Cleaning Machine

If I wasn't a bit of a "Monica" (another Friends reference) before... I sure am now.

I got a call from my best bud (who has a 8 month old) last week and we basically confessed to each other that we had turned into Monica's because of our fear of our babies getting H1N1. "I even cleaned my steering wheel" she said, to which I replied "Oh my God, me too!". We took comfort in the fact that we weren't alone in our new found anal-ness about germ killing.

As the video I posted on Saturday said "I'm about 70% hand sanitizer at this point". And now we're not only worried about killing all the germs to prevent our babes from getting sick but we're worried about killing all the germs and not allowing our babes to build immunities! It's madness!

What I have discovered, in this madness, is a Mom's best friend - the Clorox Disinfecting Wipe (the Lavender scented ones are my fav). I'm about to do an infomercial here so bare with me but these things are awesome. As I said, I'm a bit of a Monica so I enjoy cleaning... actually let me rephrase... I enjoy a clean house a little too much. When Jane was born I switched to the Clorox Greenworks products in an attempt to be greener and to reduce the number of chemicals I was using in the house. I am still pretty loyal to those products (dish wash liquid, all purpose cleaner, fabric deodorizer) but I have to say these Clorox wipes are freakin' addictive. It's so easy to clean with them that I find myself walking around with the dispenser looking for germs and dust! :p I'm such a geek! My sister and girlfriend are also wipe-addicts.

Anyways, wanted to pass that little tip along if you've never tried the wipes before. For those of us with limited time, they are a life saver! :)

Jen :)

PS - Join the Million Baby Crawl (for US followers) to demand laws regulating toxic chemicals found in household products!

Cleaning Machine

October in Pictures :)

October in Pictures :)

Funniest Thing I've Seen in Awhile!

For my American gals... this is Rick Mercer. He is from my home, Newfoundland, and he is one of the funniest "dudes" around. Enjoy!




Jen :)

Funniest Thing I've Seen in Awhile!

Etsy Addict

I mentioned on Monday that I'm an Etsy addict... the place is awesome! You can find everything you ever dreamed of! :p It's basically a place for sellers of all different types to sell handmade goods - art, clothing, pottery, etc. I find myself going on there to find things I "need"... instead of needing something first and then finding it. tee hee hee. Dan's probably going to try to block me from the site at some point.

Anyways, thought I'd share some of my recent purchases in case you need "inspiration" for spending money! :p

Purchase numero uno... a gorgeous custom quilt for Janers. When I was a babe, my Mom made me a quilt that I used to play on, sleep on, pee on, everything! I still have it. So, I thought it would be a wonderful Christmas gift for Jane to get her her own quilt. I found this shop, Warm Winters, where you can choose your fabric, design, size, everything. Nichole, the "shop" owner, has been great to work with and I can't wait to see the finished product. In fact, she just emailed me letting me know that she's purchased the fabric and wanted to know which way I wanted it quilted and what colour thread I wanted - which I have no idea about so I told her I trusted her! :p What's nice is, once you select your fabric and quilt pattern, she can send you a picture of what your quilt will look like when it's put together. Here's the picture of Janes. Nichole is generously offering 10% off to all Mommy Brain followers!! Just quote MB10 when ordering - YIPEE! :)

Secondly, I have been looking everywhere (well, not really but you know what I mean) for nice Holiday dresses for Jane. It's hard to find the right red, ya know? Anyways, I thought ETSY and found these two different, but fabulous, little dresses for her. One of the best things about Etsy is that, if you find something you like, but it's not the right size, colour, or you want to change something, you can ask the seller and, every time I've done this, they've been willing to work with me to give me what I want. For example, the red corduroy dress (left) is from Half Stitched and was offered in sizes 2T+. So, I contacted the seller and she is making it in 6-9 months for me, YIPEE! The second dress is called a "pillowcase dress" (never heard of it before) but there are tons of different designs on Etsy, this one is from Sheila at Delaney's Den. She had the best prices and the best looking styles. Sheila is also offering a 10% discount for you - be sure to check out her fabulous shop!

Lastly, I bought a few Christmas gifts for my nieces. I had a beautiful custom beanie made for my three year old niece, Anna, by Lovely Knits. I was able to choose which colours I wanted - I went with Chocolate for the main colour and Pastel Pink for the flower and trim (same style as pictured).

As I said, the best thing about Etsy is the ability to customize and get what you want for a reasonable price... not to mention you end up with a completely unique finished product! The shipping costs are usually pretty fab as well... especially considering I'm ordering from Canada and most are shipping from the US.

Happy shopping!

Jen :)

PS - Just a reminder about our 10% off at Warm Winters (MB10) and Delaney's Den... beautiful Christmas gifts for everyone!

PPS - This is what we woke up to this morning - thinking I'm a genius now because of my smart move on Monday! :) If I look like I just woke up, it's because I did! :p

Etsy Addict

Great Idea

Saw this on my American MB's blog yesterday and thought it was well worth a share... what great ideas (LOVE the lettering idea).

Click here to check it out!

Jen :)

Great Idea

Brainiac Babies

Was sent this article with some really interesting ways to help your baby develop... starting in pregnancy.

Definitely some things in here I never knew - enjoy!

Harvard Bound: 52 Tips to Boost Your Baby's Brain Development

Jen :)

Brainiac Babies

Weigh-In Wednesday

I've done fabulously with exercise this week - at least one walk almost every day. Jane and I also went swimming yesterday (see picture) which I'm sure burnt at least 5-10 calories! :p Eating, not so much... it was Halloween. I should have mentioned last Wednesday that I wasn't even going to bother this week. A girl's gotta live! We had pizza on Friday, Halloween treats on Saturday and Sunday... whatever! It was totally worth it.

So, I bought into the hype from my gf Laura and Oprah and bought a pair of Reebok Easytones. In my defense, if they do nothing more than a regular sneaker, I needed new walking sneakers anyways. But, apparently, they are supposed to help tone your legs by making you a little unbalanced so your muscles have to work harder (similar to doing crunches on an exercise ball). I ordered them online so once I get them, I'll give you my thoughts...

Anyways - didn't lose weight this week but shocked that I didn't gain any either after the calorie-fest on the weekend. No worries, back on track today and dealing with the consequences.

Still haven't woken up early to run downstairs but I'm not sure how that will work... Jane sleeps until 7:30am but that's with me taking her into the bed with me from 6am onward. If I leave her in her crib, she wakes up every 20 mins or so - so I'd get more of a workout running up and down the stairs from the treadmill to her room, that I would from actually running. What I might have to do is wake up at 5:30, run, then take her to bed with me and go back to sleep... doesn't sound too tempting right now but maybe some morning I'll be really motivated and see how it goes.

Received a great link for eating healthier when you have to dine-out from Jennifer... check it out. I know, myself, I've ordered off the kids menu loads of times - you still get the yummy flavour without the giant portions!

Hopefully I can keep up with the exercise this week and will have better results next Wednesday!

Jen :)

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Weigh-In Wednesday