Everyday Life – Page 4

Counting Sheep

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 chantelledoll

Better late then never, this past June we managed to knock off on of the item’s from last summer’s bucket; visiting the sheep on Grandma’s farm.

I grew up in a city and my husband grew up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan. Now that our parents have retired, it is funny to see that there has been a switch on both sides. My husband’s parents have sold their farm and now enjoy life in the city, while my mom sold her house last year to move onto the farm with her husband.

I have been a crummy daughter and it has taken me over a year to get out to see my mom’s farm. I purposely waited until the spring/early summer because my mom and her husband raise sheep and I knew there would be plenty of little lambs that the kids would be excited to see.

My youngest has always loved animals, so she was quite happy to see the abundance of sheep. She happily chased them throughout the field, but was never able to get too close before the flock all took off.

Lucky for the kids, my mom’s husband did chase down and catch one of the newest lambs so they could see and pet it up close. It was pretty cute!

There was lots to see and explore on Grandma’s farm and I think my little city kids were happy to be outdoors enjoying the open space.

It was a lovely day with my mom and her husband, and it was great to see exactly how my mom is spending her retirement. I also think it is great that we still have a farm in the family to show the kids and give them a feel of what life is like beyond the city.

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

Summer Bucket List 2015

June 30, 2015June 30, 2015 chantelledoll

Summer is upon us so I am revisiting and updating our Summer Bucket List. We had a great time last summer and managed to make it through a lot of our list, but it may have been just a bit more ambitious then I expected with two young kids. Quite a few of the items on our list got looked over for long days at the beach and playground.

Items carrying over from last year that I definitely want to attempt include getting out to Grandma’s farm to see the new lambs, going for a paddleboat ride at our lake and visiting a U-pick.

Activities we will be repeating from last year include visits to Fort Edmonton Park and The Edmonton Valley Zoo, beach playdates, exploring new playgrounds and splash parks with friends, and planning another neighbourhood ice cream social.

I am also very excited to have my kids each signed up for a summer camp they’ll love – a week of Princess Academy for my 3 year old and Jedi training for my Star Wars loving 5 year old. If you are in the Edmonton area, check out Mudpie Parties to learn more about these great camps. Camden did the Super Hero one last summer and loved every minute of it, so I know they’re going to have an amazing time. I think I am just as excited as my 3 year old to see which Princesses she gets to meet each day!

What’s on your summer bucket list? Hopefully our list has helped inspire you to get out there and make the most of these warm summer months!

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

Playing Around

June 25, 2015July 24, 2015 chantelledoll

Now that it is summer I am finding it a lot easier to keep my kids happy and entertained. If we have nothing planned for the day, I tend to choose a nearby playground to take the kids to so they can run off a bit of steam.

This year I am noticing a big shift when we go to the playground. Both kids are now at an age where I am comfortable with them climbing and discovering on their own, making me more of a spectator then an active participant. They are happy to play together or chase down new friends while I get to take a short break on the bench.

When we are meeting up with our friends, it is so nice to now have a few moments now to actually visit with the other moms. The kids have gotten good at keeping each other happy and entertained and they tend to stick in small packs so it is easy to find them for the all important head counts.

It looks like it is going to be a good summer for all – the kids will be happy to be out exploring and playing, and I will actually get a bit of time to sit and relax!

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun, Uncategorized

DRESSing for Disney

March 6, 2015April 27, 2017 chantelledoll

To princess dress or not to princess dress? That was the question I faced before heading to Disneyland. We have no shortage of princess dresses to select from, but they are all very delicate and not made of the most comfortable material for a full day of wear. They are also all pretty long and I worried about my daughter tripping or getting caught up on it when getting on rides.

BUT I was also afraid after seeing all the other little girls in the park wearing their Princess dresses that she would be upset. In the past month, she definitely hit the terrible two stage full-on and has become very headstrong if there is something she sees and wants. Before the trip, I downloaded the Disneyland app to my phone and she repeatedly went to the Fantasy Faire section to pull-up the pictures of the princesses to point to the dresses and proclaim “I want dat!”. I know they do sell much better quality dress-up costumes in the parks, but there are still a lot of itchy materials and the length issue to consider.

I ended up getting this lovely Cinderella Deluxe Dress from our local Disney Store and hoped it would be a good enough compromise for my dress obsessed little girl. The bodice is a nice cotton so she was comfortable throughout the day and the skirt portion was short enough that she was not tripping as she ran through the parks and stepped onto the rides. The extra layers at the skirt did make it a bit heavy, but I don’t think my little ‘Rella even noticed.

