Jill Amery, Author at Urban Mommies

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Jill Amery

Jill Amery is a mom of 2 small boys and the Publisher of UrbanMommies, a stylish digital lifestyle magazine filled with fitness, style, health, recipes and savvy mom advice to help you through pregnancy, birth, and raising your kids.

Unique Tech-Free Airplane Activities for Kids

LIVE, play By Jill Amery March 6, 2017 2 Comments

Remember the old days of air travel when a deck of cards and a few postcards were all that was needed for in-flight entertainment? Travel has changed. Somewhere between forcing passengers to surrender our tweezers and restrict ginormous amounts of liquid in carry-on bags our personal freedom has decreased. Not to worry, though, because our level of freedom with entertainment has actually grown exponentially. We have so many technological-based was to be entertained, counting them can be hard. I get it. I’m totally guilty, which is why I’ve come up with some tech-free airplane activities. For kicks.

Britax Advocate ClickTight Car Seat

auto, GEAR By Jill Amery February 23, 2017 No Comments

If ONLY this were around when my kids were little. I remember the contortions and broken nails trying to hook up the *9Ghjeu!!!%(* car seats. And even better – when you test drive family vehicles as part of your profession? You have to shift them weekly (along with stale french fries and empty juice boxes). The new Britax Advocate ClickTight Convertible car seat makes me want to have it in the car just because it’s so easy to install. It includes the ClickTight Installation System for the safest and easiest installation in every car, every time. It’s also built for the Canadian as well as the US market. This seat offers three layers of side impact protection, an impact-absorbing base and steel frame for maximum safety.

Updating Old Diet Habits

EAT, snacks By Jill Amery February 23, 2017 3 Comments

As a little girl I used to have hot chocolate in a china cocoa set from 1860. The ritual and care required so as not to chip the cups etched the experience on my memory. The hot chocolate was the powder kind and on special occasions, it would contain dehydrated mini marshmallows. You could watch the sugar crystals in the powder as they dissolved. Back then a product was a product and nutritional ‘truths’ were a given. Soup, salad and milk were good for you. Candy was bad, and unless potatoes accompanied your meat, it wasn’t a proper dinner. Eating from the four food groups detailed in Canada’s Food Guide and doing some school ‘particip-action’ would keep you fit.

Family First at Mt. Baldy

Canada, ROAM By Jill Amery February 18, 2017 No Comments

It’s not every day you meet a guy named Snowy Joey and ski perfect glades wearing a personalised scarf deeming you to be a Babe. But over the Family Day weekend, my family and I did just that.

Explore Mount Baldy – ski over to the Mt. Baldy website for more.

Nestled between Oliver and Osoyoos, B.C., Mt. Baldy is an extinct volcano that looks like a bald guy without a comb over. At 1,722 metres ( 5,650 feet) above sea level, Baldy has the highest base altitude of any ski resort in Canada. With three lifts serving 395 metres (1,293 feet) of vertical, a new racing team, terrain park, snow cross course and robust social event calendar, Baldy is the name being whispered in conversations across the ski community.

There are No Alternative Facts on a Nutrition Label

FAM, health By Jill Amery February 16, 2017 No Comments

We’re living in mystical times, when news is deemed ‘fake’ and talking points go unverified. Thankfully, in Canada, there are many vital pieces of information that we can trust with certainty. Facts are facts. And in times like these, when we actually have 100% true, real information in front of us, it’s our duty to actually know how to understand and decipher that information.

Could You Recognize a Heart Attack in Women?

FAM, health By Jill Amery February 3, 2017 1 Comment

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Bayer. You will want to read it, though, as I have done a ton of research into what women should look for in heart attacks, and this is info that you’ll want to tuck away into your knowledge bank.

The French have it right. Inspired cuisine, detail-rich architecture, and an appreciation of ‘amour’ that outlasts the February Valentine’s fad. We are embarking on a month where matters of the heart reign supreme. But while many of us search for the perfect lingerie or chocolate truffles, somebody we know is suffering from heart disease. Keeping ourselves and our loved ones around for as long as possible is a far better Valentine’s gift than love-handle inducing candy.

National Geographic Family Field Guide

grow, LIVE By Jill Amery February 1, 2017 No Comments

Whether it’s ideas for how Star Wars can inspire STEM learning to why it’s important to have kids help plan the family vacay, the National Geographic Family Field Guide is the place to be. Communicating with parents is super important at National Geographic in order to further the company’s core values, and sometimes kids devour the witty, respectful content so fast that parents can get left behind. No longer!

Le Taha’a Resort, French Polynesia

International, ROAM By Jill Amery January 17, 2017 No Comments

There is a chance I may never scuba dive again. Because then I will be able to say “the last time I dove was in Bora Bora.” And really, with a drift snorkel jammed with vibrant coral and exotic fish directly next to Le Taha’a Resort, I have one less reason to don a scuba tank. (And one more excuse to visit this property again). For the record, we didn’t sleep at Le Tahaa, but I was given an extensive tour of the rooms, the pool and spa while also experiencing a spectacular lunch. I’d heard many mutterings about the Relais & Chateau – operated property on Taha’a, but had no idea how blown away I would be at the vistas and service until I approached the small French Polynesian island in the resort’s private shuttle.

It’s Not My Fault my Labrador Loves Food

FAM, pets By Jill Amery January 11, 2017 No Comments

I have a lot of friends who have opted to be pet parents instead of kid parents. While they know enough not to lambaste me on decisions about breastfeeding or screen time, they always seem to have criticism and advice about how I raise my beloved cat and purebred English Lab. Our dog Piper, in particular, has always been a going concern for the judgy-friend posse. Does she have fleas? She seems overweight. Does she look puffy to me? Am I exercising her properly? Are you reading the latest pet magazines to stay up to date? It is so ironic that I started UrbanMommies to combat the judgement and lack of solid information about pregnancy and parenting, and ten years later I’m in the same situation, but with my pets.

Minecraft Explained

GEAR, tech, toys By Jill Amery December 23, 2016 No Comments

If you have kids, chances are you are aware of the epic game that is Minecraft. It took me a while to figure it out, and chances are if you are new to the scene you need to have the intricacies of Minecraft explained as well. Available in gaming console or computer version or on tablets, this spatially-rich building game allows your character to build a three-dimensional world while avoiding zombies, creepers, spiders, skeletons and endermen. Our whole family plays and the experiences we’ve had have given us bonding time and amazing memories.

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