Maple Leaf Mommy

Help. I'm running ragged here. I haven't really slept in about a week, and it's hard to think coherently.  Baby-G has decided that she no longer wants to sleep. Ever.  Every time I lay her down in her crib, she jack-knifes up and screams, cries, yells. 

 Up until about a week ago I could lay her down asleep, or sleepy but awake. I would lay her on her back, and tuck her blanket around her.  Put up the siderail on the crib and walk out of the room.

Now, if she is awake but tired, I can't even lay her down.  She screams and fights me as soon as I lay her on her back.  She doesn't resist our usual bedtime routine.  She is happy to get ready for bed, read her story, sit and snuggle and nurse.  It's just the moment I try and lay her on her back she freaks. 

When she falls asleep on my lap while nursing, I lift her into the crib and 98% of the time she is waking up screaming as soon as I set her on her back. The other two percent of the time she is waking up when I put the siderail up, or as I leave the room. 100% of the time she is yelling her head off by the time I reach the hallways.

I am averaging under 3 hours of sleep a night, and that's not all in a row. Maybe 30 minutes in a row tops. I'm falling apart here.  Baby-G doesn't seem particularly cranky throughout the day, but she looks tired.  She has red rings around her eyes.

I have tried standing next to the crib and patting her back or tummy, but she just freaks out, screaming and screaming.  I pick her up, rock her in my arms, hold her against my shoulder, get her calmed down, and try again to lay her down and each time she jumps up screaming.

I stand in the hallway and listen to her yell. It's not often but sometimes after a few minutes of crying she settles down and goes to sleep.  But she is waking up much more frequently then usual.  I'm assuming this is because she is crying herself to sleep, and falling asleep sitting up and in odd positions.

I worry that there is something physically wrong?  Like maybe her back hurts her somehow?  She physically looks fine, and pushing my hands against her back elicits no response.  My husband is suggesting I should book an appointment to bring her to the doctors.

I'm at a loss. So I'm writing about it here in case you folks have ever gone through something similar with your little ones or have any suggestions.

Baby-G is one year old. She's on my lap nursing while I type this.  She's getting too long and lanky to sneak in nursing at the computer for much longer.  Her wiggly toes keep hitting the keyboard.




I can't believe it's been a year.  I can't believe my baby girl is already so big.


This kid LOVES to eat.  Once I got over my initial hesitation to introduce solids, she took to it like a champ. The very first time I fed her with a spoon she grabbed it out of my hand and rammed it in her mouth. I can't believe she isn't a little round butterball. I swear she eats more then her older sister. She definitely eats quicker then her sister.  She will finish her food first and then attack my slowpoke G-Girl and try and take her food from her.

She talks and signs bunches. She often says This, this? and holds an item out to me so I can name it for her.  She seems so close to walking, probably any day now.

She hates getting changed. She still howls and scream each and every time I change her diaper, or her outfit.

She loves to play chase the cat. She follows the cat around waving happily, signing cat and hyperventilating with excitement as she tries to catch the poor beast's tail.

She also loves to plays chase the big sister. G-Girl will crawl up and down the hallway giggling with her little sister trailing after her.


I am constantly surprised by how different the two of them are.  I foolishly expected that my second babe, being another girl, would be just like the first.  Twelve months in and it's already quite evident that this is not true.

I have been blessed with a happy, healthy child, who just thrives on attention.  All you have to do is look at her and she beams.

Knowing that I will never have another little one, I am sad to see this year of infancy come to close, but I'm also happy and excited to watch my beautiful little girl grow


She just finished nursing, sat up and quite clearly said Done!, while waving her hands to sign all done.

And we're off on another adventure..

For a while now, I've seen people writing about SwagBucks and I've just tuned it out.  I finally decided to look into it and see what all the fuss is about, and I have to say I was somewhat surprised to discover... it's pretty darn cool.

First, what the heck is SwagBucks?  You earn points aka Swag Bucks, and can cash them in for prizes.  You earn points in various ways, such as by playing games, by taking surveys, or by using the Swagbucks search engine.

One of the reasons I've been ignoring all the hype about SwagBucks is that I assumed it wasn't available to Canadians.  Not true! Canadians can take part in SwagBucks!  There is a coupon section where you can print coupons and earn points, that part isn't available to Canada. I also couldn't get SwagBucks TV, where you watch videos and earn points, to work for me. Everything else works in Canada.  

Best way to earn Swag Bucks?  Every time you need to search for something online, instead of heading to Google, head to SwagBucks.com and use their search engine.  Each time you use the search engine you have a chance to win Swag Bucks.

You just type something into the search bar, and then when you hit go sometimes a graphic pops up to tell you how many Swagbucks you've just won.

Plus every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks day.  Which means that on Fridays your chances of winning big on the Swag Bucks search engine are much higher. You can win hundreds or even thousands of Swag Bucks just by searching.

But what are Swag Bucks good for? For 450 you can get a $5 Amazon.com or Amazon.ca giftcard.  I signed up less then a week ago and I've already earned over 1000 Swagbucks, aka enough points to redeem for $10 in Amazon cards.  

