Christmas

Seizing Moments of Productivity

This post is brought to you by nap time for one baby and the fact that the toddler is completely engrossed in Astroblast’s smoothie station….. for the moment. It shall also be sponsored my momma’s oh so festive Caralan’s & coffee, but that is between you and I. The past weekend and start to this week has been non-stop, and we are only half way through it. I am wrapping up with craft fairs and focusing only on online orders for my baby business Deer Baby, and one last pop-up shop event next week. Hubby has been busy with work, and many of you other realtors know, the work doesn’t stop just because it’s Sunday. Then there’s the babies. Busy, busy babies. Hallie has been a mile a minute, from morning until night. For the most part, she is full of giggles, mischief and spilt apple sauce. Yesterday however was tantrum-Tuesday and boy did girlfriend live up to it. Conveniently, I discovered this on Facebook and found it extremely appropriate for my life these days.
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It’s on those days where your toddler is crying for the 78th time before 9am that you do one of two things. Wish for a reset button on the day to start things over, or pray the next ten hours flies by so that you can have a glass of wine in peace, call it a day and pray for a better one tomorrow. Funnily enough, I always find that when I am at the breaking point of patience, completely frustrated and sleep deprived, the next day my kids are absolute angels. They sleep, they eat well, and comply with all of my plans for the day. Little masterminds that they are have me in the palm of their hand. How can we play with mommy’s head today?! God help me when one is four and the other is two…. I am already feeling a little outnumbered and they don’t yet have the ability to plot against me together. Good times ahead my tiny tots!

As I write this, Hallie has decided it would be a fabulous idea to tape unused diapers to the living room window. I guess I deserve that for leaving a roll of tape out on what I thought was a very high countertop. Apparently her arms are those of Gumby and she can now reach everything. It’s a good thing diapers fall from the sky and we really do not go through that many at all on a daily basis….. She still grins at me while completing this artsy task and looks cute as pie. Good looks get you far!

So with all of the chaos and mischievous fun happening at the Hayward house, I managed to sneak out moments throughout the day to be productive and get some housework done! By housework of course I mean Christmas decorating. Today I wanted to share a few fun shots of our festive moments throughout the house. We do not have a large space to play with and I really wanted to avoid the feeling that Santa threw up in my living room. It was all about finding a nice balance and I am happy to say I didn’t go that overboard. We don’t have our Christmas tree yet so that could really push the envelope, but we will cross that bridge on December 10th. That is when we set out for the perfect tree. Henry always makes fun of me because I have no concept of ceiling height. In my mind we have ten foot ceilings when really they are probably 7 feet. The perfect tree for me would be about 20 feet tall and require a couple of ladders to decorate. Maybe in my next house! So far Hallie has managed to keep her sticky fingers off of most of our decorations, but I have a feeling it will be a different story once the tree goes up.

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And with that, one baby is awake and the little lady has emptied goldfish crackers all over the sofa. Time to find something to do that productive to them! Cookie baking time anyone?

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Giving Back

Though we try to give all year long, it’s this time of year that everyone tends to do a little more in that department. My donation bags seem to be bigger for The Salvation Army and more often than not I am rifling through the cupboards to give to the Food Bank or mom’s in need in the community. I wish I was on my game  and ‘gave’ this much all year long, but when life gets the way life does, it’s easy to fall behind. So we are making up for that now! Though Hallie does not quite yet understand what we are doing, I decided to involve her anyways. We are filling shoeboxes for the Samaritan’s Purse, also known as Operation Christmas Child. For this project you receive these shoeboxes to fill and you can pick if it’s going to a boy or girl, as well as the age range. My experience lies in the 2-4 year old category so I went with that. The only problem is when we decided to go shopping for our new friends, Hallie got a little sneaky at the dollar store. Everything I grabbed for the shoebox she quickly doubled up on by sneaking them into the stroller. We now have a lot of goodies for two year old little girls, funnily enough. I’ve decided we will do up some Christmas goody bags for her friends and spread the love of these little toys around. Looks like we accomplished more than we set out to do, which for busy mommas, is always a plus! I am going to continue this tradition every year with my kids, and when Jackson is old enough we will get him going on the boy boxes. It’s probably the busiest time of year, for all families, but I hope you can find the time to contribute your time to those in need this holiday season. I know we will be looking for more ways to do just that. Have a wonderful weekend!

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Don’t forget everyone… Santa knows if you are naughty or nice! (couldn’t resist…)
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An Early Christmas Present

