Maple Leaf Mommy

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

Alice knew, the company makes the weather…

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... it's all about perspective. The meteorological records for these parts assure us that July 4, 1862, was "cool and rather wet": but on that day Lewis Carroll first told the tale of Alice in Wonderland to four people in a Thames gig, rowing upstream for a picnic tea, and to the ends of their lives all four remembered the afternoon as a dream of cloudless English sunshine. … [Read more...]

How to Play Blue’s Clues at Home with Your Kids, Making the Everyday Fun with Clues & Puzzle Solving

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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...]

Spingtime Swingtime

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The six year old's current preferred after school activity is a visit to the local park and a ride on the swings. She runs up to the swings and dive bombs into position, always on her belly, never on her bum. Grinning madly, she swings wildly up and down while singing "I'm flying, I'm flying." Add in the occasional shouts of "I'm Superman!" and you get the idea. How have … [Read more...]

Warm Up Your Springtime With This $260USD GIVEAWAY!

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This weekend has marked the first real springtime like weather around here. The birds are singing, the daffodils and tulips are just starting to bloom, and I even spotted a dandelion on our walk to the school bus this morning. Perhaps spring hasn't really hit in your parts yet, or perhaps you're just looking for a springtime pick me up. Well, I've got just the thing. How about … [Read more...]

Great Deal on a Cool How to Train Your Dragon Book

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So the very day after I wrote a post about flicks you can find on Netflix which are adapted from cool kid's books,we randomly stopped in at the local Chapters and I found this lovely hardcover How to Train Your Dragon book hanging out in the discount section. The (In)Complete Book of Dragons It was marked down to $6.99. How could I say no? I mean I have a … [Read more...]

What Will You Be Streaming in 2016?

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So yesterday I talked about how, in a roundabout way, my secret New Year's resolution is to watch more Netflix. Currently hubby and I are watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show which we intentionally avoided when it originally aired. Back in the day many of our friends were Buffy fanatics, and we used to laugh at them when they would say they couldn't do x or go to y because … [Read more...]

#MySweetValentine $400USD PayPal Giveaway!

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Welcome to #MySweetValentine Giveaway! Baby it’s Cold outside and we need a little bit of sweet nothings. This cash giveaway is a Blogger Sponsored Event which means the bloggers listed below all chipped in towards the prize. One lucky duck is going win $400 in PayPal cash! This giveaway is co-hosted by DownshiftingPRO and MapleMouseMama along with The Knit Wit by … [Read more...]

Past, Future, Why Guess? Know!

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You don't run into these old fortune telling machines too often. I remember the first time I saw one, at a penny arcade in Frankenmuth. I absolutely HAD to waste an American quarter on seeing how this thing worked. There is something compelling and almost eerie about watching an automaton move from up close. The one in the picture here is from Kennywood amusement park in … [Read more...]

Moving Beyond Grief with a Very Belated Gift, A Gift For Sophie

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Sometimes things just randomly show up at my house. Packages that I wasn't expecting and never expressly asked for. It's a blogger thing. Brands sometimes send you "gifts" or unexpected deliveries in hopes that you'll provide coverage. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It depends on the contents of the package, what's going on in my life when it randomly arrives, and any … [Read more...]