Easy DIY Outdoor Skating Rink

2 / 25 / 212 / 25 / 21

With vacations and visitors on hold this winter, we teamed up with The Home Depot Canada to create the ultimate fun at home – a really easy DIY outdoor skating rink right in our very own yard! The Home Depot Canada has been our go-to for all of our pandemic project needs, and this was no different – we were able to get everything we needed for our skating rink at our local Home Depot location* and having a skating rink in our yard has been a total blast. Thank you, The Home Depot Canada for sponsoring this post.

Oh my goodness…. I can’t even tell you how much fun we’ve been having with this little DIY outdoor skating rink we put together in our front yard! Any time we like, day or night, we can just whip on our skates, head outdoors, and enjoy a little ice time without even having to leave home. It’s truly been the BEST way to make it through our recent cold snap – we get outdoors every day and it’s actually really enjoyable. The kids have loved it too and they’ve both become better skaters because of it.

A fun fact? Growing up, my dad, along with a few other neighbourhood parents, used to flood our local park in good ol’ Cold Lake, Alberta to create a skating rink for us kids, so the whole process has been very nostalgic for me. I think many of our lovely retiree neighbours have felt the same way because throughout the process they’ve been cheering us on, stopping to chat about it, giving us tips, asking to take photos of us, and even dropping off treats to enjoy with our hot cocoa afterwards…. So sweet!

Now here’s the thing about this particular DIY outdoor skating rink…. It’s incredibly easy to put together! I know because I’m not all that handy, I have a very limited tool stash, and I put this together myself with just a little bit of help. And truth be told, I could have built it completely on my own if need be, but my brother dropped by just to check in (he’s been a builder and project manager for his entire adult life and he’s who I consulted while drawing up my plans) and because he can’t bear to stand around, he jumped in and sped the process along part way through. He made sure not to do any job I hadn’t already done myself though, so I truly got a chance to do at least part of every task required to create our rink.

If you’ve ever considered making one, I highly recommend giving it a shot. I promise it’s doable and it’s a fairly affordable project too – especially given the fact that the wood and tarp can be used year after year.

Yours will look slightly different based on the space you’re working with of course, but here’s a detailed look at how I made our DIY outdoor skating rink…

1. First, I started by sketching out some plans. To do so, I went out into our yard, determined which space seemed largest and flattest, and then measured it so I knew what I was working with. Our total space was approximately 26 by 24 feet, so I decided to make our rink 24 by 22 feet just to give some space along the edges.

I decided to enclose our rink the simplest way possible – with a perimeter of 2×6 boards, plus additional 6-foot 2×6 boards at the joint on each side to ensure they were nice and strong. In order to hold the boards upright, I chose to use wooden stakes every few feet, so I used that info to draw up my plans. As you can see from my sketch, I thought I’d use L-brackets on the inside corners of my frame too, but once we got building we realized that they weren’t really necessary, so we skipped them!

Just for fun, I decided to include a simple bench and some posts for hanging string lights (string lights make everything better, don’t they?!), but those are totally optional. If you want minimize work and cost, I’d totally skip both!

As far as materials go, I picked up every single last thing at our local Home Depot Canada store, which definitely added to this project not being overly complicated or time consuming. (Isn’t being able to get every item on your list in one stop the very best?!) The other thing I love about The Home Depot Canada? They’ll cut all of your wood for you for a very minimal fee! Such a game changer if you’re like me and don’t own an actual saw… All you have to do is go into the store with your lengths planned and they’ll take care of the cutting for you. (Yes please!). Another option? Trying their tool rental service!

