The Ins & Outs of Family Estate Planning with Laroux Peoples: Video + Discount

Once you become a parent, planning for every possibility becomes important. That's why having a Will and Power of Attorney in place is so essential. We all hope that nothing happens to us until we're old and grey, but planning means that your family won't be left in a difficult position in the very rare chance that something happens to one or both parents.

If you don't have your estate planned, you need to Watch this quick video I made with Laroux Peoples, a local mom and awesome lawyer that specializes in Wills and Powers of Attorney. Laroux answers some of the frequently asked questions parents have about preparing their estate, and offers an amazing discount to my readers and clients. 

Plus, if you're in the Toronto area Register NOW to join Me & Laroux on May 1st at 9:30am for the May Breastfeeding Cafe at West End Mamas. Laroux will be talking about Future Planning: Wills & Powers of Attorney for Parents, and answering all of your questions. Remaining space is very limited for this FREE community event, so don't wait to Register. 

Laroux generously offers my clients 20% off their Wills and Powers of Attorney when they mention With Care. Plus she comes to your home when your documents are ready to be signed...aka...no need to pay for a babysitter or parking. Basically the best news ever. 

Follow the link to set up a FREE phone consultation with Laroux so you can get all of your questions answered and finally have this big one checked off the never-ending parenting to-do list. You're welcome ;) 

- Care 

**Please note this video and post does not constitute legal advice or establish a solicitor/client relationship by way of any information contained herein. The contents are intended for general information purposes only and under no circumstances can be relied upon for legal decision-making. Please consult with a qualified lawyer to seek advice concerning the specifics of your particular situation.

*This is a sponsored post which means I was provided compensation and/or product for this post. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. I only partner with products and services that I genuinely love and want to recommend. 

Westside FUN Day Camp GIVEAWAY! ENTER For a Chance to WIN a Week of FREE Camp! + Discount Code Included! (CONTEST CLOSED)

This winter has already been a tough one, and if the groundhog is right we still have several more weeks of battling our kids into snow suits, hats, mitts and boots...argh. I'm already so done with the cold and snow, and totally dreaming of summer weather. Soooo... as a little reminder that summer will arrive (seriously, it has to!!) I have an amazing GIVEAWAY with Westside FUN Day Camp!

You can Enter for a Chance to WIN A Week of FREE Camp for your kiddo at this amazing West End Day Camp. This prize is valued at $390+tax!! Plus get a code below for $40 off your 1st Week!

Westside FUN offers day camp programs to kid's ages 4 and up and has a great combo of activities, so every kid will have fun! That's what really drew me to the camp. Activities include: Sports, Arts & Crafts, Drama & Puppetry to name a few. The camp operates out of King George Junior Pubic School at 25 Rexford Road (main intersection: Jane & Dundas St W), right here in the Bloor West/Junction neighbourhood and has a really great community feel. 

My big kids, Ben and Lucy, are so excited to be going to Westside FUN this year. They've already checked out the website and can't wait to join the Blue Birds & Golden Stars.  Plus Mommy is pretty darn happy that they'll be in a quiet neighbourhood, and within walking distance for easy drop off and pick up. It's a win win for us all!

To ENTER for a Chance to WIN a Week of FREE Camp at Westside FUN Simply comment below with your name and email address. (Alternatively you may comment below with your name and then submit your email address to care@with-care.ca for entry). Plus make sure to check out my Facebook page & Instagram feed for 2 more ways to enter! 

Contest is open to all Canadians* 18+ and closes **EXTENDED to Wednesday February 21st at 11pm EST** A winner will be chosen at random and contacted within 24 hours. *Westside FUN Day Camp is located in Toronto Canada. No travel or accommodation costs will be covered. CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Learn More about Westside FUN's Programs & Register Here. Please note that Westside FUN only runs programs in July, so space in their programs is Extremely Limited. Don't wait to register! Use code CARE40 for $40 off your 1st week at Westside FUN! Multi-week and sibling discounts are available, so make sure to check those out!

Good luck and enjoy dreaming of summer :) 

- Care

*This is a sponsored post which means I was provided compensation and/or product for this post. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. I only partner with products and services that I genuinely love and want to recommend. 

Want to Sip & Sling with Potter & Pehar at Love Me Do? REGISTER NOW!

I absolutely adore babywearing, so it only seems natural to talk about it during the month of love. In fact, carrying your baby close to your body gets your love hormones surging, and helps keep baby (and parents) happy. If you want to learn more about babywearing with a ring sling, join me and Potter & Pehar at Love Me Do in Liberty Village on February 9th for Babywearing, Bubbles & Special Treats in celebration of Valentine's Day. 

