My Canadian Idols Rearranged

Without a doubt, Theo Tams is the next Canadian Idol.
Earl Stevenson is talented with a capital T. I'll buy your record brother!
And Mookie Morris? Kid's got skills! This guy's a rock star.

Dreaming Small

As housing prices continue to be unreasonable, I consider the possibility of permanently renting a home for our little family. We're perfectly happy in our suite and can go on living here for quite some time - with continued improvements in organization that is. We've got affordable rent, plenty of room, a private entry and location, location, location. If we bought, we'd have to downgrade quality of living space and location, or else, eat only potatoes for the remainder of our days. So, we have to be a little creative with the square footage - I enjoy that type of problem solving. Renting a condo forces us to curb the clutter and be quite conscious of our consumerism (unintended alliteration, honest). Yes we have to accept inefficient appliances, stained old carpeting and that sense of transience that comes with renting... but is owning a house worth triple the monthly cost of renting an apartment? What could we have instead?

We have been discussing different ways to invest money other than buying a home. One idea we had was to buy some real estate up along the coast for a vacation rental property. Then we could build a small, well designed, modern little beach hut. - Jordan Ferney

















After reading that post on Oh Happy Day, I have been obsessing a little. I would love a tiny shack along the coast somewhere. I think I would much rather that than be shackled to the upkeep of a mediocre house in the city. The idea is so romantic; could it also be so in reality?

But maybe I am not so immune from the desire to own a house as I think I am. Nesting is an innate ambition for a mother. Can I be happy in a home that I'm borrowing from someone else? Birds don't own trees, but they make fine homes for their babies. (Lame analogy? Thought so but I couldn't stop myself : ) Is there something in owning, some feeling of permanence that I would forever lack if we never did buy?

Hmm....

simple pleasures

a hot cup of tea in the evening light.

maggie's soft little hand on my arm.

freshly flossed teeth.

laughing at some dumb joke with my husband.

taking a walk before the world wakes up.

organizing the junk drawer.

sitting on the patio, wrapped in a cozy blanket, at night.

Bodily Fluids Aren't So Bad

There I sat. My daughter on my lap, fully loaded with milk, gagging. In a split second, I anticipated her next move and made a choice.

Honestly, catching her baby vomit in my hand is much easier than letting it hit the pillow or my shirt, and having to clean it up later.

My Canadian Idols Refined

This is the best Idol season yet! As of the latest performances, my Canadian Idol list looks somethin like this:

5. Sebastian Pigott - bad song choice, but I still adore him.
4. Katherine St-Laurent - super rocker! Y'all suck for casting her out.
3. Earl Stevenson - big rockin goof - love it!
2. Theo Tams - made a Bob Marley song his own - brilliant.
1. Mookie Morris - holy eff this kid rocks!! I was mesmerized!

Still waiting for my father, the avid Idol fan, to comment... bet his favourite is wussy Amberly Thiessen. *pause for reaction*

Maggie G's Product Testing: Toys

This Hide Inside Surprise soft box is my favourite toy right now. I like to contemplate the different prints on the outside. I like to chew on each one of the animals. The crinkly, shiny fish and the bumpy, squeaky mouse feel great on my gums. And the best part is, there is still stuff to discover; Mom keeps touching the box and saying "pockets" and "hole". I can't wait to find out what those are!

Maggie's Verdict: Natursutten Soother

Mama. I look like a dork.






















Lucky for Maggie, a friend mistakenly ran that soother through the dishwasher (the natural rubber can't handle the heat) and that was the end of our Natursutten Soother. Why lucky for Maggie? Well, Mommy may have forced the issue because she covets the non-toxic nature of the soother. I may have continued giving it to her for a few more weeks, even though it was giving her a nasty rash on cheeks and chin. My little one drools (as do most) and drool + Natursutten = rash.

So, back to soothers with vents in the shield - get air to that irritated skin! Rather than returning to the BPA Avent soothers Maggie's used from 8 weeks (Philips says nothing about BPA in their safety claims, so I just assume...), we tried BPA-free NUK orthodontic soothers from Gerber and rash away! I chose silicone over latex because of the durability of silicone - it doesn't retain odours (or germs) and it's more difficult to chew through, so she's less likely to choke on pieces of soother.

In the end, it's really about what your baby prefers; I guess my little girl prefers cancer soothers.

