Tales of Mommyhood

quirky things kids do

2012-02-12T13:48:00.000-05:00

Whenever Kyle wakes up (either in the morning or after his nap) he has to take everything out of the crib with him; he then wraps himself up with the blankets (however many there are) and puts his head down on my shoulder. When we leave the room, he gets quite upset if I try and put the blankets back in his crib.

Before nap time, if he sees a blanket on the way to his room, he has to pick them all up and throw them in the crib to make a little nest.

What kind of quirky things do your kids do?

Winterlude Fun!

2012-02-10T19:03:00.000-05:00

Every year, I try and take the kids to winterlude. It is an outdoor winter festival that spans to neighbouring cities (although it is in 2 different provinces - hah)

We go to downtown Ottawa, and normally take a walk down the rideau canal, stop in Confederation park to check out the ice sculptures and then pick up a beavertail when we are done.

This year, we opted to forgo the Rideau Canal, and just headed to confed. park to check out the sculptures - unfortunately, due to the mild temperatures many of the ice sculptures were broken and missing pieces - but it was still nice to see.

We walked around the park and checked out all that was to offer, and then Julien BEGGED me for a beavertail so I had to oblige. I bought 2 - one for Jules and one for Kyle and I to share. I had to go back and get a third though, because Julien was nowhere near finished and Kyle was not happy that ours was gone .....

The boys had fun, it was pretty nice outside (except for a few windy periods) and it's another year of our tradition down!

I only hope my boys have similar fond memories of winterlude that I have from my childhood!

Walgreens Prescription Savings club

2012-02-07T04:02:00.001-05:00

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

I don't know about you, but I find prescription drugs expensive. We are very fortunate that we have medical coverage to pay for any prescription medications we should need; however, I know many people that are not so lucky.

Prescription drugs can be hard on the wallet and the family budget. When someone ends up sick and in need of medication, it can often happen unexpectedly; which means that in many cases, there isn’t money to pay for the necessary medications. If you or a family member is on a recurring prescription, then it is even more important to save money when you can. To help save a little on the cost of prescription drugs, you should look into signing up for the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. Right now, Walgreens is offering their customers a special discount on the annual membership for the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club

Cost of joining is minimal - for family coverage, you are only going to pay $35.00/yr (this will cover everyone in your immediate family - spouse, dependents that are 22 years of age or younger, and even your pets!)
For individual coverage, the cost is only $20.00 per year.

Joining the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club will give you discount prices on prescriptions as well as other benefits which include:

-Savings on more than 8,000 brand-name and all generic medications
-Discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers and diabetic supplies
-Bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products and photofinishing services

Check out the links above, or head on into your nearest Walgreens for more information. Don’t forget to check out Walgreens on Facebook and Walgreens on Twitter as well - it will help you stay up to date on specials and promotions!

Check out an awesome giveaway!

2012-02-06T09:56:00.000-05:00
My friend Chris, at Canadian Dad, is hosting his very first giveaway right now - a $25.00 gift card to Marks Work Wearhouse - head on over and get your entries in!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2012-02-04T20:05:00.003-05:00
6 years ago, hubby and I married. It's been an incredible six years, filled with lots of wonderful, exciting, and some not so lovely times.... but we have gotten through it all together.

We celebrated our anniversary by going to one of our favorite restaurants, and then we headed to the slots to quickly lose a little money.

Happy Anniversary honey - I love you!

ETA: and thank you for the beautiful flowers!

Valentine's Day Cards

2012-02-02T21:40:00.000-05:00
Do your kids take cards to school for Valentines Day? If so, do they take them to everyone, or just their "friends"?

We received a letter home today regarding V. Day - asking that there are no names on the envelopes because then the kids can just hand them out without needing the teacher to help (this is for junior kindergarten).

I am not really sure how I feel about that. In the grand scheme, it's not a big deal; but, Julien was REALLY looking forward to handing out his cards to his friends and he had specific ones he wanted for certain people.

I don't have a problem with needing to hand one to each classmate (I was in 3rd grade and didn't get a valentine...not sure why, cause I had friends, but even my friends didn't give me one) but I think that they should be able to have the names on them.

Thoughts?

Rosette cake - take 2

2012-02-01T07:39:00.000-05:00
Since I did the other cake sooooo quickly, I wanted to try it again. My hubby wasn't fond of the rosettes on the side, so I decided to try it with a plain (combed) side, instead of the rosettes.

Here is how it turned out

Top of Cake

side of cake, with "combed" look

Invite codes for Superpoints!