Okay, here’s everything I used for the project…

For the rink frame:

– ten 12-foot 2×6 boards

– two 8-foot 2×10 boards

– one 25-pack of 2×2 pointed wood stakes

– two 100-piece containers of 3-inch construction screws

– 30-feet x 50-feet all-purpose white tarp

For the lighting:

– twelve 8-foot 2×4 boards

– six 1 1/4 inch hook 2-packs

– two 48-foot plug-in LED string lights

I also used the following tools / equipment:

– carpenter’s square

– level

– sledge hammer

– line reel

– measuring tape

– power drill & bits

– hose

2. With my plan in place and my materials picked up, it was time to build our skating rink frame. This was a job I wanted to do quite early while it was still warmish and the ground wasn’t yet frozen. (I’m sure you could probably do it in colder temps if needed, but the stakes would be harder to pound into the ground.) To start, I set out my materials on the lawn exactly as I wanted the rink to be. This included my long 2x6s, my shorter support 2x6s, and my wooden stakes.

Standing the 2x6s up on their sides is tricky when they’re on uneven ground, but I just laid them down or tapped in a some stakes where needed.

3. Next up, we attached the two long 2x6s that formed each side of the rink frame using the shorter support 2x6s. This meant that we now had 4 very long pieces – our 4 sides of the frame.

4. With that, it was time to connect our first corner. Using a carpenter’s square to make sure we had a decent right angle, we screwed our first corner together.

5. Okay, this next part is kind of important if your space is like ours and isn’t all that level. First, determine your surfaces’s high point. For us, this was just to the right of the patch of soil you see in this pic. Your 2×6 frame will sit directly on the ground at the highest point and will sit up off the ground at lower points.

Make sure your corner and attached sides are situated as you want them, then pound a stake into the ground on either side of the corner. Place your level on top of your frame somewhere in between your high point and your corner and lift your corner until it’s completely level. If you have someone to hold it in place for you, fantastic, but if not, you can prop it up with some scrap wood or even your foot / leg (safely of course!) while you screw through your stakes and into frame. If your first corner is lower than your high point like ours is, it’ll sit up off the ground.

6. Next, screw together your remaining corners. Don’t worry too much about having a perfectly rectangular rink at this point – you just want to kind of get everything tacked together.

7. Okay, now to try and get everything nice and square! Honestly, I don’t know important this is beyond how it looks, but we aimed to get it as square as possible using this set up – a reel line run from the original corner to the next one over, plus a measuring tape from corner to corner diagonally.

My brother actually ended up having two really long tape measures with him, and we found that running them both diagonally at the same time (so they form an ‘x’ in the middle of the rink) was the way to go. Basically you want to place the boards so that the two corner-to-corner measurements are as equal as possible and so your long sides follow the path of your line reel (it’s surprising how off it can be). When we started, our rectangle was far from perfect, but we just kept measuring and shifting our boards / corners until it was good.

8. When your rink frame is nice and square, begin driving in your other stakes, placing one on each side of every corner and then one every few feet or so in between the corners. Just as you did before, attach your frame to the stakes securely using your level along the way. In some places your frame might be resting on the ground and in others it might be a ways off the ground – the most important part is that it’s as close to level as possible.

If you’re just doing a basic frame with none of the extras, you’re done for now! YAY!! You’ll want to hold off on laying your tarp until you’re ready to start making ice, so don’t worry about that just yet. If you’re wanting to make a bench and light posts like I did, stick with me for just a bit yet!

9. Okay, time for our very basic bench! I figured this might be nice for taking breaks, putting on and taking off skates, and sipping on hot cocoa, and I was totally right. Our bench actually gets used a ton, so I’m glad I made one.

To make it, I used one long 2×10 and got my friends at Home Depot Canada to chop it into four pieces for me – one long piece for the bench top and three equal shorter pieces for the legs. I assembled it just like you’d imagine…. By placing one leg on either end of the bench and the other one directly in the middle. Then I simply screwed down into the legs from the bench top. (I should have taken a picture of it before we attached it, but just imagine a giant ‘E’ flipped onto its side and you’ve got the idea – hah!)

10. For stability, attach your bench directly onto the frame of your rink.

This side is by far the lowest side of our front yard, so as you can see, our frame is sitting up off the ground a good amount. For this reason, I made sure to make my bench legs extra tall, but you’ll make yours to suit your space of course.

