It's an exciting week at Parent Tested Parent Approved!

PTPA's got a fabulous #TweetTuesday contest going on right now on Twitter.  Tweet @PTPA photos of your kids in their Halloween costumes and answer the #TweetTuesday questions! You can win a @kobo Vox (2 winners)!  We'll be selecting winners randomly in the morning!

PTPA CEO/Founder, @PTPASharon was on @morningshowTO this morning! In case you missed the amazing segment where she featured some hot new products from the #ABCKidsEXPO, here's the link!

Thursday (tomorrow), PTPA is having a fun #ptpachat on Twitter from 1-2pm EST! Join in on the convo and win some amazing prizes!

This is by far the most exciting news in PTPA's busy week!

 PTPA is turning 5 years old on Friday! 

Read about where it all began (post by CEO/Founder, Sharon Vinderine) here. Join PTPA in celebrating 5 amazing years! There will be an open house at PTPA HQ as well as a Big Birthday Bash with LOTS of prizes!

Fall equals the beginning of the school year, but to me it signals the beginning of months and months of Holidays!  There's Canadian Thanksgiving, American Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, Little One's birthday, my birthday...

There are SO many special days to celebrate!  With an ever growing family (so many nieces and nephews Little One's age, and friends with young children Little One's age), there are always so many gifts to get! I put special thought into the gifts we give - this means making sure it's something the recipient of the gift is "into" and loves (keeping in mind interests and hobbies), as well as doing research (because safety is paramount).

I don't know about you, but before I make a purchase, I go online and check consumer reports and reviews from parents just like me.  I am so thankful that Fisher-Price has a community of moms where I can draw info from.  It's incredibly important to read the reviews before buying gifts this holiday. After all, parents know best!

Plus, I'm all about the savings!

• 1: I like to be wise with my money 

and

• 2: I'm married to a frugal farmer!

My husband is a farm boy who grew up on freshly baked loaves of bread at every meal...every day. In fact, he could count on one hand the number of times he had store-bought bread as a child!  My mother-in-law, a farmer's wife, baked ten loaves at a time and her family went through loaves of bread every day.

My mother-in-law didn't bake white bread often.  She always made sure to make bread with whole grains, multi-grains, cracked wheat, and so on.

I'm a city girl and though I love cooking and baking, I just never found I had the time to bake bread all the time.  My mother-in-law got me a bread maker when Hubby and I were in our first year of marriage.  To be honest, I haven't used it much at all!

Our little one is not much of a bread person.  She (like her Mommy) doesn't like to eat the crusts. This said, I finally found a bread product she will actually eat! She inhales Dempster's Bagels! Oh, but it has to be Everything flavoured. I think it's that onion, sesame seed, poppyseed, and everything that appeals to our almost 4 year old! For a kid who doesn't eat bread, she ate two bagels after school!  Toasted with cream cheese spread evenly over the entire cut surface of the bagels. That's how she rolls. Hubby will tell you that she's exactly like her mother!

Finally, we found a bread product Little One loves! Thank you, Dempster's!  I was beginning to worry. Though Little One has a voracious appetite, she does not like carbs! She eats more than some adults do, but she's super tiny and a lightweight.

As a member of the MLF Connects program, my family was able to try out the Dempster's Farmhouse Country White Bread.

Hubby, being a bread person, loves the thick, big, soft slices of Farmhouse Country bread. They're perfect for sandwiches and for dipping into piping hot soup (yes, I'm a dipper!).  Hubby just likes popping two slices into the toaster, putting butter on them, and running out the door to do farm chores. If he has more time, he'll toast the slices and spread a little mayo, add a few slices of tomato and a few cracks of black pepper and a dash of salt.  The man loves his open-faced tomato sandwiches.

We don't normally buy white bread, but this bread is oh, so different from the rest! It's so light, fluffy, and thickly sliced! It really is a homestyle bread. I always buy multi-grain bread from Demptster's, but Hubs and some friends agreed that there are certain kinds of sandwiches that you just need white bread for. Case in point? Those (I hate to say this) "funeral sandwiches"! When you live in the countryside, the community often congregates for funerals, as everyone is your neighbour. The church ladies always make the best sandwiches...also known as "funeral sandwiches" or tea & bazaar sandwiches.

