• Food

    Cute and Simple Owl Cake Pops – Cooking With Kids

    Today, on the last day of school my kids shared some treats with their individual classes. My kids are both crazy about cooking and they also love cake pops. Together we decided to try to make delicious owl cake pops. So last night we made these owls. I am pretty happy with them and most importantly the kids were proud of these owl cake pops. It’s our last day of school here. Not only is it the last day of school though, it’s the last day ever at this school where my girls have been students since they were 6 years…

  • Travel

    Dolphin Discovery Aquaventuras WaterPark – Family Adventure in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico #pvpresstrip

    Dolphin Discovery Aquaventuras Waterpark Puerto Vallarta tops my list of favourite things to do with family in Puerto Vallarta. Recently I travelled through Puerto Vallarta with my daughter. We were on a press trip that delivered tonnes of fun and adventure for everyone. Dolphin Discovery was one of our favourite excursions. This is why we loved this family waterpark. Where can you pet a sea lion, be propelled through a pool like a Superhero with dolphins beneath your feet and race watersides all day? I am talking about Dolphin Discovery and Aquaventuras Waterpark in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico of course. Lucky for…

  • family

    Harlem GlobeTrotters World Tour #PTPAGLOBIES

    When the Harlem GlobeTrotters come to town you know it. Their shows are always entertaining and sheer fun, with a strong hit of audience interaction. As a Mom I love that my kids enjoy watching the talented basketball team perform trick shots and whoop it up playfully for the crowd. I also enjoy seeing that they give back. My family at the Meet and Greet session before the Harlem GlobeTrotters show at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario   When the Harlem GlobeTrotters come to town they make the rounds, usually visiting hospitals, doing radio call in shows and interviews and…

  • family

    Spring Fever: Nerf Rebelle and Nerf Bash Ball – Review

    Bye Bye Winter. It’s Hurricane season. Hurricane Ainsley season that is. Spring fever has hit hard here – FINALLY.   I am not complaining. It was a long snowy, cold winter and we are still not entirely free of the season. There is still frost on the rooftops here most mornings and it’s April 1st! But the first hint of spring in our area of Ontario, Canada and my kids were racing outside knocking on doors in our new neighbourhood trying to make new friends. New Nerf toys like Nerf Rebelle helped start new friendships.   We moved into our new…

  • family

    Barbie My Dreams Express Your Style Contest

    I asked my kids if they wanted me to post some more stories about Barbies. They hollered great whoops of joy. “Wait, what’s that? You girls still like Barbies?” “YES!!!!!” They hollered loudly and in unison. Such are the conversations in my house.    I make no excuses ever for our unabashed love of all things Barbie. There was a time I thought my girls would be tough sporty girls (and they are). They would never like pink. (My Mom bought one exclusively pink clothing for the first 6 years of her life and it still remains a favourite colour…

  • family - homes

    Five Jobs Kids Can Do When Your Family Is Moving

    Kids can and should help when moving. After all they are part of the family and moving is a massive undertaking. So why not get them involved. We found several easy ways to get our kids involved and invested in the process of moving to our new house.   It’s no big secret that our family is moving. I have been writing about the process for weeks and getting prepared to move for months now. Finally the countdown is on. On Valentine’s Day weekend our family will move out of our first home and into one that will give us…

  • family

    My Top Five Family Christmas Movies

    This time of year we love to take the afternoon or evening and watch Family Christmas movies together. Are you the same way? There’s something super festive about watching Christmas movies together as a family. If your family is at all like mine, then Christmas is a great opportunity to snuggle, take a break, pop some popcorn, and plan a movie night. Who wants to go out after eating all that turkey? I’d much rather cuddle and watch something fun before Christmas too. Wrapping presents and decorating the tree is always a good time to share a special movie. In…

  • Giveaways - parenting

    Max and Ruby in the Nutcracker Suite Coming Soon

      When my kids were small they adored Max & Ruby on Nickelodeon. My girls still enjoy seeing live entertainment and Centennial Hall, London, has often been a space where we built happy family memories. If you ask me Centennial Hall is the perfect size for events that are somewhat intimate, welcoming, warm and family friendly. Our last show might have been The Backyardigans there.  Over the past decade there have been many great Koba Entertainment productions witnessed and experienced by our family. There’s something about these entertaining productions that makes kids of us all. Coming Soon Max & Ruby,…

  • family - Health

    Five Things NOT to Say When a Friend is Grieving

    GRIEVING Four months ago my mother passed away unexpectedly fast. Hearts broken, we moved through our days barely breathing at times, bursting into tears at the cemetery as we chose our mother’s plot, falling asleep spent. The words “Beloved Mother” on a spray of roses and every childhood memory unravelled at my feet. Sobbing, we set foot inside a flower shop to buy the last flowers we might ever gift her with and hope the florist weighs how much we loved her, translates it into colours. In the last few weeks, tears have come and gone, sometimes with clear triggers…

  • Travel

    Bruce County Travel – Exploring the Bruce

      All the summers of my childhood were spent with my Mom and brother on the beaches along the Bruce Peninsula. They were leisurely Bruce County summers spent sunning ourselves, swimming, growing.   Exploring Bruce County Travel Attractions  From the time my kids were little, we maintained the Bruce County summer tradition. This year, before we headed up to the beach for a week at a rented cottage I checked out a few web sites to see what was new and what we might add to our week. Tweens are fun to travel with and mine have been visiting the…