Daily

Pandemic parenting sucks

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It’s been incredibly hard to be a parent during a 2+ year pandemic for my boys who are under the age of 5. So much in our lives have changed – they still haven’t been inside a shop, we still wear masks outdoors at playgrounds and keep social distancing (hello long covid, no thanks you’re not welcome here) and have kept playdates to bare minimum. We see 2 sets of friends and even then not regularly since one moved away to Southern California, and the other has been gone to Ireland the past month. We are 99% alone all the time, just my boys and I exploring the area. Honestly, feels lonely if I dwell on it too much but I’m hoping i’m giving my boys a fun childhood (and so they say “kids are resilient” and won’t be too affected….we’ll see. Spose b’y.

Like everyone, I have been itching to get back on a plane and head back to Canada to visit all of our family. My older son talks about Canada constantly these past few weeks, and telling me that we can go when “covid is over”. I feel as though the under 5 crowd has been forgotten about as everyone seems to be going on like the big C doesn’t exist anymore. Companies are sending employees back to the office semi-full time, with their young kids still unvax’ed. It’s a terrible feeling to been so vigilant about not going into stores at busy times, wearing n95s, and then go back to an office where there’s no mask mandate anymore and bringing home covid to the young kids. We’re triple vax’ed but our children are not. Catching covid to us is no joke, and sure people have caught it with little to no side-effects but what we don’t know is the unknown harm it does in the long run. Why can’t people get that? Long covid isn’t a thing to look forward to either.

Luckily my boys enjoy the outdoors as much as I do, and we basically live at playgrounds, touring around all the ones in the Bay Area – there are SO MANY. I swear there are hundreds of them. Monday to Friday after we all eat breakfast together as a family, I buckle my two boys up and we drive off to an adventure. Of course it’s exhausting but it’s better to explore the outdoors than to be cooped up at home. Plus, I feel like I’m a better Mom when we’re outdoors. But MAN do I miss my good friends. It’s a different world these days. No more random meetups with my mom-friends, and no more library visits for story time. Wild.

Oopsie, this turned into a post I didn’t think i’d be talking about on my blog. Initially I was going to write about all the fun adventures we’ve been having. To end on a positive note, thought I’d include some photos of our adventures out exploring the Bay Area here these last few weeks.

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Daily, Health

What to do with expired/unused meds?

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This shop has been compensated by Inmar Intelligence and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DrugTakeBackCA


We don’t have a large house with tons of storage space, and we also have two small little boys, the youngest one being incredibly pokey. Turn your back and he’s into absolutely everything. The other day I saw him standing on a kid-sized rocking chair trying to get something from a shelf! So everything needs to be locked away, or up high out of reach – and when done with unused or expired medications, they need to be disposed of properly before they get into the wrong hands. I had already stored cleaning supplies and medications up in the higher cupboards in our house, but now we’re going to have to be more vigilant about it.

National drug take-back day is at the end of April, and with the expired medications in our home, I recently went to dispose of them properly. There’s a LifeInCheck Consumer Drug Take-back ™ kiosk located inside my local Lucky grocery store. It’s never advised to flush expired/unused medications down the toilet (so damaging to our environment), pour them down the drain, or simply throw them out with the garbage (it could get into the wrong hands) as it’s damaging to our environment. I’m not a fan of stockpiling and storing items we’re not using, especially something that could harm my children if they get into it. I encourage you if you have children or teens in the house to reevaluate where you store medication.

In an effort to assist in reducing these issues and bringing awareness to the massive opioid crisis that is plaguing many families, LifeInCheck created a Consumer Drug Take-Back program that provides consumers with a safe option to discard their unused or outdated prescription medications in secure kiosks located across the US. LifeInCheck Consumer Drug Take-back ™ is helping you safely dispose of unused or expired medications. When you go to the site you simply enter your zip code and we will provide a list of safe drug take-back kiosks in your area.

Note: In California, they do not allow pet meds or sharps.

LifeInCheck Consumer Drug Take-back ™ has many locations and their in-store kiosks are incredibly simple to use. Enter your zip code to find a LifeInCheck Consumer Drug Take-back ™ in your area.

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Daily

Shein purchases: rated

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Hello! Haven’t blogged on here since last year (ha, Christmas time). So hello there. I’m here with a fun post today and I haven’t done one of these style posts in years. Remember when I did my eBay purchases rated, like a good ten years ago? Those were the days.

I have found out that Shein is an addicting way to spend my evening after my boys enter slumbertown, and I’m browsing for deals. By the way, wait for a free shipping code on Shein, they’re frequent! Now, let’s get to a few of my recent purchases from that ol’ site.

Shein link: Camera shaped correction tape
Paid: $2.32 / Worth the price? Ehhh…
My opinion: It works and does its job. A bit bigger than expected,and definitely big for correction tape but it was too cute to pass up. Daiso and Dollar Tree has cute options for a buck or so cheaper. This is neat if you want to gift to a camera lover (and stationery lover).
Overall rating: 4 stars

Shein link: Weekly schedule pad
Paid: $0.94 / Worth the price? Yes
My opinion: Ooooh yeah. I will be buying more of these! I use them to keep track of my social media to-do-list, dinner ideas, and appointments. Also has a nice subtle grid on the boxes.
Overall rating: 5 stars

Shein link: Letter graphic tee
Paid: $8.30 / Worth the price? Yes
My opinion: Have I skied in the last decade? No. But did I buy this tee regardless? Yup. I’ve been hunting for a graphic tee for some time, and this is a nice soft material! Love it. I usually wear a medium, and this fits nice – I didn’t want to upsize. Here’s the fit on me – kinda something you’d find at Forever21. Not sure how long it’ll last.
Overall rating: 5 stars

Shein link: Corduroy pencil case
Paid: $2.79 / Worth the price? Yes
My opinion: This one comes in 4 colours. Do I really need another pencil case? No, but I cannot pass up an opportunity with anything to do with corduroy. Had to have it. It’s perfect for the price. I had been hunting for one on Etsy for a while, but this less than $3 hits my budget just right lol.
Overall rating: 5 stars

Shein link: Clear files 3 pack
Paid: $1.87 / Yes
My opinion: You get what you pay for, right? These are “fine”, a bit flimsy. I bought these for our travel docs + papers that I don’t want folded. Not as thick/sturdy as others I’ve bought in the past (not from this shop or seller).
Overall rating: 3 stars

Shein link: Gold rings 4 piece
Paid: $0.94 / Worth the price? Yes
My opinion: I mean, for a buck with free shipping you definitely cannot go wrong. I wrap these in tissue or paper towel when not using them so they don’t tarnish as quickly. I’d say these rings are about a size 6. They’re a bit too big for my middle finger. The plain band one isn’t soldered together, so I guess it’s adjustable? lol.
Overall rating: 3 stars

Shein link: Boys Striped Carrot Pants
Paid: $6.73 / Worth the price? Yes
My opinion: Oh these are too cute for my 4 year old. I bought the size 7, and good thing – the waist is small, but the length is definitely there. Haven’t tried them on my son yet though.He’s off the charts tall, so we’ll see how they do. They’re perfect for a lightweight summer pant.
Overall rating: 5 stars

I have a few more orders coming in, so stay tuned!

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