Free Finish Quantum Dishwasher Detergent Trade In #FinishTradeIn

FREE!!!Did that grab your attention? Have you ever wanted to try a new product, but you don't want to waste your money? Maybe there's something even better out there but you just don't even know it? Well, now you have the chance to grab a new case of Finish Quantum for FREE at participating Walmart stores across Canada this weekend - December 7-9, 2012!

The Finish Quantum team will be hosting "Trade-In" Events where you can bring your empty dishwasher detergent and trade it in for a *free, specially-marked box of Finish Quantum. The team will be waiting for you at Walmart this weekend to answer any questions you might have. Because there will be live Finish Quantum teams on site at these Walmart locations, any questions consumers may have can be answered on the spot!

 Join The Revolution, as Finish is confident you’ll be happier with the results!

Just to make this nice and clear:

What?Get a full refund for Finish Quantum dishwasher detergent 

When? December 7 - 9, 2012  
Where? Participating Walmart stores - click here to see a list! 
How? Bring in any empty box/container of dishwasher detergent to be eligible for a *free, specially-marked box of Finish Quantum

*Each box will have a mail-in rebate for a full refund – so essentially, trade in your empty box for a FREE box of Finish Quantum! 

 
Disclosure – I am participating in the Finish Quantum Trade In Event Blog Tour by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Finish. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Getting Ready for the Holidays With Sears! #SearsBabysRoom

Did your parents take you to Sears Portrait Studio every year for Christmas pictures? Yup! Me too! Actually, my mom informs me we went for every 6 months for the first many years of our lives! And my husband had the same ritual too!

This month Sears sent us to their Portrait Studio for holiday photos. This is awesome because on maternity leave I didn't have holiday photos in our budget so I'm extremely grateful to be able to have a family photo of the four of us! But before I share my first experience with my family & Sears...allow me to share with you these gems, or blasts from the past, if you will and tell you about our shopping experience.

Me and my brother Benjamin

Is it bad I'm hoping they still do this "sibling thought bubble"? :)

We were given some spending money to buy the boys these adorable outfits for our photos! My mom always coordinated me and my brother's holiday outfits and you bet I'll be doing the same for my kids! I am so excited for Christmas this year...you have no idea!

We chose the grey shirt with the black vest & pant set for Braden and if Ethan was a little bigger, we could have gotten him a vest set too, but we decided on a cute red reindeer holiday sleeper!

Speaking of dressing for the holidays, here's a few things I always adhere to when choosing my family's Christmas attire (note, I am a boy mom and know not of frilly dresses!):

• Matchy match match! I love to coordinate all our clothing! I don't plan on ever matching my boys' outfits exactly, but rather just coordinating them. I do like to stick to traditional Christmas colors - red, green, black, & white.
• Vests on little boys! I know this might be a personal preference, but I am a sucker for a little boy in a vest, especially a sweater vest.
• Mix up your patterns! It's okay to use a checkered shirt and have an argyle sweater vest, in my opinion.
• Corduoroy! I've always had Braden in cords for the holidays, I just love the look of them.

I love the layout of the Sears Baby's and Kids Rooms! Everything is very well organized according to gender and size and they have tons of clothes to choose from. As you can see they have lots of color available and the same outfits in different sizes if you want to dress your children the same. If you would like more ideas and options for your children's holiday wear, please take a look at these adorable outfits available at Sears online!

Girls | Boys | Baby Girls | Baby Boys

Hurry up and head to Sears or shop online because ALL kids dress wear (newborn to teen) is 25% off until November 8th!

So, back to the Portrait Studio! It was a very impromptu session for us and Sears was very accommodating and I really appreciate their amazing customer service to my family of four which included a 2 week old newborn! I never thought I'd like doing the whole Portrait Studio thing, as I have usually had a professional photographer come to our house or I just do it myself...but I have to admit, it was a really nice experience and WAY less stressful than I could have imagined! The staff was great, absolutely wonderful with our children and we got lots of great shots and we didn't feel rushed at all.

We just had a plain, white background, as I wanted the picture to really be focused on our family. We didn't use any props, but they have a lot to choose from if you do want to include them in your portrait session. Our photos will be ready in two weeks and I can't wait to share them with you!

Sears has many other options for your photos. I also have to say that booking with Sears Portrait Studio was very easy, which I am all about these days! All I had to do was call and book our appointment, but you can also visit their website, enter your postal code, and book online.

Win! Now it's your turn for pictures! Sears is offering one of my lucky readers a coupon for a free photo session at their Portrait Studio + 10 free holiday cards. And the best part is, they are sending you an extra coupon for you to gift to one of your family or friends!

