Out of Town Adventures

I am away at the fabulous ShesConnected conference right now! I am having a great time and it is so fun to see my wonderful online friends in real life.

I will blog about it later but for now I will just share these beautiful pictures my husband took at Kakabeka Falls in between our town and the nearest airport.

It was quite the journey getting to this conference- driving the 4.5 hours to the town with the nearest airport, staying over night, getting up at 4 am and flying to Toronto first thing this morning. I am exhausted!

Fall in Northern Ontario is beautiful isn't it?

Wordless Wednesday - Look Closely LINKY

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Straight and Curly

I went and got my hair cut today- nothing exciting, just a much needed trim. My hair is naturally curly and for some reason every time I get my hair cut the stylists all want to straighten my hair after. They find it fascinating how different it looks and how long it is and how thin my hair is etc. etc. etc... 

This is what my hair looked like yesterday in its normal curly craziness. My son Owen took this picture of me and before he took the picture he put his own sunglasses on me so I would look "cool". 

and this is my hair after it was cut and straightened by my hairdresser...

My daughter likes it straight and wanted me to straighten her hair too. I didn't. I just can't take a straightening iron to her gorgeous untarnished curls yet!

My sons however did NOT like it. Aiden told me I didn't look right and Owen said "nope. It is just better the normal way."

I assured them as soon as I washed it my hair would go "normal" again. But it is fun to do once in awhile just for a change.

And to shock people. I get a lot of "wow I didn't even recognize you" type comments when my hair is straight. That is just entertaining :).

Skechers Hot Lights review

Guest Review by my husband Doug :)

Last week we got 2 pairs of Skechers Hot Lights shoes in the mail for our sons to try out! 

Here is some information I took from the press release:

Skechers Canada has released a new line of kids’ products that are bound to excite your family. The Skechers Twinkle Toes line features sequins, lights, and colorful tattoo designs. When it comes to the boys, there is the Skechers Hot Lights line - these sporty sneakers feature smooth leather, synthetic and metallic mesh fabric, zigzag straps, and flashy lights.

Boys' Hot Lights: Manifold Light-Up Shoes

Tune up his racing style with the SKECHERS Hot Lights: Manifold shoe. Leather and synthetic upper in a street racing car themed light up casual sneaker with bungee laced front, top strap and printed car detail.

 Construction:

Leather upper

Synthetic overlays

Slip on bungee laced casual sneaker with street racer themed design and light up detail

Front patent overlay with 'grille' print design

Metallic mesh synthetic side panels

Synthetic vent detail on sides

Side S logo

Stitching accents

Cool multi LED light headlights blink twice with every step

Side running lights chase twice with every step

Rubber 'spoiler' pull on strap

Bungee laced front panel for easy slip on fit

Top fabric strap with SKECHERS logo and Street Racer detail

Adjustable hook and loop side closure

Padded collar and tongue

Soft fabric shoe lining

Cushioned insole

Shock absorbing midsole

Metallic side panel detail

Wraparound flexible rubber traction outsole

 

Our boys were quite excited to hear they were going to get these shoes.  They liked the lights and the car theme of the shoes.  There was much angst as they had to actually WAIT for the shoes to come in the mail.  Both the boys received the same shoes, the Hot Lights Manifold.  One decided to make the shoes his outside shoes, and the other decided to make them his inside school shoes. 

According to Aiden (age 9) and Owen (almost 8) the fact that they light up is definitely the coolest part of the shoes.

  The shoes seem to be well made.  They are easy for the kids to get on and off.  The kids are still quite excited about how they look.

 So what can you say?  The kids seem to like how they look, are excited to wear them, they work and they’re well made, that’s pretty much all you can ask a shoe to do for your kids.

Olivia's Harvest

Olivia planted some carrots in a plant pot back in the spring and today she decided to harvest them. Please notice the fabulous gardening outfit we have going on today- nothing says "harvest" like a pink sparkly t-shirt, white shorts and pink Barbie boots. 

Big brother Owen helped her and was surprised at how much dirt stuck to such small carrots. 

I think they decided that this carrot was the biggest... 

 Shadow the cat decided to sunbathe beside the full harvest. Apparently he needed to be in the centre of the action today. 

By the way today is an absolutely gorgeous sunny day. No snow. No hail. No rain. Just lovely sunshine!

Luxe Box by Loose Button

This giveaway is now CLOSED! Congratulations to Ksceviour for winning (chosen via random.org). 

This week I received a Luxe Box by Loose Button to try out. 

The package looked very classy all wrapped up in a pretty black ribbon and here is what I found when I opened it up... 

WHAT IS LUXE BOX? 

Luxe Box is a monthly subscription service that delivers 4-5 deluxe-sized beauty samples to your doorstep in a chic box. The samples range from skincare and makeup to fragrance, body, and haircare. What’s more? These samples have been hand-picked by our beauty experts, so we are confident you will enjoy them!

