Make a good choice with Life Choices Foods

When we are shopping for food for our family there are several factors we take into consideration when making our purchases. Those are quality, quantity, ease of making and cost. The food has to be good tasting, if the kids don't like it trust me,  they will not eat it. It has to have nutritional value, no added preservatives or saturated and trans fats. It has to be easy to make, I'm no star-chef when it comes to the kitchen and with little ones running around, the easier the better. It has to be cost-efficient, we have to keep on budget with everything and this includes our food.

We were recently introduced to Life Choices Foods, a healthier choice for your family.
Life Choices Foods is a natural health foods company based in Toronto with a mission: To make the right choice easy. Life Choices Foods products are not only natural, but best of all they're kid-friendly! Life Choices Foods provide Canadian families with healthy versions of the foods they want to eat, such as Pizzas, Mac & Cheese, Meatballs, Chicken Fingers and even Pierogies!

Life Choices Foods can be found at our local Independent Grocer. Since this was our first time trying Life Choices Foods we decided we'll go with a family pizza. I like that they offer a variety of frozen foods that can be simply cooked in the stove. That to me is the easiest way to go, pop dinner in the oven like a family pizza while I help with homework.

The Pizzas come in four different varieties: Organics Three-Cheese, Organics Chicken & Spinach, Organics Vegetable no cheese and Organics Mushroom. Since again, the picky eaters refuse anything "strange" to them on their pizza we went with the Organics Three-Cheese. Simplest way to get the wholesome into the kids without them really knowing.

Life Choices Foods Organics Three Cheese Pizza is made with an organic whole wheat crust and topped with organic partially skimmed mozzarella, cheddar and Parmesan cheeses. A Pizza few kids, or grownups can resist. Allergy Caution: contains wheat and milk ingredients.

Our Experience: Pizza is always an easy sell in my house, I like that this one is healthy and the family wouldn't have known the difference from our usual "no name" Pizza we tend to buy. The family pizza are thin crust, like any other you have to watch not to make it too crispy! Overall it was pretty good, no complaints from this family! Next I think we just adventure into meatballs! We enjoyed our experience with Life Choices Foods and can't wait to try more of their delectable dishes!

Visit www.lifechoicesfoods.com for more info on products and where to find them in your area!

Posted on behalf of Life Choices Foods. Opinions and comments on this blog are those of the author.

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Host a Pink LemonAid Stand for Because I am a Girl

Last year I posted about Because I am a Girl by Plan Canada, an organization on a mission to spread a positive message about the importance of educating our girls of tomorrow, giving them a future of hope and wonder in the developing world. Because I am a girl was travelling across Canada interviewing young women across the country for a special documentary.

Plan Canada's Because I am a Girl movement shows how investing in girls is key to eliminating poverty and creating a better world for tomorrow, today. It's a global initiative to raise awareness and donations to help ensure a brighter, safer future for girls in the developing world.

This year, Plan Canada's Because I am a Girl is on another mission, to raise not only awareness but also funds for the foundation in a fun way.

Summer is just around the corner and with it comes some of our favourite outdoor activities. Long walks with loved ones, stopping to smell the flowers and a long time Canadian tradition - the lemonade stand.

Lemonade stands are a great way for kids of all ages to have fun while they learn about money and being entrepreneurial. Lemonade stands are also a great way to help teach kids about the importance of giving to others and help them become more socially conscious.

Plan Canada's Because I am a Girl invites you to participate in making that difference and fundraising using their Pink LemonAid Stand kit!  Pink LemonAid is an easy way to make small actions here in Canada drive big change for girls in developing countries.


It's super easy to get started with your own Pink LemonAid stand and raise some funds at your next outdoor summer event:

- Visit the Because I am a Girl website at www.becauseiamagirl.ca and download the Pink LemonAid digital materials or request your own Pink LemonAid stand kit via the mail in the fundraising section.

