Category: Reviews, promotions and giveaways

Call me Senorita DaniGirl

It was an ordinary Friday, the last day before my summer holidays began, and I was just on my way back from lunch and getting ready to sail through my last few hours before three glorious weeks of holiday time when I checked my e-mail. And my jaw dropped open. I may have stopped breathing for as long as a minute as I re-read the e-mail again, and again. And one more time for good measure. And then I blinked a few times. I might have squeaked a bit.

After I shook my head a few times, the words started to sink in. My incredible friends at Fisher-Price and Mom Central Canada have arranged for the #FisherPriceMoms team to go to (are you ready for this?) the Mayan Riviera for four days next week! We’ll be staying at the spectacular (and I do mean SPECTACULAR) Azul Beach House, a gourmet-inclusive resort just a little south of Cancun. (You know, where the HURRICANE passed. YESTERDAY. I feel a little like Garp when he bought the house after the plane hit it. I was worried about hurricane season last week, but not so much now.)

Anyway, I am digressing all over the place and barfing capitals because I am SO! EXCITED! Here’s what’s on the agenda for us next week:

Ambassadors will:
• Meet the Riviera Maya’s preeminent authority on the Mayan culture to learn about family life in Mexico and how meaningful exposure to other world cultures can be for a young child’s social and cognitive development.
• Gain cultural knowledge about how children play the world over.
• Experience the wonderful amenities at this gorgeous hotel property.
• You will also receive a deep dive into the “Joy of Learning” and it’s evolution within Fisher-Price.

How cool is that? The trip is in FOUR DAYS!!! Wait, let me show you the link again so you can gaze admiringly at the sand, the sea and the un-farking-believable beauty of the place: Azul Beach Hotel.

So, clever bloggy peeps, now that I can tell you about this (and oh how I’ve been dying to do so!) I have a bunch of questions for those more experienced in international travel than me. (Oh, the scramble to apply for a passport that expired in 2000 after our honeymoon in Paris! A blog post for another day, indeed.) I’m especially curious about currency. Last time I travelled internationally, we used travellers’ cheques. How quaint is that? Should I bring a wad of Mexican pesoes with me? Or just use my ATM card when I’m there?

Also, tipping – how much and to whom? Since it’s all-inclusive (yet another new experience to me – never been to a resort either!) I assume I have to tip generously and to just about everyone? Is there much point in bringing $US?

Also, international roaming data plans – yes or no? Holy guacamole, I cannot believe how much you pay for so little! I seem to use about 75 to 100 MB of data a month. The best roaming plan for my iPhone is $50 for a month, but that’s only for 10MB. Eep, I can blow that with five photos! I’m thinking a combination of buying wifi at the resort and using the roaming plan for airports, etc but yikes. Any insight there?

Okay, I have dozens of other questions, but I will save them for now. I can’t wait to share more with you soon. Very soon – in FOUR DAYS!!!

School’s out but family play can still be learning time

Today I’m blogging at my home away from home on the Fisher-Price Canada blog. I’m talking about learning through play and learning outside of school. Come on over and join the conversation!

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog (and anywhere else I write, for that matter!) are my own.

Five favourite summer traditions

Ahhhh, summer vacation at last! We spent the first week of our family summer vacation driving madly across the province and back. We visited with siblings and cousins on both sides of the family and made a few new friends as well. There may or may not be a blog post about all that (oy, how am I still THIS BUSY on vacation???) but you can see several thousand words’ worth of pictures on Flickr.

But now we’re home, and we have two more glorious weeks of vacation. While I’m trying not to be too neurotic about the planning and scheduling of activities, I do have a mental checklist of things I would like to do with the family before I have to go back to work after the long weekend. It’s kind of a bucket list for summer family fun!

1. Britannia Beach

It kind of pales by comparison to our visit to Lake Huron, but I still love to visit the beach at Britannia at least once every summer. The kids love to play in the water, and I love to sit on the sand on a blanket at watch them. We must also bring lemonade and plain potato chips, because that’s what we eat on the beach. There will also be sand toys. And probably pictures.

