A concert kids can go to!

This Concert at the Rooms is actually scheduled at an hour when kids could go:
Sunday, May 13, 3 pm
Erin Best, Sandy Morris, and Jenny Gear in Concert
Celebrate spring by joining us for a very special concert.
Tickets $10 (10% discount for members)

Anonymous

I have made some changes to the settings for posting comments to the blog. Lately, I have been getting a lot of spam comments, which thankfully I am able to screen before they are posted, but I also have gotten a few comments that without having a name attached to them I am not comfortable posting. Initially, I wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to comment and not require any sort of sign in, but sometimes anonymity can result in less than constructive comments. After 3 years of blogging I have been lucky, the majority of my readers are sensible, kind, and straightforward in their comments about various posts and issues and I hope things continue this way.

As always, I really love hearing from everyone and encourage you to make comments as often as you wish.

Up-cycling Part II: Sock Monkeys and Other Crazy Creatures

This Sunday, April 29th at the Rooms from 2-4PMMake the most out of old socks and other reusable materials. With a few simple materials animated creatures will come to life and provide hours of entertainment and fun for the whole family.

My Tots Registration

I received this email from My Tots that I thought I would share:

Our Summer registration is now available online. We have weeknight and weekend options for our Paradise , Mount Pearl and St. John\'s locations. We also have a Wednesday daytime option for our St. John\'s location. In Paradise, our classes will be at the Topsail Road Soccer Field. In Mount Pearl, our classes will be at the Kenmount Park Community Center\'s field. In St. John\'s, our classes will be at the Vinnicombe Field.

Registration is $140 for ten weeks. Classes begin in Paradise and Mount Pearl June 30th. Classes begin in St. John\'s July 1st. You can register online at http://mytots.ca/nl .

We have added new Teddies 2 Spring classes at Leary\'s Brook Junior High for Sundays at 4:00 p.m starting this Sunday. You can register online at http://mytots.ca !

Suncor Fluvarium Summer Camp

Summer Nature Camps

Explore the ecosystems around us with The Suncor Energy Fluvarium’s Summer Nature Camp! We’ll learn to look closer at the forests, streams and wetlands in our own community and see some of the amazing things Nature has to offer.

Nature Camp is the perfect choice for the budding naturalist or animal lover. With small group sizes (10 Campers per session) fun, friendship, and outdoor adventures await! Each day of our 5-day camp will focus on a different environmental theme. There are 4 camp weeks during the summer and the same program is covered at each session.

Camp is $165 per child. The camp day is 9am – 4:30 pm, however drop off and pick up can occur no earlier than 8:30am and no later than 5pm.

Contact Camp Director Denise Hennebury for full details dhennebury@fluvarium.ca 709-754-3474

Unique Summer Camp idea

Check this out as a different kind of camp approach... Alive Adventures You can read more on the web site. There is even yoga. Why don't they make camps like this for grown ups! I would sign up in a heart beat.
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Kindergarten, already?

I can't believe how quickly time has flown by, but here it is the notice that it is time to register my son for kindergarten . Are you in the same boat? Do you know which school you are zoned for? Are you happy with it? Are you looking at French Immersion? Have you even thought about all this? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!


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Three Day Weekend

For a long time I have joked that we should have four day weeks and three day weekends. Now that I am a mom I truly believe this. The three-day weekend offers much more balance for my working mom life. One extra day on the weekend enables me to get all the house work, laundry, errands and groceries done and frees up the real weekend for spending time with my family.

This past weekend firmly entrenched this idea for me. I had Friday off and my child went to his Nana's house, so I had a guilt-free day to catch up on a winter's worth of back-logged decluttering and cleaning. Saturday and Sunday I was completely free of housework and chores other than a trip to the City Dump, which it turns out, can be a fun family outing for a little boy! We hiked, saw ice bergs, barbecued, visited with friends and family, watched hockey and even played driveway hockey. It was a wonderful weekend, thanks in no small measure to a wicked forecast and a Friday pre-weekend day off.

So, who wants to start a petition and lobby for a much more civilized and balanced approach to the work week?

I hope you all got to enjoy a nice family weekend too. I'd love to hear what you did with your weekend, whether it was two or three days long.

