Time Saving "activities"

So, you are feeling like you can't get anything do in your home with the kids running around. Here are some ideas to double up on your domestic "duties", and maybe even get a little exercise as well.

Sweep the house while the kids are eating. This might not work if you have to feed your little one, but once they are at the self feeding stage, and strapped into their highchairs, it the best time to tidy up the floor. You don't have to worry about little feet running into your dust pile before you get a chance to vacuum or sweep it up. Then, when they are finished, you tidy up around their chairs.

Do squats as you take out the laundry from the washer and transfer it to the dryer, or remove it from the dryer. Okay, I stole this from Dr. Oz, but the first time I decided to fold my clothes at the dryer, and did squats for each article of clothing, I really felt it in my legs. I was sore for days. Granted, I hadn't really done much exercise since my son had been born. After doing this a few more times, it got much easier. You might want to save this for the evening when the kids are sleeping.

The reverse of this (anti-exercise, but a time saver) is to fold the laundry while you are watching your favourite TV shows. I am sure we all have a time during the day when we unwind and watch TV, so use this time to fold the laundry. It is a fairly mindless task, and you usually won't miss the important parts of your show.

Take a bath or shower with your kids. If your children are younger you might want to take a bath with them. I have often had all three of us in the tub at the same time. Remember, don't leave your little ones alone in the bathtub. My daughter has decided (at 2 and a half) that she likes to have showers now, so often we will have a shower together.

Get a jogging stroller or Chariot or bike trailer and take your kids for a bike ride or a run. You can also bike to the grocery store with them, or walk with them in the stroller, or use a sled in the winter. You get some exercise, you might get some errands done, the kids get out of the house, and if they are like my kids, they probably won't want to get out of the carrier.

Clean the bathroom while your kids are taking their bath. Other than the bathtub, everything else is fair game to be cleaned. You are close to your kids, but you don't have to sit and watch them play with their rubber duckies for the whole time they are playing in the tub.

Garden outside, and have the kids plant their own things or play outside. In the spring, summer and fall, this is the best thing. Your kids are out of the house, enjoying themselves outside. You are getting yard work done, and enjoying being outside as well. Seriously, can you ask for anything better on a nice, sunny, spring afternoon? Yes, I was gardening today (it was 17C and sunny), while the baby was napping :).

If you have any time saving ideas of your own, please send a comment.

The Parent Jinx

Have you ever noticed as soon as you start talking about your child's habits, they change. I have to stop talking about my kids. This is my conclusion. The minute I say, "Child X hasn't blank in days.", blank will occur. Fill in what you please. Woken up all night, thrown up, been sick, had an ear/eye infection, gotten out of bed at night...

I don't know if our kids understand us when we talk about them, or if we are just not allowed to talk about them (some form of karmic justice). Acknowledging the jinx phenomenon does not unjinx you. Once you've opened your mouth to express your joy over being able to sleep through the night, you regret it. You want to chase those words down and get them back because you know tonight you will be up five times to nurse a crying baby.

Of course, we never learn. We want to tell our friends and family all about our children's achievements and milestones. We know talking about them will inevitably cause us grief, but we still do it. Ah, the ever changing habits of our children are part of the "fun" of being a parent, aren't it? Or, maybe we just like to tempt fate.

Whatever the reason, we will all end up talking about what our kids are currently doing, and our kids will all decide to prove us wrong, for a day or so. Then, things will go back to "normal", or at least livable.

Hopefully, you get your 8 hours of sleep tonight, and your kids stay in their own rooms until morning, and don't wake up too early. Yikes, I am really asking for it!

Tax Credits and Deductions for families

The tax deadline is looming close (April 30). You only have nine days to get your taxes completed and submitted to the government. If you are like me, you might be doing your taxes on your own, with the help of a tax program like QuickTax. I use the EasyStep method of doing my taxes, which is like a mini interview with an accountant (I would assume, since I have never actually had an interview with an accountant).

Unfortunately, sometimes you can still miss things. Somehow, last year, I forgot to put my daughter down as a dependant. I included her in my 2007 tax return, but not for 2008. I am pretty sure I had put her in, but somehow the questions confused me and I removed her. Maybe I thought I could only claim the child tax credit if my husband and I were separated or divorced. Anyway, I only realized I had claimed I was childless for 2008 while doing my taxes for 2009. Fortunately, you can have your return adjusted for two previous years, so hopefully we will be able to recoup the money we didn't get back last year.

Here is a list of some credits and deductions you might be able to claim.


TAX CREDITS
(this amount is subtracted from your tax owing, and is usually a percentage)

Child tax credit (line 367): You can claim $2,089 for each child under the age of 18 who lives with you. This tax credit started in 2007.

Eligible dependant amount (line 305): This gives single parents who are supporting children a tax break equivalent to that enjoyed by taxpayers who support a spouse.

Child fitness tax credit (line 365): You can claim to a maximum of $500 per child under 16, the fees paid in 2009 that relate to the cost of registering your or your spouse's or common-law partner's child in a prescribed program of physical activity.

