Thursday 24 April 2014

Puragave Review and Giveaway!

This sweet little candy is part of the world's first line of pure dried blue agave products! They are simply delicious and have no artificial flavors added. Now here is some information about agave nectar:

Agave Nectar is a natural and delicious liquid sweetener that is made from the core of the Blue Agave plant. Agave Nectar is a delicious and natural liquid sweetener that is made from the nectar, or Aquamiel, of a succulent plant called the Agave, which is native to Mexico. Agave Nectar is made from the organically grown Agave azul or Blue Agave — a species that is known to produce the best quality Agave Nectar for sweetening.


PurAgave™ Agave Delights™ are a delicious treat or sweetener for a hot beverage, are only 10 calories per piece (2.5 g) and are available in bulk or in packages of 20 pieces. PurAgave™ Agave Lozenges™ are for the temporary relief of sore throat and nasal congestion, are also only 10 calories per piece (2.5 g) and are available in blister packages of 10 lozenges. PurAgave™ products are all conveniently sized for easy transport in pockets, cars, briefcases or purses for enjoyment anywhere. 


For more information go to http://puragave.com/

And now for the giveaway which is open to Canada and U.S!


We went and fed the ducks in West Kelowna yesterday and it was a blast the ducks were so cute and the kids loved them! These ducks even use the crosswalk by their road it is an amazing sight to see. 
If you live in the area and want to go feed the ducks this is a great spot for the family. Lots of room and lots of hungry ducks and pigeons. It is on the corner of Louie Drive and Bering Road. 


And of course if you don't live in the area come for a visit, or find some ducks in your town to feed. 

Sunday 13 April 2014

Baby Food Cake

We have all heard of diaper cakes. They are an adorable gift for baby showers. Like this one here: 


There are millions of different styles of diaper cakes you can buy or create yourself. But I wanted to do something different for my best friend/sister in-law, I like to be unique and create gifts that you will remember instead of the usual so I looked up baby food cake to see what I could find. I found actual food cakes that were made with baby food but nothing using jars of baby food or boxes of baby food. So I decided I needed to get creative. Here is the first ever Baby Food Cake:


The entire creation is baby food except for the basket on the bottom holding the jars of baby food. My friend loves animal print so I took the theme and ran with it. 


I started with two boxes of pablum, 9 containers of baby food, baby cookies, a basket, tissue paper, decorative ribbon, and Winnie the Pooh decals.I started by wrapping the boxes in blue tissue paper, because clearly they had a baby boy so you can use pink for a girl or green and yellow if the sex is unknown. 


And then I began to wrap and glue the ribbon on the boxes as well.


Then once those two pieces were complete I turned my attention to the basket. 


I simply wrapped and glued ribbon all around the basket to complete the look. 


After it was completely decorated in the ribbon and tissue paper I strategically placed Winnie the Pooh decals and a pretty blue ribbon on top. I also included spoons and a baby book as a part of her baby gift and I think it turned out beautiful. 


Friday 11 April 2014

How does a food bank help?

Did you know that:


    36.4% of those turning to food banks are children and youth
    4.3% of adults helped are over age 65
    11.3% of people assisted are Aboriginal
    50% of households helped receive social assistance
    11.5% have income from current or recent employment
    16.4% receive disability-related income supports
    8% of food banks ran out of food during the survey period
    50% of food banks needed to cut back on the amount of food provided to each household





Did you also know that there are some people out there that choose not to support food banks because they feel as though they are enabling "lazy" parents? This is a very shameful way to feel about food banks because when you take into consideration the children that suffer because of the situation  it really breaks a persons heart. 


The best way to describe such a situation is to tell my story. When I was a 10 year old girl living in West Kelowna after my parents separated my mother was in bad shape. She had gotten ovarian cancer and began to drift into depression. She did not work, she got into drugs, and was a mother of two helpless children, myself and my brother. When my mother did the horrible things she had done we were left with nothing to survive on except food bank food. We survived our childhoods on food bank food and if we hadn't had the help of the food bank I don't know what would have happened to us. Waiting in between hampers when we ran out of food was hard, we ate what was left in the cupboards which was usually some pasta and a few random condiments. When I went to school I was rarely sent with a lunch I went empty handed or every couple weeks I would get to take a bit of food bank food. Family helped when they could but nobody knew the deep dark secret that we all held inside of our house. We were all hungry, and it was horrible. But when that food bank hamper had come it was like Christmas! So the reason I tell you this is because I was a helpless child awaiting my next meal from the food bank and our wonderful community donations. 


