Tara's View of the World

Litterbugs Get Fined in Our House

2013-05-18T18:13:00.001-05:00

We have far too much STUFF in our house and I have been wanting to SIMPLIFY but the task feels so completely overwhelming to me that I give up before I even begin.

And yes, I realize that is completely counter-productive.

My depression may or may not have something to do with it as well. I admit nothing.

The irony that having a simplified, organized home would actually significantly help my depression is not lost on me.

ANYWAY... this post is actually not about organizing my home. It is about a nasty habit my children picked up that is adversely affecting my home and making it feel exponentially worse. Over the winter I started to notice a trend with my children. They would unwrap a granola bar or a piece of gum or something and then - wait for it- drop the trash ON MY FLOOR.

Oh yes they did.

No amount of expressing my shock and horror about this atrocity seemed to make any impact on them. They would still continue to throw trash just anywhere they liked as though we don't have garbage cans placed strategically in every. single. room. in the house for that very purpose.

Last week I told them that I was done. Ok... "told" is an understatement. I lost my ever-loving mind and through horrified tears in my most guilt-inducing voice informed them that every time they threw something on the floor instead of in the garbage can they would have to go through their belongings and get rid of something.... as in recycle or throw something away that was old or broken or donate something that they no longer wore or played with.

I explained that if we were to throw trash on the street or in the park that would make us litterbugs and we would get in trouble because that is illegal and we would get a fine. I explained that throwing trash on the floor in our house is just as wrong and so they would be getting fined from now on. Since they don't have cash they will be fined STUFF. If they never throw trash on the floor they have nothing to worry about.

This pronouncement was met with serious freaking out and my husband very graciously negotiated a one-week grace period. He told them they had one week to prove that they could change. One week to prove that they would never throw garbage on the floor again. One week to prove that they could behave in our home like they behave at school and in other people's homes where they would never ever dream of throwing garbage on the floor.

And so I waited. For one week I left all the garbage on the floor that they threw there. I didn't pick it up. I didn't say anything. I just left it there.

Shockingly *insert voice dripping with sarcasm here* they did not follow through on their promises to never ever never again throw trash on the floor. I'm sure you are all just as surprised as I was.

So today my children were informed that they had to go through their belongings and find things to get rid of. And oh there was weeping and gnashing of teeth but I stood my ground. Litterbugs get fined in our household.

It's actually killing two birds with one stone - not only are we teaching them not to be complete slobs by reminding them that there are consequences for their actions, they are also helping me go through all their STUFF. Actually it is four birds because we are reminding them that donating things actually benefits those who are less fortunate than us and recycling benefits our planet. It is an all-around good thing and no crying or yelling (on my part) was required.

And yes- they also had to pick up all the garbage they dropped on the floor.

Incidentally did you know that if you stop cleaning up after your kids stuff gets messy really fast? Because it does. Just in case you were wondering.

#JumpstartDay Twitter Party Thurs May 23

2013-05-16T22:03:00.000-05:00

Did you know that one in three Canadian families cannot afford to enrol their children in sport or recreation activities? In fact we fall into that category ourselves. If it wasn't for disability funding and low-income scholarship money our kids would not have been able to participate in sports this year. Because of that special funding Aiden and Owen were able to join swim club for the first time and Olivia was able to take her very first dance class. This is the first year my children have participated in extra-curricular sports because we could simply never afford it without help.

I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful swimming was for both of my boys but especially for Owen. My son has found his home. He has found where he belongs! He loves being in the pool and says things like "when I am in the Olympics...". That is a beautiful thing to hear.

Aiden was able to build relationships with his swim team. Yes, he swam and he developed as a swimmer for sure. But he learned some very important skills as team mate that are hard for kids with Autism to learn.

And Olivia- oh my little girl! She danced her heart out and she twirls and leaps and does her ballet everywhere she goes. Such a gift.

To think we almost missed out on that because we couldn't afford it.

And we are certainly not the only ones!

I only recently learned about an amazing program called Canadian Tire Jumpstart and I am thrilled to tell you about it.

Canadian Tire Jumpstart is a national charitable program that helps financially disadvantaged kids participate in organized sport and recreation. Jumpstart helps cover registration fees, equipment and/or transportation costs.

