Beat the cold with Hyland’s Cold’n Cough 4 kids

Teddy is a very active boy and has lots of activities during a week including swimming, skating and a gym. He also goes to a daycare and attends different kid’s events. So with his schedule and interactions it is easy to get sick. 

That’s why when I was offered to review a Hyland’s product for kids I was eager to learn more about homeopathic medicines for kids. After some research and other parents guidance I decided to give it a try because on Wednesday this week Teddy had a terrible fever above 40C and no sleep at all. 

I checked http://www.hylands.ca store locator and found one close to us, so we went there and bought Hyland’s Cold’n Cough 4 kids. Great that the store had 20% off all products that day. 

By the time we got our Hyland’s Cold’n Cough 4 kids Teddy’s temperature dropped but he started coughing, having nasal congestion and sore throat. First time Teddy refused to take the medicine so we just forced a little bit. The effect was right away Teddy slept the whole night without any cough and his eyes became clearer of cold symptoms. 

Today is Sunday and we continue giving him the medicine, and I hope he will be fine by the end of the day. I like that Hyland’s Cold’n Cough 4 kids is a homeopathic syrup, sugar free, safe and effective as it is a relief for multiple cold symptoms(they usually appear altogether). 

Teddy is very picky with tastes, Hyland’s Cold’n Cough 4 kids is fine, not irritating and not sweet, but Teddy is still getting used to it, at least for now my boy does not refuse to take it. 

It is very disappointing to get sick during holidays, and I expect Teddy will better very soon so we can continue our activities, there are so many to enjoy this holiday season. 

Have you ever tried homeopathic products for kids? Did you like them and which ones you use?

Teddy's Christmas - Wordless Wednesday

Busy holiday time, here are some of our Christmas shots: Teddy with Santa at the mall, Gingerbread Train crafting thanks to a kit it was super easy and how we caught Santa in our living room. 

Hope you all had an awesome Christmas!

Season’s Greetings & Best Wishes for the New Year 2013

Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a very Happy New Year!

Teddy fishing with Santa at Vaughan Mills - Wordless Wednesday

This year we decided to visit Santa at his Wilderness Cabin at Vaughan Mills. Teddy had an unforgettable experience fishing with Santa. There were many nice Elfs too to help Santa this holiday season.

Teddy's papier-mâché budgie

This fall Teddy joined Mixed Media program at 4Cats Art Studio. This program includes a variety of art techniques and mediums. Today we present our first post that covers his fall art sessions. One of Teddy’s favorite art activities was making a bird from papier-mâché. Teddy had to choose between an owl and a penguin. He chose an owl initially, but then changed his mind. 

We had two budgies at home - a male and a female, but when we went on 3 weeks’ vacation this summer, we asked our relatives to take care of them. When returned we were really upset because our female budgie flew out of the cage, house and disappeared. She was blue with white belly. She was smart and rebellious. We loved her very much for her unique personality. We decided to create a bird from papier-mâché and dedicate our creation to our lovely blue girl to remember her. 

First time we made a body budgie to be. We filled a small balloon with air and started cluing small pieces of thin paper to it. We spent some time of next class doing the same since it should be several layers to make the body firm and durable. 

Third time we made one layer with pieces from thick paper. On the forth lesson we made a last layer from very thin blue paper and covered the whole body with some blue glazed paint. Then we made belly with feathers, wings, feet and a beak. 

During our last class we made eyes and feather patterns. It looked so nice. Teddy was proud of his work. After this experience Teddy started calling all penguins “papier-mâché“. In cartoon, in books and even at the Zoo – now he knows what this strange word “papier-mâché“ means.

 

What Teddy was doing during stormy weather - WW

 
Few weeks ago during stormy weather Teddy spent some time in Hamilton, helping his aunt with her pies and warming up by the fireplace.

Teddy at Fall Home Show

This fall I was lucky to attend Toronto Fall Home Show 2012 and took Teddy with me. I was looking for some design and renovation ideas for our home. The show was on Saturday so after Teddy's 4Cats art class our next stop became Exhibition Place that hosted Fall Home Show. It was an interesting transition for Teddy from one creative spot to another.

To my opinion it was not quite kids event, but I wanted Teddy to explore and learn something new, see interesting styles, colors, communicate with other people and have a nice day. It is amazing how kids can find something exciting in simple things like splashing water in jacuzzi, rolling in a big chair or watching moving stands.

Teddy was gladly posing for the camera, standing on direction squares on the floor. Pink Panther was obvious  one of Teddy's friends there. Then my boy found  Sid's Ponds and Gardenscapes Inc display and spent much time near their nice pond playing with little frogs. 

