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Motherhood

Children of Working Moms Do Just as Well as Those with Moms Who Stay Home

June 17, 2013

Working moms, stay-at-home moms – the so-called Mommy Wars can now end – or at least one of them.

According to new research, children whose mothers work during their early years do as well at school as those with stay-at-home mothers.

An analysis of six studies was done, reviewing 40,000 children over the last 40 years. The results? There was no link between mothers continuing their careers and children achieving less at school or misbehaving.

No more guilt, moms?

The myth was that children born to moms in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s didn’t perform as well in school. But the new research found that children born since the mid-1990s whose mothers worked during their early years did just as well as stay-at-home moms.

Heather Joshi of the University of London’s Centre for Longitudinal Studies said that this “generational change” is thanks to better maternity leave and more affordable childcare.

I’m not sure how other moms will feel about this latest research, however. A March article in the Daily Mail says that mothers who go back to the workplace are valued more than those who do not.

What is the point of these studies? At the end of the day, families make their own choice for what suits them. For some, that means staying home to raise their children. For others it’s going back to work.

What do you think of these latest studies?

More at Reuters.

Desserts

Gluten Free Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

June 14, 2013

These gluten-free coconut chocolate chip cookies can be whipped up in a few minutes. Great for a quick protein, high-fiber snack and they are quite filling!

Ingredients

½ cup extra virgin olive oil (or butter)

½ cup coconut palm sugar

1 cup coconut flour

4 eggs (or 1 egg and 4 egg whites)

½ cup chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli brand of chocolate chips)

¼ cups walnuts

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

½ tbsp vanilla extract

Dash of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In stand mixer, mix together butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs and salt on low speed.

3. Stir in flour, then chocolate chips, walnuts and coconut. Mix until well combined.

4. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper.

5. Using a spoon, form dough into balls. These cookies don’t spread so flatten slightly.

6. Bake for about 10 minutes until lightly golden.

Enjoy!

Contest

Enter the McCain All Good For Summer Pinathon

June 13, 2013

McCain is a brand that families have enjoyed for over 50 years. Remember Jay?

In the last few years, McCain has been bringing simple, wholesome, real ingredients to their products, just like the ones you would use in your own recipes at home.

In their journey to transform their products, McCain has launched The All Good Blog where they will host real conversations among good people about good moments and, of course, good food.

Every month, The All Good Blog will be hosting a real conversation between interesting folks talking about good food, good moments and good people. The blog is about getting honest about the things that make us feel good, and letting go of the things that get in our way, like trying to be perfect or accomplish it all.

Good talks are already happening in kitchens across Canada. The All Good Blog is McCain’s way of contributing to vibrant conversations surrounding food, family and all the good things in life.

Vegetable gardens, water sprinklers, picnics and barbecues – these are some of the things that make summer “all good”.

To celebrate the coming of summer, McCain is hosting an All Good Pinathon on Pinterest and awarding $100 each to the 5 pinners whose boards inspire them the most.

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Create a board on Pinterest and name it “McCain All Good Pinathon” like my Pinterest board here.

2. Pin the things that make summer all good for you. For example: a perfectly ripe peach, the smell of grass, a picnic with friends.

3. Include one pin from McCain that makes you feel happy.

4. Tag each pin in your board with the keyword McCainAllGood and you’re entered!

Good luck and happy pinning!

Entertainment

Upcoming Disney Summer Movies 2013: Monsters University, Planes and Lone Ranger

June 12, 2013

There are some exciting Disney movies coming out this summer. I’m taking my youngest to a screening of Monsters University this Saturday, I’ll let you know how we like it!

Monsters University

Ever since college-bound Mike Wazowski (voice of Billy Crystal) was a little monster, he has dreamed of becoming a Scarer—and he knows better than anyone that the best Scarers come from Monsters University (MU). But during his first semester at MU, Mike’s plans are derailed when he crosses paths with hotshot James P. Sullivan, “Sulley” (voice of John Goodman), a natural-born Scarer. The pair’s out-of-control competitive spirit gets them both kicked out of the University’s elite Scare Program. To make matters worse, they realize they will have to work together, along with an odd bunch of misfit monsters, if they ever hope to make things right.

