I just came back from Parent Open House at my children’s school. Otherwise known as challenge every single working parent to juggle their schedule and show up at the school at a time that is never considered an appropriate hour to take the “lunch” you are entitled to but hardly ever enjoy. There are so many reasons why scheduling in “ditch work to see my kid on stage for a whole two minutes of a 90 minute concert” is a challenge and I won’t get into all of that here. What I will say is the biggest challenge is that sometimes working parents can get there and sometimes they can’t.

I am so very lucky because I have always had one of those jobs where I can usually coordinate my schedule (with enough notice) to accommodate school concerts, open houses, parent volunteering or bringing in cake and pizza to celebrate my children’s birthdays. But I’ve never been able to accommodate full-day field trips without taking a vacation day and I’ve sort of decided that field trips are not usually important enough to give up a whole day of vacation.

So if you’re “that” mom – that one who is lucky enough to be able to make your schedule work so you can be in the classroom when the parents are summoned please know this – there will always be another mom who cannot be there. Usually for a very good reason.

The mom who can’t be there still has a child sitting in the classroom who can’t help but wish their mom (or dad or grandma or grandpa) was there. That child may know all the reasons why a special adult in their life couldn’t be there (trust me their mother felt so guilty for not being able to be there that she probably told them six hundred times how sorry she was her mean boss scheduled their all staff meeting at that very hour or the most important client from a far away land decided that was the day they were flying in) but it doesn’t make it any easier to see their friends show off their own special adults.

I know this because I have been that child and I have certainly been that absent mother.

If you are “that mom” – the one who isn’t absent – could you just do your fellow moms a favour? One that goes beyond working or not working, stay-at-home or work-from-home, rich or not-so-rich, well dressed or just happy they remembered to put a bra on before leaving the house. This favour is so easy it involves one simple thing: turn to the child without a special adult in the room and spend one minute making them feel special. Help them unwrap the cupcake you had time to bake last night. Tell them their mom would be so proud of how they belted out Old McDonald and if you actually know the parents snap a few photos and promise to email them to that child’s parents (and then do).

In a sea of paired off children and adults the odd kid out could use a moment of your time. All it takes is that one short moment to make them feel special. I promise you both mother and child will thank you.

PS: This post is dedicated to my son’s teacher. The one who put together such a lovely parent open house experience and then confided in me that she was missing her own child’s “Mother’s Day Tea” because of course they both had to fall on the same day.

PPS: This post is also dedicated to Mrs. Furfaro, my best-friend-since-grade-two’s mom who stayed at home when we were younger and was always there for school activities and field trips. When my parents weren’t able to be there or had to rush back to work before the festivities were through she would always make sure I was in her field trip group and would always take a moment to make me feel special.

The summer weather is finally here and that means it’s time to break out the grill, invite some friends over and enjoy entertaining in the easy laid back way summer was designed for.

When you’re thinking about what to throw on the grill look no further than Butterball and the upcoming #TurkeyTakeover BBQ Challenge Twitter Party on May 14, 2013 at 9pm ET.

RSVP now below and be sure to follow @Butterball_CA to join in the fun. We’ll be chatting about summer, turkey, bbq-ing, entertaining and of course giving away lots of prizes!

Be sure to follow my fellow moderators too:

@OurFamilyWorld, @ParentClub, @Nugglemama, @BoredMommy

Can’t WAIT to see you all there!

May is the Month of Mom and to help celebrate P&G has come up with a super fun 30 day photo sharing challenge inspired by the little things we do as moms and the products we use that brighten our family’s day (and our own too!)

It’s also a great opportunity for us #PGMoms to share the products we love with all of you (see no more dilemmas!)

Starting today, be sure to check out Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and your other favourite social media sites to see what the #MonthOfMom is all about.

Want to join in the fun? Here’s the list of inspirational words — just snap a photo of what these words mean to you and share on Twitter and your other favourite social media sites. Just be sure to use the #MonthOfMom hashtag!

Have questions? Just tweet me @MommyMoments or any of the other #PGMoms and we’ll be sure to help you out!

Can’t wait to see all your photos!

Do you see that turkey burger pictured up there? Guess what — it’s made from real ground turkey!

I know – mind blown!

For real, this is not your typical turkey burger. It looks nothing like the smooshed together regular turkey burgers you’re all used to. The Butterball turkey burger looks like something you made yourself with ground turkey and herbs.

This means people that there are tons of possibilities besides just throwing it onto the bbq.

Not sure what to make for dinner? If you have a box of Butterball Turkey Burgers in the freezer simply defrost, toss into sauté pan and break apart while cooking up one of these yummy super easy recipes:

Turkey Sloppy Joes

The Easiest Baked Pasta You’ll Ever Make

(substitute ground turkey from Butterball Turkey Burger for ground beef)

Super Fast Teriyaki Turkey

(instead of ground beef)

And there you have it – a little bit of mind blowing and one more way to make dinner as easy as possible thanks to Butterball Turkey Burgers.

