Our Treewalk Village Adventure

Have a little one that loves adventure?  Love getting out into nature and enjoying the warm weather and fresh air?  Head on over to TreeWalk Village located Bruce’s Mill Conservation Area in Stouffville.

TreeWalk Village is an amazing playground of tree-houses connected by rope bridges and hammock net pathways.

My son is a bit of adventurer and can’t wait until he is old enough to do the Treetop Trekking and zip lining, which is also available at this location.  But until then, this is a great option.

I am sure some parents are thinking this isn’t a great option if there children are of the younger crowd.  Let me reassure you, when I was there, there were children as young as 2 years old there and they were having a ton of fun too.  In addition to the rope bridges, there is a group of tunnels for the kids to the walk/crawl through which would be ideal for the younger crowd.

There is also a small rock wall for the kids to take a turn climbing on.

Reservations are required and are for 2 hours at a time.  This is a perfect amount of time to enjoy the entire park area.

There are picnic tables located throughout the park, so be sure to bring along snacks and lots of water.  Even though the area is shaded, it is a bit of a workout maneuvering the bridges between each of the tree-houses.

We both thoroughly enjoyed our adventure and will be returning soon.  It is a great day out for families of all ages.

You can get more information about TreeWalk Village but visiting their website, Facebook and Twitter pages.

**Although admission was provided to me, all comments, opinions and pictures are mine.**

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The Mighty Mama’s Creative Parenting

This week on Mighty Mama’s, we are discussing our creative ways with tough parenting issues.  Check out all the creative solutions the Mighty Mama’s use to get thru the day.

What I learned being a boy Mom.

Growing up, I always envisioned myself with 2 children – a boy, and a girl.  I would play Barbie and dress up with the girl and the boy would play cars and Lego with his Dad.  Obviously, my vision didn’t quite end up that way.

Being a single Mom to an amazing little boy, I have definitely learned a lot of things that I probably would have never known.  And there are things that I sort of knew, but my son has definitely confirmed them for me.   And I am thankful for this.

I would have never known……

1. Pokemon is not just a bunch of trading cards; it is actually a card game. The rules are somewhat complex and this is an entire community of adults out there that take it very seriously. 
2. Lego isn’t just a bunch of blocks you make random things out of. There are many different box sets and series to collect. Eg. Ninjago, Chima, Nexo Knights.  And the minifigures themselves come in series and range in common to rare.
3. Not all little boys are obsessed with sports. My son loves arts and being crafty.  He’d much rather be creating things than throwing a ball around. 
4. Stuffed animals aren’t just a girl thing. Boys love them too. My son has way too many and is always wanting to add to his collection.
5. Jumping in puddles and getting dirty in the mud isn’t all that bad. It’s actually kind of fun. 
6. The older they get, the more they want to look “cool” in front of their friends. But get them home and behind closed doors, a Mommy’s hug and kiss are always wanted.
7. Boys actually do sleepovers. I thought it was just a girl thing.
8. Over the age of 5, the knees in pants last about 2 weeks tops. I swear they walk around on their knees all day.
9. The slimier, the dirtier, the grosser, the better!
10. No male will ever love you as much as your son will!

Having a boy and only a boy has shown me a complete different side of life that I never really knew existed.   I am sure other Moms’ of boys will agree with me and love it as much as I do!

**This post was originally featured as a guest post on #Lifewithboys **

 

This week on Mighty Mama’s, we are talking about how motherhood is different than we ever imagined it would be.  Check us these great Mighty Mama’s and their motherhood misconceptions.

Dinner time made easy with Sausage and Penne

I don’t know about you, but there is nothing worse than coming home after a long day at work and having to start a whole new job at figuring out what to make for dinner.  I would much rather be spending my time with my son and hearing how his day was than over a hot stove.  He tends to be a picky eater too and that doesn’t help either.

I love it when I can throw together a meal that is not only quick and easy but tastes great too.  I am sure all you other Mom’s (and Dad’s) can agree with me on this one.    I am forever scouring Pinterest and my fellow bloggers sites for new and exciting dinner ideas.    My recipe for Sausage and Penne is more of a kitchen sink kind of meal than an actual “recipe”.  It can vary from each time I make it depending on what I have in the fridge at the time.

This recipe actually came about at me from a suggestion of a friend.  That particular evening I was planning to cook sausages and made a comment about how my son didn’t like them barbecued.  She made a comment about crumbling the sausage and adding it to pasta and voila, this recipe has become a staple in our home.

I usually take 4 sausage links and remove the skin from them.  (I tend to use 2 regular Italian and 2 hot Italian so it’s not too spicy.)  I break it up in a frying pan and cooked it thoroughly.

At the same time, I start boiling water for the pasta.  My preference is penne but you can use whatever you have handy in the cupboard.  Like I said, it’s a kitchen sink version.  Never the same twice.    I used about 2 1/2 cups of uncooked pasta.  This usually does enough for both of us to eat and leftovers for my lunch for a day or two.

