Maple Leaf Mommy

A Canadian Mom's Life: Family, Food & Fun

Adventures in Raising a Junior Mad Scientist…

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I have long suspected that I am raising some kind of Pinky and the Brain style mad genius. My youngest daughter has a, well, let's say a scientific bend. I also strongly suspect that if she knew that "taking over the world" could be a life goal, she would SO be on it. Gigi digs gears and cogs, robots, and things that whir and go. She wants to take everything apart and … [Read more...]

Five Family Friendly Fantasy & Sci-Fi Shows to Binge Watch on Netflix + Free Spinner

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As far as TV entertainment goes, do you still feel old school? Are Saturday morning cartoons still a thing? Are Sunday nights reserved for Disney movies that the whole family would sit down and watch? Do you remember what shows you'd watch right after school? Television can have a big impact on your life, and it's fascinating on how that has evolved with the on-demand binge … [Read more...]

Playmobil for Toddlers & Preschoolers? Check out Playmobil 1.2.3

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Okay guys, favourite toy time. What is one toy that you would absolutely recommend for preschoolers? One your kids love (or loved). One that you felt good about them playing with. One that you would buy as a gift for children in the 18-month to 4 years old range? For me, the answer is Playmobile 1.2.3. What is Playmobil 1.2.3? Playmobil 1.2.3 is the junior Playmobil line. … [Read more...]

Disney’s Tangled Before Ever After, Now on DVD

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Disney's Tangled Before Ever After comes out on DVD today. I am guessing most of you have seen Tangled, Disney's take on the Rapunzel story. It shouldn't surprise any of my regular readers to know that my long hair obsessed kiddos enjoyed the original film. I liked it too. Rapunzel holds her own in a fight, wields a mean frying pan, and does as much saving as she herself … [Read more...]

Are You Boycotting the Internet Today? #NoFakeNews

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Are you boycotting the internet today? This year there has been a huge push to boycott the internet on the first day in April, as a way of fighting back and saying that we, the general public, are sick of Fake News. There's been a lot of hoopla in the States, with President Trump, fact checking, and plenty of calls of "Fake news!" on both sides. I've read articles … [Read more...]

DIY Business Card Valentines (For Kids)

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My kids and I did a fun project for Valentine's Day, we created DIY Valentine's Day cards using our scanner, printer, and some business card stock. I took my daughters drawings and turned them into pre-printed Valentines that they could colour in and address to their friends. It was a super simple project that turned out pretty fantastic looking, and had my girls proud to hand … [Read more...]

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Giveaway

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GIlmore Girls: A Year in the Life premiered on Netflix last Friday. It's a four part mini-series that picks up the storyline ten years after the original series ended. And I know bunches of people who have feverently been waiting for the Nov.25th release date. Okay guys... please don't throw things at me... but I've got a confession to make. I've never watched Gilmore Girls. … [Read more...]

Day Of The Dead Knitting and Crochet Patterns

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I love knitting and crocheting patterns, and round ups!  Deanna loves things with a Day Of The Dead theme.  So, I thought why not combine the two and do a guest post for her with a Day of the Dead Knitting and Crochet Patterns Round Up? I was able to find a lot of cute patterns that I will share here: Day of the Dead Skull Motif - Crochet Day of the Dead … [Read more...]

Getting Creative with Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life & Stickies

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Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life hit theatres last weekend. Based off of Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, the first in the Middle School series by James Patterson, the film is aimed at, well, middle schoolers or tweens. The bad guy of the film is a rule obsessed principal whose entire goal seems to be to squash all creativity out of his school's … [Read more...]

Joining the Militia, 1812 Style

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Every Summer we go to this big crafter's fair called Art by the River. It's held at the Fort Malden National Historic Site in Amherstburg, Ontario. We enjoy walking around and looking at all the various things for sale, doing a little Christmas shopping, maybe eating a frozen yogurt or two. The kids always want to stop and paint a picture at the art station. The one part of the … [Read more...]

Make Your Own Book of Dragons, Like a Dragon Rider of Berk

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My nine year old daughter, Grace, is a big fan of the Dreamworks film How to Train Your Dragon, as well as the Netflix exclusive series Dragons: Race to the Edge. So much so that she decided she wanted to create her own "Book of Dragons".  Mostly this consists of her drawing various dragons, some based on beasts that appear in the show, and others being creatures that she makes … [Read more...]

The August Civic Holiday in Canada. What’s the deal? Is it a real holiday?

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When I think of the Civic Holiday what first comes to mind is a memory from my childhood. Every Summer around this time my Dad would have an argument with his boss, who also happened to be my grandfather. My Dad would insist they were closing for the August Civic Holiday, and my grandfather would insist he'd never heard of it before...Was it something new this year? Was it even … [Read more...]