Archives for March 2014

Chicken is a SuperFood! #TwitterParty #ChickenSuperFood #Chickendotca

March 24, 2014 by Wendy S

For the longest time, chicken has always been our “go to” food. We love chicken!! (probably why me being a Chicken Farmer Ambassador is so easy!)

Now there is really great news about chicken!

Chicken is a SuperFood!

Recently, studies have shown that chicken is a SuperFood. If prepared with the skin on, it is even healthier for you!

[You] can cook your chicken with the skin on, retaining all the moisture and flavour you love, and then remove it prior to serving to achieve essentially the same health benefit as a skinless cut.
That’s right, a breast of chicken cooked with skin-on and then removed actually has less fat and calories than a skinless breast. How is this possible? When the chicken is cooking, the fat in the breast flows out of the meat and becomes trapped in the skin. The skin of the chicken becomes saturated with fat and retains it once it is removed.

Read the whole article on chicken.ca – “New Study Shows How to Cook Healthy Chicken with Skin On”

Beer Can chicken ~ skin on!

With our new knowledge in hand, I gladly made a beer can chicken for the family! Get the amazing recipe from Chicken.ca.

Enter to win a great Stainless Steel BBQ set!

I don’t know about you, but I’m so ready for the snow to go away and for the warm weather to appear! Maybe Mother Nature needs to win a BBQ set to get her in a warmer mood!

Entry -Form

#ChickenSuperFood Twitter Party

What you win: Over $500 in prizing

When: Thursday, March 27th @ 9pm EST

Who: Open to Canadians

Follow: @chickenfarmers

Hastag: #ChickenSuperFood

I am participating in the Chicken Farmers of Canada campaign managed by SJ Consulting. I received compensation in exchange for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.

TwirlyGirl Spinderella Dress™ review

March 24, 2014 by Wendy S

Lauren was ecstatic when her TwirlyGirl arrived in the mail! She is our little fashionista and loves little girl dresses like these!

“Sunshine Cotton Candy” Spinderella Dress™ from TwirlyGirl!

Her first reaction was that she loved the colours and the feel of the fabric! “It’s so soft and fuzzy!” she exclaimed!

Twirl!

Then I told her to spin. She was over the moon!

Dresses for little girls that twirl just make the that much more fun!

But watch out! She spun so much that she got dizzy! (I don’t recommend this, but it guess it’s bound to happen sometimes!)

This dress requires legging, tights or shorts to be worn underneath it so that your little girl remains respectful. Lauren just wore leggings that she already owns, but you can buy shorts from the TwirlyGirl site.

I also really liked that they are easy to care for! As a busy mom, everything needs to be machine washable. TwirlyGirl is just that! Perfect! I hung it to dry as I would hate to risk it shrinking. TwirlyGirl suggest lying flat to dry, but I found hanging worked well too.

Bright fun colours!

When Lauren was asked to wear “bright colours” as part of the Spring Youth concert at church, her TwirlyGirl dress was her first choice!

As a mom, I love that TwirlyGirl has colours and fabrics to suit so many different girls! There are so many different colours and styles of little girl dresses to reflect the personalities of every little girl.

Even my “I don’t wear dresses” daughter found a few styles and colours that she liked too! The TwirlyGirl pants are perfect for her. She can still play like she wants to be still be a little “girly”. My older daughter is more of a tomboy so regular dresses aren’t usually something she wears.

For me, I love the Maxi Skirts! They are long, flowing and definitely twirly! I wish these little girls dresses the came in my size!

Doll dresses too!

When we went on the TwirlyGirl website to see what other dresses Lauren wants to add to her wish list, she fell in love with the dresses for her 18″ doll. I might just have to buy her one of these for her birthday!

Design your own!

You can even design your own Twirly Girl dress! With so many colour choices, the sky’s the limit!

Check out Twirly Girl today!

Visit TwirlyGirl today and use the code Fun51TG to get 15% off your little girl dress order, when purchased before April 1st!

(The code is case sensitive. Please note it does not apply to sale items, gift certificates or Design your Own Dress feature.)

Disclosure: I was sent a TwirlyGirl dress for Lauren to wear for me to review. All opinions are my own.

$125 Cdn PayPal #giveaway! Ends 4/11

March 22, 2014 by Wendy S

Who doesn’t LOVE a giveaways?

If you’re always on the lookout for more fantastic Canadian giveaways to enter, you should check out the Giveaways Open to Canadians Facebook group. It’s a place for Canadian bloggers and contesters to share and enter fabulous Canadian giveaways.

I’ve joined Homeschooling Mom 4 Two and some other awesome Canadian bloggers to celebrate reaching 1,000 members. We’re offering our fans and readers a PayPal cash giveaway that is ONLY open to Canadians!