She was with me when I bought it, but I tucked it away and surprised her with it for our second day in the Disneyland Park when I knew we would be visiting Fantasy Faire. She was so excited and proud to get the dress and she ran/pranced/skipped the entire way from the hotel room to the park that morning.

The dress worked perfectly and the adorable photos of my princess were well worth the cost of the dress. Her faced absolutely beamed every time she was called a princess that day or was told how pretty her dress was! It is better made then most of the dresses in our dress-up our collection so it should stand up to the daily use I know it will get now that we are back from the trip.

For the other days in Disneyland, she was happy to wear her Minnie dress, and her favorite Frozen outfit. The more frills and tulle for my girl, the better! I did have a frilly new Minnie outfit for our last day in the parks, but she insisted on wearing the Cinderella dress for a second day. I think she would have worn it the entire trip given the choice.

How do you deal with princess dresses in the Parks? I figure my little girl will only be little for a short time so I want to embrace this phase as much as I can. Seeing her excitement in the park just made me excited for the next time we go when she will be able to get the full princess experience with a Bibbidy Boppidy Boutique makeover!

Disney Under 3 also shares a great idea to use Princess Dress-Up Aprons on your visit to the parks. I came across this too late to have time to order any this trip, but I will definitely keep this in mind for our next Disney adventure.

BY Air, Everyday Life, Travel, Two Legged Fun

DIY Printable Disney Countdown

January 21, 2015March 28, 2017 chantelledoll

Today I am sharing a simple DIY printable I designed to count down to our Disneyland trip next month.

To make this countdown, all you need is an empty 4X6″ photo frame with a glass or plastic insert, a printed copy of my attached printable, scissors and a dry erase marker. (I found my dry erase marker as part of a cute Frozen themed set from Dollar Tree.)

Continue reading “DIY Printable Disney Countdown” →

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

Planning a Disneyland Surprise

December 31, 2014January 15, 2015 chantelledoll

Christmas is over. The kids passports have just arrived. It is time to start planning my Disneyland surprise!

So far we have managed to keep it quiet from the kids and I am hoping to surprise them with the news just a few days before we leave. There were some questions when we had to order passports, but my 4 year old doesn’t actually know that anything has been booked and confirmed.

When I saw this new Little People Magic of Disney Day at Disney set by Fisher Price I instantly knew it had to be part of my Disneyland surprise. We love Little People in our house and this set couldn’t be more perfect for the Disney lover in me. It even has a fireworks show and music!

At 2 and 4 I think my kids are still a bit young to read a t-shirt or understand a packed suitcase, but I know new toys are something they can get excited about. I have also bought the Little People Lil’ Movers Airplane and my hope is to make it into a bit of a scavenger hunt in the house where they first find the plane and then need to follow the clues to fly their Little People to the Disneyland set. I am hoping this action will help them make the connection that we will be flying to Disneyland.

I haven’t worked the plan all out, but there will be balloons and other mickey themed decorations involved, and I will likely break out the Mickey waffle maker afterwards! We will also watch the Disney Vacation Planning DVD so we all have a better idea of what to expect in the parks. I think I am more excited about planning this then I was for Christmas.

Have you ever surprised your kids with a Disney vacation? How did you break the news?

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

Finding Christmas

December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 chantelledoll

A few days ago I posted my Kids Holiday Book Favorites list that included the book Finding Christmas by Robert Munsch. Last night it happened to be the advent book the kids chose to unwrap, so at bedtime we enjoyed the tale of the young girl desperately searching for her Christmas presents.

Well, today I discovered my 4 year old has been doing a little Christmas finding of his own. I have been tucking most of their gifts up on the shelves of our closet where there is no way they can reach them. I thought I had done a good job keeping them hidden and out of reach, but this morning I found out otherwise.

Our conversation this morning went something like this:

“Can I see that Minion toy up in your closet?”

“Which Minion toy? Why would I have Minion’s in my closet.”

“Yes you do! That one behind the Olaf bag.”

Well, yes there is. I hid it behind the bag where there was no way you could possibly see or know about it.

“What do you mean? I don’t see anything behind the bag.”

“Yeah there is. Just come look over here. There is a Minion toy! I can see it says Minion’s right there!”

Sure enough, in the farthest corner of my closet, there it was. The kid can’t read yet but he sure can recognize logo’s. Luckily he can’t see what the actual toy is so it will still be a bit of a surprise, but it seems I need to work on my hiding skills.