I'm sure you don't just want to take our word for how good Dempster's Farmhouse Country White Bread is. Enter the Rafflecopter form below and you can WIN 5 Dempster's FPCs! 2 winners, contest open to Canadian residents. Ends November 14th, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure - I am a member of the MLF Connects program.  As part of my participation in this program I have received compensation, however all opinions in place and ideas on this blog are my own.

Before I begin, I have two words for you.

Cake Balls.

Yep. I said it. Cake Balls.

The BEST Cake Balls you will ever have.

Two weekends ago, Benjamin Moore hosted the Fifty Shades of Grey party for the ShesConnected Conference.  Let me tell you, Benjamin Moore sure knows how to throw a party. IMPRESSIVE!  Everything from the decor, drinks, music, and treats were enough to make Mr. Grey himself impressed!

Candy Coated Sweet Tables did a fabulous job on the Fifty Shades of Grey inspired sweets table. Unbelievable!

 Doesn't this make you wish you were Anastasia Steele?

Such a keen eye for detail. Every item on the sweets table had tremendous thought that went into it.  Fabulous!


She had everything from the Ben Wa Cake Balls, paddles, whips, ties, and all kinds of naughty things that one could expect from the one and only Christian Grey.  My friend, CanineCologne (who got me into Fifty Shades) would totally freak over these!

Not only aesthetically pleasing, but these treats were scrumptious!
Haha! Some of my favourite ladies and me...with our cake balls!

These cake balls were so fabulous that I told Kelly she needs to come up with a t-shirt and the slogan should read: "SAY IT WITH CAKE BALLS". I'm serious!

A very special thank you goes out to Benjamin Moore Paints, ShesConnected, and Candy Coated Sweet Tables! All photos by the incredible Raymond Siu @raymondsiu.

If  you have a special function, occasion, event, or gathering, give Candy Coated Sweet Tables a shout.  I've already booked them for an event in Toronto coming up (and I'm on Manitoulin Island)! Yes, that's how amazing they are! I love Kelly and Heather!

Contact Candy Coated Sweet Tables at:

www.candycoated.ca
candycoatedsweettables AT gmail DOT com

Little One has been obsessed with The Little Mermaid and water spirits and mermaids in general.  During bath time, she pretends she's a mermaid and she recently bought herself a Little Mermaid doll with the money she saved up (she's three years old).

When asked what she wanted to be for Halloween, you can guess what her answer was! A mermaid, of course!

We perused the siren costumes on anytimecostumes.com because that's where we look for all our costumes.    There are so many beautiful costumes to choose from.

I'm a Mom of a three year old and we all know three year olds aren't always the most careful or gentle when it comes to their belongings. We need something she can wear that will endure the test of a three year old wearing it.

The Little Mermaid Child Costume is adorable. The details are sweet with pretty seashell headband and a little "bling". My daughter is all about the bling!

For comfort level, Little One said it was so comfy that she wanted to sleep in it.  She almost made me let her wear her mermaid costume to the grocery store and bank!

We got Item #CC00246 size X-Small (4-6). Though Little One is going to be 4 in a few weeks, she's quite petite. I figured getting a size a little bigger was a good thing though, so she could wear layers underneath for Trick-or-Treating and so she can wear it for another year or two since she loves playing dress up.

If you want to go a step further, you can also get the Seaweed Boa accessory to complete the look! Very cute!
Disclosure - We received the above product to facilitate this honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.

While tweeting with my friend, @inkscrblr, I was reminded that this time four years ago, I was put on complete hospital bed rest.  Just thinking of what was going on four years ago brought tears to my eyes.  To be  honest, sometimes those memories are so far behind, locked in the deep recesses of my mind. Just a memory.  The fears and emotions were definitely real, but the end result is a happy, healthy, bright, active, busy, sometimes challenging and spirited little girl.

Most of the time, I forget that she was so premature and I try to put the past in the past.  Many times, those days, weeks, and months in the NICU seem so far away.  Sometimes they seem like they never happened.  If you see this vivacious, curious, strong Errr...Strong willed little girl, you may not believe we even went through any of that.