After the pasta is cooked and drained, I add the cooked (and well drained) sausage into the pot with the pasta.  Now this is where you can get creative with the recipe.  I then add about  2/3 of a jar of pasta sauce and combine everything really well.

My son and I like cheese with our pasta so depending on what I have on hand, I add it in.  This time I added a large handful of shredded mozzarella and about a 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese.

I put the pot back on low-medium heat and stir everything together for about 5 minutes until the cheese is gooey and melted and everything is hot.

Top it off with a little of the grated mozzarella and a little Parmesan and serve with some veggies and dip on the side or a nice roll and voila, dinner is served!  It’s a easy dinner that we both enjoy.  Most often seconds are requested.

Sure this isn’t a rocket science recipe and has been done a million different ways before, but if you are like me and not the most creative in the kitchen after a long day at work, ideas like this are very much appreciated in my world.

Sausage and Penne

• 4 links Sausages (I used 2 regular and 2 hot Italian)
• 2.5 cups Pasta (I generally use Penne but anything is fine)
• 2/3 jar Pasta sauce
• 1 handful Shredded mozarella
• 1/2 cup feta

1. Remove skin from sausages. Break up and brown in frying pan until fully cooked.
2. Boil water and cook pasta until soft. Drain completely.
3. With pot removed from heat, add drained sausage to pasta. Stir well.
4. Add pasta sauce to mixture and mix all together.
5. Add cheese and return pot to medium-low heat.
6. Stir and heat until cheese is melted and sauce is hot.
7. Top with additional mozzarella or Parmesan (optional) and serve!

On Mighty Mama’s this week – Saying Goodbye to Mom Guilt

This week on Mighty Mama’s, we are talking about how to say goodbye to our “Mom Guilt”.  We each deal with it a bit differently, so hopefully it will help you feel better about your own “guilt”.  Check us these great Mighty Mama’s.

 

Not a Crazy Cat Lady

When people know that I am a single woman, with a cat, I often get the side eye and know instinctively that in their head they are thinking “oooooh she’s a crazy cat lady”.  Let me set the record straight – I am not a crazy cat lady.  I have one cat that on the most part drives me crazy.  🙂

I have always been a cat person.  I don’t think I can really remember a time in my life that I didn’t have a cat of my own (or at my parents).   Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs too, but I just find that with my life and commitments, that having a dog just isn’t the right fit for me.  Being a single woman, I sometime use the cat the keep me a bit sane at night.  If I hear a random noise at night, I automatically just blame it on the cat.

As much as my cat can sometimes drive me crazy, she definitely is good company to have.  I love nothing more than to have her snuggle up on my lap while I am watching TV.

Recently, Hartz provided us with some of their latest product to try out.

Hartz Just for Cats Twirl and Whirl 

It was hard to get a good picture of this product because I barely had it out of the box and my cat was wanting to play with it.  It contains catnip so she was going crazy for it.  It somewhat reminded me of a fishing rod with feathers and mouse on the end of it.  As you can see by the picture, she pulled it right out of my hands a couple of times.  She loved playing with this, but so did my son.   He couldn’t stop laughing as she kept jumping for it as he would pull it away from her.  Best part, after all the running around, it tires her out and she then sleeps well those nights.

 

Delectables Lickable Treats

What cat doesn’t love a treat?  Generally my cat eats hard food but when I want to give a treat, I will give her soft food and then add water to it to make it almost a soup.  These Delectable Bisque and Stews save me from all that.  They kind of have the consistency of a baby food puree and my cat ate it up in no time flat.  She devoured it.  One of the samples I received was for a Senior (10yrs +) cat.  My cat is only about 7 yrs old, so I took this to my parents cat to try out.  She tends to be a bit of a picky eater and she had her sample gone in a flash.

Lightweight Litter

If there is one thing I have to complain about with my cat is the litter box.  I can’t stand a smelly litter box and I hate having to drag the big heavy box of litter home from the store.  This Light Weight Multi Cat litter is the answer to those 2 problems.

We were going away a few weekends back, so I decided to give this litter the 2 day test.  I filled the litter box with this litter and left it for the 2 days we were away.  One thing I noticed is that the litter itself has much larger granules than the normal litter I use.  I am guessing it has to do with it being lightweight, as the container was nice and light and much easier to carry.

After returning from being away, I came back to no awful smell and a litter box that was super easy to clean.  This litter definitely clumps better than other brands that I have used.  Being able to remove more of the dirty litter, the less smell.  I will definitely be using this from now on.  Now if only I could get the cat from kicking it on to the floor.

