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Custom content created for the Playground Confidential blog between 2008 and 2017

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The Great Camp Adventure, Family FUNdraising for SickKids




This post is brought to you by The Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure benefiting SickKids.

We all want our children to be good, generous, kind and giving. We especially want that when they’re embroiled in a protracted battle with their siblings in the middle of a six-hour car ride. But that’s another story.

We already know how important it is to role model the kind of behaviour we want to see from our children. We see how powerful that influence is when they decide to donate half their piggy bank to a good cause (or when they sound just like you when they lose their temper, whichever.) But what could be better than doing something fun and worthwhile together as a family?

This September 28, The Great Camp Adventure is a one-day, challenge-by-choice, camp-themed, FUNdraising walk for the entire family. All proceeds go to the Sick Kids Possibility Fund where they can support the hospital’s most urgent needs.

The Great Camp Adventure is designed to be a day of fun for the entire family and beyond, from babies to grannies, neighbours to coworkers. Have fun making your way along a 20km route (go as far as you like, no need to do the whole thing!) with lots of campsite-style pit stops full of snacks and activities along the way.

Register now to get your FUNdraising game on. There’s a $500 fundraising minimum for adults and $150 for children which makes this an incredibly easy way to get your whole family working together for a good cause. Have a few more questions? No worries. Head over here to fill out a request for more info.

I honestly can’t think of a better way to spend a day with my family.

This post is sponsored by The Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure. Opinions and words are still mine, of course.

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Overgrown: My Boy’s First Haircut

This post was inspired by the Fisher-Price Million Moments of Joy campaign.

First haircut 1

I was taking a walk down memory lane the other day courtesy of my Facebook photo albums. I swear I will find, upload, organize and print all my photos properly one day! I swear I will. Until then, thank goodness for social media and thank goodness for this blog.

So, yes, there I was strolling down memory lane when I found these shots from Colum’s first haircut. He was just shy of two and a half and I’d all but forgotten about his golden curls and chubby cheeks. How can he have aged so much and me not all, right?

We’d let his ringlets go, falling naturally into baby hockey hair. They were so sweet. But his hair was becoming a bit unruly and starting to get into his eyes. Irene was also due to be born in couple weeks and it seemed like a good time for a special big boy outing.

Colum's first haircut 2

So Ed and I took him to a local barber shop for father-son haircuts. We could have brought him to a special kiddie place with airplane-shaped chairs and Treehouse on TV, but we thought he’d get a bigger kick getting his hair cut with Daddy. We were right.

Colum's first haircut 3

He was so good, guys. He sat perfectly still and was completely serious.

Colum's first haircut 4

He looks so much like Mary in the above picture, I can’t believe it. It’s Mary with Irene’s hair (if Irene had a mullet).

Colum's first haircut 5

And just like that, instant big boy. I’m getting all teary eyed all over again at how quickly that first haircut transforms them. My first baby. Might as well just hand him the keys to the car.

You guys should click through your old Facebook albums (or actual, properly organized photo albums if you are my hero) and pick out your own OVERjoyed, OVERtired, OVERwhelmed, OVER____ memories that make you smile. Do it for the love of your children, of course, but also so you can enter the Fisher-Price Million Moments of Joy contest while you’re at it.

Here’s the scoop on the contest. For eight weeks, starting on March 5, Fisher-Price will be giving away weekly prize packs worth about $200 and consisting of a My Little Snugabunny™ Bouncer, a Laugh & Learn™ Dance & Play Puppy and an Ocean Wonders™ Aquarium. To enter, simply go to the contest site and share your own special moment of joy via a photo, video or text description. (Canada only, sorry!) You can enter as many different moments of joy as you want. Here’s my entry!

Disclosure – I am participating in the Million Moments of Joy Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Fisher-Price. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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Baby Geniuses Family Movie Night


Big thanks to Anchor Bay Entertainment for sponsoring this post.

Ah, the mythical joys of a family movie night. It always sounds so good in theory.

