So many amazing local businesses have come together to help make Mother’s Day just a little extra special this year for one very lucky mom. Get your entries in now for your last chance at these great packages.
Sponsors
Sponsors
I’m so proud of all the moms who make our twice annual mom to mom sales a reality. It’s not just our amazing team who all contribute to the planning but all the vendors and shoppers that really make the event such a success. Although there are so many people to thank, I think you’ll all agree that the countless hours Dawn puts in to answering emails, managing the spreadsheets, tracking payments and ensuring everything runs smoothly are essential to the success of our sale. Most of you know Dawn as the main contact person for our sales now but I bet you didn’t know that on top of everything she’s doing for Londonmoms, being a mom and girl guide leader, soccer coach and school volunteer she’s also gone back to school herself. I don’t know how she’s done it but she’s putting in hours and hours with the books and it’s paying off with her amazingly high grades. We are so proud of her! I’m so grateful that she’s still been able to manage the sale this season. All of our mods have also helped with the sale Tori (happily ever after), Melissa (sweetsteps), KathyM and her beautiful daughter Jenna, all contributed directly to the sale and Jenn (one ordinary girl), Colleen (ChinUp), Meg (Pearl), and Laurie (Ellie) all helped with suggestions and feedback about the changes that we made to this years event. We had 5 lovely high school students help us on both Friday night and Saturday morning and several pre-teen/teens who also volunteered to help in whatever capacity we needed. One of our members came out and volunteered her time on the Friday night as well, thanks Doda94!
Not only did we raise $650 for the NICU but together we managed to pretty much fill a truck with donations for the Community Closet. The Community Closet is a registered non profit charity that collects and distributes free clothing to those in need in the community. They have several bright green bins throughout the city and offer home pick up or drop off at one of their centres. Clients are referred through social service agencies such as Ontario Works, ODSP, CAS and other organizations such as Atlohsa, My Sister’s Place, Ark Mission and the men’s mission.
Once again, well done London Moms, thanks for making this happen and supporting two very important local resources. See you at the September Sale, tables will be available to forum members by July so keep checking in as they sell out very fast!
I’ve never been the kind of person to remember to take my medicine, even when I’m told it’s really important medicine like antibiotics. Every so often I go through the medicine cupboard and pull out the leftover bottles of pills that I never quite managed to finish. I’ve tried all sorts of seven-day programs and I never even make it to the end of the week without forgetting. So it really should come as no surprise when I tell you that I’ve never taken vitamins on a regular basis. Except that all changed when I was first introduced Adult essentials vitamins. I’ll admit that I was skeptical at first. I mean it’s just another vitamin right? What would make me remember to take these every day when I’ve failed at every other type of pill I’ve had to take in my life? The difference for me is that I don’t need to go searching for a glass of water to swallow some giant pill every morning. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Adult Essentials vitamins are gummy so they are really easy to chew and swallow. They’re not at all like those chalky pills that makes you feel like you need to rush to brush your teeth right after taking them either. They actually taste really good. I keep a bottle of them in my bathroom to take every morning after I get out of the shower. I also keep a bottle on my desk at work. That way if I’ve had a busy morning , and with five kids let’s face it every morning is a busy morning, and I forget to take them I can catch up quickly.
I love that adult essentials are made in Canada with high quality ingredients without added fillers, artificial ingredients or sugar coatings. They are dairy, gluten and nut free and are pectin based making them suitable for vegetarians as well.
It’s only been a short while since I’ve been taking them daily but I can already start to see small changes in how I feel. I’m going to keep taking them and check in next month about my progress. Feel free to join me and start taking them yourself, we can compare notes. You’ll find coupons on their website and facebook page to help you get started.
Moms give, and give, and then they give just a little more. We know the drill and we know it’s done without any expectations. This Mother’s Day we’d like to make sure that 2 special moms are on the receiving end of all that giving. We know that the homemade crafts and gifts that your kids make every year are enough to make your heart melt. There’s nothing better than seeing their proud little smiles when your little people hand over the treasures they’ve so carefully (or not so carefully, I have 4 boys) made especially for you. We all have different traditions when it comes to Mother’s Day. Do the kids make you breakfast in bed? Take you out for brunch? Do you get the day to yourself or do you spend it doing family activities? Perhaps Mother’s Day is just another day in your household? No matter how you spend your Mother’s Day, we thought we’d let you know that we appreciate you. What better way to do that than by reaching out to our local community and asking them to help us make Mother’s Day extra special for two very lucky ladies. I have to say I’m a little jealous seeing all these amazing prizes but I’m really happy to get to be a part of making someone’s Mother’s Day just a little extra special this year.
When was the last time you got to relax or do something just for you?
Good Luck Mama’s. The winner will be announced on Mother’s Day.
Are you “Doin’ it!”
The London Life Forest City Road Races are celebrating their 31tst anniversary on Sunday April 28th, 2013. As an incentive to take part in this London tradition, the London Life Forest City Road Races is pleased to offer LondonMoms.ca members a discounted registration.
