GIVEAWAY: AppleCheeks STEEL ME Mini Zip!

I thought it would be fun to have a mini giveaway before my big giveaway next week (you wont want to miss that giveaway, there will be MULTIPLE winners!!) So, here is a little one to hold you over... 1 AppleCheeks mini zip all purpose sac in the beautiful new Steel Me. It ends when my big giveaway will end so I can send everything all at once.. There are lots of ways to win, good luck!

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Guest Blog: Are Smartphones a blessing or a curse?

Hey everyone it's Heidi here on another wonderful Wednesday.

Today I want to talk about SmartPhones. These fantastic little devices that are a mini computer right in our very own hands. I am an iPhone user, I purchased my first iPhone going on 3 years ago. Before I had my iPhone I just had a regular cell phone that was capable of checking email, sending text messages and making phone calls. Nothing fancy but it did the trick through my college years.

Once I got my hands on this amazing little device I immediately became hooked. Everything that I ever needed my laptop for was right in the palm of my hands. I really didn't ever need a camera because my iPhone had one. Need directions? no problem this has a GPS too. Apps for anything and everything imaginable. I went from a person who rarely used my phone, to a person who relies too heavily on my phone as do so many others. We cannot go out of the house without our phone because we feel "naked" without it. I see it everywhere I go, whether it be to a restaurant, the mall or just for a coffee. Almost everyone has their face glued into their phones instead of having conversations and genuinely enjoying someones company.

I will be the first to admit I am guilty of this myself. My phone is always around and whenever I feel bored I grab it for no other reason then something to do. There is always something to look at, an email to be checked, someone to text and a picture to be taken. I cannot speak for others but I think as a society we rely too heavily on our smartphones and tablets. Recently I have been trying to limit my iPhone time as much as possible. I am not always perfect but I am getting better. Starting tomorrow I am going to only use my phone for taking the occasional picture, while my son is napping and then again once both kids are in bed. I want to be present in my children's lives as much as I can. Having my face in a phone is not going to achieve my desired outcome. Children are only little for so long and I don't want to miss out on anything, or have any regrets.

Children need our presence more then our presents. <3 Heidi

Excitement!

Yesterday after we did some shopping I decided we needed to put our tree up. We usually have it up by now but we've been busy. 

I went to the basement into our cold room/storage room to dig out all the tree stuff. I couldn't find any of the decorations for the tree, not even the strings of lights! I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on then I remembered we threw it all out last year. Well, the lights anyway. They were all breaking and we didn't want to do multi-colored lights anymore. A lot of the balls and decorations got broken so while we did have some, the majority of them were garbage.

So I nursed the baby and ran to the store to grab some lights and decorations. I got the last 7 packs of clear lights which I am so thankful for because the clear looks so much better than the multi-colored, right?

Husband put the tree up while I grabbed the kids from school after finishing up at the store (I spent 5 minutes in the store, I grabbed everything and off I went!) when we got home there was some drama with kids not listening, and my oldest being put in his room for a bit. Once that was all settled it was time to do the tree. I let the kids decorate it however they wanted. We of  course were standing with them as I always make it a "family thing" but I let them put everything where they wanted. Every single year we all usually put the stuff on, but I get very obsessive over the tree. I would move balls around, fix garland and I ended up knocking the tree town SO MANY TIMES. Not good, so I promised them they could do it all and I wouldn't touch it what-so-ever. I haven't either, and I don't plan to. They did an amazing job and it looks fabulous!

The only thing left for us to do is the outside lights. Hubs needs to get his butt in gear and get on it. He's hoping to do it Thursday when he's off for some appointments. I'm just hoping the snow they predict doesn't end up coming because he will be mighty cold!

This morning I was woken up to loud, loud screams of "Elfie's here! Elfie's here Mom!" it was so adorable.... It came from #2, #3 and #4. Jordan is a bit too old, and Jackson/Justin are too young still. But it was so cute to wake up to. 

He of course found some of the extra garland we didn't use, hung it to the ceiling light in the living room and is just hanging out! 

All morning all we heard was "Can Elfie talk? Will he talk to us?" and "Oh, I can't wait to see where he is tomorrow morning!" the fun in this little stuffed Elf is completely heartwarming. Just an added bonus to make this time of year even more special than it already is! I am completely in the mode now, look out everyone!

Next up? Christmas shopping. Can you believe a Christmas freak like me has only bought 1 gift? My husband's. How awful right? I am hoping to go this Thursday when hubby has an extra day off for some appointments during the day. Justin and I can bundle up and head on out. I don't even know where to begin. I'm very disappointed in myself for not starting sooner. I hate crowds and I hate waiting until the last minute. This will be fun.......

