I have a few ideas that are perfect for spicing your holiday drinks with healthy herbs and making your beverages a little healthier this season.
From adding a touch of mint to your cocoa to spicing up your eggnog with cinnamon, these ideas are perfect for the holidays! I know you will appreciate how easy these drinks are to make, and they will put good use to some of the herbs you have in your pantry.
Photo credit: Purchased from Dreamstime
The Holidays
The holidays are a time that is usually marked by excess; the food, the gifts, the decorations and of course the drinks! While there is nothing wrong with indulging from time to time, it can’t hurt to keep your health in mind this season.
The holidays are probably not the best time to adapt new habits for a healthy life. There are so many temptations and once a year goodies to enjoy that anyone will have a waiver of willpower! But, there are things anyone can do to begin forming healthy habits, even while enjoying favorite treats.
Enjoy These Drinks Ideas Year Round
While these drinks are festive for the winter holidays, you can certainly enjoy them year round if you like. The Peppermint Hot Chocolate is one of my favourites during the colder months, and when the weather starts to warm up, I love to add mint to my iced tea for a super refreshing drink.
If you have any ideas for adding healthy herbs to your warm drinks this winter, I hope you will leave a comment to share with all of us! You might also like this Mulled Spiced Wine Recipe.
Holiday Drinks with Healthy Herbs
Below each short recipe you can find info on what makes the added herbs healthy for your body.
#1 Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Ingredients: Hot chocolate mix and peppermint tea
Instructions: Dissolve your hot chocolate mix as the directions recommend into your mug and add the peppermint tea bag.
Healthy Pepperming info: Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is great for assisting the digestive process, especially when it comes to relieving gas. Therefore, this drink is great following your large holiday meal!
#2 Apple Chai Cider
Ingredients: Apple cider and chai tea
Instructions: Heat your desired amount of apple cider by boiling it in a pot. Either add the chai teabag to the pot or place a chai teabag in each individual mug.
Healthy herb info: Chai tea contains a variety of herbs, the most common being ginger, fennel, clove and cinnamon. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) like peppermint are useful in aiding your digestion. They assist in relieving gas, bloating and nausea, also common symptoms experienced after large, fatty holiday meals.
#3 Cinnamon Eggnog
Ingredients: Egg nog and ground cinnamon
Instructions: Sprinkle as much cinnamon as you like into your mug of eggnog and enjoy!
Healthy Cinnamon info: Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) also aids in digestion and has the added health benefits of lowering cholesterol and regulating blood sugar.
Please share you favourite holiday drinks! Happy holidays!
This time of year everyone is busy and has a mile long to do list and then it happens. . . they get sick. It seems logical as we tend to do more indoors and get less fresh air, run around more buying gifts but skip out on the gym, get way more done but get way less sleep and eat more but make much less healthy choices. It is only a matter of time before you add the holiday pounds. You will find below 5 Hints to Stay Healthy for the Holidays!
An apple in a mug
1. Eat
Pack your fridge and pantry now with healthy options so you can grab and go. Snacks like cheese strings are high in protein, a hard boiled egg is full of vitamins, almonds are packed with good for you fats, a banana for potassium and carbohydrates. Your body needs energy to keep going. Try to plan meals ahead of time, stock the fridge of pre cut fruits and vegetables stored in air tight containers; they will stay fresh for days and give you options for nights on the run to holiday parties or shopping marathons.
*Holiday Party Hint – you bring the veggie platter with a healthy dip like hummus and enjoy healthy nibbling!
2. Sleep
I know. It’s a tough one when there is so much to do, but your to do list will only get longer if you are curled up on the couch with the tissue box. Make sure you are getting at least 7 hours of sleep at night. Go to bed on time and get up early if you are productive before the kids get up, you can cross a few things off the Santa list.
*Holiday Party Hint – decide on a time you want to leave the party before you go. Stay out late during the week, will make for a sluggish work day.
Glass of water with a lime wedge
3. Drink Water. Get into the habit of taking it everywhere with you. Toss in a lemon wedge for flavour or a few frozen berries for colour. Staying well hydrated helps your body stay healthy.
*Holiday Party Hint – drink water in between enjoying a glass of wine or calorie rich egg nog and you’ll feel better in the morning.
4. Vitamins
Certain vitamins are essential for a healthy immune system. Ensure you are getting enough immune boosting Vitamin A, B,C,D and E. Think orange, red and green vegetables for vitamins A, and E, lean meats, eggs, legumes or leafy greens for B Vitamins, citrus fruits and red peppers for Vitamins C and fortified juices or dairy products for Vitamin D. If you come up short on these important vitamins consider a supplement to ensure your immune systems stays strong to fight off unwanted germs.
*Holiday Party Hint – stick to the healthy turkey and vegetables at holiday dinners and go easy on the gravy, stuffing and desserts!
Vitamins
5. Lift Weights
We are all tight on time over the holidays so if you only have 30 minutes a few times a week to exercise, choose strength or resistance training. The muscle you are toning and building are important as we are constantly losing muscle as we age. As a bonus, the effort of building muscle burns calories, then your body keeps burning calories to rebuild the muscle and the increased muscle uses even more calories when you are at rest! That is making the most of your limited time to work out!
*Holiday Party Hint – keep up with this strength training routine over the holidays and in the New Year enjoy a New You!
Don’t you just love holiday urns? I love that they can be decorated for any holiday really. However, decorating them can be daunting. Fear not! I’m going to help you make your urns look fresh.fabulous.sophisticated in just a few steps!
It was about time I took out my Fall mums. Oh my!
Step 1. You don’t need to have a traditional “urn”. Any pot that you’ve used in the garden this past year can look fantastic.
Step 2. Go for a walk!! I did my entire urn this year for free. Yup, free! Last weekend, the kids and I went on walk around the neighbourhood and collected branches from all sorts of trees. Don’t forget to check out the trees in your own backyard.
Step 3. With your urn empty, place your first set of branches around the outer edges. I placed a small box at the bottom of the urn so that I wouldn’t have to place all the branches in so deep. Another great tip: ask the florist at your local grocery store for one of their flower buckets. If you place that inside the urn with a bit of dirt, it will hold the branches in place all through the winter.
Step 4. Layer, layer, layer. Add in all the different branches that you’ve collected and then look inside your house for anything to add. I had this faux branch in my Christmas decoration box and saved magnolia leaves from last year. Why not add these red sticks?
Step 5. Because I didn’t use the bucket full of dirt this year, I needed something to hold my red sticks up with. I just placed them in this glass vase and filled the bottom with pinecones to conceal the vase.
Step 6. The greenery and texture of your urn can take you all through the winter. If you add Christmas decorations to it, you just need to take them off after Christmas and voila…a beautiful winter urn that can last until Spring.
Don’t be overwhelmed by decorating your urns. Take a walk, get inspired by nature and you will have a fresh.fabulous.sophisticated holiday urn.
Recently I’ve been feeling the need to defend my decision to support my 14 year old daughter in her desire to wear make – up. Several Moms I know have voiced their disapproval and have made statements such as, “You’re contributing to the self-esteem issues of young girls by allowing this. They need to be encouraged to take pride in their natural beauty instead of caking on fake faces.” Another, “How can you say you support the empowerment of women and girls while you are encouraging your own daughters to be someone they’re not.” Insert my frazzled look of frustration here as I stare at their platinum style hair and dark eyebrows.
You parent the way you want to parent and I will parent my children, my way. After all, are we not all seeking what’s best for our children? We want them to have fun and learn and experience cool opportunities in life. We want them to be healthy, safe and learn to love themselves. I am doing the best I can to act based on my intuition that gut feeling that so many of us have been trained not to trust. We’ve grown up in a largely fear based society. I have so many phobias, you’d be reading for days if I listed them all. I don’t want that for my children.
What does all of this have to do with my 14 year old daughter Sydney wearing make up? I could listen to those snap judgements, second guess myself and ground her from all forms of facial disguise until she is an adult. Why would I do that? Because part of me is afraid that other Moms will not accept me. I don’t want to look like a bad parent or poor role model for my girls.
Why am I supporting my 14 year old daughter in wearing make – up? The reasons are none of any one’s business but here is some food for thought. Up until a few months ago, Sydney was experimenting with make up provided by other girls at school. Not healthy considering the bacteria that can be spread from unclean utensils, etc. I can not be with her 24/7 and I don’t want her to feel bad about herself because she is going against my wishes. Picking my battles here. I decided to take her to Terra 20, a fairly new Eco store in Ottawa with a variety of natural cosmetics without the chemicals and potentially harmful ingredients found in cheaper brands that many teen girls purchase. Terra 20 has knowledgeable staff who will help match the right cosmetic for your skin type and pocket book. I highly recommend you go see Thierry Papineau at Terra 20 at the Pinecrest Shopping Centre. He has an extensive background as a make up artist with an impressive portfolio and he knows the products! Thierry helped Sydney match a powder foundation and eye liner to her colouring. He also helped her pick out a travel brush with a cap to keep it clean. Then he explained the importance of not sharing make – up and keeping your utensils properly disinfected. He also recommended healthy skin cleansing products. The experience helped Sydney learn proper application methods and the importance of good hygienic practices. It helped her gain confidence in herself and her ability to make good choices instead of me making them for her. Oh, and for the lips, we all use the Green Beaver gloss, way cheaper, healthier and environmentally friendly than Burt’s Bees and it’s a local company from Hawkesbury, Ontario.
Terra 20 gift cards make an excellent Christmas present for teen girls.
I have had the opportunity to interview several people involved with Terra 20, including the founders from right here in Ottawa to the buyers responsible for bringing products into the store. As a Mother and community member concerned with health and the environment, it gives me greater peace of mind knowing Terra 20’s staff has done a lot of the research for me. Terra 20 also features products from several companies who give back to various causes through proceeds of sales.
