Antipasto

Kate, Scarlet, Auntie Kelsey, Gigi and Chris making the goods

Today we spent the better part of the morning making some delicious Antipasto to give as hostess gifts this holiday season.  There is a ton of chopping so the four of us thought we would tag team it and work together.  I ended up just doing the pickles and the green beans - two of over fifteen different ingredients - so I got off pretty easy.  I can imagine how hard it would be to make this on your own.  Nate and I now have ten small mason jars full of the delicious treat since we split the end result four ways.  Looking forward to giving them out!  Next up - Pfeffernusse (Peppernuts) the German treat that Mom and I do every year.

Chillin' in the fridge.

If you love shopping like I do, read on.

Forewarning.  This is a rant.  Don't continue to read if you don't want to be affected by how you spend your money when you shop.

I know... you're thinking about stopping.

But if you're at this paragraph by now, you might be curious.  So I'll get on with it.  Nate and I stumbled upon the documentary 'Death by China' on Netflix.  It was shocking.  I'm about to get preachy about it, but you HAVE to see it.  Seriously.

Basically it documents the communist Chinese government (NOT it's citizens) and the immoral economic manufacturing practices.  For starters, it's disturbing to see how children and the environment are most negatively affected by the government and how North America's relationship with them is spiraling out of control.  But, it made me sick after seeing it and I can't get it off my mind.  There are NO current laws on Chinese imports meaning every dollar that you spend on stuff MADE IN CHINA is going to their corrupt and ruthless government who use it to do too many scary things to talk about in one blog post.  But one of which is worth mentioning.  They pour OUR CASH into building their military in pursuit of domination.  Yah - GLOBAL domination.  I'm not over exaggerating.

What's worse is, after seeing it, Nate and I went shopping the next day partly because the poor boy needs some new duds, but also just to test this movie.  How hard would it be to purchase something without seeing the words Made in China on it?  Like really...  I had my doubts.  Turns out, it was near impossible.  Almost every single solitary item had these words marked somewhere.  I'M NOT KIDDING!  In fact, I can almost guarantee you that at least one of the items of clothing you are currently wearing was made in China by someone under the age of 10 and that worked a 12 hour day in a disgustingly dirty and unkept warehouse and then went home to a shack that locals nicknamed 'another cancer village' because of the horrible pollution.  This is unacceptable.

We even went to some well know 'Canadian' companies and the majority of the pieces were from China!!!  It was honestly scary.  I could barely find even one item that wasn't made there in some of the stores that I thought were tried and true.  How could a 'Canadian' company (that I will not name in this post) call themselves Canadian when the majority of the work and labour and composition is done in China?  It's like saying: "I want to bake my Grandma's bread.  But wait, I could actually get HER to do it and not thank her or pay her any money for it and then I could resell it for a big profit at my kid's school bake sale and claim that I did it all by myself!  100% family recipe made by me.  Oh, Grandma has been placed in a horribly unsafe environment for the majority of the day and night and is being threatened with various punishments if she doesn't keep making the bread for free?  No, those are just rumours.  I refuse to believe it.  I'm still good.  It's all still good.  There is a profit and everything is fine.  Grandma is fine.

Evil.

But it isn't just clothes!  It's EVERYTHING!  Like I mean everything.  Your microwave, your phone, your t.v, ALL of the electronic stuff in your car, your baby toys, your underwear, your bra, your shoes!  YOUR BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL SHOES!!!  I know.  My heart is breaking too.

Now, this doesn't mean I'm going to run out and find every item in my house that is Made in China and burn it.  I would literally have very little left.  But I AM going to support and invest more of my money into Canadian companies and even American such as:   Mac, Marks Work Warehouse, LaCanadienne (look at their shoes, you will DIE), just to name a few pure bred Canadian shops that actually manufacture their stuff.  Yes, sometimes it can be more expensive and now I know why, but I now know it's worth it.  I'm also going to check labels.  I do it when I eat food and I'm going to do it when I shop.  I'm going to look and see what are countries and governments that are fair in their practices and purchase from those that I know are safe.