At this point, it was starting to look like an actual outdoor skating rink, wasn’t it??

11. Next job – attaching the light posts! Originally I wanted to use 2x2s for this job simply for the sake of looks, but my brother suggested that 2x4s might be better stability wise, so that’s what we went with. I decided to use 12 6-foot tall 2x4s evenly spaced around the perimeter of my frame and recruited my littlest helper for the job.

To attach them, we simply made sure that the bases of the 2x4s were flush with the base of the frame, checked that they were level, and then screwed them into the frame with several screws.

While we were at it, we decided to add another 2×6 to the bench side of our frame in order to close in that big gap we had. If the gap were smaller I wouldn’t have bothered, but I went ahead with it since this side of the yard is so much lower than the rest and I figured it would be helpful to have that barrier in place when flooding.

12. As our final step in constructing the actual rink structure, Sam and I added little screw-in hooks to the tops of our light posts…

And our skating rink structure was officially complete!

And then it was basically a waiting game….

One thing we did do as we waited for freezing temperatures was that we used the snow we shovelled from our driveway to fill in our low side of the rink and make the ground more even. Now truth be told, it all melted before our weather got cold enough to make ice, but it was worth a shot and I do think it would have been helpful had it turned out. We also strung our lights up, which turned out to be super helpful for evening floods later on.

With everything in place and ready to go, the moment it got cold, we jumped and began making ice! To do so, we set our giant white tarp into the base of the rink (folded in half), pulled it nice and snug, and draped the extra material over the edges of the frame. Then we began adding water using our garden hose. How much water you add at a time is up to you…. We had quite a bit of evening out to do and would usually flood for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time. We’d wait for the water to freeze completely, then add another layer.

Now a few of things to know about the actual ice making process….

First of all, back in the fall we actually had our old outdoor tap replaced with a frost-free outdoor tap to make sure we wouldn’t have issues with it freezing up while trying to use it mid-winter. This was something we wanted to get done anyways, but this project was definitely motivation to get it done asap.

Secondly, and this might be obvious, but it does really need to be cold out. We started trying to make ice the moment our temperatures were consistently at 0º or below both day and night and the process was slowwwwww. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure it was going to happen for us for a little bit there! We’ve had the STRANGEST, most mild weather ever here in the Okanagan and when daytime temperatures started rising above 0º, everything started melting. Thankfully we got a good cold snap and the moment temperatures were consistently at -5º to -10º, making ice was a total breeze!

Thirdly, to avoid having it freeze up on you, you’ll want to take your hose inside with you after each flood. During the ice making process, we kept our hose in a big tote bin, which made it really easy to bring it in and out of the house without any mess.

Keep adding layers until you have a good, solid slab of ice. If needed, I know you can do a final flood with hot water to smooth everything out, but we didn’t need to…. Our ice turned out nice and smooth all on its own!

Once we had the base of our rink completely covered in ice / water, I did loosely tack the excess tarp to the outside of the rink frame with a few screws. I think you could probably skip this step if you didn’t want to put holes in your tarp, but I didn’t mind.

Once your ice is solid, it’s time to skate!!!

And oh my goodness – were we ever excited for this moment!! Because of the timing and weather, our ice making process was slow, but had we started once it was actually cold, it would have only taken us 2 or 3 days from start to finish, which is pretty incredible.

I mean… Does it get any better than this??

Neither of our kids are super confident skaters, but they’ve been enjoying having a home rink SO much and have gotten so much better in just a couple of weeks.

Our favourite thing at the moment? Playing hockey together as a family…

And enjoying hot cocoa afterwards of course!

So, so fun. And a definite highlight of this tough, stay-at-home year. I really can’t recommend making your own outdoor skating rink enough.

Find a full list of all of the materials and supplies required for this project here on the Home Depot Canada site.

Happy skating, friends!

*The Home Depot Canada recommends staying home and opting for online delivery or curtsied pick-up in lieu of in-store visits whenever possible. Please be sure to adhere to all government and provincial protocols in your region.

