Tag Archives: Family Living

The time is NOW!!!(For Real) -July 2022 Update

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(This post contains some affiliate links, This is to help a kick back to the blog financially by simply shopping as you normally do. If you choose to support the blog by this way, thank you, your support is greatly appreciated!)

I know this is probably coming out later than expected for the July Update but honestly, it happens! We are getting very excited. My partner has just taken his parental only 3 months compared to the 9 with our first little one however it couldn’t be at a better time. I am so looking forward to the next few months to have a bit more time to “pretend” like I have a job. If you know what I mean by that!

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One thing I am looking forward to is really tackling getting my books finalized. That being said I have covers being created right now, I have one person doing all three since they are so similar due to them being a trilogy. I will explain more about them in the future obviously I would like it to be a surprise once they come out! I am so happy and yet so very nervous. There is such raw feelings and emotions in these books that I feel extremely exposed. Though I know I am not the only one who can relate to these. That is a huge step for me to see everything coming together in that regard.

I know you guys are probably super sick of hearing this but I am here to say it again for the 14th time. I am going to lose weight. I would say out of all my 2022 goals this is probably the hardest one to reach by far. I am really trying but I get so discouraged. I am sure a lot of you can agree reading blogs like this where I dont lose weight is probably hard. But I am totally taking advantage of the fact that my partner has parental and wanting to lose weight and get ahead of this next and final pregnancy when the time comes. And for the obvious reason that I want to be a healthier version of myself. This time I want to make it different. I want to look at myself and bring back habits when I was working and not able to eat the entire night on the couch. I am going to even be posting mini daily vlogs on my tiktok which you can follow here or at the username @StaySeeJ. I think this is a great way for em to be held accountable and to show you guys what it really is like being a picky eater. I know that I cannot be the only one here who eats this way and I want to show you all that life isn’t just about salads and you can do anything you want to do. This is why I mentioned here about this a little bit on the weekly blogs that for the summer every other week I will have a blog that is pre-written (as you know I do most of the times anyways) I really want to hammer down and show you guys that obviously my food habits are an issue but I can still lose weight or be better at not using toxic behaviors like binge eating nightly I can still have balance.

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As you know I will never limit myself when it comes to snacks and things however I will do things a bit differently in terms of eating. I dont count macros or micros or whatever ohs I always just counted calories. I am trying to think of healthier alternatives though like these reese bars . I also have a can of slim fast chocolate that I hope to put to good use. As I have said before the hardest part for me is when I at at night watching TV like I need to eat food. One big thing I did the other day was that I brushed my teeth early on. I was literally thinking why am I getting these chips. What is the reason? and the only thing I could think of was boredom so I got up brush my teeth and never ate anything else for the rest of the night. That’s progress to me.

Another thing I am so excited about is to be live more also too! Since May I have been doing fantastic in terms of streaming. I have been pretty good at keeping my schedule going. I have had some days off and I have had some shorter streams but knock on wood I have been doing great while trying to be regularly live again. Going live is something I enjoy doing and getting back into it and feeling as great as I do since before I had kids. I feel like I am finally putting it on the forefront again (Obviously with 2 kids I have a good enough reason to not be regular but as a parent we sometimes put ourselves last all of the time when we need to remember we also are important) Check out this blog here if you want to see how I put myself first in more depth. I also am excited to finally have a great background using these lights for my stream area. The two strings that I used fairy lights for one and the second set were round bulbs however not warm white like here the multi color version . The entire side and stream looks fantastic. I may even be preparing for a revamp/re brand here in the near future! Even with a mascot too! I will be streaming now 5 days a week temporarily by just adding Tuesday and Thursdays which I am very excited to be live then. I will be live in the day time and keeping the other 3 days (Monday/Friday evenings and Sunday Mornings) And streaming from about 12 noon Atlantic time (11am EST) and going till about 4pm Atlantic Time (3pm EST). It will be a great time and I am so looking forward to it!

Surreal Feeling of Parenting

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If you are not a parent I’m not entirely sure that you will know what this feels like. I don’t mean that in any way disrespectfully either. Just that for this particular blog, it really is only since becoming a parent that I have really noticed this.

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Since becoming a parent I have become such a sad sap it isn’t even funny. I swear that I am one of those people who now cries at any animated movie no matter how small the inconvenience is. I tear up and think about things and it makes me feel like trash only because I would poke fun at my mom who also would get sappy about things too. Before becoming a parent I would never feel this way or even admit to it but here we are.

