We’re in a restaurant and my toddler is screaming. I feel your eyes on us, but I make no move to leave. When I return your stare, I see you look away quickly; not so fast, though, that I don’t catch your eye-roll. I can feel your annoyance coming at me in waves. And you know what? I could not care less. And we’re not moving.
Whether you have little ones running rampant, or teenagers getting social all on their own—most moms will tell you that their household is running a busy schedule. Between carpooling and household duties, combined with working outside the home, or the never-ending battle that is being a stay-at-home-mom—coordinating a family’s activities is something that many women are balancing very, very carefully. It’s easy to forget to enjoy the journey, there’s often not enough time, but there are some easy ways to avoid succumbing to the ongoing state of ‘being busy’ and find your inner calm. Here are five simple ways to help bring the joy back to the chaos.
When my toddler’s bedtime hits, it’s MY turn to watch TV. Unfortunately, I usually realize this I have been chugging sipping an adult beverage and watching Heidi… alone… for the last 20 minutes. I have Netflix to thank for helping me feel like an adult again and removing (however temporarily) The Wiggles earworms from my brain.
Revised: We mistakenly published a piece on ‘Purse ‘n Boots’ by Elizabeth Anne Shoes, and our diligent readers made us aware of several issues with the company not fulfilling the orders. We have researched the company and would strongly recommend not having dealings with them. Articles/TV warning spots you can peruse about Purse ‘n Boots are as follows:
CTV
Better Business Bureau Complaints
Facebook Lawsuit
Facebook Complaints
Yelp
We apologize for our short-sightedness, and thank our readers who made us aware of the issues with the company.
Are you a women who experiences the impracticality of carrying a purse on a daily basis? Are you sick of pant-pockets being too small to fit your essentials? Elizabeth Anne Shoes, a Canadian shoe store, has invented Purse n’ Boots- “The World’s First Purse for Your Feet.” The shoes showcase patented secret pockets that are able to fit your cell phone, make up, credit cards, house keys, cash and passports. The pockets are hidden but the quality design and materials aren’t! Comfort and quality are emphasized in each and every design. These long-lasting, unique, stylish and practical boots are perfect for every women!
Halloween is just a couple of days away! Does your family have their Halloween costumes yet? There is nothing better than having your doorbell ring on Halloween night and opening the door to a family with a themed costume. My family got very busy this year and our kids are into very different things, my daughter wanted a Littlest Pet Shop costume and my son wanted to be Spiderman, but in past years we’ve had lots of fun dressing up as a family.
One year my family dressed up as a Little Red Riding Hood themed costume:
And the year my son was born he and I went as mommy and baby zombie (we took a cue from The Walking Dead)
Since I’m lamenting the fact that my family isn’t dressing up as a theme this year, I decided to hit Pinterest and pull together some fabulous family Halloween costumes.
Peter Pan and the Lost Boys from A Beautiful Mess
Where’s Waldo Family Halloween Costume from The Homes I Have Made
The Avengers Family Halloween Costume
Angry Birds Family Halloween Costume from Sugar Bee Crafts
Star Wars Family Halloween Costume from Under the Sycamore
Mommy and Baby Popcorn Vendor from Blooming Bath
A Christmas Story Family Halloween Costume from Costume Works
Mommy’s Pregnancy Cravings Family Halloween Costume
Ratatouille Dad and Baby Family Halloween Costume
Solar System Family Halloween Costume from Martha Stewart
We love it when celebrities get in on the family Halloween costume spirit too!
Canadian boy Jason Priestly as a Canadian Mountie with baby as Uncle Sam
Neil Patrick Harris has just about the cutest little family in the world. This Wizard Of Oz family Halloween costume makes us love him even more.
What are you and your family dressing up as for Halloween this year?
Remember those folks who said computers wouldn’t last and cell phones were a passing fad? Snicker. Not only were the naysayers incorrect, but our tech is now so mainstream and we have so many apps for our smartphones that we need experts to tell us about the true gems. In a special interview with Amber MacArthur, co-host of APP CENTRAL, she revealed her top 5 Holiday Apps for Moms as she gears up to celebrate a spectacular milestone: APP CENTRAL’s 100th episode on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 9:30 p.m. ET on BNN and on CTV, Saturday, Nov. 23 at 5:30 p.m. ET/PT. 100 episodes! No wonder we need more storage in our phones. I was ‘appy’ as a clam as we spoke. (OK I had to say it).
