September 30, 2014

COMMUNITY DAY AT THE ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE

 
 
 
This past Sunday was Community Day at Science Centre in celebration of it's 45th birthday! It was a great chance for us to get out and participate in educational play with the boys. They love to learn and explore and the Science Centre is a great place for them to be hands on while discovering something new at the same time. A combination of the beautiful week we hand coupled with our time at the centre made for a great weekend!

September 14, 2014

ONE WEEK OF SCHOOL LUNCHES

 
 
 

Packing lunches, rather, thinking of different things to pack for your children, can become a chore. Oddly enough, this is one thing I really enjoy. Since we  live in Toronto, Ontario, everything is nut free therefore I have to be extra careful about what I pack for the boys. Thankfully just about everything that is nut-free will have a label on the packages, this eliminates the guess work for you, your child and your child's teacher. When packing cold lunches it can be difficult to come up with ideas other than the same old sandwiches so I tried to think of different way to put one together. Since I don't send the boys with milk to school, it is important that I send them with some substantial form of calcium, hence the yogurt just about everyday! I hope this give you some helpful ideas! Please feel free to share the lunches your kids enjoy as well!

Fruit salad (kiwi, grapes, peaches and plums), ham and cheese roll up, yogurt and penguin crackers.

Tomato, carrots, cucumbers and a tuna fish sandwich.

Cheese, crackers, tomatoes, 1/2 ham, yogurt, penguin crackers, raisins and cheese roll up.

Plums, grapes, turkey sandwich, granola bar, fruit snacks and yogurt

Yogurt, Baby bell cheese, mango slices, mini bagel sandwiches, granola bar and a cheese stick.

September 7, 2014

TORONTO FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE

This past Friday my business unit and I were treated to an afternoon aboard the one of the Mariposa yachts, the Rosemary. It was a great experience, not only because we had the boat completely to ourselves but also because I had the chance to view different parts of the city that I haven't had the chance to before. There is a beautiful gem right off the lakeside coast known as Toronto Island, which is a cluster of small islands on Lake Ontario. I have been to Center Island a few times with Joshua when he was little, however I've never seen all the other parts of Toronto Island. It was a beautiful sunny day, probably the last really hot day of the year, so we all soaked it in on the front deck as we watched sailors, kite surfers and fantasized at the 65 million dollar yacht was saw sailing by...yes we googled it! If you are in Toronto or thinking about visiting, I highly suggest a city cruise around the islands!

September 2, 2014

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL


Today was the first day of school for our boys!  In true Smith fashion we arrive literally two minutes before the entry bell rang. It was a good thing Aaron called in late to work because he was busy finding Joshua's teacher while I took Lucas to Junior Kindergarten. FYI in Canada we have two years of  Kindergarten which starts at 4 years old followed by Senior Kindergarten at 5 years old. I got to walk him to his class and help him hang up is backpack on the hook right underneath his name written in a blue star.


He looks like he's in pain but I assure you, he's actually happy.

At around 1:30pm, I was sitting at my desk when I receive a call from the school, Joshua had a rash on his back. I assured them that it was more than likely a heat rash however to be sure I decide to swing by just to check since the school is just down the street. From there I decided to take him to the doctors just to be safe.  So Joshua and I fly off to the walk in clinic nearby and Doc checks him out. As I thought, everything was fine. I drop him back off at school and head back to work. Talk about working mom chaos! Other than the quick lunch time dash to the doctors everything was great. The boy loved their first day!


Again, he's not in pain!

September 1, 2014

BACK TO SCHOOL LUNCH TIPS


Tomorrow is the first day of school for us as I am sure it is also the first day for many others. It is no secret that I love to pack lunches for my boys, so I thought I would share some tips and tricks that I have learned along the way!

Pack lunch the night before
Rather than waking up before the sun, pack lunch the night before! This way you get to take all the time you need without having to rush to get things done in the morning. 

Create a lunch meal plan
Grocery shopping usually gets done on Friday after work or Saturday afternoon, thus I plan what I'll be making for dinner and lunch prior to my trip to the store. I make my plans for the week ahead and then I can create a shopping list based on that. I found that I save so much time and money at the store when I have a meal plan.

Try not to pack the same thing every single day
"Mom," Joshua calls as he descends the staircase every morning. "What are you packing for lunch?"
"A sandwich and-"
"Ugh!" He groans. "Again!?"

Yeah, I try to not hear this every morning so I try and mix it up when I can. The less I repeat lunches, the more of his lunch he will eat! You can take a look at some lunches I created for Joshua last year. HERE

Purchase a thermal container
I absolutely love my Thermos container! The one we have is similar to this. It keeps hot things hot for up to 5 hours and cold things cold for 7 hours. This allows me to pack left overs for Joshua's lunch. After a really good dinner he will say "Can I bring this for lunch tomorrow?" So I'll set some aside for him. In the morning I will pop it in the microwave then transfer the warm meal into his container. Here are some hot lunches ideas. HERE

Label everything
No explanation needed. Label your lunch bag and the containers (the bowl and lid). Kids toss their stuff all around, having everything labeled will make your kids life a whole lot easier when they are trying to find the lid for their containers!