“Let’s make it a movie night, guys!” one of us will say. But then we realize that the kids have already been glued to the TV screen for the past hour and a half. Inevitably, dinner goes late. Movie snacks in the living room are an endless source of pushing and bickering, not to mention crumbs. 18 months turns out to be too young to sit through an episode of Barney, let alone a feature-length movie. And, lets face it, any movie with no violence, sex, foul language or scary scenes is going to be kind of lame.

But we do it anyway. It’s cold outside, guys, I’m tired and the kids really do love it. Most importantly, where else are the children going to learn the art of snarky movie commentary if not at my knee? (No, they’re not allowed to follow me on Twitter.)

So we had a movie night, albeit late and poorly organized, but still. We were together as a family, doing something, together.

Imma be honest and tell you that Baby Geniuses and the Mystery of the Crown Jewels would not have been among my top picks to sit down and watch on my own, but the kids really enjoyed it. Then again, they have been known to watch three or four Power Ranger episodes in a row, so I’m not sure why we’re following their lead. I guess they are a demographic.

My super-sensitive six year old only ran up the stairs out of fear and suspense once. That means the movie is pretty much a zero on the scary scale since Finding Nemo had him cowering in the stairwell no less than a dozen times. The toddler got a huge kick out of the babies her own age starring in the flick. Talking babies? LAUGH RIOT. And the mystery plot line was laid out so clearly that even the four year old could follow along.

As for Ed and myself, we do get a genuine kick out of seeing the kids have fun. And it’s much harder to teach the basics of snarky commentary when the movie’s heroes aren’t talking babies walking around with no pants anyway.

This post is sponsored by Anchor Bay Entertainment. Opinions and words are still mine, of course.

Image credit.

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Beyond the Gear


This post is sponsored by Playtex Mommyville.

I was 37 weeks pregnant with my first baby and had already registered for my baby shower when I sat down at the computer and Googled “what does a baby need” for the first time. I was so focused on the pregnancy and the birth that I had barely thought about what would happen after — and what I would need.

So of course there I am, with layette list upon layette list and I started to panic. Would I have enough swaddling blankets, onsies, sleepers, hats, and socks? Babies need socks?! I started to add random things to my registry and tried to vacuum behind the bed. Well, either that or I scrubbed under the stove. Hey, I’m not the most rational and organized house keeper to begin with. Nesting messes me up.

 

Here I am in ancient times when they still made cameras with 2 megapixels, leaving for my baby shower.

Thanks to some very generous shower gifts and a slew of lovely hand-me-downs, however, I had most of what I needed before my baby arrived. (And by “arrived,” I do mean was thrust into the world after more than two days of early labour and nearly 24 hours of hard labour, two epidurals and half the world’s supply of oxytocin. You know, “arrived.”) I had all the onsies, sleepers, hats and socks I needed. I had a host of darling little outfits, a stack of receiving blankets and enough teensy little hooded towels to dry off the national swim team (if they were babies). I had a car seat, a stroller, a bouncy chair, a rocking chair, a cradle, a change pad, two slings and a tummy time mat.

You know what I didn’t have? I didn’t have the slightest glimmer of a plan for saving for my baby’s education. Nor did I have a one-stop resource for information and tools that would help me navigate the first year of parenthood.

This is why Playtex Mommyville looks so awesome. It’s an online community where you can connect with other new moms and check out local event listings in your own community, yes. But it also offers expert advice and tips on everything to do with the early years of parenting AND has really great tools that will actually help. How did I have three kids without an immunization chart or emergency information sheet? I don’t know, but I’m printing them up now! Oh, and there will also be monthly sweepstakes and coupons and special offers if you’re into that kind of thing. (Who isn’t?)

But right now, the contest you don’t want to miss is over on the Babies R Us Facebook page. Babies R Us and Playtex are giving away two $2500 contributions to an RESP and 12 $100 Babies R Us gift cards and Playtex gift baskets. Yes, please. Because your baby will be out of that bouncy seat in six months, but an education is forever. I just entered.

 Playtex is a licensed trademark. © 2012 Playtex Products, LLC

This post has been generously sponsored by Playtex Mommyville.