Thanks so much for visiting. Please do not ever return.
Lots of love,
J
xo

Wikipedia never lets me down:
Muffin Top:
"a generally pejorative slang term used to describe the phenomenon of overhanging flesh (fat) when it spills over the waistline of pants or skirts in a manner that resembles the top of a muffin spilling over its paper casing."


There is something so confronting and unnerving about the words "overhanging flesh (fat)". Nothing good can ever come of those three words strung together.

Sadly, after giving birth to my dashingly handsome son, I too fell victim to the dreaded MT. It's funny, I never noticed it while I was pregnant. It's like it was hiding (baking?) and waiting to make it's grand entrance when I was most vulnerable...post partum.

If you google 'muffin top' you'll find a million and one different ways to rid yourself of the muffin top. There are diets, exercises, creams, surgeries, clothes, all designed to eliminate those unsightly bulges of 'overhanging flesh'.

Despite the numerous links I was offered through my google searches, I believe that it was Wikipedia's fine definition that became my ultimate motivator to bid farewell to the dreaded muffin top.

I like to wear low-rise jeans. And I enjoy a curve hugging dress. But I like to enjoy these things sans muffin top.

Things are still not fully resolved, but i'm getting closer (and refusing to give up on) bidding farewell to dear MT.

Here are some tips i've come across:

1. Eat clean: Cut out the junk and reduce the amount of starchy and sugary carbs. Eat lots of protein.
2. Drink water: Keep yourself hydrated and drink about 8 glasses a day. 
3. Get moving: Include a cardio session with your workouts. 
4. Weight train: Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn all day long. You'll also strengthen your bones and feel stronger. 
5. Give up on spot training: Unfortunately, we don't get to decide which part of the body we can gain and lose weight from. 
6. Buy clothes that fit ;) Your goal may be to fit into those pre-pregger jeans, but in the meantime, you can buy yourself a pair of 'transition jeans' that will get you through until the MT vanishes. 

So D has mastered pulling himself up. He pulls himself up on his Leap Frog learning table, on the couch, the chairs, the coffee table. Yay for reaching another milestone, right?




Kinda.

I guess I should be more grateful and celebratory when we hit these milestones but when they start to interfere with D's (at best) mediocre sleeping habits, it makes for some very long days (and nights).

For the last month and change i've been sleep training. A fancy dancy word for trying to teach the boy how to put himself to sleep and STAY asleep. It was (hands down) one of the most difficult things i've had to do, but I did see some improvement. It was going fairly well for a few weeks... Our evenings usually looked something like this:

1) 5:00-6:30: Whining, crying, fussing, eye rubbing
2) 6:30-7:00: Bath time, bottle, snuggle, books, etc.
3) 7:00-12:00: D sleeps like a rock!
4) 12:00-12:15: Dream feed the little guy about 7 oz
5) 4:00: Wake to feed (sometimes....not consistently)
6) 5:00: Up for the day (ugh!)

Doesn't sound too bad, right?

Well that was how things were looking around here until we started with the standing. D wants to stand all day, every second of the day. He has abandoned crawling. Standing is MUCH more interesting.

Here's the problem: When nap time and bedtime roll around D would much rather stand in his crib with his hands on the top rail and spit his soother on the floor. After a few minutes of that he screams and cries himself into a sweat because he can't quite figure out how to get back down. I go in, re-insert soother and lay him back down. Repeat this for about half an hour until he submits to the exhaustion.


Note: It may appear that my son is wearing a Halloween costume of sorts...hehe....but really, he's just showing love and support for his Dada who is completing his Radiology residency at UofT :)





He'll sleep through the night one day, right?

We've all seen them....

I drive the hubs bananas with my passion for recycling. Secretly I find it amusing watching him shuffle from bin to bin trying to find the 'right spot' to throw away things. "Dammit...can't we just have ONE garbage bin??" Hehe!

April is Earth Month! I thought i'd take this opportunity to list all of the things i'm already doing for Mother Earth and to suggest some new ways that I can be kinder to our planet.

What I'm Already Doing

• Cloth diapering. I also use a HE washing machine and line or sun dry all of the diapers and inserts.
• Using cloth wipes.
• We're down to about 1/2 a bag of garbage every two weeks.
• Using cloth bags for grocery shopping
• Re-using any plastic bags that accumulate
• Crunchy Clean: I use environmentally friendly and gentle laundry detergent.
• Re-using gift bags and tissue paper
• Donating old clothing and furniture
• Less idling with our cars

When DH and I decided that we wanted to have professional photos taken of D's first year of life I knew right away that I wanted Empirical Photographic Arts to be our photographers. I met Angela and D'Arcy through a friend a few years back and have had the honour of doing some fun photo shoots with them before I was married with a baby.

I have seen countless wedding photos over the years and I can honestly say that nothing compares to the work that D'Arcy and Ang put together. They are not your average photographers! While other photographers are happily taking pictures of the bride and groom cutting their cake, D'Arcy and Ang are shooting crazy wicked photos of the wedding party in the middle of an abandoned factory. Sounds strange...but boy does it ever work. Genius I tell you...
But don't let me try to convince you...their work speaks for itself.

Check out their website and blog for some of their artistic creations:
Empirical Photographic Arts

Every three months, D'Arcy and Angela arrive at our house fully equipped with all of the necessary tools and ideas to snap as many photos of our unique and crazy little guy as he'll endure. Each time, i'm moved to tears at how well they capture his personality. There are no props, or costumes. Just raw photos of our baby that are brimming with emotion.

Here's some of my favourites...