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First birthday bests

A big birthday thank you to Sears Canada for sponsoring this post. Psst, this one’s also a giveaway.

Irene's First BirthdayI love first birthdays.

I love them because it’s such a huge milestone; your child has grown from a precious bundle of newborn joy to a bona fide toddler who is ready to take on the world. There are so many firsts to celebrate too. Baby’s first roll off of the bed, baby’s first fistful of hair yanked with the strength of ten thousand men, baby’s first choking scare and baby’s first clean sweep of a book shelf, for example. You survived them all!

But the very best thing about first birthdays is that you get one hundred per cent control about how to celebrate them. You think I’m kidding. But within a couple years, you’ll be busting out a bubble-gum pink Barbie cake or dodging Nerf bullets with a tray full of hot dogs despite yourself.  This is the year, man. You can celebrate with a few close friends and bake an organic, sugar-free cake and serve, I don’t know, sushi, smoked salmon, wonderfully spicy Indian food or something. Or you can invite everyone you know and buy the chocolatiest of chocolate cakes and do it up with pizza and beer and lots of it. It doesn’t matter because the first birthday is all about you!

*cough* And the baby, too. Sure.

Did you know that Sears is celebrating a first birthday too this year? And I’ve found a way to make it all about you!

This month marks one year of being able to buy ultra-cute baby clothes by Carters and OshKosh at Sears across the country. (They make my favourite sleepers, hands down. Not that you asked.) Sears is whooping it up by offering YOU two chances to win.

Carters OshKosh contest

First, head over to http:/sears.ca/carterscontest  for a chance to win a trip for four to Orlando, Florida, courtesy of Carters and OshKosh. The trip includes hotel and airfare, a car rental and passes to an Orlando attraction including dining. Sign me up!

But that’s not all. You can also enter to win a $50 Sears gift card right here on this blog! This is a super quick one; I’ll be drawing a winner at midnight on Thursday, February 27. Canada only, excluding Quebec (sorry). You must be 18 to enter and can only win once (although you can enter on more than one blog).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I am part of the Sears Mom Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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Get a bit fit and also a Fitbit

Fitbit flex

Yes, I wrote a post about new year’s resolutions I can actually keep, and I stand by that post. But the truth is I have other secret resolutions. I guess they’re not so much new year’s resolutions as they are long-term ambitions  I’m firming up my resolve to achieve.

The first has to do with professional/literary goals and goes something like this:

Turn on computer --> ? --> Nobel Prize

 

I’m sure it will work itself out.

But the other is much trickier. It’s about fitness or health or not completely succumbing to slovenliness.

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Stuff I’m digging: Reebok sneaks for little feets

I really like the way Reebok does kids shoes.

Reebok generously outfitted my kids with new sneaks last year and those shoes were every bit as supportive and comfortable after having been lived in all year as they were out of the box.  So when we were invited to the launch event for this year’s kids ATV19 shoe and they got to walk out with all new kicks, I was BEYOND THRILLED.

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Stuff I’m digging: JiggiJump on CBC Kids

The kids are back to school tomorrow! Well, some of them are.  If you’re like me and have one child in full-day school, one in half-day kindergarten and one too young to start, it’s hardly a break. I’ve lined up some morning childcare for Mary so I can at least have half a day to eat bonbons do some work, but it won’t really start until the second week of school. In the meantime, I do look forward to spending some quality one-on-one time with my baby but I am also thrilled to learn that JiggiJump will be premiering tomorrow.

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Stuff I’m Digging: Fun Stuff for Kids in Toronto

I’ve been holding out on you, guys.

A lot of very cool things have come my way, but I’ve been so swamped with work and life and work that I haven’t found the time for my usual Friday recomendations. I’m contributing various lifestyle posts to the The Loop now as well as juggling this blog and whatever other freelance work comes my way and three children who are home ALL THE TIME for the summer. But I’ve decided that everybody is in semi-vacation mode during the summer and we’ll all just forgive each other our sloppy habits until September. Just play along.  Here’s some fun stuff for kids in Toronto (back-to-school is too fun) and then read to the end if you like giveaways.

SO. Princess Polly and the World’s Smallest Ninja at Second City in Toronto.

