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Thoughts

Taking the Kids on a Food Adventure – Picky Eater Strategy

January 30, 2017 by danawyyc 3 Comments

great

One day I decided to try to sell my kids on the idea of being Food Adventurers. We weren’t going to a new restaurant, we were going on a Food Adventure! We weren’t trying trying new suspicious looking foods, we were having a food adventure!

I’ve found this to be very successful and we continue to use this concept all the time. My kids have not magically turned into little foodies, but I get a lot more buy in from them and using the process I’ve outlined below I have been able to get them to try just about anything. They’ve even found they’ve really liked some things they were pretty sure they weren’t going to like.

Trying New Foods as a Food Adventurer

As a parent, take the pressure off. Expect them to explore and discover the food not necessarily to eat it. We say the steps out loud and I will often do the steps with the kids too.

  1. Touch it (pick it up, poke it)
  2. Look at it
  3. Smell it
  4. Listen to it
  5. Lick it
  6. Bite it
  7. Chew it

We don’t always get through all the steps but that’s okay. Particularly with foods that they are really resistant to, maybe even having it on their plate is a big deal. Don’t be afraid to try it again another day (again and again and again). Repeated stress-free exposure (and this can be 20 or more times) has been shown to increase acceptance over time.

But sometimes it works right away. Sometimes a food they were worried might be spicy, turns out to be something they love. It’s quick, easy and can be done anywhere.

One time we used this at a barbecue restaurant – we ordered a platter so there was lots of choices and the kids did a food adventure with many meats and sides and they each found a few things that they loved (and  a few that they didn’t. It is now one of their favourite restaurants.

food-adventure

Filed Under: Parenting, slider, Thoughts

A 9 Months Pregnant Mom’s Christmas Home Tour – with update

December 22, 2015 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

I wrote this post last year when I was feeling very exhausted and extremely pregnant. This year, I have an almost 1 year old, a 3 year old and a 6 year old. I feel way more comfortable but am still pretty tired. I loved this post so I thought I would repost it with a bit of an update. Our house is actually pretty similar to last year aside from three things.

1) The never ending piles of stuffies, books and baby toys which little Robbie loves to create. I keep thinking I should at least move the books, but it amuses him for a little while so I just keep putting them back on the shelf. More or less.

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2) The Christmas tree has two large barricades in front of it. This has largely kept the tree safe although he is very determined to find a way to the tree from under the table.

IMG_4774

3) You can see any presents any where. I had no idea how much easier Christmas was with Spring babies. The first year they are just starting to get into everything and by the second year they are around a year and a half and have a little bit of sense.

And now here is last year’s post!

A 9 Months Pregnant Mom’s Christmas Home Tour

I don’t know if you are familiar with a Home Tour. I didn’t know anything about them until recently when I fell into a bad crowd. Of design bloggers. Honestly, they are lovely people. Many of these design bloggers do gorgeous home tours that showcase their beautiful homes that look straight out of a magazine, like my friend Jo-anna.

Now I know their homes don’t look exactly like that all the time. I know the pictures were taken just after the house was cleaned and all the dishes and kids toys have been put away. I know that there are rooms that don’t get photographed at all. But my house has never ever looked even remotely like one of those houses.

Now that I am preparing for Christmas while 9 months pregnant with a 2 and 5 year old my house looks even less similar. I have actually managed to  put up all the decorations already this year. But that’s because I started really early because everything seems to take me forever right now. I wrapped all the presents over 3 days. And it’s not like I did any fancy wrapping either. I literally wrote on the wrapping paper with jiffy marker. By the time I got to the presents from Santa… Well, let’s just say that Santa should fire the elf that wrapped those presents. I’ve also reduced the number of decorations I’ve put up this year. In part because I’m having a baby in early January so everything needs to get put away right after Christmas and mostly because I can’t manage to get some of the areas that I would put the decorations clean.

I thought doing a home tour of our home would provide a refreshing contrast to many of the Christmas home tours out there right now.

So come on in!

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour - outside - talkinginallcaps.com

I actually really like our Christmas lights, but we’re redoing the area in front of our window so right now instead of  a dying bush with pretty coloured lights on it like we had last year, we have a stump, a dirt pile and pots with dead flowers.

