Thank you to everyone who entered the Lake Huron Fish and Chips Co. Contest! We are pleased to announce that Janet is the winner of one free meal and beverage. The winner was chosen randomly via Random.Org. We will e-mail you with your prize voucher.

Come on over and visit Lake Huron Fish and Chips Co. in Providence Bay soon.

I'm so excited! My two roommates from my life in Toronto are coming to visit me on the Island in but a few hours!

Dee, Dani and I lived together when we were in our twenties. We saw each other through some very exciting, happy, and fun times and through some not so great times. Okay, through some pretty awful dating experiences! :) Those were our twenties. Those years were full of fun and excitement. Martinis, Bellinis, dancing the night away, going on girls' road trips and camping trips...*sigh* I sometimes miss those days.

Of course, I love being a wife and a Mom! I'm just so excited to be seeing my gal pals though! I can't say that we'll be up all night with drinks in hand or talking about our exciting date last night. We're all married and have children. Dee and Dani have left their hubbies at home in Toronto and are both bringing their kids! Little One will have FOUR buddies to hang out with for the next few days!

I had heard of Teething Bling by SmartMom Jewelry on several parenting and baby blogs before, and was really curious about the product.

Teething Bling is made of the same materials that many teething/chew toys are made of, only it looks great on Mom (or Grandma...or whoever is wearing it)! The products are all non-toxic and BPA and lead free.

Little One loves to gnaw and drool all over my jewelry as it is, so why not give her something meant for her to chew on?

I received my Teething Bling from Smart Mom by entering a contest hosted by Kady at Take A Mom's Word For It! Thank you, Kady! I was so excited when I found out I won! I'd definitely recommend Teething Bling to any Mom who as a little one who is teething or likes to gnaw on things! :)

As you can see from the photo below, Little One absolutely loves her Teething Bling!

Check out the SmartMom website to see all the Teething Bling products.

My lovely friend Maria is turning 30 soon. Tonight, we had a surprise birthday party for her. Maria's friend, L did a phenomenal job orchestrating the whole event and the very talented mastermind behind Ultimately Chocolate made Maria the most FABULOUS cake EVER!

A chocolate stiletto cake! You see, our friend Maria has a shoe fetish. She loves shoes. She loves stilettos! This is one of the reasons I love Maria so much. We both love shoes and handbags!

Isn't this cake to die for?

I'm thinking that this cake would do Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes proud!

Once again, I was blown away by Ultimately Chocolate's creativity. I've already told Hubby that I want my next birthday cake to be made by Ultimately Chocolate! Instead of stilettos, everyone joked that I should have a MacBook on the cake to go with the blogging theme!
The photos really do not do the cake any justice, as they were taken with my phone cam.

In case you were wondering, the cake was as delicious as it was gorgeous!

As if a 20% OFF code for Wee Warmers wasn't enough, Wee Warmers is sponsoring a contest on my blog!

How cool is that?!?

You know how much Little One and I LOVE Wee Warmers. I raved about them over here. We know you'll love them too.

I bought these rockin' cool Wee Warmers for Little One since she's such a musical kid. I think I'll get her some striped ones next time! I just love the striped Wee Warmers too!
You can get some Wee Warmers for your special little guy or girl!

BUY IT!
Head over to the Wee Warmers site and buy your Wee Warmers online.

or

WIN IT!
One very lucky blog reader will win three pairs of Wee Warmers of their choice. Yes, THREE pairs...and you get to choose which ones you want!!!

To win, all you have to do is go to the Wee Warmer's website, check out all the cool designs in their catalogue, come back here and leave me a comment with which three you'd like!

You can get extra entries by:

* Following me via Google Friend Connect (on my sidebar). Don't forget to leave separate comments for each entry.

* Follow on Twitter @chancesmommy and Tweet this contest/giveaway.

* Mention this contest on your blog. Let me know the link where you posted the contest.

* Grab my button (sidebar) and leave me the link so I can find you.

Good luck! Contest ends Friday, July 2nd!

Little One is now 19 months old and is such a busy little girl. In fact, she's only got two speeds. Fast and faster.

She climbs on top of furniture, her toys, and anything she can step on. Hubby found her standing on the dining room table. She climbed onto a chair and hoisted herself up onto the table, where she proceeded to strut her stuff as though she were walking the catwalk. *sigh*

Because she's cutting more teeth, she started screaming today and nothing seems to soothe her. I must be a horrible parent, because the screaming just grates on me. I cannot stand the screaming. Perhaps it's because until now, we've been spoiled by Little One. She's generally a very good baby and very easy to take care of. She usually entertains herself, but also loves interacting with everyone. She loves her Mommy and Daddy, but doesn't mind hanging out with her toys and books for a bit.

