Thursday Hops!!

Today I am participating in:

If you have any suggestions on new ones please share!

Yay I got an Award!

So yesterday wasn't that great of a day as I have a little one with the FLU again....but I was happy when I saw this.  A little bit of sun on a cloudy day I'd say ;-) and now that my kiddos are feeling a bit better I get  to share the love!

#1)  Thank you Twin Possible, for the award!

#2)  Share  7 things about yourself.

  

*I LOVE trying new foods, though this doesn't work out in my favor always.  I went for dim sum once and the waitress told me this dish was great I order it and after  tasting it I had to run to the bathroom. (it was tripe on its own..ick)

I Actually don't mind Justin Bieber.  No I am not the next groupie but I do truly wish big things for him and I hope he succeeds with everything and if he'd like to share the wealth...

* I love bright colours and use to wear love wearing them..now instead I have two girls to dress up in it and they look so much cuter

* I have 2 dogs both of which came from a dog rescue!  If your looking for a new pet go to a rescue!!

* I was born and raised in Saskatoon, Sk where is seems the average winter temperature is -40 (lol) and now that I live in Ontario I can't seem to stand the cold (and its warmer here)...my old age must be getting to me

* I love being home alone and not talking to anyone or doing anything at all...just me by myself to do as I wish.  This doesn't really happen now that I am married with 2 kids and 2 dogs.  Which is probably why I love it so much!

*My new favorite place is the public library.  I can get new books and new movies and watch them for free!  Plus the kids can go and get whatever they want and it doesn't cost us a cent!

#3)  Name 10-15 blogs I feel deserve the Stylish Blogger award as well. 

Drum roll please............

1)  bassgiraffe's Thoughts

2)  That 22 yr old Housewife

3)  Simply Frugal in Canada

4)  Simply Stacie

5) Adventures of a Couponista

6)  The Baby Bottom Line

7)  Wacky Jacqui's Designs

8) Mommy Moment

9)  Single Dad Laughing

10)  Single Mom on a Budget

 AND there are more where  these 10 came from I just wish I could have picked you all!

4)  Contact the bloggers I’m awarding to.

 You all will hear from me soon!  

Take it & wear it with pride.

 Thanks so much for picking me and I am happy to  pass this onto others who I think are stylish in their own way!

Wordless Wednesday!!!

Teething Bling: Review and Giveaway

Having a baby for me meant that I had to put some of my clothes and jewelry away as it was not very practical when you have a little one that likes to grab onto thing and spit up on your clothes at any given moment. Although this is something you do not realize right off from the start at least it was not for me or I was in denial...;-)

When you have a baby there are areas it seems that everyone has an opinion on and then other areas no one tells you about. Though if you discuss it with other moms afterward it has happened, you find out your not alone. No one informed me how strong these little babies realy are even though they are so small.

My eldest is a December baby, so for her first Christmas she was only a few weeks old. I was too tired to wear anything other than my husbands clothes and my hair was always tied back out of the way. Then come her second Christmas she had just turned one and I was back at work and even though I was still a mom I no longer did the staple hair in pony tail as she was sleeping more so I could become more feminine again (and stop wearing my husbands clothes)!!

I remember when ever I was carrying my daughter and would go and put her down somewhere she would have a grip on my hair like you would not believe. I would have her sitting in her crib and I would be attempting to pry her little fingers off my hair. As soon as she had a grasp onto something everything was fair game for her and was headed straight for her mouth.

So this particular Christmas my husband ended up buying me a gold necklace with my birthstone and I literally had it on picked her up to go and do something and when I went to set her down the necklace was no longer on me but in her hand. I wish I had known about Teething Bling back with my first so it would have saved me from hair pulling and my necklace breaking and she would have been happy as it was something she could put in her mouth!

Teething Bling carries a line of necklaces, keychains and bangles created from silicone simular to what most teething toys are made from. Their products contain no harmful chemicals such as phthalates, BPAs, PVCs, lead or latex and all pendants come with a breakaway clasp as an added safety measure. If this was not enough they have a huge range of colours. So you can coordinate your Teething Bling to your wardrobe and it will not cost you greatly as they are around $20 regular price


The great thing is they are lightweight and visually appealing that even when your baby may not be teething anymore you can still wear it. So it is still fun and feminine for you to wear after your little one is not a baby!

BUY IT: Why wait to see if you get this from someone else. Head on over to Teething Bling and buy yourself new jewelry for you and your little one!

