I’m not always completely honest with my kids, and it is done in the best interests of all parties. It’s not like outright lying to them – more like faking it. These top the list:

1) I fake that I like food.
Don’t get me wrong – I like food, but not the way most people seem to. For example, I would never in a million years cook myself something to eat. You see, the work involved is not worth the result. I’m quite happy having a bowl of cereal for dinner. But, I feel like I have to be a good food role model for my kids. So, I may tell them that I had a soup and salad for lunch, when in reality it may have been a Kit Kat.

2) I fake that I was good at math in school.
When someone asks a math trivia question, I have an easy out. I just say I don’t know because I suck at math. It recently occurred to me that I don’t want my kids to hear me say that. Why? Because it’s an excuse not to try. Accepting how much I suck at math has somehow given me a free pass from having to do anything mathematical. I don’t want my kids thinking they can have free passes. Not yet. They don’t think they suck at anything and I’d like to keep it that way.

3) I fake that I think the Olympics are super exciting.
Other than some recent hockey excitement, I generally don’t get all that jazzed about the Olympics. My total watching time included only one period of one hockey game. Even if I was terribly interested in the Games, I’m not sure where I’d find the time to commit to watching them. I mistakenly told the kids they could stay up for the Opening Ceremony without knowing anything about the start time being a full hour after bedtime. Regardless, I mustered up some fake excitement, got out the craft supplies, dressed in the appropriate colours and cheered the kiddos on as they created a medal count chart and drew some flags to hang around the house. Certainly watching them get all excited helped out where I was lacking.

One day my kids will realize that they have a mother who will call chocolate lunch, is mathematically challenged and athletically uninspired. But that day does not have to be today. What are your dirty little mama secrets?

Our Bright Idea Contest wrapped up on Sunday the 21^st and all we can say is WOW! Over 50 inspiring, heart-warming ideas were sent in to our facebook fan page and every single one made us smile.

To keep the fun going, five winners were announced throughout the course of the contest. Receiving a set of Label Out Loud™ Sticky Labels each, are: Jayda Turner, Ruth Dale, Shelly McCabe, Jennifer Sun and Jen Fields.

Congratulations to our winners and many thanks to everyone who took the time to share.

Most families either embrace winter with fun outdoor activities or ignore it by thinking spring with imaginative indoor play. However they beat the February blues, Mabel’s facebook fans really shone on this contest!

Are you one of those people who have little containers flying out at you when you open a cabinet door? I know you’re out there but don’t fret because I have a few tips to help you get your food storage containers under control.

1. Gather all of your containers and get them into one location so you can see what you have.
2. Match each container with its respective lid. If you have lids or containers without mates, toss or recycle them!
3. Did you just realize you have 50 containers? You might want to purge some. Keep a realistic amount.
4. Perhaps you didn’t have 50 but you noticed a few containers you don’t like or don’t use. Purge them!
5. Now, take a look at your collection and your storage options and see what will work best for you. Here are 3 ways to think about storing these containers.

- Stack like-sized containers inside each other with the lids stacked nice and neat in front of the container.

- Keep lids on containers and stack them on top of each other. (You must be blessed with ample storage space for this to work.)

- Nest your containers and store the lids vertically by size next to the containers. (This works best if you have a container to store your lids in. I know, I know: you’re thinking a container for your container lids?!)

And, last but not least, if you are using the cheap stuff for everyday use, you might want to think about upgrading because some of the new containers have been designed to make storage easier.

Mabel’s Labels is running a contest to search for its next blogger. You could win an all expenses paid trip to BlogHer ’10 in New York City, August 6-7^th, 2010 PLUS a 1 year contract as a paid blogger for Mabel’s Labels.

Entries will be accepted until March 15^th 2010. Visit our BlogHer ’10 Contest Page for more exciting details!

I’m having a hard time getting my child to eat much variety.  And fruits and veggies? Forget it!  What can I do about my picky eater?

Every mama, whether she’s a polar bear or a sparrow, shares one instinct—we all want to feed our babies.  So it can be incredibly frustrating and stressful when our little people refuse to eat.  While we can’t force them to eat, take heart in the fact that a normal healthy child will not allow himself to starve and try a few ideas to encourage a wider variety at mealtimes.

Don’t be a short order cook:  Ever notice how one day your child can scarf down a whole plate of lasagna and then three days later that same lasagna has been hurled onto the kitchen floor?  It’s not that little Bobby has suddenly developed an aversion to it–he’s just thinking ‘I’m not in the mood for lasagna, what else ya got?’   So what’s a mama to do?  Well, think back to that polar bear.  You can bet that she’s not going to nip out to the local Dairy Queen for ice cream if her baby decides he doesn’t like fish anymore.  Stick with what’s on the menu so the kiddies don’t think they can get away with holding out for their favourites. 

Go for the instant replay:  I confess that I’m not determined enough to bring out last night’s untouched dinner for today’s breakfast, but don’t hesitate to retry foods at the next meal.  If lunch was a no-go, don’t feel you need to serve their favourites for dinner in order to make up for the missed meal.  Take advantage of the fact that they’ll be less picky if they’re really hungry.

They don’t need much:  We’ve all seen children eat 3 slices of pizza and a piece of cake in one sitting but it doesn’t mean they require that much food.  The amount of food a small child needs is actually surprisingly small, so even if he only has a few bites of a new or less favoured food, consider it a success.

Get creative:  Figure out where/when they’re most likely to eat healthy foods.  Maybe they happily clean their plates if you’re at a friend’s house.  My 2-year-old will try anything so long as he’s standing on a chair at the kitchen counter ‘helping’ me cook.  When the environment is more fun, they’re less likely to start a power struggle.

Nanny Carrie’s Tip: Prepare meals in small freezable servings (mini-muffin tins are perfect) so you can easily introduce new foods on a regular basis without the hassle of making it from scratch each time and the frustration of throwing out large uneaten portions.