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Stuff I’m Digging: Netflix

Hey, psst. This one’s a giveaway, too. (Contest closed.)

Marriage is hard. Just when you think you have a handle on things another issue crops up that threatens the very core of your relationship. It’s my own personal policy that when the going gets tough, you take it to Twitter.

This generated A LOT of discussion. The general consensus was pretty much, “Sux, but yeah. You gotta wait.” There was some talk about watching it and then pretending you didn’t. (But then you have to sit through it again without giving away any spoilers.) One person had been given permission to watch the next episode without her husband but then he was annoyed when she went ahead with it. Bottom line:  You start a show together, you finish it together. 

So Netflix is tearing my marriage apart and then bringing it back together again. (All that TV watching. We’ve never spent this much time together.) What else is it doing for my family?

Right now, at this very moment, my children are enjoying a snow day off school by watching Sesame Street Classics on Netflix. I still love those old shows. It’s also our go-to source for family movie nights; Elf was a big hit over the Christmas season. It has a great selection of children’s movies and shows and I like that I can let one kid watch a hockey game and give another one the tablet to stream a show if I need a few minutes of quiet.

Personally, though, I love the great selection of high quality series on Netflix. (I love it and I hate it because when will I ever find the time?!) My favourite way to watch TV now is to start at the beginning of a series and slowly work my way through. I lost track of Mad Men after the first season so now I’m catching up on my own right before bed. I’m also enjoying Community if I want something shorter and lighter. And, of course, there’s the marital House of Cards requirement. And that is more than enough for me.

But I hear there are even movies on Netflix! Of course, movies are their main raison d’être and we’ve seen a couple in the past few weeks. In Canada we have fewer choices than you lucky Americans but there is still a lot to choose from. Way more than I could possibly watch. And, really, for eight bucks a month, who could complain?

CONTEST CLOSED

But don’t take my word for it! Win a six-month subscription and try it out for yourself. (You can still use it if you already subscribe, too.)

Browse the Netflix selection and then leave a comment telling me which show or movie you are most looking forward to watching. (Or tell me what you are already enjoying.)

Contest closes Friday, February 22nd at midnight. One entry per person. CANADA and US.

 

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English Muffin Mornings

Special thanks to Maple Leaf Foods for sponsoring this post and giveaway. CONTEST CLOSED.

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Our family breakfast. Oops. Too late, they're gone.

My son will eat almost anything I cook with gusto. He’s willing to try new dishes and will even reluctantly choke down bites of things he doesn’t like in the name of nutrition. I should probably brag about this and write a book about how to not raise a picky eater. There’s just one problem.

Breakfast is a nightmare. He won’t eat cereal. I mean, sure, he enjoys oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, french toast, bagels and eggs, so what’s the big deal? Listen, maybe in your family you wake up two hours early to shower and dress and have your coffee and make lunches and cook a nice, hot breakfast before waking up the kids, nursing the baby, changing diapers, getting them dressed and packing school bags. Maybe you do. I won’t judge. But I tend to stay up way too late, basking in the sweet, sweet quiet, and then wind up hitting the snooze bar four or five times too many.

Mornings around here are more of a tropical storm than a peaceful time for nutritive and emotional restoration. “Get dressed! No, pee first! Where’s your sweater? Where’s your bag? What’s this form? What?! That’s due today?! Eat, eat, eat! Forget it, let’s go. Coats! Boots! Hats! Where’s your other mitt? Run, run, run!” It’s really a wonder they aren’t in tears by the time they board the school bus.

Suffice it to say, then, that I love any sort of non-cereal breakfast food that is both fast and healthy. We usually end up doing toast or bagels or oatmeal, but I like variety. So I was super happy to try Dempster’s new and improved english muffins on for size this week. We’ve done english muffins before, but I tend to forget about them.

The Demspter’s come in plain, whole wheat and cinnamon raisin, and are nice and soft with lots of crevices for sopping up your favourite topping. The verdict: cinnamon raisin with butter is a quick-and-easy crowd pleaser. But clearly whole wheat is the healthiest. Spread it with peanut butter and serve with fruit on the side and a glass of milk and I can even feel good about rushing my kids out the door.

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For pure enjoyment, though, you’re not going to beat strawberry jam.

CONTEST CLOSED: Congrats to Cheryl and Susan Margaret!

