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Whitening your Teeth

beauty, GEAR By Jill Amery January 8, 2013 Tags: arbutus dentist, chris kan, featured, kitsilano dentist, nite white, nitewhite, smile, teeth whitening No Comments

My Dentist (He deserved to have it capitalized) is amazing. Patient, not condescending even if I haven’t flossed in a bit, and the kids adore him. I thought he was perfect. And then he whitened my teeth and now I know I would marry the guy if I were not married already.

The first appointment in the teeth whitening process was wonky. That’s a technical term. Reverse moulds are done by placing trays around the teeth and squirting purple playdough-like stuff into the moulds. I should have been a scientist. It’s purple, and then it hardens white! How cool is that?

A few weeks later, the rubber trays are ready and you are all set to begin whitening your teeth at home. You get the plaster moulds too which is awesome, since after I whitened my teeth to a stunning shade of pearl, I left the trays in Argentina. So now I can get new ones made with these exact replicas of my mouth. You are given syringes filled with 2 types of whitener that also work to strengthen enamel. The dual-compartment syringes make you feel pretty advanced, and ensure you squirt every crevice of the trays accurately. You just have to be careful when your nanny/cleaning lady finds the empties in the garbage and suspects that you’re on drugs.

I remember the old-style whitener, where you slept with your trays in. The trays didn’t cover the whole tooth, you certainly never got lucky overnight, and the next morning you couldn’t enjoy coffee due to tooth sensitivity. With the Nite White – 10 minutes, baby! And you notice a difference right away. You can whiten to the degree you prefer. (Remember the Friend’s episode with Ross’ fluorescent teeth? Stop before that point.) Incidentally, you can also leave them in overnight without the morning sensitivity. You still might not get lucky though.

I wish someone would invent something this easy for flossing.

Dr. Chris Kan own the Arbutus Point Dental Centre in Kitsilano, Vancouver. He is also possibly a demi-God.

Disclosure: UrbanMommies was given a teeth whitening experience and as always, our opinions are our own.

Nordic Treat Hydrogel Face Mask and Eye Patch

beauty, GEAR, LIVE, nourish By Jill Amery January 8, 2013 Tags: beauty, champagne, dark circles, eye patch, face mask, featured, nordic treat exclusive, smooth skin, wrinkles No Comments

They had me at champagne. The Nordic Treat Hydrogel Face Mask and Eye Patch contain champagne yeast which stimulates cell renewal, supports the skin’s repair mechanisms, helps metabolism and non-technically speaking – makes your skin feel baby-smooth. It’s also a great excuse to accompany your spa treatment with some bubbly. Just sayin’.

Opening the package, I pulled out a white hockey-like mask that was sticky when you remove the backing. My kids stared and my husband chuckled. I always have some new product on my skin and he never knows how I’ll appear when I’m doing a pamper session. This felt wonderful and nurturing for the full 30 minutes and I couldn’t understand how the mask felt so damp on my skin without falling right off. The formula is based on pure Artesian Water from Norway and the addition of Sparkling wine yeast, which is rich in anti-oxidant Glutathione. Hydrogel is water in a solid form that holds all of the great nutrients and ingredients. It feels cool to the skin and evaporates gradually, leaving the fragile ingredients behind.

The eye patch noticeably helped my dark circles and puffiness. (Though the champagne I imbibed with the treatment probably didn’t help in the end.) My only complaint? I wish there were a full-body wrap. Pretty please?

Disclosure: UrbanMommies was sent samples for review.

Apple Cosmopolitan

EAT, entertain By Jill Amery December 29, 2012 Tags: alcohol, cold-weather apple cosmopolitan, drinks, featured, holidays, Spiced apple cocktail 1 Comment

Spiced apple cocktail makes a great cold-weather apple cosmopolitan. Serve ice cold. Thread a dried apple chip onto the cinnamon stick garnish if you’d like. We also have a ton of mocktail recipes if you’d prefer!

Serves: 1 Prep time: 5 minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy

Ingredients:
½ cup President’s Choice Spiced Apple Cocktail
2 tbsp (25 ml) Vodka
2 tbsp (25 ml) Calvados or Applejack or other apple brandy
1 cinamon stick Ice cubes 1.

Method:
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add apple cocktail, vodka and Calvados. Shake. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with cinnamon stick. Makes 1 serving

Mint Chocolate Cake Pops

EAT, entertain By Jill Amery December 29, 2012 Tags: birthday parties, entertaining, featured, Mint Chocolate Cake Pops No Comments

Cake pops are all the rage. Bet you didn’t know the secret is frosting! For an added touch, drizzle cake pops with melted white chocolate and coloured sprinkles. Try our Mint Chocolate Cake Pops recipe.