Tomorrow, Monday Feb. 28th, is SwagBucks 3rd birthday.... which means there will be tons of free Swag Bucks up for grabs.  If you've been considering joining, now is the time. Also, if you sign up right now and enter the code "3rdBirthday10" on the sign up page you will get 50 bonus Swag Bucks.  Add that to the 30 that they normally give each person for joining and you're already at 80 Swag Bucks.   Plus they've announced that there will be over 120 Swag Bucks worth of Swag Codes available tomorrow.  Which means if you sign up right now you should have at minimum 200 points by the end of Monday.  When I signed up, I messed up and didn't enter the birthday code, thus missing out on 50 points. Make sure you pay attention and enter it right on the sign up page in the spot where it says "Swagcode".

Chapters has a big sale on right now, 50-75% off select clearance items, in books, toys, lifestyle, paper products (aka pretty much everything they carry).

Why should you be excited about this?  Well, we stopped in there to take a look around and the local Indigo had a whole bunch of Thomas at 50% off.  Thomas engines, train cars, and even some of the expensive set pieces like the turntable for the roundhouse.  Now I'm sure it's going to vary what they have out from store to store, but I still thought this was pretty exciting. 

As far as books go it was pretty hit and miss what was on sale.  It seemed to mostly be the books which were already in the discount section, now at an additional 50% off.  Some good deals to be snagged.

In the "lifestyles" section they had tons of holiday items, now dirt cheap.  The one that caught my eye were the ceramic travel coffee mugs with lids in a gift box.  Definitely some nice things here to grab and set aside for presents through out the year, or for next Christmas.

There are also select deals available online at their website, which you can check out here.

If you search through the toy section on their website you'll find some Thomas & His Friends at 50% off, however the in-store selection was far better. Probably some other good toy deals to be found online, if you take the time to search through their large selection.  The sale ends on February 28th. Let me know if you find anything cool!

When I was young Swiss Chalet was one of the staple "mom-doesn't-feel-like-cooking-tonight" meals.  If my mom was sick, or occasionally just because, my dad would run out and pick up Swiss Chalet and bring it home for us all to enjoy.  However, I remember it used to take forever because he would have to drive out there and place the order and wait for them to make it.

How things have changed!   I had the chance to get a gift code from Swiss Chalet and try out their online ordering system. I had no clue that Swiss Chalet now did delivery.  I love the online ordering system!  You can actually place an order ahead of time. For example, I could decide right this moment, that I want dinner for 5pm tonight. I can place the order online right now and they will deliver it for dinner tonight.  They also remember my last order.  I can click on "place your last order on file" and it will pre-fill my cart with what I ordered last time. Brilliant stuff!

Now I'm sure I'm not the only mom out there who has had to lock herself in the bathroom to try and place a take-out order over the phone.  I loved that I was able to order without having to actually speak to anyone  The menu is incredibly detailed.  Lots of choices to make.  White bread for your dinner roll or multigrain?  How would you like your family chicken dinner? Whole, cut in halves, or cut into quarters?  Which of the thirteen side dishes, from rice and fresh cut fries to corn or steamed veggies, would you like with your entree? Again, it's brilliant that it's online because I just can't see doing this over the phone.  You would end up needing to repeat your order back 20 times to get it right.

This was the first time that G-Girl had Swiss Chalet and she loved it.  The kid is a sucker for anything with dipping sauce, and well that Swiss Chalet dipping sauce is darn tasty.  I liked that I was feeding my girls chicken and steamed veggies. Nutritionally speaking, it beats the hell out of pizza. The family dinner pack was more then enough food for the four of us.  We had TONS of leftovers.  I liked being able to take all of the chicken off of the bone and turn the leftovers into lunch (chicken salad sandwiches) and dinner (chicken alfredo) for the next day.

I was a little disappointed in how long it took to get here.  Then again, compared to what my dad used to go through to get take-out when I was a kid... this was darn zippy, and I didn't even need to leave my house.  Next time I would try out ordering ahead for a specific time (which I think is just such a brilliant feature!)

Head on over to EverythingMom and take part in their discussion on the importance of family meals and family time.  Everyone who participates in the chat has a chance of winning 1 of 2 $50 eGift Cards to Swiss Chalet!

As part of a Mom Influencer program with EverythingMom, I was offered a $50 eGift Card from Swiss Chalet in order to experience their online order system and share my dining experience with you.

Until a few years ago I had never heard of Sandra Boynton. Then someone gifted us with a few of her board books. I still wasn't really paying attention, because as much as I love books board books normally fail to excite me. Then I read them (Pajama Time, Barnyard Dance) and I read them and read them, over and over to an enthralled 2 year old. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed them too! I loved the cadence and the rhythm to Boynton's writing. Her work has become a staple around our house. So of course I couldn't turn down the chance to review her newest book, Amazing Cows.