 
-Choose your fundraising goal and track it on  the Because I am a Girl website. Family and friends can also visit your online donations page to make a contribution!
- Choose a location. Lemonade stands are perfect additions to yard sales, school fundraisers or community events! Maybe have a Pink LemonAid stand set up for your next friendly neighbourhood BBQ and kick off the summer raising funds for a great cause!
-Invite family and friends to come out and support your cause. The more the merrier!

*This is not me and K but isn't the set up lovely!*

We will be having a family garage sale in a couple of weeks, although we would love to donate all our proceeds, with our budget we can't however having our daughter help out and maybe host a Pink LemonAid stand on the side we can help in our own little way :) We have ordered our kit by mail!

We hope you consider adding a Pink LemonAid stand to your summer events too!
Visit www.becauseiamagirl.ca for more info and how to get your Pink LemonAid Stand Kit!

Follow @biaagcanada on Twitter and Like Because I am a Girl on Facebook for the latest updates!

*This is not a sponsored post. Post written by A Motherhood Experience on behalf of Plan Canada's Because I am a Girl initiative. Info and images provided. All opinions are always honest and my own.*

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Right in my back yard

Every year since we have moved here Dh takes good care of our back yard. He turned what used to be a disgusting mud pit, into a beautiful backyard "oasis". He planted and tended to new grass, our pretty flower garden on the side of the house is blooming more and more.



He built up our back yard and made it livable for our busy family. A nice wooden patio-deck we entertain on, surrounded by pretty flowers and his recent project, an overhead lattice entrance to the deck for the vines that always try to grow into our house. He did an amazing job and the best part is he didn't spend a fortune doing it. Just time and love.


We love sitting out on the patio on sunny mornings. Sunshine hits directly on the deck, also perfect for setting up the kids pool so they can cool off on hot summer afternoons.


Get togethers are less crowded when its nice and everyone can sit outside in the sun or under the umbrella. Our summer celebrations will be even better this year.



I'm looking forward to another summer of memories, right in my back yard.



*All opinions on this blog are honest & my own*

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Programming for the tween: Ruby Skye P.I.

I'm a Mom who doesn't mind when her kids watch their favourite shows from time to time. Now that our daughter is almost seven years old she is changing and this includes her interest in TV shows. She enjoys watching a lot of the older-kid to tween geared shows like Hannah Montana and iCarly (Okay, maybe not those specific, I don't know all their names!) but I find the characters in those shows coming across as "fake" the way they act, dress etc. Lots of make-up and sometimes questionable phrases that fly over kid's heads and not really something her little brother enjoys watching as he prefers watching his preschooler cartoons. I was recently introduced to a great web based series that both K and I can approve of: Ruby Skye P.I.!

Ruby Skye P.I. is Canada's first digital detective web series geared toward tweens. Created by Jill Golick, Ruby Skye P.I. brings you that great detective suspense we used to read in detective novels as kids ourselves in an all-new digital webisode series online!

Ruby Skye (played by Madison Cheeatow) is a lovable, smart, quick thinking and rather nosey young lady who can't resist the urge to get involved and get to the bottom of every mystery she comes across in her downtown Toronto neighbourhood - whether friends and neighbours want her 'help' or not getting herself in a little trouble along the way.

Along with her little sister Hailey Skye (played by Marlee Maslowe) who is on a mission to petition out plastic water bottles and best friend Griffin (played by Kevin Gutierrez), Ruby Skye P.I. will have your tween solving the mystery from beginning to end. The series features 12 mini-webisodes (about 3-5 minutes each episode).

What drew me toward Ruby Skye P.I. is that it's a wholesome, Canadian show that both my daughter and I can enjoy together. This long weekend we spent some mom and daughter time checking out the Ruby Skye P.I. series and also all the fun features the website has to offer.

I like that it's web-based, that way our daughter can sit and watch episodes on my net book while her little brother enjoys his cartoons on the regular TV. More shows should come out web based like this!The webisodes are fun and short so my girl had no problem following the story and getting to know the characters, even I found myself asking K what happened when I missed a small part answering the phone. The story had her engaged the whole time, wanting to hurry up and click the "next episode" button!

