The moment you've been waiting for has arrived. Are you ready? I bet you're anxiously waiting to see your name plastered all over this post, right? Well...

The winner of our Skechers Twinkle Toes/Hot Lights giveaway is lucky #12!  Random.org loves you!

Michelle Proulx said... 12

I follow you and sketchers on FB #3

September 13, 2011 1:42 PM

Please contact me with your mailing info so your prize can be sent out to you! Yay! I hope your little girl loves her new Skechers!

As a first time mom, I always thankful for input and the words of experienced moms. I feel good knowing that I'm not the only one who has spent sleepless nights with a teething baby or who is going through some fun times potty training a toddler. Note the sarcasm?

In all seriousness, shared experiences have helped me get through some pretty trying times. It's not only about all things baby that moms talk about. There's where to get the best sales and who is having the best discounts or giveaways. Us moms are savvy and frugal, you know!

If you're looking for a place to chat about all of these things, there's a great new online community that I love called Baby and You. The cool thing is that Baby and You is on Facebook. Many of us are already on Facebook, connecting with friends, family, etc. While you're on Facebook, why not check out Baby and You? Join in some great conversations with other moms (and dads), and get exclusive coupons while you're at it.

You want savings? Check out Baby and You for exclusive savings and promotions. Loblaws, Independent, Valu-mart, SaveEasy, Superstore, and Zehrs shoppers will be happy to find deals on items like baby food, diapers, baby wash, etc. Oh, and if  you love PC brand products, you'll find deals on them on Baby and You too! We love President's Choice in our house! We also love Joe Fresh in our house!

I love Joe Fresh. In fact, I recently picked up a few pairs of pants (I am down two pant sizes! Still working on more though!) and I also  needed something cute to wear for the She's Connected Conference in Toronto
Wait! It gets better! If you're like me, and can't resist hitting up the Joe Fresh section when you're at Loblaws or Independent, you'll be happy to hear this!

"Like" Baby and You on Facebook and click on the contest tab on the left. Enter to win $500 worth of Joe Fresh gift cards! Or one of five $100 Joe Fresh gift cards from Baby and You.


Ummm hmmm! You heard me! $500 worth of Joe Fresh gift cards!

Pssst! While you're at it, check out Mommy Moment for all things Mom and Growing Your Baby for all things baby!

Disclosure - I am participating in the Baby and You program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Loblaw Companies. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Halloween is just around the corner. Have you got your costume yet?

Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year. I love getting dressed up and scaring our neighbourhood kids. Yeah, I'm crazy like that. I also think it's really special to see all the neighbourhood kids dressed up as little ghouls and goblins! Too cute!

Remember that adorable fairy costume we reviewed for Costume Super Center?
Little One wanted to wear that this year, but we do live in Northern Ontario, and the nights are getting cooler. I wanted a costume that Little One would be warm in, so the fairy costume will be reserved for her dress up play dates with friends (ummm...you know that my toddler loves dressing up, so dress up day is  every day for her!).

What did we choose for Little One's Halloween costume this year? Well, nothing scary. She has decided that she doesn't like anything scary. She's going to be a...
I'll be going as this...
Hubby is still undecided on what he'll go as this year. We have a few Halloween parties to attend this year (with and without kids)!

If you haven't already decided on what you're going as, why not check out CostumeSuperCenter.com? They have a huge selection of costumes for infants, toddlers, children, men, and women. By huge, I mean hundreds of costumes to choose from!

Want to hear something even better?
Get Free Shipping w/ code TWEET10 
Just enter the code upon check out and you'll receive free shipping!

Summer has ended, and the kids are back at school. You know what that means, right? Ummm hmmmm...Time to pass around colds and flus. Yay.

Though my little one is not at school yet, she does attend early learning playgroups and other activity groups that foster learning in children. This means she is in contact with her peers on a regular basis. Snotty, runny noses, here we come!