Until now. I feel awful because I know the screaming is from teething. I just can't stand it though. She went for an entire hour and a half of non-stop crying. Oh, the tears! Poor thing.

***************************************************
Don't forget to check out my current contests/GIVEAWAYS on my reviews blog!
Lake Huron Fish & Chips Co.'s contest ends on June 30th.
Wee Warmers giveaway ends July 2nd!
Loco Beanz contest ends on July 16th!

Enter now! There's still time to win! :)

I have to admit that I am a sucker for adorable, funky, cool
baby clothes and anything baby related.

Way back when Little One was just born, Wee Warmers
sent me two pairs of preemie Wee  Warmers. They are
awesome!

Little One has since grown considerably and she loves
traipsing around in nothing but a diaper (if I'm lucky!)
and a onesie (again, if I'm lucky!).  My kid just does not
like wearing clothes. End of story!

To cover her adorable, chubby, sweet baby legs from
scratches and nicks (she's a climber and is no stranger
to bruises and and minor injuries), Wee Warmers are
the perfect solution.

Diaper changing is easy, since unlike tights, we don't
have to take them off and put them back on. In the winter,
they protect baby's sensitive skin from the cold. If you've
got a crawler or a climber, Wee Warmers protect
knees very well.

I also like that Wee Warmers can be used when
potty training. No pants to pull down or up in moments
of desperation! :)
Another cool way to wear Wee Warmers is on baby's
(or toddler's) arms so that t-shirts can be worn even
in the winter!

Mostly, I just love the look of Wee Warmers. They
give Little One's outfits such character!

Get your own wee one his/her very own Wee 
Warmers! Visit the Wee Warmers website and
peruse the many styles and colours they offer.

Oh, and Wee Warmers is Proudly Canadian!

The discount code "ww_friend" will take
20% off at checkout!

How cool is that!?!

I've been published on BornFreeMom.Ca! Come check it out here! :)

I've got this strange aversion to communal bars of soap or public washroom soap dispensers. It just leaves me feeling a little unsettled. Okay, it grosses me out.

When I heard that Lysol came out with a touchless soap dispenser, I got so excited! Seriously. Really excited! I got TWO of them! One for the bathroom and one for the kitchen!

The Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap System comes with one dispenser, one hand soap refill and four AA batteries. There are three great scents to choose from: Soothing Cucumber Splash, Cleansing Green Tea & Ginger, and Refreshing Grapefruit Essence.

I LOVE the No-Touch Hand Soap System! No touching germy soap dispensers/pumps and no sharing a bar of soap. No wasted soap, since the system dispenses just the right amount of soap. Personally, since I'm a *little* frugal, a little less soap would be ideal. I'm still 100% satisfied though. I love the Soothing Cucumber Splash and the Cleansing Green Tea & Ginger. I haven't tried the Refreshing Grapefruit Essence yet.

Even my husband seems impressed with the Hand Soap System! I actually got the system with him in mind. We have a farm and he is constantly washing his hands. Dirty, grease-stained hands touching the bathroom soap = a big no-no for me. Hooray for the No-Touch Hand Soap System!!!

How on Earth did that happen?!?!
Little One and Moo - 19 months (June 11, 2010) and Little One and Moo - 3 months (February 2009)

I'm thinking that since Little One is going to be two years old in five months, that maybe...just maybe it is time to start thinking of having a little sibling for her. Maybe.

**Awesome onesie from Canine Cologne, Bert, and TC! We had such a blast with them when they came to visit us on the Island! We miss them already! Check out Canine's latest blog posts! They got to sample all things "Canadian" on their whirlwind trip to "the North"!**

I'm not sure whether it's the sleep deprivation (Little One is cutting two more teeth), the crazy busy life on the farm, working off the farm, working a bunch of freelance gigs, running after a 19 month old who only has two speeds (fast and faster!), or a combination of all of the above that has me somewhat absentminded lately.

I hosted Father's Day dinner at our house on Sunday. My lovely friend, Maddy's Mommy and I were in the kitchen when we had this conversation:

Maddy's Mommy: I can't believe Maddy will be two soon! We have to start planning her birthday party.

Me: Wow! That's right! Two already! Her birthday is coming up soon! What does she want or need for her birthday?