2012-01-30T20:59:00.000-05:00

I still have some invite codes for superpoints available - sign up now and start earning points. If you have friends sign up under you, you can get points too!

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/mqv43j (available for 2 more days)

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/1ktnvz (available for 3 more days)

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/rkuq42 ( available for 6 more days)

Check out a Dad's blog!

2012-01-30T20:40:00.000-05:00
A friend of mine just started a blog - it's from his perspective as a dad! Check it out here : Canadian Dad!

Rosette iced cake

2012-01-28T10:29:00.000-05:00

I have seen this cake floating around the internet since last spring. The first and 2nd times I encountered it was on a web forum I frequent, from 2 different posters. I have since seen it crop up on some other blogs as well - and it was something that I wanted to try.

Yesterday, I was craving chocolate cake, so I decided that I would make this recipe (I have linked to the recipe directly, but I actually found it on another blog - you can check it out here, she has lots of great ideas!)
I have made this a few times in the past, for a get together I was hosting, my MIL's birthday cake, and Kyle's birthday cupcakes - it is really quite simple to make, and it tastes DELICIOUS!

I then prepared my bag, I painted stripes inside the bag with my gel colour to create a streaky look on the icing, as I didn't want a solid colour, and then I filled my piping bag with my white buttercream.

Then, I piped out rosettes on the side, and then the top. I filled in with swoops of the same streaky icing, and this is my finished product. I am pretty pleased with it - it's kinda messy - as I was working quickly to avoid a 4yr olds help.... so from the time I started piping to finishing, was about 5 minutes (give or take a bit). Next time, I know that if I take my time it will come out much more finished looking , and I will be able to fill in the open spots too.!

Now, onto pictures - please don't mind the fact that the cake was cut into before pictures were taken.... I could not remember where I had placed the camera.....

Top of Cake

the icing colour effect I was aiming for

Date night with my Big Little Man

2012-01-27T08:33:00.000-05:00
Julien's school hosted a movie night last night - they showed Kung Fu Panda 2 in the gym. It was free (well, it cost a donation to the food cupboard - I had a half pack of unopened diapers that Kyle has outgrown, and a couple boxes of lipton soup/kraft dinner that we brought with us). They did have refreshments for a small fee $1.50 for a small bag of kernels popcorn, and $0.50 for a juice box.

They had some yoga mats on the floor, and lots of people brought sleeping bags/pillows/blankets. I happened to run into my best friend, who was their with her sister and niece, so we were able to sit together!

It was an enjoyable way to spend a date night with my guy!

crazy crying woman at the grocery store - that was me

2012-01-26T09:30:00.000-05:00
So this has been a week of bad news....it's been rough. I was at the grocery store this morning, and the song "dance with my father again" by Luther Vandros, came on .... it had me near tears. Well, i had tears, but I was able to blink them away.

For those of you that don't know, my Father died when I was a teenager - so that song is dear to my heart - and while I really like the song, it can be hard for me to listen to.

rough week

2012-01-26T06:35:00.000-05:00
Have you ever heard the saying the bad things happen in 3's? Over the weekend, I found out that a highschool classmate of mine had died in a snowmobile accident; yesterday, I was told that a co-worker of mine and his wife lost their baby; so now I am waiting to hear of another death.

My thoughts and prayers go out to both the families, and I can only wish that they can find some way to work through their grief.

I need help - tips, advice...

2012-01-21T09:12:00.000-05:00
My oldest has never liked to have his hair washed. As an infant, I dreaded bath time because I knew it would be met with screams that would last for a long time afterwards.

As he got older, he did outgrow his hatred of the tub - but not his fear of having his hair washed. He hates water on his face/head/hair. Up until recently, I have been able to convince him to let me wash his hair (it would take some cajoling, but I got it done) however - recently I can't even convince him to let me near him . I have tried using the removable shower head, a cup of water, a container; I have given him a cloth to put over his face, lean back, lie back whatever I can think of with no positive outcome.

This week, he had food stuck in his hair (thanks to a younger brother that likes to grab and pull with messy hands) and Iwasn't able to convince him - so i pretty much had to hold him against the wall of the shower while I threw water on his head. I didn't evne get shampoo in his hair, just water - enough to get out the dried on food......

Help me please....any advice would be wonderful

spending time with the kiddo's

2012-01-21T09:09:00.000-05:00
My new year's resolution this year is to take time with my children. I am pretty much a SAHM, so you would think I have lots of time with them...and I do. BUT - I am trying to get the laundry done, meals cooked, clothes put away, beds made, kitchen tidied up etc etc.

