Ease Morning Stress With a Breakfast Schedule

If there's anything worse than the "What's for dinner?" question it's "What's for breakfast?" It's worse because it's often asked in an angry, you-just-woke-me-up voice, because the response is usually followed with "I don't want (insert reasonable breakfast food here)" and because, well, it's asked in the morning.

In recent months, foods that I know my daughters both like were becoming the subject of great debate and bargaining: How many chocolate chips on the (toaster) waffles? Are they the (store bought) muffins that taste like banana?

Finally my husband, in his infinite wisdom (he rarely reads the blog, but just in case) suggested a schedule. Let them decide what they're going to have each morning, and then there are no arguments. Sure, sounded like a good idea...but would it work?

I wrote down a list of school-morning foods (none involving stove or oven, I admit) and told them to slot them into the days of the week. Surprisingly, they got right to the task and had the chart filled out in no time! When they discovered some accidental alliteration at the beginning of the week, they even shifted items around to continue the pattern. And here it is:

Muffin Monday (usually homemade on the weekend. From a mix, but still!)
Toast Tuesday (which includes choice of toast, bagel or English muffin)
Waffle Wednesday
Cereal Thursday (choice of cold cereal or hot oatmeal)
Muffin Friday

I would like to say that of course each offering is paired with a fresh fruit plate, but I don't lie to my readers. The girls do enjoy 100% apple juice with their breakfasts.

Weekends are time for bacon and eggs (though breakfast-for-dinner is also popular at our house), pancakes or whatever they want to order at a restaurant.

We've been using the schedule for a few weeks now and there have been very few complaints - and best of all, we have nicer waking-up moments when their first question doesn't relate to the meal ahead and there's less decision-making on my part.

Perhaps we are the only family to have felt this particular stress, but if applies to you, maybe a schedule will help!

My $1 Dining Room Hutch Makeover

When we built our house almost 12 years ago, I was in love with natural oak. When you walk into my home, you can tell.

Kitchen cabinetry, buffet and hutch, dining room table and chairs, coffee table, end tables, bench, TV stand...oh, and the entire living room/dining room floor. All in an open-concept area.

It was time to shake things up a bit, one step at a time. First, my Dad stained the top of our coffee table a very dark brown, so it stands out in the sea of natural oak hardwood flooring. Next, we purchased an area rug (very reasonably priced at Canadian Tire) which really helps break up the monochromity. (Is that a word?)

Then (I feel like I'm writing a sample procedure for my students: first, next, then...) I decided to make a tiny, but impactful change to my dining room hutch. Since we moved in, it has been filled with the exact same wedding-gift items (for someone who loves to change her decor often, I've been very lazy in this regard).

For the very first time this Christmas, my mom helped me shake it up to be a bit more festive, which I loved:

Just wanted to show a close-up of this again - isn't it cute?

After Christmas (you know, on Boxing Day morning when I put my house back to "normal"), I knew I didn't want to go back to same old display, so I considered my options. I thought about books and other meaningful items from our home, but for me, there are still certain things that "belong" in a dining room.

I decided to go with a gold/brown and glass theme and use items I already owned to create a fresher display.

However, the biggest change was the background. Here's what I did:

1. Went to Dollarama and bought a $1 roll of gold and white wrapping paper.
2. Cut it to fit.
3. Taped it to the inside back of the hutch.

I'm not sure if you can tell in the photos what a difference it made, but when you're standing at the front door looking into the room, it doesn't look nearly as "oaky" (another new word) as it used to, and I absolutely love the change.

On the buffet is a recipe from my late Grandma, matted (on dollar store scrapbook paper) and framed (in a dollar store frame) - a project from a couple of years ago, but it looks perfect now on this freshened-up piece of furniture.

For a few bucks and a few minutes of work, I'm so pleased with the change!

Purses + Poetry = Great New Giveaway and Discount Code!

I am so excited to share something new with you today! The company is called Purses + Poetry, founded by Canadian entrepreneur Karen Ward.

