Monthly Archives: March 2022

I skipped a week – Self Care Thursday – March 31st, 2022

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240.2lbs.

This may be one of the first ever really pre-written self care updates only due to the fact I missed a week. Crazy right?! I’m not even really beating myself up about it (seriously).

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Last week was the first time I was home for overnights with my sons alone and let me tell you how hard it was. Naturally it was challenging because I had my youngest seemingly in his 4 month sleep regression. That was interesting. And my oldest for whatever reason struggled with sleep. And we ran out of coffee so that was hard in itself too! This week I am also alone however instead of my spouse coming back on the Friday he will be back on the Thursday. Which one day big deal but it actually makes a huge deal!

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!

I also have started Some thing which is why I put my weight at the top of this page. I put my scale away under my sink. I have become way to obsessed with the number that I am really going to try for the month of April to not look at how much I weight. With new weather coming I will be trying to do some more walking with my son’s and I will be really trying to focus on not over eating or eating late at night. I was and still have been weighing myself when I wake up, before I go to bed, and sometimes even in the middle of the day. This is not healthy behaviour. Something needed to stop and this was it. I feel like this could help me a lot to not beating myself up if I have a bad day. So often I will over eat one day and think I am a failure when it is literally one day.

One of my favorite items to use to workout and get the heart pumping is a skipping rope. Pair this with hand weights for a mini workout when you are a bit crunched for time!

I am also going to make a small chart to keep track of things. Nothing major but just a little snap shot of what I would like to do, like didnt over eat, smoked weed, exercised, no food after 7pm, simple. Im also not really counting calories because again, I become obsessed with that and I know that is not healthy for me. I know when I over eat. I don’t need to also obsess with the amount of calories when I know what I am eating.

Keeping busy can be a challenge but I have really taken off in terms of my writing poems has been going. I have finished one collection that I am currently typing up so I can send it to a few people for their opinions. While writing a few poems here and there. I am so excited and so nervous about this because it is something that is totally new for me. Not to mention I am slowly writing poem titles and ideas for for the next set of poetry collections after Im done these. Crazy to be thinking that far ahead but I just dont want to lose the ideas!

One shake that I found to actually fill me up is slim fast shakes, they are a great meal replacement with a sweet kick added too. When I am needed an added bonus for energy I tend to reach for these Nuun energy tablets.

Overall I am feeling pretty good. Id like to do more exercises and seeing the number lower on the scale even if I still am self sabotaging myself. Seeing the number the lowest it has been is huge for me. It makes me realize that if I keep at it I can lose the weight. It just will take some hard work and dedication.

Here is to a new month with new goals.
Weight loss goal: Under 230lbs.

Natural vs C section

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There is no denying that as a mom of 2 young boys, each journey I had with them up until their birth they both came into this world in very different circumstances. My first was a completely natural birth which I give more of the details in the birth story here. Or it was my second son when he had apparently flipped without me knowing and was breech when I had to have a c-section which I knew absolutely nothing about either. You can read that birth story here. The end result for these never changes, you have a little bundle to take care of and to love for the rest of your life. But the road to get there is so drastically different.

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My first son I had completely natural. I went to the hospital they gave me morphine which lasts about 3 hours or so, and then I was in labour. I was unable to get any medications due to the fact that he was nearly out of my body before I even pushed once or twice for him to be completely out. Natural birth is when you have no interventions medically like drugs for pain or anything like that either.



Some con’s for giving birth naturally would be the fact that you may tear and rip and healing may be a lot more challenging. You may not realie it but you are using that area pretty regularly as you, you know, go to the bathroom. You also may have some discomfort also if you for a few days walking or doing much of anything. After all, you did just push a baby out! Another thing with this is you feel everything. The only thing I remember pain wise was I was beside myself getting up and down from the bed and going to the bathroom thinking I had to poop.

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Some pro’s of this is the time it takes to recover. Once you are home and what not provided you got lucky like me with very little or no tearing you will be more than likely back to your regular self physically a lot sooner than if you had a C-Section. Another thing would be your time in the hospital, provided that you have everything with yourself and baby that is okay you may only have to stay there for the night and can make your way home with your new baby sooner than later.

Now for a C-Section. Long story short if you haven’t read my blog link from up there, my son was breech and we never found out til I was in active labour. Before I had a C-Section I had absolutely no idea much about anything regarding having to give birth like that. It was a lot to learn in the moment about recovery and how to heal properly.

I honestly have such a hard time to find a pro with having a C-Section but this would have to be the biggest one. Safety. I choose to have a section because my son was breech. I was told it was a 50 to 50 change that I would end up with a section if he was stuck. Which in hindsight I think he would have and I would have been rushed. This seemed like the safest route to take in terms of having my son and there was no hesitation there.