Watch Where You Step! Toilet Training In Progress!
My daughter pooed on the carpet at our house this week. That’s right. I said my daughter. Not the family puppy. We don’t have one. It was my kid that needed to be “housebroken”. Watch Where You Step… Toilet Training In Progress at our house!
Watch Where You Step… Toilet Training In Progress
I had bathed Mary in the tub in our Master ensuite and realized I hadn’t brought a pull-up for her (her preference is a pull-up with a pair of “big girl” undies over top, FYI future babysitters). I pulled her out of the tub, toweled her off, then ran to her room to grab more diapers. When I returned, I saw that she had followed me out of the bathroom and into our bedroom and had pooed on the floor. Three lumps of poo in a matter of the minute it took me to run back to her. Three lumps of crap (using a polite word here) on the carpet of the room where I sleep.
I can handle a lot as a parent, but that was it. I didn’t get upset with her and I calmly cleaned the mess, then “Green Machined” the carpet. Repeatedly. But that was a defining moment to start to toilet train her. She’d already shown all the signs of “readiness”. It was time to get serious about toilet training.
Dad To The Rescue
And that’s what I told her father.
Yep, I deferred the whole thing to him. I’ve changed the majority of the poopy diapers in the past two years, because Daddy “couldn’t handle the smell.” Well, if he didn’t want to change diapers, he could teach her to use the toilet.
And a week later, I can honestly say the toilet training was almost complete. My husband’s method was putting her on the toilet every 20 minutes or so. He used a timer on his phone, and she came to understand the ding of the timer going off as time to go to the bathroom. After a few days of that, she didn’t need the timer anymore. She could make out the cues and let us know on her own. She still wears a pull-up (including at night), but she tells us when she needs to go to the bathroom. I was so proud when she even interrupted a shopping trip with Mommy and Daddy to tell us she need to “go potty”.
There are tons of winter activities that you can do to build up a good sweat and get in a great workout beside those essential weight lifting sessions that help keep you strong and fit. Check out these 8 fun outdoor winter workouts for the family!
Fun Outdoor Winter Activities
So the first of this season’s snow has finally hit the ground and while many are groaning and moaning about the additional shoveling and griping about the cold, the rest of us are so happy that we can’t hardly wait until the weekend or after work to go throw on some cross-country skis or snowshoes and hit the trails.
The fact of the matter is weather patterns suck, but if you’re living in a part of the world that gets lots of snow fall, you either have one of two choices. Succumb to the elements and huddle away in a dark cave for a matter of months until it all melts and the sun comes out once again or you can deal with it and get out there to play in the snow just like you did when you were little.
The only thing that’s changed from that early childhood memories of you running up and down the streets sledding and rolling around in the snow doing snow angels every five feet is you.
Here are some great outdoor winter activities that you can do just about anywhere when you have snow.
Just because there’s snow on the ground doesn’t really warrant an excuse not to exercise. In fact I think it gives you more opportunity to get out and enjoy what mother nature has to offer.
1. Build a snowman
Not only will you get the lower body engaged, but hoisting heavy snowballs on top of one another is great for the core too. Think atlas stones in strongman competitions
2. Build a snowfort/castle
Your kids will love you for it for building a snow castle or snowfort and you can get back at them for all the endless nights you spent taking care of their whines and complaints with a well placed snowball or two. I always refer to Calvin and Hobbes for inspiration here.
3. Shovel snow out of a neighbour’s driveway
Use proper form and lift with your legs not with your back of course. It’s a great core and leg workout, plus it’s a nice thing to do.
4. Take the kids around the block on the sled
This is a great leg work out and you can keep the family involved too.
5. Go sledding with the kids
Not only is this an awesome fun time, but sledding involves climbing up and down a hill a couple of times is quite a workout through deep snow.
6. Go for a snowshoe adventure
I love snowshoeing in Ottawa. It’s the best way to go hiking anywhere. And I do mean anywhere. If you feel limited by the places you can go while hiking around, try hiking around with snowshoes. You’ll never know what you were missing until you’ve gone hiking in the wilderness going where very few even dared because you can literally walk above and beyond the trails.
7. Cross country skiing
This is another one of my favourite wintertime activities is cross country skiing in Ottawa. This too is a great deal of exercise for the legs, especially the hip flexors and glutes. Get on a trail and go for speed or take a short stroll where no one else wants to go. It’s up to you.
8. If all else fails just go for a nice walk in the park
Trudging through some knee deep snow for 30 minutes is a helluva workout in the park and you’ll feel it for days later with the added range of motion you need to plod through big drifts of snow.
You see snow and winter conditions are no excuse to get out of a good workout. In many cases this little invention of mother nature proves to test us in unique ways. Don’t let the snow be your downfall this year. Get out there and enjoy some of these outdoor winter workouts!
Beautiful storybooks have been written about the true story behind this well-loved Christmas carol, Silent Night. Our family always enjoys reading the book, A Carol for Christmas written by Ann Tompert and illustrated by Laura Kelly during the holiday season. Some mice tell how they were hungry and chewed the leather organ straps so that it could not be played. Let’s have a look at the story behind Silent Night!
On December 24, 1818, Father Joseph Mohr, the assistant parish priest at the St. Nikolaus Catholic Church in Oberndorf, Austria, decided to write the text of a new hymn for the Christmas eve service that night. The organ was not working and could not be repaired in time for the service so the organist, Franz Gruber, wrote the music for guitar. Both text and music were written on the day it was performed for the first time! Father Mohr and Franz Gruber sang Silent Night at the service that evening with the choir joining in on the last two lines. The carol was originally written in German and is known as Stille Nacht, which means “quiet night.” Father Mohr wrote six verses, but most people are only familiar with three verses. This beautiful carol is a favourite of many people around the world.
Silent Night – Christmas Carol
Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright Round yon virgin mother and Child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace; Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night! Holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight! Glories stream from heaven afar; Heav’nly hosts sing Alleluia! Christ, the Savior, is born! Christ, the Savior, is born!
Silent night! Holy night! Son of God, love’s pure light Radiant beams from thy holy face, With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth; Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
What is your favourite Christmas carol? Comment below!
So you might be wondering why I have a huge cannonball with a handle on top of it in the middle of my living room. Well, it just so happens that a kettlebell (that’s the cannonball implement) is a key feature in our home. In fact, it’s one of the biggest reasons my wife and I met.
The picture featured here is the one my wife used as her profile picture when we met. I’m not going to get into all the details, but as is we met online while I was still far, far away in South Korea as a US military officer. I wasn’t into scouring the land of kimchi and soju, so I spent a lot of time online. Emails led to conversations, led to dating, and the rest is history.
My favourite picture of my wife’s shoes and her kettlebell
And while I was attracted to this picture because of its simplicity and elegance in particular, this told me that she was the real deal. Any woman with a kettlebell in her house is a winner for to me.
Your Fitness Tool of Choice
You see kettlebells are amazing and they’re such a great tool that you can do a full workout in the company of your own home in a matter of minutes with one simple instrument of destruction. Enter the kettlebell.
These little bells developed in Russia are the foundation for many strength training and conditioning programs. Why?
Because they’re so easy to use and you only need one to perform a full body workout that helps develop strength, explosiveness, cardiovascular conditioning, core strength, coordination and grip strength. All of which we know everyone needs.
Now I’m not saying that a single kettlebell is as good as a gym, but for a piece of equipment that you can have at home it’s simply the best alternative.
Treadmills take up too much space and they’re often tucked away deep in the basement to collect dust as we all know running or walking outside is way more awesome than doing anything on a treadmill.
Ellipticals again take up too much space and all you can use them for is an effective waste of time. Unless you do the type of conditioning we like at Hostyle, which is dragging an elliptical around the parking lot. Note – this will make for a great Youtube video in the future. Stay tuned!
Stationary bikes, well, these often double as an effective way hang your clothes to dry.
And last but not least the Bowflex, while being a very nice and simple way to train your muscles, is yet still a machine with way to many levers and spindles that makes it somewhat of an angry spider taking over a prominent section of your living room.
Why Strength Training with Kettlebells Rocks
Strength training with a kettlebell makes things efficient and simple. Once you’ve mastered a few of the basic moves you’ve got yourself a nice little home workout that you can do at home in as little as 30 minutes, heck you could even split it up into 15 minute shifts if you want, but that would be like calling it 7 minute Abs when we know abs take a lot more than 7 minutes to get.
This makes the kettlebell the perfect workout tool for the stay at home mom who often doesn’t have the opportunity to get away every day.
I know all moms are crazy busy running their kids around from this place and that place, and sometimes to different events going on during one weekend. I find this ludicrous and quite insane, but alas the kettlebell would still enable a busy mom to get a workout in regardless of their busy schedule surrounding work, kids, shopping, family, and other related activities.
Our home kettlebells
So What Do You Do With It
Well, you swing it of course. The kettlebell swing is THE foundational move of the kettlebell and it’s one of my signature favourites. It involves propelling the kettlebell on a circular path from between the thighs to a shoulder height position. Be advised there are several versions of this, so CrossFitters don’t hate on me, I just think the basic swing should only go to eye level in order to keep the focus on the glutes and hips! And who doesn’t want better glutes and thighs? Yeah, I thought so…
Check out this video to see how it’s done!
Oh, and let’s not forget another leg dominator for the kettlebell—the goblet squat. Another one of my favourites for burning up the leg muscles.
