Today marks the beginning of the third week of school. This is about the time that you realize the fuzzy, fluffy animal shaped backpack you bought your daughter, which has now been leaving furry bits all over your daughter, her room, the bus and her locker, was not such a good idea.
This school year I worked with the good people at Best Buy Canada and Best Buy mobile to prep myself for back to school. I wanted to actual put the products to use before writing my review so my readers would have a true vision of what I experienced during the first couple weeks of school.
I have never shopped at Best Buy for back to school in the past, this was a completely new experience for me. The Ogilvy Road location in Ottawa was the first store I visited on my back to school journey. The staff, manager and on site experts were very helpful in helping me find the best items for my family and I. ****FULL Disclosure: I may have liked the store so much because two of my former students work there…they both mentioned that I hadn’t changed in 10 years.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S is my first Android device. The screen had the biggest impact on my choice of tablets. It definitely has the wow factor that is lacking on my iPad with a 2560 x 1600 pixel WQXGA Super AMOLED screen, which works out at 360 pixels-per-inch. I also found my Tab S interfaced with my laptop and school programs seamlessly. For my needs, this was the perfect product to add to my office. On a personal note, the app store quickly became my new favourite place to visit. My days are very long, I am up early with the daily morning organizational chores, I send my day in a busy fast paced school setting and usually end my day sitting by the pool deck for 3 hours. My Tab S, keeps up with my hectic schedule, with no need to recharge during the day. I am very impressed with the battery life on this device.
Keeping my family and I organized has been challenging, I’ve been working with two apps that are making my life easier and more organized:
Artkive, is the best app I have found for organizing my children’s art work and special projects. Artkive lets you snap a photo of your child’s artwork, save it to the cloud and share with family and friends. Create profiles for each child as photos get tagged with name, grade, date and title. Create printed books of your child’s work which makes for a fantastic keepsake or gift for grandparents, uncles and aunts.
Cozi Family Organizer has helped keep our family on the right track. This app helps manage the chaos of back-to-school and everyday life. It allows you to keep track of all family-members’ schedules, share grocery, chore and to-do lists in real time and access, view and update from any mobile device or computer.
Did I mention that both apps are free?
The FitBit posts I see on social media have made me very curious about this device and how it could help motivate me to become more active. I am a very competitive person and enjoy making and achieving both long term and short term goals. This fitness gadget has become my constant accessory this past month. I updated to the premium membership and have a greater insight into my sedentary periods of the day, how much I am sleeping each night and my input vs output on a daily basis. My biggest aha moment has been seeing how many steps I take at school during the day. I had thought my job had become more sedentary but now I realize how active I truly am during the school day.
Best Buy Canada also has detailed BTS Shopping List that my three kids and I found very helpful during our back to school shopping adventures. But we only went shopping for our electronics after the first weekend after school started, that way we knew exactly what was needed for school. In 14 weeks we will be celebrating Christmas in my home, this list has also helped my three mini me’s identify items that would be perfect under our tree this December.
If you would like to find out more about what Best Buy Canada has to offer for the back to school season or just to help make your like a little less chaotic check out their Twitter handle @BestBuyCanada and use the hashtag #setmeupBBY to follow along with the conversation.
But wait, there is more! I am giving one of my lucky readers a chance to win a $250 dollar gift card from Best Buy Mobile to use towards a new device, mobile accessories (apps, cases, etc) or an upgrade. Just leave me a comment telling me what your favourite Best Buy product is and why. You can enter daily and the winner will be emailed on Monday September 22nd 2014. This contest is open to residents of Canada.
If you win, you can also take advantage of the some of the amazing Best Buy services such as:
i. Lowest Price Guarantee: Our Lowest Price Guarantee to customers is the best in Canada. We guarantee it in-store and online. We are adding thousands of new categories every month to our online assortment
ii. Reserve and Pick-up: Customers can reserve their product online without entering any credit card information and pick up their item at the store of their choice in as quickly as 20 minutes.
iii. Assortment: Nobody in Canada can offer a better selection of products. We are adding thousands of new categories every month to our online assortment
iv. In-store Pick-up and Web kiosks: If we don’t have something in-store, our Blue Shirts will assist customers to purchase the product online at one of our in-store web kiosks and have the product shipped to their home or the store for easy pick-up.
