Talk With Our Kids About Money - Powered by BMO

I feel very strongly about the importance of talking with our kids about money, both as a parent and a teacher.

From a very young age our girls have had save/spend/share piggybanks for them to divvy up any small amounts of money they receive, and it really helped to start the conversations early.

When they were 7 and 5 we took them to set up their own bank accounts with debit cards - which I will admit I still hang on to for now! I love seeing them deposit money, but to tell you the truth I also love to see them spend it wisely – for example, both girls saved up to buy iPod Touches, and they definitely have gotten their money’s worth out of them, learning a lesson about worthwhile investments.

Now at 10 and 7 they have also started buying their own books and accessories, and it gives me pleasure to see them doing mental math, estimating how much they will have left, and counting out their cash…or not. Often they make an informed decision not to make a purchase, which is amazing too.

I was very proud last summer when they decided to set up a cold drinks stand to earn some more spending money. Even after paying us back for the startup costs (aren’t we mean parents? Hey, it’s business!) they still made a nice little profit, and decided to give half of it to our local hospital – another proud mama moment.

Eva actually wrote her public speech this year on “Tips for Running a Successful Business”, based on their summer experience – and won two gold medals and a silver in competitions! (I don’t think people expected that topic coming from a 7 year old girl!)

To help start conversations and teach kids some important financial literacy, BMO Financial Group helped launch the Talk With Our Kids About Money (TWOKAM) program with the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE) in 2013, making this BMO’s 4^th year of partnership. BMO’s Talk With Our Kids About Money Day is taking place on April 20, 2016.

Talk With Our Kids About Money, powered by BMO in partnership with CFEE, has tools and resources for parents to help build money conversations into their day-to-day interactions with their kids (from age 5 right through the teen years), and is a free program accessible to families of any income. Some of the activities even involve watching and discussing popular movies – now there’s a way to hook your kids!

While the resources for home are fantastic, there’s also a great school program as well, with curriculum links for the different grades and provinces and ready-made lesson plans which include student activities. (This isn’t just for math teachers – there are lessons linked to music, drama, art, science, geography and more!)

As parents, we don’t want to end up in a position where we are bailing our children out – or taking the tough love approach and not doing so – because of serious financial circumstances. Of course they’ll make mistakes with money (as we all do) but knowledge is power and I want to see my daughters and students with the information they need not only to make money, but to make their money work for them.

Financial literacy isn’t just for kids, of course: BMO believes it should be a year-round focus for all Canadians. That is why, beyond their partnership with TWOKAM, BMO launched YourFinancialLife.com which provides Canadians with financial tips for life events. They have a dedicated page for tips and tools on how to talk with your kids about money and prepare for your child’s financial future (https://yourfinanciallife.bmo.com).

I dream of seeing my girls grow up to become independent, fulfilled, healthy women – and that certainly includes financial health as well. I appreciate the fact that BMO is helping us to do that.

Join the conversation using the hashtag #TWOKAM and make sure to follow BMO on Twitter (@BMO) and on Facebook (/BMOCommunity).

Disclosure: This post was generously sponsored by BMO. Opinions are, as always, my own.

Our Visit to the digiPlaySpace

A short time ago, we kicked off our March Break with a super fun visit to the digiPlaySpace at the TIFF Bell Lightbox where my girls had a blast!

The digiPlaySpace is designed to stimulate imaginations and inspire a lifelong passion for creativity and invention - and they certainly hit the mark with my daughters! During our visit, both my ten-year-old and seven-year-old were drawn to many of the installations (there are 25 of them, from nine different countries), where they could play and explore different video games and digital effects in an extremely hands-on environment.

Tickets are timed, which is great because you don't want to be in the space with too many other kids. I found my girls rarely had to wait more than a minute or two to try an activity, and you could easily keep an eye on them without crowds in the way.

There are so many sensory experiences here, as well as chances to explore the arts (you can turn your doodles into a digital pinball game!) and be active...it's not about sitting still in front of a screen. They definitely put the "Play" in "PlaySpace".

Some of our favourites:

Oh, did my girls love the green screen experience!

