My son Quinn recently turned seven. When my husband and I made our pilgrimage to our favourite toy store, I was determined to find Quinn a toy that would challenge him, did not require batteries, and would would be fun to play with alone or with others. The first toy we saw when we talked into the toy store was Perplexus (some may call it destiny- I prefer to think of it as clever retail display tactics). As I picked up the box to try to figure out what it was, the shop owner explained that it was voted one of Parents magazine Top Toys of 2010, and they had been having trouble keeping it on the shelves. I was intrigued. [...]
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I’ve been going through a bit of a hippy phase the last few years. I’ll admit it. I love wide leg trousers and flowy flowery tops, and I’ve even stopped being ashamed of my curly hair. But I had to draw the line at going au naturel in the face department. My red undertones and enlarged pores just. Aren’t. Pretty. But on the other hand, I don’t like how makeup looks. I want to look beautiful, but I don’t want to look like I’m wearing makeup. Which is why I am head over heels in love with Bare Minerals makeup! I’m not proud. When I was offered the opportunity to try out the Today I Ate A Rainbow! kit (a product that just might encourage my boys to eat more vegetables), I elbowed the other Spilt Milk Moms out of the way and claimed it as mine. I have four sons- I’m one tough cookie. That is, until supper time rolls around, when I can be found begging my sons to please. Just. Eat. Your. Vegetables. I’ve threatened. I’ve bribed. I’ve given in. I’ve held my ground. And in the end, the chickens usually end up eating the vegetables. [...] I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone hunting throughout the house for my kitchen tongs – which happen to be my 19-month old son’s favourite toy. He picks up legos with them, uses them as a sword when playing pirates with his big brother, and plucks silverware out of the dishwasher for me with them. He’s become very adept at the two-handed tong operation. I’ve had to draw the line at him bringing the kitchen tongs to the table to eat with. He can pick up his whole plate with the darn things. So when tinytongs offered to send me a pair of their… well… tiny tongs to try out, I was intrigued. Could I get Kash to eat with tongs that were just his size? (This is the toddler who eats everything with his hands, even yogurt. Sigh.) [...] As a girl from Alaska living in Canada, I appreciate a cool toque. Between my husband and I and our four boys we have more toques than you can shake a stick at. I’ve been known to make fun of those moms who wear pyjama pants to drop their kids off at school. I should probably stop. Once toque-wearing weather hits, I find myself regularly pushing the limits as to how long one can go without washing one’s hair. Thanks to my toque, nobody’s the wiser. Or so I like to believe. I bet those pyjama-pants-wearing moms at least wash their hair. Anyhoo, when my sister called to tell me about Pook Toques, I had to have one. Thanks for sending me one to try out Pook! [...] My sons began the school year this September with brand new Goodbyn lunchboxes, which allowed me to eliminate disposable containers and plastic baggies in their lunches. Er… almost. The one hitch in my giddy-up has been the recess snack. “It has to be quick mom. I don’t want to have to open my Goodbyn to get at it. I want it in the side pocket of my backpack.” So I reluctantly bought yet another box of snack size plastic baggies and went through the motions of insisting that both boys put the baggie back in their backpacks so I can reuse it (all the while accepting that said baggie is going to end up in a landfill somewhere because my boys are simply too busy running around the playground with their friends to worry about the future of one. Little. Plastic. Baggie.) Then I discovered Graze Organic reusable sandwich and snack bags, and they were nice enough to send me a sample to try. Graze Organic is a company that is worried about every little plastic bag. Because as the ladies at Graze Organic say, every bag matters. [...] My husband and I love playing boardgames, and we love including our eight and six-year-old sons in game night as well. I was so excited when Inspire Imports offered to send me their Seedling Board Game to try out. This is a board game like no other- it is completely and utterly original. You’re limited only by your own and your children’s imaginations (which we all know there is no limit to)! That’s because it’s not just a boardgame, it’s a boardgame invention kit! I’m lucky enough to have one of those girlfriends who always manages to pick the perfect gifts for my children. My eight-year-old son was thrilled when Aunty Sarah brought Chicken Doodle Soup for him. Deborah Zemke’s Chicken Doodle Soup is a booklet of 36 tear-off placemats, which include step-by-step instructions on how to take animals and food and turn them into doodlicious concoctions. Spaghetti and Mothballs, Macaroni and Chimpanzees, and Chocolate Chipmunk Cookies are among my favourite recipes… er… doodles. [...] We have a Christmas Eve tradition in our family: the boys get to open one