Efficient, schmefficient.
I swear I used to be a more efficient person. It never used to take me 45 minutes to actually get out the door to go anywhere. And I used to be somewhat punctual! My ability to DO anything with any kind of speed and efficiency seems to have decreased exponentially with each child. And this phenomenon became very apparent to me earlier this week.
I went swimming with the kids and my girlfriend and her three kids the other day. I was late (as usual). I did not have the kids in their swimsuits already because I had to quickly do a rinse/spin/dry before we left the house (which may explain why we were late and I really should have more than one bathing suit that fits me). We finally got in the pool and we all had a great time. When it was time to go, we headed back to the family change room. And I swear, I thought I was organized. We showered, all went pee and then got dressed. And yet still, my girlfriend and her three kids (6, 4 and 2) were all dressed and packed up and in coats and boots a good 15 minutes before us! How? I only have 2 kids! We all walked out to our cars together and I am not sure how, but she had her 3 kids in her car, in their car seats and boosters and was out of the parking lot before I was even in my seat! What the heck is wrong with me?? Again, I reiterate--I only have 2 kids!
Maybe I just take my time doing things. Maybe my kids are not as independent as others. I do know that I do not like to be rushed. When I am, I tend to lose my mommy cool and then no one is happy.
We are always the last to leave anywhere. At the little man's preschool, our car is the last to leave the parking lot almost every day. At swimming lessons, I don't like to try to fight the rush to the change room and we take our time there too.
Maybe the arthritis slows me down a bit. Maybe the extra time I take to get my toddler in the ring sling is time-consuming. Maybe because my kids are rear-facing in their car seats, it takes us a bit longer to get into the car. Maybe I just really don't care to do things FAST! Maybe I have other qualities that are more important to me.
Like this...
I am always prepared. Some might say overly so. I always have a full back of snacks and various meal time paraphernalia on me at all times. I have a fully stocked first aid kit in my purse. My kids each have a full change of clothes stashed in the glove compartment of my car. And I always have a minimum of 2 baby carriers in the car (one for me and one for anyone else in case of emergency or need). I have baby wipes, kleenex, hand sanitizer, hand cream and tooth floss in my purse as well. And I tend to over pack for vacations-cause you just never know!
So, which is it then? What do I want to be? An efficient Mama or a prepared Mama?
I don't know? A bit of both would be nice.
But trust me, in a pinch, YOU would want me to be the prepared Mama. Because if I was the efficient one, I would already have my kids in the car and I would be out of that parking lot before you even had a chance to ask for a bandage/snack/clean pair of pants/carrier/baby wipe!!
;)
Natasha~
Day 2!!
Throw Down!!
I have been dared to do something. And not just a regular dare...a TRIPLE DOG DARE. The kind you just can't say no to.
It even says so in Wikipedia:
The infamous Triple-dog-dare is infamous for the sole reason that you cannot back down from it--without exception! An issued triple-dog-dare has no counteraction and must be implemented and/or carried out.
So, of course I am going to do it. I can't NOT do it, that would just, well, make me a pussy. Right?
So what is the dare you ask?
.
.
.
.
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The lovely and sassy Jen Banks (you might know her as @JenBanksYEG on the Tweeter) had triple dog dared me to write 30 blog posts in 30 days.
Before I get into that, here are a few things you need to know.
I do not believe in consequences. I believe that EVERYTHING happens for a reason. Every event in you life, every step you take, every choice you make and every person you meet. All of these things happen because they are supposed to happen.
I don't remember when Jen started following me on Twitter or when I started following her, but that happened. And then we met IRL (in real life) at, of all things, a Twitter event. I was there with the also awesome Tanis Miller (AKA The Redneck Mommy). The three of us ended up sitting together and tweeted sillyness very serious and meaningful information throughout the event.
And then we went out for drinks afterwards and we started talking about what we each DO (you know for a living and all). Jen is in SEO (search engine optimization for all you non-techies out there). I own an online store and (at that time) knew nothing very little about SEO. She decided to make my website her pet project. I said sure (actually it was more like yes, please, pretty, pretty please)!!