Since the inception in 2005, Canadian Tire Jumpstart has given more than 581,177 kids across Canada the chance to play. Canadian Tire Jumpstart is dedicated to removing financial barriers, so children can participate in organized sport and recreation.

How can you support Canadian Tire Jumpstart?

• Make a donation.
• Host your own event in support of Canadian Tire Jumpstart.
• Support a fundraising event for Canadian Tire Jumpstart.
• Visit one of our partners: any Canadian Tire, Gas+, Mark’s, Sport Chek , Atmosphere or Pita Pit location and get your own Jumpstart Red Ball for a $2 donation.
• Visit your local Canadian Tire on Jumpstart Day , May 25th.
• ‘Like' the Pita Pit Facebook page during May, and Pita Pit will donate $1 for every like they get to the page.
• Visit Buffalo Wild Wings on Wednesdays in May, and donate 10% of your bill to Jumpstart

100% of customer donations go directly to help kids in financial need participate in organized sport and recreation.

The Canadian Tire Corporation funds all the general and administrative expenses as well as the program delivery costs of the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program.

Join us on Thursday May 23rd for the #JumpstartDay Twitter party from 9pm-10pm. Great prizes and a celebrity guest! Don’t forget to follow your host @CTJumpstart and your moderators: @Nugglemama, @Tarasview @Shasherlife @RossanaWyatt.

Prizes are available to Canadian Residents Only, but all are welcome to the party. RSVP below to be eligible for prizes. We’ll be chatting about sports, getting kids participating in activities and chatting with a celebrity guest!

Follow the party on our custom Tweetgrid here.

Make sure to enter your Twitter Handle “@yourTwitterhandle” in the Link/Blog Title field, and Twitter URL “www.twitter.com/yourtwitterhandle” in the url Field*

#WW - Like Kisses in the Sky LINKY

2013-05-14T22:59:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share my beautiful Mother's Day gifts with you all. Olivia wrote me the sweetest poem...

It says "I love you mommy so much like the kises in the sky. you are beautiful."

Seriously. How cute is that?

She also gave me about 15 drawings and these lovely flowers in a pot she painted herself...

Owen's class did not make mother's day presents at school so he drew me this picture of him and I holding hands and gave me a big hug and told me he loved me which I assured him was just perfect ...

Aiden told me he didn't want to give me his gift. He told me his teacher MADE him make it and told him he HAD to give it to me. So he did. But he wanted me to know he had serious reservations about doing it.

When I opened the gift I quickly realized why...

It was a coupon book filled with things he would do for me... Of course my son would not want to give me coupons! I told him I understood completely why he didn't want to give me the gift but that I was totally going to use it anyway. *insert evil laugh here*

I informed him that I would wait until he least expected it - like when he was super mad at me - and then I would whip out my coupon book! BAM! Oh, you hate me? Well, here's a coupon for a free massage! Thanks honey :)

He found my glee over this somewhat disconcerting but I just continued to share various scenarios in which these coupons would come in extra handy for me. *snicker*

Honestly I couldn't stop laughing the whole time I was reading these coupons. The illustrations just kill me. I especially love this one... "A walk with Aiden... your to young to Die! No!"

My kids are so awesome.

Link up your Wordless (or Wordfull) Wednesday posts here:

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#WW - Dancing Her Dreams LINKY

2013-05-07T19:12:00.001-05:00

Olivia had her very first dance recital this weekend and she conquered her stage fright and danced in front of TONS of people! We are so very proud of her. She looked adorable in her costume and she knew every step of her routine. Her class danced to the song "Dancing Your Dreams" and it was, by far, one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

And for those of you in our family (hi mom) here is a video with more pictures and the actual song she danced to. We were sitting too far away to take a decent video of the whole routine but this will give you a pretty good idea of how sweet it was:

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The #WalmartFrugalHeroes Challenge

2013-05-02T21:14:00.000-05:00

The challenge? Dress two children for summer on $100.

Could I do it? I honestly wasn't sure.

I was fairly certain I could cover Olivia - there is always a ton of cheap and adorable stuff in her size that she loves. However, I was significantly less confident about finding clothes that would work for my boys. My sons are currently the exact same size (much to their chagrin) so they are able to share clothing for the most part. That means I need to find clothes that appeal to both of them in order for something to truly be a success.

