Halloween with Hallmark Canada

Did you know Canada..  it's just over 2 weeks until Halloween!!  Time to push those Christmas decorations aside and pull out the scary, spooky Halloween decorations.  Thankfully Hallmark Canada has the best decorations you can go pick up today!  Check out how we have been decorating thanks to Hallmark Canada..

We received these Halloween themed decorations..

And added them around the house..

We all love the Ghostly Singing Duo, perfect for a fun Halloween decoration with their trick-or-treat parody of "The Addams Family" theme song, we have been playing this non-stop.  I love that they have the button up on the arm to start the song so we can reach it easily. (Great deal alert, these guys are regularly $32.95, but are available for $15.95 with the purchase of 3 Hallmark cards!)

One of my guys absolutely loves this My Pet Ghost, he carries it around everywhere.  Press the button on the top a cute ghost in your jar appears and he has a few different things to say.  We have Maxwell McSpooky, a curious ghost in a mad scientist's lab.  "Handle with scare" as the jar says ;-)

We have been having lots of fun with this witch hat as well.  Hang it up and when someone walks by it cackles, says Happy Halloween in a witchy voice and a spooky green witch face appears below.  We have it right next to our front door so we have been scaring visitors for days. :-)

With the quality of Hallmark products we will be able to enjoy these decorations for years to come, it's so fun!!  Be sure to check out your local Hallmark stores for these and other fun Halloween decorations!!

Mastermind’s 2012 Holiday Hits List

Did you know Canada.. our Toronto Rep Faniya has another great event to attend this weekend!

As holiday season is fast approaching and toys are usually must-have items for families especially with kids. This week-end we are invited to Mastermind Toys exclusive event: Mastermind’s 2012 Holiday Hits List. We are very excited to be first to see, touch and try the hottest new toys featured on Mastermind’s 2012 Holiday Hits List introduced by Mastermind Toys Chief Toy Buyer & CEO Jon Levy.

Faniya
Teddy Out-Ready

Hand and Beak Greeting Cards

Did you know Canada..  we are huge Dragons Den fans around here and have featured many Canadian businesses that have appeared on the show.  Did you see last week when Luigi the Lovebird was introduced - Luigi uses his beak to shred paper into precision strips and then his owner, Mary McQueen, crafts fun collages from his shreddings and creates beautiful greeting cards.  On Dragon's Den Mary requested $10,000 for 25% stake in the company and her and Luigi struck a deal with David Chilton, the newest Dragon.

Hand and Beak has teamed up with Hallmark Canada to produce the Hand and Beak Greeting Card Collection.  All six birthday cards include a strip of original shredded paper by Luigi on the inside cover.  Best of all, all proceeds from the sale of Hand and Beak greeting cards will be donated to Make-A-Wish Canada on behalf of Hallmark Canada, to help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Hand and Beak Greeting Cards are available across the country at Hallmark Gold Crown locations for $3.99 each.

Learn more about Mary and Luigi by visiting www.handandbeak.com and celebrate upcoming birthdays with these fun cards!

Brain Tumour Awareness Month #BTAM2012

Did you know Canada..  we have a very special guest post, discussing Brain Cancer Awareness Month,  I hope you can all have a read through and support your local efforts.

October is Brain Tumour Awareness Month #BTAM2012 in Canada. You can find all sorts of information at the Brain Tumour Foundation Of Canadas website.  Did you know that 27 Canadians are diagnosed with a brain tumour every day?  I was one of them on September 13, 2009.  You can read more about that day HERE. Did you know that there is no know cause of a brain tumour?  Did you know that there are over 120 different types of brain tumours?  Did you know that Brain tumours in children are different from those in adults and are often treated differently. Although as many as 60% of children with brain tumours will survive, they are often left with long-term side effects. Find out more brain tumour facts HERE. Signs and symptoms of a brain tumour (please contact your family doctor if you have any of these symptoms).  Here is a list from the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada website:

Every day this month you can read a story of strength on Brain Tumour Foundation of Canadas website.  Spread the word this month.  Here is a list of social media messages you can share. Thank you to all my blogger friends that shared the meassage with me!

