My husband and I love our coffee.  True, Hubby has only recently been introduced to the variety and quality of coffees from around the world.  During our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, he sampled the rich, robust flavours of Dominican coffee beans when we went on a tour and learned about the beloved coffee bean.

Since then, his tastes in coffee have expanded and he now enjoys coffee from Hawaii, South America, Africa, etc...

Hubby now knows what "good" coffee is.  I attribute this to also hanging out with our friends from Italy and France!

I know. Those of you who know me already know of the adverse effect coffee has on me.  You know it knocks me out cold in five minutes flat.  Yes, my friends. I'm one of the few people in the world that falls asleep if I have coffee.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing! I get to savour coffee when I have insomnia! Need to fall asleep? No problem! A shot of espresso or cappuccino will do it for me!

I just wanted to share this amazing deal with all the coffee loving family, friends, and readers in my life.  Did you know that BuyCoffeeCanada has put together a 45% off deal for 2 lbs of Fair Trade Organic Coffee ($25/2lbs with free shipping) for residents of Ontario? Hang tight. If this promotion is a success, it could be Canada-wide soon!

They also carry Torani syrups (even the sugar-free ones!). If you're like me and have had dreams of having your kitchen equipped so that you could make your own lattes and play "barista", you'll love BuyCoffeeCanada!

If you're interested in the group buy for the coffee, click here!

Disclosure- I am participating in the BuyCoffeeCanada Blogger Program. All the thoughts expressed on this blog are honest and my own.

I'll be the first to admit that I always seem to have too much on my plate. I somehow always put myself in positions where I get "voluntold" to do things. I have issues with being able to say NO to people.  I'm also the kind of person who sees things through to the end if I've given my word. As a result, I can often be found running around like a crazy person, trying to get everything done.  If my head weren't attached to the rest of me, I wouldn't know where to find it!

Our three year old has got the craziest hair I have ever seen.  Do you remember reading Mr. Mugs  when you were in elementary school?  Well, her hairdo reminds me of Mr. Mugs. No matter what we do, her hair is always in her face.
The resemblance is uncanny! Don't you think? She looks like that adorable sheepdog I used to read about when I was a kid. 

Pretty little clips or decorative ponytail elastics simply do not last long in her hair.  She'll leave them in for a while to entertain me, but within no time, they're gone.  Sometimes they're gone forever!  She conveniently misplaces them or hides them.

I gave her a haircut before Christmas, and it actually turned out okay. What was supposed to be a straight trim turned out to be a rather stylish layered bob! A complete fluke!

Still, the hair in her face persisted and it really bothered us.  "Please push the hair away from your eyes, Honey" and "Please don't suck on your hair!" were common phrases up until a few days ago.  Yes, Little One had developed the rather gross habit of sucking on her hair because it was always in her face.

I was shocked when Hubby went to the bathroom, returned with scissors, and chopped off the hair that was always falling and covering Little One's face! 

"Oh! No! You gave her bangs! I never wanted her to have bangs!"
I was cursed with the "little Asian girl bangs" when I was a kid.  It seemed pretty standard for my generation.  Every kid had those straight bangs.  I wanted to avoid that with Little One.

"There! Now she can see!", said Hubby.

I have to admit, she looks kinda cute.

I've always had issues in the past with bringing salads for lunch and having my salad dressing leak all over the place.  Have you  had that problem too?

There's nothing as upsetting as salad dressing leaking all over your lunch and your lunch bag.

GLAD® to GO is your solution to a neat and litterless lunch! The reusable containers mean you don't throw anything away. The containers are 2-in-1. The built-in dressing cups snap right into the lid! This means your salads and veggies stay crisp (as they should!) and your salad dressing stays in its own container and doesn't leak!

On a recent mini vacation to Haliburton, I packed snacks and meals in the GLAD® to GO containers. It was a 6 hour drive and my 3 year old has a voracious appetite. I am the kind of  Mom who doesn't like to waste or throw things away. We try to be as "green" as we can.  I'm also a frugal farmer's wife, so packing meals and snacks instead of buying fast food on the road is something I try to do.