 

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour - fireplace - talkinginallcaps.com

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is our felt Christmas Stockings from Etsy. We don’t have a mantel on our fireplace and I have struggled every year with how to hang them up. I think this year I finally figured it out.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour - fireplace - talkinginallcaps.com

I attached hooks onto the wall on each side of the fireplace and hung the stockings up with clothes pins along a string. The fireplace itself has never actually been used. We currently have it blocked off with a piece of wood held in place with duck tape because it was so drafty. Classy I know.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Christmas Tree - talkinginallcaps.com
Our tree is beautiful and this picture really doesn’t do it justice. We carefully placed it in the centre of the room because there wasn’t any other place we could put it this year without blocking the TV. And we just can’t have that. We have high ceilings so bought a tall tree. Two things to note: everything looks smaller in Costco and if you are ever buying a tall tree think about how wide the base is. We have tall ceilings but a small house!

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Gingerbread House - talkinginallcaps.com

My son begged me to build a gingerbread house this year. I have no problem getting them to stay together but do not have much skill with using the icing for decoration.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Gingerbread House - talkinginallcaps.com

We are currently lovingly displaying it on our kitchen table amongst the mess which we can’t seem to actually clear off this year.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Nativity - talkinginallcaps.com

We tend to get a little something new each year for Christmas and this year’s edition is a wooden nativity.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Nativity - talkinginallcaps.com

Which is basically lost in the clutter that is all over our bookcase.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  kitchen - talkinginallcaps.com

In the kitchen you’ll find our little Christmas whisk.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  kitchen - talkinginallcaps.com

And typically a huge mess.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Christmas Cards - talkinginallcaps.com

I decided to extend the string and clothes pin idea to our Christmas cards and I really love how it turned out.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Christmas Cards - talkinginallcaps.com

It’s conveniently located across from the bathroom and above the overflowing laundry baskets. This is also the same space that I display the kids’ artwork.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Bathroom - talkinginallcaps.com

Inside the bathroom is our fancy Christmas themed soap dispenser.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Bathroom - talkinginallcaps.com

And clutter that I should really put away. And a lot of toothpaste and soap residue. I love this sink but kids sure make a mess of it in a hurry.  I have tried to take as-is pictures of our house for this home tour, but I really debated whether anyone actually needed to see this. I’m pretty sure the answer is no, but it saved me from having to clean it up right now. I”ll get to it. Eventually.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  2nd Tree - talkinginallcaps.com

We have a second small tree from our first house that we let the kids decorate this year.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  2nd Tree - talkinginallcaps.com

It was pretty adorable to see how they put the ornaments on. There is a ring right at 2 year old height where you can find all the pink ornaments.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Train - talkinginallcaps.com

Below the tree we have a Lego Train set up. We have a Lego Christmas train for it too, but my husband’s nerves can’t handle the kids playing with it without supervision and I am way too tired to do that job so it only comes out when he’s able to watch them with it.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Elves - talkinginallcaps.com

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the Danish kravlenisser or Crawling Elves (we just call them Nisse). This are a little bit similar to elf on the shelf. They are paper elves that pop up around your house and move around at night. For some reason one year I decided that we should have a new one come out each day in December until Christmas and that they should all move around each night. I have no idea why I set the bar so high. This year, the Nisser are much more likely to hang out in groups so I don’t have to find new places to put them.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Elves - talkinginallcaps.com

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Advent Calendar - talkinginallcaps.com

The Nisse also bring the kids candy for their advent calendar. Which this year is located on the floor next to their dresser full of dress up clothes.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Presents - talkinginallcaps.com
The presents that don’t fit under the tree are stuck on a table in our back bedroom. surrounded by more mess.

So that’s our house this year. Yes, there are some rooms I’ve skipped. All you will find there is more mess and no Christmas decorations of any kind. Even though our house is far from perfect this year (not that it is anywhere near perfect other years) and I am exhausted, our kids are still enjoying our decorations and loving our Christmas traditions. I’ve found that letting go of some of the expectations I have for myself is making me happier too. Christmas dinner this year is going to be a no cook, order in pizza dinner. It’ll be different, but I think it’s going to be great just the same.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Santa Skull - talkinginallcaps.com

Merry Christmas!