My Canadian Idols Revised

It's been a few weeks. I've lived. I've learned. My new Canadian Idol list looks like this:

5. Mookie Morris - cool, but his latest performance fell sorta flat.
4. Earl Stevenson - a big goofy dork, and I'm buying it!
3. Theo Tams - professional. polished. but verging on a one-trick pony.
2. Katherine St-Laurent - girl balls!! she's rockin that stage!!!
1. Sebastian Pigott - smart, sassy, soulful, sexy...sigh

An honourable mention to ousted Oliver Pigott; he sang Lean On Me like I've always wanted to hear it. He got heart.

Stolen Tomato Cream Pasta

Last night, I roughed up this recipe from David & Nicole (love their layout - very pretty and highly usable!).

This dish is sexy enough and delicious enough for a dinner party. (I forgot to take a picture of it before it was devoured, but it did look quite beautiful I promise - in the meantime, isn't Nigella sexy?!). More importantly, it's easy enough for a weekday meal - especially if you cook and cut the chicken breast in advance, or (as I did) buy those fancy pre-cooked, pre-cut chicken breasts.

Tomato Cream Pasta

1/2 package uncooked spaghettini
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup Martini & Rossi dry sec
1/2 cup whipping cream
salt and cracked pepper
shredded parmesan
fresh basil, finely chopped
2 servings cooked and sliced chicken breast

Cook pasta in boiling salted water. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes.

Add dry sec and boil until reduced by half. Stir in cream and cook until slightly reduced. Season with cracked pepper and salt. Add chicken just to warm.

Stir in drained pasta. Plate. Sprinkle with parmesan and basil. Serve.

Get Out Alive

Yes this is shameless promotion, but Sheena Grobb would be worth blogging about even if she weren't family.


It is a song about choosing personal integrity... despite difficult decisions and emotional battles attached. And without question, this is a song about resilience. -Sheena Grobb

Dark Chocolate Revised

Eating my own words, Lindt dark chocolate is not "too chalky" for me. Lindt 85% dark is too chalky yes, but I just tried the 70% and holy hell it's delicious! A bit smoky with a hint of berry to it. It's smooth but the texture contains a trace of the powdery cocoa so it's not at all waxy. Yum. Poulain and Lindt 70% are the main contenders for my favourite dark chocolate.

Conjuring Tina Fey...

Yesterday I had a great idea for a post then Maggie let one rip. I had to change her pants. My great idea was wiped away with her poop. Blerg.

High Chairs and Consumer Angst

After the $500 co-sleeper debaucle (will eventually post about why not to spend $500 on a baby's bed), I find myself even more anal about researching the best possible solution for each new item we add to our (very small) home.

So, when it came to purchasing a high chair I was paralyzed. My natural inclination as a thrifty lady is to buy secondhand. However, there are some incredible high chairs that grow with baby, and that seems like the most environmentally responsible solution. Unfortunately, in this case it costs a fortune to be environmentally responsible (Christopher, you should write a post titled "Money is Energy Too") and I'm not super comfortable with that.

If I had a million dollars, I would buy the Svan high chair. It's gorgeous, super comfy for baby, useful even after baby has grown, and has a wraparound tray to keep messes contained. Intuitively, a wood chair seems better able to reintegrate itself with the environment than a plastic chair, but I don't know how much energy is consumed, or how many toxins are required for its initial construction.

Since I don't have a million dollars, I bought the Ikea high chair. It's inconspicuous, fairly stylish, simple, easy to clean, easy to move around, and (most importantly) cheap.

It comes down to this. I chose the $25 high chair (+ $5 tray) over the $330 chair based on the results of a test I conducted. I went to a number of stores and sat Maggie in a number of chairs. In the $330 chair, she smiled. In the $180 chair, she smiled. In the $25 chair, (surprise surprise) she smiled. Sold!

Good Things Come in Less Packaging

While I've been running around researching the most earth-friendly teethers for my daughter, and feeling sick that our rental has such inefficient appliances, I've been overlooking a very simple footprint minimizing action.














A small amount of paper or plastic wrapping, versus a hard plastic bottle or pump? Even if we're refilling liquid soap containers, the bar soap requires so much less packaging. I bought a beautiful lemon verbena bar the other day. It looks gorgeous on the sink, and there's something comforting about the feel of a slippery soapy bar between my hands.

