Monthly Archives: November 2022

The Colorful, Poetry Collection, Explained!

Book's and Author things., , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Finally! I know what you may be thinking, The last book in the poetry collection being released. If you are wondering what the first two collections are about you can read the first one here, The Darkness but be warned that there is a trigger warning as some of the subjects in the collection are hard to read or think about for many people. The Light, the second collection released is more about overcoming obstacles and challenges in life, with some trigger warnings in there this is more of an uplifting spirit.

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And this! The Colorful is the final installment in the trilogy of poetry collections that I have released. This is probably the most fun one to write. I was able to be silly and fun and sometimes not even making any sense at all! This is the collection that I am sure many many people will enjoy and hopefully they enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it. These are poems that I know I thought back to my childhood as well as the future raising kids of my own now too. I can only assume that people too can relate to the poems or have similar stories that they can remember when they were younger too.

Some of the chapters in this collection touch base on some of life’s most meaningful subjects. From the weather, pets, or children. Maybe even places to be or things to do. They talk about all of the joys one may find. Music is a chapter where I talk about popular songs or songs that bring up memories for various reasons. I know there are some that remind me of my childhood when my dad was working out side on the cars and had the radio going on the oldies which are now the super oldies.

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I talk about different situations that you may find yourself in when you have children. Since becoming a mom I have learned so much and my kids have taught me so much too. I talk about meltdowns and moments that you can’t help but smile as you read the words along the pages. I know I was smiling writing them!

Then in the weather chapter there is situations about splashing in mud puddles, having a snow day at school or even the sun shining and feeling it on your skin. There is a lot of different things that can be written about in a light hearted way that I am sure most can relate to, that is if you life in a place that has snow! It may be hard to relate to a poem about snow if you don’t know what it looks like! hopefully they are able to show you just what it means for it and you can feel like you were there too.

After writing different things that are the tougher side of life, this book was a great relief from writing about them. I loved every minute or thinking of subjects to talk about in the chapters. I was excited when a new one would pop into my head to the point I would even write the ideas for them down so I never forgot. Having 2 boys it can be challenging to write about a subject in the moment and this was a great way for me to not forget ideas.

The Colorful is a collection that I am hopeful people can read whether on it’s own, or as the final installment of the trilogy. Even though it is part of a series of collections it can still be read by itself to understand what is happening. They can be stand alone or read together to see the progression of the world being a dark and scary place, to moving towards light and healing, to embracing what life has to offer. There may be a few sadder themes happening and when they come up I will also add a trigger warning just in case people need them. However I do feel fairly confident that these will go well in terms of people interpreting how they will be.

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Subjects that I also write about are winning, and no not just about the lottery too, laughter and things that can make people laugh, peace and the world or even just peace of mind when you realize a life changing moment. These were a nice way to finish how I felt and to see others too who feel this way. Some of the situations were a bit tricky to think about only because I did not want to write about the same things every time. The chapters are there to give the topics, but the situations are hopefully different enough that you enjoy them too.

There are moments in children where I talk about having my c-section and how it mentally was challenging for me to have a newborn and my oldest however in the end I can’t picture it any other way. I am so thankful to have these experiences to be able to write about too. I know some other people may have a tough time relating to life in this way. Some people have grown up much differently than I have. I am sharing a piece of my life with you and I sincerely hope that in some way you too can relate to these poems about how life is filled with many, many situations that can make our world colorful. There is not always a black and white path. There is lots of shades and colors that are around and able to be seen if only we look a little bit harder to appreciate them!

8 Products to Avoid with a New Baby

Parenting, pregnancy, , , , , , ,

Having a new baby can be overwhelming for even the most experienced person. You have so many things you have to buy or acquire somehow that you almost need a list. Even still, you are nearly continually trying to limit spending and whenever you buy something it seems 2 more things that are necessary pop up and you are there trying to buy it among other things too.

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The following post I actually posted on my Facebook page and had the friends there help to compile the list. If I have used them I will say that I have, if i haven’t I will also mention that too. This is our list of what products you could probably do without when it comes to having a new baby!

