Get Your Socks ON

Did you know Canada.. Canadian company, ONS GEAR, has a fantastic promotion going on - the Get Your Socks ON Event!!

For each pair of socks purchased at The InnoShop during this event, ONS GEAR will donate one pair of baby Stay On Socks to St. Mary's Home in Ottawa, keeping one more baby warm this Winter!

Not only are you buying their fantastic socks for your little ones and supporting babies in need, but ONS GEAR has all their socks on sale!! 15% to 75% off all of the innovative socks - it's a win for everyone!!

Head on over to ONS GEAR and support their great initiative. Last winter, through their Warm Babies Project, ONS GEAR donated 238 Onesie Stretch-ONS to Mothercraft Ottawa. Such a fantastic Canadian Company to support.

Tweet-up!

Did you know Canada.. November is CPR awareness month, and the Canadian Red Cross is hosting a free 4-hour CPR certification course for its Twitter friends. This course will follow new guidelines released in 2010.

I'll be attending a tweet-up event in London Ontario and you're invited too! Join us in London on November 16th or join us on Twitter using hashtag #redcrossCPR. Click here to see the invite.

With 70 per cent of cardiac arrests happening at home, taking a CPR course is a simple action that could help save a loved one’s life.

Apples

Did you know Canada.. apples are Canada's largest fruit crop in terms of weight of food produced!!  It's wild blueberries that are our most valuable crop.

I've had apples on the brain today as we stopped for some apple picking at a local orchard today. A great family activity before heading to a Thanksgiving family dinner. We also made a quick stop to the bakery, Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without a pumpkin pie or two!

I was happy to see all varieties are now ready at the orchard, my boys enjoy the small galas the best, while I go for the sour mutsus.

Did you know it's the McIntosh, which is the only variety grown in all apple-growing regions of Canada, makes up half of all Canadian apple production.

It's about two thirds of Canada’s apples that are shipped fresh. Ninety percent of the processing apples are used to make juice. Other uses include applesauce, slices and pie fillings. McIntosh apples are most often used for juice and Northern Spys for pie filling.

Ontario is Canada's largest apple producer.  I was surprised to read that the most nutritious apple grown in Ontario is the Red Delicious. With Empire coming in last as the least nutritious variety.

What's your favourite apple to go picking for?

Giveaway! Loove and Sweet

Did you know Canada.. Marian is a Mom out of British Columbia and owner of Loove and Sweet - an accessories shop for little girls, big girls, boys and Moms.

Every order through her shop is handmade once you order it - how sweet is that - knowing your perfect headband, clip, bow, crochet hat and more were made exactly for your little one. She also accepts custom orders to get you exactly what you want.

We had an opportunity to check out Marian's beautiful headbands and clips - they are well made, lovely colours, great sizes and easy to use. She has a new Halloween line that would be perfect for this month. Get your orders in soon!!  We checked out these as part of Loove and Sweet's Halloween designs, I absolutely love the shade of orange used, perfect for going out, for pictures and will be so cute on a little trick or treater.

You can also visit Loove and Sweet on Facebook where Marian hosts monthly giveaways!

Not only are we thinking about Halloween but start thinking about Christmas as well, how adorable would this be in Christmas pictures? It's killing me. :-)

Loove and Sweet is exactly the type of Canadian Small Business that we are proud to stand behind - everything is handmade, from a Mom that knows what other Moms are looking for, great service, we love it!

Giveaway

One lucky reader will win one product of their choice from the Loove and Sweet store - how awesome is that!

Mandatory Entry - one mandatory entry per person
Like Loove and Sweet on Facebook and comment here with your first name.

Optional Entries - 1 comment per each optional entry
- Follow Did you know Canada on GFC
- Follow @diduknowcanada on Twitter
- Like Did you know Canada on Facebook
- Subscribe to our newsletter
- Tweet this giveaway (link to your tweet in comment, can be done 2x a day during giveaway)
Example Tweet..

#Canada Enter to #win any one product from Loove and Sweet's store! Ends 10/21 @diduknowcanada http://bit.ly/naGHB2 #CanWin

Giveaway open to our Canadian readers, closing October 21th at 9:00pm EST. You must leave an email address so I have a way to contact you in the event that you win. Winners must respond within 72 hours or another winner will be chosen in their place.

Disclosure: We were sent samples of Loove and Sweets products - my opinions are my own.

Tic Tac Canada Supporting Breast Cancer

Did you know Canada.. In support of Breast Cancer Awareness month in October, Tic Tac Canada is donating $25,000 to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada and has launched a limited edition Pink Grapefruit flavour!


