Too often, we get wrapped up in our every day lives and focus on just getting through the day.  We get absorbed in our work, we get distracted by the things that need to get done in the house (like feeding our families or making sure they have clean clothes to wear), and we sometimes don't have time to sit down and think.  I mean really think.  I'm talking about the kind of thinking that involves seeing what we do and how we have an impact on the lives of others.

Do we benefit or make a difference in the lives of others? Do we touch their hearts and change their lives forever?

This is the case of Nancy Stevens and the Kenya Help Project.

Read all about Nancy here and check out the video of the Kenya Help Project.


Here's an excerpt from the Kenya Help website:

The children in Ngong, Kenya are mainly AIDS orphans. They are the children who live full time at orphanages, as well as the children who go there each day to eat their only meal. The story of how and why the children are there is a hard one to tell. It is heartbreaking and sad, and at the same time, I am very proud of them to be able to make the choices they did at such a young age. As well, for their parents to know they need to give their child a chance. 

As the number of orphans grows, along with their needs, the children continue to laugh and play, and have dreams for their futures. They all want to go to school, they all want to have a job when they grow up, and they all want to have a family. They are so happy despite their past, and you, the donors, are the ones who are helping to give them a better future. 

I love Nancy's efforts, her dedication, and the tireless hours she has put into the Kenya Help Project.  I cry when I think about all the amazing work she has done.  This woman is so special and so spectacular. The world needs more people like Nancy Stevens.

Nancy's projects for the children in Ngong, Kenya  include:

• Health and First Aid
• Food
• Education
• Recreation

Another reason the Kenya Help Project has a special place in my heart is because my brother, PJ Lee is heavily involved in the project as well. He has accompanied Nancy to Kenya on a number of occasions to help her film the documentary for her cause.

PJ has received various accolades for his work . He is the winner of the 2011 Innovative Storytellers Award. Forgive me if I sound like a proud older sister, but I am!
After reading all about Nancy and the orphans in Sidai, doesn't that make you want to see what you can do to enrich the lives of others? Kenya Help?

That yellow stain in the underarm part of one's shirt is just so unsightly.  It just ruins a perfect, beautiful, crisp, white shirt.

When I was asked to try out RAISE armpit stain remover, I thought it was something we could use in our household.  I don't get pit stains, but Hubs does on occasion. Only on white shirts and t-shirts though, it seems.

How it Works:

is a powerful pre-treatment, laundry stain remover that will make sweat stains disappear! This innovative solution targets and dissolves yellow armpit stains without ruining clothing.

Not all stains are alike -- unsightly stains produced by body sweat won't come out with standard stain removers or even bleach. When it comes to discolored perspiration spots, bleach actually sets the stain making it permanent.

This tough formula works on lifting and dissolving sweat stain deposits and even works on old stains and ring around the collar.

(from http://www.armpitstainremover.com/)

I don't use bleach in our laundry, but one of the things I learned while reading about RAISE is to never use bleach on sweat stains, as it will react with the proteins, making them permanent. Thanks for the heads up, RAISE!

I  tried RAISE on some of Hubby's shirts.  It certainly did the job in removing the stains on most of his shirts.  Some of the shirts with older stains were harder to get completely clean of pit stains. I was rather surprised and impressed at how well RAISE works.  I wasn't expecting it to get rid of some of those ugly yellow marks.  Some of the shirts were so far gone (way beyond repair!) that they've become cleaning rags for around the house.  The majority were saved though...thanks to RAISE.

I liked the effectiveness of RAISE, but if I can be completely honest, the smell was a bit strong for me. Barring this fact, I do believe that RAISE will be a great laundry room asset, as I'm convinced it will extend the life of Hubby's shirts.

You can purchase RAISE online on the company webpage.

Disclosure - We received the above mentioned product for review purposes.  All the thoughts and opinions on this blog are honest and my own.

Rushing in the morning on an already hazy, humid mosquito filled morning, I could feel myself getting tense.  Little One was dawdling - stopping every few feet to pick up a white-headed dandelion (which she calls "giant wish flowers").  I scooped her up, put her in her car seat, hopped into the driver's seat, and drove up our lane way.

