Author Archive: Robin Rivers
Robin Rivers is Our Big Earth’s Publisher and Sr. Partner. Able to survive on coffee alone. Often can be found leaping tall buildings with the help of great friends. Predisposed to odd hats and the color orange. In love with imagination, her kids and that crazy guy who married her.
20 Things I Learned While driving 6,500K Across 9 Provinces In 12 Days With Two Small Children and One Crazy Husband (Twice):
20. Silence and alone time are code for “Something is really wrong. I think we left the kids at the campground.” 19. The bag of ring pops that you labeled “Bag O’ Bribery” turned out to be an actual gift from God. 18. The fruit you thought the kids should be eating is now a [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 11 – West Coast Salmon
Mhari gave up any remote interest in eating salmon when she was about age 4. Before that, salmon at every meal if possible. But, one day she realized that all our talk about conservation and being stewards of the environment pretty much flew in the face of having salmon on our dinner plates. “Why do [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 10 – Some Enchanted Journey
We followed Alice down the rabbit’s hole yesterday morning. The minor tremors of entering a land filled with castles and wizards quickly gave way to a lush mountainside filled with timeless kitsch. We had entered the Enchanted Forest (spoken in James Earl Jones’ voice with a little thunderclap to follow). This, my dear friends, is [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 9 – Storming Across Canada
The universe is the purveyor of balance. Light. Dark. Orange. Purple…and in our case, sunshine-rain. The beautiful and glorious golden orb in the sky made its presence known with authority along our route east last year. We basked in the clear-skied sunshine and soaked in every opportunity to partake in scenic overlooks, kitschy roadside stops, [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 8 – Pioneering, Engineering and Zombie Gophers
I‘m exhausted. As the rain poured down on our tent at 2:30 a.m. this morning in Southern Saskatchewan I knew that not once in any of my plentiful past lives was I ever a pioneer. “I am now particularly clear on the reality that I am the descendent of people who rode on a boat [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 7 – Time Traveling
As Jim Cuddy sings us into the early-morning Saskatchewan sunshine, I’m lost in another place where the rest of my life began. Blue Rodeo on the turntable is surely the blueprint for our family time machine. Somewhere around 2002 this charming Canadian played them for me and I knew. I knew I loved him, that [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 6 – Priceless
I rolled out of the squishy Super 8 bed where Quinn was crashed out, sideways, feet firmly planted in my gutt, at about 5 a.m. this morning. With the room perfectly off in dreamland, I wandered into the bathroom and whipped up another one of those luxurious steaming hot baths and jumped in. Ahhhhhh, 5 [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 5 – The Sweet Log Cabin at the End of the Watery Road
Closing my eyes and drifting off into my perfect imaginary life, there is a sweet log cabin. One where you can run your hand over the ridges of wood on the walls and the stories of those trees rush through you. A place where when you open the door, the moths and spiders wave hello [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 4 – Not That Song!
Since her very beginning, Quinn’s sleeping pill has been administered in the form of classical music. Mozart, Chopin, the odd Mendelssohn track is a one-way trip to a 2-hour nap. It’s actually quite legendary, the effect that any sort of soothing sonata has on that kid. When the music comes on in the car, she’s [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 3 – Agile Camping
Chowing down on banana boats packed with a deliciously gooey slurry of melted marshmallows, chocolate chips and fire-baked monkey food, the kids and I sighed with gratitude. We failed to get the memo about the bug festival being held at campsite 59 last night. Apparently, it was a sold out event of the season because [...]
There and Back Again – A Canadian Road Trip. Day 2 – Marshmallows & Wine in Quebec
It struck me as mildly cruel – the kids giggling and squeeing at the very sight of a marshmallow on a stick – that a balmy May evening in Quebec would be the first time we roasted marshmallows and squished them on to chocolate and grahm crackers. This insane sugar rush of pure joy should [...]