I was compensated for this post, but all view & opinions are my own.
Yesterday, my family, our friends and I made our way to the Canadian Tire Centre to meet a dinosaur. I had no what to expect or what my three little event critics would think.
There were many familiar faces in the crowd yesterday. It feels like homecoming weekend when I see the members of the Ottawa blogger community, hugs all around and chatting about what each one of us are up to this summer.
I have a very loud nervous laugh. When I saw Baby T Rex, I wasn’t sure what Beckett & Andie would think, it was truly very life like and I may have been a little scared myself.
Beckett snuggled up to me as close as he could and, of course, Andie-Pandie decided to pet that T Rex, while it snapped, growled and generally made the entire crowd feel like we had a real dinosaur in our midst.
This shot was taken one second after Baby T Rex grabbed my phone with his giant teeth! Yes, we were that close and that baby dino had a little attitude.
Then I kissed that Baby T Rex, I mean really a girl only lives once right?
This show promised to be exciting and eventful, if the media show was any indication, even my tween Katie is looking forward to the show.
Walking With Dinosaurs The Arena Spectacular will perform eight shows over the course of five days from Wednesday, Aug. 20, to Sunday, Aug. 24, as follows:
Wednesday, Aug. 20 – 7 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 21 – 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 22 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 23 – 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 24 – 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Tickets start at $19.50 and can be purchased by visiting www.CapitalTickets.ca or www.evenko.ca, by phone at 613-599-FANS (3267) or 1-877-788-FANS (3267); in person at each of the 10 participating Canadian Tire stores in Ottawa as well as the store in Perth, The Sens Store at Carlingwood Mall and Place d’Orléans, any Ottawa Sports Experts location, Les Galeries de Hull, Ottawa Festivals and at the Canadian Tire Centre box office.
We will see you at the show!
Sherrie-Mae
I might have an issue with my kitchen. As strange as it sounds I love waking up each morning to an empty sink as well as clean & dish free counters. It starts my morning off on a good foot and makes me feel a little less frantic.
However, cleaning my kitchen is the last thing I want to do each night just before bed. Scotch-Brite contacted me about their new line of kitchen cleaning products designed to help make clean up less of chore.
#CleanFeelsGood
Scotch-Brite has two new Ultra Scrub Sponges to rid the mess in my kitchen. The new Ultra Appliance Scrub Sponge targets my microwave and toaster oven messes. One side scours away the mess and the other side wipes the appliance clean. I throw the sponge in my dishwasher after each use to rinse the bacteria away and reuse over and over again.
#CleanFeelsGood
I also used the Ultra Stainless Steel Sink Rejuvenator which shines worn out sinks, which leaves my kitchen sink spick and span, at least until the next meal. I have also found this sponge particularly useful at the cottage with burnt on grime from the campfire cooking. It brings my pots back to the original shine with little effort.
The entire line up of Scotch-Brite Stay Clean was impressive. However, even more impressive was how my AndiePandie got involved in the cleaning process. She is an experimenter at heart, just like her Dad the chemical engineer. AndiePandie wanted to see if Scotch-Brite Dishwand actually worked. While she was testing, all the leftover dishes from our spaghetti supper ended up sparkly clean. A complete win-win situation if you ask me!
I will be giving away a Scotch-Brite prize pack to one of my readers. This is the same prize pack I received and it is chock full of all the tools you need to keep your kitchen clean. Just in case you don’t win, I also have a coupon for my readers to use to purchase one of the handy Scotch-Brite Stay Clean tools for your own kitchen.
Win this Scotch-Brite Prize Pack!
