If you have children in the 7-9 or 10-12 age brackets, you might be interested to know that the Canadian Opera Company is offering March Break workshops and week-long summer camps. Registration opened yesterday and you can find more information below.


Create an opera in a day! Drawing inspiration from the themes and music of Mozart's The Magic Flute, participants invent their own operatic adventure and put on a workshop showcase for family and friends at the end of the day. No musical or acting experience required.

Ages: 7 to 12

Dates: March 17 (Ages 7 to 9) and March 18 (Ages 10 to 12)
 
Time: 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
 
Location: Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre, 227 Front St. E.
 
Cost: $35
 
Extended Care: Additional $5 per participant for early drop-off at 8:30 a.m.
 
To Register: Registration begins Feb. 7, 2011 at 10 a.m. Register online or in person at our box offices (227 Front St. E. and the Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W.) PLEASE NOTE: The Four Seasons Centre Box Office opens at 11 a.m.
 

Since, dance, create visual art, and play with professional artist-educators during week-long Summer Opera Camps at the COC! Drawing inspiration from the themes and music of popular children’s operas and COC mainstage operas, participants invent their own operatic adventure and put on a workshop showcase for family and friends on the final day. No musical or acting experience required.

Dates: July 11 - 22, 2011 For ages and themes, see below
 
Times: 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. daily
 
Cost: $175 per week (some bursaries available, e-mail us for info)
 
Extended Care: Extended care is available from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The cost of extended care is $40 for the week. Each additional family member is $20
 
Location: Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre, 227 Front St. E.
 
To Register: Registration begins Feb. 7, 2011 at 10 a.m. Register online or in person at our box offices (227 Front St. E. and The Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W.) PLEASE NOTE: The Four Seasons Centre Box Office opens at 11 a.m.
 
More Information: Call 416-306-2392

And now, to announce the winner of The Phytozyme Cure book giveaway. One lucky winner will be doing some book-learning this month. It's kind of fitting that this month is heart month and The Phytozyme Cure has a little section on how to tackle heart disease. So without further ado, the winning entry is:


Congratulations goes to Calgarygal! I will be emailing you very soon.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this giveaway and shared it with their friends. I would also like to thank Mom Central Canada for the opportunity to be a part of this important blog tour.

Happy Tuesday!

It's 3:00 am and I should be in bed but... I just took advantage of this Mother of a Daily Deal and bought 3 pairs of Senza Nome jeans and a denim skirt for a total of $42. Sizes range from 2 to 10 all with adjustable waist band, super stretch denim, rich indigo denim dye and fun pocket embroidery.

And flat rate shipping is currently $10!

This Valentine’s Day, celebrate with Buddy and the entire Dinosaur Train®  clan by downloading the all-new Dinosaur Train Valentine’s Day cards. AND find the “perfect match” with the Dinosaur Train Make A Match game from Pressman Toy! The Dinosaur Train Make A Match is a special matching game that features a Buddy figure. With Buddy and his friends, children get to sharpen their memory skills and fun at the same time! There are 48 game cards featuring favorite Dinosaurs from Dinosaur Train. To begin play, shuffle the cards and lay them face down in 6 rows of 8 cards each. Players take turns turning over any two cards so all players can see them and try to find a matching pair. The game features “Take Buddy” cards, “Wild Cards” and “Lose a Pair” cards to add to the excitement. At the end of the game, players count their matching card sets and add extra points for the player holding Buddy. The player with the most points wins. The Dinosaur Train Make A Match Game is for 2 to 4 players, ages 3 to 6, and is available at Toys “R” Us stores nationwide for just $9.99.

Click on the picture to begin download.

For more Valentine’s Day fun, check out the new Flying with Buddy game that reinforces counting skills as Buddy collects seashells. Players use the mouse to control the flight of Buddy, Don and Tiny. Move the mouse UP and Buddy raises his legs, and Don and Tiny fly higher. Move the mouse DOWN and Don and Tiny fly lower, and Buddy reaches to grab the shells on the ground. After one minute of gameplay, the characters return to their nest to count the treasures they collected. Check it out for at pbskids.org. It's free!


For a chance to win the Dinosaur Train Make a Match Game, tell me how you plan to spend Valentine's Day this year by leaving a comment on this post. (You need to click on the word "comments" at the bottom of this post to take you to the comment form.)

For additional entries, you may choose to do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each entry indicating what you have done.