2. Used books and ice cream

I love that we can walk to “downtown” Manotick from our place. There’s no better way to pass an idle summer morning than wandering down to the used book sale in the carriage house of Watson’s Mill and then making our way over to the Hodge Podge Shoppe for ice cream.

189:365 Ice cream at the Hodge Podge Shoppe

3. Upper Canada Village and McHaffie’s Flea Market

If you shoot straight down Bank Street for less than an hour, just before you hit Morrisburg you’ll find McHaffie’s Flea Market, one of the best in the region. (It’s where I got my delightful red wagon, star of many recent family photography sessions!) Once you’ve made it that far, it’s only a skip down Highway 2 to Upper Canada Village. One of our favourite traditions within a tradition is buying a hunk of cheese and a loaf of bread, both made on site at Upper Canada Village, and having lunch on the porch of the little general store. Also terrific for photos, if you’re so inclined!

4. Uno on the porch

Who says you have to spend money to have fun? An after-dinner Uno tournament on the porch is the perfect way to while away a sultry summer evening when it’s too hot in the house.

Uno Boys 2

5. An afternoon at the splash pad

We love the Barrhaven splash pad, but there’s a great one at Riverside South as well. This is another great (and free) way to spend a hot summer day. I love the fact that the boys are now old enough to play on their own, so I can get wet or just sit in the shade and supervise from a distance. An excuse to sit under a tree and do nothing on a sunny summer afternoon? Hook me up!! Got a fave splash pad in your ‘hood? I’m up for a neighbourhood splash pad tour if you care to share. 🙂

Wait, I’m at five already? What about camping in the back yard? A picnic in the park? Andrew Haydon Park? Feeding the ducks at the dam? Maybe I should have made this a list of ten favourite summer traditions. You think maybe this is why I’m feeling so busy, even on summer vacation? 😉

Thanks to my friends at Fisher-Price Canada for inspiring this blog post. I love working with Fisher-Price because they promote the value of play, including families playing together. And aren’t summers supposed to be about play?

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Shopping for kids or shopping with kids?

I was chatting with a friend over coffee the other day. She was regaling me with tales of taking her son and daughter shopping, and how she’d spent hours in various change rooms watching her clothes-loving divas try on dozens of combinations.

Hmmm, I found myself thinking. Have I ever been in a change room with my kids? In fact, have I ever let them choose their own clothes in a store? I honestly can’t remember a single time. Last month I showed Tristan a handful of open browser windows and let him choose between three styles of deeply discounted shorts I had picked from the website of one of my favourite stores, does that count?

Lucky for me, the kids are not terribly fashion-conscious. Yet, I should probably add. I get most of their clothes either on sale at a few favourite stores, frequented on lunch breaks from work, or from the ultra-convenient clothing section in the middle of the grocery store. (Those people are smart, I tell you, putting decent quality, affordable clothes right there in my face like that. Convenience trumps all!) And we have a magic clothing Granny-fairy who occasionally deposits bags of new clothes for the boys on the porch while we’re at work. Aside from having to make a few returns for sizing issues, I’ve never had a boy reject a piece of clothing I’ve bought for him.

But after listening to the tales of my colleague, I’m curious. Do you shop for clothes for your kids or with your kids?

(This post was also inspired by my friends at Fisher-Price and Mom Central Canada. Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.)

Tristan’s first blog post: A Phineas and Ferb Giveaway!

Over the last decade, I’ve watched a LOT of kid TV. Most of it is to be endured rather than enjoyed, but I have to admit, when the boys are watching Phineas and Ferb, I get sucked in every time. It is by far my favourite cartoon, narrowly edging out Peep and the Big Wide World and the WonderPets. When I was recently offered the opportunity to host a giveaway of the not-yet-released DVD “Phineas and Ferb: The Perry Files” I knew I had to say yes, partly because I knew there had to be more Phineas and Ferb fans out there and (I admit it) largely because it’s Tristan’s favourite TV show, too.