My biggest worry about administering meds to my child is whether or not I am giving her the correct dosage. A lot of times, the label on the box tells you a dosage by age. Well, my two year old is a very tiny two year old. Wouldn't it make more sense to give a dosage based on weight instead of age? I've often wondered about that. Thankfully, I was introduced to Children's AccuDial and they've thought about that as well!





From the company website:
Children’s AccuDial^® is a revolutionary line of OTC medications designed to give your child an accurate dose of medicine. The weight of children in the same age group can vary greatly, and they should not always be given the same amount of medicine. According to the American Medical Association, 72% of children are dosed inaccurately with OTC medications. Using the patented AccuDial rotating dosing system, simply turn the outer label of the bottle and match the child’s weight with the correct dose listed in milliliters!
Now, doesn't that make sense? Children's AccuDial has sent me some of their Pain & Fever rotating dosage label. It relieves fever, aches, and pain and comes in cherry flavour. Suitable for children ages 2 and up.
Even my husband was impressed by the rotating dosing system.Want to see how Chidlren's AccuDial works? Click here for a demo. It's pretty cool, isn't it? Now all the guess work is taken out of administering proper doses of meds!

The AccuDial product line includes:
Pain & Fever
Allergy
Cold & Stuffy Nose
Chest Congestion
Cough & Cold
Runny Nose & Cough
Nite Time Cold & Cough
Day Time Cough & Cold

Click here for more product info.

Want to try AccuDial for Children and see why I think the dosing system is fabulous? AccuDial is giving TWO of my readers a chance to try out their products.

WIN IT!
Two lucky readers will win one Children's AccuDial Rotating Dosage Label of their choice. Yes, TWO of you!


Two win, simply head over to the Children's AccuDial website and let me know which product you would like to try. (Mandatory)


Additional Entries:
* Like Children's AccuDial and Random Thoughts and Musings from the Island REVIEWS on Facebook. Pop by and say hello! (4 entries)
* Follow this blog on GFC (1 entry)
*Follow this blog on NetworkedBlogs (1 entry)
* Follow @AccuDial and @chancesmommy on Twitter and tweet this giveaway (4 entries)  
I want to #Win Children's Accudial from @AccuDial @chancesmommy's blog! 2 chances to win! 
http://fb.me/10jX9Tvb4

Giveaway Rules

1. Contest is open to Canadian Residents only
2. The contest will run from Sept. 22 – Oct. 3, 2011 at 11:59 ET.
3. One winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified at the email address used upon entry.
4. The winner will have 48 hrs to respond and failure to do so will result in a new winner selection.
5. Please leave a separate comment for each entry and an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.

Disclosure- AccuDial has given me Children's AccuDial Pain & Fever to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.

I don't know about you, but Fall is my favourite season. Sure, I love the days spent on the beach and the warm weather of Summer. I love the fresh smells of Spring. I even love the crisp air and white snow of Winter. This said, Fall is my favourite with all the leaves changing colours, it's not too hot or too cold out, and...

It's time for Halloween!!!
There's just something so exciting about Halloween! As part of the Hallmark Press Pause Panel, I get to tell you about some of the amazing products Hallmark has for your loved ones!

We all know that Hallmark is known for their greeting cards. Now, Hallmark is also known for their special gifts that help create memories for family, friends, and other loved ones. I know I head for Hallmark for Birthdays, Baby Showers, New Baby, Baptisms, Graduations, Weddings, Christmas, and yes, even Halloween!

Look what I received in the mail today! Just in time for Halloween!

