Let's Talk Bones!

As a blogger, I am often approached by groups hoping for me to share their Public Service messages. To be quite honest, although many of these causes are important and worthwhile, I don't always have the time.

This one is different. Today I want to talk about "On The Go Women", and their goal of Osteoporosis Awareness. Sure, sure, you think you're too young, but it's never too early to start protecting your bones.  My mom and grandma have osteoporosis, and part of me assumes that there's no escaping it. However, there are many preventive measures, such as calcium and Vitamin D intake, and regular weight-bearing and resistance training exercise, that could delay or even prevent this disease.

Can you believe that at age 30 my doctor recommended I start taking Calcium and Vitamin D supplements? I bought some at that point, but since both can be found in my multivitamin, I stopped bothering with the extra dosage. Maybe it's time to start again. I've seen my mom go through two terrible broken wrists, and I have to wonder if the outcome could have been different.

The On The Go Women website offers a list of bone-healthy foods (many to suit even the staunchest milk-hater), as well as details about the disease and treatment options. There's also a "Could You Be At Risk?" quiz, but it seems to be geared to women in a higher age bracket than mine.

You might be sure that you're taking all possible measures to safeguard yourself from this disease, but what about your mom? Click below for tips on starting "the osteoporosis conversation". How many years has she spent worrying about your health? Maybe it's time to switch things up.

So what am I going to do today? Check with my mom to make sure she's complying with her medications (I'm sure she is), include some cheese in my dinner, and either treadmill or do some free weights in front of the TV tonight. Then, next time I'm at the drug store I'll pick up a fresh bottle of Calcium with Vitamin D.

What are you going to do?

Our First Family Portrait: By Jennifer King Photography

Getting great family shots can be difficult when there are kids involved (I share some tips and tricks in my article "The Perfect Portrait") but Jennifer King of JKP Photography somehow managed to bring out the best in us.

Although Frannie is already four and a half, this was the first time we've ever had a professional family portrait taken! We've gone to the chain studios for shots of the girls, both together and separately, but never a picture of all four of us.

If you're in the Peterborough/City of Kawartha Lakes area, you should definitely check Jennifer out. She was so terrific with the kids (which could be because she has four of her own) and patiently allowed them to make silly faces and to help take some photos, and she even took a couple of pics with their toys just to keep them happy!

Maggie wasn't too sure at first!

My 'teaser' shots arrived by email just a couple of days later, and the CD with all of the images, many edited, arrived after a couple of weeks. Jennifer signs away the rights so that purchasers can print whichever photos they choose, which is wonderful, since I never use the 10 x 13 that comes with a studio package, and I always seem to need more 5 x 7's.

I'll even save one of these shots for Christmas, eliminating the need for another (stressful) shoot. (Just so you know, I'm the only one who made it stressful. Hubby had to remind me, as I ran around the house attempting to perfect myself, our girls, and our property for the session, that we can always get more pictures. Of course he was right, not that I let him know that in the moment.)

The total cost of our photo session? $90 plus tax, and the cost of whatever prints we make (which will be done inexpensively at the Loblaw's Photolab!) Our package was the Autumn Colours Special, which was kind of ironic since we have very few autumn colours on our property, and the day was so incredibly windy that most of the best shots came when we moved things inside).

JKP also does beautiful maternity, newborn and wedding portraits, samples of which are available on her website.

My next problem? Where to put the pictures! The downside to an open concept house with lots of windows is the noticeable lack of wall space. I may have to confront my clutter phobia and get some matching frames to arrange on our living room half wall. Although that space will be taken up by the Christmas garland in just a couple of weeks. Believe me, I thank the Lord every night that something like this is my idea of a 'problem'.

Ready For Bed/Ready For The Day With Less Stress!

They had me with the titles:

"Ready For The Day: A Tale of Teamwork and Toast, and Hardly Any Foot-Dragging"



and

"Ready For Bed: A Tale of Cleaning Up, Tucking In, and Hardly Any Complaining".



Doesn't that sound like heaven?

These titles from Free Spirit, written by Stacey R.Kaye, are like mini-parenting courses disguised as picture books. (They even colour-code the adult dialogue: green is validating feelings, blue is offering choices, and red is encouraging. All are effective parenting strategies, which are discussed thoroughly for the grownups at the back of the book.)

The first book is Daddy/daughter, the second one Mommy/son, and both take the readers through what can be a very stressful time of day, modeling ways to make it easier. The pictures are adorable, the characters are multicultural, and as you read you really feel like the scenes could be taking place at your house. Well, your house on a fairly good day.

At $12.99 for each of these hardcovers, they're a steal if they help you to get the kids out the door and/or in bed with a smoother, quicker and more positive (i.e. less screaming, threatening, throwing, crying - and that's just Mom) process. Plus, the stories are written in such a way that the kids don't even realize that they're supposed to be learning from them - always a bonus.

