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Showing posts from March, 2020

Chicken Enchiladas

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These are so good!!! We made this recipe for company, when having company over was allowed. I am already dreaming of the next time I can make them as there was so much flavour. The best part about this recipe is that you can make the red enchilada sauce and chicken a head of time or make it to eat right away. We were having company over this night and I knew I wouldn't want the house to be messy or to feel like I was busy running around trying to get dinner ready while they were over. This recipe meant I could have the chicken, sauce and tortillas made and ready to be rolled up into the enchiladas and then baked in the oven in time for dinner. I also had time to clean the kitchen before they came and I got to enjoy the time we had with them. We also served Mexican Rice as a side to go along with the enchiladas, and our company brought a delicious bean salad! We all look forward to the day when we can all get together with family and friends again and this day will come! It is i

Keeping kids busy over the COVID - 19 Break March 30 - April 3

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Last week was a lot of fun and a big adjustment for everyone. The boys are use to going to school and love spending time with their friends and teachers. They have both been enjoying their time at home but definitely are missing their friends and caregivers. We have participated in a couple of Connected North Sessions and have really loved having the opportunity to visit and explore different experiences without having to leave the house. Last week I made a slight adjustment to the schedule as I started school during our outside time and then we would go outside during our learning time. The boys were both ready to learn first thing in the morning and it was nice to wait for the weather to warm up a bit before heading outside. See below schedule with adjustments. SCHOOL SCHEDULE: 7:00 - 8:00 Breakfast and Cartoons 8:00 - 9:00 Playtime / small snack (my boys would eat all day if they were allowed to) 9:00 - 10:00 Academic time (Reading and Writing) 10:00 - 11:00 Outside play

5 Self - Care tips when Social Distancing at Home with Your Children

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Let's face it, we LOVE our children! But when you are feeling isolated with them everyone's emotions can start to boil (especially during stressful times like now). Check out my posts Things to do with Kids over the COVID - 19 Break , Keeping kids busy over the COVID - 19 Break March 23 - 27  and 10 Things to do With Kids Over the March Break  for ideas of how to keep your kids busy and entertained. Also keep you eyes peeled for more posts about things do to with kids and weekly schedules while schools are closed. Some of the ideas from the March break post are not applicable right now due to social distancing but others can be adjusted and done at home. I will also be making another post soon about more ideas of how to keep kids busy and learning during this time as more resources come available. But this post is for you! How can you take care of yourself during this stressful time. A stressful time that might even seem a little more stressful as you are now not only the ca

Mexican Rice

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This dish is delicious! We missed out on our March Break Trip to Arizona due to the coronavirus and wanted a pick me up dinner with our friends who also cancelled their trip to Mexico. We decided we wanted to get together and it was our turn to host. We had a great night as they have a son the same age as our oldest. The boys all ran around the basement (the oldest two playing games and my youngest just chasing after them). Dinner was also a huge hit with all the boys which meant the rest of us all got to also sit and enjoy great conversation and a good dinner. I knew I wanted to make a Mexican themed meal as our company was missing out on lots of good Mexican food from cancelling their trip. I also love spicy food (especially Mexican). Also once we decided to cancel our March Break trip I knew I wanted to cook a few themed meals to help make staying home a little more exciting. So far we have only had a Mexican night... But I do have Greek and Italian themed meals coming soon so

Keeping kids busy over the COVID - 19 Break March 23 - 26

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In this post I will mention some more online resources that I have found and will likely use at some point. I will also post in further detail what kinds of activities we will be doing this week. And will have a weekly COVID-19 post of our tentative schedule for as many weeks as we are home schooling while social distancing/isolating. We need to be diligent during this time to limit our interactions outside of our houses but also need to have fun to take away the stress from our children. Our kids still need to be kids, have fun and learning while doing so! Cincinnati Zoo virtual tour/ animal feature daily. Find their Facebook page and you can be connected to the daily animal feature. I believe they also have a YouTube channel where you can watch the animal experiences as well. What a great offering and experience for kids especially during this time of social distancing and isolation. Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg also has creature features that will happen from 1:00-1:30 C