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Making Dream Boards With Kids

4 / 11 / 204 / 11 / 20

Over the Christmas holidays, Miss G and I spent an afternoon together creating her very first dream board and we had SUCH a good time together. I mean what’s not to love? We flipped through magazines, found beautiful images and words, chatted non-stop about all of her hopes and dreams {if you know Grae you know that she’s a HUGE chatter}, and created something really special for her room. A perfect girls’ afternoon, really.

Now that being said, I’m no dream board expert, but I’m learning… Thankfully my mom is a strong believer in dream boards, so I have some knowledge about what they are and how to make them from her, plus I have done them with students in the past. Here’s how we made ours this time around…

First off, what is a dream board?

A dream board, or vision board, is a collage of images, affirmations, and words that represent one’s goals – who they want to be, what they want to do, what they want to have in their life, among other things. They’re designed as a source of inspiration and motivation and can be a really powerful tool for both adults and children alike. For kids, dream boards can be a really positive and encouraging way to foster self-confidence as they serve as a source of inspiration and a regular reminder of their hopes and goals.

Here’s how to make one with your child…

Step 1: Gather your supplies. While dream boards are most often made using poster boards and glue, I think using a cork board and tacks is very clever when dream boarding with kids as they allow for more flexibility and can easily be changed and rearranged. You’ll also need a variety of magazines and a pair of scissors, and markers, washi tape, a notebook, and a pen or pencil are optional, but recommended.

Step 2: Do a visualization. As adults, we most often focus our vision boards on the coming year, but with kids I think it’s easier to open it up and focus on the future in general. Before beginning the visualization, talk about how the future can be next week, next year, or even when they’re an adult. Turn on some calm music and invite your child to get comfortable, close their eyes, and envision what they want their future to look like. You may want to gently prompt their visualization with some guiding questions.

Sample Guiding Questions

– What things do you want to do?

– Where do you want to be?

– What qualities do you want to have?

– How do you want to feel?

– Who do you want be with?

– What will you do for fun?

– What do you want to achieve?

– What do you want to do for work?

Step 3: Create a mind map. While this step is optional, I find it really valuable when dream boarding with kids. After the visualization exercise, take out a notebook and a pen or pencil and help your child jot down the key components they visualized for their future using a mind map format. I like to place the title “MY FUTURE” in the centre and have categories like “BE”, “DO”, “HAVE”, and “ACHIEVE” branching out from around it in order to give the child a starting point. This step helps solidify the visualization and serves as a guide when searching for images, words, and phrases to represent their dreams later.

Step 4: Find or create images, words, and phrases. Something you’ll want to be mindful of here is that your magazine selection reflects your child’s interests and includes people who look like them. Invite your child to flip through the magazines to find images and text to represent their future dreams. As they go, they can use their mind map as a checklist in order to ensure that all of their ideas are represented. Encourage them to use paper, markers, and washi tape to create their own images, affirmations, and words in order to fill in any gaps or to add to the images they found.

Step 5: Create your dream board. Ask your child to sort through their images and words and group them how they see fit. Next, help them play with placement and overlapping on their work surface to create mini layouts that are visually appealing to them. As they’re ready, have them tack their clippings and creations onto their cork board using the minimum number of tacks required. Encourage them to switch things up as needed, only fully tacking things down when everything is in place and they’re happy with how it looks.

Step 6: Display and discuss. The final step! Find a spot to proudly display your child’s dream board. Somewhere where it’ll be easily seen each day is best as it’ll serve as a point of inspiration, motivation, and reflection. Sit with your child and soak it all in. Talk about their goals and dreams and together, come up with some actionable steps they can take in order to make their dreams become a reality. Encourage your child to spend some time with their dream board each day and to add to it or switch it up as they feel necessary (goals and dreams do sometimes change over time, after all!) And that’s it! In the following months, come back to the dream board with your child every now and then and continue to foster them using it as a tool and source of positive inspiration.

