Raskullz

Something I am loving this spring is my son’s Raskullz bike helmet.  The boys wear their helmets pretty much all spring and summer, and Raskullz offers a fun alternative to the traditional style.

Styles range from princesses and ladybugs to sharks and gorillas.

If you see a red mohawk with a skull and crossbones emblazoned on the side, barreling down the street on a bike, chances are that he belongs to me.  Every crazy bone of him.

Ps – I received no compensation for recommending Raskullz but should they wish to, they know where to find me.

photo courtesy of: www.raskullz.com

Amber Necklaces for Baby

It’s unusual, now that I’m three babies into my life, to learn of some natural baby-related item that I’ve not heard of before.  But it happened recently.  Upon learning that I have a baby whose sleeping habits at night are, let’s say, challenging, someone told me about amber necklaces for children.

I have always loved amber, just for its beauty, but apparently that’s not all there is to it.  The site from which I bought it offers a bit more information:

Amber is not an actual stone but rather crafted from the now fossilized resin of a tree. Initially this resin served the tree as an antibiotic that protected it from different viruses. People would at times take the resin and use it as a wound dressing to promote faster healing. Amber from the Baltic region is known to contain the highest concentrate of succinic acid which is why amber is often refered as succinite. Succinite, an ancient fossilized resin, is known as an amazing all natural healer and anti-oxidant.

I think I read somewhere that wearing the amber heats when lying against our bodies, and the heat helps to release its healing qualities.

I was a wee bit skeptical.  But you never know, and $22 seemed like a small price to pay for my (sleep) sanity, or even a lottery ticket chance at such sanity.  (There are nights when I’d consider trading my left lung for a little more rest.)  So I bought the cognac amber baby necklace (there are different shades to amber, but they all work in the same way) and put it on straightaway.

It’s been a few weeks, and I’m here to report that I haven’t noticed any real change in my baby’s sleeping patterns.  Some nights are better than others, but that was true pre-amber necklace too.  I really can’t endorse the usefulness of the necklace from my own experience.

So why am I writing about it?  Mostly because it’s not well known but could be helpful to somebody.  Some people really have had good experiences with it – I read a bunch of these voluntary reviews on the Mothering community website.  One person believed in it so strongly, it has become her go-to newborn baby gift.

Because it hasn’t worked noticeably for us, I won’t be gifting it, but I think it’s worth a try for any sleep-deprived mama.  As I said, I love amber anyway, so I have left it on my son.  It may look feminine – a little girl asked me the other day why a boy is wearing a necklace.  But my baby boys have always been mistaken for girls regardless of what they’re wearing – so much so that I have stopped correcting the error – so even if I cared about these things (which I don’t), it wouldn’t make much difference.

Plus, there’s always the possibility that the necklace is making some small, unappreciable improvement, or will do so in the future.  If it gives me one additional minute of sleep, I’ll take it.

A modified version of this post appears at The Kings and I blog.

Friday Fun: Caine’s Arcade

Have you seen this yet? Nine year old Caine Monroy spent last summer built a fully-functioning cardboard arcade inside his father’s autobody shop in Los Angeles, California. In October of last year, a whole bunch of new friends showed up to play:

Go Caine! Kudos to filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, too. “I felt proud”, indeed.

Souper Douper!

Photo by cogdogblog on Flickr. Used under a creative commons licence.

Name a food that is (a) easy to prepare (b) healthy and (c) inexpensive to make?

My husband reminded us of one last week.

Soup.

But not any old soup. Homemade chicken rice soup. From scratch.

I know! It sounds like a no-brainer, right? Soup is soup. It has sustained people for generations. Yet, how many of us regularly make our own chicken broth? There was a time when I made chicken soup all the time, but I fell out of the habit of it, given that there are so many easy (read: canned) alternatives that can be ready in slightly less time than it takes to press a couple of buttons on a microwave. So why make your own? You just have to eat one bowl of freshly made soup, and the reasons become obvious. Homemade chicken soup is one of those foods that is easy and cheap to make, and infinitely better from scratch than anything that comes out of a can. It’s just nicer. And it’s better for you, too. As someone who avoids gluten, I know what’s exactly in my soup when it’s made at home. And it makes me happy. We should all eat what makes us happy.

Peter’s become the designated chicken rice soup maker around our place. Here’s how he does it:

At the grocery store I decided to buy the pack of 4 chicken breasts on the bone (around $11 vs $20+ for boneless). Boning the meat isn’t hard; however not being an expert I didn’t fret getting every last bit off the bones. However, I’d paid for the things so I didn’t want to throw them out. So I made soup. To the bones-with-meat I added 1 finely chopped onion, 2 biggish carrots, 2 stalks celery (with leaves even!), peppercorns, 1 large bay leaf, some thyme and 2 whole cloves of garlic plus water to cover, and simmered for 2 hours. After a night in the fridge, I skimmed the fat, took the meat off the bones, and added a cup or so of rice (and cooked for 20 min) and salt to taste. Awesome and simple. Boning the meat-5 min; chopping onions, carrots and celery-5 min; picking meat from bones and skimming-5 min; everything else-5 min. We had enough for 6 good sized bowls that blew away any store-bought soup, plus 4 good sized breasts that we cooked up the first night.

