Mom Knows Everything

Now that the warmer weather is here it's time to start bringing out shorts. Kids grow so quickly that every season you need to restock your children's wardrobe. I have a great way to save a little money on summer wardrobes simply with a little sewing.

Kids often outgrow their clothes length wise. Instead of throwing these pants out you can simply and easily turn them into shorts. You don't even have to have a sewing machine to do this. It is easily done with a little hand sewing or if you want to you can buy sewing tape that you iron on instead of sewing.

The first step in making shorts from old pants is to get your child to put the pants on inside out. Make a mark on the pants for the appropriate length you want the shorts to be. After you child takes the pants off you can measure and cut the pants off leaving about an extra 2" for the hem. Simply turn the hem and sew. Press the hem with an iron for a crisp hem and viola you made shorts.

This works great too if your child put a tear in the knees of their pants. You can also make some fabulous walking shorts for yourself out of some slacks you don't wear anymore.

Don't spend money on new shorts this year if you don't have to, simply make them yourself.

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Community centres are very import, especially during the summer months when kids are out of school. They offer many wonderful programs that not only keep kids entertained, but also help them to learn and grow.

The wonderful people at Procter and Gamble are sponsoring the Simply Clean Community Challenge. Nine non-profit community centres have been chosen to take part in this contest and the winner will get a "top-to-bottom clean-up session from a team of professional cleaners and a three-month supply of products from Mr. Clean, Swiffer, Dawn, Cascade and Febreze." All community centres participating in this challenge will also receive complements of P&G a gift basket of cleaning supplies valued at $100.

I'm encouraging all of you to go to www.SimplyCleanCommunities.ca and vote for your local community centre or if there isn't a local on in the contest you can read about the ones that are and chose one of them. Help to support community centres by voting. They do so much for our kids.

Now my daughter is 15 so she's not into Hannah Montana, but I have a 6 year old niece who is crazy about Hannah Montana! We went and saw this movie and I have to say it was better then I expected. I've seen some of the TV shows so I knew what the story line of Hannah was and I thought it was a cute movie. My niece LOVED it!

Basically the storyline of this movie is that Miley is getting a little too big for her britches and her father takes her home to the farm for two weeks. There she faces the dilemma of being trying to hide the fact she is Hannah while still performing a benefit concert for her home town. In the end the pressure is too much for her and she tells the towns people the truth about who she really is. What happens next, guess you'll just have to see the movie to find out.

If you have a Hannah Montana fan at your house then this is a must see film for them.

This week's theme/prompt is HEADS - "Down On The Farm"

Make any kind of post using "Down on the Farm" as your prompt. Your post should be about things or animals that could be found on a farm.


These are a couple of things that was on my grandfathers farm where my father grew up.


The wooden thing is a planer. That is a cast iron clothing iron that was heated up by sitting on top of the wood stove. Lastly that is a cows bell, which of course you would expect to be found on a farm with cows.

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Whenever we go to the mall Aidan loves to go on one of the kiddie rides. He never wants to go the horse, it's always has to be a car. This time he chose the yellow Noah's Ark to ride on.

As you all know I am very big on reading to your children. Not only is reading educational and fun, it can also help your children to understand the differences in people and grow up to be a better person. Dudley's Solo does all of this.

Dudley's Solo is about a little boy in a church choir. Dudley really wants a solo in the concert the choir is putting on, but the only this is Dudley is deaf and can not hear or speak. Does that stop Dudley? No, with the help of his friends Dudley gives an amazing solo by signing the words to the song.

Dudley's Solo is a heart warming book that encourages it's readers to embrace their individuality and lets them know that nothing is impossible.

Dudley's Solo was written by Tiffany Alexander and is the first book in the Children's Band series. You can find out more information about this book and the series by going to www.ChildrensBand.com.

Camera Critters is a weekend meme, about what else but critters, created my very own BBFF, Misty.


With all the kids around my house it's never quite and often tiring. The kids seem to even exhaust poor Princess. Whenever the kids are running around making noise she goes and climbs up on the chair and lies down. I wonder if she's dreaming of doggy European cruises or just wishing for some peace and quiet?