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Our Toddler Bedtime Routine

9 / 18 / 189 / 19 / 18

This post is sponsored by Back to Earth, my very favourite place for all things health, wellness, and personal / home care. I’d venture to say that the majority of all of the products in our home – from cleaners to shampoos and conditioners to soaps to candles and sunscreens – are all from Back to Earth. And it’s been that way for years. {Even when space was at a premium and we were bringing many of our personal care and cooking items in our luggage to the Middle East, I made room for a year’s supply of my Back to Earth favourites!} There are so many things I love about their products, but what I love most is that a) the company is based right here in the Okangan, and b) that the founder, Kiley, who has completed several certified herbalist and aromatherapy educational programs herself, works with a team of naturopaths, biochemists, herbalists, and aromatherapists to ensure that her carefully crafted products are as pure and natural as possible. Plus I love that the products truly work. {Because what good is a natural, locally crafted product if it doesn’t do the job it was intended to do, right?}

Well, I hate to say it, but summer’s officially over. We’ve been back in school for nearly two weeks now
and though I miss the slow mornings, carefree days, and having both of my kiddos at home with me, I will say that the transition hasn’t been horrible. Miss G was fairly excited about going back to school and because we didn’t stray too far from our usual bedtimes and routines during the summer, that part hasn’t been a struggle either thankfully. Now that being said, we definitely stayed outside too long, ate dinner too late, and rushed through our usual bedtime routine too often, so it’s been nice to get back into a solid rhythm of slower, more routine bedtimes.

Sam’s bedtime routine is pretty much the same as Miss G’s was when she was a toddler because it’s worked both for our kiddos and our family as a whole… And why change a good thing, right?

Now, before I share how our evenings go down with this little sweetheart of ours, I will say that our kids are early-to-bed kiddos and always have been. I was that new mama who read and researched every last thing while pregnant with Miss G and the one thing I came across again and again on the topic of sleep was how beneficial early bedtimes are for little ones – so we went with it. At this point, Sam {who is 2.75 years old} is usually in bed around 6:30 or 6:45 p.m. and Miss G {who is newly 8} is in her room at the same time but has a full hour to read before going to bed. Of course bedtimes that early don’t work for all families, but we love them because a) they allow our early risers to get a full 11 or 12 hours of sleep and b) because they give Brad and I some time on our own at night {which is especially important since that’s when I work}.

So. Here’s how a typical night goes at our house…

First up, dinner. Dinner happens around 5:00 / 5:15 in our house and we all sit down together for a family meal pretty much every night.

Now, if you’ve ever seen Sam eat, you know that most nights it’s a complete and utter disaster, so he heads straight into the tub afterwards. {We’re talking stripped down at the table and carried directly to the tub.} And even if it’s not a messy night, he still has a warm, chilled out bath simply because he enjoys it and it’s part of our evening routine.

Our bath time essentials?

Several small vehicles and more recently, this air pressure water sprayer that was a favourite this summer {hello, DIY car wash}…

Our easy homemade coconut oat bath milk bath that is naturally cleansing, moisturizing, and soothing {this is all we use on nights when his bath is for the routine of it and he’s not actually dirty}.

And this Moon Baby Shampoo & Body Wash from Back to Earth whenever his hair or body needs to be washed. It’s free of all the usual yuckies (SLS, parabens, sulphates, cocamide-DEA, formaldehyde, and perfume) and full of good stuff, like organic oils, aloe vera juice, pure liquid castile soap, and calming kiddo/baby safe organic essential oils and smells like clean babies!

By about 5:45 or 6:00 p.m., it’s out of the tub and over to our bedroom where we get ready for bedtime.

Oftentimes we’ll find a little ‘getting ready station’ all set up on the bed courtesy of Miss G, which I just think is the sweetest thing. She’ll pick out a pair of cozy jammies and a bedtime story, plus have all the essentials (a Wet Brush, a Seventh Generation disposable diaper and our Sweet Pea Herbal Balm, our Trust Mother Nature Magnesium Salve, our Memories Roller, and some vitamin D drops} neatly set out and ready to go.

