Freedom with Protection ~ GIVEAWAY! ($25 Amazon GC!)

Safety for our children is a big deal these days - and it seems that it's getting harder and harder to protect them and keep them from a lot of the "gross-ness" that is out there now. However, I strongly believe that it is our duty as parents to protect our children to the best of our ability, and that includes online protection! Technology is at the fingertips of our kids these days and with so much access to technology it can be hard to keep track what our children and doing and who they are communicating with. We recently were able to try out an email that is set up for kids (or teens!) and is a safe email service for families. We loved it!! KidsEmail.org is a company that gives your child an email account which also allows the parents to be "in-the-know" about any emails that are sent or received.

Sesame Street Live ~ GIVEAWAY (Calgary, AB)

Sesame Street is one of those great kids shows that has been around for a long time...even I watched Sesame Street as a child! :) It has changed in the last 25 years, but you'll still see the great, classic characters like Elmo! And seeing Sesame Street characters in real life is something that many kids dream of. If you are located in Calgary, AB your family has the chance to enjoy a great Sesame Street Live show! "Elmo Makes Music" is coming to the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on July 27 – 29, 2012.

Kids of Action

Diane Roy, Beijing 2008,
courtesy of Canadian Paralympic Committee

This morning, an online e-book, titled Kids of Action, was released for download. Canada's athletes are getting ready for the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games this summer. This book is dedicated to the Paralympic Athletes, as a way of honouring them, and helping children learn more about the preparations and daily life of the paralympians. The book features 2 fictional stories about Sam and Kaley, as well as information about the various Paralympic Sports and how the athletes participate.

Created by Vancouver-based, award-winning author and former school teacher, Cynthia Pratt Nicolson, the stories honour Canada’s most inspiring athletes by showing how their unwavering belief in themselves can encourage us all to reach for our dreams.

Keep Your Cool!

We're trying to keep cool today. We started out at 25°C (77°F) in our living room this morning and it will only get better. We do have a brand new tool to aid in our efforts to stay cool though - and it's making a lot of difference.

Last week, we featured the Dyson vacuum cleaner, which is bagless, and a huge (IMHO) improvement over bag-using machines. This week it's another Dyson appliance, also with something remarkable removed. It's a fan, without blades! What an ingenious way of moving air in a pleasant and safe way!!

DK Discovery Day ~ Animal Encylcopedia ~ GIVEAWAY!

Animals are something that both fascinate and scare my kids! :) They LOVE to learn about them...but getting up close and touching them or being near a real animals is a different story (at least for my girls ;) ). Regardless of whether or not they like being near animals that are moving and breathing, I still think that this is a great time to start teaching our kids about the amazing group of animals that populate our planet! And what a better way to do this than to use DK Canada's book Animals: A Visual Encylcopedia. This book is perfect for younger readers and is packed full with sharp, vibrant photography of loads of animals. From ants to elephants to wallabies, you'll find fun facts, pictures and easy to understand information.

This encyclopedia highlights the animals that are the most likely to get a youngsters imagination working. It features the largest, the friendliest, the fastest, the strangest and so much more. We loved the wide variety of animals that we found in this book!

Live Clean for your Face! ~ GIVEAWAY!!!

You'll probably remember I'm a big fan of Live Clean products. Over the past few years, we've had the chance to try out many products from their collection and have always been impressed.

Many of you will also know I'm a proud Canadian - and many of you are too!  We're coming up to our nation's birthday on July 1st, and there's a lot of patriotism to be seen. What are your plans for Canada Day? We'll possibly go to the park for some activities there and for sure go and watch the fireworks at the end of the day.

Live Clean is also a proud Canadian company! And in order to celebrate Canada Day with our readers, we've joined up with many blogs in the Great Canadian Blog Bash! Today's the day we start The Great Canadian Blog Bash hosted by Whispered Inspirations, Mom vs. the Boys, Positively Pampered Patty, Good Girl Gone Green and Kat’s Confessions, all great Canadian blogs!

PolyPuzzle Fun ~ #Giveaway ($100)!

From a little girl to a teenager, I was always a fan of puzzles. I went from the kids puzzles to those 1000 piece puzzles that take days to complete...and loved them all! Now as a mom, it seems that we're raising a few more puzzle fans in our home. Our daughter especially loves puzzles. :) We recently discovered a brand new way to enjoy puzzling together. PolyPuzzle is all about creativity and turning colorful laser-cut paper into amazing 3D puzzles.

