Time to get back on the blog train

So my life has changed quite a bit in the last few years since my first and only blog when I spoke of my 9 month old daughter Cadence - who is now 4 years old.

Cadence now has a 20 month old brother, along with her 19 year old sister and 18 year old brother. I am also a full-time stay at home mom, having taken a year of unpaid leave from my job as an Educational Assistant. In an attempt to make our finances a little easier to manage with only one income right now,  I have also become an avid "couponer". I would rank myself in the intermediate to expert range in skills with couponing, which makes me sound like the worlds biggest nerd, but if I showed you my grocery budget and my stockpile room, you might want my autograph.

Being 38 with 2 toddlers is so much different than being 20 with two toddlers! I remember having so much energy as that 20 year old, but being a complete idiot with no wisdom to apply to my parenting (what 20 year old has wisdom?) and I was also a single mom by the time my second was born so I ran that mission solo. For another 10 years until I met my fiance Kerry and started my second batch of kids. So now I am old enough to appreciate everything they do. I treasure every moment. But I treasure it as an old lady lol. Having the 19 and 18 year olds is a daily reminder how FAST time flies (they were just in diapers YESTERDAY weren't they? And now I see them in their bar pics whooping it up with their other adult aged friends....so bizarre). So yes, I eat up every moment with my little ones with a spoon, and drink in the memories and images. But can I roll around with them as often as that 20 year old mom did? Can I get up and go with them like I did with my first two? Can I get up feeling refreshed after only 5 hours of sleep and do it all over again? Well, I can do the first two, but a lot slower and the last one: refreshed feelings only occur after consuming at least one cup of coffee in the morning. And "refreshed" isn't quite the right word I would come up with whilst staring at the mess in the mirror, even after a second cup of coffee. "Surviving" is a better word. But content is a word I can use now that I couldn't use back then. I know who I am, where I've been and where I'm going. I suppose that holds value.

Anyways, as Cadence is a night owl and still sleeping at 9:28am here, my Ryker is 3 hours into his morning and has just informed me that he peed and pooped in the playroom. He didn't articulate it perfectly (mostly stared solemnly at me when he came running naked from the room) and said "pee pee" and then pushed a chair up to the counter and grabbed the roll of paper towels he knows mommy will need to use and runs back to the room, chubby bum cheeks a-jiggling. That's my cue to cut this blog short and get back to mommy duty.

Candace :)

Dr. Beckmann's "Brilliance Worth Sharing"

So I mentioned in my last blog that I'm a "Couponer" (which still gets the red underline like it's not a word, but mark MY words, it will be in the dictionary soon). I am guessing many of my blogs will either be about couponing or kids or both and not much else. That would be the sum total of my life anyways so it's appropriate.

This post is to tell you about a product I was recently asked to try, by way of participating on a team and competing for top prize while using and reviewing the product. At first, I was just like "okay give me my free sample, because I never say no to a free sample and that will be the end of it". Well the sample came I headed on over to YouTube to watch a how-to video to see what I should expect (click HERE to watch the video)


Using Dr. Beckmann's Colour & Dirt Collector Sheets will allow you to mix coloured clothes with whites without having to worry about colour-running, as the sheets are designed to "collect" any colours (and dirt) that may seep out of the clothes, therein protecting the whites and keeping them white. (Of course, you wouldn't use the sheet on brand new heavily dyed clothes and expect the same result - we should ALWAYS wash our brand new clothes at least once on their own before combining them with whites since a fair amount of colour-bleed is to be expected from new garments).

Needless to say I was still skeptical. And I'm thorough by nature, so I also went on the company website to learn more about this product (Original Dr. Beckmann official website). I liked what I saw so I went to the next step: The Test.

I had the perfect experiment clothes that I was willing to put to the test. My 4 year old had just gotten some cute colourful new clothes for her birthday and they had only been washed once so far. And of course my husband's white undershirts were going to be the guinea pigs.

Well I was pleased to see when I pulled the wet clothes out that this product is no gimmick. Everything was as it should be, according to the claims Dr. Beckmann's product makes. My daughter's clothes were still fun and bright and new looking and my husband's white t-shirts were still pristine. It wasn't like when you get the smushed up tiny bun and sloppily constructed Big Mac from McDonald's that looks about as much as the sandwich depicted on the menu board as I do Angelina Jolie. This product is the real deal that makes good on its promise.

It's not only coming through and doing what it's supposed to that makes Dr. Beckmann's Colour & Dirt Collector Sheets a great product. It's also the benefit of not having to spend time sorting laundry, and the money saved on not having to buy special detergents that cater to colours and cater to whites. I can grab and armful of unsorted laundry, toss it in the washing machine with my detergent that I already saved a ton of money on with coupons, and slip in a Colour & Dirt Collector sheet and walk away feeling confident that everything will be taken care of in that cycle.

Since trying out this product and falling in love with it, I would recommend Dr. Beckmann's Colour & Dirt Collector Sheets to anyone.Now if only Dr. Beckmann would work on creating a product that will FOLD and PUT AWAY the laundry....

I mentioned that I am also a part of a competition in this product review process. I have a team Captain and teammates. If we get enough votes for our team, we also win some free product and possibly gift cards. Please help my team by clicking below and giving us your one-time vote. (The link will take you to Facebook where you can also find out more about this awesome product).

Click HERE to vote for our team Coupon Queens

Hope to see this product on our shelves here soon.

Well, here goes nothing

Since I don't use a journal or a diary, I figured hey, what the heck, let's blog my nonsensical thoughts.

Right now I'm trying to think about what I want to drain from my cyclone of thoughts while I listen, hopefully, to what are the sounds of Cadence settling down for a nap. I've just put her in her crib, trying to teach her how to go to sleep without rocking. It doesn't sound hopeful. There is a sad mewling sound coming from the direction of her bedroom. Makes it hard to think about much else. The mewling is getting louder and so is the guilty feeling I have of not sitting in the rocking chair with her, making sleep come much easier to her. Do I wait her out? If I do, how long is fair to both of us?

Looks like your first read is going to be of broken train of thought since I have just decided to go and get my sad baby girl from her crib, and surrender this time to the bedtime battle of the wills. I'll continue this blog once I help my daughter to sleep. I'll be back.

Twenty minutes later, my 9 month old is off to dreamland. Now I'll try not to think about all the stuff I have to do around the house (you know, "house goddess" duties) and get this first blog completed.

I guess the thing that is front and centre on my mind these days is H1N1. I've been doing a lot of reading about vaccinations and was startled to discover how much CRAP is involved (ie: politics, conspiracy theories, side affects). I have made the decision not to get vaccinated and not to vaccinate my baby girl. I gave the choice to my two teens, but insisted they educate themselves about these vaccinations. They both decided not to go for the shot. My boyfriend Kerry decided not to as well. My big fear is the possible neurological side affects that are mostly generated by the ajuvent ingredients in the vaccine.

In the last couple of days however, the WRHA decided that it would offer the unajuvented vaccine (previously exclusive to pregnant women) to the general public. So now I am on the fence again. But I don't get it: if it's been deemed that the ajuvent isn't necessary in order for the vaccine to be effective, then why was it there in the first place? Guess I have some more reading to do and another decision to make. Also, it's well into November and I can' t help but wonder if we haven't all been exposed to this flu already? If so, why bother getting vaccinated? Sigh. It's really hard when you're not just responsible for yourself and have to make, possibly life-altering, decisions for other people who rely on your mind body and soul.

Well, looks like dreamland shut the door on little cady and she's crying right now so I guess it's more rocking and less typing for Candace today. That's the end of blog #1