WW: I Spy with My Little Eye, The Number...

The Number "8"

  Besos, The Zoo

Drivel Begins with a "D". Unlike The Word Monkey #humor

I'll get right to the point.

If you don't want to read about Earthquakes, Spanglish, More Mexican Parties, Monkeys and the chance to win TONS of giveaways then no point in reading this weeks post.

Don't worry if you miss out, Monkey's are a dime dozen.

1. On February 14, Ed felt an earthquake. The kids and I were out so we didn't feel a thing. It's not the first time we've had one. In fact, we usually have one or two each year. The last time, we were in the kitchen and the whole house started to sway. For the first few seconds, we didn't know what it was and then we ran for the door. The houses in Mexico aren't built like they're supposed to be.

Note that I am aware this is a picture of a volcano or a picture of someone having a "bad hair" day. Have you ever tried to draw a picture of an earthquake?

2. We speak Spanish to the kids about 50% of the time whether we're in Mexico or Canada. After two and a half months of complete immersion in the Spanish language, the kids have started to speak "Spanglish". At least one word in each sentence is Spanish and they often give each other "commands" in Spanish. I'm often at a loss for what they're saying as they're now mispronouncing words in a foreign language!

3. This week, we went to another rocking party in celebration of a friends daughters baptism. As usual, Ed and I ate too much and paid for it later. On the flipside, the kids had the best time playing and dancing with their friends. Here's a video of Artemis dancing with one of her new friends.

And just to make sure that you know what Mexican parties are really like, we took this video after five hours (of a nine hour party). A bunch of the 150+ people had already left. Good times!

Note that you can not hear yourself think and the kids are slightly more hyper by this point as they have been eating candy for the past five hours.

And now for our feature piece of drivel...

The Monkey and The Giveaways.

Simplify Life with Glow Baby’s First Journals {#Giveaway} CAN, 3/18

Baby brain makes you forget things.

Baby brain makes you forget things (smile).

New parents are often pushed to their limits, with lack of rest, stress and an overwhelming sense of insecurity.


Glow Baby understands this and can help alleviate some of this pressure, especially in the early days. By keeping adequate track of your baby's activities with their journals, you can know when to seek help and when you and your baby are on the right track.

Piece of Mind is Only a Journal Entry Away.

Glow Baby is a Canadian company whose focus is providing unique and user-friendly scheduling tools for today's busy parents. Glow Baby products are all about helping parents save time and reduce the stress of the day to day. Glow Baby Journals, Calendars and Lists help parents keep track of daily activities such as; feeding, sleeping, diapering, bathing, first foods by type, meal planning, family activities, general to do lists for daily tasks, groceries etc. All Glow Baby products are designed with both function and fashion in mind.

After the birth of my first daughter, my in-laws were visiting and helping with the supplemental feeding of formula. It would have been really handy for everyone involved to have an organized system like the "Baby’s First Journal" for recording feedings and diaper changes.

The journal is printed in Canada and contains over three months of pages. It can easily fit in a diaper bag or purse and is coil-bound so it lies flat when opened. A real convenience when writing with only one hand! I like that there is space to record both breast and bottle feeding as we've had to do a bit of both this time around as well.

Nursing mothers that are concerned about their food intake affecting baby's stomach could also easily use the "notes" section on each page to track what they themselves eat, in order to identify any issues. I especially loved the checkbox for "vitamins" which I can never keep track of.

Things got really interesting last time when we introduced solid foods so I was excited to also get a chance to review the Baby’s First Foods journal.

The journal is laid out by food group (Grain, Veggie, Fruit, Protein, Dairy and Snack) and includes a sample page for suggested use. A parent or caregiver can track the foods tried, the texture, child's reaction and any sensitivities. Again, there is space on each page for notes.

Another useful tool in our home are the meal planning and favourite recipes sections. They help with variety in my meals and ensure that I'm not forgetting any important foods. I'd find it useful to have a list of items we play to try so I'll be adding that checklist to my journal.

Overall, I found both journals very helpful and easy to use. They would be a useful addition to any parents collection of baby-care tools, especially those that have low birth-weight (slow-growing) kids like The Zoo or ones with other caregivers. Knowledge transfer made easy with journals from Glow Baby!

Enter to WIN Two Glow Baby Journals!

All-Natural Care for your Clothes @Woolzies {#Giveaway} WW, 03/18

Since the kids came along, our electrical bills have increased by 40%!?

That's a lot for a single-income family.

The culprit, Laundry!

Non-existent potty training, arts and crafts and cloth towels all contribute to the load.

That's why I was excited to try out Woolzies All-Natural Softener Dryer Balls and kill three birds with one stone.

Save Money.
Use All-Natural Products.
Minimize Carbon Footprint.

Woolzies are pure handmade New Zealand wool dryer balls that soften your laundry naturally without any of the chemicals of conventional fabric softeners. Unlike the plastic dryer balls, they are PVC free and won't fall apart or melt on you. Woolzies save time and energy by cutting down on drying time by an average of 25% per load. They also help reduce static and wrinkles.

Seeing as a box costs $34.95USD, contains six balls and is guaranteed to last 1,000 laundry loads, that is a significant cost savings over traditional fabric softeners. The "static reduction" quality of the balls is even rechargeable by running through the wash cycle!

Each of the balls were a bit irregular in shape and size. This made me smile as it reminded me that this was a handmade product and nature doesn’t always follow the rules.

If you're allergic to wool, Woolzies never comes into direct contact with your skin, and the balls do not shed.

If you have allergies or skin sensitivities, you can thank Woolzies for offering you a chemical free option.

It was interesting to learn how the weight of the Woolzies balls naturally "fluffs up" your laundry, aiding in separating the items (from themselves and one another) and in turn, reducing dryer time. I definitely noticed the difference in time, that the clothes were soft and there was not a hint of static cling!

Less dryer time = Minimized footprint.

I think that the kids will enjoy helping with the laundry even more now that we have Woolzies as part of the equation. They had fun "throwing" the balls into the dryer before we started the load. Any way to entice more help around the house is a win for me!

An added bonus is that you can have the dryer balls wrapped for the small sum of $5!

Be sure to connect with Woolzies via their Website, Facebook and Twitter.

Now for the best part! Woolzies is giving away a six pack of balls to one lucky Journeys of The Zoo follower!

Enter to Win Woolzies Below!

Ottawa Valley Fiber Arts Feature & Linky {Canadian}

Journeys of The Zoo’s "I Am Canadian" Feature for March is Ottawa Valley Fiber Arts.

What a pleasure to find such unique and renewable products available locally.

Please take a moment to read about Heather’s original company and inspiring initiatives and show her your support by leaving a comment and stopping by her blog all about...

Spinning. As in Wool (not Bikes).

If someone says their hobby is spinning, most people think they are talking about training on bikes in a gym. But Heather of Ottawa Valley Fiber Arts doesn't spin on bikes, she spins wool into yarn on a spinning wheel. Her kids thinks she's a little too crazy about sheep, but she enjoys playing with wool so much that she started a company!

Ottawa Valley Fiber Arts (OVFA) is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Created in 2010 during a particularly difficult time in her day job, Heather found that building her passion in her spare time gave her more energy for everything else in her life. She started the Canadian Fiber Box project, which brings together different fiber producers and artists four times a year to subscribers across Canada. Canada has many fiber producers - from sheep to llamas and alpacas to bison and muskox. We also have many talented fiber artists who prepare and dye fiber for spinning. The Canadian Fiber Box lets folks "get to know Canadian fiber."