Hokey Pokey Skeleton
This spooky (yet adorable!) little friend dances and sings to a parody of the "Hokey Pokey" song when you press the button on the pumpkin. I thought it was very cute and the perfect addition to any scary Halloween party!
Special: $14.95 with each purchase of 3 Hallmark cards. Regular Price: $29.95

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown Book with Sound
 If you're a Charlie Brown and Peanuts fan, you'll love this book! Just like the TV classic that we've all grown to love and look forward to seeing every Halloween!
Special: $9.95 with any Hallmark purchase. Regular Price: $14.95

Hocus Pocus Treat Presenter
 I love this! This treat presenter looks like a big book of spells, and when you open it, you are greeted with eerie, cackling messages! I can't wait to see the reactions from our trick-or-treaters when they reach into the box to get their treats! Booooooooo! Too cool!
Special: $14.95 Regular Price: $19.95

Flickering Witch Candle
 This spooky flickering candle adds a little scary factor to your Halloween decor! The light flickers and it's oh so scary!
Regular Price: $19.95

Three Hallmark Halloween Greeting Cards
Of course, no Hallmark Press Pause post would be complete without greeting cards! Hallmark has a wide variety of fun, funny, and even spook-tacular cards for all the people you love!

I am beyond thrilled about all the great products I get to share with you today. I immediately thought of how these items would add to the "feel" of Halloween at our Halloween party. I thought of how Little One would enjoy them and be just as excited as I am about them!

Little One woke up from her nap and the first thing she saw was the Hokey Pokey Skeleton. To be honest, it scared the wits out of the poor thing! She demanded that I turn it off! Ah, well. Maybe she'll like it by Halloween time! It's guaranteed to be a hit at our next Halloween party!

Whether it's in the form of a funny (or spooky!) Halloween card, or a really cool and creepy treat presenter or dancing skeleton, Hallmark will surely make your loved ones smile.


Disclosure- As a member of the Hallmark Press Pause Panel, I was given the Hokey Pokey Skeleton, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown Book with Sound, Hocus Pocus Treat Presenter, Flickering Witch Candle, and three Hallmark Halloween Greeting Cards. All the thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest, original, and my own.

Back in 1992, I had the opportunity to be part of the Voyageurs '92 program. Along with a dozen other youth from my community, I had a chance to see what life at the other end of our country was like.

I stayed with a lovely family in Victoria, BC. In exchange, my billet got to stay at my family's home in the West Island (in the province of Quebec). I remember learning all about BC and its wonderfully rich history and culture. The climate, flora and fauna also struck me as being totally different from what we experience in Quebec.

If I have to be honest, I'll say that what I remember most is how amazing my host family was. My billet and I quickly became good friends and had late night chats with her mom over yummy treats! Among those treats was this fabulous Chocolate Zucchini Cake! I had never ever heard of chocolate and zucchini together! It was such an odd combination!

It was the best chocolate cake I had ever had though! So moist!

Years later...Okay, let's do the math. That was Summer of '92 and it's now 2011. Many years later, I have been longing for that cake recipe. I've lost touch with my host family, but have found several chocolate zucchini cake recipes on the internet (thank  you, Google!). I've tweaked, played with, altered, incorporated, and have come up with a recipe I think is similar to the one my amazing host mother made for us back when I was 16 years old.

2 1/2 c  flour
1/2 c cocoa powder (for baking)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 c sugar (Substitute sugar with more natural sweeteners like agave, demerara, etc)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c shredded zucchini (I used 3 c shredded zukes)
1 1/2 c vegetable oil OR
*1 jar prune puree (you can use the jarred baby food one if you don't make your own from scratch)

* Instead of using oil or butter, I used prune puree. If you want to use butter, use 3/4 c at room temperature.  If you want to use oil, 1 1/2 cups veg oil.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together your wet ingredients: butter/sugar or prune puree, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla.
Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, and shredded zucchini to wet mixture.
Combine all ingredients together.
In a greased Bundt pan, pour batter.
Bake for 50 minutes.
Cool in pan for 15 min (Trust me! If you take it out sooner, it will fall apart into zillions of pieces and  you'll never be able to salvage the cake! You won't have enough time to bake another for that important bake sale, bazaar, tea, fundraiser, or dinner party  you were going to bring it to!) and then cool on wire rack.