As a teacher, I really loved seeing this:

My mom came along with us, and while she was camera-shy, she did have opinions to share, one being that she was very impressed by the number and expertise of the volunteers working in the space, who kept everything running smoothly and helped explain different activities to the children.

The digiPlaySpace is open until April 24th, and if you have kids and live anywhere in the GTA, I strongly recommend you check it out! While our visit was complimentary, tickets are $10.00, which is a very reasonable price for an hour or more of educational fun (sorry, there's the teacher in me coming out again!) For more information go to http://tiff.net/kids-family/digiplayspace16.

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P.S. Speaking of TIFF Kids:

Are your kids budding film buffs? Did you know that the TIFF Kids Festival takes place from April 8 - 24 and features 139 films from 35 countries? They're holding a kickoff party on Friday April 8th at 5 p.m. with a screening of Oddball, with food and fun activities beforehand.

Visit http://tiff.net/festivals/tiffkids16 for more details!

Disclosure: This post was generously sponsored by TIFF Kids. Opinions are, as always, my own.

Kate's Favourite Things - April 2016

It's a quick and easy list this time, friends - please note that I highly recommend the books below. I had a great March Break selection, and other than the first book it's all fiction.

BOOKS

Where the Light Gets In - Kimberly Williams-Paisley (received free review copy)

If you know anyone suffering from a form of dementia, you have to read this. Even if you don't, you should still read it. You know I love a celeb book, and this one couldn't be more personal as actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley (also wife of country star Brad Paisley) shares her mother's journey with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). I laughed, I cried and I learned so much.

The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah (France, WWII, a compelling story of sisters doing what they have to do to survive)

The Widow - Fiona Barton (Was her dead husband guilty?)

She's Not There - Joy Fielding (Inspired by the story of little Madeleine McCann who disappeared from her hotel room in Portugal)

Pretty Baby - Mary Kubica (A psychological thriller about a good deed...possibly gone awry. Just a warning that the last three books all involve losing children. I couldn't read them before bed.)

Brooklyn - Colm Toibin (I chose this for our next book club selection, and plan to show the movie at our "meeting" - for me, it's worth seeing twice. I have to say I like how the movie went one step farther than the book to wrap things up nicely, but that's just the kind of reader/viewer I am.)

Shopaholic to the Rescue - Sophie Kinsella (Light and fun, par for the Kinsella course.)


MOVIES

Creed (Sad that Stallone didn't get his Oscar)

Eddie the Eagle (even for older kids - our 7 and 10 year old girls loved it; only a couple of inappropriate parts)

Miracles From Heaven (I posted my deep and sappy thoughts about this movie on Facebook here)

What have you been reading and watching lately?

My Maryam Monsef Profile for Canadian Living Magazine

Back in the fall I had the pleasure of interviewing the inspiring Peterborough Kawartha MP and Cabinet Minister Maryam Monsef for a profile which was published in the April issue of Canadian Living magazine.

The profile is now live on the Canadian Living website, and you can find it here:

Maryam Monsef: From refugee to barrier-breaking MP

I'm so appreciative that Canadian Living gave me this opportunity, and a special thanks goes out to contributing editor Jackie Kovacs for her guidance throughout the writing process.

Master Bedroom Facelift

I'll be honest with you: I can't really argue that our master bedroom *needed* a facelift. However, Liv was crawling the last time we painted, and if you know me, you'll realize that it's actually pretty impressive that I waited ten years!

Here's the "before" -  yes, the brown paint looks fine, and you can't tell in the photos how ready the comforter was to be replaced - but the dark colours were bringing me down and I just needed a change!

Our mahogany bedroom set is classic, and we will be holding on to it as it trends in and out of style over the years, but paint colour and accessories are a fun way to jazz up a room, so that's what I focused on.

I started with new bedding (a Jessica Simpson Golden Peony set from Home Outfitters), because I loved the fresh look and splashes of colour. The next task was to find the right paint colour - not only to complement this bedding, but something that would go with future accessories as well. Aiming for something greenish grey, I - whoops, I mean we! - chose a Dulux shade called "Dusty Miller".