Not only does the goblet squat teach you proper squat technique, but it also stimulates all the major muscles of the thigh and legs. You simply grab the bell by the horns (those are the sides of the handles), hug the bell close to the chest with the elbows tucked in to support, throw the hips back and bend at the knees. The movement practically teaches itself! Check out the form here:
Now, you’re interested in some upper body movements to get rid of the nasty “tricep hang” and “tone” that upper body. What I mean by tone of course is build muscle and burn bodyfat, but you get the idea. Try the double arm kettlebell press to firm up those upper arms and reach overhead for any long lost article on the top of the kitchen shelves. Just make sure that you hold the bell in the rack position at the upper portion of the chest and extend the arm so that the bicep is aligned with the ear as shown here.
Sweet! Now you have a nice little one, two combo for how to handle the kettlebell, the most useful and dominating workout tool around. Way better than having an old treadmill that just lies around collecting dust and a stationary bike for a clothes hanger (even though the handles do have handy hangers).
Why Every Mom Needs A Kettlebell At Home
The kettlebell is an awesome piece of equipment and everyone should have one in their house. You never know when you might have a spare 20-30 minutes when the kids are napping to squeeze out a little workout.
Whether you are traveling across time zones to see Grandma and Grandpa, or having a sleep over across the city at your sister’s house for New Year’s Eve, there are challenges to getting your kids the sleep they need during the holiday season.
What can you do to help your loved ones stay well rested?
1. Stick to your schedule as much as possible.
While it is tempting to skip nap time to stay out ice skating, or delay bedtime until Dora finds the pyramids, the best thing you can do while away from home is get your kids to bed at their usual time. They will be waking up at the same time in the morning regardless. It is easy to write this, but I know this can be very hard. While traveling in a time zone 1 hour ahead of my own, I spent a lot of my trip obsessing about when I would get my son to sleep, in fear of jeopardizing my own night time sleep should he become overtired and have more frequent night wakings. Really, just do the best you can.
2. Re-create your positive sleep environment from home
If you use a sleep sack and/or a lovie, it is easy to bring these with you and have these familiar sleep cues from home. Keeping the room dark helps keep distractions of a new environment at bay. Give your hosts the heads up that you’ll need a dark room so they can borrow or create some dark out curtains ahead of time. If your child doesn’t use “white noise” at home, this might be a great tool to test out on the road, as it can block out new distracting sounds from your host’s home.
3. Managing time zone jumps
Decide in advance how to tackle the time zone jump. If you are traveling to a time zone just 1 hour ahead or behind, it might be easier to keep your child on their existing schedule and time. Getting up at 5 am with your little one when everyone else won’t be up until 6 am might seem a little lonely, but it is a simple solution if you are up for it. If you are traveling into a time zone with a 3 hour time shift things, this is much more challenging. You can consider using the week or days before your departure to shift your child’s sleep by half the change, or 1.5 hours by working in 15 minute increments per day. For example, if the time is shifting backwards, than keeping your baby up 15 minutes longer at bedtime for 6 days in a row to reach the 1.5 hr change, and then dealing with the rest when you arrive at your destination. The duration of your stay in the different time zone and the number of hours in the time change should be taken into consideration to formulate your plan.
4. Be patient
There is no fast and easy solution to traveling with children. Chances are your child will get overtired at some point introducing the risk of more frequent night wakings, early wakings and for toddlers, increase in bad behavior. When this happens, take a deep breathe, this too shall pass.
5. Be prepared to pick up the pieces when back at home
Once you are back home and back into your routine, you may have to institute previous sleep strategies that you used to get your baby sleeping well, such as sleep training. Luckily, this won’t take as long as it did the first time you introduced it.
If things aren’t going well for you while you are traveling and you are tired, remember… this too shall pass. Congratulate yourself for even venturing out of your safe environment and participating in the holiday season. It is a lot less stressful to stay home ….. but missing out on sleep is a lot better than missing out on memories.
Happy Travels!
photo credit and purchased: http://us.fotolia.com/id/32341840
What happens when you ask five of the world’s top family travel bloggers to share their dreams, nightmares, tips, tricks, and family secrets? There’s painful honesty, a lot of fun, and endless motivation to travel, travel more, and travel with your family. Here’s what five of the best said about travelling with their children and how it’s changed their life.
Meet the bloggers!
Talon Windwalker is a single dad slowly traveling the world full time with his 12-year-old son. They have been traveling continuously since May 2011. They are currently in Romania and planning on exploring Europe for the next several months. You can follow their adventures on their blog at http://1dad1kid.com.
Sonja Everson blogs at http://readysetpack.tumblr.com/ and is passionate about soccer, food, and cooking. She and her family are currently exploring Southeast Asia.
Lance Wiedower, the publisher and editor of http://tripsbylance.com/, travels frequently with his wife and 7-year-old son. Lance and Stacey enjoy discovering the art, culture and food of a locale and diving right in, experiencing the place like locals. More and more they find those couple’s getaways now include their son, Colby.
Erin Bender blogs at http://travelwithbender.com/. Her husband and two kids have been on the road for nearly 600 days, leaving Australia behind for Bali and so much more!
Elaine Schoch began writing http://carpe-travel.com after leaving the corporate world and beginning as a self-employed PR consultant. Along with “Husband”, “Princess One” and “Princess Two” (who was adopted from Russia), they are a well traveled family, who haven’t slowed down the two little ones in their life.
Q1: What is the most rewarding thing about traveling with your children?
Talon: Seeing my son grow, evolve, and change. Having experiences together that will be lifelong memories. Spending massive amounts of time that we wouldn’t otherwise have.
Sonja: Seeing the world through my children’s’ eyes is absolutely priceless. It helps me see the world in a different light as well. It’s less jaded and more fresh and open..the way it should be. I love it when they recapture their adventures years later and reminisce moments that I’ve forgotten or simply saw with a different perspective.
Lance: We believe the educational opportunities of experiencing other cultures, unique restaurants and meeting fascinating people is just as important as what our son learns in school. It’s especially gratifying to see him studying maps before, during and after our trips, and also watching him sketch paintings he is looking at in art museums.
Erin: They see the world in a whole different way to us. They help us see the world better. They keep us young.
Elaine: Seeing the world through their eyes. We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives that I don’t always stop and look at how they’re seeing the world. Traveling with them opens your eyes to things you may have seen or known about but get to experience it for the first time all over again with them.
Elaine and the “Princesses” navigate airports with ease.
Q2.) What is the most difficult thing about traveling with children?
Talon: Sometimes you need a break from being a parent. As a single parent I don’t get that, and since we’re on the move I don’t have my friends and network to help give me a break. I rarely have a room to myself anymore, and I miss having that level of privacy.
Sonja: It’s much easier to travel as a single or a couple. Travelling with children adds a new dimension of emotions to contend with. I don’t mind traveling by bus or train for hours on end…another member of the family might loathe it or suffer from travel nausea. There are so many more factors to consider before deciding on a destination, mode of travel, accommodation or sights to visit.
Lance: For me it’s dealing with a grumpy only child who is no longer getting his way. He and I are both very strong-willed people, so we argue like brothers. The only other real obstacle is visiting bars late at night and nicer restaurants that we don’t feel like having our child interrupting the romantic dinner of another couple.
Erin: Nap times and potty training!
Elaine: I happen to ask my five-year-old what she thought was the most difficult thing about traveling, her answer, “packing my suitcase”. I had to laugh since packing her suitcase used to stress me out too. When I first traveled with her – age three months – the hardest thing was dealing with all her things and trying to keep somewhat of a sleep schedule. Once I learned that I didn’t need everything in the diaper bag and lowered my expectations it became much easier. Now that my kids are four and five, the hardest thing is getting them to eat when it’s meal time, but that’s the biggest challenge at home too. Traveling with kids is as hard as you make it. Yes, you’re going to have those rare occasions when someone is sick, you miss your connection or you lose the favorite giraffe. But it’s all part of the journey…
The Bender family at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.
Q3.) If you could share your best travel tip with other parents, what would it be?
Talon: Technology is your friend. Travel days can be LONG. If they have things like a Kindle, netbook, and/or video games, it makes it a LOT easier. Make sure everything is fully charged before a travel day.
Sonja: Toilet paper (aka: pooh tickets), snacks, and water are essential. Everything else is a bonus for us. It’s great to have novels, drawing paper and pencil handy as well. We’ve really cut down on our daypacks and the kids haveadjusted to it really well.
Lance: Whatever the child’s interests are, have things along in your daypack that reflect them. For our son, that has meant lots of paper and crayons, so he can draw what he sees on the trip. But it’s also included having movies he likes saved on both our iPhones along with headphones. That usually gives us peace in nicer restaurants.
Lance and his family hit the road!
Erin: For potty training on the road, grab a cheap shower curtain ($1 in Malaysia) and place it under the sheets and above the mattress on the places you visit. Also ALWAYS carry wipes or hand sanitizer, they tour the world with their hands, not just their eyes.
Elaine: Always have tissues, hand wipes, a change of clothes and a snack in your bag. Keep your expectations low and be flexible and you’ll be pleased with the outcome of the trip. When you try to overdo and over plan with kids, you’re bound to be disappointed. Hiccups happen when you travel with kids, it’s how you handle them that will determine if you enjoy the trip.
Q4.) What advice do you have for parents who find travelling with children to be stressful? (This can be either practical or more philosophical)
Talon: Don’t plan too much and take things slowly. Schedule in downtime every single day. It’s easy to get fried when you’re moving around a lot or doing umpteen activities a day. You wouldn’t go all night and day at home, so don’t do it during travel.