Another thing is that I find myself feeling an overwhelming sense of relief or even sense of serenity. I know that makes me also sound like a weirdo but it’s not. I mean sometimes I am sitting on the couch. One of my son’s is playing with his blocks in front of me. We have the TV on for background noise, and then we have my other son trying to bit his teether toys furiously like he means business. I just look around and I feel a sense of happiness that I dont think I can even describe because it doesn’t even feel real. I feel a sense of wow and wonder that this is actually my life. That this is something I could never have imagined how it felt until I was in the moment. I still can’t believe that after over 2 years, maybe 3 including pregnancy, that I have been a mom and my life has been changed.

*** 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.

Another thing that I know people talk about often is this, Time passes sooo fast with children. I know you know people with kids and have heard at some point, whether a parent or not, you may even have heard your own parents say it, is that “before you know it, they will be growing up like weeds”, “Or off to college soon with them in the blink of an eye” or something along those lines. THIS IS TOTALLY TRUE!! Which is mind blowing right. It really is.

When we had our first child, we knew time was passing fast. When you had to change clothes or even go up diaper sizes you would think to yourself holy moly, there is a lot of time that passed we are already changing up! Well, let me tell you this, when you have more than one kid, you will notice that that time is then going twice as fast as it was with just one child! Maybe I find this is because my second son is growing so quickly and at the time of reading it is 5 months old and next month we start baby foods. I feel like we just had him!


There are even times now when both of the boys are asleep when my spouse and I are laying on the couch and we have to look at each other and wonder, “Wow, we made them” as we look at their monitors form their rooms, which is still hard to grasp. Like we made two human beings. Two little pieces of both of us mixed together they are us. I always knew when I was younger that I would have kids one day. I knew that I would be a mom. It was just a feeling that I knew. And again, I want to state if anyone not a parent is reading this, there is nothing wrong with not wanting to have children! There is enough pressure for couples to have a family that I do not want to be someone who does that. There is people who want kids and others who do not and there is nothing wrong with that.

I also know a lot of parents feel this strange passing of time due to the amount of parents on my Facebook that when their child’s birthday comes around they comment about how they maybe turned around and they already have a 10 year old! which is again, mind blowing when it comes to things also too. it really is that when you decide to have kids that time has a new meaning. I feel like days in particular happen fast too. There is a lot of times when I turn around and feel like the day has flew by and my spouse is already home from work.

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Being a parent changes you. Or I should say, being a good parent changes you, we know there is a lot of bad ones out there which I would assume their lives don’t really change at all. Being a good parent makes you want to do better, be better, get better. I have been a parent for over 2 years, including pregnancy though I would say closer to 3. I know that I have been changed by my kids and remembering who I used to be and how I dont do some of the things I did before is tough. But there is still many many days when I sit around and think in awe how great my life is. How thankful I am to have 2 children and hopefully we plan for our 3rd and final one towards the end of the year. I am starting to think that this feeling doesn’t ever fade either, It hasn’t since my oldest was born! And it still feels like he was just a little baby and in the hospital and how excited and nervous and happy I was holding him! Even if not he is Mama’s big big baby now!

Hello June, I’m BACK!- June 2022 Update –

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Okay. First let me say I am sorry there was no update for May. I really thought about it and I just felt like I needed to skip a month. As you know I tend to write my blogs ahead of time. That is what I did here. And by the time I felt line writing the update we were closer to June than May and well, here we are!

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Blogging has been going okay. I have been pretty good aside from my self care Thursday which I will be starting back this week as I also took a break from that too. I need to also schedule tweets of popular blogs a bit more frequently on my twitter so that I keep getting my link out to people with new hashtags.  Also, call me crazy, but I am low key planning blogs for 2023 including some months where there will be nearly a blog every day with different subjects. I feel like 2023 may be a great year for me to really hammer down and try to get things happening in terms of content creation and making a living doing this.

Poetry is also starting back up. I can confidently say that I was very much into writing poems in April that come May I burned myself out. Thankfully I started to type things up already so I am a bit ahead and behind at the same time. June the goals are to finish writing all the poems for the 3 poetry books. And have all of them typed and put into Kindle in order to get prepped for publishing.  I feel like taking the step back was needed and I can keep following through. I need to make a to do list also for what I need to do to publish the books.

**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.

Weight loss is still a struggle (Surprising right?).. I went more into detail about that here in the Thursday Update if you want to read it here, instead of me repeating it here and if you are a dedicated reader it might get a little bit stale trying to read the same things over and over.

Streams have been fantastic also! I streamed over 30h in May. That was the most hours streamed in one month in easily over a year. It was so nice to actually follow a schedule and actually spend time doing something I enjoy. June will be a great month and with July, August, September I am looking forward to the increase of hours also too. I am also looking at revamping my discord server to be more “Me” focused. I have always made my server about community.  Starting the Society it was about everyone including me. I want this focus to change to be just me. It’s time that I invest in me as a content creator and not just everyone else. Of course I will still be trying to support everyone I can and there will be places to promote themselves and what not. But Id like to still change focus, clean up the server, etc.

