A different type of Monday

I just finished making lunches for my boys, a perfectly normal, Sunday night task. But tomorrow is not just any Monday, its the first Monday of the rest of our lives.

My husband is now unemployed, by choice. After nearly 7 years as a public servant, I'm moving to the private sector and will be financially responsible for my family, at a job that I will start in a week. I've always been a working mom to my boys, but THIS, it changes things.

It's going to change our entire family dynamic. My boys will learn to NEED their dad, to get their comfort from their dad, their dad is about to become their new constant. Without question, it's going to be horrible for everyone, for a while.

But then my boys will get into a groove and a rhythm and they'll learn to get along just fine, without me around. And although I want that for them, so bad, it still makes me just a tiny bit sad. My babies won't ever need me, the same way they do now.

But, knowing my husband is caring for my children, in combination with an opportunity to feed my pursuit of knowledge, learn a new job and a new industry while providing for my family is a trade-off I'll take in a heartbeat.

I'm excited. Excited for the adventure my family is about to embark on and I'm excited to learn.

Tomorrow is the start of everything new and I can't wait to see how this story unfolds.

Finding Our BETTER Than Good Enough

Back in August, after a  particularly difficult couple of weeks I asked When is Good-ish Not Good Enough? And the ever amazing Julie Nowell told me "Good-ish is never good enough sweetie" and in  my heart, I knew she was right.

That simple statement and her related post made me realize that staying stagnant and doing what we're doing, simply because we always have, is far from the only option. It may take time, effort, tears and a little will-power but we can change our lives.

This was a turning point for me, particularly because just as this revelation was becoming clear, a life changing opportunity was in the midst of landing squarely in my lap.

If you follow me on Twitter and Facebook, then you already know the news; we are moving to Kamloops.

I have accepted a job (still in the Environmental field, something I can feel passionate and good about) that is going to afford us the opportunity to buy a large house with property and allow my husband to be home with with the boys. I will work four, ten hour days, and although those days will be long, it also means a 3 day week with my family, every week.

My boys will have space to play and roam, my husband won't have the stress of working the 9-5 grind (though time will tell how he will cope with the stress of little boys all day) and we will have the opportunity to grow together as a family.

We are going to miss our friends and family in Vancouver like crazy and it feels like a huge risk to leave both our permanent jobs behind (for a two year contract), but when life presents you with an opportunity to change everything, and you're living in the hurricane of chaos, sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet and hold on for the ride.

5 Things You Don't Know About Me

I recently had the honour of being nominated as one of Vancouver's Top Mom Bloggers by Vancouver Moms; it is an absolute honour to stand among so many talented and unique local women. Since attending GLAM I have found myself inspired to continue with the development of the Momma Stuff Blog and perhaps more importantly, I feel a sense of community and camaraderie with my fellow nominees that I hadn't even realized I was missing.

In the spirit of sharing, I have joined up with 9 of my fellow nominees to link up and share 5 Things You Don't Know About Me. To find out more about my amazing new friends, you simply need to click on a face below to delve into someone else's secrets.

Now that's you've learned a little bit more about me, click around and discover a little bit more about some of the other local ladies!

|Raj at Pink Chai | Shannon at Truthfully | Danielle at Motherless Moments |

| Cher at EcoBravo | Heather at Mother Your Business | Sarah at More Than Your Average Mom |

| Salma at Real Life For Mom | Jackie at Savvy Suburban Mama |

2013 Top Vancouver Mom Blogger - I'm a Nominee!

By nature, Bloggers are opinionated folks who spill the beans about their life, their experiences and pretty much everything in between. As a Blogger, I love when my posts illicit comments, discussion or a sense of community; I'm no expert at reader engagement, but I try and I'm certain my ability to reach people improves with each and every post.

All that being said, perhaps more exciting (though not more important) than building blog community, is being nominated as one of the 2013 Top Vancouver Mom Bloggers by Vancouvermoms.ca.

I am one of THIRTY local mom Bloggers that are being celebrated and featured by Vancouver Moms, and let me tell you, this years nominees are top notch. My Blog roll is about to be expanded in a huge way, and I suspect yourS is too!

If you're interested, head on over to the VANCOUVER TOP MOM BLOGGERS VOTING PAGE and cast your vote (I'd love it if you voted for me!!) Voting is open until Monday June 10th and you can vote for your favourite THREE bloggers once this week and once next week. You can vote two times total!

