Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous?!

Photo Taken by Mark Hoult of Sun Media

Recently I have turned into a media maven.  From early morning radio show interviews (by early, I mean EARLY like 5:55am) to weekend newspaper interviews over coffee, I am in the heart of the press right now.  One more newspaper interview this weekend and three more radio shows booked for the coming week, this must be what it feels like to be Justin Bieber.

What is all the excitement about?  My friend Melanie and I will be appearing on an episode of CBC Dragons’ Den next weekend (Sun., Feb. 17 at 8pm with an encore airing Mon. Feb. 18 at 8pm)!

Melanie and I on set of CBC Dragons’ Den…smiling, a good sign?!

For my friends and readers south of the Canadian Boarder, Dragons’ Den is the equivalent to Sharks Tank, even some of our Dragons, past and present, are also Sharks (Robert and Kevin).  If you want to learn more about the show Dragons’ Den check out their website: www.cbc.ca/dragonsden If you want to find out about the fabulous product we pitched about (insert product plug here —> BLOWOUT BLOCKER) as well as to link to the newspaper articles and radio interview audio clips, check our our Canadian website: www.kalikababy.com

And to support us on our journey to be rich (maybe) and famous (so far so good), please *like* our fanpage at www.facebook.com/babyblowoutblocker

Thanking everyone for their overwhelming support and I hope you tune in to watch!

It’s a Boy!

Christmas Day 2012 we added a new member to our already busy family.  BEAN, is a 4 month old male Pug puppy.  My sister, the breeder, decided that Bean and his brother would be the last litter that her Pug, Bailey, would have.  With this in mind, she offered male 1 of 2 to our family (specifically her nieces) as a Christmas present.  I excitedly agreed while my hubby did not share the same excitment (but is slowing accepting the fact that Bean now resides at our home).

We have embrassed Bean into our lives as well are continuing to adjust to the fun of a puppy in the home (and by fun I mean house-breaking, dog fur everywhere, a dog full of energy, chewing, etc.).

Mr. Bean

I am looking forward to watching Bean grow with our girls and I’m sure ten years from now they will all be the best of buds. 

Welcoming the newest addition to our family

On Dec. 1st Santa Claus left an early present at our doorstep. 

We welcomed with open hearts and minds “Shelfy,” an Elf on the Shelf. 

If you haven’t heard of the phenomenon that is taking over families early this Christmas season, I’ll fill you in!  Elf on the Shelf

( visit the official webpage: http://www.elfontheshelf.com/ ) arrives to your family prior to Christmas and is adopted by the children officially naming your elf and then each day your elf sits watch over the childrens’ behaviour and reports back to Santa each night (magically flying to and from the North Pole) whether the kids have been naughty or nice that day.

The exciting part for the kids (or more so for the adults) are the shinanigans the elf gets into each night and the excitement of little eyes trying to find where their elf has ended up upon his/her arrival back home from the North Pole.

Over the course of the last 6 nights, “Shelfy” has had some great moments in our house while we have slept:

Putting on Cinderella’s wedding dress and getting married to the Gingerbread man.

Our oldest daughter (4 yrs old) spoke to “Shefly” the other night and then put a container of sparkly flower stickers and gems (along with a glue stick) so that “Shelfy” could decorate the top of her hat (as it came pompom-less).  The next morning, her hat was prettified (if that is a word) with a note especially for our thoughtful daughter.

 

I can’t wait to see what else our little “Shelfy” will get into over the course of the next 17 nights (maybe snow angels in flour on the kitchen counter, or eating all of the Christmas cookies and leaving only crumbs…the ideas are endless).

 

 

Olympic Fever

I know I’m not alone in the excitement and hype of the Summer Olympics.   As the Games come to a close, I find myself reflecting on my life journey as a competitive athlete and who I am now.  From the age of 5 years to 25 years (yes that is 20 years) I was a proud competitive gymnast.  I lived for the sport.

I am so grateful for what the sport of gymnastics, and most importantly my coaches and parents, provided me with as a toolbox of tools for my life.  I truly believe that my experiences as an athlete have helped to mold who I am today; strong-willed, determined, focused, goal-oriented, organized (time-management skills), competitive, and strong (mentally, emotionally, and physically).