How to Enter This is a Rafflecopter giveaway, the first entry is mandatory - simply leave me a comment on the blog letting me know who you would gift your extra coupon to - and then the rest of the entries will be unlocked. If you do not see the widget, please click the "Read More" link to get to it! This giveaway is for Canadian residents only.

The Gift of Giving #LEGODUPLOplay

It's that time of year when one really gets thinking about all the holidays and the gifts that we will be buying and all the sales that are going to be happening, such as Black Friday in the States and Cyber Monday on the internet. These sales entice us to spend spend spend because we can save save save! This is also the time of year when it's most important not to forget to give back to those in need. Jay and I have made a point to donate to World Vision every year at Christmas, and I along with our church, have always made shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Jay was mentioning to me that it will be really fun to involve Braden this year in making our shoe box and teaching him how there's so many children in the world who don't have lots of things like he does and that it's so important to give these little kids things that they need because we can afford to give. I am very excited to take him shopping so that he can buy things for a little boy his age and to start teaching him the valuable lesson of charity.

Another thing we were able to get involved with recently was aid for families suffering loss from Hurricane Sandy. A good blog friend of mine has asked for donations of anything to be sent to her friend on Staten Island. I had a bag of stuff I was going to donate locally, but we thought we would send our love all the way to the east coast and Braden helped me pack up a box! If you would like info on where you can send items to, please email me!

This month LEGO DUPLO has provided me with information on eight of their hottest holiday toys! I have a very exciting giveaway for you!

1. Snow White's Cottage | 2. Play with Numbers | 3. My First Zoo | 4. Brick Box | 5. Creative Cakes | 6. My First Supermarket | 7. Sleeping Beauty's Room | 8. Play with Letters

These sets range in price from $17.99 - $39.99...and you have a chance to win FOUR of them, and you get to choose which ones!

Win! This giveaway is for four of the above toys (out of the eight) of your choice! Best part? They will come pre-wrapped to your doorstep before the holidays! Also, as a perk the first 10 people to enter this giveaway and leave me a comment, I will send a "spend $20 on any LEGO DUPLO product and receive $5 off" coupon!

How to Enter This is a Rafflecopter giveaway and the first entry is mandatory - leave me a comment telling me which four toys you would choose and what you would do with them. Once you complete this entry, the rest of the options will be unlocked for more chances to win! If you do not see the Rafflecopter widget, please click the "Read More" link to enter. This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only.

Everything Baby Month at Sears! #SearsBabysRoom

Oh baby, oh baby, oh baby! Am I ever excited to be an ambassador for The Baby's Room at Sears, and to show you all the wonderful things about this brand new department! With the early arrival of our new baby boy, the timing could not have been more perfect for Sears to be introducing their new department The Baby's Room.

I actually went into the city with my husband on Monday and took a tour of the new department. The store and new department looked phenomenal and has absolutely everything a mom could want shopping for her baby in one place. I am so happy that Sears has this department now!

My favorite part was how open and airy the department is. It's designed very well and sectioned off into travel, nursery, feeding, etc. which makes it very easy to find items. Speaking of items, there were plenty to choose from and it was nice to have the variety and not just one or two brands.

What surprised me the most was the huge selection of children's clothing! Everything was so cute and the products are very well made. I will definitely be going back to buy Ethan some new clothes. Everything was really well labelled and organized according to size which was an awesome feature.

I loved the nursery displays with the room decor. There were framed "plaques" on the wall of the nursery clearly labeling the prices of all the furniture and the sale prices which was awesome, it's nice to see mini displays of how the nursery furniture would fit together at home.

It also happens to be the "Everything Baby" sales event happening right now from October 12 - October 25th! This means literally everything baby in the department is on sale! So go to your local Sears and check it out.

Can you tell I had baby girl on the brain when we went? :)

Connect with Sears Canada

Facebook | Twitter  

Disclosure: I am part of the Sears – The Baby’s Room Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own

Learning Through Play with #LEGODUPLOplay

I don't know if you've seen on Twitter and Facebook how excited I am to be a LEGO DUPLO Play Agent and be sharing with you over the next 7 months all the exciting things that LEGO DUPLO has to offer you and your children! Braden got his first LEGO DUPLO set from my Mom about a year ago. Of course, it was a Thomas set with a little train tracks and he immediately took to it. He wasn't even two yet but I could see his imagination starting to bud as he drove his little LEGO Thomas train around the track.