All the nominees will be celebrated at the 2013 GLAM event at a secret Gastown Location and YOU are all invited to join in the fun. Tickets can be purchased on eventbrite for $39 until June 1 or $49 after that date.

Just because you're my friend, and I'm a nominee, you can get $5 off your ticket with coupon code 2013friend. Hope to see you there!

Food.ee Snackbox | 50% off Coupon Code and Giveaway

Last week, I showed you a photo of my Food.ee Snackbox and promised you I'd report back on all that gluten-free deliciousness and share an awesome coupon code. Not only can I get you 50% off your first Snackbox, I'm also giving away one free personal sized Snackbox (that's the size I recieved) to one lucky reader.

Are you excited?

Like it or not, we all snack and sometimes even though we may remember to eat whole, healthy foods at mealtime, the lure of chocolate, chips and candy can be hard to resist in those snackable mid-day moments.

Food.ee Snackboxes solve that problem by shipping you a box full of gluten-free, natural treats (many of which are soy-free and vegan) each month so that you can safely nosh in good conscience.

Snackboxes are shipped out of Vancouver and you can expect your first box within about 4 days of ordering; subsequent deliveries will arrive around the 15th of the month. A personal sized box costs  $33 per month plus $6.95 shipping, is intended for one to two people and includes 15-20 servings.  The Family sized box is $67 per month (free shipping) for 30-40 servings and the Bounty sized box is $97 per month (free shipping) for 50-60 servings.

After plowing through most of my Snackbox in a mere week, I can say with certainty that your Snackbox will be filled with delicious, high quality, natural foods. And if you've ever bought packaged gluten-free snacks, you know they come at a premium cost; the price of a Food.ee Snackbox is not just reasonable, I think its a great deal.

The superstar of our sample Snackbox included the Hippie Foods Coconut Chips, after snacking on them Wednesday night, the first thing Bolt asked for Thursday morning was more Coconut chips. They were sweet and salty with the perfect amount of crunch, I will absolutely be buying them again. In fact I loved the brown rice and quinoa granola too; 'Hippie Foods' are yummy!

But I digress, if you're dying to try out a Snackbox for yourself, head over to getsnackbox.com and enter code MOMMASTUFF at checkout to receive 50% off your first Snackbox. Code is valid until April 31, 2013.

And don't forget to fill out the Rafflecopter form to be entered to win a personal sized Snackbox.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a Food.ee Personal Sized Snackbox in exchange for this post; all opinions are my own.

Vegan Indian Cooking with Anupy Singla | Cooking Demo in Vancouver October 13, 2012

I love the flavours of Indian food, however I must admit I'm not always up for the heat and combined with dietary restrictions, eating out can be a bit of a challenge. Enter Anupy Singla's books 'The Indian Slow Cooker' and her more recent 'Vegan Indian Cooking' and suddenly eating Indian food for dinner is not only possible, its easy.

Anupy's books use healthy, whole foods and authentic blends of spices to create delicious meals. Best of all, given that her entire second book is vegan, my family's dairy-free diet is a non-issue.  In fact I was able to create one of my favourite dishes, 'peas and cheese' by substituting baked tofu for the traditional paneer. It was so tasty my vegetarian friend and I gobbled it up in no time flat, we even forgot to take a picture to share with you all.

Each dish in the book begins with a thorough introduction to Indian cooking, ingredients and spices and each recipe includes a personalized note from Anupy sharing anything from the history of the dish, her personal  memories and a experiences or a brief description of the flavours that the dish imparts.

After reading through most of the recipes in her books, I already kind of feel like I know Anupy and if you want to know her too, she's going to be in Vancouver doing a FREE cooking demonstration and book signing this Saturday, here are the details:

Anupy Singla
FREE Cooking Demonstration and Book Signing

Saturday October 13, 2012

1:00pm - 2:30pm
at

Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks 

1740 West 2nd Ave

Vancouver

604-688-6755

If you're in the market for a new cookbook and need something to do, on what's anticipated to be a very wet Vancouver Saturday, stop by Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks and meet Anupy Singla.

Happy Birthday Kat!

Some of you may know my sister, Kat. For those of you who don't, she's five years younger than me and I often describe her as just like me, only more intense, in all ways. She is fierce.

She was the first high school student in Richmond to complete the apprenticeship program in hairdressing and she managed to finish a semester early. She is an amazing stylist, who can work wonders with your hair, but due to injury she retired and underwent a work retrain.

Our dad is a mechanic, but what defined him, was that he was a racecar driver. As children we spent hours at the racetrack and it made me giggle when I found out that Kat's boyfriend races autocross. With only a little prodding, R had Kat racing too.