My goal for this year is to focus on my children more; no more saying "give me 10 minutes to do xyz". I have known for a long time that my oldest needs lots of 1-1 time. If he doesn't get it, he starts to go wild and act out. If I just take the time with him to play the game he wants to play, then I can often get 30 minutes to do what needs to be done.

However, if I try to get my stuff done and put him off for 30 minutes, it doesn't work - and we both end up frustrated and as much as I hate to admit, I lose my patience.

What are your New Years resolutions - do you even make them?

Superpoints Invite Codes

2012-01-16T06:47:00.002-05:00
Want to join Superpoints? It's free, easy and you earn points! You can cash in your points for different rewards, or donate them to charity!

Click on a link below and join - help me build my team! Every person that signs up under you helps you earn points too!
Click until you find a link that works, or send me an email and I will send you a code if they are all taken!

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/tfepen

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/d2x6eh

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/cywdi2

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/1b1kp7

are you bored?

2012-01-15T19:29:00.000-05:00
If your bored, or wanting to kill some time - give the Impossible Quiz a try. Some of the answers are so obvious you feel silly for not getting it right away, and some of them don't make any sense at all

Impossible Quiz

breastfeeding

2012-01-14T06:07:00.001-05:00
OIK - I have posted many times what a supporter I am of breastfeeding. I nursed my oldest until he was 13.5 mths old, and at 16.5mths I am still nursing my youngest.

Not only do I enjoy the time I have with him while we are nursing, I know that the health benefits (for both him and I) are amazing. I have no idea when I will stop nursing, I never set a concrete time in my head, I just set my minimum goal for 6mths. Once I hit that, I take it 1 day at a time and see what works for our family. Since Kyle only really nurses after morning wake up and before bed, the odd time overnight, or before a nap if I am around, it is still working for us.

I was absolutely flabbergasted when I watched this vlog and heard what comment a PEDIATRICIAN made to this mother about nursing her 13mth old daughter. I really cannot believe that it would come out of anyone's mouth - let alone a medical professional that must KNOW about the health benefits...

So, here it is - feel free to watch the video (approx 15 minutes in length) and leave a comment with your thoughts.
open letter to pediatrician - vlog

kids and clothes

2012-01-13T17:59:00.000-05:00
Do you care what your children wear? Presumably if it is in their closet, you are theoretically ok with them wearing it. But do you care how it is put together?

If colours clash; or if the pants don't match the shirt etc? What about Pyjama's - would you let your young child wear them to school?

ODS decided today that he wanted to wear his pj's to school (they were clean, he changed into them this morning) and I tried to talk him out of it gently, but when I realized that it was going to be a meltdown decided that I would just send him.

He came home and said all of his friends loved his batman cape!

rules for dad's with daughters

2012-01-11T09:45:00.000-05:00
This link will take you to a blog where the dad writes about 50 rules for dad's of daughters.

#15 really resonated with me - my father used to dance with me all the time - and unfortunately, he died when I was 14 so we didn't get to dance together at my wedding. But I cherish the memories I have of dancing together when I was young

http://www.fromdatestodiapers.com/50-rules-for-dads-of-daughters

Ride for Heart

2012-01-06T09:49:00.002-05:00
This year, Becel is sponsoring the Heart & Stroke foundations Ride for Heart - which will take place on June 3, 2012. The Ride for Heart has been happening for 25 years, and the intent is to raise money for the heart & stroke foundation.

In doing so, it helps to raise money for research and to enable preventable programs.

Check out Ride for Heart for more information, to register or to donate!

My father had a heart attack at the age of 47, and he didn't survive - so this is definitely a foundation that is near and dear to me.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T10:25:00.000-05:00
Well, I guess first I should start off with Merry Christmas - and an apology for being so delinquent with my blog.

The a/c adaptor to my laptop died, and I rarely have time to get on the desktop - so here I am, after New Years coming to update on the last few weeks.

December was a crazy month for us - all of us have been sick at least 1x, but it seems to be sticking around.

Christmas was fun, but I ended up with a stomach flu that night that had me out for a couple days - thankfully, no one else seemed to pick up that bug. The boys enjoyed all the Christmas festivities, and had lots of fun opening their stockings and gift from santa!

New Years Eve was spent watching Canada against the USA in the IIHF World Jr's Hockey tournament....(good luck for the rest of the tournament guys) and playing go fish and war with Julien. We ordered pizza and spent the evening in. Unfortunately, with all of us still fighting off our virus, we didn't make it to midnight.

Maybe next year.

All of my giveaways have come to and end, but now that the craziness of December and Christmas is behind us, I am hoping to get a couple more started in the next few weeks.