Wipes Warmer – This is a product that someone had mentioned on Facebook. My son is over a year old at the time of writing this and I had NO IDEA this device even existed. A very valid point that a friend had mentioned was if you have this, assuming you plug it in. Whenever you need to change your baby NOT at your home you will have a difficult time because the wipes won’t be as warm as it was with the warmer. I think it goes without saying my spouse and I DID NOT buy this when we were planning for the birth of our son, and we will not be buying it for future children either. What a silly waste of money!

Tons of toys – I say this now but as I write this we are slowly but surely growing and growing out toys. It probably would be easier if we had a toy box but there just is no room in our home for that right now. Maybe in the future we will get an actual toy box but right now we just use a few baskets. In the beginning babies don’t even really play with toys. As he grew we decided to slowly give a few things each holiday, so like Christmas and his birthday and Easter. If you also know people who have kids they are more than willing to send or give them to you also too. A child does not need a ton of toys and truth be told my son would rather play with cooking tools like Tupperwear lids and what not over his toys!

Baby wearing carriers – I never personally used this with my son however I am kind of leaning towards getting one for my next child. The problem with this is that I feel like the size of a baby passed so quickly that I feel like you wouldn’t even need it after a few months. I would like to think that I don’t need this and I will be able to just carry my new baby with my son who will be walking by then too. I never needed one with my son that I feel like I wont need one for future children too. (Spoiler alert: I loved it but my second son grew so fast I only used it for a short period of time before it was useless to us!)

Expensive cribs – You do not need the most expensive cribs. Seriously. Buy one mid range or check for sales but at the end of the day whether your crib has nice engravings or it is just a plain old crib you do not need to spend a lot of money on the crib. Save it for other odds and ends but a 300$ crib will do the exact same thing as a 500+ dollar crib. Not to mention, if you choose to go the bassinet route when they are a newborn, You wont even NEED a crib for the first few months of their life!



Diaper Genie – We have one of these because we thought it would be super useful. Mind you, Our son’s bedroom is upstairs. We are typically downstairs in our living room playing. I would say this, it does help TO SOME EXTENT on the diaper smell. However, is it worth the price? No. His room being upstairs in the summer it is extremely hot and the smell is going to seep out regardless. We just put the diapers in the regular garbage and if the stink is too much we take a fresh smelling scent and spray in the bag. It does the job. Changing the bags can also be a pain since you have to buy a specific kind to put in. If his room was on the same level maybe we would be more inclined to try and use it more. You also need to buy charcoal bags to help eliminate the odor but when you have 30c+ weather it really doesn’t of a whole lot in eliminating the scent.

Change table – This is something a friend put on my list on Facebook. We have a change table because it also doubles as my son’s dresser. We also thought that we would be able to use it for future babies too. Since we would just get my son a regular dresser as he grew and use the change table/dresser combo for future kids. My friend thought this was a waste because people just pay money for a change table. No storage no nothing just the table. That would be a waste sure since it really isn’t all that functional. We also don’t use the table function all that much since as i mentioned before we are downstairs, So we have his diaper bag filled with everything we need and a change of clothes so that we can do everything without it too. If you are going to spend money on a change table like us, at least have a dresser or storage with it. Don’t just have it for one purpose.

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Bumbo Seats – We never used this for my son however if you really think about it. They are far over priced. The use is pretty standard for a seat. And you can get nearly the exact same thing for such a cheaper price that it really isn’t worth it. Bumbo’s at the time of writing this are approximately $70.00 Canadian. While we got the same type of seat for our son with things on it for $50.00 and you could probably even find one cheaper. There is no reason to spend this much money on a seat that has no toys attached to it only for your child to outgrow in a few short months if not sooner.

Baby towels – We fell for this and we won’t be buying anymore for any future children. They are so thin and sure they are soft to begin with, however they really are not that absorbent and when they do they are soaked immediately. For a newborn they might be okay for a few weeks but overall we just end up using a regular towel for my son after the bath and sometimes we use these for the outer layer since they typically have a hood to put over their head. Sure they really aren’t super expensive BUT you can do the same thing with a regular towel. And they become rough like any washing towel does so their once soft appearance is no longer soft!