Bon Appetit!

 This post is sponsored by Butterball Canada.
In exchange this post, I have received special perks in the form of products
and monetary compensation.
All opinions on this blog are my own.

The people over at Minted have impeccable timing.

Remember how I moved across the country (again)? Well I bought a house (more on that later!) and I’ve been perusing the Internets for the most perfect moving announcement — one that would feature this super cute family picture we had taken just before Christmas but too late to use in our Christmas cards.

When the email from the people over at Minted popped into my inbox asking if I would be interested in checking out their stationery and offering some of my favourite people (ie: you all) a chance to win your own $50 code to use on whatever suits your fancy, I headed right on over to the site intent on ordering the cutest moving announcements ever.

There’s only one problem — I CAN’T DECIDE!

Here’s option #1 (I kind of like the monogram idea):

Then option #2 (This way Yukon would have a picture all his own):

Finally option #3 (Love the home sweet home bit because we really did move home):

Clearly I could really use your help! Please tell me your favourite design in the comments below and in return you’ll be entered to win a code valued at $50 to use at Minted (can I suggest personalized stationery just in time for Mother’s Day?).

Not familiar with Minted? I know, I know — most of you are! But just in case, Minted is this super cool online store that sells everything from moving announcements to wedding invitations to personalized stationery. What makes them super cool is that they are a global community of independent designers representing over 43 countries! Go on over and learn all about them here.

Now here’s how to enter:

Simply leave a comment telling me which moving announcement option is your favourite (feel free to tell me why too!).

Want a bonus entry:

Head on over to Minted and tell me what you would order if you won the $50 code.

Want another bonus entry:

Share this giveaway with your Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest friends and be sure to come back and leave me a comment each time you do (can be done once per day per social network).

And for all you rule followers out there here they are:

• One winner will be randomly chosen.
• Giveaway closes Monday, May 6, 2013 at 10 p.m. EST.
• Open to residents of Canada and the United States only.
• Winner will be chosen via And The Winner Is plugin. In the event of plugin failure random.org will be used.
• Winner will be sent an email to the email address provided in the comment on Monday, May 6, 2013 notifying them that they have won and will have 48 hours to reply to my e-mail or a new winner will be chosen.
• By entering the following contest you are accepting that if you win your contact information will be shared with Minted and/or their PR company for the purpose of confirming your prize.

In exchange this post, I have received special perks in the form
of products and/or monetary compensation.
All opinions on this blog are my own.

I actually hesitated before dropping it on the bathroom floor and calling my son to get dressed. Our regular morning routine involves my girls choosing their own clothes and me putting whatever I’ve chosen for my son on the bathroom floor and him putting it on without complaints.

His first day at the new/old school was April 2nd a mere one day after we moved back into town. But while my eldest daughter was going back into a class where she knew most of the kids and had maintained friendships while we lived away, my son had attended that school for a total of two weeks before we moved and remembered exactly no one and nothing.

It was like starting all over and he was the new kid, in a new school with kids who had a seven month head start on making and solidifying friendships.

So I hesitated before dropping the Angry Birds Star Wars shirt onto the bathroom floor. It’s the exact kind most moms swear they will never buy BEFORE they actually have kids. The kind you pick up at the local Walmart or Target. The kind that quickly became my son’s favourite thing in the entire universe to wear.

Some teachers don’t want character shirts in their classroom. Some kids get made fun of for wearing the wrong characters on their shirts.

I contemplated getting a plain non-branded t-shirt from the bottom of the suitcase I had still not unpacked and then knew I’d have to come up with a decent reason why he couldn’t wear his favourite shirt to school on his first day. I decided I couldn’t be bothered.

I dropped the shirt, called my son to get dressed and didn’t think twice about it.

At the end of the school day I picked the kids up instead of having them ride the bus both because Sugar Plum started dance at 4:15pm that afternoon and I wanted to hear first hand from Bugaboo’s teacher how his day had been.

Bugaboo saw me immediately standing at the front of the school waiting for him and with his teacher’s approval he left the line and ran straight into my arms. He didn’t even wait for me to ask how his day was (though his perma-smile gave it away) and launched right into all the fun he had and the friends he made.

“Mom” he said, “It was like I was a rock star” and I smiled right along with him.

After all the kids had been loaded onto the bus, the teacher came up and introduced herself to me. She told me Bugaboo had a great day and was going to fit right in with the rest of the class.

Then she leaned a little closer and told me I was “brilliant” for sending him with an Angry Birds Star Wars t-shirt on. She told me from the second he came into class the boys wanted to see his shirt, ask him about his favourite characters and tell them about their own t-shirts back at home. She said there was an instant bond, gave Bugaboo something to talk about and share about himself and led to immediate friendships.