For the Love of LEGO

Did you know Canada..  we are huge LEGO lovers around here.  My boys love plain old LEGOs, the sets, and the video games!  Our favourite thing right now is super hero's, so we have Batman LEGO video games, we have Batman LEGO, everything!

Luckily, our friends at DK Canada love lego too!  They sent us their LEGO BATMAN VISUAL DICTIONARY LEGO DC UNIVERSE SUPER HEROES - which lists all the lego characters from the world of Batman.  It even comes with a real LEGO Batman!

My boys study this book constantly, I love that it's so visual so they can enjoy flipping through the pages, they are also working on their reading skills by trying to figure out each characters name.

For a limited time, DK Canada has 30% off all the items in their Lego Boutique where you can get books like LEGO ideas, other character encyclopaedias for Harry Potter, Star Wars and more, sticker books and story books, everything you need for your little LEGO fanatic at home!

They also have an awesome contest going on, As the world's bestselling publisher of LEGO books they want to celebrate our joy of the brick with a month-long photo contest – with a fabulous prize of an amazing collection of DK’s LEGO books worth over $200!

They want to see what creative kids ages 14 and under can make with their LEGO. Simple send them a photo and at the end of the month their Canadian LEGO Fan Builder extraordinaire Deborah Higdon ( featured in the LEGO Ideas Book ) will select a winning creation. Throughout the month they will be posting the photos on cn.dk.com/legopix as well as on their Facebook page and Twitter feed @DKCanada.

TO ENTER:

Send a photo of your LEGO creation ( you can enter as many times as you like with different creations )  to them at general@tourmaline.ca (jpgs only, no larger than 5 mb). Please include the headline For the Love of LEGO in your email. One lucky entrant will win a DK LEGO Book collection worth over $200!

Deadline for submissions is October 31st, 2012 6 EDT

Good Luck LEGO fans!!

Our Kids Private School Expo #OKSchoolMem

Did you know Canada.. we are participating in the Private School Expo blog hop, and as part of that I wanted to share one of my own fond memories from the elementary years.

I attended a Montessori pre-school before attending Kindergarten, there was no JK in those days!

Amazing how being in my EARLY 30's I can still picture as clear as day the classroom, my friends, sitting at circle time talking about the weather, stringing beads for necklaces and more.

I was an only child and for some reason there were not a lot of kids on our street so I didn't have many playmates before I got to school, even now I remember being very shy when I first started at Montessori. I was lucky enough to have not one, but two girls, twins, who chose to befriend me during those first few nervous days. From that moment on we were inseparable for years, even after Montessori and heading to different grade schools. We were always the first attendants at each other's birthday parties, there were sleep overs and days at the park, feeling like another member of each others family. Though we eventually lost touch as children often do when they are not close by, I will cherish those days and my first real friends forever.

I hope my own twins have lifted someone's day at school as those girls did for me, and my twins already have their own (what I hope to be life long) friend they met in JK who already feels part of our family, these days of grade school friendships are the best. :-)

I'm participating in the Our Kids Private School Expo Blog Hop.  Yesterday's School Memories post  can be found at Downshifting.  Tomorrow, the fun is happening at MapsGirl.
Join the conversation!
Twitter: hashtag #OKSchoolMem
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/ourkidsnet

Stay tuned for Twitter Party Dates and times!

Looking for a Private School for your child?
Don’t miss Canada's most successful, best-attended Private School Expos.  They’re the easiest way to learn about private and independent schools.

• Meet the leading private and independent schools and speak with current students and parents
• Learn how to find the right private school for your child and explore different types of schools, educational philosophies and special programs
• Find out about the admissions process, when to apply and what schools look for
• Understand how to budget and receive information about scholarships, bursaries and tax credits

Montreal, SEPTEMBER 16
Calgary, SEPTEMBER 30
Halton-Peel, OCTOBER 14
Toronto, OCTOBER 20
Vancouver, NOVEMBER 11

Click here to register and receive free admission for a family of 4.

