good quality supplies

you know, one of my thoughts on tupperware is that anything that you only have to purchase once in your life is a good deal though it might seems expensive initially. i was reading soulemama this morning (can you tell i was catching up on my google reader? two posts in reference to blogs) and she was talking about having good quality art supplies which will cost more at first but last you much longer in the long run. these crayons look really great AND they say that they'll last until your little one is grown! wow. those rectangular ones would make a good first birthday present. i wonder if my local art supplies shop carry something similar?

and how cute is baby soule colouring with his crayons? he's only 15 months! this mom is so inspiring and has great ideas for creating opportunities for creativity as early as possible in your kids' lives. i bought her book, the creative family and am so looking forward to trying things out with ben as he gets a little older.

the #1 tip?

i was just reading this blog post from ohdeedoh about the #1 tip for planning a nursery. it is....creating floorspace. a must have in their opinion for the baby to play. so far, ben has spent little time in his room. i don't have a rug in there yet so it's a bit of a cold floor. (and the above picture makes it look like the closet is full of pampers but it's not...just not well organized at the moment.) however, in the last week or so, ben and i have done some hanging out in his room. he likes to open drawers and fling things out of them. it's just important that i am nearby to hold the drawer open as he leans on it as we've had a couple finger crunches lately. i put all his stuffed animals on the bottom shelf of his bookshelf and he also like to fling each one of those onto the floor. and as you can see, he also tips over the laundry basket and pulls all of those clothes out. while this can get a little cluttered, it's been fun having another room to spend some time in. now i just got to get something on the walls and a rug on the floor to make it a little cozier.

the camera monster

it's been getting harder and harder to take photos of ben because when he sees me pull out the camera, he turns and turbo crawls towards me in hopes to get his hands (and teeth) on it. lately, all the photos of him look like:

new years resolution check-in

remember my new years resolutions? i'd planned to read at least one book a month. i've pretty much done that though i wasn't able to bring myself to finish cleaving: a story of marriage, meat, and obsession. it was unbelievably depressing and couldn't see myself gaining anything from finishing it. so that january book of the month failed but i got another one in called water for elephants by sara gruen. it's fiction but based on many true accounts of travelling circuses during the 1930s. it's a pretty interesting book on a subject that i had previously thought nothing about. i'd recommend it.

my february book of the month was the girls by lori lansens. this book was recommended to me forever ago by my faithful commenter, rachel, and i just got around to reading it now. this was a phenomenal book. you must read it. it's written like an autobiography from the perspective of conjoined twin girls living in rural southern ontario. it's so well written and i found the setting of the book especially intriguing as my parents are from this area and i recognized many of the names of towns. i could picture the fields and old farmhouses that they talk about. it's such an interesting story.

i'm a big fan of the re-read and that is what my march book of the month is. a book that i've read before but i'm so glad i'm re-reading it because i'd forgotten how much i love it. eat, pray, love: one woman's search for everything across italy, india, and indonesia by elizabeth gilbert. my favourite type of book, eat pray love is the memoir of the author as she traveled in these three countried. it's written so smartly. it's like hearing the author talk to you, the way that she jokes and weaves around her thoughts. i love love this book and often want to stop and write down quotes from it but then don't have a piece of paper beside my bed so i don't. i heard it's coming out as a movie which is upsetting - the amazingness of this book cannot possibly be acted out especially not by julia roberts. but anyways, you should read the book before you see the movie. it's so good.

the process of getting dressed

capture the baby that you want to dress.

let him get away to make it seem like a game.

capture him again.

put the clothes on quickly.

personally, i like to let him escape after each clothing item. he turbo crawls away then looks back to see if you're coming. if you are, he squeals and turbo crawls again. it's a pretty fun game until he's captured. you'd think the rugburn on his knees would be enough incentive to sit still to be dressed but no - at 9 months old, getting his diaper changed and being dressed are torture. what a funny stage.

