#Kindermom - Easter Celebrations

This month Kinder Canada sent me a beautiful Easter Basket filled with Kinder products to give to my children. The basket came filled with a bag of mini eggs, a kinder egg painting kit, a large kinder egg, a chocolate bunny that includes a large toy. Last but not least the basket included a Kinder Maxi with a beautiful plush sheep. My youngest named the sheep "Whammy". You can see the Easter Toy Collection on their Facebook page.

Last night I had the kids paint the eggs that were included in the Basket from Kinder Canada. The kids thought that the shape of the eggs were perfect for painting faces and only decorated one of them like an Easter Egg, the rest became egg people. The kids left the eggs on the kitchen table last night and the Easter Bunny hid them around the house. They spent the morning looking for the eggs. Most of the eggs were easily discovered but one of the eggs was a difficult to find.

This afternoon we went to my mother's house and had a egg hunt with all of the cousins. Mom had filled some plastic shaped eggs that had bunny ears with money. The kids had a great time. My 2 year old nephew found an egg that had a Toonie in it and he very proudly told me, "I had money". After the egg hunt, we had an amazing dinner. My mother was always a terrific cook and she outdid herself today. She made these stuffed potatoes and they were always a favorite of mine growing up. In fact, I don't think I've had them since I was a child. As soon as I seen them in the baking dish, I got very excited. We've had a wonderful Easter, I hope you did as well.

Disclosure: I am part of the Kinder Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Chloe Charles #Music

A few days past, I managed to catch an episode of Q on CBC Radio and this lovely songstress by the name of Chloe Charles happened to be on the airwaves. You can listen to the full interview and live performance here. Chloe is both soulful and jazzy with a touch of pop and roots to give it balance.

Afterwards, I looked her up on Bampcamp and found she had released a couple EP's over the last few years. I was really impressed with the tone and sultriness of her voice. The songs are groovy and flow nicely. There are moments where her voice sounds questionably similar to Amy Winehouse and I find myself wondering if this is some sort of new underground album of hers that was never surfaced until now. She also has hooks that flow very much like Adele and some other fine influences. The title track off of her debut album Break the Balance is very dreary.

Chloe Charles just released a her first full length album worldwide, it was previously only available to Germany, Switzerland and Austria. You can purchase it on Amazon and iTunes and stream it on her website.

I ♥ Banjo #Music

I watched a documentary called "Give Me The Banjo" a last week. It is narrated by Steve Martin and I had a difficult time sitting through it; which by the way, had nothing to do with the movie. In fact, I loved it. I have watched it 3 times since then and I find it inspiring. Come to think about it, that is the very reason I had a difficult time watching it. The first time I sat through it, Mat and the boys were jamming in the basement and I really didn't want to interrupt their session. Not that it would have been a bother, but they are working on new material and I just wanted to let them be. So instead, I spent the entire first half of the movie daydreaming about the banjo every time I heard a banjo play in the movie. This is a frequent occurrence. I soon realized I had missed over half of the movie. I began the movie again. This time I watched the movie, well most of it. I still daydreamed about ol' Betty, it is rather unavoidable. Betty...

Betty is my Banjo's name. I call her "Banjo Betty" to be precise. She has a beautiful twang and is an excellent starter banjo. She is not electric, so I will have to invest in a banjo pickup if I ever decide to take her onstage. I met her in a music store in downtown Yarmouth. She had been there for quite sometime. Each time I walked into the shop, I would stand in front of her and I would just fantasize about our potential relationship. I never had the money to take her home. Some time afterwards, the music store closed down and they had a half price sale. I woke up in the morning determined to bring Banjo Betty home. I looked in the mirror that morning and even utter some positive affirmations about me coming home with the banjo. It turns out that 5 minutes after I purchased it, someone else came buy looking to purchase it. I was already grateful that Betty had become a part of my life, I felt that gratitude grow like the Grinch's heart.

The third time I watched the movie, I did it with Betty in my arms. I plucked playfully along with the soundtrack. My heart was singing as loud as Banjo Betty.

The Grass Was Greener On Our Side

We didn't get nearly as much snow as we hoped for around here. The hubby was very disappointed. As much of a sun baby as I am, I do love to enjoy sunny, calm winter days. The kind of days you'll find the snow is so bright it is almost blinding... or at the very least overcast and picturesque. The wind, however, chills me to the bone. I do love being snowed in though and I love to observe nature. We did receive gale force winds and lots of blowing snow but our actual snow fall amounts didn't amount to anything.

Three hours away, Halifax got a fair amount of snow in comparison to Yarmouth. I remember feeling slightly ripped off as I read Facebook status's from friends that were getting snow dumped on them. Wind is nothing out of the ordinary for this coastal community.

In an effort to raise our spirits, and to show that Lead Mule's can indeed work a plow - winks - Mat and I made a little video while cleaning up the snow that had formed a drift at the end of our driveway. I hope it doesn't come off as insensitive to anyone who actually experienced the storm. I guess it just goes to show, there is always someone wishing that they could walk in your shoes; regardless of how much snow might be in those shoes.



The little owl friend was discovered on the way home a couple weekends ago from a video shoot for a Ryan Cook song 'Honky Tonk Music and Tattooed Women'. We threw him in for fun.

The Calm Before the Storm

We are expecting a storm tonight in Nova Scotia. The evening promises to bring us blizzard conditions. The hubby has been scurrying around taking care of last minute errands before the storm hits. The house is stocked with groceries, our devices are charged and the emergency items are at hand. We have a good amount of wood in the basement that will get us through at least the next few weeks before we need to bring in more. His last mission is to put the plow on the 4 Wheeler. We've had a little bit of snow fall this year but it hasn't been in any large amount. What we have had has cleaned up easily and quickly with a shovel. It has been light and fluffy. If the snow had any density to it at all, you could still push it easily enough.

When I was a child, I remember hearing frequent blizzard warnings. As I've grown, the blizzard warnings have seemed to lessen. We just don't get the winters we used to get. The lakes used to freeze up enough that you could drive on them. You are lucky if they freeze enough for ice skating. Our kids really don't know what a real Canadian winter is all about. I have to yell at them to wear their hats, mittens and scarves. When I was a child if you didn't wear your winter accessories you would be absolutely lucky if you didn't get frost bite.

This is what it looks like outside my window. After the storm, I will post another picture so we can compare the snowfall amount.