I love supporting community organizations and events. The Vaughan Mompreneur Showcase is taking place on Saturday, June 4th and will host some fabulous mompreneurs from the GTA.
For vendors, there is still time to register and for parents, get out and support local businesses and do some fun shopping! There will be free swag bags for the first 250 guests!
For more information, visit http://www.vaughanmompreneurs.com/.
Stumped on what to get for mother’s day? Here are some fabulous ideas for under $100!
Cashmere Wrap Sweater
Who doesn’t need a cashmere sweater? This one from Victoria’s Secret is a premium cashmere combined with durable cotton for a supersoft blend and for a price that won’t break the bank. The Soft & Sexy Sweater Wrap is a wear-with-everything essential you can style a variety of ways. $39.50 at Victoria’s Secret
Enter to win a BrewStation™ Summit Ultra 12 Cup Coffeemaker by Hamilton Beach!
Coffeeeeee! All moms need a fabulous coffee maker to get through the day and this one is great because it dispenses your coffee directly into your mug, eliminating the need for a glass carafe.
It doesn’t have a hot plate which burns your coffee. It also offers fab brewing options: bold, regular, iced coffee, or small-batch!
Enter to win one!
Canada only. Contest ends 11:59pm Monday, May 10, 2011.
by Dee Brun
On April 19th 2011 my world changed forever, yet again. When you have children you know that this can be a daily occurrence. When you have teenagers, it can happen hourly.
So on this day my sweet, innocent, lovely 14 year old daughter walked through the door at 3:36 on the dot as she usually does and said…
Her: Hey mom, do you know that no one is going to school tomorrow?
Me: Ummm no… why is that?
Her: ‘Cuz it’s 4/20
Me: Ummm OK… and what is that? [change about to occur]
Her: It’s the day everyone skips school to go smoke DOPE!
Me: [stunned silence…]
DOPE? 4/20? DOPE? I know nothing about this! Well I know a little about dope, I mean I smoked a little back in the day but it was never my thing. It put me to sleep, and I missed the party, really didn’t see the appeal. I have to gain knowledge and understanding IMMEDIATELY!
So I went straight to the source…and Googled it. To the Urban Dictionary I go.
“4:20 was the designated time for a small group of smokers at San Rafael High School in California to meet at a specific location and light up. The number originates some time around 1971. It has since been adopted by smokers the world over as the ‘universal time to get high.'”
There are other definitions but this was enough for me. So now what? What do I say? Do? Who do I call? DUDE like this is sooooo not cool. I then realize I am looking at her like a deer caught in the head lights and she is waiting for me to say something.
Me: So you’re saying NO ONE goes to school? At all?
Her: Well no, only the good kids go.
Me: Make sure your ass doesn’t miss the bus then.
I am sensing there needs to be more to this conversation but I am not going to lie, I would LOVE it to end here. This shit is really awkward to talk about. Drugs, sex, periods and hard-ons.
OH MY… Is there not a Facebook page I can direct her too?
I try to swallow my angst, not easy now that I have a severe case of anxiety related dry mouth, and I start the conversation. I chat about drugs and ask her her opinion on the whole thing. I tell her how stupid they are, what they can do to you and…and then I stop, the sound of my own voice is making me nauseous. This isn’t about me, I have already learned to say no, it’s about her…What does SHE think of all this? So I ask…her…
Me: So what do you think about the kids that celebrate 4/20?
Her: I think people can do as they please. I don’t do weed cus I’m not into and neither are my friends. But on the up side, the less people that are in class, the less work I have to do. So let them celebrate all they want.
I burst into laughter, spoken like a true 14 year old, all about them, love it! I especially love the simplicity of the answer, and the key message. NEITHER DO MY FRIENDS…this is huge for me…KNOW THEIR FRIENDS! Ok..I knew this but the affirmation is always nice.
So what was my take away from this 4/20 summit? Honestly… I have no fricken clue, I am just taking it one day at a time. I did realize one major thing, my daughter CAN talk to me. This felt so cool, that she felt comfortable and secure enough just to blurt out and start up a drug conversation on her own. **mom pats herself on the back** I will celebrate ALL wins big or small.
TALK.. talk…TaLk..tAlK..taLK…TAlk…Did I mention TALK?
Talk to your kids, all the time and about EVERYTHING. Talk ’till your sick of the sound of your own voice, because out of every 1000 words you utter…maybe 10 successfully pass through the “my parents know nothing” membrane. That EVERY child has no matter how well they pretend they are listening.
Normally I always add a cocktail to my articles, but for this one there is truly only one fitting end. TEQUILA….straight up!