There and Back Again. A Canadian Road Trip. Day 1 – Hitting The Road
Editor’s Note: OBE Publisher Robin Rivers and her family spent the last year in Halifax. This is the story of their 6,500K return trip to Vancouver Island. In the chilly twilight of northern New Brunswick, Mhari and I walk the banks of a diminutive pond just outside Grand Falls. We spotted fish and listened to [...]
There and Back Again – Heading Back To B.C.
If you’d have asked me a few months ago if we would be packing up our lives and heading back to B.C. when Ken’s 1-year contract wrapped up I would have told you that it wasn’t even up for discussion. Nova Scotia and I had been living out a torrid love affair and I was [...]
Tips For Protecting Your Identity When Your Family Relocates
As is very true in our house right now, this time of year heading into summer break is prime time for families planning to relocate to a new town for a new and exciting piece of the Canadian experience. Halifax has been our home for just about a year and it’s not long before we’ll [...]
Postcards from Nova Scotia – Slow-Poke Spring (By My Standards)
Dear Mom, It’s Spring here in Nova Scotia, so they say. I realize now that after 6+ years of cheering the first day of March – normally coinciding with the first yellow blossoms – with having survived another dark B.C. winter, the rest of the country must really lack an appreciation for West Coasters posting [...]
Inspired Action – Lending A Hand After the Boston Marathon Explosion
As we continue to watch the horrible details of the Boston Marathon explosions unfold, we as Canadians are moved to action. But, what can we actually do so far away? We have, in all honesty, sheltered our children from any details of what has happened. We have kept the TV off of news channels, turned [...]
The Canadian Dinner Table – Easy Peasy Cinnamon Rolls
The crew here are bakers. That may be a mild term for how much all of us love to whip up and chow down on delicious baked goods. But, cinnamon rolls have always seemed just out of reach in the everyday foods department. Some recipes call for a double rise. Some…well…they just always looked way [...]
Your Voice In The Dark – Earth Hour 2013
Sitting in the dark for an hour tonight may not seem like much. But, that action is your voice – joining together with millions of other voices across Canada and the globe – speaking up and helping live lighter on the Earth. Canadians are awesome at this. In fact, Vancouver is the Earth Hour Capital [...]
Postcards from Nova Scotia – Urban Wilderness
It’s March. For us, that usually means first trips of the season out to the beach to see the herring run or catch a glimpse of the sea lions down at Fanny Bay. This year, the snow on the ground still lingers with more on its way. The -19 windchill burns our faces on the [...]
Inspired Action – World Read Aloud Day 2013
Reading to my kids is one of my favorite ways to wash away all of the parenting grime that every day brings. Bed time is tough around our house. Everyone is ready for an excellent snooze. But, getting there makes us all a little crazy, until it comes time for the story. We have a [...]
Postcards from Nova Scotia – It’s Maple Syrup Season
Note from OBE Publisher Robin Rivers: In June of 2012, we packed up our family home in Comox, B.C. on beautiful Vancouver Island and made the journey to Halifax, N.S. In that time, we have explored and adventured across The Maritimes, learning the history, charm and way of life that the people of Atlantic Canada [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 6, Beautiful Borscht
As we wrap up our six-week celebration of Canadian soups, it seems fitting to finish with one that – from Victoria to Halifax – can truly be considered a Canadian winter staple. The root veggies and tasty meat-based stock that are at the heart of a tasty borscht has warmed the bellies of folks on [...]
Inspired Action – The To This Day Project to Confront Bullying
“My experiences with violence in schools still echo throughout my life. But, standing to face the problem has helped me in immeasurable ways. ” – Shane Koyczan Bullying in schools across Canada is an epidemic that is costing kids their spirits, and even their lives. Canadian poet Shane Koyczan is taking inspired action to speak [...]
