Moving, fundraising, and having fun!

So I am almost done packing my whole house. We are in the middle of downsizing by selling some things like our precious pool table, and random stuff we just have no room for anymore. So I am cleaning and moving and playing with the kids all while organizing a giant fundraiser for Lil' Sproutz Children's Boutique! I have put together around 350.00 worth of prizes we are going to run draws for and half of all the proceeds will be donated to the West Kelowna Food Bank! Ballots are 2.00 each or 3 for 5.00. I am very excited I have been working my butt off on this and everything else I have on the go right now!

 

I cant wait, it is going to be awesome. They will be having a huge sale as well 25% off all pre owned inventory as well as stickers and colouring stations to keep little ones busy. As well as half price on all books! So I hope all my Okanagan readers will be there because I have been putting a lot of effort into this!  

 

Here is a glimpse at what I have put together so far, I'm not done yet but when I am they will be wrapped in cello and look beautiful! The food bank is going to be so happy! Well back to packing! Stay funky! ;)

 

Perfect Threads Review!

So as you know I am a huge advocate of children's consignment. Getting quality products for your kids at a fantastic price is what every parent wants! I got to review an online clothing consignment store this week and I gotta say I am quite pleased. I got an outfit each for my two oldest as well as a onesie and a bib for my little guy. My daughters outfit was an adorable pink shirt from old navy originally and baby gap shorts, in perfect, like brand new condition. My sons outfit consisted of a Gymboree shirt with the tags still on it, the original price was around 20.00 just for the shirt. My babies onesie still had tags on as well and bib looks like it was never used! All of this would have retailed for around 75+ dollars but through perfect threads I would have paid around 35.00. All articles are shipped right to your door and when you place an order you can also get free "clean out" bags to do consignment on and get credit to do your shopping through Perfect Threads, or donation bags where all proceeds go to help the SickKids Foundation, Rosalie Hall, Red Door Family Shelter, Covenant House, or Children's Wish Foundation. All very amazing charities. 

My sons onesie says Major Hunk and I was a little late snapping the photo so my tiny teether has drooled all over it, probably should have wore the bib. Nothing better than all natural photos though right! That is what life is all about. They ship to anywhere in Canada so go for it and see what amazing deals you can score. Check out www.perfectthreads.ca!

 

 My house is in complete chaos right now with packing and organizing and three kids. Yikes, here is what I get to look at for the next couple weeks til moving day.

Cardboard brown is my least favourite colour in the world but it is in every room. Very depressing. But there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. I am not happy with my neighbours or the way the house is smelling, mold is a very scary subject though and there is rules about such things. So if you are a renter or a landlord make sure you read about the Mold and Mildew tenancy act if you have any leaks. You can find it here, this is for BC but I am sure there is one for every province and possibly state. 

So back I go to packing, cleaning, and everything in between! Have a great day!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day everybody! This collage I made represents my life and how my time as spent. I made it on CollageIt Pro, which I am giving away right now, 20 Copies of this awesome software! Get entered into the contest to win your copy! I hope you all get to do the things you love and enjoy today and milk Mothers Day for all its worth. Because tomorrow is just another day! So go take a bubble bath, eat some cake, and watch TV! You deserve it! Or if your like me and your thinking baking, cleaning, and organizing are your favorite things here are the projects I am going to tackle today:

Making Mothers Day Cards with my kids! (should have done this weeks ago) oops!


Baking: I found some really retro cookbooks to get recipes from to try out something new but old. Here are the recipes I chose to make. Because its mothers day I am going to do it the shorter/lazy way and just take pictures of the first recipe right out of the book. Less typing for me, great recipes for you. It is a win-win situation!
 

These muffins were so delicious! They are so simple and just fantastic! 

 This recipe has to be typed its impossible to see in the photos, so here you are. Marmalade loaf:

1/4 Cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Marmalade
1/2 Cup Milk
1 1/2 Cup Flour
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp. Salt  

Beat sugar, butter and egg until creamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and place in a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 mins. 

 
Packing and Organizing (moving again) :(

I am still getting rid of seven things everyday I just haven't posted them all with my crazy hot water heater problem. But I have all the pics and will post them tomorrow!

