Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

You carefully track your kids around the playroom, armed with your point-and-shoot camera, waiting for that magic moment when they'll hold still for one second. Just. One. Second. Pleeeease? Hold it, and snap!

You got the shot, only to review it a few seconds later and find that's it's a whirl of blur. Artistic, maybe. But not exactly something you can send to Grandma and Grandpa. It happens to the best of us, doesn't it?

Whether you're an amateur or a professional, mastering a few photography basics can make more of your snapshots worthy of framing and displaying. The following pro tips from Toronto-based photographer, Jennifer Pearson, will help you to take better photos starting...now.

1. Motion
It may seem counter-intuitive, but holding your camera as still as possible, while tracking your moving subject, can keep your subject in focus. That's what I didn't do right in this shot:

Moving traffic on Toronto's Gardiner Expressway blurs while the sunset remains clear with a steady hand. Photo by Jen Melo

Had I tracked the traffic with my camera as it zoomed by, I could've gotten a clearer shot of the cars, but that probably would've blurred the lovely sunset. And so, I learned, every shot is a photography lesson.

According to Pearson, manually adjusting camera settings in favour of a quick shutter speed (choose a higher number) can help you to capture your action shots at their best. And that's probably what I should've done to get a clearer shot of the zooming cars. Noted for next time.

But video just might be the best way to capture the action, so consider shooting video clips too. Had I spent more time with my new Panasonic Lumix GF3X's instruction manual, I'd have known that it has an auto-focus function that can lock its focus on a subject while in video mode, and gradually shift its focus to another moving subject at my fingertip's command.

2. Lighting

Light and shadows add dimension to my treasured hibiscus bloom, non? Photo by Jen Melo

Whether you're shooting with a flash indoors or outside in natural lighting, know where your light is and pay attention to those shadows.

When photographing outdoors seek "open shade," a photographer's trick for ensuring a flattering photo. Position your subject under an awning for example, with the sun behind you, and over your shoulder. This magical lighting can help make your subject's eyes look bright and vivid while eliminating squinting and distracting shadows.

When shooting indoors and flash is too harsh, consider manually adjusting your camera's exposure setting or directing the flash upwards, "bouncing" it off a low, light-coloured ceiling.

3. Framing
"Pay attention to your background," says Pearson. "It can make or break your shot."

Look for simple and/or interesting backgrounds like a brick wall, for example, to make your subject stand out. For picture-perfect results, look for natural or architectural borders and frames such as archways and door frames.

You can find plenty of framing options at playgrounds too, but if you want to avoid having a bunch of strangers' kids in your shot, follow Pearson's advice: "Get there early."

4. Composition
Experiment with the rule of thirds. Break up your frame into thirds vertically and horizontally. As you look through the viewfinder or at your camera's LCD screen, align your subject with the lines or place a focal point such as a person's eyes where the lines intersect. "It can make for a more interesting shot," Pearson explains.

5. Creativity
With digital photography enabling you to photograph and delete without incurring film and photo processing costs (remember those days?), dare to try various approaches and unleash your creativity. Alternate close-up shots with wide shots, people and objects, to help tell a story. Use photo filter options (if available on your camera) and see your photos in new and different ways.

More expert photography tips:

• Play with angles. Shoot from above, below and on the same level as your subject.
• Forget the fake smiles and try some candid shots. Avoid instructing, "smile!" before every shot. Some of Pearson's most "soulful" portraits come from natural facial expressions, free from coaching.
• Use the grid feature on your camera's view, not only to work with the rule of thirds, but also to use the straight lines as guides. Say goodbye to crooked shots of horizons or tall buildings.
• I've said it before but it's worth repeating. Read your camera's instruction manual and take time to get to know your camera's settings. There could be plenty of unexplored features just waiting to turn your photos into wonderful works of art. Or at least some answers on how to find that shutter speed setting that'll help you to get that perfect portrait of your active child.

Motion shots are my biggest challenges so some of my favourite subjects -- kids and pets -- are commonly the sources of my photo woes but I'm learning more with every shot I take.

And now, I'd love to hear your thoughts on your most common photography challenges so please post a comment below. Would you rather photograph a squirmy two-year old or a hyperactive dog? How about shooting both the dog and the kid together? I welcome -- and look forward to -- your photography tips.

This week's blog is a guest post from Wendy Graves, our senior Life editor.  – Teresa

Who has time to sit down for a family dinner anymore?

Between two busy working parents and kids running off to hockey practice one night then piano lessons the next, how often is the entire family even home at the same time?

So eating a meal together? At the same table? Even a couple times a week? That’s crazy talk.

Family dinners aren't as common as they use to be (image by Nordiska museet via Flickr).

Researchers at the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York City have studied the importance of family mealtime extensively. Here are just 2 of their rather sobering findings:
• Teens who have fewer than 3 family dinners per week are nearly twice as likely to report receiving mostly C’s or lower grades compared to those who have 5 to 7 meals a week.
• Teens who have fewer than 3 family dinners are twice as likely to have used tobacco, nearly twice as likely to have used alcohol, and one and a half times likelier to have used marijuana.

And at least two other studies have shown the nutritional benefits of eating together:
• Families eat more healthfully, regularly getting higher intakes of calcium, fibre, iron and vitamins B6, B12, C and E (Archives of Family Medicine).
• Children eat more fruits and veggies and less unhealthy snack foods (Journal of American Dietetic Association).

One study has shown that kids who have dinner regularly with their family eat more fruit (image by Rick McCharles via Flickr).