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Up-cycling Part 1: Rug Hooking

Ever wonder what to do with old T-shirts and pyjamas? Why not turn them into a rug? Come and see how they did it in the olden days and try your hand at rug hooking.
April 22
Up-cycling Part I: Rug hooking

I want you...

I can't believe none of you have submitted something to me for this celebration of motherhood. Do I have to offer a prize or what?

Volunteer Week

This week is Volunteer Week in Canada and it is a good opportunity to encourage and remind your kids (and maybe yourself to) about the rewards of doing volunteer work in your community. Here's a link to inspire you.

I volunteer on a board for a local foundation and as much as some evenings going to a board meeting is the last thing I want to do, I always come back energized from meeting with a group of dynamic and passionate people. I think it is an especially great way to stay connected with the 'outside world' when you find the bulk of your time is spent at home with your kids and spouse. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest as they say. My volunteer work has also given me all kinds of great skills that are applicable at my work and even at home. Locally, the Community Sector Council is a good place to start when looking for a volunteer opportunity. Most organizations need a range of volunteers and can accommodate people with even just an hour to spare a week or people who want to volunteer, but need to do it from home. For example, some organizations are looking for people to make phone calls or bake cookies for bake sales.

I highly recommend getting involved, you and the community reap the rewards.

Spotting the Chemicals

Another guest post this week. This one is a really helpful one for sorting out the complicated world of chemicals and buying better products for your kids by Stephanie, the Ecoblogical Mommy blogger :

In my last post “Is your shampoo putting you at risk for Cancer?”I recommended safer store bought products and natural homemade hair and body wash alternatives. This week I want to teach you how to fish rather than cooking your supper. We have to make informed decisions about what goes into our bodies. We need to educate ourselves on the types of ingredients that should and should not be in the products our family uses every day. Babies and children are at greater risk to the dangers of chemicals that hide in skin care products. Babies under the age of 2 are at the greatest risk being ten times more vulnerable to carcinogenic chemicals than adults, and for some cancer-causing agents are up to 65 times more vulnerable. Children from age two to fifteen are three times more vulnerable to carcinogens than adults. Just because adults are less susceptible to the effects of chemicals, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be careful, especially if we are breastfeeding.

Here are the dirty dozen chemical lists from davidsuzuki.org. The list was a little vague so I added some related chemical names to look for. If you find a product without any of these chemicals, use away!

1. BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)

2. Coal tar dyes: p-phenylenediamine and colours listed as "CI" followed by a five digit number (in the 75000 and 77000 series, respectively).

3. DEA(diethanolamine) and DEA related ingredients like cocamide and lauramide -MEA (monoethanolamide)
-TEA (triethanolamine)

4. Dibutyl phthalate

5. Formaldehyde releasing preservatives- DMDM hydantoin, diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, methenamine, quaternium-15, and sodium hydroxymethylglycinate as well as Tosylamide/formaldehyde resin which is used in nail polishes

6. Parabens-methylparaben, butylparaben and propylparaben, Parahydroxybenzoic acid, Parahydroxybenzoate, Ethylparaben, Benzyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid, Methyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid

7. Parfum (a.k.a. fragrance)

8. PEG compounds (polyethylene glycols) and other ethoxylates may be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane. These ingredients usually have chemical names including the letters “eth” (e.g., polyethylene glycol). Propylene glycol and Butylene Glycol are also related chemicals that, like PEGs, functions as a penetration enhancer and can allow harmful ingredients to be absorbed more readily through the skin.

9. Petrolatum Mineral oil and petroleum distillates

10. Siloxanes: cyclotetrasiloxane, cyclopentasiloxane,
cyclohexasiloxane and cyclomethicone Look for ingredients ending in "-siloxane" or "-methicone."

11. Sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) or Sodium lauryl sulfate

12. Triclosan


NOTE: Here is a list of chemicals that were not included on the David Suzuki Dirty Dozen list. I have written a letter to the organization and will hear back within a week or so.

Phenoxyethanol is listed on skin deep as a fragrance chemical and preservative. It has a rating of 3-4.