The story line made me laugh a little as Ruby Skye P.I. was focused on a neighbour possibly being ripped off by a Nigerian e-mail scam, you know, those emails from rich attorneys (or in this case a "prince") saying they need your help in getting money out of their country after some sort of tragic loss and as payment they "promise" to make you rich? We get our share of those emails ourselves. It was a great addition solving a mystery using that as the crime in question.

Being a tech-family we liked the fact that the kids in the show are using today's popular technology like laptops, digital Polaroid cameras and iPhone. The series teaches a lesson  about consequences for your actions, friendship and working together when Ruby gets herself into trouble for digging a little too deep in the wrong direction! Luckily she is bright and figures everything out for an overall happy ending!

On the website we found many fun, interactive things to do after watching the series like checking out the bios, yummy brownie recipes (Ruby Skye P.I. loves baking brownies!) and "Hailey Hacks" videos which are fun web tips for kids like setting face book privacy, google maps and how to use wish lists on amazon.com among others. Excellent for parents who have concerns about their kids safety online, Our daughter is starting to learn more about computers and the Internet as shes getting older and I'm glad I'm able to teach her at a young age through resources like this.

You can interact with Ruby Skye P.I. on the website by leaving a message, liking the Ruby Skye P.I. Face book fan page and follow @RubySkyePI on Twitter for all the latest updates!

My girl will be turning seven in a couple of months however, I previewed the first episode of Ruby Skye P.I. to make sure it was suitable for her maturity and happily it is and we enjoyed all the episodes together! So, if you have a little girl who's younger than eight, watch the show for yourself first as it is geared toward tweens and have a little mom-daughter time watching Ruby Skye P.I.!
We really enjoyed the 12 episodes that are now available to watch for FREE on www.rubyskyepi.com and we hope that they come out with more for us to watch!

Posted by AME on behalf of Ruby Skye PI. Complimentary Product received as a thank you. Opinions and comments on this blog are those of the author. 

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Mom's Thick Shakes

I've been on a new shake trip lately.  Since starting Prairie Naturals Lean Whey protein powder I've been experimenting different ways to get my whey!

First off, like any shake you have to make it to taste or it's brutal trying to swallow the mix. So far, I've made different fruit combo smoothies using cherry yogurt, fresh strawberry, raspberry and blueberries. Those I made for hubby and he absolutely loves them, even he says he's noticed a difference having a shake in the morning added to his daily routine as well.

My most recent adventure brings me back a few years. When I was younger, still living with my mom, I used to make the most awesome thick chocolate milk shakes ever! Yes, they are probably full of calories and why I had a "J-Lo" booty back then, but in my case I'm not trying to lose weight so the more calories the better. I tried out my plain jane thick milkshakes with an added Praire Naturals twist to the blend.

Very simple to make:

Two big scoops of Chapman's Dutch Chocolate ice cream (you can use frozen yogurt or low-fat ice cream but we had Chapman's on hand so that's what I used). Half a cup of milk (again milk can be low-fat, skim, soy etc to your liking) and two scoops Lean Whey French Vanilla Cream protein powder (you don't need this to make the actual milkshake, this is my added twist for my healthy mid-morning shakes). Blend everything together for a minute or two. It tastes like a malted milkshake.

The fun part about these is that they are simple enough to make and you can always add your favourite fruit like strawberries or banana and make an icecream smoothie!

Happy Blending!

*This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are always honest and my own*

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Deflate the Elephant

The Victoria Day long weekend is coming up, that means family and friends all over Ontario will be gathering to celebrate the unofficial beginning to summer party fun. Outdoor gatherings like pool parties, BBQ’s and cottage fun are about to begin, being a good host means more than just showing your guests a good time. It is also the host’s responsibility to make sure the guests have a safe time.

