Tag: featured
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 [...]
The Canadian Dinner Table – Fiddlehead Fritatas
Fiddleheads have to be one of our most favorite culinary scores for this year. Plentiful in the Canadian east and easily found in grocers across the country, their wild flavor and rustic goodness give a great twist to many standards – especially egg dishes. They may seem a bit intimidating. But, really, you just wash [...]
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 [...]
Ten Simple Things to do for Earth Day
It’s Earth Day and we all hear a lot about the very important details like recycling, planting trees, turning off water faucets and using less electricity. But, helping care for the Earth can extend to parts of life that are – dare we say – a bit unexpected, full of joy and changing in ways [...]
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 [...]
Easy Preschool Crafts – Stamping & Printing with Food
The sun is peeking out from behind the clouds and the air has a hint of warmth in it. All of those fun kid projects that you’ve been whipping up at the kitchen table have as much of an urge as you do to shake off a long Canadian winter and head outside to enjoy [...]
Act For The Planet – Making Green Fun With Earth Day Canada
It’s April, which means flowers blooming, rain falling and – of course – time to be a part of learning how to live lighter on the Earth as annual Earth Day celebrations begin. We here at Ourbigearth.com have long been lending a hand in that department and are super excited to Earth Day Canada’s new [...]
Inspired Action – World Autism Awareness Day
The lights in our windows are shining blue at the homes of the OBE team today. So many of us have children or family members who struggle with autism and this day of education, inspired action and celebration is especially close to our hearts. It’s World Autism Awareness Day and people across Canada are standing [...]
Food & Your Family – 6 Ways to Serve Up Hard-Boiled Eggs
Let’s face it. There’s a pile of hard-boiled eggs in our refrigerators destined for the garbage unless something really inventive comes along. Really, how many of those things can you eat before they go bad and you learn to hate them? Then divide it by nine and that’s how many the kids will eat. Unless… [...]
Easy Kids Easter Crafts – Bunny Boxes & Stained Glass Eggs
Ah, Good Friday. The kids are home from school. Hopefully, the sun is shining wherever you are and happy faces are sparkling too. If you are like us, getting around to Easter crafts with the kids has been rather, well, challenging. We’ve daydreamed about a Martha-esque scene of Spring delight. But, a quick reality check [...]
The Canadian Dinner Table – Black Bean & Artichoke Heart Chili
These early spring days make for challenging cooking in any house. Mostly, we suspect it has a lot to do with the reality that most Canadians have had their fill of root veggies and other seasonal goodies. Craving the fresh, bright flavors of the garden, we are starting to think lighter meals that have a [...]
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 [...]
Easy Spring-time Crafts – Tissue Paper Butterflies
For much of Canada, winter gave it one last go this week and blasted us all with wind, rain and lots of snow. But, that doesn’t mean we have to stand for it. In fact, we are totally busy making sure home looks like a giant Spring garden full of butterflies and fairies, tulips and [...]
The Canadian Dinner Table – Down East Oatmeal Bread
No matter where you sit down to dinner North of 49, there are classic Canadian foods that make us all feel at home. That cozy, warm feeling of freshly baked bread takes all of us back to snowy days of childhood. A house full of the scent of baked goods just coming out of the [...]
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 – Cleaning Up Canada This Spring
Spring is upon us this week and while many of us daydream about sunny days in the park and weekend walks, tens of thousands of Canadians will mobilize, gather together and make a deal with each other to clean up communities from Victoria to Halifax. While picking up trash and keeping our neighborhoods clean is [...]
Quick, Healthy Eats – Cheesy Roasted Broccoli Patties
We are always on the hunt for tasty, fast, healthy recipes that result in lunches that are gobbled up by our kiddos around here. Cheese and broccoli are a super delish combination. So, when we recently whipped up this vegetarian recipe for our picky kiddos and watched them eat it up and ask for more, [...]
St. Patrick’s Day Crafts from Canadian Moms
St. Patrick’s Day and its lucky sentiment is nearly upon us and the kids are just electric about plugging into that pot of gold (actually more like the leprechauns and fairies) at the end of the rainbow. We love to celebrate the creative awesomeness of Canadian moms and one of our very favorite – Rebecca [...]
SPROUTS – Early Spring Kid Gardening Fun
Brrr, it’s chilly. On those afternoons when the bright sun makes it tolerable, I stroll aimlessly around my garden with hopeful ideas of planting. My daughter and I sample a bite from a patch of oregano as it pokes its head out of one of my veggie gardens. In the front yard we marvel over [...]
Be Inspired By Because I Am A Girl on International Women’s Day
Today is International Women’s Day. Looking for ways to support girls and women and empower them to reach their full potential, you’ll find everything from signing petitions to end sex slavery to ways to help fund the education of girls and women in developing countries. One organization that has truly inspired us to invest our [...]
The Green Family – Making Cleaning The Fridge Nutritious
The chill of winter is duking it out with the warming sunshine of spring right now. It even looks that way in our refrigerators. All of that winter veg that we have been whipping up cozy meals with for the last few months is starting to give way to a few more spring-like items. But, [...]