I recently had my first ever in my entire life psychic reading by an amazing women Amanda. It was very enlightening and eye opening experience. There were some things spoken that I never post, talk, speak, even think that often about. We connected on twitter and have kept in touch. I ask her silly questions and am trying to keep myself going spiritually and grow. I cannot wait until I can do my next reading. It was a lot to process though due to the things mentioned but what an eye opening experience for me. If you too would be interested in a reading by all means check her out on Twitter, DMs are open (Dont be a creep!) And she even has an email in her bio too. Ill write a whole blog piece on my experience in the near future!! And hopefully more content on the spiritual journey I have just started also! I swear I am such a newbie I have no idea what I’m doing sometimes!

And lastly, Life! I think life is going pretty well. May was a bit of a smaller month in terms of content as I really never touched poetry, I failed a bit on weight loss, and I was a bit down in the aspects of things. That being said I am not going to beat myself up about it either because we are in a new month. What was interesting was my partner and I went out to our very first restaurant dinner though since before my oldest son was born. That is over two years! We went out for his birthday and my mom was watching the boys. It was a great experience and I was so thankful that we were able to spend quality time out. It was such a weird experience leaving them both home and not having one of them with us. I was so happy though because as much as we are home body’s and enjoy eating garlic fingers and donairs here, it really doesn’t beat the feeling of actually going out and actually sitting down in a place to eat. We need to do it more often, but not too often!

There you have it, Kind of a condensed update for the past 2 months since I was a major slacker and suck at this content creation sometimes. See you in July for the next update and I hope you enjoy the blogs lined up for the month too!

Transition from Work to a Stay at Home Mom

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Transitioning to being a stay at home is not an easy thing to do. You have an entire new human to take care of. Your whole schedule is no longer your own and you are running your own things based on another person. I know me it was challenging however with the right tools I was able to adjust and now I feel like time in the day goes extremely fast!

Vincent and Felix!

If you are not familiar with my blogs, I have said previously that I used to live in Quebec. I before that, was in Nova Scotia. I grew up here. When I was living home and had never moved away I was in fact working. I was a disabled support worker and I also talk more about that here. It was such a rewarding and inspiring job that leaving it was a bit of a sad feeling for me. Leaving this work place that I was at for over 8 years was something that needed to be done but it never made things easier either.

After quitting this job due to moving to a different province, I never worked. I went to school to be able to learn French and obviously learn how to communicate more with my spouse’s family. He is from Quebec so his family speak French, I knew very little so instead I was able to sign up for French Classes through the government and get paid to go to school. It was nothing like if I was actually working however it was something and that was better than nothing.

**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.

And if you have not noticed the crazy amount of parenting and or baby type blogs you will find out that I ended up school and by then I was nearing the end of my first pregnancy. I wouldn’t have bothered to apply for work since the fact that I was nearing birth for my 1st I probably would never have been hired based on a few months work anyways.

I love being home with my son’s however I do find it very challenging to find a routine. If I was to tell you I didn’t miss the aspect of leaving and making a real paycheck I would be lying. I miss being able to make money and save where as the only income I have right now is the monthly allowance for having children basically, which of course does not amount to a whole lot. You can read more about why my partner and I decided that I would not work once we started to have kids here.

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Regardless though, I am trying my best to make something happen at home. I stream live on Twitch 2 days a week, Monday and Friday. I also have between 3-4 blogs being released every week which also helps to fill my time. I also do crafts and paintings and some creating as well because I think it is great for me to keep in touch with things I did before or still do since having Children. That being said they do not all bring in any money if any at all currently however it is a work in progress and hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to re-write this.

So how was it to go from being out in school and class all day or working all of the time trying to make a living, to staying at home taking care of a household and two little boys? It was not to bad. One of the biggest things I find is that time flies by most days. I am sure anyone you know who has any amount of children will tell you, “Wow! They sure do grow up fast don’t they”. Well you would not be wrong. I feel like I am just having my 1st son and here I am a few months into having another son. Time flies when you have children and before you know if they are back talking and sassy to you!

One thing that has kept me sane the whole time being home (Not just with being a stay at home mom, but also dealing with Covid too!) is having an agenda. I talk about my obsession with them and what I look for here. I find being able to schedule things even if it something as simple as date night with the boyfriend, crafts with the kids, time to blog and prep for the month ahead, network and chat on social media. Scheduling things (As hard as it may be with children!) is important for me to keep track of where I am going, where I want to be, and what I can do to make things go smoother. It doesn’t have to be just about appointments either!