PolyPuzzle sent us a variety of their kits and 3D puzzles, which range from easy to complicated. My daughter and I began by creating this gorgeous snowflake together, and she has dreams of including it in our Christmas decorations this winter. It was a lot of fun to create though. The PolyPuzzles are definitely meant for older children or adults (ages 12 & up could do most of them independantly), so for younger children such as ours, it is an activity for an adult and a young child to work on together. Either way, the puzzles are so much fun. They are challenging, creative and the end result is fun and inspiring.

Square + Dot = Rug! ~ FLOR GIVEAWAY ($200-$300!)

I have to admit...I LOVE area rugs. If I could do the decor in my own home you'd likely find lots of hardwood floors with lots of beautiful area rugs! There's a lot of choice out there when it comes to rugs too, isn't there? But I've never seen ANY rugs before that are the same as the ones from FLOR. Yep, there's something 100% unique about their rugs and I'm certain you're going to love it as much as we did! ;)

FLOR has a custom square + dot = rug formula. Your rug comes in squares, along with special dots that "glue" the squares together into any design or shape that you may desire. You can create runners, rectangular rugs, or even a wall to wall rug. The options are endless really! We have a beautiful Give Thanks area rug from FLOR. It is obviously a perfect rug for fall, but it can be a great fit for any time of the year. This particular rug is made of courser materials and is ideal for an entrance.

Keep things wrapped up!

Wraps are very popular to eat these days - funny how I don't think I even knew what a wrap was when I was growing up! (dating myself now too, right?!) My kids have decided they really like wraps, so we try to do that every now and again. It's a great way to change up a lunch or dinner. But it's messy with kids! How do you keep all the stuffing inside?

Happy Nappers!

Recently, an ingenious stuffy arrived at our house. This one is reversible! :) I'd never seen anything like it before!

Perhaps you have seen the Happy Nappers advertised on TV. This soft and cuddly play pillow, in various home style shapes, turns itself into a friendly play pal! All it takes is a unzipping and unstuffing, and the transformation is complete!

Cleaning up with Dyson!

In a house with 3 young children, where we enter directly from the outside (imagine MUD) into a white-tiled kitchen, we have to clean up a lot. I vacuum the kitchen most days at least once, and sometimes twice, and often have to spot clean here and there as well.

You know when a friend tells you "You should get this, you'll absolutely love it!"? Sometimes you wonder, right?  Well...turns out my friend was right! :) She has a Dyson vacuum, and couldn't stop telling me how wonderful it was! I do know that when she had vacuumed her house (with hairy dog) really well, our son was able to play there for a short playdate, with no noticeable allergy symptoms, even though he's allergic to dogs.  Now that I've got my own Dyson vacuum, I am in complete agreement. I do absolutely love it!!! I could start some kind of Shakespearean speech: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!!"

Scholastic Monday ~ Some Dads

We just celebrated a day that only comes once a year...Father's Day. We love celebrating Dad in our home and this year Dad got a special breakfast of bacon and waffles to enjoy in bed! :) Scholastic Canada has a great book that also helps to celebrate Dads both on Father's Day weekend and throughout the year.

Some Dads by Nick Bland is a fun little book that is filled with the best parts of being a Dad. It features all sorts of animal parents and their sweet animal babies. We loved the mischievous sheep whimsical,rhyming story that you'll discover in Some Dads. The illustrations are bright and colorful as well and fit perfectly with the story.

The book is filled with a wonderful message about unconditional love and is definitely a special one for a father and child to enjoy together all year round!


**Disclosure: The product/s mentioned above have been given free of charge from the company or PR firm in exchange for being featured on Glimpse. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Glimpse and have not been influenced in any other way. Please see the full Terms of use.

A Mother's Gift ~ GIVEAWAY!

Have you ever wished for a way to capture your memories, favorite moments, dreams, and the wisdom you've learned throughout the years? For a way to capture this for your children and your family? I know that as a mom, I want to share so much with my children...and I want them to remember the good times and to learn from us grown-ups who have gone before them and have made mistakes and now "know better!" "For My Children: A Mother's Journal of Memories, wishes and Wisdom" is a beautiful book that is perfect for holding onto memories and words of advice. It's a great way to remember vacations, traditions and to pass these memories on to your children. Both of us moms here at Glimpse received a copy of For My Children...here are our thoughts on it:

A Little Lug for Life

It's not unusual these days for people to travel a lot! Between weddings, business trips and holidays the nights away from home can really add up. This is especially true for Dads who often have to attend overnight business meetings, or go to seminars or retreats or even schooling for their jobs. Dad often has a few work-related trips in our family too, and when our whole family of six is not going along, he really doesn't need to pack and carry that big hockey bag we like to use when we all go somewhere. ;) Lug has the perfect solution for a frequent traveler, and it is exceptional for a traveling Dad!