Food banks help families in every situation not only extreme situations like mine was. Some families work hard to pay bills and keep a roof over their families heads and then there are very little to no funds left over for food. We all need help sometimes and we need to do what we can to end hunger and show our community love and support. So if you ever had a negative thought about your local food bank rethink and realize the people they help and the situations they are in. Food banks need help in many ways whether it is time your donating as a volunteer, cash, or food everything helps and makes a huge difference! 


Visit: http://www.westkelownacommunityfoodbank.com/ to check out my local food bank! 

Be sure to watch for fun events in your community that support your local food bank! This is one of my favorites:

 


Monday 7 April 2014

What is Hand, Foot, and Mouth?


Here is a story from a mother who had no idea what this nasty disease was or how to treat it:

You would not believe the amount of people who have no idea what this virus is. My kids were very sick for just over a week now. It all started with a sore throat. So off to the doctor we go to make sure that my baby is OK well the doctor looks in his throat and says he has a throat infection of some kind and put him on antibiotics. A couple of days pass and nothing gets better. Suddenly I begin to see blisters forming on my babies hands. I look inside of his mouth and I see what are called ulcers on his tongue. Now because I had my kids in daycare a while back we heard about numerous sicknesses that I was unfamiliar with to so I knew exactly what we had come into contact with HFMD or Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. It sounds really scary but it isn't. Here are some details about it:

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a viral infection that usually affects babies and children. HFMD can lead to fever, a blistering rash on the hands and feet, sometimes buttocks, mouth sores, sore throat, and a poor appetite.

HFMD is contagious and often causes illness within 3 to 7 days after exposure to an infected person. Proper hand-washing, avoiding close contact, and cleaning contaminated surfaces and items can help reduce the spread of the disease.

 
Hand, foot, and mouth disease is caused by a group of viruses known as enteroviruses. The enterovirus called coxsackie virus A16 is the most common cause of HFMD. However, in some cases, other enteroviruses can also cause HFMD. 

HFMD is highly infectious. It can spread from one person to another through direct contact with discharge from the nose and throat, saliva, infected stools, or fluid from a blister. It takes up to a week for symptoms to appear once a person is infected, though not all infected people develop symptoms.
HFMD usually begins with a low-grade fever and general fatigue. A rash of tiny, painful red spots will appear within a couple of days and will soon begin to blister and sometimes form ulcers. These spots may appear:
  • inside the mouth (on the tongue, gums, or cheeks)
  • on the palms of the hands or on the fingers
  • on the soles of the feet or on the toes
  • on the buttocks
The rash is not generally itchy and, in some cases, may develop on other parts of the body. Lymph nodes in the neck may also become swollen. The virus can cause the throat to feel sore and painful.
Rarely, dehydration may occur as the pain due to the blisters in the mouth can make drinking difficult. Infection by EV71 has been known to cause encephalitis or viral meningitis in rare cases.
Children and adolescents are the most commonly affected people. Adults are rarely infected, although pregnant women who have not been exposed to the virus before have a higher chance of becoming infected. Daycare centers, parks, nursery schools, and other places where children play with each other are potential sites for the infection to be transmitted from one child to another. HFMD is most common in the summer and early fall.

 
My babies had blisters on their hands, feet, mouth, throat, and bums. The worst part of the virus was the sore throat. My baby had stopped drinking entirely for an entire day which is when I rushed him to the doctor from fear of dehydration. The best thing to do is give them a pain reliever, use some Orajel on their mouth sores and keep trying in any way possible to get fluids into them. Water and milk are your best options. Do not give juice, the acidity can cause severe pain. I hope you have learned something today and I hope that everyone stays healthy. 

Tuesday 1 April 2014

What to do when you feel helpless.


Do you ever feel like throwing in the towel and just giving up? Well picture this scenario:

You are watching 7 kids 3 your and 4 are babysat, ages 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, and 12. 
The smallest one has had an ear infection over the course of a week and now has a throat infection.
Your oldest son gets a major bad headache and suddenly has a high fever.
Your daughter breaks out in a fever as well.
Son begins throwing up.
Baby is crying because he is sleepy and not feeling well.
Kids are running around crazy all over the house.
What do you do?

You stop and think of an action plan. First you need to breath, and remind yourself that this is only going to get better. Then you need to prioritise. Get your puking one clean, safe, and comfortable. Get your daughter with a fever laying down resting.Calm all kids with a nice snack and a movie. Sit with the baby and put him to sleep.

No matter how bad things may seem they are totally fixable. Kids just want love and understanding and the best way I have found to deal with them is to put yourself in their shoes. When you do this and come up with a prioritised game plan it all works out. Stay calm and breath and I promise you it will all be OK.

In case you were wondering that was how today went for me. But did I break down? Heck no, I took it all step by step and did what I had to do! Stay strong parents they don't stay small for long!