3 giveaways going on

2011-12-12T20:51:00.000-05:00
Get your entries in for the 3 great giveaways on right now - they are all ending in the next 7 days.

TruKid products
Howard B. Wigglebottom
Rubbermaid FilterFresh Water Bottle

Funhaven - review part 2

2011-12-11T21:08:00.001-05:00
Now that you have read part 1 of my Funhaven review, I will let you know how our experience was.

Grand Opening of Funhaven is Wednesday, December 14th~! Head on over and check it out for yourself!

Hannah was an awesome tour guide - she is one of the party hosts, and I can see why. She certainly knew how to help show us a great time - I can only imagine how much fun a birthday party would be with her!

Julien was so patient while she was showing us around, and I know he was really wanting to try out the Jungle Gym/Ballocity. Once she finished giving us our tour, we headed over to the cashier so we could get our funcard. I decided to purchase the Hobbyist pack - since he also wanted to bowl, it seemed a perfect fit for our needs.

He had a blast on the jungle gym. The floor is padded with soft mats, so it's easy to walk on. The balls are super soft, so no need to worry about getting hit with them. They have 6 guns (3 on either side) on the upper level of the jungle gym, so you can load them up with balls and shoot them at people. If your looking for a place for your kids to burn off some energy - it's awesome. I joined Julien on the climber, and it was pretty fun! They have yellow bags that you can fill with balls so you don't have to constantly run and grab a few at a time!

Julien looking out from the upper level

Jule's heading for a gun

posing for mommy to take a picture

I don't think Julien ever would have been finished at Ballocity, but I wanted to try out the bowling lanes. We headed down the twisty slide (it goes fast and you land hard - but it was fun!) and off we went to bowl! I think 4 is a little young - he doesn't quite get that you don't THROW the balls, he did enjoy it, but it didn't hold his attention for too long; I think a few years older and it would be an awesome attraction - they even have the gutter guards up!

When we finished with bowling, we headed to the gaming area and played air hockey - it's one of my favorite games, so I had a blast!

Julien taking a shot - he scored!

After air hockey, we had a look around the games to see what else he might like to play, a motorcycle racing game it was!

posing for mommy again!

He found a game that he wanted to try, but we were out of money on our card. I headed off to the kiosk to load it up. I found it slightly confusing at first, but it didn't take me long to figure it out. If your someone who is not technically inclined, then you could always have the cashier load the card for you. Be warned, it won't give you money back - so make sure you have the right amount of coin to load on, or use your credit card. I only had a few dollars in change - so I chose to load on $3.00 - unfortunately, it wouldn't accept my looney, or 2 of my quarters. After some digging around, I managed to find 2 more quarters that it did accept.

We headed over to the next game that caught his eye - but when I scanned my card I noticed that it was saying I had less money than I loaded with. I figured when we finished playing that game, I would go to the cashier to have her look into it. Unfortunately - the game would not let us play. When I saw the cashier, she looked up the card and it showed that we HAD played. There was a supervisor/manager there, so she brought us over and scanned her card so we could play - but there were still issues. She had her tech guy come over ,and in the meantime took us over to the claw game (candy prizes) and gave us 4 free plays - which was awesome. She was super friendly, and Julien had a lot of fun. I am sure the glitches will be worked out - and I felt she did MORE than she needed to rectify the situation. Again, a testament to the employee's that they have hired.

After playing with the claw, we tried a few more games and then headed over to the redemption counter. The clerk scanned our card, told us how many tickets we had and Julien picked his prize. We still have 4 tickets left to carry over to our next visit.

Be warned - they have an extremely large selection of prizes - so if you have a lot of tickets to use, it may take awhile to decide what you want (or should I say what the kids want!)

We honestly could have stayed for another 2 hours - I know Jules would have loved to get back to the jungle gym, but we needed to get home. So we headed to the frozen yogurt bar and got a cup. Julien liked that he could get his own (with a little help from me) and he enjoyed sitting at a table to finish his treat.

Enjoying his treat at the end of a fun day, and his prize sitting on the table!

I found the staff to be extremely friendly, the floors are clean and the attractions were as well. I was really impressed with the cleanliness of the bathroom (automatic toilets, soap dispenser and taps) and the fact that they have a child sized sink thrilled both Jules and I.

I really think that all ages would have fun here. I probably wouldn't go just with Kyle (15mths) but to bring him with us as a family outing would be fine. He would have a blast at the ballocity/jungle gym.