Sonja: We were pretty frank with our kids. We all have sensitive buttons that are easily pushed. It’s key to recognize someones weaker points and be mindful of them. We need to be honest with each other when we’re feeling stressed, unhappy or angry because those are real emotions that we need to respect and if we’re supportive we can all get through it together. It’s not just the amazing experiences that are out there, it’s the day-to-day ones that we need to respect as well. It’s not always easy sharing one room for four days on end.
Lance: Six months from now are you going to remember how your son wouldn’t eat anything in the nice restaurant in Paris, or the joy on his face when he stood in the wind at the top of the Eiffel Tower? The little stressful moments are short-lived. The big moments are memories that will last forever. I need to remind myself of this from time to time.
Erin: Go slower. Don’t try to tour the whole city in a day or if you are going to jump on a Hop On Hop Off bus so the kids can still nap while you tour. But go slower, allow them time to play and to rest. And allow yourself that time too. Stressed parents make stressed kids.
Elaine: My husband is a business traveler who buzzes through the airport at the speed of light, but with kids, especially little kids, you can’t really do this. It’s important to make sure to give yourself enough time – for everything – packing, getting to the airport, parking, walking through the airport (and all the potty stops) and getting onto and seated on your plane. Keep in mind some airlines won’t let you check kids in online so you typically have to go through the check-in line at the airport. More time you must set aside.
Talon and his son explore land and sea!
Q5.) What has been your favorite family friendly destination?
Talon: Cuba. The people are lovely, and it’s a culture that expects children to play and use their imagination, so when your child is climbing everything in sight or making noise they think it’s cute. It’s an extremely safe country, too, especially for families.
Sonja: Each of us will answer this one differently. I think Guatemala, Australia, China, Czech Republic……that’s a real toughy.
Lance: Scotland was such a great place to explore with a child. The people are so welcoming, and what young child wouldn’t enjoy exploring a couple of castles? Surprisingly, we also found that Paris worked well for our son. We hope to take him to explore New York City soon. We’ve been many times, and feel like he should explore this great city too.
Erin: Just one? But there are so many! Turkey stands out as a recent trip we just did. Every few metres it seemed there was a playground and the people loved kids. They also had some pretty amazing hotels and restaurants that catered for kids.
Elaine: We’ve done Disneyland and Disney World, which are the ultimate kid/family destinations. But you’re usually alway going, leaving little room for downtime and relaxing. My absolute favorite family friendly destination – so far – has to be San Juan Puerto Rico. We stayed at the Hilton Caribe, which is rated the top family friendly hotel in San Juan and for good reason. I could seriously just sit on the beach for hours while the kids played on their private beach. There were kid activities throughout the hotel – and the city – so we could go and do but we could also just lounge and rest while the kids exuded all their energy.
I was really excited when I was asked to review the PlasmaCar. When I told my eldest what we were going to be reviewing, she was more excited than I was! She had used this toy during her gym classes at school, and she was anxiously waiting for it to arrive at our door.
The Original PlasmaCar is a toy car like no other. It can move by the rider using the natural forces of inertia, centrifugal force, friction, and the rider themselves! All the rider has to do is turn the steering wheel, and away it goes (the rider has to use their feet to stop the car, though)! It does not need pedals or gears to keep the PlasmaCar in motion.
PlaSmart Inc.
PlaSmart Inc., maker of the PlasmaCar, is a Canadian-based company that distributes smart, simple, educational toys for kids that assist with various aspects of childhood development. In December, 2002, Timothy Kimber stumbled upon children testing a then unknown toy vehicle. Kimber liked how all the rider needed to do was use the steering wheel to make the car go, and found the seller of this toy. By 2003, Kimber created PlaSmart to distribute simple yet innovative toys, and had gained the rights within North America to distribute PlasmaCar. By distributing remarkable yet effortless toys such as PlasmaCar, PlaSmart can be found in more than sixty countries around the world, and did so in a few short years, winning many awards for the toys it distributes along the way.
Original PlasmaCar Review
When it finally arrived, I wanted to take pictures of its assembly, but the biggest kid at my house, my boyfriend/partner, couldn’t wait to open it up and put it together (I received it as I was about to go out with my friends for a few hours). By the time I came home, all I heard was the roar of the wheels and loads of laughter as all four kids (three actual children and one adult) were taking turns riding on the PlasmaCar. My family just cannot get enough of PlasmaCar, and play on it daily!
There are so many aspects of PlasmaCar I really love! One of them are the foot grips it has on the front, so it allows for feet to stay on it easier, and hand grip at the back, so you can help younger children along until they can grasp the steering concept of the car. It took my younger daughter, who is a toddler, about a day to understand how to steer the PlasmaCar well enough not to have her older sister (who is twelve years-old), or one of us adults to guide her from behind. Our little guy is too young to be on it by himself, but he loves sharing a ride with his sisters!
We have not had a chance to test it outside yet, as our yard and driveway have been wet due to the change in weather. When spring finally shows signs of arriving, we will then convert the PlasmaCar from an indoor toy to one our children can enjoy outside for many hours to come!
Overall, PlaSmart has an amazing product in the PlasmaCar! Anyone in our home can use it (it can carry up to 220 lbs), you do not have to constantly propel the car with your feet, and it is light and fun to ride! The only problem we have is that we do not have a second PlasmaCar!
Enjoy the ride!
Disclosure: I received the above mentioned products to sample. All opinions are honest and my own.
It was late in the evening at the local YMCA which has a nice gym that I used to train frequently with my wife. The weights were clanking with the hustle and bustle of young bodies lifting various weights. I was in between sets of bench press and pull ups when a group of young athletes came up to me and started chatting about training programs and such. And then when I was about ready to go back to my next set the topic of supplements came up.
“So what are you on man?”
“What kind of supplements do you take?”
The answer surprised most of them because there are only a few supplements that I even recommend and most of those have been around forever. They’re nothing fancy and glamorous like the ones promoted in the magazines. Nitro-Explode and Vaso-Pump 3000, whatever their names are…
The reason I say this is because most supplements aren’t worthwhile and end up being just another way of scamming the local populace out of their hard earned dollars.
The Skinny On Supplements
I train a lot of younger athletes and time and time again the topic always seems to surface regarding supplementation, generally between sets of squats and bench press.
And I’ve been there. I was that typical college student, reading the through the muscle magazines, scouring the articles for some relative information on helpful supplements to take to get bigger, stronger, lose fat and become a complete beast in the gym or on the playing field. There was always some sort of plant hormone or new muscle building supplement that was top of the line. Some pro-hormone that helped peak testosterone levels for hours after training and made it almost impossible not to grow.
A few years later and a lot of wasted dollars thrown into the giant supplement industry cogs, I got smart. I was still not the magical beast that I wanted to be and no amount of supplementation was helping me get there. Yes, I’d made some descent progress in the gym, but that was all from hard work, resistance training regularly (often over zealously) and learning all I could about the body. After reading and researching every sort of nutritional program and supplement information I could get my hands on, I finally figured it out that no supplement would ever come close to a sound training plan and a good, nutritious diet. Some supplements helped, yes, that’s true. But in the long run most of them were just very expensive toilet cleaners.
So just what kind of unicorn-fairy dust is this supplement industry?
Well, let’s just say it’s a complete marketing ploy to get you to buy more magazines and more lines of various powders and pills from supplement companies with the latest and greatest product that touts a lot of serious claims like 10lbs of muscle in 30 days, add an inch to your chest and arms, burn fat while you sleep and wake up ripped. To set the record straight, none of these ideas has ever happened to anyone. And the scary thing is that a lot of supplement companies don’t care that there stuff doesn’t even work.
Half of the time you can expect to have some local kids stuffing some blend of white powders (ie. like sugar or a floury substance) and a few grams of actual product into some empty capsules and call that a supplement for a few bucks an hour. Just check out this little video clip to drive the point home for good on the topic of steroids and the supplements industry. It’s a real eye opener. Especially focus in on about the 3:00 min and 10:00 min mark!
I’m sure you want these guys prepping your next line of fat burners, right?
Supplements that Work
Alright, so what can you tell your kids about some useful supplements at this age (12-18). There really isn’t a lot out there that is going to be worth both the time and money spent on the actual supplements. As younger athletes more time should simply be spent training, developing proper movement patterns and eating real foods than finding the next latest and greatest protein supplement line. In fact they’ll probably learn a lot more just taking some cooking lessons and learning how to properly prepare food.
As my Mom used to say, “You like to eat, so you’d better learn to cook!” That not only that but it pays off big in life, but with the future girl-guy friends as well, when that time period comes around.
Like this post if you agree!
Whey Protein
Yep, just your everyday, run of the mill whey protein. Now naturally there are a lot of different brands out there, but just regular old 100% whey protein or a nice blend of whey and casein proteins are nice. Stick with the ones that have a fairly low amount of carbohydrate (and/or sugars), along with a low level of fat. Generally these will have about 20 grams of protein per scoop.
Why is whey protein so awesome! Well, first off it’s full of branch chain amino acids that are easily digestible and it’s basically just a byproduct of milk production without the extra fat and calories as milk. Not that this age needs to worry so much about calories, but if they’re looking to gain some good weight without packing on a lot of body fat, adding a couple scoops of whey protein to some whole milk post workout will help with gaining some lean tissue.
Creatine Monohydrate
Now creatine has gotten everything from being a steroid to a contender for kidney dialysis in the media; however, creatine is an awesome supplement that can make a big difference in an athlete’s explosiveness and strength sport events. Creatine Monohydrate is a naturally occurring substance in the body and can be found in foods like red meat (although in much reduced quantity). The thing about creatine that helps it work is the fact that it requires a good consumption of water to be effective, as it tends to volumize or maximize the bodies capability to store water in the cells. This can lead to a puffy sensation, but creatine can also serve as a donator for our stores of immediate energy in the form of phosphocreatine. This conversion helps us with having a bit more substrate to produce maximum power and explosive events.