I was certainly up to the challenge though!

My husband and I set off for Walmart this afternoon and got to work. In under an hour we had chosen 5 shirts and 5 pairs of shorts that we were almost 100% sure Olivia would love... and another 5 shirts and 5 pairs of shorts that we were reasonably sure that the boys would love.

Here is what we chose...

Total cost? $99.75 = SUCCESS!

When the kids got home from school I showed them their new clothes. Olivia was (predictably) thrilled with her summer outfits and promptly began to try every single item on. Surprisingly the boys were equally thrilled with our choices and each asked to wear one of their new shirts to school tomorrow.

I call that an extremely successful shopping trip.

Now if it would just warm up outside everything would be perfect because we can't wait for summer to begin. Bring on the sunshine!

Disclosure: I received a $100 Walmart Gift Card to take part in the #WalmartFrugalHeroes Challenge. The opinions are my own.

#WW - Aiden's 11th Birthday! Linky

2013-04-30T21:47:00.001-05:00

Aiden turned 11 years old today. I kept looking at him and thinking... wow... how is it even possible that I have an eleven year old son?

I am so incredibly proud of my boy.

This year he chose not to have a birthday party with friends- instead he asked for a bigger birthday present. He wanted a Nintendo 3DS. So that is what he got. He was thrilled. In fact he was SO excited that he started waking up this morning at 4am. He wasn't too impressed that he had to go to school on his birthday either but apparently he had a really good day.

After school we went out for Pizza with family friends to celebrate Aiden and tonight he was so exhausted that he fell asleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow. I think that counts as a successful first day as an 11 year old!

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts here:

#WW - The Last Swim Meet of the Season LINKY

2013-04-23T22:31:00.002-05:00

My boys had their last swim meet of the season this past weekend. They both have done so well this year and I am so proud of them!

Here are some pictures my husband took of Aiden and Owen swimming during the meet...

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Welcome to The Ultimate Blog Party! #UBP13 LINKY

2013-04-04T12:47:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Party! I'm so glad you've stopped by to say hello.

Please, come on in - you don't want to catch a cold out there in all that snow.

my deck (and the neighbours garage) last week

As you can see it is still winter here in Northern Ontario, Canada. We are all longing for Spring though so hopefully we won't have too much longer to wait.

Here, have a warm drink to warm you up...

Let me introduce you to my family. This is us...

My husband Doug and I have been married for 14 years this summer and he is the manager of our local food bank in our tiny town. This is what we looked like when we were practically children

My oldest son Aiden turns 11 at the end of this month (!!) and is creative, funny, intelligent and also has Autism and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. My younger son Owen is 9 and a wonderfully kind artist with a great imagination. He also has a general anxiety disorder. My daughter Olivia is 6 and loves all things girlie and pink. She is loving and smart and as far as we can tell her only major "issue" is a tendency towards diva-ish-ness.

I have been blogging since October 2006 - all of Olivia's life. I started blogging when I was on bedrest with her!

I have blogged my way all the way through her life, through my 3rd bout of postpartum depression, through the entire process of getting Aiden diagnosed with Autism and parenting a special needs child, through several moves, through my husband being laid off from his job and being unemployed for a year, through all the multitude of ways we are incredibly blessed ... this blog is a veritable treasure trove of craziness I tell you.

Currently I am working as a Virtual Assistant. For those of you not familiar with what that is it basically means I am a sort of secretary from home. I personally specialize in social media so I take care of things like writing blog posts and tweets and facebook updates and newsletters for small businesses who don't have time to take care of it themselves. It is a job perfectly suited to me since I am rather addicted to social media and I need to work from home so I can be available at any time for the special needs of my kids.

I think that about sums it up for me. Please say hello to me on twitter as well :)

I hope you enjoy the rest of the party - there are so many wonderful blogs out there to visit.

Link-up your Ultimate Blog Party post here so we can all visit you too!

What #Autism Awareness Looks Like In Our Family (#WW Linky)

2013-04-02T14:04:00.002-05:00

Today is World Autism Awareness Day.

This is the face of Autism in our family - beautiful right?

If there is one thing I would love for everyone to be more aware of it is this: kindness matters.

