Style Me Modern - Surviving Motherhood!

Family Fun

2012-01-17T21:22:00.000-08:00

It was time for some family fun, time to put away the cell phones, computers and escape from the day to day stresses. When the opportunity came up to join some friends on a ski vacation my hubby and I jumped at the chance to leave the stresses behind for a couple of days. We packed up our stuff and by stuff I mean all the kids crap. How do such little beings need so much stuff. This boggles my brain every time we go away. You mommies and daddies know what I am talking about...the diapers (thank god we are only dealing with diapers at night), wipes, potties, potty seats, clothes, extra cloths in case the first set of clothes get messed up or they have an accident, toys, stuffies, blankets, beds.....and the list can go on and on.

Let the road trip begin...........

Are we there yet?????

So after 2 potty breaks, no sleep for the kiddies on the drive up and 3 hours later we made it to our chalet in the snow. Got all the crap...oops I mean stuff out of the car and into the respective rooms for the next 3 nights. We made dinner and got the kiddies to bed, all 5 of them....phew that makes me want to go to bed now just typing that all out. Us big kids spent the rest of the night playing pictionary and having a few drinks. It's the best when you can just hang out with friends and have a good laugh.

Some highlights for us on the trip were tubing at night....the girls loved this! They could have gone all night. This was my first time and I have to say it is pretty fun! My hubby got back on ski's for the first time since he was in college and I tried snow shoeing........it was so peaceful. My girlfriend and I escaped from the chalet for a couple of hours and had a guided snow shoe tour. The only thing we could hear was the snow crunching under our snow shoes. Will definitely be doing this again as I am not a skier.

Here are some pictures of our much needed family fun getaway.

The best part of playing in the snow....SNOW ANGELS

Can't wait to do this again.....will definitely be making this an annual trip!

Remember to stop and enjoy this time with you kids....I can't believe how fast the time is passing. My oldest will be going into Kindergarten next year. I have to attend a registration meeting next week....yikes where did the time go.

Stop what you are doing and go and have some family fun time.

Your Modern Mommy,

Alesha

Hand-Made Christmas

2011-12-23T02:42:00.000-08:00

This is what I have been up to this past week. It has been very late nights.....2:23am and I am still going. The evening is the only time I can work on the presents for my kids....they are such sneaks. Every little noise they have to investigate. Can finally say that I am finished....yahoo!

My girls are each getting "Night Owl" blankets in large to snuggle with in bed. They have been asking when they are getting their blankets as they see me working with the fabric all the time.

They both asked Santa for night time dresses for their binky's so decided to add a little monogram on them....so cute!

2 coffee cup sleeves for the coffee lovers in my family.

Made a little purse for a friends daughter. Every little girl needs a place for her accessories. Could not resist buying a pearl necklace and bracelet set (her first set of pearls). Added some cherry blossom hair clips to finish it off.

This is our last post of 2011.....wishing everyone a happy holidays and safe new year!

PS.....have been so busy this last couple of weeks have not been able to update you on "Baby Weight". Well lets just say I am hoping to get through the holidays with out too much of a gain.

Your Modern Mommy,

Alesha

Hit a wall at 152

2011-12-12T22:49:00.000-08:00

So I have had a moment of weakness and just ate the last piece of wonderfully light as a feather, oh so good piece of cheesecake. Let me back up a few days for you. We had some friends over on the weekend and they brought the dessert...cheesecake. I LOVE CHEESECAKE! We began the night with Jorge Cruise's "Belly Good" buffalo wings (super delicious) along with a killer coleslaw salad. I had a small slice of the cake and was completely satisfied. Didn't want more or anything.....improvement! We decided to split up the rest of the desert and we kept 2 pieces. Every time I opened the fridge I saw them just waiting to be opened but did not have the erg to eat it. Had a typical day of running around and I forgot to take some "belly good" snacks with me. On my last stop of the night I picked up some chips but resisted the pop. After the kiddies were in bed and I downed a small bowl of chips the container protecting the precious piece of heaven was calling my name. I could not take it any longer.....I ran upstairs and with the glow from the refrigerator door I cracked open the container and settled into the couch. It was a party in my mouth every bite I took. My hubby asked me to save him half but before I realized it it was gone......sorry babe! Don't feel too sorry for him he had the other piece earlier that day.

I need to get into the 140's.....my goal is to be there by christmas. I have quite the feat on my hands as I have not seen this number on the scale since I was pregnant with my first.

I did not get to the gym last week :( So I have to go for 2 walks this week.....min 30 minutes each and I am going to do one workout video at home.

Oh gosh......my week is already booked solid, why do I put myself under so much stress.

You fellow modern mommies out there know what I am talking about....the syndrome know as "I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO IT ALL" or else you feel like you have failed.

I raise up my bubbly water (my substitute for pop) to a successful week ahead and a "yes we can" attitude. After all IF IT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU YOU WILL FIND A WAY. IF NOT, YOU'LL FIND AN EXCUSE.