Serves: 20
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 minute
Chill time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Ingredients:
4 cups (1 L) prepared chocolate cake chunks
1 cup (250 mL) vanilla frosting
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) PC Decadent Mint Chocolate Chips
20 paper lollipop sticks
2 tbsp (25 mL) canola oil

Method:
Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 1. In large bowl, add cake chunks and frosting; mix together using spatula until fully combined. Spoon 2 tbsp (25 mL) mixture at a time and form into rough-shaped balls; arrange on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate 1 hour. 2. Once chilled, roll each rough-shaped ball into a smooth round ball; refrigerate until ready to use. 3. Place chocolate chips in small glass microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH in 15 to 20 second intervals, stirring in between, for about 1 minute or until chocolate is completely melted. Dip one end of a lollipop stick ¾ -inch (2 cm) into melted chocolate; insert most of the way into a cake ball. Repeat with remaining sticks and cake balls. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to use. 4. Meanwhile, reheat chocolate if necessary to maintain pourable consistency; gently stir in oil. Dip a cake ball into chocolate to coat completely, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl; insert stick into a Styrofoam block or drinking glass stuffed with foil. Repeat with remaining cake balls. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Makes 20 cake pops. TIP: You can use home-made or store-bought chocolate cake and vanilla frosting.

10 Ways to Save Money During the Holidays

FAM, self By Jill Amery December 20, 2012 Tags: apps, budget, featured, hipmunk, iBooks, Kindle, Kobo, mobilicity, save money No Comments

January is all about new beginnings – thinning out, simplifying and looking forward to longer daylight hours. So why do we continually sabotage ourselves in December? According to new research released by Mobilicity, Canada’s smart mobile phone carrier, 58 per cent of Canadians say they spend more than they should during the holidays and a further 59 per cent find themselves making impulse purchases. This overindulgence may lead to feelings of guilt, remorse or the ‘holiday shopping hangover’.

Unfortunately, it’s often parents of young children who are at greatest risk for this holiday overspending phenomenon. We’ve put together a few tips so that you can start your new year early (and not hide under the covers when your bills come in).

1. Buy e-books as gifts on Kindle, iBooks or Kobo. They are much less expensive (and environmentally-friendly) than the paper versions.

2. Utilize the apps on your smartphone to save money. Some of our favs include: Shopcatch, Groupon, Living Social, Hotels.com, Kayak, AirBNB, and Hipmunk. In today’s economy, it is perfectly acceptable to gift a daily deal voucher provided you have put careful thought into the desires of the recipient.

3. Set limits for gifting to family. Drawing names and setting a $50 limit can be fun and won’t break the bank.

4. Dropbox is a free service that saves you printing costs and allows you to access your documents and photos from any computer or smartphone.

5. Flipboard is a fabulous alternative to buying paper magazines. Big Oven or Food Network Canada house thousands of recipes and can help save money on Hard copy recipe books.

6. Amazon has a great app that allows you to scan bar codes in stores in order to compare prices to what the item sells for on Amazon.

7. Shop all year. Seriously. When you see a great sale, keep the December holidays in mind and consider buying gifts for friends and family early. Black Friday sales have also come to Canada and stores like the Bay, Future Shop and Apple are offering deep discounts.

8. Make sure you research your big purchases. Tripadvisor, Yelp and Auto Trader are great apps with which to research big ticket items.

9. We have lots of Homemade Holiday Gift ideas. Especially when received from children, they are filled with love and sentiment for special people in the kids’ lives.

10. Give experiences instead of ‘things’. Offer to babysit for close friends and supply movie tickets. Take a friend’s children to the zoo. Make coupons for the kids for extra screen time or a date with Mommy.

There is no need for guilt or remorse due to overspending if you consider the needs of others and plan ahead. (Goodness knows – parents are hard enough on themselves!) Using technology to make life easier (and cheaper) will help you to embrace your January goals and limit the January holiday shopping ‘hangover’.

Liberia – The Trip of a Lifetime

charity, FAM By Jill Amery December 18, 2012 Tags: alberta, featured, football, kaylyn kyle, Lethbridge, level the field, liberia, Lori Harasem, olympics, right to play, soccer 4 Comments

And then there was the week that I didn’t really sleep. Olympian Kaylyn Kyle and I were behind in votes. I called in a ton of favours and spread the message in creative (and largely annoying) ways. Friends knew how important Liberia was to me and would ask daily about vote count. As I had an emotional drop-off of one of my kids at school, a mom embraced me and encouraged me to share about my children and my life. During our conversation I shared about “Level The Field” and her eyes lit up. She had worked for the Swedish Olympic team for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and is very familiar with the organization and the benefit of sports for kids. Rocking her newborn in the stroller, she mentioned that she had a few friends in the sports field (that was a pun..) and would reach out to them to help our cause for Health in Liberia.