Key note: Creatine isn’t such a great supplement if all you’re interested is long distance events like the 1600m or cross-country. But for explosive sports like shot-put, discus, javelin and Olympic weightlifting its unparalleled. And you don’t need a loading dose for it to be effective. Just a 5 gram serving daily is enough to properly facilitate a response.
Fish Oil
Now fish oil contains all the essential Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids in the right combination. You can go with other forms of essential fatty acid supplements, but as far as most research is concerned fish oil tends to be the best in terms of absorption and digestibility. Having enough Omega 3’s in the diet is important to keep our bodies cells operating efficiently, increase membrane fluidity, improve cardio-vascular function, anti-coagulation effects and reduce inflammation within the body.
Omega 3’s not only help out with these issues, but they also help balance out the excess of Omega 6’s we tend to get from over consuming vegetable oils (ie. corn, safflower, and meat). The best ratio is more of a 1:1 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6, which in today’s society is very rare to find and unless one is already eating plenty of fatty fish, algae, walnuts, etc.
It’s a great addition to a younger athletes nutritional menu as it will help reduce their inflammatory responses and help them stay healthy overall. About a 500-1000mg daily is a good level to start at with higher inflammation requiring a bit more.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid that has been shown to increase muscular endurance and lean muscle tissue by increasing muscle carnosine levels from 34-52.2%. This has also been shown to increase isometric endurance of 11.4%, lactate threshold by 9% and ventilatory threshold of 9.6%.
What all this means is that beta-alanine can definitely help bolster the body in long-term endurance events and give them a little boost during anaerobic sprint work. The only major side effect from a dose of 3-6 grams per day has been a slight tingling feeling when exercising.
This would be the supplement of choice for an athlete looking to perhaps get into bodybuilding or some longer events like the 400m or 800m dash. Combined with creatine it helps bolster both short-term anaerobic power and aerobic endurance capacity.
Multivitamins
Now a multi-vitamin and mineral is perhaps another smart supplement that you can safely give your kids. The best ones are the ones where you look for the USP labs symbol. This proves that the company has gone to a non-biased research company to have their product tested to ensure that they have the exact ingredients as listed upon their label. The sticker looks like the one depicted below.
The multi-vitamins and minerals serve as co-factors for our body’s cellular machine or as our bodies “Minions”. They do the work of pulling the levers and gears on our body’s factories. When these factories get out of control or they have too many of the “Evil Minions” (free radicals from toxins or over exertion) our body doesn’t function appropriately. Or if you don’t have enough Minions to manage all of your factories your performance just isn’t up to par.
Keep in mind a vitamin supplement is only as a necessary filler in the gaps of what you’re not getting in through your diet, not a substitution for getting enough leafy green and varied color vegetables and proteins.
That’s all she wrote folks!
Okay, so there’s a short list of my top favourite supplements for youth supplementation. So when your young athlete starts showing you various articles in the muscle magazines you can make an educated decision and tell them that there’s a few supplements that might be in their favour. But most of them are just marketing gimmicks to make a few bucks on the uninformed public.
When it comes to nutrition and performance, whole foods and a good amount of protein, vegetables and well-balanced portion of carbohydrates (starches and minimal sugars) are going to be the big ticket to longevity and sustained gains in performance.
When it comes to supplementation, the things that work are few and far between. What really works is constant exercise, hard weight training and a good foundation in nutrition. Without the basics, no amount of supplementation is going to elicit any sort of measurable results.
If any of you have had this experience with your young athlete or yourself I’d love to hear some stories of your supplement usage or if you have questions feel free to comment below or connect with me on Facebook!
Until next time,
CPT SMASH
“There are a lot of ways to train, I just want to help you do it BETTER!”
Do you know anyone who has ever had cancer? How about someone who has had a heart attack or a stroke? Alzheimer’s perhaps? Unfortunately, most of us could probably name several people in our family or circle of friends who have been afflicted with one of these illnesses. Many are surviving. Sadly, many are not. But what happens to a family’s financial well-being while they are going through this difficult period. Government health plans help but up to a point. Who pays for treatments not covered by OHIP? What if I have to seek treatment outside of Ontario or Canada? Group benefits help but again, up to a point. If I’m sick, my group plan may pay part of my salary while I’m in the hospital or getting treatment but what about my spouse’s income. Who pays for that if he has to take time off to help me? What about the mortgage and living expenses? It’s easy to see how quickly savings and RRSPs can be depleted in the event of a critical illness.
My mother-in-law was diagnosed with colon cancer this year. It’s the first time this has hit my family directly and it’s a scary time. It has been 8 months since the diagnosis and she’s doing well. The surgery was successful and now she is half-way through her chemo treatments. We’ll see what the future has in store but now I realize that from this day forward whenever a doctor asks my husband or my daughters if they have a family history of cancer, they will have to answer “Yes”. How will I protect them?
Critical Illness Insurance was first developed in South Africa in 1983 by Dr. Marius Barnard who is the brother of Dr. Christian Barnard, the doctor who performed the first successful open heart transplant surgery. We are all aware of life insurance and the need to protect our loves ones in the event of a premature death but Dr. Barnard saw a need for insurance that pays a “living benefit” to offset lost income and to pay for additional expenses incurred by those who survive a major illness. He also found that the survival rates were higher for people who weren’t worrying about their finances during this critical period.
With that in mind, here are the Top 10 Reasons to get Critical Illness Insurance:
With Critical Illness Insurance, 100% of your coverage amount will be paid to you in a tax-free lump sum payment if you are diagnosed with a critical illness and survive the amount of time specified in your policy (eg. typically 30 days).
With a Return of Premium on Cancellation benefit on your policy, you can get all of your premiums back if you never get sick or make a claim. This means you are covered in the event of an illness and you are building a ‘pension/savings’ account for use down the road. Either way, you are protecting yourself and your family’s financial health.
The illnesses that are covered by Critical Illness Insurance, such as cancer, heart disease and stroke are on the rise which means the odds are higher that you will face one of these illnesses in your lifetime.
Ottawa has the highest cancer rates in all of Ontario but also boasts the best cancer survival rates in the province.
Now is the time to lock in premiums while your age and health are in your favour. The younger you are, the less expensive your premiums will be. The healthier you are, the higher the probability that you will be approved for coverage.
Instead of having to work full-time while you are ill, thanks to the insurance benefit you will have the option to work part-time, take time off, or perhaps you may choose early retirement.
Critical Illness Insurance can be used to cover your mortgage or other expenses, such as the salary of a spouse that has to take time off work to help with your recovery or for medical treatments not covered by your provincial health plan.
In most cases employee benefit plans do not offer critical illness insurance and in cases where they do, it is usually for a minimal amount of coverage with no return of premium option.
For children, Critical Illness Insurance also covers childhood illnesses such as Type 1 Diabetes, congenital heart disease, cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury and others. At age 25, it also offers a partial return of premiums paid to date which can be used for things such as education, home down payment, etc.
With a long-term care conversion option, you can convert your Critical Illness Insurance policy to a Long Term Care Insurance policy in the future without providing evidence of insurability. This type of insurance was designed to cover the cost of care over a lengthy period while the insured is unable to care for themselves without someone else’s help.
There are so few things in life that come for free. This is one of them. Regardless of what the future has in store for each and every one of us, a Critical Illness Insurance policy will pay out … either in the form of a policy payout or in the return of all the premiums you paid.
Had you ever heard of Critical Illness Insurance before? What do you think?
While it is common for contemporary interiors to include modern style decor features, there are key differences between the two. The first and most important being that modern decor is set by a certain time period and contemporary changes constantly with time.
Contemporary decor can best be described as being “in the here and now”. It’s about what is in now, what is popular now and what is available now. What is considered to be contemporary today will be traditional next year. When you here, “contemporary decor” always remember it as an evolving, dynamic style. Contemporary interiors contain innovative materials and technology that experiment with new designs while paying attention to color, space, and shape. Comfort, function, and current style trends are the key components of contemporary interiors.
Here are some key elements to keep in mind when using contemporary style decor;
Furniture
Soft lines are apparent in furniture while still remaining simple and sleek. The look is soft, comfortable, trendy and just waiting to be lounged on. Chairs and sofas have exposed legs of chrome or dark wood. Glass tables with chrome are popular, and wood furniture is normally maple or birch with minimal graining.
Fabrics
Fine textured natural fabrics such as cotton, wool, linen and silk add depth without disturbing the contemporary simplicity. Patterns in fabrics are kept to a minimum as they are too complicated and distracting. Pillows add a shot of color and texture. There are no tassels, fringes, or elaborate trim present in contemporary fabrics.
Window treatments are also simple, airy, and clean ranging from curtains to crisp roman blinds.
Colour
Main colours include white, black, and neutral with bold accents on sections of walls, in art and on cushions. Colour and texture are added with plain or geometric-patterned area rugs.
Tone-on-tone colour palettes are popular. Brightly colored flowers such as tulips in a white vase add the perfect feel to a contemporary room.
Lighting
Much like modern decor lighting fixtures are used as artistic statements, and can be the topic of discussion when guests come to visit. Floor and table lamps are composed of sleek metallic finishes and colorful lamp shades. Track lighting showcases art and accessories and highlights focal points in the room.
Art and Accessories
Art and accessories consist of geometric, abstract and “of the moment” fads. Accessories do not take up a lot of space but when they are present they consist of smooth shiny materials such as metal and emphasize structure. Textured, and designer wallpaper add a feeling of art to the walls.
