Win a Gift Card and Learn How To Earn Extra Points as RBC Rewards Members

RBC helps RBC Rewards member understand how to benefit and earn twelve times the points by shopping online through the RBCrewards.com during one of the more expensive times of year to be a parent - Back to School. The 'how-to' video by moms help us learn how to best use the RBCrewards.com site and benefit.

Travelling Without Leaving, With This Nostalgic Clay Pot Fish Curry

As the weather warms up, I enjoy cooking on my barbecue and the stove top outdoors. I miss cooking outdoors in my clay pots during the winter, since clay pots tend to crack due to extreme temperatures from hot to cold. I cooked this spicy, flavourful fish curry using king fish on my clay pot that I bought last year during our summer vacation to Sri Lanka. It allows me to travel to the flavours that I crave, without packing my bags :) and brings back lots of good memories.

Expressing With Art

Art is a form of expression that allows us to easily convey our thoughts and feelings. From the first time we draw a dot or scribble as a baby to now when we draw a picture or take a photograph, we are trying to tell a story, express our thoughts and emotions to another person. We have all heard of the saying that a picture says a thousand words. 

Imagining and Discovering With The Imaginext Rescue City Center

I am sure all parents just like me enjoy watching their little ones imitate, imagine and play. It puts a smile on our face when our children are playing and we hear positive interactions such as helping or caring about others. When my children play, I hear them imagining to be superheroes and firefighters to save the day, or caring about other people as doctors, or being a person in the community like a cashier. 

Playing With Fisher-Price Little People®

Imagination and discovery has a positive impact on our children's growing minds. I remember when I was growing up, I always played with my cousins and brothers imagining that we were out at sea or selling food in a market or being a teacher in a classroom. I am sure these fond memories helped us grow. Now as a parent, I love watching my children learn through play. It is fun to watch them imagine that they are firefighters and run around the house, be explorers and find bugs in the garden, help me garden and act as though they are farmers and then sell the produce from the garden like there is a market, make cupcakes like they are bakers with their toys and always try to save the day as heroes.

Fun Activities We Do To Relax At Home

I long to spend quality time with my children at the end of the day, especially after school started in September. We have been quite busy this summer so like me, my children prefer to stay home and read a book or do other fun things indoors these days. To relax and revitalize we do many things like...

Our Opa Moments With Yopa and $100 Giveaway

Every celebration big or small is celebrated with something sweet in our home. I love to bake and make my sweets whenever possible, however due to the lack of time I like having yummy, healthy desserts and snacks in the fridge. I think every meal to be complete, needs a little sweet snack or dessert and Yopa has made this list in our home. 

Importance Of Saving For Our Children's Future

Everyone's family financial situations are unique, so there is no one solution or strategy that fits all of us when it comes to saving money for our children's future and education. Since there isn't one solution sometimes it is best to hear what other families are doing to save money. 

Maintaining Our Dishwasher Using Finish Products

Over time, it is easy for our dishwashers to accumulate food and chemical residues that make the inside of our dishwasher look dirty.

I tested the Finish® Dishwasher Cleaner on our really dirty dishwasher :) and was amazed by its results. This cleaner helps us not only clean, but to freshen and maintain our dishwasher. 

Use The #ResolveTip Exchange So You Don't Have To Deal With Stains Alone

Getting a stain on our favourite clothing can be very disappointing and frustrating. The toughest stains that I deal with are caused by tea, grass and pen marks. My children and I enjoy using different craft materials and pens that somehow end up leaving a stain on our clothing.

Strawberry Banana Milk Bars

With the summer heat we are always looking for ways to cool down, so I made this delicious milk bars or popsicles with strawberry and banana. In June when it was strawberry season in Ontario, it has become our tradition to take the kids and pick our own strawberries in a local farm close to home. I usually remove the top and cut the strawberries into two and freeze it. 

We Made a Monster With Soap Inspired by Monsters University

From the time my children watched Monsters Inc., Monsters Mike and Sully have been regularly spoken about in our home when they play. When I told them there are Monsters University toys inside Kinder they were super excited. The new partnership between Kinder® and Monsters University guarantees that specially-marked Kinder® Surprise® packages to have 100% licensed toys; kids will get one of the twelve toys without disappointment each time :) We like collecting these loveable monsters inside Kinder, check the new collection of toys and vote for your favourite on Kinder Facebook.  

We Had A Sea Of Fun Watching A Turtle’s Tale 2 As Sammy Escapes From Paradise

We had a wonderful party to watch A Turtle’s Tale 2 – Sammy Escapes From Paradise with a few friends and family in celebration of its release on July 9th. While enjoying this funny, adventurous family entertainer I served sautéed potatoes, mini chicken pizza, fresh strawberries, popcorn, almond covered chocolates and cupcakes. 

General Mills Has Launched Eight Brand New Products

General Mills has launched eight brand new products this month. In celebration of the launch General Mills will be giving free product coupons on their Facebook page from June 3 to 25 (while supplies last).

There are two coupons, one for the cereals and one for the snack bars. Each has a specific one-day redeem date. For the cereals it is July 16 and for the 6 bars it is July 23.

Making Old Things New: Up-cycling shoes

Giving a new look to my old belonging is something I enjoy doing. I have done many projects such as recycling containers to make other crafts, giving old chairs a new look with fabric, using fabric to make yarn and many more. 

