January 11, 2015
Say Hello to 2015 with Kinder Surprise #kindermom
The holidays are officially over and as we return to regular routines (and a little bit more of a relaxed pace!) we can reflect on the last year and how we want to grow in 2015. Our holiday season was very special this year as we remembered my Grandfather whom we lost to cancer as well as having a surprise visit by my husband’s cousin whom he has not seen in over fifteen years! Talk about an emotional reunion – I have never seen my husband cry before. We shared tears, laughter, wine and chocolate – lots of chocolate (especially Kinder chocolates…mmm yum!!).
This year has a lot of promise (every new start always does) as well as some changes. Our youngest will be going off to Kindergarten (tearing up at the thought of that!), learning new sports (skiing – hopefully I will not make a repeat show and twist my ankle falling like I did with cross country skiiing) and I am a quarter of my way through my Marketing Diploma. Just thinking about all these changes makes my stomach turn both in anticipation and in fear but the best part of change is the surprises that come with it. While sometimes the surprises can be good other times they are harder to adjust to. Each new turn brings with it a new lesson and a new opportunity for growth.
To help make those bumpier surprises easier for our children we try to sneak in a little Kinder Surprise. The Kinder chocolates are a way for us to say I love you and that you mean the world to me when our children are at school or even as an after school snack. A little hidden surprise in a lunch pail goes a long way and not to mention they are the talk of the class when they get to pop open the chocolate and a toy.
Kinder is releasing brand new toys to celebrate the new year. You can now find more than fifty new toys in the classic Kinder eggs and another fifty in the pink Kinder eggs! The new toys range from parachutes and animals all the way to fashion accessories. Here is our family’s top two personal favourites that we are on the hunt for:
Now how cute are these two toys? We fell in love with them at first sight!
Are you following Kinder on Facebook? You will want to make sure you are because during the week of January 26th to the 30th, Kinder Canada will be celebrating Games and Puzzle Week with daily prizing. Awesome right? So make sure you go give them a ‘like’ so that you can get in on all the fun and giveaways – good luck.
Disclosure: I am a #KinderMom and part of the Kinder Canada influencers team. As part of my affiliation I am provided with special perks and products. All opinions expressed are my own.
January 11, 2015
Bringing Literature to Life with Netflix #StreamTeam
As we begin to get back in the swing of things with school and home life, Netflix has loads of literature inspired movies playing throughout the month of January to help ease this transition. This includes the ever so popular and adorable, Puss in Boots, which premieres on January 16th, 2015.
There are many books that I have first watched on film that inspired me to read the book (or books!) behind it – Divergent, Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games just to name a few. I love how film (when done right!) really brings the characters and setting to life .
Netflix has several fantastic literature inspired movies out this month. One of our personal favourite? The Cat in the Hat. Oh how naughty he is with his adventures! We are always full of giggles watching this movie.
Looking for more family favourites to watch? Why not try Peter Pan or How to Train Your Dragon. I grew up reading The Babysitters Club (how many of you formed your own club because of these books??!!) and can’t wait to sit down with this movie again.
With a few simple supplies (paper bag, construction paper and glue) you can create your own Puss in Boots puppet to accompany the premiere of the movie. Your kids will enjoy acting out sword fights alongside Puss in Boots. You can find all the directions by visiting Sweet Potato Chronicles.
You can’t forget the feast to go along with your sword fighting crafts and movie! Why not try this recipe inspired by the movie. You can find the complete recipe at Sweet Potato Chronicles.
What is your favourite literature inspired movie?
Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and receive perks because of this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.
January 7, 2015
A New Year, New Goals & A New Me with Giveaway!
Last year was quite the whirlwind for my family and I as life changed, new goals were both realized and set and brand new opportunities arose. I love the work that I have been blessed to do, both in the office and at home as a Mother and a Blogger. I knew that in order for myself to grow as a blogger I had to make changes and develop goals and the steps that I would have to take to make it where I want to go.
I started off by enrolling in a Marketing Diploma that began in the fall of 2014. I have to admit this has been super hard on me. Since having kids I feel like I can read one chapter from my textbook and whoosh it is all gone after finishing the chapter – I used to be like a walking encyclopedia! I am currently wrapping up my first course and while it has been a bit of a learning curve for me, I have loved learning the new terminology, new skills and new concepts to help me be a better blogger.
Another important goal that I had for myself was to celebrate 2015 with a new site and a new look. I have been on the fence about switching to WordPress from Blogger and after a few hiccups (which I am so grateful to my fellow bloggers who helped me out so much) my new site is now live!
I want to thank all of you for being there for me on this journey, supporting me and teaching me. All of the words of encouragement, emails and comments mean the world to me. It is what keeps me going when I feel ready to give up.
For 2015, I want to continue to bring you:
- fun, new and exciting content
- fabulous new products
- giveaways
- delicious recipes
- photography and more!
I am also preparing for some travelling this year and can’t wait to bring these experiences to you. So far we have planned a trip to Blue Mountain and Quebec for the BConnected Conference (can’t wait to meet all the fantastic friends that I have met online in real life).
To help celebrate my new goals and to say thank you to each and every one of you I am so happy to bring you a new giveaway sponsored by me.
My Canadian readers can now enter to win a $50 gift card to Shoppers Drug Mart (my personal favourite place to shop).
Good luck and thank you so much for all your support! <3
January 7, 2015
Guess How Much I Love You #Giveaway
Guess How Much I Love You, the much-loved story for all ages, has now come to life in DVD format! Guess How Much I Love You, with a release date of January 5th in the US and Canada, has a total of seven heart warming episodes full of love, friendship and the ever important love between father and son. In each of these episodes, Little Nutbrown Hare and Father Big Nutbrown Hare remind us that there is no greater love than that of the love between a parent and their child.
Guess How Much I Love You is full of incredibly sweet songs with catchy tunes (I have been singing the ‘Guess how much I love you’ tune for the last week and it has been our new catch phrase at home!) and loveable animal characters with excellent illustrations. The animation brings back so many memories of my own favourite childhood characters! As a family we were able to join Little Nutbrown Hare on his adventures as he meets new friends, learns new songs and dances all to show Big Nutbrown Hare how much he loves him. Each episode is just over ten minutes long with a total running time of eighty minutes. This makes it perfect for short viewing times for the younger crowd with the ability to play the DVD for longer for the older child.
The story is based on the love between a parent and a child and how strong that bond is. It was great to be able to cherish this with our children and to watch their faces as they watched the episodes.
kaboom! Entertainment and Working Mommy Journal are offering one of my readers the chance to win not only their own copy of Guess How Much I Love You but also the brand new panorama accompanying book! My Canadian readers can enter via the Rafflecopter form below – Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Make sure to follow kaboom! on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with new releases and giveaways.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this DVD in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
January 2, 2015
Gluten Free Fruit Crisp
- 1 cup of steel-cut oats (Udi’s gluten free oats are delicious)
- 2 medium sized apples
- 1 banana
- 1 pear
- 2 tbsp of maple syrup
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
Directions
Cook the gluten free oatmeal as per instructions.