We had new crown moulding installed (as we redecorate each room in the house that's an upgrade we're adding in) and the walls were painted. After that, we did some very minor rearranging and accessorizing and we were done!

Now, for the "after"!

My mom made this pillow for us one Christmas:

I love to repurpose items from other rooms (rather than purchasing new) and since I wanted a designated place on my dresser to put my jewelry at the end of the day I pulled this gorgeous plate out of my china cabinet. It's meaningful because it was a wedding gift from an extended family member who told me that my late Grandma Leahy particularly loved this chintz pattern.

While I love neutrals, I decided to go for a pop of colour (and unexpected design) for my bedside lamp. (My previous lamp *conveniently* broke just days before our facelift, so I *had* to replace it!) This one was very budget friendly, at only 12 bucks from Walmart!

Another repurposed item, this wedding gift frame spent years in our basement featuring photos of our godchildren...until we were blessed with too many to fit in the frame! After we redecorated our downstairs family room, the frame went into hiding until I brought it out to add some personality to the space outside our ensuite.

It now feels like spring in my master bedroom, if nowhere else!

Thanks for checking out my latest project! You can find past before and afters here:

Our Basement Family Room (perhaps my favourite)
Girl's Bedroom Facelift # 2
Girl's Bedroom Facelift # 1
Main Bath Reno (oh, no, wait - this one was my favourite)
Our Backyard Reno (above-ground-that-looks-inground pool and deck, hot tub, pool house)
Laundry Room Facelift
Ensuite Facelift

Plus, if you're interested in design, don't forget I've posted many times about seasonal decor, and interviewed designer and decorators like Debbie Travis, Sarah Richardson, Kortney Wilson and Jillian Harris, too!

Easter Giveaway: Winnie the Pooh itty bittys in Basket from Hallmark!

Time for another flash social media giveaway!

The prize: four Disney's Winnie the Pooh Easter itty bittys from Hallmark in a cute felt basket (value $35). Aren't they adorable?

Here's how you can enter:

Retweet this tweet for one entry: https://twitter.com/thismomloves/status/707668075873587200

Like and/or comment on this Facebook post for one or two entries: https://www.facebook.com/ThisMomLoves/posts/1109132462444252

Like and/or comment on this Instagram post for one or two entries: https://www.instagram.com/p/BCvv9cQxBcS/?taken-by=katethismomloves

Total possible entries: 5

The giveaway will run until Saturday, March 12th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, after which time a winner will be chosen through random number generation. Good luck, and Happy Easter!

P.S. Looking for some Easter decor that's a bit more grown up? My favourite item is this Spring Ornament Tree ($19.95, and sets of two ornaments are $4.95/set). This is currently a cute centrepiece on my kitchen table!

Win a Pair of Saucony Shoes + How I'm Becoming a Runner!

As my regular readers know, I'm a total treadmill girl. I am obsessed with the treadmill desk my dad made for me, and often blog and catch up on emails and social media while I walk. The treadmill also directly faces our large screen television, so I also catch up on my favourite shows at the same time. I know they say multitasking isn't really a thing, and I get that you can't give your complete focus to two things at the same time, but so far I've been very successful when walking is one of those things...and oh, do I love to multitask!

What, this isn't how everyone sets up for a treadmill session?

A photo posted by Kate Winn (@katethismomloves) on Oct 24, 2015 at 5:38am PDT

However, recently I decided I wanted to challenge myself a little and try to incorporate more running into my cardio workout...but without making it painful! I know there are lots of walk-to-run programs that have you do two minutes of this, one of that, three of this, check your heart rate, two minutes of this, hop like a bunny...just kidding (I've been teaching Primary Phys. Ed. for too long!) The thing is, I don't like to have to think about my workout while I'm in the middle of it, so I didn't want to be constantly checking the time, my heart rate, or anything else. Therefore, I devised my own "Running For Beginners" program. Here's how I did it:

Originally (by which I mean six days a week for the last ten years), I walked for 30 minutes a day on the treadmill, at a rate of 3 mph (sorry, never did change treadmill settings to metric; and no, that isn't superfast but for someone who is typing at the same time, please cut me some slack) and incline of 4.0 percent.