So please, BE KIND and teach your children to be kind too.

That's it.

And this applies to all people. Not just people with Autism. If we all could just remember to be kind to each other - no matter how "different" the other person is from us - this world would be a much brighter place.

Link up your Wordless Wednesday post here:

Join in the Ultimate Blog Party #UBP13

2013-04-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

What is the Ultimate Blog Party?

The Ultimate Blog Party is just that — the ultimate place to party and meet new friends, (but no babysitters, airplanes, or tickets necessary.)

It is super easy to participate -- all you do is write a party post on your site, sharing a bit of what you and your site are all about.

Here are a few of my "party posts" from years past to give you an idea of what I am talking about...

Ultimate Blog Party 2011
Ultimate Blog Party 2010
Ultimate Blog Party 2009
Ultimate Blog Party 2008

Once you have written your post you head off to the main party post at 5 Minutes for Mom and add the URL of that party post to the applicable linky list so others can find you and “meet” you and your blog.

There are also linky lists for your Twitter and Pinterest accounts.

After you have posted and linked up, start partying! Blog hop your way through the linky lists, leaving comments and making friends as you go. It is a fantastic way to meet new bloggers and engage with the blogging community.

Each year the Ultimate Blog Party always generate a HUGE Prize Pool. They expect over $10,000 in prizes this year!

There are also live events again this year -- a Twitter party Monday, April 8 at 9pm Eastern and a Google+ Hangout Tuesday, April 9 at 9pm Eastern. They will be talking blogging tips and tricks, answering bloggers' questions, and giving out prizes.

#BlissDom and @MsAmberPRiley (#WW Linky)

2013-03-26T20:28:00.002-05:00

This past weekend I was in Texas at BlissDom.

I failed to take very many pictures but here are a few that I did take ... or stole from my dear Shannon (who was also my roommate).

the lovely Shannon (aka @shasherslife)

BlissDom was held in Dallas, Texas this year so Shannon and I took pictures outside the Gaylord Texan hotel when we got there to prove that we were in a place with NO SNOW!

We also took a whole bunch of pictures inside the hotel because it was spectacular... I mean it was right out of control.

me on the balcony of our room - looking INSIDE the hotel

Shannon on our balcony overlooking the hotel courtyard

I tried to take a bunch of pictures to show the sheer incredible fabulous-ness of the inside of this hotel but really, they can't do it justice...

the view from our balcony

there is a big star in the centre of the glass roof

I was on the BlissDom staff so I spent most of my time working like crazy and running from one task to the next but I still got to enjoy some fantastic moments.

On one of the nights we got to see Amber Riley (from Glee) sing and that was especially cool for me. She has a fantastic voice.

Here I am on the shuttle on the way to our private concert with my friend Katie (aka @motherbumper)

and here is proof that I was in the same room (albeit on the balcony) while Amber Riley was singing...

Amber Riley

I actually got a picture taken with Amber Riley but I have no idea who actually TOOK the picture or where it is right now... hopefully I can locate it at some point though just for fun.

I got to see a lot of other really wonderful people too but have no pictures to prove it. My other roommate Shannon (aka @zchamu) and I never managed to get a single picture together. Sad. But at least I got to see her. There is simply no replacement for real life hugs with dear friends.

Link up your Wordless (or Wordfull) Wednesday posts here:

#WW - The Land That Spring Forgot #Linky

2013-03-19T19:53:00.001-05:00

Outside my house this morning...

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Escape To Downton Abbey

2013-03-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

I am a newcomer to the wonders of Downton Abbey. I just started watching it (on the advice of about a dozen friends) 2 weeks ago and now I am totally addicted. I had no idea what I was missing!

I just love everything about it.

Especially Dame Maggie Smith. She is my hero.

It is such a delightful escape from reality!

Just thought I would share :)

Spring Break Adventures

2013-03-13T12:39:00.000-05:00

It is Spring Break this week and what a week it has been... and yes, it is only Wednesday.

My mom is here visiting and the kids are absolutely having a blast with her.

on Grandma's birthday

They have even managed to convince her to play outside with them several times in the piles and piles and piles of snow we still have.

the boys wanted to do silly faces... can you tell?