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Con’s, where do I even begin. I found a section to be extremely hard, in fact I name the 3 hardest things here. One of the reasons why I found it hard was not being able to lift. I have another son and not being able to pick him up was heartbreaking to say the least. Another thing is relying on someone else. I know there are people out there who do is solo and have to do this and I have no idea how they do. I had to rely on my spouse to help me shower the first time, take off the bandaid over the incision, pick things up for me if I dropped it in a weird spot. Just to name a few.

A major con for me that I had no idea would effect me the way it did was mentally. Having a c-section and having to rely on someone or even moving afterwards. I always knew it was a major surgery but it took a bit for me to really KNOW it was a major surgery til it was all over with. Your whole body aches and you are on pain medications for a while at home also. What kind of pain are you asking? I’m talking the pain where if you miss your next round of medication for pain by even a half an hour your sore stomach starts to hurt. There was any times when I felt helpless and unable to do something that I wanted to do.

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If I were to have a choice to have a natural birth and it did not effect my baby I would obviously pick that route however if it was something like a breeched baby or what not where a c-section was an option and the natural route is not necessarily safe I would pick a section again. It wasn’t about me anymore it was about getting my son out in the safest way possible.

I think it is also important to note that I think when it comes to birth you should be open minded in terms that if you have a birth plan it may change. We cannot predict how births will go but keeping an open mind especially in situations between picking a natural birth, or attempting one before a c-section, that regardless of decision it won’t be an easy one to make.

The Importance of Discord

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Discord can have many uses. Primarily people think discord they think text channels and voice channels and communication for people who may be playing the same game together. Though getting the hang of discord can be daunting when you just started using it. It can be one of the best tools around when it comes to streaming or even meeting a new group of people who share a common interest. Whether it be for a community you follow, your own personal server, or even a game that you play a lot, there are many reasons why you would create or join a discord server.

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Communities
A great way to get involved with discord is to join a few communities. There are a few different types. If you like a streamer, Chances are they have a discord server. Join it! Make friends and chat with the community. Some even have subscriber only spots where if you subscribe to a streamer they have certain sections only for that type of support. Look at it like a benefit for people who financially support the streamer. For example maybe the streamer does a sub movie night or a special text chat channel for you to have some space away from the regular viewers. You can really build connections for others and talk about anything from food to movies to whatever. The best thing to remember though is this is not your community. Respect the text channels and don’t promote yourself OR other streamers OR even other discords. As mentioned in other blogs do not be “That guy” Who joins a server to look for a self promotion channel only to be there just to use that. It is super obvious and cringe as well too. If you want to see more of the tips I mention before and this one read this blog here.

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Some people create communities which are people focused so that others have a place to network and meet like minded creators. They grow it and can run different events there as well. Similar to stream teams as well as gaming ORGs too. You could say one side of my personal discord is like that. Though there is a minor focus on myself there is also a side of it that I try to grow in hopes that others can use it as a tool to bounce ideas somewhere and meet some new people as well too. I have promotional channels people can use to post their links to various content, though it does have a timer to post in order to prevent spam. Also know this, unless you are actively trying to grow and post in a server, chances are very little if any people will want to check out your content if you don’t try to build connections with them.

Central Hub
Now if you are a streamer a discord server of your own can be a great way to connect with your community when you are off stream. The other side of my server is for myself. I announce giveaways, post clips, announce events as well too. Not to mention a general channel to be able to keep in touch with viewers as well as chat with my mods about upcoming things or issues that have happened (These channels can be private just like subscriber only channels as well too). Its basically a great way to keep in touch with people when you need to the most. I love using mine off stream by just chatting about whatever as well too. If I have an announcement or something this is the way to do it basically! Especially since you can “@” everyone in the server to be notified as well too. That being said don’t abuse this or people will leave or mute the channels with announcements and miss a lot of other things as well too.

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Am I too small for it?
The number one thing I ALWAYS hear from people when they are on twitter talking about discord is if they have discord is they do not think they are big enough for discord. For the record, There is no limit to having a discord. Truth is whether you have 5 people in there or 500 people or 5000 you will ALWAYS be changing channels or bots and different things as well too. When I first started my server there was legit 5 people in there. Including myself and my boyfriend as well too. I grew the server as I grew my channel. Getting viewers and friends to join in the process. And even though Ive had it for a long time I did think the same thing, ” Why would I want to have a discord I’m not nearly big enough to have that”. I revamped things before but now I’m even thinking about changing some things yet again!

