Summer Vacation - Week #2 The Pool

Now this is a gem in our community. It is Mountainside Pool. It is a pool run by the City of Burlington. It has a diving board, a two loop water slid, lots of shallow water to play with the kids and a splash pad for the little ones.

It cost us less than $10 to swim. That is for all three of us and we could have stayed all day long. We were there for about three hours. Now that is a lot of swimming

It was a great afternoon. There are chairs to sit on, grass to throw a towel on and more than enough shade if that is your thing. There was even a little snack bar that sold fries, hot dogs, drinks, slushies and freezies. 

I love finding these great gems in our own community. The pool was a 10 minute drive from our house, that is talking door to parking spot. There were lots of life guards on duty. They were friendly and helpful. We will be going back to this pool for sure! A great way to spend a summer afternoon with the kids before heading off to work. The other bonus of this pool, it fits in with my summer on a budget idea. I really don't like spending a lot of money to entertain the kids during the summer and I am always on the look out for budget friendly activities and this is a definite fit!  Great job city of Burlington! 

This is the girls playing with a ball in the  middle of the pool

Summer Vacay - Week #2 THE FORT

 So the kids decided they wanted to build a fort. Here is the problem...they have never built a fort before.  Shocking really, that my kids have never built a fort before. What is going on?!!!?? They are 7 and 10 years old after all. How can it be that they have never built a fort before in their lives?


 So it was my job to teach them how to build a fort. We grab some blankets and some clothe pegs and got to work in the basement. The girls wanted to build the fort around the television so they could watch DVDs under the fort!

So after much work ( ok, just a few minutes) we were done and this is what we built. It was quite the patchwork! 

Under the Fort!

What a great way to spend a gloomy afternoon. The weather was not great outside so it was a perfect day to build a fort. It was hours of fun for the kids and it didn't cost a thing!

Summer Vacay - Weekend #2

This weekend the kids decided they wanted to set up a pop stand. Yup, you read that right. A pop stand. Lemonade stands are so old school! Ha Ha, just kidding.

You see we have a Soda Stream. It is great. It carbonates tap water and then you can add flavoured syrup to make your favourite pop. For example, we have Cherry Cola, Diet Cola, Kool Aid and the household favourite Country Time Lemonade.... so it was sort of like a lemonade stand.

The kids decided to set things up with their friend from down the street. The friend brought the cups and we provided the beverage materials.  The made signs and created a song that they were singing at the top of their lungs! They set their prices well. A glass of homemade pop was only 25 cents!!!! They did some brisk business. They made $30, which they split three ways! Everyone went home happy.

A Great Way to Start Off BlogHer'13

I am finally doing it! I am going to BlogHer. I have long wanted to go and finally got my self organized and did it. So I am kicking the weekend off with a Bang!!!! What a great way to see the great city of Chicago.... by water. I will be cruising with Seadog

Check it out! 

Are you ready for an entertaining cruise experience along Chicago’s scenic lakefront? Come out to Navy Pier and let Seadog show you the city April-October, weather permitting.

Seadog offers four exciting ways to see and experience Chicago from the water:

Lakefront Speedboat Tour
This 30-minute cruise along the shoreline offers a descriptive tour of Chicago’s famous skyline, while playing your favorite music.

Extreme Thrill Ride
This cruise is perfect for the dare-devil in you! This 30-minute ride features splash down stops, 180-degree turns, slalom runs and more.

River and Lake Architectural Tour
Enjoy historic views of Chicago’s famous landmarks and neighborhoods during this 75-minute cruise on both Lake Michigan and the Chicago River.

Lakefront Fireworks Cruise
Enjoy front-row seats to the spectacular fireworks display aboard our Lakefront Fireworks Cruise! Cruise along Lake Michigan with an exciting speedboat ride paired with an informative tour of the Chicago skyline, then end the evening with a dazzling fireworks show and top-40 hits playing in the background! The open aired vessel allows for panoramic views, providing a perfect view.

 The Seadog Fireworks Cruise is available on Wednesdays and Saturdays, running from Memorial Day – Labor Day.

Seadog is great for both individuals and groups. We offer customizable group events for up to 450 people.

Seadog also features specific holiday cruises, such as Memorial Day, the 4th of July and Halloween.
Not only can you enjoy a Seadog Cruise, but your dog can as well! Dogs ride for free, space permitting.