Tocopheryl Acetate is listed on skin deep as being possibly contaminated with a fragrance ingredient and given a rating of 4. However, in my research I found that this is rarely the case and the benefits outweigh the negatives as it is a powerful antioxidant that combats free radical and oxidation damage to your skin.
Potassium Sorbate is listed on skin deep as a fragrance Ingredient and preservative. It has a rating of 3.
Cocamidopropyl betaine is a synthetic surfactant; rated at 5, it has been associated with irritation and allergic contact dermatitis, reactions that could be due to the ingredient itself or to impurities present in it.
Please support the efforts to better our products:

The David Suzuki Foundation states that “A loophole in Canada's Cosmetic Regulations allows manufacturers to list any ingredients they add "to produce or to mask a particular odour" as the generic term parfum. As many as 3,000 chemicals are used in fragrance mixtures, including phthalates, some of which are suspected endocrine disruptors. A single product can include a mixture of dozens or even hundreds of fragrance chemicals. Many of these unlisted ingredients are irritants and can trigger allergies, migraines, and asthma symptoms”. Please go to http://action.davidsuzuki.org/fragrance-petition to ask manufacturers to disclose their ingredients today.



Who am I? I am a first time stay at home mom to a beautiful 2 year old girl. I am a single mom for 50% of the year as my husband to be works away for long periods of time. I love the outdoors, hiking, swimming, camping and pretty much anything there is to do. I live in Newfoundland, Canada so the outdoor adventures can be a challenge. I enjoy music, playing guitar, arts and crafts, sewing and cross stitch. I am an environmentally aware individual working hard to make a lighter carbon footprint by not contributing unnecessary damage to the Earth. It is my goal to inform others that it is never too late to make changes and help begin to restore our planets health - and leave our children and their children a healthier planet to live on.




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Earth Day at the Fluvarium

April 22: Join us at 11am for an Earth Day March around Long Pond. Then from 12noon - 4:30 there will be special booths, activities and presentations for all ages to enjoy and learn about how YOU can be an Enviro-Family! This is a Free Event to celebrate Earth Day!


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Market your Message at the Rooms

This seems a little complex for little kids, but could be a good lesson in media literacy and 'buy-ology' for older kids:

Turn corporate advertising into your own creative declaration by mixing the messages that are marketed to us everyday. Then have a look at Nicola Hawkins’ large scale collage works in the exhibition Junkosphere.
This Sunday, April 15th from 2-4 PM at the Rooms

Cozi Evangelist

If you read about my Cozi.com and app addiction before and didn't sign up, keep reading. If you have it and love it, stop reading, but leave a comment below and tell people why you love it so they won't think I own a piece of the company.

Besides being a fantastic way to sync calendars and shopping lists between you and other members of your family, it also has recipes and a wicked menu planner / shopping list creator that is really easy to use and may make an appearance on my other blog Suppermoms soon.

This app saves me and my husband a ton of time and prevents nagging and arguments. We keep our shopping lists on it and because it syncs our iphones we always have the same up to date lists. I can add to the list while he is at the grocery store and he can check off items as he gets them.

It also has some helpful organizing templates and check lists for everything from party planning to cleaning closets.

Oh and it is free and I really don't have any shares in the company.


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How to Throw a Healthy Birthday Party for Kids

As I have said before, the key word that brings the most people to my blog is 'birthday.' People are always looking for ideas, products, events, cake makers etc... to help plan their children's' birthday parties. Last week I put out a call for birthday ideas and businesses on the blog and on Facebook. Not too long after that I received a timely email from a woman named Lisa. Lisa is a mom and she writes posts about birthday planning and ideas and she also is part of a business called The Party Works. She has written a guest post about birthday party planning and provided a link to The Party Works which offers a lot of fun themed party supplies and don't worry, I already asked: They ship to Canada :)

How to Throw a Healthy Birthday Party for Kids
Candy, cake, and indoor activities are all common facets of kids’ birthday parties. If you’re a health-conscious parent, however, you may want to throw a healthier party for your birthday boy or girl. Fortunately, it is possible to do so without sacrificing any of the fun. Here are a few tips to help you out as you plan and implement a fun, wholesome, and healthy birthday party for your child:

1. Try to keep the party outside as much as possible.
It can be tempting to hook up the Wii and let the kids take turns playing video games inside or to take the kids to the movies. But a party that’s full of fun, outdoor activities will be better for the kids. They spend all day, five days a week inside, having to sit still. It’s good for them to be able to let some of their energy out at the birthday party. So, plan some activities like capture the flag, a potatoes sack race, and ring toss. The point is to get the kids outside, moving, and happy. If it’s too cold or hot outside, you may want to consider throwing the party at a laser tag venue or someplace similar, where the kids can still run around.

