Fisher-Price Moms: Keeping busy in the winter!

My children love summer and spending time outside. Usually, we're either at the park, or in the pool during the hot days of summer. I find it a bit more challenging to find fun and creative things for my boys to do when we're in the middle of winter. Luckily, my boys don't dislike winter as much as I do, and they love playing outside. (I'm usually waving at them from the window, staying warm inside!)

We just got back from our annual vacation to south Florida, where we spend a week a gorgeous resort, where there was so much to do for the children. However, our vacation is only one week long, so I have to think of other ways to keep my boys busy in the winter! Here are some of the things we do to stay busy:

Crafts - I have a few boxes of crafts that I take out on weekends and set up the kitchen into a craft zone. I let them get messy, and have fun! I love displaying their art work in the play room in the basement, too.

Making a band - My boys (especially my four year old!) love music. We have a drum set in our house now, and we'll create our own band, and sing and dance the time away.

Movie nights - Some nights, my boys love to cuddle on the couch and eat popcorn while watching a movie. I'm a big fan of this, since it means I get extra cuddle time with my boys enjoying a yummy snack!

Building snowmen - My boys love going outside to build snowmen, and to just play freely in the backyard. When you're six and four years old, what's not to love about the snow, right?

Playing school - This is a fun game for the boys, as they take turns being the 'teacher' while learning! It's fun to see them interacting with one another this way, while at the same time learning something new, too.

Visiting museums - We are members at all the museums in Ottawa, and we love visiting different museums on the weekends. It's a great way to do something fun and educational while staying warm indoors!

For even more ideas on how to keep busy with your little ones, check out this awesome link on the Fisher-Price website that'll help you keep your kids busy - and warm - this winter!


Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Mom and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Healthy eating: Healthy YOU!

I recently went for an ECG. I was having chest pains, and although I thought it was likely because I am over-stressed with never enough time to get all the things done that I need to get done, I did not want to not get checked out, because when it comes to anything heart related, it's important to take action.

I quit smoking over a year ago, I stay physically active and I eat well... most of the time. One of the reasons I love the recipes on the Life Made Delicious website is because they're easy to make (for me this is very important!) and some of the recipes are very healthy, for the entire family to enjoy.

Like the Greek Beef and Orzo recipe - I am going to try this soon and I hope my kids will love it! (How could they not, really? We are Greek, after all!)


I am also looking forward to cooking the Healthified Chicken and Broccoli-Parmesan Pasta Recipe - pasta and parmesan are my two favourite words! I know my kids will definitely love this meal, too.



Another thing to keep in mind: maintaining a low cholesterol diet is very important.


Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

HEXBUG Nano: A review!

This Christmas, my three year old was extremely excited to open a few big boxes under the tree—he had no idea what was waiting for him, and when the paper was finally ripped off, he was screaming with delight. Yup, before him was an entire world of HEXBUG Nano's!


I first fell in love with HEXBUG's at BlogHer in 2010, in New York City. I was lucky enough to bring some home to show my children, and they thought they were the neatest little creatures!

This holiday season, I was so excited to be given the opportunity to review the entire HEXBUG Nano line. I received:
　
1 HEXBUG Nano 5-Pack
5 Glows in the Dark HEXBUG Nano bugs
1 Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set
1 HEXBUG Nano Spiral Starter Set·
1 HEXBUG Nano Bridge Battle Habitat Set
1 HEXBUG Nano Elevation Habitat Set·
1 Carton of “Bug Food” (batteries)
1 Mini Screwdriver
　
The hard part was hiding these boxes somewhere in my house where my children wouldn't find them! I also had such a hard time not showing them the boxes right away, because I knew they'd be beyond thrilled.
　
HEXBUG Nano's are the cute little bugs that don't scare me as much as the real ones do—and they're so realistic! They act like real bugs, flip over by themselves, and look real, too.

We put together the HEXBUG Nano Spiral Starter Set first, and it was so cool to see the bugs buzz around on two levels—they had so much to explore, and my boys had so much fun watching and playing! The customized track is expandable and interchangeable with all other Habitat Set products, so we were able to create our own 'world', too.

The HEXBUG Nano Elevation Habitat Set is amazing—it features a multi-level sprial and bridges that can basically hold the entire HEXBUG Nano collection! It was a blast to put together, and my boys got lost in play as they built their 'own' levels and 'roads' for their little HEXBUG's. We have an entire community of HEXBUG's to play with, and they just couldn't get enough on Christmas Day! The HEXBUG Bridge Battle Habitat Set allows kids (and adults, too, as I quickly got lost in the fun of building, too!) to create the ultimate battleground for the HEXBUG Nano. This made my boys really, really happy.

Of course, the Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Galileo Collection and the Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Starter Set and Habitat Set are so neat, too! The Glow in the Dark HEXBUG Nano Starter Set is perfect for any first time HEXBUG Nano owner and it's also a perfect gift to give to a child celebrating his or her birthday. It's pretty much guaranteed that any child who receives this gift will be excited!

My boys and I were thrilled to review (and play, non-stop!) with the entire HEXBUG Nano world.

For more information, visit HEXBUG!