Congrats to #16, Elizabeth and Aiden! Christine picked you as our winner of 10 free passes!

These cold months are no excuse to stay at home when there are so many cool indoor play centres in Durham.

One of our favourites is Creative Play Indoor Playground and Party Centre in Ajax. We took the girls here with Jen O. last February for the Valentine’s Day party and had a blast! I love that there is still to do for all age groups — a play area with smaller toys, ride-em cars, jumpers and padded seating for babies and toddlers, and several climbers for older kids.

We enjoyed decorating cupcakes (extra charge) in the huge eating area, colouring (free — and Lucy drew her first face!) and tons of free play. With two kids more than two years apart, I’d definitely recommend two people, if possible. Creative Play is quite large — more than 3,500 sq. ft., with some equipment around corners — so it can be difficult to keep track of them. That being said, there’s a TON of room to play!

One of Creative Play’s claim to fame are their character days: Tea with Ariel, March Break Art Day, visits with Elmo and Upsy Daisy. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter and keep track of their calendar to see what’s coming up.

My only complaint was this day was also a PA Day — so there were a ton of older kids around. Children to the age of 10 are allowed, and I found Lucy intimidated by the school kids. None of the were in the baby area, so Alice and Avery were fine.

Owner Christine has given me 10 FREE PASSES to a lucky Durham Region Baby reader!
Head on over to Creative Play’s website and pick your favourite feature of the place (or share, if you’ve been there before) and leave a comment below. We’ll pick a winner Monday.

Happy playing and good luck!

Wow. There’s a lotta love for cupcakes around here! We had 39 comments for Disney Playhouse LIVE! tickets, and 37 for a half dozen of Siobhan’s delicious creations — that says a lot, hmmm? That we all love CAKE!

The winner of yesterday’s review and giveaway receives their choice between flowers and Valentine’s Day creations. Siobhan, you MUST send me photos of those beauties.

On January 21st, 2010 at 12:40 pm, Leslie said:

Have you ever tasted something that quite literally makes your eyes close and roll up behind the lids? A piece of food that the mere thought of makes your mouth water?

I’m not a big cake eater. But Siobhan’s cupcakes did this for my entire family.

Look at these lovelies:

Moist, airy, not-too-sweet. Siobhan makes this to-die-for buttercream frosting, and homemade fondant, which she molds into the shapes you see. This winter she also started baking mini cakes to the detriment of waistlines everywhere. But the tastebuds are going nutty with flavours like classic vanilla and chocolate, and spiced apple and walnut for the more adventurous.

She lives in Ajax with her two sons and hubby, works a day job, then bakes. She’s a rockstar. If you ever need some special treats for a birthday, wedding, or party of any sort, think of her, and check out her website at For the Love of Cupcakes (you should pop over there just to see the gallery of deliciousness. There are sheep cupcakes, people. Sheep!).

Because we need to share the love of cupcakes at Durham Region Baby, I have a half dozen Valentine’s or floral ones to give away to a lucky reader. Check out Siobhan’s site and leave a comment with your favourite creation. We’ll pick a winner tomorrow.

Happy drooling!

We had such a great time at Disney on Ice: Princess Classics on Friday night. Lucy was a buzzing top all day, and counted down sleeps all week to the “Princesses on the ice show.” The performance really was magical, even for grownups. Lucy has actually only seen The Little Mermaid, and not even to the end — so we’d love to start getting her the original movies like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty (ya hear that, Santa?).

I do find these classic princess stories rather amusing. It’s pretty damn amazing how fast these ladies fall in love. Like, in minutes. Don’t you wish everything in life was so easy? And why are the men always the rescuers? We need to re-write these tales with some strong females, I think.

So many kids in the audience had these light-up, twirling prince/princess wands, and played them all. night. long. Eric said it was like saws were coming at his head…

Thanks Mom Central for the tickets! We (and I hope our contest winners) had a fabulous time.

Our little princess! She was so excited to wear her dress.

Lucy with Jen O.'s daughter Eirinn. Both girls were quite tickled they had matching Cinderella dresses on

Lucy's friend Pearl wore her Sleeping Beauty dress. Never have I seen so many ruffles in one place.

All the princesses and princes waving goodbye from the castle

As a first-time mother to my now 4-month old daughter Addison, I was eager to try “Baby’s First Journal” for Carly and frankly, for myself and my husband – at the time Addison was 2 months old and we were struggling to figure out her “routine.”

The journal, produced by Glow Baby, claims to be “a comprehensive log book that enables parents to track the eating, sleeping and diapering schedule of their newborn.” During our three-week trial, we were happy to discover that the journal pretty much lived up to its disclaimer.