Amazing Cows is not a board book. It is a magazine sized soft-covered digest with a ridiculous amount of stuff crammed into it. All Boynton and all pretty darn funny.   The cover promises "udder absurdity" and it does not lie.

This quote from Sandra Boynton really amused me. When asked "What was the hardest part of writing this book?" this was her answer:

Now and then, I would write something and suddenly realize it had maybe some basis in reality. So then I had to carefully rework it until I was pretty certain that it was total nonsense. It takes vigilance and discipline.

Her vigilance in eliminating all non-nonsense is quite evident. From front to back this book it jammed full of a ridiculous amount of absurdity.  There's a little bit of everything, all of it nonsensical in the most wonderful Boynton way. Including, "How to speak cow",  eleven cow jokes, two cow limericks, a poem, a riddle, two cow stories, a cow myth, an amazing cow comic book and much more.

Here is a quote taken from the "Cow Story - Red Rover", which illustrates why I'm in love with this book.

"Once upon a time, there were 137 cows who lived very happily on a lovely farm in North Dakota or something. Their names were Ezekiel, Ted, Rose, Carumba, Andrew, Mitch, Cucumber, Sly, Simone, Clark, Milo, Gorgonzola, Bipsy, Debit, Louise, Jean-Pierre, Walter, Helicopter, Zorro, Big George, Vladimir, Dave, G. K. Chesterton, Mimi, Lightning, Victor, Larry, Cruise Control, Nell, Azalea, Cookie, Angel, Xavier, Sneaker, Orwell, Trouble, Stanley, Fred, Sofa, Lillian, Ezra, Scooter, Myron, Zippy, Chaos, Daffodil, Buzz, Brewster, Gabby, Dink, Mosquito, Emmy, Trixie, Jupiter, Jeremiah, Tyler and Steve. The remaining eighty cows were all named Tino..."

See? How can you read that and not smile?  It's just delightfully absurd.  Apart from the above quote, my favourite part of the book was the cow myth, in which Boynton managed to slip in references to "Zoose", Calliope and Homer, as well as a laurel wreath munching aulos playing cow heroine.

I was surprised by how much G-Girl enjoyed this book. I thought I would set this aside for her and read it to her once she was older. However, she had seen it arrive in the mail. She recognized the art from the Boynton board books littered around our house, and was intrigued. She asked me to read it to her, and I was shocked when she sat raptly still through all 89 pages in one sitting. She then told me that we would have to read it again sometime soon. I asked her what her favourite part was and she said she liked the songs the best. Apparently my rousing version of "It Had to Be Moo" was quite memorable.

Overall I would definitely recommend Amazing Cows. For Boynton fans, I'd say it's absolutely not to be missed.  And well, if you're not a Boynton fan you should be!  For those like myself who often overlook board books, this absurd ode to cows would be a good introduction to her particular brand of silliness and barnyard mayhem.

Where to buy it:
Amazing Cows is put out by Workman Publishing, and is available at pretty much any large bookstore.  Chapters and Amazon both have copies available.  Or you can order direct from the Workman Publishing website.

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

And the winner is...


Thanks to Workman Publishing for allowing me to host this giveaway! And thanks so much to everyone who entered!  The winner has 72 hours to respond to my email, after which I'll redraw.  I have a ton of great giveaways lined up over the next little while, so stay tuned.

To rent or to buy a hot water tank?

I spent a lot of time considering this, doing the math, and pouring over the internet looking for info, I figure I'll share my findings with you guys. Perhaps this will help someone else and save them some headache. The one thing that I was frustrated with while trying to research this online was the lack of solid figures.  Some people would claim that it was so much cheaper to own your own system, while others would argue in favor of renting, but no one was talking real numbers.

Over the past few years, I've had many people suggest to me that we could save money by purchasing our own water tank.  Everyone from the home inspector we had in when we purchased this place to the contractor that came last week to give me an estimate on the chimney liner.

However, for us, it just wasn't the right decision, and here's why.

Until it recently broke down, we were renting a conventional 50gallon hot water tank.  A conventional tank uses the principal that hot air rises to vent up your chimney flue. When the rental company came to replace ours I discovered we would need some additional venting to bring it up to code. We tried with several different contractors, but they were unable to place a liner in our chimney due to a ninety-degree bend in it.  This means we can no longer have a conventional tank.

Having already decided against a tankless system, we had to go with a power vented hot water tank. A power vented tank needs to plug into a wall socket.  It uses an electric blower to force the air to vent "sideways" out a hole in the wall.  In our case, due to where our gas meter is located this venting had to be run clear across to the other side of the house. It also came to light that we didn't have a "temper mixing valve", which is required by code. These two issues made the installation fees higher.

I got some concrete numbers from the rental company, and I got two estimates on having a tank installed. The estimates for installation that I received were from $2254 to $2486.

Since we were told we could no longer have a conventional tank, I didn't get any estimates on purchasing one, so I can't provide the numbers on that.