Disney Pixar’s Monsters University pens in theatres on June 21, 2013 and will be shown in 3D in select theatres.

The Lone Ranger

From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ The Lone Ranger, a thrilling adventure infused with action and humour, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid(Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humourous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Also starring Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson and Helena Bonham Carter, the film releases in theatres on July 3, 2013.

Planes

From above the world of “Cars” comes “Disney’s Planes,” an action-packed 3D animated comedy adventure featuring Dusty (voice of Dane Cook), a plane with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer. But Dusty’s not exactly built for racing—and he happens to be afraid of heights. So he turns to a seasoned naval aviator who helps Dusty qualify to take on the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar. Disney’s Planes takes off in theatres on Aug. 9, 2013.

Celebrities

The Wiggles’ Anthony Field Amazing Health Transformation

June 12, 2013

If you have children, then undoubtedly you know the words to Big Red Car by the Wiggles. I’ll go as far as to say you have your own favourite Wiggle, am I right?

Have you seen Anthony Field aka Anthony Wiggle’s amazing transformation? The blue Wiggle is 50 and in the best shape of his life.

The father of three chronicled his health struggles and how he overcame them in his 2012 book How I Got My Wiggle Back. I had a chance to chat with him about his journey to health.

You mentioned on Twitter that finding out what made you healthy was the best thing you did – what was it?

Well I just thought being overweight, bloated, tired all the time and in pain from a bad back, it was just the way it was for me. I was 32, depressed and eating processed foods by the bucket load, then washing it down with (not sure how you say it in the USA), soft drinks… carbonated, flavoured drinks. Lollies and biscuits between meals -and exercise, ha….that was for healthy people. I didn’t know there was a connection between what you ate and how you felt.

Why did you decide to make a change?

I wouldn’t have known I could have made a change had it not been for a Chiropractic Doctor in Chicago, Dr. James Stoxen who taught me about exercise, about our feet being the foundation for good health. Another Chiropractor Dr. Rich Gringeri (of Santa Clara) taught me about the value to my health of eating “living foods”. Foods that have enzymes still alive so they digest themselves basically which means your body is not always stressing, trying to digest all the processed foods.

anthony wiggle — Photo courtesy of Anthony Field

How did you get started on your journey to better health?

Maria, I read about digestion, I took advice from doctors and fit members of our Wiggle cast but I started with diet. The first step was realising I had IBS. I eliminated tomatoes, nuts, wheat-based products like bread and eliminated dairy. Soft Drinks went into the rubbish bin and water was my drink of choice (shaken not stirred). The results were very quick. My moods became stable, my body felt energised. I couldn’t wait to exercise every day and I lost 16 kg!

What is your daily diet and fitness routine like now?

I have relaxed a little but I still try and stay away from processed foods as much as I can. I cycle everywhere here in Sydney, I visit the gym as much as I can and try and do “body weight’ gymnastic type exercise to put minimal stress on my body and also to lengthen and strengthen the muscles. I still feel great!

Fashion

Roots Fall/Winter 2013 Collection

June 11, 2013

I remember wearing my very first Roots tracksuit when I was a tween – it was a classic red. I wore those sweats into the ground!

Roots was founded in 1973 and has become Canada’s leading lifestyle brand inspired equally by sports and the outdoors. Also known for their amazing leather jackets and bags, I was impressed by their fall and winter 2013 collection, finding pieces for everyone in my family.

I attended the Roots Fall/Winter 2013 Collection preview last week at their Bloor Street West location in Toronto. Here are my faves:

roots canada — Roots for boys – LOVE the Varsity jacket and plaid shirt!

Roots Canada kids leather boots — All three styles would look amazing on my boys.

To celebrate their upcoming 40th anniversary, Roots has created the ROOTS XL Collection – those comfortable and rugged pieces that made you fall in love with Roots the very first time. The ROOTS XL line will be available this September.

lifestyle

How I Made My Dreams Come True

June 6, 2013

by Shannon Lintott

I know that you probably read the title of this article either with rolling eyes or with a heavy heart. Believe me when I tell you that I am equally as guilty when it comes to assuming that reading about someone who is living their dream makes me either very inspired or heavily depressed. So let me explain my story of how I began to turn my dreams into goals and those goals into reality.

