With the school year coming to a close, and kids ready for Summer, you'll no doubt want to look into cottage rentals and vacation plans for the family!  I may be a bit biased, but if you're planning a road trip, Manitoulin Island should be on your bucket list!

Experience Manitoulin Island

Bayside Resort

Beauty and Comfort: The Cabins

Growing up, my parents taught us that travel and exposure to the world around us and different cultures were very important.  They encouraged exploration and whetted our curiosity by taking us on trips to my Dad's homeland of Trinidad and Tobago and to other points of interest.  Long road trips from Montreal to Florida or camping trips in New Brunswick or Gatineau were things we were no strangers to.

Travel has always been a large part of my life and before I settled down and got married, I made sure to travel a lot.  Barbados, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Bali, and over thirteen U.S. states and (only) four Canadian provinces were among the places I marked off on my map.

It is my hope and dream that Little One gets the same opportunities to travel as I did.  She embarked on her first international trip last year when we went to the Philippines.

The experience for my then three year old was amazing.  It opened her eyes to a new lifestyle, language, culture, and a new life in general!

When PTPA introduced me to Little Passports, I thought it was a brilliant idea and a great way to foster the importance of travel and culture in children.

Little Passports is a great way to teach children about other countries and cultures through the adventures and world travels of Sam and Sofia.

With Little Passports, parents can inspire a love and understanding of the world as your child learns about geography, history, culture, and more through monthly packages delivered to your door (starting at $10.95/month).

Simply sign up, select your monthly subscription, and get set to learn about the world with Sam and Sofia! My daughter, though only four years old, absolutely LOVES Little Passports!  She was so excited to see the postcards, stickers, letters, souvenirs, etc.  Best of all, it was mail for her!  What kid doesn't love receiving mail?!

Little One can't read on her own yet (she's in Junior Kindergarten), so I helped her with reading the postcards and letters from Sam and Sofia.  I was surprised at how "into" the whole experience she was!  It was almost magical seeing her go on the adventure with them (so to speak).  She really seemed to feel like she was part of their adventures!

I thought it was neat that when Little One opened up the envelope from Japan, she found origami paper.  We had a layover in Tokyo on our way to the Philippines last year and Little One totally made the connection between the origami paper and what I had told her about Japan.  Incidentally, she loved Narita Airport!  I lived and worked in Japan from 1998 to 2000 and absolutely fell in love with the culture.  Little One somehow remembered hearing that and took a keen interest in what she was learning from Sam and Sofia's trip to Japan.

Did you know that Little Passports is a PTPA Award Winner?

I really love learning activities like Little Passports.  They teach kids valuable lessons in an interactive and creative way.

Thanks to PTPA and Little Passports, we are giving one lucky reader a 3 month Little Passports subscription!

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.

Being a farming family, we don't get to travel much for pleasure very often. The farm cannot go unattended. The animals are always up to something. I also suspect that Murphy's Law has made it so that whenever we do go away, we can expect the unexpected...like our cattle getting out onto the highway or my mother-in-law's basement flooding. You know...all the fun stuff.

We were so thrilled to discover that I was selected as one of five Falls Avenue Resort Brand Ambassadors!

Niagara Falls has always been one of my favourite destinations. When I lived in Toronto, I used to try to make it to Niagara Falls yearly. I can never tire of "the Falls".

This trip was special since this was Little One's very first trip to Niagara. It was also the first time in a long time that we were able to go away as a family.

Niagara Falls is definitely "Like Nowhere Else", and the same can be said of  Sheraton on the Falls at Falls Avenue Resort and Fallsview Waterpark!

We were so excited about our trip that we were tweeting and posting on FB the entire time we were away! I had eight friends tell me they were going to take their families to Niagara on March Break just because of my Twitter and Facebook updates! I wasn't trying to suggest they go, but more just wanting to share how much fun we were having!

Here's a little glimpse of the fun we had!



We were welcomed by friendly and helpful staff at the registration desk. To be honest, everyone we met was very helpful and hospitable. What impressed me was that the staff recognized us and some even remembered Little One's name. The reason this struck me was that they see hundreds of faces filter in and out of the hotel and water park every day, yet they still remembered us. That is phenomenal.








