Pokemon Party Time!!

Roan just turned 7. Yes, 7! What does that mean? It means we had a Party!

When it comes to parties, we're a "Keep It Simple" family. Pretty much all our birthday parties have been at home with just a few friends, and usually revolve around a theme, whatever the current favourite obsession might be. Oh, and it needs to be easy enough for me to come up with ideas, I heart Pinterest!

This year Roan asked for a theme revolving around an indie computer game he loves. While I know a few of his friends also play it, I wanted something a little more mainstream (to make it easier on me to come up with ideas). So another obsession in our house is Pokemon. And I know his friends all love Pokemon too (we even hosted a big Pokemon Play Date over the Christmas break for his buddies), so it was a no brainer. He was thrilled!

So other then picking the date, one of my first steps is the invitations. I have done this a few ways in the past. Etsy is a great source, I have purchased custom digital files and printed them off at home. I have also created my own, and when our printer has been on the fritz, have had them printed at Staples (although I prefer to do it myself).

This year, with Pokemon ruling everything, after some Etsy browsing and lots of Pinterest stalking, I decided to make Roan his very own custom Pokemon card as an invitation. I used this site, uploaded his picture and wrote our own text. Then it was a simple matter of downloading the saved file, and printing them off. You can make them the same size as a Pokemon card, cut them out and glue them to a real card, but I chose to make them a little bigger for the invitation. Roan LOVED them!

We kept decorations simple this year. Crepe paper streamers are usually involved and often we print off theme related pictures and tape them around the house, but honestly unless we involve them in a game, kids don't really notice. So I just did a Poke-themed table cloth. Easy peasy, use one red tablecloth, one white, tape together and tape down a strip of black crepe paper. I'm not a fan of disposable products normally, but for two birthday parties a year I make an exception. There are always crumbs and smeared icing and spilt juice at the end, it's nice to just wrap it up and be done.

The next thing was to plan a few games. Our birthday parties usually follow the same format. I have a quiet craft while the kids are arriving, when everyone is here we then do a few games, then cake/presents, then free play until the party is over.

For the quiet activity, I printed off a bunch of blank Pokemon cards, put out a bunch of pencil crayons and markers, and the kids had a blast making their own Pokemon cards. I actually had to call a few of them away from the craft when it was time to start the games!

My boys having fun cutting out blank Pokemon cards

For the games, I decided  to revolve them around Pokeballs. These were so simple to make! I got the idea from This Site. I bought styrofoam balls from the dollar store, used some red acrylic paint and a sponge brush, a black sharpie and little white circle stickers/labels. It took no time at all to paint the balls, they were dry quickly. The little white circle stickers I wasn't sure would work, but they actually stayed on really well!

So simple, I didn't even need the egg carton, they stood up fine on their own to dry!

There is a straight line right around the middle of the ball from where the styrofoam is molded. So easy to trace it with a sharpie (and the kids never look that close if it's not perfectly straight!)

The first game we did involved a tall plastic bin. The kids lined up and took turns trying to throw Pokeballs into the bin (I was going for "Catch The Pokemon"). Ciaran got involved and changed things up a bit by sitting behind the bin and the kids had more fun aiming at him. I think we've had a "Throw Something in a Bin" game at every party we've had! Kids seem to love throwing things, hah!

The next game we split the kids into two groups. One group went down into our basement playroom and hid all the Pokeballs then the second group found them. Then we switched. Simple and the kids liked it (and we only lost two balls!).

After games we stopped for Cake! I prefer to do cupcakes, I just find them easier. Easier to serve, easier to eat, easier to clean up. Roan has decided he wants to be a chef some day, and wanted to help make all his treats. Awesome!

Making his cupcakes! And yes, we got all the shells out!

So we did vanilla cupcakes (sorry, I don't bake cake from scratch, Betty does it a lot better then I do!),  I decorated them as Pokeballs, and finger jello. My boys always want finger jello at their parties and I've learned to make a boat load as kids inhale it! Roan really enjoyed making his treats and was so proud to tell his friends he made it. I love seeing the pride in themselves when they do something new.