First, a little bit about LEGO DUPLO from their website:

LEGO® DUPLO® preschool building toys are specially designed for the small hands and big imaginations of children aged 1½ - 5 years. DUPLO bricks are twice the size of standard LEGO bricks, making them a great way to kick off a child’s building career. DUPLO is all about giving your child the opportunity to build, create, and develop while discovering so many ways to play!

Jay was just as excited as me, if not more, to have this opportunity to teach Braden to play with LEGO DUPLO. I have firmly believed in my short journey through motherhood so far, that children learn best through play, and LEGO feels the same way! LEGO DUPLO is all about giving your child the opportunity to build, create, and develop while discovering so many ways to play.

This month we received the LEGO® DUPLO® Large Brick Box, LEGO® DUPLO® Bricks and Books (assorted), and the LEGO® DUPLO® Play with Letters. We started with the Large Brick Box, and as an organized mom, I'm really thankful that this came with it's own storage box! The DUPLO blocks are bigger and much easier for toddler hands to work with which is also a feature I love, Braden is not quite ready for the little LEGO's, and the DUPLO bricks are twice the size.

Building a crane with Daddy

Braden has been THRILLED to have his new LEGO's to play with. It was the first thing he grabbed to play with the morning after we got them and he loves when Daddy shows him how to build what he sees in the pictures! It's helping him to recognize his colors and his shapes and he can connect his own LEGO DUPLO pieces together now! In fact, just today he said "TA DA!!!" as he proudly helped me build a LEGO house by clicking the LEGO's together!


I'm also loving the other two sets we received as Braden is learning his alphabet so his Play With Letters set is reinforcing learning his letters and he has always loved books and loves his Bricks and Books set. Braden saw this "Big Tractor" farm set in the little pamphlet that came with his set and I think it will be on his Christmas wish list!

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Did you know the first LEGO DUPLO product was launched in 1969, making it 43 years old? There's a reason why it's been around for so long. Jay still has fond memories and loved growing up with LEGO DUPLO.

I wanted to share with you a little something for your tech savvy toddlers/kids that I discovered from the LEGO DUPLO website today! LEGO DUPLO has free apps that you should download for your iPhone/iPad! There's a LEGO DUPLO Zoo app and a LEGO DUPLO Jams app that plays music and also has virtual LEGO DUPLO's for your child to play with - very cool! We always have more fun when we play with music!

Would you like to start your LEGO DUPLO collection or add to it? With Christmas creeping up on us, I thought I would provide you with some discounts! The fabulous people at LEGO DUPLO have provided me with a lot of $5 off your $20 LEGO DUPLO purchase coupons for my Canadian readers!

I would be very happy to provide a coupon to my first 10 commentors who visit the LEGO DUPLO site and tell me what they'd buy! There's Princesses, Cars, farms, trains, and so much more!

“Disclosure: I am a LEGO DUPLO Play Agent and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Easy Peasy Crock Pot Roasts & Club House

I have a feeling that my crock pot will quickly become my best friend in a month or so when Squishy makes his/her arrival! Since I've been involved with Club House I have been loving trying all of their recipe mixes! The last meal that I cooked for harvest I decided on using these for my lineup:

A pot roast with carrots and potatoes all together in harmony in one happy space slow cooking for 8 hours - how much easier can it get?! Plus some Yorkshire pudding (which I always make with these mixes!) and some of Club House's new 25% less salt gravy. (I did not inherit either of my grandmother's gravy-making skills and have been using Club House for years! Shhhh!)

All you need:

• crock pot
• pot roast (3-4 lbs)
• carrots
• potatoes (~5 cups of veggies cut)
• 1 cup water

Directions:

• place roast in crock pot
• cut up veggies and place around/on top of roast
• mix Pot Roast Club House Recipe Mix in 1 cup of water
• pour mixture over roast
• turn crock pot on low for 8 hours
• voila!

 
I'm not sure you can make a crock pot roast look "pretty"but it was DARN good, I can testify to that!

Then you just follow the simple instructions on the Yorkshire package (I made 2 packages)...

Nom nom nom! I also made another pot roast last night with Club House products and it was a BIG hit! One of my girlfriends on Facebook posted a recipe for "Mississippi Style" roast. All you need:

• 3-4 lb pot roast
• Club House Ranch Mix
• Club House Au Jus Gravy Mix
• 1 stick of butter

That's it - no liquids necessary! Put the roast in the crock pot, sprinkle the ranch mix and then the au jus mix on the roast, place butter on top (I didn't use a whole stick as my roast was a bit on the small side) and turn on low for 8 hours. The gravy that the roast made smelled good...but with that much butter and meat drippings, I opted for the Club House Brown 25% Less Salt Gravy Mix again which is a can't-fail in my books!