I smiled without admitting I second guessed myself and thanked her for telling me all the positive things that had happened that day.

She crouched down to say goodbye to her newest pupil and my sweet little Bugaboo thanked her for his “best day ever at school”.

I took his hand, grabbed Sugar Plum from a group of girls that have played at my house for years and smiled to myself.

My son felt like a rock star, my eldest had all her friends back and (according to a Kindergarten teacher) I was “brilliant”.

Clearly moving home has been good for all of us.

Two years ago we packed up everything we owned and moved over 3,000 kms across the country to Cowboyland. Everyone thought we were crazy.

It’s so far.

It’s so cold.

It’s so different.

And all of this was true. It was far, it was cold and it was different. But it was also amazing.

It was amazing because I was recruited there to work at tier one organization, with people who really knew their stuff and were willing to let me grow into a better professional version of myself. My husband left policing and thankfully shift work behind. Our marriage and our family became stronger.

We traveled to places most people will never see and we did it together.

We watched ourselves become better people – a bit cowboy in our ways.

Then we decided to pack up less than two years later and come home.

The move was never meant to be permanent (though there are many stories of people heading west for 2 years maximum and are still out there decades later!) but I never intended to come home. The second I changed my title and proved to the professional world around me that I was re-locatable the recruiters started calling from all over the world.

I was offered a job in Australia. A good job. An even more amazing job. Did I mention it was in Australia? It took me a month to turn it down and even after I said no they called me for six weeks asking if I would reconsider.

It was the first time I made a decision that big for my kids. Sure we all give up things for our children on a daily basis but this was the first time I really truly took a look at my life and what we were doing and the life path we were destined to be on if I took the Australian opportunity and I said no for them.

From there I didn’t really know what to do. I assumed Cowboyland would be a launching pad for my career that would take us to international destinations. That we could live abroad for ten years on at least two separate continents and then come home (maybe).

So when I said no to separate continent #1 I didn’t know what that meant anymore. We could have stayed where we were but my kids wanted to go home. They wanted to be close to their family, their friends and mostly their grandparents. They didn’t cry or whine or complain but I knew the way every mother knows when they are putting themselves before their children.

The reality is that we accomplished what we set out to do by moving. I got a promotion that allowed me to make more money and have more opportunities. My husband left shiftwork and my kids got their father back. So why would we stay?

It would have been different if I was loving my job or if that was the only place I could do what I was doing but neither of those two things were true – no matter how much I wanted them to be.

After many months of talking, considering, wondering we decided to move back to our home town — the one we had abandoned with promises of never going back less than two years ago. We bought a house, with separate bedrooms for each of the children in a neighbourhood where they can grow up — the one I grew up in. Today we are headed to look at light fixtures and paint samples and ideas for bedroom decorating and bathroom renos. I plan on keeping my mild Pinterest addition in check.

I won’t lie – I was very happy to leave and I am still not 100% sure I am happy to be back. But one look at my children’s faces when we visit their cousins, make new friends and reconnect with old ones or drive by the new house (it’s not ours yet!) and my heart is full, my conscious clear and my life path so full of promise.

When I was invited to the #PGMom launch event I expected to learn about some great products but I didn’t anticipate a complete mind shift over things like my family’s oral health. I mean let’s be honest, if I actually remember to brush my kids’ teeth before they head to school I consider it a Mommy Win!

But when Dr. Janet Tamo, a dentist and a mom took the stage to talk to us about the new Oral-B Professional Deep Sweep + SmartGuide TRIACTION 5000  among other teeth related things I literally had an ”Ah-Ha” moment over brushing my kids’ teeth and my own!

First, Dr. Tamo shared with us that Canadians are quick to adopt the newest technology in many areas from computers and cell phones to TVs, but when it comes to their oral health, Canadians cling to their manual brushes – despite advances in electric toothbrush design and recommendations from dental health professionals.

Did you know that as recently as 2011, 72% of Canadians were still using manual toothbrushes?

I was one of those Canadians. As were my children until I heard Dr. Tamo speak. She explained the technology behind electric toothbrushes including the fact that the Oral-B Professional Deep Sweep + SmartGuide TRIACTION 5000 has a built in sensor to indicate when you are pressing too hard (did you know most of us do?).

The other cool thing I learned about the Oral-B Professional Deep Sweep + SmartGuide TRIACTION 5000  - Every 30 seconds, a brief signal occurs to encourage thorough brushing of all four quadrants of mouth. At the end of two minutes, a longer signal indicates when users have brushed for the dentist-recommended two minutes.