Decorating the cupcakes was really simple. I used vanilla icing, then held an index card over half of it, sprinkled the other half with red sprinkles, put half a marshmallow in the middle, and used some icing gel to draw a line down the middle and around the marshmallow (I could only find blue icing gel, but again, no one seemed to notice!).

After cake and presents we let the kids have free play. It's a great way to burn off the sugar they've just inhaled! We always have lots of balloons, and between the balloons and the Pokeballs the kids kept themselves amused.

The last thing we planned is the goody bags. I do try to put some thought into these. I like to give a few consumables and something that can actually be used. This year I bought Pokemon deck boxes for each kid. My husband (who plays Pokemon with our boys and knows "good cards" vs "bad cards") found someone who was selling off their collection and purchased enough cards to give each child 20 cards. He made sure to get quality cards, and him and our boys took time to sort through them all and try to make packs where the cards worked together. I also stuck in a set of dice, a mini chocolate bar, a mini bag of liquorice and a mini finger flashlight. And of course each kid could take home a balloon and some Pokeballs. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the goody bags! (Or goody boxes I should say!). But here are my boys putting them together.

Good thing I'm not writing a blog on how to take good pictures!

The last 15min or so of the party, we gave the kids their deck boxes. They got to open their packs of cards and spend some time showing them to their friends and trading.

Our parties aren't fancy, especially by Pinterest standards, but all the kids seem to have fun and our boys have a great time with their friends. That's what matters to us!

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!!

Our Reading Dinners

We love reading! My husband and I try to read a lot, Big C reads a ton, and Little R is finding his reading niche. But life can be busy, and sometimes it's hard to find time to read throughout the day. So I wanted to share something we do to help get more book time into our lives.

Reading Dinners!

I'll preface this by saying as a family we spend a lot of time together. My husband works from home, and we don't have a lot of after school/evening/weekend activities that don't include all of us. We eat dinner together as a family almost every night. I should also point out that we are mostly a family of introverts. While Little R definitely would qualify as an extrovert, even he appreciates some occasional quiet. So on those days when we're all a bit tired, when no one really wants to just chatter, we all pick a book and bring it to the table to read while we eat.

This has been wonderful for our family. It gives my husband and myself a break to enjoy a book for half an hour at a time we wouldn't normally have the chance (which is extra beneficial to my husband as he works crazy long hours, this is a great mental break for him in his day). It's fantastic for our boys, they learn that reading can be for pleasure, not just for homework. And while we often do it so we can enjoy some quiet and recharge, it actually often leads to great conversations. What we're reading, what the story is about, what we like/dislike about it, why we chose it, etc. I find it keeps us in the loop with what they're interested in (something other then the video game their currently obsessed with). We know when Big C has started a new series, or that Little R is more into fact books at the moment. Little R is still young and has only been reading on his own for the last year or so, but even before that he would bring a Find It book (like the 'Where's Waldo' type books), or a Chirp magazine or a picture book of some sort. We are not fussy about what they read, we're happy for them to explore many different types of materials and this is a great way to offer them the time to do it.

One other bonus is that I like to experiment with new recipes often. If I'm not sure how they'll react to a new meal, a reading dinner helps to distract them a bit and they are often more open to trying something new. There is a small downside, meal times can take a bit longer. But we're not usually in any hurry, and we enjoy taking our time.

Are there ways you like to incorporate reading into your regular daily grind? Is reading something you love and share as a family? How do you encourage your kids to enjoy reading?

Magic The Gathering For Moms

So perhaps you've heard your child talk about a card game called "Magic". This isn't about top hats and hiding bunnies, this is an extremely popular trading card game, with more then 12 million players worldwide. And when Big C started to get into it, I happily signed on to play with him. This definitely isn't anything like Crazy 8's, but it is a lot of fun and for as complicated as it can get, it can also be a very simple thing to get into. This post isn't going to be a "How To Play" guide, I am definitely not the one you want to learn from. But I do want to give you some tips on how to get started and where to find some good beginners information.