If I rent my fee will be $311.76 a year for a 50g. power vented tank.
Over 10 years the rental fees for the power vented tank would be $3117.60
From what I've read your average hot water tank should last 10-15 years.  (For example the ones I was looking at on the Home Depot website had warranties of 12 years.)

Well that sounds like I would save a lot of money!  $2486 over the next ten years vs. $3117.

However, the initial lump-sum outlay is a problem.  I don't have two grand sitting around.  If I were to purchase a tank it would end up on my credit card.  Assuming I charged it to my card with the lowest rate, 16.99% and paid it off over the next 27 months, this would end up costing me an additional $455.16 in interest. Yes, you could shop around and find a lower borrowing option then a 17% interest credit card.  These numbers are just how it works out for me, and you're situation will of course vary.

I still had two unknowns to deal with in this equation... First, how much will rental fees go up over the next ten years?  This is how I estimated it.  In the past five years my rental rates have risen from  $11.83 to $13.50. That's an increase 14.1%. I guesstimated that my fees will go up another 14% in 5 years, and calculated years 6-10 at the increased rate.  It's crude and it's probably off, but at least it does figure in something for the rates going up.

The other unknown is, how much might I end up spending in repair fees if I owned the tank? How much does an average repair call cost? Granted, they're not impartial, but the Direct Energy website has some figures on hot water tank repair costs.

• Ventor Motor  - $759.64
• Gas Valve - $787.61
• Flame Sensor - $386.74
• Thermocouple - $200.58

Based on those figures I'm going to use $250 as a lowball estimate for minimal repairs to a power vented tank over the next 10 years. 

So here's the chart I came up with:

The higher repair fee for the in-line tank is based on the fact that I read that they are much more complex, more difficult and expensive to repair, and also require yearly maintenance.  You can read more about this in my post on why I decided not to buy a tankless system.

In the end, by these numbers, purchasing a power vented tank vs. paying the extra installation cost and renting would save me $370.76 over the next 10 years.  If I purchase the tank I need to worry abut repair costs, and eventually another large lump sum cost to replace the tank.  For me, finding $22.99 a month is much easier then coming up with over two thousand for a replacement. With a savings of under $400 over 10 years I find the difference negligible, compared to the peace of mind of not having to worry about coming up with cash for emergencies replacement or repairs..

Based on this research we went ahead and got a replacement tank from the rental company.  They installed a 50g power vented tank.  Because of the extra venting (to allow it to vent somewhere safely away from our gas inlet), we had to pay $226 towards the installation.


Pay attention, here's some important info if you're currently renting:
While doing all this research I also learned some interesting facts about rentals:
1) Once your tank is older, you can request a "free" replacement from the rental company, even if it's still working.  Since tanks become less energy efficient over time due to rusting and build up, this is something to keep in mind for the future.
2) You also have the option to buy out your tank at any time. Discovering that some people in online forums were citing as little as $20-$25 to buy out an older tank. I think I need to remember to call the rental company in a few years and ask how much it would be to buy out my tank.

I wish I had known about these options when I moved into this house five years ago. It's frustrating to know I paid unnecessarily towards the rental of an old tank for the past five years when I could have either bought out the 15+ year old tank, or demanded a replacement. 


Overall, I hope some of you found this useful.  Let me know your thoughts!

I have a review/giveaway coming up soon for one of the awesome new Baby Einstein Discovery Kits. In the meantime, I thought you guys might be interested in finding out that tomorrow there is going to be a very special live Twitter session with Baby Einstein Vice President & General Manager Susan McLain.  You can join in on Twitter from 4-5PM EST on Tuesday, February 22nd. Susan will be available to answer your questions about the new kits and listen to your comments – just tweet them to @BabyEinstein with the hashtag #AskBabyE.

For the second in what I hope will be a series of interviews with independent retailers, I contacted Lisa from Giving Gifts.

Giving Gifts is an online shop that operates out of Vancouver, BC. They carry a range of fair trade, eco friendly and fun items for babies, kids, adults and pets.

Lisa, the owner and operator of Giving Gifts, was kind enough to grant me an interview



Tell me a bit about yourself and your family.

How old are you (you don't have to give an exact year, ballpark if you prefer, 20s, 30s?) You have three little ones, how old are they now?


What's your background? Held any interesting jobs prior to opening Giving Gifts?


I know you opened Giving Gifts fairly recently. What's your favourite part of being a business owner so far?


What do you think about working from home? Love it? Hate it? Are your kids around when you’re working?


I know that part of the philosophy behind Giving Gifts is giving back by helping to supporting charity. I had read that Carli's Kids was your charity for 2010. First can you tell me a bit about Carli's Kids? What sort of portion of each sale is going towards charity? Do you have a different charity lined up for 2011? If so, who/what?


Since I started following your online storefront a few months back I've noticed many cool new additions to your product line-up (like the reuseable gift bags!) Anything else interesting that you might be planning on adding soon?

Lisa is getting in more of these adorable Blabla Mobiles. The first batch sold out almost immediately.

And finally, What is your one favourite gift to give someone else?

