Presenting "The Most Single Important Thing you can do for your stress".  Here is a video that we watched in Hatha Teacher Training this weekend.  It is really well done and since stress is such a predominant aspect of our lives, I thought I would share it with you. 

Enjoy and remember to breathe and breathe deeply. Breathe deeply with a smile and gratitude for all that you have,for all the people that grace your life and for the experiences that help you learn and go deeper into the workings of life.

I hope your lead up to the holidays are easy and stress free.  Above is a Christmas gnome made by the hands of Suzanne Harding.  I love the star as an added touch. I also love when people send me pics of their beautiful work. Thanks for sharing Suzanne!

Birthday Party Ideas

Look at this happy face. It shines with happiness. Happiness for his 8th birthday.  

I cannot believe that my baby is 8!!! Wasn't it just yesterday that I pushed him into this world?  I still remember that day, lying on my living room floor, holding my newborn after 4 hours of hard work.  It was such a special moment that I will forever remember but alas this is not what this blog post is about.  It is about sharing with you what we did to make Owen's special day a success.

In years past we have always invited a slew of kids where they all arrive at the time,  where we go hard for 2 hours and then everybody leaves and it feels like a whirlwind has come through.  You might be familiar with this scenario.   I have found this a little stressful and for Owen a little overwhelming. This year Rob (Owen's dad) is doing the whirlwind party and I am doing a sleep over with 2 of Owen's best buddies.

Birthday Preparations...

 The Cake

 Every year Zoe and Owen ask for a store bought birthday cake.   Every year I bake one myself and tell them that my home made cake comes from my heart.  That I have fond memories of my mother baking me birthday cakes and that one day they will be calling me for my cake recipe :)  Despite the complaints, they do love decorating their cake. We ice it with chocolate icing (of course) , smarties for toppings and hidden in the moist cake are toonies wrapped in wax paper.  They love this added touch. 

I would love to say that my recipe was passed down from my grandmother and her mother and her mother's mother but this cake's lineage starts with me.  

You can find the cake recipe here: The perfect chocolate cake

Games...

 Pass the parcel

 This is a great easy game. Wrap a surprise with lots of lots of different layers of paper.  Have children sit in a circle with music on.  As the music plays children pass the parcel around untill the music stops.  Whoever has the parcel at that moment gets to unwrap one layer.  This goes on until the prize is unveiled.  In our pass the parcel everyone was the winner.  Inside was a small lego set that set me back $7.99/each This prize replaced loot bags.       

Treasure Hunt
For our treasure hunt ,the clues were written onto inflated balloons and then deflated again.  This way when the clue was found the balloon had to be inflated to read the message.  It was a nice little twist to a traditional treasure hunt.  The treasure was a science kit  for us to do together. 

The sleep over went smoothly.  After our lasagna supper we played monopoly, ate popcorn and went to bed by 08:00.  They were sleeping by 09:00.  The best part was Owen's  comment: "This is my best birthday so far".

It all went smoothly until Owen woke up at 05:00 vomiting and shivering but that is a whole other story!

Kids Yoga

  Everyday before quiet time we do yoga.  Here is Samuel doing Baddha Konasana (butterfuly pose).  This posture is a hip opener and increases circulation to the pelvic organs.  You would be surprised at what a young age children start holding tension in their body.  Children are so receptive to yoga and love it.  A children`s class is taught differently than an adults class.  We use our imagination, songs and stories to move through the asanas (postures).  Her in butterfly we are singing a cute song. The lyrics go as such:

Fly like a butterfly

Fly like a butterfly

Fly like a butterfly in the sky

Sleep like a butte fly

Sleep like a butterfly

Sleep like a butterfly in the sky. 

Stretch like a butterfly

 Stretch like a butterfly

 Stretch like a butterfly in the sky

To learn the movements and tune of the song watch the video below.  Enjoy and have fun using yoga with your kids.

Workshop and Fundraiser

Thailand
Zoe, Owen, Jay and I are going to Thailand this coming January.  It has been a long time dream of mine to bring my children to Thailand. Thailand holds a special place in my heart.  I spent two years there teaching English.  I taught children from to ages of 3-8. It was  a special time in my life and I want to share the specialness of Thailand with Zoe and Owen.  I want them to know how lucky they are and help them realize how much they have.  We are so lucky here in North America.   We have everything available to us, including opportunity.  I believe that bringing my children to Thailand will give them a great experience for life.  I hope to impart gratitude for all that they have.  

