People used to always tell me "Oh, we hate road trips" or "Road trips are so awful" and "You can't go on a road trip with young kids."



When we were kids, my parents took us on tons of road trips and we had a blast! We'd drive from Montreal to Florida every year. We'd also make shorter road trips from Montreal to Toronto or Montreal to New York to visit our family.  What I loved the most was the adventure! I loved driving to Florida with my family and passing through all the States until we reached our destination.

I always knew that when I had kids of my own, I wanted road trips to be part of their childhood memories.

School's Out For Summer! Not Quite, But A Staycation At @Fallsavenue @FallsWaterpark is Perfect for Family Fun This Summer! 

A family stroll to check out the sites and sounds of Niagara Falls was the perfect way to begin our mini vacation.  The Clifton Hill, the main drag is always packed and bustling with people! I love the energy.  We even stopped and watch a few musical performances and dancers. Little One was in awe!


Since Hubby hadn't been to Niagara in ages and this was Little One's first trip, we had planned to check out as many attractions as we could.  Hubby really enjoyed the Guinness World Records Museum.  Hubby is a facts guy. He likes statistics and is a total trivia nut.

We also went to Ripley's Museum (Ripley's Believe It Or Not!) My husband would have liked to stay longer and read through every single rare and mind boggling display in the collection.  I think we rushed him. The man can spend an entire day reading! He soaks that stuff all up! He loved it!

 I was surprised that with all the oddities, Little One wasn't scared.  She was rather intrigued by it all. I really thought she was going to cry!

We went to Brick City and some other fun places for kids to enjoy.  Little One really enjoyed the LEGO exhibits.

 Of course, we just had to go to the Rainforest Cafe! Little One had never been before, and I worried that the tropical rain storm and the gorillas and elephants would make her scared. I was wrong again! She loved everything about the Rainforest Cafe and just had a blast. She was so amazed by her surroundings.


Here's Little One having a chat with Oprah. Too cute! Edward and Bella from Twilight on the right, and the Star Trek guys and Pope Jean Paul II below.
 Again, I thought Little One would be afraid of the wax museum, but she loved it!

Of course we had to go to the Hershey Store! I think that was one of my favourite spots to visit!  We may or may not have bought $100 worth of chocolate. No, I'm not kidding.



She loved it so much that she didn't want to do anything else but stay at the water park. She also made us promise to take her back to Niagara for her birthday.  As you can see, Niagara Falls & Fallsview are definitely #likenowhereelse!

This Summer, will you be 'Staycationing'? We really love @Fallsavenue and @FallsWaterpark. The perfect family getaway that is still 'close to home'.

Check out my other post about our stay at Falls Avenue Resort!  You can win the following...

• Fallsview Family Suite at the Sheraton on the Falls
• Four Passes to the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark
• Celebration Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe

Disclosure - I am a Falls Avenue Resort Brand Ambassador. Though affiliated, all the thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.

I have to admit, I was a little starstruck! Here I am with one of my food blogging idols, @FamilyBites!

Just this past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Food Bloggers of Canada Conference at Hockley Valley Resort. What an amazing conference it was! So inspiring! Detailed blog post to come!

Above photos can also be found on the Kitchen Aid Canada Facebook Page. Photos taken by femkephotography.ca

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts! We'd love to check them out!

Tell me you're not going to try this when you get a chance :)  How do you fold your undies?

I haven't made many videos, so my YouTube channel is pretty bare. I'm contemplating starting a little vlogging soon. Would you please visit my YouTube channel and show it some luv? Please and thank you?

 Clearly, I must be crazy.

What possessed me to buy a new bed set that is as WHITE as snow? I have no idea except for the fact that I love the fresh crispness of white.

Wonder how long this will last. I'm married to a farmer and have a four year old child...


Hubby keeps taking all the decorative pillows off! He keeps saying, "WHY do you need SO many pilliows?!"

I don't know.

They're pretty?

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts! We'd love to pop by and check them out! Okay, so maybe this one wasn't so "Wordless"!

We received a HUGE box of items from P&G a few weeks ago, and all Little One was interested in was the BOX! I won't tell you that she LIVED in that box for over a week.  Yes...she ate, slept, and played in her "new house". Oh, the simple things make kids so happy. Hours of fun, I tell you.

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts! I'd love to check them out!

My brother is so awesome. Ummm...and, he may kill me when he sees this. Just kidding! He's a really good sport!

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I am a multitasking Mama.  I can talk on the phone, tweet on my BlackBerry, close a deal with a client, cook supper, and tend to my almost 4 year old...all at the same time.  Multitasking is my middle name.

