  Each comment counts as one entry.  The comment IS your entry. When I go to pick a winner I head to Random.Org and I enter in how many comments I received in total, and tell it to pick a random number.   The corresponding comment number is the winner.  For example if I had 158 comments total I would tell the widget on random.org to pick me a number between 1and 158, if number 62 came up then comment #62 would be the winner (provided they actually did what they said, and left me a way to contact them).

That's it!  If anything I said didn't make perfect sense, or you have any further questions on how to enter my giveaway please do let me know.

Now GO ENTER, and Good luck!

For those of you who like entering giveaways, here's an interesting little site: GiveawayScout.  They automatically scan thousands of blogs to bring you the latest in giveaways, coupons, sweepstakes and contests. You can also become an email subscriber and get notified by email whenever a new giveaway is published.  You can even specify that they only email you about giveaways from certain categories, such as Gadgets, Parenting, or Fashion.  All in all, pretty cool and guaranteed to keep you quite busy entering giveaways.  Good luck!

There is one thing I desperately miss from my pre-mommy days.  It's not going out for coffee, or going out drinking or dancing. Though I do miss those things. It's not staying up all night and sleeping in all day.  Or goodness, how about just sleeping in (Okay, let's be honest here...  I do really miss sleeping in). It's not the one on one time spent with my husband. Though I do miss those quiet uninterrupted hours.  The one thing I think I miss the most is reading books. In specific reading book while sitting on the toilet doing my business.  Yeah that's probably more information then you wanted to know, but reading in the john is one of my secret vices.  And I miss it. Really, really, miss it.  Heck, I miss just being able to pee with the door closed.

When I'm the only one home with the kids I do leave the door open. It's for the preservation of the species.  I need to be able to hear what's going on out there. When my husband's home I often try and close the door, but it's just not worth the drama.  My desire to pee in private can reduce my preschooler to tears. For example, the last time my mother-in-law was over G-Girl gave me whatfor for closing the bathroom door.  She started yelling at me to open it up since there were "no strangers around, only Bubby". Fun times.

My three year old also seems to think that while I am going potty is the best of possible times to come and give me a hug. She will come into the bathroom and literally beg me to hug her. Yeah, I don't know about you folks, but to me someone sitting on the toilet does not make me think, "Snuggle time!". 

G-Girl's insistence that I need company while going to the bathroom has me temped to change to a "closed doors" policy, but the ten month old just started to crawl and seems hell bent on killing herself.  I can't leave her alone for a second.  Forget about reading in the john, I'm happy lately if I can just find the time to pee without putting anyone's life in jeopardy.

So what's the low down at your place?  For those of you with wee ones, is the bathroom policy door open or door shut?

Printed circle dress in blossom pattern. Just one of the cute One Kid items to be found on sale.

Right now Jilly Bo Billy Boutique has some awesome sales on.  They just stocked up for their Spring 2011 Samples Sale, featuring  Oilily and One Kid. Anything in the samples section that is marked "Spring 2011 Samples" is eligible for 50% off with the promo code "samples".   The Oilily items are available in Boys Size 4, Boys Size 18 months, Girls Size 4 and Girls Size 18 months.  The One Kid items are available in Boys Size 2 and Girls Size 2. These samples are only available in select sizes, but if you happen to need the right size it's an excellent chance to get your hands on the Spring 2011 line EARLY (It's not set to be released in stores until March 2011) and at half off of the retail prices to boot.

Pink Surf Dungi from Keedo Regular price $54.95, on eBay for  99cents!

They are also holding an eBay clearance sale and there are some seriously insane deals to be had. Brands like Room Seven, Keedo, Etnies, Kumquat, Tea Collection, Kingsley, and more. No reserve and many of the auctions start at 99cents.  Be sure to go and check out Jilly Bo Billy on eBay.
(EDIT: The eBay clearance is now over.  Though you may still want to bookmark her as a seller for when she has her next sale.)



As always I feel the need to mention the 99cent Deal of the Day -- my favourite feature of this site. I'm totally hooked on checking back in each day to see what the deal is going to be. For example, today: Totally adorable Decaf Plush Skirt, normally $48.95, now for 99cents!
HOW TO ENTER:
If you have questions on how to enter check out my post on How To Enter Blog Giveaways. 

You can do as many of the following entries as you choose.
Please be sure to include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you then you can't win!