1. Find someone who plays and visit your local gaming store

I'm lucky that in our extended family we have two young adults who are very into this game. It was by watching them play that Big C first got interested in the game. However if you don't know someone personally who plays (and even if you do!) the best thing you'll do for yourself and your child is visit your local gaming store. I can honestly say I've never had such amazing customer service anywhere else that I get at the two gaming stores we frequent. The staff work there because they love the games. They are very knowledgable and have been amazing dealing with Big C, genuinely excited for the next generation of players coming up, and amazing dealing with me, genuinely excited that as a parent I want to learn too. They will offer you advice on how to buy your first decks, how to expand and improve your collection, and offer great advice on how to play. Simply Google "City Name game store". You might be surprised how many of them there are near you! Hint - prices on MTG cards are fairly standard. Skip the big box store, often game stores will offer discounts (five booster packs for the price of four for example), the customer service is priceless, AND you're supporting a small local business. Win, win, win!!

2. Build your deck

Advanced players of MTG spend a lot of money and time building their collections and making the "perfect" deck(s). For me and Big C, fumbling around newbies, we have a slightly different strategy. I started with an Intro Pack. Fantastic, a pre-made 60 card deck I can play right out of the box, I think I paid about $15. You also get a "How To Play Guide" and a couple of booster packs (mini 15 card packs) so you can customize it a little. I personally think this is the easiest and most uncomplicated way to start. Big C already had a little more knowledge then me, and I think he started with a "Fat Pack" which is a much bigger box with many more cards, he then built his own deck. For Christmas both Big C and Little R received custom made decks from their wonderful auntie who is a MTG genius. We all increase our collections here and there with booster packs, and half the fun is trading with others. We've also found packs of Magic cards at the dollar store, but just a warning, while these are legitimate MTG cards, they are usually mis-prints or off cuts. I even have one that appears to be written in Russian. So they're cheap but not necessarily good value.

There are plenty of players who don't think an Intro Pack is worth it. But if you're like me, starting out with zero cards, zero experience and have no intentions of playing competitively, they get you up and running. If your child is older and wants to play with his friends, who may already have a small collection and experience, this may not be the best option as you don't get super strong cards. Once again, a chat with the game store staff will quickly set you in the right direction.

As an experiment, I just called my local game store, said my son wanted to play and asked would an intro pack be a good starting point for him and for me to learn to play with him. The guy working actually invited me and my son into the store where they would give us each a free 30 card deck and some instruction on the game to see if we enjoyed it. If we did enjoy it, he said in our case (no experience, no cards other then the freebie 30card deck) an Intro Pack would be a good way to start. I cannot stress how great these stores and the people who work there are!

I stopped playing Big C for awhile. He spends a lot of time researching all the different cards, and often spends his allowance on his collection. He loves spending time at the game store counter, looking at the individual cards for sale, planning on his improvements. I don't have that kind of free time or disposable income. So when his decks started obliterating me in only a few turns, I was a bit discouraged. I thought I had weak garbage cards and figured I'd have to splash some cash on a few investment pieces. So I called our family MTG Guru, and he came to look through my collection and help build me a better deck. Turns out I actually have a fairly solid collection, and was able to put together a much stronger deck. That is a huge perk of having someone in the family who plays a lot. However, I asked at both the gaming stores we go to, and both stores said they would be happy to sit down with me and my collection and lend some expertise too (off peak hours of course).

For some good reading on how to build a deck, here is a great page from the MTG website. They do a great job at explaining the different components that make up a deck.

The boys and I having a 3-player game. Little R (6yrs old) legitimately won this game!

3. Play the game

The best way for me to learn something new, is to do it. I research research research (my Youtube account was overloaded with MTG videos when I started), but nothing beats actually laying down cards. The guide on the MTG website is great, and we always have a copy of the "How To Play" pamphlet nearby. Of course Big C has all the rules memorized (have I mentioned he has a scary, possibly photographic memory? He knows all of his thousands of cards, and all of mine too!) so he's happy to tell me exactly what I need to do.