I can honestly say that the major changes you have seen in the look of the blog and the natural urban mamas website have been directly because of what I have learned and am still learning from Jen. So? Was it a coincidence that we met? I think not.
I think what has drawn me to her as a person (and as a friend) is that she PUSHES me. She makes me want to reach for more, to be a better e-commerce business owner, a smarter one, and she has this crazy uncanny ability to connect people. And now she is pushing me again to be a better blogger.
We all need these kind of people in our lives. The ones who push us to do more, to step out of our boxes and do better, to be MORE. And I for one don't want to let her, or you, or myself down. This is one challenge/dare that I am determined to DO!
So get ready for 30 days straight of my ramblings. I have no idea what these posts will all be about. Some will be long, some will be short and sweet, some will be Wordless (pictures), some with be funny, some maybe not so much. This is a journey for me, one I hope you will come along on with me and enjoy!
On the one hand I want to say 'Damn you Jen', you can't just throw down like that! But the other hand is saying Damn Jen--I can DO THIS.
So....here we go.....
(and 1 post down!)
Natasha~
Boobfest!
Now that I have your attention, you may be asking me...What is Boobfest?? Boobfest is a celebration and a fight!
It is us coming together to celebrate women (and our boobies) and also fighting the big bad beast that threatens our lives (and our boobies).
I am talking about breast cancer.
The statistics about breast cancer in Canada are staggering and down right scary.
Among Canadian women, breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed cancer with as many as 23,200 new cases diagnosed in 2010, nearly twice as many as lung cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality among women, and is expected to take the lives of 5,400 Canadian women in 2010.
Breast cancer is also one of those diseases that you know is bad. Very, very bad. Until it hits close to home or at your home, you just don't know how bad. My good friend Jen (you can find her fabulousness on Twitter @JenBanksYEG) lost her mother-in-law to this disease and just this past year, the big bad beastie hit close to home for me when one of my friends (who is younger than me and a mom of young kids) was diagnosed and is currently undergoing treatment. It becomes harder to think that it won't happen to me, or you, or someone you love. So something has to be done...
You all know I am a fan of Twitter and have met so many wonderful people through this amazing social media site. Not least of these is the super-cool Dee Brun, AKA, The Cocktail Deeva. She is a smart sassy woman and is the founder of Boobfest. Dee lost a good friend to breast cancer and started Boobfest last year to raise funds and awareness for her Weekend to End Women's Cancers Walk.
I signed up for this year's Boobfest Twitter party and then thought...hey, wouldn't it be fun to have a live party here in Edmonton as well! I asked Connie Peters of Modern Mama to help me organize the event and then Jen Banks came on board too! We have harnessed the power of Twitter and have been amazed at the level of support and donations that have come pouring in from local Edmonton businesses and individuals for the party and silent auction!
The Edmonton Boobfest Party is being held THIS THURSDAY, March 31st from 5-9PM at D'Lish Wine Bar. Tickets can be purchased HERE and make sure you sign up for the official Boobfest Twitter party HERE.
There are TONS of prizes to be won from both parties and ALL proceeds from the tickets and the silent auction in Edmonton are going to the Alberta Cancer Foundation and our local Weekend to End Women's Cancers.
Please join us and like a good bra-come out and support the 'girls'!
Much Love,
Natasha~
**Boobfest logo used with permission and created by the awesome Big Daddy Kreativ**
Guest Post on Cole's First Blog today for Sling Fling Week!
Hey Everyone, Check out my Guest Post on Cole's Blog today all about How to Choose your Baby Carrier! I was very honoured to be asked to take part in the Sling Fling week that Cole and his Mama Sarah put on all week on his blog. Make sure you check out all the posts from this past week for all kinds of great babywearing stories and information!