Today is Barb's AKA Skittles blogoversary! Happy Blogoversary and many more to come!

Aidan hasn't quite gotten the concept of playing foosball. He prefers to score by taking the ball and putting it in the goal.

The foosball table is actually stuck in the middle of the living room because there is no room for it in the play room. I think it's about time I go through the toys and start clearing out what Aidan doesn't play with anymore.

My internet connection has been messing up on me the past two days. Sorry I haven't been around, I hope to get it fixed ASAP.

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This week's theme/prompt is TAILS - "Once upon a time"

Make a post that starts with "Once upon a time." It can be a real story or idea that you want to start that way, a fairy tale of your own, etc.

Once upon a time a beautiful baby girl named Aurora was born.


As all babies do she grew....

and grew...

and grew...

and grew...

and grew...

and grew...

and grew until she became a teenager!

Now you may think this is a story about this girl named Aurora, but it's not, it's about her parents and how they watched their little baby girl grow into a beautiful amazing smart young lady who they are very proud of.

Aidan was sick all weekend with the stomach flu, so was hubby. Poor Aidan spent the weekend on the couch with his new yellow Winnie The Pooh stuffie.

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We all want our homes to smell nice, but with kids and pets that sometimes is a challenge. I always use air fresheners and scented candles to make my home smell extra nice. My favorite brand is the Febreze products. They freshen the air, eliminates all those yucky odors and makes your home smell so nice.

Febreze has some really wonderful new scents out now that I just love. They are tropical scents, just in time for summer.

Moroccan Bazaar is a light fresh ground gingery scent that smells like Morocco. This is a very fresh scent that has that hint of spices to it, but it is not overwhelming. I use this scent in my living room.

Brazilian Carnaval was inspired by the acai berry groves of Amazon and it is amazing smelling! We all have heard how good the acai berry is for you, but you probably haven't smelled this wonderful scent yet. It is a perfect way to keep my kitchen smelling fresh and it smells if it so nice that I just want to hang out in my kitchen.

Hawaiian Aloha smells like the wonderful flowers that grow in Hawaii. It's a flowery scent with a hint of citrus to it, but it is light and not over powering like some types of floral air fresheners. I use this type in the bathroom because it leaves such a nice light floral scent.

All of these scents are available in Febreze Air Effect spray air freshener, Febreze NOTICEables plug in air fresheners, and Febreze Candles.

I must admit I love the Febreze Candles best. They're so pretty and they smell so nice. I use the Febreze NOTICEables plug in air fresheners in most of the rooms in my house and I found that a great way to keep your teenagers room smelling nice is by having one of these in there. I use the Febreze Air Effect spray air fresheners when I do my daily cleaning just to give the room that shot of freshness it needs. They are also perfect for when company comes over. Just a little spray of them and your house smells wonderful.

You can check out www.Febreze.com for some great coupons and there is even a contest you can enter to win trip for four to Hawaii, Morocco or Brazil.

Camera Critters is a weekend meme, about what else but critters, created my very own BBFF, Misty.


The weather last weekend was very yucky. It actually snowed! This poor robin didn't know what to make of it. After seeing all the snow he probably packed up his Samsonite luggage and headed back South. I know I was tempted to head South! Luckily the snow melted the next day, but I'm sure the poor robins were confused.

Aidan fell asleep on the playroom floor watching cartoons. He kept insisting he wasn't tired, but the next thing you know he was sound asleep like this.

April is National Oral Health month. Your oral health is something that most people don't even think about, but is very important. Sure, we all want healthy white teeth, but can we do to help? With the help from the wonderful people from at Crest and Oral-B I am going to be taking the Oral-B challenge next month. I will talk more about the products I'm using and what my dentist says about my results after my checkup.

You can find more information about Crest Pro-Health and what you can do to improve your oral health.

When it comes to kids and their clothes there are three options. Option number one they are going to out grow them, option number two they are going to tear them, and option number three is they are going to stain them. Now I can't do too much about them out growing them and when they tear them I can usually sew them, but it's option number three, them staining them that is the main reason for parents throwing their kids clothes out.