Dee Brun is the author of the stirring book Libations of Life, A Girls Guide to Life One Cocktail at a Time. She has combined imaginative cocktails with witty accounts of dating, carousing, dieting and simply put, the ups and downs of Life. Follow her on Twitter.
My boys go to a children’s clinic with about a half dozen pediatricians. The office is open every single day of the year including weekends and holidays, which is a definite bonus when you have a sick child and need medical attention right away.
One of the fabulous pediatricans there, Dr. Jeff Weisbrot, has written a book called “Should I worry? Pediatric Tips for Parents” that I think is a fantastic addition to any parent’s library.
Dr. Weisbrot’s book is a collection of information and pearls of wisdom, explaining in layman’s terms (with light humour) the essentials of diagnosing and managing almost every parental concern over their babies and children.
Won’t get to sleep? When should I worry about my child’s cough? Is my child contagious?
With chapters What is Normal, How To Parent, When To Worry and Where We’re Heading, Dr. Weisbrot answers the common questions that parents are concerned about regarding their children – with some funny jokes, cute poems and songs in between.
Should I Worry? is a helpful, fun book providing real answers from a pediatric persepective and is a fabulous resource to have on hand when you’re wondering about your child’s health and behaviour.
To order the book, visit Dr. Weisbrot’s website.
About the author: Jeff Weisbrot has been practicing pediatrics for over 20 years. He has a private practice where he sees kids of all sizes and ages, with a multitude of problems, both medical and psychological. In addition, Jeff is on staff in the emergency department of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and is a consultant pediatrician for York Central Hospital in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario, where he sees little ones in the birthing units and older ones on the wards. He writes for Parkhurst Exchange, a doctors’ question-and-answer magazine, and has published articles for medical journals.
WIN A COPY OF HIS BOOK:
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Giveaway ends May 15, 2011. Open to Canada and U.S.
by Amanda Goetz
It’s almost Mother’s Day! You know what that means right? Yes, we finally get a day off!
Well, sort of. I have three kids (editor’s note: now 4!), I never get a day off, but I assume all you moms out there with kids old enough to use the bathroom alone get a bit of a break right? Right? Lie to me if you have to.
Personally I think Mother’s Day should come twice a month but then Dads would want the same and that’s just crazy-talk. I always get the same thing for Mother’s Day, breakfast made by my husband, a card and usually a gift card to somewhere. He works a lot so I’m always impressed he remembers or even has the time to pull that together. But it got me thinking about what all the other moms out there get for Mother’s Day.
I did a little informal poll over Twitter and Facebook the other day asking moms what their best and worst Mother’s Day gifts have been. By far the worst I saw was a meat slicer. A meat slicer? Really? Never get your mom/wife a kitchen appliance unless she specifially asks for one!
Maybe it’s your first year receiving or buying a Mother’s Day Gift, or perhaps past years haven’t gone so well. I’ve come up with a little list of Dos and Don’ts when it comes to Mother’s Day gifts so that this year things go better and no one ends up with a meat slicer (sheesh).
The Don’ts
Don’t get you wife/mother anything to do with cleaning or household chores! Vacuums, a new broom, a washing machine, an iron, NO NO NO! Even if she has mentioned she needs one or it would make cleaning easier for her this is not a gift that says “Hey, I appreciate you bringing me into this world, thanks Mom.”. If you’re going to get anything anywhere in the area of cleaning, a maid service is the only aceptable option. (My uncle got my aunt a weed wacker for their anniversary once, I realize that’s not a Mother’s Day gift but I just had to share that one. I’m amazed they’re still married.)
Don’t take her to Mother’s Day brunch. I know, you’re surprised by this one aren’t you? I have nothing against brunch per se, I enjoy having pasta salad with my french toast. But Mother’s Day at a restaurant for brunch is filled with other people’s screaming/crying kids, your own screaming/crying kids, people sneezing on the eggs, kids touching every piece of fruit and dessert they can before deciding they want more bacon, and servers that look like they’re about to burst out crying and scream “I Quit”!
Don’t buy her cut flowers. Another shocker huh? Cut flowers are pretty and all, but two weeks later when she’s sweeping up dried petals from all over and scrubbing a scummy, smelly vase they don’t seem so great. Better idea is to get her a plant, something with pretty flowers to keep in a pot or plant in the garden.
Don’t get her a gym membership unless she specifically said “I want a gym membership for Mother’s Day. Get me a Gym Membership.”. Her New Year’s resolution may have been to start going to the gym and lose weight, but a membership for Mother’s Day will only point out that A) She failed at keeping her resolution, and B) You think she needs to lose weight. Not cool.