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Regardless about how long you have been streaming for, Make a discord! It can grow with you. And don’t feel bad if you feel like you are constantly changing things, adding some new bots as well too or removing channels and adding more voice ones. You can add endless roles as well to best describe people in the server that join. Ive even been thinking about changing the colors myself of my own server. Discords can be tricky to get the hang of but you will never know unless you give it a shot! It is a learning experience that even to this day I still continue to try and learn different things. Discords can be a vital part whether you are a starting streamer, established one or even mega popular one. Don’t let it intimidate you and if all else fails check out some YouTube videos on how to set things up effectively too. When I have done permissions to certain channels I would get a mod or friend of mine to be the person I would demote to see if they could get into certain channels and things and worked out great if you need it!

Coffee or Tea? Which is Better?

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Which do you prefer? Coffee? Tea? Liquor? Okay wait, that is a whole other blog. But which is it, coffee or tea? Is this even a debate? Maybe. But I am about to make it a debate. Why? Because there is nothing else better to do with my life. I think it begs to be spoken that whichever you are in terms of the hot beverage, one thing is for sure. People are very very serious about what they take in their coffee or even tea, and how it is made.

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Coffee is so subjective in the sense that you can ask for it done one way multiple times and it can still be messed up in some way, shape, or form. Prime example is getting it from any fast food place. Sometimes it tastes amazing. Other times it taste like trash. For me, I will drink hot coffee occasionally however my favorite way to drink it is iced. Which in hindsight may have been preparing me for becoming a mom because the chances are that it will end up cold anyways so I just make it cold to start and it is good to go.


I prefer coffee due to the caffeine content and just how it tastes. I personally add far too much sugar (which I am working on I swear!) than I should but I just enjoy it sweeter. I also like milk in my coffee because I find cream adds this weird film to the inside of my mouth that I just cannot shake. That being said, I very rarely will drink more than one coffee per day unless maybe there is a snow storm and even still I will make a half and half decaf coffee instead of a full blown one. For me though, I do not find that drinking coffee late at night really hinders myself to fall asleep. My mother on the other hand will not drink coffee after 12pm due to the fact it keeps her up. Even though I do enjoy a good cup of coffee, there are times when I do prefer a tea.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

Tea, whether a breakfast blend or even an orange peeko I normally will make if I am looking for something hot. I also will make a tea at night due to the fact that I normally don’t finish it either. I do however make mine the way you are NOT supposed to because again, I do add sugar to my tea. I know people that would totally turn their nose up as I made it because you are apparently supposed to barely put milk in to your tea let alone sugar.

However, if we are telling about iced teas I do love those. I have some iced teas that I can make with tea leaves and a mix you just add water. Depending on my mood I will make either one. Iced tea is something that I have particularly loved since I was a small child. For whatever reason it reminds me of my grandparents and how I always thought it was never sweet enough (Surprise, I know) and my Nanny would give me liquid sugar twin to put in. Did it really make a difference? I think that is debatable. Only in recent years have I been buying the loose tea leaves and making my own iced teas at home. I find when I try to lose weight that it is a great alternative to the mix because when I make these they are typically a fruit blend or sweeter naturally, therefore adding sugar may just make them taste a bit off and gritty if not properly mixed in.

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Depends on time for either is also a huge factor for me. Typically I always reach for a coffee. I use a cold wave which nearly cools coffee (or any warm beverage) within a few minutes. You can buy one here if you want to check it out (no, this is not an affiliate link either, I just REALLY love mine!). It also is a habit for me too. An iced coffee with the proper amount of milk and ice I can sip on through the morning and finish early afternoon. Where as a tea if I prefer it hot for whatever reason, I normally will stop drinking it once it has gotten cold. If I am out and about also, and say stopping at Tim Horton’s, I will always get an iced coffee over a hot tea any time. Even though I feel like the iced coffee can have such a larger margarine for error compared to a tea. Case in point would be when they make an iced coffee (I say they but really it can be whatever restaurant you get an iced coffee at) with HOT coffee. WHAT? But that is a whole other blog post that I could write about all the ways my iced coffee has been made wrong!

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Regardless which is your preference, there is no superior beverage. At least for me, it becomes more of a “what mood am I in today” instead of instantly picking one. Though, if I were to ask a die hard coffee drinker this, or even a ride or die tea lover, they would have a whole argument on which one is the better beverage, how to make it, and why it is better ready to go!

Which of these do you prefer? Are you a “mood decider” where you can do either one depending on you are feeling that day?

Let me know in the comments below!

Adjusting from 1 toddler to a newborn and a toddler!