Don't forget you can still enter to win a Club House Prize Pack & $50 gift card by clicking "Read More"or directly on the Rafflecopter Widget!

Giveaway: Club House Prize Pack & $50 Gift Card!

I love to cook. But when I'm stuck in a rut, like I am right now after cooking so much during harvest, I really don't like it or look forward to it! I like my meals to be flavorful and exciting...and I like trying new things! Club House has these new Flavourful Recipe Mixes that seemed like the perfect solution to my cooking rut. They have 6 brand new mixes to try:

• Flavourful Creamy Parmesan Chicken Penne
• Flavourful Herbes de Provence Roasted Chicken
• Flavourful Hickory BBQ Ribs Recipe Mix
• Flavourful Lemon Ginger Beef Stir-fry Recipe Mix
• Flavourful Lemon Thyme Pork Recipe Mix
• Flavourful Tuscan Chicken Recipe Mix

Each mix comes with a recipe on the back but you can also find more recipes on their website, or in your case - by clicking the links I've provided for you! I asked my farmer husband which mix we should try first and he picked the Hickory BBQ Ribs Recipe Mix...and we kept it simple and made the recipe on the back of the package and did ribs!

Instead of using pork spare ribs as the recipe suggests, we went with pork loin back ribs but followed the rest the same.

Ingredients

• 1 package Club House Flavourful Hickory BBQ Ribs Recipe Mix
• 2 packages pork ribs (your choice of cut!)
• 1 cup ketchup
• water

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Stir together Club House mix with ketchup - let stand 15 minutes
• Place 1/4" water in a roasting pan with a rack
• Baste ribs all over (~2/3 cup)
• Place on rack, meat side up and cook for 1 hour, covered
• Turn ribs and cook for 1 more hour
• Turn ribs meat side up, baste, and cook for another 20 minutes

I served with potatoes, green beans, and corn on the cob and it was a hit by all! I usually boil my ribs and then throw them on the BBQ for extra crispiness, but this oven method was VERY good too! The ribs were nice and tender and the sauce was very flavorful. We agreed that we are more fans of sweet sauces, but switching it up with this tangy, hickory sauce was a really nice change and we both all really liked it too!

We all loved it, in spite of my husband's "Friends" humor of rubbing his tummy and saying "mmmm!!!!" I think I will be using Club House recipe mixes a LOT during a lot of my post partum phase, I can't wait to try lots of new recipes. Now it's your turn to try!

Win! Club House is generously offering a Club House prize pack and a $50 gift card to get you started to one of my readers!

How To Enter All you have to do is go to the Club House website and tell me which recipe mix & recipe you'd love to try first! Just leave me a comment saying so and then you can fill out the rest of the Rafflecopter widget for more entries (if you don't see the widget, click the "Read More" link)! This giveaway is for Canadian residents only.

While this does not count as an official entry, I would really appreciate if you could spare 2 extra clicks to vote for us while you're here!

RBC's Learning Money With Leo iPad App

While Braden is only 2 years old, I really do believe that it's important to start teaching him about money at a young age. RBC Royal Bank believes that it’s so important to build a solid foundation of money concepts for your child to build on. We started an RESP for Braden right after he was born and we want to teach him the importance of saving his money. Braden also has 2 piggy banks, one for his loonies & one for his twonies!

A fun way to teach your young children about money is with RBC's a new iPad app Learning Money With Leo. It is aimed help kids under 6 with the development of basic money skills and will ensure that they can build upon these essential life-skills for years to come. Plus, it’s a lot of fun, so it’ll also keep them entertained when you most need it!

While Braden really only enjoyed the coloring pages, I can see how this app will be very useful to him when he gets older. I showed it to my nephew Luke who is almost 4 and I was amazed at how quickly he learned about the different coin denominations. He really loved the Gather the Coins game!

About Learning Money with Leo

Learning Money with Leo has been put together with the input of early

childhood education experts and parents, and is designed to:

– Provide kids with an introduction to the concepts and value of money

– Teach kids about earning, saving and spending money

– Help kids develop a foundation of basic money skills that they can build upon in the years to come

Learning Money with Leo features a variety of kid-friendly and interactive games (Match It game, Gather The Coins and Spot The Differences) to teach your children everything from earning, to saving, to spending money. As your child plays each game they’re able to earn coins, which can be used to buy stickers for their very own virtual sticker book.

The application is available for free from iTunes in both English and French. 