Check out Free Spirit Publishing for more information. I'd highly recommend both of these books.

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

Organize Your Holiday "Stuff": Halloween Edition

Before I start telling you how I organize my vast array of holiday paraphernalia, I must disclose that "the Christmas stuff" is a whole different story, basically requiring its own storage room. However, I am going to share with you my organizational system for my Autumn/Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and Easter/Spring decorations.

Here's what I do: I have labelled bins for each occasion. Earth shattering, isn't it? Wait, here's what makes my system slightly more original: I put EVERYTHING - even items that wouldn't be considered decorations - in to the bin. This includes CD's, children's books, stickers, napkins, hand towels. If it can be remotely connected to a holiday, it's in. This way I'm not looking all over the house to pull out the themed items when the occasion rolls around. And really, why do you need these things at any other time of the year? Nothing says "I don't have it together" like a jack-o-lantern hand towel out in April, don't you agree? Or, one might argue, nothing says "I don't have a life" like themed items all perfectly sorted in bins. To each her own.

I particularly love keeping books and crafty stuff hidden away because the kids get so excited to see it all again (plus this way, we're not reading "Dora Saves Christmas" in July). I find that rediscovering these long-lost treasures keeps the kids busy long enough for me to put everything else where it goes!

Here's an example of the bin I pulled out on the first of October (my official Halloween decorating date):

As you can see, this one has decorations, costumes and accessories, a spooky CD, books...the list goes on.
So, are you inspired? Your Halloween "stuff" may already be on display and in use right now, but you too can dump it all in the same spot afterwards and be ready for next year. Now, while we're on Halloween, if you find yourself lacking in children's titles for this occasion, here are some suggestions I've recently received, in order of age group:

Ollie's Halloween by Olivier Dunrea (who writes the Gossie and Friends books)

The Haunted House That Jack Built by Helaine Becker (a fun 'growing pattern' story about various Halloween creatures)

Bats at the Ballgame by Brian Lies (a clever, rhyming story about bats who take over the ballfield after dark)

Scary Science by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone (with 25 creepy experiments for your little mad scientists, many using regular household ingredients)

These ones will be put away again on November 1st, so that they're fresh for All Hallow's Eve, 2011!! Oh, who am I kidding, they'll be put away before midnight on October 31st. Yes, that's another "thing" I have. Decorations must be put away promptly when the holiday is over. For example, "promptly" this time around means when we turn off the lights to trick or treaters, I start frantically gathering up all themed items, to begin the 11 days of stark minimalism in my home. (This is because my husband won't allow me to decorate for Christmas until after Remembrance Day. I know, I know, unreasonable, but I love him anyway.)

Disclaimer: I was provided with the above-named books for review purposes. The OCD tendencies are genetic. Sorry, Mom. Well, mostly Dad. (Some day I'll tell you about his ice-cube tray system.)Opinions, as always, are my own.

Have a Green Halloween!

It's been six months since Earth Day, and it will be Earth Day in six months. What have you done to help the environment today?

I try to be green. We recycle and compost, we take reusable bags to the grocery store. However, I also have my weaknesses, like using the dryer and warming up the car. I'm in Canada, people!

Last year, when an editor asked me to put something together about Greening Your Halloween, I needed to do a lot of research. I had been a parent for three Halloweens at that point, and making the holiday environmentally friendly hadn't even been on my radar. Trying to convince Frannie to be something other than a princess was much more of a priority. However, I got to work, and you can check out the final product:

Make It A Green Halloween (Peterborough, Northumberland and Lakeridge Kids, October/November 2009)

You'll find eco-friendly ideas for costumes, treats, travel, decorations and celebrations. Even if we each just implement one of these suggestions we can play a small part. (God knows I'm not doing them all - we live in the country, so I'm sorry to say that our car will be producing emissions on October 31st. If we decided to walk, the kids would only make it to one house!)

For more year-round green ideas, you can also visit:

Jen and Joey Go Green Canadian mom Jen describes herself as "a realistic environmentalist" (my favourite kind!)

I also love love love:

Green Is Sexy Started by Canadian actress Rachel McAdams and her friends Megan and Didi, this site offers daily tips for greening your life. I especially appreciate how the ideas are organized into categories such as "For The Girls", "Workplace", and "Money Savers". The only addition I'd like to see is a "Baby and Child" category...God knows how wasteful some kids' products and activities are!

Anyway, Happy Half Earth Day! Now go decide which Green Halloween tip you'll adopt at your house this year.

Just Me Music! Review and Giveaway

Giveaway open to US and Canada.

Looking for an orginal children's Christmas gift? Look no further, as Just Me! Music has the answer!