Four chicken breasts. Two meals, and one of them is soup. Of course, chicken soup freezes really well, but only if you have leftovers to freeze in the first place!

Wheeling Into Spring

In our little neck of city alleyways, the blush of spring brings forth… wheels!  Big, small, four, two, as many as we can. We have little boys, and as you likely well know, boys like wheels.

This year, our waltz with wheels is more intense than usual.  My husband has just started a new job that is requiring the use of our one car.  So I’m at home, sola, with my three boys 5 days of the week, including Saturday.  We gave up being a two car household years ago, and I’m doing my utmost to forestall the purchase of another car for reasons environmental, financial, and health (even though I don’t want to, I walk and bike less when I have access to a car).

First off:  our bikes.  I know there are bravehearts out there who cycle in Toronto through the winter, but we’re not them.  So when the snows flush away and it’s possible to ride without a cold air headache, we’re on our bikes.  This year is special for us because our 3 year old now rides a two-wheeler.  In addition to the inherent fun-ness of that, his abilities make the 20 minute walk without children to my older son’s school a lot easier.

It’s still not that easy though, or quick, because I still walk with the baby.  We have a double bike trailer, but baby’s still too young for it, and it’s awfully big for just one child.  So, in anticipation of the very near future when I can ride my bike with him, I went to a bike shop recommended by a friend and got an infant bike seat installed on my bike.   I did this the day after I thought of the idea and was delighted with myself both because it seemed to expand our options so much to have us all on bikes, and also because I can sometimes procrastinate doing the things I want to get done.

The delight dampener came, however, when a couple of hours after picking up my bike from the shop, I went into the garage to look for something else and saw in plain frontal view the infant bike seat that my brother gave to me.  You know, the one in pristine condition.   It’s a mark of my commitment to you, reader, that I bring this memory to mind because doing so makes me $120 in the hole mental.

Let’s move to the four-wheelers, shall we?  I have a car seat stroller that I use all the time, even when I don’t drive; I like it because baby can sleep cozily in it.  But baby is now over 7 months old, and one disadvantage of the car seat stroller is that its shape forces him to recline, when he’d rather be bolt upright looking at all there is to look at.  The other disadvantage of that stroller is that it’s just one, and to fend off the spectre of two cars, its oneness seems too frail a front.

So I bent over double and hauled our pram out from under the back porch.  I didn’t know it was there until hubby told me so; I thought it had been stored in the garage.  I don’t think it’s been used for two years and it was, um, gross.  But, with my eye on more wheels, I fearlessly fumbled all the snaps and harness straps off, and threw the coverings in the wash.  Then I turned on the garden hose and let the boys have at it, after which they settled down with rags and toothbrushes to really clean that puppy properly.

Two days later, our baby sat and slept in that comfortable stroller which was likely cleaner than it has ever been since my sister hadned it down to me years ago.

In a pinch, I have a couple of umbrella strollers and a double stroller which I pray I’ll never have to heave against again.  And just in case you’re wondering at the wild stroller excess, please note that every single one was given to me except for the double, which I bought used at this annual sale for $65.

And finally, because even the most motivated legs can’t do everything, I joined a car share service.  I heard of car sharing years ago, and my initial interest piqued even more when a car location appeared a block from my house.  It was time.

And it’s worked out well.  We’ve used it twice already, and the walk is so short that even laden with car seats, it’s very do-able.  The kids are enjoying the novelty of a “new” car, and I like the escape hatch and freedom of it.

The wheeliness of everything is made simpler, of course, because it’s spring, glorious spring!  I’m not sure how we’ll fare when the weather turns cold again, but that seems such a distance away; who knows what will happen by then.

And I didn’t even mention the scooters…

Best of the Blogosphere

I will admit that when I am changing the fourth poo-explosion of the day (ugh, always when I am about to eat something!), and the fighting/whining of the older two seems like the soundtrack to my life, it can be difficult for me to focus on the loveliness of being a mother.  Just before Valentine’s Day, Savvy Mom posted the Top Ten Reasons To Love Being a Mom and I have had this site bookmarked ever since.  Number Three: The After School Hug definitely rates high with me because I know that an expiration date looms. There is nothing like picking up the boys from school and having them run into my arms.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and homemade cards and Cheerio necklaces will always be a favourite of mine, but the wordophile in me would love to have one of these Morse code necklaces from Coattonline.  I would choose to personalize my necklace to read: together we’re one.

A few weeks ago, the moms group that I belong to hosted a seminar by Carlyle Jansen who owns Good For Her.  She brought along (among other things) a copy of Love in the Time of Colic: The New Parents’ Guide To Getting It On Again.  I haven’t read the book, but the title of it made me laugh.

Nancy Ripton of Just the Facts Kid and Matt Damon’s mom made me sleep a bit better this month.  After what has been months (okay, years) of agonizing over the boys “gun play”, I have officially decided to move on to obsessing about something else.  Read what the experts have to say by clicking here.

