Playhouse Disney Canada - Review and Giveaway

Giveaway open to Canadians.

I love television. There, I said it. I also allow my girls to watch TV...almost every day! Of course, I always sit right beside them, watching intently and discussing the storylines. I would never, ever use their TV time to get my own work done, or to have a moment of peace. (My fingers are crossed right now, by the way.)

In all honestly, their TV time is (usually) less than an hour, and since I can't always be right beside them analyzing the shows, I choose the channels and programs in advance...and keep the remote out of reach! I am quite picky about what they watch, and for that reason I was excited to be chosen as part of the Playhouse Disney Canada blog tour through Mom Central.

I trust Disney to provide age-appropriate, entertaining programming for my girls. Of course, my daughters could name many classic Disney characters before even seeing them on TV (Mickey and friends, Pooh and Tigger), since they were exposed to them in books or on merchandise. They have some new Playhouse Disney favourites as well, like Handy Manny and Special Agent Oso. When asked who they like the best, Frannie's response is "Mickey Mouse", and Maggie's is "Winnie Pooh"...so there's something to be said for the classics! My girls are also thrilled to see other well-loved friends, like Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears, showing up in the Playhouse Disney lineup. Plus, I feel like I can justify a bit of TV time when I see valuable aspects to the programming, such as music, numbers, colours, etc.

Another great resource you might want to check out is the Playhouse Disney website, where you can find games, activities, parent information and their programming schedule.

Playhouse Disney Canada is offering a fantastic prize pack for one lucky This Mom Loves reader. Included in the pack: a Playhouse Disney DVD with five full episodes (you could sit and watch too, like a good mom, or get a whole lot of work done!), stickers, crayons and a colouring magnet, and a magnetic pen. (I love the pen...it's now stuck to the fridge, so we will never be penless again. There's nothing like signing important forms in crayon...but I digress.)

To enter, simply visit the Playhouse Disney Canada website, and come back and leave a comment letting me know who your child's (or your!) favourite Playhouse Disney character is. Be sure to leave your email address (if it's not on your profile) so I can contact you if you win!

For additional entries (after the mandatory entry has been completed), leave a separate comment letting me know that:

• you follow This Mom Loves publicly through Google Friend Connect
• you subcribe to This Mom Loves through email (make sure your subscription is activated)
• you follow @thismomloves on Twitter, and tweet about this giveaway (feel free to retweet mine)
• you like Playhouse Disney Canada on Facebook

This contest is open to Canadians, and ends on Monday, August 16th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Good luck, and don't forget to check out my sidebar for other great giveaways running right now!

Oh, and just so you know, you are encouraged to enter this contest multiple times (i.e. on different blogs participating in the blog tour), but you will only be able to win one Prize Pack!

Disclaimer: I am participating in the Playhouse Disney Blog Tour through Mom Central. I received a Playhouse Disney prize pack and a thank you gift card to facilitate this post. Opinions are, as always, my own.

Perfect Parties Theme Two: The Pajama Party!

Thanks to my friend Krista, I have another fantastic party plan to share: The Pajama Party. Sure, you've heard of this idea before, but I am positive there are some details in here that you may not have thought of.

While you could certainly do a traditional sleepover, and go with more of a nighttime theme, Krista's daughter had a morning birthday party, complete with a Scooby Doo/morning cartoons emphasis. Here's how she did it:

Invitations:

• instruct the guests to come in their p.j.'s and bring their favourite pillow and blanket

(Family Fun gives neat directions for making a pillowcase invitation)

Food:

• pancake breakfast, complete with toppings; milk, juice

Activities:

• musical pillows (just like musical chairs, with Mr. Sandman, the Lion Sleeps Tonight and the Scooby Doo theme as the music)
• circle time with a Scooby Doo story
• hot Scooby Doo (i.e. hot potato with a Scooby Doo toy)
• Scooby Doo mystery taken from the internet, which involved realizing that the cake was "missing", and having the kids go around the house in a group to find clues (each stop had a treat, and all kids got one by the end), with Scooby Doo music playing in the background

The cake:

I think this idea is so fantastic! She took a photo of her daughter's bed:

and replicated it on a cake (which she made and decorated herself, by the way)

Loot bags:

• a pillowcase fillied with Scooby Doo fruit snacks, an individual cereal box, juice box, addition/subtraction cards, a bedtime story, and a hairbrush

Congratulations on another creative masterpiece, Krista!