Happy Babywearing,
Natasha~
30 Days of Truth: Day TEN - Someone I need to let go or wish I did not know.
I read an eye-opening post the other day and realized just a few lines into it that the writer and I have a mutual acquaintance. And unfortunately this is someone who I wish neither one of us knew. This person is NOT nice. She makes everyone she knows feel bad about themselves. And here is the thing-we ALL know her. She comes by for visits when we are at our lowest lows, usually when what we need most is a hug and not her constant barrage of negativity.
She is that ugly voice in our head. The one that is always telling us that we are not good enough.
She has been to my house a fair amount these past few months as I have been dealing with a lot more than my usual share of stress and personal and physical upheaval, and she has had lots of oh, so lovely things to say to me.
You are a terrible mom. You need to do more with these kids. Of course they scream at each other, because you scream at them all the time. What are you doing eating MORE junk food. Get off the computer already and go spend some time with your husband. Fold the freakin' laundry woman!
And the list goes on and on....
Her visits to me are all too frequent as of late and she really is a bitch.
I for one REALLY need to let her go. She drags me down and at times I can't help but listen to her and start to think she may be right.
I do know that she is not. Really I do.
So, I am going to try to shut her down and say goodbye to the bitch.
I know she will try to weasel her way into my head again, but I know the signs, I know how she operates and she will NOT be allowed in.
Yup, that is the plan.
I hope it works,
Natasha~
Bathroom Stall 1 - Natural Urban Mama 0
Today was one of those days that I spent wishing and praying that I was ANYWHERE else except for where I was!
All was going to plan. We shopped at GAPKids, the kids were helpful in choosing the items that I bought them and then we went to Gymboree and they watched the little TV in there while I picked out some new swimwear for them. We then headed over to Jugo Juice for our regular mall lunch fare-a smoothie and a grilled chicken wrap.
As we finished up lunch, L told me she was doing a 'pee-pee dance' and so we hightailed it to the nearest bathroom. We made it, she peed and then we continued on our way and headed to Anthropologie for Mama to get her 'fix'. Not even 5 minutes in the store, L looks up at me again and says that she had to go back to the bathroom because she now is doing a 'poo-poo dance'. So, I load her and C back into our sit & stand stroller and we motor over to the bathroom on the upper level of the mall near The Children's Place. It is not a big bathroom and the handicapped stall was taken, so we used the last stall near the wall and I parked C and the stroller just outside the stall door. I had my purse on me across my body, but needed to take it off in order to move in the stall and get L on the toilet and so I took it off and hung it behind the door. (Yeah, at this point your warning bells should be going off!!!!)
L decided that this was also the point at which she would have a complete FREAK OUT, refuse to 'do' anything and tell me that she wanted to go to the bathroom at home. I am not sure about how anyone else handles these situations, but I get very flustered and frustrated when my kids hit the meltdown point and just want to GET OUT NOW. Which is what we did. We left the bathroom in a rush and headed for the entrance where I parked.
And it was not until C asked me for some coins to throw in the fountain that I realized................I HAD LEFT MY PURSE IN THE FUCKING BATHROOM!!!!!!
And not just ANY purse, my $400 dollar COACH purse that also contained my $600 iPhone 4, my car and house keys, my wallet AND my favourite lip gloss!
My heart sank to my stomach and then felt like it got kicked REALLY hard. I panicked, grabbed C's hand and headed back upstairs to the bathroom, saying every prayer I could think of on the way there. And it was....NOT THERE!
This is the point at which panic truly took over, the tears started flowing and my deodorant started to fail me. I was trying to picture making the call to my husband to tell him what had happened, how I would explain to the kids that we were literally stuck at the mall, how quickly I could get a hold of VISA to cancel my credit cards and how to just handle this overriding feeling of helplessness that was taking over my mind.
We made it down to the Security office of the mall and I picked up the phone and asked in my shaky, teary voice if anyone had returned a blue Coach purse. And the angel on the other end of the line said YES, she thinks that someone did and that it was over at Guest Services. After figuring out where the hell Guest Services was, I pushed and dragged my poor children for another 5 minutes through the mall to the Admin/Lost and Found office. I was full of hope...until I spoke to the girl behind the desk who told me that nothing had been handed in all day.
