I love that this toy is not frilly and pink like most other baby dolls, and would be a good gift for a big-brother-to-be too. The plush baby is the perfect size for a little one to drag around the house, or cuddle up with in bed; and the adorable “pod” lets your child pretend to “tuck” the baby into bed.

At first Ayla treated it like just another toy, and would throw it off the bed. Now she kisses the baby good-night at bedtime and clutches it close to her heart – I think it makes her feel more like a big kid now that she has her own baby to take care of.

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I miss the old days when we used to make Valentine mailboxes out of construction paper and exchange Valentine’s with our classmates. Those were simpler times when we eagerly waited to see if our crush gave us a “good” Valentine or not.

I found a website where you can download free vintage Valentine’s Day cards —you know, the ones where they use cheesy lines like “I’m heels over head in love with you” and each card looked like it was lovingly handcrafted.

Here are a couple of my favourites:

This year my husband and I are refusing to succumb to the commercialization of the holiday and made a pact not to spend any money on each other. So I am off to bake a chocolate cake and he is scheduled to give me a pedicure.

Happy Heart Day! <3

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I always thought that these Japanese characters had faded away like cassette tapes, but a quick Google search shows that they are still all the rage in Japan. This isn’t really surprising as the Japanese have an affinity for all things cute (Hello Kitty and Pokemon, I’m talking to you). Fans of the cartoon which ran briefly for one year in the 80s, are even trying to bring back the woodland monkey series—but to no avail.

As a mom, I would be happy if all toys were as innocent and sweet as Monchhichis. Instead we have to deal with hyper-sexualized Bratz dolls. Here’s hoping that toymakers take note of the endearing qualities of Monchhichis and that cuteness trumps sluttiness when to comes to toys geared towards young girls.

Check out this Monchhichi commercial from the 80s:

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So, to make it up to Baby #2, I’ve been devoting my spare time to making a cozy little nest for him. I found these adorable wall decals by Wee Gallery. These decals are designed by husband and wife team, Dave and Surya, who have taken into consideration a newborn infant’s development. As parents they found out that most newborns are only able to see 12 to 15 inches away and are drawn to high contract black and white images. The adorable animal graphics were tested out on their own children who were continually drawn back to them.

I love this Jungle Wall theme:

They also have black and white learning cards to capture baby’s attention:

Not only have they designed products with baby in mind, they’ve also made the wall decals re-stickable for an indecisive mom like me to stick and re-stick until it’s just right.

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It was very fitting then, when I received a Gratitude Journal for Christmas from my husband’s step-mom (which I guess would make her my step-mom-in-law?).

The point of this gratitude journal is for you to take a moment each day (or whenever you feel especially thankful for something), and write it down. Then, when you have one of those ‘poor-me’ days, you can flip through your journal to feel better and get some much-needed perspective on life.

The things you are grateful for can range from the mundane (I am grateful for the delicious latte and bagel I gobbled down this morning) to the life-altering (I am so thankful that my grandpa’s bypass surgery was successful and that he is recovering well).

I think this is also an awesome gift idea (plus an inexpensive one at that)! If you want to get all crafty, you can buy a plain notebook from a stationary store (or even the dollar store), cover it in pretty fabric or paper and personalize it with cutouts of the initials of the person you are giving this to.

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WWF – Adopt an Animal
The World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s (WWF) collection of adoptable stuffed animals is perfect for the environmentalist or animal-lover in your life. Each symbolic adoption includes a plush toy, a personalized adoption certificate, and details about how the proceeds will be used. Proceeds go towards preserving the adopted animal’s habitat, education, and other wildlife initatives. I am the proud ‘parent’ of a tiger and polar bear which were given to me one year as a Christmas gift.

Ten Thousand Villages – Gifts with an International Flair
Africa, Central America, South America, and Southeast Asia are just a few of the places where shoppers can buy handmade cultural products from various artisan groups. Ten Thousand Villages works to develop sustainable business relationships and partnerships with a focus on employing disadvantaged artisans. Special care is taken to ensure that a fair price is mutually agreed upon, and artisans are paid in full upfront for their work.

Ebay Giving Works
The online auction site has made it easy for sellers, buyers and donors to donate to nonprofits and worthy causes. Buyers can support the ‘blue and yellow ribbon’ listings that donate to nonprofits; sellers can donate a portion of their listing’s earnings to a nonprofit of their choice; and donors can donate as little as $1 through their PayPal account to a nonprofit. So far, over $150 million has been raised for nonprofits through this initiative.