For me I think the transition was pretty simple due to the fact that I was in school before and not working my shift work job before. I also am sure that if people are used to doing over time and suddenly working from home that it also may be challenging too. Or maybe they plan on only taking so much leave and going right back to work. That I can imagine will also be tough too. Knowing that my spouse could be away for a long time with his job, or even months, I think has made this a bit easier at least on myself. The idea of being a constant in my children’s lives while there can be so much uncertainty is a huge things for me. Regardless of what you do, there will be challenges, but nothing you can’t over come!

3 Shows We Avoid Watching with Our 2 Year Old

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When it comes to having your toddler or small child watching TV I think it goes without saying, you are the parent and you decide what they watch or how often they watch it. There is no right or wrong way to allow this to happen. That being said, I have seen places where they talk about not allowing any child under 2 watch TV. This might be particularly challenging if you have multiple children of various ages. Are you going to tell them no to a TV show because they have a younger sibling? Or are you going to compromise and put a TV show om for a period of time. If you decide to put a TV show on, here is the 3 shows we will not be showing in our household.

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The wiggles is a show that I honestly have not seen a whole lot about but know that once you start it can be very obsessive. This is based on the fact that whenever they were doing shows around the world pre-covid people all over my Facebook with small children would be posting how they want tickets or whatever for their little kids. For me, I am not a fan of any type of show that has adults jumping and playing and singing songs the entire time. I will admit I could be way off on this and the show might be OK but in this house we will be doing our best to avoid it at all costs. And before I hear “But Blue’s Clues has an adult doing those things” not really. It has a host yes, but the main character is a puppy ans they learn and do things. There is just something that I want to avoid and shows such as this or even the one that was popular when I was growing up “Imagination Movers” are shows that I would honestly like to avoid when it comes to allowing my child to have any screen time!

**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.

Baby Shark or Peppa Pig are shows we also are trying to avoid. For obvious reasons. Now as an adult, Peppa is a spunky pig. But as a child I do not want my kids to be learning how to be spunky and back talk me! Maybe when they are older and want to watch and understand that she is a bit out their in terms of defying her parents sure, but as they are learning no. Another reason why we aren’t watching shows such as Baby Shark is again the obsession it had caused. I heard this song far more often before I had kids due to everyone talking about it or videos being made with the song that I honestly am just over it! We do not need to introduce a song that will lead to an obsession. Sure, they will probably like it. But as an adult, you don’t want to make it a problem where whenever your child is upset you put it on. Or whenever you turn it off you find yourself dealing with a temper tantrum. You as the parent are in control of what your child watches. I personally do not want TV to be an obsession or a way to relieve a tantrum unless maybe your little one is sick. Even then I dont want to rely on a TV show or songs to divert a crisis. My partner and I already sing enough of the Blue’s Clues songs we really do not want to add to that list of songs by these that you hear for months and months after the first are heard!

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And, last, but certainly not least. The number one show we will never ever ever play in our home, is Caillou. This kid is a straight up brat. As a teenager or older child we actually made fun of how Caillou was. He whined and cried whenever he did not get his way. His parents kind of let him do it. And when he had a sister Rosie come along it was just the same! This is basically the exact opposite of what type of child we hope to avoid when it comes to raising our children. Not to mention the fact that he still never changes through all of the seasons. Be still wants everything to be about him with everyone around him. His grandparents, neighbors, friends and everything else. The fact that this show has finally also been cancelled due to the fact that the kid is a menace. Apparently some episodes are even banned by PBS due to the fact that the kid is a big old meany. Sure, as kids grow up they have to be able to learn things and explore how to properly behave but when it comes to Caillou there really is no learning in the many episodes where he properly learns to behave with nearly a melt down every single show.

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I am sure there are plenty of other shows out there that can be really off putting and parents avoid at all costs. These are just the shows that I will continue to try my best to avoid at all costs. And mentioned in the blog post here where I talk about the top 3 shows we watch, we really limit our TV time with my son. TV shows are not babysitters and if you are going to put something on to grab your child’s attention for a few moments than that is totally fine. My son watches a bit of TV every day but it is never excessive. It is mostly before bedtime or even the occasional moment when I am prepping food or trying to get him to watch something while I run up and down the stairs to switch over loads of laundry on different levels.

Do you allow your child or toddler to watch TV?
Is there any shows that you choose not to allow to be shown in your house?

Let me know in the comments below, I know there must be some I missed!


January 2022 Update

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The past year there has been so many things happening. I honestly have a hard time to really run down things. I will say that I just had to go for it and if you notice that I missed anything I still feel like there was so much that I had to touch base on there has to be more. Let’s just jump in!