Let’s Talk About Mental Health
It’s a touchy topic – the health of our brains. For many of us, we spend a huge whack of time thinking about how to make our bodies stronger, healthier. It’s on the minds of just about everyone. The conversation is often electric and motivating. But, what about our heads? One in 5 Canadians live [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 3, Braised Pork Stew with Garlic Mash
A winter in the Canadian Rockies, where temperatures cheerfully dip down past -20 and Jack Frost is a familiar site, finding the perfect meal that wraps you up in a cozy warmth, satisfies and hard-working appetite and tastes amazing is often bundled up in the art of cooking up the perfect stew. Although soup purists [...]
Moms, Make Time To See The Doctor – The Visit That Saved A Life
You know those commercials from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada? The ones where the women take such amazing care of their husbands, making sure they are eating right and getting exercise, then end up being the ones to have a stroke or a heart attack? I don’t think one of us ever thinks [...]
Happy Parents Make Happy Kids – Play Groups Are Good For The Soul
It started off just like any other day. Woke up late. Slammed some breakfast. Launched ourselves out the door two minutes after the school bell had already rung. Average. Normal. We’re cool with that. Then, as we are speed racing to get in the car and get one to school, one to work, and two [...]
Why Family Literacy Day Matters
It’s hard to hear the word “literacy” and not assume that you will be met with a bunch of book-loving academics who will insist that you must spend your waking hours poring through books and chasing after the written word with unending glee lest you find yourself frowned upon by them and possibly the whole [...]
Inspired Actions – Letters to Mom
When I was a kid, which lately I realize was a crazy long time ago in the decade universe, my mother used to sit us down at the table at least once a month to write letters to family. I suspected she was torturing us or trying to make up for the reality that we [...]
New Year’s Resolutions – Turning Promises Into Potential
I‘m a big fan of taking stock of life. It’s something I do often, gauging my direction and the path of others in my life who are deeply influenced by whether I’ve got my head where the sun doesn’t shine or am shining like a star. The end of a calendar year seems a dutifully [...]
Inspired Family Actions – This Holiday, Give The Gift of Water, Food and Health
Our daughter gets the mail out of our mailbox almost every day. She loves to pore through it, even the bills, to see who could be sending us something interesting and new. On a recent afternoon, it was a UNICEF pamphlet that caught her eye. She read through it, page after page, open-mouthed at what [...]
Homemade Holidays – Loving The Making Again
It occurred to me, as we put our lives into storage this past June and headed East, that maybe somewhere around November we’d be wishing that a couple of the boxes that made the trip with us were filled with holiday goodness. I’m all about traditions. Love them with incredible heartfelt goopy sorts of emotion. [...]
That “Be The Change” Thing – Go Be It!
My husband came upstairs at about 2:30 a.m. this morning and nudged me gently. He rarely comes to bed before the sun rises (night owl to my daylight lover). So, when he whispered “Hey” I knew it was either because the wee babe was sick or he had something rather significant to reveal. “Obama won,” [...]
A Word To The OBE Community
I feel like some Facebook meme, “Change, the only thing in life you can guarantee.” But, it’s true. Life is about transition. It’s about adaptation. It’s about understanding when something has run its course or needs a kick in the pants. Sometimes, you get to change whether you like it or not. Other moments show [...]
The Family Hibernation Syndrome
I love mornings. They are peaceful and cozy and the time when my brain is ferociously at its finest. I get twice the amount of things done between 5 and 8 a.m. that I do the rest of the day. But, lately, something has changed. This change pretty much happens every year right after Thanksgiving. [...]
Pumpkin Pie That Isn’t Just for Thanksgiving
I whisper it very quietly because most people would wonder if I was born on another planet – I’ve never really liked pumpkin pie. (gasp) It’s not that I have a hate-on for pumpkin. In fact, I totally crave pumpkin squares, pumpkin soup, freshly roasted pumpkin seeds. But, me and pumpkin pie just don’t have [...]
