On The Go Funk

My favorite gift this year was one for our whole family, from ourselves. We invested in a printer.

With the Cave Man going off to college in just one week, I knew we would likely be needing one. Also, homeschooling starts in July for us. There have been many a craft or activity or recipe I wanted to print just in the past two weeks. Every family can make use of a good printer. My only requirement, I told Cave Man as he ventured into the store, was that it have refillable cartridges. Check!

You see, lately I've been in this super funk. I say lately, but I mean for the past year. Everything feels impossible. And it's starting to feel like our apartment is a prison, even though I'm free to come and go. Free that is, as long as Wee Piglet doesn't need me. I'm new to this style of parenting. The attatchment, "extended" nursing, gentle, on demand, parenting thing. Also Wee Piglet is always on the move and getting into things that a baby has no business getting into, so I often end up holding him much to his frustration all day to keep him out of said things.

It's not that we need to baby proof. He grabs my mouse off my desk and my keyboard too. He almost pulled my tower down on himself the other day. He rips my speakers out. He pulls all of our DVD's off the shelf, he rips all of the books, he gets his fingers caught in drawers and climbs up the baby gate, then he pinches his siblings trying to climb over their bodies while they insist on laying his way and they scream and hurt him, then he cries and next thing you know we're in a five way fight. PHEW. Then, he dumps over his bin of blocks, climbs behind Cave Man's computer desk, we de-tangle him from the wires, he opens the balcony door and gets outside (we're on the third floor) and we snatch him up mid-houdini act and he pulls over the clothes rack full of drying cloth diapers... I mean seriously. He NEVER. STOPS.

And in between all of this, I'm hearing whines for drinks, snacks, he hit me, she spit on my big toe, he was throwing food, I made a mess, can you please open this, I lost my crayon, I have to pee, no I won't ever take a bath again, he's not wearing underwear....

Just imagine all of that going on at the same time. That is my life, 24 hours a day! I love being a Mom, it's great, amazing, rewarding, challenging, exciting. But it is also intense, monotonous, redundant, frustrating, anxiety causing, omgamIdoingthisright feeling.

My point is, it feels good to bring a little order back into my life. To feel like I have some control over how our day goes, to give the kids clear expectations so that they know this is what is happening now, and this is what will happen next. To add some responsibility to their lives, like clearing the table or helping me fold laundry. That printer right now, feels like a life saver.

Now, Ape Boy and Tiny Twirler have colour coded chore charts (blue for him, pink for her - very cliche). I even have my own, yellow chore chart. And with those is our daily routine schedule chart. It's green. They all look very official, and there are boxes for the kids to check off their chores each day. Chores equal marbles. Marbles go in the "nice jar," and when it is full we will do something fun like bowling, see a movie, go to the big sledding hill, or some other fantastic activity.

Have Yourself, A Very Merry Christmas..

Did you? Have yourself, a very merry Christmas? I hope so. With my extended family, we do a homemade Christmas. It was pretty spectacular. Here's what I made for ours (recipes attatched).

Apricot Chutney
Cranberry Orange Relish
Cinnamon Bun Granola

I also had the kids make super cute candy cane crafts. It's a mouse made from felt, that hold the candy cane which also acts as the mouse tail. They did a wonderful job, I'm a pretty proud Mommy.

The recipes (above) are super easy, and fast. Exactly what I needed for a hurried Christmas! I love canning, the sound of the lids popping after doing the work of making something, prepping the jars, those moments of intensity as you fill the jars and try not to drop them and make sure the seal will be just right. When that *POP* can finally be heard from the other room, it is so rewarding.

News and Views, and Holiday's too!

Hey you! I'm still here!

I hope that everybody had some pretty decent holidays recently, and wanted to pop in to let my readers know that I am just as lost in the holiday rush as the rest of you.

The holidays, while enchanting and wonderful, can be hard on everybody. Please keep this in mind as you pull your children along from family gathering to Christmas potluck and new years parties or playdates. Everybody feels overwhelmed, especially those precious wee ones that we love so much. And not just the children, but family pets too! With new smells, people, places, sounds and so much commotion our companions are easily stressed out. Please take care of those around you.

That out of the way, we've had a wonderful holiday here at Quirky Vegans. I will tell you all about it soon, including my canning adventures in trying new recipes (with recipe links included), a fun craft for the kids, and lots HoHoHo's and cheer! Peace and love to all of you.

We Have A Winner!

A winner has been chosen and contacted for the Comfy Rumps Giveaway! Congratulations Kerri!

I hope to be doing more giveaways soon, so keep following this blog.

Thank you to Comfy Rumps for making this giveaway possible, and all of the lovely participants. I hope that our winner will be very pleased with her diaper.

It's Diaper Giveaway Day!

Yep, today is the day. The day for the Comfy Rumps Giveaway!

I promise you won't regret it. So here's the deal. Your first mandatory contest entry is to visit the Comfy Rumps Facebook Page and "like" them there.

For a second entry, follow or subscribe to my blog.
*HINT* The subscribe button is on the top right corner.

BUT - In order for me to know if you have done these things or not, I will need you to comment on this post and tell me that you have done both of these things! I will also need a way to contact the winner, so please consider that as well!

I will be choosing a lucky winner of ONE COMFY RUMPS DIAPER on FRIDAY DECEMBER 14th!