Archive for the ‘Parenting’ Category

Recycle old Christmas cards into beautiful ornaments.

November 25th, 2011 by Trish

Recycled Christmas Card Ornament

I’ve always found it hard, once the holidays are over, to toss the beautiful cards that I’ve received.  Most of the time, I hang onto them. Often, I stumble upon last year’s greeting cards while unpacking Christmas decorations for this year’s tree.  Shoved in the bottom of the box, there they usually are!

If you’re like me, and teeter between wanting to toss them and wanting to keep them, here’s a crafty way to make use of them as well as a great project for the kids.

The instructions are as follows:

1) Simply take a ruler and divide the greeting card (front and back) into equal vertical strips (from top to bottom of the card’s cover picture).

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NEW: More Time Moms has Party Supplies!

October 5th, 2011 by Trish

Planning a Party? Now you can select from six beautiful themes online! Browse the themes, then simply buy online, it’s that easy.  If you want to get your hands on the hottest partyware, then start planning early!

From the basic cups, napkins and plates through to designer cupcake kits, beautiful centerpieces, dye-cut hats & loot bags and invitations, there’s everything you want to celebrate birthdays, showers, tea parties and Halloween too. We  even have assembled party packs from the Basic to the Ultimate to simplify your party planning and make your party memorable. Visit www.moretimemoms.com and join the party!

 

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Volunteering in the classroom is good for kids and parents too!

September 30th, 2011 by Trish

Opportunities for parents to participate in their children’s classrooms broadly range anywhere from reading a book to talking about their careers. One constant, however, is the positive effect it has on the children. In early grades, equivalent in status to being queen-for-a-day or birthday boy, having one’s parent in class for any length of time is deemed super special.

When my oldest child’s kindergarten teacher invited the parents to come spend time in her classroom, I initially felt unqualified. That is, until she went on to explain how much the children truly enjoyed and benefited from having their parents participate in class, regardless of what they took on.

I’ll admit that the first time my husband and I hosted a craft in our daughter’s kindergarten classroom, it was a little scary.  (more…)

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Back to School: Is it the most wonderful time of the year?

August 29th, 2011 by Trish

Back to School! Back to making lunches! Back to homework! ARGHHHHHHHH

This year there is no back to school excitement coming from me. ‘It’s the most Wonderful Time of the Year’ is not being sung by me. However it would appear I’m the only one as my daughter, Rachelle is excited about going into grade six. My youngest son, Max is going into grade five. My oldest, Jonathan is in his first year of University and my second son, Greg is enjoying the life in his second year of CEGEP.

Usually by this time I feel this urge of excitement for a new stage and getting back to an orchestrated routine.  No, this year I want more summer, more down time, more canoeing and lake time. I would welcome more time-freedom with no obligations.  Am I completely alone on this? (more…)

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All Busy Households Need A Calendar.

August 5th, 2011 by Trish

16 Month Wall Calendar

Before having children, I used to carry an agenda in my purse, checking it often and keeping it updated, but that all changed once I was home with a baby. Regularly checking my pocket calendar became a difficult habit to keep, probably due to my calendar shuffling back and forth between bags – the disadvantage of trading in my purse for a diaper bag. And the problem multiplied as the number of children in my household did.  Accustomed to using a calendar, but no longer at work where I’d routinely check it before starting my workday; I was completely lost. I’d forget appointments; I’d even forget what day it was! But worst – hours, days, weeks – passed so quickly that I’d also forget many of the little day-to-day things that I desperately wanted to remember. Never having been good at keeping a journal, I wasn’t all that good at keeping up with baby books either. And the guilt was eating at me.

But one year, for my birthday, that all changed when my parents bought me a calendar. Not just any calendar; a More Time Moms calendar – one specifically created with mothers in mind.  The squares were really big, with lots of extra space for keeping track of telephone numbers and information. Out of practice at first, I found a great central spot for it. Eventually, I was checking it every day and suddenly, (more…)

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Rained Out!

July 18th, 2011 by Trish

We have been experiencing an unrelenting period of grey skies and rain this summer.  One of the girls at the coffee shop optimistically told me that August will be better.  I hope so because it’s all we have left.  We’ve been trying not to let it get to us and so far, in spite of the rainy summer, the kids and I have come up with a few activities to pass the days. Try one of these activities or let us know how you keep spirits high when the rain comes.

1. Plan a Treasure hunt

This requires a little advance prep, but it’s always a big hit with kids. Stash clues around the house (adjust difficulty based on kids’ ages; use picture cues for little ones, tricky puns for older children), directing kids to hunt for a hidden prize.

2. Put on a Show

Help the kids stage a play or talent show. Give them a theme or opening lines to get them started or pull out costumes to get everyone started.

3. Go to Video

Film the kids’ Play or talent show and put it on youtube.  The kids will love it and it may go viral!

4. Bring the Outdoor Games inside

Play basketball with a soft foam or sponge ball, or just wad up some newspaper; the hoop can be any basket or receptacle (either hung on the wall or resting on the floor). Have kids shoot from different parts of the room or in different ways, in an indoor version of HORSE.

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Get the Sugar out of the Family Diet

October 6th, 2010 by admin

The typical family diet is overloaded with sweet stuff. I am starting on a quest to keep it away from my kids. We all know that sugar is bad for us and that sugar causes an increase in insulin production and overtime we will store more fat, crave more and store more fat and so on. By removing sugar from our family diet as much as we can effectively control insulin and help to do the following:

  • Maintain steady energy all day long (no crashes or swings).
  • Increase our mental clarity, focus and concentration.
  • Increase positive behaviors in our children and ourselves.
  • Boost our immune system end enjoy a better state of health.
  • Increase the body’s ability to burn fat.
  • Slow down the destructive aging process.
  • Decrease the risks for most degenerative diseases.