The LCBO encourages Ontarians to have safe and responsible summer through “Deflate the Elephant”. Deflate the Elephant is a social responsibility campaign by the LCBO. It encourages everyone to speak up to prevent someone from drinking and driving. The website www.deflatetheelephant.com has useful information and responsible hosting tips as well as visitors can download hosting checklists and mocktail recipes! The website also features a free interactive hosting challenge, “Speak Up” the free iPhone app and information about the Deflate the Elephant facebook page.

Here’s a treat, Deflate the Elephant and the fabulous Cocktail Deeva, Dee Brun bring us the 9^th Hole mocktail to serve guests for this weekend’s upcoming Victoria Day celebrations! Mocktails are delicious alcohol-free alternative to cocktails. They are easy to make and everybody can enjoy them. Check out this video and learn how to make your own!

Cocktail Deeva's 9th Hole Mocktail:
In a tall glass with ice,
add 1 1/2 oz acai juice
add 4 oz Lemonade
Stir to mix and garnish with a cherry.

These 9th Hole Mocktails look absolutely yummy and so simple to make, or at least Dee makes it look easy ;-) I can't wait to try them sometime!

As fun as parties are, drinking and driving is a serious matter. Too many people are killed every year because a host doesn't think to take away the keys when a guest has had a little too much to drink. We often host patio parties in the summer time and never would we think about letting one of our friends leave drunk with car keys in their hand. We make sure those we invite know how they are getting home later otherwise call a cab or we do have a couple of couches to spare. It’s not worth the risk no matter what.

Have a safe and happy Victoria Day weekend!

*This is not a sponsored post. This post was written in participation with Deflate the elephant campaign associated with the LCBO. All opinions are honest and my own. Be a smart host, be a smart guest don’t drink and drive.*

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Is today's technology doing kids more good than bad?

Last week Ruckus Media Group was asking mom's around Twitter if they thought that smart phone apps like those for iPod, iPhone and iPad made for kids, are good or bad. Good point, if you expect any device to fully educate your kids,  you've got another thing coming. Apps are not created to take place of homework, tutors or even teaching your kids the basic ABC's and 123's however, they can be used as educational tools with moderated play time and even interacting with parents, both child and parent can actually learn a thing or two with the right apps. They aren't all bad.

Ruckus Media Group are a fantastic company who create children's apps for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. They currently offer great interactive stories told by today's well-known hollywood celebrities like Goldilocks narrated by Meg Ryan and Pecos Bill narrated by Robin Williams among many other known titles. They also offer a new great interactive game called Rainforest Survival which is an interactive challenge game to encourage knowledge about rain forests and support rain forest conservation.

Now, I love participating in things like this. Voicing my opinion as a mother, especially when it has to do with things I love and well, we love iPod/iPhone apps in this house.

Personally, with moderation I see nothing wrong with kids playing educational apps on smart devices like K's iPod Touch. What I like about my daughter having her own iPod Touch is that she's still young enough that rules come with it. She doesn't play it 24/7, she doesn't bring it to school and carry it everywhere she goes for her delight and the apps we installed are age appropriate for her (shes 6 1/2). No, she has "iPod time" where she is allowed to sit and play whichever apps we have installed for her for a moderated amount of time, her iPod placed in the charging dock station when she's finished. Everything is monitored and we even have Internet restrictions so she can't browse, download or upload anything to the web without our permission. That's the beauty of the iPod/iPhone and iPad, parental restrictions for places your kids don't need to go. Also, having her own device saves mine. I was sharing my iPhone 4 (with a very thick protective shock-water-drop resistant casing on it) and well, I'm sorry but I use my iPhone for just about everything and I don't like to have to take it away or say no when she has earned some game time.

K has got many games, most of them are educational however we have installed the odd "fun" game but overall the majority of the apps on her iPod touch proudly are educational games such as the apps Ruckus Media Group create for our kids to enjoy.

If you load up the device with age appropriate apps and they play in monitored moderation, or even play with you, there's nothing wrong with a little game time.

I sent @RuckusMedia a quick message on Twitter of 140 characters saying what I thought. Happily enough a couple of days later I see a Tweet from them, including everyone that participated in their research in their blog post about it. A Motherhood Experience was included, thanks Ruckus Media! We always love giving input that can give some insight to other parents and the companies we love!