Of course the majority of us have been sick - because what would Spring Break be without illness? It started with Olivia and then progressed to Aiden and my mom and myself just for good measure. So far only Owen and Doug have escaped.

Olivia's fort

And just for some extra fun the roof in the kids' room, directly above the boys' bunkbeds, sprung a leak. Our landlord came over and shovelled off all the snow / chipped the ice off our roof so the water stopped coming in. But in the meantime we just had a sleepover on the living room floor! The kids thought it was great fun of course. We just pulled all their mattresses into the living room and set up camp.

Olivia inside her fort

All in all our Spring Break has been good though. Next week I head off to Dallas for a few days for the BlissDom conference where I can experience a whole different kind of adventure. I have to dig out my summer clothes because apparently there is no snow in Dallas (yay!).

#WW - The Tiger vs. The Tigger Hat LINKY

2013-03-05T20:51:00.000-06:00

While I was away at the MomBizRetreat my husband and kids went on an adventure. One of the things they did was visit this fine feline at the Lake Superior Zoo. The Tiger doesn't seem too impressed with Olivia's bright orange Tigger hat ...

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#WW - A Snow Fort and a Broken Tooth LINKY

2013-02-26T21:28:00.001-06:00

We have an adventurous few days around here - we went to the Winter Festival and played in the snow and explored a massive snow maze the size of a corn field ....

Owen and Olivia at the Winter Festival

The kids built a huge snow fort (or rather a snow hole) in our yard...

Owen, Aiden and Olivia in the snow "fort" in our yard

and Aiden had a run-in with the side of a sled wherein he broke his front adult tooth off and had to have the dentist rebuild him a new one.

Aiden - before and after the dentist built him a new tooth

All that in less than 4 days.

What a week.

Link up your Wordless (or Word-full) Wednesday posts here:

#WW - My Fun at the #MomBizRetreat in Chicago! LINKY

2013-02-19T19:50:00.000-06:00

I spent the weekend at the MomBizRetreat in Chicago this past weekend- what a great experience! I made some wonderful new friends and learned more than I can possibly put into words.

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts here:

#WordlessWednesday - Smiling in the Snow LINKY

2013-02-12T21:17:00.000-06:00

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#WW - Swimming to First Place! LINKY

2013-02-05T21:07:00.001-06:00

Aiden won his very first 1st Place ribbon for swimming and he was so excited when he found out.

We are very proud of him because it was very stressful for him to participate in the swim meet but he did it anyway!

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#WW - Heading to #BlissDom '13! LINKY

2013-01-29T20:18:00.000-06:00

Guess where I just booked my flight to...

I loved working with the BlissDom team last year in Nashville and I am so excited to be heading to Dallas, Texas for BlissDom '13! Will you be joining us there?

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts here:

I REALLY love my new Kobo Glo!

2013-01-26T12:39:00.001-06:00

I love reading.

It is one of the very few things I do FOR ME.

There really is nothing better to me than escaping into a good book.

I've always been that way- for as long as I can remember I have loved the feeling of disappearing into the pages of another world. It is such a wonderful way to escape.

I admit that part of what I loved was the feeling of the actual books. I loved the feeling of a new book... there was just something about BOOKS to me... I don't know. I'm a total nerd. I love books.

I'm like Hermione from Harry Potter. Books are like friends. You can tell I feel that way by the sheer number of them in my home... they are just... everywhere.

So I was somewhat reluctant to try e-readers when they came along. Don't get me wrong- I love my computer. I love my iPad. I love my gadgets. But they aren't books. I tried an app for my computer for online reading and pretty much hated it. I tried an app for my iPad for reading on that and found it ... meh. It made my eyes go all wonky after awhile. And it just wasn't as good as a real book no matter what anyone said.

I was not convinced.

But when I was given the chance to review the Kobo Glo I figured I would give it a try. After all it DID look very pretty and very gadgety. And I do love my gadgets.

And I have to tell you... I am totally in love with my Kobo Glo!

FAST FACTS ABOUT THE KOBO GLO:

Lightweight and functional the Kobo Glo allows families to access their favourite books no matter where they are:

-          The Kobo Glo provides a comfortable front-lit eReading display that lets people read any time—day or night.

-          With Kobo Glo’s E Ink anti-glare screen, it’s just like reading print on paper—even in direct sunlight; it’s also the only high resolution display available on the market.