Recently we received a Walt Disney Princess Tea Party CD, personalized with Frannie's real name throughout. When I first learned about these products, I was interested, but figured that the name would be on there a couple of times, no big deal. But you should see my little girl's eyes light up as she hears her name over and over, both spoken and sung. "Frannie! It's your friend Belle. Would you like to join us for a tea party?" Would she!

This particular CD has 17 tracks, with a total running time of almost 30 minutes, and to her great delight, Frannie's name is mentioned constantly.

The songs are actually terrific. The tunes are pleasant (not at all annoying or irritating...though I can't vouch for all of the different character CD's. Some children's characters are more tolerable than others!) I also like the lyrics, as songs focus on important themes like friendship and manners.

Too girly for you? Just Me! Music can personalize a CD for your child with The Wiggles, Elmo, Barney, Mickey/Minnie/Goofy or Veggie Tales!

The CD's are a very reasonable $19.99. Shipping is $5.00 $2.99 (this has been updated!) and the product arrives within days. What a unique gift, especially for the child who already has everything, or the one who is particularly "interested in" (okay, let's just admit it, "obsessed with") a favourite character.

If you're worried that your child's name won't be available, you may be pleasantly surprised. Check out the site and do a quick search, where options range from Aaliyah to Zyonna, with multiple pronunciations for tricky names. (Click on the specific product, and then the option will come up for you to search the available names for that particular CD.)

Guess what? Gail from Just Me! Music is giving away a free personalized CD with shipping included for one lucky This Mom Loves reader from Canada or the U.S.! All you have to do to enter is visit Just Me! Music and come back and let me know which character(s) you would choose if you won! (The Home page at http://www.justmemusic.ca/ showcases the different choices.)

For extra entries, please leave a separate comment letting me know that:

• you follow This Mom Loves publicly through Google Friend Connect
• you subscribe to This Mom Loves through email (ensure subscription is activated)
• you follow @thismomloves on Twitter, and tweet about this giveaway (once total, please)

Contest will be open until Wednesday, November 3rd at 11:59 p.m., after which time a winner will be chosen by random number generation, and the non-winners will have to phone or email Gail to place their orders! Good luck!

Hockey! Scholastic Review and Giveaway

Is there any reader out there without a little hockey lover in her life? (And, on a related note, is there any reader out there who is not a Tim Hortons fan?) When I was trying to decide on a theme for this month's Scholastic review and giveaway, I decided I'd like to have a look at some books about Canada's favourite sport, and I found two real goodies:

One Hockey Night by David Ward

In this story, brother and sister Owen and Holly have just been uprooted from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia right before Christmas, and their homesickness is magnified by the lack of local ice for skating.

The plot isn't exactly a nail-biter - you can see the ending coming a mile away - but nonetheless, you can't help but beam when the kids are surprised on Christmas Eve by their own backyard skating rink.The illustrations are beautiful and subtle, and the story is sure to become a family favourite.

The Mighty Tim Horton by Mike Leonetti

Mike Leonetti has written other fictional stories incorporating some of hockey's biggest stars, such as "The Rocket" and "Wendel and The Great One" and his newest title does not disappoint.

Trevor is a defenseman who takes needless penalties, with consequences for his team. That is, until his fundraising efforts find him knocking on the door if his idol: Toronto Maple Leafs player Tim Horton, who shares some secret hockey tips.

Playing "the Tim Horton way" leads to success for Trevor and his team...and believe it or not, that year the Leafs even win the Stanley Cup!

I also love the Tim Horton mini-biography page at the back of this book. It's pretty common for Canadian kids to recognize the Tim Hortons' sign, but how many of them actually know who he was? I think it's neat to be able to share this information with our children...the story behind the coffee and doughnuts!

Either one of these titles would make a fantastic Christmas gift for your little hockey lover, and as always, Scholastic is offering up both of these beautiful hardcover books for one lucky This Mom Loves reader. The prize is valued at approximately $40!

Entry couldn't be simpler: if you're a Canadian resident, just leave a comment below telling me something you love about hockey OR Tim Hortons!

For additional entries, leave a separate comment letting me know that:

• you follow This Mom Loves publicly through Google Friend Connect
• you subscribe to This Mom Loves through email (be sure subscription is activated)
• you follow @thismomloves on Twitter, and tweet about this giveaway (once total, please)
• you follow @ScholasticCDA on Twitter, and tweet about this giveaway (once total, please)

Contest is open until Monday, November 1st at 11:59 p.m., after which time a winner will be chosen by random number generation. Good luck!

Raspberry and Lime Hat Winner!

What a fantastic response to the Raspberry and Lime custom-made hat giveaway!

The lucky winner, as chosen by random.org:

# 66 out of 133 entries

Sue from Gresham, Oregon - who will now receive her choice of hat!

Congratulations...now everyone else needs to go back to Raspberry and Lime and place your orders!!! Be sure to tell Beth I sent you!