Your Modern Mommy,

Alesha

14 Days and Still Going!

2011-12-03T00:55:00.000-08:00

I know I have not posted since day 5 and I was having a pity party for myself. Thanks for the support and I am approaching day 14 and still going. I know the book claimed to loose UPTO 14 lbs and I did not quite lose that but I am not letting myself get discouraged by this.

I am starting to see a difference in the mirror and feeling good about how my body is changing. Pants are not so tight and I even wore a pair of regular jeans with a button waist and everything....ALL DAY! Normally I would have changed into my comfy's as soon as I got home but I was not bloated and there was no waist band digging in my waist. This is huge...I have not been comfortable in non-maternity jeans since pre baby.

I was out with my girls the other day feeling pretty good in my "normal" jeans tucked into my boots and a jacket that I have not worn since last year....I could actually get the buttons done up with out them puckering....wahoo! I had gotten the kiddies in the car and was walking back from returning the cart when my oldest said to me "mommy, you looked really pretty today and I love you are my mommy". She didn't even try and ask for chocolate or anything! That made me feel so good and gave me the extra encouragement for me to keep going. I know there will be days that will be hard but I will just remember her sweet little face telling me those loving words. It is amazing how kids can pick up on things even though I am trying so hard to not let my girls see how uncomfortable I am in my own skin. I don't like to use the word diet in the house or talk negatively about my body around them. Kids are more in tune with us even if we don't vocalize how we are feeling. I have to do this for my girls so I can be a better role model for them and teach them that yes mommy put on some extra weight but I also had the courage to take it off.

Over the last 9 days since I have written most of the days were good but there were a few slip ups. I am going to be calling this part of the post Confessional...

had a 6" sub at subway and the cookies at the end got me, ordered 3 but only ate 2...pat on the back for that one!
went on a all day shopping trip and tea leaf reading with my mom and ate out twice....tried to pick the healthier things off the menus but the fresh baked scone won me over.
had some french fries while walking through the kitchen...hubby was making chicken strips and fries for the kids and the smell took me over.
since the count down to christmas has begun my girls and I always get an advent calendar to open each door first thing every morning.....I am not willing to give up this tradition and I did get the good chocolate....I love Lindt!

By now you must be asking yourself how much did I lose....well I am down to 154 lbs ( 6 lbs loss) and I lost 2" off my waist. I am most excited about my waist....my tummy is no longer sticking out past my boobs. Hopefully my daughter will not ask me when our 3rd baby is coming anymore.

I have even been thinking of going back to the gym...after all I do still have a membership until February.

My goals for the next post is to keep up the healthy eating and go to the gym 2 times next week.

For all you out there going down a similar path just remember that your mind is greater than your desire to eat something not so healthy. Once you get past the first 5 days you will be amazed at how strong your mind will be in helping your achieve your goal. It's ok that you slip up every once in a while....you are human after all. The key is to acknowledge the slip up and move on....don't drown in the pity party of it you will only loose.

Until next time.....Your Modern Mommy

Alesha

Day 5 and feeling low.....

2011-11-23T13:13:00.000-08:00

So I have been doing the diet for 5 days and still feeling kind of low......my fuse is short and if you look at me the wrong way you will definitely know it. My head is still pounding from my migraine that I had yesterday....yahoo for me. This was a bad idea to start it the day my period started. Of course I am thinking about christmas and what goodies to make for our family and friends. I always give a bundle of goodies to everyone and today I received the Chatelaine baking issue.........I WANT TO BAKE EVERYTHING I SEE RIGHT NOW! Dam you sugar for tasting so good but being soooo bad for me.

This is the about the time that I want to throw in the towel and say to heck with it. Trying to stay positive....I know it doesn't seem like it from what was written up above but hey you wouldn't be the happiest person if you were giving up all things YUMMY!

Off to have some cuddle time with my Izzy and try and not look at all the mouth watering pictures in the magazine.

Your Modern Mommy,
Alesha

Day 3 of "baby weight"?

2011-11-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

So I am on day 3 of Jorge Cruise and I am proud to say that I have not deviated from his meal plans. Wahoo for me :)

I am missing the sugar big time and for that I am a royal Bitch! All I want to do is eat chocolate and sweets. I should say that I do get to eat 3 squares of 85% or higher dark chocolate everyday, but this kind of chocolate is an acquired taste that I am slowly getting used too. I actually dreamt last night of baking chocolate chip cookies.....how bad is that.

Not planning on stepping on the dreaded scale or measuring myself until 7 days are up.....oh gosh I hope I lose some weight.

Gettings kids ready for bed and going to settle down on the sofa to watch Dancing with the Stars. Normally I would be snacking on something so I will have to satisfy myself with 1 piece of dark chocolate and some tea.

Your Modern Mommy,
Alesha

Baby Weight?

2011-11-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

When should you stop calling your excess weight gain from having kids "baby weight"?