Giveaway: Okay, let me have ’em. What other weekday morning breakfasts (other than cold cereal, alas) am I forgetting? Answer in the comments and I’ll draw two names to win four free Dempster’s product coupons each. Contest closes at midnight on December 23. Canada only.

I have received compensation for this post as part of the MLF Connects program. Opinions and words are still mine, of course.

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Bath Time, Baby

This post and giveaway are sponsored by Mustela.

Ah, bath time.

Don’t you cherish those quiet moments with your babies? There’s the squeals of delight as they learn to splash and the soft suds on their newborn skin. There’s the classic baby bath-time fauxhawk and the little hooded towels and the smell of fresh clean baby as you nuzzle their bare bodies.

I’ve got to admit, I had to go pretty deep into the vault to pull out those memories. Because, dude, three kids. Bath time is less like a mini spa experience and more like hosing down the elephants at the zoo. Well, if the elephants were really, really dirty with fingernails that could kill a man.

Sometimes Irene hops into the shower with me, but usually I do all three kids in the bath in one go. Well, we take shifts. First baby Mary gets her turn and then Irene will hop in with her. I pull out Mary and then Colum hops in with Irene and they play while I towel Mary off and get her into her pjs. Then I put her into bed or hand her over to Ed if he’s home and tackle Irene’s hair and nag encourage Colum to try to wash his own body.

It’s really a shame, actually, since Mary LOVES her bath like neither of my other kids ever did. The other two were hot and cold, going through phases where they seemed to enjoy it and others where just the sight of lukewarm soapy water was enough to trigger a full-on melt down. But not Mary. She has loved every single minute of every single bath since the day she was born.

So it was pretty nice to get to write this post for Mustela because it forced me to slow down and enjoy the experience with her. I hardly even called out to the other kids to please, please, for the love of all that is holy and good, stop that and go to your room and get undressed. I focused on Mary and her giggles and her little baby toes and her little baby bum and her little baby elbow dimples. I dwelled on all her little baby bits that are getting ever bigger and will soon be giant, dirty kid parts and it was good.

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Baby fauxhawk!

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DIY wall tiles. Oh dear.

 

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Best smile in the history of the world.

The Mustela newborn cleansing gel itself was really nice too. It’s hypoallergenic, alcohol-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free, phenoxyethanol-free and all of that good stuff. It’s used in hospital nurseries around the world and they apparently say in France, “Mustela çà sent le bébé!” This is the first time I have ever used any Mustela product, but as soon as I took Mary out of the bath and breathed in her baby freshness I thought, yes, this is exactly how a baby should smell.

CONTEST CLOSED

Congrats Stephanie!

But try it out for yourself! Shoppper’s Drugmart carries Mustela or WIN their Dermo-Cleansing newborn gel right here. Leave me a comment telling me whether or not your baby loves or hates the bath and I’ll draw a winner next Tuesday, October 9 at midnight using random.org. CANADA only.

Although this post has generously been sponsored by Mustela, the opinions and language are all my own.

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Oh Me, Oh My, Oh Lunches (Tips and Giveaway)

Giveaway alert! $100 Metro gift card and lunch kit. Ontario residents only.

CONTEST CLOSED

I had such good intentions when it came to school lunches. I really did.

I read all the parenting magazines and websites and blogs and made mental notes about ingredients and containers and recipes. I was going to tape a list of lunch ideas to the inside of my pantry door, so I’d always know what my options were. I was going flip through magazines with Colum and talk about what he might like to try. I was going to make lunch the night before every single day.

Let’s fast forward to this morning, shall we? We slept in an extra half hour because Ed and I are basically overgrown teenagers who can’t manage to put themselves to bed at a reasonable hour. I rushed downstairs to where the kids were watching TV. (Because they’d apparently forgot that we never watch TV before school?) But it was just as well since all of their clean school clothes were still piled in a heap on the couch. I made them get dressed and eat breakfast and then entered panic mode.

I had not gone grocery shopping over the weekend like I usually do and pickings were slim, let me tell you. I made a HUGE diversion from the ham and cheese sandwiches I slapped together all last week by making …. wait for it … ham and cheese tortilla rolls! (Why I thought we needed the lifetime supply-sized bag of tortillas from Costco is anybody’s guess, but we will be wrapping, rolling or otherwise flat breading everything all week.)