You can read the entire article HERE.

What do you think?

*Disclaimer: All opinions/comments are honest and those of the author.*

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Morning visitor

Last fall hubby caught a little squirrel. No, not to be cruel it was a baby squirrel that he thought was in some kind of squirrel trouble. I swear he wanted to bring it in the house but I would have none of it. He ended up feeding it bread crusts outside and that started a friendship like no other. Throughout the winter he fed this particular squirrel who kept coming back once in a while. Now it's Spring time, all the animals are out and about. Birds, bugs and yes, even Mr. squirrel came back.

At first I didn't want hubby getting too attached to this squirrel, after all I do have a slight fear of rodents. This includes mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, bats etc and well, squirrels are in that family. They have those sharp front teeth and twitch all the time (creeps me out OK?). I remember my mom feeding these squirrels where we used to live in Aylmer. She fed them every day right on her deck, mixed nuts she'd buy by the jar full. One day she had the glass door of the patio open so it was just the screen. She also kept a big jar of these nuts on top of the microwave which was located right beside the patio doors. One day one of her squirrel pets decided to take it upon itself to get the nuts and ripped a big hole in the screen door trying to get in. Thankfully we had cats and they scared it away. This reminded me of that time.

Now Mr. squirrel makes it a daily routine to visit early in the morning, I think he's starting to notice the routine that the dogs won't be let out if we see the squirrels in the yard. The dogs hate them and go crazy chasing them out of the yard. Pretty funny but I feel bad for the little buggers. Have a 100lbs doberman run at you barking, all white teeth showing. I'd run for my life too ;-) The little dog does the same, runs at them and barks but he's no bigger than a squirrel so they're pretty safe. His bark is bigger than his bite that's for sure. They aren't afraid of the cat though, probably because they've witnessed what she does to the mice and figure she has her fun with them ;-)

Anyway, yesterday morning after I dropped K off at her school bus I had myself a little visitor. Now, usually he only goes as far as the deck due to that  being easy escape if one of the dogs happens to come outside but yesterday he was right up the steps waiting at the back door! Usually it's hubby who goes outside and throws bread crusts and left over fruit/veggie scraps we don't eat for them.

Normally I wouldn't get close to a rodent but this one was different, he looked friendly and I could tell he only wanted something to eat.

I offered him bread, he took a few pieces but that's not what he wanted. Yeah my aim was pretty bad - I'm not THAT brave with him ;-) I leave that to hubby :)

I offered him a piece of carrot left from making K's lunch but that's not what he wanted.

Finally, I offered him a piece of apple left over from making D's breakfast apple slices. Yes! He took the apple and headed off into the cedar to eat it. It was pretty neat actually because he was peeling the apple before he ate it.

Call me crazy for writing a post about squirrels, no I don't have a lot of time of my hands (lol) I just enjoy nature. You don't see too many friendly "city" wildlife like this one. Even though really he's only being  nice because he's being fed. Thought it was cute :) I'll feed it, I'll take pictures of it but don't ask me to catch it or touch it in any way. The kids also like watching them through the window, K has even gone out with her daddy to feed them. It's good to show kids how to be gentle and kind to gods creatures, even if we live in the city.

Hubby has a new nick name by the way - Squirrel Whisperer.

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Community Center: Closed for the summer - again.

We live across the street from a nice community center. There was a basketball court, play park, walking path and a public outdoor pool. When we first moved here this is what attracted us to want to live in this area, perfect place to keep the kids occupied and cool this summer without having to go too far from home. I for one can't walk very far anymore, my hips just won't let me but my kids need to get out and do stuff so this was perfect for everyone.

Last summer they began construction work on the community center. Saying goodbye to the basketball court and the public outdoor pool that was blocked off. We waited all summer long for them to get their building done so we could enjoy the pool. No dice. It went on into the fall, then into the winter and now into spring.