I first met Karen when she invited me to participate in a great research project about Gen X and Gen Y moms through her company Curiosity Inc. (It was because of this project that I was asked to do my first radio interview on CBC!) Recently she has added the creative venture Purses + Poetry to her business portfolio, and asked if I'd like to help spread the word...and do a fun giveaway!

I'll let Karen tell you how this new company came to be:

"I learned how to sew when I was young and I've always loved making things.  I find it incredibly satisfying to design something and make it and hold in your hand something that was once in your head.  But, I rarely had time for sewing and making as an entrepreneur running a small consulting company called Curiosity Inc.  Last year I took a step back from client work to focus on my own projects and I took a Snap Coin Purse workshop as a fun, learning adventure last summer.  I made one purse at the workshop, 8 more that same weekend - and Purses + Poetry was born. 

I love beautiful, useful objects and I have a deep appreciation for good writing and beautiful language.  I think we're losing touch with the later in our world of tweets, text abbreviations and quick status updates.  There is something enduring about poetry and thoughtful quotes - they create pause, reflection and often provide us with a bit of insight or reassurance that we didn't even know we needed.  This is what I love about tucking poems and quotes inside lovely everyday objects - we get a little bit of nourishment for our soul while we're doing what needs to be done!"

Who/what are the Purses + Poetry Products for?

• The Key Ring Pouches are wonderful little gifts for pre-teens/teens who are getting house keys for the first time.  The zipped pouch is big enough to hold a transit pass, debit card, student ID, etc.  They also make wonderful housewarming gifts (put a Home Depot card inside) or small appreciation gifts for teachers, your book club, moms' group, etc.
• The Clutch Purses are great for date night or any special occasion.  They are big enough to hold all of your elegant necessities.
• The Medium Pouches, our best seller, are perfect for cosmetics, toiletries, cords and cables or a small journal with some pens and pencils.  These pouches are universally loved and make great gifts for women of all ages!
• And finally, the Snap Coin Purses that started it all are perfect for coins, lip balm and are big enough to fit your essential cards as well.  These are currently sold out while I source a new supplier for the silver frames - they will be back online in early February.

Sure, you can buy purses anywhere, but Karen feels (and I agree!) that there are several things that make Purses + Poetry special. Here's what she says:

• Everything is designed and lovingly hand-made by yours truly.  This does feel special in a world of offshore production, sweat shops and the like.
• The products are truly unique because I buy fabric in small batches.  I love prowling around fabric shops and second hand shops when I travel and I'm always on the look out for interesting material.  I buy fabric as I discover it and only a metre or two at a time.  That means there are only a few objects made with each fabric so you get something special, that few other people have.
• And finally, I think combining poems with purses and pouches is pretty unique.  And awesome - why didn't someone think of it sooner!  :)  

Now that you have all of the background, it's time to share some exciting news!

Exciting news item #1:

Purses + Poetry is offering This Mom Loves readers 20% off any item from now until January 31st. Simply use code MOMSLOVE20 at checkout!

Exciting news item #2:

Purses + Poetry is giving away FIVE (yes, FIVE) Poetry Pouches to This Mom Loves readers!

GIVEAWAY OPEN TO CANADA AND US.

All you have to do to enter is visit the Purses + Poetry website, then leave a comment below letting me know which product is your favourite. For bonus entries, please leave a separate comment each time letting me know that you:

Like Purses + Poetry on Facebook
Follow Purses + Poetry on Instagram
Get Purses + Poetry email updates

(Note that P + P members will receive access to exclusive promotions not available to the public)

Like This Mom Loves on Facebook
Follow This Mom Loves on Twitter
Follow This Mom Loves on Instagram
Get This Mom Loves through email

Total number of possible entries is 8 per person.

The contest will run until Saturday, January 17th at 11:59 pm Eastern, after which time a winner will be chosen through random number generation. Good luck!

The School Routine For 2015 - My CHEX Daily Segment

During my latest visit to CHEX Daily, I chatted with hosts Teresa Kaszuba and Mike Judson about getting kids out of holiday mode and back into the school routine!



