i’m going to be starting something new here and it’s called “THEMED THURSDAY“. each thursday i will post an entry around a theme, like teddy bears, monster trucks or pink flowers! haha! you get the idea. it’ll be a way for me to share ideas, recipes, or other cool, random things i find while surfing the internet!
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today’s theme is…
here’s STYX with mr. roboto to put yo in a robot-y kinda mood.
look at these adorable robot cookies from munchkin munchies!Â
they kinda look too cute to eat, don-cha think?
and, how about this sweet unisex robot t-shirt from stitch & spoke.Â
it’s perfect for any robot lovin’ kid!
check out these little cuties, these super cute robots are eco-friendly little plushies from needlings! love the little starry glint detailing in the eyes!
i love these leather bibs from mally. we had one and it lasted forever!Â
it was one of the best gifts we ever received for the kids when they were babes.Â
the clasp is magnetic, so we just hung the bib on our fridge when not in use.
and, robot themed items are not just for kids…
what about these super hilarious cuff links from rapscallion!
and, finally a blogger who likes the whole robot theme…
the robot mommy. she blogs about homeschooling, her caffeine addiction and other fun things. check her out, she’s hilarious!
[ this is from the robot mommy’s facebook page. ]
hope you guys enjoyed the robot collection! if you have any theme ideas, let me know, and i’ll see what i can do… not making any promises tho! * * * * * * *Â
as inspired by souleMama; one photo from our week, no words, only an image to sum up our time as a family. one that captures a moment in time and is a visual reminder of where we were at this moment.  please, feel free to leave a link from your moment this week. i’d love to see what you’ve been up to! (i feel the need to explain this photo. lion woke up from his nap to three trucks outside our house. a big tractor that was loading snow from the road and the sidewalk into a waiting dump truck. then a small sidewalk cleaner plough came up from behind to really clean things up. waking up to this, lion was in machine heaven!)
The Liebster Award is given to a new or up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The award is then passed along to other bloggers in the same category to help spread the word and support one another.Â
i was awarded this award by the lovely and hilarious kari, at a gracefull life. a big thanks to her and go read about her life over at her blog. the rules: 1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves. 2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to. 3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post. 4. Go to their page and tell them about the award. 5. No tag backs. 11 random facts about me: 1. i have an extra bone in my arch of each foot. they are each the size of a pea. 2. i love winter. 3. i am a book snob. 4. i got my driver’s license 4 years ago. (i was just 30.) 5. i am bilingual in english and finnish. 6. i am sarcastic 7. i am a capricorn. 8. i drink coffee like a 16 year old girl. cream and sugar, yes please! 9. i try to support local  everything. sometimes it’s tricky, sometimes it’s easy! 10. i am halfway through my women’s studies degree. thinking about returning to uni in the fall. 11. i enjoy being creative. kari’s questions for me: 1. Fave website: bear & lion, and the weather network. 2. Fave song: “promise” tracy chapman 3. Fave ice cream flavour: hagen daaz, rocky road. 4. Fave pizza topping: mushrooms 5. Fave blogger: i have a long list of faves; one for each mood, food craving and craft project! 6. Fave Twitter friend: this is too tough… 7. Fave blogging subject: how i suck as a mama! haha! my search for my best myself. 8. Fave holiday: x-mas 9. Fave concert you have ever been to: definitely the beastie boys!!! 10. Fave city: helsinki. overflowing with culture, art, good food, fun times and it’s home. 11. Fave restaurant: gusto, the albion and the greenroom. all in my current hometown. my questions for my recipients and i am following kari’s idea of one word answers! quick n’ easy! let’s play! 1. fave flower: 2. fave colour: 3. fave season: 4. if you could have dinner with anyone dead, who would it be: 5. fave vacation destination: 6. how many hours do you sleep a night: 7. how many hours do you spend blogging a day: 8. fave chore: 9. which do you prefer to drive, standard or automatic: 10. fave book: 11. least fave kinda music: my 11 liebster award recipients are: (puh-lease go check out these blogs, the point of these awards is to introduce new, interesting blogs to others!) this list is compromised of bloggers who have been friendly on twitter, come my blog and left comments or advice, and or blogs i generally like to read and follow.