My youngest will be 2 1/2 at christmas and I am still saying I need to lose the baby weight. Looking back at photos of my pre-baby body I long for it. It's funny all the things that I used to nitpick don't seem to be there anymore in the photos. I wish I could go back in time and appreciated that body again for what it was......pretty darn good!

I want to finally be rid of all this extra giggly stuff that I am carrying around.
I want to not have to change my clothes a hand full of times in the morning cause pants are too tight or bits are pouring over the edges.
I want to feel confident again.
I want to feel SEXY again (in clothes AND out).
I want to enjoy shopping for clothes again and have them fit.
I want to have other pants in my wardrobe other than stretchy yoga pants.

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting on the couch having some cuddle time with my 4 year old and she was being all lovie dovie stroking my face and looking at all my freckles and wondering when she was going to get hers. Then she asked in her loving way "when are we going to have our 3rd baby and when it was going to come out of my tummy", while rubbing it! I looked over at my hubby and he just crinkled up his face and shrugged his shoulders. I told her that we are not going to have any more babies and she asked "why is your tummy so squishy then". Gotta love the little ones for telling you like it is.

You might be asking why have I not lost the weight yet. Let me fill you in over the last 5 years.
I was 130 lbs when I got pregnant with my Izzy. I had (still do) suffered from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). When I got pregnant and over my 4 months of no stop retching, yup 4 full months. It was so bad I had to take time off work, I could not even keep water down. Getting out of bed and making it to the couch was pretty much my highlight of the day. The day I actually kept food down was the best day. I was finally getting back some energy. I felt like I had to make up for lost time and I realized that the pastas, breads and sugar were not bothering me like they did pre-baby. If I wanted it I ate it. My delivery weight was 189 lbs....yup 59 lbs gained. I settled at 160 lbs and got pregnant with my Madison. I was determined to not go over my previous birth weight and my second delivery weight was 189 lbs. Again I have settled at 160 lbs and cannot lose it. I will admit I am a gimmicky person. If they say I can lose up to 6 inches in 3 weeks I have to try it. After a few videos and devices later I am sitting here determined to SUCCEED!

So I have decided to take some drastic measures.
1. blogging about it, laying everything out there for everyone to see (making me accountable for this)
2. set some realistic goals, after all I have 2 kids to take care of, a husband, running a business and bookkeeping in the evening with my business partner Leslie.
3. Jorge Cruise! Picked up his Belly Fat Cure book about 8 months ago and did it for 2 weeks and lost about 8 lbs. You would think that would keep me motivated to keep going but somewhere in my brain I think I am loosing weight so I can stop....how screwy is that! Picked up his newest book Quick Start, Belly Fat Cure. I could loose up to 14 lbs of " false"belly fat in 2 weeks......fingers are crossed that I could be 14 lbs lighter in 2 weeks....time will tell.

All that said I hope that you follow me on my journey, send me your tips that have worked for you and your encouragement.....I know that I am not the only one out there going through this. After all I am just a Modern Mommy navigating my way through life, while trying to loose some extra padding. For those of you who seemed to have lost the baby weight in the delivery room I curse you.....sorry don't mean to hate but COME ON. I was going to put up a "Before" photo but have not worked up the courage yet....I will get there.

Here we go........Day 1, almost done and have not deviated from the menu.....yahoo for me! Kind of hungry but manageable, will full my hunger with tea in a little bit. Totally craving SUGAR, any sugar I would even eat it by the spoonful right now BUT I have to SUCCEED. The old me would celebrate with some kind of sweet. Been kind of bitchy today and on edge....oh to top it off got my period too! FANTASTIC!

One down and 13 more to go.

Your Modern Mommy,
Alesha

Halloween DIY

2011-10-22T01:09:00.000-07:00

Phew! Finally got this project done. I ended up having a little help from my oldest daughter....thanks Izzy!

BEFORE

We are hosting a halloween party this year and I wanted to make a statement with the table and needed to dress up my not so nice light fixture in the dining room. Came up with this take on a mobile....hope you like.

Supplies you will need:

felt
scissors
marker
thread
tissue paper
florist wire

To start you need to cut out your desired shapes, we used pumpkins, ghost and bats. The amount you need depends on how many decorative strings you want. We needed 6 strings with 5 shapes on each so we needed 30 shapes.
Next you can either use a sewing machine or you can do this by hand. I used transparent thread so it would not be so noticeable. When you start make sure you have enough thread at the top so you have something to hang your decorative strings from. Sew down the middle of your shape allowing for a couple of inches between each shape. Once you have your desired length knot the bottom and cut off the excess and your decorative string is done. Continue on until you have the desired amount you need.

Attach your hangers to your light. If you have an open centre in your light you can add a tissue pom pom like I did. I decided to add a large pom pom......go big or go home!