I packed red grapes, blueberries, and raspberries in one container. In the dip section, I put yogurt for my little one to dip her fruit in.  In another GLAD® to GO container  I packed bran muffins with butter in the salad dressing compartment. Lastly, I packed cut up celery, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower in another container and put hummus dressing in the dressing part.
Photo of Little One "helping" me get our road trip snacks ready for our drive to Haliburton!  She always sneaks a few "little trees" when I'm not looking!  I love how my 3 year old calls "broccoli" "little trees"! Too cute!

The containers were easy to use, stackable, leak-proof, and convenient!  Oh! They're also great for if your little one drops the containers. They don't shatter or break!

What would you pack in your GLAD® to GO container?


Disclosure - I received a GLAD® to GO  kit for being part of this special GLAD® to GO campaign. I was able to use some for our household as well as share some with friends and family. All the opinions on this blog are honest and my own.

I recently wrote a PTPA Blogaholics post about the trials and tribulations challenges (read: soon-to-drive-me-to-mental-breakdown-maybe-it's-time-for-a-Malibu-and-pineapple-now difficulties) I've been having with our three year old just in the past few weeks. By the way, I was just kidding when I said my child is driving me to a mental breakdown and to the bottle. Totally kidding. She's a sweetheart and I love her to bits. She's just gotten into this feisty, stubborn, whiny mode lately.

Whining drives me nuts. I hate to say it, but it does. I cannot deal with the whining. Whiny kids make my ears bleed. There. I said it.

Secret Mommy confession:  I actually locked myself in the bathroom the other morning so I could have two minutes to myself.  Of course, my three year old had to get out of bed and start banging on the door. Then she started crying. When I opened the door to see why she was screaming her head off, I saw that there was a puddle in front of the bathroom door.

Great. I just made my child pee all over the floor because I needed two minutes to myself. *sigh*

Poor kid. She's been doing such an awesome job with the toilet training and wakes up dry in the morning. She only had a few accidents when we were visiting her cousins on our mini vacation in Haliburton. I guess new environment, lots of distractions, and too much fun with the cousins totally threw her off. She didn't get to the toilet on time twice or three times. This time, however, it was Mommy's fault that she peed in front of our bathroom.

Anyway, I have to focus on all the things I absolutely love about 3.

Little One comes up with the funniest expressions. She's had a word explosion and is such a chatterbox. She is now able to correct us when we're wrong. "I'm not Honey! I'm [insert Little One's real name here]!" or "Lola (Grandma in Filipino), it's not 'You make me happy when skies are blue! It's you make me happy when skies are gray!'"

She also knows how to reason and understands consequences. "Daddy! You're a bad boy! Go to your mother's house!" (I have no idea where she got that from! Honestly!)

Me: Why weren't you nice to your friend?
Little One: Because she hurt my feeeewings!

"When I'm an adult, can you buy me a latte?"

Yes, she comes up with some gems that totally make us laugh.  I need to remember that this period of Little One's childhood is so special...and it's fleeting. These are but mere moments in time that can never be retrieved. I won't have her this little for much longer. This makes me really, really sad.

I also need to remember this:

 If you really want to see what I was going on about earlier, here's the post. I welcome comments, tips, advice, and anything you can say to help me keep my sanity. Please and thank you.

It might come to no surprise to anyone when I confess my love for two men -- Neither of whom are my husband.
I've been in love with Steven and Chris for years!  They are the funniest, wittiest, best dressed guys on TV.  They know fashion, relationships, food, cooking, home decor, shoes, and all things trendy and beautiful.

Yes, my friends...Long before the days of Pinterest, it was Steven and Chris.  My dream is to have them someday help me redecorate our old farm house. We need some serious help! I'm not kidding!

I've been watching the show for years and am addicted to their style tips and basically everything on the show.  Who can throw the most amazing cocktail party? Steven and Chris. Who will tell you that those pants just don't do your posterior any favours? Steven and Chris. Well, no. They're not that brazen. At least Steven isn't! Let me just say that these two are HI-LA-RI-OUS!

The episode that got me hooked was the one when Chris was talking about how he was at a friend's dinner party and opened up the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and spilled a bottle of something (I can't remember if it was oil or cream of some sort) all over the place. Then he asked the audience if anyone had ever been guilty of doing that. You know, going into someone's bathroom and snooping around!

