events
21st
May
2009
Posted in: Local Shop n' Dine, babies n' kids, events
It seems like from here on in, there’s some family fun-ness happening in Durham.
This weekend is no exception.
Saturday is the much-anticipated Mom2Mom Sale in Ajax. All the details are here.
Many of Durham Region’s Farmers’ Markets open this weekend or next. All winter, when we drive by the location of our local one, Lucy yells, “Therrrrrrre’s the Market!” Can’t wait to get some fresh and local food again. Click here for a list to find your closest one.
Saturday is also the Region of Durham’s annual National Public Works Week celebrations, where you can tour various recycling, traffic, water and compost facilities. It may SOUND boring, but they’re actually lots of fun for kids to see where our stuff goes. Plus, you get to see big tractors and diggers and dudes in hard hats (perhaps that last one is something for the moms?).
Finally, and this one is for us north Durham folks (go Boonies!), there’s free compost to be had at the Uxbridge Arena from 8 a.m.-noon.
Take a spin through your local paper to find all the garage sales, too. This weekend seems to be the unofficial kick off to the season.
(Eric, I’m gonna be gone for a few hours on Saturday morning. Good luck with the kids!)
Don’t forget to visit our local events page here for more.
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Want to advertise your event to our targeted audience? Email info@durhamregionbaby.com to find out how!
12th
May
2009
Posted in: Contests, Local Shop n' Dine, events, shopping
Lucy once again enjoyed reaching into the ballot box and throwing paper in the air fishing out winners. Alice was on her belly nearby, and almost ate three names. Good thing y’all wrote in pen!
Here are the prize winners from the Mamas & Chicks Show (check your email, ladies):
25th
April
2009
Posted in: Local Shop n' Dine, babies n' kids, events, shopping
If you live in Durham Region or anywhere in south central Ontario today, you know it’s GORGEOUS out — currently 28 degrees up here in the Boonies! Unfortunately I’m spending some of the afternoon getting ready for tomorrow’s Mamas & Chicks Show, which includes this reminder blog post, which in hindsight is probably pointless because you’re probably all outside!
Eric, Alice and I will be there just inside the front entrance, so be sure to say hello and enter to win all this booty:
Another special thanks to our friends in the Durham Region parent-geared business community for the support and product donations. Don’tcha all love freeeeee stuff?
See you there!
20th
April
2009
Posted in: Local Shop n' Dine, babies n' kids, events, shopping
CONTEST CLOSED: FREE TICKETS ALL GONE!
It’s spring shopping time, and the Mamas & Chicks Show in Oshawa this Sunday is just the place to mingle with other moms and support local businesses (my fave!).
There’s free parking, tons of great prizes to win, more than 55 exhibitors, and the Cutest Spring Chick Competition to win a photography and art portrait. We’ll be at the very first table when you enter the show, so be sure to say hello.
Want to go and not pay? I don’t mean sneak in the back door (is that even possible with a babbling baby and ginormous stroller?), I mean get on The List for free tickets.
These contests are always so challenging. My brain hurts from coming up with this skill-testing question:
How much is admission for the suckers who have to pay because they won’t be on The List? You’ll find the cost somewhere on the show’s website.
The first 50 to send the answer to info@durhamregionbaby.com win, so enter soon!
Here’s what we’re giving away on Sunday:
See you there!
20th
April
2009
Posted in: Local Shop n' Dine, babies n' kids, events, shopping
Lucy had great fun drawing these names for the Baby & Toddler Show winners, which included grabbing a fistful of ballots and throwing them in the air like confetti. Note to self: 3-year-olds make terrible office assistants.
If you think one of these is you, and you haven’t received an email, that means your spam folder ate my note. And if you get home tonight and there’s a message from a stange woman with someone blowing spit bubbles in the background? It’s not a crazed person from the mental health ward at the hospital calling…that’s Alice and I.
Congrats to all!
I’ve got more goodies to give away at this Sunday’s Mamas & Chicks Show in Oshawa, including free tickets. Stay tuned!
14th
April
2009
Posted in: Blog: Life with Lucy & Alice, Local Shop n' Dine, babies n' kids, events, news from the change table, photos, the hubby, the outside world
The show went great. There were more than 1,000 people through the doors (I wonder if they count babies, too?), and the place was steadily busy until around 2 when nap time hit. I met a ton of people, said hi to some readers, and received lots of interest in both sites (and giveaway entries, too! Winners announced tomorrow).
Thankfully Alice was like this most of the day. She slept for a bit in the morning in her car seat, then Eric took her to the mall for a while so she could doze in the stroller. I keep meaning to write about how she’s freaked out at strangers since, oh, birth, and how worried I was about how she’d react to everyone. But like a true baby, she surprised us all.
My (pregnant again!) friend Colleen sent the girls these fabulous matching Easter pajamas from Old Navy (there’s an egg with sunglasses on, and the caption says, “I’m a cool egg”). Lucy is so tickled when she and Alice match. I’ve got to find more paired clothes for them. This was at bedtime on Saturday after a long day at the show, and Alice is quite understandably done.
She was in a much better mood in the morning.
Lucy went absolutely bonkers over the eggs the Easter Bunny hid for her. She shuffled around the house in her bunny slippers, squealing each time she found one (”Look, Mumma, ah-nudder one!”). The Easter Bunny was supposed to keep track of how many eggs s/he hid to make sure Spencer Dog did not come across any, but s/he was slightly tired. And Lucy loved the hunt so much, she’s spent the last two days re-hiding all the eggs herself, then finding them (or asking us too, all along the way showing us where they are). Makes for much hilarity and eye-rolling, as the kid hides the eggs in the same places over and over again. Still, I think we’re down three or four.