- Publicly follow Maple Leaf Mommy on Google Friend Connect.

- Visit www.jillybobilly.com and tell me about one of your favourite items.


- Visit JillyBoBilly on eBay and tell me what item you'd be most likely to bid on. (The eBay clearance is now over, so this is no longer a valid entry. Previous entries will be honoured.)

- Follow Maple Leaf Mommy on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (You can do this once daily).  If you like you can use this: Enter now @mapleleafmommy to #win $50 in adorable kids clothes from @wwwjillybobilly / www.JillyBoBilly.com #giveaway http://bit.ly/hWBvSI

- Follow @wwwjillybobilly on Twitter.

- Like Maple Leaf Mommy on Facebook.

- Like Jilly Bo Billy on Facebook.

- Subscribe to my blog by email.

GIVEAWAY RULES:
Remember, one comment per entry. The comment IS your entry. I will be drawing a random number, and the corresponding comment number will be the winner.

Please be sure to include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you then you can't win!

Giveaway ends on Monday January 31, 2010 at 10:00 pm EST. The winner will be selected by random.org and notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. Open to Canadian and US residents. Good luck!

I received a little Christmas surprise from Bibagogo. A bib each for my two girls!  These bibs are pretty ingeniously designed. They roll up nicely to fit in a purse or diaper bag. On the reverse of the bib, there is a pocket at the bottom designed to hold a spoon, and two side pockets for holding two wee face cloths.  The bib set includes the two wash clothes and a Heinz baby spoon.  Though if you already have your own favourite utensil it would easily fit in here.  I managed to stow both a wee fork and spoon in G-Girls with no problem.

I was a bit on the fence about the face cloths.  Normally when eating out I use those wee individually packaged wet towelettes to clean up.  I pocket them whenever restaurants offer them and save them for using when eating out with the kids.  But  you know what? A washcloth does the job WAY better.  The wee cloths included in the bib sets were quite nice. Very soft, nice quality wash cloths. I didn't feel nearly as silly dipping one end in my water glass as I thought I would. End result, much cleaner children and no garbage left over.  G-Girl was smitten with hers and quite pleased to use it to scrub her finger tips.

The material appears to be quite water resistant. G-Girl managed to dump a glass of apple juice in her lap while wearing her Bibagogo and the juice didn't soak in at all. It just sort of pooled on top. Allowing me to quickly clean it up with a paper napkin.

I love that Bibagogo is both designed here in Canada and made in Canada. The bibs are extremely well made and quite sturdy.  The snaps look like they will stand up to repetitive use. The bibs fit both the ten month old and the three year old quite nicely. 

On the negative side, they are a bit on the large side when rolled up.  They fit in my purse, but not with much room to spare. I usually carry one of those wee plastic bibs, and it rolls up much smaller.  But then the spoon (if I remember it) ends up at the bottom of my purse, and sort of dusty. This all in one solution is pretty slick.  They are nice big bibs, that tuck under the table edge, and are large enough to double as a changing pad in a pinch.  The ones I received for the girls were in a festive reindeer pattern. Yeah people might be looking at me a little strange when I'm still pulling these come April, but they are so great that I can't see putting them away until next year!

The Wash Test...
The tags say hang or lay flat to dry, but the handwritten note I received said go ahead and throw it in the dryer.  And I know the way things go in my house they'll end up in the dryer by mistake at some point. So I decided to test it out. I washed them each twice and hung one of the bibs to dry and put the other through the dryer. They both came out fine. I can't even tell which one went through the dryer.

Overall I think Bibagogo is a perfect addition to any diaper bag, and would make an excellent baby shower gift. They retail at $30 which is a bit on the pricey side, but they have combo deals on their website. 

EDIT: I later revisted this item. Check out my review recap here to discover how this item did over the long haul.

And now the part you've all been waiting for...
Bibagogo was kind enough to provide me with one of their lovely bib sets for a giveaway.  I'm actually jealous of whichever lucky reader is going to end up with this, because the Winter Canadiana pattern on the giveaway set is adorable.


HOW TO ENTER:
If you have questions on how to enter check out my post on How To Enter Blog Giveaways.
You can do as many of the following entries as you choose.
Please be sure to include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you then you can't win!

- Visit Bibagogo's website and tell me which pattern you like best.