Filed Under: Christmas, Humor, Motherhood, Thoughts

Why LEGO makes me happy – #HappyMomMoments

November 16, 2015 by danawyyc 5 Comments

My little boy is not so little anymore. He started grade one this year and has become so independent.

Lego #happymommoments 1

He’s learning to read and follow directions and create things from his imagination too.

LEGO #HappyMomMoments 2

He used to need so much help. And now he’s the one helping his baby brother and little sister.

LEGO - #HappyMomMoments 3

One of the ways I can really see this is with LEGO. Although he still loves playing with DUPLO, he’s mastered building with it and is ready to take on more.

LEGO - #HappyMomMoments 4

The LEGO Juniors sets are perfect for him now. They are easier to build than regular LEGO sets because they are less complex making it a great bridge from DUPLO to LEGO. They are also less fragile because they don’t use as many pieces to make each element.

LEGO #HappyMomMoments 5

He could spend hours building and creating. I love seeing the look on his face while he’s so focused on what he’s doing.

LEGO #HappyMomMoments 6

His ability to concentrate is really impressive. Check out this video for a cute example.

His imaginative play is really flourishing now too. The trucks don’t just drive back and forth. They have places to go and jobs to do.

LEGO #HappyMomMoments 7

He’s growing in other ways too. The other day he told me that he was going to save up his allowance for Christmas presents. He wanted to buy the LEGO Cinderella castle for his sister and the DUPLO train for his baby brother. As well as getting a nice set for himself of course. He does not get nearly that much allowance! But it was such a generous thought that it almost made me cry. That was a real proud mom moment for me.

This post has been brought to you in thanks to the generosity of JimJam Communications. As always, all opinions expressed are my own and I’m thrilled to share with you why Lego is such a big part of my kids’ childhood.

Filed Under: Kid Activities, Parenting, Sponsored, Thoughts

Do I Even Like Kids?

September 10, 2015 by danawyyc 3 Comments

I was trying to put Robbie, my 8 month old down for his afternoon nap. Nicky, who is three, was hovering just outside the door waiting for me to finish. Gordie stayed home from grade one because he caught a cold and was coughing enough to need his puffer.

Robbie was obviously tired but was just not giving in to sleep. That’s when I found myself questioning my life choices. And asking myself, Do I even like kids?

Today was one of those days where it felt like I was spinning my wheels and just not getting anywhere. Honestly, a lot of days feel like that.

Robbie’s no longer a small baby and things are way easier. He’s a pretty good sleeper and not as needy as he used to be. Things get better so slowly it’s sometimes hard to notice the difference

Yesterday I made chili and hamburger soup. Our kitchen table is generally clean and some days I even have enough energy to sort through some of the areas that have gotten completely out of control.

But some days are still hard. Gordie starts school at 8 so I need to be up before 7am. But I have trouble going to sleep as early as I need to. Robbie is a wonderful sweet tempered baby. But he is exhausting to hold. And I’ve lost count of the number of times his big baby head has smashed into my nose this week.

Like all stages, this one will end. Robbie will stop trying to crawl into my mouth and start causing a whole new set of trouble crawling around the house. And eventually I’ll start going to bed early enough so that I’m not sleepy all the time (at least I hope I will).

Some days are tough. Some days I just feel like hiding.

I’m pretty sure that’s normal. Raising kids is hard, tiring, exhausting and often thankless.

Not loving every minute of it doesn’t mean anything else.

.

Filed Under: Parenting, Thoughts

Princesses Don’t: How I was limiting my daughter without a second thought

March 18, 2015 by danawyyc 2 Comments

My daughter, Nicky, just turned 3 and we had a princess birthday party for her at her request. My little girl loves princesses. And I don’t mind. For all that people criticize them, I think it’s pretty harmless. I’m not too worried that my determined little girl is going to grow up to be one.

Princesses Dont

In the last few months, her pretend play skills have gotten much better and she no longer just wants to watch princess movies and dress up like a princess, she wants to play with little princess dolls too.

