Active Kids & Healthy Snacks & Drinks....

I have been taking a little unexpected break from blogging this past week as I have been busy focusing on my children. August is not only the last month of summer vacation before school begins, but also the month of sports camps for hundreds of kids across Canada. My  youngest is enrolled in a few hockey camps to help him get ready for hockey try-outs later this month. We also have a young friend from Nova Scotia staying with us to visit and attend a figure skating camp to help polish her programs for the upcoming skating season.

To get ready for our busy week, I prepared a a bin of healthy snacks for the kids to 'grab & go'....things that could quickly go into a sports bag on the way out the door.

I made up several small servings of veggies and fruit {cherries & grapes}, along with ranch dip, single servings of guacamole, Greek yogurt, and Babybel cheese, along with 100% juice boxes.

And another important part of the day is making sure the kids drink lots of water!

I make sure that everyone fills up a water bottle before they leave.

I stopped buying cases of water years ago because I made a conscious decision to do our part as a family and not contribute to the 365 billion cans & bottles that make their way to the landfill each year.

The kind folks at Wenger contacted me and asked if we'd be willing to try out the latest in their water & sports bottles.

We said we'd love to because, honestly, we are always in need of water bottles around  here.

Wenger Bottles are made with no toxins or harmful chemicals{Phthlates} and feature a Swiss made BPA free liner... important features I look for when shopping for water bottles.

I tested this style and I like the wide mouth top because I love lots of ice in my water.

My son grabbed this Wenger sports bottle and claimed it as his own. He has been using it everyday and one thing that this Mom likes about this bottle is that the Sporttop closes so easily with a 1/2 turn which means we have less spilled water inside the sports bag because of a bottle top that wasn't turned all the way! ! This bottle also features a straw inside so you can sip easily too.

Another thing I liked about these bottles is how light they are to carry around. And the red bottle fit well into the cup holder in my car...bonus. We were really happy with these water bottles and would not hesistate to purchase them in the future.

{If you would like to learn more about Wenger bottles, please visit their website. Wenger bottles can be purchased at London Drugs in Canada.}

How about you? Do you have children attending camps this month? Or are your children starting back to school soon? Our schools don't start again until the last week of August. So we are revelling in a few more weeks of summer fun!

Wishing  you a lovely weekend!

What Hockey Means To Our Family...

{This post is part of YummyMummyClub.ca's support of the Dove Men+Care® Hockey Contest. This post reflects my personal opinion and was not influenced by any sponsors. Show your passion for hockey and click here to enter: http://www.familyhockeymoments.ca/}

Anyone who's familiar with our family knows how our son has been crazy about hockey since before he could walk. In fact, 'hockey' was one of his first words and he was playing  with mini hockey sticks when he was just a wee little itty bitty crawler. My husband has enjoyed a lifetime of playing hockey, and so it seems that our little guy was born with this love in his blood from the get-go. There was just no escaping it!

Ty started playing organized hockey as soon as he was eligible to play at 4 years old. And he has been playing ever since. And like thousands of families across Canada, we spend many weekends at local arenas....watching him get his game on and play out his passion.

The thing about this game called hockey is that it has given father & son a bond that is unbreakable. They have spent hours together....shooting pucks, practicing, shopping for gear, driving to practices, travelling to tournaments and playing, playing, playing. They are the best of buds and share together in amazing hockey experiences every week.

Hockey imitates life. There are ups and downs. There are new skills learned. There are friends made and fun times had. There are lessons from winning and even more lessons learned from losing.. And like life, you keep going, working hard, and learning.

It is our hope that our son will take all of these meaningful hockey experiences into adulthood and apply everything he has learned from hockey to real life....things like making friends, teamwork, a can-do attitude, a hard work ethic and being a leader. That is what hockey means to our family....preparation for life.

And to all of you hockey people out there....please don't miss this fantastic opportunity to win a backyard rink for your family and a visit from a hockey legend! Enter a favourite hockey photo for a chance to win....and that should be super easy because if you are like us, you already  have a  gazillion hockey photos!  Hurry.....the deadline for this contest is August 1, 2012.

Show your passion for hockey!  Visit Dove Men+Care® Hockey Contest and submit your family’s favourite hockey photos for a chance to win one of three $15,000 backyard rinks. Plus, one of two legendary hockey players-­---Wendel Clark or Guy Carbonneau-­--will drop the puck at one of your backyard games!  Visit http://www.familyhockeymoments.ca  to enter!