Potter & Pehar will be offering discounts on their beautiful Ring Slings (I'm wearing the double layer Avenue above with my Toddler Penny). Plus they will be Giving Away a Ring Sling to one lucky attendee!! 

Love Me Do will also be offering a special 10% off to all attendees during the event (some exceptions apply). If you've never been to Love Me Do, get ready! It's amazing and has all of my absolute favourite products for young families. 

Bonus: I will be there to offer my expertise and support as a long time babywearer and Certified Babywearing Educator. My mini-workshop will cover Safe Babywearing & Ring Sling Basics. Plus there will be time for questions and trying on carriers with your little ones. 

This Complimentary Event has very Limited Space. Please email hello@potterandpehar.com to reserve your spot! 

Hope to see you there!

Care xo

Let's Talk about Sex!....After Baby + ENTER My Gorgeous Lingerie GIVEAWAY!

With Valentine's Day around the corner I thought it was only appropriate that I dial up the love for all the mamas out there. So I'm very excited to announce that I will be hosting a super HOT Breastfeeding Cafe at West End Mamas on February 6th. Guest speaker Registered Psychotherapist Melissa Moore will be joining us to chat about Sex After Baby, and how to bring back the heat, when all you want to do is sleep! Learn all about getting the love you want, and creating the love you need. This is one you definitely don't wait to miss!

The Breastfeeding Cafe is a FREE community event, but you must pre-register for this exclusive event. Space is very limited each month, so don't wait! (Register at bottom of page, or here)

As an extra little Valentine's treat I'm hosting an online GIVEAWAY for a gorgeous Bralette from Mayana Geneviere (Value $115!). This bra is like no other. It has no clasps, no wires, no clips, and has the added perk of being absolouety stunning, while functioning as a regular bra, or nursing bra! Plus it's Canadian designed, sewn ethically locally in Toronto, and a portion of all purchases goes toward their non-for profit Maternal Goddess. This project aims to provide education and awareness towards the changes and challenges women experience post birth. Now this is my kind of bra, and company!

******* UPDATED: CONTEST CLOSED ******* 

To Enter for a chance to WIN a Bralette from Mayana Geneviere simply comment below with your name and email address, or alternatively you may comment below and submit your email address to care@with-care.ca for entry (you must comment below to be included).

Plus make sure to check out my Facebook page & Instagram feed for 2 more ways to enter!  Contest is open to all residents of North America who are 18+ and closes Tuesday January 30th at 11pm EST. A winner will be chosen at random and contacted within 24 hours. Good Luck!

West End Mamas generously offers my client's 20% off their 1st Wellness Service, so don't hesitate to reach out if you're in need of a little help along this parenting journey. They have an amazing team of dedicated professionals, a beautiful space, and childcare during appointments! It doesn't get much better. 

- Care

*This is a sponsored post which means I was provided compensation and/or product for this post. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. I only partner with products and services that I genuinely love and want to recommend. 

Valentine's Mini Photo Sessions at Movies for Mommies Humber Cinemas - Register Now!

Valentine's Day is a holiday that I was never really into, until I had kids. Now I absolutely love sharing all the love with my kiddos on February 14th. Doing heart themed crafts, making heart shaped foods, and giving special little notes of love are some of the ways that we love to celebrate. As a mom, my absolute favourite way to mark this special time of year is with holiday photos. How could you not? Look at these adorable Valentine's babes.

Since I know so many of you can't resist a holiday baby, I am excited to announce that Anchor Studio Photography will be joining me at Movies for Mommies for 2 weeks to offer complimentary Valentine's Mini Photo Sessions. Appointments will be scheduled between 12pm-1pm on each day (January 29th & February 5th). Photo sessions are free and attendees have the option to purchase photos for $25/digital image. *PLEASE NOTE: Sessions are reserved for Movie Attendees Only.

Space is very limited for these sessions, so please email care@with-care.ca ASAP to request a spot. Don't forget to let me know which day you prefer, January 29th or February 5th. If the date you prefer is full I will offer you a time on the other day, or a spot on the wait list. These sessions fill up very fast, so please don't wait!

*The movies being screened January 29th & February 5th are still TBD (I will update this post as they become available). If you would like to receive notice of our weekly screenings and special events please join my Movies for Mommies Humber Cinemas Newsletter.

Here are a few of my favourite Valentine's photos that Anchor Studio has taken of my kiddos in the past. I can't believe how much the girls have changed. 

The cookie sequence below cracks me up.

Don't forget to email me care@with-care.ca to request a spot and let me know which day you prefer, January 29th or February 5th. Hope to see you on Monday at the Movies! 

