We’ve been lucky, but for that broken arm at the end of July, to have no kiddie illness for ages, no need to take time off of work, nothing. So I forget what a disruption it is when suddenly a bug arrives. Callum is sick, has a gastro-nasty of some kind – perhaps picked up at an indoor playground Sunday, when we all attended a birthday party.

I’m at home with him, I should be at work. I’ve got that guilt that comes along with being the only member of my unit at work who has small children, the only one who has to juggle things in a such a way that I meet their needs as well as my employer’s.  I should be at work. I’ve got my work email open. I’ll call into a meeting later. It’s not quite the same.

I’ve got that guilt that comes along with the fact that he got sick to his stomach Sunday night, but I chalked it up to being overtired and lying down after he ate. Because he was in completely good spirits, slept fine that night, and woke up happy on Monday. Except yesterday when I picked him up, he’d had 2 changes of clothes from soiling his pants through his diaper. This is one of those times I’m thankful the almost-three-year-old is still in a diaper. Because my god, last night was horrible.

He’s fine. He’s currently screaming “MAP!” at the TV, watching Dora for the zillionth time, being his cheeky self. I’m mostly fine, just wracked with guilt, as ever. But add on to that the constant battle to keep the house clean for viewings (we had one today that we had to get out of the house for), going back to the long commute, being slightly disoriented in my old job after being back for only 2 weeks, and just the constant, constant juggle that is this life? I’m feeling kind of run down. And not really in the mood to write. And whatever.

Cheer yourself up, read something light: enter the Stella & Dot giveaway before Friday night, if you’re a Canuck. Or check out the literally light review I did of Kraft Whipped Peanut Butter, if you fancy it.

*with thanks to Ben Folds for the title. Perhaps I should listen to that album and cheer the hell up.

So this is the post that I’ve been really excited about. Can I get a SQUEEEEE. Sorry. Anyway.

Something you may or may not know about me is that I love a good statement necklace. I’m often on the lookout for a new one, whether sending etsy links to Mark to helpfully suggest a gift, or trawling the sales at Accessorize or Monsoon in the UK, or even recently splurging on a piece at Anthropologie. Here, part of my collection, let me share it with you:

I first heard of Stella & Dot a few months ago and immediately started coveting some of their necklaces. I never acted on the lust, though – let’s be honest, these necklaces are definitely splurges, not everyday purchases.

A fortuitous connection on twitter has led us to this post. Sandra Butler, a Stella & Dot stylist based in Ottawa, was looking for people to do blog reviews and giveaways. I happily stuck my neck out. It’s been lovely getting to know her a little bit.

What you might want to know about Stella & Dot:

• You can shop right from Sandra’s site.

• You can ask her about hosting a trunk show, kind of like a modern Tupperware party. Except it’s 2010 and it’s hot jewelery instead of food storage containers. Have your friends over for cocktails and shop lovely necklaces and earrings.

• If you are looking for work, Sandra’s also looking for stylists, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area.

Here’s what I was lucky enough to try out: the La Coco Brooch Necklace.

I eagerly anticipated opening the box. The gift packaging is lovely.

the box says: You look absolutely gorgeous

And there it was! My lovely necklace. A necklace that’s actually made up of a double chain, a flower brooch, and an extension that can be worn as a bracelet. It’s extremely versatile.

There’s a video on the Stella & Dot website to go with the necklace, explaining the concept. Click on the video tab on the La Coco product page.

I got lots of compliments on this lovely necklace when I wore it for the first time last week. If I’m going to give an honest review, which I always do, I will admit there is one thing I don’t like about it – the brooch is heavy and tends to drag down on the chain.  This I think is because I am not a delicate person who doesn’t move. I’m clumsy and not careful. I admit it’s a minor annoyance, and maybe I just haven’t figured out a trick to make the brooch stay up higher yet. I will conquer this!

How about you? What are you lusting after on the Stella & Dot website? Would a $100 gift certificate make shopping a bit nicer?  Here’s how to win one:

1. This contest is open to Canadians only.
2. This contest runs until 9:00pm EST Friday October 1st.
3. At that time, I’ll use random.org to pick one comment to win a $100 gift certificate to Stella & Dot.
4. To enter this contest, visit Sandra’s Stella & Dot site and pick a piece that you’d love to buy for yourself or someone else.  Leave me comment telling me what that is.
5. One comment per person, please. No extra entries.
6. Make sure your comment includes your email address so that you can be contacted if you win.
7. Good luck!

Thanks so much to Sandra for this generous opportunity. If you have any questions for her, or would like to get in touch for any reason about Stella & Dot, you can contact her through twitter, through her site or through Facebook.

So, I just got back from grocery shopping. At 10pm at night. Turns out that’s a great time to stock up on a million things at the Superstore. Except carrots. No carrots. How is that even possible?

Before that, I was at the first yoga class I’ve been to in a while. In this class, I’m one of the youngest and most agile people. And if you’ve met me in real life, you’re scratching your head right now. Was I on the right planet?

