What Winnings are in The Zoo's Mailbox #1? {Canadian}

Now for our first latest installment of "What's in The Zoo's Mailbox". Besides the usual menagerie of bills and people trying to sell us homes (silly them, we already have a house) so far this week we received the following four items.

1. Splash N' Boots ~ Act Two DVD

There's no secret that the big purple dinosaur reigned supreme (past tense) in this house (not so in these people's homes). But there might just be a new Sheriff in town (as far as I'm concerned). Who am I talking about you ask? Well, the trio of "Splash N’ Boots", herein referred to as "Splash", "Boots" and their dog "Lily".


As part of my extracurricular activities, I won their latest DVD, "Act Two".

Initially, I was under the impression that I had won a Children's DVD. However, I started to question what this DVD was all about after reading the cover. You see, it kept mentioning how "hilarious" it was so I thought that it must be a comedy (for adults) because what kid's movies are called hilarious and have a warning that it "May cause laughing..."? Turns out I was right on both fronts (Once I thought that I was wrong...).

This was the "funniest, made my smile hurt and left me laughing through my tears" kid’s movie I have ever seen or even thought existed. Yes, it was that funny. It could have been because I watched it on my new 47" LED TV (had to get that in somehow, smile) but most likely it was because (just like the cover says) it was...

"A Whole Lot of Awesome".

I'm not sure what age their intended audience is but I'm pretty sure that it’s older than two. Don't get me wrong, the kids were stuck to the TV like two drooling dogs to a bone but I know that they didn't get most of the humour. Like the Chinley's and Fruit Explosion skits which are absolutely brilliant. I'm pretty sure that all the songs are their own and they fit the skits perfectly (as opposed to the skits fitting the songs). A really creative pair.

No matter, Artemis spent the entire time looking for scenes with Lily the Dog, herein referred to as "My Dog" and Max loved all the music especially the scene where a young boy (maybe 5 or 6, I'm not good with ages) was playing the drums like a pro. I'm sure that in no time at all they'll be yelling "Shish Kabob" and singing/dancing to the music.

By my estimate, the movie was around one hour long which is just perfect because right around the 55 minute mark was when the kids were done. The last skit, "Fransico Fransico" had me scratching my head. Not in a bad way just in a "what were they going for" way as the skit is all about toilets. So, in order to be true to my readership and integrity (I can totally be bought, smile), I sent them an email asking just that.

This morning, I received the following reply from Splash...

"...Really appreciate you posting the review on your blog (which I was really enjoying this morning). We are 100% independent (no labels, distribution, financial backing etc. so word of mouth has been our fuel since we started full-time 7 years ago.

Now to answer your question. We were also wondering what we were going for after we saw the final cut of the Toilet Skit. HA. The idea came from listening to my nephew talk about his latest obsession/new funny word "Toilets". From there we came up with a concept of what it would look like to put toilets in different rooms of the house. As random of an idea as it was it seemed to somehow fit the "Saturday Night Live for Kids" vibe this DVD had taken. Hope that sheds some light on the situation :)

Thanks again! Send us your address and we will send you Act 1. (Be warned this was made 4 years ago with zero budget and mostly filmed in my dad's chicken barn).

Hope you can catch a show sometime :)"

Splash hit the nail on the head when he wrote "Saturday Night Live for Kids Vibe". Couldn’t have said it better myself. For the sake of integrity (again, I can totally be bought), I should mention that in my email to them, I might have totally begged mentioned that I would like to have Act One. Chicken barn + Splash N' Boots = More Awesomeness! I can’t wait to tell you all about it. I haven’t been this excited since I found that FPC for Nordica Cottage Cheese (Google it, I think that it’s still available). I need to get out more.

In closing, in my opinion, this is exactly what the Children’s movie scene needs. The icing on the cake is that they’re Canadian (from Toronto).

I Canada.