You can find out more tips on teaching your kids about money at https://www.rbcadvicecentre.com and

http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/learning-money-with-leo/index.html

Disclosure – I am participating in the RBC Learning Money With Leo program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of RBC Royal Bank. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own

Fun Mommy Date! Empire Reel Babies

Braden has never been to a movie in a theatre before. Quite honestly, why would I want to waste my money on how expensive movies are these days? I know he probably won't sit for the whole movie anyway. What's a mom to do? Enter: Empire Reel Babies. 

"Empire Reel Babies is a film screening series that offers moms and other caregivers a chance to see current releases (grown up movies!) with their babies in tow. Every detail is adjusted in the theatre for this special audience. We dim the lights, modify the volume, and bring in change tables, exersaucers, boucy seats and other amenities. We also have our VIB (Very Important Baby) stroller parking outside the auditorium."

Isn't that awesome?! A baby friendly environment to go see normal, regular movies? Jay and I did this when Braden was about 2 months old and I wish we would have gone more often. I just nursed Braden and was able to change him right in the theatre when I needed. They have play dates within 7 provinces of Canada and admission is only $9.99 (depending on location), babies and children under 3 are free!

They do state on their website that this is more intended for infants and young babies, as they do screen moveis with adult content, but on occasion they are able to screen a child-friendly movie, and I was so thrilled to see this schedule for the month of March:

I could take Braden to see The Lorax for free in an environment that would accept him with open arms! Yay! I had talked with my SIL Laura about taking the boys to see The Lorax anyway, because Braden LOVES Dr. Seuss and I thought with the bribery of popcorn and some juice would hold him over for about 1 hours' movie time, and if he didn't sit through...at least I would only be paying $10, or in my case nothing because the good people at Empire Theatres Reel Babies sent me a schwack of free passes!

Really what kept him happy was wandering up at the very top row back and forth stopping for the odd handful of popcorn and sip of juice!

I am so thankful to have had this opportunity, so I want to share it with you! I have some passes to giveaway, so the first 3 Canadians who write a comment and state that they want to go see a Reel Babies movie, I will send 2 passes to so you can go on a date with your husband or another mommy friend! Please make sure your email is linked up to your GFC account or just email me with your details!

Also...he loved the 3D glasses and then passed out and had a nice nap on the way home!

Disclosure – I am participating in the Empire Reel Babies program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Empire Theatres. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.
 

Happy Chinese New Year with VH Sauces!

Did you know that Chinese New Year has come and gone? That doesn't mean it's too late to celebrate! This year is Year of the Dragon!


January 23 was Chinese New Year and we were travelling home from our vacation. We're a little late, but we're still going to eat some home made Asian inspired food! I love to cook and I'm always looking for ways to spice it up sauce it up in the kitchen! I was really excited to sign up for this blog tour, because now that Braden is a seasoned toddler, we are in full on fussy-ish eating! He, like many kids, looooove to dip their food in sauces. Enter, VH Sauces! I have long been a fan of VH plum sauce, it is a staple in my fridge so I was looking very forward to trying some new sauces. We got sent the new VH garlic hoisin sauce, VH medium garlic rib sauce, and VH sweet & sour sauce. Since it is new, I decided to use the VH garlic hoisin sauce first, using the recipe right off the bottle - how easy!

1. Spray large pan with PAM. 
2. Saute chicken for 10 minutes on medium-high until fully cooked. 
3. Add peppers & cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add VH Hoisin sauce & heat until warm.
5. Serve with steamed snow peas & rice topped with VH Soya Sauce.

Instead of just snow peas, I used a frozen pack of stir-fry veggies. Next time I'll definitely use all fresh - tastes much better!

My helper!



It got the approval from the boys! The sauce was very tasty, not bland, and not too strong or spicy! We'll definitely be doing this again and adding some more ingredients too, Jay wants cashews and I think that would be very nice.

I've gotta say, the VH Sauces website is pretty amazing and very user friendly. They have a good index of recipes and it's really easy to do a search using either ingredients that you have at home and/or VH products you have. A lot of the recipes look really easy and don't take very long at all! They also have a new Facebook page, so you should go like that too while you're at it!

VH has a new line of frozen meals called VH Steamers. This is a great option for me at work because I don't always have time (or food!) to pack a lunch or supper...or especially a lunch and supper when I work a 12 hour shift.

Now it's your turn to try VH! They are kindly giving away a Chinese New Year prize pack worth $60 to one of my Canadian readers! Please click the "read more" link to enter. This is a Rafflecopter entry, once you make a comment (mandatory) you will be able to fill out the rest of the form for more entries!