NEVER AGAIN!!!!

A fellow mommy friend was talking to me about the products she finds on-line... Interesting I thought about it for a minute, do I trust it, what exactly do I look for,  how do you know what your buying and from who?? Well she seemed really at ease with it and does it often, so hey, I'll try a it!  I  begin my search for this adorable and very practice floor mat ( which I had seen at her house) LOL and before i know it I come to find that this  product  is discontinued..., which now makes me want it even more... I kept searching and still nothing... finally I find some,  the large mat going for 118$ on most sites, and the smaller one...well who cares because I don't want the smaller one. So the quest is on, best price and really any one I could get my hands on... so I get onto a site I'd rather not mention. ( for obvious reasons) They have 2 left and they are selling them at 110$ cool!

I'm so excited I order and poof - I send my visa number and full info. into cyber space. Scary I tell you, but people do this all the time and the sites payments are secure, so great I'm happy... the company calls me to tell me more or less what colors they have left and yes they are being shipped out Tuesday!!! Come Wednesday I track the package, left warehouse, cool. Later that day arrival in Montreal, double cool , and then I check and it's out for delivery YEAH!!! Well a couple of hours later I'm wondering , where the heck is Canada Post? So I track it again and this time it reads

-RETURN TO SENDER INCOMPLETE ADDRESS.... WHAT!!!

Okay human error, the girl forgot to put my apt. number on it, so now what? It has to go back, Canada Post cannot add the address on by hand thats  tampering with the mail,  and it's illegal.

well back to T.O it goes!

I speak to one of the girls there and she explains that shipping it back there could take longer than it coming here, YES twice as long, dammit. Okay what can you do? So I wait, and wait and after a couple of days I call, and leave a message for some one to call me back. When no one does a couple of days later I call again, and speak to some one who had no clue what was going on with the order she tells me someone will call me back , and I wait, ( I could have drove down and bought the mats myself it would have been easier and much less of a hassle but whatever!) Finally when another 2 days go by, i decide to write a nasty e-mail telling them that I will definitely be writing a blog about this and mentioning them and bla bla bla.. and that same night I get a reply back... how nice you gotta be a ---- to get things done, forget sweet and polite and step all over me kindness ( from a famous quote I love, "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness") 

We FINALLY get to the bottom of it all and she's going to  try to get them to me the next day. Just like she promised the package finally arrives... I open it up , unroll the mat only to discover it was the small one!

AT 110$ YOUR RIPP'N PEOPLE OFF... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but nowhere was there a mention of size, I just assumed(big mistake)

that because all other sites had the large ones at 115$-120$ that these at 110$ were large. Well was I surprised! ( just a note the small ones go for 70-80$max on most sites ) 

I call and while I should have ripped their heads off, I politely asked how they can sell the small ones for that price and their answer was

"we're able to sell those in our store at 110$ here in Ottawa " 

ok honey so you do that, I'm sending them back (she offered to take them back and credit me) oh you bet you will and actually I sent the whole order back, I don't want anything else from that business: bad karma, bad publicity and really, really bad service! I even had to figure out how to get it to a post office to return it to sender!!!! ahhhh!!! the nerve...

Goes to show some folks just shouldn't be in business at least not dealing with the public... 

Some words of advice when on-line shopping: make sure you know exactly what your buying and always, always make sure you can get a full refund and return the products if your not pleased. 

My lesson.... 

I'm sticking to shopping at amazing boutiques in person!

Happy surfing, 

L&L

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

Lets get angry!!!

So many topics come up on a regular basis, and this one is one of my favs. The only thing is I'm so passionate about it that I've had to sort of repress my feelings and beliefs  for fear of being the health Nazi! 

I can't help it, once I started researching foods, chemicals, and procedures,  it was only a matter of time that I went ORGANIC.

That famous word..... somehow  today it seems to be used to describe one too many things! What is the real meaning behind this crisp, clear word?   What does ORGANIC really mean?

Well here it is :

ORGANIC is no synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.   No antibiotics, genetic engineering,  or irradiation, and my personal favorite, NO use of sewage sludge as fertilizer. 

ALL organic meats are 100% organic fed, free of growth hormones, and animal by-products. 

Btw GMO or genetically engineered  foods are PROHIBITED in some countries but not in Canada! AND we don't know what is or isn't modified, but trust me when i tell you that through my research i have learned at most foods are!!! 

take a look at the chart scroll down there is a looong list of foods:

http://gmoguide.greenpeace.ca/shoppers_guide.pdf

Why is this allowed???  $$$$ money I guess.  Yes our grocery stores are filled with  these foods.  The ones we buy to nourish our families, so they may grow healthy,  make any sense? NO- but it's because most people are not aware and I don't blame them, who tells us that water in  plastic bottles is harmful? Really, where do you hear that cheddar cheese is really NOT orange , that it's the same chemical dye they use  to  preserve dried apricots. They don't mention that those small carrots you buy cleaned are eroded in acid to help shape them.  No one tells you that the meat you get on sale, has been fed animal by products and cement.  The government won't tell you that it radiates our fruits and vegetables so their shelf life is extended, and at the same time they consume the excess radiation they have sitting in huge barrels. 

Ever wonder about milk? How many cows should there be to supply ALL the stores you can purchase milk in!!!!  Really think about it for a sec.  Supermarkets,  gas stations,  walmarts,  local stores, even pharmacies!!!

Just how many cows does it take? Not  that many, they just pump them with hormones so they produce milk faster so they may meet the demand..... then those hormones get transfered to us,  remember 

"milk- does the body good".  