Those are my 8 products to avoid when shopping for your little bundle’s arrival.

What are your worst products that you would avoid?
What is something you bought that didn’t live up to your expectations?

Leave a comment about them below! Ill do my best to respond to everyone too!


– Stacey


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Letter to Future Self

Life, , ,

Hey Stacey!

This is a blog idea you obviously thought was fun and thought maybe people reading would get a kick out of it too who knows! But this is more about you and what you need to tell yourself!



First of all, You are incredible! You are writing this when you are 32 years old. You have 2 beautiful kids, you are even a published author now too! You are on your way to doing great things and nothing happens overnight. Please do not lose sight of that. Becoming a successful author is a long game strategy that you can totally do if you put your mind to it! After all you already have one book out and hopefully 3 in total by the end of the year! Sit down and plan out a few years in advance for writing so you are able to really able to see the marathon you are about to embark on for writing.

Even though the scale may not be going down as much as you like it is important to remember this, regardless of whatever number you see there you are beautiful, smart, and funny. You are incredible and amazing. You don’t need to let a weight number dictate how you feel about yourself. Being heavier for whatever time does not mean your self worth goes down. You are just as valuable as you ever were even if your weight is higher or lower than what it is now.

You are smart. So very smart. You are able to plan some of the most successful and challenging things there is. It is okay to lose track of time, or even lose track of things you are doing by relaxing and just doing nothing at all. That being said, you can do anything you want to. This includes de-cluttering the home and trying to make it such a nice space for the boys and yourself. You hang on to so many things when you are trying to hang on to memories however it is important to remember that you are such a divine person and a beautiful soul that you don’t need every trinket and item to remember things.

You are a great mom. Being a stay at home mom is hard but you are so very happy that you are able to be with your kids and be the one raising them. Are there times when you are at your wits end and both kids are fussy? yup. Are there moments when you wonder if maybe day care would be a better idea and going back to work? Rarely. But you are doing such a great job raising these two children that a 3rd in the family will be even more incredible too.

To purchase this book, click on it! to be brought to the Amazon page!


Planning things out helps you stay on track. There is nothing wrong with that. Hopefully by the time you look back at this you will know too that your crafting is slowly taking off. You have plans to make some plastic canvas patterns to throw up on Etsy. That way you can build some sort of passive income! Plus you figured out you can too make the patterns on Etsy and that is even more incredible too. you have so many goals for the next few years that sitting down (Maybe after writing this even!) and planning out the next few years in terms of writing, crafting, and business is not a bad thing! You want to set yourself up so that when your children are in school you can work from home while making money!

Sometimes you lose sight of what is happening, you get overwhelmed, maybe the rewards aren’t as fast to see as you may have hoped, or whatever the reason sometimes none at all, you give up! Not anymore! you are so much more mature than you were and now that you have some game plans in place for promoting yourself you can totally get it out there! One of the hardest things with writing and promoting your own book and trying to make a living from working at home is dedication. As I said, these things don’t happen over night and I know we wish they did but they don’t. Even if things seem to be stuck where they are keep going. Eventually the reward will be so worth it and you will do fantastic things (Hint, you already are!).

You have a beautiful home, You have been married for just over two months. You also are someone who has more drive and ambition that a lot of people. You are also so very strong too. Keep going and achieving everything you ever imagined. You have a supportive husband where sometimes he supports your crazy ideas even if they are just that, Crazy! You deserve everything that is coming your way and than some. Even if you feel a bit of the imposter syndrome sneaking in, don’t get it get to you. You are so very talented in so many ways that it is no joke that you are doing things. Not to mention you already sold a few copies of your book! That in itself is a hard thing that many people can’t say they have done! But you can! Very rarely does anything happen in a24 hour period except for many winning the lottery, but that too is harder to do than what you are working towards!

