Remember--It's Everyone's Halloween!

If you've ever given out candy on Halloween night before, there are probably some things that drive you a little crazy: the kids who don't say Thank-You, the kids who don't bother wearing a costume, and the kids who are definitely way too old to be going Trick or Treating. Then you get kids that are the total opposite: they're incredibly polite, have excellent (and often home-made costumes), and are still really excited about "Halloween" and not just getting free candy.

Inside Looking Out- Halloween 2013

I'll admit it, I used to be one of those people. And sometimes I'm still one of those people, especially if I get a bunch of kids in a row who don't say Thank-You, until I catch myself and remind myself that it's "Everyone's Halloween." So what am I talking about? I'm talking about a little meme that was circulating a few years ago around Facebook and the blog-o-sphere that received some very mixed responses. Some people argued that this was taking "political correctness" too far and was just an excuse for rude children with no manners. Others applauded the reminder and agreed that it was important to be accepting to everyone, and that sometimes there are reasons we can't see that affect the behaviour of the children visiting our door.

This is the message that was circulating:

 

You can make up your own mind on whether or not you think it's a helpful reminder or a cop-out, but this Halloween I'll be reminding myself "It's Everyone's Halloween" if I find myself getting frustrated--because when it comes down to it, Halloween is about having fun, and who am I to judge the quality of someone else's fun?

This Halloween is an extra special one for us since it is the boy-o's first Halloween! He'll be dressed up as a Frog and I have no doubts that he'll be smothered in kisses to test for a Prince! We also decided that we should stick him in a pumpkin--and it was a great success!

 

Happy Halloween!!

Ghost Walking in Edinburgh

Today's blog post can be found here over at Funny Life Stories. Since it was a Halloween themed guest blog post it's a little different in content then the sorts of things I usually talk about here, but it's definitely worth a read if you like Ghost Walks! I recount my experience of doing a Ghost Walk in Edinburgh with hubby while we were there on our honeymoon.

So give it a read and share the love!

"Ghost Walking in Edinburgh"

The Witches and Cadies Tour

Peter Meets the Rocket Man

Today was a pretty exciting day--and although the boy-o isn't old enough to remember it years down the road, we captured the moment in a photo so I can tell him all about it when he gets older.

Chris Hadfield has a new book coming out called "An Astronaut's Guide to Life," and he's kicking off a promotional tour for it today. Although I don't personally know Chris at all, we're from the same small town and I take extra pride in knowing that someone from small-time life has become pretty much the coolest Canadian. EVER!

But today, today was a special day for us. He was giving a private talk at KOBO (the on-line book people) and we were able to tag along to the talk. It was an excellent, honest discussion about what it's like being in Space and what some of the life experiences were that led him to that path. After the talk was over there were some audience questions, and then people had the opportunity to go and meet him and get things signed etc.

Well my parent's old next door neighbour apparently grew up with Hadfield (told ya, small town!), and when the boy-o was born she gave him a "Space" shirt in honor of Hadfield who was on his mission at the time. And because Fate is awesome, that shirt just happened to be the right size for him to wear today--the day he got to meet Chris Hadfield!

We were able to go up on stage to say hello, and get our photo taken with him. That's Chris Hadfield holding my baby!! He had a whole little conversation with the boy-o about his adorable shirt and about how he was fascinated with Chris' moustache! It was really awesome to see how good he was with the boy-o, and it was really really awesome to meet such an awesome guy!

He's touring around to various Indigo book stores and such to promote his new book--and I highly recommend you check him out if you can! Because really, how many chances are you really going to get to meet a Rocket Man?

Spooktacular Treats Part II: Healthy Pumpkins, Ghosts, and More!

So everyone knows that Halloween is full of CANDY and things that are generally terrible for teeth. If you're a parent holding a Halloween party for your kids and you're looking for some healthy(er) snacks to serve here's some of my top suggestions! If you'd like to add some roasted pumpkin seeds into the mix you can check out my previous post Spooktacular Treats Part I.

One of my cousins threw her little boy a Halloween themed birthday party (Yeah October babies!), and so the inspiration for some of these treats comes from the goodies she made for them.

 

Spooky Ghosts and Tangerine Pumpkins!

Spooky Ghosts: to make these delicious ghosts take a bunch of bananas, peel them, and halve them. On the "pointy" end place two mini chocolate chips to make eyes, and one regular sized chocolate chip to make the mouth!

Tangerine Pumpkin: to make these cute little pumpkins, take a bunch of tangerines, and peel them. To make the "stem" take some celery sticks and cut them in half lengthwise and then cut small little bits off the end to stick in the top of the tangerine!

Not only are these snacks awesomely festive, they're also a great healthy alternative to bowls of candy! They are also free of most major allergens, so you're safe on that one too!