And then I just sunk into the chair and BAWLED. You know the cry, the ugly kind, right in front of my poor confused and exhausted babies and the administration office staff of West Edmonton Mall. It was not a pretty sight!
I managed to gather myself together enough to ask the receptionist to call over to Security again, because the angel over there had told me that it was found and to come over HERE. She did, and it turns out that I was one door away from the Guest Services desk-the folks who ACTUALLY had my purse. I wiped away my tears, mumbled a thank you and headed 20 feet over to the next desk where a lovely man handed me my lost baby purse! Completely intact and not a thing missing. Of course I was still crying, but the tears where now those of relief.
I took the kids over to one of the nice new seating areas, found some coins in my now recovered wallet and told my son to throw one in for Mama too and wish for a nanny! We headed back to the entrance after I managed to stop my hands and body from shaking and I have never been so relieved in my life to get out of that place.
I called my husband when I got home and told him what had happened and that we were just now going to all jump in bed for a nap (it was 4:30 PM) and that if he wanted to eat tonight, he had better bring something home for dinner. I also told him that I am in desperate need a FULL MENTAL HEALTH DAY and that this consists of at least 8 hours at a Spa, away from the world and from my life (and I may have promised him sex for the next five days straight as well, but I can't be sure)!
Lessons learned from today:
- NEVER take your freakin' purse off of your body (or at least only when a suitable husband is around to hold it)!
- The 30 minutes of vigorous activity a day that Health Canada recommends for kids should probably not be running after your frantic, bawling mother at the mall. (C was still complaining of his legs hurting "from all that running" as I was putting him to bed tonight!)
- There are Angels and good souls on this earth who will DO THE RIGHT THING and I am so very thankful for that and to them.
- I need a vacation!
That is all. I am done for today. Me and my glass of wine are now going to hang out for a bit.
Goodnight,
Chimparoo Woven Wraps and Mei Tais
You all know that I love babywearing, that is kind of a given. But what you may not know is how much I LOVE babywearing with woven fabrics! Woven materials are the IDEAL fabric for babywearing. They are soft, so beautiful and because they are NON-stretchy, they are STUR-DY. A good woven wrap offers optimal baby support as well as wearer comfort. You can use woven wraps from day one of your baby's life all the way up to....well, let's just say I know a few 4 year olds who still enjoy a nice piggy back in a woven wrap!
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| Case in Point! |
I am very happy to announce that the Chimparoo line of woven wraps and mei tais have arrived at Natural Urban Mamas. Chimparoo is a Mama-Owned Canadian company out of Quebec and all of their baby carriers are made right here in Canada and are 100% Oeko-Tex certified. So yes, they fit all the criteria for products carried by us!!
Often the hesitation with buying a woven wrap is cost. Some of the European brands can be a bit pricey. The Chimparoo line of woven wraps are very well priced, with the longest length (5.5 metres) coming in at just under $100.00. This is well below the average $130-180.00 for some of the popular European brands.
Trust me, the versatility and long-term use of a woven wrap can't be beat. You can learn to wrap your baby on your tummy, your hip and your back. A Chimparoo Woven Wrap truly can be the ONE baby carrier that you buy for the whole length of your babywearing journey!
Each Chimparoo wrap comes with a DVD and instruction booklet, outlining all of the different ways to tie your wrap and don't forget that you can also book one-on-one babywearing consultations with Natasha or attend one of our local workshops to learn more.
The Chimparoo Mei Tais are also in stock and they are simply amazing! These mei tais are made with the same woven material as the wraps and are not only incredibly beautiful, but also super duper comfortable and so easy to use. The construction of these Asian-inspired baby carriers also makes it so that this is easily one of the mei tai brands that I would highly recommend right from the start with your baby.
