12 Days of Christmas Event

Disney On Ice: Giveaway Winner

And the winner is.......

JENN NGUYEN!!!

Congratulations Jenn.

I will be in touch with you shortly to arrange your prize.

What To Do With the Artwork

Staying organized is a constant struggle in our house. I don’t know about your kids, but mine are mass producers of artwork. When we do art projects at home, the girls go through pages and pages of drawings and paintings before they are finished. Add to that what they bring home from school and we have a major clutter situation. Some of the artwork is easy to throw in the recycling bin but a lot of it is hard to throw out.

Over the past few years of receiving art, I have come up with a few solutions:

1. Use art as art is intended: Frame it!

As we have small children and lots of expenses, when we started decorating our house we found that we had a lot of wall space and no money or inclination to purchase expensive ‘art’. When I was in Grade 4, my parents framed a pastel drawing I had done and to this day it still hangs on my wall. It’s a great keepsake and I am proud that my parents thought it was special enough to frame. When decorating Ainsley’s big girl room, I went through the pile of art we had accumulated and picked out three of her drawings and framed those using inexpensive Ikea frames. I love the look of them and Ainsley is very excited every time I remind her that she drew those pictures. I will do the same for Juliet once we have a collection to choose from. What a great way to boost self-esteem by showing them that what they have created is special.

2. Art as a Gift

To take the framing of art one step further, I have given framed pieces to my parents and in-laws. I find it very hard to shop for them as really, what do you get your parents let alone your in-laws? Whether they hang the art on their wall in the office or at home, it’s a really nice thoughtful gift that is an Original piece of artwork that is priceless. This is a great way to save the art that you don’t want to throw out but at the same time, make room in your house for new art.

3. Art as Fundraiser

This past year at Ainsley’s nursery school we did a fabulous fundraiser for the school using the children’s paintings. Both girls created a painting and it was sent to Acorn Custom Cards, a company which took the art and made cards and placemats. This was a great idea as it provided a fun art activity for the kids, earned money for the co-op school and parents were able to have cards made that showcased their child’s skills and again, the children would get a self-esteem boost by seeing their art used in a new way.

4.Art as wrapping paper and cards

Another great option is to reuse your children’s artwork as wrapping paper and as cards. I love getting home made mother’s day cards and my girls love making cards for others. This is a great use of artwork that would otherwise be thrown out and save you from buying overpriced cards and wrapping paper!

5. The Memory Book

Glow Baby has a unique new Memory Book called My Story.. A Book of Memories that has 12 gusseted pockets big enough to fit art! This album is designed to help parent store the art pieces they want to keep in a beautiful place. As there are no dates on the pages, each pocket can be used for as much as a family needs. If your children are major art producers like mine, you may have one pocket per school term. For the younger set you could use one pocket for each year. All in all, a great solution to the problem.

My New Favourite Veggie Recipe

Mushrooms and Sweet Onions

I have been trying my best to eat healthier lately which means seriously increasing the amount of veggies I eat each day. At first this was fine, but to keep vegetables low cal and low fat really reduces the options when it comes to making them interesting. While, roasting carrots and parsnips is a super yummy option, it gets old.

I have been experimenting with different ways of cooking vegetables, and my current favourite recipe involves Mushrooms and sweet onions. Yum.

Here is the recipe. The quantities are not exact but really you just need to taste what you are making and adjust to your own taste buds.

1. Melt 2 tsps of butter in a large skillet (you don't need much butter and can even cut it down to 1 tsp)

2. Cut up 2 sweet onions (I wasn't kidding when I said I was upping the veggie content) and cook in melted butter for around 2-3 minutes. You want to slightly soften the onion but not too much as it will continue to cook when you add the mushrooms.

3. Cut up a bunch of mushrooms (I do around 4 cups) and these can be a mixture of white, portabello, cremini or any other type of mushroom that you want.

4. Put mushrooms in skillet and cook with onions. You want to cook the mushrooms until they have started to sweat. Add in 1 tsp of kosher salt. Continue cooking until the liquid is almost entirely evaporated. Depending on the type of mushrooms you use, this can take 5-10 minutes. The thicker the mushroom ie. portabello the longer it takes.

5. Just before all the liquid has evaporated, add in approximately 2 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar. You can add more or less depending on your preference. Continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated.

And then voila! Yummy veggies.

Bon Appetite!

Disney On Ice: Giveaway!

It's that time of year again when our Disney friends come to town. This year their Christmas show is 100 Years of Magic.




A century of classic and new Disney stars are taking to the ice to share memories, laughs and excitement in Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic. This holiday season, the magnificent celebration is coming to Rogers Centre in Toronto, December 23/11-January 1/12 for 15 performances. Tickets are now on sale. See details at the end of this post for a special discount for our readers.

This magical moment in entertainment history combines Disney’s unforgettable stories and enthralling characters that have entertained families the world over. The captivating production features the largest cast ever of lovable Disney stars on ice – Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Stitch, Nemo and the Incredibles – and exciting moments from Disney’s Mulan and The Lion King.






Audiences will not want to miss this ice spectacular that features beautifully choreographed figure skating to Academy Award®-winning songs “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Under the Sea,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and many more. Dazzling sets, memorable characters, beautiful costumes and exciting special effects will transport audiences through decades of beloved Disney stories.


Tickets for Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic are available at www.disneyonice.com, www.ticketmaster.ca, Ticketmaster retail outlets, Rogers Centre Box Office, or by calling 1-855-985-5000.

To learn more about Disney On Ice, go to http://www.disneyonice.com/

***Giveaway***

We will be giving away 4 Tickets for one lucky winner to 100 Years of Magic for any of the 15 performances in Toronto from December 23rd to January 1st.

To Enter:

1 entry - Follow our Blog and leave a comment on the blog letting us know what your all time favourite Disney movie.

1 entry - Leave a comment on our facebook page letting us know which Disney character your child(ren) will most like to see

Contest ends Monday November 28th, 2011.

To purchase tickets visit http://www.ticketmaster.ca/venueartist/131114/830558 and receive 4 tickets for weekday (Monday through Thursday) performances for just $44 or save $4 per ticket on weekend (Friday through Sunday) performances with code MAMA. (Restrictions: MAMA code valid October 3, 2012, through end of performance schedule. Not valid on Front Row, VIP, TP and Gold Circle tickets. May not be combined with any other discount.)

It's a Small World

Today was an exciting day over here at Glow Baby. Our Baby's First Journal was featured on The Marilyn Denis show in Maureen Denis' Baby Must-Haves segment. It is always very exciting when our journals are in the spotlight!

On a side note, Marilyn had some guests talking about whether cheating was good for a relationship. While I was not too impressed with this topic (is it ever good to advocate cheating? I think not), one of panel members was an old friend from high school! What are the odds that she would be on the same show as my journals?

To be honest, I don't usually watch TV during the day so watching this episode was an anomoly and only because of our feature. So I never would have seen her if not for our appearance :).