Keep your head up, and keep patient! I know that is something we obviously have a lot of trouble with, and there is nothing wrong with being self aware and working on that too! If you ever need a little pick me up, just read this. Dated for November 15th, 2022. So you remember which point of your life you are at !

Love
You.

Judgemental Parents, And how to deal with them

Parenting, , , ,

Before I even begin, let me say. I too am one of those judgement Mom’s. I will judge the eff out of someone but only if they are doing something that is completely unsafe. There are plenty of things that I don’t agree with mom’s doing and that is just their parenting style. For me, this falls under a category such as safe sleep, bashing formula feeding moms, or co-sleeping, which you all know my stance on co-sleeping here. Even the judgemental and totally justified stance I have for circumcising children for a cosmetic need too. Which you are more than welcome to read here too. That is one hill I will die on, not even joking.

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I think when you become a mom one of the hardest things is being judged by other parents or even medical professionals that you may encounter. One of the things we have to tell ourselves often, since having children especially, is that parents judge. That being said, I always take it with a grain of salt. My parents had me a very long time ago. I am over 30 years old. If they are telling me something that they have done when I was a baby chances are there is some sort of evidence that has been proven to show that whatever they did was unsafe for whatever reason. Think about all the blankets we used to have in the cribs with babies but now we don’t have anything in the crib with baby. One of the hardest judgemental things to hear is dated parenting advice. Especially when they phrase that normally comes out after you disapprove are “Well, we did it with you and you turned out just fine didn’t you?”. Like, yes, we did turn out fine but there also was not a lot of information like we have today or studies shown that these types of things happen and there are plenty of reasons why no one does this barbaric practices anymore.

Purchase Stacey J Girard’s poetry collection The Light on Amazon now by clicking on the cover!



Another thing I have found is a super judgemental topic among parents is safe sleep. The bottom line is that co-sleeping is not safe. I have a friend who co-slept all of her kids. Do I agree with it? Absolutely not. She knows this also. That being said she also openly admits that it is not safe. She trusts herself and does it anyways. Her choice. However there are literally people who co-sleep and they pretend that everything is totally fine and pull out the most awkward website that you could never remember to help enforce that their claims of it being safe to sleep with a newborn or a baby is true. When it really isn’t. Do I judge my friend on her co-sleeping and unsafe sleep practices? No. because she too knows the risks involved. If you are a parent who wants to take those risks so be it, but at least admit that you are in fact taking a risk and you aren’t sugar coating it to be something that is safe.

One of the things I think is really hard to even grasp is that people will judge you on literally anything. They will judge if you have baby dressed well enough for the weather, how long it takes to secure them in the car, what you feed them and when, how much you feed them, how you teach and raise them, whether they are in day care or not, when you put them to bed. It honestly can be exhausting trying to keep track of things you should or shouldn’t be doing. Though, I think it is always nice to have a gentle reminder that a lot of times though when people make comments, they aren’t necessarily doing so because they think what you are doing is wrong, they are simply sharing what they did raising their kids (or even you if it is your parents!) and hoping maybe it will help you in some way, even if we know that you shouldn’t be using oralgel on your kids teething gums now!

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Finding yourself being the judgemental parent maybe? Take a moment to change the subject, or maybe if you disagree on the topics with another parent respectfully say that you just have differing opinions and that you would rather not continue talking about this. Remember, we are all adults raising children in so many various ways that we are prone to literally not see eye to eye with every single parent we encounter. It is totally OKAY with not agreeing, but when you try to bash or belittle someone then that means you are the judgemental party and quite honestly, a meany!

Are there times I have bit my tongue at people? Of course. One instance that comes to mind is a friend will use their hands free phone holder, and record snap chats continuously with their kids in the back either singing or whatever as they are driving, or maybe they even put their makeup on. I 110% DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS. Why haven’t I said anything? Because this person can be reactive and will make the excuses of “Well it is hands free so I wasn’t holding the phone, or they were just fine” THAT ISN’T THE POINT. A hands free phone holder is to literally click a button and not focus on a phone or record videos. So I guess if that friend happens to read this, they know who they are. But for me to say anything to be met with some sort of weird hate or whatever I just cant be bothered, for me though I NEVER touch my phone while driving for this reason. It just isn’t safe. Plus if I were to say anything I would probably also be met with “Well you were not there”. remember the saying, “Pick your battles” this is one of them.