Instead of throwing them out because of a stain, what you can do is dye it instead. I bought my daughter a new beaded tank top and one week later it had a large red juice stain on it that I couldn't get out. Instead of me throwing it out I decided to try and cover the stain by dying the shirt instead. It turned out great! So now instead of her having a a beige shirt with a pink stain on it, she now has a dark blue shirt.

You can pick up packages of dye at dollar stores so it is very cheap to do this. Dying instructions vary according to brands, but all are easy to follow. So instead of throwing away stained clothing, bring new life into them by simply changing the color of them.

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Everyone knows just how wonderful and helpful the Chicken Soup For The Soul books are. As a mom I think of one of the best in the series are the Teen Talk series. We all remember how hard the teenage years were, well there are three new Chicken Soup For The Soul Teen Talk books to help your teenager through these years.

Chicken Soup For The Soul: Teen Talk Middle School
"Almost everyone hated middle school. It’s a very tough time for adolescents. This “support group in a book” is specifically geared to younger teens -- the ones still worrying about puberty, cliques, discovering the opposite sex, and figuring out who they are. Meant for middle school students ages eleven to fourteen, stories cover regrets and lessons learned, love and “like,” popularity, friendship, tough issues such as divorce, illness, and death, failure and rising above it, embarrassing moments, bullying, and finding something you’re passionate about. The stories provide emotional support, humor, and inspiration for the young teens making their way through the tumultuous middle school years."

Chicken Soup For The Soul: Teen Talk High School
"This book focuses on issues specific to high school age kids, ages fourteen to eighteen. Teens in high school have mainly moved past worrying about puberty and cliques, so stories in this book cover topics of interest to older teens such as sports and clubs, religion and faith, driving, curfews, growing up, self-image and self-acceptance, dating and sex, family relationships, friends, divorce, illness, death, pregnancy, drinking, failure, and preparing for life after high school. High school students will find comfort and inspiration in the words of this book, referring to it through all four years of their high school experience, like a portable support group."


Chicken Soup For The Soul: Teen Talk Getting In...To College
"These days, colleges are deluged with applications, and the application process has become something traumatic that students and parents experience together. This book isn’t about how to get into college -- it’s about providing emotional, not tactical, support. The stories in this book are written by kids who have been there and want to pass on their words of support to the kids about to go through the whole ordeal. Story topics include parental and peer pressure, the stress of grades and standardized tests, applications and interviews, recruiting, disappointments, and successes. Parents and students alike will find Getting In... to College a great source of inspiration."

If you would like more information about Chicken Soup For The Soul book series you can go to their website www.ChickenSoup.com.

Would you like to win one of these books?

• Leave a comment telling me which one you would like for an entry.
  
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• If you don't have a blog/website just leave your name and email address in the comment section.
• Contest open to Canada and US residents only.
• Contest closes midnight April 30th.

*Be sure to let me know in the comment section if you Tweet, subscribe or post about this contest for the extra entries.

Today is my last day of my 6 months SENSA journey and I am so happy with the results that I am going to do it all over again. I have lost a total of 24 pounds with the help of SENSA. I think I look pretty good. Here are my before and after photos.



I lost so much weight through my middle that my old clothes are way too big for me now. I am so happy with my weight loss and it is so nice to hear people tell me how good I look. I'm half way back to my 'pre-kids' weight and with another six months of SENSA I know I will make it there.

SENSA is so easy it doesn't even feel like I'm on a diet. I still get to eat what I normally eat, I just have to sprinkle the SENSA tastants on it and I don't eat as much because it makes you feel fuller faster. It's that easy!


If you would like more information about SENSA go to www.TrySensa.com. You can enter the promotion code ROCKETXL for 15% off or your order and free ground shipping.

This week's theme/prompt is HEADS - "Reason"

This is the reason why my kids where running around like the Energizer rabbit on Sunday.


The Easter Bunny brought lots of goodies for Aidan and Aurora!

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Unfortunately these flowers aren't from this year, they're from last year. It's still way to cold outside for my flowers to start growing, but hopefully in the next months time I'll have some flowers springing up.

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