I grew up in a small town. From a very early age I knew that I loved two things very deeply: learning about the world and art.

While some of my elementary and high school teachers were very inspirational and encouraged me to find out what I wanted to be, there was not a lot of room to dream big where I grew up. They pushed trades as that was where the jobs were. Any museum, theatre, cinema or cafe was a 30 minute drive away. My dream from age 8 to about 18 was to escape my small town and move to a city where I could find a job doing something that I loved.

I achieved this by the age of 25 (I’m a stubborn and impatient person). I was also able to travel to a few different countries around the world and get articles published online – both large passions of mine that I mistook for hobbies that quickly became my focus after graduation.

I had my own apartment and made enough money to pay off my student loan. I was working in my field and getting my career going. I was writing in my free time and travelling when I could. This was the dream, right?

I started to become depressed in the summer of 2012. I was struggling to find happiness in my job. My small basement apartment seemed to suck the life out of me. Toronto stopped being beautiful and interesting and started to feel drab and unfriendly.

My boyfriend was very supportive but when we would go out I would drink too much and take my frustration out on him through angry tears until I finally fell asleep. Luckily he is a patient and supportive man who believed in me when I couldn’t (and still does).

One night I looked back through my personal journal, trying to find the month, day or hour when I started to slip into this person I had become. I flipped the page and saw a list (I love lists). At the top it said,

“If I could do anything right now – if money, relationships, career and expectations were not an issue – what would I do?”

Five things were written underneath, the first of which was “Move to Scotland”.

My heart leaped. In a flash I knew that I could make this dream my new goal and see what happened.

Eight months later and three months into my visa in Scotland, I am the person that I had been pretending I wasn’t. I work part time at a hostel and work part time at a cafe. Both of these have nothing to do with my BFA in Theatre Production but both of them make me happier than I have been in years.

I have already travelled all over Scotland and have been to Iceland (go if you can, it’s surreal). I am heading to Italy in a week and maybe Germany in July. I am sleeping well. Eating well. Meeting new people every day that have become quick friends and more importantly wake up every day feeling excited for another day.

I would have never thought that I would be able to achieve this but with the help of friends and family, and just by accepting that I could do it, I have. It took me 7 years to realize this and sadly, until you’re ready, you won’t believe that it can be that easy either.

Well, by easy I mean stressful and scary as all hell. I quit my job and gave away all of my possessions except for some clothes and a computer that I fit into a 40 litre backpack. As my storage locker emptied I realized that the kitchen table was only ever just a table. The couch was a couch. My big screen TV was just a TV and that none of them actually brought me happiness – just the image of happiness that I was still holding onto from high school.

Another magical thing about living your dream is that once you do, those other dreams that seemed like they would never come to fruition suddenly feel achievable. I am now 3/4 done a book that I have been trying to write for as long as I can remember. It seems a lot easier than giving my entire life away: leaving your supportive boyfriend behind along with your friends and family and a career that you had been building for 7 years…

What’s next for me? Who knows. For the first time in my life I am not planning ahead. I am living in the present. All I have is me and my backpack and a journal and I finally understand that to be really happy, you need little else.

You just need to take that first step and once you do each steps becomes easier until you’re running into your future – head first into your dreams.

Shannon Lintott currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland working in a hostel and a vegetarian cafe. She spends her free time reading, writing and travelling as much as possible. Check out her travel blog at travellingcanuk.blogspot.com and her movie review blog I Like (good) Movies and follow her on Twitter.

Motherhood

Mom Confession: I Didn’t Think Motherhood Would Be This Hard

June 5, 2013

My confession? I didn’t think that motherhood would be this hard.

I have two kids, one is just four months old. I love my kids to death but I’m just really exhausted. I’m always tired and cranky because I am not getting enough sleep.

My husband works long hours and is so tired from work, he comes home and eats and then flops on the couch. I feel like I never have a break.

I’m always taking care of the kids, changing dirty diapers and getting thrown up on. I’m afraid to go out because I don’t think I can handle the baby and my toddler in public or the baby will be hungry and my toddler will be running off and I’ll have to chase him while I’m breastfeeding my baby.

Nobody told me that being a mom would be so hard. I mean, I knew that it would challenging but I know it is so rewarding too. I just feel like I’m totally on my own.

