Word on the Street with Stephanie

On Saturday, October 25, 2014 I had the honour and privilege of watching my younger sister get married. Following in the footsteps of both of her big sisters, she had been dating her boyfriend/fiance/husband for 10 years before they decided to make it official. The day was everything a wedding should be. It was a beautiful day, the bride and groom were surrounded by family and friends, there was plenty of food, speeches were heartfelt and emotional and the guests danced the night away. I am so happy that my sister has found her true love and that they are beginning their lives together. I am excited for her to experience the joys of marriage and am confident that they both have the tools to work through the tough parts. I am also excited at the idea of having more nephews/nieces to love and cannot wait until they start a family. Weddings have a way of bringing out my sappy, nostalgic side and I am sitting here writing this post with a cheesy smile on my face and tears in my eyes. I

It seems like the moment I got pregnant is when the opinions came flying at me from friends, family and even complete strangers. Breast versus bottle feeding, attachment parenting versus CIO, what to do when your child has a tantrum, what to feed your child and whether or not to vaccinate. My daughter is almost 16 months and for her entire life I have been nodding politely while I listen to everyone tell me what they did or what they think I should do when what I really want to do is say, "mind your own business! My husband and I will raise our daughter OUR way!".  I avoid confrontation at all costs but as time goes on, I find that I am a little braver everyday. Take today, for example. After our doctor's appointment, I decided to go to the drugstore quickly because it was right beside the doctor's office. I knew that my daughter was tired and wanted to nap but I really needed a couple of things and the thought of getting settled at home and then dragging her out of

When you talk about listing your home everyone who has been through it proceeds to tell you how difficult it is. I acknowledged the comments and murmured my agreement but holy crap I had no idea how stressful it can be, especially with a baby. We put all of the baby`s toys in the basement, I was vacuuming daily, cleaning the bathrooms just about every time they were used and had to clear off all counters. Every time my phone rang with someone wanting to see the house, I had to scramble to erase all evidence that three people and one dog lived there. Thankfully, our home sold relatively quickly (it really is a great house) and now I have the next month to pack up, organize storage, cancel our utilities and everything else that needs to be done before a move. Did I mention that my sister is getting married in 3 weeks ? Wish me luck!