this baby is a mover

when ben first started crawling, it wasn't pretty. tim would make fun, saying, "he doesn't quite get it. he may not be a crawler." umm...yeah, this kid can crawl like there's no tomorrow. i've tried uploading my little video twice but blogger and my videos aren't friends. any tips?

gratitude sunday

already sunday again and so few postings this between this and the last one. there's been major focus over at life on points but now that my camera has been found, there's sure to be more postings going on here again. but what a week it has been. little ben boy was a throwing-up, poopy, sickie this week, only wanting to sit with me at all awake times. so today, after a day of being on my toes keeping up with a non-stop little boy, i am thankful for his quick recovery from the flu. also on the gratitude list this week:

> the stoneware pan that has revolutionized sunday night's pizza crust

> parents who don't mind hearing all the baby bragging that you hold back from everyone else

> a husband who helps me sleep-in til 10am by hanging out with ben all morning

> laughing so hard, you're crying

> friends who make you laugh so hard, you cry

> two fantastic tupperware parties

> baba ganoush and blue corn chips

> increased anticipation for friends' babies to be born

"keep cultivating gratitude. you'll live longer" - from 'eat, pray, love' by elizabeth gilbert

i hate my clothes!

who else feels this way everytime they open their closets? hopefully, i'm not the only one. but this past week, i started counting ww points and exercising harder than i have since i had ben. sunday morning, i did the 30 day shred and was feeling that good-sore feeling that you have after you work out. i started picking out what to wear to church. and i'm feeling all good about myself and my weight goals for the week and then all my clothes fit THE SAME! not differently - THE SAME. but all the work i did this week? didn't it make any kind of difference? of course, i know that in 7 days, there's going to be very little difference and if i had just continued to keep wearing my spandex for another couple weeks, i wouldn't have worried about it. but no. one needs to get dressed in real clothes once in awhile so since i was feeling good, i thought i'd start trying some of my pre-preggers clothing on. if you want to make yourself feel very bad, very quickly, this is how you do it. as you've figured out, i am not even close to pre-pregnancy size. but after a whole SEVEN days?! haha. anyways, after looking at my old clothes, it made me hate my current clothes all the more. it's a terrible affliction (hating your clothes, i mean). remember when we were in grade 3 and could wear the same sweatshirt everyday and no one cared? (oh wait...i wore a uniform so of course no one cared. ha. you know what i mean.) i used to get one outfit for church for a season and then wear it every sunday. i wish i could do that now. anyways, you may be wondering where this post is going. it's not going anywhere - it's just a meandering rant. and in case you were wondering what i ended up wearing to church on sunday to show off my new muscles - i wore jeans and a black cardigan.

breaking the rules already?

ben's a big fan of cheerios and can eat them whole now. yesterday, we gave him some little chunks of cooked, whole wheat pasta. loved it. we cut up some frozen blueberries and he loved those too. he's becoming a great little finger-foods guy. today, while at superstore, i saw these:

gerber's graduates puffs. now while they DO say "for toddlers", they also say, "melts in mouth". i figured they couldn't be much different than cheerios, right? i tried them - very rice cracker melty. he ate them up when we got home from the store. then when he woke up from his nap, i gave him a few more. he gobbled them up. yes. gobbled.

but just now, i read the side of the container where it says, "children given this product must be one year of age or older and accustomed to chewing solid foods." now...they just put that there so they don't get sued if a baby chokes, right? there's not something in these that he shouldn't be eating? weigh in here, moms.

oops - gratitude sunday...a day late.

right, i was starting a regular gratitude sunday post.

this week, i've been grateful for:

> a healthy baby who never stops moving and babbles constantly

> a husband who likes to garden

> chocolate covered pretzels

> sunshine, strollers, and swings

> friends who like games as much as we do

breakfast

gilmore girls

i always hated gilmore girls when i was flipping through the channels - the unrealistic, fast-paced, sarcastically witty banter between mother and daughter - but i knew so many different people who loved the show. a friend of mine owns ALL the seasons! well, the other day i was at the library and saw the first season of gilmore girls and thought, "if i could get into corner gas, i could probably get into gilmore girls if i started at the beginning...". and wouldn't you know? i have. i'm on disk 4 of 6. anyone out there also love this show?

