HEY LOOK AT MY FEET

We have a little soccer dynamo in our house. K is playing soccer again this year. I say that loosely because last year was like pulling teeth every game, more for my hubbie than for me. My husband took her to soccer nights every week and it was just painful. This year is a different story. She loves it and she's good at it too. She looks the part this year, all the way down to her toes. I discovered a NEAT product for your budding athlete, called CLEATSKINS.


They go over my daughter's soccer shoes, protecting her cleats and also protecting my floors. They come in cool colours. I got my daughter a pair of pink camo CLEATSKINS.



The other cool thing is she is ahead of the curve, no one else has a pair on her team and she is the envy of many of the kids and parents.

We have had many questions about where we got them. We love our pair, they are easy to get on and easy to get off. They just slip on and off. We can pull them off fast so K can get on the field and get playing.



The great thing about the product is that is comes in many colours and it isn't just for kids. It actually comes in adult sizes for many sports, like golf, baseball and football.
I think the story of Cleatskins is inspiring. The product was created by parents of three very active children. Rick Kay, a former college athlete, with his wife Marianne, were inspired to come up with Cleatskins out of necessity. After replacing yet another pair of expensive cleats for his eldest son, Rick was inspired to find a way to make cleats last longer. He and his wife experimented with a lot of things, including store bought sandals and rubber shower caps. With prototype in-hand, the two enlisted the talents of footwear experts Chris Walsh of CW Resources, Inc. and Erik Purdom of Erik Purdom Design to refine and perfect their innovation.
Cleatskins are crafted from state-of-the-art materials, the innovative SKINTEK™ rubber shell fits effortlessly over cleats to take them to the streets, so busy athletes can move on and off the field faster. And so Cleatskins were born.

I think this is going to be a great soccer season. K is turning into quiet the pro. She has scored at least 3 goals in every game so far.I think she has found her game. It is fantastic that she has found a summer sport that she likes, it's great exercise and a great way to meet new friends.




What do you do to keep your kids active?

GET READY DISNEY, HERE WE COME! AGAIN!

So we are hooked. On Disney that is.




Growing up my parents took our family, all 5 kids, to Florida every few years. A lot of those vacations included a day trip to Disney. It was a challenge I am sure for my parents to save up the money on one income to take 2 adults and 5 kids to the most Magical place on earth for kids. Now that I have children of my own, I wanted to make sure they got to experience the joy and magic of Disney. We went for the first time last year. There were 9 of us. We stayed at Disney, at the All Star Sport, a value resort. It was great value for the money and perfect for anyone with kids. The rooms were good, not huge but enough room. We had 3 rooms in total, two of them were adjoining. The pool was warm and the food was tasty, with a perfect choice for everyone in the family, even my Dad who has to eat gluten free. We were the perfect group, my parents ( now grandparents), my sister, my niece and nephew, my husband and our two children.



It was as magical as I had hoped for my kids. They were awe struck the entire two days at the park. It was so much fun we are going back again this holiday season. This year there will be 10 of us in all. This time we are going to stay 3 nights, 4 days.



I have to say I have learned a lot from our last Grand Gathering visit. This time I have done a lot more research, asked more questions and searched on the Internet more. I must admit advice, tips and tricks from other mothers has really paid off. The main Disney site was helpful, including the live chat option where you can chat live on line with a Disney agent, and a site I recently discovered that is all this Disney, unofficially that is. It's call AllEars.net . There is also fellow Mommy and twitter friend Resourceful Mommy, she has a Disney section on her blog.

This year we are putting a plan together, what park to go to first, what rides to go to, etc, in an effect to make it the most fun it can be. We want to get the most we can out of our trip.

The kids can hardly wait. I can hardly wait. There is too much excitement and we are still months away.

What's your favourite ride, story or memory of Disney? Would love to hear your tips, tricks or advice about going to Disney.

LAUGH YOUR STRESS AWAY

Having a bad day? Stressed? Who hasn't said at the end of a stressful day, " Boy I could use a good laugh!" Well it might just be what the doctor ordered for sure. Research shows there are great benefits from laughter. It can do your body good, physically, emotionally and mentally. So it was interesting to me when I discovered something called Laughter Yoga. There are clubs and classes all across Canada, and the world for that matter. It is slowly gaining popularity.

Wendy Woods of Watershed Training Solutions and a laughter yoga instructor tells me it has great stress buster benefits. She says you won't be doing yoga stretches while telling jokes, but you will be laughing a lot and using breathing and stretching techniques to help you get yogic benefits.

Check out my article at http://www.amotherworld.com/ for more on laughter yoga and it's stress busting benefits

GET MOVING

So as I mentioned in an earlier post, my girls ran in a kids fun run. I was thrilled they were even interested in signing up but I was more than proud when they ran the run, finishing it all by them selves.

I will be the first to admit that I am not the most active or athletic person these days. I wish I was, and while I have excuses, none of the are really a reason that I am not moving more these days. When I was a child I was very active, I was a gymnast, a soccer player, basketball player, swimmer and there wasn't a single summer day that I wasn't out on my bicycle. Today, life and work have gotten in my way and now I am just out of shape ( I am ashamed to say). I could do with losing a few pounds but more than that I would like to be in better shape, to be able to keep up with my kids.

My children, like most children, are busy. They are up in the morning and outside before breakfast, riding bikes, scooters, skipping, running and playing.

According to Active Healthy Kids Canada's annual report on physical activity, Canadian youngsters get a failing grade when it comes to getting active. In 2008, 87 per cent of children and youth did not get the recommended minimum of 90 minutes of physical activity a day.

Despite the large proportion of children not meeting the guidelines, it's still an improvement compared to 2006, when 91 per cent of kids weren't reaching the target according Active Healthy Kids Canada. The biggest culprits? TV, computers and video games.

Those numbers are sad. Children should be active, enjoying the world. Most children are carefree. Most adults should be too. I am making a pledge to be more active, whether it's walking instead of taking the elevator or walking around the block or even going to the gym!

What are you doing to keep moving and get your family more active?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

MY GIRLS ARE RUNNERS

Every year Burlington, Ontario holds a running race in June. It's called the Moon in June. Since I am not a runner, I have never participated but this year my girls, 3 and 6, decided they wanted to enter the kids fun run with their friends.

I must admit I was a little skeptical. I just wasn't sure they knew what they were signing up for, but they did it. They both ran the entire 1 km. I was so proud. I am so proud.




It is a great way to build self esteem, encourage activity and community spirit.

Special K is 6!

I have been away from the blog for a while. Not sure what has kept me from posting, life I guess. The weather here is warmer and the kids keep me outside for much of the day. Time sure flies.

And nothing illustrates that more than my baby girl turning 6! Wow. I can hardly believe it. This year she decided that she wanted a party at home. A Minnie Mouse party at home. I made special Minnie Mouse ears, my Mom sewed Minnie Mouse skirts for all the girls. It was very cute.


I even stamped plain white gift bags with my own hand cut Minnie Mouse head. I stamped it in black paint and then the kids decorated their own bows for Minnie's head. That was their loot bag to carry their skirts and ears home. Everyone even got a Minnie balloon to take home.

The inspiration for the party was of course our trip last winter to Disney. It was the girls first visit and they were over the moon.