I tucked that into his lunch container with sides of carrot sticks and raisins — literally the only fruit and veg I had on hand. Then I tucked in a few (multigrain!) crackers for his snack. Irene was sent with a snack of, you guessed it, carrots, raisins and crackers. I pretty much threw their school bags at them as Ed pushed them out the door and then they all ran like hell to catch the school bus.

There has got to be a better, less stressful, way to deal with school lunches. I mean, I read the magazines (hell, I write for the magazines!), so I know that there is.

Metro grocery teamed up with celebrity chef Donna Dooher and put together some tips and ideas for “packing lunches that are healthy, cost-effective, time friendly and full of variety.” And then they emailed them to me! I’m pretty sure they’re only one step away from actually making them for me now.

Here are my favourites:

  • “Include fresh fruit but don’t shy away from a small treat. Even if your child eats this first, it will whet their appetite and entice them to finish the rest of their lunch.” This definitely works for Irene. Sometimes her pickiness is rooted in actual hunger and eating something, anything, will make her realize she just needs to eat.
  • “Try to work in protein like chickpeas and lentils as a compliment to the dish instead of the main ingredient to ensure a balanced diet that young taste buds won’t shy away from.” My kids are much more likely snack on a few chickpeas than eat a whole chickpea salad. Brilliant.
  • “Purchase in bulk– When shopping for lunch snacks like yogurt or cottage cheese, buying the large container and dividing it into reusable containers each day will be friendly to your wallet and our environment.” The schools are all pushing for litterless lunches anyway, so it just makes sense to skip the single serving sizes.
  •  “Prepare ahead of time – If you’ve got a busy week ahead, take some time on Sunday evening to chop veggies and fruits so they are ready to divvy up into reusable containers in the mornings when the family is in a rush.” I know, duh. But I still never do it. How much longer am I going to keep paying for my laziness? Sheesh.
  • “Ask for help – Allowing the kids to help make their own lunches not only provides them with an understanding of what goes into a well balanced meal, it provides you with an extra set of hands in the kitchen to help speed up the process!” Right, so I’m not going to be doing this one this year because I don’t want making lunches to become my new career. But if your kids are older (or just more mature) than mine it totally makes sense.
  • “Mix up the staples – If your munchkins are tired of traditional sandwiches, try swapping out sliced bread for Irresistibles Life Smart bagels, tortillas, raisin bread or pita pockets for a quick fix and a little variety.” Hey, what do you know? Swapping the sliced bread for a tortilla was the right thing to do this morning after all!

And my favourite recipe is Tortilla Sushi and not just because of the metric ton of tortillas sitting on the kitchen counter right now, either.

 

Tortilla Sushi

INGREDIENTS:
4 – 8 inch
1 cup
2
½
½
1 cup

Irresistibles Life Smart tortilla wraps
Life Smart hummus
carrots, shredded
red bell pepper, thinly sliced
English cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
fresh spinach leaves, chopped

METHOD:
Lay tortillas flat and spread evenly with hummus.
Place the vegetables down half the tortilla.
Sprinkle chopped spinach over the vegetables.
Roll up tortilla snugly.
Cut into 1 ½ inch slices and serve.

This is an incredibly versatile technique. You can use whole wheat, flour tortillas or a gluten-
free option. The sky’s the limit on the fillings; chopped leftover chicken mixed with tzatziki
can be added and you can substitute the hummus with baba ghanoush or your kids’ favourite
spread or dip.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

And that’s not all!

Here's what you'll get + the $100 gift card.

Metro is also giving away a back-to-school essential lunch kit including lunch bag, thermos, water bottle and snacks AND an Air Miles bonus card preloaded with 285 reward miles (which gets you $30 in groceries) AND a $100 Metro gift card.

Leave me a comment with your worst lunch peeve to enter. ONTARIO residents only, sorry. Contest closes on Monday Oct. 1st at midnight. Winner will be chosen using random.org.

We have a winner! Lucky number 1! Congrats, Margaret.

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Stuff I’m Digging: Back-to-School EXTRAVAGANZA

Giveaway alert! One girl’s backpack, Canada only.

CONTEST CLOSED

Last week I blogged about endless summer in this space and now, well, summer’s ending.

I know a lot of people will have already done the bulk of their school shopping. They will have already taken their kids to the supermarket and made a detailed list of all the various lunch foods they will pack in the super-eco-chic lunch box they have already purchased and labelled. I guess I’m not really here for those people. (Although if they would leave me tips in the comments, that would be fantastic.)