well, nemo turned out to the the worst storm our area, southern ontario, has seen in five years. it was an intense 24 hours, with incredible snow fall dumping about 30 centimetres of the white stuff. the kids and i went outside in the morning to play and shovel, and you can see from the picture below that a lot of snow sure did fall! bear had a snowday from school, which is not so common around here. lucky for us, we love snow!
in the afternoon i headed downtown to get my hair done. i desperately needed the alone time, since i hadn’t really left the house in a couple of days, because of all the sickies at our house. i gave myself plenty of time, because i was unsure of what to expect in terms of driving and parking conditions. it was a slow drive, about 30 kmph, but i made it with time to spare so i got a coffee and headed to the local bookshop to peruse. the pictures below i took with my phone after my appointment. lotsa snow still coming down, terrible visibility, but the quiet the snow brings was so amazing. we never lost power or felt any stress from the storm, which i am grateful for. we shovelled a lot, discussed the weather all day, watched some snowploughs do their thing and basically stayed warm and cozy.
today, we woke up to bright white snow and gorgeous blue skies! so for those of you being blasted today, hang in there and stay safe!
it’s a perfect day to prepare for bear’s birthday party tomorrow! it’s going to be a super fun weekend for us! what do you have planned?
someone out there is the world of bloggers and cyber friends did something really nice for me. lillian of “it’s a dome life” awarded me with the authentic voice award. i know a lot of bloggers think that these kinds of awards are cheesy or silly and meaningless, but i actually feel the complete opposite. i think these kinds of awards are really important and valuable. i feel really honoured that lillian, took the time to read my blog and include it on a list with other blogs she enjoys. blogs she describe as being written with transparency, which is exactly what i have always tried to do. and to have someone openly acknowledge and recognize this means a lot to me. enough to make me blush and now write about it. i started blogging out of curiosity first, but then i got hooked. i find it very therapeutic, helpful and fun. i have definitely created a place here that people want to revisit, which is what i like and feel proud of. i have tried to be honest about my life, my struggles and my thoughts. i hope that comes across to you, the reader. sometimes i feel pressure to write more, but then i end up with the inevitable blog burn-out, which is something i ultimately want to avoid. been there, done that! i want to send out a HUGE thanks to all of you for coming and reading about my life. feel free to email me or leave a comment on the blog with some feedback or whatever. i am always happy to hear from people and their opinions about what i do here on bear & lion. again, a huge thanks to lillian for this award. i’ve been feeling a bit blue with all the sickness in january so this award had really motivated me and lifted my spirits! *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * and, now it’s my turn to share some love and appreciation! i am passing the award along to a handful of bloggers i enjoy reading and who i think are authentic and transparent in their writing. there are lots of other fantastic bloggers out there who i love, but i feel like these few blogs are smaller and need some props for writing so openly about life, no matter how hard it may be.
last winter sucked! there was one day of snow, every other day was grey and miserable and awful. this winter, is a hit! we have had snow, we have played in it, frolicked in it and we went for a fantastic toboggan morning with friends the other day.
the air was filled with laughter.
and screams.
the adults behaved like kids.
and, it snowed all day. from morning to night, giving us an ample source of the white stuff for some serious snowman building! my guys are actually building their own hill in the backyard for tobogganing. dear hubby gets right into it and has been shovelling snow from our driveway into the backyard. it’s going to be fast and fun!
i love the winter. it’s my favourite season. my family loves winter too. what’s your favourite time of year?
A good friend of mine posted this as her Facebook status today and I feel like this message is a really important one, and one that needs to be shared. Halloween is a fun time of year for everyone, so as adults let’s ensure that happens for all the kids!