For more information, please visit www.seadogcruises.com/chicago/ or call 888-636-7737.




Hope to see you at BlogHer13 ... and in Chicago! 

Daily Reminders

I am a firm believer in the power of thoughts. It is important to think positive thoughts. As I wrote in a previous post, thoughts have power, and you want to give your positive thoughts as much power as you can. Thoughts do become things.


It all comes down to the idea of what you are throwing out to the Universe. You want to be putting out positive thoughts and things out in the Universe so it can give you more of what you put out! BUT.... let's face it it can be hard to positive 100 percent of the time. Who can really be upbeat, happy and positive all day long, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.

One thing to remember here is that there is a really easy way to make sure that you are thinking positive thoughts. It has to do with your feelings. If you are feeling happy then you are thinking happy, positive thoughts. If you are not feeling good then you are not thinking positive, happy thoughts. Pretty simple right?

We all have bad days. We all have days when we don't feel great and we might not be thinking the most positive thoughts we possibly can. So, how do you handle that? What is a person to do if they are not perfectly positive all the time?

Well, that is where the idea of daily reminders comes in.  We all need to do a little check in with ourselves. Ask yourself at least once a day how you are feeling? Take a few moments to stop what you are doing, think about how you feel and if there is anything you could be doing or saying to yourself that could change how you are feeling at that very moment.

One thing I like to do is write down little reminders. I like to post it and believe it . I like to write down inspirational quotes, sayings that are uplifting or positive and keep them on pieces of paper. If you place these notes where you can see them, then when you need a little pick-me-up then all you need to do is pull out one of those notes! Read it and believe it.

It is important to keep working towards a positive, healthy mindset. I believe it is key to life's success. It can be difficult at first, especially if you are like me and struggle with worry and self doubt. It is always a work in progress for me. I don't want to say it is hard because it really isn't hard to be positive. You just have to gather the tools and put the systems, routines and tips and tricks in place so that when you start to doubt yourself, think badly of yourself or fall back on negative thoughts then you are able to put a stop to it quickly and reverse gears!


What do you do to stay positive? Do you have any tips or tricks that you use to keep positive thoughts top of mind??

Summer Vacation! Do You Have a Plan?

Ah great days at the cottage. Ya, those are part of our summer plan. Well, I will admit is really isn't a plan. I actually try not to have a plan per say for the summer. It is actually more of a wish list really. I like to keep the summer months with the kids lose and free. I work nights and so during the school year I don't get to spend very much time with my two girls during the work/school week. When summer comes around we all look forward to just spending time together, no matter what it is that we are doing.

So, there are a few things on our summer wish list. We hope to make it to the beach a couple of days, they kids are hoping to play with friends a lot, they also have a few sleep overs on that list also, and of course there will be a lot of sleeping in!!!

I rarely put the kids in summer camps. I don't like to be over scheduled for the summer. I don't like the idea of having to get up early and rushing off to any particular place. Some of the best summer memories that I have are the days when the girls and I say in our PJ's for most of the day and just hang our together, watching movies or talking. Those are some serious cuddle moments and as the kids get older those are becoming few and far between.

Do you create a plan? Or do you wing it for the summer? I would love to hear what you do with the kids for the summer.

Summer Vacay - Weekend # 1

 July 1st was Canada Day. We are so lucky that we live so close to so much of the action. We are downtown Burlington and lucky enough to live within walking distance to an amazing park and community green space, Spencer Smith Park. This past weekend it was the site of an amazing Canada Day celebration. During the day there was lots to see, do and eat! We walked down in the afternoon to take in some of the activities, we watched a dog show and the kids had a slushy and an ice cream cone.

When the sun went down things got really busy. The food stations and trucks were still selling goodies, like fries and funnel cakes. The lawn was jam packed with blankets and people. We found a great spot, after much debate, at the top of a hill! The kids scouted this one out.  We were all there waiting for the fireworks show to begin. There is nothing better than being out with hundreds of other families way past your bedtime! The fireworks show didn't get started until 10 p.m.

Waiting for the fireworks to begin!

And finally the show was underway, once the orchestra played O Canada and the entire crowd of hundreds sang, proudly, the national anthem.

Thanks Burlington for a great night and for allowing my girls to enjoy their own community! There is nothing better!