The Porter Roller Bag is a medium sized bag that has plenty of space. and has all the great features that you'll need!

Online learning for the little people!

When we were away on vacation last month, I noticed several ads for ABCmouse.com as the kids were watching a favourite show on PBSkids. I had never heard of ABCmouse.com before, and, ironically, when I checked my email at home, there was an email about this same website. ABCmouse.com is a full online curriculum for kids 2-6 and has more than 3,500 learning activities spanning reading, math, science, social studies and music. The activities come in the form of books, puzzles, games, exploratory activities and original songs.

ABCmouse.com is a membership-based website, with a 30-day free trial. A family profile can include up to 3 children (user) accounts, as well as a parent account. Each child can set up his or her own character that moves through the website with them, and the level of learning activities can be customized for each child.

DK Discovery Day ~ A Day in the Life of a Police Officer ~ GIVEAWAY!

There are certain jobs that kids seem to gravitate to when they are young...these are often the "rescue" or "hero" type of jobs, aren't they? At least for our kids, I know that police officers, firefighters and ambulance drivers are all very heroic and totally exciting! They love hearing about the people who do these jobs and are curious about all the aspects of it too...now if only I knew all the answers! :) DK Canada has a fabulous reader in their Level 1 readers that has been perfect for our son who has been learning to read this past year. A Day in the Life of a Police Officer is definitely interesting and intriguing to him and makes reading so much more fun!

For the EcoParent in all of us...

Becoming more environmentally friendly is usually a long process of little steps, learning more about what is better for the environment and what works for your family and budget. Much of what can be done is applicable to everyone regardless of location, but it is great to have a Canadian information source.

Launched in May 2012, the new magazine EcoParent aims to inform Canadian parents on environmental issues and choices affecting families. The publishers want to help Canadian families make responsible, sustainable and, most importantly, attainable lifestyle choices. I think it's great to have a magazine with Canadian content - after all, there's nothing more frustrating than reading a publication, finding something you like and realizing it's not available here.

Celebrate summer! ~ GIVEAWAY!!

In the midst of all the busy-ness of the summer months, don't forget to "press pause" and enjoy the many moments to celebrate! Hallmark wants to help you celebrate...weddings, babies, graduations and more!

Education Online With K12

Educators and parents are taking notice of a new initiative which promises to have a strong impact on the American educational system in the coming years. K12 is a program devoted to students who do not perform well in traditional classroom settings or are not involved in a traditional classroom setting. K12 offers both a syllabus and methodology for online learning which allows learners to study through either a teacher-supported or independent study curriculum. The program expands the learner's knowledge base as it engages the student in a learning process which is designed to create a confident and capable learner.

The K12 approach is aimed at homeschoolers, learning disabled and struggling students, gifted and advanced learners, military families, native English-speaking students who are living with their families overseas, student performers and athletes and homebound students. The success of the learning program brings creative learning strategies to the learning environment, giving each student the opportunity to reach his or her potential. The program consists of a reading program, supplemental educational materials and a summer school enrichment program. 

K12 offers 75 online courses in History, Math, Science, English/Language Arts, Art, Music and World Languages. Each of these courses utilizes challenging and engaging online and offline content which has been designed to individualize the course of study. Learning materials include textbooks, CDs, videos, and hands-on materials, all of which offer a motivating interactive educational program. K12 evaluates a student's level with a standardized testing tool and then tests the student throughout the year to measure progress and pinpoint where learning difficulties may exist. Once these issues are spotted K12 can modify the student's Individualized Learning Plan to work on areas of deficiency.

"Education provides the fullest opportunities for fulfilling ourselves. It is the access to all that a person has yet to learn, and that is precisely why the future belongs to the educated.” Lowell Milken

Public and private educational institutions employ the K12 Education method. These include online public and private schools, academies and charter schools. K12 provides a free information kit which presents a complete overview of the K12 program.

  **Disclosure: This post is a guest post and was not written by the Glimpse Team. Please see the full Terms of use.

Pregnancy, Baby and Beyond! ~ $30 GIVEAWAY!