Monster Mouths:

Monster Mouths: to make these take an apple (any colour) and cut into slices. Spread Peanut Butter on one side of each of apple. Then take some mini marshmallows and place them in a line along one edge of an apple slice. Take a second apple slice and place it ontop, Peanut Butter side facing the marshmallows. Pair up all your apples slices with marshmallows in the middle and you're all set.

 

 

These make a fun snack anytime, but are especially ideal around Halloween! These contain Peanut Butter though, so be aware of any potential allergies if serving at a party. Soy butter could be used in place of the Peanut Butter too if necessary.

Mummy Pizzas:

Mummy Pizzas: to make these yummy and simple mummy pizzas start with some English Muffins. Spread on your pizza sauce and add some peperoni. Rather than adding grated cheese, cut your mozzarella into thing strips and lay them across the pizza overlapping a little bit but showing some pizza sauce through. Leave a strip empty near the top and place a piece of sliced olive (green or black) and try to keep the pimento if you can. Bake as you normally would! (350 degrees for 8-10 minutes outta do it!)

 

You can certainly get creative with these and add other toppings underneath the cheese as desired. Just make sure not to put too much or it will show through the cheese!

 

 

Goblin Grins:

 

Goblin Grins: to make these freakish treats all you need is some peas, a red bell pepper and a few slivered almonds! Simply make a small slit lengthwise in the pea pod, place a small chunk of red pepper sticking out, and add some slivered almonds to look like teeth!

 

 

Again this one uses nuts, so please be careful if using for a children's party that their are no nut allergies! These don't do well with a lot of moving around either, so make sure once you make them you're setting them down on the tray they'll be served on so you don't need to try and move them afterwards.

 

And now you're all set to create a tasty, and healthy, Halloween party that your kids are sure to love! Making food fun is always a great way to get kids interested in eating healthy. If you have older children you can even get them to help make some of these delicious treats--especially the monster mouths!! 



Spooktacular Treats Part I: Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

So now that you know how to carve your pumpkin using a stencil, and you've got some helpful websites to visit to find that perfect carving pattern it's time to do something delicious with those pumpkin seeds!

I don't like very many seeds, and I really can't explain why I like pumpkin seeds so much... but I do! And the best part is, you can season them however you want. You can make them salty, spicy, or use any of the powdered popcorn shaker powders like Dill Pickle or Salt and Vinegar.

 

So when you're scooping out your pumpkin, try to separate the seeds into a different bowl than the rest of the pumpkin goop, and that way you don't need to go digging for them later!

 

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds:

 

Ingredients:

- 2 cups of pumpkin seeds

- 1 TBSP of melted butter

- 1/4 TSP of salt

- Seasonings to taste

 

Directions:

- Pre-heat oven to 300F.

- Wash pumpkin seeds by rinsing well to remove any fibers

- Drain water and lay seeds on paper towel to pat dry

- In large bowl, toss seeds with melted butter and salt until fully coated

- Add in any other seasonings as desired

- Spread seeds in single layer on lined baking pan and bake for 45 minutes, stirring seeds every 15 minutes

- Seeds are ready when golden brown. Cool and serve!

 

 

Enjoy!



 

 

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood

Part of what I love about being a mom and being at home with the boy-o is that we've gotten to explore around our neighbourhood. Before I had the boy-o I didn't really consider where I lived "home," it was just somewhere I happened to be living. And although I'm not sure I'll ever really consider Toronto *my* home, this is where the boy-o is from and since he's arrived our neighbourhood really has become our neighbourhood. I never used to spend any time here and so I  had never visited all the little cafés and stores and shops. But now when we're out and about we see other moms and babies we know, we have our favourite cafes for coffee dates, our favourite places to go and play, and we spend a lot more time just being where we live.

These are my Top 5 Favourite Neighbourhood Haunts:

Coco-Latte: This is a great little family owned café on St. Clair. They have all kinds of vegan and gluten free options, delicious gelato, and of course the full run of fancy coffee beverages! (Can you tell I don't drink coffee?) They have a nice wooden patio out back as well if you're craving some fresh air to go along with your Americano. The staff there are part of the reason I love this place so much. I discovered this place through one of my mom groups that meets up there once a week, and they are incredibly accommodating to our gang of strollers. We love you!

World Class Bakery: This place seems to be a huge hit or miss with people, and so far I've only had great experiences there! I've only ever stopped in for the goodies, which let's face it, look AND taste amazing! Never have I been anywhere else before where I feel like the size of the piece of cheesecake/cake I just got is actually worth the $6 I'm being charged for it! Hubby and I have gone there for date evenings before and had to bring home some of our dessert because we just couldn't finish it. The place has a nice atmosphere, and lots of room to accommodate a stroller.