Our room was perfect. The beds were very comfortable and it was the best sleep I had in ages!

The view from our room was breathtaking.



Once settled into our room, we made a game plan for how we were going to proceed with our time at the resort. Of course, Little One was set on spending pretty much the entire time at the Fallsview Waterpark.



Dinner at the Fallsview Restaurant at the Sheraton Falls was impressive. It was buffet style and there was something for everyone.

We could not believe how much our Little One ate! She loved the pasta and chicken. She was even served a special smoothie. She was right in her happy place!


I'm actually kind of embarrassed to tell you that my tiny waif-like 4 year old ate chicken, ravioli, a vegetable medley, shrimp, stuffed pork tenderloin, and a slider. She then had her smoothie and went to the dessert buffet with Daddy.


I was pleased (and not surprised) to see that for dessert she didn't go for the decadent items, but chose fruit!

We were seated in VIP, where we had the most amazing view. One one side we had this...


and this...

and on the other, we could see this...


While most parents like to have their kids in bed soon after dinner, there was a method to my madness. I suggested to Hubby that we take Little One to the Waterpark after supper because:

A) It would likely be less busy because parents were probably putting their kids to bed
B) It would exhaust her and she'd sleep through the night!


I have to say that for once I credit myself with being a true genius. It was the best decision I made! We went to the Waterpark the next day and it was packed!



A little bit about the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark


It's North America's largest indoor water park and resort with 3 acres of indoor family fun! There are 16 thrilling water slides and the water park is connected to the Falls Avenue Resort (including 3 hotels + more). There is a massive indoor wave pool, which my 4 year old enjoyed immensely! The water park also features hot springs and an outdoor pool and sundeck. Not only that, but it's also a 2 minute walk to the water falls!

If it were up to Little One, we'd spend our entire vacation at the water park! I think we spent a total of 6 hrs at the water park!

My family had so much fun that we decided we will definitely be back. My poor little four year old didn't want to leave!

We enjoyed our mini vacation so much and are excited to be able to share a similar experience to readers of Life on Manitoulin!

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

National Geographic has been a household name in our family for as long as I can remember. We traveled a lot with our family as children, visiting our father's home country of Trinidad and Tobago, driving all over the United States and some parts of Canada.  

When I got older, I traveled to Barbados on my own for the very first time! I met up with my friend and stayed at her mother's house. I think I was 16 or 17 when I took my first plane trip on my own! It opened my eyes to the amazing world around me. I was bitten by the travel bug!

I wanted to see and experience the world and visited Bali, Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, and many other exciting countries!

As a child, I remember pouring over the collection of National Geographic magazines in her basement and wanting to visit ALL of those countries in the magazines! My aunt and uncle worked for Air Canada, so traveling to pretty much all of the countries and continents were second nature to them. I had dreams of visiting Machu Picchu and Stonehenge, and exploring everything from the coral reef and the rain forests.

Now that I have a daughter of my own, I'm glad that she enjoys her subscription to National Geographic Kids! Our 4 year old is really into her NG Little Kids Magazines (Ages 3-6).

National Geographic has a fun contest on right now. 

DISCOVER THE MYSTERY ANIMAL FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A DREAM VACATION!

You and a guest could be off for a 7-day adventure to the North American destination of your choice. Simply visit a participating National Geographic and National Geographic Explorer luggage retailer to identify the mystery animal and fill out the form below for your chance to win.

With Little One now in Junior Kindergarten, the Scholastic book order forms are something we get really excited about in this house.  Little One loves books. Loves them.

My friend Manitoulin Key Lime Pie started Little One's obsession with Laura J. Numeroff's adorable collection of books when she gave her If You Give A Moose A Muffin, If You Give A Pig A Pancake, If You Give A Cat A Cupcake for her 2nd birthday. At 4 years old, Little One is determined to own the entire series.  Uh huh. Guess what books we'll be ordering from Scholastic?

Okay, you're probably wondering what a book about giving a moose a muffin has to do with Singapore Noodles, right?

If you've read any of the books in Numeroff's collection, you'll notice a pattern.

If a big hungry moose comes to visit, you might give him a muffin to make him feel at home. If you give him a muffin, he'll want some jam to go with it. When he's eaten all your muffins, he'll want to go to the store to get some more muffin mix. 