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As you may have guessed. Yes. Having a second child can really be a challenge. Depending on how young your first one is, and how independent they are it can be even harder. I have officially been able to say that I have been part of the “2 under 2” club. Has it been challenging? Of course it has been.

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It can be especially challenging to adjust because when you have a small baby, they really are the ones running the show. They do not have any schedule and are basically the boss. For us, we got incredibly lucky that my spouse was able to have used his vacation days as well as with it being the holidays having time off in general that he could use also. This was even more lucky due to the fact that I had an unplanned C Section which I talk about in the birth story for my youngest here.


I primarily took over taking care of the baby the majority of the time due to the fact that I had a C-Section. You can talk about all the challenges that I faced with that here, Not only that, but we were extremely lucky that our son was born at a time my spouse had plenty of time off with the holidays and vacations to help me with my oldest. The real challenges began when my partner had gone to work again. I think by this time you are already used to getting little to no sleep but at least you are in a rythnm.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.


In reality, my schedule did not change THAT much. My first son had a pretty normal routine schedule. In terms of waking, breakfast, lunch, nap, supper, bed. However since he has been in his “Big boy” bed he has been up far earlier. Especially on day’s where his dad goes to work because he hears him getting ready. Some days he does go back to sleep longer however other days he does not. So the baby basically is following that schedule. Or he maybe up slightly earlier and we just wait for my oldest to wake up in the living room or stay in bed cuddling.

One of the hardest aspects I would say when it comes to juggling the two different yet so close ages is bottles! My oldest has been so far our of bottles your really forget what they are about. I find for myself though if I am home alone with the 2 of them that I need to split the bottles of my youngest to fit the oldest lunch in the middle. If my youngest is getting fussy and it isn’t quite time for Lunch what I will do is split the bottle. If it is 10:45am (We normally are eating lunch by 11:10am) and he is fussing I will give him half of a bottle and then baby wear as I make lunch. Unless he is sleepy then I will instead put him in his bassinet for his mini cat nap of 20-30 minutes so I have enough time to prepare the lunch for myself and my son, and it is ready to go. It sounds more complicated but if you really dedicate time to watching the clock for a little bit and managing your time it is completely possible to have it effective like this.

That being said, yes there are some days where I can completely have it fit perfectly. Maybe I feed him really before lunch time and it clicks so after lunch is made I just have to feed Vincent (oldest!) and put him to bed and as soon as he goes for his 2 hour nap his brother Felix wakes up, or has been kicking and looking and exploring while we ate. Other times I also will wear Felix and he falls asleep in the carrier, so I put him in his bassinet to sleep and he does so until lunch is over normally too. It honestly can be a really hard thing to judge but sticking to the same schedule is super helpful for us.

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Another thing that I personally feel is going extremely well is also the jealousy. I for some reason (Maybe it is a parent thing) thought that my oldest would be incredibly jealous of my youngest. That however is the case to some extent, there is for sure jealousy in the adjusting to having another baby around but it isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I think too as Felix is growing you can tell Vincent is maybe understanding more that he will have a new friend. I try to make a point that if Felix is asleep to not have him contact nap because I want to really spend that time with Vincent. We cuddle on the couch, we play with toys, we laugh and sing songs and guess objects, but that time is for him. When Felix is awake I encourage him to help. He is very curious about diaper changes as well as holding the bottle when I feed him. He also loves to give kisses and hugs all the time as well too. Sometimes they even are slobbery or sticky from something he had ate before.

None the less, I think the adjusting has been going far beyond my expectations. Now are there moments when I want to rip my hair out and both of them are crying and upset and just plain mad for no reason, Absolutely. And I try to manage my time between them as best as I can to console each of them so they know they are loved and important and neither is more so than the other. If that means letting Felix cry for a few moments while changing a poopy bum of Vincent so be it. It has been a great experience and honestly, makes me excited for our next adventure when it comes to kids (Obviously not too soon, I would like some peace and quiet at times!)

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How the Pandemic Changed My Life

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I think it is safe to say that every single person on the planet is basically effected by the pandemic in one way shape or form. Whether you have kids, don’t have kids, are older or younger, live alone or live with someone else. There is so many things that effected millions of people across the globe but this is something I think just about everyone who is aware of what is happening can agree with.

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Having a child at the very beginning of the pandemic is hard. I know for myself and my partner we got so incredibly lucky when it came to having our first son. When we had our son Vincent (Birth story here) we had him 9 days early. Luckily this was huge because had we have had him late and past his due date we would have had to deal with far more restrictions when it came to going through labour. It seems like as soon as he was born not a few weeks later we had to deal with so many new rules of society that it was unbelievable how lucky we actually got. We also got lucky because my partner was taking the full 9 months parental since this was our first and it just so happened to line up with the major break in cases where we lived also. For him to not have to worry about going to work and we only had to leave the house for the bare minimum it helped a lot with anxiety not having to worry about him seeing many many people through his job.