MM: Hmmm...I don't know.

Me: Oh! Would you kill me if I got her something Elmo? I know she loves Elmo!

MM: No. I'd kill you if you got her something Dora or Barney though!

Me: Ha! I won't get her anything Dora or Barney! Don't worry. Oh! I saw something for her birthday when we were in "The Biggest City close to the Island"!!!

MM: Really? What was it?

Me: It's an Elmo...something. *sigh*

MM: (laughing hysterically) An "Elmo Something"!!!

I completely forgot what on earth it was that I saw and wanted to get for Maddy. I hate it when that happens!!! I still can't remember what it was. *sigh*

After supper, Maddy and Little One wanted yogurt. My mom was at the local Valu-Mart the other day and found these toddler yogurts made by Dairylan. L'il Ones Smooth & Creamy Yogurt comes in several flavours and the girls love them. Maddy had banana and Little One had what I thought were peaches. The girls didn't end up finishing their yogurts, so instead of wasting them, Maddy's Mommy and I decided to have the few spoonfuls of what our daughters left.

MM: Mmmm! The banana flavour is good!

Me: Really?

MM: Yeah. It's really good.

Me: Mmmmmmmmm! The peach is good too!

MM: (laughing) C, does the peach yogurt taste like apple?

Me: Actually, now that you mention it, it DOES!!! How funny is THAT?

MM: (laughing) Ummm...Maybe because the peach is actually apple?

Me: How do you know that?

MM: I just read the label! It says APPLE on your container!

HAHAHA! Wow. I don't recall ever being this ditsy. I wonder if Mommy brain gets worse after you've had more than one child? I wonder if the percentage of brain cells lost is directly proportionate to the number of children one has given birth to? :)

I cannot believe that Hubby and I are celebrating our fourth year of marriage today! Actually, we'll be celebrating our special day apart. I've got a performance tonight, so that means no fancy or romantic dinner for me!

I stumbled upon a post I wrote when we were celebrating our very first wedding anniversary. It made me laugh, because so much has changed in four years...and so much hasn't!

If we're celebrating our fourth year of marriage, this means I've been blogging for five years!

The Island has a lot of wonderful, breathtaking, spectacular things to offer. We've got the Bridal Veil Falls, the Cup and Saucer hiking trails, the gorgeous beach and boardwalk at Providence Bay, and so much more.

One thing about the Island though, is that there are no chain franchises like McDonald's, Tim Horton's, Starbucks, or Kentucky Fried Chicken. In my opinion, that is the beauty of the Island. I absolutely love that we support local businesses. It adds to the charm and "feel" of the Island. There are many Mom and Pop type shops and eating establishments. Each has its own distinct character.

Coming from the city, I do admit that I have a weak spot. I sometimes miss my Tim Horton's breakfasts and coffee/hot chocolate. The good news, however, is that Manitoulin Island has its own coffee house!

Loco Beanz Coffee House offers regular and specialty coffees and teas. They've got unique beverages, meals, treats and gift items. With three locations (in Gore Bay, Little Current, and Manitowaning), islanders and visitors can treat themselves to a rich cup of organic, Fair Trade coffee and grilled pesto chicken on flatbread. Personally, I'm a fan of the Chocolate Banana Smoothies! YUM!

You can also get delicious baked goods and organic/fair trade chocolate at Loco Beanz. Only the finest quality ingredients go into the scrumptious treats you'd buy at Loco Beanz. It is *the* place to hang out when in Gore Bay, Little Current and Manitowaning!

The staff is friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. Loco Beanz is the kind of place one would consider home away from home!

You can purchase packages/bags of specialty coffee to enjoy in your own home. They have several different types to choose from. A favourite pick from coffee connoisseurs is the fair trade organic dark roast.

As a special treat for one lucky blog reader, Loco Beanz is sponsoring a contest on my blog! Loco Beanz will be giving one lucky reader 1 lb of organic/fair trade coffee.

BUY IT!

Head on over to Loco Beanz and treat yourself to a hot or cold beverage and something delicious to snack on. Their flat bread sandwiches and wraps are really good! If you go to Loco Beanz, leave me a comment and let me know what your favourite item on the menu is! I know there are a lot of hardcore Loco Beanz fans out there! :) I'm one of them!

WIN IT!

(Mandatory) To enter the contest, simply go to the Loco Beanz Facebook page and "join" their Fan Page. You must come back here and leave me a message to let me know that you clicked "join" on their Fan Page.