I challenge us all to avoid liquid hand & body soaps as a small way of decreasing our impact just a little more.

My Canadian Idols

Maggie was a crankypants today, so I desperately needed moving pictures to chill out tonight. Thank you CTV for hosting your shows online! Corner Gas, Grey's Anatomy, The Daily Show...wicked! I just caught up on the Canadian Idol contestants for this season and "had" to make some snap judgments about their worth (input as relevant as the hockey fan who boos the guy that made it to the NHL!).

7. Katelyn Dawn - grow some girl balls and she could win this thing!
6. Martin Kerr - unoriginal, but the guy rocked a Peter Gabriel tune.
5. Mookie Morris - kooky and talented as hell.
4. Mitch MacDonald - he belongs on stage but he's a bit cutesy.
3. Sebastian Pigott - gravelly goodness. insanely charming.
2. Theo Tams - he's got a delicious sincerity in his voice.
1. Omar Lunan - stole my breath.

Universal Music

Children's music can be irritating and lots of it is jaw-clenchingly bad. Yes there are alternatives that market to adults, but I can't handle the amateurish plink plinking of Rockabye Baby. Shudder. I mean, look, if I want my baby to listen to U2 or Radiohead or Coldplay, I'll just play U2 or Radiohead or Coldplay.

Then I found this...











African Lullaby (lower price from Amazon.ca than Chapters.ca, and not available from iTunes) is easy on the ears without being easy-listening. It's calm enough for bedtime, but joyful enough to dance and sway with. Even if I didn't have Maggie, I would happily listen to this album (I l-o-v-e Ladysmith Black Mambazo!).

Orange Rhubarb Muffins

Based on the possibility that honey is a healthier alternative to sugar, and a need to end my sugar addiction, I have tried my hand at screwing with baked goods for the first time ever. I am pleased to report the experiment was pretty much a success! The muffins are "not really sweet...sort of like biscuits" according to my taster. "But I like it," he said. I like them too; though I might add a 1/2 cup of stewed rhubarb, orange pulp or apple sauce to moisten them a bit more, and maybe another 1/4 cup of honey too. Here's a pic of the first batch.














Orange Rhubarb Muffins

Ingredients:
4 cups flour (I use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
4 tsp grated orange rind
1 1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 cups fine chopped rhubarb

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs and oil. Add honey, rind and juice to wet. Add wet to dry. Fold in rhubarb. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 dozen muffins.

Healthy Competition

It is now 5.5 months since I gave birth to my little Goober. She is healthy and happy and well, so it's time to shift some of my attention back to Mama! Mostly that means giving back to my hardworkin' baby-producin' bod. The physique is in need of some love - especially as Goober gets heavier and harder to lug around. I used to be able to devote countless hours to tracking exercise and eating with SparkPeople (love love love it!), but those days are gone. Instead I turn to my embarassingly competitive spirit for motivation to get this ol girl back into form.

Irrelevant Aside: The film The Competition came out the year I was born. Coincidence? I think not.

Step One: Thank you Grampa! My father has challenged me to a "walk-off". We both have pedometers now and track our daily steps. The contest is to see who can accumulate the most "10 000 steps" (sorry about the pdf) days in a month. With whooping my father (who is a walking nut by the way) as my fuel, I have managed to log some 15 000 step days, and bring my average up to 10 000 steps a day! This has been a great way to push my postpartum body to the next exertion level.

p.s. Dad. I've got hills + the weight of a carried baby or the pushing of a stroller to increase the intensity of my walks. Maybe you should start carrying Flo on your walks!

Step Two: Thank you Husband! Christopher has accepted my challenge to avoid treats for the month of July. Treats = any indulgent food item. My major downfalls are Mochas (decaf; not that it's any of your business), ice cream (specifically pricey Häagen-Dazs bars) and Coca-Cola (yes I AM aware it's toxic - toxically delicious!). Using Google's handy forms, we have begun a spreadsheet to track our treat intake through the month. It's like golf; the player with the fewest points wins. Since giving birth I have allowed myself treats as a reward for working so damn hard. Now that I'm feeling stronger and more confident as a mother, I don't need that crutch and I want to break this habit of indulging.

Like my volleyball shirt always says, "Go hard or go home!"