I have to say that I don't do that, but know for a fact that people have done it at my house. The episode made me very self-conscious of my bathroom and the condition my bathroom cupboards are in! Yikes!

Thus began my love for Steven and Chris.

I often make the recipes they have on their show. They always have the most amazing guests and chefs/cooks! Tonight I made the Pine Nut & Raisin Stuffed Pork Loin.



Okay, perhaps it wasn't exactly Pine Nut & Raisin Stuffed Pork Loin. We ran out of pine nuts and since I'm married to a beef farmer, he asked me to use beef loin instead of pork. We didn't have any Emmenthal left, so I substituted another cheese for it.  Fine. The recipe was quite different from nothing at all like the original recipe posted, but it was still very delicious! Click here for the original recipe.

I'm hoping to have a Steven and Chris date with my friends, Geek with Style and Bewildered Bug next time I'm in Toronto. Geek with Style shares my love for S & C, so we're hoping to make it to the taping of one of their shows together.

Do you love Steven and Chris too?  What do you love the most about them and their show?

I always get really dry, cracked lips in during the Winter months.  For this reason, I am constantly on the look out for products that will keep my lips soft and protect them from getting chapped.

I recently received three lip balms from My Lip Stuff for review purposes.

I received:

• Cherry
• Eggnog
• Cinnamon Frosting

Before I became a Mom, I never anticipated all the questions, worries, and concerns I'd have after bringing baby home from the hospital. Babies do not come with instruction manuals.

I thought that parents had built-in programming that automatically helped us through all the different stages of our child's development, told us what to do when they cry, make us know just what to do in any circumstances that we should meet. No. It isn't that easy.

There were nights when Little One would cry and would not be consoled. The sleep deprivation and non-stop crying just about did me in. I had no idea that she was cutting teeth. When I discovered that she was getting her first teeth, I still didn't know what to do. I did what I thought was the best thing to do: Consult our family doctor, ask all my mommy friends for advice, ask family members, check out online resources...and I even sought help on Facebook! Back then, my Facebook status updates were mostly of the "OMG! She won't stop crying!" or "Help me! I'm going bonkers!" nature.

I wish I had Lianne's Quick Guide back then! Lianne has written a series of quick guide booklets for all the things you want to know and need to know in a pinch! They're perfect for carrying in your purse or diaper bag. They're compact and designed for busy parents on the go.

I was sent a copy of the Babies 0 to 6 Months quick guide for review purposes.  She covers common encounters that parents experience in their babies' first 6 months.  What I like is how small the booklet is! I know that sounds weird, but when I was a brand new mom, I didn't have the time to look up big, thick parenting books. I needed the answers right then and there. Of course, the book doesn't give you answers, but offers tips and helpful advice from another mom's experience and point of view.

You can find Lianne on her blog as well.  She's a phenomenal woman - so great to correspond with.
I am really looking forward to Lianne's First Aid for Kids booklet! That is something I will definitely be carrying in my purse at all times!

Are you ready to WIN a copy of Lianne's Quick Guide: Babies 0 o 6 Months? If your child is no longer in that age group, the booklet makes a great gift for any new mom!

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. If you are having difficulty with the Rafflecopter form, just refresh your browser and it should work!

It's true. If you haven't already checked out the Fisher-Price website, you really need to head over there and take a look around. Last month, I mentioned how Fisher-Price has activities for parents and children to do together. The activities are all grouped by age, so you know that they are age appropriate for your child.

The same can be said for Fisher-Price toys. They've got you covered. Need age appropriate toys for boys or girls? You'll find them on the website. There's something there for everyone! Just choose an age and you'll see all your options.

As part of #FisherPriceMoms, I received some toys for Little One to enjoy. Sure enough, it was a match made in heaven. The toys Fisher-Price selected for Little One couldn't have been more perfect for her!

We received:

• Fisher-Price Kid Tough Digital Camera
• Doodle Bear Babies - Kitty
  

Little One was so excited to see the amazing parcel that awaited her at home! She couldn't wait to dig into the box! She didn't even take her jacket, hat, and mitts off!