To make a large tissue pom pom you will need 24 sheets of tissue. I used black and orange, alternating between the two colors.
Next you want to make accordion folds about 1 inch down the shorter side of the tissue paper.
Once you tissue paper is folded you will need to take some florist wire and wrap it around the centre of the tissue paper to secure it.
Make sure the attache your string you will be hanging your pom pom from now.
Depending on the edging you want your pom pom to have you can either cut off a rounded tip on each end or a pointed tip. The rounded tip with give you a scalloped edge (like I did) and the pointed tip (triangle edge) will give your pom pom an spiky edge.
Next you need to fan out your tissue and start separating each piece, pulling the tissue to the centre as close as you can get it. Don't worry if some of the tissue ripes, you wont even be able to tell once it is done.

Your pom pom is now complete.
Attached it to your light and your mobile is now complete.

Don't you love that I did not remove the folded chairs in the back ground :)

I added a padded plastic table cloth (love this with little kiddies) from Home Sense for $5.99 and these cute spider web place mats for $3.99 each.

The total cost for the mobile was $4.50 (I only had to pay for the felt and tissue as I already had the string and florist wire...bonus).

Hope you all have a safe & Spooktackular Halloween!

Your Modern Mommy

Alesha

Shhhh...they will never know there are veggies in it!

2011-10-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Some times it can be hard to get kids to eat veggies. As a kid myself I didn't always want to eat the veggies that were placed in front of me at the dinner table. My parents didn't dwell on it so much as most of the time I was a good eater. I think that is key. Try not to push your kids into eating certain foods. It helps wonders if you can get your kids in the kitchen with you and have them help make the food. They feel so proud of what they have done and that they were mommy or daddy's helper. It is sometimes a race to see who can get to the counter faster to get the prime spot. Yes they will munch on food that is being prepared but that is ok....that is part of the fun! Leslie's boys were very picky eaters when they were little (well they are still little in my eyes....6 and 3) and she is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Daryon know eats anything he sees, she can not believe how much he can pack away. She did not fight it she just gave them the limited food that she knew they would eat and that was ok. I know my brother to this day will eat broccoli and cauliflower only if it is raw....he does not like the texture of it when it is cooked. So instead of having a stand off at dinner time why not get the veggies in them without them knowing it.

My trick is making Zucchini loaf. When zucchini is in season I love using local Victoria grown. My parents live in the county and there are plenty of stands on the way to there house of local farmers. Our local veggie market also carries BC produce, so this is another great choice.

If i want to amp up the veggies I will add some grated carrots as well. This loaf is nice, not too sweet!

Zucchini Loaf

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup of canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

14 oz of crushed pineapple, drained (try to get the one in it's own juice and not syrup)

1 cup grated zucchini

1/2 cup medium coconut

Measure first 6 ingredients into large bowl. Stir and make well in centre.

Combine next 5 ingredients. Stir and add to well. Stir until just moistened.

Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour until tooth pick comes out clean when inserted into centre of loaf.

Let stand for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool.

Hope that this is helpful as I know it has been for me.

Your Modern Mommy,

Alesha

Perfection!

2011-10-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

When you find something that you love you want to stand on the mountain top and rejoice to all those below.....this is me on my mountain top.

I have found it....the bra that actually makes my Ta Ta's look Ooh La La! Yup you mommies heard me correctly.....my twice over pregnant, milk filled feeding machines that now resemble deflated balloons that have no life in them what so every. My once firm filled 34B's are all but a distant memory.

It was Saturday afternoon, the kiddies were at home with the hubby doing yard work and I was out wondering the isles at Sears trying to find a great deal during Sears Days. I found myself in the bra section hands full of many styles. Most said lift, shape, contour....words that a mother could only hope for. As I headed to the fitting rooms I thought this would be yet another hopeless session of trying on these devices that made such great claims on there tags but always seemed to fall short. After pouring my lifeless ta ta's into countless bras I slipped into one last one. This one was different.....there was no uno-boob. My ta ta's were two, not joining in the middle after a couple of minutes. I placed them (the old pull up and tuck.....you momma's know what i'm talking about) and they did not fall....they stayed! There I was doing the ultimate test jumping up and down, bending over and wiggling about to see if they would fall out. They stayed put!

MY TA TA'S WERE OOH LA LA! If only for the time they are in my miracle maker I am a happy girl. I am saying goodbye to my uno-boob and HELLO to flowing air between by Ta Ta's!

The icing on top of my little miracle maker is it costs only $30.97. Now I did not get a deal on it because it ends in 97 cents but I am totally ok with that given the fact it has given me my boobies back. Here's a tip for all you mommies......if you see a price ending in 97 cents this item is the lowest it will ever go at any big box store like Sears . This item will never go on sale.

Here it is in all its glory!

The important information is:

WonderBra "Me"

Item # 1660 (seamless foam cups)

So all you modern post baby ta ta's out there stand tall and get the air flowing again and say NO to the uno-boob.

