FAM Archives - Urban Mommies

Browsing Category

FAM

Summer Transition Tips for Moms: Teen Edition

FAM, grow, kids, LIVE, nourish, play, rest, Uncategorized By JoyHedding June 13, 2019 Tags: rules for summer, summer guidelines, teenagers 1 Comment

As your child gets older and more independent, the summer break takes on a whole different vibe. Your now-teenager has successfully navigated middle school, some of high school, and possibly even completed Drivers’ Ed (eek!) At this point, they’re likely pretty entrenched in their daily routine: getting to class, completing assignments, attending practice, and (hopefully) doing their chores. And then summer arrives and it all falls apart. Your once busy teenager suddenly has hours and hours of time to play with and no direction creating a situation that can quickly escalate out of moms control—so here are some summer tips for moms with teens to help nip it in the bud right from the start.

JoyHedding

Joy aka Evil Joy is wife to one Dr. Evil and mother to four children she often refers to as spawn. Joy is a snowboarding fanatic and loves to share her exploits - snowboarding and otherwise - on Instagram. She currently spends copious amounts of time taxiing her children from one place to another. Frequently funny, always honest, and occasionally serious Joy blogs about everything from dealing with messy teenagers to navigating life after PTSD. Joy has been published in the anthologies "Surviving Mental Illness Through Humor" and "Only Trollops Shave Above the Knee" and featured on Sammiches and Psych Meds and In the Powder Room.

Summer Transition Tips for Moms: Kid Edition

FAM, Featured, grow, health, kids, LIVE, play, rest, Uncategorized By JoyHedding June 9, 2019 Tags: community education programs, summer actives, summer transition, transition to summer, younger children No Comments

The school year is drawing to a close and summer will be here in a minute, with it the buzz of schoolkids ready to burst from the confines of their routine and be free. Never fear: a successful summer transition is within your reach. The change from classroom to summer setting need not be jarring—for you or your child (or your teen). Doing a bit of prep before summer’s arrival will ease you all into this change and set you up for a summer of grand memories and structured good times.

Continue Reading

JoyHedding

Moms Hate Summer: 4 Tips to Reclaiming the Sunny Season

FAM, health, kids, self By Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma June 3, 2019 Tags: moms self-care, summer No Comments

There was a time when Ella sang, “Summertime and the livin’ is easy,” and I believed her. Growing up in the 80’s summer was always about watching movies at the outdoor movie theatre, playing outside late into the night, and of course popsicles, lots and lots of them. And then I became a mom and my priorities shifted. To be honest summer didn’t change for me in the first few years of motherhood. I was working full-time, and if there was vacation, Yay! Otherwise there was always day care! And then I had my second little pumpkin, we moved to Toronto and I decided to work from home. That’s when reality hit me like a ton of bricks: moms hate summer.

Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma

Puneeta lives in Toronto with her husband and two kids, and loves the colour her Indian roots bring to her life in Canada! You can find her at MapleandMarigold.com where she writes about family, food, kids, and how to make every day enjoyable, healthy, and delicious.

Healthy Spring Quinoa Bowls

EAT, eat, FAM, family meals, grow, health, holidays, LIVE, lunches, nourish, pregnancy, self By Lonelle Selbo May 21, 2019 No Comments

Diala’s Kitchen is one of my favourite new food blog obsessions and after getting gluttonous on the (terrible, curse on whoever invented this) “Eat What You Want Day” with a bowl of popcorn to carry me through from breakfast to lunch, an inhaled curry pad thai for dinner, and half a huge bag of dark choc almonds to follow—let’s just say that I woke up this morning hungover, overcome with guilt, and looking to redeem myself.

Diala to the rescue with a dish that’s fresh, healthy, totally yummy, and makes me feel like I might not have to wear a T-shirt over my swimsuit during baby swimming lessons this summer.

Lonelle Selbo

Lonelle spent the past 15 years hanging out on the masthead of some cool fashion and lifestyle magazines across Canada—before taking the leap into parenthood, at which point swaggy parties and fashion shows lost their lustre next to her golden-haired son. Immersing herself into a new scene, as the Editor-in-Chief of UrbanMommies, before moving on to launch her own country living + parenting magazine 'Life Au Lait', she loves putting her ear to the ground and listening to the rumble of mom voices. In between Oprah and bonbons, she also runs a boutique design and branding agency (AuLait Media) working with mom-driven businesses to help bring their big vision to life.