- Publicly follow Maple Leaf Mommy on Google Friend Connect.

- Follow Maple Leaf Mommy on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (You can do this once daily). If you like you can use this: Enter now at @mapleleafmommy to #win a Winter Canadiana bib set from @Bibagogo (ARV$30) #giveaway http://bit.ly/fuJ31O

- Like Maple Leaf Mommy on Facebook.

- Subscribe to my blog by email.

GIVEAWAY RULES:
Remember, one comment per entry. The comment IS your entry. I will be drawing a random number, and the corresponding comment number will be the winner.

Please be sure to include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you then you can't win!

Giveaway ends on Thursday January 27, 2010 at 10:00 pm EST. The winner will be selected by random.org and notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. Open to Canadian and US residents. Good luck!

I was provided with two bib sets from Bibagogo. I was not requested to write a review. The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

My daughter LOVES this book. Both of the girls got piles of books for Christmas, including ones that G-Girl had the excitement of picking out herself after family members gave us gift cards.   So there are tons of new books in the house right now.  But the one book that my daughter is fixated on is Jack the Kitten is Very Brave.

The first time we read it she made me read it to her Four Times In A Row.  After a break of a few hours she presented it to me again, and again requested multiple readings.  Now G-Girl loves reading, but this is above her usual level of enthusiasm. She then drove her dad nuts by shoving it in his face twenty times while he was trying to use the computer. She wanted to show him this one very cool picture, by which she meant she wanted to show him each and every page in the book.  When my mom stopped by G-Girl immediately whipped out Jack the Kitten is Very Brave and insisted she read it. Anyone who has stopped in at my house this week has immediately been greeted by my daughter waving this book under their nose. In short, she is totally enthralled with this book.


I have to say, I love this book too.  I've yet to get sick of it. I don't mind reading it four times in a row, eighteen  times a day, because it's fun to read aloud.  I love that the older brother is trying to help the younger overcome his fear of water.  I love that the older brother says things like "That's good asking!" and "I'm very proud of you."  The art is really cute.  I think Mindy Lou Hagan's simple, bright, pictures are a perfect fit for this book.

Overall the story is just adorable.  Jack the kitten loves pirates, and he loves to pretend to be a pirate.  His older brother  Machu helps him get over his fear of water with some bath time play and imaginative pirate fun.

What does G-Girl love; Cats, pirates, rubber ducks and fluffy bathrobes.    I also think one of the big reasons my daughter loves this book is the sibling relationship between Machu and his younger brother Jack.  She likes to point out to me all the ways that Machu is helping his little brother. And yes, I do think this book is responsible for G-Girl's recent pirate obsession.

A little about the author:
Tabitha Grace Smith says that this book was inspired by her real life cats, both of whom were rescues.   This is her first book, but she has several others in progress including another adventure with Machu and Jack. You can learn more about her by visiting her website at tabithagracesmith.com.

A little about the illustrator:
Jack the Kitten is Very Brave is Mindy Lou Hagen's first published work. The sketches she posts on her blog are just too darn adorable. Be sure to visit her at mindylouhagan.blogspot.com

I would definitely recommend this book.  The suggested age range of 3-7 years old seems pretty accurate.  I'm excited to know that there is a second Machu and Jack book in the works, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel. The Machu and Jack homepage at machuandjack.com is a good place to keep tabs on, for book updates, giveaways, and more.

Where to buy it:
Currently the book is available on CreateSpace and Amazon.com.
Tabitha Grace Smith was kind enough to offer a discount code to my readers.  If you order through CreateSpace and use the code D9A8XUZU you can get 10% off.  I looked into it and yes, CreateSpace does ship internationally and shipping to Canada is only $3.20!

The author provided me with a free copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced by the author or by the free product provided.

I hide in the kitchen to eat treats so I won't have to share them with my three year old.

I'm not talking about simply stepping into the kitchen either. I mean ducking into the one corner of the room you can't see from the gated doorway. Almost pressing myself against the fridge so I can eat a my New Years' chocolate, or breakfast pastry in peace.

Sometime I'm simply greedy, and I don't want to share my treat.  Yep, I'm a horrible person.  But more often it's that what I'm eating is something she's not allowed.  Too much sugar.  Too much salt. I don't let her have junk food.

