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Tag: building industry

  • Supermom In Training: 7 Ways to make your house Halloween-ready in 10 minutes or less

    Supermom In Training: 7 Ways to make your house Halloween-ready in 10 minutes or less

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    Now is not the time to spend hours in the stores shopping for festive Halloween decorations – and besides, with everything going on, who has the time?! So, here are 7 ways to make your house Halloween-ready in 10 minutes or less.

    Ghosts outside

    Put a plastic or styrofam ball on top of a bamboo gardening stake, then cover with a white plastic tablecloth or sheet. Stick into the ground.

    Tattered garbage bags

    Take black garbage bags and shred them. They can be hung around exterior doorways and overhands, or along roof eaves, to give a haunted, billowing effect.

    Spiderwebs

    Spiderwebs scream Halloween – spread them across corners of rooms and doorways inside, and along bushes and small trees outside. A few plastic spiders will make them uber-creepy.

    Lightbulbs

    Change up the lightbulbs on your front porch or in your backyard to purple, green or black.

    Music

    Go on YouTube and crank up the classics: Monster Mash, Time Warp, and Thriller. Don’t forget the spooky soundtracks too.

    Games

    Set up a big bowl of water and apples for some bobbing fun (you can also thread donuts onto a string and hang the string up). Stack toilet paper rolls that have ghost faces drawn on them and see how many you can knock down with a ball. You can also find slews of easy minute-to-win-it games on Pinterest.

    Pumpkin carving station

    Stock up on some pumpkins and let everyone’s creativity run wild. You can carve the pumpkins, draw on them with Sharpies, or paint them. Stuff some clothes with newspaper and make a pumpkin-headed man for the yard. Display them on social media. And, if you want to get competitive, invite friends to vote on their favourite.  

    A full-time work-from-home mom, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.

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  • Parenting 101: It’s National LEGO Day!

    Parenting 101: It’s National LEGO Day!

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    National LEGO Day is here! Whether you’re a builder, the parent of a builder, or just a fan in general, there are lots of incredible new LEGO sets out right now to help celebrate this fun building day. With LEGO, you can enter the land of Avatar and create your own story, you can build and merge your LEGO creations… the options are endless!

    Here are a few new sets to check out.

    Introduce young kids to LEGO Star Wars building toys with The Razor Crest Microfighter. This is a microscale, LEGO brick version of the iconic Star Wars: The Mandalorian gunship.

    Delight a child or Minifigures fan with LEGO Minifigures Series 23 blind bags for ages 5 and up. This unique series features a great lineup of fun characters to collect and display or to take independent or group play in unexpected new directions.

    Kids and Disney fans aged 6+ enjoy unlimited play possibilities in this LEGO Disney Princess Ultimate Adventure Castle set, featuring a buildable toy castle, five mini-doll figures, and five LEGO animal figures, plus interactive digital building instructions to make the building extra fun. 

    Help a kid aged 12+ who loves science fiction animal trends with this LEGO Avatar Toruk Makto and Tree of Souls building toy set. The set includes Jake Sully, Neytiri, Mo’at and Tsu’Tey Na’vi minifigures, a posable Toruk figure with foil wings, Direhorse figure and a buildable Tree of Souls, plus three environment builds with glow-in-the-dark elements. The toy set features an iconic location that lets kids replay known scenes or create new ideas independently or as part of a great family moment. 

    – Jennifer Cox

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  • Gift Guide 2022: The best gifts for those who seem to have everything

    Gift Guide 2022: The best gifts for those who seem to have everything

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    What do you get for that one person on your list who seems to have everything they would ever need? You get them something that’s practical, something everyone can benefit from having. Here are 4 great gift ideas for the hardest people to shop for on your list.

    The Shark Stratos UltraLight Stick Vacuum is the quintessential cleaning product for homes and condos. Easy to use, it is decked out with all kinds of features: powerful suction allows it to clean both carpets and hard floors, it has a low-profile design so it can clean under furniture, and the attachable pet multi-tool allows you to pick up fur and hair from furniture, upholstery, stairs, and more. It even includes odour neutralizing technology to guard against offensive smells for a fresher smelling home.

    The Guinness Book of World Records. Every year it’s updated, and every year it will amaze, awe, and inspire! This is a great book for young and old alike and will become a conversation piece all year long. It’s the perfect coffee table book or collector’s item year to year.

    Great slippers from Reef. I love the house-and-errands from Reef. They are the perfect combo of slipper and shoe: a cushiony footbed lined with cozy faux shearling, and an easy on/off upper made of toasty, 100% recycled wool felt. They come in a wide range of colours and will keep anyone’s footsies warm and comfortable.