Seeing posts and tweets that remind us of those early days does make me cry a little.  They also serve as a reminder of the love, endurance, and strength we all have within us.  There were days I thought we would never survive, but here we are.

There are times I look around our home and think, "My goodness! Little One sure is spoiled." Seriously, for a farming family who "doesn't have much", we have a roof over our heads, warmth of our home, and food in our bellies.  I'm fortunate to have a job that enables me to provide for Little One, but at the same time, it makes me sad because there are so many children in Canada who don't have the basics like food to fill their tummies and keep them fueled all day.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and the fact is that some don't even get a good breakfast to start their day!  If anything, I would love for all children to have the basics, like a good breakfast in the morning. Being hungry also affects performance in school - physically and mentally.

Just in time for the holidays, National Bank, in association with Breakfast Clubs of Canada, is offering a decorative piggy-bank filled with gourmet cranberry cookies to help support school breakfast programs across Canada. For only $5, this cute tin of gourmet cranberry cookies made by La Petite Bretonne, makes a great stocking stuffer and the can be used to save change, and to make a change long after the treats are gone.  



Beginning November 19 to December 31, 2012 the tin will be available for a limited time at National Bank branches from coast to coast. All profits raised will go directly towards supporting community-based breakfast programs across the country so thousands of school children can start their day with a nutritious meal.

In case you weren't already aware, the Breakfast Clubs of Canada  is a national organization dedicated to providing services and funding for community-based school breakfast programs.  It is Breakfast Clubs of Canada’s dream that all children will have an equal chance to start their school day with a nutritious breakfast.

Each year, we donate to this cause. This year we're excited about supporting with the cookie fundraiser! We hope you will consider doing so as well.

To learn more about Breakfast Clubs of Canada or make a donation, please visit www.breakfastclubscanada.org.
www.facebook.com/BreakfastClubsCanadaFanClub
 @BreakfastCanada

For more information on National Bank, visit their web site: nbc.ca. To access the National Bank’s financial education portal, visit clearfacts.ca. To drool over La Petite Bretonne’s delicious products:
www.petitebretonne.com/

 KINDER® Surprise has always been a part of my life.  As a child, my brothers and I used to get Kinder eggs as a treat every once in a while.  I remember collecting Smurfs and other little toys that we had to assemble! Of course, we loved the chocolate, but the fun and excitement was in what kind of surprise would be awaiting us in that little egg!

I've been a TELUS client since 2000.  Wow! That's twelve years! Twelve!  I have never switched over to any other provider because TELUS has been good to me. Really good.

When I left Japan after teaching there for two years, I was addicted to my cell phone.  Of course, returning to Canada, I was shocked at how much more advanced technology was in Asia. My cell phone in Japan was super sleek, light, thin, and tiny! Cell phone costs were pretty reasonable, and everyone in Japan had a cell phone. Yes, even grandmothers had cell phones!

I returned to Canada and researched several cell phone companies.  Of all the providers, TELUS seemed like the best in terms of customer service, deals, coverage, and prices.

Throughout the years, I've upgraded phones at the end of each three year contract.  I've always had fabulous service with TELUS and whenever I had any issues with billing or anything I wanted to question, I always called customer service and spoke to a rep.  I have to say that I love TELUS because of their service. Perhaps I've been lucky, but I have always had the kindest, most understanding, most patient, most helpful reps on the other end of the line.  I'd like to think this is standard, but I really am impressed.

When I moved to Manitoulin Island from Toronto, I contemplated giving up my cell phone because I was moving to the middle of nowhere.  Before I did anything rash, I went to the TELUS location at Scarborough Town Centre and asked to see a map displaying the coverage TELUS had in Northern Ontario. Sure enough, Manitoulin Island was covered.

To this day, people visiting us on the Island complain that their cell service is horrible. I always have my five bars! Signal is always strong! With the exception of a few dead zones, I've got perfect cell reception. If you're on Manitoulin Island, TELUS is fabulous! Five bars all the time, and I'm only on 3G!