2. Keep sweets to a minimum.
It wouldn’t be a birthday party without birthday cake, but the cake should probably be the only sweet treat at the party. Healthy snacks like carrots, apples, and whole-wheat crackers and cheese cubes will keep the kids’ hunger at bay without giving them a sugar rush and subsequent crash. It’s also a good idea to bake the birthday cake from scratch, so you can have control over the ingredients and keep the trans fat out and the amount of sugar to a minimum. If you want to make the cake extra healthy, you could consider baking a healthy carrot cake or angel food cake. Ask the birthday girl or boy what kind of cake he or she wants at the party, and use that to help you decide what to bake.

3. Let the kids get creative with party favors.
There’s no need to fill up party bags with candy and plastic toys the kids probably won’t play with for more than a day. The party guests can make their own party favors instead. They can draw, paint, and make things out of clay, and then they can take their creations home. After the kids have tired themselves out playing outside, they can come inside, relax, and make their own favors as the party winds down.
Keeping your child’s birthday party healthy just requires some planning and preparation. So, let the kids run around outside, keep sugar to a minimum, and let the kids get creative!

Author’s Bio: Lisa is a mom and guest post writer on the subjects of party preparation, family bonding, and Super Mario party supplies.

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Book Sale

This is a great place to get inexpensive childrens books (and adult books too!) : The Canadian Federation of University Women's annual book sale for scholarships at the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s is April 19.

Celebrating Motherhood

Back in 2010 when my blog was still pretty new, I did a celebration of mothers for the month of May. I invited local moms to answer a series of questions and I shared them on the blog all month long. I loved reading everyone's submissions, seeing how every woman experiences motherhood in different ways and enjoyed how almost every one showed a real sense of humour about motherhood (There's a lesson in there somewhere I think). You can read the results yourself by clicking on the category Local Moms in the side bar.

This year I would like to do it again. So I send out this invitation to anyone and everyone: If you want to be part of the 2012 "Celebration of Motherhood," answer the questions below and send them to me in an email (stjohnskid at hotmail dot com). I am going to try and come up with a prize to go with this celebration, I just haven't figured it out yet. I will keep you posted on that front. Everyone who submits their answers will be entered for the prize.

If you are ok with me posting a picture of you or a picture of something that represents you (if you want to be a little more anonymous) send that along too. I only use first names on my blog.
1. Name:
2. Occupation
3. Your Age: (if you want to share? :)
4. Number of children and ages. If you want to give their names you can. That’s up to you.
5. When you were a teenager and you thought about your future life, what did you think and how does the reality match up?
6. What is the hardest thing about being a mom?
7. What is the best thing about being a mom?
8. When you think about your parenting style, what words would you use to describe it?
9. All new mothers get lots of parenting advice, sometimes more than they want! What was some advice that you appreciated and would pass on to others, or alternatively, what was the worst piece of advice you ever got ?
10. What is the one thing you wish someone had told you before you became a mother?
11. What kind of grown-ups do you hope your children will become?
12. How do you keep a sense of balance in your life?
13. What is your guilty pleasure?
14. This last question is an open one – if you feel there is something you’d like to add that doesn’t fit into the questions I have written – here’s a chance to add and answer your own question.


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Good Friday

We aren't religious, so we make our holiday celebrations special in other ways. I try to make them about family time, making memories, enjoying whatever the season has to offer. It might be making special food, doing seasonal outdoor activities, or reading special books or watching a special movie. Today we made our Good Friday good by spending it together. My husband took a rare weekday holiday so we took full advantage. We walked around our neighbourhood and then downtown for a coffee. We had an impromptu visit with friends at the location of their new family business. We went to the park by our house. Our son rode his bike. We came home and ate good food and had treats and watched a late afternoon movie. A great day. The movie was Hop, by the way, which I highly recommend. Russell Brand made for an excellent Easter Bunny.