Celebrate Canada Outdoors | The 2013 Get To Know Contest
Calling all youth 19 and under! Get outdoors and connect with nature! Head to www.gettoknow.ca to submit art, writing, photography, video, or music inspired by your outdoor experiences and you could win some wild prizes! It may only be the beginning of March. But, you can start cracking on your outdoor awesomeness and get it ready to [...]
5 Easy Kid Lunches in 15 Minutes
In the land of the pre-schooler, lunch time can be akin to pulling teeth. Getting our kiddos to sit down at the table and chow down on healthy meals that they love and don’t take us ages to make is a modern parental priority. It’s also a monumental modern parenting accomplishment. Picky kids are par [...]
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 [...]
The Green Family – Organizing Kid Chaos
The snow and cold of a hearty Canadian winter often brings on one thing – the need to get organized at home. We don’t know if it’s that the family spends so much time around the kitchen table or packed into the living room that the chaos finally goes to the next level, or the [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 5, Chinese Dumpling Soup
Taking part in Chinese New Year celebrations this past weekend, the crew here at OBE wondered how to replicate the amazing spread of traditional foods that brought people throughout Canada together. The delicate combination of ingredients that make a good Chinese soup come together are a bit of tasty magic. Dumplings are a fan favorite [...]
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 4, Sweet Potato Soup
At the daily farmer’s market here in Halifax the other day there was a big discussion about what can actually be found when it comes to Canadian produce this time of year. February is the dregs of sorts. Not a whole lotta greens, last of the apples. But, there is definitely no shortage in the [...]
Valentines Day Crafts – Finger Painted Hearts
If there is one thing we have learned over the years around here, it’s that the 2-year-old crowd is seriously excited about doing just about anything that involves glue or paint or fun art – for about 15 minutes. As parents, setting up and getting everything ready to go takes just about as long. Having [...]
The Green Home – Winter Skin Care and Homemade Remedies
Canadian winters can be crazy on skin – especially the delicate skin of tiny people and the sensitive skin of busy moms. Here in Halifax, the freezing temperatures and icy winds of January have left their mark on our faces in the form of dry, dull skin as well as rough red patches and chapped [...]
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 [...]
Kids Crafts – Easy Vintage Valentines Cutouts
The snow is softly falling (by the bucket loads) across most of Canada today. Many of us are in the midst of an unplanned day with the kids thanks to mother nature and the local school district shuttering schools for the day. I am mildly panicked as a lack of pre-planning generally results in mild [...]
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 [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 2: Butternut Squash Soup
When it comes to winter soups, as Canadians we all think about a lovely Alberta beef stew or a delicious Saskatoon borscht. But, no soup finds itself on dinner tables from Quebec to Kelowna more than a tasty roasted squash soup. Wherever you are, the winter farmer’s market, the local grocer, squash is a seasonal [...]
Got A Picky Eater? A Reluctant Learner? Try The Rainbow Food Tray
Toddler-hood and picky eating are practically inseparable. For many parents, their kid’s lack of interest in just about any food put in front of them ranks right up there in the frustration department with refusing to sleep and melting down unceremoniously and without cause in the middle of the grocery store. Not. Awesome. There’s also [...]
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 [...]
Old Skool Winter Fun For The Whole Family
Ask anyone just about anywhere – Canadians are winter. Winter is Canadian. While beaches and cottage afternoons, the smell of Spring in the forest or the sight of leaves cluttering the walk at an urban public garden in fall are lovely, there is something about the frosty chill in the air, spotting kids hauling their [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 1, Maritime Seafood Chowder
It’s cold. When the chill starts inching its way down your spine, ski pants are a non-optional clothing and you spot kids skating on the local pond down the road it is time to start thinking about warming, tasty, hearty dinner options. This time of year as adults we are all trying to think about [...]
Toddler Crafts – Inexpensive Magazine Collages That Get Them Learning Too
The big kids have gone back to school and there you are, at least mostly housebound in the freezing January weather with at least one wee person under 5 in tow. It’s mildly panic-inducing, especially since the winter holidays emptied the bank account and heading out to the craft store for some things to keep [...]
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 [...]
Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours!
May this season of love and cheer be filled with the warmth of family and the kindness of community for you and your families. We continue to be inspired by your wonderful hearts full of generosity and compassion for the places we live and the people we love. May 2012 bring you a year full [...]
Family Holiday Baking for The Non-Baker
We here at OBE – with Sue in her cozy home near the shores of Qualicum Beach, B.C. or Robin’s crew looking out at the Halifax skyline – love baking. Especially holiday baking. Now, that doesn’t actually mean that either of us are baking genius. We simply love, in our minds, the IDEA of baking [...]
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 [...]
Protect Our Kids From Toxic Chemicals – Get Kellogg’s to Remove Food Dyes
When it’s snack time for our kids, we’re always talking about fruits and veggies. But, let’s be real. That isn’t always going to happen and sometimes it’s just more fun to give kids a cool snack like those fruit snacks on the shelf at our local grocery stores. A quick label read is a bit [...]