Leave a comment letting me know which Scotch-Brite Stay Clean tool you are most excited to try? You can enter once per day! I will email the winner on August 11th, 2014.
Swimming, gymnastics, running, and kayaking…you name it and my family and I are doing it! We are a busy family and one of the problems we face is eating healthy food on the go. We already pack fresh fruits & veggies for our commute between events, but we were missing the protein needed to keep our bodies functioning efficiently. The girls and I recently tried Maple Leaf Natural Selections Protinis snacks.
The easy to open and compact Protinis gives a powerful protein punch especially when the girls are training for gymnastics events & swim meets. KT enjoyed the Oven Roasted Chicken with Mango, AndiePandie thought the Oven Roasted Chicken and Apple was the perfect snack during breaks at the club and I enjoyed the Mild Salsa Chicken as my snack of choice.
I completely feel like the parent in this commercial, running from practice to practice and consistently being late!
The new PROTINIS™ snacks are available in eight flavours including Oven Roasted Chicken, Sweet Thai Chili Chicken, Mild Salsa Chicken, Honey Garlic Chicken, Oven Roasted Chicken and Cranberry, Oven Roasted Chicken and Superfruit, Oven Roasted Chicken and Mango, and Oven Roasted Chicken and Apple. They are available at major grocery stores across Canada and retail for approximately $4.99. Each retail pack comes with two PROTINIS™ snacks.
I would love to know what you think of Protinis! I will be giving 2 of my lucky readers, 5 free product coupons to test out these tasty protein packed snacks.
Beckett even decided to try a Protinis on his last field trip. His teacher made a comment to him about how healthy his snack was, he was very proud!
Just leave a comment and tell me what is your favourite on the go snack? You can enter once per day!
For an extra entries:
1. Follow me on Instagram and leave a comment with your handle.
2. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment with your handle.
3. Like my Facebook Fan Page and leave me a comment that you did!
Take a moment to find out more about Maple Leaf Products on their Facebook Fan Page & Twitter social media channels. You can follow along with the conversation by using the hashtag #Protinis.
Thanks for entering, the winners will be chosen on June 30th and notified by email.
There are only 29 days left until the end of the school year, which means that it is time to update my winter ready wardrobe. My children and I spend most of the summer in or around the water. My children swim each day at the community outdoor pool, then splash around in our own pool and play by the lake side at the cottage on the weekends. Old Navy has all of our stylish summer fashion & swimwear needs taken care of with their 2014 budget friendly collection.
There are several stylish collections that I could wear to a variety of summer events. The “Sophisticated Sport” collection is perfect for our summer pool parties with friends. It has bold colours but is supportive enough to play a game of beach volleyball.
The “Retro” collection gives beach goers the opportunity to channel their inner 50’s sex symbol like Bettie Page or Jayne Mansfield.
My sister and niece love the bright colour & geometric patters that the “Printed Perfection” collection offers for frequent beach goers.
I love the relaxed yet stylish poolside pairings. Wether I am watching the mini me’s participate in a local swim meet or we are fishing off the dock at the cottage, these items will keep me comfortable and ready to entertain at a moments notice. 
My biggest compliment is the affordability of all the collections. At these prices I can give all five Guthrie’s a wardrobe update thanks to Old Navy.
Spring is finally here and the entire Guthrie family is finally spending more time outside in the sunshine. We enjoy spending time together as a family, walking our dogs Snickers & Easton during the warm spring days. When the children were little one of the biggest challenges we found, while walking our dogs, was maneuvering the dog leashes around the pram or stroller wheels.
When we has our oldest daughter we had no clue what we needed, so we bought a hugely over priced & oversized pram. It was almost impossible to go for a walk without stopping to untangle the dog’s leashes from the pram wheels. When our second daughter came along, we gave up on strollers all together and used baby carriers. Our problem then became making sure the baby did not fall into the dog poop as we scooped our pups poop.
Can we go for a walk now?