It has been pretty hard to keep this secret but the Hubs and I decided to make a little public announcement today. We are having a second baby! All of my posts prior to this where I vaguely mentioned not feeling well and exhaustion, well now the secret as to why is out. Holy mother morning sickness! This pregnancy is completely different to when I was preggers with Hallie. Achy bones, total exhaustion and not to mention being a very sick girl throughout most of the day. I have no idea why they call it morning sickness as it seems to rear it’s ugly head at any time, including the middle of the night. But OTHER than all of those pesky little annoyances, we are so excited that another little baby will be joining our family. Baby number two is due in July of 2016 which makes me 3 months along on Christmas next week. We will be finding out the sex come February (I think) and though I am pretty eager to have another perfect little girl, Hubby has his heart set on a boy. Of course we will be over the moon happy with whatever the outcome is, boy or girl, I just have so many cute girl clothes to reuse. I also don’t know where exactly we are going to put this tiny bundle of joy, who comes with all of the large bulky baby items you use with newborns, as our house is on the tiny side and we are already splitting at the seams. I am going to put that out of mind for now though because there isn’t a darn thing I can do about it yet. I guess I will start to worry about space and organization in late spring.
So now begins the agonizing of how on earth I will cope with two babies under two. Hallie, already being the free spirit that she is, will no doubt keep blossoming into more and more of an energetic little dear. I wonder if her sibling will share her wild personality traits or if he/she will be more on the chill side. Either way, the two of them will have me running around non-stop. Thank goodness it will be summertime and we can spend most of the waking hours outdoors. Bring on summer! I have been so ill that I do not even miss alcoholic beverages but as the warmer months creep up, I will be parched thinking about icy cold beers and cocktails that I am missing out on! So many things to think about between now and then too. Most of all I need to take a step back and soak up the moments. Even the sick ones. Pregnancy only lasts for a short time and I intend to enjoy it! Well at least enjoy using the preggo card to get extra relaxation time on the sofa, should it ever present itself hah. Not to mention all of the yummy treats this time of year! Turkey AND ham on Christmas next week? You bet. Cookie exchange? Sign my pregnant ass up. Tis the season!

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Meeting Santa Clause!

Last year when we went to meet Santa, my precious newborn babe didn’t even stay awake. She fell asleep on route to see him and we waited until we were second in line to sit on his knee to wake her. She remained awake for all of one minute and then fell asleep again. It’s still a darling picture but she is very much asleep. This year, I had no idea what to expect. Judging by how emotional my girl can be (she slightly takes after her mother there) I was thinking it would probably not be a positive experience. I braced myself for tears and screams. So all dolled up in our Christmas plaid, we set out to meet Santa Clause. The Kamloops North Pole set up at the mall was great. They did a very good job. The Santa, though he be a little on the skinny side, was wonderful too. In my opinion, with Santa, the ‘jollier’ and chubbier the better. But he was great. Hallie however was very unsure of the entire process. There were no tantrums or meltdowns or tears. It was actually just awkward. She was frozen like a statue on his lap and had this funny look on her face. Not quite a smile or frown. Just awkward. She even gave a very uncomfortable wave to the camera. No matter what happens it is still a very special moment for parents and we loved every minute of it. It’s not every day your child really meets Santa for the first time! At least she was coherent this year. =) Children really have a way of making this time of year so extra special. I can’t wait to experience the many more ahead of us. Merry Christmas Hallie!

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Furry Girl eyeing up my Hot Cocoa….
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Gift giving To Little Ones

I can’t believe Christmas is next week! It always manages to sneak up on you, no matter how prepared you are or how early you start the festivities. It is often here before you know it. I have discovered something new this year when it comes to holiday shopping. Once your child is walking, they are no longer a good shopping partner. Christmas shopping is impossible. As if the malls were not overwhelming enough this time of year, throw in an energetic toddler who desperately wants out of her stroller and is vocally going to let the whole place know it, and we have one flustered and fed up momma. I have put the remaining shopping list on hold until this weekend when I can escape to shop alone and Hallie can stay home and play with daddy. It’s just better for everyone that way. With all of this talk about shopping brings me to some of my toddler favourites that I want to share with you, just in case you are still scrambling to come up with the perfect gift idea. There are so many perfect gifts for kiddies! It really is quite hard to narrow it down. Hallie is only 14 months as well so she would prefer to play with the box the gift came in rather than the gift itself. In future years we aim to limit the gift giving too. I am a big believer of the following motto: Something you want, something you need, something you wear, something you read. Plus a gift from Santa of course. So though I have many favourites, I am not splurging on everything that catches my eye! Lets have a little self-control ladies, I know it’s hard. Whether you are looking for big or small, here are some excellent choices for the little ones in your life. (Apologies if these are more girl oriented. I don’t yet have a baby boy and am obviously obsessed with things for little girls. I promise to broaden my horizon soon!)

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Toy Kitchen / Land Of Nod Blocks / Play TeePee / Land Of Nod Rocking Piggy / Velvet Elephant Purse / Tartan Pinafore / Winter Parka / Confetti Tamborine

Disclosure:
We purchased the TeePee from Bed Bath & Beyond. It is wonderful though it is not the exact one I have pictured above. There are so many out there to choose from and most I have researched look durable and a good investment. Make sure you check dimensions as they do vary.
As for the toy kitchen, I hummed on this gift idea forever and am now slightly regretting not getting it. I as going to wait for Hallie’s next birthday but I may not be able to wait that long. It is ADORABLE and we have seen a few at different playgroups that we have attended. Hallie gravitates to it instantly and will stand there frying up eggs for ages. Plus it’s white and will not look like another giant and hideous kid toy taking over my adult space. Win, win.

Holiday Table Settings

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays as much as we did. I will need to do a little catch up posting to fill you in on our holiday festivities so here is your warning, you may get our entire Christmas all in one post soon hah! This post is a little late as most of you are done with holiday entertaining but I wanted to share it anyways. (more…)