Prepping for Final Baby

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There is no secret here that I am pretty open about our family and how big we want it. My partner and I are planning on having 3 children provided that everything is alright though and everything aligns right. As you know having a baby can be challenging. I even talk about the 5 tips to get pregnant easier here in a different blog post. These are the things that I have been doing for the past little while in order to prep for the final baby we hope to welcome to our family!

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One thing I have been doing since August was taking prenatals. They say you should be starting to take these 3 months prior to trying to conceive. That being said though, prenatals will not make you become pregnant faster. The purpose of this is to build the vitamins and whatever else up in your body to help carry a baby better. Obviously there are times though that people are not able to do this with surprise pregnancy’s and things however if you are actively planning like us than yes, take them 3 months before hand to help your body become ready!

Another thing that I am trying to do is continue to lose weight. Having 2 kids and thinking about another pregnancy I want to make sure that I am not tired and sluggish. I want to hopefully lose maybe 25lbs (Hopefully since you know I write these in advance I will have you all updated on the Thursday’s Self Care) and I want to also be able to have munching and snacking in control so that I don’t have to worry about over eating. With my first pregnancy I gained a lot of weight and it was hard. With my second I didn’t gain that much. Which was great however I want to hopefully lose weight and not gain like I did with my second. Chasing kids around will be challenging so I really want to make sure that I am healthy and at least not carrying around extra weight unless it has to do with the growing baby!

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I am also slowly thinking about bedrooms. Currently we have 3 bedrooms upstairs and right now my youngest is in the biggest room with the crib and my oldest in his own room in a big bed. That being said, whenever number 3 comes along hopefully it happens the same as it did with my first two which was relatively quick, that I would really like to low key plan the babies room. Chances are my youngest will have to be in a big boy bed. Not to mention I will have to put both of the boys in the same room. Then move the baby to the little room. I am not in a huge rush obviously due to the fact that I am hoping that we can keep the newest addition in a bassinet for a period of time but I would like to at least mentally prepare for the changes of rooms.

This also may sound super silly, but I am also mentally preparing myself for another c-section. It was really hard on me, so hard in fact I talk about the 3 things that were the hardest part of a c-section here as well as the parts of a c-section that no one talks about here. Maybe it was part of my fault because I never really thought “It could happen to me” and I knew literally nothing about it. All I knew was that they cut open your stomach. Not the time, what happens in recover, or anything like that. I want to be fully prepared to have another c-section if that is the route that is safest way for myself and for the baby to make it to this world. I know recovery won’t be easy because of the fact that I will have 2 little fellas who would be running around and I really hope that at the end of the day we do not have to go that way however if it does I want to be prepared as well.

And finally, I am also prepping for the fact that this will be my last pregnancy. We always planned on having just 3 children and as much as I feel like an alien and that I was low key not a huge fan of it. I will say that we were pretty lucky. I was basically minimal pregnancy symptoms and was able to do a lot more than friends of mine were though. That being said though, every pregnancy is different. I know this will be the last time that I can feel little kicks on the inside. I know that this is the last time my body will carry another human. I am okay with that and I hope the 9 months fly buy. I am ready to also take this time to really reflect on the fact that our family dynamic will be changing for a final time also too.



It feels super surreal though to sit here and be thinking about a 3rd pregnancy. From the first and to the third it will be a total of 27 months of pregnancy. That is over 2 years being pregnant. I still cannot believe that such a short time ago I was announcing that we were pregnant with our first and soon we will be announcing that we were pregnant with our last. It marks the end of an era so to speak. My partner and I always wanted to have our children close together in age for many reasons, maybe because we are a little bit crazy but still! Before we know it we will soon be out of diapers, and they will be off to college! Never do I ever wish memories and time away, but boy does it ever pass fast! I still am in shocked that my youngest is nearly a year old and here we are, going to be trying yet again!