Thursday, May 28, 2015

Summer Camp - Am I Ready?


The time has come. Mr. J has started asking about going to summer camp….sleep away camp to be precise. This has me excited, but nervous as well. I was the child that wouldn’t even contemplate going to sleep away camp. I didn’t even like sleeping away from home for ONE night, let alone a whole week.

After having kids, I knew I would be faced with this day happening eventually, but I was kind of hoping he would be a little older.

I want the boys to have these experiences that I was too shy for. My mom tried to push both my brother and I into it, but neither of us would go. I think we will hold off for ONE more year and re-visit the subject early next spring. I want to be prepared when we talk about it again, so I started looking online to see what camps were around (pricing and what is offered etc) and made a list of a few of the camps in Ontario that stood out to me. If you are looking to send your kids to camp, maybe the list will come in handy.

YMCA/YWCA Camp Otonobee, Ottawa
  • like that it is SO close to home
  • personal reports from friends that have sent their kids
Frontier Trails Camp and Outdoor Education Center, Eganville
  • like that it is close to home
  • different camp options
Ontario Pioneer Camp, Huntsville
  • high staff to camper ratio
  • personal reports from friends that have sent their kids
  • campers/parents can create a schedule tailored to suit the child (32 activities to choose from)
  • 200 staff - high supervision ratio for staff/campers
  • longer camp sessions
Camp Smitty, Eganville
  • close to home
  • operated by Boys and Girls Club (I attended a B&G club growing up!)
Instead of sleep away camp this summer for the kids, they will both do a week of day camp in July, and a week in August as well. They won’t be together (different ages, and different interests) but it will be nice for them to have some time with other kids and trying new things.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Mr. J The Karate Kid



A while ago Mr. J started showing some interest in Karate.  We looked around and finally found a place we thought would be a good fit.  Both kids started in September. Mr. K wasn't too happy, so he stopped going after the trial period.  Mr. J however LOVES it.

He was so happy going every week, he took part in a tournament a few weeks after starting and then continued on and attained he yellow and orange belts.

This past weekend was another tournament, and again he participated in it.  Hubby and his grandfather were there to cheer him on, and he came in FIRST place for his division.

He was so excited about this accomplishment and came home proudly to show me his trophy.

He has played soccer the last 2 summers, but this year has decided to continue on with Karate.  He is really hoping that he will be able to reach his green belt before going back to school in September.

Do your children have an activity that they are passionate about?

Monday, May 25, 2015

May 25 Monday Madness Giveaway Linky


Tales of Mommyhood, giveaways, linky, monday madness


It's a new week, and time for a new linky! If you are a blogger, feel free to list any open giveaways you have on your blog. Make sure to list the prize, end date and country eligibility (CAN/US/WW) any listed without this information will be deleted.

As always, sharing the linky is appreciated and helps gain maximum exposure for everyone that links up.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Ottawa Splash Pads - 2015

As of May 15th, most of the splash pads in Ottawa are open.  It can be a really nice way to cool off on a hot summer day.  We have been to a few on the list. Do you take your kids? Which is your
favourite?