“With Halloween upon us, please keep in mind, a lot of little people will be visiting your home. Be accepting. The child who is grabbing more than one piece of candy may have poor fine motor skills. The child who takes forever to pick out one piece of candy may have motor planning issues. The child who does not say trick or treat or thank you may be non-verbal. The child who looks disappointed when they see your bowl might have an allergy. The child who isn’t wearing a costume at all might have a sensory issue (SPD) or autism. Be nice. Be patient. Its everyone’s Halloween.”
And since we’re on the topic of fun and safety at Halloween, have you considered how to keep your home safe and secure? Burglary cases sky-rocket on Halloween night – it provides the perfect opportunity for masked robbers to blend in with the crowd of trick-or-treaters. Home alarm services can install security around your house, including CCTV, motion lights, motion sensors and alert systems which can help to deter burglars, but keep your back door and windows locked anyway if you’re going to be spending a lot of time at the front door.
Additionally, we live in an age where we are fortunately more aware of food intolerances. Many children have intolerances to nuts, dairy, gluten and sulfites, so make sure your treats are suitable for all. Don’t be tempted to make anything homemade either – as nice a gesture as it is, parents simply can’t be sure what might be in your homemade treats and will likely throw it straight in the bin. Stick to wrapped sweets and make sure none of the packets have holes in or they’ll get thrown away too.
oh, my lion roars a loud roar when he wants to show off, but sometimes i forget that he really is so sensitive inside. today, on the rainiest and greyest day of the season, i decided spontaneously to get random workout gear on, throw a few diapers and a banana in a backpack, and head to the Y. i’ve been slacking, BIG TIME, but with bear is school, my days are longer and by the time evening rolls around i’m ready to hit the couch for some tv time! i used to always hit the Y in the evenings for some zumba, kickboxing, pilates or yoga, but since september i just haven’t been able to find the motivation. i have spewed every excuse out there, which is totally embarrassing and wasted my dear hubby’s hard earned cash, while at it! terrible! so now, there’s a new plan. i will work out while bear is in school and i can leave lion in the child minding at the gym. tuesday, yesterday was our first day of the new plan. i was feeling good about going, and was so proud of my guy as we sat at the front desk of the Y signing him up for his very own membership. he needs a membership so be in the childcare. when we walked into the play room, lion was fine. in fact, he was thrilled to see so many new and fabulous toys! he checked things out a little, while i chatted with the staff. then it was time to say good bye. oh, his little face looked so sad when i kissed him. big tears rolled down his cheeks, but i just kept walking. i blew lots of smiles and kisses to him from the door, which is what we do in our family, and off i went. my heart was aching, as i knew my little guy was in the room crying, but i felt optimistic that he would calm down, so i headed for the elliptical machine. i stayed there doing my thing for 30 minutes, constantly looking over at the doors thinking i saw the staff coming to get me. but, lion didn’t have an epic scream fest that needed me immediately, instead he did cry a little off and on according to the staff. we both survived, right? at home, we snuggled on the couch, ate some lunch and watched elmo dance on tv. then it was nap time. lion fell asleep quickly and like clock work, woke up at the end of his first sleep cycle. he was crying, so i ran to him and lay down next to him as he fell back asleep. just as he was drifting his little hand came up, waved gently and he said “no, äiti, don’t go”. i kid you not. that’s when i started crying as i watched my sweet little boy sleep. how could i traumatize him so deeply, by leaving for only 30 minutes; all sorts of irrational thoughts filled my mind! i had initially felt so good about his 30 minutes in the childminding, a little cocky in fact! yes, he cried, but it wasn’t dramatic and my kids are criers when we separate. but, now i see that this will be harder than i first thought. sigh. wish me luck on thursday as i will be hopefully leaving lion in the childcare room as i go and watch bear do his swim lesson in the pool! oh, boy!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i will sign off today with a birthday wish to the loveliest 7 year old gal i know! i remember the day this wee lady was born so well, dear hubby and i paced the floor of the waiting room in the hospital as we anxiously waited for news. lots and lots of LOVE and HUGS!
happy wednesday to you all! what are you up to today?