This is so fantastic and we're so excited. I've tried the new flavour and it is so fun! A great quick treat to keep in your purse and another way to show your support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

We are very pleased to support and promote Tic Tac Canada as they supprt Breast Cancer Awareness. All month long, the Tic Tac Canada Facebook Page will be posting up pink-related promotions, giveaways and prizes. They've even designed a new Tic Tac character to represent their support for the cure! Love it!!

How are you showing your support for Breast Cancer this month?

Giveaway! FemMED

Update: Giveaway is now closed, thank you everyone for commenting!! Winner is being contacts soon

Did you know Canada.. Shawna Page, along with a dedicated team of medical doctors, natural healthcare professionals, pharmacists and master herbalist developed femMED: the solution to women’s most common health concerns, and a brand we can call our own! Love it!!

They have solutions for real women's concerns - Breast Health, Energy, Menopause Relief, Weight Management and more.

I love that all femMED products are manufactured at 3 pharmaceutically licensed facility in Canada. All production facilities maintain a Health Canada Pharmaceutical Establishment License, and are therefore certified as following Good Manufacturing Practices - it's great to know where your products are coming from and that they meet Canadian standards.

I've been looking to their Breast Health product - it's for protecting the breasts from abnormal cell growth, promoting a healthy estrogen balance, and reducing cycle breast pain and tenderness. This is the first time I've seen a product like this and think it's fantastic! As women we must protect ourselves in every way that we can.

femMED Breast Health has recently undergone a Health Canada approved clinical trial involving pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. Researchers say they have uncovered a possible way for women to favorably influence whether estrogen in their body takes a “beneficial” or a “disease-potential” path.

These are fantastic products, produced in Canada and there is something for every women.

Giveaway

One lucky reader will win 2 femMed products of their choice!!!

Mandatory Entry - one mandatory entry per person
Visit femMed and let us know which 2 products you would pick (you can change your mind if you win).

Optional Entries - 1 comment per each optional entry
- Follow Did you know Canada on GFC
- Follow @diduknowcanada on Twitter
- Like Did you know Canada on Facebook
- Subscribe to our newsletter
- Tweet this giveaway (link to your tweet in comment, can be done 2x a day during giveaway)
Example Tweet..

Ladies, enter to #win 2 products of your choice from femMed! Ends 10/19 @diduknowcanada http://bit.ly/r1yK8M #CanWin #Canada

Giveaway open to our Canadian readers, closing October 19th at 9:00pm EST. You must leave an email address so I have a way to contact you in the event that you win. Winners must respond within 72 hours or another winner will be chosen in their place.

Disclosure: We were sent a bottle of Breast Health - my opinions are my own.

Meningitis

Did you know Canada.. there are a lot of worries coming out about Meningitis - in the United States the issue being debated about whether or not to add an infant meningitis vaccination to the required roster of childhood immunizations, similar talks are currently happening in Canada as well.

According to CanadaFreePress.com, “Bacterial Meningitis is an infection of brain and spinal fluid that can cause death, sepsis or gangrene within 24 hours, and “Men C” and “Men B” are its most prevalent strains.”

Check out this article on Betty Confidential discussing Meningitis.

Have you had any experience with Meningitis in your family or friends lives?

ShesConnected Conference

Did you know Canada.. I wanted to share some facts and information that came out of the recent ShesConnected Conference, both the brands and the Digitally Connected Women had a lot to share.

The brands and sponsors had some great facts to share, including..

* Canada is second largest single country donor to World Food Program
* In Sri Lanka there are women going out every single day in search of wood to cook for their families, they are crossing areas filled with mines, the stoves are causing breathing problems and it is not safe for these women in any way - purchasing a $5 SAFE Stove can provide a stove for a women to feed her family using half the wood
* $1 a day can feed a family of four in some developing countries
* Molson has been brewing for 225 years
* Chicken Farmers of Canada promise us there is no hormones in chickens
* Chicken Farmers of Canada also wants everyone to know the 10 legged, 6 winged chicken supposedly found at KFC is a myth
* Ford is focusing on green cars - including using recycled jeans, using wheat straw in their plastic pieces in their cars


From our sessions a lot of fantastic information came out of them as well..

* There's never been a better time to be a woman according to Sheryl Connelly from Ford
* Many bloggers believe their time is worth money and when working with brands they should be paid
* Moms trust the opinions of other Moms and want to hear about products and services from them
* Ask for help when you need it, really, just ask - this is very hard for many women, I know
* It's more important who you are connected with, not so much about how many, it's not always about numbers
* You and your family will appreciate the history and stories of your lives, no other generation has had this - keep blogging, writing and archiving your memories

Mastermind Toys

Did you know Canada.. we travelled to London Ontario on Saturday to visit the new Mastermind Toys store. Mastermind has been Canada's Premier Toy Stores Since 1984 and been online for the last 13 years, it's a true Canadian icon.