The rules of MTG are fairly straight forward. There are steps a player takes during their turn, and the cards are very literal. But still, I have yet to have a battle with Big C where we don't have some kind of an epic argument over a play (all in good fun of course). If we can't figure it out on our own, I will text our MTG Guru for a quick answer. But if he's not available, I have written down the specifics of the play and asked at the game store the next time we're there. Not helpful in the heat of the moment, but they're great about settling a disagreement for next time.

If your child (and/or you!) is looking for a bit more of a challenge, there is this weekly event called Friday Night Magic. Around the world on Friday nights, game stores set up tables and chairs and host a MTG gaming night. Big C has never been to play, but we have gone to watch a couple of times. I had a good chat with the owner of the game store about the requirements to participate. She told me that while her store doesn't have an age restriction, players do need to be mature enough (no crying if you lose, win and lose graciously, etc), new players are welcome but it does help to have some experience, and behaviour/language is expected to be clean. The youngest player they have at their store is 10yrs old. He comes with his two older brothers to play. The night can go fairly late, so if you have a child with a bedtime, this may be a consideration. And while the house rule is behaviour/language should be clean, your child should be mature enough that hearing an F-Bomb isn't going to scar them. We've told Big C that he can start going when he's 10. He's probably more then ready to play now, but it gives him something to look forward to, and right now I'm not sure I want to spend my Friday nights hanging out in a corner while he plays. I really enjoy playing, but my interest pretty much ends with my kids, Friday Night Magic isn't my thing.

Photo courtesy of http://mtg.wikia.com/wiki/Power

And this kind of segues into one other consideration you may want to think about as a parent, especially if you have a younger player. On each of the cards is an illustration. Apparently it's a big deal to get your art onto a printing of a Magic card. But these illustrations are definitely of the more mature nature. Some are very scary/graphic, even violent. And some are very sexist (no big shocker there, sad but true). The game itself is marketed as being for ages 13+, and I don't disagree necessarily. This is something that we definitely struggled with,  but we've decided is within our comfort zone. I don't like it (at all), but the enjoyment of the game for my kids is worth it. We have discussions about the images, and about why I don't like them. But I can totally see where other families might want to wait until their kids are older to play simply because of the images.

So, to sum up. After that huge long post, if you're interested in learning more about Magic The Gathering for your child, or how to play with your child, GO TO YOUR LOCAL GAME STORE! However, there are lots of great online resources, don't forget to check out Youtube for some good videos (and many bad videos). And be prepared to need a lot of extra storage. Cards don't hurt to step on (looking at you, Lego), but they do wind up everywhere!

And for those of you with kids not quite ready for MTG, I will have a post about the other trading card game that has taken over our house, Pokemon. Kind of similar in theory and definitely made for a younger audience. I don't play Pokemon with my boys, but my husband does! I'm taking notes though and will share what I learn! Stay tuned!

Our Family Car Winter Emergency Kit

We live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with the gorgeous Rocky Mountains in our backyard. There are many amazing reasons we love living here. Winter for more than half of the year is not one of them. Although I do cling to the silver lining that because of our long, cold winters, we also do not have the huge creepy crawlies and poisonous creatures many other, warmer places have. So there are some perks!

The view out my front door most of the year

One of the biggest reasons I dislike winter is the dangerous road conditions it can bring. We have family that live out of town, and during the winter months we are on the highways to visit them. I like to think I plan well, I'll avoid driving if there are any weather warnings, but just because the weather is nice when we leave does not mean it will still be nice when its time to drive home. I have found myself more than once white knuckling it through a blizzard.

Because of the crazy weather we can get, I believe its always important to have an emergency kit in our trunk. I change the kits twice a year, when the winter tires go on I put in the winter kit, and when the winter tires come off I put in the summer kit. This fall as I was preparing the winter kit, I was doing some Googling, some Pinterest-ing and some You-tubing. Soon I was overwhelmed with the need for flint and steel. And extra shelters! And hunting knives!! And everything we could possibly need to survive a winter zombie apocalypse!!!

Wait a minute... I had to stand back a bit and remember that my needs are going to be different from some single guy working up north on deserted utility roads. Or a family in Texas with a baby. I had to think about MY situation and MY worst case scenario vs MY realistic scenario. And of course every kit will have the personal constraints of money, space and expertise (seriously, I wouldn't have a clue what to do with a flint and steel).