We will be spending the majority of our time on Koh Phayam, a small island on the western coast of Thailand.  This island is surrounded by the Andamin sea, is breathtakingly beautiful and is the home to a number of Burmese refugee children.  These children are stateless and in need of help.  We hope to raise $500 for the Phayam Children's Project.   Our aim is to buy supplies and whatever else they need.   

How can you help?  You can help by purchasing a CD from The Funky Mamas. You have a choice of 3 CDS at $20/each.  Each CD sold will bring $5 towards the Phayam Children's Project.

The Funky Mamas  is a group of 4 amazing musicians. They live in Guelph Ontario and play down to earth children`s music that make you want to dance.  These musicians are truly funky, kind and nice. I am blessed to have them as friends. 

Thank you for helping us, help children in need.

 To learn more about these great women click here.

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  Pickin in the Garden- $20 

 

 

 Rollin Along -$20

The Funky Mamas- $20

To order CD's you can contact me Annie Bananie at anniebdr@gmail.com 

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 Felted Faces- Needle Felting WorkshopIn this workshop we will learn how to felt awesome realistic faces.   Let your needle create a character that will bring out your creativity.  Your needle felted face would make a great Christmas Tree decoration for someone you love.  You could even make your character look Christmassy with a red hat and a beard for Santa Claus.

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When: November 21rst, 2012
Time: 19:00- 21:30
Place: Address will be given upon registration
Cost: $40/ materials, tea and good conversation included.
To register contact: anniebdr@gmail.com
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Needle Felting Kits -$20

Every %100 cotton bag contains hours of fun for everyone.  Your bag of wool contains beautiful wool roving of varying colours, 2 needles and aball felting tutorial.  Needle felting a ball is a great beginner project.  Once you gain confidence you can felt other creations.  With your wool and needle you can get busy felting dolls, food, mushrooms, angels and more.  Your imagination is your playground.   YouTube and Pinterest are great resources with loads of tutorials.

 to order: call: 613-421-0523

The Funky Mamas are dear friends of mine and are wonderful musicians and women. If you are looking for something to do this weekend check them out.  Their new CD is very down to Earth and great for the whole family!  You can buy tickets and CD's on line by clicking right here. As always have a rocking good time!

 As you might know I jet setted to Newfoundland a couple of weeks ago.  The trip was awesome.  I was there to help Jay at a Coast Guard Auxiliary Conference in Marytown.  The Coast Guard Auxiliary is a group of volunteer fisherman and boat owners who dedicate their time to helping people in need of search and rescue out at sea.  The conference was for volunteers to learn and train on skills they need while saving lives.  It was a beautiful weekend, spent with beautiful people.

While in Newfoundland I forgot that I was still on Canadian soil. It is  a completely different culture from central Ontario. I imagine it is similar to Ireland with the Irish lilt and even the geography of rolling hills,  crashing ocean waves upon rock and friendly people with stories to tell.  Below are some little clips of my experience.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at Agnes's,a native to Bruin, a small town next to Marytown where the conference was held.  For breakfast we ate toast with homemade partridge berry jam, apple bake jam and and plum jam. It was my first time eating partridge berry and apple bake jam which are native to Newfoundland.  Apple bake are a delicacy and sell at $7/ pound.  They grow on trees which are found in the marshes. In order to harvest you must walk with your bags and boxes as vehicles are prohibited on marsh land.  It is not easy to harvest.

Later, on a sight seeing tour we found partridge berries clinging to their branches.  The plant looked similar to blueberry plants.  We harvested some and popped them right into our mouth.  The taste was sweet and yummy.

During the conference itself I had the experience of learning how to splice rope.  I had about 3 fisherman show me the "ropes".   It was hard to get the hang of it at first but with perseverance I succeeded.

 Coast Guard Auxiliary members had to practice getting into a rescue raft after a boat has capsized.

A paramedic helicopter demonstrated how they evacuate a patient from a boat.

Can you spot the little red guy hanging from the helicopter?  he is being sent down from the helicopter by a rope.

The landscape was beautiful and once again I was reminded how lucky I am to be able to experience different views of life.

Now I am back and more adventures await. This past weekend I started Hatha Teacher training.  I am trained as  a Kundalini yoga teacher  but want to deepen my practice  and my teaching.

I will say more in my next blog post. There is also more to say like my trip to Thailand this coming winter.  This time we are bringing Zoe and Owen and I am excited and cannot wait!Ciao for now!