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Questions for Lisa? I'm sure she's still lurking around and might be willing to answer. Suggestions for what I should ask next time? What sort of things would you like to learn about the people behind some of these cool independent stores? Anyone in particular you'd like to hear from?

And don't forget to help Lisa celebrate her birthday by checking out her birthday sale - up to 40% off everything at Giving Gifts. Lisa was kind enough to allow me to spill the beans early on this one. She's not promoting the sale to the general public until Wednesday.

More things you don't necessarily want to hear coming out of your preschooler's mouth:

I can't tell you what happened at Grandma's.  It's a secret.

No kitty, don't move! You'll ruin your bowtie.

Followed by - But mom, I've got to make a leash for him.

I don't do boring. I just can't. Cleaning is booooring.

But I can't clean.  I don't feel cleanish.  All the cleaning has fallen out of my head.

I think you should leave the room now so I can lick this (yogurt) and make a mess.

Don't look at me!  Don't come see! But it's ok, I'm doing something good... it's just.. um... it's a surprise!

Baby-G, hold still whle I put this duck on your back and then you can crawl.

You missed the WON'T part of what I'm saying.

I can't FIND my imagiantion! A pretend dog ATE my imagination.

If I go to bed hungry, I will starve... To Death!

I can't!  I will die in the middle of the night!  I will die of starvation!  You can't let me die when I'm supposed to be sleeping.


And yes, as usual these are all direct quotes from my little drama queen G-girl.

I'm excited to have been chosen as one of the folks who is helping to spread the word... The  M&M’S®  Spokescandies are heading to Canada!  They are setting off on a cross country road trip to visit Canadian cities, landmarks and events and they are looking for YOUR recommendations on where they should stop next.  That's right M&M’S®- Canada wants to know, what do you consider the must see sites in Canada for a chocolate covered candy tourist?

Over the next ten months, Canadians are invited to join M&M’S® Spokescandies Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange and Green as they travel across Canada. You can follow their journey  on their new Twitter account, @mmscanada  The Spokescandies will be tweeting about their travels, posting photos and postcards, and asking Canadians to tell them where they should head to next!


 
“This is my first big trip across Canada. I’m excited, but anxious -- what if I forgot to pack something important?? And I hear that Canadians REALLY love their M&M’S® Candies, so maybe preparing for the cold should be the least of my worries!... *Gulp*”



My suggestion?  They need to try pizza made in Windsor!  Wait, do Spokescandies eat pizza?  Hmm... well maybe they should just drop in to get a glimpse of the Detroit skyline.

Help the M&M’S® Spokescandies discover the BEST of Canada by tweeting your recommendations to @mmscanada using the hashtag #CanadasBest , by posting on the M&M’S®- Canada Facebook Page or by emailing in your suggestions.

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- Follow @MMsCanada on Twitter and send them a tweet using the #CanadasBest hashtag. making your recommendation for the top sites to see in Canada.  Then head back here and leave a comment with a link to your tweet.

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 March 7th, at 11:59 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 Canada only. Good luck!

Disclosure - I received a box full of yummy M&M’S® candies as compensation for participating in this program.

My brother and I has a blast playing with our Speak & Spells when we were young. We actually had two, one for each of us.  For something that taught spelling, it sure was fun.  I remember enjoying the built in spelling games, like hangman,  I also remember spending ridiculous amounts of time playing around to see what sort of "sentences" we could get it to speak.  Like "I M A T P" and of course the classic "I C U P".

Super Stumpers Word Module Cartridge

Texas instruments released the first Speak & Spell in 1978. An amazing piece of tech for it's time, it was in some ways the precursor to modern game systems like the Nintendo DS, in that is was one of the first electronic toys to take removable cartridges.  The Speak & Spell is a bit of a pop culture icon. It has made many appearances in both film and television.  Most notably in Steven Spielberg's  E.T. where the alien used a Speak & Spell to build his "phone home" device.

There's a pretty interesting music subculture surrounding the Speak & Spell. People take vintage Speak & Spells and "bend" them, to turn them into unique music synthesizers.  Speak & Spells, both bent and un, have been featured in many bands, from electronic and synthpop music groups like Kraftwerks and Freezepop to alternative artists like Beck and Coldplay.

You can check out an online emulator of the classic Speak & Spell here, or here.

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I'm working my way through the alphabet, from A to Z in vintage toys. Why? If you're curious, you can read more here - The Retro Toybox, A to Z in Vintage Toys 

I recently had the chance to try Baby Gourmet organic baby food. I'm going to cut right to the chase and say this stuff is awesome. The packaging is brilliant and the flavours are fantastic.

We received a sample pack featuring all nine of the different flavours of Baby Gourmet available. After having tried three or four different flavours from the sampler box, Baby-G started to recognize the packaging and now grunts and squeals with excitement whenever she sees one.