Although I think its super amazing that Kat is racing and doing well, R blows my mind. He was just one of three drivers chosen, from across Canada, to participate in the Scion Tuner Challenge. Team VCMC is representing the West Coast through 11 different challenges in the Scion FRS, where the prize is the car! The first challenge was this weekend and I hear that Team VCMC rocked the challenge!!

If you or someone you know has an interest in racing, give Team VCMC your social media support and check them out the Team VCMC Blog, Facebook and Twitter.

Happy Birthday Kat, I hope its fabulous and I'll see you tonight for birthday sushi!

The Alphabet, Appendicitis and Asthma

I want to start off by saying that I am horrified that its been over two weeks since my last blog post.  I assure you its not due to a lack of things to write about, it's about finding the time, it always seems to be about time.

I remember when my time was my own, when my world revolved around me: my needs, my wants and my desires.  Although I would never trade my boys for anything, I would be lying to say that I don't have moments where I long for the carefree, freedom of young adulthood.

As a mother and a wife, my life now includes both great responsibility and so much love.  The past week has reminded me of both these facets of my life.  Last Saturday, the boy turned three years old.  In previous years we've simply had family over the the house, but this year I wanted the boy to have a birthday party that he could really enjoy.

I also wanted to make the boy something handmade and from the heart and Alphabet Bean Bags were the perfect project.  On the crafty front I alo made plain bean bags and crayons for each of the kids goodie bags.  With the help of Pinterest, I considered a robot themed party, debated whether to make gluten-free cupcakes with marshmallow fondant or attempt a gluten-free rainbow cake.  In the end, the party was great, we took the kids to a local playplace, Fun 4 Kidz to let them burn off some energy before heading back to the house for hotdogs and cupcakes.  Overall the party was a success and fun was had by all.

So that was last week.

This week has not been so much fun.  

On Sunday night the hubs had an upset stomach and was up vomiting during the night.  In the morning, his pains had become sharper and more localized on the right side of his abdomen.  After some rest and a trip to the doctor he was off to the hospital.  He ultimately had to have his appendix removed, although it didn't rupture, it was perforated and leaking.  Following the procedure the surgeon made  point of telling him that he could have died.

As he recovers, he's of course in pain and discomfort, but he's also heartbroken that for the next month, he can't lift anything over twenty pounds, including our children. 

And my baby boys?  Cold's, both of them.  They have low grade fevers, the baby has lots of congestion and snot and the boy's asthma is out of control.  In fact the boy is now the second family member to go to the hospital this week.  Fortunately he was back out within a few hours.  He's on a four day dose of oral steroids, however it will be a couple days before we can expect to see an improvement. 

Interestingly, we've also been instructed to actively keep his fever under control and keep him on acetaminophen every four hours.  Not only can the fever provoke the asthma, the asthma can affect the body's ability to fight a fever.  What a vicious cycle.

So things have been hectic, tiring and overwhelming to say the least.  Thankfully yesterday I had a beautiful walk and coffee in Steveston with one of my best friends, with absolutely no children in tow.  It was amazing and just what I needed.  Today I am at my parents house with my boys and I am so incredibly thankful to have such caring and kind family and friends.

Dear PVR, I miss you.

I admit it, I LOVE my PVR; on more than one occasion I have wondered how parents ever managed to watch their shows before the advent of the PVR.  That said, when we got our PVR for Christmas three years ago I was not impressed.  It seemed like such an unnecessary extravagance.

Was I ever wrong, as a parent, our PVR is not extravagant, its essential.  It allows us to watch our shows when we want to and has the added convenience of allowing us to fast forward through the commercials, which as far as I'm concerned, rot your brain.  The PVR also allows us to tape whatever show the boy is obsessed with at any particular moment and turn it on with the click of a button.

On Wednesday morning, our PVR remote got thrown on the floor one too many times and stopped working.  I initially thought that batteries were dead, but when brand new batteries yielded no response from the PVR I knew we were in trouble.  Based on previous experience, I already knew that PVR remotes aren't available in retail stores (despite the fact that you can buy the PVR in stores).

In an attempt to remedy the situation, I promptly called my service provider SHAW to find out how to get our hands on a new remote as soon as possible.  After ten minutes of elevator music and 20 minutes of exasperated conversation I was no where near closer to having a new PVR remote.