Amber MacArthur’s Top 5 Holiday Apps for Moms
1. Santa’s Magic phonecall iOS – free Call Santa on demand
2. Appy Holidays – allows you to get you xmas lights on your tree to dance to xmas carols. Plug the Appy Holidays Box (Available at Canadian Tire, $59.99) into any tree and turn it into a musical light show! Download the app to your smartphone or use the remote (included) to control your tree’s tunes & make lights dance
3. Martha Stewart Makes Cookies – Holiday Baking app iOS – $1.99 A mouthwatering assortment of Martha’s favorite cookies is now available at your
fingertips! Learn from the best with this indispensable baking resource, which combines cutting-edge technology with beautiful design and a generous sprinkling of good, old-fashioned fun. With 6 recipe bundles, instructional videos, baking tips, packaging
4. Go Gift – lets you manage your gift list. iOS – $0.99
Thanks to quick reminders and gift status notifications, this is the best holiday app to manage your gift list. You can add photos of people on your list and gift pics to match.
5. Mixologist Drink Recipe App – holiday drinks and low cal drinks. iOS/Android – $0.99/$1.49
Browse and search through nearly 8,000 drink recipes and over 1,000 ingredients, including holiday and low-cal drinks.
So get downloading to make your life easier, and don’t forget to tune in to the 100th episode of APP CENTRAL as Amber speaks with James Milward, Founder and Executive Producer of Secret Location (CTV.ca’s INTERFERENCE). Milward discusses his new app, Tug of War on Drugs, which reveals the realities of the war on drugs in support of Matthew Cooke’s documentary How to Make Money Selling Drugs. Plus, the APP CENTRAL team tests the latest in waterproof smartphones and phablets.
In today’s world, everyone is busy. People always seem to be rushing from one activity to the next and trying to do several things at once in an effort to save time. Working mothers understand “busy”- they’re basically working two full time jobs, and it’s no wonder why working mothers often find it difficult to balance everything in a neat and organized fashion!
Catherine is a mother, writer and recovering academic who recently contributed to Canada’s brain drain by relocating to New York City. She’s the Director of Community and Social Good at Babble, the author of HerBadMother.com and a freelance writer who writes, sometimes, about surviving motherhood, sometimes about surviving womanhood, sometimes about trying to make the world a better place, and more often than not about her belief that bad is, really, the new good. (She really does believe that bad is the new good. She wrote a Manifesto. She’s that committed.)
One of the hottest tickets to get in Toronto this fall is for BlissDom ’11 (it sold out in 45 minutes) and of course, Catherine brought it to Canada from it’s US roots. She approached Barbara Jones a few years ago about throwing a social media conference for women in Canada. We plotted for some months before she said, ‘you know, why don’t we just make this a Blissdom conference?’ I thought that was an awesome idea, and the rest is history 😉
According to Catherine, it is important to have a BlissDom conference in Canada because there’s a large and dynamic community in Canada of women who are deeply engaged with social media, and there hasn’t historically been any place for them to network and build community. There have been social media conferences and events for women in the US since 2005, and those are all great events, but Canadian women want and need, I think, a place where they can approach these conversations as Canadian women.
Tidbits on Catherine:
Favourite place to travel: 1. back home to British Columbia to visit my family. 2. New York City (which will soon become home, so I will have to find a new number 2 ;))
Cannot-live-without gadget: iPhone
Go-to ‘Mom’ attire: When I’m working at home: yoga pants, white t-shirts and Toms shoes. When I’m working out of the offices in New York: not yoga pants
Favourite kid-friendly dinner to make: Mac and cheese
I’m reading: Lev Grossman’s The Magician King
My kids are reading: Eloise
My kid’s birthday party this year will involve: New friends in New York City and a cake shaped like ‘the lady statue’ (Statue of Liberty), in honor of our new home.
In Catherine’s spare time, she practices talking about herself in the third person. She’s getting pretty good at it.
Pencil Me In: Every Body has its flaw. All my life I have felt my thighs were my downfall. Overdeveloped and cellulite ridden, pants would be tight in the thighs and loose in the waist. Skirts had to be A-line to disguise the bulge in my figure. Years of dancing had left my legs strong but left me with unwanted width.