Other p.j. party ideas I found online include:

Activities:

• pillowcase hop (like sack race)
• relay - put on robe, slippers, grab teddy, run back lie down and snore three times
• freeze dance (lie down and snore when the music stops)
• pillow or pillowcase decorating

Loot bags (these items could also be game prizes):

• glow-in-the-dark items (e.g. bracelet)
• nightlight
• flashlights
• mini teddy bears (candy or toy)

If you've seen or used other pajama party ideas, please leave a comment below!

Stuck On You Personalized Backpack and Tags - Review and Giveaway

Giveaway open to Canadians

Let's get one thing straight: school is NOT just around the corner. I say this for two reasons:

1. I am a teacher. Enough said. (Although ironically, spending my days with two kids seems to tire me out more than spending my days with twenty!)

2. My daughter will start school this year, which is a turning point in her little life. I still need the next six weeks to process it all!

However, I am a planner by nature, (as well as a shopper!) so I agree that it's never too early to start purchasing back-to-school items, and Stuck On You Canada is a great place to start! When I was contacted about the possibility of a Stuck on You review and giveaway here at This Mom Loves, I was thrilled!

I recently received an adorable personalized backpack for Frannie, with her name and my choice of design from their new Designer Collection. I went for the pink bag with cupcakes...and judging from Frannie's huge eyes when she saw it, I made the right choice! The quality is excellent, and it has several different functional compartments.

Stuck On You is also your one-stop-shopping destination for iron-on clothing tattoos, which I also received, and which will be going on several of Frannie's items of clothing before September! Never lose items to the abyss that is the school lost and found again! I also love their stick-on dots and rectangles (Frannie got some in the Cupcake design) which I'll be putting on her water bottles and reusable lunch containers. I also want to order some Shoe Dots to put inside her school shoes. She's a bright little thing, but faced with a lineup of Barbie shoes, it's pretty hard to tell whose are whose.

As a teacher, I would also highly recommend the Stuck On You "Tools 4 School pack", with personalized pencil case, markers, coloured and HB pencils, sharpener, ruler, eraser and stickers (shown above, available in different designs). These are all essential classroom items, and believe me, having your child's name on everything is sooo helpful.

They also sell personalized shirts, pyjama sets, height charts, wall art...the list is endless.

"Enough!" you're thinking. "You promised a giveaway! What can I win?"

Here it is: one lucky This Mom Loves reader will win a personalized backpack (your choice of design) and bag tag, both with your child's name on them. (Well, I guess you could put your own name on them, but your little guy might be jealous when you head off to work with your cool "Traffic Jam" or "Jungle Animals" backpack. And you might get some weird looks at the office.)

 The total value of this prize is $59!

Mandatory entry: simply visit the Stuck On You Canada website, and leave a comment here letting me know your favourite design from their new Designer Collection. Be sure to leave your email address (if it's not on your profile) so I can contact you if you win!

For additional entries, leave a separate comment (after completing the mandatory entry) letting me know that:

• you follow This Mom Loves publicly through Google Friend Connect (be sure to specify if you're a new follower, so I can pop by and return the favour)
• you follow @thismomloves on Twitter, and tweet about this giveaway (feel free to retweet mine)
• you subscribe to This Mom Loves through email (make sure you have an activated subscription)

This contest is open to Canadians, and ends on Friday, August 13th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. Good luck, and happy back-to-school shopping! Don't forget to check out my sidebar for other great giveaways running right now!

P.S. Although this giveaway is only for my fellow Canadians, Stuck On You is available in many different countries, so you can go ahead and start shopping!

Disclaimer: I was provided with the above-named products for review purposes. Opinions are, as always, my own.

Winner - CSN Giveaway!