Besides the fact that I was likely pressing too hard on my teeth and gums and my children’s and the fact that there are four quadrants of the mouth (who knew?) here are a few more things I learned that caused the “Ah-Ha” moment:

1. Buy electric toothbrushes for the whole family, including the children.
2. Children learn to care for their teeth from their parents so when brushing your children’s teeth be sure to face the mirror and stand behind them so they can actually SEE what you are doing. They will learn to mimic your actions.
3. The best way to instill good oral health care in our children is to be an example. While we could all use a few minutes to ourselves in the bathroom, let’s be honest this isn’t happening until our kids move out! So let your children observe you taking care of your oral health on a regular basis.
4. Swish your mouth with mouthwash before heading to bed – this will help keep the “sugar bugs” from invading at night! I’ve been using the Crest 3D White Toothpaste and Whitening Rinse for the last few weeks and am LOVING how they are brightening my smile.

There you have it – one every day mom’s commitment to make her family’s oral health a priority with the help of Oral-B and Crest — now it’s your turn!

The fabulous people at P&G are giving Maija’s Mommy Moments readers the chance to WIN  an Oral-B Professional Deep Sweep Triaction 5000 prize valued at approx. $110.

Here’s how to enter:

Simply leave a comment telling me how you make a commitment to your family’s oral health.

Want a bonus entry:

April is Oral Health Month and Crest knows that life opens up with a confident smile.  That’s why Crest is dedicated to creating products that improve your smile and promote your oral health.  During Oral Health Month, when you pledge to get a more confident smile by brushing, flossing and rinsing with Crest and Oral-B products for 30 days, we’ll donate $1 to Dress for Success, a charity that helps give others the confidence to succeed in the workplace. Crest is supporting Dress for Success in its mission to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Visit Crest Canada on Facebook or Oral-B Canada on Facebook to make your pledge today! Then be sure to come back over and leave a comment that you did!

Want another bonus entry:

Share this giveaway with your Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest friends and be sure to come back and leave me a comment each time you do (can be done once per day).

And for all you rule followers out there here they are:

• One winner will be randomly chosen.
• Giveaway closes Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 10 p.m. EST.
• Open to residents of Canada only.
• Winners will be chosen via And The Winner Is plugin. In the event of plugin failure random.org will be used.
• Winners will be sent an email to the email address provided in the comment on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 notifying them of they have won and will have 48 hours to reply to my e-mail or a new winner will be chosen.
• By entering the following contest you are accepting that if you win your contact information will be shared with a P&G PR and shipping agency for the purpose of mailing your prize.  Please allow 4-6 weeks from the contest closure date to receive your prize.
• This giveaway may appear on other blogs as part of the #PGmom program.  However, to be fair, you can only win once per giveaway.  If your name is chosen more than once, another winner will be selected.

I am a P&Gmom. As part of my affiliation with this group I receive products and special access to P&G events and opportunities. The opinions on this blog are my own.

I will never forget the first time I landed in Italy. I had spent the entire night before on a flight from Toronto and slept a total of 15 minutes. When I arrived in Italy it was the afternoon (Italy time) and while I should have just gone to bed I went on the hunt for pizza, gelato and of course wine.

When I settled on one of many options, I sat in a little café by the water and had the most amazing pizza I’ve ever had. By the third bite I was contemplating changing my Mediterranean vacation plans and heading inland to Tuscany to learn exactly how Italians make every day ingredients taste so heavenly.

Tuscany was top of mind because back then, when the topic of foodie vacations was brought up, cooking in Tuscany was the only one that was ever discussed.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a food blogger now or because foodie vacations are becoming more sought after, I know now that Tuscany is just one of many foodie destinations and I often find myself day dreaming about losing myself in the kitchens of lands far away.

If you’re lucky enough to live in Western Canada (ie: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta or British Columbia) you are that much closer to making those foodie travel day dreams a reality thanks to Sobeys.

It’s as simple as picking up a game card when doing your regular shopping at your local Sobeys store and playing along with these four easy ways to win:

• Collect to Win (collect stamps to win a trip to 1 of 6 fantastic foodie destinations)
• Instant Win (prizes indicated on your game ticket – Sobeys Club points, free groceries and more)
• Online Sweepstakes (Some game tickets contain a pin number you can enter online to win great prizes)
• In-Store Draw (Every store will have a draw to win Lagostina cookware)

If you need any more temptation to drop what you’re doing and head to Sobeys right now here are the six fantastic foodie destinations that could be won:

• Paris, France
• Rome, Italy
• Hong Kong
• Frankfurt, Germany
• Cancun, Mexico
• Bangkok, Thailand

For more information or to pick up your passport and game pieces simply pop into your local Sobeys Store!

You can also visit: SobeysTastes.com and be sure to pop by the Twitter party on April 16 at 7pmMST/9pmEST by using #SobeysWest.

PS: If you do happen to win one of these amazing foodie vacations and need a travel partner I *may* be able to suggest someone (cough…cough… me…).