*If you can't make it to the Movies during these times check out the Studio Valentine's Sessions that Anchor Studio is hosting February 10th & 11th. Sessions are $199 plus HST for a 30 minute in studio session with 8 digital images available for downloading. Space is limited for these sessions REGISTER HERE.

- Care

5 Ingredient Overnight French Toast Casserole

I always love pre-made options for feeding my family, so over the holidays I set out to search for an overnight french toast casserole recipe. I was so excited to try out something new, but was shocked when I saw just how much sugar was included in most recipes. No judgement here, I love sugary homemade treats, but I don't want to make every breakfast a dessert. Plus, french toast is a breakfast that already typically gets doused in syrup by my kids, so I wanted it to be a tad healthier.  

When I couldn't find what I wanted I decided to adapt my french toast recipe to suit an overnight bake. It was so simple, and turned out better than I could have expected. The kids gobbled it up and begged for seconds. Plus, mom and dad loved it too. 

The best part is that it only takes 5 ingredients and a few minutes to make up the night before. Then you get to enjoy your morning with your family while the delicious smell of fresh baked french toast casserole wafts through your home. For a tired mama, it doesn't get much better.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of crusty bread cut into cubes (I used an Italian loaf this time, but plan on trying a whole grain variety next time.)

• 8 large eggs whisked

• 3 cups whole milk (or combo of milk and cream)

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

• Grease large casserole dish with butter (approximately 9x13)

• Cut up crusty loaf into chunks and place in casserole dish *If bread is not stale leave it out in the dish for a while to dry out. It absorbs the custard better when dry.

• In a large bowl whisk eggs, milk, cinnamon & vanilla

• Pour custard mixture over bread

• Use a silicone flipper to gently rotate bread in pan so it all gets covered in custard

• Cover with Abeego or plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight

• When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees and remove plastic wrap

• Use silicone flipper to rotate bread again and pat down into pan with flipper

• Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes rotating the pan half way through

• *optional* When timer is up, sprinkle top with 1 tsp granulated sugar and broil on low for 5 minutes.

• Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

For a special treat on New Years Day I served the casserole with fresh whipped cream, some delicious maple syrup and tons of berries and bananas. Plus a hearty helping of local bacon ;) For regular everyday eating try serving it with greek/coconut yogurt and fresh fruit. Plus you can sprinkle the top with some hemp hearts for a little extra boost.

You can also add fresh or frozen fruit to your french toast casserole before baking. Blueberries and diced apples are both delicious additions to this simple recipe.

Hope you and your family enjoy this as much as mine did. Please let me know if you make it. I would love to hear how it goes.

Care xo

Lucy's 4th Unicorn Birthday Party

This year for Lucy's 4th Birthday I decided to go all out and throw her the party of her dreams. As a true 2nd child, she has never had a real party until now. While Ben has had several epic birthday parties. So basically, this party was making up for a few years of some serious parental guilt. 

Lucy requested a Unicorn party, with a unicorn flavoured cake, and real live unicorns!! After a discussion about mythical creatures vs. real animals, and a little internet search for animals and kid's birthday parties, we settled on unicorn invites, a unicorn shape cake, and a visit from some adorable animals care of Pawsitively Pets. Luckily since we wanted to have a weeknight birthday party they were able to accommodate my less than 2 week notice (see I'm not always organized). Please note: weekend parties book up much farther in advance, so don't wait as long as I did, or you'll be disappointed.

Once I knew Lucy wanted a Unicorn party I set to work on the internet to find a perfect invite and some cute decor. I fell in love with this invite from Little Crazy Doughnut on Etsy, and knew Lucy would adore it too. I absolutely love buying custom invites like this because it's so convenient, affordable, and fast. Which was especially important on my tight timeline.

We sent our invites out via email which is a time and money saver, and has the added benefit of preventing kids from getting their feelings hurt at school. I firmly believe that you can invite as many or as few kids to a birthday party, as long as your tactful about it. A full class party of 28 kids was not happening for us, so Lucy chose a few of her friends from her class and our neighbourhood to invite.

Next I set out to find a unicorn cake and when I saw this one by Le Dolci I knew it was perfect. I wanted this to be a huge surprise for Lucy, so I never let her see photos of it ahead of time. She was absolutely blown away by it, and so were all of the guests at the party. Plus it was absolutely delicious! As a baker I'm especially picky of icing and this was some amazing icing. 

The beautiful flowers from Tonic Blooms added such a perfect touch to the table, and brightened up our home all week. I didn't know exactly what I wanted, so I sent them a photo of some of the party decor and they made up these gorgeous arrangements. I was blown away by how well they complimented the overall theme. 

