My Son's Nursery

We have now gone from a family of 3 to a family of 4.  For our first son we had plenty of time to shop for the "perfect" nursery.  We found it very challenging because we didn't want the brown and beige colour schemes and we wanted something modern.  As soon as you shop for something modern prices go up.  We finally found a crib on Walmart.com by Baby Mod - modern, simple, nice and inexpensive.  Walmart.com has a huge selection of cribs from inexpensive to very expensive.

Via Walmart.com

We thought it looked a lot like the Oeuf crib we were eyeing that was 3 times the price.

Via Oeufnyc.com

We are so happy with the crib and even more happy that we didn't pay a lot for it because our son ended up destroying the edges with his teeth - we had a beaver on our hands!

This is how the crib looks in his room.

We painted the walls with Benjamin Moore Aura paint in the colour Stone.  The pain quality is great and very easy to clean.  Until this day, his room is my favourite room in the house because the colour scheme is so calming.  The grey was really the perfect choice.

The rest of the furniture was purchased at Ikea mostly because we liked the colour and finishing.

Via Ikea

 
To add colour to the room, we framed pictures of cartoon characters we like.  I bought the frames at Winners/Home Sense (in my opinion the best place to buy picture frames).

The rest of the colour was added by his books, mobile and stuffed animals.

Finally, the light fixture is one of my favourite pieces.  The hanging glass bubbles reflect on the walls and make it look like floating bubbles.  We made sure to also get a dimmer.  We purchased the fixture from Living Lighting in Ottawa.

We also recently added this wall decal from Wall Talk.

His room is still a work in progress with other touches I would like to add, like shelving.  For our second son, we went with the same wall colour and even furniture but the layout is different and so are some of the small touches.  Unfortunately, the room is not finished and everything is still a work in progress!!

Baby Boy!!

As you may have noticed in my blog post today, yes, I gave birth!  Our wonderful baby boy was born last week and we are overjoyed.  Truly amazing to have a newborn again in our home.  My older little guy loves his baby brother - asks about him when he is not around and kisses him a ton when he is around.  They are absolutely adorable.

A Gift Tip for a Big Brother or Sister of a Newborn

On April 2, I posted about a great idea my colleague gave me to give a gift to my son from his baby brother each time he comes to visit me at the hospital after I give birth.  I finally got him three items I am happy with. I think he will have fun with them and they will be easy to keep as keepsakes and always remember that his baby brother brought him something when he was born.

He loves to throw things so I am hoping he will enjoy this flying disk by Melissa & Doug.  I bought it from Chapters/Indigo.

Via Amazon.ca

He loves hugging stuffed animals so we couldn't resist getting him this super, and I mean, super soft Jelly Cat Bunny. I also fell in love with the colour.  For those who know me well know I have a deep obsession with the colour grey.  We purchased this from Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's in Ottawa.  I love the gift wrapping service they offer.  

Via jelly cat 

Another thing my son loves is anything that makes music or sounds so these fun looking castanets are perfect...they will not be quiet at the hospital but they will be fun for him.  I bought these at Kiddy Town in Ottawa.

Via Amazon.com

The gift bags were ready to go, along with my hospital bags.  I am happy to report the gifts were a hit with my son and continue to be.

A First Communion or Baptism Gift Tip for a Daughter, Grand Daughter, Niece, God Daughter, etc.

Last week a good friend of mine was telling me that in spending time to find a first communion dress for her daughter and planning the details of her small family get together she had not been able to think about a great gift for her daughter to always remember this special occasion.  So she was asking me for ideas and I shared with her that most of the time, for a girl's baptism, I give pearl earrings.  I like the idea because pearls are soft and classic and can be worn throughout different ages.  Although this is my "go to gift" for a girl's baptism I felt it was as appropriate for a girl's first communion.  Given that her daughter does not have pearls and that she wanted to give her something she will keep forever, she thought the idea was fabulous and bought her the following ones from Hamawi Jewellers in Place D'Orleans, Ottawa.

They looked so pretty on her!!

A Gift for Me for Mother's Day

On the day I became a mom, my husband read me a newborn prayer he found online.  It was a beautiful moment that I will certainly never forget.  Not only were we emotional having just become parents and met our wonderful little guy but we were in tears reading such beautiful words.  I've wanted to frame it for my son since that day and unfortunately, I haven't had time and then I just couldn't find the right paper to print in on. Finally, last week it dawned on me that I should just print it on one of my son's newborn shots.  Took me long enough!!

Here is the result:

 

This picture was taken by a wonderful photographer, Eduardo Reyes.  You can see his work at www.eduardoreyesweddings.com.  It was perfect to fit the prayer.  I tried to find the source of the prayer online and I couldn't but you can find it on so many blog posts online and I got it from this blog.   I framed the picture in a white frame and will be hanging it in my baby's room.  It will be a nice keepsake.  I hope to do the same for the next little guy.

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

A Mother's Day Basket for a New Mom or Mom-to-be

Tomorrow I am attending a Mother's Day fundraising event at St.Elias Banquet Centre in Ottawa.  It is a great event for a great cause and the highlight is a super fun basket auction.  The banquet centre will be filled with donated baskets, each up for the grabs by the winning name.  Guests throughout the evening purchase tickets and put those tickets in a box for the basket(s) they would like to win. At the end of the night, each basket is drawn for one lucky winner.  This year Mrs. P and I donated a basket of Our Favourite Things for a new mom or mom-to-be.