You can make a simple glaze or a chocolate ganache to add on top of the cake, but my toddler loves it just as it is...along with some homemade applesauce on the side!

With friends and family members who have gluten allergies, coming up with a treat for all to enjoy has been a mission of mine. What's worse than going to a party and not being able to eat and enjoy what everyone else is raving about?

I have a fabulous chocolate brownie recipe (given to me by my mother-in-law), and thought I'd tweak it so that I could turn it into a flourless brownie recipe. I considered substituting my regular flour for a mix of flours that people with wheat allergies could have. I didn't make it to the health food store in time, so decided to just omit flour all together. Instead of flour, I added 3 extra eggs in hopes that they would make the brownie "fluffy".

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
Ingredients:
3/4 c. butter
1/4 c. cocoa powder (for baking and not for hot chocolate!)
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. brown sugar
Icing sugar to garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream together the butter, eggs, and brown sugar.
Combine baking cocoa and vanilla.
In a greased 9 in. baking pan, add mixture.
Bake for 40 min.
Sift icing sugar over top to garnish.

The result...
I was hoping to say, "Perfect, moist, chewy, scrumptious" brownies, but have to say that they were a little too gooey for my liking. They tasted as delicious as brownies with flour, but the extra egg and no flour made the brownies more like a souffle or even an "almost pudding"!

My brownie taste testers said 5 out of 5 stars for taste! Yay!
2 -3 stars for appearance/texture. Boo!


My first attempt at a Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownie recipe wasn't exactly a failure, but it wasn't perfect either.

Back to the drawing board.

Recently, we were introduced to Seventh Generation and have been testing out their environmentally-friendly products. We have been trying out Seventh Generation diapers and wipes on Little One and I have to say that I feel really good about using them on her.

The Free & Clear diapers are free of chlorine processing, fragrances, and petroleum based lotions. They also fit snugly and absorb well. 

 They're super thin, so I was a little apprehensive about how absorbent they'd be. To my surprise, they worked really well! Just by looking at the photo below, you can see that the diapers are not processed by chlorine.

Little One likes them because they're comfy. Mommy likes them because they're better for her and the environment.
I was pleased to see that the Superstore in Sudbury carries Seventh Generation products. I'm so happy that I'm able to get the laundry detergents, all-purpose cleaners, diapers, and wipes there! The Island Pantry also carries Seventh Generation diapers, so those on the Island don't have to venture too far to get their environmentally-friendly diapers!

Oh, I guess you're waiting for me to announce the winner of our giveaway, right?

The lucky winner for our Seventh Generation Giveaway is...

**Paula said... 26

My best tip to be environmentally conscious is to precycle. That means to buy things with less packaging, only what is necessary and things with recycled content. pjkxxxxxxll at hotmail dot com

August 28, 2011 12:42 AM

** A new winner had to be chosen, as this giveaway was only open to Canadian residents.

Thank you to Seventh Generation and Mom Central Canada for facilitating this giveaway.

When I was teaching in Japan, one of my students once told me that her favourite thing to eat was Mick Jagger. Later on, I discovered that her favourite dish was actually called "Nikujaga". It just sounded a lot like "Mick Jagger"!

One of my Japanese friends is visiting us on the Island for a few days. She used to be a student of mine at one of the language schools I taught at when I was in Toronto. She reminded me last night that I taught her ten years ago! I cannot believe that we have known each other for ten years! That makes me sound ancient! I was twenty-five years old when I taught her!

Since things around here have been pretty crazy these past few weeks, my friend has taken it upon herself to make our suppers for us. Having Japanese food made by my Japanese friend makes me really miss Japan!
Tonight she made miso soup and Nikujaga. I had to laugh because whenever I hear the word "nikujaga", I think of Mick Jagger! Love him, by the way!