Don’t take my word for it, though; let Tristan tell you about it himself! Without further ado or even (oy, this part was hard) correction of the original typos, here is Tristan on what is Phineas and Ferb and why it’s a great show:

What is Phineas and Ferb? Phineas and ferb is a tv show that has two boys named phineas and ferb and they’re sister Candace .Phineas and Ferb are always building crazy contraptions. They’re sister is always trying to bust them for it. Phineas and Ferb have three friends Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet. They’re friends help them in construction and testing their contraptions.

Perry the platypus and Dr.Doofenshmirts. Perry the platypus is Phineas’ and Ferb’s pet . Dr.Doof is always inventing machines to take over the tri state area. All of Dr.Doof’s inventions all end in the word “inator”. Perry the platypus is always destroying Dr.Doof’s “inators”. Parts of Dr.Doof’s inventions always falling in to Phineas’ and Ferb’s yard and making their inventions disappear .

Phineas and Ferb is a good television show. It is a good show because it is good for just about all ages even adults like it. It has good humor and it is good for creative people. It is also a good show because it has a song to each episode that is funky and fun to listen to. It is so strange how when ever Candace brings their mom home Phineas’ and Ferb’s inventions disappear . It gives the show a little bit of mystery .

(My little blogger-in-training. I’m so proud! You can’t quite see it in the photo, but by clever planning on my part absolute fluke he’s even wearing his Perry the Platypus T-shirt.)

My blogger-in-training

So, whether you’re already a member of the P&F fan club or your curiousity is piqued by Tristan’s review, here’s your chance to win one of three copies of the about-to-be-released DVD, “Phineas and Ferb: The Perry Files!” From the publicist:

While Phineas and Ferb do it all to make every day the best day ever, evil lurks just around the corner! But there is hope for the unsuspecting citizens of Danville. Now, for the very first time, crack open the top-secret archives of O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym) to expose… THE PERRY FILES!

Join Perry the Platypus–a.k.a. Agent P.–on his most exciting adventures as he thwarts his nemesis, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, at every turn. With groovy gadgets, mad skills and his trademark brown fedora, this semi-aquatic, egg-layin’ mammal of action is unstoppable! Experience the hilarious havoc as he defends the Tristate Area against Doof’s “inators,” battles rogue agent “Dennis the Bunny,” and much more. When it comes to secret agents, Perry’s not only the real deal, he’s real teal!

Fun, eh? Here’s the details:

  1. This giveaway is for a DVD of Phineas and Ferb: The Perry Files.
  2. Three winners will be chosen from all entries using the random number generator at random.org.
  3. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post telling Tristan your favourite show from when you were a kid.
  4. The giveaway starts today, Monday June 4, and ends at noon EDT on Friday June 8, 2012.
  5. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada, with the exception of those residing in the province of Quebec (sorry!)
  6. If you win, you must be willing to supply your full name and mailing address to me, and I will share it with the publicist for Walt Disney Canada, who will mail the DVD to you directly.

Thanks to Walt Disney Canada and especially Tristan for making this blog post and giveaway possible!

A joyful Mother’s Day – a few weeks ago

Oops! I started writing this post two three weeks ago, but just got around to finishing it today. My life? Is filled to bursting right about now. Lucky for me, I like it that way!

My friends at Fisher-Price wanted me to share my thoughts on joy with you, because one of their favourite themes is the joy of learning. What better inspiration for joy than talking about Mother’s Day?

We had a wonderful adventure-filled day on Mother’s Day this year! We spent the day exploring antiques and flea markets in Almonte, something I’ve wanted to do for ages. (I admit it, I totally pulled the “I don’t really care if you don’t want to go looking at antique stores and junk shops, darlings! It’s Mother’s Day, get in the car and stop complaining!”)

Our first stop was the Almonte Flea Market. It was a little smaller than we’d hoped, but they still had some interesting things. One of the most interesting was not for sale — this old car. How fun would it be to tool around in that for a day?

HipstaPrint

We’ve never been to Almonte before, but I’ve always meant to visit. It’s just barely outside of Ottawa’s border. I had heard it was picturesque, but was still surprised by what a lovely little town it is. We wandered the main strip, poking into shops here and there, and reminding the boys that there would be no complaining about the browsing on Mother’s Day. (Um, can we have a Mother’s Day every week from now on?)