Hope everyone's transition back to school/work has been a great one!

Ben and Jessica Mulroney's Wedding Flashback for Today's Bride

I'm excited to share a link to an article that I had a lot of fun writing: a wedding flashback from Ben and Jessica Mulroney for the Spring/Summer 2015 issue of Today's Bride magazine.

I thought current brides-to-be might be interested in some photos, memories and advice from a couple who have already been down the aisle (back in 2008), and while I won't be planning a wedding again (until I help my girls!) I still thought it was neat to get perspectives from both Ben and Jess on their weekend-long nuptials. Wait 'til you see the shot of their "Hallowedding"!

Photo courtesy Ben and Jessica Mulroney

Check out all the details and more pics here:
http://www.todaysbride.ca/articles/a-look-back-at-ben-and-jessica-mulroney-s-wedding

P.S. What a difference a few years makes! Ben and Jessica are now the proud parents of twin sons Brian and John and daughter Ivy.

Photo by JJ Thompson

Which Canadian couple's wedding flashback would you like to see featured in Today's Bride? Let me know!

Liza Fromer: The Morning Show Momterview

This Mom Loves has moved! 

For updated content (plus all the posts found here) on our fresh new site, visit www.thismomloves.ca

During my recent visit to The Morning Show at Global TV in Toronto, I had the chance to sit down for a candid chat with host Liza Fromer, also a busy mom to son Samson (8) and daughter Ever (5 - don't you love that name?)

Here she dishes on her early wake-ups, parenting strengths and struggles, and what makes The Morning show so special. Enjoy!

With such an early morning wake-up, what do your evenings look like?

Usually I'm on a quasi-schedule. I do the early bird special for dinner for sure. I have two kids. My husband and I are separated and we share custody so when the kids are with me we eat around 5 - 5:30, hang out for a while after that. They go to bed around 8, I go to bed around 8:30 or 9. So that's kind of our night. Typically when I have the kids I try to get a nap in during the day while they're at school so I can be up and aware and really present for them, but if I don't have them I will very easily eat at 3 and be in bed at 5. There are those days for sure!

In the morning you get up at...?

4:15. This morning was a bit tragic because I very rarely stay up late - I get invited to so many great events and I rarely go because I know I'm going to be a wreck - but I did a prime time special for Global {Intimate with Liza Fromer} and it aired last night so I thought I'll be damned if I don't stay up to watch that, and then you can't go to sleep the minute it's over, so it was one of those mornings where my alarm was going off and literally I was like "What is that noise?" I think it was twenty to five by the time I got up so proper hygiene was out the window! It was brush teeth, out door, bye bye!

You mentioned being separated. Any tips for other parents who are coparenting?

We've had the good fortune of keeping it amicable, which I would put a lot on my ex-husband. He has a very calm personality. Tips I would give: be as honest and gentle as you can with the kids, age-appropriately. We keep in touch with them every day. When they're with their dad I call them every night and when they're with me, vice versa, so they have both of us in their lives in some way every day and that seems to help.

Ever, Liza and Samson

You have your degree in Radio and Television Arts. Knowing what you know now, how important do you think a formal education is for this field?

I do think it's important, for a number of reasons. I also feel like back when I was at Ryerson I was scratching out my essays on a stone tablet so who am I to say, it was a billion years ago, but there are certain aspects of this industry that might not be sexy but you need to know. You need to know what the CRTC is and how it works, and different structures of broadcasting. They give you the fundamentals of writing and that sort of thing. Can you learn that outside of school? Sure. But it also gives you the opportunity to have a bit of a calling card when you want to do an internship, which is how I managed to do one at Q107 originally and that was really the springboard for my career. I worked there for free as a student  and they got to know me and asked if I wanted to fill in in the community cruiser and I got the opportunity to be on-air, and I met people, and just learned what a real environment was like, so I would still really recommend school.