Inspired By Gratitude – The Family Tree of Thanks
This Thanksgiving, we have so very much to be grateful for in our little family, with friends and our extended family from coast to coast. Our lives are filled with irresistible and sweet daily bits of joy mixed in with challenges brought our way to teach us how to navigate the wavy waters that are [...]
The $6 Time Machine
We made bets on how long before Billy Idol blasted through the speakers and made us spit Leprechauns out our noses. It seemed inevitable. I mean, hell, we paid the cover for what we thought was a hot band, instead found ourselves lost in 80′s technoville watching 55-year-old women paired with 20-something drunk law students [...]
Postcards From Nova Scotia – Open Farms Day in the Annapolis Valley
I love fall. When the sticky heat of summer finally breaks and the sky turns a magically bright shade of blue against the golden fields my heart soars to a bit of a magical place. This year we have traded many of our favorite traditions like watching the salmon run along Morrison Creek near downtown [...]
Sweet Moments of Mom – A Collage
For the last couple of weeks, life at our house has been what I deem full-on nut balls. Getting the big kid settled into her new school, the wee one at preschool and me cramming a national project launch into the time that someone else is logging with them has proven life changing. One of [...]
Kids at School. House Is Empty. Now, It’s About Mom.
I‘m sitting here in my makeshift office, big kid shamelessly sitting on the couch watching Looney Tunes on this gorgeous late-August day in The Maritimes and we are both daydreaming a bit about what the world is going to look like next Wednesday. It’s been an insane amount of change that she and I (and [...]
6 Kids Books to Make the First Day of School Easier
I remember my first day of Kindergarten quite clearly. It was 1976 and my grandmother had made me the cutest ABC dress in the history of dresses. Oh, there was some drama – when my mother took me to get my haircut at the local beauty school and they had to cut most of it off [...]
Summer Crafts – Felt Ice Cream Cones
Since our big move across the country, I have been at a loss with how to keep the kids otherwise engaged. My craft bins either got donated to the Brooklyn Elementary StrongStart or locked away in our storage unit. Either way, all of my years of thrifting and picking up bits and bobbles that made [...]
How To Find The Perfect Child Care (for everyone in your family)
If there is one thing that can unnerve a parent about moving to a new town or even just moving into a new stage of life with their kids, it’s figuring out who is best to care for your sweet kiddos. Those moments as mat leave ends or you simply know that your family life [...]
Children’s Books About The Sweetness of Farm Life
Editor’s Note: As the dog days of summer set in, it may just be time to trade an afternoon in the sun for some sweet books in the shade. Here are a few that make our OBE all-time favorite list. First reviewed in 2008, they are the perfect mix of fun, sweetness and classic goodness. [...]
Lonely Newcomer Syndrome
Driving along the South Shore of Nova Scotia yesterday near Lunenberg, I stared out at the cars filling the highway at rush hour and my oldest blurted out that she loved our life. “We have a great adventure every day mom. Nova Scotia is the best place ever.” It seemed like the appropriate moment for [...]
A Good Nights Rest – Bust Out The Lavender
Summertime sunshine, excitement and energy has made the regular bedtime routine at our house something right out of crazy town lately. It doesn’t seem to matter whether I start the routine at 6 or 7:55 p.m., it’s always well past 9 p.m. before sleep sets in and Ken and I can break from very long [...]
Adventures In Family Eats
When I think back to childhood summers spent almost in their entirety at my grandparents and aunt’s house in Niagara Falls, the things I remember most involve food. From the loaves of fresh Italian bread that we would sit on the kitchen floor, buttering and eating for breakfast to stealing pizza from my uncle’s bakery, [...]
The Lost Art of the Pen Pal
Many of us, when we were little, wrote letters. I know my mother sat me down on a regular basis and watched over my shoulder as I penned thank you notes and sentimental hellos to my grandparents, aunts and cousins. They were gently requested, but pretty much mandatory. Letters were courteous and proper. They meant [...]