• Like The Jim Henson Company Fan Page on Facebook
• Like Pressman Toy on Facebook
• Like Toronto Teacher Mom on Facebook
• Share this giveaway on Facebook or via email. (1 entry each) 
• Follow Toronto Teacher Mom via Google Friend Connect
• Follow Henson Parents on Twitter
• Follow Pressman Toy on Twitter
• Become a follower of Toronto Teacher Mom on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Tweet daily for additional entries. Feel free to use the following tweet:  

Contest ends February 14 at 11pm EST and is open to U.S. residents only. Winner will be selected using Random.org and must reply to the notification email within 3 days or a new winner will be drawn.

Calling all parents!

Join parenting experts as they share tips and parenting resources via video on demand.
What: Parenting Summit, a free online event featuring several leading parenting experts sharing 5-20 minute video lessons to help you become a more effective parent!

When: March 1-8, 2011

Who: Presenters include a growing number of parenting experts such as Mike Storms of Parenting 101, Tommy Newberry, Jill Savage and more.
Time: On-demand; watch what you want, whenever you want.
Where: www.parentingsummit.com
Cost: FREE!

RSVP by visiting the Parenting Summit web site and pre-registering for the event.

WIN A FREE PARENTING RESOURCE KIT
Spread the word about the Parenting Summit and you could win a free Parenting Resource Kit, complete with books and featured downloadable resources from several of the event presenters. Simply share a link about this event on Facebook, Twitter or email to a friend and then email parenting@parentingsummit.com to let them know how you helped spread the word. Your email will enter you into the drawing.

You can also follow Parenting Summit on Facebook as well as on Twitter @parentingtips4u.

Wow! There were so many people who entered the CSN Stores Gift Voucher Giveaway! I really wish I didn't have to pick just one winner. The total number of entries was 276 and I used Random.org to pick the winning entry.

And the winner is... Jessica Tang!

Congratulations, Jessica! I will be emailing you soon. Thanks again to everyone who entered. You're all so awesome! I'd also like to thank CSN Stores for sponsoring the giveaway.

Have a great weekend!

I haven't blogged much about this topic because I'm a little reluctant to admit that my kids generally won't go to sleep on their own. So, yes, we lay next to them. There, I said it.

My son is 2 and my daughter is 5, so I can understand their need to have someone keep them company. And I'm not against co-sleeping at all. I just want need to sleep in my own bed and it's nice to have my hubby next to me.

What usually happens is that I put my daughter to sleep (in her twin-size bed) while my husband lays next to my son in his big boy bed (which is a double). I try to just sit at the end of her bed but I am often so tired, I end up curling up in a ball and falling asleep. This means I fall asleep in an awkward position, without any covers and will wake up in the middle of the night with a sore neck and feeling cold.

I have always been steadfast against putting our kids to bed this way but they, mainly my daughter, got used to it during infancy. I did go through a period where I sort of 'weaned' her off the need to have someone lay next to her. But then we found ourselves getting lazy and becoming inconsistent. Especially when she would get sick. And sometimes it's just easier to give in.

But I want my bed. It's so comfortable. And big. And spacious. And I want my daughter to have a sense of security and feel comfortable going to bed by herself. Because I know she can do it. And she did! For the past two nights, I have been jumping up and down over the fact that she went to sleep on her own. Yes, it's true!

How did this happen?

A couple of days ago, I noticed a tweet by @DrGreene in which he shared a link to his "Bedtime Pass Program" and boy, am I glad I followed it. In this article, he suggests using a bedtime pass that can be used only once each night for whatever need your child might have. Once it's used, though, that's it. If your child leaves his/her, you need to take them back to bed without talking or making eye contact. Sounds all Super Nanny.

Anyway, my daughter and I used our Cricut to cut out a door hanger and decorated it with the poodle from the Cricut Create a Critter cartridge. This is what we use for her bedtime pass.


She has been pretty cooperative with this idea and the first night, she never used it. Tonight, she used it early on but after I took her back to bed, she fell asleep instantly. I wanted to cry, "Eureka!" You have no idea how amazed I am at the simplicity of this little trick. It requires such minimal effort and no begging. I love it! I could cry at how easy it is. Now, you know that by posting this, I'll end up jinxing the whole thing and she'll stay up late tomorrow putting up a fuss. But, I just had to share this with you. I really hope it continues to work for us. Oh, and thank you Dr. Alan Greene!

And by the way, if you or anyone you know owns a Cricut, you can win a Cricut Create a Critter cartridge in Jalisa's blogoversary giveaway. Just sayin'.