Extra chances to win:
- Follow me on Google Friend Connect (let me know in a separate comment that you've done this).
- Follow me on Twitter (@chancesmommy) and let me know in a comment that you've done this.
- Tweet this (and let me know).
- Grab my button (on my sidebar) and post it on your blog. Please include the link to where you posted it.

Good luck, everyone! This contest ends on July 9, 2010 (12AM-EDT). Open to Canadian residents only.

There's still time to enter this amazing contest!!! Click here for contest details! Good luck, everyone! Contest ends June 30th (12AM EDT). Winner will be chosen at random. Contest open to residents of Manitoulin Island, the Sudbury area, and anyone traveling to the Island this summer!

For those of you who don't already know, tonight was Opening Night for our musical. The audience was fantastic and the energy was just amazing. It was an absolute success! I'm looking forward to doing it all over again tomorrow night...and the night after that...and the following week!

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, check this link out.

I'm on a natural high and can't seem to get down. Although, sleep would be a good idea.

In but a few days, one of my first blog friends will be arriving on the Island and we will be meeting in person for the first time. I am so excited!

I never thought I'd become such good friends with someone I met online. I'm a very social person and never thought of making friends via the blog. Canine and I just hit it off years ago when I first started blogging. She was (along with Jane, Ms. Mamma, Jeanna, Uncivil, and a few other bloggers) my introduction to the wonderful world of blog friends. Who would have thought?

Canine Cologne, her husband and their daughter will be arriving in Toronto tomorrow night and will be sightseeing around Toronto, Niagara Falls, and then will make their way to the Island on the weekend. They'll spend their first night on the Island watching me on stage. My college and university buddy, Avoid Everything and his wife, Silly Lizard will be coming from Toronto this weekend too! It's going to be a full house, and I love it!

I am so very excited and can't sleep!

An Art Exhibit of Paintings by Chiharu Hayashi
July 31 - August 29, 2010
Location: Second Cup
King St. W & Strachan Ave.
Toronto, Ontario
416-593-4356

Summer is right around the corner! What better way to enjoy a hot summer day than to kick back with a nice cold Chiller from Second Cup?

Grab an Icepresso^®, Chillatte^®, Frrrozen Hot Chocolate^® or Matcha Green Tea and enjoy an extra special treat if you head to the Second Cup at King St. W and Strachan Avenue. Japanese-born visual artist, Chiharu Hayashi will be displaying her wonderful art work there!

I've had to good fortune of meeting and getting to know Chiharu many years ago. Her delightful paintings are as unique and refreshing as she is.

Keep reading for more details...

Chiharu Hayashi



Phone: 647-835-7750
hshc0022@humbermail.com
https://www.artistsites.org/chiharuhayashi/



ARTIST BIO

Chiharu Hayashi was born in Japan. When she was seven years old, she started learning
about Japanese Calligraphy. Since then, she has been building up her love of brushwork and
developing her ideas and skills in arts. She completed her degree in International Cultural
Studies at Kyoritsu Women’s University in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, she is taking a post-
secondary program in Visual and Digital Arts at the Humber Institute of Technology and
Advanced Learning. She has exhibited in various art shows in Toronto and been working from
her downtown studio.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The beauty of nature is an abundant source of inspiration for Chiharu’s paintings. She is
interested in discovering the spiritual side of beauty and fascinated by capturing the moment
she experiences an “epiphany” in nature, she interprets the feeling into her pieces. Her concept of abstract floral paintings is hybrid of North American and Japanese culture. In her brush stroke, she uses Japanese Calligraphy skills and combines them with a palette knife techniques she learned in Canada. During her stay in Canada, Chiharu realized that she should appreciate the richness of her cultural background and wanted to introduce an aspect of Japanese culture into her pieces and blend it with the Western tradition.

IMAGE LIST

Check this out too!!

Every summer, theatre goers on the Island (and in surrounding areas) look forward to the dazzling performances by the Burns Wharf Theatre Players. The Players have performed in H.M.S. Pinafore, Broadway and Beyond, and Pirates of Penzance. This year's feature is Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe.

Many people have asked, "Io-who???"

Iolanthe is quite possibly one of the lesser known of all the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. It's actually one of my favourites.

Iolanthe, a fairy responsible for arranging all the fairy dances and songs, committed the ultimate fairy sin. She married a mortal! *gasp* The Fairy Queen sentenced her to death, but lessened her punishment to banishment for life on the condition that she left her husband and never communicated with him again.