Mud, Strawberries and How My Family Stopped Screaming At Each Other
Standing in the blazing Nova Scotia sun making our way toward a place a bit less natural and much cooler, we heard a woman’s voice from a few rows over. Holding Quinn’s hand with my right and balancing 15 pounds of strawberries we just picked with my left hand, I wasn’t sure that chatting would [...]
Family Movie Review – Disney Pixar’s Brave
When our oldest daughter first saw the trailer for Disney Pixar’s new movie Brave, she couldn’t wait to wrap her head around a movie that was all about Scotland and magic and an amazing girl for whom adventure and following her own path were second nature. So, it seemed only natural that she and I [...]
Ten Things I Learned on A 4,000-mile Family Road Trip
When Ken and I sat down and imagined what 4,000 miles of the majesty of Canada via the Trans Canada Highway would be like, rose-colored glasses played a significant role. We made up road songs and games in our head that kept us all laughing and bonding from sea to sea. Planned stops made for [...]
Across Canada in 10 Days, Day 10 (A Little Late) – Feels Like Home
Editor’s Note: Thanks for waiting for this one. Once we got to Halifax, we found ourselves without many services and getting this last post done took more time than I’d hoped. This trip was amazing and we loved having you along for the ride. Now, for the arrival at our new home. We knew the [...]
Across Canada in 10 Days, Day 9 – Congestion in Quebec
Exhaustion – it’s official. Quarter after 9 in New Brunswick and everyone’s eyes seem sealed shut. I ordered breakfast for 8 a.m. and the warm, understanding gal from room service scared the hell out of me when she knocked on the door to make the delivery of eggs and newly-fallen-in-love-with croissants. I figured by 8 [...]
Across Canada in 10 Days, Day 8 – Digging Deep
Someone’s alarm in the room next to us went off at 5 a.m. this morning. Either they are serious hard sleepers or the last guests in that room left the neighbors a gift. Kids have made me a princess pea sleeper. I sat straight up in bed and knew I was up for the day. [...]
Across Canada in 10 Days, Day 7 – The Tao of Pooh
Chilled to the bone, both from the air conditioning left on too long and the reality that White River, Ontario in the morning is just plain cold, we shivered our way into our jeans and sweatshirts yesterday knowing we were headed for a classic piece of the story of Canada. In this no-Tim-Horton’s town (did [...]
Across Canada in 10 Day, Day 6 – Natural Disasters
If there’s one thing that you cannot anticipate, plan ahead for or build contingencies in for, Mother Nature has cornered the market. Despite our personal rationale that June is the perfect month to travel anywhere in Canada – no snow, not too hot, rainy season drying up, on and on – the lack of control [...]
Across Canada in 10 Days, Day 5 – A Bug’s Life & Lake Country
When we finally got out to the truck after a sleep-in at the lovely Lakeview Inn and Suites in Brandon, Manitoba on Monday, the four of us spent a long while admiring the new look the Xterra earned during the night. No graffiti or break-ins (thankfully), but more of a Mother Nature moment. We had [...]
Across Canada in 10 Days, Day 4 – Saskatchewan, The Land Where No One Rests
Crossing over into Manitoba at about 11:30 p.m. last night, it was as if the heavens had opened up and delivered us to the porcelain gates. There it was, glimmering in the not-so-far off distance, bustling with life. That is where we saw, for the first time in a day where we logged more than [...]
Across Canada in 10 Days, Day 3 – Big Breakfasts, Cowgirls & Dinosaurs (Oh My)
Predestined seemed the only word hovering in the air over Eastern Alberta on Saturday. Since what Mhari would consider the beginning of time we’ve found ourselves mega fans of all thing prehistoric and talking as a family about the journey to the Land Before Time. So, on the first of our scheduled down days, it’s [...]
Across Canada in 10 Days, Day 2 – A Magic Carpet Ride in the Rocky Mountains
As I ran out to the Xterra on Friday morning to collect some clothes for the kids, the rain beating against the ground in Chilliwack matched with the smell of working farms reminded me of late Spring days in my mid-20s when I worked as a reporter in a small Illinois town. That was the [...]
