Everything is change and adjustment over here right now. A few weeks back we welcomed a fifth family member to our household, and not in any of the ways that may immediately spring to mind. We didn't get a pet, have a new baby, or adopt a child. Rather my husband's mom moved in with us. Having my mother-in-law move in with us has been an amazingly positive experience. Having … [Read more...]
Five Family Friendly Fantasy & Sci-Fi Shows to Binge Watch on Netflix + Free Spinner
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...]
Three Tactics For Building Connections with Your Tween
Connecting with my tween-aged daughter is a top priority for me. I tell myself, almost daily, that if I can build strong connections with her now then maybe those teenage years won't be so bad. (Conversely, I also constantly tell myself, if I can't make it through a few eye rolls, the occasional "I hate you!" and the sporadic "you don't know anything" temper tantrums now, then … [Read more...]
79 Cartoons and Kids Shows to Watch in French on Netflix
My children are in a French Immersion school, which means eighty-some-percent of the day they are taught in French. My own French is not exactly stellar. I mean I have the basic "I learned this in grade school because I am Canadian" level of French, which my kids, who are in 1st and 4th grade, are already surpassing. Yesterday I was doing the dishes with my seven year old, … [Read more...]
Can I cheat and not raise a cheater?
I tell my children they are not allowed to cheat. I tell them that it's not good to lie. That it's not good to try and hide things from mom. And then I turn around and I do all the things I tell them not to do. I cheat, I lie, and I hide things from them. I'm trying to decide if I should feel guilty over this or not. It started with snacks. When they were younger I … [Read more...]
How Do you Choose the Right Shows and Movies for Your Kids?
The Jungle Book is on Netflix right now. You know, the newer, live action, version? It's a big deal because I don't know if I should let my six year old see it or not. The nine year old's already seen it (and she can't decide if she ever wants to see it again or not). In her words it is "bloody and scary and would be far too scary for Gigi". Do any of you have kids in … [Read more...]
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Giveaway
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...]
Three Awesome & Oddball Things You Probably Missed on Netflix
I often feel like the big movies and TV shows get all the love, and these interesting non-fiction bits that are off on the fringe are ignored. So with that in mind, here are three awesome, and slightly offbeat, shows that you may have missed watching on Netflix: Category: Fascinating and Mind Bending Title: Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets … [Read more...]
Giant Robots, Princesses and Aliens: Voltron Is For Girls
Spoiler Warning: I am going to talk about major plot points in the first season of Voltron: Legendary Defender. If you haven't seen it yet and you don't want to have the storyline spoiled for you don't read this. (Actually, if you haven't see it yet, you should just stop what you're doing and go watch it. Seriously. Right now. Go on. And then come back here and we can discuss … [Read more...]
Make Your Own Book of Dragons, Like a Dragon Rider of Berk
My nine year old daughter, Rainbow, 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 … [Read more...]
My Silly Kids Love to Watch…
I asked my kids what their favourite Netflix show was. The girls were all snuggled up on the couch with their favourite snuggly blankets and their favourite stuffed dolls, and I grabbed the camera and shot a video, asking them to tell me what show they liked watching the best... and well.. their answer kind of cracked me up. It certainly wasn't one I was … [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...]
Great Deal on a Cool How to Train Your Dragon Book
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?
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...]
The Mom List, and How to Put it on Pause…
I have a list in my head. The mom list. It's a constant recitation of all the things I should be doing, the things that need to get done. It never stops. It never shuts up. I can constantly hear it nagging me, "Did you swap the laundry? You need to pick up milk. We're almost out of toilet paper. What can you put in the kids lunchboxes today? What are we having for dinner? … [Read more...]