She wants me to play with her too. She grabs a couple and says, “You be ‘punzel” and hands me Rapunzel. Then she takes Ariel and in the high squeaky voice she uses to indicate it is the doll speaking says “What are you doing?” Her imaginative play skills are still in their infancy, so it’s not surprising that she looks to me to take the lead. Mine should be better. But when she has Ariel ask Rapunzel what they should do today, I’m a little stumped. What do princesses do anyway? Dance? Have tea parties? Sleep?

We end up doing a lot of princess dance parties.

One day though, I decided to do something different. I can’t remember what made me do it. I think I was just bored of playing ‘princess’. I decided to see what Nicky would do if I suggested our princess do other kinds of things. Things that seem a little less princess-like. First, Mulan fought a dragon. Then Cinderella and Aurora went mountain climbing up the couch and paraglided back down. Aurora had a bad landing, but not to worry, Dr. Ariel was there to stitch her back up!

Princesses Don't

Nicky loved it. She particularly enjoyed it when one of the princesses got injured having an adventure and needed medical attention from one of the doctor princesses. Now that she is playing adventure princess she can sometimes even get her older brother to play with her.

Princesses Dont

I had a lot more fun too and our play was a lot more creative, as it was now literally only limited by our imaginations.

I hadn’t thought too much about why she liked princesses before. But she definitely likes them regardless of whether they are saving the world or having a tea party. It was really eye opening to me to see how much I was limiting my daughter’s play without even thinking about it. It wasn’t deliberate but it was still happening.

In our house now there isn’t much that Princesses don’t do.

Princesses Dont

 

Filed Under: Parenting, Thoughts

New Year’s Resolutions – Making Them and Keeping Them

January 28, 2015 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

The start of the new year always makes me reflective, but never more so than this year. Our new baby Robbie was born early in January making this year distinctly different from last year. Although this year will have its share of challenges, I’m ready to put pregnancy and the difficulties of 2014 behind me. I’m hopeful for a great 2015.

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Having a newborn in January is odd though because so many of my friends are trying to commit to being more active and doing things like 30 day yoga challenges. Meanwhile, I am trying to work on walking around the block and am not supposed to lift anything heavier than my baby or do sit-ups. In addition to my current physical limitations, I know that I need to realistic about what I am trying to commit to while I have a small baby and two other kids.Actually, making New Year’s resolutions that are smaller and more attainable is probably a good strategy no matter what situation you find yourself in January.

Making it specific, and giving yourself some incentive to stick to it helps too. For instance, maybe you want you and your family to take a multi-vitamin every day. Taking a gummy vitamin like Vitafusion™ MultiVites gummies or L’il Critters™ Gummy Vites™ for the kids can make taking your vitamin feel more like a treat and less like a chore. I’ve found that since we switched to gummy vitamins I am way more likely to remember and my kids help remind me too!

Integrating your resolution into your daily life can also help. This year, I’m going to try to go on daily walks most days of the week. Right now I’m starting small and just trying to take the kids on short walks around the block until I build up my stamina again. In a few weeks, I’m going to build it into my day by walking my son to school. This will make it much harder to skip than if it was more of a vague intention. Ultimately, I’d like to work towards a stronger, fitter me, but I’m taking it one step at a time.

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? What is yours this year?

L'il Critters Gummy Vites 70ct (1) 

 

 I am a brand ambassador for the 2015 year with Church & Dwight. As part of this program I receive monetary compensation as well as products to review. 

Filed Under: Sponsored, Thoughts

An Average Mom’s Christmas House Tour

December 22, 2014 by danawyyc 1 Comment

It turns out I am not the only one whose house doesn’t look like a magazine. My friend Katie writes short book reviews that don’t pull any punches over at Brass Knuckle Book Reviews. She decided to do a Christmas House tour too. Check it out! 

I love drooling over the beautiful Christmas house tours that are on Pinterest and some of my favourite blogs at this time of year. But, like Dana, my house looks nothing like that. There are not even small sections of my house that look like that.

Unlike Dana, I don’t have the excuse of being 9 months pregnant. I’m just an average mom, and I think my house looks like an average mom’s house at Christmas. It’s not messier than everyone else’s, right??

