GOwalk - I Challenge You

I have always been a firm believer that walking is one of the best forms of physical activity, especially the speed-walking variety. I prefer walking over running simply because it is low impact and therefore easier on my knees. Plus, you can call up a friend to join you on your power walk while you get to catch up on the latest gossip, such as the undeniable fact that Chris Hemsworth has a secret crush on me. It's true.

Skechers GOwalk

One very important factor affecting your walk is a decent pair of shoes. Since we are finally enjoying some spring-like temperatures here in Toronto, I am feeling the itch to get out and walk more often. So I accepted an opportunity to try out a pair of Skechers GOwalk shoes. Having worked in a shoe store when I was younger, I have a general idea of what to look for: a low, supportive heel, a flexible sole, breathable material and a lightweight shoe. The new Skechers GOwalk pretty much fits this bill.

 

From the moment I tried on a pair of Skechers GoWalk while at the Bay, I knew it was a match made in heaven. It was like walking on a cloud. You see, these shoes have what's called a Resalyte midsole which is lightweight and absorbs impact rather effectively. This in turn helps to reduce pressure on ankle and knee joints. They are also extremely flexible and have a built-in OrthLite sockliner that is anti-microbial and honestly feels like a second layer of skin. You can hardly tell you're wearing a shoe. 

 

Seeing as I often have difficulty finding shoes that fit properly, I questioned whether or not this slip-on shoe would fit me well as compared to a lace-up. I was glad to find they fit like glove. The uppers are so flexible yet they hug you in just the right places. They are wide enough for my short, stubby feet and easily accommodate my slightly high in-step. The size 7 shoes left me with plenty of room in the toe box for my little piggies to spread out freely and cry, 'Wee, wee, wee!" all the way home. Unfortunately, the shoes smell of unpleasant rubber so I'm hoping the smell goes away sooner than later. And I'll be curious to see how durable they are for such a lightweight shoe and whether or not they can bring the price down a smidgen from the $75 suggested retail price.

New Yves Rocher Lipstick and Makeup Colours

Summer is less than a week away and there is little that screams 'fun in the sun' more than a bright new lipstick or flashy nail polish. And Yves Rocher has plenty of captivating colours to choose from. From their Grand Rouge Lipstick collection, I was able to try the following three colours: Bright Red, Powdery Pink and Flashy Coral. Of course, since I'm all about coral and love wearing my new coral sandals, my favourite lip colour is Flashy Coral. My second favourite is Bright Red. It's been a few months since I cut my hair really short and every time I look in the mirror, I wince. I feel the short hair is a little too boyish for my liking. So on those rare occasions that I go out at night, I pull out my new Yves Rocher Bright Red to bring out the glam. Pow! What a statement!

The best part of Grand Rouge lipstick is its moisturizing formula with Camellia Oil, Vitamin E and Organic Sesame Oil. Not only does it glide on easily and feel incredibly creamy, it smells fabulous. Head on over to YvesRochers.ca to discover all of their 18 radiant and rich lipstick colours. Pair them with the automatic Lip Liner, which defines and plumps your lips. Its velvety texture is enriched with nourishing Jojoba Oil for softness and comfort. The new colourless lip liner goes on clear so you can use it with any colour. Grand Rouge lipstick is currently available for purchase on the Yves Rocher site for $10 and lip liners are listed at $7.

Lolë White Yoga Tour 2013 Comes to Toronto

Discover peace in motion this June as over a thousand people dressed in white gather at Fort York for a one-of-a-kind experience at the Lolë White Yoga Session. In collaboration with Chatelaine and Sporting Life, Lolë brings us Toronto's largest outdoor yoga session dedicated to peace lead by Lolë White Yoga Session instructor Grace Dubery. Registered participants, who must adhere to an exclusively white dress code, will enjoy a musical performance by M'Michèle followed by a yoga class using yoga mats provided by Lolë.  

Free tickets for the June 22nd event are available via Eventbrite but there is currently a waitlist. I have no doubt that the Lolë White Yoga Session in Toronto will be a tremendous success. You can follow the #lolewhite hashtag on Twitter for the latest buzz.