WIN IT: Teething Bling has been so very generous and are giving one of my lucky readers their own Teething Bling necklace!

Mandatory Entry: Head on over to teething bling and tell me what is your favorite colour. I know it will be hard as they have so many great ones!


EXTRA ENTRIES: To qualify for extra entries you MUST complete the MANDATORY entry and please leave a separate comment for each entry.

-Purchase something from Teething Bling (5 Entries) (leave order total and date bought so it can be verified)

-Blog about this giveaway and link to this post (leave link) (2 Entries)

-Put Two Children and a Migraine button on your blog (comment where it can be found) (2 Entries)

-Like Two Children and a Migraine on Facebook (1 Entry)

-Like Teething Bling on Facebook (leave your Facebook name to verify) (1 Entry)

-Like Two Children and a Migraine on Twitter (leave twitter name)(1 Entry)

-Like Teething Bling on Twitter (leave twitter name) (1 Entry)

-Follow Two Children and a Migraine with GFC (1 Entry)

-Follow and Tweet about this giveaway. Feel free to copy and paste " #WIN with @momwithmigraine they have a #giveaway from @TeethingBling for a fabulous necklace!! http://networkedblogs.com/g2B9O "
(1 Entry per tweet but tweets must be 3 hours apart)


Contest Ends April 22nd at Midnight Eastern Time. Open to Canada/US!! Winner will be chosen by random.org and announced soon after the contest ends. Winner will be notified by email then has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.


Disclosure: Teething Bling provided necklace for review purposes. In addition, they are allowing me to host this giveaway to help promote their products and website. Teething Bling will be responsible for prize distribution after I provide the shipping information of the winning entrant. No monetary compensation was received for this post.

Canadian Link Exchange Now open

HOSTED BY: Tanya of Follow Me, I'm Canadian Community & Blog, and Little Village Naturals
WHEN: Every Wednesday
WHO: Open to Canadians
WHAT LINKS: Blogs, Websites, Facebook "Like" Pages, Twitter, Shops, Stores, StumbleUpon and/or MySpace.


RULES:

1. Follow only those that you would like to. Please Do Not leave comments asking for others to follow you back on their blogs, twitter, facebook etc. Let that be the choice of the individual you followed.

2. Please indicate what the link is associated with. (example: Follow Me, I'm Canadian - Blog, Follow Me, I'm Canadian - Twitter, etc.) Please do not add any extra comments to these posts. Example: Follows Back, or Giveaway, etc.

3. You may leave the links for all of your sites, and social profiles.

4. Open to Canadians.

5. Please follow these rules, or unfortunately your link(s) will be removed.


INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add your link to the Linky Tool. Don't forget to tell us what the link is for.

2. Follow those you would like to follow.

3. If you would like to post about the link exchange feel free to grab a button for your post or sidebar. You may also copy and paste this post for your blog and grab the code for the list of links. But please link back, stating what the exchange is for.

4. Have a fantastic time meeting fellow Canadians!

5. The Great Canadian Link Exchange is open to Canadians, living in Canada. While we love meeting other folks from all over, the exchange was set up for the purpose of finding local Canadian content/people. There are so many blog hops out there, it is nice for Canadians to be able to easily find shopping, blogs, etc. that are local & Canadian. Please refrain from posting unless you are Canadian, and live in Canada. All other posts will be deleted.


I'm very excited that you have joined in today and look forward to seeing you Wednesdays for The Great Canadian Link Exchange!

Thanks for joining in on the fun,

Tanya

Please see guidelines before adding your links.

Big Day for Canadians

Wow today is going to be a huge day for all Canadians.  First thing this morning I got an email and as soon as I saw it I wondered how Crazy some Canadians are going to be today shopping for this NEW product that has come out on the market.

You may be wondering what this big product is.....The iPad 2!!  Our society has clearly become technology obsessed with Apple and many other companies.  For any US followers you have already been able to  purchase your iPads though Canadians had to wait til today.

I could not believe when I was hearing on the news that people were lining up in advance to get this product and people were paying over and above the price to get their hands on one.  Personally to me this is crazy.  First off this is not the first of its kind.  There is the iPad one on the market, sure there are going to be upgrades and fixes.  Though if it is going to be anything like the iPhone you may as well buy the first one and wait for a few years as the iphone came out in 2007 and its only 2011 and we are already on iPhone 4.