-          The Kobo Glo is highly customizable with 24 font styles and 7 font sizes.

-          The Kobo Glo comes in four stylish colour options – Black Night, Pink Sunset, Blue Moon and Silver Star.

-          Readers have direct access to the Kobo eBookstore from the Kobo Glo with a Wi-Fi connection—with a storage capacity for over 1,000 eBooks, with expandable storage with and SD card for up to 30,000.

- It has been awarded the PTPA seal of approval. The Parent Tested Parent Approved™ (PTPA) community gave the new Kobo ARC a near perfect score, awarding the device 196 out of a possible 200 points and praising it for its colour display, speed, and ease-of-use for even the youngest of family members.

Beyond all of that there are a few REALLY great advantages for a book-a-holic such as myself... the big one being you can carry TONS of books all at once and it takes up NO space. It is lightweight (really really lightweight) and fits in my purse or laptop case. I can fit an entire bookshelf of books in my Kobo Glo. Now when I travel I don't have to choose which book to take with me!

It also solves my book hoarding problem. Book hoarding is no longer an issue since the books take up no space in my home. Problem solved.

Reading on the Kobo Glo is easy. I do sometimes miss the feeling of actually turning pages and holding a real book... but the advantages outweigh that for me. Plus it is pretty. Mine is pink. I love pink.

The only thing I really don't like about the Kobo Glo has nothing to do with the device itself... it is the Kobo store. Actually - the store is ok. There are a lot of books you can buy and they are reasonably priced for the most part.

But their selection of free books... um... not great. They claim to have over one million to choose from but FINDING a book you want? Is incredibly difficult. They have made it nearly impossible to just browse through the free books. I hate that. You have to actually search for a book you want.

I don't WANT to search for a book I want because I don't KNOW what book I want yet! Hello- book hoarder here. I want to just look at all the pretty books and find one that suits my fancy and say "hello pretty book, come home with me".

I have tried searching for various key words but have found it really ineffective. I have tried searching for genres and found that even worse. Honestly it has been nothing but frustrating for me.

Worse? If you want to find a free book on the go from your actual Kobo Glo there is only a specific selection available. You can't even access all of them. You have to be on your computer to do that.

I am willing to admit that I might just be a complete moron who is totally not getting what I am supposed to be doing... but that in and of itself is a problem in my opinion since I am usually fairly able to find my way around a website.

SO ya. Hate that. And since Kobo books are only sold on Kobo I can't even get my free books from elsewhere. Sigh. (if anyone out there has any tricks feel free to let me know!!)

That being said I am still loving my Kobo Glo. I am definitely an e-reader convert!

Until Feb. 14, the Kobo Mini eReader will be available for only $59.99 , and as an added Valentine’s Day bonus, consumers can customize the Kobo Mini with a complimentary, colourful Kobo SnapBack.

#WW Olivia's New Haircut LINKY

2013-01-22T18:53:00.000-06:00

curly!

and straight!

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Welcome to our Snowbank - or - What to Do For Fun When it is -20 Degrees Outside

2013-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! My name is Owen. I'd like to show you what we do for fun around here when it is -20 degrees Celsius. That is -4 degrees Fahrenheit for those of you who don't speak Canadian.

You may think that -20 is really cold. And you are right. It is. It is stupid cold. But not as cold as -40. And it gets that cold here. So -20 is better. But -5 is a lot better than that. When it is -5 your snot doesn't freeze before you can blow it. When it is -20 everything freezes. When it is -40 you should just stay inside.

This is the weather today. It is -27 but the wind makes it feel like -39. That is what "wind chill" means. That means it is a day you should just stay inside.

But it wasn't that cold when mom took these pictures. It was only -20 on the weekend.

This is our snowbank. It is right outside of our house right now. It is where our neighbour put all the snow from our driveaway after he plowed it because he is nice.

Snowbanks are the BEST and this one is almost as tall as me. It took forever to get lots of snow this winter and winter is just dumb without lots of snow because then you are just cold for no reason. That is just stupid and then it should be summer instead. But this snowbank is awesome. It isn't big enough to sled on yet. But it might be if we get more snow and the neighbour plows more. That would be so awesome.