Your Life is Speaking to You

When I had the great fortune of meeting Oprah last April, I was also lucky enough to get to sit in the front row along with Sleep Country Canada president Christine Magee and a few blogging buddies as we listened to Oprah's inspirational talk. This quote stood out and still stands out to me.

Your life is speaking to you. Are you paying attention?

Here is this week's Wordless Wednesday linky:

Toronto Teacher Mom Listed in Top 75 Most Influential Canadian Mom Blogs

2013 Most Influential Canadian Mom Blogs

I woke up this morning after going to bed early, like 8pm early, and checked my email. Because we all know that's what working moms do at 6am before waking up the kids and packing lunches, right? Well, lo and behold this lovely email from the editor-in-chief and co-founder of SavvyMom Media announcing that Toronto Teacher Mom has made it onto the list of Top 75 Most Influential Canadian Mom Blogs. If you check out the list, you'll find a whole bunch of talented bloggers from across our amazing nation. Each one has been designated an award-like title such as 'Most Celebrity Obsessed' and 'Most Likely to Spark a Debate' to 'Best Green Living Blog' and "Most Likely to Teach You Something New' (ahem... that would be me). And if you click on 'view all', you can easily see all 75 blogs at a glance which will save you from having to click the arrow button 75 times. There. I just taught you something, hopefully new!

Outdoor Activities and Summer Fun

Now that we're in June, summer is just around the corner. There are only four weeks left until the kids and myself are officially on summer vacation and we couldn't be more excited. The summer is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the weather with some fun outdoor activities and mini family getaways. One of my favourite places to take the family in the summer is Blue Mountain. The views are breathtaking and the fun-filled activities are plenty. We can enjoy paddle boating, mini golf, wall climbing, swimming or hiking up to the top of the mountain. Most recently, they added the Timber Challenge High Ropes which is incredibly exhilarating.

Our family also enjoys heading out on camping trips. Last year, we camped out at Bronte Creek Provincial Park and the kids had lots of fun. But it paled in comparison to our trip to Gatineau Park when my daughter was younger. Sitting by the campfire roasting marshmallows deep in the woods was such a joy. My daughter and I woke up early one morning and headed out in her Bugaboo stroller only to be greeted by a bunch of deer. With the sun rising behind them, it was truly a sight to behold.

 

There are many local attractions to visit here in Toronto. In the past, I have taken the kids to Canada's Wonderland, the Ontario Science Centre, Centreville Island, Edwards Gardens and the Toronto Zoo. I have even purchased a family pass to the zoo so that we can visit the animals year-round and also stop by the splash pad periodically throughout the summer. This year, however, I am taking a more frugal approach and will not be renewing our membership. Instead, we will visit the animals at the Riverdale Farm and enjoy water play in the comfort of our own backyard. I recently purchased the Wigglin' Water Sprinkler at Canadian Tire and, as you can tell from the photo above, the kids had a blast with it. We also purchased a brand new bike for my son's fifth birthday a few weeks ago which has already provided countless hours of fun. All I need to do is fix the flat tire on my bike and I can join in, too. But seeing as my bike is over 12 years old, I could easily justify buying a new one altogether. Right? Right!

 

During the summer months, I am always looking for ways to keep the kids busy and active. Aside from playing recreational soccer, the kids keep active by swimming at the local pool, playing at the playground, or partaking in games and activities with the kids in the neighbourhood. From playing frisbie and bean bag toss to jumping rope or flying a kite, the possibilities are endless. The goal is simply to avoid being cooped up in the house watching TV or playing video games and instead enjoy some fresh air while developing hand-eye coordination skills, team-building skills and a love of physical activity. Each year, I like to buy at least one new outdoor game or activity that we can add to our repertoire. This year, I decided to delve into the kids' Italian roots and teach them the game of bocce, otherwise known as lawn bowling. While at Canadian Tire looking for the sprinkler, I also purchased this Moulded Bocce Set for $19.99. It was brightly coloured and more lightweight than the professional set, which I think makes it more kid-friendly. So far, my son seems to like it best. Check out my Google+ album to view my entire shopping experience: Shopping for Fun Outdoor Activities at Canadian Tire.

