Category: Uncategorized

March 24, 2015

Who Is Egg-cited for Easter – This Kinder Mom Is! #KinderSmiles #KinderMom

The sun is finally shining and the snow has melted (in my part of Canada because I know my friends in the East are still having quite a bit of snow falling!) and Spring has finally come. We have been busy preparing our hearts and home for Easter and our children are excited for all the fun that Easter brings – time with family and all of the Easter egg hunts!

I have been busy preparing the children’s baskets this week, preparing crafts for the boys and working on our Lenten promises. While it is usually a busy time in our family it is also the most rewarding.

Kinder eggs have always been a family tradition in our home. Our children look forward to finding them in their Easter baskets on Easter morning – not to mention how much their Mom loves those mini eggs!!

This year Kinder Canada is celebrating Easter in a big way on Facebook by unwrapping your very own Kinder egg online!

So how does this work you may ask?

Between March 16 and March 31st head over to the Kinder Canada Facebook page and open the new Kinder Easter tab at the top of the page. Tap the image with your mouse to unwrap the egg. The Kinder egg will reveal either an instant prize or a message to try again. Every time you unwrap a Kinder egg you are automatically entered in to a grand prize draw. Awesome, right? Make sure you get those entries in soon because this unique giveaway will end soon.

How do you celebrate Easter? Are Kinder eggs a part of your tradition like they are in our home?

Make sure you are following Kinder Canada on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with new products, games and giveaways!

Disclosure: I am a #KinderMom and receive perks associated with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

March 20, 2015

March Break Fun with Mommy and Me Bake #DKCanada

Mommy and Me Bake #DKCanada March Boutique

What better way to spend the March Break (or any time really) than baking with your child! DK Canada introduces Mommy and Me Bake, a book full of fun recipes and ingredients for your child and you to make together.

About Mommy and Me Bake

Mommy and Me Bake introduces children to the fun and exciting world of baking. This book is full of easy to read and follow classic recipes to help children bake along with their parents.

My Thoughts

Talk about the perfect first recipe book for children of all ages! Mommy and Me Bake contains large, bright photos that are perfect for children. The steps are easy to follow (even for the baking impaired adult!) and are in large, bold font.

The recipes take on new names that will entice your children: Crunchy Cookie Cutouts, Fruit Boats and Cookie Blossoms. The names got our children excited to try out the recipes especially with the animated introduction picture for each recipe.

We had an incredible time baking with these recipes. Mommy and Me Bake makes it easy to follow, understand and explains the science behind baking making it a fun experience for all. The hard cover and thick pages make it easy to keep in the kitchen while baking without ruining the book.

What is your favourite recipe to bake?

Make sure to check out the March Break Boutique over at DK Canada!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

March 20, 2015

Get Science Inspired with Netflix! #StreamTeam

March Break is here!! WOOHOO!! Time to spend some time with our kids doing what they love best – crafts, experiments and baking! March also signals the start of Science Fair season. The subject of science can broken down into three categories: natural sciences (biology, fundamental forces), formal sciences (math, logic) and social sciences (human behaviour and societies).

Netflix helps us get our creative juices flowing this month with plenty of educational and science based films that inspire, educate and entertain. The hardest part will be choosing what to watch first!

Why not start with one of everyone’s favourite topics – volcanoes. Deadliest Volcanoes explores the wonder of these sleeping giants that millions of people live in the shadow of. This show follows scientists around the world exploring volcanoes, the likelihood of eruption, when it may and how deadly an eruption could be.

Some other great titles for your older child and yourself: Nova: Hunting the Elements, Cosmos and Let Your Mind Wonder.

Maybe you have a young crowd and the wonders of Miss Frizzle’s bus may suit them better. The Magic School Bus (my favourite show as a child!) returns!

Some other great children titles: Sid the Science Kid, Fetch! with Ruff and Animal Mechanicals.

Follow up these great shows with your own science experiment at home by making a volcano erupt! You can find the whole experiment instructions on Meet the Dubiens or you can follow my mini version using three ingredients.

You will need:

plastic water bottle
six drops of dish washing detergent
two tbsp of baking soda
one cup on vinegar

Directions:

Place you plastic water bottle in a baking pan to capture the eruption (and save yourself a major cleanup!). Fill your water bottle about 3/4 with warm water and add the dish washing detergent and baking soda.

Slowly add the vinegar to set off your eruption!

What activities have you been up to this March Break?