The journal has a small introduction, and then has a chart on each page outlining breastfeeding habits (start time, time on left, time on right, total length of feed), bottlefeeding habits (formula fed, breastmilk fed), diapering habits (pee, poo) and most importantly for me….sleep habits (start and end).

At first, I must admit that remembering to log in the book was a pain. Chances are, if I was upstairs, the journal was downstairs or vice versa. Then I would try to remember to back-log information, but that proved to be difficult thanks to mommy-brain and fatigue.

However, once we got in a groove of using the journal, it was very user friendly and answered the commonly asked question at my house “when did she last eat? Instead of the usual “I dunno…” answer, I could tell right away! This was especially handy for us because Addie is breastfed and formula-fed….so if I wanted to know how much of her bottle she took from my husband a few hours before, I could easily tell.

The journal is small enough to fit in any purse or diaper bag, although I must admit if we were “on the run” I didn’t really use it much. It also has a section at the bottom to write any notes, and also to check off whether vitamins or a bath was given.

Overall, Baby’s First Journal is a great tool, especially for first-time parents – as long as you remember to use it! For those on a budget, a simple Excel spreadsheet could do the job as well. And Addison’s sleep schedule? Well, by looking back at the journal pages I did manage to see a bit of a pattern in her napping during the day. Hooray! Then, seemingly the next day – she changed her pattern completely. So it’s back to square one…..isn’t mommyhood wonderful?!!

Leisa Davie is a first-time Mummy to her 3 month old daughter, Addison Rose. Currently on mat leave from her job working at a seniors’ activity centre, Leisa enjoys mummyhood, shopping, listening to music and spending time with family, friends, and her “fur baby,” Sadie. Bad habits include watching reality TV and drinking too much coffee. Married to her husband Ryan for almost 3 years, Leisa lives in Port Perry.

I have a Glow Baby journal for a lucky reader! Visit Glow Baby owner Lindsay’s site, poke around, and leave a comment about her journals and note pads. Winner announced Friday.

UPDATE: Congrats to Denise — comment #12 — for winning!

We broke the rules with Alice, and started putting a blanket in bed with her around 10 months.

This was a combination of second child syndrome, her being a very active baby who moves around a ton while sleeping (meaning I wasn’t worried about her getting caught around or under a blanket), and the fact she is not super chubby, and therefore gets cold at night.

We used a sleep sack for her when she was younger, but she’s long grown out of it over the summer. I was just starting to look at a larger one when an email from Rebecca from Wee Rascals landed in my inbox.

This Whitby mom has twins, and started her business after her babies quickly grew out of the many receiving blankets she received as shower gifts. Rebecca’s mom, a professional seamstress, made her larger ones. Then the sleepsack idea came about, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now Wee Rascals creates custom-made baby products in hand selected fabrics including 100% organic cotton, flannelette and fleece. Their products include extra large receiving blankets, infant sleep sacks, crib sheets and more. They also do custom monogramming.

Check out Alice’s beautiful sleep sack. It’s a medium, and fits her perfect. Generous, but not too big, and room to grow. Look at the piping detail down the front. The covered snaps. It’s ultra-soft, cozy, warm and the design is so fresh. I fell in love with it when it arrived. It’s absolutely perfect for these cooler months. What makes them extra unique is they go large enough to fit a 3-year-old!

Although fleece is very warm it will actually wick moisture away from the skin so your baby will not sweat or be too hot. The shop has many cute and fun prints (blue camoflouge for boys is to die for) to choose from. This sack retails for $39.50, and Rebecca is currently offering $5 off orders over $30 when you enter code WEERAS01 at checkout.

I have a custom, monogrammed sleep sack to give away to a lucky reader — just in time for the cool weather.

Here’s how to win: Go visit Rebecca’s site www.weerascals.ca, and tell us what you love most! A security blanket? Organic sleep sack? Stay-put bib? Crib sheet? Leave your favourite below, and I’ll draw a winner at noon Friday.

Have fun! Shop local! Support our mompreneurs!

Do any of your kids have a lovey? A soft something-or-other they cherish and take everywhere?

Lucy has a crocheted blankie from a family friend. Alice is still developing hers, but one of her favourites is the NooNoo bug-gy blanket which we received from our friend Coreen at Raising Rascals.

Here’s why we love it:

• it’s oh-so-soft
• small and portable, with a loop for linking on a stroller, car seat, crib or high chair
• loops for gnawing on
• fun textures: the fabric is a soft felted wool, with circles embroidered on for pulling and counting, while the edges are lil’ rounded lumps
• a whimsical and cute sheep smiles out at you from the centre (the company says this is an example of “child art imagery)
• colourful polka dots on the back make both of us smile

The only thing I don’t really like is that it’s white. And white shows EVERY bit of dirt and food and whatever. Which might be a good thing, really — it certainly gets washed a lot!