Little One: Mine too! Mine too! Mine too! (screaming, tears rolling down her cheeks)
Me: Oh, dear. Now what?!
Little One: (pulling at her seat belt straps) My seat belt! Mine too!!

At this moment I feel like the world's most horrible Mom. I never forget to buckle her into her car seat. NEVER!

It was one of those days.

Above photo taken a few months ago.  Please excuse the helmet. She takes car safety very seriously.  Either that, or she thinks my driving is absolutely horrible.

We started singing the entire score for Gilbert & Sullivan's The Gondoliers. Little One mentioned that she was thirsty.

Me: We left your sippy cup at ThatCoolTeacherMom's house. She's going to return it when she sees us next.
Little One: Mommy, where's my Princess p3nis?
Me: (in shock) Pardon me? Your what?
Little One: My. Princess. P3nis!
Me: Ohhhh! Your Princess THERMOS! (this is the second day in a row that she's called her Thermos a p3nis)
Little One: Why? Why is it not a p3nis?
Me: Honey, you know what a p3nis is. That stainless steel thing that keeps your drinks hot or cold is called a Thermos.
Little One: (laughing) What is a p3nis?
Me: Honey, you remember! What do girls have that boys don't have?
Little One: A vag!na.
Me: Boys have a ______?
Little One: P3nis!
Me: That's right.
Little One: What's a vag!na for?

(Urgh. She's only three years old. I think I'll just stick with the non-$exual functions of this part of the anatomy for now)

Me: Well, a vag!na is a part of the female body and you pee from there.
Little One: What's a p3nis for?
Me: (Haha! Oh, boy. Trouble!) Males - boys and men have them and when they pee, pee comes from there.
Little One: Mommy, and [insert Little One's real name here], and Lola have VAG!NAS!
Me: Yes. That's right, honey.
Little One: Daddy and [insert LO's friend's little brother's name here] and Grampy have P3NISES!
Me: That's correct. Oh! What does Chance (our dog) have?
Little One: (quietly thinking and then laughing) I don't know!
Me: Chance is a boy! He has a...
Little One: P3NIS!
Oh, the questions!

Little One is three years old and I explain things as openly and honestly to her in a way I feel is age-appropriate.  I know some people do not feel that proper anatomical terms are appropriate for children, but I do not believe calling girl parts "cupcake", "flower", "hooha", or "peach" and boy parts "turtle", "birdie", "lizard", or "wee wee" appropriate. Neither way is right or wrong...or better or worse.  For me, I'd just like Little One to know the proper names of things.

We've got bodily functions down. Let's hope the $ex questions don't come for another few years.

If you've got a Wordless Wednesday post you'd like to share, we'd love to pop by and check it out!

At the risk of sounding depressing, I thought I'd post more of my "Grandma (aka Lola) posts".  I don't want to keep posting about my lola's death and have you think I'm dwelling too much on things.  I'm fine...for the most part. I have my moments.  I'm trying to convince myself that I know this is best for her and that she is no longer suffering.  I'm trying.

It's been a week since she died and almost two weeks since I last saw her and held her hand.

My last memory of her alive was me having some quiet time with her in her ICU room. I remember holding her hand, praying with her, and telling her "Mommy, you know I love your, right?". She nodded. I could tell how tired she was.  Tired of fighting for her life.  Tired of trying to stay alive for us. She just needed to finally be able to rest in peace.

I've also been trying to find out how best to deal with death and dying with my three year old.  She's been taking it pretty badly and has been asking demanding to see her great-lola again.  I get the tears and the "I don't want my great-lola to be dead! I want to see her NOW!" and it is heartbreaking.

Searching for info on "bereavement and children" has proved to be a little overbearing. There's just so much info out there, I don't know where to begin.

Since Lola's death my cousins and I have been corresponding back and forth on Facebook, sharing memories of our grandparents and of our childhood.  We're a tightly-knit family because of my grandparents.