The way I see it either get the original and be happy with it or don't buy anything and wait for a few years.  Their electronics if worth their price should last more then the a few years.

The only good thing is that during this time of economic struggle people are upset with the cost of fuel, food and jobs being lost.  Apple is surpassing its goals on profits.  So at least someone is not struggling ;-p

As the saying goes "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer"

Enjoy your iPad Canada!

Are you looking for getting some more followers today???

Well if you are looking for some more followers  today look no further then these great hops that I am participating in today!!  Why don't you come join in the fun!

Rough Day..

Today was a day that I would have been fine if it did not happen.  The reason why is I can not stand my children being sick and feeling so helpless to do anything.  My 2 yr old woke up in the night which she has not done for quite some time and that was the first hint that something was not right.  Needless to say 5:30am came and she was waking up in my bed and was getting sick.

Yup the flu is in my house again!  Just when I thought we were done it seems someone thought it would be a good joke.  This is the worst that she has been sick this year too.  Even with Gravol she has gotten sick a few times since.  I felt so bad earlier she was asking to eat a banana like her big sister was and I so wanted to give it to her, but knew it would make her sicker then what she was.

I had to work tonight and the funny thing is that my boss says tell me something good that happened  to you today.  My response was I got to go 7 hrs without having her vomiting.  I have to say his face was priceless he is not married and has no kids. Although I have to omit those vomit free 7 hours was spent cleaning the 5 loads of sheets and clothes that were dirty from those wee hours in the morning.  Ugh!

I am hoping that since tomorrow is a new day hopefully it was a quick bug that will disappear and not return to effect anyone else in our family *fingers crossed*.

Congrats! We have our winners!

I am so excited to see the pictures of the little ones who won photo sessions for their little ones!

Congrats to Shari, Becky, Barb, Jennifer and Kate.

Enjoy you photo session with your babies!

Wordless Wednesday!!!

They loved it until it started.  Clearly we will not be back at Chuck E Cheese anytime soon!

Yay Max & Ruby are coming to Toronto!!

Yes I am excited.  My little ones love these rabbits and it is perfect time right before Easter to have this duo putting on a show!  You know we will be there and if you would like to go check out the code below so you can save some money off your tickets!!

Enter code SUPER via the link below to save $5 per ticket.
http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/1000462CEBF5AA50?did=maxsup

Offer valid online only and only from Sun, March 20 to Sat, April 2.
Tickets are $43.00, $35.00, $27.00, $23.00. 

$5 off offer is valid on $27 and $23 tickets. (Ticketing fees may apply)

Groups looking to buy more than 8 tickets please call 866-737-0805 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              866-737-0805      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

MAX AND RUBY BUNNY PARTY: April 16 at the Sony Centre

It's a surprise party for someone special, and bunny siblings Max and Ruby have a-million-and-one things to do before the exciting event!  Who could the mystery guest be?  Find out by joining Max and Ruby in this lively theatrical production that will have the whole family singing and hopping along!

Head to www.maxandrubyontour.com 
to learn more about the show, find tour dates, and download fun activity sheets.

The beauty that surrounds us

Reality is so many of  us take for granted the beauty of the world that we have right outside our back door.  So many time you hear that you do not realize what you have until it is gone.  This I believe can also be said about our lovely Planet Earth.

As the years have been going on we have heard more about the environment, pollutions, ozone, recycling, composting.  You hear stories about how the world is changing and warming up yet so many of us do not realize how different the world has truly changed and how precious it indeed is.  

This past weekend we ended up taking our girls on a trail walk by our house.  We took them to a place called the Cheltenham Badlands.

"“Badlands” is a geologic term for an area of soft rock devoid of vegetation and soil cover that has become molded into a rolling landscape of rounded hills and gullies. Such areas are rare in Ontario and this is one of the best examples. They exhibit the reddish hue of the Queenston Shale that forms them; the iron oxide in the shale produces this colour. The narrow greenish bands that can be seen throughout the shale are due to the change of red iron oxide to green iron oxide brought on by the circulating groundwater. The relatively soft shale is essentially clay and is easily eroded by water. This site was acquired by the Ontario Heritage Foundation in 2000 and is under the care of the Bruce Trail Association."  http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails-a-z/cheltenham-hills/

When you are here this seems like you are visiting another planet, this is clearly nothing of the norm around here.  Though the true beauty of it is beyond words and I am saddened that it may not be here many years from now.  If you are planning a visit to Ontario I would definitely recommend stopping by and checking this out.  If you live in Ontario you need to get out and enjoy some of the beauty of our world and definitely do whatever is possible to save it!


