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.
The month of November was ‘Financial Literacy Month’, and after an introduction to some key family budgeting ideas from Interac, I spent the entire month thinking.
This fresh and healthy recipe for lemony lentils with kale packs a punch of nutrients and stays warm in a dutch oven while you pry the kids off to a fun activity! It’s filled with iron in the kale, and the lentils aren’t their normal chalky, flavourless selves because of the lemon punch. It’s a great side to roast chicken or fish. Delicious.
Who else is on week two of clean eating, limiting alcohol and exercising like an Olympian? Snicker. Yes, I gave up on January 3rd as well. I find January particularly hard, and not only because it’s a birthday month for me. The pandemic has made working out even more of a hurdle, streaming has increased snacking, and with home schooling and isolation, most of us aren’t feeding our souls. One of the worst resolution-killers is guilt, and many of us throw away a whole plan if we slip up a bit. As we grow up, and especially as we develop as parents, we learn that the all-or-nothing approach in not only unrealistic, but can harm our ambitions. So this year, give yourself a break and tone down your resolutions so that they become slow-building habits instead of guilt-inducing nooses.
Got a child who needs a little calm-me-down at bedtime? Here are three great versions of the classic “Warm Milk” for babies and kids. Older kids can make them by themselves (with adult supervision of course).The mint milk is super soothing and refreshing, whereas adding molasses coats a sore throat and provides comfort.
Every time I enter DisneyLand, Walt Disney World or one of the Disney cruises, pixie dust fills my lungs, families get giddy and stress is stomped like a marshmallow. Not this year. Like most of us, hugging Mickey has not been in the cards due to pandemic travel bans. Sometimes, even with being showered with love and good fortune, I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t always recognize the blessings around me. I allow myself to get stampeded by life and *gasp*, complain sometimes. In past travels to California and Florida, Disney taught me several things, and my goal for 2021 is to incorporate as many of the lessons into my own life as I can. Even when I can’t go there at the moment. Here are my 12 Disney-inspired New Year’s resolutions.
You guys know how much I adore my tech. It helps streamline schedules, keeps us entertained and gives us the ability to create. This year, having to stay distanced over the holidays means a bit of a shift towards items that are 100% dependable in order to keep us seamlessly connected.
In the third instalment of our gift guide, I want to focus on local. Tech and toys will come later, but for now, here are a few ideas to support businesses on the ground in Canada!
To continue the ‘shop local from a distance theme to our gift guide, here are a few more ideas from Canadian-owned businesses with great products. When you buy Canadian, you help to bolster the economy and support many fellow citizens. In the photo above, I am wearing a dress from Simons and mask from Narces, which was also featured in Vogue magazine. Happy shopping!
What a crazy time! I am gutted for performing artists, small businesses, restaurant owners, and all of those who have lost loved ones this year. I’ve decided to focus for our main gift guides on small business in Canada. These are all brands that ship, so you can support local, but from a safe distance.