Prior to seeing this movie, I really didn't get it.  I also admittedly chose to look the other way and/or ignore when I heard anything about overseas manufacturing or the dangers of China.  I simply called ignorance.  Honestly, I thought it was because those people and the media were being racist.  I wanted to SUPPORT those countries by buying their products, but I was so so sooooo wrong.  With the Christmas season right around the corner I will try my hardest to purchase from the small businesses and local groceries, online websites such as Etsy where you can find adorable and beautiful handmade items.  I'll do this to support proper treatment of others, the environment and encourage our county's economy to grow - not the dictators of another.

Watch the movie, do some research and buy local.  You will have an impact.

There, that's the rant.

Also, if I go missing you'll know to find me in a prison somewhere in the far east.

7 month update

Lentils

Scarlet's 'sitting' is getting better and better.  Occasionally, I worry that she will fall back too hard on her head but thankfully we have carpet in the upstairs media room where she plays. It helps to soften the fall.  I like to practice with her sitting between my lower legs so I can grab her if she decides to do a 'backdrop', but she still isn't able to sit for longer than five minutes on her own.

Naps have changed.  We're now down to two naps a day and they are very hit or miss ranging anywhere from 30minutes to and hour and a half.  I hear that it's because she is just more aware of her surroundings so she wakes easier and suffers a touch of anxiety if we're not there.  We've been 'training' her to fall asleep on her own, meaning we will put her down when she's still awake rather than bounce her on the bouncy ball till she's out.  She has a pacifier (which we're both not wild about) but we were really REALLY encouraged by both my Mom and my Mother-in-law to try to get her on one.  I guess it's much more difficult weaning kids from sucking their fingers than it is getting them to give up the soother - but every baby is different.  My Mom put tabasco sauce on my fingers to get me to stop and now I can't even smell the stuff without cringing.  Now that Scalret uses a soother she likes to sleep with one but will wake up to play with it too.  We prefer having it out and keep it for emergencies when we're out or just not able to get her down.  On the plus side of sleeping she is still out for the entire night.  She goes down at around 8:00ish and wakes at 7:00. So happy about this.

Scarlet eats solids three times a day and breast feeds four times a day.  We've dropped the night feed completely (THANK YOU GOD).  I feed her breast milk before offering the solids.  She started off with Rice Cereal and was less than impressed so we gave her sweet potatoes and yams and she went gaga over food.

Scarlet is a very good eater. She loves Avocado and Banana the best.  Here is a list of all the foods that we've done so far.  The blender and ice cube tray have been my B.F.F's lately.

Meats:  Chicken, Lamb and Salmon

Veggies:  Peas, Yams, Sweet Potato, Turnip, Parsnip, Carrot, Spinach

Fruit:  Banana, Apple, Avocado

Other:  Egg yolk, Lentils 

I usually give her two veggies in the morn, egg yolk or avocado in the afternoon and rice Cereal mixed with prune juice (cause it clogs them up) and a fruit for dessert.  She eats it ALL and I couldn't be happier.

Scarlet has had her third immunization shot and didn't even flinch - I'm not making this up.  We were prepped for massive crocodile tears like the last two times.  I even made Nate meet me for moral support, but Scarlet looked at the nurse while the needle was going in and was like; 'HEY!  What the heck?' and then moved on.  Best reaction ever.  She is currently in the 45% for weight and 50% for height.  

Still no hair, still no teeth, still the sweetest in my eyes.

I call it Daddy n Dots bonding time - it's actually Mommy time.

Momma spying on Daddy n Dots time.

All mommas need a break and whether it's a weekend away with the girls (I wish), a day off to go for lunch and a movie with your Mom or just an hour to get to the gym, I totally believe that I'm a healthier person and mom to Scarlet if I have a bit of time away from her.  Every night, I try to get out.  I usually end up blowing off some steam at the gym, but I've also found myself at Shoppers browsing mags or Chapters drinking a coffee by myself and it is so flipping nice.  It's also a treat to come home afterwards cause I just feel more energized and excited to see my babes.  It is a great thing this time away.