They’ll probably show up at Christmas.
10th
April
2009
Posted in: Blog: Life with Lucy & Alice, Local Shop n' Dine, babies n' kids, baby gear, events, work
The last package arrived yesterday evening, and I can’t believe all the goodies I have to give away to you at the Durham Parent Baby & Kids Show tomorrow: more than $1,000 worth of treats!
Please stop by and say hello to Eric, Alice and I, and enter to win all this awesome stuff, OK? There are 13 prizes in total, so your chance of winning something is, as Lucy would say, awe-sommmme!
Special thanks to all the local businesses who generously donated products and services. We couldn’t be prouder to be offering such kick ass goodies to our readers from the fantastic network of parent-geared companies in Durham Region.
2nd
April
2009
Posted in: Contests, Local Shop n' Dine, babies n' kids, events, shopping
Friday update: The tickets went so quick that I asked for and received another 20 to give away…and still have 10 left this morning. So it’s not too late if you haven’t emailed!
It’s just over a week until the Durham Parent Baby & Kids Show. And I’ve of course got free tickets to give away! Actually, this is the best contest ever, because everyone wins — if you don’t get a free pass, I’ve got a $1 off coupon for everyone.
I have a TON of great stuff (spa baskets, baby blankets, fitness and clown gift certificates, fun clips) to give away from local businesses, too, so you must stop by to see Eric, Alice and I (I’m not crazy enough to bring a 3-year-old to a show for 8 hours, so Lucy is blissfully spending the day with my Mom).
- kids are free, and adults just $5 ($4 with coupon)
- free parking
- free face painting
- meet the Easter Bunny between 10 a.m. – noon
- meet Nanny Robina from the Mom Show
- free stage presentations & classes, including mom & baby pilates, dancing, potty training Q & A and more
- free goody bag for the first 500 guests
- more than 50 exhibitors (including me!) offering shopping, education and entertainment
- enter to win a 3 foot chocolate Easter Bunny (seriously…THREE FEET OF CHOCOLATE)
- door prizes
- enter the smoothie contest and Big Crawl Diaper Race to win amazing prizes (click here for details)
Here’s how you win: Visit the show website, and find out where the show is being held (city and venue). The first 20 people to email me (info@durhamregionbaby.com) the correct answer pay nothing at the door.
Emails after 20 will receive a batch of $1 off coupons.
Good luck!
13th
March
2009
Posted in: Local Shop n' Dine, Sweet Sites, events, family, fun time waster, local, resource, unique
Durham Parent March Break Guide: Camps, indoor, outdoor and silly activities for next week, including neat local places to visit.
The idea of a “baby brain” phenomenon that turns a woman’s mind to “mush” when she is pregnant is a myth and the child bearing process may actually improve the brain, research suggests: Hogwash. How many of you were ridiculously forgetful and incompetent while with child? My hand is waving in the air. And it continues after birth, too (especially with two). An old friend told me once that a good chunk of your brain cells are delivered along with the placenta. I agree.
Getting kids to eat vegetables and other healthy foods: An excellent follow-up to our discussion the other day about picky eaters. I love the tips about making food fun (Lucy loves when we make happy faces with ketchup), never make food a reward (oops), and avoiding a power struggle.
The Scrunge: Any of you have glass ceramic stoves? I love mine, but it’s a bitch to clean. Stuff gets burned on so easily (even water!), and it really hard to get off. But not with this baby. The Scrunge is chemical free — just a sponge-like scrubber — and works like magic. The top of my stove is now clean for the first time since August 2007 when we bought it. Thanks for sharing, Mom!
The world’s least surprising story: From the world’s worst role model for girls. “Paris Hilton spent day two in Hawaii yesterday, and did she make sure that every possible instant was documented by the paparazzi, even during her time underwater? Of course she did. Why wouldn’t she.”
Turning lemons into lemonade: Jen O. is battling ever parents’ dirty secret — a bad sleeper. Her daughter may be up there on the world’s most adorable baby list, but she is making a zombie out of her mother. Jen shared some fabulous sleep tips from her research, and lays out a plan to hopefully help her whole family get some more z’s. Go share your tips and love. She needs it.
Quick and dirty on sleep: Speaking of, my parenting guru Moxie has the best ever articles on sleep issues of all ages. Just search sleep on her site. This link is an excellent overview. Eg: Have you heard of the 2-3-4 schedule? That a surprising # of kids follow this pattern: Morning nap around 2 hours after waking, an afternoon nap around 3 hours after waking from the morning nap, and into bed around 4 hours after waking from the afternoon nap. This was so true with Lucy, and now that I’m reminded of it and using it with Alice, it makes so much sense.
13th
February
2009
Posted in: Blog: Life with Lucy & Alice, Local Shop n' Dine, events, photos, the family
There’s lots of fun and free stuff going on around Durham for this Family Day long weekend. Check out these sites for local event listings:
And don’t forget the giant list of places to play and celebrate, and where to meet parents & do stuff right here on Durham Region Baby, too.
We are headed to Eric’s Mom’s this weekend for the first time since the summer. We’re looking forward to showing off our brood to family we haven’t seen in months, an extra set of hands, and Gramie House toys. We may even run screaming sneak out of the house when Lynne isn’t looking.
Wish us luck as we embark on an almost 5 hour round trip with one baby who has destroyed three onesies in two days with vibrant green poop (Broccoli will not touch my lips again until that kid is done breastfeeding), and a toddler who can’t drive more than 10 minutes without hearing I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas. I’m sweating just thinki ng about it…
Until we return, enjoy a giant Baby Alice smile, and a…I don’t know what the hell Lucy’s doing here. I think growling?
Have a great weekend!
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