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Moving across provinces was such a welcomed change for our lives being back home and owning a nee house again. That being said we never did expect that we would be stuck without any of our belongings for over 4 weeks but there we were. The good news is that we were home and had our own place. Especially in today’s market for home buying which I wrote a whole blog post on here, we got incredibly lucky to have found a house to begin with. We are also very thankful that we will NOT be moving again. This is our forever home. And it couldn’t be anymore perfect!

*** 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 had another BABY! And what a whirlwind it was. Ending in a c section which we never ever expected but that was just how it went. I tell you all about the birth story here. We are so content with having our 2nd child that it is so hard to believe we have had him nearly 6 weeks already. The time is yet again flying by as usual when you do have kids. It is so hard to believe how this birth ended and how many surprises it had like Felix becoming breech and not knowing until into active labour. Then making decisions and having to think fast. It really is crazy to think how much has happened. Here is hoping that when we have number three it goes a bit more like our first Vincent and no c section is required.

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Content creation in 2022 will also look a bit different. As my family grows and my priorities are changing I am trying to really hammer down on managing my time better and hopefully making some type of an actual stay at home wage. Even if it does not happen over night I would like to eventually make a fee hundred dollars per month to help pay for things while staying with my kids.

Streaming is dropping down to 2 days per week. Monday and Fridays will be my stream days. Mostly art will be streamed however if I have to feel the baby there will also probably be games like TeamFight Tactics, or plants vs zombies or just mouse games. I want to showcase more of my artwork and do two things at once since I want to grow a business also. If bonus gaming streams happen so be it but for not those will be the 2 days that I am live!

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My business of crafting and sewing also is starting you van find it in the following pages where I will periodically update when new items come up. I am so excited to start this I really hope folks like what I am offering too. I hope anyone from all walks of life will be able to find something that they like or want to have in their life.

You will also notice in blogs going forward that I will have a small paragraph for people if they wish to tip myself and support the blog financially. I was always scared to do this because I thought that I was not big enough as a blogger to do this. I am finally confident enough to be taking my shot. I will probably go back to a fee popular blogs and also put the paragraph into those blogs too. There is by no means any pressure to support financially and there is lots of other ways to support the blog for free like following, commenting, liking or sharing it with friends and family. Financial support option is just there in case someone would like to and are financially stable enough too. It will never be a requirement to read the blogs. There will however be some uncensored ones coming into the new year when topics pop up however there will never be a requirement to read the 3 days scheduled per week blogs.

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Blog Goals for 2022 will be simple. I would like to double everything. Double the amount of followers I have, views ai have, etc. So to start the year here are my numbers for 2021:

Followers = 278
Views = 2271
Likes: 582
Number of Blog Posts = 151

For me trying to double these numbers wont be easy but I have faith that if I stick to my schedule, write from the heart, and put time into it that it will finally start to see some reward in different ways also!

And finally, as I touched base on it before. I would like to have some financial freedom and income coming in. I will be getting some financial freedom since now they we have 2 kids the government gives double the money per month as a child benefit. However I would like to see it as more of an income across different places. Ideally if I am able to make anywhere from 50$ to $250 per month that would be very exciting. Again it is not something I expect over night to happen but with all of my different spots to earn income I really am hopefully by the end of 2022 I will have a somewhat steady and reliable income coming in.

There you have it. That is my year in reflection and some stuff I am hopeful for the future. Whether or not they happen time will tell. But I feel like if I am really able to put my mind to it that by the end of the year I will achieve some of my goals! Here is to a strong 2022 year for everyone!

Why I Decided Not to Work While Raising Children

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Before I begin, I want to make it clear that I do understand that in some families do not have the option to not work when it comes to raising a family. They may have debt or bills to pay or they may even just like the idea of working in general. There are various reasons why some families decide to have two working parents. There is no right or wrong way for this, this is simply my opinion and reasoning why my spouse and I decided not to send me back to work, just yet! There is no right or wrong way to raising children especially if you decide to go to work or you want to be a stay at home parent too.

Growing up my Mom was a stay at home mom. My dad used to lay floors when we were younger, and as we got older he took his long haul trucking course. Eventually my mom would start watching a few kids from people she knew, she watched a brother and a sister for many years and than another little boy after they had moved away. This was her way of making some extra money on the side. She also would do little crafts, hemming clothes for people, and knitting and crocheting various items to sell also through friends and family. Once we were old enough and teenagers she did start working in a vet hospital and we were left to fend for ourselves. Just kidding, we were just fine! If I could give an age I would say this was when we were in junior high. She was no longer needed to babysit the last little guy she had and she was given this opportunity to work she took it. Can you blame her? I would have too!

Growing up I liked the fact that my mom was home with us. It made things easier. We never stayed at school for lunches we came home. She had lunch ready and we walked back and forth. It was nice to know that a hot lunch was waiting there for us. If we were sick at school or something happened she was available and able to pick us up if needed too. It was really convenient especially since my dad had to go away during the week for both of the jobs that he did when we were growing up. Having a parent home was a good feeling and I want my kids to also feel that too.