All in all, I think we are going to have plenty of fun with our new bocce set and sprinkler this summer, along with all of the other summer toys and backyard games that the kids own. I am definitely looking forward to spending some quality time with the family, too.

What are your favourite summer activities that you enjoy with your family?

Watch Out, Bob the Builder!

There's a new kid in town. And boy, does he ever look cute in a construction hat!

Participating in Wordless Wednesday? Feel free to link up your posts using the thumbnail linky below.

City Critters - The Buzz on Bees at Toronto Botanical Garden

 

The City Critters Family Series at the Toronto Botanical Garden continued with its third session - the Buzz on Bees. As their guests, our family enjoyed a honey tasting and learned all sorts of interesting facts about bees. For example, a caste of bees consists of three types of bees: the queen bee, which can be identified by her torpedo-style abdomen; the worker bees, which are smaller and have pollen sacks; and the drones, which have big eyes. The sole task of the queen bee is to emit a reassuring  smell to the other bees while mating and laying eggs every 30 seconds. (I don't know about you but that sure sounds like a heck of a lot of work!) The worker bee lives for about five or six weeks during which time she will keep her room clean and take care of her baby sisters, checking in on them about 1300 times each day. Drones are male bees with the singular job of mating with the queen bee, after which he is evicted from the Big Bee Hive and dies shortly afterwards. Hmm, it kind of sucks to be a drone...

   

While one of the TBG beekeepers demonstrated the protective gear that must be worn, her sidekick Trish was preparing to give us a close look at the bees who were busily at work making honey.

We enjoyed a really neat view from the other side of the screen doors. You could hear the buzzing and smell the smoke which is used to calm the bees whenever they are about to be disturbed.

Get Sleek and Snazzy With Brita

This past weekend, our family took to the outdoors as we dove into a new season of recreational soccer. Colour me less than thrilled. You see, I'm not the most enthusiastic soccer mom you'll ever meet. The truth is I would much rather avoid having to spend a few hours sitting around on the field either be it in the cold wind or on a relentlessly hot day. But I am starting to believe that my children are developing a passion for the sport much to my dismay their father's content. And so, this big buttercup is going to suck it up and take one for the team. Time to return to our regular routine of loading the Jeep with lawn chairs, packing healthy snacks and filling up bottles with fresh, filtered water.

Last summer, Brita sent us a pair of reusable water bottles with built-in filters. I thought it was such a great idea because both the kids and I could enjoy filtered tap water no matter where we went. On hot days out on the field with no water fountain in sight, however, I opt for a much larger jug to keep thirst at bay. With the new Brita Stainless Steel Pitcher, I can fill up the water jug with tap water that tastes great. The Brita filter is designed to reduce the taste and odour of chlorine as well as the amount of copper, mercury and cadmium that may be in our water. The pitcher is also BPA free and can hold eight glasses of water.

If you like the look of stainless steel, this sleek and shiny pitcher with brushed stainless steel has a fingerprint-resistant coating (unlike my refrigerator) so that makes mommy happy. Its slender shape also makes it easy to squeeze it in between the jug of milk and the carton of orange juice. The electronic filter change indicator is a handy reminder to replace the filter every two months or 151L. What I found to be a bit of a nuisance, however, is the problem that arises when filling the reservoir with too much water. The excess water will spill in the handle part and leak out at the bottom. This is easily rectified by taking care not to fill it with too much water at once. Unless your my husband. In which case you will completely forget to heed said warning.

French Resources: French Vocabulary on PoissonRouge.com

Looking for an online interactive site that helps to reinforce thematic vocabulary? Poissonrouge.com has a page dedicated to French vocabulary along with additional pages in Greek, Chinese, and English. These pages can be found by hovering over the purple castle and then by selecting the flag representing the language you wish to practise. Each page covers ten main themes:

• les jouets (toys)
• le corps humain (the human body)
• la cuisine (in the kitchen)
• les animaux (animals)
• l'atelier (in the workshop)
• la salle de bains (in the bathroom)
• les chiffres (numbers and shapes)
• les vêtements (clothing)
• la musique (musical intruments)
• les transports (transportation)