Here’s my Christmas tour!

messy xmas - Christmas Tree - talkinginallcaps.com

This is our tree. I may have over-estimated the space we had available in that corner. It’s also about to fall over because my husband did not anchor it to the wall like I asked him to. It’s totally blocking our access to toy storage in the corner, but I still love it.

messy xmas  - couch - talkinginallcaps.com

In this shot, you can see the tree encroaching on our couch like a triffid. We also have another festive pile of Christmas stuff here. And one of the kids has added some joyful red marker to the couch, clearly to add to the Christmas spirit of our home. There’s also an ornament on the couch. The kids and the cats keep taking them off, which is making me crazy.

messy xmas 2 - talkinginallcaps.com

On the couch, we have a festive assortment of Christmas stuffies. They have clearly been arranged with special care.

messy xmas couch 2 - talkinginallcaps.com

Just above the stuffies, I have some unopened shipments of Christmas presents on display. I haven’t managed to get them down to the basement yet, much less wrap them.

messy xmas doll house - talkinginallcaps.com

We got some tiny lights and a teeny fire pit for the dollhouse this year, which I think looks insanely cute. You can also see the wreaths and garland sitting on the table here, because the sticky stuff that I used to put them on the house was not sticky ENOUGH. I’ve been meaning to find an alternative, but I’m really busy watching the tree slowly tip over.

messy xmas TV - talkinginallcaps.com

We also have some festive Christmas penguins. These are flanking the focal point of our living room, our TV.

messy xmas mantel - talkinginallcaps.com

Here is our Christmas mantle. I shoved our regular mantle things to the sides, and then put some of my Christmas toys up there. I bought the garland this year, and I meant to put it ON the mantle, but I can’t figure out how to make it stick. This is a recurring issue with me, apparently. So instead, the garland is hanging right on top of my “Merry Christmas” banner from Target.

You may have noticed that we don’t have stockings. My daughter is four this year, so I think she’s finally old enough to notice. I need to buy some. It’s the 21st of December, and I still haven’t gotten around to this.

messy xmas books - talkinginallcaps.com

In this shot, you can see the giant silver bin where I keep our Christmas books. I always have books readily accessible for the kids, because I’m a librarian like that.

You can also see some additional mess here. I cleaned yesterday, so this is at least 75% less messy than usual. But you can still see the white paper stuck to the floor where the kids spilled something on a colouring book.

messy xmas felt tree - talkinginallcaps.com

I made this tree out of felt, and then I made felt ornaments to stick to it. The kids actually never play with this incredibly thoughtful DIY project, because the ornaments don’t stick as WELL as they want. I put it up anyhow because I am proud that I actually MADE something that I saw on Pinterest.

messy xmas outdoor lights - talkinginallcaps.com

This is a shot of our exterior Christmas lights. As you can see, they are still sitting in a Tupperware bin by the front door. Again, today is December 21st. I would like to get them up before Christmas, but it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t happen this year.

messy xmas Christmas Penguin - talkinginallcaps.com

My husband bought this Christmas penguin from Earl’s 20 years ago. It’s paper mache, and it was made by someone who doesn’t know what a penguin beak looks like. But I still love it. We put candy canes in his Santa sack every year. We then find small pieces of candy cane stuck to furniture and floors for the rest of the season.

messy xmas artwork - talkinginallcaps.com

I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to ways to creatively display your kids’ art work. But I still just tape it to the wall.

messy xmas fridge - talkinginallcaps.com

Our Santa photos are on the fridge, because… what do you do with Santa photos? I have never been able to figure this out.

messy xmas kitchen - talkinginallcaps.com

Here’s a shot of our kitchen, where the décor includes some festive Christmas treats lovingly tossed on the counter for people to snack on. You have to search through the rest of the mess though, so it’s a fun challenge.

messy xmas Christmas Cards - talkinginallcaps.com

This is our Christmas card display, and I actually love it. I just took put of those stick-on Command hooks on either side of the window, and tied a couple of long ribbons to them. Then I used small binder clips to attach the cards. For the rest of the year, I hang some of the kids’ art here too.

That’s it! If you don’t have any lights up, or don’t own stockings, you are not alone. And I’m pretty sure our kids won’t be irreparably harmed. Messy Christmas! I mean Merry.