I think the biggest reason I've stayed with TELUS is that back in 2008, I was sent by air ambulance to Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital because of my high risk pregnancy. For weeks prior to delivery, I was on strict hospital bed rest. My husband was on the Island (a 6 hour drive) and we chatted daily about baby's development, how I was doing, me being homesick, etc.

When Little One cannon-balled her way into the world, I texted Hubby to come down to the hospital. She was born at 28 weeks gestation and at 980 grams (just about 2 lbs, 3 oz).  What was supposed to be the happiest, most beautiful time of our lives had turned into the scariest, most emotional experience.  Multiple phone calls a day were made back and forth between Hubby and me. I'd call him if Little One was having a good day. I'd call him if she was having a bad day.

"Little One needs a spinal tap. Do you know if lumbar punctures are okay? What are the odds of something bad happening?"

"She's on 4CCs of breast milk."

"She's on low-flow."

"Little One might go off C-PAP in a few days."

"They said she might need a blood transfusion."

"I miss you. I don't want to do this alone anymore."

It was heart-wrenching.  To have to go through having a baby in the NICU for 70+ days is one thing, but to have to do it while your spouse is hours away and could only commute every other weekend? Brutal.

By the second month of being in the hospital, I received a phone call from TELUS. The rep told me that my bill was a whopping almost $2000! WHAT?! Prior to that, my bill rarely went over $35. We spoke. I cried. I said I had a long distance plan. I explained my situation. We had a sick baby in the hospital, my husband and I communicated via our cell phones, etc.

After speaking with several people, TELUS managed to knock down a huge chunk of the bill. Though I did have a long distance plan, we didn't take into consideration roaming fees and air-time. TELUS took the time to really chat with me and they were able to reduce the bill considerably.

Now, with social media, I've been able to connect with TELUS (mainly on Twitter because I'm a Twitter addict).  I love the interaction, the help, and the support TELUS gives their clients. The TELUS social media team is pretty great. I can attest to this because I was recently able to meet up with them at the ShesConnected Conference in Toronto on Oct. 19-20. They are just as fun, fabulous, and full of info as they are online!

I'm truly thankful for being able to chat in person. That's what I love the most about the ShesConnected Conference. For me, it's all about building relationships with people and cultivating those relationships.

Thank you TELUS! I'm a client for life.  Special thanks to the amazing @EmmaBMiller, for taking the time to chat with me about cell phones when I was asking about the best one for keeping up with all everything in the social media world. We've already established that I need something with a better camera too.

Thank you, @EmmaBMiller, @DonnaARamirez, @enapolano and the rest of the @TELUS social media team.

Disclosure - This is NOT a sponsored post. I received absolutely zero compensation. I am writing this post because TELUS has wowed me with their customer service.

If you haven't attended a social media conference before, they are exciting, fun, informative, and also a little dizzying because of how fast paced everything is.  There is so much information you will want to pack in as well as so many things to see and do, and people to chat with.  I absolutely love attending events like the ShesConnected Conference.

I flew in the night before the conference, in time to have dinner with the other #SCCTO Ambassadors as well as the Canadian Beef team and #loveCDNbeef Ambassadors.

My flight with Porter Airlines was an enjoyable one, as always. To date, my flight experiences with Porter have always been stellar. The cabin crew and the service are first rate. What I love the most is that the flight is from Sudbury to Toronto is only 45 minutes. By the time I finish my drink, it's time to land! If you  haven't tried the Terra chips they serve on the flight, you simply have to try them next time!
Terra Chips - wholesome gourmet snack made with a mix of exotic vegetables like taro, yuca, batata, parsnip, sweet potato, etc. Mmmm...delicious!

Getting to Toronto with Porter was a breeze. Getting to the hotel from the airport took longer than it took to fly to Toronto! Instead of taking the FREE shuttle service, I took a taxi. BIG mistake. Before we even left the parking lot, I had racked up an $8.00 taxi fee...and we hadn't even moved! Then we got stuck in traffic. Next time I need to make sure that A) I don't arrive when it's rush hour and B) I take the shuttle service. That's fine. Lesson learned.