The unique squeezable, resealable, packaging is brilliant. I had some worries that I might have difficulties with the screw cap. However, it is very easy to open and to reseal. Squeeze a bite's worth onto a spoon, feed to baby and repeat. You can skip the bowl. This is great because you don't have to guess how much she will eat. There is no waste from portioning out too much in the bowl. Just squeeze it out by the spoonful and then recap it and toss it in the fridge when you're done. The fact that all you need is a spoon makes these simply ideal for eating out at a restaurant, or when out visiting at someone else's house.

At three years old I wasn't sure if G-Girl would be interested in eating "baby food".  However, she took one try and was hooked.  She loves eating it right from the package, sucking on it like a straw. And frankly, so do I. This stuff is YUMMY. My favourite flavour was the Juicy Pear and Garden Greens. I would never have thought of mixing pear with broccoli and spinach, yet this is one of the tastiest things I've ever had.

The very first thing that came to mind when I tried this was -- Camping! These would be perfect for camping as they don't need to be refrigerated and you can eat them right out of the container. I'm not necessarily talking about for the kiddies either. If you're going to be out all day hiking or fishing, these would be the perfect snack. Next time I go camping,  I will definitely be bringing some Baby Gourmet pouches along. The only downside would be that you'd have a little bit of packaging to carry back out with you and dispose of, but it wouldn't take up much space or weight at all in your pack or your pocket once empty.

Why this stuff rocks?
Baby Gourmet is made right here in Canada. It's 100% organic, with no fillers or thickeners, and no added salt or sugar. It tastes fantastic.  I enjoyed all nine flavours, as did both my 11 month old baby and my 3.5 year old preschooler. Eight of the nine flavours are dairy free. Heads up to those avoiding dairy, the Old Fashioned Apple Crisp contains butter.  I only wish they had more veggie based options.

How are we eating Baby Gourmet at our house?
I have been eating these straight from the container as well as spread on toast. I put a bit bit of the Harvest Pear, Pumpkin & Banana onto my spinach salad for dressing.  G-Girl likes to use Baby Gourmet for dipping sauce. ( I put a bit in a small dish for her and add the tiniest dab of honey, and then let her stir it up.) We've been using Orchard Apple, Carrot and Prune  instead of plum sauce with chicken fingers. Today she had Harvest Pear, Pumpkin & Banana instead of tartar sauce with her fish sticks for lunch (her idea, not mine).  Oh yeah, and sometimes I even feed it to the baby. Typically I'm getting two or three uses out of a pouch.

Where can I get Baby Gourmet?
After eating through my sampler pack, I definitely needed more of these. I was pretty excited when they announced that as of the end of January Walmart has starting carrying Baby Gourmet.  I made a trip to our local store and picked some up for $1.47 a pouch.  If you look on the Baby Gourmet website you can check the Store Locator tab to find out where your nearest Baby Gourmet retailer is. Or you can order it directly from their website.  All prices include shipping.  For example, you can get a sampler box of nine pouches delivered to your house for $19.99.

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

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I'm constantly amazed at the variety of items available through the CSN Stores. Did you know they carry swing sets? They have all sorts of outdoor play equipment, from swing sets and trampolines to sandboxes and playhouses, all available through www.swingsetsandmore.com.

With Spring quickly approaching now is the time to think about ordering something like this so that you can install it once the weather warms up.

I also can't get over how cheap the play tents are. This Circus Tent is only $26.99 and would be absolutely perfect for both indoor or outdoor play.

Can I get it in Canada?
Yes, CSN Stores ship to Canada! Not every item is available to ship to Canada, but most are. Even the large and bulky items, like the swing sets.  Do note that although many items are marked "Free Shipping", you will end up paying shipping charges to Canada.  However, I find that even once you add on the Canadian shipping fees and the "handling & duties" charges, their prices are usually still much lower then anything you'll find locally.

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And the winner is...


Thanks so much to everyone who entered!  I have a ton of great giveaways lined up over the next little while, so stay tuned.  The winner has 72 hours to respond to my email, after which I'll redraw.

Heads up, Stonz Wear is having a huge clearance sale.  You can get a pair of their awesome booties right now for 50% off. 

I won a pair of these for Baby-G a little while back and I'm loving them.  My little Houdini still manages to get out of them, but it does take her several minutes, rather then the usual 30 seconds that her normal shoes/boots last.

 Reasons you want these:
- They can slip on right over footed PJs.
- They have not one but two toggles, one at the ankle and one at the top, that you can tighten to keep the boot in place.
- The warm fleece lining is uber soft.
- They can go in both the washing machine and the drier.
- Made in Canada!

To be honest, I find the regular price on these to be a bit high.  I'm leery of spending $47 on baby shoes.  However, for $23? I totally recommend grabbing these for that price!

Check out their sale page HERE.

I like the look of the adjustable Mittz mittens, which are also on sale. Has anyone tried these?

I thought this was pretty interesting. Apparently kissing your sweet little baby is on some level instinctual. And here's the kicker- it also provides health benefits for nursing infants.

According to Birthing Magazine:

Claiming behaviors such as kissing provide not only emotional, but biological attachment. There is a very real health benefit for the baby who is kissed.