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Another reason why we decided that I would not be going back to work is we would like to have 3 kids. To put 3 kids in daycare right now with the cost of everything is quite expensive. Due to my partner and his annual income I don’t believe we would be able to get a subsidy for child care. Not to mention, in my previous jobs that you can read about in this blog here, I worked with disabled adults in their homes. This was shift work and over nights and weekends. My spouse has a job where he could be away for weeks or even months and for me to work those kind of hours and paying any type of childcare would just not be practical. In order for me to do the 9-5 hours I would need to continuously work with a company for a very very long time and even still people don’t get those type of hours. Plus, my mom currently works in a hospital during the day time and my dad is only off 2 days per week. I cannot rely on them to watch my kids for me to work. And paying premium hours for someone else to watch them really doesn’t make sense not to mention finding someone to do it would be a feat on it’s own. If I was to get a smaller job for minimum wage I would also essentially be paying for childcare. The profit that I would be making in terms of paying for childcare and whatever is left just does not make any sense in the big picture.

Another primary reason why I am not working is that when my boyfriend and I decided to have children, we wanted to raise them. We did not want to have to rely on someone else or daycare to raise them. It is so simple to have children and go back to work and pick your children up at the end of the day. We wanted to be a constant in our children’s lives. Especially with their dad having to travel for his job also we did not want to have him away and then myself also gone. We wanted one of us to be home and able to teach and watch our kids grow. It just made complete sense to us to have it this way.

This being said, will I ever go back to work? I am hoping to have some sort of business started as a work from home type of deal. That way I can stay home and still have a small income to save money or help a little with bills too. If all else fails eventually when we are done having children and they are all in school I would look at maybe doing what my mom did with babysitting a child or two, or maybe even working mornings somewhere. There is going to be a time when I end up going back to work. As. Ice as it sometimes can be sitting home and relaxing with my little ones, I do miss having an income from working and some independence and a pay cheque. Even a few hundred a month could be huge for me in getting back to helping out. But, again, I am in by no means a rush to leave them and start working again!

Was this a hard decision that you had to make when deciding to go back to work or staying at home?

Have you thought about this decision before or after having children?

Let me know in the comments below! I would love to hear your experience also!

We drove 14 hours with a 15 month old! (Conclusion)

Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I can’t believe how late I am on this but for the record, WE MADE IT! I want to say I think ti went easier than I thought it would but I like to think that I planned a lot of things really good so that we were prepared for nearly any scenario that was possible. You can read all about the prep work we had done before the trip here and it will give you the base of where we were coming from and the goals we had set up!

We left at about 5am from my Uncle’s home. This was about 35 minutes from our home but we wanted to leave early so that we arrived semi decent time. Remember that Nova Scotia is an hour ahead of Quebec so we wanted to plan it so we were not driving in the night time (Which we made it so we arrived on time!). We also had everything out of the bedroom that needed to be packed in the morning in the hall and not in the bedroom so that way we could load the car up in order to let my son sleep a little bit longer before putting him in the car. While my boyfriend had started to pack the car I gathered out things and prepped the little cooler and things like the thermos we had for my son also too. This was the oatmeal and chicken soup for lunch so that we were able to not think so much about his foods. Once everything was set up the last thing we did was got my son up so that way he could go into the car seat. He also did not fall asleep again in it for a while.

As far as structure for naps, that was basically out the window. We aimed to stop every 2-3 hours to stretch out legs and let my dog out for a pee. The cat stayed in his carrier and was completely fine the entire time just as he was when we moved the 1st time to Quebec. The dog surprisingly never threw up which was honestly a blessing.

We would also stop more frequently to change out son’s diaper, stretch legs and have the dog out also. This was a great way to take a few moments for a snack or meal, or even a great time for us to reflect on how the drive was going. For the amount of time we did stop I think we also made good time. The weather was great everywhere, no rain. Some spots were a bit warmer than others but it was still great none the less in terms of weather, though we also had air conditioning in the car.

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The only time that my son was really fussy I would say was once we arrived into Nova Scotia. About the last 2 hours it became a bit difficult for him because he had been sitting all day, things were getting boring, he had barely any sleep except for cat naps along the way, and as anyone especially a child would be, he probably wanted to be running around! He never really cried that much he just kind of whined. At this point I just reached around behind the seat and held/placed the tablet so that he could see blues clues and watched some of that for the remaining of the time. Which seemed to have helped. We did have a few new toys to give but at this point he was not interested in them and just wanted to kind of hang out I think and watch something. Once we arrived to my parents to grab the keys in order to go to our new home and isolate, he was beyond the point of no return. The dog was crying for my parents when he seen them through the door of the car so he was crying, my parents were saying hello to their newest grandson for the first time which he was now crying immensely from being tired and new people. So we obviously cut this short and took the keys and went.