Register for the distance of your choice (5km, 10km, or Half-Marathon) through www.forestcityroadraces.com
This offer is only open to London Moms. Simply go to www.forestcityroadraces.com and enter the discount code found in our forums by clicking here: (Valid April 1-5, 2013)
Would you rather volunteer?
If you’d rather assist on the sidelines, we’ve got a place for you! Look for the “Volunteer for the event” on the www.forestcityroadraces.com webpage, or email fcrrvolunteer@gmail.com.
Are you on social media?
Follow the Race Director Steve on Twitter @FCRR_RD , follow #FCRR or #doinit (this years slogan. Interact with other runners and organizers gearing up for the race on the Forest City Road Races Facebook page.
About Thames Valley Children Centre
In 2012, the London Life Forest City Road Races raised over $86,000 for the Thames Valley Children Centre. Founded in 1949, the Thames Valley Children’s Centre is a regional rehabilitation centre that serves 7,000 children and young adults each year across South-western Ontario who have physical disabilities, communication disorders, developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders. TVCC is a community-oriented centre that provides assessment, diagnosis, consultation and therapy to help youth reach their potential in terms of independence, self-esteem and participation in society. http://www.tvcc.on.ca/
Londonmoms.ca was invited to attend the first launch of Upopolis in Southwestern Ontario at the London’s Children’s Hospital on Wednesday March 27th. What an experience it turned out to be.
Founded and created by Kids’ Health Links Foundation (KHLF) and powered by TELUS Health, Upopolis is the only private, secure and trusted online social network designed just for children receiving care in hospitals. Upopolis provides familiar features of social networking (personal profiles, micro-blogging, instant chat, photo uploading etc…) and gives patients the opportunity to stay up-to-date with their schoolwork, navigate through child-friendly health and wellness information and connect to children with similar experiences and interests.
Upopolis was first launched in 2007 at McMaster Children’s Hospital and has since expanded to eight additional locations. Yesterday’s event was extra special however as London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is not only the first hospital in Southwestern Ontario to launch the program, but also the first launch of 2013 AND the first hospital to EVER to launch the recently redesigned program! According Basile Papaevangelou, (chairman and founder of KHLF) this is the new and improved Upopolis 2.0 and in his words, LHSC will be the first to test out the “Ferrari version” that is full of even more fantastic features like groups where children can connect with others that have received a similar diagnosis.
I have to admit that I love this program! Watching the videos and hearing the stories and friendships that have been formed from this site, literally brought tears to my eyes. My daughter has had her share of extended hospital stays and while she is currently too young to use a program like this, I love the fact that this will be available for her if she is ever back in the hospital. While the average hospital stay in LHSC is approximately 5 days, for a child, that can seem like a lifetime! This program will certainly help to alleviate the stress, isolation and loneliness that some children experience when receiving medical care and it will help to create long lasting bonds and friendships. Kudos to KHLF, CHF and TELUS for bringing the children of LHSC this amazing tool!
Stay up to date with these great people and to learn more about their initiatives:
Twitter: TELUS Health: @TELUSHealth, TELUS: @TELUS, Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre: @CHFHope and Kids’ Health Links Foundation: @KidsHealthLink
Websites: www.childhealth.ca., www.kidshealthlinks.org, www.telushealth.com
~Victoria
Bacon, bacon, bacon and yes more bacon. It seems that there isn’t anything left that someone, somewhere hasn’t tried to add bacon to. While I’m not the first person to add bacon to cinnamon buns, this was my first time making and trying them. I have a wicked sweet tooth and I’ve made this particular recipe dozens of times already. Now, I do LOVE bacon, like really really LOVE bacon, so why wouldn’t I add them together right? I’ll tell you why….I don’t like my sweet and salty to mix generally. I don’t add nuts to cookies and certainly would never ruin my homemade butter tarts with something like pecans. haha! But, I have to admit the bacon hype has me just a little intrigued. Well at least enough to possibly ruin one of my all time favorite baked goods.
Here is the recipe that I use frequently from allrecipes.com
Clone of a Cinnabon
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. (I just spread the brown sugar over the butter then sprinkle on the cinnamon.)
3. Roll dough into a 16×21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. If desired, sprinkle on the bacon here. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking pan. (I split the dough in half and make two rolls. Cut each roll in half and then make three buns from each quarter. I find this helps me make evenly sized buns.)
4. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). (I have a convection oven so I baked them at 375 degree F instead)
5. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt.
6. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.
So, what’s the verdict? How did we end up liking the bacon cinnamon rolls? As with anything else, it’s all in the frosting. To be completely honest, I couldn’t really taste the bacon very well because of the amount of frosting I like to slather on my treat. Good news is that they certainly weren’t ruined by the addition and the little bits of salty mixed in with all that sweet definitely was an interesting combination. Now whether or not I really needed the extra calories added to an already disgusting amount of sugary dough, that’s something I’m not going to think about right now.
Have you fallen prey to the bacon hype? What kinds of things have you tried to add bacon to and did you end up liking it? Leave me a comment and perhaps I’ll be adventurous enough to take on another bacon challenge.