Ode to Daddy's

We have exciting plans for Father's Day this year! We are going to be with my hubby's family, which he rarely gets the chance to do! The small community he grew up in, in Bruce County Ontario is very close knit and he loves the opportunity to get back and re-connect with old neighbours and friends. So, already Father's Day 2011 is shaping up to be a great one for the daddy in our family.

Sunday morning the small community will hold a Father's Day brunch in the park. They generally serve big numbers of people at their brunch. On average they feed 400 - 500 people, and this is our first time being able to go to the brunch. It is going to be the perfect opportunity for my hubby to see lots of familiar faces, as well as enjoy a yummy brunch, which is prepared by volunteers in the community.

This to him will be a perfect way to spend Father's Day.


Before heading out to enjoy the brunch we will have a slow and lazy morning. We will enjoy watching some of the kids favourites on Disney Junior and their ode to dads on daddy's big day.

Disney Junior ~ Father's Day morning

Catch some of your favourites June 19th, including new episodes of:

Jake and the Never Land Pirates @9:30 AM
Handy Manny's Motorcycle Adventure @11:00 AM
Imagination Movers @12:00 PM

I can't wait! Taking a few minutes out of busy life and enjoying a little daddy-snuggle time watching a Father's Day based Disney show....sounds pretty good to me.

Wishing all daddy's new or old a very Happy Father's Day!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Disney Junior Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend was nothing short of wonderful. I'm a big fan of birthdays, and I've never been to type to get bummed out at the start of another year. I actually really enjoy getting older, weird, I know. I don't know if I'll always feel that way, but for now I just really feel like life only gets better with every year that goes by. I always wonder what great things the next year will hold. So, as I turned 29 this weekend I was more than happy to usher in the last year of my twenties.

Hank, Henry, Madeline and I spent the weekend down in Mesa at my parents', and had the best time. Friday evening my best friends surprised me with a little dinner party and I drifted off to sleep that night with a full belly and a happy heart. Saturday morning my Mom and I had a great workout, then came home and we all went out to Chandler Fashion Center to shop. I ended up meeting the most adorable reader (hi Sarah!) and she totally made my day. While there Hank also got part one of his birthday present from me, an iPad!  He was so happy and surprised, and it was great to walk into the Apple store and let him know he could go ahead and pick one out. For months I'd been discouraging him from buying one, so he really had no idea. He was beyond happy and jumped around like a little kid. So awesome. Afterward we all went to Green for lunch. The rest of the day was spent relaxing until we headed out to North Scottsdale for Nate's 30th birthday bash at Greasewood Flats. We listened to country music, played horseshoes, and had such a great, low-key night.

Sunday was my actual birthday and it was kind of a dream day for me. To summarize without going into too much detail, it included sleeping in, working out, eating ice cream cake, a trip to Target, swimming and taking lots of photos at the park! My sister also gave us an amazing gift...tickets to see Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj with her. Believe it or not Hank really and truly loves pop music and especially Britney. Yup. So feel free to make fun of him when you see him!

I just feel so thankful for the past few days.  I have a feeling this year is going to be amazing, and I'm excited to see what it has in store for me. This past year has been filled with a lot of personal growth...and is it weird to say that I'm proud of myself? 'Cause I am. I hope I'm just as proud of my 29-year old self at the end of this year.

Here are some photos from the weekend:

Long Live the Long Weekend!

Happy Victoria Day!

Notoriously, Victoria Day weekend is full of rain here in Ontario. This year, however we have completely lucked out and have enjoyed warm temperatures with sunny skies, and rain has been minimal.

Yesterday we loaded up the van to take a drive over toward Lake Huron. The plan was to just look at the lake and maybe dip our toes into the water. With the cool wet spring we've had so far, I knew that the lake was still going to be pretty cold. We enjoyed a lunch out and spending precious family time together. But, what I really love about Victoria Day weekend is reconnecting with neighbours, the sounds of kids playing out in yards, and of course, the wonderful smell of barbeque filling the air.


My husband got up at 5:45 AM this morning to start up his charcoal barbeque to slow cook a brisket for our Sunday supper. All day long we enjoy the tempting smell of a brisket cooking on indirect heat. As the day goes on we get hungry in anticipation. Finally, supper time came and we enjoyed our brisket served on Wonder+ SimplyFree Hamburger Buns.

New Wonder+ SimplyFree Hamburger Buns are super soft white buns. Wonder+ SimplyFree has no artificial colours, preservatives, or flavours, and they are free of high fructose corn syrup. If you are a hot dog fan, Wonder+ SimplyFree also has hot dog buns. We had them earlier in the week for soccer night supper and they were great. The kids gobbled them up, never questioning the fact that these buns were good for them, they have the same great taste and quality which we have come to know and respect from Wonder Bread.

Be sure to take a peek at Wonder+, where you will find a progressive coupon for Wonder+ SimplyFree rolls. The more likes they get, the better the value of the coupon...and who doesn't love coupon savings?

The iconic magazine, Canadian Living is forming a summer-long series of recipes using new Wonder+ SimplyFree Rolls. There are two burger recipes right now, and as the summer progresses they will be adding eight more recipes. My pit-master-in-training loves to make his own burgers, as well as his brisket. His famous recipe is adding bits of cooked bacon right into his meat mixture. Now, that is a real bacon burger!

If you are a pit-master-in-training, (just like my hubby) you may be interested in the history of barbequing in Canada. You never know, you may be the next Diva Q!


Long Live the Long Weekend!

