I think it’s funny that a holiday about giving thanks is surrounded by all these ads about Black Friday. You see more media about sales and stuff than being thankful for what we already have. Tis’ the season for giving and receiving.

As I join in on the hustle and bustle of the season I tend to want to go above and beyond with the gifts. “Just this one more thing” or “Oh, he will loooove this!” This year we decided to get the kids something big that they can share but then felt a tinge of guilt that they wouldn’t have more presents to open on the big day. But the gifts aren’t really what it is all about. And rest assured there will be plenty of gifts from the Grandparents!

As I shop now I think about all the things we have to be thankful for. By giving thanks I remember that our kids are very well off and they could care less about the number of gifts they received. What they remember the most is how the family spent that time together. Laughing, playing, giving thanks and just being together. It is much easier to keep the holiday shopping simple by remembering how much we have to be thankful for!

One of my favorite motto’s is “have guests, will clean.” I am so excited that Thanksgiving is next week because I have been so much more motivated to organize and clean. And apparently so are the new clients that have been calling me this week!

Tis’ the holidays to get the house in order. Not only is it the perfect time to weed out the old but to clean the house from top to bottom! Before the guests come next week I am completely doing a cleaning overhaul. I love giving the house a deep clean before a big day where the house will be full! You may be asking why bother if it is going to get messy again with so many people! The fact is, after everyone is gone there is minimal work to be done besides surface areas and vacuuming then it is time to rest!

We start getting out Christmas decorations shortly after Thanksgiving so the house is all ready to go. Clean, decluttered and ready for a new season!

I’m like most parents – I look at all the crap and wonder what the heck we’re going to do with it. Two weeks ago I found the last remaining bag of candy from last Hallowe’en hidden in the back of a bedroom closet. I hope never to relive that experience. Parents have varied opinions about how to deal with the sweet treats – divide it into portions, have them gorge themselves sick, steal the good stuff when the kids are in bed, or donate it.

Although my kids love sweets as much as the next guy, I know that Hallowe’en is more about the hunt. When I heard that a local dentist set up a candy buy-back program, I knew that my kids would love to get in on that action. Now they’d be making cash for their hard-earned candy. The dentist offers up two bucks for every pound of candy, then the dental practice donates it all.

My theory that trick or treating is all about the hunt was verified when the kids divided their haul into a ‘keep’ pile and a ‘sell’ pile. The particular child pictured ditched two full shopping bags of candy, and kept only the one very small package she is holding in her hands. The other kids were remarkably similar.

What did you do with your loot? Do you have super-motivated Trick or Treaters or are they more the ‘hand-the-treats-out-at-the-door’ type?

I was recently given an amazing opportunity from my friends at Disney Canada to attend the Disney Social Media Moms conference in Orlando. I jumped at the chance – by March, who doesn’t need to get a hit of that happy drug the Big Mouse deals out?

The added bonus was that this conference is a family getaway….well, for a family of four, anyway. Once I got a friend to agree to come along as babysitter, I was left with two kid spots.

You understand my dilemma. How does a mama of six pick her two “favourites” to bring along? One friend suggested making them audition via domestic challenges; another friend said not to bring any of them.

The thought of leaving everyone at home to be “fair” was not considered. I want my kids to understand that sometimes they get opportunities and sometimes they don’t. Often, neighbours and friends feel obligated to invite several of my kids to their child’s birthday party because they don’t want anyone to feel left out. I assure them that the uninvited kids will be just fine – they know that their turn will come. I think disappointment is not such a terrible feeling for a kid to have to deal with now and again.

Choosing which children to bring was not actually hard. I’m pretty practical when it comes to the kiddos and bringing the two biggies, ages 10 and 11, made sense for a few reasons: they would be easy for my friend to take care of, they are tall enough for every ride and, most importantly, they have the stamina to survive amusement park hours and activity without getting crabby.

Having said that, I wanted to communicate the travel plans to the other children with as little drama as possible, so this is what I told the unchosen:
“I have to go to a work conference in Florida. I am allowed to bring two children with me but they have to be 10 years of age and older. There is a chance that they may go to Disney for a day or so while we are there.”

I explained all of the fun activities I had lined up for them in my absence. The two biggies then did an exceptional job of keeping quiet about any trip plans that were in the works.

All went well until we arrived at Disney and had dinner with all of the other conference attendees and their families. My kids observed and noted that there were many children there under the age of 10 years old.

How did I explain that to them? I told them that while it is always important to be as truthful as possible, sometimes lying is appropriate. I explained that “white lies” sometimes help to cushion the truth and this was one of those situations. I trusted that they had the maturity to understand that and, indeed, they completely got it, which confirmed why they were the chosen ones. So on top of having a fabulous time on Space Mountain, at Epcot Centre and the Magic Kingdom, they learned a few life lessons.

No question, teaching kids when to lie is a tricky topic – have you had to deal with it? What has been your experience with “white lies” and your kiddos?

Daddy-o smootching Fin

A friend on Facebook recently posted some Valentine’s Day advice to all the men out there. In short, she suggested that all women gush over Valentine’s Day and appreciate special gifts and attention in celebration of this holiday. Even the women who say they don’t care, really do – deep down.

I looked deep into my soul to see if I wasn’t being honest with myself. After some serious self-analysis, I have to speak up on behalf of the unromantic – we think Valentine’s Day is at best, hokey and cheesy, at worst, bordering on pervy and creepy. Don’t get me wrong, I let my kids give out cards to their classmates and even sneak a heart-shaped chocolate treat into their school bags. It’s the fake romance stuff that freaks me out.

I considered some of the most traditional romantic Valentine’s gifts and thought it might be useful to give an explanation as to why I am not interested in them.