I remember being in elementary school and high school and friends would say, "Wow. You hang out with your cousins?! I don't even know my cousins."  Truth be told, my cousins were all like siblings to me. They still are. When I lived in Montreal, we'd see each other all the time and hang out together. I always wished that my own children would have the same kind of relationship with their family that I had when I was a growing up.

My three year old has had this insane sensitivity to certain smells lately. She refuses to "go" in public washrooms. She'd "hold it" until we get home.

The other day, she started crying like crazy.

Me: What's wrong? Is everything okay?
Little One: Mommmmmy! Something's stinky!!!!
Me: (sniffing) I really don't smell anything.
Little One: I don't like it! Something is stinky!!! (wailing)
Me: Ummm...what does it smell like?
Little One: It smells like POO!
Me: Oh. Well, you do know we live on a farm, right?

The crying didn't stop until I lit the HunnyB Soy Candle I received (and should have reviewed prior to that impromptu trip to the Philippines we had to make a few weeks ago).

I have to say that I have a sensitivity to fragrances and very potent scents make me nauseous and headachy...even when I'm not pregnant. These, however, are fantastic!  I'm a fan of aromatherapy candles, but I am extremely picky when it comes to the fragrances. Anything too strong makes me ill, so I always have to go for really good quality aromatherapy candles.  The good thing is that with the better quality candles, the burn time is longer too.

Some info on HunnyB Soy Candles:

While other popular candles are made of paraffin wax, HunnyB's Soy Candles are made of 100% non toxic, clean burning soy. Our soy wax is a 100% natural soybean product, and collected from farmers right here in the US. Unlike other products, our candles are biodegradable and contain no carcinogens. The result is a cleaner burning candle leaving no black jars, walls or ceilings. Additionally, HunnyB's Soy Candles burn longer and provide a larger and superior scent throw. 

Isn't that great?

I was blown away by their selection of scents! They have over 300 fragrances to choose from!

I ended up choosing Coconut Lime Verbena. I love anything citrus or coconut scented, so this was a no brainer! The rich, creamy coconut scent combined with the refreshing, fruity citrus smell of the lime just made my house smell so good!

There were no more "Something's stinky!" cries from my three year old after that.

Check out the amazing HunnyB Soy Candle selection and try some out for yourself! They're Little One approved! :)

Disclosure -  I received a HunnyB Soy Candle (of my preferred fragrance/scent) to facilitate this review.  All the thoughts and opinions on this blog are honest and my own.

Many of you are familiar with Recipe to Riches, the hit reality TV cooking show where foodies all over Canada competed for their best recipes to be turned into a President's Choice product (to be sold nationwide) AND there was a fair bit of money to be won as well.

I was excited to be an official Recipe to Riches food blogger during the show's first season last year. I got to test out winning recipes and blog about them. So much fun! The show itself was very interactive, as viewers got to keep up with all the updates, news, and chats via Facebook and Twitter.

Throughout the season, I was fortunate enough to be able to get to know contestants Melissa (Chocolate Banana Wow Cake), Rosy (Kulfi Karma) and Melaney (Savoury Bannock Pie).  They are such lovely, LOVELY ladies!  I even had a chance to have coffee (and these monster-sized muffins) at a cafe with Melissa when we went to the taping of the finale for Recipe to Riches. I also had Dim Sum (and a lot of laughs) with Melaney that weekend too. Honestly, it felt like we were all old friends catching up over a meal!

One of my favourite contestants was MiJune Pak.  I loved her idea of the "pie in the jar"! It looked so sumptuous, delicious, and very marketable! Too cool!

I knew of Mijune because of her blog, Follow Me Foodie! I love, love, love her blog! Obviously, you know she's a foodie extraordinaire and that she comes up with some pretty stellar culinary masterpieces. I bet you didn't know that she is soooooooo funny though! Check it!

Recently, she wrote a blog post for Food Revolution Day #KidsAndFood. Check out her post! You may just find a certain "Little One" you know (from this blog)!

Thanks, Mijune! Little One wants to be able to cook like you, Melissa, Rosy, Melaney, and the rest of the talented contestants on Recipe to Riches! Yes, yes...I've created a little FoodNetworkCA addict out of my three year old child!