I hope you enjoyed your special day with your special babies mommy's!

Dental Danger! Finished Puzzle! Crazy Leaks!

Oral hygiene is so important these days with all the sugar and preservatives and acidic foods we get ourselves into. But what happens when you do all the right things and still come up short? Well let me tell you, it is not pretty. I began brushing my sons teeth when he was about 4 months old, before he even had any teeth to brush. I brushed morning and night right up until this very day. We flossed each time we brushed and still he has had 2 extractions, and a cap put in his poor little mouth as well as a spacer. He has another extraction next week but this is where it gets scary, his face is so swollen he is almost unrecognizable. My poor baby is in agony but needs to be on antibiotics. Now why you ask is this happening if you are taking such great care? Genes! It all comes down to our DNA. We are a family that is born with extremely weak or thin enamel on our teeth, so try all you might but you get one cavity that is it your in for a world of hurt. So what are we supposed to do in this situation? Brush constantly, chew sugar free gum, start your small ones on fluoride treatments as soon as possible. I hope this helps you realize the importance and unpredictability of DNA.

 

See my poor baby, his whole right half of his face is super swollen. Not fun! And the dental bill looks even more scary, they charge around 1400 for the work they do. Right now the charges are kind of up in the air because they keep changing his treatment plan. But when it comes to your babies you gotta do whatever it takes to keep them happy and healthy. Ill sell my organs if I have to, as long as my kids are ok.

On a lighter topic I finally finished the jigsaw puzzle I have been working on, it looks great! Thanks to www.jigsawpuzzle.com! I had fun doing it and I will enjoy it for a few days before I put it away for another day. I love bringing out puzzles and just spending a day with the kids just relaxing and puzzling. Its very peaceful. So here is my finished work.

 

Cute right! It is just such a beautiful quality puzzle, it is something you could even glue together and frame. The quality is just amazing.
And lastly me other unexpected turn of events. My hot water heater leaked all over my kids floor for the second time in a couple months so I got rid of way more than just 7 things in today alone. I had to dispose of an entire garbage bag of books, toys, stuffies, and more. Not stuff I was hoping on getting rid of but we can live without it. Sadly my basement stinks now and I am not sure what we are going to do about it. There is mold growing now and its a rental unit. I will keep you posted on what happens so you will know for future reference what to do in a moldy situation!

CollageIt Pro Giveaway!

CollageIt

 

 

Make photo collages on Mac OS X & Windows for free

CollageIt is an easy-to-use photo collage maker for Mac OS X & Windows, which makes collage automatically. In a matter of seconds, this collage software can turn any ordinary photos into impressive collages.
Try this free collage maker to produce you own style collages and share them with your friends and families in a unique way.

 

Try it  for free here: http://www.collageitfree.com/download.html
You can also buy the pro version of it from there as well for $19.90 or win one here in my giveaway!

Features	CollageIt Pro	CollageIt Free
Crop Photo		No
Watermark	No	Yes
Page Size	12000*12000 pixels	2000*2000 pixels
Price	$29.90 $19.90	Free

        




  I was given a copy of the software to aid in writing this review. I absolutely loved this software, it was a lot of fun to play with my favorite photos and creating collages. I made one into my wallpaper on my computer! With the pro version you can crop your photos anyway you like. I love how I can pick which picture goes where and then add text if I like. I know you will love this software as much as I do. Now for the giveaway:  a Rafflecopter giveaway I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Sun Safety!

Summer is here in the Okanagan. My kids actually went swimming in the backyard in their little blow up pool it was that nice out here! But being as gorgeous and fantastic as this weather is it is very important to protect yourself and your children from the harmful UV rays. I never used to wear sunblock, I always protected my kids but never worried about my own skin. Until I developed an allergy, so I now apply sunblock during the summer months. Being the beginning of May I was not thinking about summer sun protection, we just had snow a couple weeks ago, who would expect the wacky weather change. I got burnt today on my chest, shoulders, and neck and my hives have doubled in size! 