Fast forward. Several days after the contest closed I was practicing square breathing and coaxing myself to carry on with life. My friends and colleagues didn’t want to ask too much. I was clearly distracted. I got the email indicating I would go to Liberia while headed to the gym and became one of those people on her phone during an hour of cardio I hadn’t really noticed. (I joked with Kaylyn that if we were to travel together she’d put my abs to shame). Could it be true? Could Liberia have won – when George Weah, one of Liberia’s most famous humanitarian athletes was a footballer as well? Liberia needs so much support after recent years of civil war. 200,000 people have died and it ranks amongst the poorest nations on the planet. Inequality. Sexual crimes. Disease. The women, children and the handicapped youth need the teachings of inclusiveness that Right To Play can offer.

A few days later I was on a press trip to Ottawa and was about to tour the Canadian Parliament Buildings when I got another email announcing the voter who had won the chance to accompany the group on our expedition. Her name is Lori Harasem and she lives in Alberta. With three kids she finds time to work as the Recreation and Culture Development Manager for the City of Lethbridge and volunteers too.

Apparently Lori and I had a mutual friend. Could it be? I sent a covert text to my friend from my sons’ school to see if she knew Lori. Apparently they were childhood friends and Lori was described as an extremely special, caring and loyal woman with a true believe and love of sport and play. I tingled head to toe. And then I toured the crucible of Canadian law and government feeling the importance of community, integrity and outreach. The stately building made me realize even further that our position as Canadians allows us to help other nations – other children. I am so honoured to be an ambassador for Right To Play. To represent my country and to help children smile. Somehow my kids’ Christmas lists don’t seem very pressing.

As I expressed to the other parent ambassadors when we were simultaneously told the news, I have been humbled just to be chosen to participate in the Level The Field program. The prestigious group of parents who participated did a stellar job, and I still marvel at the work put in and the exposure that was given to the organization. The true winners are the kids that we will be able to support through awareness and future donations. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all 6 West African nations could have oodles of funds flowing in? I know that Right To Play is dear to all of our hearts now and hopefully in time we will all be able to help all of the 6 countries. In the Level The Field program and the 20 countries Right To Play works in across the world.

I told my schoolyard mom friend the news and the next day she cornered me as we waited for the bell. Her son wants to start raising money to send soccer balls with me to Liberia. He has a plan. He’s 7. And clearly very special.

Let the journey begin!

Mexi Meatless Shepherd’s Pie

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery December 6, 2012 Tags: amy snider-wilson, family meal, family meals, featured, Mexi Meatless Shepherd’s Pie, mexican, quinoa, vegetarian No Comments

When the Vegetarian’s Complete Quinoa Cookbook arrived at the UrbanMommies offices we got very excited! It is often difficult to find great recipes for vegetarians. This Mexican inspired meatless Shepherd’s Pie is packed with healthy ingredients and huge flavour.

Homemade Fruit Roll-ups Recipe

EAT, lunches, snacks By Jill Amery November 16, 2012 Tags: featured, fruit, leather, lunch, roll, schoollunches, ups No Comments

Do your kids love fruit roll ups, but you don’t love that store bought ones are mostly just sugar?! Our Homemade Fruit Roll-ups are a fantastic snack and a great activity to make with the kids. Better yet? When you make them yourself you save money and know exactly what ingredients are going into the kids’ lunches.

Homemade fruit roll-ups recipe

2 cups organic strawberries (or other fruit)
¼ tsp cinnamon

Blend the fruit until smooth, then spread onto a Teflex sheet or a parchment-lined baking sheet.
If using a dehydrator, dehydrate at 105 degrees F for 8-10 hours or until the fruit is pliable and easy to peel from the sheet.
If using an oven, leave it on at the lowest temperature until the fruit is dry (times will vary depending on the oven).
Cut into strips and store in a glass container in the refrigerator.

From My Edible Advice

Teaching Compassion Early May Lead To An Easier Time as a Teenager

FAM, kids By Guest November 14, 2012 Tags: adolescence, characteristics, children, compassion, Education, empathy, featured, manners, parents, peers, teaching, teenager, teenagers, traits, values No Comments

What does compassion have to do with having an easier time as a teenager? What can parents do to encourage and teach to our children to be more compassionate when there are so many other distractions and role models distracting them from learning these lessons?

With TravelKiddy, Globetrotting’s A Breeze!

Canada, ROAM By Guest November 13, 2012 Tags: activities, car, entertainment, featured, games, plane, Travel, travelkiddy No Comments

“Over the River and through the woods…”

Well, you know the rest, don’t you? Gone are the days of congenial drives in the family car to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. Did those days ever really exist? Today, our little singer would rather don a pair of earphones and spend time staring at a screen (computer, gaming system, DVD player etc.) than participate in a family sing-a-long in the car. But, if like us and you feel that allowing your child to completely disconnect from the rest of the family is just plain unacceptable, there is a solution. TravelKiddy, a company that specializes in keeping your kids entertained on long car, plane or train rides without the need of an electronic screen is just a mouse click away.

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