    Everyone loves a good dad joke. Check out Gift Republic’s deck of the 100 of the best, cringe-worthy jokes. Everyone might pretend that they are embarrassed by dad jokes, but we know they secretly love them. It’s the perfect gift for any dads, dads-to-be, or your friends with that dad-joke energy.

    – Jennifer Cox

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  • Melany Of MList: 4 Potty training tips that will save your sanity

    Melany Of MList: 4 Potty training tips that will save your sanity

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    Potty training – it just might be one of the most challenging things for parents. There are so many things that factor into the success and timeline of potty training, from whether your child is actually ready to carrying it through until there are no more accidents at all, even at night. It can be a long process – but now, with families at home more than ever, it’s the perfect time to conquer this milestone. Use these 4 potty training tips that will save your sanity.

    – Make the potty as accessible as possible. Yes, it’s great to have one in the bathroom so your little one can mimic mommy and daddy on the toilet. But kids who are learning to potty train also don’t recognize the urge until the very last-minute, and getting to the bathroom on time could be a huge challenge. It may not be the decor accent of choice, but a potty in common rooms like the living room or kitchen could also help things along.

    – Let accidents happen. Yes, the cleanups are awful. And I know all about changing sheets in the middle of the night. But the more that you child is out of diapers and accurately feeling what’s going on down there (wet underwear or bedding), they won’t feel the true discomfort of it and, hence, want to use the toilet. (Quick tip: If nighttime bed-wetting is a problem, layer sheet, plastic sheet, sheet, so you already have another dry later ready to go.)

    – Have a reward system in place. Bribery may not be the best parenting route for other lessons, but when it comes to potty training, you want to do anything that works. What’s your child’s sweet spot? Smarties? Doritos? Keep them handy and in sight but out of reach. ONLY give them out with a successful number one or two in the potty.

    – Make it fun. No- it’s not fun for you. I get it. But when it’s more fun for them, they’ll be more inclined to get into it. Let them help you choose a potty. Decorate it with stickers. If you’re training with a toilet, there are decals you can affix to the bottom of the bowl for boys’ “target practice,” as well as flushable floating targets (my mom used Cheerios with my brother). And pick out new big-boy or big-girl underwear together. 

    Melany xx

    Married with three kids, MList’s Melany is a jack-of-all-trades. Not only is she a hardworking mom but she’s a serial saver (she loves her MList Card!), she loves to cook, she is very spiritual, and she is very organized. She is also chronically busy. Get her take on what to see, do and buy in Montreal and beyond.

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  • Supermom In Training: Enjoying Toronto with the family

    Supermom In Training: Enjoying Toronto with the family

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    Our family has always loved Toronto. It’s one of our favourite cities to visit in Canada. And part of the reason we love it is because there’s so much to do there. 

    Wondering where to stay? For a great all-inclusive central location, it’s at The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto and be sure to have access to their Club Lounge. Not only are they just steps away from major attractions like the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, and the Hockey Hall of Fame, but they’re also close to Union Station for those travelling from out of town. The Ritz houses two restaurants (TOCA and EPOCH), and their Lounge offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts plus an open bar and more, making it super easy to enjoy your time without fretting about snacks and meals. There’s a pool, gym and spa, and they even offer different activities for children such as cooking classes (my son took an ice cream making class with their world-class chefs and absolutely loved it). Their staff is super accommodating and professional. You could spend your entire day on-site or venture less than a block in any direction and see some of the best of what Toronto has to offer. For parents, this is a true vacation where you can actually relax and unwind!

     

    We’ve also checked out a lot of the attractions Toronto is known for. This time we visited Yorkdale Shopping Centre where my son and I (Friends’ superfans) got to check out the Friends Experience. We sat in front of the intro fountain, we visited their apartments, we went to Central Perk, and we even got to sing a rendition of “Smelly Cat.” You have to reserve ahead of time, meaning there aren’t too many crowds, and staff is on-hand in each room or set to take all those candid photos. I mean, could the Friends Experience BE any more fun?!

     

    We were also lucky enough to tour Casa Loma, a first for us and it was definitely worth checking out! It’s an incredible castle in the heart of the city, and visitors can tour all of the rooms as well as the sprawling gardens and the rooftop areas that offer spectacular views of the city skyline. Luckily., it’s close to Halloween so they also had spooky decorations and special effects set up in the tunnels, stable, and other cool and creepy areas of the building. This estate is steeped in history, and it’s a definite must-see.

     

    As always, we loved every moment we spent in Toronto! It always has something for everyone and is a fantastic family destination. And we can’t wait to go back.

    A full-time work-from-home mom, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.

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  • Parenting 101: What you should know about National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, or Orange Shirt Day

    Parenting 101: What you should know about National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, or Orange Shirt Day

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    Each year, September 30th marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honours the children who never returned home and acknowledges the survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. 

