Saturday, December 31, 2016

Top Five Posts Of 2016

It's really hard to believe that today is the last day of 2016. The year was filled with ups and downs; happy times and sad times. We purchased a new vehicle for me in the fall, I took a mini road trip with Mr. K and we made some great memories as a family.

These are the top 5 posts (traffic wise) from 2016:

Walt Disney World Fast Pass Worthy Rides
8 Ways To Stay Active In Winter
5 Ways To Keep Kids Busy On Sick Days
Easy To Make Lego Table
The Key To A Happy Marriage

I hope that you had a wonderful year and that 2017 brings good things for you and your families.

Happy New Year.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

December 26th Monday Madness Giveaway Linky





Christmas is over for another year. I hope you had a wonderful visit with family, we certainly did.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Christmas Concert and Mini Life Update

Things have been really quiet over here lately. Life has been busy and lots of stuff going on, so my little space of the internet ended up getting pushed aside for a little while.  I hope to be back more regularly in 2017.

This week was the kids Christmas concert at school. The organizers did a wonderful job, and the kids....wow, they gave it their all.

They offered 2 concerts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  I opted for the morning show, and it was packed. From friends, I heard the afternoon was packed as well.  It was so nice to see all the kids and they were fantastic.

Mr. K's class did 2 songs (one english and one french). Mr. J played a voyageur, so he actually wasn't out for very long. His role came right before the last song (the Huron Carol). It was so lovely to see them though.

When the kids came home from school, Mr. J was grinning from ear to ear. There was a school board employee at the morning concert, and he donated a 4 pack of Ottawa Senators tickets to be raffled off....well, Mr. J won! So, he got to enjoy his very first NHL game last night.

This last week before Christmas is always a crazy one. Lots of running around (helping my mom get ready) and lots of tiny things to finish up before Saturday.  I try and avoid going out on the 24th, but my mom always needs a couple of items picked up at the store, so I get up super early and hit the stores when they open (between 6 and 7 am) to avoid the crazy crowds and people grumpy with the line ups.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

The Secret Life of Lilykins {giveaway}

Tales of Mommyhood was provided the product in order to facilitate the review. All opinions are honest and belong to ToM. This post may contain affiliate links

"On the surface, Lilykins lives the life of a typical house cat. But Lilykins has another life – a secret life – that transports her to a world of incredible adventures."
The Secret Life of Lilykins is a cute story about a cat with a secret life. We don't have any pets, but my kids often wonder what animals do when we aren't watching them. Mr. K really enjoyed listening to the story and looking out the pictures, so I would say 4-7 years is probably a great age for it. Mr. J (9) is a little too old for it



About the Author:



Max Goodman lives in New York City with his husband and two very important cats. By day, he works as an advertising copywriter. The Secret Life of Lilykins is Max’s first book.
The Secret Life of Lilykins is currently available in paperback via Barnes & Noble and CreateSpace, and in both paperback and Kindle editions via Amazon.
Find The Secret Life of Lilykins on the web at http://lilykinsbook.com.

GIVEAWAY

If you think your kids would enjoy The Secret Life of Lilykins, now is your chance to win a copy. This giveaway is open to Canadian residents that are 18+. This will close on January 2nd, 2017 at 1159pm EST. To enter, leave a comment telling me who you would like to win this book for. Winner will be chosen using Random.org

The lucky number 2 - Nicky is the winner! Congratulations


Monday, December 19, 2016

December 18th Monday Madness Giveaway Linky




Less than ONE week until Christmas....are you ready? If you are looking for gift ideas, make sure to check out the 2016 Gift Guide

Monday, December 12, 2016

December 12th Monday Madness Giveaway Linky





I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Today is a snow day for my kids, quite a bit of snow has fallen and the buses have been cancelled. What is the weather like in your area? If you are looking for gift ideas, make sure to check out the 2016 Gift Guide

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Continuing A December Tradition

Many, many years ago, when hubby and I were only dating, we heard about a street that was completely lit up and decorated for Christmas.  We made the trek out one night and loved driving down Taffy Lane looking at all the festive displays.

That night started a tradition, and every year since we head down at some point in December to see the lights and what not.

Eeyore is my favourite Disney character

The kids love it, and we end up driving through the downtown area to see all the lit up trees and the light show on Parliament Hill.

This time, we ended our drive at The Brookstreet Hotel for a late dinner at Options Lounge. We had dinner there a few times in the summer, and we all really like the food and atmosphere. The bartender that normally worked while we were there was on, as well as a waitress we often saw.  We had a great end to our evening.

What are some of your traditions leading up to Christmas?

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Combine Play, Learning AND Technology With Osmo

This is a sponsored post. Tales of Mommyhood received compensation (either monetary or product) in exchange for this post. All opinions are honest and belong to ToM. This post may contain affiliate links.


Like most kids, mine are pretty into technology. Whether it is a video game, playing on the computer, my phone or a tablet, they love it.  I don't mind them using it, and it certainly seems to be the way everything is going now. 

OSMO is the newest addition to our tech products at home. I love that it combines play, learning and technology into one.  Kids can use the OSMO Genius Kit to have fun while learning their shapes, numbers, letters and words. I was somewhat familiar with OSMO before being sent the kit to review. While visiting Mr. K's kindergarten class last year, I got to see it at work.  

When our kit arrived, I was anxious to get it set up and to play with it myself to check it out.  It was very simple to set up. I needed to place the ipad into the base, and then add the reflector to the top of the ipad.  The OSMO apps can be downloaded from the app store at no charge (you do need the OSMO system to use them though).


"OSMO is an award-winning game system that will change the way your child interacts with the ipad by opening it up to hands on play"
Age recommendation: 5-12
Price Point:  $129.99 (other sets available for purchase separately)
Sold at: Best Buy, Amazon.ca, Indigo and Mastermind Toys

I think my kids would like the masterpiece and coding sets as well. Have you tried any of the OSMO games?

Monday, December 5, 2016

December 5th Monday Madness Giveaway Linky




December is here, and our Christmas tree is up! Have you put yours up yet? If you are looking for gift ideas, make sure to check out the 2016 Gift Guide