You've worked on other shows as well {such as CityTV's Breakfast Television}. What do you think it is that sets The Morning Show apart? 

It's interesting. You don't need to reinvent the wheel with morning shows. It's a pretty simple formula. People wake up, it's a vulnerable time of day. Some aren't morning people, they can't handle a lot of activity, or they have a busy house, whatever it happens to be. But you need to understand that people are allowing you into that vulnerable time of day, and that's a privilege and an honour. What makes us different I think is that we have a lot of fun and a lot of laughs but we also have some really interesting conversations. We've managed to figure out how to blend those two. Not turn into just a news show, and not all the lighter side, what we do differently I think is combine both.

(No real behind-the-scenes is complete without the McCafé shot!)

Are there any other career goals you have?

This special that I just did was really exciting and new for me. I'd like to continue that and see where we can go with it, maybe make it happen a couple of times a year. It's funny, I've always had a loose plan, but I'm not that "In one year, five years, ten years, I'll be doing this" kind of girl. No, there aren't any other plans right now other than to keep experimenting and seeing what we can do here. Our morning show is still pretty new so I'd like to keep tinkering around here to see what we can do that's different and better and continue to bring the audience in. 

How much pressure do you feel as a woman to keep up a certain appearance for TV? {Liza had no problem sharing that she's 44 years old.}

There’s definitely image and body pressure working in this industry, not applied by anyone I work with or for but certainly applied by myself.  When you appear on TV people have no problem telling you what they think of your looks - you look taller/thinner/prettier/younger in person! That’s something I had to get used to, but it’s happened for so many years now it just rolls off me.  I’m at a tenuous peace with my weight/age/looks.

Ever, Liza

From your point of view as a host, what do you think makes a good television guest? {Self-serving question, I know!}

A good guest is someone who shows up and wants to participate, is excited, is ready to have fun. It's almost what makes a good dinner guest! That's kind of how we look at ourselves, when we're sitting around the table talking with a guest there, imagine your best self at a dinner, being sparkling. Do that on TV! That would be the best thing you could do. 

Samson, Ever

What would you say are your biggest strengths as a parent, and what do you want to keep working on?

This is going to sound so cheesy but for strengths, I remember seeing this iconic moment on video of Princess Diana, and she had been away, she was on a boat, and she sees her boys who she hasn't seen in a while, and she throws her arms open and they run to her and her face lights up! Even though that was way before I had kids, I thought that's how I want my kids to feel. I want them to see that's how I feel about them. I do try, not to that exuberant degree, to emulate that love whenever they come through the door. 

Weakness: patience. I thought I was patient, I was sorely mistaken. I am not a colourer, I'm not that girl who's going to get down and do a puzzle. I can't do it! It just drives me. Even nonsense - I'll have patience for normal kid nonsense for a bit and then I don't. There's that theory that life puts a mirror in front of you and shows you what you need to work on, and that's one thing!

Liza and me

Aside from your family, how would you finish the sentence "This mom loves..."?

This mom loves sleep. This mom loves Law and Order reruns. This mom loves Dermalogica and Skinceuticals products, and that's for reals, they're unbelievable. This mom loves lunch with my girlfriends. We call it "drunch" - drunk lunch, because I'm done for the day at noon! 

It's evening to you by that time!

A million percent it's cocktail hour. No it's not, but occasionally! This mom loves reading a good book since the day I could actually read.

Anything in particular?

I read The Goldfinch which just won the Pulitzer. I just got Paris by Edward Rutherford who wrote New York, London and Paris. He was here at the show so I'm going to read that. I just read Miriam Toews' book All My Puny Sorrows.

That's on my list.

I did a reading for the Gillers. It's great. A bummer to some degree but great. I recommend it. Whatever is around. I'm so lucky that we have authors around here and I have stacks and stacks - I have to go on reading vacations!

*************

After we were done, we took some photos, she complimented my legs in a gal-pal kind of way, and we said our goodbyes. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat, Liza! Catch Liza Fromer on The Morning Show weekdays on Global from 6-9:30.

