The words a mom of one never wants to hear....

I knew this day would come. Cooper hasn't seen her cousins or friends for a few weekends now. She's been sick and away from school and her classmates. Both mom and dad work full time. Basically she is lonely. I am eating dinner one night and she looks at me with those puppy dog eyes that sucker me every time.


"What's up babe? Everything ok?"

"Ya mom I was just thinking.......no, never mind."

"Tell me. You can ask me anything. Say anything to me. Tell me, what's on your mind?"

"No, I already know what you're going to say...."

"TELL ME!"

"Well, I was thinking....I'm kind of really wanting a little brother or sister now."

Easy Chicken Stew

In this house, leftovers equals stew. And stew equals easy cooking night!!! Once a week we have either roast chicken or roast beef. On our mini rotisserie, it NEVER gets dull. Always delicious. But because we're a family of 3, we never finish a full roast. So, what do you do with the leftovers? The answer is almost always STEW!

Monopoly Junior Rocks!

Our family loves spending time playing games together. We play video games, card games, and believe it or not, even nowadays.....we still play LOTS of board games! So when we had the chance to change it up a bit and play Monopoly Junior, we were sooo excited! 

What the heck is Elf on the Shelf?

It's November 10th which means every single store is loaded with Christmas stuff already. But I can't lie, I absolutely love it! The music, the ornaments, the warmth! Our family loves the holidays and we go all out! We sing, we bake cookies, host Christmas parties, decorate inside and out. This last week while out at the mall, I notice that every store we went into had a huge display of these Elf on the Shelf boxes. I've heard of it but it's probably the one tradition we've never taken part in. What's the deal with elf on the shelf? 

Embarrass your hubby in 5 easy steps

Our family is fun. We always take joy in picking on each other. Whether it's making fun of one another or pointing and laughing when someone falls down, we are all on an even playing field and nobody is off limits. Today I took pride in setting up my hubby for a great embarrassment and I will leave step by step instructions on how I did it. 

I don't make my kid eat

Ya I said it. I don't make my kid eat. I'm not that kind of mom. You will never see Cooper sitting by herself at the table for hours waiting for her to "eat her brussels sprouts." I never understood why parents do that.

I hear it all the time. "My dad used to make me sit at the table until I ate everything on my plate." Or, "my mom sent me right to bed after dinner if I didn't finish my meal." 

My Yukon man

You're from THE YUKON??? This is the exact reaction he gets anytime anyone hears where he's from. Me included. When I met Jason and heard where he was from I think my face scrunched up looking all confused, my eyes got big, my jaw dropped a little.....the Yukon??? Really?! That's near outer space right?

Beanie Boo OBSESSED!

Did you ever have something you were obsessed with collecting when you were a kid? Cabbage Patch kids? G.I Joes? My Little Pony? Right now for my daughter, it's TY Beanie Boo's!!! 

Halloween- Wolffinson Style

Halloween is HUGE in our house! For me it's always been my favourite time of year. I love dressing up and decorating the house and it's something we're passing on to our daughter. There's a fairly simple outline we follow to have a successful Halloween and it goes as follows:

10 Minute Sweep

As anyone with kids knows it doesn't matter how much you clean. The second you turn your back, everything is everywhere! This is no different when you only have 1 child. Add 2 crazy shedding dogs into the mix and it's even worse! We have a system in our family that allows us to maintain a livable area without the bitching and whining of "I don't wanna clean!" We call it the 10 minute sweep.

NEW Dairy Milk MARVELLOUS Creations

Cadbury's New Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations "Jelly Popping Candy" is hands down this family's new favourite chocolate bar!

It's fully loaded with chewy jellybeans, rich milk chocolate and the best part....POP ROCKS! If you're thinking, "That's an odd combination..." you're not alone. That's what I thought too. Try it! You must try it!! The milk chocolate of course, is amazing. It's Cadbury. The chewiness of the jellybeans adds an awesome texture and the BEST part is the pop rocks bursting as the chocolate melts in your mouth! It's like it makes the flavour last a little longer!

Our house is addicted and we fight over each piece. The next time you see this chocolate bar, you must give it a try. Metro sells the smaller 47g size for just $1.00. You'll thank me later!

Bedtime routine-I rub my daughter's feet

Bedtime in our house is pretty lax. Our daughter goes to bed anywhere from 8:30pm-10pm. We've developed a pretty standard routine. Brush your teeth, mom reads, dad sings, Inka (our husky) climbs into her bed and lights out. I'd say 90% of the time it's that simple. But then there's that other 10% of the time...."I can't sleep!"

How old does your child have to be to walk to/from school on their own?

How old does your child have to be to walk to/from school on their own? Does it matter if they are a boy or girl?

An argument started at home the other day when we realized the boy who walks our daughter to and from school graduates this year. I said, "well I guess we'll have to figure something else out." And that's when my Yukon man said to me, "ya, I guess Cooper will start walking herself to school next year.

My daughter is my friend

I hear a lot of people say "I'm my kid's parent, not their friend." I see it on tv, those nanny shows, Dr. Phil says it a lot too. "You are not your child's friend." Ya I dunno....can't say I feel the same way.

Sleepovers

I can count on one hand the number of times I have had a night away from Cooper since she was born. That's 7 years!!! 7 years of being home by bedtime, 7 years of not going out, 7 years of a jail sentence it felt like sometimes. Her dad and I are together, which is rare these days, so she doesn't "go to dad's" every other day, and although I am extremely grateful for that......I'm almost jealous that I don't have that option. Sounds horrible right? But listen..

Mommy of one and only

I have a 7 year old daughter. I have a boyfriend of 12 years. She is our only child and she is pretty damn near perfect. I couldn't tell you how often we hear, "when are you guys having another one?" For me the answer is clear and unwavering. NEVER.