Now for the Do’s
Do give her gift cards to her favourite stores. Some people don’t like gift cards cause they’re impersonal, but I’d rather get an impersonal gift card to my favourite clothing store than a sweater from that store that’s 3 sizes too big or a shirt I would NEVER pick out for myself.
Do get her jewellery. 99.99% of women like getting jewellery. Whether it’s diamonds or something that commemorates the moment she became a mom like a pendant with all you kids’ birthstones, she’s going to love it.
Do give her the gift of time (the number one response to my twitter/facebook poll for best gift). Send her out to the spa for the day. Take the kids to the park or the movies and leave her alone at home to scrapbook or read in peace. Get organized with some of her friends’ husbands and make a reservation for her and her friends for lunch at that place you never take her to cause they don’t serve a 16oz. steak.
Do make her breakfast or lunch or dinner, or all three. Cooking for her helps with Do #3, time. If you’re cooking she can be doing something else, like having a bubble bath or chatting with a friend. Just remember cleaning the kitchen after you eat is part of the deal. Do NOT leave a mess.
Speaking of cooking for mom, this is a great brunch recipe that your wife or mom would love. Serve it with hot buttery toast, fresh juice and a great cup of coffee and she’ll be mighty impressed. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!
Hashbrown Quiche by Paula Deen
3 cups, shredded (frozen) hash browns, thawed and drained
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 cup shredded Cheddar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450˚F.
2. Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible.
3. Lightly coat a 9″ pie plate with cooking spray. Toss the hash browns with the melted butter and press them into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate to form a crust.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.
5. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture into it and return to the oven.
6. Lower the oven temperature to 350˚F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and is cooked through and puffed up Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Amanda Goetz is a WAHM to 3 kids under the age of 5. Her love of cooking was fostered when she was a preschooler helping her grandma in the kitchen. After a year long stint as a sous chef, she left the industry to continue cooking as a hobby before the stress and politics of a professional kitchen killed her love of cooking. Now she creates delicious dinners and delectable desserts for her family and friends and blogs about it at The Best Mom on the Block.
The look on my four-year-old daughter’s face says it all. She just handed me an invite in the shape of a tea cup with her hand written letters on the front, “Mommy.” It invites me to the pre-school’s Mother’s Day Tea for the first hour of class. At the bottom, No siblings please.
My heart sank. Without thinking, I told her I would go if I can find someone to stay with her younger sister. Her face fell to the ground.
We make our way out the door and my shaky hands give away my emotions. One of the teachers stops me to ask what is wrong. I tell her I don’t know if I can go because I have no one that can take care of my youngest. Her voice is filled with confusion as she is asking me if there was not an aunt or a grandma around to take her. We have no one, I inform her. I push the stroller to the side walk and move on. On the walk home all I could do to stop crying was to bite my cheek.
Just when I think I can move forward in the small village that we are raising our daughters in, this harmless invite shreds it to pieces. My husband works during the day and with some out-of-town trips. The little family we have close is still on the mend for cancer-prevention surgeries. There is no one to turn to when I need the kids watched for five minutes, let alone an hour. My mom has been gone a long, long time and my mother-in-law lives in the next province. It’s just how it is. I work at home with them near. They run all my errands with me. Despite the bad days, the good ones show what a great trio we make.
I settle my girls into the kitchen table for lunch. Facing the kitchen window, I run the tap to drown out the tears that are racing down my cheeks. I cannot not be there for her tea. It is not her fault there is no one to watch over her sister. In a fit of raw emotions, I post a picture of the invitation on Facebook at the unfairness of it all. I urge my Facebook friends to hug their moms tight. Within minutes, I am overwhelmed at the kindness and offers to sit with my youngest so I can go to the tea. After a sip of water, my rational side takes over. I have two offers from friends who would love to take my two-year-old for the hour. I can work this out.
Feeling much calmer, I tell my four-year-old that we can go with her to the Tea. Her whole face lights up as she runs up to me. She timidly asks if it will be just the two of us. I nod and give her a bear hug.
It’s just an hour, but will be a lifetime memory for me and my eldest.
Danielle Christopher is a stay-at-home mom of two daughters. Her teen story is in the collection “Parent/Teen Stories: Without Judgement”. She lives with her husband and girls in Langley, B.C.. Follow her on Twitter.
The Royal Wedding is upon us and Prince William and Catherine Middleton are finally married!