1) Flowers
I think of flowers as something that is going to take up valuable counter space for a week. When that week is over, I’ll have to get rid of the dead flowers and scrub the skanky vase. Don’t even get me started on the money – I’d rather not have to re-mortgage the house to cover the cost of my dozen Valentine’s Day roses.

2) Jewelry
I’m just not a jewelry gal. Daddy-o was pretty gutted back in our courtin’ days when I rejected the idea of having an engagement ring. In the end, I generously agreed that we could exchange engagement rings. Mine has now been sitting in a jewelry box for well over a decade, alongside its little friend, the wedding band.

3) The romantic dinner
I prefer our usual date night, which includes putting the kids to bed and sitting together with our laptops, side by side. In my books, there is no need to pay two babysitters and an expensive restaurant bill for some quality time together.

4) Cuddles from your adoring husband as you watch “Grey’s” on the couch together
Quite frankly, after cuddling with six small humans all day long, I just want a bit of personal space. Oh, and I don’t watch “Grey’s” or any other romantic-type shows anyway.

5) A lovely bottle of wine
I’m a beer drinker. Straight from the bottle.

I can’t be the only one out there? Speak up, please! I feel like I need to put an ad in the classifieds: “Unromantic Married Mom Seeks Like Women for Friendship and Understanding”.

I love the holidays.  The whole of December is one big party that tapers slowly between Christmas and New Years.  Then, with any luck, we can get the kids tucked away in bed right around the time our English cousins are ringing in the New Year and collapse in front of a movie or two, until Auld Lang Syne reassures us that life is about to return to normal.  Adventurous? Notsomuch.

I’m a big believer in routine.  The holidays definitely throw our schedule for a loop and it always gets me wondering, “Do I wish I had those kids that go with the flow and are happy to pass out on a friend’s sofa somewhere around 10pm?” While I don’t mind throwing caution to the wind for special occasions, the answer is still “No.”  Sure we might have to excuse ourselves from Thanksgiving dinner before the meltdowns start, and we miss the entertaining conversation that springs from Aunt Jane having one glass too many, but I like our routine.  We roll with it when we can, but if we have to call it a night at 7, I know there are at least 340 days of the year when I’m glad the kids have a predictable schedule.

Nanny Carrie’s Tips
1) If your schedule is all over the map, start with one or two routines and work the rest of your day around it.  (ie. Bathtime always starts at 7pm.  Or, always plan to be home for afternoon naps.)
2) Expect the unexpected.  Throw some jammies in the car for family gatherings that run later than planned.  That way you can get everybody ready for bed before the long drive home and save a battle with overtired little ones.  (Don’t forget the nighttime diapers for bedwetters!  Disassembling wet carseats for washing in the dead of winter is not fun.)
3) Late dinner at a restaurant?  Pack a lunch bag with some healthy snacks for the kids to eat while you wait for your order.  (Hint: This is a great time to break out the fruits and veggies that they’re more likely to eat when they’re bored and starving.  Then you can cross mama-guilt off your list when the rest of their dinner consists of french fries and ice cream sundaes!)

Do you prefer a structured day, or a more flexible schedule?  What works best for you?

I usually blog around this time of the week, but some of us have been chillin’ at the cottage. I’ve had no time to write – far too busy shoving smores in my gob, pulling leaches off little feet and enjoying an icy beverage from the campfire cooler.

So, all is well in dreamy cottage country. All will be shattered when I have to face the hard reality of cottage laundry – but we won’t think about that now.

Oh, and as for the title of this post – probably more accurate to say that at this point in time you can smell us from distances far and wide!

People often tell me I make things look easy. I think the reason I make things look easy is because they often are. A perfect example is the neighbourhood Easter egg hunt I recently organized. Please note that when I say “organized”, I am using the term very loosely. I sent out an e-mail to everyone on the neighbourhood e-mail list. It was the same e-mail I sent out last year.

So I managed to get some cred and kudos for doing pretty much nothing.

The e-mail included information about how many eggs to stuff per kid in your family, what area of the park to hide the eggs in (based on kiddo ages) and what time to have it done so that we would be ready to start on time. Oh, I also told egg hiders to bring plastic bags with them in case they came across some dog poop or other park treasures.

That’s it. That is me organizing the egg hunt. Note what I didn’t do:
- I didn’t stuff eggs for kids in the neighbourhood;
- I didn’t hide eggs for kids in the neighbourhood;
- I didn’t go and clean up the dog poop in the park before the egg hunt.

Surprisingly, with all that I didn’t do, I still got a handful of e-mails from highly appreciative mamas. They all mentioned how remarkable it was that with six kids and a business I could find time to organize the egg hunt. I reminded them that forwarding the e-mail from last year took me about 15 seconds. Regardless, these appreciative mamas unanimously came back with “Well, someone had to send it out – so thank-you!”

Perhaps a case can be made for the old expression: “if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it”. Maybe all of us busy folks have just figured out the real trick – don’t just make it look easy, make it easy!

Kim from Special Programs

Emma from IT

Caitlin & Melissa from Marketing

Head on over to our Facebook Fan page to see more great work spaces and join the fun by leaving a comment on your fave one. The photo with the most comments will be the winner of a fun little prize from Mabel!

The following week, you will be introduced to Nanny Carrie (who happened to have a baby a couple of days ago). As an experienced nanny who is oozing with kiddo love, common sense and practical solutions, Nanny Carrie is the mama with the answers! She will be providing regular posts helping us deal with all that kid stuff that drives us crazy.

Of course you’ll still be hearing from me about life in the mama trenches while also juggling Mabel’s Labels madness. Caitlin will be keeping you posted on all the Mabel news and Tanna is here to keep you organized.

All the best for 2010! It’s been a pleasure sharing 2009 with you! And a warm Mabelhood welcome to Chris and Nanny Carrie!