I had reservations about visiting the new store, it had previously been the Toy Shoppe, a favourite of ours for Birthdays, Christmas and just a fun place to go and we weren't too sure we were going to like the change. But the new Mastermind is simply unbelievable, I can not tell you how impressed I was. Thankfully the owner of the Toy Shoppe, Cylde, is the manager of the new Mastermind Toys and it was fantastic to visit with him. I was really pleased to see how accessible Cylde was, he gave a tour of the new store, listed all the fantastic new features, introduced me to the staff, including the new assistant manager Mike (Hi Mike! - he said he would check out my blog).

Really, I have to break into point form to explain everything I'm loving about the new store..
* the building is one wide open square (an improvement on the previous design that had multiple rooms and high shelving)
* all the shelves are very low and spaced so that no matter where you are in the store you can see almost everything - perfect for keeping track of the kiddos and helping you find exactly what you are looking for
* the atmosphere is amazing - colourful, bright, there are awesomely huge animals everywhere, it looks like something out of a storybook, it really does, I have never been in a store that projects that look
* multiple play stations for children to check out the toys, including a Thomas table, a Chuggington table, a big garage toy and more
* the book display is fantastic, the way it's set up makes it easy to see everything, the boys had a great time checking out the rows of books

During our trip we got 2 Thomas trains the boys have been dying for, Molly and the Thomas Christmas engine. We also got 2 books - Thomas and a Toopy and Binoo, 2 Halloween candy kabobs and I can't tell you about the last one, it's a Christmas present (yes, I'm Christmas shopping already!!). I was so excited to hear they provide free gift wrapping in very cool paper that's exclusive to Mastermind. The boys took off with their stuff so fast all I could get a picture of was the Christmas present and one cute Halloween kabob..haha..

I highly recommend Mastermind for presents, a treat for the kids or just a fun visit.  From the moment you walk in and are greeted right away, to checking out the really cool animals and displays, finding toys - many of which I have honestly never seen at any other store, to seeing the wonder on your child's face, it's a fantastic experience and a new gem in London Ontario.

I know I'll be heading back for their Grand Opening Party October 15th and 16th - who else is going to be there??

Giveaway! GourmetGiftBaskets.com

Winner: Congratulations to our winner - Laura!!

Did you know Canada.. I've found a great gift basket site that is available to Canadians: GourmetGiftBaskets.com. We recently got to try their small Snack Gift Basket and it was fantastic!

These gift baskets are not the ones of old, which were truly just full of fruit and dry crackers. This one included raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip (so good!), gourmet dipping pretzels (how fun is that), key lime white chocolate chip cookies (my Mom loved these ones), almond pecan crunch, peanuts (hubby's fav), trail mix, buttered pecan crunch, peanut roll, organic coconut bar and cheese biscuits. This was perfect for sharing with the entire family.

It was packaged securely, no damage at all, the wrapping was beautiful and would of course make the perfect gift. The basket itself is perfect for reuse, the boys have claimed it to fill it full of cars so far..haha.. but it would be perfect on a shelf, to hold toys, or magazines, pet toys, etc..

They have an amazing selection, a few that caught my eye were the Brownies Sampler Bakery Gift, Gourmet Pizza Making Gift, Cocktail Party Gift Basket - Deluxe (so fun!!!) and I think the Deluxe Beer-B-Q Bucket would be the perfect gift for any guy.

Giveaway


One lucky reader will get their own Snack Gift Basket sent to them!!

Mandatory Entry - one mandatory entry per person
Visit GourmetGiftBaskets on Facebook and Like them if you haven't already.

Optional Entries - 1 comment per each optional entry
- Post one of the products you like on GourmetGiftBaskets Facebook wall
- Follow Did you know Canada on GFC
- Follow @gmtgiftbaskets on Twitter
- Follow @diduknowcanada on Twitter
- Like Did you know Canada on Facebook
- Subscribe to our newsletter
- Tweet this giveaway (link to your tweet in comment, can be done 2x a day during giveaway)
Example Tweet..

#Canada - who doesn't love Gift Baskets?! Enter to win a Snack Gift Basket!! Ends 10/15 @diduknowcanada http://bit.ly/pX1jdx #CanWin

Giveaway open to our Canadian readers, closing October 15th at 9:00pm EST. You must leave an email address so I have a way to contact you in the event that you win. Winners must respond within 72 hours or another winner will be chosen in their place.

Disclosure: As mentioned, we were sent a gift basket to review - my opinions are my own.