    It’s also Orange Shirt Day, which is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept that “Every Child Matters”.  

    Here are a few events that will honour this cause:

    Illuminating Parliament Hill

    To commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and to honour the Survivors, their families and communities, buildings across Canada will be illuminated in orange from September 30th at 7pm to sunrise October 1st. This will include federal buildings such as the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill.

    Remembering the children

    A one-hour national commemorative gathering will be broadcast live from Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats on September 30, 2022. Check your local listings.

    Truth and Reconciliation Week

    This bilingual educational program is open to all schools across Canada. All sessions will be held virtually, allowing classroom participation from across the country and the involvement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. From September 26-30, 2022, registration is required.

    Former residential school students can call 1-866-925-4419 for emotional crisis referral services and information on other health supports from the Government of Canada. Indigenous peoples across Canada can also go to The Hope for Wellness Help Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for counselling and crisis intervention. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat.

    – Jennifer Cox

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  • Supermom In Training: I found a lost child

    Supermom In Training: I found a lost child

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    We were camping a few weekends ago, and the bean and I were walking back from the beach along the main road that loops around the campsite. I spotted a little girl running toward us, and I remember thinking, “Gee, she’s very small to be on her own at a campsite.” And as she approached, I realized she was crying. So I stopped her and asked what was wrong, and she choked out, “I lost my mommy!”

    I went into protective lioness mode. I knelt down next to her and used my towel to wipe her tears. I asked her name and age (she was 6), and how she’d gotten lost. “I went to the bathroom with my cousin and when I came out, she was gone, so I tried to find her and got lost. So I started running.”

    We made our way back to my campsite and, while we called the park ranger, we gave the little girl, who was still in hysterics, a juice box. The park ranger arrived and my husband decided to drive around and see if he could find her mom. Within five minutes, my husband returned, tearing down the road with a frantic mother in the passenger side. She jumped out and the two embraced, crying, and tears were in my eyes too.

    That little girl was so scared.

    And her mother must have been losing her mind.

    In the end, the whole experience ended up being a valuable lesson to both the parents (we were camping with another family who has three kids) and the children. The kids had lots of questions about how she got lost, which led to discussions about what they’d do if they got lost.

    But it also made me realize that my 4-year-old knows no details when it comes to helping someone locate us should he get lost himself. He hasn’t learned our phone number, doesn’t know his address, and, like this little girl, wouldn’t have known the name or lot number of our campsite.

    I also realized that, when we go on a trip or to somewhere that is busy, he should have our phone number on him. And we should communicate before going somewhere about what we would do if we got separated. Maybe we need a meeting place. Maybe he needs to know the name of our hotel, the name of our campsite, etc. when we start an experience together.

    Bad things happen for a reason. While I knew in the back of my mind that a controlled family campsite was one of the “safer” places to get lost, it taught us all how we’d deal with something like that in our own families. And luckily mom and daughter were reunited and all turned out well. I’m so sorry that that little girl and her mom had to go through an ordeal like that, but I also thank them, because they helped me learn how to be a little bit better of a mom the next time around.

    A full-time work-from-home mom of a toddler, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.

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  • Supermom In Training: Keeping my kid busy while I work from home this summer

    Supermom In Training: Keeping my kid busy while I work from home this summer

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    Working from home, especially when you have kids, definitely comes with major perks. However, when I enrolled my son in Pre-K, I hadn’t totally thought about summer break, and the many (many) weeks he’d be home with me. Since he started full-time school, I’ve loaded up my work schedule, meaning I had some juggling to do this summer.

    So, I hired my niece to be mommy’s helper twice a week. I’m still at home, so I can keep an eye and ear out, but they get to spend time together while I get some writing done.

    We’ve also prepared some things for the bean to keep himself busy when I’m hung up on a call or answering emails. We have quiet boxes filled with toys, games, puzzles, craft supplies, and more. I didn’t spend any money on these – it was as simple as digging down into the bottom of some toys bags to retrieve those “forgotten” or “lost” items that have fell to the wayside. 

    We’ve decided on a standing library date every Monday. A weekly switch-up of books will keep his mind and imagination occupied. He’s also starting French immersion for kindergarten so we’re going to be frequenting the French section of the library as well.

    We also switched up his bedroom a bit so it not only felt different and “new,” but so that it was more conducive to solo play. He now has a little corner with his desk and learning books as well as a comfortable rug, as well as a closet fort to curl up in. 

    We have a big summer family calendar in the kitchen. It included mommy and daddy’s work stuff, classes (like tee ball), and summer vacations. We also came up with a summer bucket list together with things we all want to do this summer, everything from strawberry picking to fishing to having opposite day. We keep this list handy for quiet weeknight evenings or weekends without plans.

    A full-time work-from-home mom, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.

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