I had two options:

1. I could pack up my kids and drive to a SHAW retail store to exchange my remote control.  Unfortunately there are only three locations in the lower mainland, and the closest one is still a 45 minute drive away.
2. I could pay $15 and have the remote shipped to my home.  Unfortunately, despite the fee and the fact that the remote would be shipped via Purolater, the customer service agent informed me it would be a three day wait.

Perhaps its just me, but as far as I'm concerned, these options are inadequate.  An hour and a half of driving with my kids just to wait in a lineup and exchange a remote is ridiculous, however a three day wait for a courier delivery, particularly when I can get a package from Toronto in a day, is even more absurd.

I opted to wait for the delivery with the hopes that the 'three day wait' was just a worst case scenario. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case as it is now Saturday night and we still have to sit on the floor and press buttons to access the PVR.  Although we can watch our recorded programs via the buttons on the PVR, we cannot stop, pause, fast forward or rewind our programs.

This has been a tough reminder that before our PVR, not only did we have to run to the bathroom and fill up our water glassses during commercials, we also had to watch our shows at the listed times.  In truth its been such a hassle to use the PVR that we've barely watched any TV (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but in all honesty I can't wait until our new remote arrives and we can resume our regular TV watching habits.

By the time my remote arrives on Monday (I hope) we will have been without for five days, am I being petty thinking that is by no means an acceptable option?

The Lorax Movie Premiere | Presented by Seventh Generation

Before I was a mother and into my early days as a wife, I worked in Stewardship.  I spent my time working to preserve the environment by inspiring others to volunteer and work by my side to make a difference one small step at a time.  We removed invasive weeds, planted native vegetation, hung and cleaned bird houses, picked up garbage and educated others on the ways they too could make a difference.

Although we worked in all sorts of inclement weather, including dreary Vancouver rain and snow, each year I made a point of having an afternoon in to enjoy the original Lorax Movie and facilitate the important discussions that the movie always prompted.

When I heard there was going to be a new Lorax movie, I knew that I wanted, no needed, to see it.  So when Seventh Generation invited me to their green carpet premiere screening in North Vancouver, I jumped at the opportunity, despite the fact that the event was at a theatre more than 45 minutes from my home.

I have so many fond memories of going to the movie theatre with my Dad and he has been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to take the boy to a movie, so it was an obvious choice to invite him to join us at the screening.

When we arrived, we knew we were in the right place, there were families lined up outside the theatre and we promptly joined the crowd.  Although it was windy, the line moved quickly and before we knew it we were inside being greeted by the Seventh Generation staff.

My Dad loves popcorn, though his teeth (and his dentist) advise against it, so he keeps his consumption low.  He was planning to share a kids pack with the boy; imagine his delight when we were handed tickets for our full sized popcorn and beverage, all courtesy of Seventh Generation.

The boy has had plain air-popped popcorn once and in truth he wasn't much of a fan, but after all our talk of popcorn, he was excited to see what it was all about.  Turns out he loved movie theatre popcorn, he must have eaten close to half a bag.

The Lorax was fabulous, they did a great job accurately incorporating the original story into a movie that younger generations can relate to.

After I left the theatre my drive to preserve the environment and find ways to make a difference was revitalized. Fortunately, our swag bag from the folks at Seventh Generation not only included their brand new 4X laundry detergent (in a fully compostable packaging), it also included a booklet full of great tips to green your lifestyle.

Here's some food for thought courtesy of Seventh Generation:

• 75% of the electricity that powers home electronics is consumed when the products are turned off.  Unplug [them]...when you aren't using them.
• If every home in Canada replaced one roll of virgin bleached toilet paper with recycled, we'd save almost 48,000 trees and prevent 4,500kg of air and water pollution.
• Turn off the tap! Save about 11 litres of water by turning off the tap when you brush your teeth or wash your face.
• On average, each Canadian uses a staggering 343 litres of water per day.
• Keep a pitcher and some reusable bottles filled with water in the fridge. Why? The water helps maintain the cool temperature inside and allows your refrigerator to work more efficiently.

Although I no longer work in stewardship and motherhood is my number one job, the environment is still in the forefront of my being and my full-time job (that I will be returning to in only a few short months).  I may not be a magical forest creature like the Lorax, but each and every one of us has the power to drive change and make our planet a healthy place for generations to come.

"Unless someone like you care a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not." -The Lorax

A New Generation of Gluten-Free Freezer Food | Kettle Cuisine All Natural Soups

Lunch is my least favourite meal of the day and as a result my meals tend to get boring and stagnant, especially when I'm at home with the boys.  So when I had the chance to warm up my winter lunches with some gluten-free soup from Kettle Cuisine, I was more than a little excited.