His guess is that it is a Minion spaceship. For those who are curious, I have gone against my better judgement and the actual purchased gift in question is this:

I guess it is time to get busy wrapping!

Celebrations, Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

12 Kids Holiday Book Favorites

December 6, 2014December 8, 2014 chantelledoll

We have begun our 2nd annual Christmas Book Countdown to Christmas and I wanted to share some of my favourites for those looking to build your own Christmas book collection.

When I decided to do the book countdown last year I had very few Christmas books. I bought a handful at Costco, picked a few special ones at the bookstore and then rounded things out with Christmas books I picked up at the Dollar Store. I will keep adding a couple each year as the kids outgrow the baby board books and I come across new books I know they might enjoy.

For our countdown, my children will open one new book a night and then we will usually pick from the other previously unwrapped Christmas books as their second bedtime story. Most of those on my list got re-read several times last Holiday season and I look forward to reading them all again over the next few weeks.

1. ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore and Illustrated by Jon Goodell

This is such a holiday classic that I think it should be a staple in any Christmas book collection. I absolutely love this version because it has fun holographic images throughout the book for the kids. It is beautifully illustrated and Clement Moore’s classic rhymes flow easily off the tongue.

2. How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess

Another holiday classic, Dr. Suess’ Grinch has been delighting children for decades. We have both the animated and live action movie versions, but there is something to be said for cuddling up and reading the book together.

3. Santa is Coming to Edmonton written by Steve Smallman & illustrated by Robert Dunn and Juan Calle

I wrote a post specifically about how much I liked this book when I purchased it last year. I love that they have several different city specific versions with illustrations of recognizable landmarks in each city so the kids can relate to it.

4. Dear Santa Claus written by Alan Durant & illustrated by Vanessa Cabban

I lucked out when I found this neat little book at the Dollar Store. It shows the correspondence between a young girl and Santa through envelopes filled with little letters on each page. I love that this book is so interactive and kids love discovering what is in the envelopes on each page.

5. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

We have just recently discovered the Llama Llama series and it is easy to see why it is so popular with kids. In this holiday version, poor Llama Llama is overwhelmed with the holiday season and the anticipation of waiting for Christmas to finally arrive. It is a cute story and a good reminder to us parents to slow down and try to actually enjoy things with our kids amongst all the shopping, baking, wrapping and activities.

6. Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree by Jan & Mike Berenstain

I grew up with Berenstein Bears so I was happy to add this to our collection. There are a few different Christmas themed Berenstein Bear tales available, but I liked this one for its interactivity. My littlest still loves lift the flap books but she is starting to outgrow some of her baby board books. This book allows her to still lift flaps, but has a story that is geared towards an older audience and will allow us to enjoy the book for many Christmases to come.

7. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

For those who know me, it should come as no surprise that this made my list. The movie is my favorite at this time of year and the book about the recognizable misfits is equally charming.

8. Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by James Dean & Eric Litwin

Another fun series for kids, Pete the Cat is sure to delight in this cute holiday tale. Learn how Pete the Cat helps Santa save Christmas and sing along to the free downloadable song version of the book.

9. How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague

This fun little tale is new to our collection this year and I chose it specifically for my 4 year old son. It is a fun read and the illustrations are quite comical. It is a good reminder of proper behaviour at this time of year without the kids even knowing what they are learning about.

10. If You Take A Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff & illustrated by Felicia Bond

The “If You Give A…” book series is another popular bedtime read in our house. This book begins with Mouse wanting to string up his movie popcorn for the Christmas tree and takes him through various Christmas activities before winding him full circle back at the movies.

11. Merry Christmas Little Critter! By Mercer Mayer

I loved Little Critter when I was younger and I love them even more as a mom because they are short and easy to read when dealing with requests of “Just one more book, please?”. I introduced my son to Critter this past year so I know he’ll be happy to unwrap one of his favorites character for our nightly Christmas story. Like Berenstain Bears, there are several Christmas themed Critter books available and any one of them would be a good addition to your Christmas book collection. In this one we get to see how the Critter family prepares for and spends Christmas day.

12. Finding Christmas written by Robert Munsch & illustrated by Michael Martchenko

I don’t think you can ever go wrong with Robert Munsch. His quirky humour and the accompanying illustrations captivate the kids in this fun little tale about a girl trying to find where her parents have hidden her Christmas presents.