If you are dressed right you can stay warm outside here for a long time. Even in -20. But your cheeks will freeze if you aren't careful. Because -20 is still really cold. When your cheeks freeze it's called frostbite and they go all white and then really red when they thaw out and it feels all hot and sort of prickly. People here get frostbite all the time because you can't just NEVER go outside.

Besides. It is FUN to play in the snow. Staying inside for the whole winter would be just boring. We have winter for months and months here. At least from Halloween until Easter. Longer sometimes. But that is about 7 or 8 months of winter. It is not THIS cold at the beginning and ends of winter though. But it can still snow then. Snow is fun. It is the best part of winter.

Being down behind the snowbank and inside piles of snow is actually warmer than standing on top of the snowbank in the wind. The WIND is really what makes you cold. Not the snow. Unless it gets down your shirt or in your boots. THEN the snow makes you cold. But mostly it is the wind.

If you don't get to play in the snow you are missing out because snow is awesome.

This is my brother Aiden. He doesn't like winter as much as me so he always makes sure his WHOLE FACE is covered except for his eyes. I hate having my mouth covered up so I don't wear neck warmers.

Aiden does like the snowbank as much as I do though. Because it is cool. Everyone likes the snowbank. It's awesome.

See- you can't see anything except Aiden's eyes. And that is why we can be outside in -20. Aiden's cheeks never freeze like mine because they are never showing. He likes to throw himself face down in the snow too though so he has to cover his face.

Before you jump off the snowbank you have to make sure you jump into a soft part and not a part where there are big chunks of ice. Or a part where Olivia is sitting. Don't jump on your sister. You will get in trouble.

This is Olivia. No matter how many times you tell her to put on warmer socks she never will and so she always says her toes get cold. I think everyone gets cold toes though. It is winter. Olivia likes pink. Which is good because we always can see her no matter where she is. She sticks out.

She likes the snowbank too except she is scared she will fall off of it. She forgets that there is a whole bunch of snow at the bottom so it won't even hurt if you fall. You will just roll into a big pile of soft snow. It won't even matter. But she still thinks the snowbank is too high up. Girls are weird.

The snowbank is huge. Mom could even walk on it and not fall off. Seriously. It is THAT BIG. But mom barely ever plays in the snow because she doesn't have snow pants. She should though. You can't play in the snow without snow pants or you will just get wet and cold and that is no fun.

Aiden told Olivia to stop worrying. The snow bank is taller than her though so mom said to stop bugging her about being scared.

And that is how to have fun when it is -20 degrees outside! Just play in the snow! And when you get cold just go inside and have hot chocolate because it is yummy.

Don't you wish you lived here now?

* This post was not typed by Owen because he has far more important things to do... like play on the snowbank. This is my best effort at relaying his words which were rapidly spoken to me because the child simply has no time to tell his mother something TWICE! I mean really. Priorities people. There is a snowbank waiting!*

Blogging On My New #WindowsPhone #holidayswap

2013-01-16T11:06:00.001-06:00

I have had my new Windows Phone for one month now and I have only just begun to blog on it. For the longest time it didn't even occur to me that I could blog on a phone because my last phone was rather challenged in the whole area of being useful.

True story.

So once I realized that I could blog on my phone a whole new world opened up to me. I have loved being able to quickly share things to twitter and Facebook, but sometimes only a blog post will do when you are a blogger!

I was able to find a really easy to use app called HBlog to blog from that even allows me to add photos and videos. I am writing this entire post from that app.

We have had a ton of snow here over the last few days and I took these pictures of the kids playing on the massive piles of snow left over after our very kind neighbour plowed our driveway for us.

I was thinking about all the Microsoft products we have in our home now and was actually a little surprised because we don't actually use any PC computers. I use Microsoft Office for Mac everyday though. I tried to get away with not using it for years but once I started running my own business I found it basically impossible to do without. It really has made my life a lot easier.

And of course we also have our new X-box which has been a huge hit in our family. I think the Kinect feature is just genius.

I am so glad I was given the chance to participate in the #holidayswap - I have learned so much. Thanks Microsoft Canada!

#WW - Face Plant in the Snow LINKY

2013-01-08T21:25:00.000-06:00

Aiden face first in the snow ON PURPOSE!

Olivia in our backyard

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