pampering and basic necessities

                     These are some of the products I love to use everyday

One- for baby :
The changing of a diaper is always fun and stinky! that's why I love to keep lewis super fresh with a spray or two of bebe zen's cleansing lotion.( that just sounded like an add ) lol
I was introduced to this line of products through a friend (thanks Lidia )and I use most of their products but these two rank high on my shopping list of must haves.
http://www.bebezen.ca/en/rinse-free-cleansing-lotion
http://www.bebezen.ca/en/soothing-cream
the soothing cream worked wonders on lewis's eczema!!! I use it on him daily and it's so nice and no over powering scent!!!this stuff works!

Two- for mommy:
My hair went from great to dead after  I gave birth, first off I almost lost half of it, ok I 'm exaggerating I lost a lot... and it was dry and tangled and an overall mess . I got it together and chopped the bush and treated it with some serious respect!
http://giovannicosmetics.com/Mline/data/index-magshamp.htm 
I love love love this shampoo  and conditioner and people it's lauryl and laureth sulfate free, no artificial color, no artificial fragrance ( it smells great!) it's cruelty free and contains certified organics!
Imagine I got this as a sample in a Christmas tot bag I got from my local health food store (more on them at the bottom)

Three- for baby and me!!!
winter is a b---- and i love to be outdoors so does the little one and were we suffering, the cold chapped cheeks and red noses... well I found it,  a cream we can both use that protects and hydrates.
http://www.kariderm.com/produits/produits_1425_en/
no more chapped red cheeks for us! I use their cleansing milk and scrub too love them, and the shea butter of course I use around the eyes, lips, nose and when we're sick with a cold a tiny coat of shea on the nostrils saves them from redness and irritation. It can also be used as a natural sun block it has a natural SPF 15 !!!

Four - beauty for mommy
I was on the quest for natural cosmetics... after spending a fortune on good or what I thought was good cosmetics, I realized wow these companies harm animals, use chemicals, and basically go against all I stand for so why support them ???Sorry Guerlain, Chanel , you no longer hold my heart. I need to do to my face what my philosophy in life is - be natural.
http://www.couleur-caramel.com/make-up-products.html
I wanted to by the whole display... but settled for mascara and eye liner for now both which I love!!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait to try the compact foundation, and their terra cotta blush  is really cooked!!! Thats real sun kissed!  Got to get me those and so much more and guess what MADE IN ITALY ( viva l'italia bella!)


Five- inside out
I noticed all these things are for the outside... well heres' one for the inside!!!  I don't know where I would be without my morning shake , when the baby gets up it's too early to have breakfast I'm half asleep and thankfully this simple task of shaking two spoons with a cup and 1/2 of almond milk gets me going. So easy and good and guilt free...when has chocolate been so guilt free?? It assures me the nutrients I need and the omegas, not to mention the probiotics... oh yes it's all in there and more!!!
simple easy and the BEST tasting shake I have ever tried. I pick these up 2 at a time for fear of running out. I can't wait for lewis to be able to enjoy these!!!
http://shopca.sequelnaturals.com/sequel-estore/Kids-Family

There you have it my top 5 secrets.... not any more!
I do have one more to share....

All of these fabulous products I find at my local health store. Bio Terre
 http://www.bio-terre.com/bio/index/en
 A fabulous store where ( besides the fact i go there  almost daily) people know me by name! I'm always greeted with a smile, and I have grown to love shopping there it's always so relaxing and exciting at the same time!!!!  If your ever in the neighborhood drop in you'll see me for sure,  Rene, Jacinthe, and Martine !
http://www.bio-terre.com/bio/terre/en/47
Such a great shop filled with all these amazing products and so much more! Really in health food stores they rank up top for me as my favorite. They are truly on top of the game in health. It is an easy shop, to shop in. Clean, quaint but not stuffy, the displays are organized making it easy to find products and really ask there and you shall receive!  I think I'll send them this just so that they know how thankful I am to have a great place to shop !

