When I was pregnant with my daughter, a cousin wrote us to say that she’d banked her first son’s umbilical cord blood and was planning to do the same with her second. The bank she used offered a ‘friends and family’ rate, so she wanted to pass the information on to us.
This was the first I’d heard of cord blood banking (though I was extremely informed—if not over-informed—on most things labour, delivery, and new baby).
When I was pregnant the first time, I spent a lot of time focusing on me, and the baby growing inside of me. I took many expectant mommy classes, I treated myself to prenatal massages, I took leisurely naps, and I even spent an entire weekend at a spa being pampered...just because. Back then I didn’t have an active toddler demanding most of my attention and time. Being pregnant while raising a toddler is a whole new world. The focus is no longer on me. And sometimes I find myself forgetting that I’m even pregnant at all.
*This is a series of posts that will run until early January 2013 that will share inspiring stories of giving back and giving of yourself in order to experience the feeing of true happiness. If you have a story to share, please contact me directly at [email protected] or leave a comment below!
Last week I got some pretty exciting news. My second child, who is now about half-way to being born, is going to be a GIRL! I was totally surprised by this news, primarily because everyone I spoke to (including a psychic) predicted that this time I was for sure going to have a boy! When we left the ultrasound appointment the technician had refused to tell us the gender.
On Thursday mornings my daughter and I escape to a place called Orange Dot where everything is bright and colourful. Where the instructors (see the two lovely ladies pictured above!) resemble Broadway performers with more enthusiasm than I can muster on even the best of days. Where books and toys and music and laughter take centre stage. For me, it's a saving grace.
Parenting a two-year-old is a lot like riding a roller coaster. One minute you're climbing toward new heights, filled with anticipation and excitement about what's to come; and the next minute, you're dangling upside-down, screaming in terror, wondering how you ended up here and if you're ever going to get down. My daughter has more energy than I'll ever have, and to say she keeps me on my toes is an understatement. But lately, between insane tantrums and hilarious exchanges, I've been observing her behaviour and the way she goes about life.
When I was a kid my dad was a workaholic. He was stressed out most of the time. And, though we did go on family vacations twice a year, the rest of the time he spent hard at work. He’d come home from the office, eat dinner, and then go into his study where he’d review the day’s paperwork and numbers until he went to bed. He didn’t help with the dishes or household chores. He rarely spent time playing with us. His mind was mostly on the company (a family steel business) he was trying to run successfully.
If there has ever been a time in my two-and-a-half years of parenthood that I've NEEDED wine (and I mean bottles and bottles of wine) it would definitely have been this past weekend when I embarked on the task of toilet training my toddler. And yet, by the time I got around to taking this messy and tantrum-filled bull by the horns, wouldn't ya know I'd be pregnant and not even allowed to drink.
This Sunday (Sept 23) is the First Annual 1K and 5K Walk for Stuttering Awareness in Toronto. It's a cause that's near and dear to Toronto mom Robyn Zeldin's heart. Robyn is currently riding the wave of her son's recent rise to stardom. At age 13, the Toronto teen, who raps under the name Lil JaXe (@LilJaxe), has collaborated with (and is now managed by) Montreal musician Karl Wolf and has become close friends with hip-hop superstar Drake.
To be honest, I hadn’t heard of the Breakfast Clubs of Canada before I began working on this blog post. Seeing as my daughter is only two-and-a-half, she’s still at the point where breakfast is consumed in stages, at home.
This is it. I’ve been waiting to announce my pregnancy ‘publicly’ for a while. Waiting for some sort of ‘sign’ that everything was moving along as it should before I took a risk and wrote about it before the requisite 12 weeks were up. The truth is, I’m not much of a secret keeper when it comes to my own secrets. Basically, I peed on a stick and texted my girlfriend the second that little plus-sign reared its head. Then I called my mom.
When my daughter was born, my girlfriend (who doesn't have kids of her own, but has a penchant for finding really unusual and super-cool gifts) bought her this little green, hardcover book called An Awesome Book. It seemed a bit advanced for my newborn, so I tucked it away on her bookshelf where it stayed for some time. Now that we're reading what seems like dozens of books each night, and I've read every book in our massive book library what seems like millions of times, it was time for something different...
Nothing makes me happier than watching my daughter dance. At two, she's completely uninhibited and rarely gets embarrassed. Dancing is the best way to bring on HAPPINESS. And, she knows it! No matter what kind of mood she's in, if I put on music and start dancing with her...that mood shifts. Dancing gets your energy flowing. It makes you feel alive!
So, you wanna get HAPPY today? Watch this video by Matt Harding....get up out of your chair and start DANCING...then pass the happiness along!
I don't know about you, but summer usually makes me antsy. Around this time of year I typically find myself wanting to do and see as much as possible before the weather turns again. Recently, I read an awesome blog post written by Dr. Kim Foster on this very site! She wrote about the psychological and physiological advantages to taking vacations. She said that vacations are good for your health! Best. News. Ever.
I just finished writing about my own summer camp experience and how important it is to give your kids the chance to grow and thrive—away from home. This post will serve as part-two of the summer camp story. I want to share with you an incredible organization I’ve come across that grants children in Toronto’s poorest neighbourhoods the opportunity to experience the joys and thrills of overnight camp.
Summer camp was my happy place. But also my sad place. It started the summer I was nine. My mom had loved camp as a kid. So much so that she’d built it up to be the most magical and wonderful experience in the world. And, somehow nine-year-old me, who was nothing short of a mama’s girl, was convinced she was ready for a four-week overnight camp experience...all on her own!
As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in my home office looking out the window at the wind blowing through the trees. I can hear the birds singing; and the low buzz of traffic. As on most summer days, I’m feeling a bit antsy. The sky is blue. The air is warm. And, I’m stuck inside working. This longing to be outside is not great for my productivity. Every summer it’s the same. I think it’s something most of us struggle with. Especially if you work in an office with no outside view and the air conditioner blasting from above.
I’ve been writing and re-writing this post in my head for weeks now. I’m really not sure how to share this story with you. All I can say is, I’ve always believed in life after death in some capacity, and I’ve always known there is more to life than meets the eye. Every time I meet someone with intuitive or psychic abilities, though, I’m still amazed.
Instead of giving you the play by play of my recent weekend in New York City—which no one has time to read, below I’ve created a Top 10 list (in no particular order) of things we saw/did while in NYC (+ few items from my prior to trip to NYC with my parents and my husband.) Hopefully this will give you some inspiration when planning your own trip to this fab city. There's always Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and Central Park—but once you've done the major tourist attractions, these are some great places to eat and shop and feel like a New Yorker.
To be honest, I hadn’t heard of the 
