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Christmas Day 2011 in Photos

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Last night I saw a post by Andrea over at a peek inside the fishbowl about taking a picture per hour throughout Christmas. You know me well enough to know that I had to give it a try. I did pretty well…though a few pictures were taken a little early or a little late. You can check out Andrea’s day here.

8:20 am – Evan actually slept past 8am. Woot! Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep well so I was left wishing it had been even later….though how can you say that to this face?

Can you see the excitement???? I can't believe he slept until after 8am! #hourlyphoto

Christmas morning excitement!

9am -

Coffee & Bailey's while opening stockings.

10am -

Lik 'em Stick as breakfast dessert. It must be Christmas!

11am -

Learning magic tricks.

12 pm -

Making layered salad

1 pm -

Making homemade cranberry sauce. #hourlyphoto

Making homemade cranberry sauce (recipe is in the recipe index).

2 pm -

NOT happy about having to eat protein at snack time!

3 pm -

Waiting to regale visitors with his magic tricks.

4 pm -

Getting baby holding time with Baby Maddex!

5 pm -

Baby Maddex is doing the YMCA!

6 pm -

Nana's homemade toffee.

7 pm -

Practicing sledding for when we have snow again.

8 pm -

Relaxing under a blanket. Great way to end a great Christmas day.

This was my last photo of the day. Evan headed to bed and we played cards with Nana & Papa Don. Now everyone is in bed and we’ve had another wonderful Christmas.

I hope you all had a blessed day with family and friends! I would love to hear about it in the comments!

Posted in Christmas, Uncategorized, family | No Comments »

Friday Free For All

Friday, December 9th, 2011

Only 16 days until Christmas….panic ensues! Here are some tidbits that may come in handy:

Head out to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train. Click the link to check the schedule. The train rolls into Calgary TONIGHT at 6pm at 9511 Horton Road SW. An extra perk is that the Calgary Foodtrucks will be there so you can eat some fantastic food while enjoying the festive lights and music from the CP Holiday Train. Don’t forget to bring food to donate to the Food Bank!

The Body Shop Canada is having a scratch coupon sale. You get up to 50% off everything except holiday gift sets (most coupons seem to have 50% off). If you total after discount is $35 or more then you get a full size body butter for $1. I admit I don’t buy a ton of their stuff because I find it expensive. At 50% off it’s a much better deal. I also found out that they have really pretty eyeshadow colors (I bought 2)….who knew!

Looking for restaurants for Christmas celebrations? Don’t forget to check out reviews on Yelp and then book on OpenTable. I use both every day to figure out where to take customers to lunch and book tables. It is so much faster and easier than calling the restaurant!

Have you been watching Recipe to Riches? It’s the Food Network Canada show where contestants present their recipes for a chance to be chosen as a President’s Choice product. The seven finalists have been chosen and now it’s up to us to vote for the winner. I am going to buy a few of the products to try this weekend so I can vote! Watch clips and vote here.

Check out Mike’s Bloggity Blog for his Gift a Day Giveaway. There are lots of great prizes and he makes his giveaways super easy to enter.

Hope you have a great weekend & you are doing better at your Christmas preparations than I am!

Disclosure: I was given a gift card to try out the PC Recipe to Riches products. As always, all opinions are my own.

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Holy Appetizers, Batman! (Pin It Tuesday)

Monday, December 5th, 2011

It’s the holiday season and every time you turn around there’s a party to attend and often they’re potlucks. I love a good appetizer and here are some that I’ve tried or plan to try. Yum!

Goat Cheese Cranberry Kisses

Source: livlifetoo.blogspot.com via Merry120 on Pinterest

Cheddar Bacon Dip

Source: plainchicken.com via Merry120 on Pinterest

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pull Apart Bread – I made this here….so good!

Source: plainchicken.com via Merry120 on Pinterest

Savrory Spinach Bites

Source: thecurvycarrot.com via Merry120 on Pinterest

Lemon Cheesecake Cheese Ball

Source: annies-eats.net via Merry120 on Pinterest

What are your favorite appetizers to take to potlucks?

Posted in Pinterest, Uncategorized, recipes | No Comments »

Searching for #EqualCanada at Starbucks through #CBias

Monday, October 31st, 2011

I’ve joined a new site called Collective Bias (CBias), which is a shopper media site. What drew me to them is that they don’t send things to bloggers for review, they ask them to go through the entire shopping process and review that. Cool, huh? I don’t know about you but I want to know about the whole picture. I can love a product but if it is painful to purchase, I will walk away. I think too many companies forget that. So, anyhoo….today Collective Bias wanted me to go to the venue of my choice and see what low-calorie sweeteners were available, particularly Equal.