For all you new or expecting mommies no one will tell you that you will be left with saggy empty sacks for boobs after your little one is here (even if you don't breast feed you too will be left with this special gift). I will tell you what my mother told me........welcome to the club...honey!

Your Modern Mommy Alesha

Success at the Baby Fair!

2011-09-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

We did it! Our first fair.....we feel so proud!

All the late nights of sewing, crafting, packaging and wonderment of the question we asked ourselves over and over "will people like our products" came full circle this weekend. Leslie and I have a great feeling of validation of all the hard work and late nights we put in to make this dream come true.
The answer to our longing question is YES, THEY LIKE US" people actually like our products. They came to our booth, touched our products and bought. We even got our first review on Facebook of a happy customer who purchased our Owl Minky Blanket....YAHOO!

We had such a fabulous time talking to all the wonderful people. All the positive feedback has given us a little extra pep in our step. Which will be much needed as we gear up for the Christmas Fair at Pearkes November 11th - 13th.

Your Modern Mommies
Alesha & Leslie

Already Half Way Through September

2011-09-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

Wow we can't believe we are already half way through. If you are anything like us you are still trying to catch up on with the first 15 days of September.

I know it has been a while since our last post and now that I am back in the full swing of things we can get back into our grove.

This time next week we will be setting up for the Vancouver Island Baby Fair. We have a lot of emotions whirling around this event. It is our first public showing of our products....we hope people like them as much as we do. All of our products stem from what we were needing or wanting when our kiddies were little and now some of them are not so little our line is expanding. We have all these ideas of things we want to make/create for our little ones we sometimes have a hard time finding the time. After all we are mommy's and wife's first. Our kiddies and hubbies have been so great during the last couple of weeks when Leslie and I have been spending marathon hours sewing and just plain have a great time talking about everything from future projects, new shows starting again, recipes and how were are going to lose the "baby" weight.......I guess it might happen a little faster if we didn't indulge in so many sweets when we worked. We do have a weakness for cupcakes and chocolate.

For any locals who will be going to the baby fair we hope to see you and pop on by our booth and say hello. We would love to get some feed back from you.

Have a great weekend!

Your Modern Mommies,
Alesha & Leslie

It Seems Like Forever

2011-08-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

It seems like forever since I have posted anything.

I have been a bit under the weather but am starting to feel better and getting back to daily life again. I missed hanging out with my kids the most.....and my hubby too! Speaking of my hubby super big hugs and kisses for him for taking over all things while I was in bed.

5 kids, 2 kids concerts, over booked hotels and the start of my tummy bug we can say that we made it through the 3 day adventure. All the kids were great and had a "super duper" good time as my Isabella would say. We found out when we got to the hotel that they had over booked and did not have a room for us there or at any of their sister hotels in the city. We had to have faith in them that they could figure something out as we had to head straight to our first concert, ELMO! As any mom knows you have to keep on truckin even if you don't know what you are going to do. Thankfully they found us 2 rooms in the hotel but we had to pack up in the morning with no where to sleep that night....again. So off we went with a full van chocker block full of kid things and had a great day at the Aquarium. Went back to the hotel and finally got rooms at around 8:30. Our last day featured the WIGGLES and they sure can put on a great show. By the end of the concert all the kids were dancing in the isles. My Madison did not have one accident the whole trip....all her pee's and poop's went in the potty.........this momma is saying good bye to diapers and hello to a new pair of shoes from the money we are saving.

Leslie and I were busy all day and night getting things ready for the Vancouver Island Baby Fair (September 24 -25, 2011). We have made the final decisions on our booth setup.....check that beast off the list. Any locals who are planning on going to the fair "Like" us on Facebook as we will be giving away some tickets in the next couple of weeks.

We have added some new products to our Etsy store and should have some more up by the end of the week.

Here's a sneak peek.

Your Modern Mommies,
Alesha & Leslie

Under The Weather

2011-08-17T23:32:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have not dropped off the planet. I have been taken down by a tummy virus and have been in bed for the past week. Leslie has been busy with her day to day crazyness with her 3 kids and picking up the slack on my end with the business getting us ready for our first Baby Fair. Once I am mobile again you will see some new products and find out how we managed with our kids on the 3 day adventure to see Elmo and the Wiggles.

Your Modern Mommy,
Alesha

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Elmo and Wiggles here we come

2011-08-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

About 4 months ago Leslie and I were out having a rare lunch out with no kids. I mentioned that Elmo and the Wiggles were coming to Vancouver and we thought it would be fun to take my kids and her kids (yup that is 5 kids under 5 with no hubbies) on a 3 day adventure. Now that we are down to 2 more sleeps before we leave we are looking at each other with the faces of "what were we thinking". It is definitely going to be an adventure and the kids are going to love it. Leslie and I will probably need a mini vacation to recoup from it. We are packing her van with 7 passengers, 2 double strollers, luggage, portable cribs, travel potty's and that is just the necessities. Anyone who has traveled with itty bitty's know that with all the diapers, creams, wipes, extra clothes.....the list can go on and on and this is your biggest suite case filled to the brim with kid things. I am already tired just writing this all down.