There were 4 samples in my Luxe Box

1. Mereadesso Woman face & neck toning gel
2. perfecting water rich hydrating water
3. City Lips collagen peptide lip plumping treatment
4. Moroccan Oil hair treatment

The box also contained instructions so I would know what to do with the products!

I love the idea of being able to try new products without having to buy the large size right away. Opening the Luxe Box reminded me a little of opening my Christmas stocking when I was a kid... fun little surprises except for grownups! I think it would be fun to have a little box of surprises show up in the mail once a month.

Thanks so much to Loose Button for giving me the opportunity to try out a Luxe Box!

Would you like to win a 3 month subscription to Luxe Box? (Canada only)

How to Enter:

MAIN ENTRY:  follow me on google friend connect or subscribe to this blog via email (or both)

For Extra Entries ( leave a separate comment for each task you complete please):

- follow me on twitter ( @tarasview) and tweet about this giveaway 

- share, stumble, digg or whatever else you can think of for this post (or any other post on my blog) and leave me a comment telling me what you did!

- visit the Loose Button website and tell me what you think of it

This contest is open to CANADIAN residents ONLY!
Contest ends October 5, 2011. Winner will be chosen randomly.

#DempstersLunch - Panini Grill #GIVEAWAY!! CLOSED

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! Congratulations to Raylene for winning (chosen via random.org).


I find lunches difficult to make... I seem to run out of ideas in a hurry. I end up sending the same things every day it seems. So I am often on the look out for good ideas of things I can send with the kids to school.

Dempster's has a new site called Lunchbox Inspirations and the cool thing is that myself and several of my friends have tips and recipes up on the site! I tried out a Rolled Ham & Cucumber sandwich and @shasherslife 's Chicken Ceaser pockets look yummy :)

If you need a bit of Lunchbox Inspiration be sure to check it out.

To help with the lunchtime blahs I have a Hamilton-Beach Panini Grill to give away to one lucky reader! 



How to Enter:

MAIN ENTRY:  Leave a comment here telling me your lunchbox tip!

for example: How do you keep lunches interesting for your kids? How do you make lunches eco-friendly or peanut-free? or any other kind of tip you like.

For Extra Entries ( leave a separate comment for each task you complete please):

- follow me on google friend connect

- follow me on twitter ( @tarasview) and tweet about this giveaway using the hashtag #DempstersLunch

- share, stumble, digg or whatever else you can think of for this post (or any other post on my blog) and leave me a comment telling me what you did!

- visit the Lunchbox Inspirations site and tell me what you think of it



This contest is open to CANADIAN residents ONLY!
Contest ends October 1, 2011. Winner will be chosen randomly.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Dempster’s Lunch Box Inspirations program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Dempster’s Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Wordless Wednesday - brrrrrrr LINKY

It has been ridiculously cold here for the past week... it even snowed and hailed twice! The kids had to wear some of their winter gear to school for a couple days in row. So wrong!!


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Mythbusters Collection 7 DVD Review

Guest Review by my husband Doug

I was excited to review this DVD.  I quite like the Mythbusters TV show.  I don’t get to watch it as much as I’d like.  This particular DVD had some moments on it.  It’s a two disk set.  It seems as thought they have edited several episodes together while taking out the credits.  So, no commercials, no end credits - how good is that?  They left the cast introductions and the “don’t do this at home” warnings in.

If you’ve never seen the Mythbusters program, it goes something like this; they choose some kind of crazy story that you hear about and try to replicate the results from the story.  For instance, the first Myth on disk two is entitled “Boomerang Bullet”.  Is it possible for someone to shoot a gun, have the bullet ricochet off of three surfaces and shoot himself (herself).  They set up a handgun in a large bunker style box so that they can pull the trigger via a cable and aim the gun at a hardened steel plate.  Leave the bunker, pull the cable (firing the gun) and then go back in and see what happened.  They try several kinds of bullets, several kinds of materials to have the bullet hit, and several angles at which the bullet hits the materials.  Then, they make a big steel pipe into an almost circle and see if you can funnel a bullet... They make it a lot of fun, they do some pretty crazy things and try to be as safe as possible while they do it.

There’s some science, some good urban myth story telling, and some great fun as they hit, smash and blow stuff up.  It’s great because it shows that you can have some outrageous fun and still be safe.  Often the results they get defy your expectations and sometimes it happens just like you think.  The other thing they seem to do is listen to their fanbase as they mention that some of the myths are given to them by email or their website.

I highly recommend the Mythbusters Collection 7 DVD and the series.  It’s fun, oddly educational and they blow stuff up.

