Category: parenting

August 22, 2013

Lunch Box Lessons for Back to School #cbias

Are you already in the back to school mode for lunches? To be honest I am a bit dreading it! The summer has brought a nice break from the stress of packing the “perfect” lunch.

Live So Fab looked into the five basics to help prepare a healthy lunch and snacks for school. I love the way they have broken it down to include items from every food group so that your child receives a wealth of nutrition through out the day.

The five food basics for the perfect school lunch according to Live So Fab and parents are:

Healthy Snack: The fruits or vegetable portion of the lunch box. My children love to have strawberries, grapes, cucumbers, carrots and celery here. Peppers are another great option.
The Sandwich: Now this seems to be very popular among a lot of parents but what I have found with my kids is that they become too grumpy and irritable if they don’t eat more than a sandwich at lunch (I am blaming their high metabolism on this one!). When we do sandwiches we use breaded chicken or veal on a bun. The favourite in our house is penne in a tomato sauce or fajitas.
Drink: My children both bring a water bottle with them but I still fill up a container of juice for them to bring as well – usually orange or apple juice.
Homemade treat: My eldest son’s favourite part!! He likes to bake muffins, cupcakes and cookies so we always incorporate this into his lunch!
Salty Snack: I have to confess I personally do not include this part but pretzels are a family favourite.

What are your basics for the perfect lunch? Do you have basics that you like to include?

February 3, 2013

Lessons Learned From My Children

I thought I had it all figured out before I had children – I was set in my ways and confident in my future parent skills and how I was going to raise our children.

Was I wrong! My children have taught me some of the greatest lessons in life and I wanted to share them with you!

Here are the top five lessons my children have taught me:

1) Laugh

When everything seems to be caving in, you’re stressed out and your children do something that they should not have been doing – just laugh! It will make you feel that much better. You can not control everything in life and there is no point in constantly stressing on each item that is not quite the way you want it to be. So the next time you find yourself stuck outside of your home because of a broken lock on the front door in -20C weather, after sledding for an hour (so you’re soaking wet!), with no phone nor money – LAUGH! (this happened to us recently and the only way to get through this insane moment was to just laugh and joke about it – after we walked to our local Tim’s and called for a Locksmith of course!). See the humour in every bad situation and turn it around. This will allow you to focus and fix the problem at hand.

2) Forgiveness Really is Divine

Before I had children, I was one of those individuals who could hold onto a grudge and just not let go. Now I see how hard I was making things for myself. The only person it was affecting was me! Now I have learned to let it go and I truly am happy. Let others deal with their own actions. Let go of the burden of carrying a grudge, anger and resentment. In the end all that matters is you, your goals, your family and spouse.

3) Kisses and Hugs Really Do Make It Better!

There is nothing better in the world than a kiss and hug from my children. Seriously. I actually will get them to give me a kiss and rub my forehead when I have a migraine bubbling up because it makes me feel that much better. There is nothing more sweet, innocent and encompassing than a kiss and hug from your child. Enjoy those precious moments! Embrace every cuddle on the couch and reserve even half an hour for cuddle time daily. They grow far too quickly and each one of these moments is special.

4) Just Roll With It

My children have taught their super organized and have to have everything planned down to the second mother that no matter how much I plan something can and will go wrong. It used to upset me and I would worry about whether they would be disappointed and the ripple affect that these changes would make. I learned that my children were happy no matter what happens and to be honest that is all that matters to me. Let the small things slide, sit back and enjoy each moment at a birthday or special celebration. You can never get those moments back.

5) Appreciate Your Parents

I have always respected and appreciated everything that my parents have done for me. But it was not until I had my own children that I truly realized just how much they did for us when we were children. All the long hours at work, coming home to make us dinner, hours up at night with sick children, the hours rocking us to sleep and the list goes on and on! And my parents did that three times and with all three of us being so close in age. Everything they have done for us as children astonishes me and I have a world of love, gratitude and respect for my parents.

What are some of the lessons that your children have taught you?

February 1, 2013

Benefits of Breastfeeding You May Not Know

The decision to either breast feed or formula feed your children is such a personal decision. I have personally done both and they have both had their benefits (and cons). With my first son, I will admit I was scared- breastfeeding was so hard and I was so tired (I was also doing my undergrad degree at the same time) and I just caved in and chose to formula feed him.

When my second child came along, I was determined to make breastfeeding successful. I researched as much as I could and I learnt all of the positioning skills before hand (I know this sounds silly but after not being able to the first time – technique really does make a huge difference!).

I LOVED breastfeeding my son. It was such an incredible bonding experience with him and I am so happy that I made that choice. I also loved all the benefits that came along with breastfeeding that most of you are probably well aware of, that include:

1) Early milk (colostrum) is full of rich nutrients and antibodies.

2) Breast milk changes as your baby changes (how awesome is it that your body can pick up these changes and change to accommodate your child’s growing needs).

3) Breast milk is easier to digest.

4) Breast milk helps to fight against infections.

Some other benefits for parents are that it really helps to save money (formula is not cheap at all) and it makes life easier (no checking temperatures, no measuring and no mixing!).

I was on Facebook yesterday and saw an interesting post on using breast milk for skin care, etc..and I was quite surprised that people were not aware of all the added benefits of breastfeeding!. With my second child I learnt so much from my RN and lactation consultant and found out that breast milk can also be used for:

1) Baby acne: continue to clean with warm water but afterwards put some breast milk on the affected areas and in a couple of days it will be clear (my son had the worst acne and we tried everything the doctor said. We used my breast milk and within days it was cleared).

2) Scratches: those big, red scratches that babies are good at giving themselves – rub some breast milk on it and it will take away the redness and not leave a mark.

3) Nasal congestion: forgot trying to measure out saline and trying to drop it in their little noses – squirt a little bit of breast milk into their nasal passage and suction it out.

4) Eye infections: Put a little bit of breast milk on the affected area of the eye until cleared.

5) Ear infections: I have personally never tried this but have been told it works! Put breast milk into the ear canal that is affected until healed (I personally would still take my child to the doctor to have them evaluated especially if they have a fever as you can never be to careful in their first year of life!).

6) Eczema: My youngest suffers from eczema on his cheeks, back and stomach and a few drops of breast milk would always clear it right up.

Some people even use it on their own acne, mosquito bites, eczema, etc. Have you used your breast milk to help heal any of these common ailments?