I am sure there will be lots of stories and pictures to share when we get back.

Update: Madison is about 95% potty trained.....yahoo. We still have a few accidents here and there but she is wearing panties all through the day now and diapers only at night (waking up dry half the time). Momma's gonna get a pedicure with the diaper savings!

Have a great weekend!

Your Modern Mommies Alesha & Leslie

New Products!

2011-08-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

I know it has been way too long since I last posted. I have been enjoying a fun summer with the kiddies upisland in Parksville and now we are planning a trip to Vancouver to see Elmo and Wiggles...super fun:) Yes, Alesha and I are taking all five kids to Vancouver for three days without the hubbies....we will let you know how it goes!

We are so excited about all of our new products...we have decided to sell beautiful wall decals and will be introducing those at the baby fair on September 24 and 25th (here is a little sneak peek...)

I know I am super excited too because they are sooo cute!

Oh...we had a bit of splurge this past weekend and bought a new sewing machine and serger from Cloth Castle (I love them!!!) I now have this impulse to sew everything I see...it has become very dangerous (on the wallet;)) Because of this splurge we have decided to make minky blankets and will introduce those on our Etsy store...so keep watching.

We are so excited to launch our product line and hope you will be part of it at the Vancouver Island Baby Fair with us!

Enjoy the beautiful sun

Leslie

BC Day.....20% off

2011-08-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

We are offering a 20% discount today to celebrate BC day. Go to our Etsy store and use coupon code "bcday".

Happy Shopping!

Your Modern Mommies Alesha & Leslie

Afternoon Fun

2011-08-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

My daughters love to paint so when we were at our latest outing to our craft store my oldest spotted the pots. She wanted to buy some to put her fast growing sweet pea plant that she planted at preschool in. We bought two pots, saucers and they each picked out a paint color (pink and purple....of course). We got home and they were all giddy with excitement to paint the pots.

It seems like this is all they are taking about and can't wait to paint more pots. At the end of the day it was the time they spent with me selecting the pot and going home to paint it made it the "perfect" day as Isabella told me when I was tucking her in at bed time. Our lives seem to get busier and busier and we are rushing to get things done. The times our kids remember the most is us spending time with them and participating in the things they love to do. Not to jump in and try to speed up the process to move on to the next task. I guess we have to slow down and take time to smell the flowers.

I was even allowed to join the painting party

Your Modern Mommy,

Alesha

Buttons, Buttons.....we love buttons!

2011-07-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

We have found a new love....buttons! We are adding designer fabric covered buttons to our Etsy store.

We kind of went to a shopping spree (we felt like kids in a candy store) at our new favourite fabric store and now have a ton of new fabric so stay tuned for more stylish products.

Your Modern Mommies,
Alesha & Leslie

Inspiration.....

2011-07-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

Where does your inspiration come from?

As a mom you don't get much time to do stuff for you that inspires you. On an outing by myself (totally needed a break from the daily chaos) I found myself wondering the isles at my local Micheals store (love it when they have an extra coupon....totally made my purchasing a lot easier). After about 1 1/2 hours in the store (yes that is right I was there for that long) I purchased some new finds that got my creative juices flowing. I immediately went home and started crafting. I love the fact that I can get totally consumed with this and I am able to find a little time for me.

Be sure to check out our Etsy store for our new creations coming soon.

Your Modern Mommy Alesha

Rain Rain Go Away....

2011-07-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning to yet another rainy day (are we ever going to have a summer this year)? We could not play outside so we decided to play inside and make some cookies.

Here are my little bakers in the kitchen.

Step 1

Our ingredients that we have to mix up: shortening, brown and white sugar

Isabella using the mixer and Madison backing away because she is scared of it

Step 2

Time for the wet ingredients: egg and vanilla

Madison gets a little closer to the mixer to see what is going on

Step 3

Now we mix in our dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt

Step 4

Our most important ingredient of all: chocolate chips

Chocolate chips overboard....save the chocolate!

Step 5

Roll dough into balls (or as my kids do mush them up and place on cookie sheet)

It took all I had to not fix the mounds of dough, those who know me may call me a perfectionist....I like calling it...doing it the right way!

Step 6 (optional)

Add a special ingredient

We chose SMARTIES!

Step 7

Bake in the oven at 375 for 10 - 12 minutes

Step 8 (the hardest step off all)

Wait until they cool

Step 9

EAT THE COOKIES!

We made the most out of our rainy day. Next time you are stuck inside the house make some cookies with your kids.....they will love it and will tell everyone they see that they made cookies with mommy.