Since, I just got back into town after a week long trip to Nashville, TN, I have been rushing around trying to get the last few things done before Halloween. We don’t have much planned but I needed to buy a few things to round out our Halloween stash. Since I can NOT say “no” to Halloween candy, I purchased Playdoh this year but Evan told me that I had to buy candy too because “Kids like candy at Halloween, Mama”. Unfortunately, the store was already closed for the day and I needed a break. I turned into my local Starbucks for a caffeine fix (jet lagged much? why yes I was).

I love Starbucks but sometimes I wonder how much sugar I should really be ingesting with my morning (or afternoon) coffee. Though I like low-calorie sweeteners, I don’t like sugar free coffee syrups. One of the ways I can cut down on the sugar without cutting down on the taste is to ask for half sweet and then add a bit of Equal if it’s not sweet enough. I don’t lose out on the taste and it cuts down on the calories. Win/Win!

Coffees for me & my hubby!

Sweetener Choices!

No Problem Finding Equal

I have found at times that the selection of sweeteners can be less than stellar. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you don’t see what you like. Ask the manager or fill out a comment card. It’s surprising how far that goes with most restaurants. Starbucks even has an online form for you to use!

Find out more about Equal at their website or follow them on Twitter @EqualCanada or on Facebook.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All opinions are my own.

Posted in #CBias, #EqualCanada, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Upcycling Around the House – Guest Post by Jessica

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

If you’ve never heard of upcycling, you’re in for a treat. Upcycling is the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value. Not only is it an eco-friendly concept that can easily be applied at home, it’s positively addicting! With a bit of time and creativity, the possibilities are endless.

As fun as upcycling or repurposing can be, the idea of creating something useful out of something you’d planned to throw out can be a little daunting. In order to get you started I wanted to share some of my favorite upcycling ideas with you!

Mason Jar Snow Globe – Grab an empty food jar, some toys and some glitter and glycerine from your local craft store. Glue your toys to the lid, add glitter and a few drops of glycerine to your water filled mason jar, and then just screw on the top! If you’re looking for some additional inspiration, head over to Ucreate for an awesome tutorial.

Denim bag – Everyone has a pair of old jeans around the house. Instead of letting them take up precious space in your closet, put them to good use as a new purse or bag. Take a pair and cut across just above the leg openings and then sew together the opening where you made your cut. Take a big, wide ribbon and lace it threw the belt loops, tying a bow where the button is. Next, use the legs you cut off to create a handle or longer, cross-body strap. Sew the strap to the inside of the purse and you have yourself a brand new jean purse or beach bag, complete with lots of pockets for compartmentalization.
Popsicle Stick Frame – This one’s a classic! I remember making these with my Mom when I was a kid. Old popsicle sticks can be used for a variety of different craft projects, but frames are super easy. To make a frame all you need is piece of cardboard and some popsicle sticks. As easy as it is, this one is kind of hard to explain but this YouTube video does a perfect job!
Cardboard Castle – Put those empty appliance boxes to good use by creating a cardboard castle for your little prince and princesses. Using whatever boxes you may have laying around, remove one side to open up the roof, cut holes for a window and a door and then let your kids go to town. Children don’t discriminate; to them a cardboard castle is just as cool as the real thing. There is no wrong way to do this just have and fun and be creative.
Ketchup Bottle Pancakes – Create perfect pancakes every time by keeping an empty ketchup bottle on hand for pancake days. Instead of using a ladle, mix your batter in an empty ketchup bottle and then just squeeze out flawless circles.

Mason Jar Hanging Tea Light Holder – Take an old mason jar, a tea light and some metal wire or an old wire hanger. Place the tea light in the jar and then wrap the wire around the neck of the bottle and tie up outside. These quaint little candle holders are the perfect addition to an outdoor summer BBQ.
Pop Bottle Herb Container – This one is really simple. First cut an empty pop bottle in half, recycling the top portion that you’re not going to use. Fill the lower half with soil and plant your seed! This is a great idea for herbs you use on the daily, like basil or peppermint.
Brown Bag Book Covers – This is a great one for the kids as schools will often require them to cover their text-books so as not to increase wear. Take a brown grocery bag, cut it in half and then lay it out flat on a flat surface. Place the book open on top of the brown bag. Fold the brown bag around each end of the cover, just like if you were wrapping a gift. Make sure there is ample room to close the room and you’re good to go!
Broken Crayons Recycled Into Crayon Shapes – Most households with children are filled with broken bits and pieces of old crayons. Instead of tossing them out, place the crayons (separated by color) in a muffin tin and bake at 300 for around 15 minute. Pop the final product out just like you would ice cubes, for new and improved crayons! If you have muffin tins in cool shapes, those are even more fun! These heart-shaped crayons from The Green Girls are beautiful!
Muffin Tin Jewellery Organizer - Although muffin tins can put up with a ton of use, most of them eventually need to be retired. Give them a new lease on life by using them to organize things like your jewelery, office supplies, keys, etc! Best of all, the’re the perfect size to hid away in a drawer.