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

We lived in Quebec when the pandemic first began and it was one of the hot spots in Canada. The amount of cases flew up quicker than many other provinces which is not a good place you want to be. In contrast to that, we currently live at home in Nova Scotia and in this province there is so little cases compared to Quebec that it is like a dream. Not to mention some of the rules Quebec had for months like absolutely no family around at all, even over the holidays. At least in Nova Scotia there was 10 people maximum. Then we also had a curfew in Quebec too which Nova Scotia never had during the entire pandemic since the beginning. Though again, having a child during the curfew really was not that big of a deal for us. After all, what are the chances we would be leaving after 8pm anyways.

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One thing I will say that I find very challenging is the fact you have to limit who you see or talk to due to the spread and wanting to share things with others. For myself, I find it hard to limit contact even though I must for the safety of my family, is because we moved back home and have a new child, well we had one new baby and now we have 2 sons! Indistinctly when you have children you want to share them with all of your closest family members and what not. During a pandemic obviously we haven’t been doing that. We keep it to close family and we have very strict rules on who can see our children.


Another aspect with children however I don’t think it really applies to me because my children are so young, is that school and other activities are disrupted. My kids are still under the age of 2 currently so for us to not go hang out with different people it really never happened before. Since I am also being a stay at home mom too my kids also are not missing out on day care too. I think if they were regularly to do things like sports, or even hobbies outside of the home like much older children may be doing, and having that taken away, they may be impacted more however they are not really impacted by that aspect of life since they are not able to do that yet! Which leads me to the next way the pandemic has changed me.

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Vaccinations. I know, the big elephant in the room is that during the pandemic you see who are the Facebook university graduates and who are the people who believe in science. My partner and I are firm believers of vaccinations especially with covid. You can read more about why I believe even a vaccine passport is a good idea here. We have a very strict rule that if people are unwilling to get a vaccine based on medical science they will not be around our children. Simple. The ONLY and I mean ONLY exception to this would be Christmas because I know that I don’t want my parents to be upset if we decline due to my sibling who is one of these graduates. The fact is we will only be there for a few hours and even still, that is pushing it. this member of my family has not even met my 2nd son because we won’t be around.

Overall the pandemic has changed my life in many ways. Though I think the fact that my partner and I have been more so on the hermit side of life now that we are older I don’t feel like it has effected us or myself as much as it would have if I was say 10 years younger. We no longer went to bars, or went to parties as often as we once did. We stay home, enjoy one another company, game with friends online, and just have a few friends over from time to time. Though I do know people my age that do a lot of things in the public and enjoy social lives far busier than us, they are feeling the changes a lot more than we had been. That is something that I am thankful for though. Sometimes during times like these it is incredibly hard to find the positive, even if it is very small!

When Will I Learn – Self Care Thursday – March 17th 2022

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I swear Ill never learn.  This weekend started with such high hopes and it became diminished by weed and poor judgement.

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I was seeing the lowest numbers on the scale and one weekend was all it took to totally go backwards. I think I will be okay this weekend and by the time this releases I may be back under 240 pounds again. Though the lowest I seen in recent days has been 237lbs which I totally thought let’s eat everything possible because I did a good job. As much as I want to say that the numbers are not a huge motivator they are. I also need to stop rewarding myself with food. For some dumb reason I think I can food should be the motivator when I need to do other things.

One of the hardest parts of this is creating new habits and trying to say goodbye to the old ones. I ate far too much on the weekend which rolled over to Monday. You would think with the sore stomach, and a backup system I have I would learn. For those few days that I over ate I am now paying for it after I get back on track. That is wildly insane to me.  And what is worse is that I obviously still haven’t learned yet to cut that out. Maybe this week will be better and I wont totally screw myself over.

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!

Working out has been decent. I have slacked in the past week in terms of actually doing it due to the fact I’m pretty I hurt my hip from bring my youngest to bed for an hour which I never want to do ever but some mornings it just is far too early! And then my shoulder was extremely wonky after and that was weird. I have been doing these walk at home videos with Leslie Sansone. They have been going well. I love how easy going they are and accessible too since I watch them on YouTube. Sometimes it is challenging due to the fact one or both kids may be fussy and not napping but I am really pleased overall with how I have been doing those videos pretty regularly.