Kate’s wedding dress was designed by Sarah Burton – creative director of Alexander McQueen. The future princess arrived at Westminster Abbey by car. Kate is wearing her hair down – definitely not going the traditional look.
Kate is wearing a traditional lacy gown with her arms covered, as she must be. High neckline, v-neck, tiara and veil – her hair is down, she looks stunning.
The royal wedding could not have been more perfect!
Prince Harry mouthed to Prince William something like “wait until you see her.”And when Prince William’s eyes met his bride’s, he mouthed to her “I love you” and “you’re beautiful”.
Swoon!
by Julie Green
I’m no Tiger Mom, but lately I’m beginning to think there is a little bit of Tiger in all of us… We all want the best for our kids. And most of us, whether we admit it or not, have a pretty firm idea of what that best comprises — usually to see some trait or talent from our youth revisited in our children. If you were the Paula Abdul of your heyday, then maybe you harbor secret hopes of raising your own Laker Girl. Or say, for the sake of Canadianism, you have fond memories of cheering from the chilly sidelines of the old Forum, you fantasize about your son being drafted to play for the Habs.
In my case, it’s art. Both my husband and I were what you would call artistic children. I spent countless hours at the grown-up table, colouring and drawing. When I was doing art, I was in The Zone. Truly, I have no memories of jumping on beds or chasing around balls. I do, however, recall creating a fashion catalogue that was over fifty pages long, and badgering family and friends to place orders for my very own haute couture. While I was never going to be the next Frida Khalo –or Jean Paul Gaultier for that matter– art remained both a definite passion and a definite therapy, much like golfing or gardening.
Being more of a left-brainer, my hubby’s childhood oeuvres involved great technical skill, his subjects things like cars and skyscrapers. He meticulously worked his lines until they were worthy of an architect’s blueprint. As artistically inclined parents, it is therefore unfathomable that this creative bone did not, in some shape or form, find its way into our son’s body. Just as my mother once eyed my drawings with bemusement (because throwing around balls was what she understood, what made her tick as a kid), I don’t get my child’s aversion to art.
You expect your child to be made in your image, at least to some recognizable extent. Then, at some point, the startling realization hits home: your baby is his own little person. He comes complete with his own set of strengths and fails, his own, very clearly delineated likes and dislikes. Contrary to popular belief: your child is not a Mini Me. And sometimes that’s hard to respect.
As my two-year-old pointedly refuses to pick up a crayon, or smudges a bit of tempera on the page before declaring ‘all done’, I take a deep breath and sigh. In spite of myself, I can’t help but feel a little saddened by the fact that he will never ‘get’ art. Just as in time he will no doubt embrace some other passion which, in all probability, I won’t get.
Already he is showing signs of musicality. He can tap out complex beats in imitation on a toy drum. And he sings non-stop. With any luck, he’ll learn to play an instrument: an opportunity I never had. If I have any say in the matter: either the guitar or the piano. Grrr… There’s a tiger in there, after all.
Julie M Green (aka Little Green Mom) is a novelist and freelance writer who rants and raves about all things mommy at Little Green One. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two-year-old son, Jackson. Visit http://www.juliemgreen.ca or follow her on Twitter.
There is one designer who, in my books, deserves a standing ovation … and not because he’s my absolute favorite designer … I love this show, I love his creative mind, I love his clothes, I love the man!
I love that he catapulted my Colin Firth to Oscar stardom! And I love that he said “I’m definitely straight now,” after looking at Beyonce Knowles!
Yeah Tom! Come check out my curves!!
Tom Ford is finally BAAACKKK … With this 70s glam, YSL-y collection, Tom’s cocktail party/show, was reminiscent of 1950s Parisian couture shows.
It featured a bevy of models, celebs and fashion icons stomping the runway, including Rita Wilson, Julianne Moore, Lauren Hutton, Marisa Berenson, Beyonce, Rachel Feinstein and Lisa Eisner to the tune of Karen Elson’s (who also strutted the catwalk) “Pretty Babies”.
This is what I love about Tom Ford. He blends seductive, meticulous couture with a sense of kitsch and humour for a final product that is totally feminine, totally sexy, and totally wearable.
Now, if only I could afford it!
Stay Fantsi Fashionistas!
Christina Lianos aka Miss Fantsi, is a mother of three children (3, 9 and 15) who gives her personal and humorous advice on life, love, children and everything in between all with anectodal pairings of practicality and all things Fantsi… and always with the deets on how to create and where to find everything you need to live the Fantsi life. Who says living the routine has to be tedious and hum-drum? Follow Miss Fantsi on Twitter or join her on Facebook.