Rainy Day Cookies

Pre-Heat oven to 375 degrees

Cream 1/2 cup of shortening, 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar and 1/4 cup of sugar
Beat in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla
Combine 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt and stir in
Mix in 1 cup of chocolate chips
Roll into balls (or mush into mounds) and place on ungreased cookies sheets
Optional: Place a yummy treat on top (like smarties)
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes

Your Modern Mommy Alesha

Our First Ouchy of the Summer

2011-07-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Madison has her first "real" ouchy. I was dropping the kids off at Granny and Grampy's house for a sleep over (mommy needs a break) and she took a header on the cement walkway. The sound of her head bashing against the walkway sounded awful. I could not run fast enough to scoop her up and see the damage. She is truly a trooper and once she saw the bubbles on the table she wanted to go and play despite the blood coming from her nose (as all you mommies out there know the best way to stop the tears is to distract).

Your Modern Mommy, Alesha

Light at the End of the Potty!

2011-07-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

So it has been 3 solid weeks of potty training and I have to say that Madison is about 85% there. We are doing a reward chart that worked really well for our first daughter and Madison has completed 5 rows already. Her reward for her last row was a trip to the ice cream store and we went last night. She was so delighted to be sitting and eating her ice cream and was more interested in saying hello to everyone in the store. Oh and she wore her panties too, huge step......all you mommies know what I am talking about. When you go out with you child for the first time wearing pantites all you are worried about is them NOT having an accident and you end up asking them every 5 minutes if they have to go potty and by about the 10th time they are sick of saying no. My Madison finally said "Mommy don't worry, it's ok....Madison don't go pee pee".

For all you fellow modern mommies who are battling the potty training wows......just keep reminding yourself that they will go pee pee and poo poo on the potty and that all's they want to do is to make mommy happy. When I tell Madison that she made me soooo happy that she went potty her face lights up and she gets so pleased with herself.

Keep up all the great work you mommies do!

Your Modern Mommy
Alesha

ETSY IS TURNING 6 AND WE WANT TO CELEBRATE!

2011-07-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

If we get 50 "Likers" by July 25th one lucky fan will win a Hair Clip Holder from our Etsy store.

"Like" our Style Me Modern Facebook page
Follow our blog by signing up for email subscription
Come back to our blog and leave a comment on this blog post with your name and email address
Pass this on to your friends and if they do steps 1-3 you will get a bonus entry for every friend (make sure they mention who sent them in the blog post)

Please Note:

Only those who "like" Style Me Modern and sign up to follow our blog will be qualified.
We will notify the winner by email after July 26th, 2011.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

Good Luck,

Your Modern Mommies Alesha and Leslie

Vacation done and back in the swing of things.

2011-07-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

The vacation was good and it was nice to see our friends and catch up. The girls had a great time playing with the puppies and now we are getting the question "when are we going to have a puppy too".

Our first night there our youngest woke up screaming and was shaking like a leaf. She had a nightmare and was spoked for the rest of the night. To add to the lack of sleep they live next to the train and on this particular weekend the train was coming all the time. Every time the train went by (9:00pm....11:00pm......2:00am.....4:00am) the girls would wake up crying.....yikes! Let just say that we were cursing that dam train.

When we got home I realized that in our dash to get everything and everyone out of the house it was in desperate need of TLC. The bathroom needing cleaning, the floors were dirty not to mention the piles of laundry we created while we were away. Oh yah....FOOD there was nothing to eat in the house as we made sure to cobble up all the perishable food before we left.

On a personal note I have been really good for 4 weeks now and have not been eating "bad" things (you all know how hard this can be especially when you are on vacation). I was all pleased with myself and actually excited to step on the scale when we got home and my excitement quickly turned into.......WTF! Only 4lbs......All this had work and discipline for 4lbs. In the past I would have given up....not this time after all I have a Honda Odyssey to win....and it will be mine.

Alesha

I am surviving...and enjoying the sun!

2011-07-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hope all of you had a fabulous Canada Day and are enjoying the beautiful sunshine!
What a week...so I was suppose to start this hypoallergenic meal plan about a month ago and finally got my butt in gear last week. Well, the first day on the cleanse was my sons first day of summer holidays so I had all three kids at home, my three year old decided he was not feeling well and was grumpy all day, my daughter was/is teething so just imagine a drama queen teething (it was not pretty) and my oldest decided to play fight with everything in the house (what a mess). I was walking around like a zombie because I was so sugar deprived and could not think of anything to make or eat because frankly there is nothing on this lovely meal plan I can eat or drink! Since my husband was working 14 hours that day by 8pm I lost it and went to a restaurant with all kids and ate real food...shows you how much will power I have! Since there have been many bbqs and yummy food I have been on the meal plan about 80% of the time which is not so good....hopefully I will one day soon suck it up and do this. I will keep you posted. On a positive note I have been taking on the herbs and vitamins the Naturopath put me on and I have been migraine free for a month now....YAY!

Heading to Salt Spring tomorrow to enjoy some relaxing time with the kiddies.

Enjoy the sun!

Leslie

Travel.....Happy Canada Day!