The beauty of this place is something that money can not buy and is an experience young and old will love.  I am glad our family got to experience and only wished I knew about it sooner!

Review,:Music for Young Children

If you are looking at introducing Piano to your children I have to share this great company that i came across last fall and my now 4 year old has been taking classes with since the fall.  It is called Music for Young Children.

Last year I had downloaded some music for my car and as I am a Twilight fan of course some of the music from the movie Twilight made its way into my car.  I know I have read a lot of mixed reviews about people who LOVE certain types of music and find it sad that some people are introduced to music by the movies.  Personally I think opening your eyes to new music no matter how you found out about is a beautiful thing.  Especially when this one song that was used in the movie from 1890's ended up being a frequent request.


Literally this past spring/summer my daughter (who was still 3) would get into the car and when the music would come on she would ask for the piano music.   She also would ask questions like "Mommy, why is no one singing in the song" I would simply just explain that the music sounds pretty on its own that it does not need anyone singing.  This continued all summer with her interest in it, so I asked her if she would like to learn to make music like that and she did.


So then I started searching for avenues on where to put her into classes.  My husband and I do not play the piano and have taken no formal lessons with it ever.  Sure I had a keyboard growing up, but never was interested on learning to play it like a professional.  So I was searching for  information on a topic I knew nothing about and had tons of questions.

Everything I was finding was saying that she was too young to put into piano and that the lesson structure as it would be one on one would be too difficult for a 3.5 year old to be in.  I had music instructors saying if you push it on a child too young, they will loose interest and I was better to wait til she was 5 years old.  With all this information it was looking as though we would have to wait 2 years until  I could put her into any lessons and hope it would be something she would still be interested in.

Then I ended up getting an email for someone who was a piano teacher, but took the time to explain about how the piano classes are structured and that it likely would not be entertaining for her at this age though there are lessons out there for younger children that use colours and symbols to teach them how to play.

I  have to say when I first heard about this I was a little skeptical.  Really my daughter knew her letters and numbers and piano notes are letters.  So I thought what good would using colours and symbols be??  I went to the website and read about the program called Music for Young Children and was pleasantly pleased.  I ended up enrolling her and decided if she doesn't like it we can always take her out.

Our classes run once a week for one hour and the class consists of a music teacher, parent participation and there are other parents and students in the class as well.  My daughter knows she has to have 5 happy practices in a week for a total of 15min in a day spread out or all at once.  She has homework that is crafts some weeks and I can say she honestly loves doing it!  Every Saturday morning she asks if she can go to piano before her dancing as she has so much fun with it.  She has an hour of stories, songs and games and through this all is learning how to play the piano.

Music for Young Children started in Canada and is spreading through other countries and has been enriching children lives for 31 years.  The teacher my daughter has use to teach music for the schools, but when the school systems started to turn their backs on music for children she retired.  She has been teaching for 7 years now with Music for Young Children and even said at first she was skeptical, but its amazing how these young children learn from the program and love it.

If you are thinking of putting you child in some piano lessons I DEFINITELY would recommend checking out Music for Young Children!  You will love it (and so will your children)




Images are owned by Music for Young Children and borrowed from their site to show samples of the characters children will use to learn the notes.

Free music downloads

Having two small little ones I am always looking at ways that our family can save some money! Most children love music and I was happy when I found this site that has some free music downloads for children. This will allow you for nothing to add to your child's existing music collection so rather then hearing the same songs over you will get a bit of a variety!

Free Music Download

Though we all know us as parents need a break from the nursery rhymes and listen to grown up music.  I  do not know about you, but I love driving in my vehicle listening to my music getting some me time.  Here are some new songs for us adults and its great for in the car driving or if your looking at getting in shape they are fast enough to work out to!

Free Music Download

ENJOY!!

FRIDAY HOPS

Wordless Wednesday!!!

Today is the one year anniversary that Miss Layla Grace earned her wings. See how you can make a difference in the fight against Cancer! http://laylagrace.org/

Tuesday Hopping!

Happy Pancake Tuesday and International Women's Day! How are you spending today with the ones you love?

I've joined into this new Hop today, why don't you check it out too!

Monday Hopping!!

Do you have any great Monday hops that you are in or that you run and you would love to share with my readers??  Feel free to leave the details below and while your here why not check out this one that I am in today!