Medical expenses (line 330): You can claim medical expenses paid in any 12-month period ending in 2009 and not claimed for 2008. Your total expenses have to be more than either 3% of your net income (line 236) or $2,011, whichever is less.

Transit pass tax credit (line 364): You can claim the cost of monthly public transit passes or passes of longer duration such as an annual pass for travel within Canada on public transit during the year.

GST/HST credit: To receive this credit, including any related provincial credit, you have to apply for it, even if you received it last year. Your credit is based on the number of children you have and your net income added to the net income of your spouse or common-law partner.

Home renovation tax credit (line 368): This is only good for expenses incurred after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010. You don't include your receipts, but you need to have them in case CRA asks to see them. There is a 15% tax credit for any home improvement expenditure above $1,000 and up to $10,000.

Tuition (T2202A): Students of any age can reduce their income taxes by claiming eligible education expenses. Parents can claim their children's expenses. Credits can also be carried forward to the next tax year.

TAX DEDUCTIONS:
(this amount is subtracted from your gross income)

Child care (line 214): You or your spouse or common-law partner may have paid for someone to look after your child so one of you could earn income, go to school, or conduct research in 2009. The deduction limit is $7,000 for children under 7 and $4,000 for children aged 7 to 16. If your child is eligible for the disability tax credit the limit is $10,000.

TAX BENEFITS:
(this amount is paid to you depending on your income)

Child disability benefit: This applies to families who care for a child under 18 with a severe and prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions.

Canada child tax benefit: This is a tax-free monthly payment for children under 18 and is calculated based on the number of children in your family, the province or territory of residence and the family's net income.

Universal child care benefit: Since 2006, this is a monthly $100 payment for each child under the age of 6, regardless of the family's income. This amount is taxable on the return of the lower income spouse.

Keep in mind, this is not a definitive list. Make sure you check your taxes thoroughly before submitting. You can adjust your past returns through your epass account. I am not an accountant, so don't use me as an excuse if you file incorrectly :).

Hair Loss and the Mom Do.

Since December of 2006 I have either been pregnant or breastfeeding. During pregnancy, I experienced the fortune of having wonderfully lustrous hair. I kept my hair long because I was having lots of good hair days. I had read about this phenomenon in my pregnancy books. The increased estrogen locks your hair in the growing phase. Hair grows faster, and appears thicker. Also, fewer hairs are in the resting phase and you tend to lose a lot less hair when you are pregnant. I lost almost no hair during both of my pregnancies.

After the birth of my first child, I began to question whether having long hair was the best thing for a new mom. Babies like to grab, especially when nursing. Long hair is the easiest thing to grab onto, and babies have really strong grips. By the third month postpartum, I had started to lose my gorgeous hair. Clumps of it would come out during my showers. Showers were taking much longer because I was losing clumps of hair. I didn't have the extra time to spend in the shower, not with a newborn waiting for me to entertain her.

So, I chopped off my hair. 8 inches, cut off. I donated the hair to Pantene to make wigs. (I never did hear back from them. I hope they were able to use my virgin hair. ) I didn't get what my husband calls the Mom Do (the super short hair do), but instead opted for a chin-length bob. I am an infrequent customer of hair salons (once every 8 to 12 months), so a bob can grow out nicely.

By the time I was pregnant for the second time, my hair was long again. My hair loss stopped, again. And, three months postpartum, I started losing clumps of hair, again. This time around, I decided not to chop off my hair. In fact, I didn't get my hair done until my son was five months old, and it had been over a year since my last haircut. I probably should have cut my hair short, but short hair actually requires more maintenance in my opinion.

My hair grows fairly fast, and to keep a short hair do, I would have to go to the hairdresser every month to six weeks. I can't afford to go this often, and I usually get too busy to remember to go. Long hair can be tied up, back, away. It usually doesn't look bad if you don't do anything to it. I would love to go back to having short hair. I was cute with short hair. But, despite what my husband thinks, short hair is not a low maintenance "Mom Do". Anything that requires styling, and blow drying, is not easy.

I am still losing clumps of hair. I am hoping this will stop soon. I have no idea what is normal because I got pregnant last time, and my hormones stopped my hair from falling out. I keep thinking it isn't noticeable, but on the rare occasion I do go to the hair salon, the hair dressers comment on my hair loss. Sometimes I feel like I am shedding more than my cat!

My question is, what scientific reason would there be to have hair loss after the birth of your child. I suppose the retention of hair during pregnancy is to make the mother beautiful so the father doesn't take off on her (evolutionarily speaking), but wouldn't you want the father to stick around after the birth?