I was actually pretty shocked when I saw the contents of the package Fisher-Price sent us.  Why?  Well, the items fit Little One to a tee! She loves pink, kittens, stuffed animals, doodling, pretend play, feeding her babies (stuffed animals and dolls) with toy bottles, etc. The Doodle Bear Babies Kitty is all of that!  It's also for children aged 3 & up.  Little One just turned 3 a few months ago!
A little buddy and someone to colour with! Little One was so happy! I wish I had taken a video of her! The excitement in her voice was adorable! Hey, maybe she should start vlogging for me!


She said, "Oh! Mommy! How did they know pink kittens are my favourite!?!?!"

She absolutely loves her "new friend" and said, "She needs wi-kkerz! I'm going to draw some wi-kkerz on her, Mom!"
Too cute.

Okay, Mommy won't lie. Mommy loves that the marker is washable! Little One already got it all over the quilt her Grandma made her when she was born! I love washable markers! 
Being the budding photographer that she is, Little One was very pleased with her new camera too! She has been taking photos of everything! Her favourite subjects to capture photos of are her stuffed animals, her friends, her dog, barn cats, and our cattle. Oh, and she loves taking random shots of people's feet or the floor.

The only problem was that Little One's friend came over that afternoon and wanted to take home Little One's new toys. I thought World War III was about to break out. Little One wasn't ready to relinquish her new toys (especially the little pink kitten!) since she had only just taken them out of the box! I have a feeling I will have to get Little One's friend one of the Doodle Bear Babies for her birthday!

Thank you so much, Fisher-Price and Mom Central Canada! Thank you for making play time so much fun!
Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Mom and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Little One loves her doggy, Chance.  They're buddies.  They go for walks on the farm together. They bug each other. They play together. They're just like any other human sister and canine brother.

Since Little One absolutely loves anything dog related, she was ecstatic to receive the Walt Disney Diamond Edition Blu-Ray Combo Pack. I wish I had taken a video of her jumping up and down with delight when I handed her the DVD!



I could go on to describe the classic tale of romance between a lovely, pampered, pedigreed cocker spaniel, named Lady and a good-natured, street smart, homeless dog named Tramp.  However, my three year old wanted to be the one to "review" this Disney animation for you.


Review by Little One
" I yike Lady and the Twamp. Twamp is so sweet and a good doggy. Lady is a lovely dog. They're lovin' each other. The Si-ma-mese cats are veh-wee, veh-wee bad! They always get Lady in trouble. I don't like them. Some parts are scary. I don't like the rat. He's scary. I don't like the other dogs fighting with Twamp. Dogs fightin' is scary. I cried when dogs were fightin' with Twamp. I love Lady and the Twamp."


There you go. A movie review by a three year old!

Disney's Lady and the Tramp Diamond Edition is  available on Blu-Ray Combo Pack on February 7th.  This is one of my favourite Disney movies and one I'll be giving my nieces and nephews for their next birthdays. There are lots of "extras" included in the Diamond Edition Blu-Ray Combo Pack!

 Since Little One and I spent Valentine's Day en route back to the Island after a lovely mini vacation with my brother and his family, we made our Valentine's craft today.  She really wanted to make Valentine's hearts, and she loves making art work for her windows in her bedroom.  We ended up making "stained glass" art with wax crayon shavings and wax paper.
 For this craft, you will need:

• Crayons (great way to use up old or broken crayons)
• Wax paper
• scissors
• string
• toothpick
• tape
• towel
• hair dryer (you can use an iron, but the thought of a hot iron and my three year old daughter being anywhere near it just makes me really, REALLY nervous)

1. On a sheet of wax paper, shave wax crayons with scissors. I used assorted shades of blues and some white for mine. Little One used pinks, oranges, reds, and a few other colours.

2. Place towel under wax paper and fold wax paper in half.

3. With the hair dryer, heat wax paper and crayons until the shavings are all melted and the wax paper melts (so that it seals).

4. With your scissors, cut in desired shapes. We made hearts because...Well, it's Valentine's Day!

5. With a toothpick, carefully prick a hole through the wax paper.  Run your string through the hole, et voila! Now you can hang your stained glass art!


 The finished product:


 Here's another window art craft we did a few weeks ago.

My friend came up with this craft idea for our play date.  It was supposed to be "snowflake art", but with 2, 3, and 4 year old children, it turned into "big globs of colour art"!

