Getaways – Tigh-Na-Mara Spa & Resort

When it’s time to head out of town sans partner and children, the one spot that almost always comes to mind when hanging out with my pals is Tigh-Na-Mara Spa & Resort in Parksville. This gorgeous retreat is a true mom getaway that can be a time to get away with one friend or a [...]

Restaurant Review – Downtown Courtenay’s Atlas Cafe

There are a few staple restaurants in life that I know any time I head out – whether it be for a business meeting, a late afternoon drink with a friend, lunch with the family or dinner with that hot guy I married, but never seem to have time to hang out with – the [...]

Getaways – The Ultimate BC Toy Adventure

Editor’s Note: Good Morning. As we all gear up for some holiday travels this week, Comox Valley mom Alix Wilson has a great suggestion for a fun detour on the way to Grandma’s house – or anywhere on the Lower Mainland for that matter. Safe traveling. Happy Winter Solstice and enjoy this lovely week.
As a [...]

Book Review – The Dino Adventures of Cats & Dogs

Editor’s Notes: Good afternoon. If you missed out on the morning post from Rebecca on the tradition of advent, you can catch it over HERE. Now it’s time for a review of two very fun children’s books and a giveaway…

We have moved into the comedy portion of our daily story routine these days. There’s still [...]

Need a Night Away? Hit Cliffe Avenue

No, I am not suggesting that you hit the street in an attempt to spend an evening among adults.:) Actually, I’m not even suggesting you hit the road.
It’s a painful reality in our house that leaving said house is generally virtually impossible in a “date night” sort of way. Going out to dinner, that is [...]

Product Review – Budget Organic Cosmetics

I consider myself a middle-of-the-roader in the living green universe. We live on a very tight budget and every dime counts. So, while buying eco-friendly, organic and natural is the way we roll, we can’t always roll that way.
Priorities live in the food, household products and personal care fronts for us.
But, holy batman can I [...]

Sunday Morning Walk – Willow Creek Conservation Area

Good Morning. I have to admit that it feels terribly strange to have no editor’s notes, calendars to keep up with or some place to be. Slow is not my normal pace. I’ll have to get used to it because Ken and I have promised that August – mostly – will be the month of [...]

Monday Morning Mom Poll – Green Dish Soap

Good Morning! Today’s topic – finding green dish washing soap and dishwasher detergent – is seriously hot.
When I sent out a note to the usual Mom Poll suspects last week, the general response from nearly everyone was “I can’t wait to hear what everyone else says because we haven’t gone green in the soap department [...]

Getaways – Family Time on Quadra Island

When I sit down to plan a bit of a family escape, my mind has always wandered toward the west side of Vancouver Island. With all of its tide pooling, surfers and sea life, the West Coast has its beauty. But, lately, I’ve been dreaming spending some serious time on another island.

The northern islands – [...]

Parent Getaways – Snuggles, Wine & Dessert

Editor’s Note: Reality of Parenthood #1 – if mom and dad aren’t happy, nobody is happy.
Finding those moments to reconnect as a couple or spend a bit of time regrouping by yourself may seem nearly impossible most days. But, making them possible can be what levels your head, rejuvenates you and helps you [...]

Kid Toys to Spark Imagination, Naturally

Editor’s Note:
As a part of our new editorial format, Our Big Earth will be reviewing kid- and family-friendly products that are available locally or from regional online retailers.
The idea is not to fill up your house with all kinds of new gear, but offer you some greener, creative and healthy options that are available [...]

Comfy, Urban, Vintage – Freakin’ Coffee Shop

Dining may not be the first thing you think about when it comes to a place to load up on caffeine. But, it’s all about the experience at Tin Town’s Freakin’ Coffee Shop on Rosewall Crescent in Courtenay.

Food is optional.
Since my first job out of school, I have lived quite fondly for the cozy coffee [...]

Seal Bay Nature Park Beach Trail

There are a few special spots in our collection of adventures that spark imagination and make the tiny person buzz uncontrollably at the mere mention of a potential day spent.

Seal Bay Nature Park and its winding, lush, bit of a butt-kicker wander down the Main Beach (Don Apps) Trail to one of the most beautiful [...]

Which Cloth Diaper to Choose?

Editor’s Note:
Comox Valley Mom Kathy Roberts is a cloth diaper convert.
In her quest to make life easy and non-disposable, she took it upon herself to test drive just about every type of cloth diaper out there, even making a few of her own.
Thankfully, I’m annoyingly persistent and she is incredibly generous, now sharing her cloth [...]

Product Review – Kumon Preschool Skill Builders

Our daughter couldn’t be bothered.
Crayons were so not in her repertoire. Colouring – no thank you!
As you know, she would paint until the cows come home. But, crayons, pens, anything that involved lines – not so much.
The omnipotent “they” tell us that our kiddo should be thinking hard about the whole line-making thing. I get [...]

On The Rocks climbing gym

Derek Kwan is here today with the scoop on a cool, relatively new climbing gym in Campbell River.
I very much appreciate Derek’s contributions to the site, not only for his plainly Dad perspective, but also for offering up some great scores in the fun locales department.
Without further delay, here’s Derek:

A friend of mine has proclaimed [...]

The Great Escape Modern Indian Food

At last, our bad Valentines Day dinner karma dies.
It started out less than inspirational.
My husband and I, looking forward to an evening playing dress up, drinking something rather adult and eating well-spiced food at a leisurely, uninterrupted pace made reservations a week ago to finally hit The Great Escape in Cumberland for our annual Valentines [...]