One of my favorite items to use to workout and get the heart pumping is a skipping rope. Pair this with hand weights for a mini workout when you are a bit crunched for time!

Now fast forward to the last 2 weeks in March. I am kind of looking forward to it but also not. My spouse is away next week from Monday to Friday and the following week from Monday to Thursday. Typically if he is gone like that I barely if at all smoke weed. Which I indent to keep up! It could really effect my binging on food if I’m not smoking weed. I intent to use that time to really hammer down on habits and even blog writing. As well as poetry. I am nearly 2/3rd of the way finished my 3 books.  Once I am done it will be time to organize my poems and prep them for typing as well as edit them roughly on paper. I am so dedicated to making this work it is a little bit insane! But I am so looking forward to it though. I want to really again get a jump on blogs due to the fact my partner is going on parental also for May ,June and July. For those 3 months I will be streaming a bit more often than I normally would. Keeping the same Mon and Fri days but also introducing a Tuesday and Thursday day time stream in the afternoon just for something to do also.

One shake that I found to actually fill me up is slim fast shakes, they are a great meal replacement with a sweet kick added too. When I am needed an added bonus for energy I tend to reach for these Nuun energy tablets.

Overall I think I can be close to my 230lb weight loss goal. We are just over half way through the month and the numbers that I have seen on the scale are re-assuring for sure. I just need to stop feeding my victories with treats and instead maybe reflect and drink some water!!

Easy Saint Patrick’s Day Decoration Idea’s for Your Kids.

Parenting, , , , , , , , ,

If you are like me, since having kids you want to do a little something for just about any holiday no matter how big or small it may be. I had decorated for Valentine’s day which was super easy and cost next to nothing from a local Dollarama, Now it is Saint Patrick’s Day! Here are some quick, and inexpensive ideas on how to decorate and spruce your home up!

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Green food coloring. I know genius right? Make everything green for your kids. Be warned though, after all that effort you may be left with the food in case your little ones are not a fan of different or odd colored food. I remember when there was green and purple ketchup. My siblings and I begged my mom to buy one to you know, try it out. We ate it once and couldn’t eat anymore because looking at purple ketchup is just weird. So depending on how your children are with food that has a color to it other than the natural one, this may be a risk! Not to mention how simple this can be, you can literally change the colored of just about anything. From milk, to eggs maybe even some noodle dishes too. Just know if you are using anything else with a color say Kraft Dinner you probably will not be getting a nice green color but you will be getting a weird brown-ish color due to the orange and green mixing!

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!


Another quick and relatively cheap thing to do is take 10$, though 5$ may due if you are creative, and bring it to a local dollar store where you would find low end items (and sometimes gold mines!). They probably have some sort of design into paper you can buy for a few dollars and you can stick them up around your home. Maybe they have garlands also. Regardless of what you choose or how much you spend this can be a nice way to get something to spice up the living space. I do in some sense try to look for durability because my theory is that if I was to save things from year to year I would have a great collection once they were in school. You don’t need to spend a fortune over holidays that you wish to celebrate you can slowly build a collection over the years and soon enough you will have an entire household of decorations to put up!

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What kid doesn’t love getting their hands dirty and helping their parent’s bake something that they can eat themselves? Not many right! Make something with them that they can physically help to do. Maybe make cupcakes or even a batch of sugar cookies. This is a great way to spend some time with your tiny humans by showing them a passion for cooking. If they are in school you may need to do it the evening before or on a weekend but that is totally possible. You may even have all the ingredients right in your own home too. The cost of this would be relatively low also which is a great thing if you are on a budget. Though if you are feeling a bit slack on time and unable to make them from scratch, it it also completely acceptable to buy a pre-made mix of some sort and dye it green or add some green sprinkles or what not as well to it.

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Clothing is an inexpensive way to do this also too. Chances are your little one has clothes if greens or yellow for gold. Pick out some green outfits on and leading up to saint Patrick’s day. Not only that but in school they may even have a special day where they dress all in green anyways. You could also use maybe a shirt if you by chance have a shamrock or something money related also. And no, it does not have to be the brightest green either, You can have whatever green you wish too! Even if you have a white shirt and you want to get a quick green one kool-aid or some green dye would also work too.

To tie on to school. Save their crafts! Chances are they may be making something in the classroom. How durable will it be from year to year? That is something we wont know but you can always try to save what is made from year to year. And if worst comes to worst and it doesn’t make it a year you can always get rid if it also! If your kids are. It in preschool or regular school to do this, again check out pinterest for some ideas which you could probably get the supplies for this at a local dollarstore. Pinterest has so many idea from all levels of skills and ages that there really is no excuse to not finding something that you will enjoy.