Disclosure: I am member of the Netflix StreamTeam and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

March 12, 2015

Dining At Blue Mountain #WinterWarrior

Food has this magical way of bringing people together – to laugh, to talk and to catch up. The best part of vacation is getting to dine out with no worries about cooking but just being able to enjoy the meal and company.

With so many dining options to choose from at Blue Mountain, we chose to have dinner at Firehall Pizza Co and at Oliver and Bonacini. We chose to have breakfast at the all day breakfast restaurant, Sunset Grill.

The Sunset Grill serves up delicious all day breakfast with endless coffee (mmmm…coffee!). I loved the warm decor that brightened up the inside and made you feel right at home. Our meals were very well priced and came with huge portions which was perfect for filling us up for a day of skiing. Sunset Grill was the perfect breakfast dining option for us and it was located within a five-minute walk from our hotel.

My delicious meal:

The hubby got the protein meal! Check out all that goodness:

Hungry yet? I know I am!

We had dinner at Firehall Pizza Co on our first night and I fell in love with the food and decor (and from the large group of people gathering it was definitely a hot spot at Blue Mountain Village!). The music was pumping (but not overwhelming so), the staff were fantastic, service was quick and the food was delicious!

Oliver and Bonancini was the last place we dined at during our stay and it offered a good variety of cuisine to satisfy each one of us. The children’s meals came with an appetizer, main course and a dessert! Both of our boys devoured their food!

My husband ordered the lamb and in his words “That was the most incredible meal I have ever eaten!”. And it truly was.

The atmosphere and design of the restaurant was gorgeous. Later on in the night, in the picture below the top part of this middle area lights up with a fire casting a warm glow in the restaurant. The restaurant is perfectly located on the main floor of the Westin hotel just adjacent to the lobby.

I had to share a picture of my gorgeous Sangria!

Do you have a favourite place to dine out at when visiting Blue Mountain? Which one of these places would you want to visit first?

March 11, 2015

Ensuring Financial Security and Well Being for Your Family with FormalWill.ca

One of the most important documents you will ever develop for your family is putting together a will to ensure that your family and friends know your wishes and that the minor details are taken care of.

Have you thought about who your estate will go to? What if your children are minors – who will take care of them in the event that both your spouse and yourself pass away? While these are not the most pleasant questions to have to ask yourself they are necessary to ensure the security of your family in the event you pass away.

What is a will?

A will is a legal document that will grant your executor the power to divide your property, name who will control your estate and if you have any minor children who will be their legal guardian to care for them when you are not there to do so.

Why does this matter?

This matters for so many reasons. Without any legal document containing your wishes, your estate could go undistributed or be distributed to individuals you did not wish your estate to go to. Your family may not be able to access the necessary funds that they need. Your children may not go to the guardian you had spoken to and wished for them to go to in the event that something happened to you.

So what is holding you back from getting a will? For us it has always been finding the time and the cost of creating a will, not to mention the whole concept is scary. I am terrified of leaving my children alone but it is because of them that I know how important it is to ensure my will is complete and up to date.

Here comes the easy part! FormalWill.ca has made preparing a will simple and convenient. You can now complete your will online from at home in a few, quick steps.

First step: Speak with your spouse about your wishes and who you want to step in as guardian and executor if your spouse does not survive you. You want to make sure this person is aware of you appointing them as guardian and executor. Now this may be an awkward conversation (trust me on this one!) but you will feel so much better after you have done so!

Second Step: Visit FormalWill.ca and create an account. This will take you literally seconds and you will receive a confirmation email with your account details. On the second screen you will enter basic information (name, where you live, spousal information, children).

Third Step: Name your beneficiaries and executors of your will. You can name up to three executors. If you have specific gifts in mind (wedding bands, special jewellery) you get to name those gifts and who you would like them to go to. If your children are minors at the time you can list up to three guardians to be appointed to care for them as well as the age they must be in order to receive money held in trust for them. Any donations? Name them here.

After making a payment of $69 CDN, your will is complete! Whew! What a relief, right? The will is sent via email to the email account you entered on the initial set up. This email will contain instructions on how to have the will signed and witnessed as well as suggestions on how to safely store your will.

FormalWill.ca has simplified the process of creating and putting together a will for individuals and families. With three easy steps, those you love will have their future secure in case you aren’t there to be able to do so.

Have you started putting together a will? Have you looked at possible executors and/or guardians for your children? If not – what is holding you back?

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product in exchange for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.