What part?  See why I can't get on this topic.....???

Really  all I'm trying to say without sounding like a total freak,  is know what you are buying, and if you don't read labels -start, and if you can't read it- don't eat it!!!!  If not for you,  for your babies.

So the next time you find cantaloupes or tomatoes or that flank steak on sale, wonder for a minute why so cheap?

Eye opener ?

hopefully

L&L

Things I love and won't live without !

I get lots of my mommy friends asking me, what do I love and use all the time? What do I use for emergencies, and what can't I live without! So here are a few things  I really love... both for baby and me!

I find lots of babies I meet have an eye cold, the runny eye that just never goes away. Here are a few remedies that worked for me: 

breast milk- put a little breast milk in both eyes, always do both eyes.

chamomile tissane - place the bag of tissane, once cooled, over babies' eye and wipe gently, (chamomile is  antibacterial )

collodial silver -both a great product for baby and for the whole family!!!  An amazing product i swear by, just one drop and Lewis's mucus filled eye cleared up in just 2 hours!!! Again always put in both eyes. If ever your feeling under the weather you can place a dropper full of liquid in your mouth, let sit for a couple of secs before swallowing. It's a wonderful immune booster and great for sore throats!!

During this cold season I was on the hunt for a disinfectant, something so that if I caught a cold or my hubby did, we wouldn't pass it on to Lewis. So here are a few tricks at keeping the air, and sheets clean of germs!!

I make a little concauction of tee tree, lavender, silver collodial, and steralized water. Put 5 drops of each essential oil , 10  drops of the silver stuff in a spay bottle and fill the rest up with sterilized water. I use this spray to clear up the room, refresh the sheets and just give that soothing  home smell... clean and relaxing all in one! ( if you find the scent too strong put a few less drops) * recently I started adding thyme oil as it's a decongestant and it smells oh so good!

You all now know how much i love my mabu cloths, if not view blog on "you know you need a vacation when..."

White clay is the next multipurpose thing I love. I've used it on rashes, mosquito bites (remember girls!!!)
as a mask, on burns. almost anything you want to remove inflammation from.  I've even used it as butt powder! (talc is sooooooooooooooo bad for babies). You can get some in most health food stores different clays for different properties, white , green, I personally love this white one for now and I'll let you know on the others when I try them. Basically add a little water mix into a paste and apply to affected area.

Probiotics for baby, I've used this often especially because Lewis was a c-section baby, he got none of the bacterias that babies delivered vaginally get, the good stuff that builds their immune system. So he took them from the very beginning and now whenever he has the runs or is not feeling 100% I give him some to bring him back to the amazing baby he is! Great stuff for the whole family!!!

Thanks to a good ol' friend of mine,(the kind that is always present in your life),  I drink coconut water almost every morning.   It gives me energy refreshes and hydrates all at the same time, really a miracle product.  I am soooo glad she introduced me to it ! (Thanks sandr!!!)  Along with the coconut water there is the oil, which makes a great cooking oil, but a better body lotion!!!! Again something super natural you can put on your baby and you of course, I leave a big pot of it in the shower so when I'm done, still kinda dripping wet, I put some all over then pat dry and voila soft moisturized skin with a hint of the Caribbean to lift your spirits-man! LOL

I just read an article on how good coconut products are for you. To take internally and topically.

http://www.naturalnews.com/030990_super_food_coconut_oil.html
Fantastic!

BIO93 from Dr. RECKWEG homeopathic  drops to build up the immune system, just a few drops a day especially in the winter is a miracle saver. Safe for both adults and children!

Thats  it for now i think it's enough info to absorb and sort through, if I think of anything else I will add on to this and pls feel free to ask, sometimes some things slip my mind!!!!

                                          hope some of this helps,

                                          Enjoy!!!

                                          L&L

you know you need a vacation when.....

When your next blog is about cloths...
Yes cloths, mabu cloths!!!!
I am excited about a cloth that I randomly picked up at my local heath food store that does not smell, that is odorless.
It can be used all over, bathroom,  kitchen,  even your face!!! It  is 100% natural , it DOES NOT STAIN, stays soft and white, it's nice and thick, and did i say DOES NOT SMELL..... i mean no garlic, no onion, does not smell, no moldy smell!!!! Something you will willingly wipe you tiny trikes faces' with and be proud!!! It's naturally bacteria resistant, and to make things better they come in a pack of 3 and each one has a different colored trim so it's easy to know which one is being used where.
I know it sounds nuts ~ I sound like an infomercial! Crazy, excitement over a dish cloth.
Yes, it's fantastic, the best 8$ I've spent in awhile.
Oh oh oh I almost forgot,  machine washable too!! They're killing me,  I LOVE IT ...One last thing,  it's made from wood and from what I read on their site no trees suffered to make these amazing cloths....  The best part of why i'm so excited is i'm gonna try the bum test.   I hate using wipes on Lewis,  those chemical filled tissues we keep wiping our babies bottoms with, hate! hate! hate! them . I kept asking myself  what can i use that won't stain , that can easily clean up this kinda mess and poof I found it!!!! I will test it out and let you know if it works, and if it does, wow I'm onto something!!!

So stay tuned for my wiping updates but for now either go out and buy some or e-mail me i'll get them to ya, or go online and see for yourself. Moms this is an amazing product and why aren't moms telling other moms!!!!??? I'm starting the mabu revolution here. Stand back !

L&L