Thanksgiving in Canada

Did you know Canada..  it's Thanksgiving weekend!  A weekend to spend with family, maybe draw some secret Santa names for Christmas, get a last romp in the backyard, and eat massive amounts of food - what could be better!

Canadian Thanksgiving happens on the second Monday in October, and officially is the Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season.

It was on Thursday, January 31, 1957, that the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:
“A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.”

In it's history our First Nations always celebrated the close of the harvest, thanks to Wikipedia I also learned..

Starting in 1879 Thanksgiving Day was observed every year, but the date was initially a Thursday in November. The date of celebration changed several times until, in 1957, it was officially declared to be the second Monday in October. The theme of the Thanksgiving holiday also changed each year to reflect an important event to be thankful for. In its early years it was for an abundant harvest and occasionally for a special anniversary.

After World War I, an amendment to the Armistice Day Act established that Armistice Day and Thanksgiving would both be celebrated on the Monday of the week in which November 11 occurred, starting in 1921. Ten years later, in 1931, the two days became separate holidays, and Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day. From 1931 to 1957, the date was set by proclamation, generally falling on the second Monday in October, except for 1935, when it was moved due to a general election. In 1957, Thanksgiving was permanently set to be the second Monday in October.

It might have snuck up on us a little early this year, especially with the warm weather some of Canada is still enjoying, but I for one am very thankful.  I am also going to be remembering how thankful I am for my husband, children (including our new baby on the way), our home, and the fact that we can enjoy a meal with the people we love.

What are you thankful for??

Recipe Round Up - 10/05

Did you know Canada.. we got the latest recipe posts over at Canadian Moms Cook to share...

Butter Tart Squares
Sugar Cookies with Butter Icing
Pork Stir Fry

And, although this one was posted quite a while ago, it continues to be a reader favourite! Check it out:
Taco Pasta Bake

I encourage you to head on over to Canadian Mom Cooks where you will find some family tested recipes, food ideas, interesting food products and more.  Co-author Multi-Testing Mommy and I have been sharing some of our food adventures with our families over the past couple of months.

Feel free to follow Canadian Moms Cook on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

Made By Hand Show is almost here!

Did you know Canada..  mark your calendars, the Made By Hand Show is almost here!  On October 27 the Fall Made By Hand Show is being held once again at the International Centre, Hall 6 in Mississauga.

With Over 190 Handmade Exhibitors, FREE Face-Painting, Surprise Princess Visit, FREE Swag Bags to the 1st 100 families, and FREE Parking, this is one event no to be missed.  Only $2 for admission, and remember, door proceeds are benefiting Crafting for a Cure and children are free.

Get all your Christmas presents and be ready to wrap in no time!  Handmade gifts chosen with care make gorgeous gifts and they don't have to break the bank.  Plus, of course, they are all Made IN Canada!

I am loving the Made By Hand Show's Gold Sponsor - Curbside Cupcake Bliss! Curbside Bliss Cupcakes is where they bring you delectable, mouth watering, baked-from-scratch goodness...curbside from their mobile cupcake kitchen - how awesome is that??

So, visit the Made By Hand Show website so you can check out all 190 exhibitors and be ready to shop Canada!

Healthy Eating with Lydia Knorr

Did you know Canada..  Toronto Representative Faniya has some great news..

This week I am going to meet Lydia Knorr, mom of three girls, Registered Dietitian and Yoplait spokesperson who is going to give us some expert tips to help families get back into healthy routine, that is so important but so hard to stick to especially on fall (season changes, Back-To-School, holidays preparations)

So here are some quick tips on maintaining a healthy routine from Lydia Knorr I learned so far:

•Eat breakfast every day to keep energized and fuelled for the entire day

•Plan meals ahead by creating a weekly menu that makes shopping and nutrition a breeze

•Create a wall calendar with appointments, chores and extracurricular activities all consolidated in one space

And I am excited to learn more about healthy eating and share with you later on Did you know Canada?

Faniya

Teddy Out-Ready