We keep all of our bedtime essentials in one of these little carry caddies in a cupboard in our room, so everything’s in one place and super easy for her to find.

Alright, so once Sam’s out of the tub, here’s how it all goes down…

First up, Back to Earth’s Sweet Pea Herbal Balm on the tush. We’ve used this stuff since Miss G was a baby and we just love it. It’s this amazing combination of local beeswax, pure extra virgin olive oil, and Canadian Kisameet Glacial Clay, infused organic calendula, arnica, lavender, chamomile, and comfrey flowers, vitamin E, and pure lavender essential oil and it works for EVERYTHING. Both of our kiddos have super sensitive skin and this stuff is our go-to for bug bites, rashes, dry patches, owies, and preventing bum rashes over night.

Next up, diaper. We’ve always used disposables at night, simply because they can handle being worn for 12 hours at a time without leaking and I’ve mostly made peace with that choice {though in a perfect world, we’d never have to use disposable diapers at all}.

Next up, a small amount of Magnificent Magnesium Salve rubbed into his back. We began using magnesium on-and-off when I first started to get serious about getting our little non-sleeper to sleep, but it’s become part of our regular bedtime routine since moving to Vernon. There are so many factors at play that it’s hard to determine what’s at the root of our sleep success, but Sam’s definitely become a better sleeper over the course of the past year and a bit, so I’m not messing with what we’ve been doing. I always get loads of questions about our magnesium salve and while I’m far from an expert, my understanding is that magnesium is an essential mineral and something many people don’t get enough of {the body doesn’t produce magnesium – it’s something we have to get from outside sources}. One of its many roles is aiding in restful sleep {by maintaining healthy GABA levels – a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep} and many people notice a marked difference in the quality of their sleep when they use a transdermal magnesium (magnesium applied to the skin).

Now two quick things to note about the Magnificent Magnesium Salve… First up, while it’s not an actual Back to Earth product, the fact that Back to Earth carries it means that Kiley {Back to Earth’s founder} has given it her personal stamp of approval – huge given her standards and dedication to producing the purest, most natural products. Secondly, this particular magnesium salve does contain a very small amount of rosemary essential oil, which is something I generally avoid using on / around the kids due to it’s 1,8-cineole chemotype, but I personally make an exception for this one product. I love it because it’s super moisturizing compared the usual magnesium oil sprays and rollers that I find can be quite drying and even stingy sometimes (though Back to Earth carries those options if you prefer). This one contains coconut oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, sweet almond oil, beeswax, aloe vera, and vitamin E, plus the most amazing smelling combination of essential oils – rosemary, marjoram, black pepper, and vanilla.

{If we could only have three bedtime products, I’d pick these… The Sweet Pea Herbal Balm, the MagNificent Magnesium Salve, and the Memories roller.}

While Sam’s still laying on his tummy, I run our Memories roller across the back of his neck and gently rub it in. True story? At some point during our sleep journey I went into the Back to Earth store in Lavington {basically in total zombie mode because Sam hadn’t slept well in months} and said, ‘My child doesn’t sleep… HELLLP.’ This little Memories roller was the second thing recommended to me {after the magnesium} and is easily my favourite part of our bedtime routine now. You know how certain smells are so connected to particular times / things? Well to me, Memories is the smell of bedtime. It’s a pre-diluted combination of lavender, rosewood, frankincense, ylang, patchouli, vanilla, vetiver, sandalwood, roman chamomile, sweet marjoram, blue tansy, and spruce, and dang – beyond it’s benefits, it’s got the most delightful, relaxing scent. The blend was actually designed to address symptoms of ADD / ADHD, and it’s amazing for promoting better concentration, less excitability, and less anxiety / nervousness too. {I regularly use it at night when I’m trying to cram a full day’s worth of computer work into 3 hours and I truly find that it helps me buckle down and stay focused.}

After putting Sam’s jammies on, we do vitamin D drops, and most nights – a quick nursing session, depending on if he wants to. We’re definitely near the end of our breastfeeding journey, but he nurses for a short time first thing in the morning and just before bed most days and we’re both perfectly happy with that at the moment.