Recently, as I was searching for a baby shower gift for a colleague, I came across a review opportunity for the SmarTrike® 4-in-1 Touch Steering Chic Tricycle. I was able to test this product and was immediately impressed by how easy it was to steer, the ability to switch between parent controlled with only the push of a button and the longevity of the product. I wish I had found this product just a few years earlier, I know this trike would have made a huge difference in our family dog walking experiences.
Great News! I am giving you, my readers, a chance to win the SmarTrike Chic in your choice of either Pink or Black.
.
SmarTrike® 4-in-1 Touch Steering Chic Tricycle
The 4-in-1 Touch Steering Chic tricycle is SmarTrike’s premium tricycle offering both parent and child the ultimate outdoor experience. Equipped with SmarTrike’s patented Touch Steering technology, the Chic enables parents to steer the trike just like a stroller, directing it easily in any direction with the lightest touch of the parent handle.
Its red navigator button allows for easy transition from parent steering control to child steering control. Its 4-in-1 capability allows the trike to grow with your child featuring 4 stages for children from the age of 10 months up to 3 years old. The stages include: Stage One – Parent-controlled trike: At 10 months, the baby is comfortably seated in the high back padded seat with full control in the parents hands. Stage Two – Guided trike: At 18 months, the back support is removed while still being fully controlled by the parent. Stage Three – Training trike: At 24 months, the footrest is folded in and the child learns how to pedal. Stage Four – Classic trike: At 36 months, the parent handle is removed and the child can ride independently. The SmarTrike Chic comes in two colours (black and pink) and includes several accessories including: telescopic parent handle, extendable UV protective canopy, bottle holder, toy phone, storage compartments and more. Age: 10 months – 3 years old MSRP: $169.99.
Entry is simple! Leave me a comment with the best piece of advice you have for new parents who want to get outside and active with their little ones? (one entry per day)
For bonus entries:
1. Follow me on Instagram (SherrieGuthrie) then come back and tell me your handle so I can follow you.
3. Follow me on Twitter @SherrieMae23 and/or @PRMomOttawa then come back and tell me your handle so I can follow you.
3. Like my PR Mom Ottawa Facebook Fan Page.
4. Follow my PR Mom Ottawa blog.
That is a total of 5 bonus entries and you can comment on my post everyday!
The winner will be notified via email on May 24th, 2014. Good luck to everyone & happy Spring!
Sherrie-Mae 🙂
This is more of a PSA for last minute buyers of Mother’s Day gifts. You all know how much I love coffee. Can you pass this along to my husband as well?
Unbelievable Stats:
Last year, Canadians spent $46.2MM at restaurants, jewelry stores and florists on Mother’s Day, according to data from the VISA network. This year, get ahead of the last-minute rush and give your mom something she’ll LOVE and reward yourself in the process! Whether the mom in your life is close by or far away, Starbucks has a number of ways to show her you’re thinking about her.
eGifting made easy – A gift for mom, a thanks for you!
Gift Card for themselves. Starbucks is proud to be one of the latest brands in Canada to accept Visa® Debit – as secure and simple way to use funds drawn from your bank account to make purchases on Starbucks.ca.
Buy one Get one – New Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea
If you haven’t tried new Teavana Oprah Chai tea, this Mother’s Day is a great time to indulge. Visit any participating Starbucks store this Sunday, May 11th and treat your mom to the NEW Teavana Oprah Chai Latte and receive one for yourself for free! The Buy One Get One offer is available on Mother’s Day only (May 11, 2014).
I will be taking part in all three of these Starbuck Canada specials this Mother’s Day. Remember there are only 6 days till Mother’s Day!
Sherrie-Mae
Secret Agents and Femme Fatales! Are you ready to party?
On Saturday, April 26, secret agents and femme fatales will gather incognito at the Canadian War Museum. Their mission: to put an end to child hunger in Ottawa… while having a great time, of course!
The Ottawa Gala, presented for a tenth year by TELUS, and featuring HOT 89.9, is the city’s premiere event for young professionals and has raised over $700,000 for local youth initiatives since its inception in 1993.