When two worlds collide...

Yesterday we had Heidi, my guest blogger who post's on the blog every Wednesday over with her two adorable kiddos and her hubby. I was a bit excited, see Heidi and I met somehow online. I don't even remember how I believe on Instagram through the AppleCheeks hashtag or even through posts by AC on the official IG...

Anyway, she and I had known each other online for a while, then we started texting, and in the summer they came over for a quick visit when they were in the city... It was so awesome to finally meet her. But very out of the ordinary for me. I don't like meeting new people, and I'm not sure if it all stems from the self esteem issues I've posted about previously on here, or what. But it just never happened until I got involved with AppleCheeks.

We had a great first meeting and became even closer as friends since! I really wanted to get our kids together again as they seemed to really hit it off during our quick meet so we set it up for yesterday about a month ago! I got a little too excited and may have went a bit nuts in the snacks and food department but -- back home when I'd have people over I didn't get to really go all out and it bothered me, so now that I'm able to financially it was a lot of fun. We had veggies and dip, fruit and yogurt dip, smart food, party mix, a cheese/pickles/crescent platter, juice boxes, bottles of water, pop, breadsticks... it was super yummy and as you can see from the photo it was a bit holiday themed!

We sat around had lots of laughs, and our hubby's got chatting about some stuff... Which was nice. I'm glad they get along because we need more "couple" friends to hang out with and do this with..

For our main course we decided since I'd been so sick and didn't feel up to cooking, we'd order in. Swiss Chalet was the closest and we could order 3 of the family meals to feed everyone. We did, and it was pretty good. Heidi and her hubby stopped at a bakery on their way and got some cake.

OH MY GOSH -- BOSTON CREME CAKE. It was beyond delicious, I had never had it before. Let me tell you though - I'll be having it again. I will be now on the hunt for it closer to us. Everyone loved it and I remember at least two kids asking for seconds, but of course they didn't need it so there was some left over.

After we had dinner, and cake we sat around chit chatting some more.. Then it was picture time. Can you believe the whole time we didn't even think to get many pictures until the very end? Silly for us, I know. Considering we are obsessed with instagram you'd think we would have been taking photos of every little thing going on. But we were too busy gossiping and talking about everything from births, to food, to movies! It was really, really fun!

But yes - photo time came. I of course was nervous about photos, I'm not sure why I get like that but it's something I'm working on. Not very well, but I am. I thought this was an adorable photo! Heidi, my daughter Ava and I - of course, I had to be silly!

Cute right? I thought so! My kids absolutely adore Heidi, her hubby and their kids. Which means a lot to me because they don't have very many GOOD kids for friends. Around here they don't have many friends. School they've got a few. But it's nice for them to have friends away from school and be able to have these nights to look forward to. So it was a lot of fun!

The title of this post is "When two worlds collide" because - I never used to let my internet life which I've been online for 12+ years with blogs, livejournal, xanga, geocities.. ALL OF it. I never, ever let it collide with my real life offline. But let me tell you I am so glad I did. Not only is Heidi an amazing person, so is her hubby and kids. They are real, genuine and it's something I've always looked for in real friends - but since moving to Toronto have lacked finding because I'm a homebody, and lets be honest - this city can be scary. I'm glad I let my guard down, and I'm glad we met. I think we've become really great friends, and although she lives in a different city.. I look forward to having more of these nights. As does my hubby and super excited kids!

After they left of course my kids NEEDED to have a photo with me like the one above, of course I couldn't say no. So here we were able to squeeze 3 of them in with me! It's a silly one. It's adorable. We all had so much fun... My kids are still talking about it, telling me all the fun they had playing downstairs and eating all the food - which by the way, my kids basically ate all the snacks. They are gluttons and I have no idea where they put it. I'm in real danger come the teenage years....

I've met a few other people from the AC world as well, they are also amazing people but sadly don't live as close to me so we can't get together more often. I think it would be amazing when the weather turns nicer to invite everyone over for a huge BBQ... I think I may put it together. We shall see!

I am so thankful for everyone in my life, especially my AC mama's. They all know who they are. I've changed so much in the past few years since moving to this big city, and coming out of my shell - slowly but surely. It's amazing, and I'm so glad I am able to really enjoy all these things now with my kids and not have to worry about them being excluded or having to go out - they are my whole entire life, so having friends with kids is one of the most rewarding gifts. Especially such great friends like Heidi! We're lucky!

It's the Weekend!

Wow, I haven't posted in days. Probably because I've felt like absolute crap. I have an awful cold which started with a migraine so bad I almost had to take myself to the ER for IV fluids. Luckily, I had my hubby taking care of me and was able to rest and although it's been present for days now it's nothing like it was and I can actually function now.