The items include

Bath Kneeler

Via Skip Hop

Via Skip Hop

Ikea 4 piece cookware for kids

Via Ikea

Sophie Teether

Via Walmart.ca

Baby's first year calendar

Via Walmart.ca

Via Walmart.ca

Here is how the end result looks like.

Wish me luck, I hope I win a basket!

Every Mom Should Carry One of These - The Gucci Belt Bag

About five years ago I was visiting New York City with a good friend of mine who was already a mom and who was living there.  She took me to great places and one day we visited the Gucci store and she pointed to the Gucci belt bag and said it was the best purchase she made as a mom.  It allowed her to carry all the essentials and keep them very close to her, while freeing her hands and arms for her kids.  Plus it looked really great because of the green and red belt.  My husband bought it for me at my next birthday and it has come with me on ever trip we have made, every event I have organized (festivals and other casual fundraisers) where I was required to run around and oversee things, and now when I am out and about with my son.  It is really one of the best gifts I have received and I think every mom should have one.

My husband bought mine at Holt Renfrew but they don't show it on their website.

Via Neiman Marcus

They come in two different sizes. I prefer the smaller one because I also carry it cross body like a messenger bag, but that's just a personal preference.

Over the years Gucci has made the belt bag in different colours but currently on Gucci's website only the above and below are available.

Via Gucci.com

Via Gucci.com

If you don't get it as a gift, just buy it for yourself!

Bath time toys!

Bath time is a big deal in our home. For my son it's part of his daily nighttime routine. It's a way to get out that last bit of energy and freshen up before book and bedtime. It's also a great opportunity to connect and even do a little learning while playing.

I thought I'd share our favorite bath toys. I imagine that most mothers of young ones have many of these items already but as a new mother it's a list of tried and true bath toys for your toddler or young child to help keep bath time interesting.

My personal favorites are foam letters, numbers & animals: Learning letters, numbers, colours and animals in the bath is a game for my son and a way for us to encourage the love of learning. His interest in learning the alphabet definitely started during bath time play and when we saw his interest in animals blossom we got the animal set. Now we match the first letter of every animal name with the corresponding animal. I can see how down the line this will progress to spelling complete words.

Munchkin Bath Foam Letters and Numbers via Amazon

Bright Toddler Bath Gift Bag (includes foam animals, bath book and toy storage net) via Amazon

I wish I had found this item (below) earlier. It's the letters, numbers and animals all in one and the first letter of the animal is actually a puzzle piece within that animal piece! How clever!

Foam Bath Toys Letters and Animals for Kids via Amazon

The following are toys that we have and with which we have a lot of fun:

• Basketball net & balls (We have this exact item)

Muchkins Bath Dunkers Set via Amazon

• Thomas the train and station (We have this exact item originally bought at Walmart)

Thomas The Train Bath Tracks via Amazon

• Stackable containers (We have a similar item to this - I bought ours at the Dollarstore)

Munchkins Stack and Spill Bath toy via Amazon

• Boats (We have this exact item)

Magnetic Boats Bath Toys via Toys R Us

• Plastic animals (We have a similar item to this)

Munchkins Lake Buddy Bath toys via Amazon

• Bath books (We have a similar item to this)

Munchkin Bath Book via Amazon

We're thinking of getting some of these in the future:

• Motorized animals

Tomy Swim N Sing Turtle via Amazon

• Bath markers

Crayola Bathtub Markers via Amazon

• Foam blocks

EWonderWorld Non-Toxic Foam blocks for bath via Amazon

As Yolanda mentioned in previous posts the following our great items to make bath time go smoothly for mommy or daddy:

• Kneeling pad

Skip Hop Moby Bath Kneeler via Amazon

• Storage for bath toys

Skip Hop Bath Toy Organizer via Amazon

Clippasafe Bath Toy Bag via Amazon

I also think these are must haves:

• Grip pads (We have this exact item originally bought at Walmart)

Munchkins Grippy dots 6 pack via Amazon

• Spout cover

Skip Hop Moby Spout Cover via Amazon

• Hooded towels and mitt wash cloth

Animal Hooded Towel via Pottery Barn Kids

Circo Hippo Wash Mitt via Target

• Bubble bath 

Toy Story3 Bubble Bath via Amazon

Combining any of these items into a gift basket would a great gift for any young child or family whether for a baby shower, a birthday or other special occasion.

Chocolate Favours for Baby's Birth (Part 2)

In my opinion most companies that sell already decorated chocolate favours whether for a birth, wedding or baptism, really fail in the quality of the chocolate.  You end up paying $4 to $6 for the decorated chocolate and when the guest tries to eat the piece of chocolate it tastes old, soapy, and is just bad quality.  The focus is definitely more on the decoration, but I think that defies the purposes.  The purpose of these little chocolates is to offer something small to your guests to say "thank you for coming to visit our new baby".  Of course it is nice for them to look good but it is more important for the guests to enjoy them.

I found a place in Montreal that makes the best tasting little chocolates I have tasted in a while.  The inconvenience is that I had to travel to Montreal to get them but I made a trip out of it to do other shopping and I am sure they would have mailed them to me if I couldn't have gone myself.  The place is called Chocolaterie Le Muguet.  They made our chocolates and wrapped them in white paper for me, as per my request, because I want to decorate them myself.  Here is how they look without the decorations:

Dark chocolate piece

Milk chocolate piece (front and back)

And here is some of her other work for babies.

Via Le Muguet

Via Le Muguet

Via Le Muguet

Via Le Muguet

For weddings

Via Le Muguet

Via Le Muguet

Via Le Muguet

Stay tuned for the final result of the chocolates I decorate.  I hope to complete them this week.