These would make a lovely shower or welcome baby gift, and are sure to become a favourite as the child grows.

I have a NooNoo for a lucky reader to win! Here’s how: Poke around the Raising Rascals website, and leave a comment with what would be on the top of your child’s wish list.

We’ll announce the winner Thursday. Have fun!

I’ve been battling some sort of bug all weekend, and at the end of the day Monday am now pretty sure I’ve got some sort of flu. So, I need to take it easy this week. I’m going to postpone all the reviews and giveaways until next week when I have more energy to write and manage your comments and entries. Apologies!

The second desk in my office is currently STUFFED with goodies for you — so it’s time for a product review and giveaway week!

Stay tuned and visit often for freebies and write-ups every day:

• Dora/Sponge Bob snack n’ go humms and flat bread from Summer Fresh Salads (Lucy made her own video for these this summer)
• Earth Mama Angel Baby baby body butter from Baby Butterfly Boutique — includes shampoo and body oil giveaway
• carseat belt covers and matching blanket from Tami Bellows
• Creative Play Indoor Party and Playcentre — includes free pass giveaway
• Bug-gy mini-comfort blanket from NooNoo Designs via Raising Rascals — includes blanket giveaway

Sara from Sarita Baby actually calls these taggy giraffes, but I like gourmet better. Because this is one beautiful, handmade, funky fabric-encased stuffed toy.

Here is our Gigi helping me work today. I  boldly emailed Sara and asked her to send me one to review, because I’ve coveted them for ages at various shows she’s been at — and had to show them off to you. Gigi the giraffe is for my girls, of course. Of course.

Do you see the sweet fabric? The clever use of ribbon for the mane and tail, which double as sensory pieces, loops and handles? They are the perfect size to snuggle with, and adorable to adorn a crib or bed of any age child.

Sara is a work-at-home-mom in Oshawa who sews while her two kids sleep, in the sewing room her “wonderful husband was so generous to make” for her. Her funky baby accessories — including bibs, blankets, change pads and tooth fairy door hangers — are made with designer fabrics.

Check out Sara’s etsy site to find the three Durham Region stores you can purchase these giraffes at, for just around $20. Or, you can buy off the etsy site, or email Sara for a custom order at sb13sarita@yahoo.ca.

Want to win your own giraffe? (For your kid(s). Of course.) We’ve got a gorgeous green one that needs a warm spot in a Durham Region Baby reader’s house. To win, take a spin through Sara’s store, then leave a comment here with your favourite Sarita Baby creation. We’ll draw a winner on Thursday!

Weeks ago, a Durham Mom’s Night Out friend (hi Catherine!) mentioned a blogger who got a car from General Motors to drive across the country. I jokingly mentioned we should get one, too — I had no idea how we were going to fit everything and everybody into our Nissan Altima for our cottage vacation without strapping Spencer Dog and Alice to the roof.

Well. Look what happened. I shit you not, tea dribbled down my face when the email landed.

That, my friends, is a brand spankin’ new 2010 Chevy Equinox in my driveway. This fully-loaded one costs $42,000, which is more than I’ve ever made in a year as a journalist. GM gave it to us for our entire week away, no cost, no expectations. We just had to pay for gas.

Thoughts:

• As a crossover, it felt like driving a car. It took me two seconds to adapt. There was no big front end, you didn’t feel like you were driving a truck or huge van
• Great on gas. In fact, this vehicle is supposed to be the most fuel efficient crossover on the road right now
• I love, love, loved having the girls high up. As a tall person (and mom), it’s a struggle for me to be all bent over pulling them in and out of carseats
• Ditto the trunk. Everything at waist high, not rolling around and stuck in the back
• It was not that much bigger than our Altima in terms of storage. You can stack high, but not too high or stuff is on top of the kids, and blocks your view. You’ll see below we did this anyways for the trip. Still, Eric — car packer extraordinaire — says we could not have taken what we did to the cottage in our car
• Rearview camera. Enough said
• Satellite radio is sweeeeeeeet. We spent much time listening to stand-up comedy. Once we have money again (hahaha!), I’d definitely get this for our vehicles
• Tight turning radius — surprising for a larger vehicle
• Get this: The manual did not show how to open the gas tank. So Eric and I are digging around the driver’s side area, prying the car with our fingers. Then I accidentally tripped (quel surprise), bumped into it, and it opened. DESIGN FLAW, GM!
• Good pick-up, speed, passing abilities. Overall super smooth ride

I’m not running out to buy it tomorrow, but have to admit the experience has made us increase the timeline for a crossover of some kind — hopefully after the winter.