2011-06-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

So we are getting ready for a trip to Vancouver.....Squamish really to visit some friends. Any mommy who has traveled with kids knows that it is just a matter of time before the travel bomb goes off. In the beginning everything is going great, you made it out the door with your endless amounts of bags (which are all mostly the kids stuff) and you have officially started your vacation. Later on kids are starting to get testy with being in the car for so long and out of no where your child has a meltdown.....not your typical "oh its ok we are almost there" meltdown but the kind that you notice people are starting to stare and judge you as a parent. This amplifies if you have more than one child as the other child will react to the other one. Now you have lost complete control.

I am sure there will be many stories.....good and not so good of the travel weekend.

Have a safe and happy Canada Day long weekend all you mommies. Enjoy all the moments even the not so good ones as they usually end up being the memories you remember and talk about.

Alesha

Potty Training.......

2011-06-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

We are potty training our youngest, Madison. Today she had her first day wearing Dora the Explorer panties and loved it.......until she peed. Cleaned that up and about 15 minutes later peed again, cleaned that up too. After that she was determined not to pee again. All you mommies out there who have walked the bang your head against the wall potty training path know that kids can hold there pee FOREVER. I sneeze and have to run to the bathroom to pee.....I don't know how they can do it. She did not pee from 11:00am to 6:30pm. She woke up with a dry diaper after nap so I knew she would have to pee. We put her on the potty literally every 5 minutes for 2 minutes all afternoon. As dinner was getting cold we decided to give her a little privacy and a few minutes later she did it.....her first pee in the potty! She was so happy, we were all screaming and dancing and she had the biggest smile on her face. As we were eating dinner she said she wanted to sit on the potty and she peed again and to top off the night she made a poop in the potty.

All you mommies out there who are battling the potty blues just remember that they will eventually do it....after all you don't see teenagers wearing diapers or pull-ups.

Alesha

WHERE IN!

2011-06-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

We received a call from the Baby Fair people and we are in for the September 2011 show. Yippee.....we are sooooo excited!

Let me give you a little back story......when Leslie and I decided to add another job to our already crazy amounts of stuff we do (you know what I am talking about you fellow mommies, driver, cleaner up of all things that are yuckie, personal chef to your kids, party planner, laundry expert...the list can go on and on so I will stop there) we dreamed of being in our local baby fair. When we decided to take the plunge and apply we found out that they were already booked up.....we were so say :( Being mommies you don't have time to linger in your sadness with kids hanging off your legs wanting something) we had to pickup our boo hoo faces off the ground and go to plan B. What that was we had no idea. A while later we decided to check out the local weekday/weekend fairs and thought that might be a good place to start promoting ourselves locally. When we had come to the decision to do the fairs I received a call from Shirley that afternoon from the baby fair saying that a booth had become available if we were still interested. I was sooooo excited I could barely keep my excitement bottled in while on the phone (after all I wanted to be professional). After I hung up the phone I called Leslie and told her the news and we were doing happy dances on the phone.

We both know this is going to be good for us and our new "baby" cause things are just falling into place without us having to force it....LOVE IT!

Alesha

We did it.....

2011-06-22T00:25:00.000-07:00

It is 12:15 am and we just launched our first 6 hair clip holders! We have been working so hard these past 5 months and we are finally up and running. We already have a pile of new product ready for their upcoming photoshoot so stay tuned!

Creating product is going to be the end of any last brain cells I have left.....Just to make sure these lovely flowers would not fall off the ribbon I decided to buy E6000. I proceeded to close all doors in the room (accidently), turn on the heat and glue like crazy well needless to say Alesha and I felt like we were eating glue and couldn't stop laughing....oh the joys of working all hours of the night!

Leslie

11:25pm and still going

2011-06-18T23:57:00.000-07:00

All you mommies out there who can relate to the time in your day when your house is quite. I am sitting at my computer at 11:25pm, the kids have been in bed for about 3 hrs after a couple of trips upstairs to quite the youngest one. My husband has been fast asleep for about an hour and I am working on our new business adventure. Isn't this the case (most of the time).....mommy still working and everyone else resting. Shout out to all the mommies out there who don't get the recognition of all they do!
I am getting our Etsy store ready for it's Grand Opening this Tuesday. My partner in crime Leslie (Happy Birthday) and I are so excited to finally be getting our store up and running. It has been many long nights and emails back and forth to our wonderful graphic designer Kim.

On my personal quest for my pre-baby body back I have started (again) my healthy eating. Trying to cut out all sugar (I do love my sweets!) and eating 5 small meals a day. I am on day 5 and have been doing well. There is another reason for the weight loss.....my husband has put forth a challenge. If I can lose 14lbs by July 15 and another 14lbs by the end of August I can trade in my CRV for an Odyssey. Now anyone who knows me knows I have uttered the words "I will never have a minivan". After having to back half way out of parking spaces (many times) to get my kids in the car I can now say "never say never"!

Alesha