“When a mother kisses her baby, she ‘samples’ those pathogens that are on the baby’s face. Those are ones that the baby is about to ingest. These samples are taken up by the mother’s secondary lymphoid organs like the tonsils, and memory B cells specific for those pathogens are re-stimulated. These B cells then migrate to the mother’s breasts where they produce just those antibodies that the baby needs.”

So kissing that soft fuzzy head is not only promoting bonding between mom and babe, but also helps your body to determine what antibodies to provide your baby with.  How cool is that?

You can read the full article on Why Mothers Kiss Their Babies HERE.

Now go and give your little sweetie a couple of Valentines Day smooches.

We just got a new hot water tank installed. One of the major things I had to decide was whether or not we would change over to a tankless system. Since I have spent literally hours over the past week considering this, doing the math, and pouring over the internet looking for info, I figure I'll share my findings with you guys.

So, what about a tankless system?  I've heard that they are supposed to conserve energy and cut your gas bills considerably.

Renting a tankless "in-line" system would cost $476.60.
Supposedly the tankless system should last about 20 years.
Over 10 years the rental fees for the tankless would be $4766.00.
Over 20 years the rental fees for the tankless would be $9532.00

I received two estimates for installing a tankless system, both were for around $3300+taxes.

Okay, it seems like it would definitely be worth purchasing a tankless system vs. renting it! But is the initial outlay worth it?  Is it worth it vs. a power vented tank? How much do you potentially save with a tankless system?

I found this article from Consumer.Org interesting. Basically it says that in terms of 2008 dollars, you should see a savings on your gas bill of roughly  $70 to $80 per year. However, apparently the tankless systems have higher maintenance and repair fees that negates any savings to your gas bill. 

The tankless systems are much more complex, making repairs more complicated and replacement pieces more expensive.  Also, to prevent clogging from calcium build up tankless systems need to be flushed out with acid by a professional about once every two years. Estimated cost; $200 per flush.

There is also the fact that you can get inconsistencies in the temperature with the tankless system. First, there is a delay while the water warms up and gets to the destination.  Then I found reference to something called "the cold water sandwich effect", a term used to describe the introduction of cold water into the hot water supply line during frequent on/off operation of a tankless water heater.  Basically, once everything is warmed up and the tap is running hot you can get hit with a blast of cold "buffer" water.

Finally, a tankless system requires electricity to run.  If the power goes out you are left without any hot water.  Plus the additional hydro fees are going to offset your gas bill savings.

It appears that the only sites touting the advantages of the tankless systems are manufacturer or retailer sites.  I did not turn up any impartial websites praising the advantages of the inline heater. (If anyone knows of any non-biased pro-tankless articles out there I'd love to read them.)

What I also found conspicuous in it's absence is that fact that not one of the installers that I had provide me with an estimate tried to sell me on the tankless system.  They only provided the figures when I specifically asked for them, and they didn't talk up the system at all.

I also found several articles on the Toronto Star warning against purchasing a tankless system:
*  Tankless water heat not so hot
*  Do the math before you take on a tankless job
*  Tankless not always best way to heat water

Based on this research I 'm ditching any ideas of getting a tankless system.  $3729 is prohibitively expensive for me.  Also on top of the costs mentioned above, I would have to take into account the fact that any savings are going to be offset by the fact that I would  be purchasing it on my credit card.

I'd love to hear your guys opinions and thoughts on this.  Own a tankless system and love it? Thinking about getting one?

If you're interested I wrote a second article on this topic, The Water Tank Heater Question - By the Numbers, which addresses pricing, and some comparison between Conventional, Power-Vented and Tankless systems.

Back on Wednesday I called the chimney company back, because they had seemed confident that they could run the liner down the chimney, and I thought being a chimney specialist they might know more then the other fellows.  I explained how two other contractors said it could not be done, and asked if they were sure they could do it?  They said, oh definitely, 4 inch this, ladeda, and you should have seen the job I did today!, etc.  Except they were busy with another job and I had to wait until Friday for them to come out.

So this morning they were here. They measured. They dropped pieces of rope and balls down my chimney. They said, yes we should be able to do it.  Then they proceeded to try for an hour, got the liner jammed in there, had a hell of a time getting it back out. Admitted defeat, said, sorry, we tried, and left.  On the bright side they didn't charge me anything.

I am intensely depressed that I just waited two days to find out they couldn't do it. I think it's safe to say that there is no way in hell I am getting a conventional tank put back in here.  Stupid venting code.

So I called the rental company back and asked for them to send someone out to give me an estimate on how much it would cost me to have a power vented tank installed.  I was told by the sales rep that they don't have "estimators" they have "installation teams".  Eventually he agreed to send an "installation team" out, and note in the directives that I wanted an estimate before they performed any work.  He cautioned that I should be sure to mention as soon as they arrive that I want an estimate before they begin.  They are coming tomorrow morning.  Supposedly they will give me an estimate on how much the installation will cost, and then I need to decide immediately right then and there if I want it installed or not.  I'm not exactly ecstatic about this.  However, I am also on day eight of no hot water.... Sigh.