The fairies in the fairy band miss Iolanthe tremendously and plead with the Queen for her return.

Iolanthe is truly a magical must see event! As with any Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, there is satire. The aristocracy, the political party and political system get a good dose of satire and being poked at. The play is rich with song and dance. The costumes are breathtaking. With a band of eternally youthful fairies, a bunch of bumbling peers/the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor, and a plot that thickens (hint: The story involves a half-fairy/half-mortal shepherd who vies for the love of an Arcadian shepherdess, who has also received the attention of the peers!), you know that there will be lots of laughs and twists in the plot. Curious about this half-fairy/half-mortal individual? You'll have to come see the play to find out more!

Performance dates:
June 10-12, 17-19 and July 20-23 8PM
Burns Wharf Theatre, Manitowaning

For tickets, call the Box Office @ 859 3808

June 11 and 19 are sold out! Get your tickets now before the rest of the performances are sold out!

When I gave birth to Little One, all the moms I knew told me that two things I'd need a lot of (apart from diapers) were onesies and receiving blankets. Of course, they were right. Little One couldn't possibly have enough onesies or receiving blankets! She went through them like crazy when she was little.

I had a few smaller receiving blankets to throw over my shoulder, as Little One used to spit up a lot. The larger receiving blankets were used to swaddle her.

I have to say that I LOVE receiving blankets. I love the soft cotton feel and the fact that they're lightweight. I love funky, cool receiving blankets. I love "different" patterns and colours, as opposed to generic, boring, blah receiving blankets.

While I was participating in the Majesta Moms campaign/blog tour with Mom Central, I "met" Chantal (part of the wonderful duo known as Oma Mary's Blankets). Chantal and her Oma Mary make beautiful handmade receiving blankets and for a good cause!

Handcrafted with care and finished with their signature crochet edge, these blankets are perfect for babies and toddlers.

The amazing grandmother/granddaughter duo work with organizations to provide blankets to children who are impoverished and neglected. Oma Mary has also donated blankets to children in Haiti.

I received this in the mail a few days ago! Can I tell you how thrilled I was?! It's a pink John Deere receiving blanket! Perfect for Little One, as she is a farm girl! The attention to detail was impressive. Little One LOVES her blankie! It only arrived in the mail a few days ago, but Little One takes her blankie with her EVERYWHERE!!!

Buy Oma Mary blankets online and know that you are contributing to a good cause. A gorgeous blanket for a baby shower or birth of a new baby...and the peace of mind knowing that through your purchase, you have helped make life a little better for a child somewhere out there. How great is that?

Having grown up in Montreal and Toronto, I never imagined that one day I would be living on a farm an married to a beef farmer. Though I absolutely love our life on the Island, there are days when I sometimes find it difficult. For one thing, being a farmer's wife is not easy.

Farmers' wives (not all farmers' wives) have to take care of everything related to the home, take care of the children pretty much on our own, help on the farm, AND earn an income working off the farm to help support the farm. It's often a struggle to do ALL of these things because all of the above are "full time jobs"! A few of the other moms I know who are married to farmers have said the same thing. We often find ourselves stretched thin from having to do so much. This said, our husbands do A LOT of work to keep the farms going.

Hubby is the hardest worker I know. He is so busy all the time. Being a farmer is not easy. Tilling, planting/seeding, feeding, first cut, second cut, baling, fixing fence, repairing machinery...the work never ends. Not to mention having to take several off-farm jobs to support the farm too. What is most frustrating is that after all that hard work, the farmer sees next to nothing for his labour. When I see some of the prices in the grocery store for products I know cost more than they're selling them for, I get so upset. I mean, how can a bag of frozen veggies sell for $1.99 when it costs so much more to grow the veggies and harvest them? It costs a lot of money on fuel to work a farm. Better yet, when grocery stores can sell beef for ridiculously low prices...Bah! I won't get into it any further.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day. It's a hard life, but it's the life I chose when I married a farmer. Hubby firmly believes that one day, farming will be profitable again. I admire that he loves doing what he does. Living close to the land, understanding the connection humans have with the land, the animals, and appreciating that relationship are all things that Hubby loves about farming. Farming is in his blood.

I appreciate being able to raise our daughter in a wholesome environment. She really is an outdoor kid!I also appreciate being able to live on such a beautiful island.

I appreciate our family and our friends.

I feel blessed to have a beautiful, healthy, happy baby girl.
Despite the trials and challenges (read: my not so privileged life I once knew!), this really is the sweet life and I really am blessed.