In my previous post, I mentioned two items I won commenting on blog posts recently. I had another one arrive today – a HUGE swanky laundry basket filled with laundry detergent and fresh, white, soft towels from Bloomingdale’s.  NICE. White towels.  They will never stay white in this house. I think I need to hide them somewhere.

Are you feeling lucky? Head over to my review blog to read about New Moon Kitchen cookies, and leave a comment to win some. By Friday night! If you are in the US or Canada. Do it.

And you’re going to really want some luck next week. I have the BEST giveaway coming.  Here’s a hint. It involves something in this lovely box I’m holding in the photo below. I can’t wait.  I’ve never been so excited for a review and giveaway.

Can you read backwards? Good luck!

So we did it – we survived the first week back to school, and back to my long commute. Well, we mostly survived it. I had a few nervous breakdowns this week. Not exaggerating – either myself or Mark was out every night, leaving the other to solo parent, and someone wanted to see the house today, which meant it had to be sparkling clean.

First day smiles. Before the drop off tears.

Tonight I insisted I had to have some time to sit down in front of the computer and attend this neglected blog. Because by doing so, I attend my neglected self, somehow.

One of the biggest adjustments this year is that Oliver has to take a snack and lunch every single day. That I have to assemble for him every single night. And as I carry my own lunchbox trauma after being served the same ham sandwich on white for what seemed like years, I do try to mix it up for him. So, he gets some variety on the inside and I try to package it together in a way that works for all of us, trying to be more and more litter-less and homemade.

This year, I decided to get him a backpack from the Gap (bought during a 30% or 40% off sale this summer), and I ended up getting the matching lunch box that snaps on the outside (bought with the $50 for $25 Groupon).  I’m pretty happy with it so far. So’s Oliver.

Recently, I happened to win a Goodbyn from Jan at Family Bites which I am really excited to try out. Oliver is excited to add his stickers.

It just arrived today. Excellent!

I’ve been really lucky lately. I also found out this week that I won a Skip Hop backpack from Canadian Family magazine. I considered getting one of these for Oliver earlier in the summer but now I realize it’s too small for school. It is, however, perfect for a 2 year old boy running around the house singing “I’m going to go to school one day, school one day, school one day…”

It’s a frog. He physically couldn’t look away from the camera.

How cute? I mean the backpack. Ok, he’s pretty cute too, even hiding under a hoodie. And now he uses it to take his daycare bits and pieces.

So I’ve been lucky. And frugal. How about you? Any recommendations?

You may be interested to know that I have a bunch of excellent giveaways coming up. One of them is really great for school lunches. One of them is perfect for spoiling yourself. I’ve also got some relevant reviews coming up, all linked to a back to school theme.  Happy holidays – sorta. ‘Tis the season.

I’ll post the links or contests as soon as I can. Life. It’s exhausting right now.

I’ve just spent 13 months working on secondment – by this mean I took a temporary position, while my permanent position was held for me. I applied for the temporary position because it would be good experience for my career, but mainly because I’d be 25 minutes from home, 20 minutes from daycare. An additional bonus was that I had every third Friday off, where I was able to carve out some space for self-care and errands.

I’m going back next week. I’m giving up a short commute and easier access to the kids, I’m giving up time for myself. But I’m going back to my job, my home position, because it’s the right thing to do – it’s a job that challenges and pushes me. The pace is faster. I miss my team and my manager. I miss being downtown in the city.  I learned a lot but I want to go back.

I hope that with the other changes we are trying to make – most of all, moving house – that I’ll be able to regain some of the benefits I’ve enjoyed over the past year.

It was tougher than I thought it would be to say goodbye to my coworkers this week. Even though I’ll still see them or talk to them once in a while, as I’m not leaving, just changing offices.

Today is my last day at the secondment.

**

Oliver starts senior kindergarten on Tuesday. He’s been looking forward to it all summer, because he knew that he’d get to go every day this year – our school will be implementing full time kindergarten.

Last year he went to junior kindergarten every other day, and on the off days, we’d have tears because he just wanted to go to school.

He had a fantastic teacher last year, one who knew how to perfectly balance learning and play. That classroom was so happy and fun. I hope that he has as good an experience this year.

I wish I knew more about what was happening this year, actually – there’s be no communication from the school at all.  Thankfully I am able to take him myself on Tuesday and figure out what’s going on.

Today is his last full day at daycare. He’ll still go before and after school (the bus picks him up and drops him off), and PA days – but Callum and Oliver will definitely be seeing less of each other. I think, in their case, absence will make the heart grow fonder. I hope.

**

There’s other beginnings and endings swirling around us right now: new babies, a summer of soccer ending, the talk of grandparents moving to care homes, the loss (through sale) of the memory-laden homes of those grandparents. It feels like the right time of year to reflect on these things, to have these things happen - the beginning of September probably feels more like New Year’s Day to me than January 1st does. Even when you don’t start school in September anymore yourself, the month remains a placeholder of the beginning. Or the end.

Goodbye summer. Goodbye temporary workplace. Hello school, packed lunches, train and subway commuting, and whatever else the next few months have in store.