Which begs the question, What am I doing pressed up against my fridge, hiding so I can eat some puff pastry?  If it's so awful that I won't allow my children to eat it, what the heck am I doing putting it in my bod?  Yeah I don't feel like answering that one.

So tell me, do you eat things you won't let your kids have? Do you keep treats from them? Ever find yourself hiding out to have a snack?

To top it off my three year old has treat radar. If I try and eat a breakfast croissant or some strudel she can tell. From two rooms away I will hear G-Girl's little voice chiming out, "What's the crunching noise?" (Seriously, crunching? How can  she hear me chewing from two rooms away??)  "Mama are you eating something? Can I share?!"  She pops up at the gate to the kitchen while I'm trying to look busy and innocent. "What's in your mouth right now?  What was that in your mouth?  I thought I saw you chewing something?" I don't want to give my kid some kind of food complex. I just want to eat my danish in peace, and not in  pieces.   Instead I have to deal with the treat inquisition. Sigh.

Well we managed to collect just under a dozen recipes.

I'm going to be honest and say I haven't found the time to try any of these yet.
I was going to make Bubby's Cherry Squares, but got vetoed by my husbands dislike of cherries.

Speaking of my husband, it's a good thing he doesn't pay close attention to what's going on over here or he would have already insisted that I make the caramel popcorn that Pesky Place posted.

I'll definitely be putting vanilla extract in my sugar cookies next time, like Faith at Home Ec @ Home does.  That sounds so yummy!

No turkey leftovers over here, but I do like the sound of the Cream Turkey recipe from My Simple Walk and I plan on trying it out with chicken.

I'm hoping you all checked out my Mulled Wine recipe.  I've been making it for at least a dozen years now and it's always a big hit at holiday parties.  I forgot to mention if you don't like alcohol you can intentionally bring it to a boil to remove the alcohol content or just omit the booze and add more apple juice or apple cider for a mulled cider,

The Frugal Free Gal's White Chocolate Oreo Balls look so decadent.  Too bad I'm terrified by the prospect of melting and dipping chocolate.  I totally volunteer to eat these if some one else makes them!

I found City Mom's post on faking your holiday baking to be much more my speed. I think next time I feel ambitious enough to make cookies with G-Girl I'm going to have to try out that pre-mix of PC shortbread that she recommends.

And finally, I hope you all checked out Kat's Ham and Egg bake.  I love that you prep it the night before.  It sounds fantastic!

So did you try out any new recipes over the holidays?  Did you try out anything from the hop?  I'd love to hear about it!





Thanks to everyone who took part!  Hope you all had an awesome holiday full of tasty treats and yummy meals.

About a month ago now I received a surprise package from Little Cool Toys full of goodies for my girls.  In it was a lovely wee Maileg mouse, which unfortunately my daughter promptly lost, and a delightful set of BoiKido Blocks.  The blocks were set aside and later placed under the tree as a gift from Santa to Baby-G.

Beautifully coloured wooden blocks from BoiKido.

Both of the girls are enchanted with these blocks.  In the two weeks since they were opened on Christmas, they had been played with every day.  The suggested age on the box says 24 months, so at 10 months I realize Baby-G is probably a bit young for these.   Still, she seems to enjoy them. She loves knocking down the elaborate structures her older sister builds.  She likes to stack one or two pieces atop one another.  She likes to bang them together and to wave them in the air wildly.

They are really the cutest building blocks I've ever seen.  The bright colourful patterns painted on each piece are adorable.  There are bridges covered in multi-coloured polka dots.  There is a rounded cone piece with a swirl painted on it.  Wee blocks painted in primary colours with stairs and curtained windows painted on the sides. Tapered blocks painted to look like tree trunks.  A rounded block designed to look like a tree top.  Triangular shaped pieces painted to look like roofs and shingles. A little white cloud shaped block, complete with painted on rain drops.  A double-sided sunshine.  Then there are rectangles with creatures painted on them, a cat, a cow, a mouse, each with a front and a back.

G-Girl is loving these blocks!

My husband pointed out that the sizes and shapes are irregular.  The pieces are of differing heights.  You can't just make a cube out of them.  He found this a little frustrating for trying to create buildings.  The girls didn't seem to notice.