Checking in at The Renaissance Hotel, I was greeted by my friend, @Gingermommy. I was so happy that she was the first face I saw! The hotel service was great, the staff was welcoming and our room was very inviting. Okay, anything is inviting when you don't have toys, clothes, storybooks, and the chaos of home for a few nights. Not that I didn't miss my family, but having a bed to myself and no mess to pick up was heavenly.

Dinner was at Lone Star Texas Grill, which happens to be where my younger brother moonlights. It was funny chatting to the staff and finding out they all know my brother.

When dining with Canadian Beef, one orders...BEEF! The burrito was SO good!

“BIG RIG” TIJUANA BURRITO

Here are some of my #loveCDNbeef tweeps!

This was just the beginning of our ShesConnected adventures. Stay tuned for more!

My lovely friend, @SoberJulie and I had been planning a tweet up for quite some time. Along with our friend @sammygssgraff, we hosted bloggers and Twitter friends from around Canada who were gathering in Toronto for social media conferences.

SammyG was amazing and decorated our hotel room while Julie and I were at our Ambassadors' dinner.  The room was stunning! Beautiful displays of SammyG's products were available for guests to touch, pick up, look at, etc.  She also had scrumptious baked goods and other treats for our guests.

It was just a really great night of catching up with old friends and getting to know new friends.

Guests at our #TOTweetUp receive a 20% discount if they order from Sammygs.com by Friday. I'm in love with the Mohair Throw in Chocolate Brown. I think it would make a great Christmas present for family members or friends.
SammyG*s gave Little One a fabulous personalized blankie. She absolutely loves it! It's so soft and fluffy/fuzzy. She says she's not afraid of the dark now because she has her TELUS critter and her SammyG*s blankie!
One guest got to take home this keepsake of our #TOTweetUp. @mapsgirl was randomly selected!
It was a great night to just chat with friends after a full day of travel.

Thanks to all our amazing friends. We are so happy that we had a chance to meet up with you!

While I was away in Toronto for the ShesConnected Conference, Grampy and Lola took care of Little One since Hubby was busy working. Grampy took Little One to the bus stop and picked her up in the afternoon. I was actually kind of sad that she didn't miss me at all. Everyone says I should feel thankful that she is confident enough to be able to be away from Mommy for a few days. Is it wrong that I kind of want her to miss me? Even just a little?

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts! Looking forward to checking them out and commenting!

Last year when I attended the ShesConnected Conference in Toronto, I was still really new to the world of metrics, SEO, monetizing blogs, etc.  To be honest, I still have a lot to learn when it comes to those topics.  I was just really excited to be able to attend the conference, learn new things that were social media related, meet with the brands, and meet friends I had made in the blogging and Twitter world.

Fast forward one year and so much has changed. Doors have opened right, left, and centre.  I've been able to work with many different companies on a variety of opportunities. I've been given brand ambassadorships and other exciting experiences. Being able to work closely with the various brands has taught me a lot.  In fact, my blog is no longer the main money maker, but the catalyst that propelled me into the social media world.  I have put my teaching job on hold since social media work has gotten so busy.  I had been teaching ESL since 1998 and it was time for a little break. I now work as community manager/Twitter maven for Parent Tested Parent Approved and I  have clients I work with on the side. I help them with everything from editing and document writing to managing Twitter and Facebook accounts and just helping promote their businesses.

This year, I attended SCCTO not as just an attendee, but as a Brand Ambassador.  I was a Brand Ambassador for both ShesConnected and Canadian Beef.  I am honoured to have been able to do this. It has been a phenomenal experience.

In the months leading up to the conference, we have worked on many fun and exciting campaigns and have had many fabulous Twitter parties...all in preparation for the big conference.

Being able to work so closely with the brands has had an unmeasurable wealth for me. For me, it's not necessarily about the opps or monetizing, but more for the relationships built. Cultivating and building relationships are the most important things to me as a blogger and a social media enthusiast.

Some of the brands I was able to connect with and really learn more about this past weekend are:
TELUS
Ford Canada
World Vision
Burnbrae Farms
Almond Fresh
Chicken Farmers
CAA
Hasbro
Adult Essentials
Molson Canada
McDonald's
Maple Leaf

I also enjoyed meeting Candy Coated Sweet Tables, who did a fantastic job on the sweets table for the Benjamim Moore 50 Shades of Grey party.