You can see what they’re all about on their website (www.splashnboots.com) which amongst many things includes their Show Schedule and Free MP3 Download. I would definitely be interested in attending a show but I think that I’ll leave the kids at home.

Looking forward to having this on replay for many years to come. Thanks for your generous gift(s) Splash N' Boots!

2. Zaida Baby First Keepsake

Now, if you are related and/or know me and are planning on having a child, act surprised when I give this to you. Or, try not to look disappointed when I hand you a Geranium. Allergic to flowers? All is not lost because you or someone who loves you (more than me, smile) can buy you one of these.

When I opened the envelope, it was evident (even from the packaging) that Zaida Baby cared; about their product and their clients. The keepsake came in a protective bubble envelope and was wrapped in red tissue paper, with a white satin ribbon and customized "Zaida Baby" sticker. It also came with an overview handout. A really formal presentation.

An excerpt from their website under "15 Reasons to Love My First Keepsake" reads, "It's one-of-a-kind! Zaida Baby - My First Keepsake is in a class of its own! It is the first baby book to include a storybook for your belly. The first 95 pages of this keepsake begin your journey of positive pregnancy."

While you'll have to wait for the arrival of your child to see pictures of the journal (because I don’t want to ruin the surprise), I can tell you that I'm really excited to gift it to one of you!



I don't know what it is with me and winning contests from Canadian hosts (I won yet another one yesterday) but Zaida Baby is Canadian (Burlington, Ontario). Did I mention that...

Canadians Rock!

3. LeeLee Labels

In my obsession flare for entering contests, I've focused on a few areas in which I'd like to win. 1. A Tablet/Kindle Fire/Kindle, 2. All Things Kids, 3. Crafty Things, 4. Stationery (more on that below) and 5. Labels. Thinking of birthday gifts (I know you all are), feel free to pick something from the above list. Note that Staples is having a 20% off sale on tablets right now. In case you were wondering… But seriously, don’t buy me one because I'm.going.to.win.one.all.by.myself.with.no.help.if.it.takes.me.two.years.

Where was I?

If I’m anything like my mother, I like to be organized and labels fit the bill. What warms the cockles of my heart even more is Personalized Labels.

Yep, you guessed it, I won a Two Name Pack of personalized labels from LeeLee Labels.

What's great about this pack is that they split the order (54 labels per name in three different sizes) and let you have two names. How great is that!? The order process was really easy. You got to pick the font, background design, colour and if you wanted an icon or not. Even those not so computer savvy people could figure it out. We chose "The Zoo" and "The [My Last Name]'s" as we think that we’ll get the most use out of them this summer.

While they had tons of icons to choose from, and might have been able to accommodate me and/or even provided the service (I didn’t ask), I would have liked to have used my own "Zoo" logo.

The packaging is also worth mentioning. Ed and I were talking about all the uses for the clear plastic protective sleeve (that the labels came in) and their cardstock advertising in the front which can double as a bookmark (probably their intention as it has writing on the back). I always appreciate companies that try to “Reduce, Reuse or Recycle” their products, especially packaging which is an necessary evil.

Not to be fooled by false advertising (smile), I went around finding things to label and trying to test out their "claim" that the labels are Dishwasher, Laundry and Waterproof/UV resistant. After running their sippy cups through (on the top shelf of our new dishwasher), it appears that all is still in order. I’ll have to test their UV claim this summer (although I know that you don’t need sun to be affected by UV rays, you do need to venture outside to stick said labels to something and the weather has been less than stellar). Regardless, they have my seal of approval.

I’m looking forward to the next time (one has to think positively) when I’ll get some with each of the kid’s names on it.

4. Set of Four Notecards from Hans My Hedgehog
And last but not least (for this post anyways), I managed to add to my stationery obsession stash with this four pack from Hans My Hedgehog.

It was one joyous surprise after another.

The notecards had a long piece of white ribbon (tied in a bow) attached to them so as to keep the personalized notecard contained (more on that later). Of course I kept the ribbon for my craft stash.