So, it's the weekend once again, the kids and I have been taking it easy. They've been complaining they want to play in the snow but we haven't had any yet. This morning it started to snow for the first time this winter. I was not too thrilled but it didn't last long, and it's not very cold outside. I am really not a fan of winter. Nor am I a fan of really hot summers either. In Canada it sucks because that's usually what we get. Freezing cold winters and burning hot summers. What can ya do?

It's pretty though right? Maybe not so much in this photo, but I took a video on Instagram of it and I stole this image from that.. It lasted maybe 10 minutes, and went away. It's snowed a few times on and off since but, nothing left on the ground now. We were getting ready to head to the stores when it started. The kids ran to the window when I announced it was snowing - they jumped up and down cheering! I remember getting that excited over snow when I was younger, now not so much.

After all the excitement I had to take all 6 kids by myself to 2 stores to grab some stuff for tomorrow as we are having some guests for dinner! We are having my guest blogger and AppleCheeks ambassador Heidi and her family over! I am so excited! I haven't felt well, so we're ordering some dinner in. We were going to reschedule because I didn't want to get her or her kids sick, but luckily because I've been sick for a while I don't think I'm too contagious anymore - and she didn't mind. So I'll just steer clear of the little ones, and all should be well. None of my kids have gotten sick - I think I caught this from Jordan who went to a friends house who was sick, and I only think I caught it because my immune system is so low with breastfeeding and lack of sleep, I need to get that all back on track!

I got some goodies at the store, we got home in time for me to get the littles down for their naps. I made the kids some lunch, and was able to squeeze in washing the floors. Our floors are so dark that every speck shows up. Very difficult to keep perfect with 3 dogs in the house with light hair, especially the WHITE ones. Oy vey.

I was talking to my friend via text this afternoon when I jokingly said I wanted to look into getting a maid 2x a month to come and do all my deep cleaning for me. It was also a sour topic in one of the groups on facebook recently too, I don't see a problem with it. I've never had a maid, but now as a mom to 6 who spends most of her days cleaning up after everyone else, I wonder why not. I won't stop cleaning, I do it daily but I don't get to deep clean as much as I'd like to. It's something to consider. I may be a stay at home mom, but I work from 8-3pm every single day online. Not straight, but anytime an E-mail comes in I answer it. I pick my kids up daily at 3pm and then I come home, make dinner, clean up, load the dish washer and most nights if it's bath night  (every other night) I am doing that alone so by the time 7/730 rolls around and these kids are ready for bed, I am BEAT. No deep cleaning coming from me..... So again, something to think about.

Tomorrow I will have lots of photos to share! I can't wait to set up my table and for the kids to have more kids to play with! I haven't had people over for a "dinner party" since moving to Toronto in August 2010.. I did it lots back home so this will be fun for me! I am like a little kid when it comes to this stuff. I love it!

Now time to go dig out some of my Christmas/Holiday decorations and get them up! We need our tree and outdoor lights up soon - must get hubby on that, maybe Monday?? ;)

Guest Blog: The Great Pre Christmas De-clutter

Hey everyone, it's Heidi here for another blog on this wonderful Wednesday! In keeping with the theme Jeanine has going, I am going to discuss pre-Christmas de-cluttering. A few weeks back my 4.5 year old daughter and I went through all of the toys in the living room. We were deciding what we would keep, what we would throw out and what we would donate. We managed to accumulate 4 grocery sized bags full. To me this is crazy, our living room doesn't even have that much space. The toy storage area isn't very impressive and I really had no idea it held that much. Even though we just did it a few weeks back, I am sure we could come up with another bag of donations. It really is a never ending battle. 

Around this time of year I always feel a bit anxious at the thought of all of the presents that are going to come in just over a month. The million piece puzzle that we will manage to lose pieces to, the doctor set that ends up missing everything but the stethoscope and a band-aid , and the workbench that has everything stored on it other then a tool. This year I am trying to be more proactive then usual in my efforts to rid our house of things we really don't use. 

After organizing the toy area in the living room I feel the need to move on to bigger and better things. The kids closets, their dressers, the garage and the dreaded  basement (which is another drop off zone for toys not being used). I really hope that as a family we can get this all done. It makes me feel more relaxed knowing that my house isn't busting at the seams with "junk" more or less. Now to get the motivation to get this all done in time with all of the shopping and craziness this upcoming holiday season has to offer.

Do you de-clutter? Or are you a Pack-rat?
Let us know your tips and tricks for staying organized.  Heidi <3