Have you ever wondered why it suddenly becomes so expensive to dress yourself once you're pregnant? Or nursing? :) Yep, pregnancy and nursing clothes are definitely up there among some of more pricey clothing items you can purchase. And because of that I have become a HUGE fan of all thing second-hand! You can often find a ton of great quality second hand clothing for moms, dads and especially children. Second Peek Maternity Boutique is a superb online shop that carries a great selection of maternity clothes and nursing wear that is gently used, and most importantly, affordable! The boutique is a great place for expecting moms to shop for pre-loved maternity clothing and save money while doing it! In addition, moms who've passed the pregnancy stage can de-clutter and sell/consign their maternity clothes!

Celebrate Madagascar 3 with Kinder Canada!

It's the in the news...on the website, and is coming to YOU! Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is going to be debut in theatres in just a few short days (June 8th!) I was a fan of both the previous Madagascar movies and, well, you just can't help but love Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman and the penguins. I can't wait to see what kind of antics, fun and laughs we'll find in Madagascar 3!

Not surprisingly, KINDER® Canada has joined ranks with DreamWorks® and Madagascar 3. What could be more fun than the two of these put together?! Starting TODAY, all our favorite Madagascar characters are taking over the KINDER® Canada Facebook page...and here's the best part: for the next 12 days all of Kinder's fans will have a chance to instantly win 1 of 120 Cineplex® Family Passes for the movie in addition to the chance to win 1 of 4 Grand Prize passes! You and your family could be watching Madagascar 3 for free this summer. Here's a few more details to get you excited about these prizes...

The Adult neatFreak!

Remember neatFreak!? That great Canadian company with a lot of really suitable storage and organizational products? We showcased some of their products for children a couple of weeks ago...I must say these are really helping the kids to keep their things a bit neater, because there's an easy and clear system to follow. Luckily, they also have some really great items fore adults to use too - although, if you want a candy pink striped shoe storage unit on the back of your bedroom door, you can go right ahead too! :)

Hot Potatoes!

I've been trying harder to make a menu plan for our family lately, and it's been working out great. I don't always make Monday's meal on Monday (maybe switch it around depending on moods, weather, etc) but at least I have the ingredients I need in the house. It's been relatively easy to come up with a main dish, but I often have trouble with a side dish. With 3 hungry kids and dinner prep time being one of the hardest times of day, there often isn't a lot of time for prepping stuff, and it's nice to have something easy to fall back on for those absolutely crazy days!

McCain Foods is well-known for their potatoes...fries, wedges, breakfast potatoes...as well as for their other frozen foods such as pizzas, cakes and juices. The McCain company was started by 2 McCain brothers in New Brunswick, and is still a family-owned, Canadian company, with plants in 6 continents!!

Potato and Broccoli, Potato and Mushroom, Potato and Carrot

Recently, McCain Foods launched a new product called Harvest Splendour Potato Medleys. There are 4 frozen potato medleys to choose from:

Scholastic Monday ~ How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies?

If there are two things that kids love it would likely be dinosaurs and cookies! :) This week Scholastic Canada's feature is a book that focuses on exactly these two topics! Jane Yolen and Mark Teague have a whole series of 'How to Dinosaurs...' books, including How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies? It was an immediate hit in our house...I mean, really...what could could be better than some delicious dinosaur cookies?!

Not only is the story fun and captivating for the younger crowd, but it also has some cookie-themed scratch-and-sniff scents to go along with the these yummy dinosaur cookies. Our kids loved interacting with the book in this way and declared that their favorite dinosaur cookie was the chocolate one.

The book also include some special Dino-Cookie recipes for you to make with your kids. You gotta love the names of the recipes too...such as the Choco-Chunk-A-Dactyl and Fossilized Lemon Tracks! And I can't imagine anyone not wanting to taste a Cinnama-Saurus-Rex cookie. ;)

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies? is sure to be a hit with kids. It is fun, interactive and definitely hits the spot for both dinosaur-lovin' boys and cookie-lovin' girls!

 **Disclosure: The product/s mentioned above have been given free of charge from the company or PR firm in exchange for being featured on Glimpse. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Glimpse and have not been influenced in any other way. Please see the full Terms of use.

New Easy Fit!!

We have been amazed, since getting into the world of cloth diapers, just how many kinds of diapers there are out there. We have a few different styles in action, and have seen some more and they truly aren't all made equally. I think it's also a case of different styles suiting different families as well. Some of our favourites have been the Tot Bots Easy Fit, which we've been using for quite a while now. When I heard that there was a new Easy Fit, I was keen to try it out.

The diaper is made in Scotland (somewhere I've always wanted to go!) and the Tot Bots company is careful to source ethically produced products. The Tot Bots Easy Fit and Tini Fit are distributed by Bummis in North America, a company who's been making cloth diapers for many years now.