January Reads

I always seem to lose track of what books I've read when so I thought each month I'd give a brief description of each book I read that month. Here's the month of January's!

1. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton - I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It was an easy read and wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be.

2. The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck - I actually forgot how much I enjoyed reading Steinbeck. I'm pleased a friend lent me a book that had this and East of Eden in it so I could enjoy 2 more stories by him.

3. The Shack by W.M. Paul Young - I enjoyed this outlook on religion, it was well written and had a positive message. Lots to take away from this book.

4. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson - Hubs REALLY wanted me to read this tiny book. It tells you stuff you should already know but it's good to have someone force you to remember it.

5. The Diviners by Margaret Lawrence - This was one of the books in my 501 Must Reads list, I was surprised as I didn't find it to be anything special. Some good ideas but I felt it never really went anywhere worth tagging along.

6. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - Not at all what I expected from a 'dog point of view' book so I was pleasantly surprised. Good, easy read.

Have you read anything interesting this month?

I've Found My Passion, Have You?

When did you realize what you were passionate about? I didn't realize what really filled my tank until the spring of 2004. I was working in a job that meant nothing to me; I felt that my job had no purpose and was struggling to find what my passions were.

After experiencing some health issues I quit my job, took a month off and decided to evaluate my life before applying for new jobs. After a long talk with the Hubs I expressed my interest to him about changing my career direction to do something worthwhile. He fully supported the move and I started applying for jobs in non-profit. The Mustard Seed gave me my first chance at my dreams. It was the most wonderful job I ever had and filled my tank like no other job or activity ever had.

After leaving The Mustard Seed to start a family I still always kept up with my volunteer work and helping out wherever I could. The more I started being a volunteer rather than a employee, the more I felt I was on the right track. One weekend I was listening to a presentation about a man that raised $20,000 for a charity after his wife died. I was struck by how sad it was, not just that his wife passed, but that we all tend to wait until something tragic has touched us to do something about it. I couldn't get this out of my head so I decided to start a volunteer group comprised of the wives of my Hub's coworkers.

JACKPOT! I had finally found my calling. This is what I'm good at. This is my passion. I get to incorporate my organizational skills, my knowledge of the workings of non-profit and my passion to motivate others to be active NOW. 

Since moving to Edmonton it's been on my mind to get another volunteer group started and now that I have I feel so inspired by the number of people who want to help in their community. It is my dream and passion to help motivate others and in return I find they motivate me - how wonderful is that?

So a little later in life than maybe most but I've finally found my passion. Have you found yours? What fills your tank and helps you to fill others?

It's a New Year

That time of year has rolled around again; it's the beginning of a new year with new hopes and expectations. I've never been one to make resolutions in the new year but I think most people usually try to plan out their year and see if there's somewhere new they want to travel, a new activity to start or something new to try. 

We sat down and took a quick look at the year and planned out our trips together as a family, as just a couple and individually. Then we looked at what things we'd like to try with our children and what we think they might enjoy experiencing. Then personally I looked at what things I want to spend my time on most.

I love planning out my year! I love having activities to look forward to, a general idea what I want to focus on and a feeling that I'm moving towards growth. It still leaves tons of time to fill in the spaces throughout the rest of the year but also gives us some direction.

I thought I'd list some of the things we're doing this year that I'm excited about:

1. DD is taking skiing! Hubs is the one that really wants to drive this so he's taking her every Saturday for lessons. Her first class was last week and she loved it!

2. Introduce the kids to skating, and reintroduce us to it as well! I haven't been skating in about 6 years so it should be interesting for all of us ;)

3. Take the kids back to Winnipeg this summer to visit their Great Grandma and Grandparents.

4. Hubs and I have booked a trip to Cancun for 7 days in March, we need some time to reconnect, relax, and enjoy some time being just 'us'.

5. Start my volunteer group. My main passion in life is making it easy for others to make a difference in their community. If I had my way I would LOVE to start up an organization that motivated Edmontonians to volunteer and then helped place them into volunteer opportunities that interest them. That's a very, very long-term goal so presently I'm just focusing on starting small. I've started a group I've named Because Edmonton Cares (BEC) and I'm so excited to help a few people make a difference in this city and in their own lives.

6. Exercise and stay healthy. Last year was a tough year for me, I was able to spend the first 2 months of the year working out 5-6 times a week but then got pretty sick so was told by my doctor to hold off on exercising until I'd been cleared to proceed. I was finally cleared in September and then ended up with a 2 month cold and then after 2 weeks of not being sick I got sick again for the past 4 weeks! My goal is to try my best to listen to my body, rest when I need to rest,  exercise 3-4 times a week, watch what I eat (enjoy my treats but in moderation), and make sure that sometimes I put myself first.

Have you set out any new things you'd like to try this year, places you'd like to visit or things you want to do as a family? How are you hoping to grow in the next year?

Snow Day!

So, it's snowing outside and you don't really feel like taking your toddlers out - what will you do with them for an entire day at home?!?!

Here's a list of a few things I do with the kids, mine are aged 2-4 so all activities are based on those age groups:

1. Sticker Pictures! I always keep a huge bag of stickers around for moments when I need to get something done (like make lunch or dinner). This is something that is quick to set up (20 seconds) and even a 2 year old can do on their own. It doesn't make a mess either so no real clean up - bonus!  Just give each kid a stack of stickers, some crayons or makers and some paper and see what they come up with.

2.  Crafts, crafts and more crafts. Really, they'll do anything so what I usually do is go to this site: http://www.dltk-kids.com/ pick out a craft that is season or holiday related, and then get them started on it. There's a ton of selections on crafts to make and you can pick the ones that are age appropriate for your kids.

3.  Get them to help out around the house. If I feel like we're getting stuck for something to do I pull open a cupboard that needs to be cleaned out and get the kids to help me. I give them small tasks like tell them which pile to put each item on but place the piles a little ways away so they have to get up and run to the pile. I get organized and they get a bit of fun out of it. Truthfully they usually get bored after about 7-8 minutes but by that time I have my piles sorted and just need to put them back in order.

4. Make a fort. Seriously, it will take you 1 minute to get a blanket and strategically place it between couches or chairs and they will play in that thing forever.

5. Shaw on Demand. Yep, once again if there's something I need to get done and they're getting bored for having been inside all day I start up Shaw on Demand and put on one of their favourite shows. I sometimes tape a show and then reserve it for days like this so that it's new and exciting for them and allows me 25 minutes to get something done!



6. Get them to help you shovel! We bought 2 little shovels and we take them outside and get them to 'help' us. Though really somethings they cause a little more work for us they love the feeling that they're helping out with an adult chore and it gets them outside for a bit.

What are some things you do with your kids on snow days?

Traveling with Toddlers

So, we survived our trip to the Dominican with two toddlers. I can't really say that we're in any way rested but the kids had a good time so in a family trip I guess that's what it's really about.

Before we left I asked many people for advice on traveling with toddlers and got all sorts of responses. I thought I'd compile a list of things that worked for us, and maybe a few things that didn't!

1. Talk about the trip with your little ones a head of time. I talked to them about how we were going on an adventure on a plane and we were going to the beach. I just happened to tape an episode of Caillou where he goes on a plane so that helped for them to watch it a few times before we left.

2. Packing luggage- because we were going somewhere where diapers weren't readily available I packed diapers in DS's carry-on, and enough in his luggage to survive 2 extra days. It took up a lot of space but the good news was the space was used up on the way back with souvenirs! 
   - Packing carry-on, we went to a cheap store and bought each kid their own carry-on luggage with themes they would like (DS got Thomas the Train and DD got Tinkerbell). Inside the carry-on I put the things I knew they would want most such as their favourite blankies, a few stuffed animals, a pillow (small travel sized ones they had been using prior to the trip), and then an extra set of clothes each.
   - Toys/Entertainment - There were all sorts of suggestions I got but the one that was the most valuable was to take a portable DVD players. We didn't own one so bought one and it was a LIFESAVER. We had 4 flights and there were times we were in the airport for hours. It was easy to pull it out and let the kids watch a favourite show or movie if they were getting restless. Even on the plane where there's tv, the tv didn't work for almost an entire flight so we were thankful to have the DVD player to entertain them for a while.  We also bought them each a Nintendo DS. We called them early Christmas presents and again, they were lifesavers. The kids loved playing with them so we would take them to the restaurant with us at night. The kid's meals always came right away where we had to wait for ours, so the kids would be done eating and would play with their games while we were able to eat our meals in relative peace ;)
  I also packed several sets of stickers, for each new flight I would pull out new stickers so they had something new. I also did this with a few cheap books and it worked well. Some other things that worked well were crayons/colouring books, and those magic pen games you can buy as they're not messy and kids seem to be fascinated with them.

3.  Try to keep them on their old schedule - loosely.  We recognized that with the time change and all the excitement it was going to be difficult to keep them on schedule but we found that as long as we loosely tried to keep their normal schedule of when they slept and ate they were able to adapt to the new beds and situation fairly easily.  We did try to avoid our son's nap time but after a few days realized he still needed it and on the days he got it he was much happier in the afternoons.

Some things that didn't work:

1. Having any expectation that it would be relaxing for me! For hubby it was something completely outside his normal day so he found it to be relaxing at times. But for me it was doing exactly what I do at home but just relocated to somewhere warmer with a beach! I got 1 afternoon to hit the spa for a massage and pedicure and that was it. The rest of the trip was doing what I do at home but with less structure so next time I know that unless I actually book time away from the kids it won't be a very relaxing trip.

2. Three course meals. We tried this a few nights but the kids always got their meal on the 1st course so would be done while we were eating appetizers. The DS Nintendo games would keep them busy until about 1/2 way through our meals but would never last until dessert. I learned that you need to keep it to two courses or if you're desperate for dessert - get it to go!

3. No matter how many times I tried to explain to DH about the dangers of little kids and water I just don't think he got it. He would put them in the kiddy pool and sit on a lounge chair and do a crossword puzzle; , on the other hand, would sit in the pool with them. The water only came up to DS's waist but even then there was 2 times he lost his footing and fell backwards. Both times I noticed it instantly because I was watching him diligently. I was able to reach him within seconds, even so his head went under water for a second and he got scared - understandable for a 2 year old.  My point being that when it comes to toddlers and water you can't take your eyes off them for a second, and you can't be lounging on a pool chair while the kids are in the pool. So, talk to your significant other and make sure you both have the same understanding about what 'watching the kids' means.

All in all I'm hoping that next time we go the kids will be that much older that it will make things a little easier. Or maybe we can just convince the grandparents to come along to help share the load ;)

Want to Help and Don't Know How?

Have you ever wished you were more involved in your community and doing something to make a difference? But then you sit back and think you're not sure where to start, where to find opportunities, or you just don't have the time to search for what you're looking for. If so then  I hope I can help :)

When living in Calgary I started up a volunteer group. Once a month I would research and arrange a volunteer outing and anyone that could attend would do so. Generally I tried to find opportunities that fell on a weeknight or weekend as that's when most people could attend, but occasionally I'd find something on a weekday for the people that found that to be better for their schedule.

The outings we did were things like the following: packed goodfood boxes for the United Way (a program that allows lower-income people to purchase produce at a reduced cost), we hosted a birthday party night for seniors in a seniors residence complex, we wrapped Christmas presents at the Mustard Seed, served meals in school to children from lower-income families, and we put together information kits for the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

As of January I'm hoping to put together a group like this in Edmonton and wanted to know if anyone is interested in joining. Nothing much is required of you to join, I just need your e-mail address if you're interested. Each month I'll simply e-mail you the volunteer opportunity I've arranged and you let me know if you can make it. Volunteer outings will vary but feel free to put forth any suggestions or ideas on where you would like to volunteer and I'd do my best to accommodate it.

Please let me know if you are interested, either leave a comment on here or DM me on twitter (my handle is joeyjojrshabado) and I'll add you to the list for when I have our first opportunity set up.

It's Cold! Help the Homeless & Working Poor!

As you recently experienced it can get MIGHTY cold in this province. While we experience it when going from our car to our house there are those that experience it all throughout the day and worse, the night. Even the working poor can’t afford proper mitts/toques/coats/socks while they wait for a bus or work in the cold.

The Mustard Seed Edmonton has put together a Christmas Wish-list of items they are hoping to collect to help get the homeless and working poor though the winter and I was hoping you could help me collect some of these items.

I’ve attached the wish List for your perusal but some of the top items they need are the following:

WOOL/THERMAL SOCKS

Long underwear

Gloves

Scarves

Winter Coats

Bus Passes

Wool Blankets

Pocket Hand Warmers

Travel Mugs

$5 Coffee gift cards

Hot Chocolate

Lip Balm

Some of the other items on the Wish List are also geared towards small children and teens if you are more interested in helping out the children.

I know Christmas is an expensive time of year for people, as well as a very busy one, but if you are able to donate ANY item off the list please let me know. I am HAPPY to pick up anything you wish to donate and then I'll drop it all off at The Mustard Seed. 

All items have to be delivered to The Mustard Seed by a certain date so I’m hoping to have all items dropped off to my house OR for me to pick it up at your house by Friday, December 10^th.  

Hopefully together we can make this winter pass just a little bit easier for our fellow Edmontonians that need some help.

Thanks folks!

http://www.mustard.ab.ca/counselor/assets/Wish%20List%202010_NEW-FINAL.pdf