This year’s event will be held at the Canadian War Museum, and a stellar entertainment lineup will feature Ottawa Gala favourites HOT 89.9 and DJ ACRO, and newcomers The Hornettes. For more information please check out www.ottawagala.ca.
Date: April 26th, 2014
Time: 8 PM – 2 AM
Ticket Prices: General Admission – $65
VIP Tickets – $115 each
Time: 8 PM – 2 AM
Ticket Prices: General Admission – $65
VIP Tickets – $115 each
Baby shows are a chance for parents to see the latest toddler gear, check out the information sessions and get up to date on the latest baby trends. Lucky for families in Ottawa, The Baby Show is coming back on May 3rd & 4th, 2014.
This time around, it will be held at the Ottawa Convention Centre located in the heart of Ottawa on the banks of the Rideau Canal.
This show is perfect for those expecting a new family member or for those with children under five. The Baby Show is the largest pregnancy and early parenting show in our capital city. I have found important information about community groups, fitness activities and safety issues that are relevant to my lifestyle and needs at The Baby Show.
This year’s highlights include:
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Massage Area
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VIP Lounge
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The CReATe Photo Booth
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SavvyMom Seminar Series
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The Heath & Wellness Mat
and of course Contests & Giveaways!
Did I mention there are 3000 grab bags available at the door with a value of over $30 dollars each?
There will also be a bouncy castle, visits from Barney and Angelina Ballerina and many other kid friendly activities.
Adult tickets cost $12 each, children under 12 are admitted to the show for free.
I am giving away two pairs of tickets for The Baby Show. It is simple to enter, tell me your favorite baby item to give as a gift at a baby shower. The contest runs from April 15th until April 28th, you can enter once per day.
Good Luck and we will see you at The Baby Show!
I cannot wait to support the “Shop for Hope” campaign at my local Winners & HomeSense stores between Saturday April 12 and Sunday May 11, 2014. As Mother’s Day & Easter are quickly approaching I will purchasing specially marked Canadian Women’s Foundation products as the perfect gift for my loved ones. 
The net proceeds from the Shop for Hope collection, including t-shirts, pillows, jewellery boxes and mugs will help raise hope for women and children in local communities across Canada.
“With 50% of women in Canada experiencing physical or sexual abuse, violence against women is a critical issue. Through this annual campaign, we want to raise hope for women who have experienced abuse as well as build awareness about the issue of violence against women in Canada,” says Mina Mawani, President and CEO, Canadian Women’s Foundation. “Supporting and investing in emergency shelters and violence prevention programs helps provide women who have experienced abuse access to a safe place and opportunities to learn the skills they need to rebuild their lives and live free from violence.”
Shoppers can also purchase Hope decals for $2, $5 or $10 with all proceeds going directly to the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s 10th annual campaign to end violence against women.
I will feel good about purchasing these items to help support the Shop for Hope campaign. My favourite items are the decorative elephant, classic mugs and inspirational sports towels.
“WINNERS and HomeSense are committed to helping the Canadian Women’s Foundation raise hope and end violence against women. Together, along with other campaign partners, we are proud to have collectively raised more than $12 million over the past nine years to support women who have experienced abuse,” said Shannon Johnson, WINNERS HomeSense spokesperson. “Our carefully created beautiful Shop for Hope products inspire people to join this cause and help women in Canada who have experienced violence to rebuild their lives.”
I am giving away a Shop for Hope gift pack to one of my readers. The giveaway will begin on April 13th and end on April 28th.
It is easy to enter, just tell me what is your favourite Shop for Hope item. You can enter once per day!
For bonus entries:
1. Follow me on Instagram (SherrieGuthrie) then come back and tell me your handle so I can follow you.
3. Follow me on Twitter @SherrieMae23 and/or @PRMomOttawa then come back and tell me our handle so I can follow you.
PR Mom Ottawa 