Dutch Dreams: This place is probably my favourite Ice Cream store. EVER. The amount of themed kitch on the walls and ceiling is unbelievable and the Dutch versions of pop-songs playing on the speakers will certainly get your toes tapping to a song you swear you know... but can't possibly actually know. They make their cones and ice cream by hand and their menu is quite extensive including shakes, waffles, splits and tons of delicious ice cream flavours! To top it all off they add whip-cream and fresh fruit to the top of their cones. No matter what the weather is like outside there always seems to be a line up at this neighbourhood treasure. So show up early and be prepared to sit on one of the milk cans outside because the limited seating inside is usually full!

Oakwood Library: This isn't the closest library to where we live, but it's our favourite! The staff are great, they don't make you leave your stroller outside, and the librarian that does the Friday morning story time for the babies is excellent! The staff in generally are all pretty relaxed and there's always a bunch of kids running around in there. It's a great spot to go and hang out, and this summer the boy-o and I spent a lot of time there enjoying their air conditioning! They have a large children's section too with a bunch of adult sized comfy chair to sit in. (Which are also great for nursing in!)

Ceadervale Park: Hubby and I discovered this park a little while ago and have gone running and cycling there, as well as played tennis! It's a beautiful long park that is about 2 km from one end to the other. Most of it is a gravelly walking path, but there's also a fenced in dog park, some open fields, tennis courts, and an arena. There are lots of lovely big trees to provide some shade for taking the boy-o there to enjoy the fresh air, and the park is always full of people so there's lots of opportunity to do some people watching. It's also really refreshing to have such a large green space near us in the "Concrete Jungle"!

Today is Brought to You by the Letter P

As I've mentioned before in some of my other posts, I really enjoy making the boy-o his purees at home rather than buying pre-jarred stuff, and today was a baby food making day!

Although it happened purely coincidentally, all the foods I made up for the boy-o today start with the letter P! We have some Peas, Peaches and Plums! MMMmmmmm.....

 

 

We've also started adding some more spices to his foods. So now he's tried apples with cinnamon, carrots with ginger, and broccoli with garlic. He's loved them all and I can't wait to introduce him to some other spices and tastes too. Of course I only add a little tiny bit since everything is totally new to his taste buds, but it's a great way to start training him to enjoy foods without adding salt and sugar to things. We're always on the look-out for baby friendly ideas for new food combos and I really hope the boy-o will keep his open mind on eating new foods as he gets older!

 

 

What are some of your little's favourite food and spice combinations?

 

 

Life in the Whirlwind: 6 Month Catch-Up

I was doing so well at keeping up with my blog writing, and making sure that I set aside a little time for myself each day to write--and then as so often happens, LIFE happened. I've certainly missed my little escape time but the reality is that I'm a mom who blogs, not a blogger who happens to be a mom, and my time has been needed elsewhere the last few weeks.

The boy-o has been battling one hell of an epic cold the last week or so, which has so far included a temp of 38.6, an emergency room trip, a visit to a walk-in clinic and very, very little sleep. For him or me. He's been fussy and clingy, he's stuffed up and wheezy, and sounds like he's been smoking 60 a day for 40 years. We've been making frequent use of the Nose Frida and have his humidifier running full tilt. We've been alternating with Baby Tylenol and Baby Advil, and spending many sleepless hours rocking, bouncing, and singing.

To make things even less pleasant for the poor boy, he cut his THIRD tooth on the weekend. That's right, for his six month birthday on Sunday he had three teeth! Teething happens early in my family apparently, and the boy-o seems intent of having a full set of them by the time he turns one!

Despite feeling generally miserable, I managed to catch him a good mood for a little bit yesterday to get a "6 Month" photo, and that adorable little face is what keeps me going when I wish I could just lay in the middle of the floor and pass out.

We were planning to start introducing a second meal of solids starting this weekend, but because our schedule is so messed up right now we've decided to hold off on that until the boy-o is feeling better and is back into a better routine.

Looking back it's soooo hard to believe that 6 months have passed since we brought our beautiful baby home from the hospital. Our lives have changed so much and we've all grown immensely. It also surprises me when I think about all the amazing things that the boy-o has accomplished already in these six months.

Some of the bigger milestones include:

- Sleeping through the night (when not sick!)
- Rolling back to front
- Rolling front to back
- He has 3 teeth
- Sitting unsupported
- Standing holding onto the couch
- Eating solids
- Feeding himself finger foods
- Learning how to give kisses
- Drinking from a cup
- Kicking his feet while swimming

And so many other things! It's amazing to watch them learn new things all the time, the wheels are always going! I can't wait to see what the next 6 months will bring and I look forward to watching many more "firsts" as he grows.

Now... if we could just get rid of this stupid cold so my little snot monkey can get back to the serious of business of childhood: playing!

What are your tried and true methods for helping relieve cold symptoms for your little?