Across Canada in 10 Days, Day 1 – Getting Off The Rock
When we finally rolled in to the Chilliwack Travelodge at about 1:15 a.m. this morning, we knew we had done the right thing. A stopover so close to Vancouver definitely hadn’t made it into the planning book. But, then, neither did leaving Comox at 7 p.m. yesterday either. I tend to think of myself as [...]
20 Boxes and The Ancient UHaul – Packing The Shack
If there is one thing that everyone can agree on when it comes to moving, it’s that packing pretty much sucks. Just the mere act of having to sort through the junk drawer(s) and clear out the basement are enough to make any human wish for the moving box fairy. When two kids are making [...]
No Crying Allowed, Not Even Over Spilled Milk
It is not unusual for me to cry. In fact, it may be one of those things that people always mention about me. “Yep, she’s a crier.” There was water pouring from my eyes from the second my dad started walking me down the aisle, I sobbed uncontrollably the first time I saw both of [...]
May Long Weekend Adventures – Family Gardening
Editor’s Note: While going through old posts this morning, I found this sweet gem about gardening with kids. What better time to get out into the back yard and get digging with the tiny people in tow? This was originally posted on Comox Valley Kids in May, 2007. Enjoy. While I watched the tiny person [...]
Earth Day – Top 10 Reasons to Eat Local
Editor’s Note: As we celebrate the Earth today, I have to admit that I am ALWAYS thinking about food. With 7 billion people on the planet, keeping everyone fed and healthy is a big issue that I often find myself trying to wrap my head around. That’s a lot to take in. But, what goes [...]
Earth Hour 2012 – It’s More Than 60 Minutes In The Dark
When I ask friends if they will be participating in Earth Hour this years, the response is often a mix of “maybe” and “my kids would hate me for that.” Turning the power off at home from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. tomorrow night may seem, in the scheme of everyday life, to be a shallow [...]
The Aliens Have Invaded & Stolen My Willpower
On any given day if you launched into a random conversation with me about video games I would be unusually smug. Not a fan of hours lost in the land of light saber duels, evil sorcerers and mindless killing, video games are as far down on my to-do list as cleaning other people’s toilets. Yes, [...]
Let Them Love Mud – Empowering Our Daughters
In a forest not so far away you’ll find puddles of mud, fallen trees, small Spring sprouts, an owl’s roost, even a few tracks left behind by the creatures that call it home. It’s the domain of the boy, where roughhousing and stomping through the bush, king of the mountain and coming back soaked from [...]
Why BC Teachers Will Walk Off The Job on Monday
B.C.’s 41,000 teachers announced Thursday that they will exercise their right to strike and walk off the job for three days starting Monday, March 5 as contract negotiations with the province remain at a stalemate. While many parents may be waving their fists at the prospect of having to scramble to find three days of [...]
Facebook & The Case of The Stepford Mother
It’s 6 a.m. and you have tiptoed out of bed to make sure you get to log that hour of quiet time before the kids pop their heads up and all hell breaks loose. For that roughly 60 minutes you have no urge to shout at someone, to wonder why no one else packs lunches, [...]
Rediscovering Our Neighbourhoods – Natural Neighbours
Along the pathways through local neighbourhoods you can stand and watch for a moment as young kids wander by. Their eyes are fixed on things adults don’t even realize have joined them on the walk. They spot the tiniest of hops, the most faint of a buzz and a change in the direction of a [...]
Rediscovering Our Neighbourhoods – Safety In Knowing
Albert Einstein once said that “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” Turning a blind eye is the pandemic of a disconnected society. It is so easy to move from the safety of our house to the safety of [...]
Rediscovering Our Neighbourhoods – A Foot’s Eye View
We’ve driven to school a thousand times. It’s fast. We get past things that would cause us to linger. We get to where we are going without distraction and our busy lives can progress without a hitch. Then, this past January, we made a commitment – rain or shine – to walk to and from [...]