Here is what my shoulders look like. That is from one 45 minute walk today. The kids and I went to the store and came home and that was it. They were covered with their cute little hats and shirts but I wore a tank top and got toasted. I now have hives on my neck, chest, arms, ears, and in my hair. My nose is one giant hive it is so disgusting, I was going to show you by snapping a photo but it is really nasty. Here is how my forehead has worsened just from today: 

Doesnt it look horrible? I just want to cry. Now picture my nose as one giant white hive all swollen. Blah! Now that I showed you how harmful the sun can be lets cover some basic sun safety guidelines for you!

 We all need some sun exposure; it's our primary source of vitamin D, which helps us absorb calcium for stronger, healthier bones. But it doesn't take much time in the sun for most people to get the vitamin D they need, and repeated unprotected exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays can cause skin damage, eye damage, immune system suppression, and skin cancer. Even people in their twenties can develop skin cancer.

 Facts About Sun Exposure:
The sun radiates light to the earth, and part of that light consists of invisible ultraviolet (UV) rays. When these rays reach the skin, they cause tanning, burning, and other skin damage.
Sunlight contains three types of ultraviolet rays: UVA, UVB, and UVC.

1. UVA rays cause skin aging and wrinkling and contribute to skin cancer, such as melanoma. Because UVA rays pass effortlessly through the ozone layer (the protective layer of atmosphere, or shield, surrounding the earth), they make up the majority of our sun exposure. Beware of tanning beds because they use UVA rays as well as UVB rays. A UVA tan does not help protect the skin from further sun damage; it merely produces color and a false sense of protection from the sun.
2. UVB rays are also dangerous, causing sunburns, cataracts (clouding of the eye lens), and effects on the immune system. They also contribute to skin cancer. Melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, is thought to be associated with severe UVB sunburns that occur before the age of 20. Most UVB rays are absorbed by the ozone layer, but enough of these rays pass through to cause serious damage.
3. UVC rays are the most dangerous, but fortunately, these rays are blocked by the ozone layer and don't reach the earth.

What's important is to protect your family from exposure to UVA and UVB, the rays that cause skin damage.

 

 Most kids rack up a lot of their lifetime sun exposure before age 18, so it's important that parents teach their children how to enjoy fun in the sun safely. With the right precautions, you can greatly reduce your child's chance of developing skin cancer.

 I know a lot of people who are totally clueless to how to protect themselves and their kids, and some people who need a few more facts, but if you got it covered and know it all kudos to you!

For more information go to kidshealth.org
And for some other general sun safety tips go to: bananaboat.ca

I am going to have another great giveaway for you up tomorrow so don't forget to come back and enter!

Allergic to the sun!

So many of us have allergies. Seasonal, medication, food, fabric, the list goes on and on. My allergy is very rare. I am allergic to the sun, yes the sun.

Sun allergy is a term often used to describe a number of conditions in which an itchy red rash occurs on skin that's been exposed to sunlight. The most common form of sun allergy is polymorphic light eruption, also known as sun poisoning.
Some people have a hereditary type of sun allergy, while others develop signs and symptoms only when triggered by another factor — such as certain types of medications or skin exposure to plants such as limes or wild parsnip.
Mild cases of sun allergy may resolve without treatment. More severe cases may require steroid creams or pills. People who have a severe sun allergy may need to take preventative measures and wear sun-protective clothing.

With my allergy I break out in hives anywhere the sunlight hits me, they are severe hives about the size of a toonie in some spots and itch and burn so bad it is brutal. So what are my options? Medications do not work. Sun block does not work. Wearing protective clothing is the only way I find relief but in the Okanagan when we have almost 40 degrees celcius summer weather its pretty difficult. I wasnt always allergic to the sun I developed the allergy in the past few years and it comes back every year. The allergy only shows its self when the warm weather starts, usually around March and then lasts until about mid summer. After I get a nice base tan my skin gets used to the UV rays and settles down. So in case you ever wondered if you can have an allergy to sunlight, yes you can and you do not need to be born with it! Below you can sort of see how the hives look on my forehead, I usually have smooth skin but if you look you can see a lot of bumps and lumps, it feels as horrible as it looks!

I was able to declutter over 20 items in the past couple days they were all for consignment so I will be making some extra cash as well. Yay me!