If you lean more toward the trendy side of fashion and enjoy simple things with a bit of flair then contemporary decor may be your style. With its focus on color, shape and current trends it is a popular choice with artistic personalities who like to feel very comfortable and casual with their surroundings. The ever-changing ideas of contemporary decor make for an exciting style of interiors that will never grow old and will always evolve as time changes.
Have you heard of Carole Martin Full Freedom Bras? They have been on the market since the 1970’s and offer comfortable, high quality, and supportive bras with no underwire. I have to admit that I was a little skeptical to write these bra reviews on the Full Freedom Cotton Bra and the Original Full Freedom Comfort Bra by Carole Martin.
That’s why I even went to Giant Tiger to try on the bras before I accepted to write this review. I had seen them in the store before, but never gave them a second look. Why, I don’t know, because I was extremely surprised by how they hug my shape so comfortably.
The Most Comfortable Full Freedom Bras by Carole Martin
Full Freedom Comfort Bra Review
The Original Carole Martin Comfort Bra is one of the most comfortable bras that I have ever tried on. You can feel the soft and satiny fabric on your skin. It’s a a great bra to wear at work, shopping, relaxing at home, or to that special dinner party. The bra straps are comfortable, but not adjustable. It’s available in beige, white, or black with a stretch cup that fits cup size B, C, D, or DD.
Easy on front hook and look closure
Quilted fabric that’s warm in winter/cool in summer
No underwire or stiff elastics to irritate your skin
85% Nylon and 15%Spandex
Wide sides fit comfortably snug
Machine washable and hang to dry
Full Freedom Cotton BraReview
The Full Freedom Cotton Bra is made with a breathable cotton stretch fabric. It was perfect to wear to work, at home, or while I was exercising and working out. The bra fit is slightly different then the Full Freedom Comfort Bra, since it has a broader elastic support and less stretch fabric that gives a little more support like a sports bra.The bra straps are comfortable, but not adjustable. It’s available in white or black with a stretch cup that fits B, C or D size.
Easy front hook closure
No underwire or stiff elastics to irritate your skin
95% Cotton / 5% Spandex
Extra wide straps and open back reduces back strain
Machine washable and hang to dry
What I like the best about the Full Freedom bras:
Their convenient front closure, so no more need to spin the bras to put them on;
I was worried about ongoing fit because of the non-adjustable straps, but the straps did not slide and stayed on even when I was working out;
I just have to choose my normal bra band size like B cup and the stretch fabric will hug my shape and hold my breasts nicely;
The soft stretch comfortable material;
You won’t find a similar product on the market at that affordable price!
Have you purchased a Full Freedom Comfort Bra? Comment below how you liked it!
Disclosure: I received the Full Freedom Bras by Carole Martinto review. All opinions are honest and my own.
Have you ever noticed that we are always introducing our kids to new activities, teaching them new skills, encouraging them to try new sports, and yet we sit on the sidelines? Somewhere between getting older, becoming parents and starting our careers we stopped setting new goals for ourselves! When was the last time you tried something new? Mastered a new skill, tried a new class or attempted a new sport? Check out these tip on Setting New Goals and Get Inspired to Challenge Yourself!
Stepping outside your comfort zone and pushing yourself just a little bit will make you find out you are stronger than you think and smarter than you knew. My husband and I recently took on a new challenge this past summer and in addition to overcoming some crazy fears, we made new friends, found out just what we were made of . I think we may have impressed the kids a bit!
The Challenge
As a challenge, we decided to take on triathlons. We are already very active, and I was a lifeguard so a great swimmer and my husband had been riding for year; so what kind of challenge was a triathlon going to be? A BIG one. My husband can’t swim in a lake and I am terrified of triathlon bikes. I had an amazing training group of women and he trained with a group of really experience guys. They made it so much more fun as we trained for 6 months and we learned so much from each of them.
My husband still panics in a lake and I am still terrified of my bike, but we both completed Half Ironmans’ and I learned that I can ride and complete an Olympic distance triathlon in the pouring rain and a Half Ironman in 6 hours of 44 degree heat. Who knew?! Funny thing happened after I reached that Half Ironman goal, I set another one. Two months later I wanted to run a half marathon in under 2 hours. I had never done one that fast before. Never even ‘really’ tried. So I put that goal out there and went for it.
What Reaching a Goal Feels Like
Race day – At one point while running I imagined, visually, what it would be like to crest that hill near the finish line and see 1:58:00 on the time clock and – surprisingly – the tears started. It made me teary to actually see those numbers in my head. Maybe this goal meant more to me than I thought. 21 km later I was at that hill near the finish line. First I could see my kids, ready to jump in and cross the finish line with me. Then I saw the time clock, it was still 100 meters away but I couldn’t believe what it said.
I was going to do it. I saw my kids faces. They knew I was going to do it too. I was going to cross the finish line with 1:58 on the time clock. For some crazy reason reaching that goal meant more to me than completing a 6 hour Half Ironman. I don’t know why. Maybe it has been my years of running. Maybe it was the challenge of a time goal – one that really required pushing my fitness limits. It could be that I really didn’t think I could do it. I have spent all my years just being happy with a finish and this is the first time I actually put a time on myself, asking myself to give it more effort and not just finish but to improve, to go faster, to be better. And I did it. The power of a goal.
How To Set Goals & Succeed: Commitment
Make that commitment. Set your goal and do it publicly. Tell your friends, your neighbours, the grocery store clerk. Get it out there that you are going to do this. The more you say it, the more you believe it and the deeper your commitment.
Make Friends
Don’t try to do it alone. You could learn through an internet video at home alone or you could join a class with others who have similar interests. They will encourage you to come back for the next class, help you through the workout or next training session, and be there to motivate and congratulate you at the end. Signing up for a series of sessions reinforces your commitment. It gets others involved who share the same goals as you and you make new friends!
Priority
You make sure the kids get to swimming lessons and school, so make sure you get to your class or get your training time in. Only those items that make your Priority List actually get accomplished so make this goal a priority. You need time to work towards a goal, so make that time a must do.
Setting Goals: Get Inspired to Challenge Yourself
No Excuses
There are very few things we ‘can’t’ do if we really try. Facing my goals I thought I’m too old for this, still have 3 young kids at home, have no time, husband travels, I don’t have a bike, I don’t like being clipped in to pedals, I will NEVER ride that bike in the rain! But if you take away all the self-doubt and just go for it and simply TRY!
One step at a time, you eventually will cross the finish line! You can make it happen. I challenge you to set some goals!
What toddler doesn’t love barns, farm animals and songs! So I anticipated that the Fisher Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm would be a hit with my 2 ¾ year old son. I was not mistaken.
Fisher Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm
Fisher Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm Review
The Little People Fun Sounds Farm was easy to assemble. Grandma and Grandpa were in charge of the operation and managed to piece it together in about 5 minutes, with the help of a pair of bifocals and a screwdriver. Most of the pieces snapped in, with the exception of one brace that had to be screwed in.
The Fun Sounds Farm comes with a large barn, some fencing to build a paddock , a bale of hay and 4 animals. Included are a cow, a sheep, a horse, and a farmer. Other characters are available to purchase additionally. You can also purchase separately a garden, a duck pond or a vegetable stand, so it is possible to build on your investment with coordinating pieces that “click” on.
The architecture of the barn is well designed. There are 3 interior levels where your child can create play with the animals. There are also lots of gates to open and close, a silo that holds the pieces when not in use, and a hay bailer that moves. The more moving the pieces, the better as far as my son is concerned, and of course this helps with fine motor skills coordination. The toy also delivers on its promise of exposing your child to imaginary play, as my son loves to imagine the animals talking to one another or being corralled in the paddock.
The Fun Sounds Farm delivers on its name as it plays many sounds and songs. Almost every moving piece plays a tune when engaged. When the gates are opened or closed, they will play either an animal sound or sing a little tune. I find the songs a little gratuitous for my liking, but my son did some dancing them. The songs get old quickly, but the animal noises have staying power.
How my son liked the Fisher Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm
I judge a toy by its ability to keep my son engaged over long periods. This toy definitely engaged my son for an hour or so upon opening. He didn’t want to go to bed which is always a sign of a successful toy, and he wanted to get up early the next day to “play farm”. I could see this farm being a favorite for many months as a medium to imagine many different scenarios and have visits from our other toys such as our lions, elephants and even Thomas the Train.
Old Fisher Price Farm versus the Fisher Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm
The quality of the toy is comparable to the quality of other Fisher Price toys and their competitors in today’s market. It is made of thin plastic that will crack if stepped on. Such is the standard in this day and age. I understand the reasoning for the quality, however, it does sadden me a bit, especially when I compare it to the original Fisher Price Farm, which I had as a child from the early 1980’s.
Vintage Fisher Price Farm
My mother has kept this farm all these years and we have it now for our son to play with. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. It is difficult not to compare the two farms.
The modern day farm is much more interactive with all the gates, sounds, and moving parts. However, the original farm is still standing and of much higher quality. I doubt the Fun Sounds Farm would last 30 years, however, we live in a different time now where things are more dispensable and replaceable. Do I want it to last 30 years?
The original farm has animals that look more “life like”, rather than the cartoon looking animals of the Fun Sounds farm. However, the choking hazard size of the farmer and the chicken from the original Fisher Price farm have been up removed in these newer versions which is a plus. Clearly the newer larger barn has more interactive pieces which feed into a child’s imagination as well.
Final words on the Fisher Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm Review
Overall the Fisher Price Fun Sounds Farm is a keen competitor in today’s market place of children’s toys. It is colorful, very interactive and noisy. I think this is best suited for the 3 year old to 4 year old age group but would no doubt serve the 1 -5 age group targeted on the box. It is a toy that you could acquire with a 1 year old play, with it for a while and then tuck it away for a few months and bring it back and your child would re-discover it all over again with a different appreciation and different interests in the farm.