Wow - this giveaway was a hit! There were 165 entries, and the number chosen by random number generation at random.org is...number 74!

Congratulations to the winner, Marlene from Calgary, AB.

Happy shopping!

Make Meals More Fun With The Lunch Punch!

I love this product! Created by an Australian mother of three, The Lunch Punch cuts off crust and turns bread, sandwiches, etc. into fun edible shapes. It minimizes waste by using most of the bread (and their site suggests keeping the crusts to use for meatloafs, feed animals, etc.)

I received two sets of The Lunch Punch for my little crust-boycotters to review: the Match and Munch puzzle shapes:

 and the Critter Cutters:

The Lunch Punch is thicker than a regular cookie cutter, so it can go through a whole sandwich. (You can still use them to make cookies, too!)

I have used them on my girls' toast and sandwiches several times, and they just love them. They can hardly decide which shape they want when I give them the option. The funny thing is, it took them a while to trust that the crusts were indeed cut off...they kept leaving the outside borders, thinking that they couldn't possibly be part of the bread! Now they get the hang of it, though.

You can check out their Lunch Punch website for more information, including some brand-new products:

Vrrrm! transportation shapes:

and Sandwishes:

Coming soon, they even have Landwich continent shapes!

Each set of four costs around $15, with some of the profits going to charities. Although I'm not always in favour of "putting on a show for the kids", toast and sandwiches are quite common around our house, and it doesn't hurt to jazz them up and give the girls a bit more motivation to eat them.

If you're interested in making a purchase, go here to find out how to order Lunch Punch shapes in different countries.

The Lunch Punch is a hit around our house, and will certainly spice up Frannie's school lunches! She'll be the envy of her Junior Kindergarten class!

Disclaimer: I was provided with the above-mentioned products for review purposes. Opinions are, as always, my own.

P.S. On a completely unrelated note, thanks to Kingston Girl for your kind words, and good luck with your Build a Better Blog Challenge! (If you haven't visited her yet, you should!)

Take Your Family To Mont Tremblant

You should definitely not take your family to Mont Tremblant. Well, unless you love beautiful scenery and a relaxing atmosphere. Tons of activities for kids and grownups alike. Oh, and great accommodations and fabulous food. I guess if you're in to all of that, you could maybe consider visiting.

My mom retired from teaching this year, and we decided we would take a family trip to celebrate. After weeks of deliberation (in province or out? bring kids or no? weekend or week?) we finally settled on Mont Tremblant, Quebec, a place none of us had ever been. This is a town known primarily for its winter ski scene, but a summer trip can also be fantastic, as we learned.

The photos tell the story better than I ever could:

Here is the gorgeous Cap Tremblant residence where we stayed. Mom and Dad had a one-bedroom unit, and we shared a three-bedroom unit with my brother's family. Check it out - and for less than $200 per family each night. (Warning: the units are NOT air-conditioned, and we went during one of the hottest weeks of the year. Probably the only negative I can think of.)

This was the view from the back:

And for the kids...and kids at heart! (There were actually several different pools, including an adult geyser pool, and several hot tubs - my favourite!)

Our residence was a short drive (or shuttle ride) from the actual village of Mont Tremblant. There are other (more expensive and noisier) accommodations right inside the picturesque little village, if you'd rather be closer:

While in the pedestrian village, we did a bit of shopping (some of my favourites included a year-round Christmas store, Roots, and a candy shop), had lunch (just at Casey's, but there are several options) and took the kids on superfun alpine luge rides. (See photo of Daddy and Frannie.) I even did it too, although I have to admit I was a bit brake-happy.

You can also take free gondola rides over the village, or longer, enclosed rides over to the Casino. For an extra price, there's a kids' splash pad, bungee trampolining and rock wall. You could also pay to ride the Panoramic Gondola to the top of the mountain, where you can disembark and check out the view, hike, or even enjoy brunch!

Even if you're saving your pennies, just walking through the village was beautiful:

I can't review many restaurants, but I can tell you about my sister-in-law's cooking! We actually didn't eat out often, as my brother's wife LOVES to cook, so she looked after most of the meals. There is, however, a wide assortment of food options, both the child-friendly and the high-class.