...Except when it comes to operating farm equipment.

The sad truth of the matter is that I cannot drive stick shift.  I have a mental block when it comes to driving standard.  My best friend tried to teach me when we were in high school and I stalled in the middle of a bridge and was stuck in traffic.  My anxiety over inconveniencing others has ultimately led to me not being able to drive standard. I know. Pretty crazy.

I just cannot get my brain wrapped around when to shift gears. What the heck is the difference between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd?  Clutch? What is that?  Why do we have to do all of those things simultaneously anyway?  Why can't farm equipment companies just make all tractors automatic? Seriously!

My husband, the beef farmer, seems to forget that I was born and raised in the city and that I wasn't born knowing how to operate a tractor.  Though I do help him out on the farm, I suffer from terrible anxiety.  Those HUGE machines are expensive.  I'm worried I may wreck something.  That's my biggest worry.

Imagine this, if you will.  The transmission on our combine harvester died and Hubby got stuck in a field over the hill and in one of our far fields.  He BBM'd me (because modern day farmers have BlackBerries, you know!) and asked me to please pick him up...with the tractor.

What?! I'm supposed to pull that GIANT combine with a little tractor?! I'm supposed to go on the HIGHWAY and pull it over the hill? Oh, my goodness. What have I gotten myself into? I'm not so sure I'm meant to be a farmer's wife!

Me: Can I write cheat sheets on Post It notes and plaster them all over the tractor?
Hubs: Ummm...That's what those symbols are for.
Me: No. I need actual notes. Like "press this at this moment" or "pull this to shift at this time".
Hubs: (rubbing his head) You'll be okay.

I almost cried all the way back to the farm with this monstrous combine being lugged behind me. I was so scared I'd break something!

When we finally arrived back at the farm, Hubs said, "Honey. You did great! Umm...but, you didn't shift gears at all the entire way. You remember you were supposed to shift gears, right?"

Now, how I got the combine into the driving shed is an entirely different blog post. *sigh*

Please tell me my child isn't the only child that does this every time we're at Old Navy!

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts!  We'd love to check out your photos and leave a comment!

It was a day like any other.  The sunshine was streaming through my office window, the breeze blowing the curtains to and fro, and the birds chirping outside on a warm sunny day.

Maybe not, but one lucky Mama gets a free pedicure! :)

My friends and I had a friendly contest going. We were complaining about how we're all in desperate need of a spa day/manicure/pedicure/massage.  We jokingly came up with a little contest, but put it into effect that night! Whoever came up with the best Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" quote would be declared the winner.

You guys chose the winner (Booooo! It wasn't me!).  The winning Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" photo is...
Congrats to my friend, CleanEatingMama! Looks like we have a pedi date! Too bad Ryan Gosling wasn't included in the prize! ;)

Is it sad that a thirty-something year old woman has a school girl crush on a movie star?  The last time I was crushing on someone like this was when I was in my twenties, watching Dawson's Creek. My girl friend and I would watch Dawson's Creek religiously. We'd meet up at her condo, pop some popcorn, and laugh, cry, and get mad at the whole Joey and Dawson thing.  I always wanted Joey and Dawson to end up together. To this day, we joke about how funny it was that women in their twenties would love a show about a bunch of high school kids. Then again, I love the original 90210, Degrassi Junior High, and Glee!

Latest crushes?
Alexander Skarsgard, Joe Manganiello, and Ryan Gosling.

While at a girls' night with some friends on the weekend, one of our friends said, "Have you guys seen those Ryan Gosling 'Hey girl' posts? They're hilarious!"

None of us had seen them before, so we whipped out the iPhone and BlackBerry to Google the pics.
HI-LA-RI-OUS!

Some of my favourites:



A night of the girls getting together (our once a month break from work, house, kids, and other responsibilities), turned into a night of full on Zumba workout on Kinect and lots of laughter. You know that this is our only time to fully relax and decompress.

I joked about how I could really use a pedi since my feet are horrible even though I had them prepped to be beach ready last month! Dry skin, nail polish needing to be redone. Okay, I also confessed that my husband told me that I've got talons when my foot touched him in bed the other night. Totally not sexy! I agree, manis and pedis are a good thing. I also agree that I shouldn't use the "I'm soooooooo busy" excuse and just get it done. This said, if you live in the countryside and people see a beautifully manicured hand or pretty polished toe nails, they think you don't do any house work or work in the garden.

