Ultimate Blog Challenge – The End

And it’s over. 30 days of writing. 30 days of posting. Well, more like 15 days of posting for me. I started late with the challenge and had to do some catching up. By the 19th of the month I was on track to post once a day.

But hey, there’s a reason this little space on the Internet is called Life Takes Over. It happens. It’s a fact of, well, Life.

I lost five days in the last part of the month to mundane important parenting responsibilities. (Feeding my kids healthy meals does take a lot of prep time and a certain amount of planning genius, especially when dealing with picky eaters.)

But here’s what I learned by taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge:

The Missing Alphabet

My daughter is in Senior Kindergarten. My son is in preschool. Both are incredibly imaginative children at home. I can’t speak for what goes on at their respective schools. I would like to think that a fair amount of imaginative play leads them through their days.

As a writer, I spend most of time in an imaginary world. Yes, I exist in the real world and I function in “normal” fashion according to the laws and expectations of the society in which I live. But ultimately, my mind is going a mile a minute, always with a new idea, a new story, a new twist on an old idea. I never stop.

3M Hooks Continue to Impress

You may remember back in the fall, I got a box full of 3M Command Brand hooks to try out ahead of the Christmas season. And you may remember how impressed I was at all the possibilities that these nifty little hooks presented in terms of decor, organizing, decorating, and simplifying life.

Well, they continue to impress.

Enter the awkward spot for a hook.

Test Success: a book review

Now here’s something I wish I had as a student: an instruction manual on “how to be calm, confident and focused on any test”.

I recently read such a book: Test Success! The author, Dr. Ben Bernstein, Ph.D, identifies nine key tools for school success. He uses a balanced mind-body-spirit approach that boils down to being calm, having confidence, and maintaining focus.

From this book I learned there are four primary causes of poor scores:

School Struggles: a book review

During this school year, my daughter faced her first teachers’ strike. They were rotating strikes, so not all teachers walked off the job at the same time.

Since my daughter is only in Senior Kindergarten, she will likely face a few more possible teachers’ strikes before she graduates and moves on in the world.

For me, as a working parent, initially I only saw this situation from a purely selfish point of view: When the teachers go on strike, what will I do with my daughter? But I wasn’t only considering it from the point of view of childcare. My daughter likes school. She has been trying to come to terms with the fact that we moved her from an all-day kindergarten program to a half-day program. (We put her in French Immersion last September and the French Immersion school hadn’t been approved for full-day kindergarten at the time.) She can’t understand why we would take her out of full-day school. She constantly admits to be being bored at home with only Mommy for entertainment.

So, facing the teachers’ strike, my daughter was devastated that she couldn’t go to school at all.

200 Best Canned Fish & Seafood Recipes: A cookbook review

I.Love.Fish. Could be in my blood (my family is from the East Coast of Canada). Could just be that my mom really knew how to make a scrumptious fish dinner.

Whatever the reason, fish is one of my favourite foods.

But good fish can be expensive. And since my kids are picky eaters, I tend not to spend too much money on food if I know it’s likely going to end up in the compost.

Tilapia filets are a dinner standby in my house. Luckily, both my kids love it. It’s economical and versatile (I buy it frozen, not fresh). But I get tired of eating the same kind of fish all the time, and attempts to introduce my children to other kinds fish have ended in wasted food.

And I’m not nearly as creative with fish as I am with other meats like beef or chicken. Despite my love of fish, I just don’t know what to do with it.

So, I was excited when I was offered the 200 best Canned Fish & Seafood Recipes cookbook for review. I was hoping it would be just what I needed to inject a little creativity into my very limited fish prep repertoire. Not to mention the fact that canned fish is cheaper than fresh fish and it never even occurred to me to cook meals with canned fish except maybe tuna melts or a tuna salad for lunch.

Bonk! Bonk! – a fun, kids’ app for your phone

A while ago, I had an opportunity to try out a new game called Bonk! Bonk!

Designed by Red Wagon Software, Bonk! Bonk! is a toddler game that you can download to your iPhone (or Android).

Now, as a conscientious mother, I always often play new games I download before introducing them to my children. It’s really about assessing the game for it’s complication and frustration level more than anything else. I know my kids best and I know myself pretty well. The last thing I want to do is give them a game that is frustrating because it will just end up driving me mad.

With Bonk! Bonk!, I didn’t want to hand over my phone to my kids because I was having too much fun.

The inspiration you need: Secrets of an Oranized Mom

I received a book on review recently. The title: Secrets of an Organized Mom.

Let me tell you, this book, written by Barbara Reich, has been the inspiration and guidance I have been looking for. Without having even fully implemented Barbara’s strategy, I have sorted closets, organized play spaces, and reclaimed drawers and cupboards.

Right from the first page, Barbara had my attention. And not just because being organized and staying on top of the stuff that families accumulate is every mother’s dream. But because, she gets it. She’s a mom herself, which of course gives her that inner understanding of what other moms are struggling with.

Destiny – Balance – Planning

Destiny. Balance. Planning. What do these three things have in common? They are all part of Mary Molloy’s process to help people design their destiny, balance their lives, and plan their futures.

Mary writes about her process in her book, Design Your Own Destiny. She has over 35 years of experience coaching people in achieving a proper work/life balance and simplifying the complexity of life’s choices.

I recently read Design Your Own Destiny in search of balance in my life. I’m a self-described work-a-holic. I take on too much. I have a hard time saying ‘no’. And I’m always out of balance.

This book may have arrived at just the right time. It’s a guide to creating a personalized life plan that takes into account all the important factors in your life.

The Treebobs and the Runaway Cauldron

In an effort to keep my daughter entertained each morning while I work, I’m willing to try almost anything.

Generally, she’s not hard to keep occupied. She likes to draw and paint. She loves reading (although she would rather do this with me than alone). She can play with her dolls for what seems like hours.

But every now and again she hits the boredom wall. Drawing and painting lose their luster. Books just aren’t interesting. A movie or a TV show doesn’t even cut it. And don’t even mention her beloved dolls when she’s in one of those moods.