The bright colours and different designs open up many ideas for imaginative play. G-Girl loves to make little towns full of houses and sky scrappers.  She makes castles topped off with clouds.  She carefully arranges a triangular roof piece with a rectangular airplane flying overhead. These blocks are so much fun to play with! They are a blast to play with on their own, but I think they would also make a lovely accompaniment to a set a of plain wooden blocks (like this one here).

Another thing I love about these is the cloth drawstring bag they came with.  The baby really enjoys pulling the blocks out one by one. When they're done playing, the girls actually find it fun to clean the blocks up and put them back in the bag. 

I had some reservations as to how these were going to hold up.  The painted wooden pieces certainly look lovely but I worried that the paint would quickly chip away.  These blocks have seen active play every day for the last two weeks.  They have been banged together and knocked around on my hardwood floors, then tossed together back in their bag. Yet, they still look fantastic. There are a few light dents in the wood from where they have banged together, but no noticeable paint loss.  I'm really impressed with how they are holding up.

A toy the girls actually play with together.

Overall I would definitely recommend these blocks.  They retail for $32.99 which I think is a steal. ( I was looking at some similar painted style blocks when shopping around for Christmas, and they all seemed to start at $50 and up.)  You can find these blocks, and many other fine playthings, online at Little Cool Toys.

EDIT: I later revisted this item. Check out my review recap here to discover how this item did over the long haul.

I'm visiting my grandmother at her new "apartment" in the seniors residence.  It's a 10 minute walk away from my house. I'm glad I can bring my girls to see her.  Seeing them always seems to make her smile.  I feel like I'm presenting the baby like an offering.  Look, grandma, I brought you something - my daughter.  It's  a little awkward, but I'm glad I can brighten up her day.  I know she's not happy to be here, that she wishes she were still in her home, but she needs the extra care and attention that she now has on call.

My dad is there visiting with us.  He has just taken the three year old downstairs to the the dining room in search of a cookie. I sit on the couch across from my grandmother, holding my eight month old baby in my arms. My grandmother is lying in bed, propped up with pillows.  She hasn't had much to say this visit. She answers direct  questions, "Yes." or  "No.", and that's about it.  Still she seems happy we're there. She beams at me from across the room.   The baby is fussing around and tugging at my shirt. I start to nurse her.  I hunt in my mind for things to say.

I know after her first child was born my grandmother was ill, and in the hospital for a long time, so my aunt would have to have been raised on formula.  But what about her two younger children.  Did she nurse them I wonder?  So I ask her, "Grandma, did you nurse your babies?"

She looks sad for a moment and says "I don't remember".  It's the most she's said to me all day. "I don't remember." I think it's one of the saddest things I've ever heard.

My dad returns with his crumb covered grand-daughter in tow.  Hugs are exchanged. We bundle up and head home.

That night I sit in a dark room, rocking my baby, nursing her and holding her close while tears stream down my face.  Could I ever forget this? Tiny body pressed close to me, sleepy, cuddly , warm. Could I forget this? Yawning, smiling little face, nursing, tugging at me.  I don't ever want to forget this. Sitting in the darkness, rocking in our chair, flute music playing softly on the radio. I don't ever want to forget this.


I had this sitting here, mostly written and ready to go for over a month now.  Then my grandmother passed away today and I felt that what I needed to do this afternoon was finish this up and post it.
I will miss you Grandma Rose.

I have a confession to make - I used items I received for free as Christmas gifts.

-  I broke apart the brilliant set of Zak mixing bowls I won over at Menopausal New Mom. I kept three for me, one was part of my mom's gift and one was part of my Uncle-in-law's present.

- The lovely Boikido Blocks that I received as a surprise gift from Little Cool Toys? Totally under the tree for Baby-G... from Santa, no less.

- We also gave Baby-G two sets of wee Sage Creek PJs that I won in a giveaway from Mommy Wants Freebies.

- The Guidecraft Sort & Match Animal Train that I won at My Life on a Taffy Pull went as a gift for G-Girl from us and she LOVED it.

- I scored a Tinkerbell Bracelet for free for entering Disney Rewards codes, and used it as a gift for G-Girl from us.

- We also gave G-Girl a Tee Wit shirt that I won from Mom vs.the Boys. 

- The girls' holiday outfits came from JillyBoBilly Boutique, which I received in part because of a review I posted.

So am I the only cheapskate frugalista out there doing stuff like this?
I wonder if I'll still be able to get away with this as the kids get older?