Kids' Travel: The Best Thing Ever!

All of us who have travelled with children know that it can be so fun and yet so very tiring.

We live more than 3000 miles from my parents and extended family, so I have spent summers traveling with my children alone for 6 weeks to make a trek across the country to visit family & friends.

Below is what I came to rely on as THE BEST THING ever for my kids!

Let me share with you my system for travelling with kids for day trips and on plane rides.

It all began when, while traveling with the children, I noticed that I often became a human coat tree or pack mule as they were constantly asking, "Mom can you carry my......" or "Do you know where my ....... is?".

I was left constantly digging through my bag looking for items and my shoulder was aching from carrying too much.

And sometimes I was just getting downright cranky about it!

Then one day while shopping in an outdoor store looking for a birthday present, I saw these day packs and I knew I had found the answer to my problem.

I promptly bought 1 for each of my children. (I let them choose the colour).

This small size day pack is perfect....small in size, lightweight and a wide shoulder strap for comfort.

It also came with a built in pocket for a water bottle and a zippered pocket for sunglasses in the front.

Brilliant!

 At the time my children were 6 and 10 years old and I knew they were ready for some independence and were perfectly capable of looking after their items when we were on day trips to museums, parks and zoos.

I explained to each of them that they were now responsible for their own items.....sun hats, sun glasses, snacks, etc.  and they could keep carry these items in their day pack.

{Awww. My kids look so little a few years back.We were on a day trip to the Fisheries Museum in Lunenburg, Nova Scota in 2007.}

 Then we made a trip to a store and loaded up on items that they would need for their day pack... 

 Other items that may be included in a child's day pack, depending on their age, include:

Sunscreen

Bug Spray

Asthma Inhaler

Allergy Medicine

Epi-Pen

When we pack the day pack for a plane ride, we also include headsets, a bigger snack and a book or magazine.

This system worked great for us!

For the rest of that summer, and summers that followed, my kids carried their own items in their day packs and it worked perfectly!

And Mom's shoulder was very happy too!

{I also went ahead and bought day packs for my niece and nephew for the birthdays and stuffed theirs with fun things inside too.}

Do any of you Moms have a similar system?

What do you find works for you?

{Thank you so much to Steph at Somewhat Simple for featuring this post here.}

Our Birthday Boy...

A few weeks ago, my youngest celebrated his 11th birthday.

Although my husband was going to be away on an 8 day business trip on his birthday, I decided to go ahead with the birthday party plans on my  own.

Our guy requested just a  few friends to help celebrate his birthday....which was totally fine by me.

Our days of themes and treat bags and perfectly themed-out everything are over because, to be honest, he doesn't care about any of that stuff.

He just wants fun.

Real fun.

He doesn't want "Mommy-the-Party-Planner" birthday.

He just wants to have a  good time with his friends.

 We started off with going to the movies.

The boys wanted to see the new movie "The Journey".

So off we went....that's the great thing about a small party....they can all fit in your car!

And after I got them all settled in with popcorn and drinks and the movie started....I snuck across the hall to watch "The Vow" with Hunter.

And made it back before the boys were finished their movie.

Next on the birthday boy's list.....laser tag.

The laser tag gallery wasn't far from the movie theatre, so we skipped over and managed to get in right away for a game.

The boys came out half an hour later,  hot and tired and ready for supper.

{I love 11 year old boys...they are so easy to please and so happy all the time!}

At the birthday boy's request, we stopped at A & W on the way home for  teenburgers and root beers to take home.

Then it was pyjama time and hang out time.

And a giant pillow fight ensued.....with lots of giggling.

Then I had to play  ' mean mommy' and make everyone head to bed.

They all had hockey games the next day, so bedtime was 9:30 pm.

I put them all in sleeping bags on the floor in my bedroom so I could keep a close eye on them and play 'jail warden'...shushing them every 5 minutes to go to sleep.

Everyone was sound asleep by 10:20 pm.

And I didn't hear a peep from anyone until after 8 am the next morning.

I made them a hearty hockey breakfast of wholewheat blueberry pancakes, sausages & fruit.

 And since everyone was too full from the teenburgers the night before, the birthday boy had his birthday cupcake the next morning after breakfast.

And after everyone was picked up and the house was quiet again.....he came to me and said,

"Thank you Mommy".

{You bet buddy! But can you do Mom a favour and STOP growing up so fast!}