Filed Under: Thoughts Tagged With: Christmas, Home Tour

A 9 Months Pregnant Mom’s Christmas Home Tour

December 18, 2014 by danawyyc 11 Comments

I don’t know if you are familiar with a Home Tour. I didn’t know anything about them until recently when I fell into a bad crowd. Of design bloggers. Honestly, they are lovely people. Many of these design bloggers do gorgeous home tours that showcase their beautiful homes that look straight out of a magazine, like my friend Jo-anna.

Now I know their homes don’t look exactly like that all the time. I know the pictures were taken just after the house was cleaned and all the dishes and kids toys have been put away. I know that there are rooms that don’t get photographed at all. But my house has never ever looked even remotely like one of those houses.

Now that I am preparing for Christmas while 9 months pregnant with a 2 and 5 year old my house looks even less similar. I have actually managed to  put up all the decorations already this year. But that’s because I started really early because everything seems to take me forever right now. I wrapped all the presents over 3 days. And it’s not like I did any fancy wrapping either. I literally wrote on the wrapping paper with jiffy marker. By the time I got to the presents from Santa… Well, let’s just say that Santa should fire the elf that wrapped those presents. I’ve also reduced the number of decorations I’ve put up this year. In part because I’m having a baby in early January so everything needs to get put away right after Christmas and mostly because I can’t manage to get some of the areas that I would put the decorations clean.

I thought doing a home tour of our home would provide a refreshing contrast to many of the Christmas home tours out there right now.

So come on in!

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour - outside - talkinginallcaps.com

I actually really like our Christmas lights, but we’re redoing the area in front of our window so right now instead of  a dying bush with pretty coloured lights on it like we had last year, we have a stump, a dirt pile and pots with dead flowers.

 

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour - fireplace - talkinginallcaps.com

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is our felt Christmas Stockings from Etsy. We don’t have a mantel on our fireplace and I have struggled every year with how to hang them up. I think this year I finally figured it out.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour - fireplace - talkinginallcaps.com

I attached hooks onto the wall on each side of the fireplace and hung the stockings up with clothes pins along a string. The fireplace itself has never actually been used. We currently have it blocked off with a piece of wood held in place with duck tape because it was so drafty. Classy I know.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Christmas Tree - talkinginallcaps.com
Our tree is beautiful and this picture really doesn’t do it justice. We carefully placed it in the centre of the room because there wasn’t any other place we could put it this year without blocking the TV. And we just can’t have that. We have high ceilings so bought a tall tree. Two things to note: everything looks smaller in Costco and if you are ever buying a tall tree think about how wide the base is. We have tall ceilings but a small house!

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Gingerbread House - talkinginallcaps.com

My son begged me to build a gingerbread house this year. I have no problem getting them to stay together but do not have much skill with using the icing for decoration.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Gingerbread House - talkinginallcaps.com

We are currently lovingly displaying it on our kitchen table amongst the mess which we can’t seem to actually clear off this year.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Nativity - talkinginallcaps.com

We tend to get a little something new each year for Christmas and this year’s edition is a wooden nativity.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Nativity - talkinginallcaps.com

Which is basically lost in the clutter that is all over our bookcase.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  kitchen - talkinginallcaps.com

In the kitchen you’ll find our little Christmas whisk.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  kitchen - talkinginallcaps.com

And typically a huge mess.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Christmas Cards - talkinginallcaps.com

I decided to extend the string and clothes pin idea to our Christmas cards and I really love how it turned out.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Christmas Cards - talkinginallcaps.com

It’s conveniently located across from the bathroom and above the overflowing laundry baskets. This is also the same space that I display the kids’ artwork.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Bathroom - talkinginallcaps.com

Inside the bathroom is our fancy Christmas themed soap dispenser.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Bathroom - talkinginallcaps.com

And clutter that I should really put away. And a lot of toothpaste and soap residue. I love this sink but kids sure make a mess of it in a hurry.  I have tried to take as-is pictures of our house for this home tour, but I really debated whether anyone actually needed to see this. I’m pretty sure the answer is no, but it saved me from having to clean it up right now. I”ll get to it. Eventually.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  2nd Tree - talkinginallcaps.com

We have a second small tree from our first house that we let the kids decorate this year.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  2nd Tree - talkinginallcaps.com