Now that you have seen some upcycling ideas, take some time and look around you house and see what you can come up with. Be creative and use your imagination and remember the most important thing to do is to have fun and stay green. Happy upcycling!

Jessica is a Community Coordinator at PartSelect online resource for the do-it-yourselfer and distributor of appliance parts. She blogs about anything and everything related to DIY, green living and home repair.

Posted in Uncategorized, crafts, family | No Comments »

Evan’s Adventures – Exploring Your Own Neighborhood

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

When I get home in the afternoons, I am often bagged. Even though I know that going out to play with Evan is what I NEED to do, we often just eat and then putz around the house. Tonight I decided we would do something different. Evan has been talking about the “shortcut” and the “spiderweb park” for weeks. He would go on and on about how it was sooooooo FAR away so I never really thought about going there in the evenings. We got done with dinner early so I thought “What the hell!” and we set off. I had no idea where we were going so I let Evan lead the way. He took my hand and pulled me along. Telling me where to walk on the sidewalk and to make sure to look both ways before we crossed the street. You could tell that he was so proud that he was taking his mommy somewhere! Why had I never thought about doing this before?

Hitting the trail!

What a beautiful night! Evan stopped and showed me all the shapes he saw in the clouds including a rocket.

Almost there….time to RUN!

The spiderweb park!

Evan is a little unsure of himself at this park.

He much prefers the rocks lining the storm drain.

More beautiful clouds on the way home.

Heading home up the “shortcut”. I swear it’s a long cut by the way & the mosquitos are HUGE!

So….do you ever let your little ones lead the way?

Posted in Evan's Adventures, Uncategorized, family, parenting | No Comments »

Sunday Survey – Would Love Your Input!

Monday, August 15th, 2011

First off…thank you, thank you, thank you for being a part of Merry With Children. I am so happy that there are people who read (and hopefully enjoy) my little corner of the internet. Second, I am hoping that life is getting a bit less crazy and I will be posting much more consistently going forward. The last few weeks have been wonderful, stress filled, crazy and all consuming. Unfortunately blogging has occasionally taken a back seat.

Ok….now on to the questions:

I’m planning on doing more product reviews going forward. I have a few on the go or in the planning stages that I think you’ll love but I would love to hear what you would like to see. Would you be interested in a Christmas Toy roundup, etc. I don’t want to do reviews just to do them…I want to do reviews for products that are relevant to you.
I’ve posted a few BlogHer posts. Are you done with that subject or do you want to hear more? If so, what….I can talk about the swag craziness, the parties or the blogging sessions that I attended.
Overall, how do you like Merry With Children these days? What do you like/dislike? What would you like to see more/less of?

I know these are pretty open ended but they would really help me going forward. It’s super easy to leave a comment and I would REALLY appreciate it.

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Visiting Around the Web

Monday, July 11th, 2011

You’ve heard me talk about my friend Karen (aka @scatteredmom) over at Notes from the Cookie Jar before. Well, today I’m guest posting for her! Head over there to check out my suggestions for great eats while camping and make sure to leave her some comment love!

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Should Tardy Doctors Pay?

Friday, July 1st, 2011

Today I was reading a very interesting article on CNN on doctors who pay their patients for time wasted waiting in their offices. The article was written about doctors in the US. Here in Canada there are a few issues that cloud the issue a bit bot overall I think it’s a great idea. Many of us spend countless hours waiting (and waiting and waiting) in doctor’s office waiting room. To add insult to injury, those waiting rooms are FULL of people teaming with germs and viruses just waiting to make us sicker than we were when we walked in the door.

Evan and I go to the doctor that delivered him. I made the decision to join her practice even though I knew that she might sometimes have to cancel or make me wait if she was delivering a baby. Thankfully that has never happened (knock on wood). Generally she is very prompt and she never rushes us during our appointment. I have no idea how many appointments she schedules during a day but I would dare to guess that she doesn’t over book. In the article, they mentioned some doctors that booked patients every 15 minutes or booked patients for 8am when they never got to the office until 8:50! Both of those practices are ridiculous!

The article mentioned a few doctors who paid (without being asked) whenever their patients had to wait or a few that gave gifts (homemade soap) when they had to wait. Other doctor’s didn’t offer money back but would pay if billed.

Some of the articles suggestions included billing your doctor if they are late (your hourly wage times the waiting time), mentioning the article to your doctor, find an ontime doctor (they have a US map that shows on time doctor) and schedule smartly (first appointment after lunch).

So what do you think? Do you have a prompt doctor of do you spend hours & hours gritting your teeth in their waiting room? Do you think they should pay?

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Through His Eyes….

Sunday, June 19th, 2011

Evan LOVES to play with my iPhone. In the past he’s stuck with games and apps but recently he figured out how to use the camera. When I was looking through my photo folder, I found some pictures that I forgot he had taken. I thought you might enjoy seeing things through his eyes.