Sandwick Park

CVK dad Derek Kwan has dropped by today to give us the skinny on a cool, lesser-known park in the Valley and I just have to say how excited I am to have a dad’s perspective in the mix here.
I’m not going to blab on too much today.

I needed a plane to help me [...]

Product Review – Kai Kids organics

Anybody else having a tough time hunting down green gear for your tiny people?
The eco factor when shopping for kids clothes and gear in the Valley is something that parents searching for those organic-cotton t-shirts, toxin-free feeding options and chemical-free toiletries must almost solely rely upon the Internet for access to.
That’s not necessarily a bad [...]

Melissa & Doug Spillproof Paint Cups

Our daughter is the ringleader of artistic chaos.
When it comes to painting, she is totally in love. So much so that every inch of herself, anyone near her and everything within 10 yards of the painting location has, in the past, been guaranteed to be turned a lovely shade of tempera.
I swear that our Tuesday-morning [...]

Bambu for Eco Kids Utensils

For ages and ages…and ages…I have been trying to replace the plastic eating utensils that our tiny person used to eat with.
Oh was it ever a painful process.
I went to nearly every store in town, and in other towns. I cruised the Internet. I even considered just converting to stainless steel camping utensils.
Then, one day, [...]

The LINC Youth Centre

This ain’t your mama’s indoor skate park.
For the longest time, I have been under the impression that the nondescript, steel-sided building across the street from the Lewis Centre was nothing more than a place for boarders to skate.
The indoor skate park, considered premiere in design and build, is seriously cool.
But, the LINC Youth Centre is [...]

Groovy Gear – Aqua Socks with, well, Socks

Our daughter is a fish.
She dreams of turning into a whale, crawling like a crab and meeting a sea horse.
So, when we started swim lessons at the CV Aquatics Centre we thought for sure it would be an instant success.
Ends up, the bottom of the pool is a bit more rugged than her toddler feet [...]

Tofino’s Ocean Kids

So, there we were driving along Campbell Street into downtown Tofino.
We had to make a Co-op run for last-minute ingredients (it was perogi party night last night) and ended up at this great kids store that is, in the end, now the sole reason that we as parents no longer have ANY excuses about why [...]

101 Uses for Hemp Milk

A while back, after CVK mom Reesh recommended Hemp Milk, I started doing a bit of research into it all.
Cow milk is no friend to us, and the whole goat’s milk our daughter has been downing for a year or so is now – I’m told – a bit too fatty for her to drink [...]

Dining Out – Dick’s Fish & Chips

I have an extreme weakness for fish and chips.
Maybe it was all those childhood Fridays during lent when we couldn’t eat meat and ended up at the local fish and chips dive. But, there is something completely homey about a dinner that involves battered fish, fries and coleslaw.
That is not to say that all fish [...]

Kye Bay Beach

It’s rainy.
It’s cold.
So, I thought I’d round out CVK’s Summer beach reviews with one last great beach to spot creatures, wander in the sand and hang out – even when the weather is ho-hum.
Kye Bay Beach is one of those spots that is well off the main drag, but definitely not off the radar for [...]

Time to Ditch the Plastic Sports Bottle/Sippy Cup

I’m about to scare you.
Plastic may be useful, but it is also potentially irreparably harming our children by disrupting their endocrine, immune and reproductive systems by leaching toxins into their water, milk and food.
That’s even the plastic in baby bottles, sippy cups and sports drink bottles.
If you are like me, you have to read it [...]

The Ergo Carrier

Sorry for the late post today.
We got swept outside by the sun and had a little trouble talking ourselves back inside the house.
While we were out hiking in Strathcona Provincial Park this afternoon, though, we were reminded how seriously fantastic one piece of gear really is and I pretty much had to come back and [...]

Worth the Drive – Kool & Child

My husband and I almost set up camp there – particularly happy that the tiny person and grandma decided to hang out at home instead of come with us. Otherwise, she would have insisted we move in forever.
I’d been told by more than one intrepid parent that Kool & Child in Nanaimo was one of [...]

Get Grooving with Bobs and Lolo

Welcome to the first installment of the occasional CVK kids gear recommendation – Groovy Gear. In this segment we’ll take a look at parent faves for their kids, talk a bit about the ins and outs of how they work and where to get them.
I very much encourage you to ship us an e-mail or [...]

Dining Out – Porch’s Take-Out

It’s one of those places that you wait all winter for it to re-open.
You know, those spots where – when you were a kid – you’d beg your parents to eat at because grease and fries and fish with a big whack o’ tartar sauce is pretty much the most awesome local island food ever.
Porch’s [...]

Dining Out – The Park Cafe

I L-O-V-E Sunday morning breakfast.
Actually, that would be any morning breakfast which doesn’t involve me cooking up anything at all.
But, those weekend jaunts to the local greasy spoon for some eggs and sausage have won my enduring adoration since Barry Manilow had a number-one record.
One of our favourite spots in The Valley for a down-home [...]

Dining Out – Rocky Mountain Cafe

This is our first edition of Dining Out on Comox Valley Kids – and since it will be a regular topic in posts around here I thought I’d post a few details and a disclaimer.
Eat Out is designed as a section where we will review restaurants around the North Island for family friendliness. The opinions [...]