*we were sent this product to review*

Halloween Costumes Canada

I'd like to introduce you to one of my fabulous Blissdom Canada sponsors this year- Halloween Costumes Canada! There is going to be a big costume party at Blissdom Canada and Halloween Costumes Canada graciously sent me a free costume to wear.

The costume party was a ton of fun at last year's Blissdom Canada and I am sure it will be just as fun this year!


( this is Shannon @shasherslife and I at the party last year)


This is a brief description of Halloween Costumes Canada I took off their website:

MADE IN CANADA!!!
Canada's largest online Costume Store!! We are your one stop shop for 2011 Halloween Costumes. Same day shipping out of Ottawa, Ontario. No need to worry about duty, extra shipping fees or surprise charges. Thank you for choosing Canadian Costumes and please let us know if you have any questions. Have a great party!!!

There are a ton of costumes to choose from on their site- costumes for everyone in the whole family from the smallest to tallest. I was thankful that they carry a good variety of plus-size costumes since those aren't exactly easy to find. 

I'm not going to tell you which costume I chose yet but I will tell you that I am happy with it! It was very easy to choose a costume and they shipped it to me right away. 

Halloween is coming so don't forget to choose your perfect costume today!

It is Far Too Early for Winter

This week the temperatures were below freezing two mornings in a row. It snowed. It hailed twice. It was generally a crappy weather week all around.

But today it is supposed to go up to 16 C (61 F) - YAY!

It is just sad when you have to wear hats / scarves / mittens / coats to school in September!

We also had another food therapy session this week. The goal of the sessions is to increase Aiden's comfort level with various foods. As I've mentioned before many kids with Autism have strong food aversions.

Playing with your food is strongly encouraged during feeding therapy!

This is Aiden's creation...

Owen's creation...

and Olivia's creation...

The therapy is actually helping too. Aiden has added a couple new foods to his diet and is more willing to have despised foods in the same room or on the table with him. It is going really well!

The Hot Wheels Video Racer - Review by Dad

Guest review by my fabulous husband Doug...

 Here is a bit about the Hot Wheels Video Racer

For years Hot Wheels has allowed fans of all ages to experience the thrill of gravity-defying jumps, loops and leaps. With the launch of Hot Wheels Video Racer, you can add to the excitement with a real hidden micro camera, giving you a vantage point from the driver’s seat! Hot Wheels Video Racer will record all the action as the car speeds through your Hot Wheels track sets – but that’s not all – because with special removable straps and mounting brackets, you’ll be able to hook your Hot Wheels Video Racer onto helmets, skateboards, bikes – or anything on wheels! Then, with specialized editing software fromHotwheels.com/videoracer, your video can be edited with music, transitions, sound effects and graphics, to create your very own fuel-injected vehicle masterpiece! Hot Wheels Video Racer also has a built-in LCD screen for instant playback.  The suggested retail price for Hot Wheels Video Racer is $79.99.

The kids were VERY excited to get the Hot Wheels Video racer to review.  They love the idea of being able to record the stuff that they do.  First thing I noticed after opening the package (which is far larger then it needs to be...) was that Hot Wheels had included several ways to use the camera.  In the box was the Video Racer Car, a USB cable, a sturdy cage to put the video racer in when using the camera other ways, 2 strap based mounting brackets  and 2 other brackets with squares of double sided tape.

We have tried the video racer handheld walking, we’ve strapped it to a helmet and ridden on a bike, we’ve stuck it to the dashboard of the van, and we’ve even run it down some Hot Wheels track.

The video quality is quite good considering that the camera is so small.  The audio is less then ideal, in part because the microphone picks up a lot of vibrations and wind noise which is captured along with the audio you want.  

The controls on the Video Racer are rather simple.  There is a sliding on/off switch on the side.  A record on/off button on the top.  Underneath the car is the small LCD and two buttons.  There is a ‘landscape’ and a ‘track’ icon indicating two kinds of shooting.  All in all, it’s very simple to use.  When you turn it on, the top button turns green, you press the button to start recording, that’s all.

Now, as far as footage to show you from the camera.  The first time we used the camera to create footage for this there was a wipeout, a bloodied knee, and some uncomfortable noises made by the owner of the knee.

I’ve put together some of the footage. There is some software that comes with the Video Racer but it is PC only.  As I am using a MacBook Pro, I used the iMovie software that came with the computer.  (they really should consider making the software Mac compatible)

The Cat Came Back!!!

Our cat came home a half hour ago!! I heard a noise at our screen door and went to check and there he was- Shadow the cat has returned!

He is skinny and very hungry and his injured paw seems to be a bit worse... but he is alive and he is home!!

He was gone for 6 days... and in that time we have had two hail storms and it has been below freezing 2 nights in a row... I had almost given up hope.

But here he is!

My kids are going to be SO EXCITED tomorrow morning when the find out!!

YAY!!!