My biggest surprise as far as toys I had gotten for him was the pop toys. You know the ones people use for anxiety or to keep their hands busy with things, I had no idea how these would work with my toddler and he loved them. He would sit and pop them for way longer than I thought that he would. And the mess they made was so minimal that I was very happy with the purchase. I may even buy a few more for his Christmas stocking as well since that seems like a toy he would enjoy!

Overall I think everything went as best as it could go. My boyfriend had stated he would probably do it in 2 days and stay over night somewhere, I disagreed. For the 14 hours plus the stops and him only fussing near the end track, I think it was a lot better. Not to mention one whole day in a vehicle as apposed to 2 days in one seemed to be the way to go. It was easier to just get it done and over with and be done than it would be to split the drive up in 2 days. I was super shocked at how well my son did, I can say I did not give him enough credit for the drive before hand. Maybe because with Covid and everything we never really traveled that far of a distance or even anything remotely long before. I am just glad that everything is over and we are sitting comfortably in our new home (After the long wait for our things which you can read here)

Have you traveled anywhere with a toddler before

What did you think helped to make the drive more bearable or things you wish you had thought of

let me know in the comments below!



Vaccine passports, Why they are good

Opinion, , , , , , ,

This is going to be a very controversial blog post. I know there is going to be a lot of people that share how I feel. I also know that there is going to be a lot of people that do not share this opinion also.  And that is alright. This is my personal opinion.

Recently, many countries around the world as well as provinces in Canada have adapted a mandatory vaccine passport. For people who do not know what this is, this is a system whether be paper, electronic or whatever that you show different places in order to get in. This is not for essential services but it is for places of recreation or luxury. Some of these places include dining in a restaurant (Curb side or take out you are not required), using a gym facility, a concert or a hockey game, and things of that nature. Basically places you do not need to live.

So where is the controversy? A lot of people who are apposed to the vaccine passport are claiming that this is infringing on their rights as a Canadian. Saying this country is free and with the mandate it is being compared to “Nazi Germany” (Not a term I agree with on any level. Then you have people who are unsure whether or not to get the vaccine because Bob from high school who failed 3/4ths of his classes before he dropped out has been posting some pretty scientific information regarding the vaccine *Wink wink* and why you should not trust scientists or government officials.

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Then you have me. I, like many other Canadians in many other provinces with these mandates, support the use of a vaccine passport. I would like to state, for the record I am 31 years old. When I was 18/20 and taking the Human Services field for college I had to prove that I was up to date on vaccines. Such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, etc. The use of a vaccine passport is NOT new by any means. The difference is we now have the backyard professionals doing Facebook research trying to spread lies and conspiracies around which we know how information, whether true or false, spreads on the internet.

The big thing happening with vaccine passports, at least in Nova Scotia is that in order to do your normal recreational or luxury activities you must have a proof of vaccine for your 1st and 2nd shots for covid-19. That being said. Doctors, or grocery stores, or certain things that are deemed essential are not included in this list. Not even shopping is on that list. The things on the list requiring proof would be concerts, hockey games, bowling, activities for children (Parents who are unvaxxed are unable to take children to these places since children unable to get vaccinated follow their parents status), or sitting down in a restaurant but you can get take out if you wish. The people who are freaking out about this are the ones who are not thinking about the greater good of humanity or society but looking out for themselves. No one is being forced to get vaccinated. If they want to choose not to these are some consequences. Just as many many things in life also have based on decisions.

For me. I agree with this 110%. I think if you look at some of the excuses that people say why they wont get the vaccine some are cop out answers. I personally have a family member who will not get it. These are the excuses for why they will not. “The vaccine is only approved under the emergency order in Canada. It is not authorized” which now it is. Another is “we do not know the side effects because it has been around for only a year and you need 3 years in order to know side effects at the minimum”. Sure, but the type of vaccine that the covid shot is classified as has been around for many many years and is not new. Another reason when I stated they would not be able to go to the gym or they would not be able to enjoy their bi weekly dinner dates eating in a restaurant their response was “I have a treadmill at home so I don’t need the gym, and we are able to get take out so we wont need to eat in.” They also added that “This wont be forever it will only be for a few weeks”.  Anything that I had said was met with data from 6 plus months ago. And the fact is, when it comes to anti covid vaccine people I do t think any information could change their mines because anything you say with proving information simply is met with outdated or plain false data from the weirdest websites out there.