Next – teeth! Thankfully he outgrew his aversion to having his teeth brushed and our days of pinning him down and prying his mouth open while he screams are long gone… Nowadays I floss first, he has a minute to floss, I brush, and then he has a turn to brush. If nothing else, he goes to sleep with very clean teeth. :D

I’m not particularly invested in a certain kid’s toothpaste at the moment, but I do really love these reusable flossers we ordered for the kids a year or so ago. Prior to that, we had been using those little disposable flossers you can buy in big packs because they made flossing their tiny teeth so much easier, but I felt sick about all of the plastic we were throwing away. My brother and I had these reusable contraptions growing up and while they weren’t super easy to find, I’m so happy I got my hands on a couple. You just swap out the floss and you’re good to go.

Alright… Now for the most important part of our bedtime routine… Stories! {See Sam’s all time favourites here. Spoiler alert: they’re all about things that go.}

Because Brad and I tag team our evening routine, Sam reads one story with me upstairs and then heads downstairs to his bedroom to read one or two more with his Papa.

Not always, but oftentimes I’ll have his diffuser going while we’re getting him ready for bed, and then I’ll turn it off before he’s actually down for the night. I know that many people let their diffusers run all night, but I’m on the cautious side when it comes to kids and essential oils and there’s research that has shown that diffusing for long periods of time doesn’t actually add extra benefits, so most often I just run it for a short period before bedtime.

My go-to for both kiddos at bedtime? Back to Earth’s Lil Cherubs Synergy Oil Blend. It’s a combination of lavender, rosewood, geranium, lemon, bergamot, and chamomile and I find it to be such a calming, feel good blend. A little goes a long way, which I love, and I usually just add a few drops to a diffuser full of water. My other go-to, especially during cold and flu season, is straight up cedarwood essential oil as it not only has natural sedative properties, but is also known to reduce coughs and provide respiratory support – all while being kiddo safe {when used properly, of course.}

Next up, Sam has a drink of water, turns his Gro Clock to the sleep mode {we’ve used this clock with success with both kiddos}, turns on his air purifier {which doubles as white noise while he sleeps}, and turns off the light.

Brad then sings him a few songs, tucks him in tightly with his Loulou Lollipop Finery muslin quilts {these blankets are the coziest, most wonderful things}, and by 6:30{ish}, he’s in his crib for the night.

And that’s it… We close the door, turn on the monitor, and he falls asleep on his own and stays asleep until 6 or 6:30 the next morning usually. {Which is huge for our little preemie nugget who basically had to be held in order to sleep from the time he came home from the NICU to the time he was 14 months old.} It seems like a lot when you write it down step-by-step, but it really doesn’t take all that long and I think it does set Sam up for a restful night’s sleep.

Back to Earth products are available in select stores across Canada (see which ones here) and can also be ordered online and shipped anywhere across the country (see shipping info here). And if you’re on their website and you’re not sure what other products to also try, my absolute cannot-live-without items are:

the Honey Facial Cleanser and Magi Blend Face Moisturizer for my face
the Rainforest SLS-Free Shampoo, the Tingling Tides Conditioner, and the Re-Store Hair & Scalp Oil for my hair
the Radiance Bath Oil and the Bliss Body Lotion for moisturizing my skin
the Sacred Sage SLS-Free Liquid Hand & Body Wash for both in the shower and beside our kitchen sink
the Smile Teeth Cleaning Oil for my teeth
the All Purpose Cleaner for keeping our entire house clean

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Season Sensory Bottles

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With Grae and Sam being 5 years apart in age, you’d think that they’d be into completely different things, but I’m actually realizing that there are many projects and activities that we can do and tweak just slightly so that both munchkins enjoy them. These season sensory bottles are so much fun and definitely one of those projects that both kiddos got something out of. {Not to mention that they look super pretty sitting on a playroom shelf or window sill.}

