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.

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!

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.

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.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by First Alert. But you really should read it because the safety information could be life-changing and I really believe in helping keep families safe.

How many times have you burned toast only to have your smoke alarm scream for fresh air? And what about those dinner parties when every burner is going and you use an umbrella to bash at the button to silence the alarm whilst guests are en route and dinner becomes overdone? Maybe that’s just me. But you know what is also me? The person, in those situations, who just takes the smoke alarm off the ceiling and pops out the batteries. And then forgets to replace them and put it back up.

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

It’s April and New Year’s Resolution days are long behind us. The good news is you don’t have to wait for a new year to start some healthy habits. You can start any time!  Try adding some healthy habits to your daily life that could improve your health – and you can start today.  It’s as easy as doing one or two things differently every day to build healthy habits to take better care of yourself.

Today is World Water Day and I want to talk about the many different ways you can get involved. Whether you’re wanting to donate to a good cause, or simply looking for ways to conserve water at home, you can make a difference!

Did you know that 844 million people are living without access to clean water? As of 2017, more people owned a cellular phone than a toilet. We’re living in a world where every 90 seconds, a child dies from a water related disease and over 1,000,000 people die annually from water and sanitation diseases. Living in communities where access to water is plentiful, sometimes we’re sheltered to the limitations in our neighbouring countries. The good news – doing your part is easy!

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

We can all identify the subtle signs of spring – birds chirping, longer days and blooming flowers. Floral patterns are starting to appear on dresses in shop windows. The warmer weather signifies a fresh start with more time outdoors, bringing your garden back to life, and of course, spring cleaning! While these telltale signs are positive for the most part, its common to feel unprepared when the new season comes so quickly. Time flies when you’re busy raising kids! If you watch closely, you can see the signs spring has arrived.

I remember finding out I was going to be a mother. I headed straight to the store for Every. Possible. Book. Surely hours of reading would prepare me for pregnancy and then the years ahead with children. I was freaked out. My body was changing and somehow I thought that if I owned the most popular baby products and got on the Mother Goose registration list early, then everything would fall into place and be PERFECT. This was not the case.

Looking back now, I wish I had been able to read a letter of guidance from an older me.

Why do I need a ‘hack’ to live a healthy life? Because life is far too busy, and if I want to do something the long, hard, laborious way – I want it to be something I am truly passionate about. Regretfully, I like cooking better than sleeping, and I like reading to my kids more than measuring every nutrient I consume. ‘Hacks’ are trendy for a reason – they are a fast and effective way to reach the goals that matter. While I value my health and enjoy exercise – a few ‘hacks’ help me to focus on what matters most.