I know a fair amount of my readers are also bloggers, so I thought I'd share this with you. Dear Crissy just posted an awesome tutorial on how to add the @Anywhere Twitter application to your blog.  What's that? Mouse over my Twitter Handle - @mapleleafmommy.  See the pop up? Isn't that cool? Her tutorial is specific toWordPress, but I played around a bit and I got it to work in blogger.

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EDIT: If you just tried to mouse over my name and you're wondering why it didn't work... I ended up removing the @Anywhere mouse over pop ups from my blog. I've found the page is a loading a little slow, so I am trying to streamline how many scripts it's calling on.  Otherwise this How-To is still applicable, and should get @anywhere up and running on your Blogger/Blogspot blog.

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If your Blog is on WordPress go and check out Dear Crissy's tutorial here.  Heck, you should just head over and check out her site regardless, as I think it's one of the better Mommy blogs out there and if you're not already following her you're missing out.

Here's what I had to do to install this on Blogger.
Click HERE to open the @Anywhere Twitter application registration form.
Fill out the form:

1. Application Name: Think of this as your user ID. Must be unique.
2. Application Website: Your blog’s URL
3. Organization: Your blog name
4. Callback URL: Your blog’s URL
5. Default Access type: Read & Write
6. Application Icon: Optional, upload a square image if you want

Then click "Register Application" and on the next page @Anywhere will supply you with some HTML to cut and paste.

Now you need to paste this code into your Blogger Template. (Under Design, click "Edit HTML"). This probably goes without saying but back up your template before tinkering with it!

Okay, you know how every webpage has a <body> and a <head>, right? This code they provided starts with <head> and ends with </head>. I'm no programing expert, but I'm pretty sure my wepage is only supposed to have one <head> section.  (Anyone out there with more HTML know how, tell me, can I have more then one head? How's that work?) So what I did was, I deleted the very first line of code (<head>) and the very last line of code (</head>).

The code also has line numbers which you will need to delete. (You can use my favourite trick to get rid of strange formatting in text - First paste it into a blank Notepad file. Cut the text from Notepad and THEN paste it.).

Next use the Control-F/Find function and search your Blogger Template code for this line: "</head>".  You want to paste your code in just directly before </head>.

Once you've got the edited code pasted in the proper spot save the template. That's it.  Now whenever you type a Twitter handle you get a cool pop-up!

Now that you're registered with @Anywhere look through their documentation and you'll see how to do other cool things like this incredibly awesome Tweet Box.

Is that not the coolest thing ever? You need to tweek the HTML a bit to add you're own pre-filled Tweet text. Then you paste the code for the Tweet box directly into the HTML for your post. If you can't figure out this second part, how to insert Tweet Boxes in a Blogger Blog, let me know and maybe I'll write up a tutorial on that next.

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EDIT: I have created a second part to this post,  a detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to get Tweet Box to work with your Blogger blog.

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A little while back I received a fan pack from Frito-Lay. There were a couple of goodies like a chip clip and a reusable bag in the package, as well as three bags of tasty Frito-Lay products to sample.  I received Tostitos, SunChips and some Lays Lightly-Salted Potato Chips.


I use corn chips to make nachos on a regular basis so Tostitos are a staple in my house. However, I hadn't eaten SunChips in several years.  I simply don't buy snack food all that often. Both my husband and I agreed that they tasted even better then I remembered. SunChips now features a new compostable packaging, which is pretty cool. However, it is The Loudest Chip Bag On Earth. You have absolutely  zero percent chance of sneaking a treat unnoticed from this new, super crinkly, extra loud, bag.

I love Lays! This was the first time I've tried their low-salt potato chips, and I found them to be surprisingly good. The "Lightly-salted" line of chips contains 50% less sodium then their regular line. They seemed salty enough.  They tasted like a regular chip. In short, I didn't notice the difference. I would definitely buy these again!

A couple of neat facts about Frito-Lay chips:
* They make their chips from just three simple ingredients: Potatoes, all natural oils and salt.
* All of their chips have 0 grams of trans fat, because they use all-natural oils like corn and sunflower.
* Tostitos provides you with 8 grams of whole grain corn per serving.
* SunChips are a good source of fiber and contain 18 grams of whole grain per serving.

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And now for a little giveaway...

Included in my fan pack was a coupon good for any one Frito-Lay product.  Unfortunately I can't make use of it as this free product code is only good in the States.  So I'm offering it up to you guys.  The coupon doesn't expire until June 30th.  This coupon is only good in the USA.  However, if you're a Canadian that shops in the States feel free to enter this giveaway. I am not going to be promoting this. It's just a little something extra for my readers.

HOW TO ENTER:
If you have questions on how to enter check out my post on How To Enter Blog Giveaways.   
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 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 February 14, at 11:59 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. This coupon is only good in the USA.  However, if you're a Canadian that shops in the States feel free to enter this giveaway. Good luck!

I was provided with two a Frito-Lay fan pack  for review purposes The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.