Dh and I were just talking about how we really hope the community center and pool reopen this summer so the kids can enjoy it. This morning the local community paper came in the mailbox and we saw this:

All this time and they didn't replace the old wiring yet. Wow. So much for enjoying the pool this summer kids, looks like we'll have to go all the way to the one behind K's school. It's usually packed with bigger kids too :( Not the most ideal pool to bring D and K. There's no park close by there either, so it's walk - swim - walk home. Lots of exercise will be had this summer!

Very disappointed though and K will be too, I hope this extension on the community center will benefit this neighbourhood in the long run. Right now it's just a big eyesore of construction blocking what used to be a view of the pool, basketball court and community center.

I suppose since it's opening at the end of the summer they will have some kind of community opening celebration. Before all this, they had a celebration at the end of summer when the pool would be closing for the year. We went twice and it was pretty fun :) We just have to keep doing what we're doing and wait.

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Oatmeal Bannock

All week K has been excitedly telling us how her class would be making bread at school this week. She was so excited, she loves baking. We bake quite often, I remember loving to bake at her age as well. Like Mother like Daughter as they say.

Yesterday, she came running off the bus with a little brown paper bag, her name written in blue marker on the front. "Mommy, we made the bread today!" - she says opening the bag to give me a peek inside. "Bannock bread! It's really good and I made it all by myself" she was so proud! She told me all about the entire experience while we walked home from the bus stop. I love seeing her so excited about something she loves doing.

When we got home, after tidying up the shoes and things from school K wanted us all to try her Oatmeal Bannock bread that she made all by herself in school. I took the bread out of the bag and I cut a couple of little pieces off to try it out.

K bit into her piece and said it was good but her face said otherwise. I asked her if she really liked it and she said "I did exactly what the teacher was saying to do to put all the ingredients together, the cooking lady was helping us too but I don't think my bread tastes very good".

What a heart breaker. So, being the good mom that I am I took a bite of the Oatmeal Bannock. Well, hm mm. It wasn't that bad, but it tasted as though it was missing something. It was quite thick and a little chewy, but it doesn't matter! It's the effort that counts and the fact the kids had fun doing it. I'm proud of K, I told her next grocery run we'll get some ingredients and see if we can make our own, modified version of oatmeal bannock;-)

Here is the recipe that K's class used to bake their Oatmeal Bannock:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp powdered milk
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/8 c water
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp raisins, or dried cranberries, or blueberries (optional)

Mix dry ingredients (flour, oatmeal, baking powder, powdered milk). Blend oil in with a spoon or hand until mixture looks crumbly. Add water. Mix wither hands until blended. Add raisins, cranberries or blueberries (optional). Press out with hand to 2cm thick. Place on baking sheet and make at 400 degrees (F) for 20-25 minutes.

That sounds pretty good to me, what do you think? Have you ever tried Oatmeal Bannock before? This was my first time actually.

*This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are honest and my own*

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My son the hider

My son is three years old, he turned so in March. Lately he's developed a little quirk that sometimes can be frustrating.

He enjoys playing with items that do not belong to him, like every kid his age he is full of wonder. The only problem besides possibly breaking the items is that he hides them.

He hides them in spots nobody would think to look in and he doesn't understand enough to tell us where he put it. It's one big guessing game.

His latest hiding spree was an item that belongs to daddy. While I was making supper and cleaning up, daddy was out and D got a hold of his xbox 360 headset and removed the protective foams from the ear and mouth pieces. Not cool, those head sets are expensive to replace and we only have one.

He left the headset itself on the living room carpet, the foams nowhere to be found. I was hoping he didn't tear them to bits.

K and I searched everywhere we could think he has hidden things before. No luck.

I went upstairs to try and ask him where he put them, still no luck. This was upsetting because we don't have a lot of things that the kids haven't broken or taken over the years so the xbox stuff is off-limits unless they play with one of us. It would be like if I caught the kids pounding on my netbook, another item off-limits to them.

Anyway back to the missing foam, after an hour of looking and tearing apart the living room I almost gave up. It was as if they had vanished.