I think the passport will persuade people who are on the fence to get the vaccine also. And even though yes, you can still get covid even being fully vaccinated, the chance of being hospitalized is drastically decreased and your chance of spreading does decrease, even if it does not 100% prevent the spread. There is so many benefits that outweigh the few side effects or few flaws. For me, I was hesitant because being pregnant we wanted to wait til further into pregnancy. I got both vaccines towards the end of the 2nd trimester and the beginning of the 3rd trimester. Because I also needed to get a whopping cough vaccine I had to make sure that I planned and  timed it right. As for my spouse, being a father of a young toddler and a newborn in a few months, it was a no brainer for him to want to protect us because he is the sole income in the family and has to be out in the world more than we do. Does that mean we live in fear? No. But we will be doing everything we can to protect our family, even if that includes cutting out family members temporarily til they follow science and not Joe Blow from the corner store.

What do you think about vaccine passports?

Is there a vaccine mandate where you live?

Let me know in the comments below! I would love to hear your stories!

What is the “Nesting” Phase Really Like in Pregnancy

Life, Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

You might be new to pregnancy, or you might be someone who knows all about it. For me, I have only ever experiences “Nesting” once. while I am currently waiting to find out if I do the same things for the second time also. Since every pregnancy is different I will be curious to see if there is anything majorly different between the two of them!

What people think nesting is, is a period of time before a baby is born where you are doing the weirdest, and over the top things. Typically people claim this is the time you scrub everything so that it is in tip top shape for when the baby arrives. This includes when you are prepping the room, hospital bag, cleaning and washing cupboards and dishes and walls. You are making sure that everything that can be is ready for when the baby is born. You are probably making sure you have more than enough clothes and then you are washing them also so they are nice and fresh for the new baby too. A lot of people would consider nesting the period in which you get that little boost of energy for a small period of time before you give birth to your child. I would say I agree with this however I dont know if at the time I knew what I was doing was nesting or if I just took advantage of the new found energy!

What I thought about for nesting and what actually happened I think are two different things. I did not think I would really have a big nesting period when it came to having a baby. Looking back now I would say that my nesting period was about the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I started with trying to get everything in place for the baby’s room. Washing clothes, decorating everything also. We did the Harry Potter theme for my son and that was something I worked on a bit as things went but I really tied it all together when the time came. We also did really good on trying to get everything prepped and ordered in terms of tools and trinkets we needed too. Lotions, body washes, socks, diapers, wipes everything in between we would try to get ready. After that I wanted to focus on our basement. Since moving it the place was a mes and since my Uncle was off work we really tried to get it some what organized before Vincent was born. We went through boxes and labeled things and got things ready to be thrown away. Everyone knows when you have a child you have a lot of things that you acquire as the time passes and it is important to really make space for that or you can be overwhelmed.

Aside from these two major things I cant really think of a whole lot that we really did before the baby came in terms of nesting. I think I did this stuff also around 35 weeks so that I was ready and able to spring into action if something happened. I wouldn’t say I really did anything outside of the box in terms of cleaning. Our home was not really bad in terms of clean. However maybe if we were stuck waiting and were over due with the pregnancy I would have done a lot more in terms of trying to get the action moving!

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Now, I am pregnant for a second time! Currently at the time of writing this I am about 18 weeks, still a long way to go! And by the time this is released and you are able to read it I will be in the middle of a move across provinces in Canada! I think if I was to predict the future I will be doing things to be able to prep for the baby by getting their room ready, we are not trying to do anything too serious or big until we know the gender. I have a few ideas on how to do the room however other than that we are just waiting to see. Another thing would be if we are having another boy I will have to re-wash some of the things that we used for my son and prepping those to get ready for the newest addition! I would like to think at the time we will be doing things to get the house up to our standards by painting, organizing and things like that. Nesting for this pregnancy also might be a lot of prepping my son for the arrival for his new sibling! Being an only child and suddenly having to share his parents might be an adjustment for him. Especially with Covid and not really socializing with people much either. Another reason why it might be a bit different is that we will be close to my family and the opportunity for them to help us might also make nesting a bit easier or look different than with our first since we were basically here alone.

There really is no right or wrong way to nest. Maybe you wont even find yourself nesting at all! For me I didn’t really think about it at the time that I was nesting until it actually was done and over with and even a few friends pointed it out! Whenever you do, if you do notice you have this little burst of energy I would for sure use this moment to the full potential for things you might have put off til closer to the birth! I know that is what I will be doing, and Ill be updating you all on if or when I notice my second pregnancy nesting and what I have done if anything differently than my first!

Did you know when you were in the nesting period?
Did your spouse notice that this was what was happening to you as it was happening?
What kind of things did you do when you were nesting?

Let me know in the comments below! Maybe we had somethings in common!