Planning-for-Retirement-in-the-FlexForce

Planning for Retirement as Part of Canada’s Flexforce

FAM, self By Jill Amery February 28, 2019 No Comments

When UrbanMommies began almost 12 years ago, I looked at other bloggers and freelancers and became giddy at the thought of the flexibility and freedom my company could provide. Other Moms had given up steady jobs to write books, manufacture baby slings or start companies like mine. There seemed to be a huge shift. All around me, new parents were operating as gig workers, some were creative freelancers and others postponed their careers, pursuing higher education and training instead.

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.

Follow Me:

Staying Healthy for School and Playtime

FAM, health By Jill Amery February 5, 2019 1 Comment

I love a morning that runs smoothly, without having to apologize to the school administrator for being late or absent! Some days, organizing breakfast, lunches and ensuring homework gets put properly in the backpack can be stressful. This is even more the case if there are sniffles, coughs, and the constant requests to stay home from school due to illness. Colds and flu put a monkey wrench into the lives of every family. The good news is that there is an easy way to reduce the disruption! In a new clinical study, children age 4 – 12 years old who took Echinaforce Junior reported 33% fewer cold and flus. Sign me up!

Jill Amery

Follow Me:

2018 Gen Z Gift Guide

FAM, kids By Jill Amery November 19, 2018 2 Comments

Generation Z is defined as people born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000’s and makes up 25% of the North American population, making them a larger cohort than the Baby Boomers or Millennials, and we have made a 2018 gen z gift guide in their honour. These kids are growing up in a world not defined by geographical borders, where influencers are bigger celebrities than movie stars, and where dating is more likely to happen in a group than one on one. There is also a ton of brand loyalty, mem fandom, and a deep dedication to saving the planet. Here are our picks. For the record, I ran them by my 2 Gen Z boys and got a double thumbs-up. I learned so much from Trendera at the Beaches Resorts Social Media on the Sand Conference and needed to share! Oh – and a few contain affiliate links, allowing us to keep running this site and bringing you great editorial.

Jill Amery

Follow Me:

Learning about clean water with Thomas and Friends

Learning Made Fun With Thomas And Friends

health By Guest November 17, 2018 No Comments

This post is sponsored by Mattel, but all opinions are my own.

Every year on the first day of school we ask our son what he wants to be when he grows up. His answer varies from year to year as he grows and as his imagination and vision of what could be possible expands. Whatever he decides to be, as his mom I hope he grows up to make the world a better place.

Guest

2018 Perfect Gifts for your Mother in Law

FAM, self By Jill Amery November 14, 2018 No Comments

The heat is on. And by that I mean pressure. She’s given you a family. Love. And the perfect gift for your mother in law needs to be perfect – and from you. Not your partner. (Also – sign the card!) Here are a few curated ideas for that marvelous lady. We’ve included a few affiliate links so if you do decide to shop, we can get some credit to support what we do. Be sure to check out all of the other gift guides at the bottom of this post!

Jill Amery

Follow Me:

Is It Time To Treat?

health By Jill Amery October 30, 2018 No Comments

This post is sponsored by Bayer. To make sure these products are right for you, always read and follow the label.

With Halloween fast approaching, you may have trick-or-treating on the brain. I know my kids do! We love this time of year. But if a nasty fall cold, upset stomach or ragweed allergy has you stuck inside, the time to treat may be now.

Many of us like to think we’re pretty tough (especially if we’ve lived through a couple Canadian winters!), but knowing when to treat minor ailments and symptoms at home is an important part of self-care. If you’re not sure if it’s time to reach for the medicine cabinet, read on! It’s important to know what the experts have to say about how to know when you need to get treatment.

Jill Amery

1 2 3 … 60

When Jill Amery started publishing UrbanMommies in 2008, she wanted to create a place where the urban parent could be cared for and nurtured, so that they would be able to deliver their best selves to their family and passions. Since then, UrbanMommies has reached millions of moms with stories about travel, fashion, parenting, pets and family cuisine. Jill has created a community of moms who understand that if they are at their best, then everyone around them is as well.