The recommendations I read about helping to curb hair loss is to shampoo your hair less often and brush it less often. Having a shower and washing my hair is the one thing that makes me feel like I have it together after a rough night with the kids. I don't want to actually look like I am barley holding it together. For now, I guess I will have to wait and see when my hair will stop falling out. Maybe I should go and buy some hair thickening shampoos.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:

Keep taking your prenatal vitamins for the benefits to skin, hair and nails. Otherwise, you can take specific supplements such as Biotin (Vitamin H), Silica, Calcium and Zinc, which all help with hair growth and strength. Omega fats, found in fish, avocados, nuts, and flax seed, are also beneficial to hair growth (and skin).

Massage your scalp to stimulate blood flow, which encourages the hair follicles to grow hair. You can massage your scalp with your fingers, or with a boar bristle brush. The brush should only be used on untangled hair, or you could cause more hair loss. Also, you aren't supposed to brush wet hair (something I always do, yikes!) because it can stretch your hair more easily.

Keep in mind, the new growth may initially appear to be finer than older hairs, but this is due to the fact that hairs naturally taper at the ends. The short new hairs might seem like baby hair, but once they are cut, the new hairs will be as thick as the original hairs. We just got used to having the nice thick hair during pregnancy :).

One parent's perspective on cloth diapering.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers. I did my research, and there are environmental arguments both for and against cloth diapering. Often, the major argument against it is that the amount of energy, water, and detergent used washing the diapers is equivalent to the environmental impact of disposable diapers in landfills. My opinion fell on the side of the amount of garbage we would generate. Disposable diapers just take up so much room, and degrade so slowly. Plus, we have a high efficiency washer, and use a small amount of detergent.

From my experience, with my two children, I find with cloth diapers we are less likely to experience "blow out". Therefore, I don't have to change and wash my children's clothes as often. I also don't have issues with smell of cloth diapers because our diaper pail has a nice activated charcoal filter that absorbs the smells. Storage happens in said diaper pail which gets emptied whenever I wash the diapers. I do laundry every two to three days. This is only an extra load every few days. In the spring and summer, I line dry my diapers and they turn bright white as all the stains disappear in the sunlight.

In the 70s and 80s everything was about convenience. Mothers chose to feed their babies formula because it was supposedly better, and companies invented disposable diapers that were more convenient and absorbent than cloth. Now, we are encouraging mothers to breastfeed again, and more and more parents are choosing to go with cloth diapers.

And, these are not the same cloth diapers our parents or our grandparents used. There is so much choice out there. Cloth diapering can be as easy and as convenient as using disposable diapers. It can cost a lot less too, depending on how many children you have, how convenient you want your diaper system to be and how you care for the diapers.

DIAPERING BASICS:
24 to 36 cloth diapers (prefolds or fitted)
0 to 3 All in One (AIO) diapers
4 to 6 diaper covers
1 to 2 fleece or wool covers (optional for night use)
12 to 24 doublers (for night use or heavy wetters)
1 diaper pail
2 to 3 dozen cloth diaper wipes (just go in pail with diapers)
optional: fleece liners and/or biodegradable liners, diaper sprayer (so you don't have to dunk the diapers in the toilet)

Your diapering system can be one type of diaper or a combination of prefold, fitted and even AIO. Keep in mind that newborns need changing more often, so laundry will need to be done more frequently at first.

BASIC TYPES OF DIAPERS AND ACCESSORIES:

Prefolds: Also called Chinese Prefolds. This is one of the cheapest choices in cloth diapers. Prefold diapers are rectangular pieces of fabric divided into three sections lengthwise. The middle section is the thickest, usually having 6 to 8 layers. The outer sections usually have 4 layers. These diapers are enclosed in diaper covers.

Fitted: Resemble disposable diapers in appearance. They are contoured, and may have gathering around the legs. Fitted diapers often fasten with snaps or Velcro. These must be enclosed in diaper covers.

All In One (AIO): Fitted diapers with a waterproof outer layer. They are as easy to use as disposable diapers. They are not necessarily practical for every day use, as frequent washing can reduce the effectiveness of the outer waterproof layer. They are ideal for day-cares, reluctant dads and babysitters as well as out of home use. They are also the most expensive type of cloth diaper.

Diaper covers: Covers can vary in style. They can be fastened with Velcro or snaps. Often they are made of polyester or vinyl to prevent the child’s clothes from getting wet. Covers can also be made of wool or polar fleece. These are preferred for use at night because they breathe.

Doublers: Thick rectangular pads that provide added absorbency. They are used for heavy wetters or at night.

Liners: Biodegradable liners are paper liners that are used to keep poop away from the diaper and make clean up easier. Polar fleece liners are used to keep the baby’s derrière dry. Urine passes through the polar fleece and does not pass back, so the baby stays dry.



PRICES:


Bummis Complete Cloth Diaper Kit, Organic Prefolds: $160 Available at various online stores.

Apple Cheeks Cloth Diaper Starter Kit: about $140 Available at Bambini Nursery on LaSalle.

Prefolds: $20 to $24 for 6, or less expensive if you buy in great quantities. Online stores.

Fitted diapers: from $12 to $22 MotherEase has great packages. Many other brands online.

AIO: usually at least $20 per diaper (unless you find clearance prices)