Easiest Hard "Boiled" (Cooked) Eggs Ever

325 degrees.

Muffin tin.

25 minutes.

That is all.

Some may point out actually boiling is faster. This is true, but for some strange reason this seems simpler to me. We tried this, and the eggs were perfect.

Global's The Morning Show - Toronto: Behind-the-Scenes!

You know how I love going behind-the-scenes (especially for live TV) so I was very excited to be invited to Global's The Morning Show in Toronto this week. 

Hosted by Liza Fromer, Leslie Roberts, Kris Reyes, Rosey Edeh and Antony Robart, the show is broadcast weekdays from 6 to 9 am from their street-level studio on Bloor Street in Toronto (lots of fun to walk by and watch through the windows!) At 9 am, the show goes national for 30 minutes of conversation and fun. 

Rosey, Kris, Liza and Leslie with Chris Hadfield 

Before I start sharing photos from my visit, in the interests of full disclosure, I must tell you that I was not actually present for hair and makeup. Hayley, the hardworking publicist, offered to pick up my camera at the hotel and arrive at a crazy early hour to take some shots for me, so I could breeze in a little bit later once the show was rolling. (I don't know how well she researched me, but she may have been aware of how much I love my sleep!)

Here are a few pics of co-host Liza Fromer getting primped for the show. Usually the hosts look after their own hair, getting assistance only with the make-up part of the prep, but with fewer hosts on set over the holidays, there was more opportunity for professional assistance.

Meanwhile, across the street at the Sunset Grill, my husband and I were enjoying a very early breakfast, while at the same time watching the show get started through the window! (Our hotel, the Marriott Bloor, is located right across from the studio. Very convenient, and a wonderful stay, by the way.) 

Here in my stalker long lens photo (loving my new DSLR camera!) you can see Liza chatting with reporter Liem Vu on-screen, while Rosey gets set for her next segment. 

Once I arrived, I took over the photography duties. It fascinates me to see how different sets look in real life than they do on-screen. Here you can see the desk with the requisite papers, tablet, and of course lipstick!

Below Rosey, Liza and guest co-host Jillian Barberie Reynolds chat entertainment. Something that surprised me was that the hosts don't just sit/stand around watching each other's segments the way I envisioned. They all know their cues to the minute, and are bouncing back and forth between the set and their desks/washroom/touchups, etc., reappearing exactly when needed.

Here's where the real behind-the-scenes work happens:

Liza heads back to the desk while Rosey reviews notes with a producer. (It felt like we were playing hide and seek, moving around the room to avoid the cameras all the time. It's very fast-paced!)

Rosey, Jillian and a rep from Air Canada Rouge talk about keeping kids entertained on long flights. The guest was a first-timer (I can remember very well how that feels), and did a great job! 

Below is the green room, where the waiting takes place. I pictured it as a separate location, closed off from the studio, but the whole space is really quite open. This is where I got a chance to chat with guest host Alan Carter. I asked him about the teleprompter: how much material is written out, and how much is ad-libbed? For the news portions, the text is all there (which Alan paraphrases, using the teleprompter to make sure he's getting the details right). For the rest of the segments, the vast majority of the conversation is spontaneous.

After the show, Liza gets ready to film some promos. Some days she works out right on set after the show, but her exercise buddy Kris was away the day I was there!

Rosey takes a minute to pose for a picture at her desk. I don't envy her heading out into the cold to report on weather from the street in the morning - though I do envy the awesome coats and scarves she sports while she does it!

Next on the agenda was my sit-down Momterview with Liza, which I'll share here very soon, and then the "day" was over - before 10 a.m.! I couldn't leave without my great Global swag bag, including treats and foam microphones for my girls which they can be seen trying out in the photo below. Perhaps The Morning Show should consider adding some junior reporters to their roster?

Thanks so much to Hayley and to the hosts and crew of The Morning Show for welcoming me behind-the-scenes. Be sure to catch them daily on Global, beginning at 6 a.m...or whatever time you get up!