Colum, Irene and I were invited to see this and we LOVED IT. The kids liked that it featured a princess and a ninja and I can always get behind a subversive princess story. An energetic and endearing cast draws us into the story of a mini ninja and outcast princess who join forces to save the kingdom from a funk-inspired villain. There’s enough suspense to keep the kids at the edge of their seats and plenty of humour for kids and adults alike. Put this on your agenda if you’ll be in Toronto this month.

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Stuff I’m Digging: The WotWots

I’m not sure if you heard, but we didn’t have cable for a long time. We went over four years without cable until finally my husband caved we decided as a family that we would really like to be able to watch sports again. So up until a few weeks ago my children have been utterly deprived, only having TVO and whatever DVDs we got from the discount bin to choose from. They are only now starting to realize how deprived they were, gorging on countless cable channels and On Demand programs and Netflix until I turn it all off and they are forced to contend with the bleak reality of life. Thus is the fate of mankind …  Ahem, kiddie TV, right.

We attended the launch of The WotWots new DVD recently and they were YET AGAIN reminded of how deprived they were. Spotty and Dotty WotWot are utterly endearing aliens who marvel at all the discoveries they find here on earth. It’s actually a very charming show and all of my kids (even the one who should be too old for it) really enjoy it. Mary was totally engrossed. Finally, something that will hold her attention for fifteen minutes while I finish dinner! And Irene was over the moon about the whole experience.

Of course, you probably already know all about this because you have cable and catch these guys on Treehouse all the time. But just in case you don’t! Or if you ever want to put on something you can feel good about, take on a road trip or bring to Grandma’s … Then WIN both of The WotWots DVDs right here on this blog. (Or, you know, buy them for a reasonable price, but that’s not as exciting.) (But they’re only going to be available in stores for another couple weeks, so don’t waffle about it too long either.)

Contest closes Friday, April 19 at 11:59pm. Canada only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Stuff I’m Digging: Baby Liberté Yogurt

Yogurt can be such a healthy snack for every member of the family. It can be. Unfortunately, much of what you find at the supermarket is loaded with sugar or, worse, artificial sweeteners. And if you want something suitable for babies and young kids, you have to wade through all the fat-free varieties too.

So I have long been a fan of Liberté Yogurt for us all, but particularly for my skinny, skinny kids. All varieties are made from real milk or cream, sweetened with sugar and/or fruit purées, probiotic and incredibly delicious. Mary got hit hard with a gastric virus when she was about 14 months old and I could feel how much weight she dropped just by picking her up. We were already slated for an extra check up to make sure she was gaining well and I was afraid this would mean another extra appointment I’d rather not have to make time for. So I loaded up with avocados and eggs and all kinds of filling foods at the grocery store. I also picked up some Liberté Méditerranée which is 7 to 10% milk fat.  She loved it and plumped up nicely in the end.

I was even happier, however, to learn that Liberté has come out with a special baby line. It’s very lightly sweetened with a touch of sugar and/or fruit purées and contains 5 to 6% milk fat (which is probably more reasonable for every day consumption.) It comes in 4-packs of single (or double or triple depending on your baby’s age/appetite) servings which means it’s also great to grab on the go.

Mary loved it and so did my other kids. So did I! Even the VERY lightly sweetened plain yogurt was absolutely delicious.

And, really, it’s much better for my own waistline if we don’t make having the Méditerranée yogurt in the fridge a regular thing.

But try it out for yourself! WIN five coupons for FREE Liberty Baby products. Contest closes Friday, April at 11:59pm. Canada ONLY.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Stuff I’m Digging: Baby Gourmet Baby Food

Head’s up! It’s a giveaway!

Hey, you. Yes, you, the one up to her elbows in organic sweet potato puree with the salt-free, homemade chicken stock simmering away on the stove. Good for you. There are a whole bunch of reasons making your own baby food is great. It’s cheaper and fresher and you know exactly what’s in it, for starters. You also get to control portion sizes and play around with adding flavours and ingredients.

Strange, then, that I wasn’t able to remember any of those reasons when I was scrambling to get three kids fed and dressed and out the door in time to catch the school bus. When Mary was starting on solids last year, it was all I could do to run the dishwasher every day and find any food to put on the table, let alone prepare special batches of purees for my freezer.

Instead, I relied on a mix of organic, store-bought baby food (which is totally fine and healthy, cut yourself some slack) and putting steamed veggies from our meals through the baby food mill or mashing them with a fork on the fly. Most babies are really only on the pureed stuff for a couple months anyway and will be putting away soft finger foods before you know it.

