Tips: Have a pleasant day

I am currently working through my own 12-step programme to clean up my language. BabyBear doesn't give a flying...um...flip what I say right now, but she's bound to catch on soon.

Two tips to curb your cursing:

1. Rather than swearing at inconsiderate, reckless drivers, wish them "a pleasant day". For some reason, saying "Have a pleasant day" with a smile on my face is almost as satisfying my old methods.

2. Substitute with new expressions. I'm really fond of saying "mother of pearl" right now.

What do you do to keep the cursing at bay?

Deals: Save some cash this week

In case this economic downer has left you pinching pennies, here are a few bargoons to lift your mood.

Marks Work Wearhouse friends and family sale (20% off on Sat Nov 29)

SportChek friends and family sale (25% off on Wed Nov 26 and Thu Nov 27)

American Eagle coupon ($5 off through Tue Nov 25)

Sears Canada online toy sale (25% off)

Flyers  and coupons here and here for this week's groceries

And if anyone is looking for cozy winter outerwear for an infant, may I point your attention to the Bay. BabyBear's MEC snowsuit is enormous on her, so we've been searching for something smaller (and did I mention cheap?). Once Upon A Child had nothing (the clerk looked at me as if to say "A snowsuit in late November? Good luck with that"). The Bay at Yorkdale had scads of thick, warm bunting bags for $35.

Do you have any good deals to share?

Meals: Don't judge me because I meal plan

A bunch of my friends think I'm a bit of a nut-case in the kitchen. Or maybe they are surprised by the dichotomy of my perspectives on structured finance and meal planning.

Whatever. Take me as I am. And if you accept me, you must accept my love of slow cooker goodness. 

To illustrate the power of the Crock Pot, please allow me to share our meal plan for this week. 

As you will see, the crock will be simmering something on my counter every day. Every single day.

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Creamy white bean and apple chili, bread machine challah

Wednesday: Parmesan tilapia, couscous, green beans

Thursday: Crock pot turkey breast and stuffing, cranberry sauce, and carrots

Friday: Something from the freezer (that's where slow cooked leftovers lie in wait)

Saturday: Crockpot cassoulet (with something other than lima beans, because they are just wrong), green salad

Sunday: Coconut crusted salmon, pecan topped sweet potatoes, a green veggie that will make itself known once I see what is on special this week

If you like the idea of meal planning, but don't have more than 2 seconds for the task, consider RelishRelish. Each week, the site offers 15 menus from which subscribers choose 5. At the push of a button, recipes print, followed by a complete grocery list. The meals are healthy, simple, and easy. Plus, each week there is at least one slow cooker recipe available for a crockin' good time.

Do you have any good meals in the works?

My greatest accomplishment of late

I'm so proud of myself. And my pride has nothing to do with my child's latest new new thing. Instead, it's all about me and my own greatness.

What has Tamara done, you ask? What has got MamaBear puffing out her lactating chest and shaking all that God and pregnancy gave her?

Why, this self-love-athon is all about the fact that I haven't eaten any Halloween candy yet. (These days, I'm seeking wins wherever I can find 'em.)

Usually by this time of year, I've already ODed twice on Tootsie Rolls. Come Halloween week, I am seeking a path to recovery along a trail of Snickers wrappers. If you ask me what I had eaten on a typical October day, my snack list would remind you of The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1 pack of jelly beans, 2 Peppermint Patties, 3 Dove squares, 4 Hershey Kisses...).

My secret this year has nothing to do with willpower. Instead, I banned all candy from the house until Friday afternoon. When I walk by the candy wall at Loblaws, I turn away and sniff "You are dead to me".

Now, I could be setting myself up for a mother of nasty relapse. Good thing I have a friend coming over on Friday evening to pull me from my cheap chocolate coma.

Adventures in baby food

In addition to being nutritious and evidence of a mother's love, homemade baby food is supposed to be cheap. Always looking for a bargain, I thought I could handle a little fruits and veggies blender action.

Surprisingly, today's foray into baby food was the most expensive part of my weekend. Let's tabulate the damage:

Organic apples, pears and sweet potatoes ---------------------- $33.51
New food mill from Kitchen Stuff Plus --------------------------- $26.25
Impulse purchases made alongside food mill ------------------$29.40
Audiobook for background entertainment ----------------------$16.26

Which brings us to a grand total of $105.42. Thank goodness I didn't get sucked into the little baby food containers that Moms To Be has declared a "must have".

For the record, BabyBear spat out most of tonight's puree. Fabulous.

Discovering my inner June Cleaver

Aside from the embarassing experiences chronicled here, mommyhood has been a fab experience. I just can't get enough of BabyBear and all the fun that this city offers a new mom. In light of my passion for all things baby, I'm starting to think of myself as the godfather of the North Toronto stroller mafia. (Or godmother...whatever.)

As I explore this new world, I sense a tension between my old and emerging selves. The old me read the Wall Street Journal. The new mom in me surfs the web for crockpot recipes. Heck, this Wharton-educated capitalist pig even voted for a Green Party candidate in the federal election, all because my child deserves a healthy planet. (Well, that and because I think Stephen Harper is intolerant...but that's another blog post.)

You think I'm exaggerating? Oh no, this is real. I'm freezing homemade baby food in ice cube trays. I'm vacuuming the house with BabyBear strapped into the Baby Bjorn. I'm crafting weekly meal plans - and not one of the nights calls for Amaya take-out.

One thing assures Tom that my domestic diva kick will not last: I'm not very good at it. Tonight's beef stroganoff lacked mushrooms. I kept BabyBear in her pajamas all day today. And when my mother stayed with us last week, she downgraded the experience from "like camping" to "like visiting a third world country". (I do keep the house clean, but even I will admit that one needs a wrench to turn on our dryer.)

Ultimately, I'm grateful for this opportunity, but glad that professional pursuits will pull me back next year. In the meantime, however, I'm still fascinated by midday happenings in the 'hood and every new new thing that BabyBear throws at me.

A swim diaper PSA

Please allow me to make a public service announcement about Kushies swim diapers. In short, they are not waterproof. Not even a little.

BabyBear and I have enjoyed our aquafit/swim class combo for a few months now. Up until this point, we have been using Lil Swimmers disposable swim diapers. The success of the class and our ongoing commitment to swim skills prompted me to switch to washable swim diapers, complete with cute patterns in flashy colours.

BB was not particularly happy about life when I got her dressed for class yesterday. She stopped wailing as I picked her up and climbed the stairs to the pool. It was then that I realized that reference to "water resistant" in the product description was misleading. I had wasted $12 on our cute, but free flowing, nappy.

BB had stopped crying only so she could focus on peeing all over me. Already late for class, I just marched on and submerged BB's lower half in the water before she could express herself again.