West ParksAddress
Andrew Haydon Park 3127 Carling Avenue
Bandmaster Park

230 Mistral Way
Banner Park
 90 Banner
Billy Bishop Park
 1 Bishop Mills Way
Bluegrass Park
 199 Bridgestone
Brookshire Park
 1035 Klondike Rd
Celebration Park
 200 Central Park
Centrepointe Park
114 Centrepointe 
Chapman Mills Park
 139 Windhurst
Charing Park
 37 Chartwell
Citiplace Park
285 Citiplace Drive 
Glebe Memorial Park
 75 Glendale
Greenbank Park
895 Greenbank 
Half Moon Bay Park
 3525 Cambrian
Harrold Place Park
 1 Harrold Place
Hintonburg Park
 1064 Wellington
Huntley Community Centre
 108 Juanita
Kilbirnie Park
 665 Kilbirnie Drive
Kilreen Park 
 1250 Southwood
Kristina Kiss Park
 100 Akerson
Laroche Park
 52 Bayview
Leslie Park
 21 Dayton Crescent
Lincoln Heights Park
 175 Lincoln Heights
Morrison Park
 1095 Morrison
Piazza Dante Park
 470 Booth
Plouffe Park
 930 Somerset
Regatta Park
 150 Pennant
Roy Duncan Park
 295 Churchill
South Nepean Park 
 700 Longfields
Stonecrest Park 220 Stoneway
Tierney Park
 50 Heritage Glen Drive
Upcountry Park
 310 Upcountry
Walden Park
130 Walden Drive 
Walter Baker Park
 100 Walter Baker
Water Dragon Park
 424 Chapman Mills
Westcliffe Park
 681 Seyton
Whitehaven Park
 970 Parkhaven
East Parks
Address
Aladdin Park
3939 Albion
Arnott Park
691 Hartman
Barrington Park
1705 Orleans
Beacon Hill North Recreation Centre
2132 Radford
Blue Willow Park
6011 Longleaf
Bordeleau Park
349 Bruyere
Brewer Park
100 Brewer Way
Butterfly Park
711 Long Point Circle
Canterbury Park2185 Arch 
Cardinal Creek Valley
2130 Bergmot Circle
Cardinal Glen Park
11 Dunbarton
Cedarcroft Park
1200 Cedarcroft
Champagne Park
1861 Markwell
Chapel Hill Park
1556 Forest Valley
City Centre Park
1800 City Park
Claudette Cain Park 
660 River Road
Cummings Park
980 Cummings Ave
Cyrville Park
1420 Meadowbrook
Delorme Park
6591 Delorme
Diamond Jubilee Park
2810 Findlay Creek
Dr. John Hopps Park
300 Den Haag 
Elmridge Park 1841 Elmridge
Emerald Woods Park
3795 Alderwood
Fairfield Park
49 Appleford
Fallingbrook Park
681 Deancourt
Fountainhead Park105 Felicity
Four Seasons Park
4386 Spratt
Gardenway Park
2001 Gardenway
Gerald Poulin Park
1899 Du Clairvaux
Glen Park
1766 Grey Nuns
Greenboro Park
1505 Cahill
Heatherington Park
1560 Heatherington
Hiawatha Park
6218 Voyageur
Jasmine Park
2040 Jasmine
Joe Jamieson Park
6940 Bilberry
Kaladar Park
2554 Kaladar
Kiwanis Park
395 Levis Avenue
Manor Park
 100 Braemar
Marcel Beriault Park
 1691 Sunview
McCarthy Park
 3320 Paul Anka
Meadowbrook Park
 1485 Meadowbrook
Montgomery Memorial Park
 61 Main
Mountain Meadows Park
 3740 Mountain Meadow
Nault Park
 325 St-Denis
New Edinburg Park
 193 Stanley
North Vineyard Parkr 6026 Voyageur
Owl Park
 185 Owl
Palmerston Park
 1326 Ogilvie
Portobello Park
 670 Aquaview
Provence Park
 2085 Provence
Queensway Park
 1580 Telesat
Queenswood Heights Centennial Park
 1485 Duford
Queenswood Ridge Park  346 Kennedy 
Sheffield Glen Park
 2320 Southvale
Sieveright Park 
 2999 Sable Ridge
Silverbirch Park
 6105 Silverbirch
Sir Wilfred Laurier Parkl 288 Chapel
Stanstead Park
 861 Stanstead
Stonehenge Park
 1434 Ridgebrook
Thornecliffe Park
 45 Provender
Turtle Park 
720 White Alder 
Vista Park
 720 Vistapark
Whiterock Park
 1245 Matheson
Winterwood Park
 1844 Johnston Rd

Cake Raffle Round Up

cake raffle, cake walk, cake ideas, cake decorating, cake auction


Every spring the school that Mr. J and Mr. K attend holds a cake raffle.  It is organized by the school council and all funds go back to the council to support different events that take place towards the end of the year.

I have donated cakes every year since we started at the school, and will continue to do so until the event ends or the kids are no longer attending .

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Strange Magic Activity Sheets

Strange Magic, free activities, printable sheets, free, for kids

Today is the day! Strange Magic is available for purchase on DVD, Digital Download and On Demand.  You can now watch it at home with your family.  We watched it last week, and it wasn't what my kids were expecting - they couldn't get into it (they wanted to be outside with their friends) This time of year is hard for us as they want to be outside, not stuck inside watching a movie.  I think we will try it again on a rainy day.

They do love the great activities that have been made available to help celebrate the release!  You can find the link below.