I absolutely love the way the decor all turned out, but nothing at the party could compare to the adorable creatures Pawsitively Pets brought. Our host Jess arrived a few minutes early and set up the area for the pet show. I loved how they came so prepared with sheets to cover the floors, baby wipes and hand sanitizer. Jess was great with the kids and managed to keep them engaged throughout the whole hour. When some of the kids started getting tired of sitting, she did a little exercise break with them and got them right back into the show. The kids got to look at, learn about, touch and hold a bunch of different cool animals. The questions that the kid's asked were so adorable, and it was amazing to hear some of the stuff they already knew about the animals. The chinchilla was the highlight of the party for me. Not only the softest thing I have ever felt (seriously it's softer than cashmere. no joke. I want one), but it also sat on their heads, which basically made their year. 

I'm so happy to have so many amazing memories from Lucy's party captured by Silvia and Tony of Anchor Studio. I know I would never have been able to get action shots like this while hosting. Although we won't be able to have a photographer at every party, it was a nice treat for this one. I don't think Lucy is going to forget this party anytime soon. She is still wearing her unicorn horn around the house...and sometimes to school. So all in all I would say it was a major success. I will be sure to share the DIY Unicorn horns on the blog soon. I hope this gives you some inspiration for your next kid's birthday party. 

Care 

In this post:

Pawsitively Pets: Pet Parties & Camps     |    Le Dolci: Unicorn Cake     |     Anchor Studio: Photography *Mention With Care at booking to receive 10% Off|     Little Crazy Doughnut: Invitation     |    Tonic Blooms: Flower Arrangements     |     Newmies: Unicorn Stuffies     |     Tiny Trendsetter: Lucy's Dress

*This is a sponsored post which means I was provided compensation and/or product for this post. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. I only partner with products and services that I genuinely love and want to recommend. 

From Caterpillar to Butterfly - Habitat Inspiration & A Super Simple Ikea Hack

As promised, I wanted to share some butterfly habitat inspiration as a follow up to my post about The Junction Wings Project. So here it is! Don't hesitate to post questions in the comments. 

Now that you've welcomed (or will soon be welcoming) some fuzzy little caterpillars into your home, you need to start thinking about a habitat. Lucky for busy parents, your caterpillars will remain in their little cup with their food for the first week, so you don't need to rush out to prepare this right away. 

There are tons of ways to make a great butterfly enclosure, but keep in mind how old your children are and what might be needed to keep said children from killing said butterfly ;) The enclosure doesn't need to be fancy, but it needs to allow fresh flow of air, have a place for your cocoons to hang down while waiting for them to emerge, and keep your little butterflies safely inside once they hatch. You can make some simple DIY versions with mesh netting and various household items (see pics below). You can also use a mesh laundry hamper (like the one below from Ikea). Personally, having something that can't be easily crushed, and that doesn't sit on the ground, is top priority in our house. Our littlest is currently in the "destroy all things" phase, so keeping them out of her reach and safe is key.

This is our 3rd season welcoming butterflies and we're still loving out Ikea mini greenhouse. We usually add a few plants and a mesh top. Last year we used simple bulldog clips to hold the mesh top in place (I used a recycled lime bag), but I found it frustrating with curious kids. This year I decided I wanted to improve the mesh top, so I removed one of the glass panels from the greenhouse lid and traced it out on a piece of cardboard (the box it comes in works great).

I cut out the square of cardboard and then cut out the centre of the square leaving only a 1cm wide outer edge frame. I then wrapped some organza (any type of soft mesh or screen will work. If you don't have a scrap laying around, your local hardware, fabric or dollar store will probably have something appropriate) over the cardboard frame and stapled it into place. The screen frame then slid nicely back into place in the top of the greenhouse. You could do both sides, but we're going to leave 1 glass and 1 mesh. Once the cocoons are ready and attached to the lids of their cups I will cut an X in the mesh and carefully lower the cocoons through. The plastic lids of the containers sit in the holes of the mesh so the cocoons can hang down into the greenhouse awaiting their arrival. 

Once your butterflies hatch they will need to remain in your habitat for up to a week to dry out their wings and gain strength. Don't worry, the instructions that come with your caterpillar will give you all the details on the food options eg. sugar water & sliced fruit. Once your butterfly is flying around it's ready to be freed into the wild. We love letting our butterflies go in our garden every year. 

Here is some more butterfly habitat inspiration:

Hope you have fun making a habitat for your little critters. Don't forget to share your adventures with #junctionwings. 

Care