There you have it. Simple and fun ways for you to make even the littlest holidays have an impact around your home when you have little ones! I will throw a word of caution, if you do go the dollarstore route I would suggest shopping earlier. Since we all know retail places love to make sure holiday decor is out way earlier than expected, you may have to shop sooner than later or run the risk of having the isles picked over and stock low..

What platforms can bring people to your stream?

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Before I begin with most of these blogs, This is my personal view and opinions on these platforms and what they can do for you. Some may agree and a lot may disagree and that’s okay. If you disagree I would like to know though! How do we differ in opinions or are we all on the right page!

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Twitter
I think twitter is by far the most complex, yet easiest platform to use. There is very rarely a streamer who does not have twitter due to being how widespread the people on there are. You are able to meet plenty of people while searching hashtags of games you play and checking out who comments on the game you play’s twitter page (Which they also should have a profile there too!). Mind you a lot of people don’t bother to use hashtags at all. They simply use far too many of them in their tweets and make them look cloudy. Search hashtags, don;t overly use them yourself in tweets! I think at the VERY least a streamer should have a twitter account. You can really learn a lot too by seeing different people there as well too. When I think about twitter I think of streaming. I also have recently been checking out local people from my province which has had a huge impact on how my twitter experience has been going. Even if you want to use it for streaming, it does have some benefits and great experiences for your mental health if you do follow and chat with people outside of the world of streaming.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

Instagram
This is a space that I know I SHOULD use more however being consistent is hard for me at times. Sometimes I post pics of my pets, clips from my channel as well as other things too! Instagram can have a totally different reach and bring new viewers who enjoy your content there also. Clips for example can be very good at reaching new audiences and potential gems hidden around. The thing I always tell myself is this, Drake found Ninja through Instagram when he posted clips of his Fortnite streams. Obviously there is a lot of value on this platform to keep or meet new people. That being said if all you do is post the same clips or nothing you will find growth to be hard. When I think about Instagram I think about streaming to some degree but a personal side of it, More into someones life or things that they like! From my understanding though, The impact of people from Instagram coming over to a twitch stream may not exactly be the best conversion and other platforms may be the better route if you are limited on time to put into social medias and growth.

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Facebook
Facebook can be be even more complex. For someone like myself, When I think about Facebook I think about family and friends. If you have super supportive family or people who understand gaming on there I would for sure try that out. If you don’t it may be a bit trickier to gain any traction. A big reason I think for this is because when you create a Facebook page that you can live stream to, your viewers have their real name not a handle. Same reason why some folks aren’t a fan of Facebook Gaming. Unlike twitter or twitch or Instagram or you tube you have your legit name on there. To make the switch from Facebook to a streaming platform can be quite tricky. Though if you want to have an extra platform I would suggest maybe dabbling on this. I typically use this for my business of artwork and what not, however I do not focus a lot of my energy on it in terms of streaming or content. I do have these posted to my streaming page but my streaming and content here are separate from my creative business.

TikTok
Now this is a space that I have 0 knowledge so this is strictly  based on what I have seen on Twitter. TikTok seems to be the new “Vine”. Its a spot to post videos with songs or whatever. That being said I have seen it be successful among streamers however the TikTks that are shared have nothing to do with gaming normally. They are mini skits or cosplays and they are super dependent on comedy or something cute or fun. If it clicks with the current popular trends then it seems to help in reach but I’m not entirely sure the translation of people from TikTok coming over to Twitch/Mixer streams are. I will hopefully be taking a plunge early in the new year so I can try and pull in some type of influence here. I need to plan a schedule and hopefully try and get something happening;. In recent months I have seen some friends have a lot of success in growth and what not for TikTok and I would like to see if I can get some of this magic for me!

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Youtube
This can be a great place to bring people to your content. A lot of folks seem to post really good games they have or even montages of great plays or funny moments. This is a spot that you need to either teach yourself or spend some time trying to get things happening in the sense that people want to see quality on YouTube. It doesn’t have to be mega big but this is where you can zone in on certain areas and put together a nice quality. People who want to see the plays in real time will perhaps come to your channels from there. I myself also need to get into YouTube. For me where I am hoping to do more creative and art streams I would like to make a quick video fast forwarded and with some music of how I create specific things. Again, Time consuming and it will not be a primary focus however I know the benefit that this can have on my streams or on my channel also too.

