From the Week

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Friday, everyone! This week has been fun, busy, boring and sad. Is that even possible? Ha! Work has been going really well (YAY!) and a lot of the home projects Tyler has been working on have really been progressing (DOUBLE YAY!). Gonna try to lay off the extreme detailing of the week and just focus on some highlights. And Wes-picture overload, of course..

Monday was so nice out. Tyler stayed home from work to continue working on installing the new flooring and my mom, Wes and I tried to enjoy as much of the sun as possible.

When we needed a break from the heat, we headed to the basement to work on an art project! Let’s just use the word ‘project’ verrrry loosely. It was more like freak-out-about-being-naked-and-having-paint-all-over-us mode. Followed by a messy, purply bath.

I soaked up a bit more sun on the patio during Wes’s afternoon nap…as if that was a chore.

Tuesday was another day to be outside as much as possible. Our backyard is pretty crummy with itchy grass and lots of bugs, so we mainly hang out on the front patio. Plus, there’s lot of renovation debris hanging out in the back too. Yuck.

In lieu of a morning nap, I took Wes for an early walk. It was a good way to wake up my legs before getting my workout done for the day too.

Wes helped grandma pack some of her stuff..

And we ran some errands before I had to head to work. PS: black pants in warm weather is just so stupid.

Wednesday Wes was able to start crawling around on some of the new flooring. It’s so hard to keep him contained while all this work is being done..I can’t wait for it to be over! His breakfasts are usually eaten in the living room because he likes to play around then have a bite here and there. Lately, he has been eating an entire banana with his breakfast each morning. #bigboy

We were going to head to Wild Rose Brewery for lunch, but I called ahead and they didn’t have highchairs. Boo. Instead, we headed to Craft and enjoyed a yummy lunch and a round of drinks.

Then it was time to drop grandma off at the airport. I’m not even going to get in to how many tears were shed once she went through customs. On a happy note, we did get to have her here for 3 whole weeks and Wes was just smitten with her the entire time.

Wes seemed to be able to resume with normal everyday activities, but I was in a fog for the rest of the day. Boo.

Thursday started with an early morning wakeup. Can you believe it’s been so long since I’ve had to set my alarm on my phone that I actually forgot how to do it? I wanted to get my workouts in before Wes woke up and even though it was rough getting started, I did it! I’m finishing up week 5 of 22 Minute Hard Corps and while I enjoy the workouts, I’m starting to get the itch to change it up with maybe some Insanity or 21 Day Fix EXTREME. Soon!

Sidenote–> May’s promotions are pretty sweet. Insanity Max:30 and Cize Challenge Packs. Shaun T is my favorite instructor- and I’ve loved all of his programs that I’ve tried so far. Message me if you’re interested and I’d be happy to send you more info. jennifer(dot)L(dot)Linton(at)gmail(dot)com.

As soon as the rain died down a bit, we walked over to the library. It proved to be a great idea for the day’s activity since Wes seemed to be interested in just about everything there. He looked pretty slick too. Gonna be a ladies man!

Then of course there was a margarita to be had. For Cinco de Mayo obviously.

Before I check out for the weekend, I just wanted to announce the winner of the Grapple Toy Tether giveaway….it’s Alison! Congrats 🙂

Weekender {Baby, Fitness, Beer}

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Well, it’s been a pretty unproductive weekend over here. I’m hoping with the upswing of better weather this week, we’ll have more on our agenda in the coming days!

Friday: We didn’t get out of the house until after lunch. It was really only to head to the mall and return some stuff…so nothing majorly fun. Womp. Wes was a grumpy mister- he really doesn’t like being in the stroller especially when it’s not moving at a constant, rapid pace.

He fought against an afternoon nap, so he was going a bit stir crazy just about the time I had to leave for work. Pro: I didn’t have to deal with a grump baby for a couple of hours. Con: I left my mom to deal with it and felt a bit bad. Ha! Tyler is still chugging away at the multiple home projects (not jealous of that, either).

We didn’t really plan out dinner, so I threw together a bacon grilled cheese sandwich before heading off to work.

Work went pretty well, until I noticed at the end of my shift that I made a big mistake with some cash. It didn’t negatively impact my employment or anything, but I felt pretty crummy about it. Luckily, my boss also felt bad about the mixup and bought me a beer before I headed home.