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Easter Break at the Rooms

Easter Break Family Fun Favourites
Tuesday, April 10 – Friday, April 13, 2 - 4 pm

Tuesday, April 10
Time CapsulesImagine into the future – someone opens a time capsule – what treasures will they find? Time Capsules are special boxes to keep all your special memories. Join us as we recycle boxes into beautifully decorated time capsules – yours to keep.

Wednesday, April 11
Make your own Giant SquidMake your own giant squid with great big googley-eyes. It’s a great way to find out how the real animal is put together – from tentacles to tail fin.

Thursday, April 12
Wearable CreationsJoin jewellery maker Chrysta Collins as she explores the craft of wearable creations in this family fun program made for everyone.

Friday, April 13
Fish Printing AdventuresGyotaku is the Japanese folk art of making prints or rubbings from fish. Create your own Gyotaku while learning about some of the fish species that occupy our oceans and freshwater systems.

Summer Camps, Already?

Another Fluvarium email arrived in my inbox:

Summer Day Camp
for ages 7-10
Experience, Explore and Discover Nature!

Dear Fluvarium Kids!

Experience new things by getting out into Nature every day ...
Explore the woods and the river and the pond ...
Discover all things big and small ...

Join us for our Summer Day Camps and get up close and personal with nature! Enjoy a fun filled week exploring plants, bugs, birds fish and all the living things that live around us.

With the beautiful Pippy Park area as our playground and all so much to discover, this will be a summer camp to remember!

If you love to be outdoors and exploring nature, this camp is for you.

The is a special invitation to our Fluvarium Kids Club! General registration opens on April 16th. However our Fluvarium Kids get first dibs on your choice of slots. Your pre-registration starts today!

Call, email or drop by to put in your deposit and get your registration forms for this camp!

$165 per person with limited space available:
Week A: June 25 - 29
Week B: July 16 - 20
Week C: July 30 - Aug 3
Week C: Aug 13 - Aug 17


Register today with Denise:
754-3474 or dhennebury@fluvarium.ca




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Fluvarium Easter Week

EASTER WEEK
April 9 - 13: Shake off the winter blahs and join us for Springtime Family Fun: a week of activities a to celebrate the arrival of the warmer weather! Special interactive activities will happen throughout the day from 10am - 4:30pm, check the schedule when you arrive! Make a 'springy' craft, enjoy spring themed story books, learn all about the toads and frogs and discover how to compost your kitchen scraps beneath your kitchen sink. Regular admission rates apply.


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Fluvarium Easter Family Fun Day

April 7, 10:30 - 4:30: Come to the Fluvarium Egg-cellent Easter Family Fun Day! There is a special rate of $5.00 per person, Children 2 and under are Free. Bring your camera and have your picture taken with the Easter bunny (appearing on the hour). Plus fun activities throughout the day including Story Time (on the half-hour), Easter Crafts, Egg Hunt, Face-painting and a fun presentation called "Who's Egg is it?"
https://www.facebook.com/events/393505060667778/

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Fluvarium Kids Program - April

APRIL SHOWERS!
at The Suncor Energy Fluvarium!

Water, water, everywhere!
It is in the sky, on the land and under the ground. Every plant and animal on earth needs clean water. Discover how nature cleans her water and how we can help her out!

Saturdays & Sundays at 1:30pm
March 31 - April 29, 2012
(excluding April 7, 8 and 22)

Program runs approx. 45-60 minutes
Preregistration is recommended

Fluvarium Kids Club Weekend Programs
Have you heard? Kids ages 5-10 and their families are invited to join Fluvarium Kids! Receive updates, collect stickers, and earn a Fluvarium Kids Fresh Water Friends certificate when you attend sessions in four different months!

This Fluvarium Kids program is Family Fun and usually includes an outdoor component, game, story and craft!

Fluvarium Kids programs are complimentary with admission.
Ask about our Annual Family Pass for only $35!


Register today with Denise or Tracy:
754-3474 or dhennebury@fluvarium.ca



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