So You Think You Can Dance For A Really Long Time

Registration for the event that my sister and I are planning, a dance-a-thon fundraiser in support of the Mustard Seed in Calgary called So You Think You Can Dance For A Really Long Time, is now up and running!

Who: We invite all Calgary and area youth {or the young at heart} to sign-up to be a competitor by clicking the link above. Then download the pledge form {from the same website} and start collecting cash and cheque donations and bring them with you to the event.

What: Come prepared to dance the day away with your friends to great music, enjoy cool entertainment, and have a chance to win fantastic prizes!

Where: Eau Claire Market {Centre Court}

When: Saturday, May 15, 2010; 11:00am - 6:00pm

Why: This event will involve the entire community in a fun and competitive way while raising money for a great cause.

You can also send an email to dance@theseed.ca of you have any questions or find So You Think You Can Dance For A Really Long Time on Facebook!

How puzzling...

My husband and I consider oursleves King & Queen of Television Watchers, especially in the winter months. We usually sit down on the couch as soon as our son is in bed, and proceed to watch 2 - 2.5 hours of television {which in PVR terms usually means 3 hour-long shows}. There are probably only a handful of shows that we don't watch.

This couch potato status, as you can imagine, doesn't do a whole lot for our relationship. Sure, we bond over a good episode of The Office that we both laugh hysterically through, but we aren't talking {especially since we skip commercial breaks} about our days, or what is going on in our 'separate' lives.

So, a couple of weeks ago my husband suggested that we needed to 'do something' together, and since - much to his dismay - I do not enjoy playing cards, my hubby ordered us a puzzle off of ebay. We started the puzzle almost immediately and have both become hooked. We work together {okay, we still need to work on this a little bit}, talk, and just spend time together. So far, it has been a really positive change for us. I am going to bet that we will be purchasing another puzzle soon... and maybe the TV will get a much-needed rest for a few minutes each night.

Some of My Favourite Things...

For today's Mother Monday post I thought I would share some of my favourite baby/toddler items from the last two years. These five items just happen to come from five of my favourite online shopping stores as well! Next week I'll list off five more favourites, so come back next Monday for the rest!

1. My Petunia Pickle Bottom Touring Tote Diaper Bag. I had to take a picture of my exact bag because this print is no longer available, however, the new prints are just as fun! It is the perfect size for me, not too big, but still fits everything I need. I purchased my bag at my favourite online baby store based out of Ontario Dear Born Baby! A Canadian store that offers free shipping on orders for $100 or more, what could be better?!

2. Toddler B's Personalized Cubino Chair from You Name It Baby {also in Ontario}. The chair itself is available at other retailers, however, You Name It Baby embroiders your child's name on it {for a small fee} making it their extra special seat. My son sits in his all the time, and I happily have it in my family room because it looks good.

3. Gertie Balls are the best balls around for any active toddler. The smaller ones are good for older babies too because they are easy to grip. Toddler B has one in every toy area of the house for playing soccer, catch, basketball... I bought ours from Scholar's Choice and found them to have good customer service and reasonable shipping costs. *Note: Scholar's Choice seems to be out of stock on Gertie Balls right now. They are pretty difficult to find, so if you do find them, order a few extras to give as gifts!

4. The Imaginarium Train Table from Toys R Us. Santa got this for Toddler B for Christmas and it has been an excellent source of entertainment. The quality is great and it is compatible with the Thomas Wooden Railway trains. It does take a few hours to put together, but not too difficult. {Bonus: costs way less than the Thomas Train Set!}

5. Grobags from Mom & Baby Works. A Calgary-based online store that also features all of the Tiny Soles brand, as well as many other great products. Excellent customer service too. My son has been in a sleep sack since he was about 6 months old. My hubby and I give most of the credit to our being able to get good sleeps to Grobags.

So little time...

Sorry for the impromptu interruption in blog posts! I was so busy with the dance-a-thon event planning and finishing up a course for school that I couldn't find time to be on here. Such is life I guess!

I am super excited that registration for our event is finally supposed to be up and running starting on Monday! We will be able to start actively looking for event contestants... yay!

We also sent out a ton of sponsorship requests this week, so cross your fingers that some of those come through for us. We need a bit of money to pull this thing off. So far though we have been delighted to hear back from Coke and Hershey that they will donate some product for the event contestants and volunteers! Gotta make sure that we keep our dancers energized and hydrated!

As I mentioned, I also finished up my sixth of seven courses for my Event Management Certificate. It was a tough five weeks this semester with everything else that is going on but I still managed to pull of my 'A' thanks to the support of my hubby, mom and sister!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Fabulous Female Friday ~ Mon Petit Amour

I am absolutely loving my friend Morgan's blog Mon Petit Amour lately... In one of my first-ever blog posts I talked about how Morgan was my inspiration to start blogging, and it isn't hard to see why. I love all the new mom stuff that she is sharing with her readers lately {she had Baby Hunter in the beginning of December}, and her writing is so perfectly bloggy and fun that it keeps you wanting more! Plus she always finds the cutest images and graphics to post {something I am not very good at}.