other moms

the funny thing about having a baby is suddenly having to make small talk with other moms/grandparents everywhere you go. you have to tell them how old your baby is, his name, and what his latest achievements are. i'm pretty okay with this though i try not to initiate these conversations.

but the other day, i stopped by the park on the way home so ben could have a swing. there was another baby and mom at the swings when i got there and only 2 swings. one can't swing her child next to another mom swinging her child without being friendly. i initiated conversation. but this mom was great. we chatted for about 20 minutes (because ben seems to be able to swing forever) and i wanted to ask for her number or at least for another date...you'll be happy to know i resisted. at the end of the convo, i introduced myself (because at that point, we'd only just introduced our babies...weird, i know) and she introduced herself and we left it at, "maybe we'll see you around." i guess i'll keep chatting with moms because you never know when you're going to meet a cool one. :)

happy st. patricks day!

i found a hand-me-down green polo today and thought it makes for great st. patrick's day attire...

the chick in the egg was supposed to be a little spring addition to the photo but it ended up...not good. poor little chick.

obsessive much?

as you know...i tend to be a little obsessive. growing up, my brother was very obsessive. mostly with sports teams. he perfected his drawings of the canuck logo (back when it was a difficult one) and the grizzlies. i laughed at his obsessiveness. then it occurred to me that i'm the same. yes. i'm just now figuring this out at 27 years old.

you, being the faithful blog reader, know about my obsessions because you've had to endure reading about them. at least my current obsession is cute and photogenic. but one obsession you all dealt well with was weight watcher point counting. it was all i thought about and if you can believe it, i actually resisted posting every weight watcher related thought.

but guess what...they're baaaack...but to save you from reading all i have to say, i have started yet another blog. don't tune in if you don't want to know what i eat everyday. but feel free to follow along if you so desire. i just started yesterday. www.lifeonpoints.blogspot.com and if you choose to join the challenge, you can illegally do weight watchers with me. i explain how there. :) but you'll have to become a commenter because weight watchers is all about support groups.

new carseat update

we did exchange that forward facing carseat for one that also faces backwards. as you can see, ben was excited to get a new seat...

but it's a little harder to sleep in. sometimes his head does this and i feel badly.

poor guy.

.

gratitude sunday

this weekend, i had coffee/lunch with some friends at wendals in fort langley which happens not only to be a cafe but a bookstore as well. there was this little leather bound journal with the title "gratitude journal" inscribed on the front and i just wanted to buy it so badly. alyssa and i joked about loving journals but not writing in them. she mentioned that i blog and that's really like a journal.

i follow a blog called "a journey to a simple happy life" that always has a sunday post called gratitude sunday. the author lists a few simple things that she was thankful for that week. when i logged into reader tonight and read the weekly list of gratitude, i thought of the gratitude journal and this blog journal and was inspired to begin my own weekly segment.

and so...this week i am thankful for:

> both sets of ben's grandparents who make cranky evenings happier

> my sister-in-law's progress and successes at RCMP training in regina

> a phone message from a favourite friend

> the fort-to-fort trail in fort langley and good friends to walk for 2 hours with

> words of advice

> new inspiration to begin counting ww points again

> a good book to read before bed

what are you thankful for this week?

spring ahead

i'm hoping that the spring ahead time change is going to the be the new awesome for ben's sleeping schedule. instead of going to bed at 6pm and getting up between 6 - 7am, he'll start going to bed at 7pm and getting up between 7 - 8am! a great plan, right? well, he had a restless night moving all over his crib and then this morning he was ready to get up at 6:40am...which would be like 5:40am. what? so we ignored him, thinking he'd go back to sleep but instead he just played quietly (but not quiet enough that we could go back to sleep...) until 7:20am at which time, i felt guilty that we've just left him in there for so long and he's obviously awake. at which time i pushed tim out of bed to go get him and i rolled over and put a pillow over my head. haha. so maybe my expectations are too high for spring ahead. we'll see what happens tonight at bedtime.