Easy Homemade Tortillas

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We love this recipe! Its fairly quick to make and really easy to follow... what more could you ask for right?!? They add extra flavour to whatever you are using them with. We have also used these tortillas for tacos, fajitas and quesadillas. We even like to eat them dipped in hummus or tzatziki sauce. I add Garlic or Italian flavoured oil to them as I like the extra flavour that it gives them. We also like this recipe because you can make them a head of time and they are still super soft. I do usually make them right before dinner as we like how warm they are coming off the pan but on really busy nights I can make them a head of time and they still taste great. This time I made them because I was making a chicken enchilada dinner (Post coming soon) for some friends that we had coming over. We were supposed to be in Arizona and they were supposed to be in Mexico so we all needed a little pick me up get together. I knew that these would be the perfect mix with the enchilada sauce to ta

Things to do with Kids over the COVID - 19 Break

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Structure is extremely important as kids run on an extremely structured day when at school and will start to act up because of the unknown of what the day will bring. We were supposed to go to Arizona for our March Break but with COVID - 19 we cancelled our trip and are spending the next three weeks at home... in the not so nice weather. In the summer it is easy to fill your days with outside activities but when the weather isn't that nice outside, what do you do? Here are some ideas of ways to keep kids busy and learning for the next couple of weeks ahead. Don't get me wrong March Break is important for everyone and that is what we will do for the first week. However, by the end of the week we will all be ready for some structure and below is the plan that we have. SCHEDULE: (I have taken my oldest son's classroom schedule and combined it with my youngest son's daycare schedule as I will be home with them and we need to be able to work together) 7:00 - 8:00 Br

Moose Stew

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On a not so chilly day this stew was still exactly what we needed. We spent much of the day outside enjoying the early spring like weather which didn't allow me to simmer the stew for as long as I usually do. We had a quiet morning to start and once the sun was shining and my son was home from hockey we went to the end of the road to climb and explore the big snow hill. It is really slippery and steep which made it a fun challenge for my oldest son and I. The snow is really starting to melt and we can now see the pavement on the road in front of our house. This was an exciting feature as my oldest son got a new bike for Christmas and has been asking to ride it since the nicer weather has started. My husband took the boys out on their bikes, pushing my youngest son on the handled tricycle. While my husband did this I took time to fold the laundry and start dinner. I also took breaks to go outside and cheer the boys on biking and to take pictures and videos to post on Tiny Beans . If

Getting Active After a Baby

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Let's face it getting active after a baby is hard! Actually getting active after taking time off or never being active is hard, now lets add in major changes to your body and lack of sleep. Getting active is hard, but not impossible! The main thing to do it to listen to your body. Your body will tell you when you are ready to be active again. Your doctor will also tell you when you can be active again as how the baby was born will also determine when you can start to get active and what active will look like at the beginning. I was lucky enough to have two natural births. I remember after my first son I just wanted to look and feel "normal" again. The doctor suggested I wait a month until getting back into running and sports but walking was fine. I remember convincing my Husband that I was ok to go for a walk the day after my son was born as we went home 12 hours after he was born. My mom and I were just going to walk to the pharmacy (about a 30 min trip there and b

The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

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My Family LOVES pizza! But lets be honest, who doesn't?!? Where we live it is expensive to buy a pizza and they generally are thick crust and some places are too greasy. This is what got me onto the idea of making our own pizza. It seemed like such a difficult task and I honestly was afraid I'd mess it up. However, the first pizza was a success! It wasn't a thin crust but it held together and tasted good. After making pizza for a couple of years now I have mastered the thin crust and also come up with a recipe that I like. One thing that I like to add to my dough recipe is Garlic flavoured Olive Oil.  Olive Tasting Room  has a great selection of different flavoured oils and vinegar's which I also use to make great tasting salad dressings as well. Adding the Garlic oil to the pizza dough gives it a great garlic taste and to be honest, that oil is so over powering that you can't really use it for anything else. If you are using it for a salad dressing be caution