I went to use the washroom and noticed the garbage lid half open - I took a peek inside and sitting there all along were those damn xbox headset foams fully in tact and unharmed.

I don't know why he does this maybe a game to him or something.

What he took and where he hid is is funny now but what if he does it with something really important like keys or money. Luckily we are aware of his antics and keep those things out of sight but you never know what kids will get in to.

Next time something goes missing, we'll have to remember to check the trash first.

- Posted by @AMotherhoodBlog

*All opinions on this blog are honest & my own*

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Spreading some MeTime love

We all need a little time to ourselves now and then. A little time to sit back, put up our feet and just enjoy the quiet, for as little time as it may last, it's our time.

A month ago I posted about Jell-O had going around via Twitter, gifting hard-working moms in need of a break with a little #MeTime featuring Mousse Temptations by Jell-O.

I was one of the lucky ladies to recieve the Mousse Temptations Jell-O #MeTime treat and now it's my turn to share with you! I just love it when I get the chance to give something back to my readers and followers.

Jell-O has asked me to be kind of like a #MeTime fairy on Twitter. For the next couple of days, certain hard-working, deserving Tweeps of mine will be being sprinkled by a little #MeTime surprise by me @AMotherhoodBlog on behalf of @Jell_OMousse.

This is not a contest so there is no special entry for this at all, you simply have to be one of my loyal Twitter followers and keep your eyes out for my special #MeTime Tweets. I will be going around sprinkling a little #MeTime love to some of you!

Happy Tweeting!

*This is not a sponsored post. I am participating in spreading some #MeTime joy with Mousse Temptations by Jell-O via Twitter on behalf of KraftFoods Canada. All opinions are honest and my own*

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Celebrate being a woman this Mother's Day

"A Mother is a woman who had conceived, given birth to, or raised a child in the role of a parent". This is part of the definition according wikipedia however, to me, the role of Motherhood is define by so much more than that.

Whether birthed, adopted or taken in, the love is there and a real mother will show it every single day in every single way. Mothers are not perfect but we work hard. Physically, mentally and emotionally. We nourish our marriages, raise our kids, keep our households, hold down jobs, run businesses and make life happen all for love and all with the strength of a woman.

It takes a real woman to truly deserve the title "Mother". Through the little things she does to the more grand, always doing her best from what she knows. Sacrifices made for the happiness of our children, sleepless nights, early mornings and we wouldn't ask for anything different.

Every mother is unique from the way she dresses to the way she raises her children, every mother is special and every mother is a wonder woman in my eyes.

These are just some of the words to describe some of the most wonderful moms I know both offline and online. Look in the mirror ladies, tell yourself "I am a beautiful woman and an incredible mother" - because you are.

Mother's Day isn't just a day to celebrate Motherhood but also a day we should take to celebrate being strong, beautiful women.

Take this day and do something for yourself. If spending it with your family is what you want, do it. If spending it shopping alone is what you want, then do it. If going out for a fancy dinner while the kids are babysat, then do it. If you want to spend the day at the spa being pampered, then do it. You deserve every minute of it Moms.

"A Strong Woman is one who feels deeply and loves fiercely. Her tears flow just as abundantly as her laughter.A Strong Woman is both soft and powerful. She is both practical and spiritual. A Strong Woman in her essence is a gift to all the world." - unknown

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Be Safe When You Drive Please

Walking is a great way to both keep fit and spend time with the family, in our case walking isn't strictly for health purposes but our basic way to get things we need done that are within walking distance of our neighbourhood. Call us an Eco-friendly family if you will.

As the weather is finally nice enough for us to get out for walks, what we think would be nice walks end up being dangerous walks because of one main reason: bad drivers.

Drivers who don't seem to have a clue, care about laws or simple know how to drive period. Red means STOP and why drive so fast? Is there a race going on? Seriously where do some of these people get their license from, the cracker-Jack box?