Fashionable chairs and sofas were very beautiful, Teddy even tried to find what he liked the most. The doors display was quite attractive since there were so many of them. When Teddy opened one door he turned out to be in the same room which was strange experience but so much fun.

We had a chance to see TV gardening expert and author Frank Ferragine on the main stage.

So we walked around the whole show, saw many displays and booths. Overall I found the show was really interesting, it covered different areas of home improvement and renovations. Though we were not ready to start our home renovations right away it was nice to get the ideas, talk to the professionals, learn about new innovations and designs all in one place.  

Teddy at Remembrance Day Ceremony - WW

On Sunday we attended the Toronto Zoo's 27th Annual Remembrance Day Ceremony. The weather that day was so nice and warm like supporting this event. Lest We Forget.

Do you like Ostriches?

Do you like ostriches? We do, considering that the biggest one is 250-350lbs and the tallest 7-9 feet bird in the world. 
This summer during our vacation we happened to be close to the Ostrich Farm and took advantage of this opportunity to see these flightless birds closely. One thing is to see one or two of them in the zoo and completely different story to see dozens of them and watch how they interact with each other within group. 
 

You can see different characters - good and bad, exactly like people. Ostrich can run 70 kilometers per hour. Although cheetah can run 120 km/h, but it can run only for few minutes and after that it is done. 

Ostrich enjoying some treats

 

Ostrich from the other hand may maintain that speed for 15 minutes at a time. So if it will be a 15 km race between them, then ostrich would be a winner. 

Teddy was not as exited about ostrich as we were, although he tried to pet one. He was impressed with the ostrich feather and the size of ostrich egg, which he has some difficulties to carry – it weighs 3-4lbs. 

We tried ostrich burgers and an ostrich pie there. Ostrich meat is delicious or maybe we just were hungry? We bought ostrich egg and cooked a huge omelet at home. We invited all our family to taste it. Not bad. 

 We cracked egg gently and made nice ikebana vase out of it. Ostrich can live up to 70 years, quite comparable to human life span. Do you like ostriches now?

Happy Halloween from Teddy!

 We wish you a Happy Halloween and very sweet one as it is scary already.

Teddy's Canyon Adventures

 How many Canyons in the world?  There are more then 300.

This summer Teddy had an opportunity to enjoy one of them – Charyn Canyon. Being the mystery creature of nature, this canyon left a lasting impression with its grand splendor and beauty. Charyn Canyon is about 12 million years old and surprised us with its vertical cliffs, reminding the ancient castles, created by wind, sun and rain.

 We had opportunity to walk through the maze of the Castles Valley, which is the most beautiful part of the canyon. All along the valley we were surrounded by towers of fantastical forms build of sedimentary.

 The length of the valley is more than two kilometers and we spent few hours walking in this fairy land, astonished by the inventiveness of nature. During the hike Teddy played with small rocks, tossing them here and there.

The weather in those days was very hot - around +40C and without wind in the canyon it could be unbearable to be there. We were lucky that the day we went there it was overcast and evening rain(only one day during whole July).

When we got Charyn River we had a picnic there and spent some time fishing. We caught and released few trout. On the way back Teddy was very exhausted so we carried him all way back to the car. Teddy was impressed with extraordinary scenery of an amazing natural miracle and loves to watch video of that trip from time to time. Which canyon will be next to explore?

Teddy at ShesConnected 2012 - WW

Some highlights of Teddy's adventures at ShesConnected Conference. We took him on Friday to have some fun and meet new people. Looks like Teddy had a good time learning new things and making new friends.

With Play-Doh

Ford cars and skydiving are my favorites

Dancing with Pony

Fairyland - Wordless Wednesday

 On Monday we planned to visit Southbrook Farm with lots of kids activities and Thanksgiving treats. But when we arrived it was quite crowded and we did not want to stand in the line so decided to walk down and just enjoy the nice fall weather. To our surprise we stepped into the amazing fairyland with a beautiful river.

Happy Thanksgiving from Teddy!

It is the best time to be with your family and friends and being thankful for everything we have.
We wish everyone Happy Thanksgiving!

Teddy at the show I Heard a Story - Wordless Wednesday

Last week-end were lots of events to attend like Doors Open Vaughan and Culture Days 2012.
So on Sunday we decided to go to watch the show I Heard a Story at City Playhouse Theatre. A storyteller Thom Currie presented folktales from Russia, Italy and Canada using puppets, mime and lots of audience participation. Teddy was quiet at the beginning but to the end started even sing with Thom.