The sides and front of the body of the Chimparoo Mei Tai have these lovely little toggles on them that can shrink down the body of the carrier to really hug the baby and help get them in the proper positioning for babywearing and the built in head rest is perfect for when nap time happens to coincide with babywearing! The waist straps and shoulder straps have just the right amount of padding to them and again, because of the sturdiness and non-stretch of the woven fabric, these mei tais are great for kiddos up to 35+ pounds!
What more can I say Mamas, these really are some great Canadian-made baby carriers, I am so happy to have them at Natural Urban Mamas and I don't think you can go wrong with carrying around your little Monkey in a Chimparoo Baby Carrier!!
Happy Babywearing Everyone!
P.S. Don't forget to check out our SALE section for some really great deals on natural, fair trade and organic baby essentials!!
Wardrobes and Well Intentions.
I used to watch TLC's 'What Not to Wear' a lot. And I promised myself that I would never be one of those moms that they ambushed on a weekly basis. You know the ones, the "sweat pant wearing, ponytail sporting, UGGs on and out the door" kind.
Oh wait, that is baby C.
Hmmm, I swear I have some hot MILF pictures of me somewhere in iPhoto. Just a minute, I'll be right back....
Well, that was a bust. I can hardly find any pics of me at all, let alone the hot MILF-y ones in my cute outfits. Lots of babies and Daddy ones, but as with most households, I am the one BEHIND the camera more often than not. Natural Urban Dada tries, sometimes, but he really is a bad photographer!! And trying to get one and then two babies to cooperate long enough for the self-timer to kick in, well that is a different story (one with lots of blooper pics)!! I guess you will have to take my word for it.
So here I am. Wife to a hard working man with a great professional wardrobe (that I buy for him of course!) and Mama to a four year old who insists on wearing only his 'cool' shirts and a two year old 'skirt-wearing-regardless-of-the-weather' fashionista. I am a small business owner and sadly also the owner of FAR TOO MANY pairs of Lululemon sweatpants. Which I wear on a regular basis and (don't tell Stacy and Clinton) sometimes out of the house! Okay, okay, I admit it, more than sometimes.
What is it with motherhood? When did 'wick-able' and 'contains 10% spandex' become the new black? And no, Mamas, just because we are paying $90.00 for a pair of sweats, it still does not make them fancy pants! Even if you do get the cute matching hoodie and built-in-bra top too! This is not and should not be our mama uniform. At least not the one we wear out of the house.
Which brings me to a conversation that I had with a friend and fellow mama blogger last night.
How many of you made all kinds of plans and promises to yourself before you had kids and now find yourself doing just the opposite of said best laid plans?
- I will not be the sweat pants Mama...uhm...CHECK
- I will not buy UGGs or where them with skirts or shorts....also CHECK
- I will not let my kids watch too much TV...oops, I forgot about that one.
- I will not bribe, cajole or otherwise do crazy things to get my kids to do what I want, when I want. Well, I can explain that, you see......
- And the list goes on and on...
...you get the point right?
It's one of those life lessons that hits you smack dab in the face.
Motherhood (parenthood) does not follow a plan, no matter how hard you try to make it so.
You really do need to go with the flow and not fight against it. Babies don't know about feeding charts and schedules, they just know when they are hungry. You need to be dressed to accept company after baby is born and nothing is more comfy postpartum than that great pair of Lulus. You do what you have to do stay sane, whether that is letting the kids watch some Treehouse so you can have a moment to yourself, or giving them the chocolate chip cookie BEFORE the chicken parmigiana that you just spent an hour and a half preparing, because that is what it is going to take to get them to eat it!
So I say don't sweat it too much Mamas (hee hee)! Be one with your new 'black'. Try to find your zen within all the chaos of life as a mama and know that plans are just that, and can be altered by you at anytime (without any accompanying guilt, I might add)!
Maybe just limit the trips to the mall in the full Lulu gear get-up! And when all else fails, wear fancy earrings and sexy underwear!!
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| You'll have to trust me about the underwear! |
Much love,