I’m here for those of you who just found out that Labour Day weekend is THIS weekend today. I’m writing for the parents, like me, who don’t even know if last year’s backpack is still any good or what size shoes their kids wear and, oh crap, was I supposed to register them for extracurriculars already?

For you last minute shoppers, here are the goods:

SUPPLIES

Staples is probably your best bet for one -stop-shopping for school supplies that will actually last. The dollar store is not. Ask me how I know. All of their binders and pencil cases and pens and pencils and glues sticks and geometry kits are good quality and durable. There are cheaper options, of course, and nobody understands shopping on a budget more than me, but be forewarned that if you cheap out on something that’s going to get a lot of wear and tear, you’re just going to end up replacing it down the line. (And, hey, sometimes you have to. And that’s okay too.)

And because the kids aren’t the only ones trying to get organized at this time of year, Staples also carries the Martha Stewart HomeOffice line. I’m kind of like the anti-Martha these days, just trying to get meals on the table and kids out the door however I can. But I can’t help but feel like adding a shot of Martha to my desk might be just what I need to make everything perfect.

GEAR

There are two things I get for the kids every September (and probably a dozen more that I should get for them): shoes and back packs.

Reebok hosted all of us at a back-to-school event and generously gave each of my kids a new pair of shoes. Not only am I impressed with the new running shoe technology, but my kids also LOVE them. (You can see them sporting them on our recent trip to the Ex.) The zig zag soles on Colum’s ZigActivates are designed to absorb the energy that’s usually sent into our heels while playing sports and send it forward toward the toe of the shoe. And the soft squares on the bottom of Irene and Mary’s RealFlex allow for maximum flexiblity and softness; part of the trend toward barefoot-like shoes. Basically, everything I’ve always looked for in a baby/toddler shoe is now available in all sizes. Sweet. (And matching shoes for my girls? How cute is that?!)
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Staples also sent me a couple Impact backpacks to review. They sport fun prints and a padded back and shoulder straps, a smaller front pocket and come with a matching pencil case and lunch bag that clips to the front. (Can you say no more spilled juice boxes on homework?) Colum loves his, but Irene’s is still quite big for her, hanging down to her not-quite-four-year-old knees. So I’m giving it away! See the end of this post for details.

ORGANIZATION

This is the big one for me, and the one that’s really a work in progress throughout the year. But it’s nice  to start the school year (or at least catch up by mid-September) with things lined up right. Some of my organizational projects for this weekend include:

  • Finally using the can of chalkboard paint I’ve been hoarding in my kitchen for lists and notes and important dates
  • Colour coding my dry-erase wall calendar with Crayola dry-erase crayons the good people at Staples sent me home with. I had no idea these even existed. Kids will leave the caps off my dry-erase markers no more!
  • Hooks, hooks and more hooks. Ed doesn’t know it yet, but I plan on wielding the drill in the near future and mounting hooks with bags for each family member on the stairs to the basement and more hooks where needed in the bedrooms, front hall or wherever.
  • I might even try to turn a cookie sheet into a magnetic board like I spied in Today’s Parent magazine. We’ll see.
  • Most definitely breaking out both the Martha Stewart write on labels and the Mabel’s Labels ones you can pick up at Walmart.

And finally, I’m buying a micro SIM card so I can fully move over to the HTC One X that the good people at Telus gave me to try out. I love this phone. I mean, I loved the less-than-a-year old Blackberry Torch I selected for myself recently, but I didn’t know phones could be this good. My favourite features are the 8mp camera (you can even take a picture and video at once), the slightly larger screen size and the brilliant HD resolution. It’s really a joy to use for both reading and videos. Of course, I haven’t even started to use it as a phone yet and I love it this much! Oh, and it has Beats Audio I can try out once I get around to downloaded some music to it. If you are due for a phone upgrade, I strongly recommend you consider this baby. It’s got everything Ed’s iPhone4s has, pretty much, plus Flash ;)

In any case, there are so many fantastic organizational apps for Android out there and I’m going to set aside a couple hours to get a few key ones running on this phone. Budgeting, to do lists, calendars, meal planning and the list goes on. The technology is there to help us get our shit together, people. We just need to remember to use it sometimes, no matter what phone you have.

Okay so. Giveaway! Win this backpack that includes a pencil case and lunch bag.

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This one’s a quickie because I want you to be able to go out and buy a backpack if you don’t win this one. (Although it will take a couple days to ship so you might have to make do with last year’s school bag for the first week even if you do win.)