So if you are Canadian and love giveaways, be sure to enter for your chance to win!

Enter today!

Enter to win $125 PayPal cash! (Canadian funds)

Open to Canada only.

Ends 4/11/2014 @11:59pm EST

Please note: Entries will be verified. Do not claim an entry if you have not completed it.

Entry -Form

Puberty: getting ready for new milestones

March 19, 2014 by Wendy S

Click to see at Indigo.ca

No, Rachel hasn’t hit puberty…yet. But it’s not that far away. Puberty can start as early as age 8 in girls! Now that she’s 9, we need to make sure that she’s ready for what is coming next.

Rachel and I have been part of a mother-daughter group for the last few years. There are 4 moms and 4 daughters (al of whom were born in 2004). It’s been a fun experience. We’re working on building our relationships with our daughters as they grow up.

We’re using the book Mother Daughter Project as our guide.

Each chapter is focused on a topic that is relevant for the age that the girls are at. It starts at age 7 and works it’s way up through the teen years. Ages 7 and 8 focuses on the mother-daughter relationship and friendships. Now, at age 9, we’re looking at the changes that happen as the girls get older.

Ch-ch-changes

Recently, we a nice chat with the girls about the physical changes that will be happening to their bodies in the next few years. We talked about hair, body odor, hygiene routines and yes, periods.

I’m so glad I have these supportive women with me to share this experience with. It made the whole thing much more comfortable and we had a great conversation with the girls. It was just a mom telling her daughter what will happen. It was questions and answers. Feelings and emotions.

Click to see at Indigo.ca

We each purchased a copy of The Care And Keeping Of You (published by American Girl) for our daughter. During our chat, we pointed out a few diagrams that were in the book that illustrated exactly what we were talking about.

Continuing the conversation

Since our get-together with the moms, Rachel has been reading the book. I check in with her to see how it’s going. She is really enjoying the book and is getting a lot out of it.

Just yesterday she was telling me how women get properly fitted for bras: where they measure, what the measurements mean and she listed cup sizes. Only trouble is that she decided that she needed to tell me this as we waiting in line at Old Navy. Her confidence and comfort level with these topics will be good as she reaches each “milestone”.

By her talking about this so freely, I am encouraged that this might continue in to the future. I really want her to feel that she can come talk to me about anything!

(Now I need to get ready for the next big conversation – sex! Hopefully we can hold that off for another year or so!)

Getting Healthly: 6 month update — Normal BMI #NewMapsgirl

March 18, 2014 by Wendy S

For the last 6 months, I’ve been focused on my health. I’ve been eating better. I’m exercising 3 days a week. And I’m feeling great!

When I started this journey, I wasn’t even close to having a normal BMI. I was overweight.

But with a lot of hard work, at my last measurement, just over 1 month ago, I had lost 13″ and 24lbs.

In the last 4 weeks, I’ve lost another 3 pounds!

Normal BMI!

As much as I’ve been watching the scale and tape measure, I’ve also been keeping an eye on my BMI. As of today, I am Normal!

BMI Categories:

Underweight = <18.5

Normal weight = 18.5–24.9

Overweight = 25–29.9

Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Why is a normal BMI important?

(info from the CDC)

BMI is used as a screening tool to identify possible weight problems for adults. However, BMI is not a diagnostic tool. For example, a person may have a high BMI. However, to determine if excess weight is a health risk, a healthcare provider would need to perform further assessments. These assessments might include skinfold thickness measurements, evaluations of diet, physical activity, family history, and other appropriate health screenings.

The BMI ranges are based on the relationship between body weight and disease and death. Overweight and obese individuals are at increased risk for many diseases and health conditions, including the following:

Hypertension
Dyslipidemia (for example, high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides)
Type 2 diabetes
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Osteoarthritis
Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)

Since I have a family history with so many of the things listed above, getting healthy and getting back into the “normal” range was important to me!

Still have work to do

I still have work to do though. I would like to be more in the middle of the normal range, so I have about 10-14 pounds more to lose. I’ll confirm this with my trainer and doctor to make sure I’m hitting the correct targets.

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What is your BMI?

Are you in the normal range? Are there things you can work on to become healthier?

Other awesome things that are happening

Since Craig and I have adopted healthy habits, I have seen our girls do some things that make me very happy.

Just the other day, Rachel stopped and read a nutrition label to see the amount of sugar something had in it.

Lauren will grab fruits and veggies from the fridge more frequently than she asks for candy. She still has a sweet tooth so we’re working to curb that!

How are your health goals going?

If you’re on a healthy journey too, let’s support each other! Leave a comment below and let me know how you’re doing!