Up-cycling these comfy pair of old shoes with fabric is my recent project. 

Disney Junior celebrates Mother’s Day with special shows

Disney Junior celebrates May with new episodes of Sofia the First and the premiere of Tangled. 
We are excitedly looking forward to watch Sofia the First new episodes on Sunday May 5 and 19 at 11:30am ET.

- Sofia the First “The Princess Test” premiere on May 5th will be about Sofia finding out what being a true princess is all about when she is sidetracked on her way to an important Princess Test at her school. 

- On May 19 Sofia the First episode “Baileywick’s Day Off” is about Baileywick’s day-off being frustrated by demands from Sofia, Amber and James until the royal siblings learn about gratitude. 

Learning about gratitude is an important life skill that starts from a young age. As a parent, I think it is important for us to be role models and practice this, so it is easy to teach our children i.e to say Thank you, Please! and to appreciate one another. Gratitude should be a part of our lives and be second nature to us, so we can appreciate life and everything around us.

The blessings of our children's milestones

As a parent, it is amazing to watch our children learn and grow. My family and I like talking about and looking through our family pictures and videos to re-live the memorable moments. I think milestones are truly blessings, as we miraculously learn important things in life such as walking, eating that we tend to take for granted each day.

Two exciting premieres on Disney Junior! Henry Hugglemonster + Quest for the Crystal Mickey

There will be two special series from Disney Junior that premieres this month, which are sure to please our little ones. 

The new series Henry Hugglemonster is produced by the same Oscar®-nominated animation studio Brown Bag Films as Doc McStuffins. This show is about Henry, a high-energy monster-kid that lives in Roarsville.  The series is based on the children's book "I'm a Happy Hugglewug".  Henry like any other typical five-year-old child loves his family, enjoys playing outside with his friends, and says exactly what he thinks the moment it pops into his head. 

Our Memorable Fisher-Price Favourites and an Exclusive offer for you

I have always been a fan of Fisher-Price products, as I like how they design their toys with a learning aspect.  Their products playfully engage our children's curious minds, bodies, and personalities.  Ever since my children were born, I have always bought meaningful toys that help them as they grow up.  We know that children learn best as they play and have fun.

It is easy for us to choose Fisher-Price products as gifts for children since the products in their site are separated by baby-gear, walking, learning or discovering.  The toys are also separated by age categories such as 0 months+, 6 months+, 9 months+ and 12 months +. I feel good giving and buying reliable quality products, as I know from experience that the products stay in good shape even after everything my children have put them through. The Fisher-Price toys and gears that my children used were in such good condition that I have gladly passed it onto a family member that could use it.

Our Birdterfly Soap Dispenser and Contest to promote hand washing

As parents, we always have debates with our children about washing their hands properly. This contest by Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap is a cool way to encourage and engage our children to make a healthy habit of washing hands before eating. I believe when children become a part of something and get involved they value things a little more. So I really enjoyed designing our unique Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap Dispenser and happily displayed it by our kitchen sink.  

To decorate our bird-butterfly dispenser, also known as Birdterfly we needed...

Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap Dispenser

craft foam sheet

scissor

2 beads for the eye

2 craft metal wires for the antenna/ear

red duct tape for the beak

1 craft bird feather

a piece of silly band for the worm 

a piece of thick wool

markers and acrylic paint to decorate

a piece of women's stockings

glue gun

First cut a piece of the women's stockings to fit over the Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap Dispenser.  This way we can operate the on/off button behind the container and change the refill without damaging our crafty piece.  

I also put a hole so the liquid can come out. Since the stocking is very light the sensors work we didn't have to put holes in those areas. We used a glue gun to attach the metal wires over the stocking then placed the beads.  

Then we secured the top portion by tying a thick wool and covering the written area that was visible.  

My husband suggested we put a mohawk feather like a Cardinal on top to camouflage the stockings.  

We cut a piece of red duct tape and attached it over the dispenser piece that was sticking out to make it resemble a beak. My daughter suggested that we put a piece of silly band to make it look like the bird is having a meal. We placed the tape over the stocking and secured it with the glue gun.

For the bottom part of the dispenser we cut a craft foam piece and made sure to make two holes so the sensors work, then decorated it using markers and paint.  

Everyone took a turn to colour and paint before we put glue to the middle section of foam and attached it to the dispenser.     

Here are some tips...

First plan so everyone is in the same page :) We started off wanting to make a squirrel, then thought a bird would be better but also wanted to include our butterfly idea. So we combined all our ideas to make this Birdterfly.

Get all your materials ready and see if they work.

Remember to not cover the sensor after all we want the No-Touch Hand Soap Dispenser to work.

Lysol Hand Soap Contest

You can be part of this initiative and get your crafty children involved by joining the Lysol contest starting March 11th.  

Decorate and share the pictures of your crafty creatures and enter for a chance to win a mini-tablet daily. Here are the contest rules and regulations, don't forget to read them before you start your project :)

Disclosure: I am participating in the Kid Who Touches Everything blog tour by MC Canada on behalf of Lysol.  As a thank you I received compensation for sharing my opinion.  All rights reserved on photographs and written content Createwithmom © 2011 - 2013. Please Ask First