Mother's Day in Almonte

There were three reasons I wanted to visit Almonte. One was the flea market. Check! Second was because I’d heard the Riverwalk and old mills were lovely. Check!

Almonte riverwalk

And last but not least, I had been itching to visit the Tin Barn Market. What a great little place! I had to try reeeeally hard to not buy an amazingly funky printer’s letter drawer (useless, maybe, but oh so vintagey good!) and an antique wooden tripod, but I could simply not resist a few wooden clothespegs and a charming retro-modern watch pendant. Happy Mother’s Day to me! 🙂

I have to admit, it was just about a perfect Mother’s Day. And then we went home and I cut the back grass and cleaned a few toilets (sigh, really!) and made dinner for the whole family including my own mom and dad. Because that’s just how life goes these days — lots of time for joy, as long as you get a few chores out of the way, too.

I’m a little late with the question, but was your Mother’s Day joyous too? Can you remember that far back? 😉

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Why I think Indigo Kids is awesome (the big finale) – and a giveaway!

Through the month of April I’ve been putting up a series of posts on why I am incredibly impressed with Indigo Kids. The first post talked about how pleasantly surprised I was to find Indigo Kids offers a selection of great pre-wrapped toys to make your birthday-gift-shopping experience as painless as possible. The second post talked about how Indigo Kids saved my butt with awesome loot bag content and free loot bags to boot.

One of the criteria Mom Central Canada set out for this blog tour was that you’d need an upcoming birthday occasion to buy for. With three boys and a steady stream of party invitations, I knew we’d have that part covered. What I didn’t expect was that it would be Lucas’s first party invitation ever (awwwww!) from one of his mates at day care that we would be using as our excuse for an amicable morning spent browsing at Indigo Kids. And better yet? We were buying for a GIRL! (I get seriously excited about buying girl stuff.)

We looked at puzzles and books, games and stuffies, crafts and playsets. The clerk who helped us was awesome, pointing out options and ideas I wouldn’t have otherwise considered, and offering the kind of personal assistance you just don’t see in many stores anymore. (Hell, good luck finding a warm body in most big-box stores lately!)

My heart melted into a puddle of goopy love when I noticed Lucas intently studying a display of Groovy Girl dolls. “I think she needs a dolly,” he said, his brow furrowed in concentration. We looked at a few, and he was particularly enamoured with a blond one. “Why do you like this one, Lucas?” “Because she’s pretty like Marika.” Melt.

So we almost got the pretty-like-Marika blond dolly, until Lucas noticed I was holding a Colour and Cuddle Washable Pony, and he decided that would be what Marika liked best of all. We added in a handful of Robert Munsch mini-books and we were good to go.

Indigo

The clerk sent us off to pay for our purchases, and told us to come back for the free gift wrap, which we did.

Indigo

So now you know my go-to resource for the next decade of birthday-party-gift shopping! Would you like to win an Indigo gift card so you can check out the Indigo Kids experience on your own? Contest closes on Monday, so this is your last chance!

Here’s the details:

  1. This is a giveaway for a $35 Indigo gift card.
  2. To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on any post in this series of three telling me why you love Indigo Kids or how you think Indigo Kids could be helpful to you.
  3. This giveaway is open only to Canadian residents, excluding residents of Quebec. (sorry!)
  4. This giveaway will run until 11:59 pm EDT April 30.
  5. One winner will be chosen from all comments posted on any of the three contest posts on this blog.
  6. You can comment as many times as you like, but you will only be entered into the giveaway once.
  7. You can also enter to win on other blogs, but you can only win once.
  8. If you win, you must be willing to provide your full name and address to me, to share with Mom Central Canada, in order to claim your gift card.
  9. Gift cards will be sent 4 to 6 weeks after the close of the giveaway.

And if you haven’t get checked out the great new Indigo Kids section of your favourite Chapters/Indigo store, this store locator link will help you find a location near you.


Disclosure: I am participating in the Indigo Kids program by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation for my participation in this campaign, but the opinions on this blog are ALWAYS my own. I only participate in promotional campaigns for products and services I feel I can personally endorse.