It was pretty adorable to see how they put the ornaments on. There is a ring right at 2 year old height where you can find all the pink ornaments.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Train - talkinginallcaps.com

Below the tree we have a Lego Train set up. We have a Lego Christmas train for it too, but my husband’s nerves can’t handle the kids playing with it without supervision and I am way too tired to do that job so it only comes out when he’s able to watch them with it.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Elves - talkinginallcaps.com

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the Danish kravlenisser or Crawling Elves (we just call them Nisse). This are a little bit similar to elf on the shelf. They are paper elves that pop up around your house and move around at night. For some reason one year I decided that we should have a new one come out each day in December until Christmas and that they should all move around each night. I have no idea why I set the bar so high. This year, the Nisser are much more likely to hang out in groups so I don’t have to find new places to put them.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Elves - talkinginallcaps.com

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Advent Calendar - talkinginallcaps.com

The Nisse also bring the kids candy for their advent calendar. Which this year is located on the floor next to their dresser full of dress up clothes.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Presents - talkinginallcaps.com
The presents that don’t fit under the tree are stuck on a table in our back bedroom. surrounded by more mess.

So that’s our house this year. Yes, there are some rooms I’ve skipped. All you will find there is more mess and no Christmas decorations of any kind. Even though our house is far from perfect this year (not that it is anywhere near perfect other years) and I am exhausted, our kids are still enjoying our decorations and loving our Christmas traditions. I’ve found that letting go of some of the expectations I have for myself is making me happier too. Christmas dinner this year is going to be a no cook, order in pizza dinner. It’ll be different, but I think it’s going to be great just the same.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Santa Skull - talkinginallcaps.com

Merry Christmas!

Filed Under: Thoughts Tagged With: Christmas, Home Tour

Kindergarten Makes Me Feel Like a New Parent All Over Again

October 5, 2014 by danawyyc 3 Comments

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like a novice parent. I now have 2 kids and another one on the way. My oldest is 5. With this pregnancy, I haven’t even cracked a pregnancy book (for my first I think I had 3) and have checked a few times on the internet to see how big the baby is at whatever number of weeks. I have trouble keeping track of how many weeks pregnant I am and sometimes it almost slips my mind that I’m pregnant at all. It’s not that the milestones are less special, but the road there is less worrying and less anxiety ridden. At least for me.

Kindergarten makes me feel like a new parent all over again Sure, different kids come with different challenges  (and joys!) and different pregnancies come with different worries and different symptoms. But it has been a long time since I’ve had that ‘I have no idea what I am doing and am pretty sure everyone is going to judge me because of that’ lack of confidence in my parenting.

Maybe part of this is because I didn’t send Gordie to daycare or preschool. Maybe if I had the difference would have been less daunting. It’s not that I had trouble letting him go. I was pretty confident that he would love going. I figured his biggest problem was going to be not talking – as in knowing when not to talk – and for the most part that has been true. But all the choices and decisions you have to make. How big of a backpack do I get? What are good things to send for snack? What about volunteering?

Now that it’s a month in, I feel more at ease again. I’ve found the first month exhausting for me and my son. But we generally took it easy and tried not to do too much. We did end up buying a backpack that is a touch too small. We walk to school, so I didn’t want it to be too big, but it’s doesn’t quite fit a full sheet of paper. I highly recommend testing that out before you buy one. After some trial and error I’ve also found that my son does really well if I pack healthy muffins and grape tomatoes for his snack. (These pineapple, carrot and raisin whole wheat muffins worked really well). We had his parent teacher interviews last week and he seems to be doing really well. Everything his teacher said about him would surprise no one who knew him. And most importantly, he has a big smile on his face as he goes in to school and a big smile on his face on his way out.

I remember wondering when you stopped feeling like a new parent. I had thought maybe it was when you stopped being surprised about the fact that you actually are a parent. But I suspect now that this won’t be the last time I’ll have the feeling of not having a clue what I am doing. And i’ll be lucky if it doesn’t happen again before my kids enter their teenage years.