If you haven't been over to her blog for a visit in a while, you need to pour yourself a cup of tea and pull up a chair at the computer. Morgan just recently purchased her domain name {so exciting}, and she has gotten back into the blogging groove after a short hiatus to {rightfully so} spend time bonding with Hunter.


This week she is focusing on something called FlyLady, and how you can change your procrastinating ways and not get too overwhelmed with the daily doings of running a household by doing everything a little at a time {and rewarding yourself when you stay on track which I think is key}. I think the suggestions are fantastic and I am making a mental note to go back and really look at the posts when I am done school {sounds a bit like I am procrastinating, but really and honestly I am too busy right now to implement something new}.

Be sure to check out her roundup post "daily deals online for mom and baby." I had wanted to put together a listing of all of these shopping sites, but now we can just share!

Nice work Morgan ~ you are going to be a top mama blogger that so many other bloggers are talking about I just know it!

I give you permission...

Dear Reader,


If you, like me, have been really, and I mean extra, way-more-than-usual, busy lately I give you permission to take the easy way out tonight. You deserve it!

Much like I am going to pick up Edo of Japan for dinner tonight for me and my little man {hubby is out of town for a few days}, you should find some sort of time {or sanity} saving step you can take in your day that will make your life a little more pleasant too!

The only catch is that it must remain guilt-free. Meaning that you must promise me that you will not lose any sleep over it. Did you plug in a Baby Einstein video for your infant so you could have 20-minutes to sit down with a cup of tea? Good for you! Or did you skip working out in favour of reading a book? Perfect! Perhaps you spent the afternoon scrapbooking instead of tidying up the basement? Nice work!

Now, don't you feel better? I know I will when I am eating the meal I did not have to prepare for dinner tonight!

No thank you cards? No problem.

It had already been a ridiculously long time since my son's 2nd birthday, and I found myself a few short on thank you cards this past week, so I sat down and got creative.

I went online to the Sesame Street website {to continue the Sesame Street theme from the party}, and printed off a couple of colouring pages of Elmo and Cookie Monster. Then I used my printer's re-size feature and shrunk the images down so that they would fit on some blank cards that I had left over from another project.

Then I grabbed my little man and some crayons and asked him to scribble all over the colouring sheets. I cut out the images, glued them onto the cards and wrote my messages to the Great Grandma's and Grandpa's and there you have it... a personalized thank you card to cherish! And a crafty, keep-him-busy-for-five-minutes project for Toddler B! One stone, two birds...

I know they aren't the most fabulous cards in the world, but when compared to the store-bought cards I sent to some of the guests, I kind of wished I had enough of these for everyone! They have character.

These would also make great Valentine's Day cards {with a fun Valentine's Day image and a red or pink card perhaps}. Just make sure you only ask the little ones to colour a few at a time or they'll get bored. Hint: An easy to cut out image will make things much less stressful and time consuming for you!

Event Planning Fun & Stressful Too

Everything for our fundraising event is {slowly} coming together. It seems like every deadline I set for myself seems to come and go without me completing the task. It's a little frustrating, but I guess that's to be expected when it is your first real event and you are volunteering your time. Other things on the TO DO list just seem to take priority sometimes! I will try not to be too hard on myself, and hopefully these last three months or so until event day things start going a little smoother.

The website for the event is up and running. Registration is not available yet, but if you want to check out the event details so far click here. We are also working on a facebook page, and our poster is being designed by the lovely and talented Sarah of Daffodil Design {who is also volunteering her time for this project}. The next top priorities are getting the sponsorship requests sent out!

If you are interesting in participating in or volunteering with the event please send me an email to threemes@gmail.com, and I will be sure to update you when registration is working, or put you on a list to contact later for volunteer opportunities!

Every Hip Hostess Needs an Apron

Michelle Stepp from Everyday Celebrating posted the most wonderful aprons on her blog yesterday... they are from The Hip Hostess. I think every wife needs one to help inspire her inner creative cook, don't you agree? So cute!

Label Lover

A few weeks ago I applied {and got accepted} to be a Mabel's Labels BuzzMama. This means essentially that I am an ambassador for them... they want me to talk to people I know about their products and then provide feedback to them on what was said. Pretty easy peasy for someone like me who loves to talk about children's products. I refer mommy friends to specific companies I find and love all the time anyway, so why not get rewarded for it, right?!

If you have never heard of Mabel's Labels they started out simply making super durable {they say you can put stuff in the dishwasher and the label won't come off, but I haven't put it to the test personally yet} "labels for the stuff kids lose," but now they have branched out into home organization products and personal stationery.

What I love about the concept of the BuzzMama program though is that I am not going to ever have to stand in front of a group of women and try and sell them lotion or something. I think I'd be pretty horrible on the home party scene. Nope - instead of getting paid a wage or commission I will get paid in product. And Mabel's Labels has lots of fun products that I will enjoy playing with for sure!

Another perk is that in my welcome package I received a bunch of coupons to share with my friends. So, if there is a product that you have always wanted to try from Mabel's Labels drop me an email at threemes@gmail.com and I'll see if I can hook you up!