Every day I look forward to reading Pickle Me This and this month my favourite post by Kerry Clare was her review of Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman.  Perhaps not as controversial as Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom, Druckerman’s book has been garnering a lot of attention.  What do you think?  How are you raising your kids?  Are you like the moms described in Bringing Up Bebe or do you answer to the battle cry?   Or do you make up your own rules?

Disclaimer: I did not receive any product or money for writing about any of the items/posts/websites above.  I just love to share.  To quote my three year old: “Sharing is caring!”

Image credits: microsoft, coattonline, iankerner, pameladruckerman

The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

This past Christmas I gave my husband, a great gift!

Nope.  It’s not what you’re thinking.

I wanted to give him something personal but also something that would be useful.  I had contemplated some sentimental ideas and while they definitely would tug at his heartstrings and be a memorable gift, nothing seemed to be the right fit.

While searching online, I discovered Canadian company, Riverstone Designs and their LoveLinx Collection.  The collection of pendants, bracelets, earrings, cufflinks and key chains are beautifully crafted sterling silver jewelry personalized by your child’s thumbprint and/or photo.

I selected the cufflinks for my husband’s Christmas present.  The design of the cufflinks is modern and sophisticated and the craftsmanship is impeccable.

Because I have three boys, I did three cufflinks each personalized with their thumbprint and name (on the back).  While some may see the odd pairing of links as a need to have a fourth child (by some, I mean my mother!), others see it as a need for the artists of Riverstone Design to increase their men’s line.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and a meaningful gift from Riverstone Design, LoveLinx Collection would make a special gift.  The Circle of Love pendant for $60, tops my list (hint, hint) but any of the various bracelets (starting at $80) and necklaces (from $42) that have been personalized with my boys’ prints would make me smile.

Act fast . . . orders for Mother’s Day must be placed by the end of March.

Disclaimer:  The author of this post did not receive any product or money from Riverstone Design, LoveLinx Collection.  I just love the cufflinks they created for me and I wanted to spread the word!

photocredit: www.ohbabymagazine.com

 

The Family that sneezes together…

I love Family Day.

What’s not to love? It’s a day off of work and school, where the only obligatory activity is to spend time with your family and relax. As this Toronto Star article states, it’s a holiday that “doesn’t involve turkeys, presents or backyard fireworks, and that’s perfectly fine with Toronto families.” It’s also perfectly fine with me.

So what did my family want to do? Well, we did have brunch planned, and we did hope to catch the re-released Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 3-D (full disclosure: the kids wanted to see it. I like to pretend Star Wars movies one through three never happened…).  Maybe a nice long walk.  If time permitted, we were going to do some baking, and then curl up on the couch together to watch some TV.

What did we do? Well, Sebastian woke up with a fever on Sunday, and by Monday wasn’t any better, so he napped most of the day, and then Daniel started to look green and his tummy started to hurt, and I threw my back out sometime Sunday morning and was just starting to feel better on Monday, though my legs were still wobbly so I wasn’t up for going anywhere, really.

You get the idea. We did nothing. Bupkiss. Nada.

Except…we didn’t do nothing, exactly. We were home, together. We cuddled. We napped. We read together. The boys played lego and Wii and watched a movie.

It was relaxing and nice, and while I wish we’d been feeling better, I also recognize that it’s kind of ridiculous that we all had to get sick to have a day of blissful nothingness together.  So while I can’t say for sure that next year’s Family Day won’t involve brunch and movies, I can say this year’s was all right with me.

Blogosphere Round-Up!

We here at 4mothers1blog like blogs. We like other people’s blogs just about as much as we like our own, which is to say, a whole lot. Here are five posts we think you should be reading:

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“God, I love it when your breath smells like Gaviscon” — Porn for Pregnant Ladies (from Pregnant Chicken)

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“I get to wear those?!” C.J. said smiling.
“Yup.”
“ALL OF THEM?!” he squealed looking at the tub of about 100 pink lost and found ballet shoes.
“No, silly, just two, you only have two feet.” – “My Son, the Dancer” (from Raising My Rainbow)

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This post is a couple of years old now, but it about sums it up. Ten Things I Hate About Motherhood (And One That I Love) (from Her Bad Mother)

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The Hidden Mother — a practice in photography of old. To ensure that a young child didn’t move during the long exposure, the mother held the child tightly; all the while, she was hidden by a blanket, not being the obvious subject of the photo. Worth a look ( via A Cup of Jo and Retronaut)

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And because it’s a new year: well, hello!

Hello from ant1mat3rie on Vimeo.

What is a Weekend?

In the first season of Downton Abbey, the Dowager Countess famously asked, “What is a weekend?”

The weekend, dear lady, is over, but thank you for sending it out in such magnificent style.  It is so much easier to face the lunch boxes when I’ve had a dose of the upstairs downstairs drama. 

And when I face the lunch boxes in the morning, I can just ask, “What would Mrs. Patmore do?”