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 [...]
Understanding a Parent’s Grief: How to Support Family and Friends Who Face Child Loss
Editor’s Note: Losing a child is painful for a family and the people around them. Today, Avril Nagel is here to talk with us about the grieving process. Avril is a bereaved parent and the coauthor of When Your Child Dies: Tools for Mending Parents’ Broken Hearts. The book is a comprehensive step-by-step guide for grief-stricken [...]
Vancouver Islanders Are Swapping Costumes This Weekend
It’s the day after Thanksgiving, which means one thing to kids all across Canada – time to get cracking on the coolest Halloween costumes EVER! For mom and dad, it is bittersweet. We dig into those old boxes in the basement, hoping something from last year or an old tickle trunk goodie will be the [...]
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 [...]
Host A Costume Swap for National Costume Swap Day 2012
The kids are back in school. Your schedule is almost all yours for at least a few hours every day. Coffees are sipped while still hot. Life is good. Then, you have visions of Halloween. Before you gulp hard thinking up ways to distract your 7-year-old long enough to keep her away from the Monster [...]
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 [...]
Summer Eats – Hearty Middle Eastern Supper Salad
The blazing heat of August, all we can think about when it comes to making dinner is what will be healthy and something the kids will eat that we don’t have to turn the stove on to make. While the grill is a decent option, even that seems to hot to handle when it’s 40 [...]
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 [...]
Getting Your Life Organized For Back To School
Editor’s Note: Whether we like it or not, school days are about three weeks away and before we can get our kid’s head wrapped around getting back into the classroom, we have to start by reconnecting ourselves with the school-days universe. Loosey goosey days of random summer goodness are morphing into the sweet organization of [...]
Kids Crafts – Eye Dropper Painting
Summer on either coast of Canada means you are guaranteed of the need to fill more than a few rain-out days. When plans for the beach or the park or the trail get nixed thanks to Mother Nature, coming up with a project that is messy enough to keep kids interested and sane enough to [...]
Ten Ways To Help Kids Feel Grounded In A New Place
As summer moves into August and all of us start thinking about how to get our kids slowly but surely moving back into a school-year pace, lots of families across Canada have also packed up their houses and moved across town, the province or even across the country. Summer is the season of relocation. With [...]
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. [...]
Summer Treats – Coconut Carob Pops
Editor’s Note: My pal Tree Haverner has been hanging out with me on the Internets for one heck of a long time and she has also been sharing her foodie goodness for that long too. In fact, that’s how we first met – FLICKR and food that lead me to her blog, Tiny Morsels. We first [...]
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 [...]
Keep Your Home Safe This Summer – Don’t Advertise Vacation on Facebook
Editor’s Note: Today, the folks from Toronto-based Weiser Lock are here with some great reminders on how to keep your home safe while you are out and about enjoying vacation, road tripping or just a day at the beach this summer. 6 Tips for protecting your home on social media With Summer here, people are [...]
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, [...]
Don’t Be The Grumpy Museum Lady This Summer
We here at OBE like to think of ourselves as pretty darn adventurous parents when it comes to the whole process of kids making art. Whether it be spinning paint, watercolors, sticky glue or paper mache, the fun of making anything is in getting all gooey in the process – right? Well, not so much [...]
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 [...]
The Scoop On Sun Exposure, Sunscreens & Summer
Vancouver Island may be a bit wet and chilly right now. But, as soon as the Canada Day parade is over, you know it will be 30 and sunny in less than 10 minutes.:) On the other side of the country in Nova Scotia, the heat and sun have already got us out hitting the [...]
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 [...]
Animal Encounters – What To Do When Nature & Family Collide
When it comes to getting outside this summer, one of the big things that most parents worry about with their kids is what to do if everyone is on the trail and along comes a large animal of the wild kind. It’s not common. But, on Vancouver Island, the opportunity to run into a cougar [...]
Eating Out With Kids – 5 Tips For Toddler Restaurant Dining
You know exactly what we’re talking about. It’s 5 p.m. and the kids are hungry. A home-cooked meal isn’t on the agenda and rolling through the drive-thru nixed off the list. You want a nice meal – whipped up by someone else, with actual silverware and a nice glass of wine to boot. But, the [...]
Happy Father’s Day From OBE
We here at Our Big Earth want to wish you the happiest of Father’s Days from our families to yours. May all of you amazing dads, step dads, grandpas and great guys have a fantastic day sleeping in, eating a great meal with your kids, cracking open a cool one, hanging out at the lake, [...]
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 [...]
Digging In The Dirt: Helping Kids Grow Their Own Garden
“ Might I,” quavered Mary, “might I have a bit of earth? Fans of “The Secret Garden” will recall orphaned Mary Lennox’s timid request of her uncle for space “to plant seeds in – to make things grow” on his huge English estate. What started with an ivy-covered door, revealed by a friendly robin to [...]
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 [...]