Nap lengths can vary greatly in these early months. Yes it would be great if your baby had 1.5-2 hour naps however this is not always possible. Babies under 6 months have sleep cycles somewhere between 45 minutes and 60 minutes long and when your baby wakes up after a complete sleep cycle, it may be hard for him to fall back to sleep right away because he may be well rested. So how can I help my baby to nap longer?
infant baby sleeping
Average Amount Of Time A Baby Can Stay Awake
If your baby sleeps for 45 minutes or more he will likely be able to stay awake for his whole wakeful window. It can be challenging to try to get some babies back to sleep if they had a restorative sleep.
For most babies under 6 months they will be able to stay awake for 1-2 hours. It is important that babies are not awake too long so they don’t get overtired, which can make it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep for the next time.
How To Get Your Baby Back to Sleep
If your baby sleeps less than 45 minutes, it is often worth a 5-10 minute try to get him back to sleep. If it doesn’t work then get your baby up and watch him so you can put him down when he shows tired signs. This may be less than 1 hour if he only had a shorter nap.
Many babies will sleep consistently for shorter naps in the daytime, 20 or 30 minutes is common. These babies will need more naps in the daytime and it can be challenging for families to schedule around them. Sometimes we can lengthen at least a few naps in the day that can help. If your baby has reflux, short naps can be common and may not lengthen until the reflux is under control or your baby is older.
There are several approaches you can take to try to extend naps. Whatever you choose, with babies under 6 months you want to avoid crying.
You can simply try to catch your baby as soon as he wakes or starts to wake and try to comfort him back to sleep. This may involve, shushing, patting, giggling or even picking him up and feeding him back to sleep. If your baby wakes consistently after 20 or 30 minutes, you might want to set your alarm and go in just before that time so you can encourage him to fall back to sleep before he fully wakes, which will be easier. Whatever you decide to do, if it is not working after 5-10 minutes or baby is crying, then end the nap and try again when you see tired signs.
Many families will find that babies will nap well in a vibrating chair, swing, infant carrier or while lying on a flat safe surface beside Mom or Dad. If this is the case then you might want to try this either for 1 or 2 naps or for all of them if it works for you and it is safe. You don’t need to worry about creating so called “bad habits” at this younger age. Any sleep habits you wish to change can be improved when your baby is older and more capable.
Daytime Sleep Tips For Babies
The most important thing to keep in mind about baby daytime sleep tip is that babies are not awake too long and don’t get overtired. This can impact baby’s ability to fall asleep and sleep quality and length both in the day and the night. So if your baby is consistently taking short naps then you will find that he may need more naps in the day, often 4-7 naps. If your baby is sleeping for longer periods of time, you will likely still find that he needs 3-4 naps a day for babies less than 6 months.
You may find that you can lengthen out short naps with a bit of work, however if you can’t at this time, you will likely be able to as your baby gets older. Babies under 3 months especially can often thrive quite nicely on short power naps and it is often their parents that have a more challenging time.
So hang in there. Naps develop more consistently after 6 months of age.
I was blessed with the task to attend and review a lecture By Kim John Payne. He is the author of ‘Simplicity Parenting’ and a collaborator in many other books along the lines of simplicity and parenting.
photo by goodreads.com
I was excited to attend his lecture, as his book is one that I have read cover to cover in my first year of motherhood. I loved the idea on simplifying and allowing children to sink back into childhood without out the complexity of ‘so many choices’. Although my family may not adopt all of his theories in simplicity and raising children, we have benefited from many of them. His ideas and research seem to constantly be the in forefront of my mind when I am struggling with raising my children.
This lecture was more directed towards discipline and children. What an intense topic. He has a new book coming out in about a year. It is called ‘The soul of discipline’. He was focusing on discipline and how to create respectful kids in a disrespectful society.
He explained that research has time and again shown that children’s brain synapses are not yet evolved to allow for them to make the amount of choices we are asking of them. Our societal parenting styles have become one of child-run vs our goal of child geared. We ask our children to make the choices, direct the day. We are creating chaos.
We busy the day’s of our children in hope that they will feel become more excelled and socialized when really we are taking away their most valued possession, their childhood. We have taking away their boredom, their ability to sink into deep play and process their world.
Along with child -directed daily lives, we are also giving up our control to our kids by letting go of our sense of discipline. We are afraid of the word discipline, and it does have a certain aura to it. But discipline is necessary in creating family formation. With discipline we are taking away what does not work for our family values. It helps us to define out families. We need to learn to discipline and direct our children in a warm, calm and firm direction.
He also explained that in all the years that he has been working with families and in the school systems, he has never met a ‘disobedient’ child. He has only seen ‘disoriented’ children. Our children are lost, and when they are lost they need our direction the most. When they are at their worst they need us at our best. When they act out, they are asking us to help them, to orient them on their path. They need us to connect and direct.
As parents we are the gatekeepers to our children’s lives. The gate-keeper is usually not very popular but necessary. We are the ones that allow the flood gates to open and the flood gates to close. We let whatever information in. We make the choice, and right now there is too much choice. Too fast, Too much and too overwhelming. Our children are drowning and need us.
This just scraped the iceberg on the research he was relaying. I was floored at how eye-opening it all was. How simple he made it all seem. It was an incredible experience.
I left the lecture feeling like it was OK that I was not a perfect mom. No one has perfected parenthood and that is OK. He just seemed to take the veil of complexity away and allow for simple and directed parenting tips.
His lecture was one of the most enlightened parenting information sessions I have been blessed to be a part of. If you have never read his books or seen him speak, I highly recommend doing so, as it is an experience you will not forget as a parent.
“Independence isn’t doing your own thing; it’s doing the right thing on your own.”
-Kim John Payne
On August 10th, 1995, Jillian Janiel rode her bike home after spending the night at a friend’s house. She was greeted by neighbours with grim faces when she pedaled into the driveway. Her 14-year old brother had collapsed after being awoken by his alarm clock. He was, they explained, gone to the hospital via ambulance.
Her parents returned soon after but her brother did not. He had died. No one could tell the family why her brother had died at such a young age, even after an autopsy. That was, not until Jillian herself almost died two years later. “I was awakened by a phone call from one of my best friends to go watch a race they were running in. As I went to ask my parents if I could go, I remember my father yelling, “No! NO! Not again!” When I came to after being resuscitated, my friend was still on the other line, and she was screaming. I was 14 years old.”
Long QT Syndrome can sometimes be seen on an ECG. This ECG shows a slightly prolonged QTc interval. Source: Desirea Black
It is a condition that can show itself at any age, even before birth. Researchers suspect that LQTS is the cause of up to 15 per cent of all Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) cases.
Janiel describes what it was like to be a teenager with this life threatening condition. “I was outcast, not bullied thankfully, but just outcast,” says Janiel. “I felt like everyone saw me as a person who couldn’t go do anything because I might die.”
It took months and incorrect diagnoses of epilepsy and low blood pressure before the doctors properly diagnosed Janiel with hereditary Long QT Syndrome (LQTS). People with LQTS’ hearts can go into a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm known as Torsades de Pointes. This heart rhythm can cause the heart to beat so fast that it stops working and the person faints or has a seizure. If the rhythm goes on to long, the heart will stop completely. This is known as sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
LQTS needs to be treated. Over 50 percent of people with symptoms of LQTS will die in the ten years after their diagnosis if left untreated. With proper treatment, that number drops to less than 10 percent. The majority of people with LQTS will live long, normal lives after diagnosis and treatment.
Janiel began the standard treatment for people with LQTS. She was given beta blockers and told to avoid sports, loud noises, and swimming. Several years later, because of her brother’s sudden death at 14, she was implanted with an internal cardio defibrillator (ICD) that will shock her heart if it every goes into the deadly rhythm again.
Each child of a parent with LQTS has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the condition. In Janiel’s case, she inherited the faulty gene from her father. Today, Janiel is the mother of two young children who also have LQTS, Lyla is 2 and Corbin is 5. Both were diagnosed at birth using genetic testing and have been on medications ever since.
Kids with LQTS can live normal lives with proper treatment. Source: Desirea Black
Being a parent of a child with LQTS causes “a lot of anxiety, disbelief, [and] blame,” says Janiel. “I blame myself [for them having it]. I say it all the time, and my husband tells me not to. It’s very easy to… because, well it is my fault.”
Sherri Lynne,46, also has two children with LQTS. Like Janiel, her children were diagnosed after Lynne. Lynne’s diagnosis was a shock for the family, coming after she suffered several cardiac arrests.
“I’m a triple sudden cardiac arrest survivor. I was 46 years old and had a kidney stone. Following surgery I went into cardiac arrest,” says Lynne. “Eleven months later it was determined I had LQTS… my life was forever altered… Not only did I have to come to terms with my diagnosis but also the possibility I’d passed it on to my children.”
Like Janiel, Lynne also worries about her kids. The worst thing, she says, “as a parent to a child with long qt is the fear. Never knowing if something will adversely affect them. The uncertainty brings anxiety.”
Kids with LQTS also often have a lot of anxiety. Lynne’s daughter, Alexis, recently began to have symptoms. “The anxiety, the insomnia, the fear is present with Alexis every day. [She is]… afraid to ride her bike or cross the road.”
Alexis will probably never faint or go into cardiac arrest because of LQTS even if it is her biggest fear right now. Parents of these kids know that the odds are in their favour, but they prepare just in case the worst does happen. Children usually have an emergency plan on file at school and many families choose to purchase Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for their families. They share their kid’s condition with friends and family.