Saturday: We had a pretty good morning- lots of floor time and snuggles. After breakfast, my mom, Wes and I headed to a used kid’s sale and scored quite a few clothing items for only $5. Only downer was that we were there while it was Wes’s nap time so he was a lovely mix of grumpy and sleepy. He ended up going down really easy once we got back and I was able to take the dogs for a nice long walk.

My mom was able to get some work done too. We have a makeshift sweatshop set up in the guest bedroom so my mom can sew sew sew.

Before I left for work, I got some more snuggles.

My shift this time went a lot better. Thank goodness!

Sunday: I slept like a rock the entire night (this is a rarity lately) and didn’t even hear Wes wake up. I finally opened my eyes at 8:30. Love good sleeps like that 🙂

After Wes’s first nap and a patio picnic lunch, my mom and I walked to the grocery store for dinner stuff. Tyler has been replacing our flooring, so the main living area has been a disaster zone. We have been trying to keep Wes entertained either out of the house, or in alternate rooms- which is a bit tricky.

During his afternoon nap, I was able to walk the dogs and enjoy some sun (AND CAKE) on the patio.

Then it was time to head to the swings!

For dinner, we had chicken kebobs and pasta salad which Wes eagerly attempted to steal off my mom’s plate.

And that’s it! Weekends just fly by I tell ya.

Some other random stuff:

I’ve completed the first four weeks of 22 Minute Hard Corps and love the extra strength it’s given my core, arms and glutes. I’m excited for the remaining four weeks to see if I’ll continue to improve! (PS: If you’re interested in this program… message me for more info!)

The Grapple Toy Tether giveaway is still open! There have only been a few entries, so PLEASE check it out and enter!!! I mean, c’mon who doesn’t love free stuff??

BEERFEST is next weekend! I am judging during the Friday session and working the Saturday session. This is pretty much my dream- not only do I get to taste beer and decide which are best, but I also get to hand out beer to fellow enthusiasts! Man, I’m really loving this whole not-going-back-to-my-desk-job thing.

CIBF_SOBEYSSAFEWAY_2015

And then to top off next weekend, I have been given the best Mother’s Day gift ever–> I’ll be going on the Spirit of Alberta Tasting Tour hosted by Calgary Brewery Tours. YAASSSS. I am beyond excited for this and can’t wait to fill you guys in with more info next week! 🙂

So all this talk makes me think about how random my blogging topics are- I am obsessed with 1) my child 2) fitness, and 3) craft beer. I think it’s a pretty healthy balance (plus, it’s my life so it’s not like I have to please everyone) but then it makes it a bit confusing to readers. Right? I’ve found that my instagram is pretty much all things Wes while my Twitter is beer beer beer. And then I snap (snapchat: nutcaseinpoint) fitness type photos if I remember to take any.

I just wanted to bring it up because I am guessing the variety has caused me to lose some readers? I thrive on the connections- plus, I spend a lot of time typing these things up(!!!) and I feel like I haven’t gotten any of that lately. This might sound selfish to ask, but I LOVE hearing from you guys! And I do my best to try to engage on others blogs as well. Keyword: try.

All this blabbing and I guess all I’m trying to say is I’d love for some feedback! Anything you have to say would be appreciated. Unless it’s nasty, then keep it to yourself 🙂

From the Week

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Boom! It’s Friday….ALREADY! Another week in the books 🙂

Monday wasn’t so fun (for me). I woke up feeling super sick, so I headed to the doctor’s to get checked out. They said it was just a cold, but I definitely felt like death warmed over. Not to mention, the coffee pot was backed up when I tried to start it, so it was like a one two punch of crap right to the face. Not too much else happened….we grabbed some Tims (helllllllo caffeine!), some groceries and a couple of beers for Tyler. I was able to snap some pics of Wes in our bedroom!

He was getting super playful once grandma came in the room and all the giggles made me <3.

We had chili and THE BEST CORNBREAD I’VE EVER MADE for dinner. I had to eat it a bit early and super quick because I had to head out to work.

Tuesday was a better day. I still woke up feeling pretty yucky so my mom was able to help out with Wes until my meds kicked in. I have been SO lucky with my mom being here- thanks to FaceTime, Wes recognized her right off the bat and has been stuck to her like glue her whole time here. He wants to be with her no matter what and even though part of me gets jealous about their bond, I am so happy that they have it because they don’t get to see each other often. <– that makes me sad!

We drove down to Ikea in the afternoon and ended up getting all things for Wes. I don’t want to purchase any house items until Tyler is done with the renos..because you just never know how things turn out!

