Posts tagged under Summer. Show all posts.
We recently undertook a survey on travel habits, in conjunction with TravelGuard, a leading travel insurance plan provider, and we uncovered some surprising things about the travel plans of Canadian families this summer. Despite the doom and gloom of the recession, we were glad to find out that 82% of you say you are planning to take a trip this summer with your family:
We’re big fans of family travel—both Minnow and I have been travelling with our kids since they were babies since our families didn’t live in Toronto at the time. Now we love the chance that travel allows for us to spend time with our kids and reconnect—and it seems you do too. Your top two preferred destinations were all about family—a family cruise or a resort with a good family program. Only 17% of you chose getting away with your best friend on a spa or shopping trip as your preferred destination (but maybe that’s the mommy guilt talking!).
You shared some great travel tips with us too. Some of our favourites include:
For more travel tips from us, check out some of our past articles on road trip sanity savers, flying tips and more. Safe travels!
Last Thursday was EatSavvy Photo Shoot Day at my house which means that I need to clean my kitchen for the crew that comes and takes over for the morning: Denise Smith, Trevor Bond, our creative genius and Holly Sisson, photographer extraordinaire. We cook up all four of the monthly meals to be featured each month in EatSavvy, shoot them (in the photographic sense), eat them and then fight over who gets to take what home.
This month we had a special visitor by the name of Noah. Holly’s son Noah joined us on Thursday because he was signed up for a city camp that week and he couldn’t go because of the City of Toronto strike. He is such a lovely natured boy and was no trouble to us as he watched from the sidelines. Here is a photo of him on the chair reading. Coming to the shoot was a nice change of pace for him, but being at summer camp would definitely be preferred. Now tell me, who is suffering the most from this strike? The children—without a doubt.
Thanks for coming and keeping us smiling Noah. We hope the strike ends soon.
Has the City of Toronto strike affected you?
Photo copyright Holly Sisson Photography
It’s almost time for our annual ‘Western Tour’, where we pack up what seems like half our house, and head out west to visit our families and enjoy the great outdoors. We’re going to be spending some time on a houseboat with my in-laws, and then on to a backcountry hiking trip with my extended family.
So that means this week is a whirlwind of packing and appointments (need those legs waxed!) and lists to get to the finish line (a.k.a. airport check-in on Saturday). The papers are cancelled, the piles of kids’ clothes are stacking up on the dining room table to be checked against my standard summer packing list that I developed a number of years ago and print out fresh each time (that list is indispensable, but when will my kids be old enough to pack for themselves anyway?) and we’re counting down the days.
And if you’ve been following along, you’ll know that I will definitely be packing my laptop along. It actually makes me less stressed, not more, as I know I can check in on some of my projects back at the office from time to time, so if there are one or two loose ends this week I can’t get to, they can be addressed from afar.
What are your vacation prep tips? I would love to hear them.
Dear 16 Year-Old Me,
By the time you reach your 30s, you’ll find yourself using terms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on a regular basis. While these terms actually sound rather harmless, they’ll hold a lot of power and here’s why. You’ll be able to watch and share powerful messages with hundreds of people in an instant about different topics, including this recent one that has been on many peoples’ minds: melanoma.
I know you think the notion of skin cancer isn’t terribly relevant as a 16 year-old, but as the mother of a toddler, you’re soon going to discover just how important sun safety actually is for our kids and for ourselves. This five-minute video produced by the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund has been making the social media rounds because it addresses the scary realities of a cancer that is often overlooked. And considering how much time we (and our kids) spend in the sun, we really need to be thankful there are so many products out there now that will help us stay protected—from natural sunscreens, to UV protective clothing, sunglasses, swimsuits and more.
So take a moment to watch this video and share it with your kids—it might just lead to the end of sunscreen application complaints and to a lifelong (and lifesaving) habit.
PS - Printer paper with perforated holes will finally become irrelevant. So you can stop swearing now.
For the first time since November 2000, I am home alone. Literally. All three of my children are away at overnight camp for two weeks and my husband has taken advantage of the opportunity to go off to the golf course as much as possible. And I must confess, I like it!
Admittedly, passing by their eerily quiet bedrooms in the evening makes me wistfully think about tucking them in. I have also been to the post office pretty much every day since they left, sending them mail and care packages. When I wake up at my usual earlier-than-most hour, the first thought that comes to mind is of my youngest (only 7, after all), sleeping in a bunk somewhere in Algonquin Park where I have never been myself, and all I can think of is that I hope she is not awake thinking about me, because that would mean she is homesick.
But, at the same time, a great calm has come over me. No drop off, no pick up, no soccer practice, no playdates to schedule, no messes to clean up, no yelling, no fighting, no nails to clip, no lunches to pack…I spent some time this weekend organizing some post-school, year-end messes and now I am free as the wind to go to movies (done!), out for dinner (done!), go to yoga class (done!), take a ride on a hot air balloon (next weekend!), watch what Will and Kate are up to (doing!), work (doing!) and read a book (doing!).
A change is as good as a rest sometimes, but I better not get used to this life as it’s only for two weeks.
How are you coping with your kids being away at camp?
Two summers ago, I discovered author Jennifer Weiner and whiled away a cottage weekend reading Best Friends Forever (naturally a tale of two best friends). Then last summer, another cottage weekend was entirely occupied by Fly Away Home, a story of a mother and two daughters who find themselves closer than they ever have been after a series of complicated family problems.
So this summer I was excited to discover that Jennifer’s writing has kept up with my reading (because summer seems to be the only time I can actually get through an entire book) and that she had a new title that addresses surrogacy, egg donorship, the rights of a parent and what it means to be a mother, through a fast-moving story of that brings together the lives of some fascinating characters—a student, a housewife and a socialite.
We’ve got five copies to give away to you, dear readers, so just leave a comment here about your favourite place to read in the summer (the hammock, the dock, the treehouse?) until August 31, 2011, and we will conduct a random draw from all of them.
Congrats to our winners: Karen W., Zoe K., Sheryl M., Tammy C. and Kim B.
summer reading is ALWAYS the best, we have a big old comfy lazy boy that sits facing the lake infront of large sliding glass doors, it is the best to curl up in that chair with a favourite book so you can gaze out at the lake while engrossed in a great book. This book is of particular interest as it deals with infertility, something very personal to me and my spouse!
At the cottage by flashlight just before drifting off to sleep. It makes me feel like a kid again (like I am staying up past my bedtime!).
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Enjoy!