So glad to have shared,
L&L

winter is almost over and i can see light!

Lets be honest here, I thought it would be harder. A lot harder to entertain Lewis in the winter.  At least he isn't walking yet!!!! This  time winter really forced me to get creative and to get out more (cabin fever anyone?) I definitely made it a point to take walks everyday, (except on -30 days), but up to -20 we could hack it. I have a nice long coat and accessories and well Lewis is pimp'n with his 7 A.M. ENFANT   sleeping bag!!! escuse' moi !
http://www.7amenfant.com/
Worth every penny I might add!!!(thanks zia) so he's nice and toasty and I'm definitely warm pulling a sweat pushing the stroller through the snow. The snow covered sidewalks will rock any baby to sleep! It's instantaneous!


Well the walks kill most of our afternoons, we come in from the walk snack change diaper, laugh,  play,  eat dinner, change diaper, laugh , play, and before you know it,  it's bed time!!! So we do our thing,  give him a little bit of cereal ( in the hopes one night he'll sleep longer) then we play a relaxing cd, I give Lewis a nice massage, clean pj's, the boob, and off to beddy bye!!! Usually there is a playful back and forth and finally he begins to rub his eyes and with a little more milk he's asleep.


What about the mornings you say, well you get creative, especially at 7 am.
(at least it's not dark out anymore!!!!!!!!!!)  We model, well Lewis does while I snap away.  I laugh and most times he crys!!!! LOL 


Here are just a few :

enjoying it!

getting pissed...

pissed off!

hmmm

interesting...

pissed!!!

yes...

maybe...

NO!!!!






Get creative!
Have some fun!
Beat winter blues with
plenty of vitamin D and plenty of laughter!!!!


HA HA HA
LOL
L&L

fear. worry. panic

I realized one thing, well many, but this one that really stood out and became clear to me today,  eight months later...... that we fear, worry and panic as new mothers.
At least I did.

I  feared the drive home from the hospital, was he too hot , too cold, was his head okay like that on these bumpy roads??? Once home, I even took him into the sunlight , because he looked a little jaundice to me. (our hospital room was so dark, felt like we were in a cave for 5 days!!) 

 I could go on and on about all sorts of things  I feared and worried about on those first few days, weeks, months.  I realized today that with babies things change so quickly from minute to minute that basically it's better to stay calm and test things out. For example I remember switching from the breast shields to the actual breast, I would do so for one feeding only at first.... and lets face it after 2 weeks of shields the baby had no idea what nipples felt like,  so at first he didn't latch on . I panicked, would I have to use these things forever?  All sorts of terrible thoughts of worry ran through my exhausted head!!! Only to have Lewis later on that same day take to the breast with no trouble at all!!!   I had spent my entire day worrying trying to figure out a solution, racking my brain with the whole thing and then boom before I knew it,  it solved itself.  

My point to all this is that today I realize babies are a little like  dogs... who better knows dogs than  Cesare Milan. (I LOVE this guy) he says dogs live in the moment, and I think it's so true for babies too.!!! They don't hold grudges, they don't remember the crying spell they had ten minutes ago. They live in the now. We have a lot to learn from that.  I do.  I realized that if I would take things as they came more,  I would have been a lot less stressed.  I know Lewis needs to feed before his naps... so if I'm heading out for a stroll  I'll try to feed him before heading out and sometimes he won't drink right away.... I'll try literally a couple of  minutes later and he's drinking full force.  One moment to the next.   So I've learnt to go at his pace too...I think that was one of the hardest things for me to adapt to.   I've always been the type to pick up and go... and well with a baby there is planning, timing, and lots of gear!  So much to think about that by the time you actually get out  it's 2 hours later! All my mom friends whose children are,  well no longer babies,  all tell me it'll get easier... 
So lets hang in there mommies... one minute at a time !!!


Till the next blog,
Happy minutes!
L&L