Dad and I stayed with the kids one evening while the other adults went to the Casino (not really my cup of tea) and the men looked after the little ones when Mom, Ashleigh and I went for massages, which I thought would be a great retirement gift for Mom after so many years of hard work!

Except for the fact that Maggie decided this was the best time to demonstrate to us that she suffers from motion sickness (on the six hour car ride), it was a fantastic trip, and the best part was the time spent together. My girls love to play with my brother's two kids, and the grownups enjoyed time together in the evenings after the kids went to bed, which we never have. We taught my parents a couple of new card games, and my board-game loathing father even played "Battle of the Sexes" with us!

We timed this trip so I could pop in at a friend's baby shower near Montreal on the way home, and that's how we wrapped up our adventure!

Now, if your family is in to skiing, you might prefer to look in to a (more costly?) winter getaway instead, but as far as the ten of us were concerned, our four days in Mont Tremblant were all we could have asked for, and a great value as well.

If you're looking for ideas for travel in Ontario, check out:
Our Family Trip to Toronto
Our Family Trip to London

Read It: The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a few years old (written in 2003), but I just read it for the first time and I was blown away. It's the kind of book-reading experience where you want to keep sneaking away to devour just another few pages.

This novel was our latest book club selection, and tells the story of Lily Owens, a young girl in South Carolina in 1964. She has fuzzy memories of her mother's death years earlier, and suffers varying degrees of abuse from her father. Events cause Lily and her black nanny to escape town, and they head for Tiburon, where they are taken in by May, June and August Boatwright, three black beekeeping sisters who just happen to hold answers to Lily's deepest questions.

I honestly couldn't put this book down, as the story was so compelling and the writing so beautiful. I had already seen the movie, and I usually don't enjoy a book as much if I've seen the movie first, but some of the plot details were fuzzy in my mind, so there were still times I was surprised. I had Dakota Fanning's voice narrating the story in my head, but that's okay.

Some other reviews say it even better than I could:

"It's as if Kidd loaded up a take-home plate with treats, and you said 'Oh, I couldn't', and then scarfed it down in the car on the way home." - Entertainment Weekly

"You'll want to tear through the pages. Restrain yourself. The beautiful language and seamless unfolding of this well-written story deserve more. [It] merits sweet time and savoring." - Southern Living

If you're looking for some terrific summer reading, look no further.

What To Give a New Mom

When Frannie was born, one of the most special gifts we received was something that wasn't even for her. My friend Anne visited us in the hospital and dropped off a gift bag full of little wrapped items. She explained (or I think wrote in the card) that the gift was for the Mommy (me!) and my instructions were to open one gift each day until they were gone.

I'm a rule-following kind of girl, so instead of tearing everything open, I actually followed the directions, and each morning, no matter how bleary-eyed, I would detour into the walk-in closet where I kept that bag and pull out another item. On those surreal days when I felt like I had a tiny, strange animal attached to my body, it gave me a sense of self to know that there was a little treat waiting just for me.

I can remember magazines, edible goodies, a scented candle, and "sleepy-time bath salts"...which I finally finished just a few months ago. Every time I used them the aroma took me back to those newborn mommy days.

Anne was generous enough to give a gift to Frannie too, but her gift for me has certainly left a lasting impact. That's why I followed suit when my cousin Kerry recently had her first child, an adorable little boy (if you can call 10 lbs 13 oz little!)  Here's what I put in her package:

• a set of colourful pens
• a little blue lined notebook
• a package of candies
• a tube of Lansinoh cream for nipples (this is a MUST for nursing moms)
• a hair accessory
• some 'milk' moisturizer
• a parenting magazine
• lip balm
• hand sanitizer
• "A Cup of Comfort For New Mothers" book

Each item was wrapped, and not shown here because I went environmentally-friendly and used bits and pieces of leftover wrapping paper. It wasn't about an attractive presentation, it was about honouring a new mommy!

Anyway, Kerry loved it, and if she kept on track, all items are now open and hopefully being enjoyed.

Just wanted to share that idea with all of you!