Sugar is one of the most addictive substances that have been sneaking into our families diets for years. Even worse, it is widely known that many food producers put insulin-spiking sugars into their products to increase the flavor where salt and fat have been reduced. According to nutritionists, it is the high-glycemic sugars that you have to really watch out for. These include raw sugar, white sugar, concentrated fruit juice, syrup, sorghum, honey, maple syrup, beet sugar, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, evaporated cane juice, maltodextrin, galactose, corn syrup, dextrin, beet sugar and high-fructose syrup.

Tips to moderate your family’s sugar intake

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What’s Robbing Your Time?

September 29th, 2010 by admin

Moms can be the queens of letting other people  waste our time.  We will wait for technicians, we will be put on hold with a telemarketer, we will listen to countless ‘not making a difference’ sob stories, we will wait forever at the doctors office. How can we change this?

Awhile back I started to make sure I didn’t create a rigid schedule so the ripple effect of one appointment lasting longer than expected doesn’t ruin the rest of the appointments. So if I know I am going to wait, I bring a book or something to work on like this article to do while I am waiting.  Having a few little snacks like trail mix or almonds or a protein bar will keep me from going psycho and prevent me from feeling that I let another person rob me of time from my life. Touching base with people we haven’t spoken with in a while is a great way to make the waiting time worthwhile.  Let’s create a little magic in all these waiting moments. Shouldn’t everyday be at least slightly miraculous? As much as this might be difficult to read; be glad, enjoy the waiting, in this hectic world.  Sometimes the waiting is the peace we need to think, ponder, dream and imagine……as long as we don’t have to hurry to pick up the kids afterschool!

So because we are rushing and waiting and growing anxious because we have housework or officework or errands constantly to do, is there a way that we can ease the load a little bit?

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Stop, Drop and Roll, Moms

September 22nd, 2010 by admin

One day your life will flash before your eyes, make sure its worth watching –anonymous

Hmmm…Time management…..hahaha….have we mastered it yet?  Are we supposed to master it?

Seriously? Do we manage all of our time or is it better to structure our time enabling us to have the freedom to live life spontaneously. No, this is not going to be a piece on the art of organizing your time like preparing the kids lunches a week beforehand or laying out the kids clothing for the following school year!

What some of us have a hard time figuring out is how to live our lives as moms also for ourselves! Our worlds gladly revolve around our kids. It will for now, but with a caveat.  How about if we plan to grow with our kids, throwing a little adventure into everyday?

I am not necessarily talking about bungee jumping or skydiving but by all means go ahead.  I’ll be on EARTH drinking a margarita! Adventure could be nervously re-connecting with someone you haven’t spoken with in a long time or going on a canoe ride or snowshoeing through the woods on a white snowy day.  Or maybe it is trying some skate boarding with the kids. In my case, the adventure could be cooking in the kitchen!

Recently I was asked to write down my bucket list.  I struggled, but finally when I did write some things down; they were to see my kids grow up, see them married, have grandchildren etc.  But what were my own personal dreams?  Everything I put down was revolving around my children. Don’t get me wrong, my kids have made me grow in many ways…literally and figuratively.    So if I was to wave my own personal magic wand and nothing was impossible what would it be?

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Canada’s most organized mom conquers time-crunch crisis with new cookbook and apps that put fun – and nutrition – back into family meals!

August 9th, 2010 by admin

family-meals-cookbook-app

Canadian Women in Time-Crunch Crisis

Recently, a report released by the Canadian Index of Wellbeing revealed that 20% of Canadians are experiencing the highest “time crunch” levels ever, and women are feeling the strain more acutely than men (Toronto Star, June 15, 2010). To the rescue comes Joanne Lalonde Hayes, creator of the hugely successful More Time Moms Family Organizer (now in its fifteenth year, with over 250,000 copies sold annually). Joanne has turned her prodigious organizational talents to creating a completely new and indispensable resource for time-stressed moms – More Time Moms Family Meals: Easy meal plans to help you keep your children healthy ($24.95; Publication Date: August 18, 2010).

This new cookbook will do for mealtimes what the Family Organizer does for family time, and it comes amidst growing concern about the food our kids are eating. Childhood obesity is reaching epidemic proportions in Canada, according to the Ontario Medical Association (National Post, June 24, 2010). Active Healthy Kids Canada Report 2010, the most comprehensive annual assessment of child and youth physical activity in Canada, states that “data from two regional studies shows that 15.2% of 2-5-year-olds are overweight and 6.3% are obese.” (Active Healthy Kids Canada is a charitable organization that advocates the importance of physical activity for children and youth.) Perhaps not surprisingly, given these statistics, a recent study at the University of Calgary that examined prepared baby and toddler foods available on supermarket shelves found that “of 186 different products, 63% [had] high level of sodium or too many calories from sugar.” (parentcentral.ca, June 28, 2010)

More Time Moms Family Meals helps moms to meet the hurdles of combating childhood obesity and ensure that kids are well nourished. The recipes and snacks feature food prepared from scratch, with fresh, wholesome ingredients. The menus adhere to the principles and food group servings of Canada’s Food Guide, with plenty of variety and much to please even the pickiest of eaters. A nutritional analysis for each of the six weekly menus ensures healthy meal planning, with a list of resources, including Health Canada’s website, www.hc-sc.gc.ca, where moms can get nutritional information and download Canada’s Food Guide.

Six full weeks of complete and unique daily menus and recipes, time-saving strategies, and downloadable grocery lists are available from www.moretimemoms.com, or as free Apps for smart phones available from App stores. Advance copies are available on the website.

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Posted in Feeding the Family, Organizing, Parenting | 1 Comment »
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