The drawings were more detailed and "alive" than I remembered seeing in her Etsy shop. I originally thought that they were on white cardstock with yellow envelopes and wouldn’t have still had a rave review but it turns out that the notecards are mounted on yellow cardstock (I love yellow). It really makes them popout.

But let’s forget about the notecards for a minute because it’s also about the envelopes. As you can see from the picture (I don’t do them justice), they too have drawings on them. Let’s just say that if you receive an empty envelope, you won’t be disappointed.

It was really nice to receive a personalized, handwritten note from Jessica (on the beautiful kangaroo card). The kind of special touch that makes a company stand out.

I have a few people that I will be sending “thank you/you rock” notes to and I’m sending these. When all this beauty has been shared with others, I’ll definitely be checking out her "Zoo" themed ones.

If you’re looking for something with the "Wow" factor, check out her shop at: Hans My Hedgehog

Besos, The Zoo

After the "I'm Cheap" Hair Debacle of 2011

After the Hair Debacle of 2011, I swore that I would never cut Max’s hair again.

(In order to build the drama factor, I won’t tell you that I cut his hair once in Mexico with no problems. In fact, he sat there quietly the whole time and afterwards cried because he wanted me to cut more. Enough said).

However, after looking at the Easter pictures, I couldn’t avoid it any longer. You see, this is much more than just cutting a few hairs on Max’s head. This action has historical significance.

It all began in the mid- 70’s. A mother who shall remain unnamed (starts with an “N” and ends with “anna”) thought that it would be cute to grow her son’s hair in a long bob. That was all fine and dandy until one day, their daughter decided to cut all her hair off (don’t worry, I'll bore you with the story later). Suddenly, people thought that the girl was the boy and vice versa. However, that’s not the point of the story because even if said girl hadn’t cut her hair, the boy’s “do” (more like a “don’t) would have still made you think “What was his Mother thinking?”



So, one day, I got up the courage to ask the mother exactly that. Her response, “I thought he looked cute”. Pretty near made me run and grab my scissors because that was exactly what I was thinking (about Max’s hair). If she could have been so delusional misguided, maybe I was too.

So, I did it. What I said I wouldn't do (there's a first time for everything). I cut his hair.

The before



and after...

The "I’m Giving Away Over $50* Free" Giveaway

I could have titled this post many things like the "Poo or get off the Post" giveaway (I have to keep things "Dad" friendly) because it's taken me so long to get things ready or the "This is my First Giveaway So Go Easy on Me".

Instead, I thought that I'd deceive you make it really clear that I’m giving something away for free (legal note: nothing in life is free...).

On to the free part.

I am giving away a bunch of coupons from the following companies; A Mother’s Touch, Crest, Breathe Right, Gerber, Celestial Seasonings, Johnson’s, Similac, Slim Fast, McDonald's, Boursin, All Bran, Irish Spring, Affresh, Purina, Palmolive, Arm and Hammer, Oxy Clean, Tide, Disney and more totaling over $50CDN! Note that all the coupons listed do not state "non-transferable" and the stash includes an FPC worth over $7 (yes, I'm that nice)! Note: That I'll continue to add to the stash until April 30.

I could trade them but I'm too lazy so generous. The catch, I'd like you to help me out. Answer a couple of questions and/or show some love.

This giveaway is open to Anyone, however, I will only mail the coupons to a Canadian address. Now's your time to get in good with Aunt Mildred up in the Great White North! There is no mandatory, do whatever you want. Please leave one comment per response/action. Please provide your email address so that I can get in touch with you if you win.

Please sign in to your blog (so that I can follow you) but if you don’t have a blogger blog, feel free to comment as "Anonymous". If you don't want to post your name and/or email on the post, please pick a nickname (how do I know your name isn't Donald Duck) and send me an email so that I can get in touch with you if you win.