Rediscovering Our Neighbourhoods – Making Maps
Giving our kids a sense of direction begins with helping them connect to the world around them. It sounds like a huge undertaking, showing them the world. But, for the tiny feet of tiny people the world around them is simply the people they know and the places that become safe, fun and familiar routines [...]
Rediscovering Our Neighbourhoods – The Shop Around The Corner
There we were, so long ago, me and my sweet 18-month-old who had the charm of a movie star. Her delight with just about anyone made people we saw on the street stop and comment. Her smile ran from ear to ear and beyond. Mine was a bit less pronounced. Still struggling with being the [...]
Rediscovering Our Neighbourhoods – Getting To Know You
When it comes to being all about local, there’s no one better to turn to than young children. They are all about the here and now, living in the moment in ways that adults day dream about bringing back into their lives. Thankfully, we have those sweet tiny souls to show us all how to [...]
Independent Stores Need Your Support
As I sit here this morning, third cup of coffee in hand after a long night, I made the choice to skip my scheduled hour’s worth of answering work e-mails to shamelessly surf Facebook and catch up with friends. Then, I saw a post – another in a long line of ones just like it [...]
On Motherhood – An Ode to Weaning
It’s 3:30 a.m. and while the rest of the house is warm and quiet, we linger in a state of night-time half sleep. For just about the last year and a half, those nearly-dawn wakings meant I pulled our sweet baby in close and she nursed her way back to dreamland with me contently dozing [...]
CV Literacy Week – Literacy In The Kitchen
When it comes to spending time with your family in the kitchen, reading and writing isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But, making bread and even whipping up some mac n’ cheese isn’t always as easy as it may seem. Getting kids into the kitchen with you at any age is a great [...]
CV Literacy Week – Fun Ways to Get Literate With Art
Happy Monday and welcome to Comox Valley Family Literacy Week. Folks all over the Comox Valley will be hosting events at schools, clubs and organizations throughout the week with everything culminating in a bit of a literary extravaganza on Family Literacy Day this Friday. Here at Our Big Earth, we are big fans of getting [...]
Women, Why Are We Bullies?
Let’s face it, more than likely we’ve all done it – excluded another woman for whatever reason, abandoned a friend because she didn’t fit what we thought she should be, turn on someone because the group turned on her too. We may not want to hear it. But, women are vicious and cruel to each [...]
Cozy Family Recipes – Honey Buns
Lots of moms go through phases with cooking for their family. Sometimes you are wowed by the wonder and can’t stop yourself from spending every extra second in the kitchen. Others, well, it’s a good thing there’s takeout sushi. But, there’s something about getting the basics down and delivering them fairly regularly that is pretty [...]
Don't Chicken Out On Nature Just Because It's Cold
We’ve all done it a million times, taken a look out the window on a dreary January day and decided that the walk in the woods, trek around the park or hike to the beach we had planned is canceled due to weather. Then, inevitably, the kids spend the day inside screaming and arguing, running [...]
Children's Book Review – In The Land of Merfolk & Fairies
I have always been in love with stories that take the reader on a magical adventure. As a kid, I remember loving The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis because I was convinced that the mountains around my childhood home transformed into Narnia after a frosty snow. It’s those kinds of books [...]
Join The Wealthy School Revolution
As every parent with school-aged kids knows, we are called upon regularly to contribute and lend a hand with paying for extras as a part of our kid’s education for everything from gym equipment to sports programs. Candy bars, cookies and hot dogs are great. But, what if you could give back to your local [...]
OBE 2012 – The Year of Inspired Action
I don’t know if I’m actually capable of doing less. It’s not really in my nature to step back and take it easy. But, when I sat down at the end of 2011 to re-evaluate my professional life and what Our Big Earth is to me, I began to realize one thing – that I [...]
