“The moment where you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever being able to do it.” ~ J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan At it's heart Peter Pan is all about both wanting to grow up, and the fear of growing up or the desire to stay young forever. But to me this quote makes me think about the fearlessness and the abundant self confidence of the young child. Until the world … [Read more...]
Lunchbox Amnesia, When Your Kids Forget How to Make School Lunches
My daughter has lunch box amnesia. I'm talking the big kid here, Rainbow, my eight year old. The other day she refused to pack her own lunch for school. Not only did she tell me, in some rather questionable tones, that I had to do it for her but she also insisted that she had never, ever, in the entire history of the world, packed her own lunch. Never. Ever. And well, she's … [Read more...]
June Lunch Box Woes and Quaker Chewy Super Grains Granola Bars to the Rescue!
I am SO done with packing school lunches. So. Done. It's June. We've got about sixteen school days left until the end of the year and depending on the day of the week I am wavering between "I can't wait for summer vacation to start", to "Oh crap, the school year is almost over, I don't think I'm ready for summer yet." I look forward to having my girls home with me all summer, … [Read more...]
Why You Should Keep Your Kids in a Harness Car Seat For As Long As Possible
I probably should have addressed this post to my husband. The more accurate title might be: Dear Hubby, Here's why I refuse to swap our youngest over to a booster seat. See my youngest child is now six and over the past few months it's become increasingly obvious that her carseat was no longer the right fit for her. It had also expired, which is a big no no. However I … [Read more...]
How to Play Blue’s Clues at Home with Your Kids, Making the Everyday Fun with Clues & Puzzle Solving
Last night I was in the kitchen throwing dinner together. Hubby wasn't feeling well and had come home from work and headed straight to bed. I was desperately trying to keep the volume level on the kids down to a dull roar, while simultaneously finishing up dinner. Both kids had had a rough day at school for various reasons, neither of them were in the best mood, and they kept … [Read more...]
That Thing About Having a Baby…
There are days, and then there are days.... While our household is well beyond the screaming baby stage at this point, I can still remember all too well the times when I walked and held a crying baby, who sometimes would seem to just cry and cry no matter what I did, as I walked and rocked and walked some more. And then there are days like today, when my children who are … [Read more...]
3 Tips for Your Kids Springtime Shoe Check-Up
Now that spring is here it's time to put away the winter boots and break out the sneakers. Springtime is a great time to check and see if your kids are due for new footwear. If you're like most parents your kids probably went off to school in September with shiny new sneakers and indoor shoes. Now it's six months later, and their feet may have grown, or their shoes may be … [Read more...]
Pediped Racer Shoes Made for Wet Outdoor Fun: Mud Puddles, Splash Pads and Beaches, Oh My
Springtime and Pediped shoes go together like the peanut butter and jelly on my kid's favourite sandwich. Two years back I reviewed Pediped's Flex Darcy from their Adventure Line. It was my first experience with "water play shoes". And those shoes, which were designed to take dunks and splashes in stride, were my daughter's favourite footgear ever. They were still in great … [Read more...]
9PM is the New Midnight! (Well, if you’re still in gradeschool, that is…)
My parents had what was probably the least exciting New Year's Eve ritual of all time. They would stay up until midnight sitting in their usual spots in the living room, watching TV and reading the paper, as they did pretty much every night from 1980-ish to 2010-ish. Come midnight my mom would make a fresh cup of tea. By 12:30, at the lastest, they would be in bed. Some years, … [Read more...]
What a Load
Three giant bags of stuff, two nights at Scout camp. I can never get over how much they require the kids to bring (and yes, every piece of this was on the "absolutely must bring or else we will send your child home" required list). Granted one entire bag is her winter wear, so when she goes to spring camp it's one bag less. Still a crazy amount of stuff. I find myself wondering … [Read more...]
Help Your Friends and Family to Give the Gift of Education This Christmas with #HeritageeGifting
Each year around this time two things happen. The first thing is my mother-in-law gives me money towards my two daughters' RESPs. The second is my girls receive a pile of Christmas gifts from various relatives near and far. Since most of these people only see my children at Christmas and holidays they, for the most part, have no clue what my daughters like, or what they already … [Read more...]
Bending the Rules and Changing our Bedtime Routines, #5MoreMinutes with @Netflix_CA
When my kids are home sick from school it's often Netflix to the rescue. No news here, I've written many times about how sniffles and snuggly blankets on the couch go hand in hand. So when the latest batch of nasty germs started making it's way around our household plenty of children's shows on Netflix of course helped to pass the icky time. The big kid was sick for a few … [Read more...]
Coming out and declaring my secret love for Herbal Essences…
Here's a confession, I don't use baby shampoo on my kids hair. I've been to other people's houses with my girls on playdates and while I'm using the bathroom I've noticed the container of baby shampoo sitting on the side of the tub, or the primary coloured bottle of "kids" shampoo with the cartoon characters dancing across the label. Even when the girls would visit their … [Read more...]
Glinda the Magical Pokemon Trainer of Oz and the Pikachu Princess in Black…
This year the girls wanted Pokemon costumes. The idea was partly fuelled by their obsession with watching Pokemon on Netflix, and partly by the fact that they had seen a "make your own Pikachu costume" section in their Chirp magazine. The 5 year old brought September's magazine to me, folded carefully open to display the magazine's idea for a Pikachu costume. "This is what I … [Read more...]
What are your kids eating for Halloween dinner? How about Bugs ‘n’ Cheese?
So, this is pretty awesome. You know how each Fall Boston Pizza sells Kids Cards to help raise donations for the Boston Pizza Foundation Future Prospects? Well this year they set a new record, and raised more than $900,000. That's amazing! That's money that will be going directly towards helping kids by supporting The Rick Hansen Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Kids Help … [Read more...]