I have expressed this before and I will continue to express this: Drivers, you need to pay more attention to your surroundings and open your God given eyes. Get off your cellphones, don't do your makeup in the car, pay attention to what your doing behind the wheel of your vehicle, please.

What if one day you run a red light and someone like me who has her family, including two young kids in tow happens to be crossing assuming you'll stop for her light but you are going so fast or doing whatever else not paying attention and you can't stop. Think of what could happen. Could you really live knowing that if you had just paid attention and slowed down a life could have been spared? I couldn't. That scares me every time we are out because truly, you never know.

Today we went shopping around one of our local areas, one of the worst for traffic and bad drivers trying to be faster than the next.

The first one we noticed was a large delivery truck that  had parked in the middle of the sidewalk rather than beside the store at the loading/unloading area where it should have, blocking the sidewalk. Nobody could even go around the truck without walking in the street which happens to be next to a sharp curve that is known for people not yielding at. Not cool, especially when you're pushing a child in a stroller. The worst part of it is that the driver of the truck heard us complain about his incompetent parking and actually had the nerve to give us a dirty look. It's called a side "walk" not a side "park".

We continued and waited at the nearest cross light to turn red so we could get to the other side and start our errands. As the light turned red and we went to cross, a lady in a silver jeep speeds out of a nearby parking lot and cuts us off. I guess she thought where she had to go was more important than paying attention although we had the right of way.

We finally reach the middle of the cross way, an island with another stop light to wait at. We waited again for the light to turn red and get the go-ahead to cross when right before our eyes some idiot in a blue car slams on his breaks right in the middle of the cross walk. He tried to give this stupid looking "whoops I didn't see the red light" look and I lost it. I yelled at him "It's red for a reason! Pay attention and open your eyes!". If I had more time I think I would have torn a second strip off him as he nervously laughed. Oh yes, hee-hee ha-ha I didn't know almost  getting hit by your ugly car was such a funny joke, did I miss something? Imagine, we weren't the only ones ready to cross the street at that very moment.

If we hadn't been paying attention ourselves this day could have been a lot worse. We have common sense to pay attention to our surroundings, some drivers should take note of this.

It's pretty bad when you can't go shopping without feeling like you're playing a real-life game of frogger.

I know I'm not the only one who feels like this so those of you who drive, please be careful and courteous of those around you, on foot and in other vehicles. We all have places to go that are just as important as your and we'd like to make it there safely. Thanks.

To those drivers who are not all of the above, we thank you.

Check out this campaign video: Please Drive Safely (Warning: Video contains graphic images of car accidents caused by exactly what I'm talking about in this post, please watch with caution and make sure your little ones aren't around. Not for children but a must-see for all drivers who think it won't happen to them.)

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Happy 2nd Bloggaversary!

A Motherhood Experience is officially two years old! Time goes by so fast. I still remember the first time I opened a blank "new post" page wondering what I was getting myself into. I admit, sometimes I tend to run off the track a bit around here but hey that's what makes AME so unique right?

Proud that we have grown in the last two years, starting out clueless and now so full of information I'm constantly thinking of what to do next and then some. I've loved this from the moment I began it and I continue to write from the heart.

At first this was supposed to be a personal blog, I wasn't in it for anything more. Now it's given me an interest to pursue on my own and I've learned to embrace my new title digital promoter/blogger. I'm thankful for the great partnerships we have encountered and can't wait to continue to pursue more with great family brands we have all grown to know and love.

Thank you, to all my loyal readers for continuing to visit A Motherhood Experience as I continue to pour my heart and soul into it. Without you this would have become nothing but another weak blog floating around in cyberspace. Proud to say we made through the first two years, can't wait to see what the next two bring.

Also, today is the day that I joined Twitter, two years ago. I used to go by @iDream1, I think somebody already took over the name since I switched to @AMotherhoodBlog. It's amazing how a little caring and sharing can bring people together, even if it's just virtual.

Happy Blogiversary to A Motherhood Experience, our partners and all my wonderful readers, I don't have a special gift for you but there are two giveaways running right now that you might want to check out!

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