Look at these beauties from my gardens!
These gorgeous tomatoes above turn a lovely yellow when they're ripe. They are also very sweet! They go great in tomato salads or fresh salsas. I picked the veggies in the photo below just this morning.
I added a salad to our supper menu, since we had all these veggies from our garden.
C's Everything But The Kitchen Sink Salad
1 zucchini cut into bite sizes
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
Several Roma tomatoes, diced
Several sweet yellow tomatoes, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced

The Yummiest Dressing Ever
Homemade maple syrup from our farm
Lemon juice
(My friend, Mrs. Bear made this simple dressing and I've been addicted to it ever since)

I basically used whatever I picked from the garden today. Add all ingredients into a bowl. Add dressing. Make sure veggies are well coated. Enjoy! Super healthy, filling, and tasty!

For dessert:
Apple Granitas
Since we have tons, and tons, and TONS of apples on our farm, I used my homemade apple sauce recipe, froze apple sauce, scraped frozen apple sauce with fork tines and served. Tasty frozen treat that is healthier for you than ice cream!
Step 1: Wash and quarter apples.

Step 2: Cook apples (make sure they're not too mushy though!)

Step 3: Press through fruit press, colander, strainer, or whatever you've got (My Korean student learned how to make apple sauce in the above photo. Here she's using some good 'ol fashioned elbow grease to press the apples through to make the sauce)

Step 4:  Add in sugar of choice and other ingredients if you like. You can totally omit this step. I like to have no sugar in my apple sauce. Some people add cinnamon. This is entirely up to  you. This stage is the apple sauce stage.

Step 5: Freeze apple sauce
 Step 6: Scrape with fork and add into serving dishes

Step 7: Garnish, serve, and enjoy!
 Like my lovely stainless steel cups I got from Orkids.ca?

Okay, I just had to add a cute pic of Little One as she was helping me pick tomatoes from the garden.

Skechers Canada has released an exciting new line of kids' shoes. Every kid needs good, sturdy, well-made shoes. Good shoes are so important. Skechers knows this and has made quality shoes that are fun for kids to wear too!

We were given the opportunity to try out a pair of Twinkle Toes shoes. We checked out the website to see the Skechers Twinkle Toes online. The hardest part was getting my daughter to choose which pair she wanted. With all the dazzling colours and "bling", she was mesmerized! When her pair of Twinkle Toes shoes arrived, she was in awe. It was so funny! It wasn't until she put the shoes on and started running around Grandma's kitchen that we realized they lit up too! Nevermind how absolutely comfortable they are - My daughter is just blown away by how "sparkly" the shoes are! She's all about the bling! 


Thank you, Skechers for making fabulous, comfortable, shoes for the entire family and for giving us the chance to try out the Twinkle Toes shoes! I've always been a Skechers girl when it comes to shoes. The sheer comfort of the shoes has always won me over. I'm just glad that now my daughter has been introduced to her very first pair of "good" sneakers.


BUY IT

Skechers Twinkle Toes and Hot Lights are sold at many retailers throughout Canada. You can find a list of shoe stores and fitness stores by clicking the Where to Buy link on the Skechers website.


WIN IT


I know school has just begun, but Skechers Canada has given me the opportunity to give one lucky reader a gift certificate for a pair of shoes, redeemable at any store that sells Skechers in Canada. 


To Enter:
Visit the Skechers website and tell me which Twinkle Toes or Hot Lights shoes your child would like. (Mandatory)


Additional Entries:
* Like Skechers Canada on Facebook and Random Thoughts and Musings from the Island REVIEWS on Facebook. Pop by and say hello! (4 entries)

* Follow this blog on GFC (1 entry)

*Follow this blog on NetworkedBlogs (1 entry)

* Follow @chancesmommy on Twitter and tweet this giveaway (2 entries)  

#Win a pair of Skechers Twinkle Toes or Hot Lights shoes @chancesmommy's blog http://networkedblogs.com/mZK5S

Giveaway Rules

1. Contest is open to Canadian Residents only
2. The contest will run from Sept. 13 – Sept. 26 at 11:59 ET.
3. One winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified at the email address used upon entry.
4. The winner will have 48 hrs to respond and failure to do so will result in a new winner selection.
5. Please leave a separate comment for each entry and an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.

