Sandy's Blah, Blah, Blog

I started Oh Baby! Magazine with my husband during my first pregnancy. My love of writing and my obsession with magazines paired with my husband’s many skills have proven to be a great combination. I'm from Toronto - born and raised - and I've been married for eight years. Since the inception of Oh Baby! I've had two babies, Andreas and Alexandra . What a ride it's been! I’d like to share with you my struggles with trying to find this so-called – and I think unachievable - “balance” I keep reading about… Follow Sandy E on Twitter

Getting little ones off the screens and outside can be a big challenge to parents these days. As much as you restrict them, the screens are there in the distance, beckoning to you with the lure of a little quiet time… whether it’s a television screen, a tablet or a smart phone - they are guaranteed to engage your kid in a little brain play and give you some much needed down time. It’s tempting. My family has replaced endless hours on a...

I don’t like S’mores. There I said it. I don’t know why… My family is Portuguese and I am first generation Canadian so graham crackers and marshmallows were not a staple in my house growing up. It’s not like my family didn’t go camping. We did! And we also roasted marshmallows in the fire pit but nobody was ever inclined to put a perfectly roasted marshmallow (don’t burn them please!) in between graham crackers with chocolate....

We live next to a couple who are friendly, lovely people. One is a retired principal, and the other still works as a teacher. They are wonderful to live next to. They genuinely care about us and our kids. They give them chocolates, birthday and Christmas presents, and most importantly, attention. They always have kind words and show genuine interest about how and what my kids are doing. They don’t mind giving me a cup of sugar (or...

Being photographed is not always fun for people who don’t feel like they are looking their best. Aka: new moms. We feel a little heavier than usual, we haven’t slept, probably haven’t had a haircut in ages and are generally not running at optimum levels. I say this is a new mom but I’m not a new mom and still feel like this… I guess I can say I sometimes feel a little run down. Recently I was on holiday with my husband and two...

Burlington, VT is one of my favourite cities. As I’ve mentioned before I love Burlington and it has an excellent, warm vibe about it. For me it’s a combination of the lake, the trees, the local and organic food, the friendly people and the craft beer. I’m not going to lie, I consume quite a lot of beer while I’m in Vermont, for some reason it just tastes better. We normally stay in the same large chain hotel every time we visit...

I recently had the good fortune of being upgraded to World Traveller Plus on a trans-Atlantic flight with British Airways – I thought that these free upgrades only happened in movies! Every time I’ve flown with BA, they always give each person a complimentary headset, toothbrush (with toothpaste) and a blanket. All things to make the flight go by a little bit smoother. Now on this upgrade they went that extra mile and also included socks,...

I love a great party. Always. So much in fact, that sometimes when I think, “I’m kind of tired, I’ll just go for an hour and then come home,” I’m almost always still the last to leave. I was recently invited to Lena’s home along with a great group of women to celebrate the holidays and to find out what the hottest toys are from Fisher-Price this year. I jumped at the chance because, as I said, I love a good party and I was excited...

I love soup. I really love soup, it’s one of my favourite things. My grandmother always had a pot of soup on the stove and I never turn away a bowl. My kids don’t really enjoy eating it, but that’s slowly changing. I figure the more I make it the more they’ll eat it and actually grow to love it. I mean, what’s not to love? Caldo Verde is one of my favourites. I grew up eating collard greens and kale and this is a Portuguese...

I absolutely loved being pregnant. I would try for a third, but there is usually a baby at the end of those nine to 10 months and well, to be honest, two is about all that I can handle at the moment. As the editor/co-founder of Oh Baby! Magazine I think a lot about pregnancy and here are the top 10 things that I loved about being pregnant: 1. Showing off my belly. I strutted my stuff daily. Tight t-shirts, bikinis on the beach, and not to...

My family loves shoes. Can you guess my daughter’s first word? Shoe. She is still a shoe lover. Back to school is quickly approaching and like most parents, I usually use back to school as a time to buy my kids new shoes. I don’t usually go over the top like some. I don’t buy an entire wardrobe for each kid, but they do each get school supplies (depending on age), a new outfit for the first day and a new pair of shoes. I’m a fan of...

There are some really warm and fuzzy images of new moms with their babies at their breasts. Minutes after birth, she’s smiling. And you can’t hear it, but you know that baby is rhythmically sucking and swallowing milk. Of course he is — because everything is perfect. In reality, the baby is likely falling asleep after every other swallow of colostrum and the mom is uncomfortably wearing what seems like the largest sanitary napkin ever...

I’ve had two babies and both were planned. I was actively trying to become pregnant both times. Both times I made the decision to not drink alcohol… just in case I was pregnant. Thankfully I was okay with this. I know a lot of people may struggle with the difficulties involved in giving up something that you love during pregnancy. At the risk of sounding judgey, giving up alcohol during pregnancy is just the beginning of things that you’re...