Every four years, I always think the same thing: I should get back out there.  Join an adult class and get back up on the horse (or vault as we gymnasts call it!).  I also watch the aquatic divers and think that diving might be a new sport for me to take-up.  I can utilize my ability for body control and awareness (as well as twisting) under a low-impact environment (the physical results  of decades of tumbling and impact on my joints have left me with ankles, knees, wrists, elbows, and shoulders that aren’t what they used to be).  Unfortunately, living in a rural area there is nothing within available distance with diving training.

If you could start studying any summer Olympic sport now what would it be and why?

 

Heels to Hay

I actually started this blog after hopelessly searching the internet one night (after a full day of exhaustion) for fellow mommy bloggers who were going through some of the same emotions and challenges in life that I was going through.  What exactly was and is the cause of these emotions and challenges?  Being a “Dairy Farmer’s Wife.” 

I grew up in the big city of Toronto, Canada, met the man of my dreams in University (who happened to have a large dairy farm awaiting him in his rural small town upon graduating), and settled down as a Dairy Farmer’s Wife the same year the family farm expanded into  the technology-age.  I traded in my heels for steel-toed rubber boots.

Unlike the Dairy Farmers’ Wives that have pre-ceded me in my husband’s family tree, I have chosen to not be a SAHM.  I have not one, but two, full-time jobs.  I am a secondary school teacher during the day and a mompreneur/business owner in the evenings and weekends. 

I have the stress of working full-time (x2) as well as the up-keep of the home (for the most part), and the majority of child rearing.  My husband works hard (very hard!) with a 5am-7pm, 7 days a week schedule.  He is able to take 5 hours off Sunday afternoons on most off-season weekends or if it is raining during the on-season for crops.

 I wonder how other Working Mothers who are also Dairy Farmers’ Wives handle these year-round daily stressors…

Time flies…

Yes, I attempted a homemade cake.

I’ve been busy cleaning the house and prepping the yard for our oldest daughter’s birthday party tomorrow.  I can’t believe we are celebrating her 4^th Birthday!  It seems like just yesterday I was holding my first baby girl in the wee hours of the morn’.

I remember saying to my hubby, “I can’t wait to see who she will be when she is four years old and entering Junior Kindergarten at school!”  Here we are and I am pleased to say that she is everything I dreamed she would be and more.  She is a smart, strong-willed, little lady who never fails to make me laugh with what comes out of her mouth.

Just yesterday while watching me get ready before leaving the house she so kindly said, “Mommy, you are a great mommy and when I grow up I want to be just like you.”  These sentimental words just melted my heart!  I gave her a hug and told her she made my day.  She proceeded to state, “mom, I mean I want to do make-up just like you.”

I can’t wait to see what kind of a young woman she will be ten years from now!  In the meantime, I will enjoy watching her grow and bloom into the person she is meant to be.

I will not try to rush the next ten years, the past four have already flown by too fast.  I guess that is what happens when you are having fun (or sleep deprived)!

 

Dream Bedroom!

Our daughter’s 4^th Birthday is next week and she has been complaining about the boring yellow walls she has had in her bedroom since she was an infant.  Now sharing her bedroom with her younger sister, we decided that as our gift to her we would paint her walls. 

BEFORE…

The 4-year old’s requests starting flying; princess castle walls to red ceilings with polka dots.

I made the executive decision to design a room that I would have loved to have at age 4.

Taking some ideas from the internet (I am not THAT creative), I hired a good friend who excels at painting and is taking her love for painting and home decor to the business level (insert her business plug here:  http://mahoneypaintanddesign.webs.com/ ).  Six kids under the age of 8 (her 4, my 2) a teenage sitter, and one full day of her and I painting, we accomplished a bedroom work of art that any child would love to dream about and dream in!

P.S. – I free-handed drawing the tree, maybe I should trade teaching and my business selling BlowOut Blockers for home design and something in the arts!?

AFTER…

Taking the plunge!

No, it’s not the plunge into marriage (I took that hand-in-hand jump into rocky waters a handful of years ago).  It’s not the gush of a waterslide ride into motherhood either, I’ve done that twice!

I’ve taken the dive into the world of blogging and dare I say become a “mommy blogger.”  I acknowledge that this dive into unknown waters is not a deep sea adventure but rather a skinny-dip into a shallow fishbowl where my life will become visible to the world (or at least the parts I choose to bare share and blog about will be seen).

Welcome to my world and learning a little about A+ me!

PS- curious about the blog name?  Check out the ABOUT page to learn more.