You will need:

• white glue
• dish soap 
• food colouring
• transparency sheets or plastic sheet protectors
• bottles with nozzles that the kids can squeeze the glue/soap/food colouring mixture from

1. Put white glue into squeezable blottles and add a drop or two of dishsoap.
2. Mix food colouring into the glue/soap mixture.
3. On a plastic transparency sheet/page protector, let children make their designs with the glue. For older kids, you could place the clear sheet over an image from a colouring book and they can trace it. We were going to make snowflakes, but the kids had other things in mind. The big globs of colour were kind of neat and creative!
 4. Let dry overnight or longer. When the glue is completely dry, it will change colour.
 5. Peel the stained glass art off of the clear plastic sheet and place shiny side onto glass window.

 View from Little One's room. Can you tell she loves decorating her windows?  The great thing is that all of these can be easily removed from your glass windows. They are not permanent! :)
There you go! A fun and easy craft you can do with your children!

When it comes to administering vitamins or meds to my child, I check the labels carefully, do my research online, ask her doctor beforehand.

When I discovered IronKids, I was really excited because I really liked what I read. The ingredients were ones I was happy with. I really like to know exactly what I'm giving to my child. Plus, the best part was that she absolutely loves her IronKids gummy vitamins! In fact, she is the one who tells us every morning, "MOM!!! You need to give me my vitamins!"
Little One loves the IronKids Omega 3's vitamins. She calls them her "Nemo vitamins" because they're shaped in the form of little fish! The flavours are ones that she likes. In case you're wondering, yes, I've tried them and they're good! I always try things before I give them to my child.

Just like the Adult Essentials vitamins, these are really tasty. I've never been as excited to take vitamins! Now that I have my Adult Essentials, I actually want to take my vitamins! The same goes for Little One with her IronKids Gummies!

One of the even greater things about IronKids Gummies is that they are dairy/gluten/nut-free! How great is that?!

GIVEAWAY TIME!
Would you like to win some IronKids Gummy Vitamins of your own?
The Prize:
A cash prize of $100 CAD paid through paypal AND $100 worth of IronKids products. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Act fast! This is a flash giveaway! The giveaway is only open for 5 days! Open to residents of Canada and the U.S.

Last year, Canadians were introduced to a new kind of reality cooking show: Recipe to Riches.  Contestants were invited to share their original recipes and after a series of tasks (batch up round and advertising), they faced a panel of judges.  Each episode saw one lucky home chef win $25,000, their recipe made into  President's Choice product, and a chance at winning the grand prize of $250,000!

I was given the opportunity to be an official Recipe to Riches Food Blogger last season. I was able to recreate some of the winning recipes (Melaney Gleeson-Lyall's Hazelnut Bannock Pie, Rosy Soobrattee's Creamy Kulfi, and Robert Luft's Pulled Pork) and blog about it.
Through this experience, I quickly found kindred spirits and friendship with some of the former contestants. Dim Sum with Melaney was fabulous. Her personality shines and she wears her heart on her sleeve. I love her.
I also had coffee and treats with Melissa Lam before we headed to the taping of the Recipe to Riches Season Finale together. 
She is quite possibly one of the sweetest, most thoughtful people I have ever met. Her e-mail messages and tweets just brighten up my day. She even baked her Banana Chocolate Wow Cake for my three year old daughter and brought it with her on the plane from Calgary to Toronto!
Let me tell you, it was as (make that even more) scrumptious as she claims it to be!

I was really excited to discover the other week that Recipe to Riches will be having a Season Two!  I am super excited about Season Two! 1) I am a foodie and love all things FoodNetwork and cooking related! 2) I'm a loyal President's Choice customer. 3) I'm a huge fan of Dana McCauley, Laura Calder, Tony Chapman, Jesse Palmer and Galen Weston!

 I am waiting with baited breath to see who will be selected for Season Two! The categories have changed a bit. This year, the 7 recipe categories are: 

• Cakes, Puddings, & Pies
• Hors d'oeuvres
• Savoury Snacks
• Cookies & Squares
• Entrees
• Candies & Chocolates
• Condiments & Dips

For information on how to apply, visit their website. Auditions begin in Halifax on Saturday, February 11th! That's TODAY!!!