Disclosure- I was given a pair of Twinkle Toes shoes from Skechers Canada to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.

Since I teach ESL and have students from all over the world stay with us, I try to celebrate their culture and special holidays with them. Of course, they are immersed in Canadian culture, but I also think it's wonderful to celebrate their own culture. We all learn a great deal from each other.

Koreans celebrate Chuseok at this time of the year. In essence, Chuseok is the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving.

I felt a little sad that our student didn't get to spend Chuseok with her family, so I wanted to have a Chuseok celebration for her right here on Manitoulin Island. We scoured recipes online to prepare a feast. She really wanted to have kimchi buchimgae.


Kimchi Buchimgae

Ingredients:
* flour
* kimchi, cut into slivers
* egg(s), beaten
* oil
* water

The recipe in the video calls for salt, but kimchi itself is really high in salt. We just omitted it from the recipe. I don't really follow measurements (just go by taste), so I just wrote the ingredients above without the measurements. For baking, because it's a science, I follow exact measurements. For cooking, I just go by taste.

Add ingredients in a bowl and mix together. In a hot skillet or pan, add oil. Scoop batter onto skillet. Cook until golden and then flip. Cook as though you are cooking a pancake. When both sides are browned to perfection, remove from skillet and enjoy!

Thinking of snacks to add to your children's lunch bags? Dare's Bear Paws Cereal & Fruit cookies are on our list. Sure, Little One isn't in school yet, but she gets babysat, goes on play dates, goes to her early learning centre...and she's the kind of toddler who needs snacks throughout the day.

The cookies portable and the perfect snack size for little ones. Each cookie has real fruit and 8 grams of whole grains. The Dare Bear Paws Cereal & Fruit cookies are also made in a nut/peanut free facility. Parents can feel assured that their kids will be safe and that these scrumptious goodies are fit for no-nut policies at schools and daycares.
With the seriousness of nut allergies, I try to be conscious and courteous of those around us. Though none of us in our immediate family have nut allergies, it's something that is always on my mind. Our niece has nut allergies. One of our friends also has nut allergies, but at dinner parties people often forget and put almonds in salads or other  delicious dishes. At least with Dare, we always know that the treats are nut-free and safe to have around people with nut-allergies.

The special peanut/nut-free logo on the packages of Dare products lets you know that they come from a nut-free facility. Even my toddler recognizes the symbol!

I was given the wonderful opportunity of testing out all three flavours. Dare Foods Limited sent me the Raspberry, Strawberry, and Apple Cereal & Fruit cookies to sample. My toddler loves the cute bear paw shaped cookies. They're great for when we're on the go. I toss a couple in her food bag and in my purse for when she needs a little snack. I've even brought a box of them to play group for the kids to enjoy. They were a huge hit.
The fruity centre and soft whole grain cookie really appealed to all the children. My toddler doesn't have a favourite. She loves the raspberry, strawberry, and apple equally.
Another reason to be proud of putting Dare products in your kids' lunchboxes? They're a Canadian family-owned company and they've been around 119 years! They're a proud supporter of Anaphylaxis Canada through sponsorship and they reinforce educational efforts about the importance of allergy awareness and peanut-free products.

Two thumbs up from Little One. She told me she wants me to put a banana, an apple, and a Bear Paws Cereal & Fruit cookie in her snack bag for school...next year! She's not even 3 years old yet!

 Though Little One and her friends thoroughly enjoyed taste testing the Bear Paws Cereal & Fruit cookies, Little One seemed rather taken with the colouring pages, markers, and stickers that were included in the review package.

Oh, she liked the box everything came in too!
Disclosure - Dare Foods Limited sent me raspberry, strawberry, and apple Dare Bear Paws Cereal & Fruit cookies to facilitate this honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are my own.