Do share, I would love to hear your way of celebrating Victoria Day and maybe even what you enjoy on your barbeque grill.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Wonder+ SimplyFree program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Weston Bakeries. I received a gift card and free product coupons as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Wonderful weekend/Mother's Day

 

{Mother's Day flowers from Hank and Henry}

Oh, what a weekend! I spent half of it in Phoenix, and half it at home, up here, and every moment was just lovely. On Friday Sarah and I spent some time working on a project with a crew from Samsung (more about this tonight) and had the best time. I can't wait to share!  We ended the night with frozen yogurt and I went back to my parents' with a happy heart and stomach!  I've written about Sarah a million times here, but let me say again how wonderful it is to spend time with her. She's been one of my dearest friends for close to a decade now and I am so appreciative of her. I wish you all knew her, because if you did I know you'd be nodding your head in agreement when I talk about what a good person she is. I love love love her. So yes, Friday was awesome, then Saturday I woke up and had a great early Mother's Day with my mama, sister and Henry. We shopped for a little bit, then ate lunch at Pita Jungle. I typically get the Macro Platter but lately have been into the Mediterranean Chicken Salad, so that's what I got. My Mom got a Greek Salad and my sister got the the Macro...and we all shared a hummus trio of course. Afterward I worked out, and then Henry and I headed back up the mountain home (we live about two hours away). Upon our arrival I was greeted with a huge vase filled with the most beautiful Mother's Day flowers! Hank did good. ;) We went downtown for dinner and ate tamales at Hugo's, then came home and relaxed. I went to bed feeling like it was Christmas Eve due to Mother's Day being the next day! It was my very first one, and Hank went above and beyond to make me feel so special, and all day long I felt like my heart was going to burst from a mix of being so happy, and feeling so thankful.  We started the day with cuddles in bed, and then we had a slow morning filled with a yummy breakfast and lots of lounging. Later in the day we went to the champagne brunch at the Sheraton. It was awesome- I think my favorite were the huge dessert tables, filled with eclairs and cream puffs and tarts and pie and cake...DELICIOUS. I had a taste of everything. The rest of my Mother's Day was spent at home- Hank and I finished a ton of "around the house" projects and we ended the day watching Life as We Know It. My choice of course but "my choice" was the theme of the day, so why not?! The entire experience of actually celebrating Mother's Day was amazing- I woke up to so many sweet texts, tweets and voicemails that I felt like it was my birthday. Being a Mom is the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me, and it was so fun to spend an entire day celebrating that. I already can't wait until next year!

Here are some photos from the weekend:

left-right: Tony filming Ethan in some AZ terrain; Tony/Ethan, part of the Samsung crew; playing tourist for the day; prettiest Suki; Friday night pre-frozen yogurt; Mama, Henry and me; Lauren and Mom at Pita Jungle in Mesa; me in one of my favorite vintage tops; hummus trio- regular, cilantro jalapeno, and roasted red pepper; Aunt Lauren and Henry; my delicious salad; Pandora knows me too well- one of my favorite songs off one of my favorite albums- "Cat Heaven" by Jets to Brazil; dinner at Hugo's; Daddy and baby; tamale plate- so good; Facetiming with my Mom on Mother's Day morning; a new spring hat; Greek yogurt, berries and granola, the best snack ever; spring cleaning and getting dresses picked out for a "Shop My Closet" pop up blog; Henry sleeping in his favorite new position.

and p.s. Have you entered the Paper Mama giveaway yet? It ends tonight! 

Mom Central Canada ~ Blogger Grants

I am so proud and humbled to announce that I am one of the lucky recipients of the spring round of Blogger Grants from Mom Central Canada!


I can recall being so excited that Mom Central was coming to Canada, back in May 2009. It has been amazing to watch Mom Central grow in Canada, and they are continually expanding. I am really grateful for all the opportunities that they have offered me. It is an amazing community that supports Canadian bloggers, and recognizes that our voices are meant and worth being heard. (I am not just saying this because I was a winner, I sincerely feel this way) If you are a blogger in Canada, be sure to take a look and become a Mom Central Blogger, if you haven't already.

Now, for my idea which was chosen by the judges....

I am in the process of interviewing and researching my idea which centers around the challenges and struggles which tweens and teens face in todays world. I quickly realized that while some aspects are the same as when I was 12 - 16 years old, times have changed and making the right choices is more complex. I am striving to write a post which reflects what it really means to be a tween/teen girl in 2011, and hopefully be a resource to where they can find support, from my vantage point of small town rural Ontario.


Thank you to Mom Central Canada for this opportunity and, I look forward to reading the posts of the other recipients!

a May Day picnic

Yesterday my little family went on a wonderful picnic downtown. We got salad and pizza from Bill's, some lemonade (it was National Lemonade Day, after all!) and enjoyed a slightly cool afternoon in the grass. This weekend was the Whiskey Off-Road bicycle race, so there were things going on each day, from the day-before activities/booths, to the pre and post events, to the actual race itself.  On Friday my friend Lisa and I walked downtown and checked out the vendors, sampled some new Clif bar products, and enjoyed seeing all the fancy bikes. Today we managed to catch the tail-end of the event, and there were still some cyclists pulling in as we walked around.

Have I mentioned how much I love our little town? It's one of my favorite places in the world, and I adore the fact that we have so many weekend events throughout the entire summer. It's perfect here in during the warmer months- it never gets too hot, and the crisp mountain air is always refreshing.

Today we definitely felt some of that "crisp" air, and it was almost borderline too cold for a picnic, but we managed to find a spot with tree-filtered sunlight and the afternoon worked out perfectly.  We enjoyed our salad and pesto/tomato pizza, talked and talked, and really soaked in a wonderful Sunday.

Here's a video from our day today, and some pictures below too! If you're curious, the song is "Step Outside" by The Finches.  Happy Monday!

Swimming Up

How can it possibly be that three years have passed and my little boy is swimming up to cub scouts? He was so inquisitive and loved the whole ceremony of the swim up! I was so proud of him and told him he was the best beaver of the group.