One of the goodies we picked up (rather, my mom bought. She has been on a buying spree while she’s been visiting!) was a tent with an attachable tunnel. Wes got the hang of it right off the bat, but my mom still wanted to demonstrate. Must’ve been the wine 😉

I had to throw together a random dinner of leftovers and again quickly head out the door for work. It was my first ‘real’ day (not training) and it was so nerve wracking! More hints as to my part-time gig: BEER + AMBASSADOR. A dream job for me because not only do I get to work with beer, but I get to do it part-time. So my days are spent with Wes and only a couple evenings a week I am out adulting! It ended up being a great shift.

I also posted about the Grapple Toy Tether. If you haven’t seen that post yet, check it out! I am giving away one Grapple and the giveaway is open until next Tuesday! If you don’t have a kiddo that could use it, it’s also a great gift option 🙂

Wednesday was pretty darn good. Actually, it was great. Wes woke up in a fantastic mood, I had fantastic pancakes for breakfast, and got in my workout while Wes napped. As soon as Wes woke up, we got in the car and headed out! First stop was to pick up some fabric and odds and ends at Walmart. By the time we finished, it was lunch time so we headed to National Westhills. I had never been to that location before, but I knew that it was similar to the other locations in that they offered an outstanding selection of craft beers PLUS it is very family friendly.

As soon as we got there, I was relieved to see that there were actually several other tables of babies there. PHEW! I didn’t want to risk being the annoying table. My mom ordered fish tacos and some wine while I opted for a flight of beers. Just my luck: I chose all new-to-me beers that were DELICIOUS! Wes was a saint the entire time. He was so happy just looking around and schmoozing the women around us. I kept telling my mom that I was so glad we checked the place out because I think Tyler and I (and Wes) will have to frequent it from now on. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

After lunch, we wandered over to the Carter’s that was nearby and my mom went nuts. Carters= grandma crack. We walked out of there with a ton of new clothes for Wes, lucky kid! The afternoon was so stimulating for Wes that he fell asleep in the car on the way home, so I was able to stop and pick up a couple of groceries and WINE before getting to the house.

Wes was a huge snuggle muffin with grandma AGAIN. Seriously, why don’t I get all those awesome snuggles? I need them. We had mucho burrito for dinner because it was quick and easy and paired well with the wine we bought.

Thursday was pretty good too even if it was a little more slow going. We had breakfast then watched Grandma make a cake.

I was so excited when the mail came because my latest order of Bubbles & Balms bar soaps arrived! I ordered a variety of scents and can’t wait to try out a couple of the new ones. I know they’ll be good, because all the ones I’ve tried so far have been THE BEST. Seriously, the scents are so nice. But what wins me over is that the soaps keep my skin soft even throughout the yucky dry winters.

I recently talked about their baby line of products which are equally great. My favorite is the bath and massage oil. It’s very relaxing for Wes AND I can even use it for my baths!

We hung around the house for a bit after Wes’s nap. His favorite activity these days is to crawl into his room and toss every diaper across the room. I know I could totally prevent this by putting the diapers elsewhere, but I actually don’t mind because it’s so darn cute.

I put him in the crocheted jacket my mom’s friend had made for him while he was in his room and it was just so funny. I can’t tell if it looks more like a bolero or a pimp jacket. Too cute 🙂

We headed up to Airdrie for the afternoon for something to do. Mostly, it was to drive around but we did end up at Bulk Barn and picked up some goodies. Then Superstore on the way back because the kiddo needed more snacks for his snack drawer!

He was happy to just go up and down the aisles and have mama bounce him around.

We had meatloaf for dinner and Wes fell asleep insanely early due to no afternoon nap. This made for a nice evening of adulting. Not productive, but adulting nonetheless.

Have a great weekend!

Love Child Organics

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

It’s no secret that Wes likes to eat. At 12 months, he’s just about 24 pounds and growing. We started introducing solids to him just after he turned 5 months and the boy had no problem accepting just about whatever I gave to him.

So he had the easy part- just eat the food. I, on the other hand, was a bit stress-ridden searching for products that were organic and free from crazy amounts of additives. The produce was a no brainer, but snacks and meals on the go were a bit trickier. There’s just so much out there that’s marketed for babies!

On one particular shopping trip, I happened upon the Love Child Organics brand and threw a bunch of food pouches and other snacks into my cart to see how Wes would take to them. The verdict? He was obsessed.