Anyway, the girls and I came up with an idea. Since we all said we were all in dire need of a mani and pedi, we decided to have a little friendly contest between us. We'd all make our own Ryan Gosling "Hey girl" pic and the person with the best one would get a free mani/pedi! There are three of us taking part in this friendly contest, so the two who don't win will split the cost of the winner's manicure and pedicure.

To be fair, we will not disclose the names of the contestants. Please leave a comment here and tell us which one you think is the best!

Rushing in the morning on an already hazy, humid mosquito filled morning, I could feel myself getting tense.  Little One was dawdling - stopping every few feet to pick up a white-headed dandelion (which she calls "giant wish flowers").  I scooped her up, put her in her car seat, hopped into the driver's seat, and drove up our lane way.

Little One: Mine too! Mine too! Mine too! (screaming, tears rolling down her cheeks)
Me: Oh, dear. Now what?!
Little One: (pulling at her seat belt straps) My seat belt! Mine too!!

At this moment I feel like the world's most horrible Mom. I never forget to buckle her into her car seat. NEVER!

It was one of those days.

Above photo taken a few months ago.  Please excuse the helmet. She takes car safety very seriously.  Either that, or she thinks my driving is absolutely horrible.

We started singing the entire score for Gilbert & Sullivan's The Gondoliers. Little One mentioned that she was thirsty.

Me: We left your sippy cup at ThatCoolTeacherMom's house. She's going to return it when she sees us next.
Little One: Mommy, where's my Princess p3nis?
Me: (in shock) Pardon me? Your what?
Little One: My. Princess. P3nis!
Me: Ohhhh! Your Princess THERMOS! (this is the second day in a row that she's called her Thermos a p3nis)
Little One: Why? Why is it not a p3nis?
Me: Honey, you know what a p3nis is. That stainless steel thing that keeps your drinks hot or cold is called a Thermos.
Little One: (laughing) What is a p3nis?
Me: Honey, you remember! What do girls have that boys don't have?
Little One: A vag!na.
Me: Boys have a ______?
Little One: P3nis!
Me: That's right.
Little One: What's a vag!na for?

(Urgh. She's only three years old. I think I'll just stick with the non-$exual functions of this part of the anatomy for now)

Me: Well, a vag!na is a part of the female body and you pee from there.
Little One: What's a p3nis for?
Me: (Haha! Oh, boy. Trouble!) Males - boys and men have them and when they pee, pee comes from there.
Little One: Mommy, and [insert Little One's real name here], and Lola have VAG!NAS!
Me: Yes. That's right, honey.
Little One: Daddy and [insert LO's friend's little brother's name here] and Grampy have P3NISES!
Me: That's correct. Oh! What does Chance (our dog) have?
Little One: (quietly thinking and then laughing) I don't know!
Me: Chance is a boy! He has a...
Little One: P3NIS!
Oh, the questions!

Little One is three years old and I explain things as openly and honestly to her in a way I feel is age-appropriate.  I know some people do not feel that proper anatomical terms are appropriate for children, but I do not believe calling girl parts "cupcake", "flower", "hooha", or "peach" and boy parts "turtle", "birdie", "lizard", or "wee wee" appropriate. Neither way is right or wrong...or better or worse.  For me, I'd just like Little One to know the proper names of things.

We've got bodily functions down. Let's hope the $ex questions don't come for another few years.

Never in my life would I have ever imagined having my very own bobble head! It's actually kind of cool!  I guess this is the one time being called a bobble head is actually a compliment? :)

 I'm excited to announce that I have been selected as a Brand Ambassador for the ShesConnected Conference 2012. I was invited to attend the conference last Fall, and had a fabulous time. I met up with other social media women I had been communicating with for a year or so (some even longer!). I also learned quite a lot about social media, branding, and relationships with brands, what our blogs can convey to others and even how social media can 'do good' (examples: Look Good, Feel Better's story about Tamara's Wig, Heather Hamilton's story of her lovely Zack and Zack's Dream Room) from the panels and speakers.

While at the conference, I was able to get to know some of the brands better and from SCCTO I developed great working relationships with some of the sponsors there. I received many opportunities from SCCTO and after. It seemed that the network I was already building (can I tell you how much I love Twitter?!) grew bigger immediately after the conference. Soon after, I was offered opportunities I never thought I'd get. For me, it isn't about the number of opportunities one gets, but more importantly, the relationships you build.

By the sounds of things, this year is going to be a very exciting one over at ShesConnected! Thanks again to everyone at ShesConnected. I am looking forward to being a Brand Ambassador and seeing everyone at the conference this Fall!

In the meantime, I think you should "meet" the other ShesConnected Brand Ambassadors!

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts!  I'd love to check them out!