Adminstrators Fail To Provide Traffic Safety Measures at New Brooklyn Elementary
Brooklyn Elementary school administrators along with Comox Valley School District 71 officials are forcing the hands of parents, Town of Comox officials, Fire and RCMP authorities after a lack of planning on the part of SD 71 related to traffic safety at the new Brooklyn Elementary site has caused serious concerns about the safety of [...]
New Year's Resolutions Women Really Should Keep
It’s 2012 and most momma types are on the hunt for ways to make sure this year gets started on the best possible note, makes for some great memories and fill itself with positivity whether it be getting into shape, less arguing, healthier food, whatever we personally take stock in. We also know that making [...]
Family Crafts – New Year's Eve Crowns
New Year’s Eve is one tricky holiday to get the family involved with. Most of the long-standing traditions of the event portion of it revolve around activities not meant for kiddos, and generally the big project for this day is finding a baby sitter that doesn’t mind an extra late night. But, around our house, [...]
Here Comes Santa Claus, Here Comes Santa Claus
It’s Christmas Eve and kids everywhere are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the big guy in the sleigh, better known as Santa Claus. In today’s technological era, getting a glimpse of the Claus is easier than ever. You can even get a pretty darn good idea of when he’ll be in the neighborhood thanks to [...]
Last-Minute, Easy Cookie Recipes
It’s the day before Christmas. Friends who you see once a year are on the island and in the mood for some social time. They phone. They text. They Facebook saying they’ve got a few hours headed your way. You’re looking around the house wondering why you didn’t start cooking holiday dinner a little early…and [...]
Holiday Funnies
It’s just a few days before Christmas and the speed of life seems to be in overdrive and then again very slow at the same time. Instead of weighing us down with something heavy, I thought I’d go for the holiday funny pages today. Here’s my most favorite of the season for a bit of [...]
Santa's Got An E-mail (And He Reads It)
It’s Dec. 15 and every year we get to this point where my oldest daughter asks me if she can still send Santa her list. Ummm, well. She’s OK with just telling the Santa at the Mall. But, really, she wants the letter back from him that confirms he’s out there. Thankfully, Canada Post has [...]
20-minute Soup for the Sick Family
Our family has been battling this evil, satanic virus that is ripping through the Valley right now for almost two weeks. We’ve been in and out of school, lost voices, watched our noses run away, coughed up a lung, you get it. Being sick is one of the worst things I could ever come up [...]
All This Talk of Family Holiday Traditions
While I always have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head this time of year, it is often combined with a heavy dose of reality that the holidays are lovely…and stressful…sweet…and incredibly frustrating. Getting everything done while still keeping that bit of magic from leaving the room in a fit of sugar-induced craziness is, [...]
Have Yourself A Merry Local Christmas
Good Morning. As the holiday season inches closer (less than 2 weeks left), doing that shopping for some sweet gifts under the tree is definitely on the list of us parents and grandparents out there. While the kids will give you their laundry list of Santa goodies, getting that special treat for under the tree [...]
Homemade Staples – Granola Bars
When it comes to the basics that go in lunch kits, are tasty, healthy snacks and keep everyone happy in the house one of the things that always seems to go with us anywhere is granola bars. Throw them in a purse, a backpack, even a diaper bag and you’ve always got something ready when [...]
Bundle Up For The Downtown Courtenay Santa Parade TODAY!
The rain and wind has subsided just long enough for Santa to come to town today as the annual Santa Claus Parade marches through Downtown Courtenay starting at 2 p.m. this afternoon. The Comox Valley Christmas Parade has become so much more than a parade. From kids’ entertainment at the Sid Williams Theatre to a [...]
Everyday Inspiration
After yesterday’s post on the daily trials and tribulations of managing motherhood, it seems most appropriate to take a moment today to share some serious inspiration. One of my personal mantras is to start every day with something provocative and lovely that gives me a bit of sweetness to carry with me throughout the day. [...]