Help! We’ve Got Kids! in Ottawa!

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a comprehensive database of information about services, companies, events and other resources relating to raising a family in Ottawa?

Well, thanks to our newest bloggy sponsor Help! We’ve Got Kids, now there is! Help! We’ve Got Kids was founded in 1994 as a print directory and evolved into an online database for parents and caregivers with a comprehensive listing of the products and services for kids and families in the Greater Toronto Area. They’ve since expanded to several Canadian cities, and as of this spring, they are establishing a presence in Ottawa as well.

I’ve been following the Help! We’ve Got Kids twitter stream for quite a while, and I was happy to help promote the Ottawa launch. On the Help! We’ve Got Kids website, you’ll find information and resources about birthday parties, camps, after-school programs, sports, schools, amusement centers, indoor playgrounds, support services, parenting articles, event calendars, parenting resources and more. You can even get a free basic listing for your own business or submit an event.

In addition to the services and parenting resources, there are deals, coupons, events and contests, and even a couple of blogs to follow. And of course you can follow them on Facebook or Google+ as well. Looks great, doesn’t it?

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Help! We’ve Got Kids. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

Off-label ideas for your favourite Fisher-Price toys

I don’t know why my kids like to play with me. I am not a creative sort of person when it comes to play, especially imaginary play. I like board games because there are rules and processes to be followed (oh, I have been badly damaged by my 20-year civil service career, haven’t I?) and I am happy to supply glue and feathers and beads and let them have at it. But I am just not good at imaginary play. I’m a photographer, not an actor! And the reason I had three kids in the first place is so they’d play with EACH OTHER and leave me out of it.

So whenever Lucas wants me to be grumpy Gordon while he is chipper Thomas winning approval from Sir Topham Hat, I divert us to safer ground. As in, to save my sanity. Since you know I’ve been blogging for Fisher-Price Canada lately, I thought it would be fun to share some off-label uses for our favourite Fisher-Price toys. Fun, and sanity saving, too!

1. Hot and cold Little People
I started doing this one when the big boys were wee, and they’ve always loved it. It’s kind of like an Easter Egg hunt without the sugar rush. We gather up a big pile of Little People (because they’re the perfect size for hiding in places that are not too challenging to find) and the boys leave the room while I “hide” them. Then they take turns looking for them while I giggle and give clues like, “Oooo, getting warmer. Feel that tropical sun, you are so warm now. Uh oh, but of a cool breeze, you might be going in the wrong direction!” The kids can do this for hours, and I can spend large stretches of this game on the couch clutching my coffee. Win-win!

2. Kid-Tough Digital Camera scavenger hunt
I like this one – go figure! Choose a theme – blue or round or leaves or dandelions or whatever, and try to find and take a picture of 10 things that have that quality. Or set a time limit: how many can you photograph in 10 minutes? Beware of obscure kid-generated themes here, though. We don’t have a lot of “things that growl” in our house (once mom and dad have had their first coffee, anyway.) And “things polar bears eat” was a bit of a challenge.

257:365 Photographer-in-training

3. What animal am I?
We have a jumbled set of animals from the Little People Musical Zoo and the Animal Sounds Zoo. Lucas has to cover his eyes while I choose one, and hide it in my hands or behind my back, and Lucas asks questions to try to figure out which animal it is. “Does this animal have fur?” or “Where does this animal usually live?” We play this in the car sometimes, too, but having the actual animal in his hand tends to keep him focussed on which animal he chose. I’ve otherwise found myself trying to guess an animal that has fur and scales and eats leaves and fish and has both spots and stripes.

4. Pictionary on the Kid-Tough Magnetic Doodler
It is a sad but true fact that Lucas can now draw figures that are both more accurate and recognizable than those that I am capable of drawing. “That doesn’t look like a bird, Mommy! That looks like a squashed mushroom.” (I like this game less and less as their artistic ability outstrips mine.) I stand a better chance at the 3D version of this game where we try to guess what the other is building with Trio building blocks.

Okay, so that’s a few ideas – can you think of any more? Croquet using Corn Popper mallets, maybe?

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog, however, are always my own.