Over the course of the next few days, I'm going to be giving you the run down of the event, starting from Day 1. I'll be letting you know just how valuable this experience has been and what lessons I have learned.

Stay tuned!

My husband thinks I'm crazy because every month or two, I get into this mood where I NEED to change the look of the rooms in our house.  He knows now that he can never get used to furniture being in the same place permanently.  It's true. I move furniture around and relocate things. I recently changed our living room theme from cream, burgundy and chocolate brown to different shades of blue.  Ask my three year old daughter what Mama's favourite colour is and she'll tell you it's Cerulean.

If you're like me and need a new look every now and then. I have found an easier way to change the look of your dining room. SureFit Form Fit Slipcovers!

I did something crazy and cleared out all the furniture from our dining room so Little One could have more room to run around and play. We  now have no more formal dining room. I know. Crazy.

Instead, I moved my 12 person Norwegian Teak table to our kitchen. Our kitchen is fairly large. It has its own floor. Yes, the entire level for the kitchen. It also saves me the running up and down upstairs where the formal dining room used to be.

Not only do the SureFit covers protect your chairs (if you have a messy 3 year old like I do, you'll know why I'm so thankful for the slipcovers), but they also allow you to instantly change the look of your room. You can accent your room with a burst of colour or you can complement a theme you're going with.  It certainly is a lot easier and less time consuming than painting all your rooms again or buying new furniture whenever you need a fresh perspective.

We just recently got some Parson chairs and I chose my slipcovers in a beautiful red to add warmth to our rustic country home kitchen. We live in an old farm house, so everything is wood!

It seems like there's always something that needs to be bought or replaced in this house.  Little One outgrows shoes and clothing like it's nobody's business.  Appliances get old or need replacing.  Little One is notorious for wrecking perfectly good household items.  There's also birthday present after birthday present.  Then there are baby showers, bridal showers, special occasions, weddings... If it's not one thing, it's another.

I was really excited to be selected for the Sears Club Points Program via Mom Central Canada.  It was really neat to see how the Sears Club Points Program works.  It was even neater to learn that all the things we need to purchase could one day turn into the things we want to purchase!

I received 20,000 Sears points ($200 in value) to spend on anything I wanted.  I don't know about you, but that was a tough one for me!  Give a Mom $200 worth of Sears Points and tell her to spend it, and guess what she's most likely going to purchase with those Sears Points?  Uhhh huh! You got it! Something for A) The Kids, B) The house, C) The husband.

I don't even recall the last time I spent anything just on myself.

I had my eye on this:

I've actually wanted a Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer for quite some time now. However, I remembered that I always get things for the house and never for me.

Then I got distracted by The Baby's Room!  I'm telling you, it almost makes me want to have another baby. Almost.

I decided to get something for me for once. Seeing as it's conference time, some new outfits would be great.
This JOLIE Dolman Sleeve Sweater Dress for the convention

This JOLIE Strapless Taffeta Party Dress for the party.

Of course, I ended up getting a few clothing items for Little One, as she needs more pants for school because she's getting so tall.

OVERALL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE:
At first, I tried shopping online.  Things have been busy and I didn't have time to actually go shopping in the Sears store. When I proceeded to "check out", I had some issues using the Sears Club Points online. After calling Sears and Mom Central, we finally figured out that it was because you need to use a credit card with your Sears Club Points card to use the points online.  NOTE: Online redemption of Sears Club Points requires use of a credit card and in-store redemption does not. You can just present the Sears Club Points card and use it as is.

I had to go run errands and I wanted to check out Sears The Baby's Room in person, so I ended up making my purchases in-store.

Everyone (from the Sears customer service reps on the phone to the in-store sales people) made me feel comfortable and at ease using the Sears Points. Everyone was so helpful and answered all my questions. They did everything possible to make my shopping experience a great one. This was my first time using Sears Club points and it won't be the last!

"Buy what you need. Get what you want".  Makes perfect sense to me! For more information on Sears Club Points, visit the Sears website here.

Disclosure - I am participating in the Sears Club Points program by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.