From then on out, I continued to keep his drawer (yep, Wes has his own drawer in the kitchen that is filled with snacks) stocked with Love Child goodies. Whenever I head out the door, I make sure to grab at least a pouch and a granola bar to have handy for those snacks (re: HANGRY) moments.

I lucked out a few months ago and won a giveaway that included this awesome tote!

If you’ve never heard of Love Child Organics, here’s an overview of the company:

Love Child was launched in 2013 by parents Leah and John-Garrod-Cole with the intention of providing children with organic foods that are as nutrient-rich as possible. There are no fillers, additives, preservatives, refined sugars or GMOs in any of their products.

In addition to creating great food, they are also very socially conscious! AND they also struck the largest deal ever on Dragon’s Den (the Canadian version of Shark Tank) allowing them to continue to grow.

While the product line already incorporates a lot of yummy flavor combinations- including a lot of quinoa and green veggies- they recently launched 4 more baby meals which come in the resealable pouches! They include: vegetarian chili, veggie casserole, pumpkin risotto, and ratatouille. YUM.

Love Child recently sent us the four new meals to try in addition to some of Wes’s other favorites: Love Ducks, Chomp Bars, and Teefies. We jumped right into them!

PS: Don’t put a ton of fun snacks in front of a food-driven baby. He was going bonkers wanting to eat everything!

The new baby meals couldn’t have come at a better time because Wes’s appetite has been a bit wishy-washy ever since his 12 month shots last week. I desperately want him to get some good nutrition in, and the vegetarian chili hit the spot! He downed the entire pouch in one sitting.

You can warm the contents either by pouring them in a bowl or dipping the pouch in warm water, but Wes has just started eating directly from the pouch and I wanted him to take part in the novelty of his new ‘trick’ so he ate it at room temp.

I’m so happy to support a Canadian business that provides healthy meal and snack options for my little guy, so we are definitely permanent customers!

**You can get 15% off your order of Love Child Organics products on Amazon.ca using code LCOMOM13.**

Don’t forget! I am giving away a Grapple Toy Tether on my Facebook page this week, too!

Grapple Toy Tether [GIVEAWAY!]

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hi friends and happy Tuesday! I hope you’re all having a great week so far. It’s been pretty boring over here on our end. I’ve been working every day since Friday; I’ve been pretty sick; Tyler has been working on house stuff; and Wes has been a grump grump. The last one I attribute to a wonderful combination of teething and having his 12 month shots.

Remember a while back when I talked about the Grapple? It was an absolute God send for meal time. Wes was having all too much fun tossing his toys from his high chair to the floor and I was constantly picking them up and having to clean the mess of dog hair from them. Annoying!

I just so happened to stumble upon the Grapple when I was browsing in the children’s store and I knew I needed one. It suctioned to the tray and provided tethers for up to three toys. PERFECT.

grapple-it.small_2

As soon as we got home, I stuck the Grapple on Wes’s tray and attached three toys. That was the first meal I didn’t have to spend majority of my time playing fetch! He loved being able to constantly play with his toys without having to wait for mom to pick them up.

It’s so crazy to look at these photos now because he looks so tiny and chubby 🙂

Here’s a little backstory on the company–> The Grapple™ was invented, as many baby products are, out of sheer necessity…or desperation. After spending many meal times retrieving toys that their 9 month old son dropped on the floor, David and Amy Oh decided there had to be a better way. When they couldn’t find a solution in stores or on the internet, they decided to make their own. It wasn’t pretty but it worked! After being approached by people in restaurants wanting to know where they could buy one, the Ohs realized there was a true need for this product. They formed Boingy LLC and started off on the adventure of creating a product that was fun, easy to use and safe.

Not only is it made of food grade silicone (so it’s safe for your little ones) but it was also invented by a mom! Us moms sure have a knack for coming up with clever way to keep our babes happy, healthy and safe. Even better, the Grapple is portable so it’s a great accesory to have on hand at a restaurant. No one wants to have to hassle with cleaning tossed toys after they’ve been on a yucky restaurant floor. Ick.

I sent my praises to the company, and Amy Ho (the inventor herself!) kindly offered to giveaway ONE Grapple to a lucky reader!

–>Head on over to my Facebook page to enter :)<–

Thanks again to Amy and even more thanks to the Grapple for keeping this mama from going crazy.

Don’t forget to check out their site here

And be sure to like them on Facebook and Instagram

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