Now as part of my new program, I walk at that rate and incline for a couple of minutes, and then I switch to a 5.0 mph jog at 1.0 incline. (I thought I'd need a 0 incline but I'm so used to going uphill that I felt like I was falling forward when flat - plus treadmill running offers less resistance than being outdoors, so I wanted to give myself a tiny bit more challenge so I'll be ready to head outside...once the weather hits an acceptable 20 degrees or so!) When I say I wanted to make this painless, I'm not kidding...I started out only running for three minutes, and then continuing to walk until my 30 minute total treadmill time time was up.

Each week, I've added one minute on to my run time...and I'm quite proud to say that I am now up to a nine minute run every day. I plan to continue to go up incrementally each week, and by summer perhaps I'll be ready to take on a 5K! (I said *perhaps*...let's not go holding me too that, okay?)

To help motivate me, my friends at Saucony were generous enough to send along a brand new pair of shoes - I chose the Guide 9 style in pink - which I'm absolutely loving. (I'm embarrassed to say that my previous "treadmill shoes" had seen me through over a thousand walks...and had seen better days!) The shoes have new Everun Continous Cushioning Technology, and I can't even tell you what a difference they make as I run.

Even more (now here's the part you actually care about!), Saucony offered to treat one of my readers to a brand new pair of shoes as well! Whether you're a walker, a runner, or just want to rock some stylish footwear, Saucony has the shoes for you! (The winner can select any pair of his or her choice from Saucony.com  - such a fantastic prize!)

All you have to do to enter is simply fill out the form below and hit submit. That's it! Bonus entries for following This Mom Loves on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Contest ends Monday, March 14th 2016 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Good luck!

Angela Price: The Hockey Wives Momterview* (*mom-to-be!)

Angela Price, wife of Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, is one of the stars of the W Network series Hockey Wives - with new episodes starting March 16th.

I had the opportunity to chat with Angela, and in our conversation she opened up about the media scooping their baby news (they're expecting their first child at the end of April), how she feels about being known as "Carey Price's wife", her favourite Montreal restaurant, and more!

Congratulations on the pregnancy - how are you feeling? 

Thank you! I'm actually feeling pretty good, so I'm not complaining!

The Diet Coke picture you shared to announce you were expecting was really cute - did you work with the brand on that, or just do it yourselves? 

We are excited to announce that we are expecting...well, "confirm" that we are expecting is probably more appropriate. Our baby news and my rant about Montreal media on the blog today!

A photo posted by Angela Price (@byangelaprice) on Oct 21, 2015 at 7:15am PDT

We just did that ourselves; it was actually very last minute! Carey saw the cans at the rink and grabbed them before coming home!

News of your pregnancy was shared in the media earlier than you would have liked - can you speak to that a bit?

We were a week out of having that all-important doctor's appointment where they check the heartbeat and make sure everything is good, and someone must have seen us at a doctor's appointment or something and the media released that we were expecting, so that's how a lot of our friends and family found out which was too bad.

You're keeping the sex a surprise?

Yes, we have no idea, so we're very anxious to find out!

Of course you spend the hockey season living in Montreal {Angela is originally from Tri-Cities Washington, and the couple spends their off-season in Kelowna BC, near Carey's hometown}. What are some of your favourite things about Montreal?

The food...especially now, being pregnant! Montreal has some of the best restaurants out of any city I've ever lived in so that's definitely my favourite part!

Any one in particular?

Oh, I would have to go with Sho-Dan which is a sushi place downtown.

Have you learned any French since you've been in Montreal, or did you already speak the language?

You know what, I didn't speak French before. I'm American so I didn't grow up with that but I've taken private courses, courses at the university, I've learned through Rosetta Stone and it's not sticking! But I'm continually trying!

What made you decide to start your own blog {By Angela Price}? You're helping me master my hair-curling technique, by the way!

