Jill Amery, Author at Urban Mommies

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Jill Amery

Jill Amery is a mom of 2 small boys and the Publisher of UrbanMommies, a stylish digital lifestyle magazine filled with fitness, style, health, recipes and savvy mom advice to help you through pregnancy, birth, and raising your kids.

Self-Isolation Boredom Busters, Round Three

FAM, self By Jill Amery April 6, 2020 No Comments

What day is it? How long have we been inside? As the days and weeks roll along with many families self-isolating, I give you boredom busters: round three. Thankfully, more and more institutions and artists are putting out insanely good content and educational opportunities. There’s never been a better time to grow! Who knows what might spark a new idea, a new tradition for the family, or a passion for something the kids didn’t know about before. My heartfelt thanks goes out to the educators and friends who keep sharing ideas for me to pass along!

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The Zoom Background Ideas you NEED Right Now

GEAR, tech By Jill Amery April 6, 2020 No Comments

I had a therapy appointment yesterday and started to have fun with Zoom backgrounds. Cue: the Friends sofa!! As we all sit down for virtual drinks and dinner parties, some of my tech-savvy friends are going over the top on backgrounds. My humour is beginning to morph but it’s keeping me busy and amused during hard times. Here are the Zoom background ideas you need right now. Just make sure you know how to change them so you’re not like the executive who changed herself into a potato and couldn’t figure out how to switch back to herself while on a work call.

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How to Make Your Kids Bedroom Healthier

LIVE, wash By Jill Amery April 5, 2020 Tags: healthy cleaning, kids bedrooms, non-toxic bedroom, non-toxic cleaners, playtime No Comments

Children of all ages treasure their bedrooms – it’s their refuge, their castle, their playroom, their private spot, whatever they want it to be. And they spend as much time there as they can. But is this space actually healthy for them? Kids’ rooms seem innocuous – a floor, four walls, a bed, desk, bookshelves and a closet. What’s unhealthy about any of that? You’d be surprised at the number of toxins and allergens that may be present and to which your child may unwittingly be exposed. We have some ideas how to make your kids’ bedroom healthier.

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How to Hang Out With Friends Digitally

LIVE, play By Jill Amery March 25, 2020 No Comments

It’s a weird time. Kids are getting educated online. Video meetings are riddled with cats (or half-naked toddlers) running across the screen, and girlfriend wine dates and dinner parties happen in front of a computer. How do we navigate the expansive world of video hangouts and meetings? Which ones allow multiple people? Are they expensive? How do I teach my grandmother so she can see the kids? I’m pretty green too, so decided to dig into the world of video hangouts and meetings so I could connect with others digitally. We’re all going to need to connect virtually with others as we self-isolate or practice social distancing.

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Living As if it’s the Great Depression

FAM, health By Jill Amery March 23, 2020 No Comments

I grew up in Nova Scotia, and even though my parents were early baby boomers, born in 1945, they lived like it was 1930. My grandparents and great aunt had suffered and found no reason to change their frugal behaviour once the economy had turned around. As a little girl, I was baffled that my grandmother used each tea bag twice, and now I am so very glad for all of the lessons I was given. Frugality is also the same type of behaviour that reduces greenhouse gasses – reducing, reusing and recycling – so I have been doing a few of these things for years. Now, not knowing if the sugar supply could dry up or toilet paper is a past luxury, I’m wracking my brain to remember how my grandmother lived. Every day was about saving and making a little go a long way.

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Digital Family Boredom Busters

grow, LIVE By Jill Amery March 22, 2020 1 Comment

As the world changes and we all stay at home to limit the transmission of the virus, we are all looking for things to do and ways to learn. If your family is like mine, it’s a bit easier to convince the kids to learn when there is some sort of screen in front of their faces. Here are ten digital family boredom busters to get you through the next days and weeks.

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17 Things You can Do to Help Others Through the Covid-19 Pandemic

FAM, health By Jill Amery March 17, 2020 No Comments

Every day, the news seems worse and worse. I know it will soon get better, though, and hopefully we can all thrive from lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Caremongering” is a new term that is now being thrown around and it makes my heart soar. Above all, working as a community and helping others could be the silver lining. Here are 17 things you can do to help others through the Covid-19 pandemic. (Washing hands and staying at home is assumed).

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How Not to Go Bananas During Self-Quarantine

FAM, health By Jill Amery March 13, 2020 2 Comments

It’s hard to write about or think of anything else besides Covid-19 right now. News flows in hourly, and at the moment, my family will have to self-quarantine for 14 days on return from Miami. The thought of this actually makes my heart soar. Time is a gift. Togetherness is an even bigger one. But avoiding the pitfalls of endless gaming in a dark basement will be imperative. Here is my plan to come out of Coronavirus avoidance with deeper connections and enhanced knowledge. This is my two cents on how to guide your family through self-quarantine.

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The Beauty Gift Guide

beauty, GEAR By Jill Amery December 21, 2019 No Comments

Perfect as stocking stuffers or special gifts for discerning beauty addicts, these finds will make people do a double-take.

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The 2019 UrbanMommies Holiday Gift Guide

GEAR, style By Jill Amery December 3, 2019 No Comments

Every year it gets harder and harder!!!! And more and more fun – to scour the corners of the internet in order to find unique holiday gifts for our readers. Over the past few years, we have been getting more microscopic in focus. Where we once singled out gifts for moms or grandparents, I realized that every individual has unique interests and loves. It’s far easier to shop for gifts on a triathlete or racquet sports list than going through a general one. So, without further blabbering, here they are. And below I have also included past ideas that might stimulate your imagination! Some of the links pay a small percentage of revenue to UrbanMommies if you should purchase something. This is how I keep the site going and as always, every single item in our gift guide is hand-chosen and not sponsored. Enjoy!

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