Cost wise, it may work out to be a little expensive - but I think the prices are worth the experience that you receive. If the staff can maintain their friendly attitudes, and the place stays clean (cause a lot of times things start to slip after being open for a while) then I think that Funhaven will do amazingly well

All in all, we had an amazing Mommy and Julien afternoon! I will definitely head back with the kids!

**I was not compensated at all for this review; I paid for our experience out of my own pocket, and this is an honest review of our experience. As always, opinions stated are that of Tales of Mommyhood, and your experience/opinion may vary**

Funhaven - Review part 1

2011-12-11T21:06:00.001-05:00
Funhaven is Ottawa's newest indoor attraction. They have so much to choose from, and it is great for all ages. They had their opening day on Wednesday, December 7 - and their grand opening will be this coming Wednesday, December 14th.

I was pretty sure that Julien would have a blast, so I contacted the Sales Manager, Lydia - and asked if I could come in and do a review. She arranged for me to have a tour with one of Funhaven's AWESOME employee's, Hannah.

I am going to write the review in 2 parts. The first, I will tell you about our tour, and in the 2nd, I will post about our experience!

The centre is huge. When you walk in, there is a large space where you can hang up coats and leave boots (it is wide open, so you wouldn't want to leave any sort of valuables) but there is ample room for hanging coats and lots of hangers.

There is small window into an office, and here you will find your party experts. If you want any information on birthday or corporate parties, you can get that all in this spot. (I think that this should have a sign above it - there were a few people waiting in line, only to find out when they got to the window that they needed to go to another area)

Hannah was awesome as a tour guide - and it took us almost 30 minutes to go through everything and learn more about the games/attractions and birthday parties..

To your left is a HUGE rounded counter, and that is where you will find the cashier and the redemption clerks.

You then enter into a large area that is filled with arcade games (a photo booth, wheel of fortune, deal or no deal, the claw game (with candy as a prize!) motorcycle racing, air hockey and much more!)

They have bumper cars - there is a minimum height requirement for the bumper cars (44inches) and they are built for a single rider. They do have a height sheet at the entrance to the attraction if you are unsure of your child's height.

Next to that is the ballocity/jungle gym - this was Julien's favorite attraction. It is a very large climbing structure that uses soft mats and mesh. You can climb your way up and shoot soft balls at other people - they have a few small slides and one large turny slide. There are a few ball cannons that are easily operated by little hands!

There will be a toddler area immediately beside the jungle gym - right now they have a few toys but I was told that it will be getting much bigger soon.

Once you enter the area for ballocity, there are a few comfy chairs that parents can sit and relax while the kids play - or, you can join them for the fun!

They have 4 mini-bowling lanes; laser frenzy (it's a mission impossible style game where you make your way through laser beams!) and a climbing wall (they have very secure harnesses, and a staff member present at all times!)

They have a very large laser tag area that is glow in the dark. They have 30 vests/guns so a number of people can play at a time. Each round lasts for 15minutes.

There is a canteen that serves pizza, subs, drinks and more. Also a selfe serve frozen yogurt bar- I saw 10 different flavors and they will be receiving there topping centre very soon (50 toppings!)

The bathrooms are large and clean, and they have a child sized sink which was awesome - no more having to pick up your kids to wash their hands!

They have a nice sized party room on the main level - they can use this room if a guest has mobility issues or needs a wheelchair accessible room. Upstairs, they have a very large room which can be divided and they can host a number of parties at one time!

To play at funhaven, you need a funcard. This card can be registered and re-used. You have your choice of paying for a package (with the cashier) or loading a set amount of money (can be done at 1 of 3 kiosks) To gain entrance to any of the attractions, you swipe your card. It reads the card and then deducts whatever amount from your total. The ballocity is unlimited - once you pay for the attraction ($9.99 on it's own 18+free with purchase for child) you can play all day if you want - your card will allow access until end of business the day your purchase it.

Some of the arcade games require tokens, and there is a token machine (you use your funcard to purchase tokens) other games you just swipe your card and it will deduct the amount needed. It will also calculate how many "tickets" you win and they are held virtually on your card. When you are finished, you can go to the redemption counter and choose your prize. Should you have any tickets or money left on your card, it will carry over to your next visit*(as long as you register your card, which can be done at any of the funcard kiosks located throughout the centre - you can load money onto your card as well. If you want to buy a package, you need to see the cashier)

All of the staff specialize in certain area's - so they really know there stuff for their specific attraction.

**I was not compensated at all for this review; I paid for our experience out of my own pocket, and this is an honest review. As always, opinions stated are that of Tales of Mommyhood, and your experience/opinion may vary**