1. Who said/what's the origin behind "put your money where your mouth is"? Note that I am fully aware that only the first poor fool responder needs to technically answer the question and the rest of you may/will copy it. I'm fine with that (smile).
2. Why don't giveaway hosts and/or suppliers like to mail to PO boxes?
3. Why am I getting an error message along the lines of "max number of blogs I can follow is 200 (follow + write)" from Networked Blogs? It won't let me follow more than 200 yet I know that other people follow way more. What's the deal?
4. I sent an email to that “Brent Riggs Guy” from Linky Followers because I don't have the original code to add the Linky Widget to my sidebar. I know that upon registration, they clearly state that you’re supposed to keep it and that you can’t get it back but my window was cutoff for some reason (I always have this problem with Linky) so I couldn't copy it. I think that Brian is on a realllllllllllly long coffee break. What can I do?
5. Subscribe to my blog via email or RSS feed (You must verify your subscription, Link in the right hand column).
6. Like my FB page (http://www.facebook.com/JourneysofTheZoo2). Only do this if you want posts about giveaways (although technically, you can just hide all posts from me, which I’m totally fine with because "what you don’t know can’t hurt you").
7. Please email me the simple to follow code/directions to add a Facebook "Like" button on my blog (for my blog and/or a specific page, I'm not picky).
8. Send me a Friend Request (http://www.facebook.com/JourneysofTheZoo2). Only do this if you want posts about giveaways (although technically, you can just hide all posts from me, but you wouldn't want to do that...). P.S. Please let me know if you can't see the "Add Friends" button.
9. Share the giveaway on FB (Link at the bottom of the post, Provide direct link).
10. Follow me on Twitter (@journeyofthezoo, Link in the right hand column).
11. Tweet about the giveaway (Link at the bottom of the post, Provide direct link).
12. Follow my blog on BlogLovin (Link in the right hand column).
13. Follow my blog via GFC (Link in the right hand column).
14. Follow my blog with Google Circles (Link in the right hand column).
15. Share the giveaway on Google+ (Link at the bottom of the post, Provide direct link).
16. Follow my blog via Networked Blogs (Link in the right hand column).
17. Follow me on Pinterest (Link in the right hand column).

P.S. Feel free to comment and not enter yourself in the contest. I know some of you are like that...

The coupons are valid only in Canada and expire from June 30, 2012 to July 31, 2013 so I’ll make the contest run until 11:59EDST on April 30. I will use the "Official Zoo Recognized Method" of randomly selecting the winner (a.k.a. Get Ed to pick a number). The sole person that enters this contest winner will have 72 hours to respond to my email. If they don't respond Ed will pick another number.

Note that The Zoo will be away from April 24-27,2012 so I will not be answering emails during this time. Check out future posts to see where we’re going/where we’ve been.

Sorry for the length of this post. Enter away. All constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.

Good Luck!

This has been posted at ContestCanada.net and Contest Linkies

  Besos, The Zoo

The Kids First Easter Egg Hunt and Crafting Addictions

The kids first Easter egg hunt was a huge success!

They caught on after we showed them the first egg. Nanna was the mastermind and hid all the eggs where WE couldn't find them filled the eggs with blueberries, raisins and peanuts.




No, I don't offer them chocolate (they have had it) because I'm not always the best with making sure that they (read: I) brush their teeth.

Everyone got into the spirit.


After the hunt, Nanna had to go home. We were sad to see her go (note that the pictures do not reflect our sorrow). Thanks for all your help Nanna!


Next up, Uncle Andrew comes for a visit in two weeks and Poppa shortly thereafter.

I've been bitten by the Crafting and Spring Re-Arranging bug. Anyone know a cure?

Ed and I have "papers everywhere" (kind of like a new phrase that Artemis says only different, not sure where she learned that one...). Anyways, we have more papers than most because we're also running a business. In turn, most of the important papers get filed away only to be found three months after they are needed.

I found this tutorial and was all over this idea.

I went to where I store all my junk treasures (in the portable) and found this old mirror with beveled glass of my Nanna Betty’s (Nanna gave it to me).