 

FRIDAY HOPS

I was looking for some new hops and follows for today and look what I came across.....

Why not join in the fun :-)

# 50 Book Pledge Book Review: Witch and Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson

This novel was one of many Christmas gifts that I had received this year.  I have been reading a lot more novels (thanks to the children getting a bit older) and opening my eyes to types of books I may not normally have picked up.  I had been reading some other James Patterson novels so I was both excited and surprised to open up my present and see this book.  Reading a crime and mystery book by this same author, I was surprised when I saw the title Witch and Wizard.  It is something totally different from what I know him for so I was surprised that he had this series of books.

Personally I love reading books in order so I was sure before I read this book I was going to start off the series on the right foot!  Starting from the beginning. I have to say though if you have not read the first novel you are not thrown into this book unsure what is going on.  The books perfectly updates you so even if you have forgotten about what has happened or were not aware at all you are informed without any confusion.

This novel continues on the journey of what Whit and Wisty Allgood are going through.  They managed to escaped from the clutches of The New Order, but barely.  They almost died in the escape and now they are part of a community that is hiding from the ruling regime, a community of youth.  These youth are doing everything in the power to remain free and hidden.  They are willing to sacrifice their own lives to save other youth that have been captured by The New Order.  The fate for those captured is either torture, brain washing, vaporized (literally) or all of the above.  Through this journey the Allgoods are also going through their own personal challenges as they are learning more about "The Gift" that they did not even know they had all well on a mission to get reunited with their parents.

This book like the first was easy to read and I did not want to put it down.  Which is why I was able to finish it so quickly.  It was a fast paced book and I liked in this book we got to read also from The One Who Is The One's point of view.  I am looking forward to getting Witch and Wizard: Battle for Shadowland which is currently available and the next book in the series!

Definitely this series is a must read and if you would like to check out an excerpt from this novel check out James Pattersons website

Disclosure:  No monetary compensation was received for this post.  These are my own views and opinions regarding the novel and images are property of James Pattersons website and borrowed to give readers a visual of the novel.  Enjoy Reading it! :-)

# 50 Book Pledge Book Review: Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

So remember I am part of the #50 Book Pledge so this year I am going to reviewing ALL the books that I have been reading.  One of the books I just finished reading was Witch and Wizard and it is a new series of books by author James Patterson.  Witch and Wizard is labeled a teen novel, however I am far from being a teen and found the novel to be quite enjoyable!

Witch and Wizard tells the story of two children who are siblings, Whit and Wisty Allgood.  This is a futuristic novel, however has many similarities to historical occurrences that have happened time and time again through time.  The story begins with one of the children looking out their front window in the middle of the night to see many military men out side of their house.  Before one can comprehend what is happening their door is broken down and Whit and Wisty, who are only teens are taken from their home.  They are taken to a prison filled with many other youth and accused of being a Witch and Wizard and scared for their fate as many others have gone missing.

The New Order which is a new regime that is taking over the world as we all know it, is set on controlling everything and removing anything that it fears may cause anyone to have thoughts unlike their own.  The One Who Is The ONE (aka. the leader) has banned music, art, books anything that would allow someone self expression and youth are also something that he is riding from the world.

Being an adult reading this story I believe I took another point of view from what a teen may have, but although this book is fiction it opens your eyes to the way you see the current world.  I remember being a teen and having adults giving us looks when we would be going through a shopping mall together.  Clearly being labeled and stereotyped even before being able to speak.  Though as an adult now I have caught myself having similar thoughts so it appears to be an never ending circle.

I definitely recommend this book and I hope you get a new appreciation for ALL youth as I did.  Even if they are a Witch and Wizard! :-)

If you would like to read part of the book, but I would recommend to read it all, check out James Pattersons website!

Disclosure:  No monetary compensation was received for this post.  These are my own views and opinions regarding the novel and images are property of James Pattersons website and borrowed to give readers a visual of the novel.  Enjoy Reading it! :-)

AND THE WINNER IS...

So it pays to be one of the first to enter a giveaway!!! The Winner from the Belly Charms giveaway was Comment # 2.....Yup Number two!

Congrats to KerriLynn74.  Should the winner not respond within the required amount of time then a new winner will be chosen!



Thanks to everyone who entered!

Wordless Wednesday!!!

I love fall mainly for the fun I remember when I was young with the leaves!  Can you see what Miss K can see in the leaves? :-)