BONUS HOLIDAY READING

This book is not wrapped up as part of our countdown, but over the past month we have really enjoyed making our way through all the stories in the Disney Christmas Storybook Collection. We got our copy at Costco, but I have seen it in Chapters, Walmart and even our local grocery store. My Frozen obsessed little one was excited it had Anna and Elsa in it, and I love that it helped introduce my kids to many different Disney and Pixar characters in preparation for our Disneyland trip in February. Each story is also quite touching with a special message about being with your loved ones and the true meaning of the holiday season.

With 18 different stories in this one book it easily covers the majority of bedtimes in December!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what is in our book collection. I am always looking to add new books, so please comment if you have a good suggestion!

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

It’s-a Halloween, Mario!

November 1, 2014 chantelledoll

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

As you can guess from the title and pictures, our Halloween had a bit of a Super Mario twist. My 4 year old has been really into Mario lately and spends his iPad time watching all kinds of silly youtube video game reviews. When he decided in early September that he wanted to go as Mario for Halloween, I was a bit worried it might be a phase and he might change his mind. Lucky for me, the Mario love is still going strong and my little guy was more then happy to dress up as his favorite video game character.

For my little girl, I had picked up an adorable owl costume on clearance from Old Navy last year, but she was none too fond of it and big brother insisted she should be Princess Peach. There is only so long he is going to want to coordinate with his little sister, so I had a hard time saying no to the request. I do love themed costumes and it ended up working well with the princess obsession Keira has developed over the past month.

I wasn’t going to buy the dogs new costumes, but them ended up being 75% off when we went to the petstore so I let Camden pick one out for each of them. He chose a bat for Rumbull and a bumble bee for Nova since there are bats and bees in some of the Mario lands. The dogs and kids were not as coordinated as I have done in the past, but it worked!

I wanted to do some special treats for my Mario to hand out at his preschool Halloween party so I ended up coming up with these cute candy filled mushrooms. They were a bit time consuming, but it was an easy craft and all the kids seemed pretty excited to receive them. I will try to get a tutorial up for them in the next couple weeks for anyone planning a Mario party.

And, of course, we had to have a Mario themed pumpkin! Using a big round pumpkin with a nice long stem, and 3 mini pumpkins I was able to put together this cute bomb pumpkin.

It did require a bit of time for spray painting and assembly, but this is one of the easy pumpkins I have ever carved – just two oval eyes! After I was finished, Camden made a point to tell me I did a really good job, so that’s all the validation I needed.

On Halloween we ended up going to the mall again for a little bit. At the mall, Keira was excited to see the animals and bounce in the bouncy castles, while Camden was very excited to have the balloon guy make him a hammer! He has been insisting all week that his Mario costume needed a hammer but I never got around to getting him one. This couldn’t have worked out more perfect and he proudly carried it the whole evening out trick-or-treating.

The bouncy castle at the mall even fit our Mario theme with it’s big toadstool, bouncing turtle and giant plants!

After a quick dinner, we met with some of the neighbours and went out trick-or-treating for a bit. The weather was fairly decent for this time of year and my little Princess did really well for her first time out. The kids all had a lot of fun and it was so nice for Camden to actual have other kids to go out with this year instead of just boring old me!

I just love seeing all the little guys in costume!

Everyday Life, Throwback Thursday, Two Legged Fun, Uncategorized

Throwback Thursday: My Little Pumpkin’s

October 23, 2014 chantelledoll

Happy Thursday! With Halloween fast approaching I thought it would be fun to share some throwback photo’s from Camden and Keira’s first Halloween’s.

I am a sucker for holiday themed clothing and got Camden this cute “Mommy’s little pumpkin” onesie.

His costume was an adorable little monkey I found at Old Navy.

To co-ordinate with Camden, I also found banana costumes for each of the dogs.

Keira was a little younger and smaller for her first Halloween so I decided to attempt the baby-in-the-pumpkin photo. This is better suited to warmer climates, but we managed okay and I was able to get a few cute shots before a complete meltdown outside.

Her first Halloween costume was an elephant. She didn’t co-ordinate with her Spiderman brother and the dogs in their Hulk and Captain America costumes, but she still looked darn cute.

This Halloween we will celebrate a couple more first’s. It will be our first Halloween in our new house and Keira’s is now big enough to go Trick-or-Treating for the first time! It is hard to believe that she had just barely begun walking at this point last year. She did do some Trick-or-Treating at the mall, but this will be the first time I will actually take her out around the neighbourhood.