These chocolate-coated, honeycombed malt biscuit balls are crunchy, yummy and fun. They make a great treat at a get-together. Or you can find them in a small pack which will fit nicely into your purse. And they are so light, they actually float on water! I was sent some packages to sample and thought they were too good to devour all on my own. So I decided to share them with my staff members. By the end of lunch hour, the large bowl had been emptied!


Maltesers are available in 37g (SRP $1.49); 100g (SRP $3.59) and 165g (SRP $4.79) sizes at most major retailers across Canada, including grocery and convenience stores.

Here's some information about Chinese New Year:

The origin of the Chinese New Year Calendar is deeply rooted in age old traditions, dating from 2600BC when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac.


Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Falling on Thursday February 3, 2011, it is often inaccurately called "Lunar New Year", because—as part of the lunisolar Chinese calendar—the date is partially determined based on lunar phase. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival, which is on the 15th day. The Chinese New Year festivities conclude February 18th, 2011.


People who celebrate Chinese New Year often say "Kung Hei Fat Choy" which means having a great fortune, or "Kung Hall Sun Hei", which implies Happy New Year!


Married couples give red envelopes with money to their kids or relatives of their younger generations instead of giving presents. This money is suppose to bring them great luck and prosperity in the year to come.

To all of my readers, I wish you a wonderful Chinese New Year. Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Disclosure: I was sent some Maltesers samples for the purpose of this review.

'Tis the dreaded season of winter, replete with snow, freezing temperatures and dry weather. We are, by the way, reportedly expecting between 20-30 centimetres of snow over the next few hours in addition to extreme cold. Fun. (However, it isn't snowing yet so I doubt we'll have a 'snow day.') Normally, when I sit down at my computer and start typing away, I look down at my hands to see the dry skin and cracked knuckles that make their reappearance each winter. But this time, I have been armed with an all natural and very effective daily moisturizer by Toronto's own Diane Lai. Yes, that's right. She's a mompreneur from Toronto!
Diane Lai offers a line of products designed to soothe and rejuvenate your skin. It can help protect and soothe certain conditions such as dry skin, eczema and inflammation. And it's great for those with sensitive skin, including infants and toddlers.

“Our mission is to create a natural and inspiring product range that offers exceptional quality,” says Lai, founder and president. “One of my objectives is to educate the public about the harmful toxins that many commercial skin products contain.” Lai’s commitment is a personal one—it was her child’s sensitive skin that inspired her to create the Diane Lai collection.

Diane's commitment to providing toxin-free moisturizer is evident when you read the ingredient label; organic grape seed oil, organic shea butter, wheat germ oil and organic lavender oil are just a few of the ingredients. They all combine to create a creamy moisturizer that smells great and absorbs quickly into the skin.
Rejuvenate is a daily moisturizer that helps you to maintain soft, youthful and healthy skin. It contains zero artificial colours and no artificial fragrances. A 100mL bottle retails for $45 when you purchase directly from DianeLai.com.

Soothe is great for those rough red patches on your face and body, or for itchy and uncomfortable skin. It's also great for your wee one to help soothe any irritation in the folds of the neck and is great for mild sunburn or insect bites. A 30 mL bottle of Soothe retails for $34 but a little goes a long way.

Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Diane Lai Moisturizer:

1. It's made in Canada!
2. It is packaged in BPA free plastic which can be recycled, with the exception of the pump.
3. It is free from parabens, phthalates, petro chemicals and other harsh irritants.
4. It smells great and is quickly absorbed into the skin.
5. It works!

Diane Lai launched in 2010 but has already been featured in magazines as well as on Breakfast Television and CHCH news. Diane Lai moisturizers were also included in the GBK gift bags that were given to the 2011 Golden Globe Awards Nominees and Presenters. Yes, Natalie Portman and Angelina Jolie were able to sample it themselves. Here are some pictures taken of Diane Lai products and celebs during the Golden Globes.

You can order through DianeLai.com or shop at Moms to be and More here in Toronto, along with Blossom Bath & Body and Springy's in Hamilton. It will soon launch on The Shopping Channel in Canada, too. You can also keep up to date with the latest by following Diane Lai on Facebook as well as on Twitter @dianelai.

Disclosure: I was sent a bottle each of Diane Lai Rejuvenate and Diane Lai Soothe for the purpose of this review via Devon Consulting. Thoughts expressed in this post are my own honest opinions.

My kids got a hold of my iPhone this morning while eating their breakfast. They took a bunch of random shots of nothingness. This was the only picture that turned out.

Oh, they also left remnants of their breakfast on my phone... Nice.

You can find more Wordless Wednesday posts here and here.