In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been blogging as much as I have in the past. It's not really due to lack of ideas... for all of those who know me, you know that it's hard for me to ever run out of things to say... it's more that all of a sudden, I'm like super extra tired these days. Even though my little schnickle is pretty much sleeping a 9 hour stretch at night right now, he's falls asleep at 7pm which means I'm up at 4am. And daytime naps are still elusive. If I'm lucky, I get a 40 minute break in the morning (we're trying right now!) and 40 minutes in the afternoon... he's never slept more than an hour during the day. By 8:30pm me and my old bones are like crawling into bed.
I am, in a word, pooped.
So me and my pooped-ness have given up on trying to read anything substantial. You have this vision before you are on mat leave that you'll do all these things you meant to do when you just got some time ('cause you think that you'll actually have time when you are on mat leave)... like finally finish reading War and Peace, write a novel, train for a triathalon (ok, I never aspired to that)... that sort of thing. And maybe things will change on this front but none of this stuff is happening in the near future.
But I do love reading... so that's where magazines have become my new best friend - and in particular, no surprise, I am drawn (read: obsessed) to parenting magazines. And now I have my favourites which I pass on to you...
On the Canadian front, I have to give kudos to Canadian Family magazine. For me, I find it more stylish, informative and relevant than its counterpart, Today's Parent. This month, for example, they have a special "Health Issue" and I have learned such useful information like what to do when my baby has a fever and info on H1N1. There's even info on alternative health options. In addition to this though, there are a lot of short snappers on different products that have been tested by their readers. Indeed, you can, as a new parent, sign up to be a Canadian Family product tester off their website. I just signed up to do this - haven't heard anything yet but I'll let you know if this works out. Seems like a great way to get some free products!
The one major advantage I should pass on about Today's Parent is that it always includes a local section which will tell you about events, programs for young families in your geographic area. It is a great resource.
On the non-Canadian front, I just discovered and *love the ill-named Cookie magazine. It's like the best fashion magazine, the best home design magazine, all with amazingly informative and provocative (article this month on the vaccine-Autism debate) articles all in one. Based on one issue, I have signed up for a subscription.
Which leads me to my next point: you will save some major moola if you spring for a subscription. On the Canadian Family front, keep in mind that each issue costs $4.50. However, I just signed up for a 2-year subscription for $20. Consider sharing subscriptions with friends - get one to sign up for Today's Parent and then switch issues at the end of the month. And if even a subscription is out of budget for you, all of these magazines have fantastic and informative websites (www.canadianfamily.ca; www.todaysparent.com; www.cookiemag.com) that will keep you coming back month after month and which include additional info not found in the magazine.
And finally, a word about other magazines to consider... even though not strictly about parenting, Canadians do fantastic home design magazines and they often include more than just strictly home design features. Canadian House & Home is probably one of the best magazines on the market - Canadian or otherwise. And I have high hopes for Style at Home which has just hired a new managing editor, Jane Fransisco, who used to head up my favorite Canadian magazine Wish which closed up shop earlier this year.
Now, if only one of these magazines would do an article on how to get your little one to nap during the day... during this posting, I got up 8, count 'em 8, times to try and settle Archer and just now again, he's started to fuss... help!
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