If feels like we’ve already had 4 back to schools this year alone. Homeschooling during pandemics is tough, and trying to keep the kids on track is almost impossible. (Never thought I’d write that sentence!!) Here are some back to school (again) iPad apps for grade school kids can help get organized. Breathe…. With lessons becoming more fun and interactive, kids may find them easier and more organized than the traditional modes of learning.
While tax time makes you do a hard look at your spending habits and swimsuit season can help us realize we’ve been light on kale servings, there has been little impetus in my family to check our technology usage. A bank balance or a scale can provide some hard data to allow us to analyze and then change habits, and now, the Shaw BlueCurve Gateway modem and Home app allow us to do this with device usage. It just can’t make you eat more veggies!
Toys!!!! My problem in choosing toys is that I want them all! It takes me forever to select gifts like this when I just want to keep playing. Here are some of my favourite hot holiday toy picks:
Anyone else play Pokemon Go as soon as the kids are at school and text the photos of the epic Pokemon you caught while you are traveling? I didn’t think so. In case you like electric types as much as we do, there are a few fun things on our Pokemon gift list.
I have two boys and very real concerns (read: I’m petrified) about their entry into the digital space. While I haven’t been one of the parents who refrained from submitting the kids’ photos or names into cyberspace, I am one of the last hold-outs for allowing them an instagram account. There’s also been a significant amount of avoidance about when they can get cell phones. After a lavish essay about why instagram is a good thing, our older child was awarded his own profile, with very strict rules and unlimited access by me. As I now venture into parenting kids who will eventually own a mobile phone, a roundup of parental control apps is in order.
Living near a large city has its perks; there is always something fun happening, indoors and out, and going into the city is a great way to spend the day together as a family. I know that’s how I should feel, but for years I didn’t. I work in that same big city, and couldn’t wait to get home to my suburban life at the end of the day. It’s not because I don’t love the city; I do. It’s not because I don’t know about all of the amazing sights, events, and activities the city has to offer either, and it’s not because we don’t have a pretty reliable transportation system to get us there.
I am a tradition-a-holic. From a very young age, I have been addicted to the traditions that surround each holiday. Meticulously sorting Halloween candy with my brother, reading holiday-themed books with family, piling into a vehicle with friends to go on a Christmas light tour, and hand-decorating Valentine’s Day cards for classmates. Traditions are an integral part of each holiday and they are what evoke feelings of nostalgia, comfort, and most of all connection with each other.
There are few treats in life as precious as a photograph that communicates instantly with a viewer, and Annie Griffiths does this with every shot. One of the first women photographers to work for National Geographic, Griffiths has photographed in more than a hundred countries during her illustrious career.
I remember as a student having an ‘understanding’ with the local magazine shop. Once the issues were out of date, the shop would send back the covers of unsold inventory for reimbursement and put the full issues minus the cover in the trash. You could say that as a student I was frugal, but I managed to find many wonderful articles in these ‘found’ magazines. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, right?
Well times have changed (thank goodness). Mobile and internet savvy folks can now get access to over 100 of the best magazines (and back issues!) with Next Issue Canada, a subsidiary of Rogers Publishing. For as low as $9.99 per month, you can receive unlimited access to over 100 of the world’s best magazines, including back issues. If you’re a magazine junkie, this is a huge savings, and we’d love your help spreading the word!
I just signed up for a FREE 30 day trial of Next Issue Canada to be used on my tablet and guess what I found? Sign Up for the Trial!
Todays Parent: The goods on thumb sucking – will it really affect you child’s teeth if you don’t set an end date?
Conde Nast Traveler: In case you’re planning a road trip around the Florida Keys, you’ll want to check out more than the key lime pie – especially in Key West.
Real Simple: If you have pets, or crayon-wielding toddlers, you’ll love this article on how to clean your upholstery.
InStyle: Instant style when trying to get fit. No more excuses to dodge the gym.
Town & Country: Who knew this iconic luxury magazine does a round-up of their top 50 bachelors? Not that we’re looking, but..
You can follow NextIssue on Pinterest, like NextIssueCanada on Facebook and follow @NextIssueCanada on Twitter. That’s free too.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored article from Next Issue Canada. All opinions are our own.
Ahh. The bustling crowds at the mall. Are you getting excited? Think of it: in every city across Canada, hours have been extended and decorations hung in anticipation of the RUSH. You know the one I mean: the parking lot scramble, forgetting where you put your car and carrying 15 heavy bags and ending up in tears (maybe that’s just me), lining up for the must-have toy of the season because you know it’ll make your little one cry tears of joy.
I have made a vow this year to do a lot of my shopping online. Do I trust online shopping? Absolutely. Even credit card companies protect us these days. Must I worry about store closing times, a perfectly coiffed friend seeing me in sweats or getting lost in a mall? No.
As I write I’m distracted by the thought of a roaring fire and glass of eggnog. The dog is snuggled at my feet and I’m watching Casablanca in the background as I browse online for holiday gifts. For others, of course. Bliss.
Though I have been an AIR MILES Collector for 20 years, I didn’t discover airmilesshops.ca until this year. Shocked, all of the stores I was planning to visit both North and South of the border are actually online – and I will earn reward miles for my shopping. As a bonus, many of the stores on airmilesshops.ca have offers to earn 2x, 3x even 10x the reward miles on your purchases. In fact, right now for Black Friday you can earn 10x the reward miles on your purchases with airmilesshops.ca until December 4th.
All stores on airmilesshops.ca ship to or within Canada and many offer a special Canadian checkout section where purchases are priced in Canadian dollars. Wow! I get so frustrated when I go through the process on a website only to discover that the store ships only to the US. Nobody should put baby in a corner.
Want to know the stores? Let’s start with Anthropologie, shall we? And then the Apple Store Canada. Followed by a few of my favourites for each family member:
Son: Lego.com
Other Son: TOMS Canada
Mother: Hudson’s Bay Company
Me: Sephora
Husband: Bose Canada
Me from Husband: Victoria’s Secret or FTD
Dog: PetSmart
Father-in-Law: Snapfish
Cool Kid down the block: Roots
Girlfriends like me: Bloomingdales, Ann Taylor and Neiman Marcus.
My ‘work’ is done.
So as packages come in (or are wrapped and shipped directly to the recipient saving me a trip to the post office), you may hear a little squeal from me. And each order I make is adding to my growing bank of AIR MILES reward miles and reducing my holiday to-do list. With this lack of stress combined with my extra AIR MILES reward miles, I might just have to hop a plane to Hawaii for New Year’s.
<Only Half Joking>.
In terms of shipping, the individual stores do that. Visit airmilesshops.ca to start your own holiday shopping!
This post was sponsored by airmilesshops.ca. Our opinions are our own.