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Regardless of which platform you choose to pick when it comes to trying to reach a broader audience, Its all about consistency. Start with one platform and expand from there. Maybe you know how to make videos and want to start with YouTube. Or maybe you want to start with twitter. Master that platform before going to a different one. Its a lot easier to start with one maybe 2 if you are familiar with it then trying to start with all of them. When you start adding too much that’s when you stagger different platforms and you go days or weeks without even posting (I am so guilty of this it is terrible!). I try personally to focus on twitter, Then I try to go to another spot like YouTube or TikTok and perhaps sometimes Facebook, though it is not my focus by any means. Discord I wouldn’t say is a huge focus for me because I use it so regularly however its also important in its own rights in networking too.

Also remember, without some type of other platform work, It will be EXTREMELY difficult to see any growth as you begin to stream, or continue to stream on Twitch. Unless you are a god tier player of one specific game being discovered on twitch/mixer is not easy. You RARELY see any popular/partnered streamer only on Twitch with no other social media. They are using other platforms to bring in viewers of different parts of the world or different backgrounds. Don’t limit yourself and let yourself be discovered. There are hundreds of thousands of people who are doing the same thing. Look at streaming exactly like a business, You need to sell yourself because if you don’t there is someone who is willing and waiting to take your place in the entertainment and gaming space.

How We Came to Have a Duck Toller

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Choosing a dog can be challenging at best. There are so many different reasons you may want one, you may want a rescue, or a mixed breed, or even a pure bred also. There is no real right or wrong way to choosing a dog. There is a lot to think about in terms of exercise or activity level, maybe even dietary needs too. Whatever the reason there are many, for us it was a bit more personal. Maybe you are picking the same way your family did, or a dog you always admired. Regardless of reason here is how we choose our Sheldon!

Growing up my partner never had any pets. Myself, we had a dog when we had moved into our house and she was our family dog. There was one thing we both knew was that we wanted a pet. At the time, we had already had a cat. Now, don’t get me wrong, our cat is awesome. He is super chill and relaxed. He never hissed or did anything bad except when he was a kitten and would sometimes chew on cords. It will be also noted that as out dog was a puppy he did like to test the cat A LOT. But even still there was not a whole lot happening til now that they are adults and they can tease one another and that is funny to watch can be annoying with them chasing each other around and around.

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!


We both decided that when I moved in that we would get a pet. Like a dog that we can walk and run around the yard with, and do whatever else. We wanted to have one that could stay with us for the longest of times and become part of the family. We are not people who believe in getting rid of a pet when they become an inconvenience. This was going to be a forever thing. Or at least until you know..

You may be wondering, What kind of dog is a duck toller? In long form, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is a medium dog that is similar to a golden retriever. They have a long coat which does need to be groomed in some sense. Either professionally or brushed regularly by you, the owner. They are hunting dogs and instinctively retrieve animals that hunters shoot, mainly a duck, and bring it back to the hunter. They are high energy and excitable and they also whine a lot too. The health of a duck toller is relatively low key as compared to other dogs which may have a higher need medically. Aside from their annual check ups and vaccines for different diseases.



Growing up my grandparents had a few duck tollers. I only knew of one named Princess. She was a bit of a grouch and was deaf by the time she crossed over the rainbow bridge however as kids, she was great. She was a dog that never really cared for us in the sense that she wasn’t defensive, she never attacked, she was a fun dog to be around. I spent a lot of my time growing up at my grandparents. We would bring Princess camping with us and she would sit in the back of my Grandfathers truck with me from campground to house and back again. Being around her so much really made me feel like she was a great breed to have. One of the big things for my partner and I was eventually, we knew we would like to have children (Surprise, we now have 2!) and getting a dog for the family and having them typically be great with children was a huge things for us when looking at different breeds.

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As you are aware I am sure, among other reasons, a lot of people get dogs as a companion. They really do become part of the family and we are no exception here. Essentially having a dog, from a puppy even, is similar to having a baby in many ways. You have to train them, take them out, exercise them. There is far more to raising a dog instead of just looking cute as a puppy.

For us, one of the big reasons that we did not want to get a rescue dog was at the time we were both working a lot. It worked out great so that I was home the times that my partner was working and vice versa. However at the end of the day we understand that rescues can need a lot of attention to help train them or teach them that you are safe and they are in a safe space also too. If people choose to get a rescue that is their choice however for our family we figured the best route would be a puppy since we could train it to whatever needs we wanted. We also know that kids can be a bit rough with pets and knowing our dog would be older by the time we had kids we did not want to risk something happening if maybe the rescue was abuse or tormented by children in a previous home.

Regardless of the reason you choose to pick the pet that you have, this was ours. We would love to have another duck toller however I am hoping we will have a fully fenced in back yard first so that the dogs can just run and run and run around and not worry about getting them lost in the woods or stolen.