The moose initially asks for jam to go with his muffin, and after stream of consciousnes-like events in between, the story ends up with something reminding the moose of a muffin and him asking for jam to go with it.

The stories in Laura Numeroff's collection are entertaining, fun, and follow a similar sequence so that children can have fun predicting what will happen. My four year old has all of her books committed to memory. I don't know why she bothers asking me to read them to her every night...multiple times.

Singapore Noodles. Right.

The other day, I posted my Curried Egg Sandwich recipe. Immediately after posting. the idea of curry made me crave Singapore Noodles. I had to laugh, because this totally reminded me of my daughter's books! These books also remind me of how Mommies can oftentimes start off at one point, get distracted by everything that goes on in the day (with work, with home, with kids, with activities, etc), only to end up right where they began. With curry. You know. Curried Egg Sandwich? Singapore Noodles? If You Give A Moose A Muffin? I can't believe you missed that connection.

Without further ado, here is my Singapore Noodles recipe.

Ingredients
5.5 ounces dried rice vermicelli
4 oz chicken, cut into thin strips
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine
2 Tbsp curry powder
2 Tbps fish sauce (optional - I often forget to use it and I only use it if I'm using shrimp instead of chicken or pork)
1 Tbps oyster sauce
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbps ginger, minced
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
4 ounces bean sprouts (if you have them)
3 green onions, sliced thin
oil for stir-frying

Instructions
Soak the dried rice noodles in very hot water for 3 minutes. Do not over-soak them or they will stick together and get mushy when you cook them.

Pull noodles apart as soon as they start softening. Rinse in cold water several times to prevent the noodles from absorbing too much water. This also gets rid of any extra starch.

Chicken to a bowl and season with the soy sauce and rice wine.

Add curry powder into a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the fish sauce, oyster sauce and chicken stock.

Make sure to have all your prep done ahead of time, because everything will cook very quickly.

Heat a wok over high until very hot then add a Tbps of oil, swirl to coat inside of wok, then add the egg, swirling then scrambling. Put the egg on a plate and set aside.

Add 2 Tbsp of oil, then add the garlic and ginger, and then fry until the fragrances come alive. Oh,  you'll know it when it happens! Add chicken, holding aside the marinade and fry until the chicken just loses its pink color. At this point, it doesn’t have to be all the way cooked.

Add the onion, red and green bell peppers, and bean sprouts. Fry while stirring vigorously. Until the vegetables are a bright color. Add the curry powder and stir-fry until fragrant, then pour in the chicken stock and fish sauce mixture. Stir, to combine, then add the noodles and return the egg to the pan.

 If the noodles start sticking, add some water.

Top with scallions, then serve your Singapore Noodles immediately.You can switch things  up by substituting pork or shrimp for chicken. I've even done this recipe with tofu for a vegetarian option. Add some spicy chili pepper for kick if you wish!

The funny thing is that I wanted to begin this post with something like:

• "Singapore Noodles: Memories of Lunch Dates with My Dad at Le Faubourg Ste-Catherine in Montreal during my university days"
• "Yes, I traveled to Singapore just to sample some real Singapore Noodles and a real Singapore Sling!"

Yes, both of those headers are indeed true.

 Merlion - Most likely the most photographed subject in Singapore! Photo from here via Google Images.

P.S. I know many will think I am crazy, but I wish I loved Singapore more than I do! All I remember was that Singapore was super hot (like please don't let me go outside because I'm going to melt & I NEED A/C kind of hot!), expensive, insanely clean (I was scared something might fall out of my pocket and I'd get caned to death for littering), and the cockroaches were the size of small cats. Maybe not that big, but they were huge! Being so close to the equator, I guess the climate is conducive to roaches? Anyway, Singapore is a beautiful place and there was a lot to see. Love the culture and chatting up with all the ex-pats from all over the world! Fun! Wow. I totally miss my carefree jet-setting days sometimes.

**One more thing. I used this for my Singapore Noodles recipe this time. Hubby and Little One did the groceries and this is what they picked up.

Disclosure - This is not a sponsored post. Janes Family Food gets a mention today because Hubby and Little One love their Janes Chicken. All the thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.