My parents don’t live here and neither do my in-laws (I wouldn’t want their help anyway).

I don’t know what to do to get out of this rut.

lifestyle

So Much Space in My New Refrigerator!

June 4, 2013

I’m thrilled to be working with Mom Central and Frigidaire Canada as a Frigidaire Ambassador in their #testdrivemoms campaign. I’m quite excited to share that I’m the proud owner of a brand new Frigidaire French Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator.

I’m already in love. The fridge completely fills in the space where my fridge was before, making my kitchen look bigger too.

There is so much space in my new refrigerator! I’m loving all the storage – I can see where everything is. Which means the kids and hubby can too. So I hopefully won’t hear, “Mooooom, where is the ketchup?!” anymore! I can quickly find everything with all the wonderful shelving.

Unloading groceries is always a hassle – finding room for everything and organizing properly was a challenge. And because our other fridge was smaller, we’d have to store a lot of food in our basement fridge. Now, we don’t have to.

We have yet to use the PureSource Ultra® Water Filtration which offers best-in-class water filtration so you get cleaner, fresher ice and water. But it’s on our to-do list to get the line hooked up!

Already I’m noticing a huge difference when it comes to fingerprints too, thanks to the to the Smudge-Proof Stainless Steel. The refrigerator is made with protective coating reduces fingerprints and smudges so it’s easy to clean.

Usually I’d have to clean the outside of the fridge on a daily basis because of my boys touching it constantly with their ~~grubby~~ cute little fingers. I’d have to use a harsh stainless steel cleaner since other cleaners would leave streaks. But now I can use my chemical-free all-purpose cleaner and to wipe off any grime or smudges – really, no visible fingerprints so far! That makes this momma very happy.

Follow Frigidaire Canada on Twitter @FrigidaireCA and like them on Facebook.

Disclosure: I am part of the Frigidaire Canada Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

House & Home

How to Plant a Garden with Kids in 3 Simple Steps

June 3, 2013

by Louise Gleeson

Growing up, we lived next door to a wonderful Greek family, who grew a vegetable garden every summer that was the envy of the block. My parents made an attempt once, but mostly we enjoyed the delicious peppers and tomatoes our neighbours graciously shared.

It was a different story for my husband, though. He and his siblings spent their childhood working in their mom’s infamous vegetable garden.

And despite the stories he tells about eye rolls and complaints, he’s determined to share the same experience with our kids. Between the months of April and October, they spend hours digging and playing in the dirt. And they absolutely love it.

Each spring, we begin the process of planting a backyard vegetable garden. Even though we live in the suburbs, we still have everything we need to make those veggies grow: dirt, sunshine, water, and, of course, four sets of little green thumbs.

Through the summer months, you can find our kids: watering, weeding, and eating whatever we’re able to grow. Here is how to plant a garden with kids in 3 simple steps:

1. To get started, we head to a local garden centre to choose dirt, manure, seeds, and plants. You can find a wide variety of seeds (we look for organic), and some herbs and vegetables are easier to start as plants (herbs, tomatoes, and lettuce).

2. Next, we draw out the design (which veggies will grow next to which herbs), and the kids make little signs to stick into the dirt. This is where you can use some family creativity—ours like to create a map of the garden, and have a lot of fun designing the signs with elaborate drawings of how they think the veggies will turn out.

3. Finally, we start digging and planting. We have a collection of kid-sized trowels and watering cans that make this part a lot of fun.

Our garden is still small compared to the ones we grew up around, but we hope that as our kids grow, it will too. We’re just glad to be spending time working on a project that needs everyone’s help.

So what are you waiting for?

Get some dirt, gather your kids, and start digging.

Louise is an experienced freelance journalist and lifestyle and parenting blogger. As a work-at-home mother of four active kids, between the ages of three and 11, she brings a wealth of real life experience to her writing. Although she is formally trained in health and science writing, she found the antics and adventures of life with a big family to be a great source of material, and has written in this area for the past several years. Her work has appeared on several parenting and lifestyle websites, as well as in national parenting magazine, Today’s Parent. Louise’s popular blog Late Night Plays provides an honest and candid perspective on parenthood, that inspires fellow parents to take a closer look at their own experiences.