I looked in my “wall of fabric” and found a great piece that would complement my red accent theme. I then went to Ed’s workshop for the metal and some assistance. Wouldn’t you know it, they don’t make things like they used to. When we turned over the mirror to remove the glass, we realized that they had installed a layer of galvanized steel to the back (we thought it would be cardboard, more on that in a minute). So, all we did was get out the hot air gun, scrape off the paint (on the back), spray a couple of coats of red paint, hang and voila! I know that it’s not exactly the same but it’s functional and that’s the important part.



On Thursday, while Nanna was babysitting the kids, Ed and I went into Ottawa for my bi-annual trip. Amongst other things (think Russian Caviar), we spent 2.5 tortuous glorious hours in Ikea and finished the bathroom transformation. It went from this…



to this...


To this.

Not to give away our secret but we purchased two Billy Bookcases and put them front to back. I think I just gave away our secret. We were really lucky because they were the perfect width so it almost looks like custom shelves (especially if you squint your eyes a ton).

We didn't install the piece of crap thin black cardboard backing. Instead, I cut a panel off, applied glow in the dark stickers to it that I got at Lazarus House (I'm going to buy more at Dollarama if they have them) and got an instant solar system!

My reasoning for doing it this way was because I'm all about keeping things simple. If we move (no plans yet), I can bring it with us (don’t tell Ed that I wrote that because he thinks that I travel with everything and the kitchen sink anyways) and/or I change my mind (never happens). All we have to do is remove three nails and poof. Sometimes the stickers are difficult to get off or the appliques are only one-time-use. Not easy. The black cardboard looks abit harsh against the soft yellow wall colour but my craftiness is not a perfected art (yet).

The other night, Teddy had a mysterious accident and this is how we found him in the morning.



Being the handy gal that I am (read above for proof), I just pulled out my trusty needle and thread (in my newly organized craft room, I'll save that for another post as I don't want to alienate my non-crafty readers) and sewed him back together, tight, like never coming back off again, ever. I swear that I checked to make sure that his LEG WAS ON THE RIGHT WAY (or is that the wrong way)!? Thankfully, Artemis hasn't realized the problem yet. That is until she reads this blog post…



Hope that you had a Happy Easter. We were thinking of you.

Act Three and Some Changes

Nanna arrived yesterday so now I have some time to spend updating you on all things "Zoo".

First off, when is this play going to end, seriously. Here is a picture from a few nights ago. They eventually just ran out of steam mid "let's see how big a mess we can make". Yes, we just left them there. I follow the "don't move a sleeping child" motto.



This is also perfect as a "before" picture. I mean, since everything else has changed (country, home, beds, language), why not change their room around (do I ever have spring fever).

Here's the after picture. I still have to put things on the wall. Moving deck chairs on the Titanic as far as Ed is concerned but I think it looks way better.


Since we're on a before/after theme, I thought that I'd post a picture of our living room before we went to Mexico. Picture Pending. Note that Ed just bought me a new computer and I haven't been able to find my old pictures. Imagine faux wood panelling, baseboards on the ceiling and crown moulding on the floors, plastic brown switches/covers, drafts coming in everywhere (the house didn't have a vapour barrier) and a big boat anchor 1990's tv.

And after.


We still have to buy a standing lamp for behind my black vinyl chair (hopefully at Ikea tomorrow) and put things on the wall (a general theme in this house, perhaps this weekend). Yes, my house looks this neat all the time (smile). Just so that I don't alienate any of my "not-so-neat" followers I thought I'd show you what I moved out of the way.


To the inexperienced eye those of you that have never seen our house, you'd probably think "What changed? It just looks normal". But to us it's a major difference. We’re really pleased.

In addition, we got a portable Whirlpool dishwasher at Finnerty's on Friday night (which we have yet to use) and are scoping out big flat screen tvs tomorrow (I don't want to talk about it).

So there you have it. Tons of changes but still the same ole, same ole.