conquering the crackers

remember the first time ben tried these rice crackers? a month or so later, we tried again, only to throw up again. so these crakers have been waiting on the shelf. but i think crackers have been conquered after today...

oops, dropped it.

sit down, try some more.

stand back up. break the cracker up.

mmhmm...

no throwing up today! yum!

paring down the reader

i know i've blogged about my love of google reader before but let me recap: if you read a handful of blogs and you're tired of clicking through all the blogs everyday only to find no one has posted anything, you need reader. you make a list of your blog subscriptions and then when you get on your computer with plans for blog catch-up, you simply log into reader and all the new posts from your subscriptions will pop up on the lefthand toolbar. then you can read the blog on reader or you can click on it and go to the blog (so that you can comment...because that's important to a blogger.)

anyways, today i logged into my reader after a couple days (COUPLE) and found that i had 391 posts to read. oh brother. i need to start weeding out my reader.

here are some keepers, some of which i've posted here before, i know. (besides my friends whose links are over there ->):

rookie moms: two moms who have written a book and post about activities you can do with your kid among other interesting mom-related things. a must-read for moms.

cup of jo: she posts many times a day so a bit harder to keep up but it's a lot of fashion, design, suggestions of websites to check out, etc. not a lot of reading. lots of pretty photos and cool sites.

centsational girl: a thrifty DIYer with tutorials and then lots of posts about decor.

make and takes: craft. food. fun. it speaks for itself. my crafting inspiration.

little green notebook:decor DIYs and inspiration links.

enjoy.

say cheese!

with the lack of light in the bathroom and all the slip-sliding, it was hard to get a focused picture of ben's do. then i said, "ben! smile!"

he stopped mid-movement and smiled for me. what a poser.

precious nap time

when i taught, my recesses and lunch hours were sacred breaks. i strongly disliked supervision duty because it meant that i didn't get my break. i took these breaks to be still, converse with adults, and drink my coffee or eat my lunch.

now that ben's pretty much on a two nap a day schedule, i cherish this time. i often feel like i'm supposed to be cleaning/doing laundry/making dinner. but that rarely gets done. i just want to sit. watch tv. read a book. have a snack. read my newsfeed. drink a diet coke. because these things are not as easy with a baby. especially not with a crazy mover baby which is what ben has become. so that means things aren't that tidy, laundry sits unfolded for long periods of time, and i haven't improved on making dinners.

but you know what else i think it means? i'm better prepared to play, deal with crankiness, and have fun with ben. i don't feel worn out throughout the day because i take my breaks as breaks. this just occurred to me as i am writing this. so that's pretty good.

now if i could just begin to like cooking in my spare time...i could be eating something other than spaghetti for dinner.

the saga comes to an end

and one day, the boy started eating three little meals a day without gagging. after three consecutive days of this, the boy's mother believed it was real and leaped for joy! it had been a four and a half month process but the boy was finally on his way. but not without face making.

living room transforming slowly...

i posted about painting forever ago. we did paint. we also put up crown moulding. we bought new slipcovers for our couches (still white but cleaner). we bought a few gray throw pillows. we bought 6 square frames to put pictures in. we printed 6 pictures at costco for our frames. we bought a leather ottoman that opens up to store ben's toys. we are on our way. but now that we've started, i don't want to take "after photos" until it's all done! what do we have left to do?

drapes. hang pictures. buy lamps. buy a tv stand. do something about our side tables (like paint or buy new ones).

it's coming. we're feeling motivated. it's a slow transformation.

a park day

when ben and i have gone to the park in these first 8 1/2 months of his life, it's meant that he rode in his stroller as i walked around mill lake. today, i parked near a playground, brought a blanket. we went and sat.