Branch Home – Sustainable Products
Ever wonder how that lovely lamp you just purchased was made, whether the materials were harvested in an environmentally-friendly manner, and the impact it has had on people and resources before it reached your hands? Branch Home has done all the wondering and researching for you so you can enjoy their sustainable home products guilt-free.

PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics – Beauty that Gives
PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics donates “all of its after-tax distributable profits to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues.” Now that’s a beautiful concept. Check out their award-winning Eco-Sensual Lip Balm that’s 100% vegan and 73% organic.

TOMS Shoes – Giving Little Feet a Chance
TOMS Shoes operates on a one-for-one basis where one pair of shoes will be donated to a child in need for every pair purchased. Started in 2006, TOMS has donated nearly one million shoes so far. Living without shoes would be unfathomable to many living in developed nations. These much needed shoes protect little feet from soil-transmitted diseases, cuts and sores, and enables many to go to school where shoes are often a pre-requisite as part of the school uniform.

Women’s Peace Collection – Empowering Women
Each of the fair trade products handmade by women from the Women’s Peace Collection goes towards building a better life for women living in areas of conflict and post-conflict. Their belief is that an empowered woman will be able to make a difference to her family, and larger community in a dignified way.

Lush – Charity Pot Body Lotion
Lush’s decadent collection of handmade lotions and soaps will pamper the gift receiver, and when you purchase a Charity Pot Body Lotion made of fair trade organic cocoa butter, every cent earned (excluding taxes) is donated to a variety of grassroots global charities including animal and environmental conservation programs.

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My cousin bought Ayla this t-shirt after I shared my experience in My Biological Baby Doesn’t Look Like Me. I love it!

A great conversatiion starter.

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The ad campaign for Bang by Marc Jacobs, a new fragrance for men, is in-your-face naughty. A co-worker commented that it looks like something straight out of the movie Zoolander. I’m not sure many straight men who would be seduced to buy this fragrance after seeing the ad—they must be trying to entice girlfriends and wives to purchase this product.

I guess I’m so used to seeing women objectified in advertisements that it startled me to finally see a man used as a (beautiful) glistening piece of meat. Hmm…maybe my husband will get this for Christmas…

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So what exactly is a couple’s diary? Well I suppose it can be whatever you make of it. In my friend’s instance, she and her husband make daily entries about their life, feelings, and of course their thoughts on the relationship. They have decided to keep it a secret from one another (how she isn’t dying to read his entries, I don’t know). They plan on doing this for one year and plan to share their portion of the diary on their next anniversary.

I think this is a great idea, although keeping the diary a secret for a year would be torture for someone like me. There are lots of other topics you could capture in your couple’s diary such as major milestones, happy or sad times, the arguments you have and how they were resolved, or even just photos and ticket stubs of events you’ve attended together. There are so many times when I think back to a certain point in my relationship and wish I could have a better recollection of things going on in my life at that time.

When you look over your diary together, it would serve as a good indicator of how far you’ve come, and perhaps you’ll share a good laugh or cry at life’s moments that you’ve shared. It will also be a good keepsake when you are wrinkly and grey.

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Impossible Motherhood, Irene Vilar

I began reading this book and was fascinated and a little bit horrified about the prospect of reading about the type of woman who could have “fifteen abortions in fifteen years.” My critical side instantly thought, “Wouldn’t you have learned to be more careful after the first or second abortion?”

But Vilar’s talent and courage to tell her difficult and controversial story may make you cast your judgments aside as it puts a real human face to the other side of the story we so rarely hear about. The story follows her from the tender age of eight when her mother committed suicide, to explaining her grandmother’s legacy as a Puerto Rican revolutionary imprisoned for shooting at members of the U.S. government, to her two heroin-addicted brothers. Somewhere along the way, Vilar became an over-achieving fifteen year old freshman at a college who begins a relationship with her professor who is more than double her age.

The story delves into her life situation and personal struggles surrounding each of the fifteen abortions. In a similar vein to the film The Joy Luck Club which follows the multi-generational story of women in a family, Impossible Motherhood examines the footprint that our values, beliefs, and actions leave on our daughters and our daughter’s daughters.

What could have been a very depressing tale turns out to be a life-affirming journey of a long and winding path to self-acceptance and making peace with the past. The book makes one ponder, “What skeletons, insecurities, and neuroses am I passing along to my children?”

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