Leave me a comment, CANADA only, and I’ll draw a winner using random.org at midnight on Friday (tomorrow). Winner will be notified by email immediately.

 Congrats to entry number five, Jessica!

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Win a Family Pass to See ParaNorman

CONTEST CLOSED

Giveaway alert! Update: first five comments win.

I am the proud mother of a sweet child who can’t sit through Saturday morning TVO cartoons without jumping up and down with fear and excitement, who ran from the room in terror during Finding Nemo and who had to be coaxed down from upstairs to watch the happy ending. A recent birthday party with school friends featured a viewing of Ice Age 4 and the poor thing was audibly frightened and upset. So we won’t be going to this.

But, man, does it look good.

Alliance Films has a new 3D stop motion animated feature called ParaNorman that’s about a small-town boy who can talk to the dead and has to save his town from a zombie attack. They’re calling it a “comedy thriller” and it’s rated PG. It looks just about right for your less sensitive school-aged kids, ages 8 and up. Here’s the trailer so you can see for yourself:

 

And I have FIVE family-of-four passes to giveaway!

Win a family-of-four pass to the advance screening of ParaNorman at Silver City Yonge & Eglinton, Toronto on Saturday, August 4 at 10am by:

UPDATE: CONTEST CLOSED

  • The first five people to leave me a comment will get a family pass. That is all.
  • And because I have so many to giveaway, help me spread the word by either tweeting or posting the following to Facebook for an extra entry. Win a family-of-four pass to an advanced screening of ParaNorman at Siver City Yonge & Eglinton, Toronto. http://playgroundconfidential.com/2012/07/24/2947/ 
  • Make sure to leave a second comment telling me that you did that.

Contest closes at midnight on Sunday, July 29. I’ll use random.org to draw the winners.

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A Nice Clean Finish

Disclosure: I am part of the Finish Blogger Program by Mom Central. I received compensation as part of my affiliation with this group.  The opinions on this blog are my own. Keep reading because it’s also a GIVEAWAY!

CONTEST CLOSED.

There is so very rarely a right and wrong way to do something — especially when it comes to raising kids. Breastfeeding versus formula, organic foods versus having enough money to also maybe send your kid to swimming lessons, attachment vs. uh … regular-style parenting: there’s no black and white, one-size-fits-all solution for any family.

Continue reading “A Nice Clean Finish”
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Stuff I’m Digging: Seventh Generation and ChicoBag

Hey, pssst! Giveaway alert!

CONTEST CLOSED

Last week my three kids and I descended upon a lovely lunch with Gill Deacon, sponsored by Seventh Generation, like a pack of wild dogs. We stumbled in out of a torrential downpour, soaking wet and dripping everywhere. I somehow managed to get the kids’ shoes off before they discovered the wonder that is somebody else’s playroom. You have got to love a PR event that includes child care.

Irene-colum-seventh-gen

Continue reading “Stuff I’m Digging: Seventh Generation and ChicoBag”

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Girls Gone Gift Shopping

I am participating in the Indigo Kids program by Mom Central Canada.  I received compensation for my participation in this campaign.  The opinions on this blog are my own. (This one’s also a giveaway!)

CONTEST CLOSED.

Colum’s class went on a field trip yesterday which meant I got to had to drop him off first thing in the morning and he would come home at the end of the school day. For this parent of a child in half-day kindergarten, this was nothing short of THE MOST WONDERFUL THING EVER. I still had a three year old and a baby to take care of, true, but now we had time to go places and do things.

Continue reading “Girls Gone Gift Shopping”

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Don’t Forget! Claim Your Children’s Art and Fitness Tax Credits!

This post is sponsored by kbs+p, the advertising agency for the Canada Revenue Agency. I’m splitting the proceeds with a reader to help spread the word about these awesome tax credits. See below for details. CONTEST CLOSED

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You KNOW this is getting a tax credit!

I was about to charge a flight to my credit card last week when I realized the date. The beginning of March means registration for all spring and summer programs. I cheaped out and decided not to do any camps (because child care is only useful if ALL of your kids can go. That’s right baby Mary, I’m looking at you.) But I still had to shell out for swimming times two and t-ball for one. (And that’s it. I’m really trying to streamline the extracurriculars.) Better hold off on my vacation planning for another pay period or two!

Continue reading “Don’t Forget! Claim Your Children’s Art and Fitness Tax Credits!”