She walks!

Okay, I realize that it was inevitable but she's almost 17 months old so there was a fair amount of excitement to learn that my baby girl walks.  That's right..I was at work when this revelation occurred.  I wasn't even the one that picked her up at daycare today.  That privelege went to my hubby who saw a baby walking around and didn't even realize it was his!  Granted, we saw Aleena take one little step a couple weeks ago but there's been no sign of upright walking since.  According to Jeremy, she stood up on her own and just started walking across the room when he got there.  It was almost as if she'd been doing it for weeks.  I guess we were right when we said we thought it was a confidence issue. 

I am very happy to see her walk!  Everyone tells me it's great when they aren't walking and I hear what they're saying but it's not always the best consolation when you're baby still isn't walking at this age.

Here are a couple cute videos we took tonight.  I used my cell phone so the quality isn't the best but you'll get the idea.  I was trying really hard not to laugh when she kept falling down.  I have to give her credit.  She is one determined litle girl!

My Crazy Life

Check out the title on this journal article!

So it maybe be the Labour Day holiday but I have taken the day to print out my journal articles for my Masters class.  I am also working on laundry, making supper and that sort of thing.

Back to the journal articles, I haven't finished printing them all and my 3" binder is already busting at the seams.  I have no idea when I will read all of these materials.  The only consolation seems to be that they appear somewhat interesting, most have a large font size and white space is ample in some cases.

I am just feeling a bit stressed out right now.  Work is going all right for the most part.  I am a bit frustrated by the lack of resources for the classes I'm teaching but I'm working on it.  It's so difficult to teach EAL classes when you don't know the students very well too.  I am finding one of my classes quite a challenge and need to totally revamp what I wanted to do this semester.  Imagine starting a class with your plans in place and then meeting the students and realizing that your plans must completely change.  We'll be all right...I am very flexible!

Of course, I am taking another Masters class.  I actually don't feel particularly stressed about it but I know it'll take time and keep me busy.  My class is about teaching reading and writing to second language learners.  It's pretty much what I do everyday so I can relate and make some real connections with the research material.  I realize this may sound a bit nerdy but it's nice to feel like you have a real grasp on what has been proven to work.

What else?  I am going to run the Queen City Half Marathon next weekend.  I feel pretty good about my training overall.  It could have been better but I was sick for most of July and then I have calf strain issues.  Luckily, my leg is much better now.  It's still a bit sore from time to time but I am blaming the pain and strain on wearing old shoes.  I didn't think about it much but I've felt a LOT better since I started wearing my new runners.  Once again...there was much disappointment but I try to be realistic.  I had hoped to train hard this summer and work towards a personal best or get back to where I used to be.  I am not there but then I think about my lovely two children and how hard I've been working in many aspects of my life and then I give myself a break.  I am doing just fine.

And I think that's an important message to keep in mind.  People..and Moms in particular often focus on what we aren't doing right.  I think that parenting and teaching are very similar in some ways.  The sky is the limit.  You can work your butt off to be perfect all the time and do everything for your kids and worry about what you aren't doing OR you can be thankful for what you have and appreciate all the positive things that you are doing.

OnlyGreen Review and Giveaway

I'm always trying to live a little greener and was happy to try out a couple of products courtesy of Marni Labrash of OnlyGreen.  OnlyGreen is a relatively new company that sells a wide range of eco-friendly products.  I have perused the website a fair amount to learn more about what they sell and am very interested in trying out several other things too.  In addition to the hand and foot cream that I am reviewing, they really do offer a huge variety of products.  They sell everything from SoapBerries to cloth diapers to coffee and tea.  They also have several cleaning products that I'd like to try out as I stay away from anything with strong chemicals for several reasons these days. 

For this review, I received some Moisturizing Therapy Foot Cream as well a some Moisturizing Therapy Hand Cream.  I'll just write a bit about each from my perspective and then post some of the information from the website about each.

Foot Cream-  I don't often use foot cream but I need to use it more since I run alot and end up with dry (very sore) feet quite often these days.  The cream was very thick but my very dry feet seemed to soak up all the moisture quite happily.  It has all sorts of natural ingredients in it including wintergreen which I assume is where the nice scent and tingly quality come from.  It was quite pleasant to put up my feet for a while..the only other thing I could have used was a nice foot massage.  (Hello Jeremy...hint! hint!)

This will give you an idea of how thick the foot cream is.

Moisturizing Hand Cream- This was a bit different than I expected.  The scent wasn't my favourite initially but it's started to grow on me.  The cream is loaded with natural ingredients such as grape seed oil, jojoba, sweet almond, fruit juice, shea butter, and mandarin peel oil.  My favourite aspect of the cream is that it's not greasy.  It absorbs quickly and you are still able to do things like type on the computer without leaving greasy streaks everywhere.  The bottle also promises other benefits such as improving the texture of the skin and re-establishing the PH balance. 

After checking out the website, I did a pretty good job of explaining the hand cream!  The only other thing that could be mentioned with respect to the products is that the foot cream is supposed to destroy the bacteria that causes perspiration odour.  I might have to return the foot massage favour if that's the case!

The Giveaway:
Marni is going to give away the same two items that I received.  The winner will receive the Moisturing Hand Cream and Foot Cream as pictured.  The value of these items is $32.00.

As usual, I will number the entries and use www.random.org to select a winner.

How to Enter:
1.  Visit Marni's OnlyGreen website and let us know which products you would like to try out!
2.  "Like" Marni's OnlyGreen Spot Facebook page.  Feel free to let her know I sent you.
3.  Follow A Sophisticated Mommy via Google Friend Connect.
4.  "Like" A Sophisticated Mommy on Facebook.
5.  Share this giveaway (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Forum).

This giveaway is open to Canadians only.  The contest will be open until Friday, September 9th at Midnight SK Time.

If you'd like to order some OnlyGreen products, please contact Marni at marnilabrash.onlygreen@yahoo.ca or 306-565-0626.  She'd be happy to help you!