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Oscar-Worthy Mocktails

EAT, entertain, LIVE, play By VanessaHeron February 23, 2016 Tags: drinks for pregnant women, mocktails, non-alcoholic cocktails, party cocktails, virgin cocktails 3 Comments

The Glitz, The Glam, The Gossip. It’s Oscar season in tinseltown and Hollywood’s biggest night is upon us. The Academy Awards is the culmination of the year in film, and the nominees have been active in talk show and media circuits promoting the projects for which they hope to take home a coveted golden statue. For those of us regular folk who are not planning on attending the awards show, the Oscars are the perfect excuse to indulge in rich foods, decadent desserts, and bubbly cocktails while enjoying the show from the comfort of our couches.

4 Tips for Breaking Away from Electronics

FAM, GEAR, kids, tech By Alexa Bigwarfe February 22, 2016 1 Comment

The other day I was so engrossed with something happening on a Facebook feed, I didn’t realize my children were completely trashing our playroom. Cry for attention maybe? It’s so easy to get distracted with the never ending access to people and entertainment with smart technology. What started as a “quick check” of Facebook turned into, well, a lot longer.

How Leap Year Ruined My Birth Plan

baby, FAM, pregnancy By Guest February 22, 2016 2 Comments

My first child had a delivery that made many a mom hate me. This wonderfully compliant girl arrived at exactly forty weeks and one day. I arrived at the hospital, received an epidural, and birthed a baby girl in under two hours. Quick, uneventful, successful.

See? You hate me. But don’t worry, it won’t last.

Early Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms

FAM, pregnancy By Jill Amery February 21, 2016 5 Comments

Especially if they’ve been trying to conceive, women can become understandably obsessed with recognizing early pregnancy signs and symptoms. We all know that you wait until you’ve missed a period, take a test, and you will know for sure. But what about the other little signs that women seem to know, but the books rarely mention? They are called ‘soft signs of pregnancy’ or ‘signs of implantation’ and are hardly discussed. Once, when I was a week late, somebody asked me – do you feel pregnant? Pardon? Feel?

Why You Should Find Your Tribe

FAM, pregnancy, self By Guest February 20, 2016 No Comments

When I had my first baby and became a stay-at-home-mom, I hit a wall of loneliness after about 8 weeks of having zero adult conversation throughout the day and never going anywhere because my baby hated the car more than anything else. I desperately needed to find people I could connect with in order to save my sanity. My wonderful doula suggested that I meet up with a group of girls who called themselves the Booby Buddies (a bunch of breastfeeding mamas offering each other support). Feeling really awkward, I timidly contacted one of the girls in the group and she promptly invited me over for a play date.

10 Items Parents Should Take in Carry-On Bags

Canada, FAM, International, kids, ROAM, USA By Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma February 20, 2016 Tags: air travel, flying with kids, Travel, travel with kids 1 Comment

I travel often with my kids and while it’s much easier now as they’re getting older, I still remember the horrific time with one baby in a carrier, the other standing beside me trying to manoeuvre in a tiny airplane stall. And then there’s the flight where at least one child has cried for 9 straight hours. Yes, I have experienced flights from hell, and lived to tell the tale.

Healthy Winter Meals on a Budget

EAT, eat, family meals, LIVE By Jill Amery February 19, 2016 Tags: #BetterFoodStartsHere, @SafewayCanada, beef, Boeuf Bourgignon, ham, jambalaya, Jamie Oliver, produce, turkey, vegetarian chili 2 Comments

Just over ten years ago I moved from Ontario to British Columbia. In addition to the three hour time change and milder climate, I was baffled that prices could be so different in the two provinces. Fitness studios, manicures and spas are a much better value on the west coast, but life’s staples are considerably more expensive. It’s not just the million dollar teardown homes that blow family budgets, but gas and groceries take a huge dent out of monthly paychecks compared to what the family spent in Ontario.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Mother

FAM, self By Guest February 19, 2016 Tags: help, isolation, loneliness, mom socialization 4 Comments

Last week, I showed up to my friend Jana’s house (where we co-teach our kids three days a week) late and frazzled. The morning had started off fine, but time slipped away from me between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. The kids’ morning routine somehow devolved into missing shoes and arguments about whose turn it was to scoop the litter box. I forgot our eldest had a class at a different house than the other kids, and scrambled to throw together a sack lunch. I ran out of time to shower. As we raced out the door, bickering and angst nipped at our heels. By the time we got to Jana’s house, SO late, I was full-on cranky and ragged and ready to admit defeat.

Tricks for Getting Outside in Crappy Weather

FAM, health By Jill Amery February 18, 2016 Tags: Canadian Ski Council, ebay, fire, fireplace, gear, get outside, GoPro, grandparents, headlamp, ice fishing, icebreaker, Lifeproof, MEC, memories, Mountain Equipment Co-op, nature valley, outdoor activity, power outage, rain, rainsuit, Sports, technology, toboggan No Comments

It can be just as hard to be active outdoors in gross weather as it is to stick to your diet goals during the holidays. The great news is that Gore-Tex has now been invented, and warm inner layers are far more stylish than the long-johns of old. Living in the Pacific Northwest, my family is very lucky to have hiking and ski hills at our doorstep, but getting outside still takes motivation when the weather isn’t co-operating.

How Can I Tell if I have Miscarried?

FAM, health, pregnancy By Guest February 18, 2016 Tags: Conception, cramping, heavy bleeding, miscarriage, miscarriage symptoms, miscarry, nausea, pregnancy 12 Comments

There aren’t many scarier experiences in a woman’s life than when she is thinking she may be having a miscarriage. Statistics tell us that around 50% of pregnancies do end in miscarriages, but most of those women have no idea they were even pregnant in the first place. The majority of miscarriages happen in the first two weeks after conception, and the woman thinks she is just having a slightly heavier menstrual cycle than normal. However, when miscarriage happens further along in the pregnancy it can be truly devastating, especially to those parents who have planned and perhaps waited for years for their baby. Many women will ask – how can I tell if I have miscarried?

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