Download Strange Magic Fun Games
click on the picture and it will take you to the link where you can print the sheets

Tales of Mommyhood received the above mentioned product in exchange for this post. All opinions are honest and belong to Tales of Mommyhood. Your opinion/experience may vary.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Victoria Day Monday Madness Giveaway Linky


Tales of Mommyhood, giveaways, linky, monday madness


Happy Victoria Day!  I hope you are enjoying the long weekend and having beautiful weather! Sunday was Mr. J's First Communion - and other than that we spent the whole weekend outside - it was lots of fun.  Friday night we had the neighbours over and made s'mores!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Mr. J Makes His First Communion

first communion, tales of mommyhood, first communion cake

Mr. J is made his First Communion today!!!!!.  We have attended all the retreats that were necessary throughout the last few months (2 for Reconciliation and 2 for First Communion).  We had a choice of 5 weekends and this was the date that worked out best or us.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Marvel Universe Live - {giveaway and discount code}


In case you haven't heard, Marvel Universe Live is coming to Ottawa!  There will be performances at Canadian Tire Center from July 31-August 2 2015!  I know that my kids are going to go nuts seeing their favourite super hero's live!
"Marvel fans, assemble! Marvel Universe LIVE! is taking the live entertainment experience to a whole new level, with a mind-blowing show unlike anything you’ve seen before. Watch your favorite Marvel Super Heroes including Spider-Man and The Avengers (Iron Man, Black Widow, Hulk and more) and threatening villains come to life in an action-packed arena extravaganza, coming to Ottawa. You’ll definitely feel the energy with cutting-edge special effects, pyrotechnics, aerial stunts, martial arts, motorcycles and more. It’s being hailed as the most technically advanced live show ever. Join Marvel fans of all ages for this once-in-a-lifetime, monumental performance. The fate of the universe depends on it!"

Monday, May 11, 2015

May 11 Monday Madness Giveaway Linky


Tales of Mommyhood, giveaways, linky, monday madness

It's a new week, and time for a new linky! If you are a blogger, feel free to list any open giveaways you have on your blog. Make sure to list the prize, end date and country eligibility (CAN/US/WW) any listed without this information will be deleted.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Kellogg's Is Bringing Back Cereal Box Fun

My favourite part of breakfast as a kid was finding out what surprise was in the cereal box. The actual toy itself didn't matter too much (gum, bracelets or some kind of dinky toy) it was the surprise that I loved.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Spring Time Is A Time For Changes

Spring is a time for changes.  Mr. K got a new bed and we turned his old one into a dirt box.  Hubby and I also got new bedding for our bedroom. When it comes to the blog, I have been wanting to give the blog a new look for over a year, but I kept putting it off....and putting it off.....and putting it off.

At Easter, I finally decided it was time. No more waiting.  So, here it is - a new logo for Tales of Mommyhood

Dewan Creative, Jake Dewan, logo

and also a new header 

you can also see it if you look at the top of the blog

I am so glad that I went ahead and had the changes made.  Thanks to Jake at Dewan Creative!




Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Helpling Helps Moms Clean This Mothers Day

Mothers Day is fast approaching and I am seeing lots of questions asking what moms want.  For me, the most important thing is spending time with my kids and with my mom.  

One thing that I would LOVE is to have someone else come in and clean though. This is where Helpling comes in. They are fairly new to Canada and as of now are only available in the Toronto area.  They do have plans to expand into other cities in the future. To help celebrate moms,  they are offering a FREE 1 hour clean.  Use voucher code MOMALWAYS when booking a clean through them.
This post is brought to you by Helpling.  

Monday, May 4, 2015

Smartie Surprise Cake

smartie cake, tie dye cake, surprise, smartie surprise, smarties inside cake

Both kids are in school this year, and with the cake raffle approaching they couldn't decide on a cake that they wanted me to make. I decided to make two mini cakes instead of one regular cake.  Mr. J wanted a Minecraft  cake but Mr. K was unsure.  We set to pinterest to search for cake raffle cakes and found one that had M&M's in the middle, and then the icing was topped with M&M's as well.

When I set to making the cake, I had lots of smarties so I used them instead.

Directions for smartie surprise cake:

  • bake a 9*13 cake - you could bake in round pans, but I didn't have any the proper size (I used a vanilla base and then separated the batter into 4 bowls and tinted each a different colour.  I then used a spoon to spread the batter throughout the pan, alternating between each colour for a tie dye effect)
  • once cake is baked, allow to cool
  • cut into 2 circles (I used 2 cereal bowls as cutters)
  • freeze for a few hours so cake is easier to work with
  • place one circle of cake on your cake board, hollow out a small portion of the inside (leave a base of cake, and approximately 1 inch around the side as well) place smarties inside
  • spread a thin layer of frosting onto the bottom of your second cake round and place over top of the first
  • frost your cake with your icing choice
  • decorate with remaining smarties