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Getting Healthy and Saving Money in 2019 With My PC Insiders Subscription

February 19, 2019 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the PC Insiders subscription service. All opinions are 100% mine.

After giving birth to Cormac, I was surprised by how long it took my body to recover. My energy level was very low and I couldn’t seem to get rid of that last ten pounds of baby weight.

I didn’t worry much about that sluggishness and extra weight for Cormac’s first year, especially since I was breastfeeding. But after this last Christmas, I decided it was time to jump in and get healthy again!

Part of my new healthy lifestyle involves following a new, healthy meal plan. That means doing a weekly shop of all the food I need for each nutritious meal. [Read more…]

Grilling For Easy Entertaining

February 14, 2019 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Hosting a dinner party should be a pleasant experience, but too often it can turn into a stressful ordeal instead. It can be daunting to divide your attention between meal preparation and your guests’ conversations.

Then, there is also the challenge of figuring out in what order to cook foods so that everything turns out just right.

But what if there was something that could help you breeze through all this mayhem? Well, there is, and it’s likely right there in your back yard: your grill!

Here are three reasons you should be firing up your grill and using your favourite BBQ party menu ideas when entertaining guests:

[Read more…]

4 Tips to Help Busy Moms Get Active in 2019

February 7, 2019 by Kathryn 1 Comment

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by AfterShokz and PTPA. Views expressed belong to Mommy Kat and Kids and are not influenced in any way.

After giving birth to my baby Cormac almost a year and a half ago, I found that, for the first time in my life, I really struggled to get my body back into shape.

There were lots of reasons for that. I was in my mid-thirties instead of my mid-twenties. I ended up diagnosed with a thyroid deficiency, which had been sapping my energy without my realizing. And my extremely active little baby left me so exhausted that I just couldn’t get motivated to get back in shape.

But in 2019, that all changes! When my older boys started school after the holidays, I knew the time had come to stop making excuses and start making changes! And if you’re a busy mom struggling to find motivation too, these are my top 4 tips for helping a busy mom exercise more in the new year!

[Read more…]

Tips for Bringing Out the Best Stay-at-Home Mom in You

January 20, 2019 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Whether you’re a new parent or a proud mama of a few beautiful babies, your title as a stay-at-home mom comes with all the perks you would assume it would (plus more than a few headaches).

Staying home and caring for little ones can be one of the most rewarding decisions a mom can make. However, it’s easy to get stuck in a stay-at-home mom schedule that may leave you feeling stagnant and unbalanced.

mom with kids working

Being a mom is hard work, and when you tack working from home on top of caring for your family, things can easily start to boil over and drive you a little crazy. When it comes to keeping sane, adding these eight tips to your stay-at-home mom schedule will keep you grounded, happy, and most importantly, healthy! [Read more…]

5 Easy Methods To Help Moms Save Money for a Family Vacation

January 13, 2019 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

When it comes to taking your dream vacation, there’s almost always two main obstacles in the way – time and money. Time can be a hard factor to manage, because between work, chores and family, there’s very little spare time left. You can’t necessarily give yourself more vacation days or ignore your child’s school schedule.

But money can be much easier to manage. The great thing about money is that you have two options when you need it – earn more money or spend less of it. Believe it or not, there are plenty of manageable ways to earn some extra money and if your goal is planning some nice budget holidays, you probably won’t have to save for very long.

To help you make the trip of your dreams, here are five easy methods that you can use to help earn money for a family vacation. [Read more…]

3 Ways to Save On Your Energy Bill During the Winter

December 13, 2018 by Kathryn 1 Comment

As a busy mom, you have enough to handle over the winter months. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays and the arrival of colder weather, household costs can start to climb quickly.

During the holiday season, it is pretty common to want to save money anywhere possible. One way to save is by cutting costs on energy usage and by preventing inefficiency. There are several factors that contribute to higher utility bills in the winter, and recognizing these factors is the first step to lowering energy costs.

feet by fire

Consider these energy saving tips to improve utility bill expenses during the winter months!

Adjust the Temperature

Keep the thermostat as low as possible while still staying comfortable. Wearing extra clothing can help in keeping the thermostat lower. Whenever you are out of the house, turn the thermostat back 10-15 degrees. This can also be done at night while you’re sleeping. Lowering the thermostat can help you save 10% or more on utility bills. By using a programmable thermostat (or a smart thermostat like the Nest Learning Thermostat), this can be even simpler to achieve, as you can adjust the unit remotely as you’re on your way home from work, or set it to turn on an hour before you wake up.