Never in my life would I have ever imagined having my very own bobble head! It's actually kind of cool!  I guess this is the one time being called a bobble head is actually a compliment? :)

 I'm excited to announce that I have been selected as a Brand Ambassador for the ShesConnected Conference 2012. I was invited to attend the conference last Fall, and had a fabulous time. I met up with other social media women I had been communicating with for a year or so (some even longer!). I also learned quite a lot about social media, branding, and relationships with brands, what our blogs can convey to others and even how social media can 'do good' (examples: Look Good, Feel Better's story about Tamara's Wig, Heather Hamilton's story of her lovely Zack and Zack's Dream Room) from the panels and speakers.

While at the conference, I was able to get to know some of the brands better and from SCCTO I developed great working relationships with some of the sponsors there. I received many opportunities from SCCTO and after. It seemed that the network I was already building (can I tell you how much I love Twitter?!) grew bigger immediately after the conference. Soon after, I was offered opportunities I never thought I'd get. For me, it isn't about the number of opportunities one gets, but more importantly, the relationships you build.

By the sounds of things, this year is going to be a very exciting one over at ShesConnected! Thanks again to everyone at ShesConnected. I am looking forward to being a Brand Ambassador and seeing everyone at the conference this Fall!

In the meantime, I think you should "meet" the other ShesConnected Brand Ambassadors!

Little One and I have just returned to Canada from a very bittersweet trip to the Philippines to spend some time with my grandmother while she was in the ICU. Only days after our return, my grandmother passed away.

Fortunately, there was a HUGE box from Fisher-Price that was waiting for Little One when we got home from the airport.  What a treat for my amazing little traveler.  She was a trooper on our very long flight from Manila-Tokyo-Toronto.  The parcel cheered her up, as she was really sad that we had to leave the Philippines and great-grandma.

As odd as this sounds, Fisher-Price couldn't have picked a more appropriate time to send over something for our three year old.  It really made her day.

In the past few weeks, I have noticed that Little One's imagination has blossomed tenfold.  She's always had a vivid imagination and has always been creative when it comes to playing.  Lately, she has been really into playing with dolls. This is something she wasn't as interested in before. Now, it's all about feeding, changing, burping, rocking, and singing to her dollies. It's so sweet to observe.

Our little girl is growing and it feels like if I look away for even a minute, I miss out on something!

I think I mentioned that she asked for a baby sister for Christmas and "Santa" gave  her a doll house, right?  The doll house she received was one of those collapsible cardboard ones that fold away for easy storage. Well, let me tell you that the doll house did not last even one week. I think on the second day of having the doll house, Little One and her friend SAT in the doll house and it was ruined. Great.

This is why we were all so excited when Little One opened up her Fisher-Price box and saw her Little People doll house! It came furnished and with its very own Little People to inhabit it! Not only that, but she also received the coolest Little People vehicle. She loves that when she plays with the house and the SUV, there are sounds and songs.
The Little People doll house and car are a great distraction for a little girl who just lost her great-grandma.  Sure, it's not a replacement, but it's a good distraction from what we're having to deal with right now. This post isn't supposed to be a sad one. Really, it's a joyful one.

Seeing Little One play "house" with her Little People toys and listening to her chirping away and making up different scenarios is just too precious. In fact, in the past few weeks that we have been away, she's gotten a lot clearer in her speech and pronunciation. She's also speaking in more complex sentences. It's amazing what kind of thoughts she formulates and is able to convey. I was shocked when I heard her say, "This is the Mommy Little Person. She's peeing in the toilet. See the toilet on the first floor of the doll house? The Mommy needs to drive the baby to play group. The baby needs to be in his car seat. See? There's a car seat in the back. Babies are not allowed to sit in the front and they need their car seats all the time."  That just cracked me up. She wouldn't stop talking. It was just too cute.

There is nothing so joyful in life than to see our child playing, learning, and growing.  She is certainly enjoying her Little People toys. Thank you, Fisher-Price and Mom Central Canada!

Disclosure:  I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

It's not your typical Wordless Wednesday...