10 Months of Sam

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Welp. Sam is officially 11 months old in two days, so it’s fitting that we only got around to taking his 10 month photos today {ugh}. Seriously though… Miss G is in school from 9 until 3 and you’d think I’d be able to get all sorts of things done during the day, but honestly, most days it feels like I spend the bulk of my time between school runs, attempting to get our bubba to nap, nursing, and preparing meals for our family. Anything outside of that is a bonus. Hence the photos being a month overdue…

Yogurt and Granola Popsicles

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It goes without saying that we have a thing for popsicles… Among many others, we’ve made milk & cereal popsicles, chunky fruit popsicles, polka dotted blueberry lemonade popsicles, watermelon popsicles, and most recently – yogurt and granola popsicles! These are basically just a yogurt and fruit parfait in popsicle form, so a totally acceptable breakfast option in my opinion {because com’on – it is summer after all!}

Rain Art

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When you live in Vancouver, you learn to make the most of the rain. It simply rains too much not to.

Our Screen Time Routine & The Napkin Man Interactive Episodes

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Believe it or not, Miss G got her very own iPad for her fourth birthday. Not from us of course, but from her Uncle, Auntie, and cousins who absolutely spoil her rotten. At the time, we were about to make our second move to the Middle East and though we’re quite conservative when it comes to media and screen time, my brother and sister-in-law thought that it would be perfect for on the plane {hello, 36 hour journey!} and for keeping in touch once on the other side of the world. I’ll admit it… Although I think I was sort of in a state of shock when she opened it {an iPad for a four year old?!}, they were totally right. It’s been so nice for Miss G to have her own device {especially when travelling} and having it hasn’t meant that she’s become a little screen-addicted zombie either. ☺

Happy One Month, Baby Bubba!

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Baby Bubba is 1 MONTH OLD today! He’s now 31 weeks 6 days corrected and 3 pounds 12 ounces – a full pound more than when he was born. Right now he’s off his CPAP and high flow air, he’s eating like crazy, and growing and gaining exactly like we want him to be. He loves to snuggle, has the sweetest little voice, and his little smile is absolutely heart melting. ♥

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5 Years, 6 Halloweens…

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Halloween Through the Years 2015

How this is even possible is beyond me, but here we are, 5 years and 6 Halloweens later…

2010 – Baby G the jack-o-lantern

2011 – Gracen the little blue owl

2012 – Miss G the brown fox

2013 – Super Girl Gracen

2014 – Gracen the mermaid

2015 – Wonder Woman Grae

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The Kindergarten Transition {& what we’re doing in order to have happier, easier school mornings}

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Truth be told, Gracen doesn’t always want to go to Kindergarten. In fact, many mornings she doesn’t, which sort of breaks my mama {and teacher} heart. Especially since I know we could have easily done a very organic version of homeschool kindergarten this year and filled our days with hands-on explorations, outdoor adventures, and all sorts of play that would have allowed her to thrive while learning everything she would have in a traditional classroom.

Apple Peanut Butter Salad

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Mmmm… Apples and peanut butter. Such a good combination. Even better? Apple peanut butter salad that incorporates crunchy grapes, sweet bananas and the yummiest peanut butter ‘dressing’ too. Miss G loves this salad and it makes for a perfect after school snack {or breakfast or lunch in Grae’s opinion}. It’s easy to make too!

Miss G is Going to Kindergarten!

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Until today, we really didn’t know what Grae would be doing Kindergarten wise… It’s a whole thing, but because we were in Kuwait last year and didn’t know what part of the city we’d be living in this year, we weren’t able to register her in a school during the usual November to January registration period… We were late to say the least.

A Fabulous Weekend

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Fairy Tale Reading Fort

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When we packed up our little Vancouver house and took apart Grae’s beloved closet book nook, I knew I wanted to create another cozy reading space once we arrived and settled in Kuwait. Well, eventually arrived and settled, but the book nook just never really happened. Oops.