Filed Under: Parenting, Thoughts

Love and Loss: How to Help Someone Who is Grieving

August 14, 2014 by danawyyc 2 Comments

Love and Loss: How to help someone who is grieving My special needs brother passed away this summer. He’s been a big part of my life for the last 30 years and he’s taught me a lot. Even right at the end, he has still helped me become a better person. I know that I will now be a better friend to someone who is suffering a loss that I would have otherwise. I have learned so much about what is helpful and that is something I will be able to carry with me for the rest of my life. I have had amazing support from family and friends and I really can’t thank them enough.

  1. Bring Food

    Although you sometimes hear derisive comments in popular media about expressing sympathy in the form of tuna casserole, if there is one thing anyone can do to help, it is by bringing food. It can be really hard to get yourself organized to plan meals, get groceries and cook them. Having people bring food by is a life saver. Make sure you ask about any food allergies or preferences first and it helps to make a note in some way that the food doesn’t have dairy (for example). I also highly recommend sending the food in a form that could be easily frozen and to not send it in dishes you need to get back. If you do, try to label them.

  2. Play to Your Strengths

    There is no one right way to help. If you are someone who likes to make meals, do that. If you like to bake, do that instead. If you would rather stay out of the kitchen, that’s okay too. Pick up some frozen meals, grab some buns and sandwich meat, put together fresh fruit and vegetables, drop off a gift card or get some food delivered instead. All of it will be welcomed.

  3. Set up a Schedule or Bring Things Later

    If you are part of a family or group, setting up a schedule for dropping off food can help focus people’s efforts and prevent everything from showing up at once. If you’re not part of a large group, consider bringing things later on. Most of the help will tend to come right away but that’s not the only time it’s needed.

  4. Treat Them Normally and Don’t be Afraid to Talk About Normal Things

    No matter how sad you are you can’t be sad all the time and you sure don’t want to cry all the time. At the beginning of your visit you can tell them how sorry you are, and talk about what happened but for the most part just talk. You dont’ want to avoid the subject and you want to be open to listening if they do want to talk though. Don’t treat them like they may fall apart at any moment. It can be a huge relief to talk about something else and just be normal for a while.

  5. Propose Easy Outings

    It can be hard to get the energy up to go out but taking your mind off things can be helpful. Try proposing outings that are specific, short and soon. It may also be helpful to present it as more of a statement than a question. eg. “I was thinking of picking you up to go get a milkshake at Peters.” Be prepared for your invitation to be declined.

  6. Offer to Drive

    If you know your friend has to drive somewhere or you are inviting them out, offer to drive. This is particularly helpful if they are not totally comfortable driving in the first place, are going somewhere unfamiliar or are driving to do something emotionally difficult.

  7. Drop off a Sunshine Basket

    Flowers are traditional pick me up. They are beautiful and will certainly be welcomed. The one problem that I have come to realize with flowers is that, well, they die. This can be kind of sad when you are mourning a loss. As an alternative, consider putting together a sunshine or pick me up basket with little things to help brighten a sad day. Candy, lotion, notepads, candles, bath products – it doesn’t have to cost a lot to mean a lot.

  8. Suggest Ways You Can Help

    Even when you really need help it can be hard to figure out what you need. Suggest something specific that you could do. It can also be hard to not default to saying no. You may be able to improve your success by framing it less like a question and making it seem really easy. Eg. stand by the dishwasher and say, “I was thinking of doing your dishes, is that okay?”

  9. If You Know Something Your Friend Struggles With – Help With That

    Everyone has something that they need to do in their day to day life but struggle with or hate doing. It may be making phone calls, or mowing the lawn, or picking up groceries. Whatever it is, it’s going to be much much harder to get it done when you’re grieving.

  10. Manage Your Expectations

    Be okay, with having your invitations turned down. Don’t worry if you send a message that doesn’t get a response. Or send over some food and don’t’ receive a thank you. Your kindness is certainly appreciated even if that may not always be obvious.

  11. Just Show Up

    It doesn’t have to be a big gesture. Just being there can be enough. Show up at the funeral, send a card, send an e-mail expressing your condolences.

Is there something you would add?

Filed Under: life, Thoughts

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About Me

I'm an experiential playground expert and mom to three young kids. I live with my husband in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. When I'm not looking after people, I'm reading all the YA fiction I can get my hands on and am attempting to learn photography. My laundry-folding suffers due to more interesting pursuits.

You can also find me over at:
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