So my realistic scenario will be driving on the highway with Big C (9yrs old) and Little R (about to turn 7yrs old) in the back. Hubby G is occasionally with us, but because of his work schedule usually it's just me and the boys. So there we are, toodeling down the road, and bad weather either forces us to pull off onto the shoulder, or something causes us to go off the road. Now we're stuck and we need to wait for help or for the weather to get better. So it is not unforeseeable that we may need to spend a night in our vehicle as we wait for our turn with the tow truck. My concerns are first aid/safety, warmth, food and water, and something to stave off boredom. Seriously with two boys, if they're bored, they're fighting. And that will possibly force me to leave the vehicle in search of help, which will ultimately find me frozen to death mere feet from a highway gas station or something. I don't want to be a headline.

And one of the most practical reasons to have an emergency kit is because I find myself digging into it here and there for this or that. So as Calgary is going through record breaking highs this week, I thought now would be a good time to haul it all out, go through it all, replenish and reorganize.

Emergency kit in trunk

So here is what you see when I open my trunk. Two sleds, a Costco bag full of skates and helmets, a bag full of other bags for shopping, and a big bin. The bin is my emergency kit. Yes it's big. Yes it takes up most of my trunk. But I shuffle other things around when I need to, the emergency kit is non-negotiable.

The first items in the kit are mostly bulky stuff.
- extra warm clothes for the me and the boys (sweaters, sweatpants, extra socks)
- bag of kitty litter to help with traction should we get stuck
- three fleece blankets
- extra toques for everyone
- an assortment of gloves (including fingerless gloves)
- three metal cups (plan to warm drinks over a candle if we're stuck for a long time)
- an umbrella
- a shovel (which has been used many times to dig out of snow ruts)

All of these items are just extra items laying around the house. The socks don't even match! One thing to keep in mind, it's not always you that needs a helping hand. All these items I would happily give away to someone else who was in a spot of trouble.

Next is more of the fiddly stuff, this I keep in a bin inside the big bin.
- XXL heavy duty garbage bags, I use these all the time. I have two that are cut open to lay flat, they cover the entire back of my Jeep (with the seats down). I can then put wet, messy, yucky stuff on top (ie bottle return day, buying mulch/dirt for the garden, tires, etc).
- a little thing of wet wipes
- mini first aid kit with some extra items (extra bandaids, lady supplies, contact case and solution, etc)
- two emergency ponchos, they're fairly flimsy, but I would tie the coloured one to my antenna to help a rescuer spot us
- a set of dust masks
- big bag of tea lights. In an emergency, my plan is to keep four or so lit at a time to keep the chill off.
- bottom of a terracotta pot as a candle holder
- matches and a mini lighter (every survival guide I've ever read always recommends having two sources of fire)
- some lengths of twine
- a few folded grocery bags
- a little Ikea toolkit (I also have one in the house and one in our camping trailer, love these little kits!)
- a wee little box of what I think are replacement fuses (but I have no idea, not even sure where they came from but I don't dare get rid of them in case they're important)
- Fix A Flat
- flashlight (with working batteries, I have them in upside down so they don't wear out)
- a scraper
- a big bag of food (granola bars, trail mix, tea, drink mix). I'm forever taking snacks out of here so often refill it
- and last is the big S.O.S sign that can go in the window.

This is the entertainment part of the kit. As I mentioned, if I have two bored boys, they're fighting. Luckily they're best of friends most of the time. So if I can keep them engaged, things are usually much smoother. And in an emergency, the last thing I need is to wear my referee hat.
- pencil case with assorted pens, pencils, markers, etc
- books ('find it' books are great for something like this, you can make a game out of it)
- deck of cards
- yahtzee sheets and dice
- blank notebooks
- more books (including joke books)
- sudoku puzzles (I have printed off 4x4 and 6x6 versions)
- instructions for a new card game
- "Fill A Word" and Sudoku books for me

If we're going on any length of a road trip, I usually have the boys pack a bag with current books they're reading and any other things they may want to have at our destination.