we sit down (in the shade because ben's a little crazy about sun in his eyes and the shade was pretty cool - hence the touque) and ben starts flapping his arms excitedly, seeing all the kids playing. and for a few minutes, he just watched. then he started to crawl off the blanket until his hand touched the grass. that threw him off. he pulled his hand back like he'd touched something hot. then he reached out and touched it again, pulling at it. pretty funny.

then off to the swings.

got to keep an eye on those big kids...

but he LOVED swinging. he kicked his legs and squealed. he watched the other kids swinging. i'd grab his feet when i pushed him and he'd laugh and laugh.
i thought ben may be too little to appreciate a visit to the park but man, we will be back as soon as possible. i quite enjoyed myself as well.

abby responded...

in regards to my recent dear abby question, i got a phone call from abby herself with the answer. it's the law for children under 1 year to ride in a seat facing forwards. so those of you who were wondering the same - a little fyi post. thanks, jenna! the seat will be returned and a more appropriate seat that can face both forwards and backwards will be bought for my hefty baby.

(and then, as if babycenter.com read my mind AGAIN...i got an email that said, "is your car seat safe?" man, that site is good. )

a new stage...

lately at nap time, ben will sit in his crib and play with his soothers. this can go on for half an hour before he goes to sleep but there's never much fuss if there are some extra soothers around.

this week, he's discovered he can stand. standing leads to screaming. but he's gotta sit down sometime... (today it only took 5 minutes...)

tupperware commercial...

you got to expect them sometimes over here! ;)

for any tupperware parties before march 19th, there will be NO SHIPPING! and as a bonus for hosts, there also won't be any TAX! woohoo! how about i throw in a medium fridgesmart with the deal too?

there's a new catalog out and until march 12th, you can buy from EITHER catalog! and the new flyer (which you can keep up to date on those specials here...soon) is starting march 13th.

email me - rebeccashulba@gmail.com

dear abby...

you know when you read a magazine and they have the questions that "people" mail in then an expert answers them? (i put people in quotations because i often wonder if it's just the editors writing the questions) they're often questions that you'd think would need instant answers - not things you could wait around for the magazine to choose you then wait til the next month for publishing. that said, if i were to write in a question to a parenting mag, this would be it:

i bought my son a carseat as he's growing bigger. on the outside of the box, it said that the requirements are that the baby is 20lbs. and at least 27in. in length. when we opened it up and read the directions, it says that the baby must follow ALL of these requirements: 20lbs, 27in., be able to sit on own, AND be one year old. my son meets all the requirements except he is only 8 1/2 months old. can i not use this seat? it seems that age shouldn't have anything to do with it when he meets all the physical requirements.

any instant answers out there?

a ben series: expressions

olympic thoughts

i've never been a big olympic follower. i've never watched an opening or closing ceremonies. i catch whatever's on when someone else has the tv on.

when these vancouver olympics started, i was annoyed at tim for being annoyed at me for scheduling something else during the opening ceremonies. "it's just the opening ceremonies. nobody watches those anyways." (don't worry, we watched them on the pvr that same night)

but since we had channels that were playing olympic stuff 24/7 for the last 2 weeks, one gets into the spirit no matter how apathetic she had started out to be. and then one travels downtown and sees the crowds decked out in canada gear and sees the line into the bay; she is thankful for her olympic hoodie christmas present even more.

i discovered many a winter olympic sport that i hadn't know about: ice dancing, snowboard/ski cross, the speed skating one where they push each other forward. i watched many a winter olympic sport that i knew of but can't remember ever seeing before: ski aerials, freestlyle board/ski, speed skating.

i wonder if it's the fact that we've had unlimited coverage. morning shows talking with olympic related people/ donald sutherland, constant coverage of everything going on that has made this olympics all the better? when the olympics have been places other than here, we don't get coverage like that, right? or have i just not been watching?

watching the closing ceremonies last night, i found myself looking forward to the next winter olympics as i know i will always be more interested since 2010.