Oh, great! Well, it kind of brought all of my favourite things together in one place. I love photography, I love telling my stories, and I'm so far away from friends and family and I'm awful at texting and keeping in touch so it's a good way to let everyone know what I'm up to. I just thought, why not?

I know you said on the blog that there's a silver lining to Carey being injured in that you're spending more time together than ever - which is especially nice with a baby on the way - but there must also be a lot of frustration and disappointment since he's not playing right now?

Oh for sure, especially since this season has been a little rough for the guys and of course Carey wants to be on the ice so it gets a bit frustrating when he wants to be able to help out and there's nothing he can do. I think it's nice that I'm pregnant and we have the baby to distract us and give us something to look forward to and take our minds of that a bit.

Congratulations on being part of the cast of Hockey Wives! What would you say are the best and worst things about being on the show?

I think the best thing is seeing girls that you were friends with in the past and probably wouldn't see again, and being able to be with them and catch up has been really nice. I'd say the biggest downside would be watching yourself on TV, and hearing how annoying your voice is, stupid little things that you don't like about yourself and are displayed for all to see! {Here I shared with Angela that I *never* watch myself back on television.}

Are you ever concerned about being known as "Carey Price's wife" - is it a struggle to keep your own identity?

It was a struggle at first but at the end of the day, I am Carey Price's wife and I'm proud to be. I don't really mind it, but I think people often forget that I am my own person and I have my own life which doesn't always revolve around him or the Habs necessarily, so that can get frustrating.

As a follow-up to that, what do you want people to know about you as an individual? {Warning: Hardcore Habs fans may want to skip this answer.}

Oh, good question. I don't know if there's anything in particular that I want people to know, just that I have my own interests and I think people think that hockey kind of runs our world at home and that's not necessarily true. At home, we're just the same as any other couple. We're not talking about hockey, not talking about the Habs, just normal everyday things.

Do you find you've faced much social media negativity - I'm thinking of the Twitter harassment faced by another NHL goalie wife, April Reimer - have you had any issues like that?

I haven't had any big issues but of course you're going to get those negative people and I always joke that it seems like I can't do anything right according to people on social media! Everybody has their opinions but I think I'm pretty lucky that it doesn't get to me. I feel worse for my friends and family who read that stuff and get all worked up and upset but to be honest it doesn't really bother me.

The impression I get of Carey is that he is pretty private and can be wary of media attention - how did he feel about you joining a reality show?

He definitely is a lot more private than I am, and when I first went to him about Hockey Wives, I was thinking he would automatically say no, but he didn't. He was open to the idea, so we discussed with the show the importance of Carey maintaining his privacy and not filming in our home with us, not requiring anything from Carey and they were fine with that. So now we're in control of when he's on the show and when I'm talking about him or our family so we were able to remain as private as we wanted so it's been a perfect fit. I know when I started my blog, a piece of advice someone gave me was, "Make sure you're only telling your story, and not your husband's or anyone else's," and I keep that in mind because I think it's important.

What can we expect on the new episodes of Hockey Wives?

For me it's a lot of baby preparations and baby showers, and just celebrating the fact that we're having the baby. I'm really looking forward to it because I think it's a really special time that the cameras were able to capture and probably some episodes that later in life I'll look back at. 

Because my blog is called This Mom Loves, I always ask my interviewees how they would finish the sentence "This mom loves..." in your case it's "This mom-to-be loves"! What are some of your favourite things - products, places, foods, activities, anything?

Okay, where do I start? I love eating, as you know. Matcha tea lattes are my number one, every day. I like spending time with family, I love my quiet times in the morning - which I'm scared are going to go away! - and I love the outdoors, the sunshine. Love it, love it!

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You can catch new episodes of Hockey Wives on W Network starting March 16th, and find Angela on her blog, Twitter and Instagram.

P.S. Angela and Carey are involved in several charitable initiatives, and as a teacher - and Habs fan - I just had to finish off with this fun photo from Angela's Instagram.

Had a pretty sweet set up today while reading to some kiddos for @englishmtl literacy event.

A photo posted by Angela Price (@byangelaprice) on Jan 22, 2016 at 11:39am PST