And then, when Mary was 7 or 8 months old, I discovered Baby Gourmet and the clouds parted and angels started singing. Not exactly, but it was pretty great. First of all, the packaging is genius. The food is all organic and comes in little squeezable pouches so you can squeeze it right onto the spoon without contaminating the rest of the package with saliva. Screw the cap back on and save the rest for later. It’s the ideal baby food for when you’re out and about.

They’ve also just added six new flavours to their line up: 1. Banana, Apple, Fig, Oatmeal and Greek Yogurt, 2. Banana, Apple and Beetberry, 3. Banana, Apple and Kale Blend, 4. Minty Pears, Apples and Peas, 5. Cherry Apple Blossom and 6. Fruity Carrot and Greek Yogurt Smoothie. I don’t have an infant anymore so the three kids and I cracked these open to sample ourselves. They were all delicious. They were so good, in fact, that my four-year old keeps sneaking the left overs out of the fridge to eat as a snack. I even promised her some for dessert one day!

Win some and see for yourself. I’m giving away a prize pack of all six new flavours. Contest closes Friday, March 29 at 11:59pm. Canada and US.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Stuff I’m Digging: TIFF Kids digiPlaySpace and March Break Movies

Toronto-centric quickie giveaway alert. See bottom of the post for details.

There is SO MUCH to do during March Break wherever you live. Toronto’s no exception. Here, these guys do event listings so much better than I would.

Yesterday I took the girls to check out the TIFF Kids digiPlaySpace at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and it was pretty cool, so I wanted to give a special shout out. I really should have taken Colum out of school for the afternoon too because it would have been right up his alley.

It’s a high-tech interactive playground, essentially, for kids ages 3 and up. (Grown ups will have fun playing too.) We got to watch ourselves control the weather with our bodies on a giant screen, chase virtual bugs around, ride a giant wild boar via green screen technology and lots more.

The digiPlaySpace is open for six weeks from March Break to the end of the TIFF Kids International Film Festival. It’s the perfect activity for your bigger kids who really don’t need to do the dinosaurs at the ROM for the 10th year in a row. (Not that I don’t love the ROM!) Here, check out the one minute trailer:

If hanging out at TIFF puts you in the mood to watch some movies, walk up to the Queen streetcar and head over to The Beach Cinemas for $5 kids movies every morning all week long. There will also be face-painting, character appearances, a charity cupcake sale and lunch specials at Boston Pizza.

Quickie giveaway! You can win 4 tickets to any March Break Movie Morning showing and a family-friendly DVD prize pack. Just check out the line up and tell me which movie you want to see the most in the comments and I’ll draw a name on Monday, March 11 at 10am. Liking the Beach Cinema’s Facebook page isn’t necessary to enter but it is a good way to keep in the loop about future specials. GTA only, duh.

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Stuff I’m Digging: Fun by Lush

There was one product I meant to include in my holiday gift guide that slipped through the postpartum brain cracks. (How long are we allowed to trot out the old postpartum excuse? I’m pushing a year and a half now. I’m sure that counts.) I was going to let it slide except every time I give my kids a bath I’m reminded of just how awesome this stuff is. So Imma tell you about it anyway.

LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics has introduced a new soap for kids called Fun. It’s actually more like a cross between play dough and soap and shampoo and bubble bath. Like most Lush products, it’s preservative-free, made of safe and gentle ingredients and free from animal testing. It also comes in five vibrant colours and delightful scents. It’s also awesome. Did I already say that?

IMAG0605_1_1

A little goes a long way, so rip off a small hunk and wrap the rest back up. Squeeze and twist and shape and mold.

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Irene always claims the pink, of course, so Mary gets green. I love how it colours the bath water too.

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And then, after sufficient molding and swirling and splashing (and a little washing too, if you’re lucky), you get bubbles.

The kids all LOVE this stuff. And just so you can feel extra good about buying top-quality bath products that your kids will love, Lush donates 2.5% of  Fun sales to helping rebuild play spaces for children in post-tsunami Japan.

I’m sorry I kept this from you for so long. Let me make it up to you with a giveaway. I’m giving away two complete sets of Fun (all 5 colours in each set). Contest open until 11:59 Friday, March 8. Canada and US entries only.

I’m also trying out this Rafflecopter app because the giveaways are becoming increasingly hard to manage. I hope it’s easy enough to use. Please let me know if you have any issues with it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway