Spring Biking

We went out for our first family ride today after a super long winter. My husband and I are training for several charity bike rides this summer, so we were long overdue for a venture out. Living in Orleans, we headed north to the river pathway. As we turned towards the direction of Petrie Island, we quickly realized the path was impassable. Spring flooding has covered both directions!

We decided to turn around and head back towards the house and do some side streets on the way. Just as my husband started to peddle off, the chain on his bike snapped. And being totally unprepared, we hadn't brought any tools or even a cell phone.

I decided to peddle home myself and pick everyone up with the car. The girls were very happy to run around the giant field down by the river, and were super tired by the time we got home.

So lesson of the day? When you're heading out for your first ride, make sure to do a proper bike tune-up ;)

Here are some resources for bike tune-ups in Ottawa:

Re-Cylces: A Community Bike Shop
Kunstadt Sport Kanata
Giant Orleans
Full Cycle 

Now to figure out an alternative biking route to work that will bypass the flooding!

Earth Day for Every Day

I know it's hard to change - trust me, there are so many ways I struggle with changing my behaviour! Individual level change is impacted by many factors, including socio-economic status, life stressors, personality and motivation. Despite our individual differences, we all share one thing in common - every living creature depends on this earth for our survival. We all have to drink water, we all have to eat, we all need oxygen to breathe, and we all must find somewhere safe (and warm) to live.

And so we are ALL responsible for making changes to the way we treat our home. Celebrating Earth Day is a great place to start, but the positive changes we make must translate into permanent change - for the days, weeks, months and years to come.

Join me all this week as I share the little ways our family works to save this glorious planet for our future generations. You won't hear any preaching from me, but you will hear some great ideas. I'll also share the ways in which I neglect my eco-duties, and areas where I hope to make some of my own positive change.

Will you join me?

Hoppy Easter and Pink Carrots!

I love trying out Pinterest-type crafts and recipes, but they never seem to turn out the same. Probably just a sign that I'll never be a Martha Stewart.

carrots...aka Pink Blobs

These strawberries dipped in chocolate are supposed to look like carrots. But I couldn't find orange wafers at Bulk Barn, so just decided to mix red and yellow....which makes pink, apparently.

Instructions:

• Melt chocolate: we use a stainless steel bowl inside a pot of hot water, as I don't own a double boiler
• dip strawberries into melted chocolate and place on a sheet of parchment paper
• Use a spoon to drizzle extra chocolate over the top
• Ask your kids what they look like, and try not to cry when they say "flowers!"

The good news is that they taste egg-cellent!

Happy Easter from one #Pinterestfail Mom to another.

(to try out these "carrots" yourself, check out this link from the Marilyn Denis Show - lots of fantastic ideas!) 

Easter Weekend Roundup

I've been hearing about several great events coming up for both Easter and Earth Day, so I thought I'd share them here! Easter and Earth Day go together quite well, don't you think? Spring is here, the bunnies are multiplying, and the Earth is....well...a bit muddy. Place D'Orleans Easter activities - photo spots with the Easter bunny are all booked up, but there will be free face painting and crafts! Thursday April 17th, 10am - 2pm

Proulx Sugar Bush and Berry Farm: Good Friday and Easter Sunday, 11am - 2pm. An egg hunt, face painting and clue hunt!

Earth Day at Terra20: Saturday April 19th, 12 - 4pm. Lots of kid-friendly activities!

The Canada Agriculture Museum is open every single day this weekend!

The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum has an Easter egg hunt with Curious Cottontail!

Fulton's Pancake House and Sugar Bush - maple syrup...pancakes....say no more!

Stay tuned later this week for some super yummy craft/snack ideas for Easter!

DIY Toys: Fun for Hours!

I got this idea (well kinda definitely copied the idea) from my sister in-law when babysitting her boys a few weeks ago. It’s so simple and so easy to do....and it will entertain your little one(s) for hours!

Why wouldn’t it be fun? It clangs, you can shoot the discs across the room on the floor, put the disks in...pull them out, drop them in, shake it about. So.Much.Fun.

Fin agrees.

And I had fun watching him explore and do all the actions listed above, over and over again.

My sister in-law used a Pringles can for hers, and has a TON of the metal disks. She swears her boys, now 3 and 6, have had hours of fun playing with this game. And she has had it around for a few years now...so it’s great for such a wide age range.

Fin is 10 months old, and he had a blast with it all morning (and then later in the afternoon, in case anyone was noticing the wardrobe change). It’s a little early for Fin right now, but I’ve started labeling the disks with numbers and shapes to increase the learning factor.

So, what do you need to put this simple game together?

- 1 container with a Plastic lid (I used a 32oz. Plastic container from Kardish...they’re nice thick and sturdy)

- Tops (and bottoms if you can detach them) from frozen juice concentrates – I have 4 to start but plan on collecting them as I go through juice...it’s a slow process in my house

- Exacto knife

- Cutting board and/or cardboard

- Permanent Marker or stickers (optional)

Putting it all together:

1)Lay the lid for the plastic container on your cutting board or mat and use the exacto knife to cut out a rectangle measuring 3” x 1/2” (just big enough for your juice lids, aka ‘disks’).

2)Separate your metal tops and bottoms from the cardboard juice containers. Use permanent maker (or stickers!) to draw on numbers, shapes, mathematical signs, words, etc.

3)Put the lid on the plastic container.

4)Let your little one play the day away!

Eryn is a mom to a cheerful and energetic little 10 month old boy. She is a Registered Holisitic Nutritionist & accepting new clients . When she's not chasing around a baby or talking nutrition, she enjoys quilting, crafting, cooking & everything in between and blogs about those and other adventures at Bringing Back Handmade.