Here is everything all nicely packed up. It really all does fit into the big bin. It is a lot of stuff, but I think its mostly practical things. Again my main train of thought is if we're stuck for any length of time in bad weather, we will mostly just need to stay comfortable. When the roads are bad, often its just a matter of time before a tow truck can get to you, but it could take many many hours.

Here is my Car Sick Kit and First Aid Kit. These do not go in the trunk in the big bin. These live in my middle console right up front with me. I like to have all these items right at hand as I use them a lot. Both of my kids suffer from car sickness from time to time. Having a Car Sick Kit has been invaluable!
- stack of plastic cups they use as a sick bucket
- wet wipes and kleenex to clean up with
- pile of grocery bags to hold dirty wipes and kleenex's
- big ziploc bags. After they've been sick, I'll put the cup and contents into a ziplock until I can get somewhere to dispose of it. Also sometimes I'll need somewhere to put dirty clothes if a mess is made.

The first aid kit also gets used a lot. I'm constantly replenishing this one
- bigger pack of wipes (you seriously can never have too many wipes. Even without babies anymore we still always have them scattered around)
- lady supplies
- handwarmers, we rarely use these, but there have been a few times after extended sledding that they've been a life saver on the way home with two boys with frozen hands
- assorted medications (gravol for everyone, I get car sick too, ibuprofen, antacids, etc)
- bandaids, especially the big ones for scraped knees
- wet ones (ok, maybe I'm overdoing the wipes a bit)
- hand sanitizer (I will always choose a proper hand washing, but sometimes that's not possible)
- hair elastics and clips
- pen and pad of paper

And in the middle of this pile, I always have a whistle close to hand. If you're ever in an accident or emergency, there are many reasons why you may not be able to call for help. Even if you can, a voice is often hard to hear. A whistle is incredibly loud with minimal physical effort. Three short blasts always means "HELP!".

Now this is where you probably think, "Whew, she's done!". Well... not quite. There are a few items missing from these photos.

- Booster cables - I always have a set of these in my trunk. They're not in the picture as I have a spot for them with the spare tire and forgot to grab them. While I have been lucky not to need them myself (knock on wood!), I have used them to help boost other vehicles. These are so very important when our temperatures can often be -35C or colder.

- Sleeping bags - I have three kids sleeping bags that I keep on the ready. I don't have these in my trunk on a day to day basis, but if heading onto the highway I always pop them in.

- Winter coats, boots, gear - Often we don't want to be wearing our heaviest winter gear for a long car trip. So instead we'll wear warm sweaters during the drive, but we always make sure to pack our big coats, boots, etc into the trunk.

- Gas - in the winter I try very hard not to let my gas tank get below half. Yes it means a few extra trips to the gas station over the course of winter, but it's well worth knowing we can always make it home safely even if a trip takes much longer then normal, or that we can heat up our vehicle if needed throughout a long wait. Don't forget things like extra windshield washer fluid and stuff too!

- Food and water - I always pack food and water before any trip. I don't keep water in my kit as it would just freeze. So I bring what we might need on a trip by trip basis.

- A small utility knife/multi tool. I do not have one of these yet. While I don't need a big hunting knife, I want something I could use to cut a seatbelt if needed. I will add this to my console as soon as I find one I like!

And one last thing to keep in mind. Bring extra if you have extra people with you! If Hubby G is joining us, I always make sure to pack extra stuff for him. On the odd occasion we're traveling with our dog in the winter, I make sure to have coats, food and water for her too. And always be ready to help out your fellow traveler. I know I can boost another car, shovel out snow ruts, have some extra food to offer, etc.

I hope you find this helpful. This is what I'm comfortable with carrying for my situation. Your needs might be very different depending on where you live. There are a few things I have that I'm wanting to field test to see if they really will work in an emergency situation, when I do I'll post my results.

So I'd love to hear what you keep in your Winter Emergency Kit. Where do you live? What would be a likely scenario for you? Do you have kids and what extras do you plan for because of them?

Safe winter travels everyone!