present from Grandma, and it’s always a brand new pair of pajamas to wear to bed. For the last few years, the boys were lucky enough to receive Hatley pajamas on Christmas Eve. I love looking back at our Christmas morning photos of the boys all decked out in their new jammies! Hatley clothes are designed to last, are made with natural fibers, and are just plain cute. The nature-inspired prints, like the Creepy Bugs print pictured above are my favourite! I have four boys and I know that the Hatley pajamas worn by my oldest son will eventually land in my youngest son’s drawer. I love that. [...] My mom made every one of me and my siblings’ birthday cakes when we were growing up. We would race home from school and there, on the dining room table, would be the most beautiful cake anyone had ever seen. (It helped that my mom decorated wedding cakes for a living when I was young.) Although I can’t claim to have anywhere near the cake-decorating talent my mom showcases, I too have made a point of decorating each and every one of my children’s birthday cakes. It’s a lot of work, but I love seeing their faces when they run in the door after school and see their very own birthday cake in the middle of the dining room table- sometimes it’s even the most beautiful cake anyone has ever seen. Hello, Cupcake! has become my favorite idea and recipe book for my boys’ birthdays. After eight years and four children worth of cake decorating, I find cupcakes such a nice change from sheet cakes, cut-out cakes, and even character cakes. [...] A few years ago I watched a CBS news piece about a possible link between anti-perspirant and breast cancer. The concern centered on the use of aluminum- the ingredient in anti-perspirants which prevents sweating. At that time*, studies were inconclusive: no definitive link between breast cancer and anti-perspirants could be scientifically proven. But it was enough to make me doubt the safety of my underarm products. I was inspired to try a few different natural deodorants, but unfortunately they did not keep me from smelling like a swedish backpacker. It didn’t take long for the anti-perspirant I’ve been using since my teenage years to find its way back into my bathroom drawer. It wasn’t until I recently passed by a Rocky Mountain Soap Company store and saw the ad in their window for “a 100% natural deodorant – that works” that I was willing to give natural deodorant another try. [...] I stumbled upon A Bun in the Oven (The REAL Guide To Pregnancy) by Kaz Cooke while my husband and I were stumbling around Australia when I was 17 weeks pregnant with our first son. (Cooke’s original book, which was published in Australia, is titled Up The Duff. Up The Duff is published in Canada as A Bun in the Oven). Back home, I had the usual stack of pregnancy books, and they were good- they were informative and detailed, and they would have gotten me from my first prenatal exam through my labour and delivery. But could they do all that AND make me laugh so hard that milk came out my nose? Nope. But A Bun in the Oven did- this comprehensive guide to pregnancy and childbirth will make you laugh out loud! [...] Back to school is such an exciting time of year for kids: new clothes, new school supplies, the anticipation of seeing their friends after a long summer apart, and of course…. shopping for the all-important backpack. My sons attend a Traditional Elementary School, which requires them to wear a uniform to school. Their backpacks are one of the few ways my boys have to express their personal style at school. I was thrilled to learn I would be receiving a “recycle” Dante Beatrix New York big eco-pack (like the one pictured above) to try out on one of my big kids. Thanks Dante Beatrix! [...] I have two sons in Elementary School… multiply that by 191 school days…. minus 12 hot lunches…. carry the two…. that’s approximately 370 sandwiches I’ll be making this school year! (When all four of my boys are in school, it’ll be 740! Yikes.) I’m proud to say we are healthy eaters- I know the importance of nutrition, and I feed my family whole, natural foods whenever possible. I would make them a sandwich, pack a juice box, a small yogurt or fruit cup, and a recess snack of crackers, pretzels, or something equally-easy-to-eat-while-running-and-climbing-on-the-playground. Then I watched Food, Inc. I took a good look at the lunchtime staple- THE SANDWICH! What I was putting into the sandwich I was putting into my kids, and I just wasn’t sure I wanted all those chemicals and food-like products going into my little boys. I’ve noticed over the last few months that natural options are popping up all over my grocery store. So much so that I can now make a sandwich I feel good about! [...] When I saw a friend using Bambu Kids’ Utensils to feed her little guy, I admired them so profusely that she felt sorry for me and brought me a set next time she came to visit. My plastic baby utensils have been collecting dust ever since! Little K loves to hold his own utensils now, and these are the perfect shape and size for little mouths and hands. And with no sharp edges, I don’t even have to worry when Little K refuses to relinquish his fork! [...] 
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