Weatherization

Weatherizing your house will aid in keeping the house warm, while keeping costs down. Utilizing insulating drapes on windows is an extra step to ensuring the cold air stays outside where it belongs. Finding and sealing leaks, gaps, or holes around pipes, chimneys, unfinished spaces and any other opening is important. Fill gaps with caulk, foam, or weather stripping as required. Weather stripping can be used on doorways and windows as well to seal out frigid air. In a pinch, you can even cover windows with heavy duty plastic on a frame to seal warm air in.

HVAC Maintenance

Replace filters for the furnace and heat pumps monthly, or as often as needed. It is also necessary to regularly assess and make repairs on your HVAC system to ensure it is working efficiently. Checking the system for leaks, breaks, rust, or corrosion should be done regularly to ensure safety. Read this guide for more information on how to get the most out of your furnace, and how to know when an issue is serious enough to call for professional help.

sensi wi-fi thermostat on wall

Venting and ducts should be inspected for leaks or damage. These issues need to be addressed quickly to avoid the added cost and headaches of compounding problems. To further ensure efficient heating, you may choose to upgrade or replace your old HVAC system. Upgrading can be completed by retrofitting the furnace or boiler with the most energy-efficient options.

There are also rebates available so you don’t have to break the bank when you invest in a new unit. Some companies offer up to $3,200 in combined savings and mail-in rebates on featured furnaces. The right HVAC specialists will also offer protection plans to help you avoid unexpected repair costs. These plans often include:

Annual maintenance by licensed, professional technicians
Live telephone support 24/7, 365 days a year
No pre-inspection – which makes it easy to get coverage
No-term contracts

There are several factors that contribute to higher utility bills; by considering these energy saving tips you will not only stay warmer, but save money this winter, keeping you and your family — and your wallet — happier!

The Top 3 Best Double Strollers for Twins

December 12, 2018 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

There’s nothing more exciting than learning that you have a child on the way. And things get even more exciting when you discover you are carrying twins!

As much fun as babies are, handling twins (or a newborn and a toddler) can be a daunting task, since both will still need lots of that motherly love and attention. So, how do you solve the problem? Start by making sure you have a great double stroller!

baby boy in stroller

Double strollers for twins can be a massive investment, but they’re an integral tool for allowing you to attend to two children at once. If you’re looking for the best double stroller for your twins, here are my top 3 picks for double strollers you should check out:
[Read more…]

Protect Your Home and Your Family By Testing for Radon

December 5, 2018 by Kathryn 24 Comments

For most of my life, I lived in a century-old house in small-town Saskatchewan. And while I loved the community and our established property with its large size and mature trees, the house itself was desperately outdated.

Now, after moving into my family’s custom-built dream house, life couldn’t be more different. While we’ll have lots of landscaping to do on our six acres over the next few years, the house itself is perfect in every way, and totally up-to-date.

With three boys in our family, the safety features of our house are something I especially appreciate. In addition to the hard-wired smoke detectors, we finally have a carbon monoxide detector as well! But recently I learned that when it comes to safe indoor air, there’s more than just carbon dioxide to be worried about.

In fact, the radioactive gas radon is potentially a bigger threat to my family’s health than carbon monoxide. I hadn’t heard of testing for radon before, but after learning about the damage that long-term exposure can cause, I want to make sure our new house has safe levels of radon!

Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in Canada and is present in some level in all buildings, since it occurs naturally in soil and rock. In areas where more uranium is present in the soil, radon levels tend to be higher. It seeps into houses any place there is an opening, from floor drains and sumps to cracks in foundation walls.

Of course, not all levels of radon require attention. Currently, the Canadian guideline for radon in indoor air is 200 Bq per cubic metre. This is a significant reduction from the previous guideline of 800 Bq per cubic metre, as new information about radon’s health risks have become available.

But the only way to know if your home has a high concentration of radon is to test for it! Whether you hire a professional to test your home’s radon levels or buy a testing kit and do the job yourself, having knowledge about your home’s radon levels will help you protect your house’s value and your family’s health.

Testing kits are between $30 and $95 and generally collect radon levels over a three-month period or so. The test is then sent to a laboratory to be analyzed and the results are sent back. And if your home does show high levels of radon, there’s no need to panic!

Lowering the levels of radon in your home may be as simple as sealing up cracks and openings in your home. And even more labour-intensive solutions, like a radon mitigation system, generally only cost between $500 and $3000. These radon mitigation systems use a pump and a ventilation system to draw radon through a pipe system and ventilate it outside the home.

Testing my home for radon is something that is going to give me even more peace of mind about my home. And unless there’ some major change being done to a building, it only needs to be done every few years to help ensure my family’s health.

Learn more about the dangers of radon, and find places in your province to purchase test kits or find radon measurement and mitigation professionals at www.takeactiononradon.ca. The minimal cost of a kit is well worth making sure that radon isn’t jeopardizing your family or your house’s value!