Ultra Care Flea and Tick Products

My cat is an indoor cat, but she does love to sneak out when someone comes to the door.  She never goes far and only ends up being out for a few minutes at a time, but that is time enough for her to pick up bugs, especially fleas and ticks.  Now that the warmer weather is here, I am letting her lay on the porch a bit longer or meander through the front flower beds so I need to be extra cautious.  The Flea Protector is an easy way to prevent the onset of fleas.  Applied once a month, and it takes care of itself.

I like the Flea and Tick spray, as I can apply it directly to her when she comes in from outside.  With Lyme disease from ticks so prevalent these days, I always give her a once over when  she comes in and now give her a spray when needed.  The last thing I need is vet bills from a nasty tick bite.

So like any other member of my family, I like to make sure that she enjoys her time with us and Hartz definitely helps.

You can learn more about the Hartz line of products on their website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

**Although these products were provided to me, all comments, opinions and pictures are mine.**

 

This week on Mighty Mamas

I have been lucky enough to join a group of amazing Mama’s for a 10 week series where we share our thoughts on Motherhood.  This week’s topic is how we stay calm when we our kids are melting down.  Check us out at http://www.littleandmighty.com/blog .

 

Motherhood – Celebrate it every single day!

When you’re a single Mom, especially when you child(ren) are still very young, waking up on Mother`s Day it is no different than any other day.  Your children wake you up at the crack of dawn, not to surprise you with flowers and breakfast, just because that it what they do every day.  You are not treated to gifts of pampering and cards expressing love.  It`s just like every other day.

This is definitely not my pity party or my way to complain about the fact that I am not getting store bought gifts from my child.

But in fact, the greatest gift is the fact that I get to be woken up that morning by my little one with hugs and kisses that he gives me every single morning that he is with me.  We get so little time together that I relish every opportunity I get to have snuggles and kisses.

I don`t need flowers or a card or a day of pampering to know that my son loves me.   The “Mommy come play with me“ and the `Mommy, can I have a cuddle?” are gifts enough.

He’s growing up so fast, I swear it feels like just yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital.  I know that sooner rather than later, he won’t want to snuggle with his Mom or do any of the things we do together now.  So for now, I will take every one of these moments and cherish them.

Growing up I always wanted to be a Mom, there was never any doubt.  So I have gotten the one thing that I truly wanted in life and I don’t need a special day to celebrate it.

There are Mom’s out there that have lost their little ones and Mother’s Day is just another very commercial, constant reminder of their loss.  There are Mom’s like me who want to see their children every single day but due to others’ decisions, they have to be apart from their children for periods of time.  There are women out there that desperately want to have that Mom title, but due to circumstances beyond their control aren’t able to have children and again are reminded of what they are missing out and I find this heartbreaking. That is why we need to cherish what we are lucky enough to have.

So please Mom’s remember to celebrate Motherhood every single day!  They won’t be small long, and soon you will be wishing we had more of these days with them!

 

 

Rocking with the Mini Pop Kids

When I hear the words “Mini Pop Kids”, I am instantly flashed back to when I was a kid and listening to them singing “Video Killed the Radio Star”.  But the Mini Pop Kids are back and now my son is enjoying listening to them as well.  Their CD’s have been a staple in my car for a couple of years now.

When I recently heard that the Mini Pops Kids were coming to town with their Break Out tour, I knew that I had to get tickets for us to go.  The day tickets went on sale, I had my phone ready to go and was luckily was able to grab us some great seats.  From what I have been told, the tickets for the first performance sold out in 13 minutes!

My son was so excited on the day of the event; I think he must have asked me 25 times if it was time to go yet.

At the event, we were treated to sneak peek back stage and got to meet the group.  At first my son was a bit shy and didn’t want to approach them but they were all so nice and welcoming, he warmed up pretty fast.  He was lucky enough to have them all sign his CD.

 

After a lot of anticipation, the concert started and we definitely were not disappointed.  The show was full of hit songs and some amazing dancing.  The voices on these kids are incredible!

And then it was the moment my son was hoping for….they were going to play his favorite song  “Whip and Nae Nae”.   Just before they started the song, they chose a few children from the audience to come up on stage to dance with them.  My son was so incredibly thrilled to be chosen.   As a Mom,  I have to say it was the cutest thing ever!!!!  He totally got his groove on!!  I swear he is still talking about it weeks later!!  I can’t thank the Mini Pop Kids enough for giving him the opportunity.

At the end of the concert, they invited kids to come up to the stage and shake their hands and then they could line up for autographs.  We were lucky to have gotten the chance before the show, because it was quite a line up.

In all, it was an amazing show.  I am not sure who had a better time, me or my son!!  I will be sure to keep my eyes out to see if they return to our area as I will be getting tickets again.  Not only are these kids amazing performers, they are genuinely good kids and the production team behind them are a class act.  I can’t thank them all enough for making our day and the concert such an amazing experience.

To follow the Mini Pops kids, you can check out their website, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook pages!