“I know that I will have to hold coffee parties and invite parents over to learn how to use the AED and be prepared for the worst,” says Janiel. “I love to bake, so bring them on over! But if they can’t accept what may happen, then they can’t be in our lives.”
At the end of the day, however, kids with LQTS are just, well, normal kids and their parents have the normal hopes for their children.
“I strongly believe in having my kids live their lives. There will be no bubble wrap, no cotton swaddling, they need to experience to grow, to live. My job as a parent is to have them grow into happy healthy functioning contributing members of society,” explains Lynne. “This was my view before long qt, it’s my view with long qt, just a few extra precautions thrown in along the way.”
Ever find yourself struggling to decide exactly which style of decor best describes your tastes? In my four-part Interior Decorating 101 series we will look at the four main decorating styles, what they consist of, and what you can do to begin making your space an extension of your own personal style!
Traditional home decorating is elegant, refined and formal, while at the same time being comforting and cozy. Evolving from the 18th and 19th century, it includes styles that range from the British Colony, Italy, and the French Country. If you are drawn to luxurious fabrics, rich colors, and dream of a time when men rescued damsels in distress, traditional Style decorating may just be your thing.
Architectural Details
Homes with French doors, chair rails, wood fireplaces, crown moldings, and even pillars make this style grand and warm at the same time. Colonial, Tudor, Georgian, and Victorian architecture, as well as homes with formal rooms such as; studies, dining rooms, and sitting rooms are must haves for traditional style living.
Colours and Patterns
When adding colour and pattern to your traditional style of decor think of beautiful jewels, calming meadows, floral patterns, and stripes.
Deeper hues of blue, red, and green, as well as softer romantic colors like peach, gold, bronze and creams make the room feel lavish.
Small to medium floral patterns of roses, lilies, and peonies are present. Vertical stripes in gold, bronze, and deep red mixed together with beige, white and gray give a luxurious feel. Horizontal stripes can also be used but are generally more subtle.
Furniture Styles
Warm, dark, and richly finished wood with beautiful carvings makes up the furniture in this style of decor. Furniture can be upholstered with heavy luxurious fabrics, or lighter floral patterns and even stripes. It is possible to have white wood for the furniture as long as the fabrics follow the traditional style.
Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Queen Anne style furnishings are a common element in a traditional home. Other examples of traditional furniture include tea carts, four posters and canopy beds, claw foot tubs and rocking chairs.
Furniture is placed in pairs, symmetrical with each other and centered for a balanced, formal, but cozy feeling. Furniture featuring soft curved lines adds a feeling of comfort.
Lighting, Art, and Accessories
Lighting is ornate. Tiffany lamps and crystal chandeliers make the room dazzle. Silk lamp shades, brass light fixtures, and wall sconces add romance. Formal pictures of landscapes with extravagant frames and family portraits are a common theme. Porcelain figurines and dishes intricately painted are displayed on sideboards and mantles. Chinoiserie style accessories such as screens, and Chinese hand painted silk wallpaper are beautiful and elegant accents. Fresh floral arrangements are also a must have for traditional style decorating.
Fabrics and Window Treatments
Heavy floor length draperies in luxurious fabrics such as velvet, and lined satin are tied back with decorative tassels. Swag valances are extremely popular and add a finished look. Silk, toile, and damask are all popular fabrics for the time period of traditional decorating.
Traditional style decorating is formal, warm, and luxurious. The furnishings are classic, and the detailing ornate. Deep colors mixed with lighter romantic patterns give the feeling of opulence. Formal, cozy room settings give way to nights of entertaining friends and family or long intimate discussions by the fireplace. Calm, orderly, and predictable are the main elements of a Traditional home making it one of the most popular styles of decorating in the 21st century.
We built our house 20 years ago this past May at the same time as we were planning our wedding. Organizing both of them all under 5 months was quite a challenge, but we made it work. We received the keys to our new home the day before we got married, so we just dropped off our clothes and headed out the door. To make it special, we both wanted to live in the house only once we were married. I really enjoyed being part of the entire building process, from helping design the floor plans to choosing the colours for the inside walls. The living room, dining room, and kitchen area is all open concept with cathedral ceilings. I love the heights and the look of it, except it’s still a challenge even to this day for me to know how to properly display the main wall in the living room with photos, art frames, or pictures. I seem to always end up with just one big frame in the middle of the wall.
I have been looking at different types of patterns to hang frames on a wall via the internet and found these ones:
Photo credit: Damico Gallery
I have to admit that I had no idea that I could use so many combinations of frame sizes on a wall. I am really impressed as the designs all look wonderful. I definitely have the space on my wall to create any of these patterns, but do I want to make holes in the wall for all of them? This means if I decide to change the pattern, I will have to fix them and most likely repaint the wall. I enjoy how Galleries hang their photos to look so elegant and sophisticated, therefore when I found that their secret was using hanging rails, I looked into it.
Photo Credit: AS Hanging
The track is installed on the wall, and the cables hang from the track while the hooks connects the frame to the cable. The track can stay there forever on the wall, but I can change the cables heights or add new ones to create different patterns. This is definitely a solution to not having to fix holes in the wall every time I decide to redecorate.
As a parent or grandparent, you want to pass your wealth to your children or grandchildren in ways that are the most effective and useful to them – and the most tax-efficient way. By purchasing a whole life or universal life policy on the life of your child or grandchild, you can invest money on a tax-deferred basis inside the life insurance policy and guarantee the insurability of your child or grandchild. As well the policy is transferred tax free and outside the grandparents’ estate to the child or grandchild.
In addition, while you’re alive and contributing to a permanent life insurance policy, the cash surrender value (CSV), grows as you contribute – for their needs later to buy a house or fund an education after your death. The child can access the CSV of the policy in three ways: withdrawals, policy loans or as collateral for a loan. Each type has its own issues and taxation.
The policy also guarantees the child’s insurability for the amount purchased and is under the control of the parent or grandparent during their lifetime.
Here’s a specific example of creating a cascading effect of wealth through life insurance:
You’re a grandparent, age 60, and you purchase a 20-pay whole life participating policy on the life of your 5-year old grandson with an initial face amount of $500,000. The annual premium with maximum allowable deposit is $6,865 a year. The CSV at age 25 is $ 175,1141 and the death benefit is $1,163,9301.
At age 80, you transfer policy ownership to your 25-year old grandchild, tax free, who can use the policy’s CSV as an additional asset that can be either accessed through a policy withdrawal, a policy loan or collateralization of the CSV. Each type has its own issues and taxation
The policy continues to grow and when the child is 65, the CSV of $915,973 could provide the option of additional source of funding in retirement either through withdrawal, policy loan or collateralization.
Cascading your wealth to next generations is both a loving and a financially-supportive gesture. Life insurance is one way. There are others. Talk to your professional advisor about the best choices for your situation.
1This is a life insurance policy illustration with values that are not guaranteed. The CSV and death benefits are subject to market fluctuations and may be different than the values illustrated. The CSV and death benefit are based on a Canada Life Wealth Achiever – Max 20-insurance illustration as of August 29, 2013.
Mike Ouellette is an enthusiastic financial consultant, with his prime focus being young families who are interested in learning about planning for their financial future. If you have any questions or are interested in learning how to begin planning for the future of your family, he’d welcome your questions regarding Registered Education Savings Plans, Mortgages, Retirement Planning, Income Protection, or any other financial worry you’d like to have addressed.
As a Stay at Home mom and daycare provider, I am usually the ‘lets go out for dinner’ instigator. When the craving to eat out hits, it is less the food I crave and more the desire to get out of my house and have someone else to serve me and cook for me. The days that we go out are days in which I am tired of cooking for 5 people, cleaning up a sticky floor and eating standing up.
Monday was one of those days. I wanted to have a break, get out of the house and relax.
Earlier that day a friend had told me that she went to ‘Zak’s Diner’ with her husband the previous weekend and they enjoyed themselves. She told me the restaurant was very family friendly and next time she would bring her girls with them. I decided to give it a try.
We have had some bad luck with family friendly restaurtants. We usually find that if it accommodates little kids well then the food is usually pretty ‘meh’, not terrible but nothing to rave about. We usually leave feeling guilty we spent so much money on mediocre food.
Zak’s surprised us.
It was a cute and fun place. Think old school diner with a modern twist. Big spacious booths with red vinyl. The colors were bright and the lively. There was a modern jukebox in the corner and the decor of the diner was filled with quirky signs and vintage toys. It was a kids dream (and a vintage loving adults dream).
As soon as we walked in I fell in love. I loved the feel of the restaurant. I loved how friendly it was and how accommodating they were to our needs. The waiter seated us in a large booth directly across from two large screens playing ‘Teletoon Retro’. My TV loving kids were in heaven! TV at dinner time? What a treat! They were pretty mesmerized by ‘Scooby Doo’ and ‘the bugs bunny show’ that my husband and I got to enjoy a brief moment of adult conversation. Along with sitting us in the perfect booth, the waiter brought us a coloring sheets, crayons, packages of saltines and water for the kids immediately. I have quickly come to learn that when dinning out with three small kids under four, being prepared is a must. Our lovely waiter knew to bring these supplies immediately and that impressed me.
Our food came quickly and was awesome. It was diner style food. Sandwiches, wraps and burgers. They boast that they serve breakfast all day and next time we will try that. The food was quite good. I did not feel ‘ripped off’ paying the $9-14 per dish. It was tasty.
What really surprised us was how delicious their homemade soup was. My husband order the homemade tomato vegetable soup. It was some of the best soup we have had in a restaurant.
The whole time we were eating, the waiter was checking in on us, providing more napkins and topping up our water. I was pleasantly surprised in his attentiveness.
It was a great night out for our family. I highly recommend Zak’s!
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