Kettle Cuisine is nothing like soup from a can, it truly looks and tastes like homemade, best of all not only can I read all of the ingredients on the package, they are made from whole foods and actually look like the picture on the package.  Kettle Cuisine offers both vegetarian and meat-containing products, but rest assured all meats used are naturally raised, which means they are antibiotic free and raised in a humane and sustainable manner.

Precisely what I want in pre-packaged food; nutritious and delicious as I like to say.

I had a chance to test out five of the eight Kettle Cuisine soup varieties; the tomato soup with garden vegetables, the angus beef steak chili, the chicken soup with rice noodles, the three bean chili and the new England clam chowder.  My favourites are the tomato soup and vegetable (which is suprising as I generally don't like tomato soup) and the angus steak chili, the beef was so tender and delicious.

To say I was impressed would be an understatement, I don't generally care of soups, but I couldn't get enough of Kettle Cuisine.  Paired with a sandwich, on gluten-free bread of course, Kettle Cuisine soup makes a perfect (and quick) lunch on a dreary Vancouver afternoon.

If you don't believe me, you should have seen the lineup at the Kettle Cuisine booth at the Vancouver Gluten-Free Expo.

You can find out more about Kettle Cuisine on the web, on Facebook and on Twitter.

I received Kettle Cuisine soups for the purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own.

Medic Alert Bracelets: Do they work?

Three weeks ago my sister Kat went into anaphylactic shock.

I knew, without question, that a phone call at 3:30am meant someone was in trouble. Fortunately, she was already at the hospital recovering and her friend was by her side; the baby was due to wake up for a feed so it was close to 5:30 by the time I got to her.

Her reaction came on slowly, over a few hours and although she knows she’s allergic to hazelnuts and latex, she has still been unable to determine exactly what caused the reaction. She was in pretty rough shape and home from school for a week, though I think she’s pretty much recovered now.

Anaphylaxis is scary. I hope the boy will never have to fully experience it, however it’s a very real fear. Almost immediately after we found out the boy was allergic to peanuts, we got him a medic alert bracelet that he wears at all times. It provides peace or mind that regardless of the situation, the boys’ information will always be close at hand to those that would need it.

That belief is currently under review.

Although she was unable to talk, no one checked my sister for a medic alert bracelet. Despite her barely conscious, oxygen deprived state she waved her medic alert at the nurse who repeatedly pushed Kat’s arm away without a second glance.  She was a the hospital and NO ONE checked her for a medic alert bracelet.

Three weeks later and she still has a rash on her arm from the latex tourniquet used to start her IV; a minor reaction to a small but unnecessary action. If someone had checked her for a medic alert, they would have known to keep everything latex-free.

I can’t help but be disappointed. I always believed that wearing a medic alert was a proactive move; a medically recognized way to keep medical information is available, regardless of consciousness. But now I’m not so sure, Kat tells me this is the second time she's been to the hospital and no one checked her for a medic alert.

As a parent of a peanut allergic child, I NEED to believe that wearing a medic alert will help keep my boy safe.  I must stay strong and I can't allow my faith to be shaken; anaphylaxis is scary enough as is.

Do you or your family member wear a medic alert bracelet?  Do you know someone whose live was saved by their medic alert bracelet?  Or alternately, do you know someone else whose medic alert bracelet was ignored?

Gluten Free Expo Vancouver

As a purveyor of all things Gluten-Free, I'm always on the lookout for tasty, new products and I welcome the opportunity to speak directly with the company about the foods they produce.  I'm more than a little excited about the Gluten Free Expo taking place in Vancouver today.

GLUTEN FREE EXPO VANCOUVER
January 22, 2012

11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Croatian Cultural Centre

3250 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
Entrance by Gluten-Free Food Bank Donation

This event will bring together Gluten-Free exhibitors and the public in a forum to taste, talk and enjoy the gluten-free life.  Exhibitors include large well known companies such as Kettle Cuisine (who sent me some of their delicious soups to try out), Martins Marvelous Naturals (their gluten-free granola is fantastic), Glutino, Udi's gluten-free, and O'Doughs as well as a number of smaller companies that I'm excited to try out.

It's all happening today so if you're looking for a delicious (and gluten-free) way to spend your Sunday, head on out to the Expo and make sure to say hello if you see me, my sister, my dad and my baby strolling around.