And even without scientific studies we know that family mealtime will:
• Give kids the chance to talk with their parents and siblings, which will not only expand their vocab beyond what they’re learning in school but also teach them about the give-and-take of conversation.
• Give parents the chance to keep up to date on their kids’ activities, who they’re hanging out with and whether their moods or behaviours are swinging like a pendulum.

Here are 5 ways you can make family mealtime easier for you and yours:
1. Turn Sunday into Family Cooking Day. Double a favourite recipe or two and set yourself up for quick, hot meals later in the week. Get the kids involved as well – they’re more likely to eat something they had a hand in preparing (pizza, anyone?). Here are a few of our favourite family meals.

2. No time to spend the whole day in the kitchen? Why not take advantage of Supperworks, a meal-preparation service that allows you to put a healthy and delicious meal on your family’s plate. In two hours you can prepare up to a dozen freezable entrées, all with fresh and nutritious ingredients. The Bring Your Child Sessions allow you to make it a family affair. Best of all? Somebody else does the dishes. While Supperworks locations are currently only in Ontario, they can deliver anywhere in Canada.

3. On nights when your son or daughter has hockey practice, pack up the meal (it can be as simple as sandwiches, veggie sticks and fruit or yogurt) and have a picnic at the arena.

4. Teach your teens a handful of easy recipes – something simple that doesn’t even require the stove – that they can make when they get home from school so everyone can sit down together once you're home from work. Or have the kids assemble the ingredients of an easy one-pot dish (our online food editor, Colleen Tully, suggests this delicious Roasted Vegetable Pasta Bake) that you can pop in the oven when you step in the door. (It's never too early to encourage your kids to be active in the kitchen.)

5. Pick up a serving or two of the prepared but nutritious food, such as a roast chicken, at the grocery store. Serve some mixed veggies as a healthy side.

Do you have a secret to making mealtimes easier for your family?

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,
But children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
(A verse from the poem Baby's don't keep by Ruth Hulbert Hamilton)

The recent birth of a friend's new baby and my attempt to organize a bin full of old photos found me taking a trip down memory lane.

I remember feeling so busy, overwhelmed, frustrated and ohhhhh so sleep-deprived when the kids were in their infant and toddler years. I remember saying many times, "I can't wait until they're past this stage."

And now as I sit here today, I'm finding myself looking at photos of pudgy little faces and wishing I could turn back time.

I wish the more relaxed, confident me of today could go back into those photos of yesteryear, grab hold of those babies and mother them all over again - this time with the newfound knowledge that only time and experience can provide.

Oh how I loved those baby booties

Well, I can't go back. I can only pay it forward.
And so...
To my new mom friend and to all new and expectant moms,

If I could turn back time...

I would worry less and love more. I wouldn't allow my baby to cry out for me from her crib because I was told that she needed to learn to soothe herself to sleep when all I wanted to do was hold her close.

I wouldn't feel frustrated that my 10 month old was still nursing through the night. Instead, I would look at those 3 a.m. moments as a blessing, as special bonding times between just the two of us.

I wouldn't care that the dishes needed to be done or that dinner needed to be prepped. I would cuddle my baby and enjoy a little peaceful slumber in the middle of the afternoon without a care in the world.

I would listen to everyone's well-intended advice but in the end, I would follow my heart and I would allow myself to just sit and stare and love my baby without feeling guilty about what I really should be doing. Laundry be damned.

I wouldn't have thought twice about how I could ever love another child as much as the first during my second pregnancy. I would have known that as soon as I laid eyes on him, my heart would instantly grow.

I wouldn't be so quick to rush them out of their bassinets, their high chairs, their cribs, their bottles, their strollers. They'll get there soon enough.

I know that now.

...if only I could turn back time.

September is like New Years for me.

The kids are back in school, fresh start, filled with hopes and new adventures.

Both my boys are in school for the first time this year.

Yeah! Junior Kindergarden and First Grade - here they come.

This time of the year I start thinking about their futures - and what early steps we can do now to ensure a better chance for them.

So, step one is considering a RESP -

Registered Education Savings Plan- a tax deferred investment. The federal government matches 20 per cent of your contributions up to a maximum of $500 per year.

Education can be expensive.

Benefits: A tax-sheltered education savings account.  Money earned isn't taxed until it is withdrawn by the beneficiary.  Since most students have limited income, they will likely pay very little tax..

Your Options.  If you child decides not to continue his/her education you can withdraw the earnings in cash.  Do note you will have to then pay the tax on that amount.  Or, your plan may allow you to transfer to another sibling.

1.  Do a little research online at  Human Resources and Skills Development. So you can ask the right questions, specific to your family's needs, to your financial institution when you're ready.

2. Apply for your child's Social Insurance Number at Service Canada There is no charge for the application.

3. Open an RESP account. Book an appointment with your financial institution to discuss what best suits your family.  Before you commit, please make sure you understand all your options.

For more information call 1-800-O-Canada (1-800-622-6232)

One step at a time.

Do you already contribute to a RESP's or have your own savings plan in motion?

Already...
It's time to put away the sand toys, beach towels and swim suits.
It's time to replace them with backpacks, fall sweaters and new sneakers.
It's time to set the alarm clocks once again and it's time to get back to routine.

The kids are headed back to school.

We sat down and took an inventory of all their school supplies.
Yay, all their backpacks are in great shape.
No need to shop for new ones this year.
I throw their pencil cases in the washing machine and they come out looking as good as new.
We spend the better part of the morning sharpening pencils.
Wow. How did we ever accumulate so many?
We're definitely not shopping for any of those.

At the end of the day, the only things on my shopping list was lunch bags, lined paper and refillable juice cups.

It's the only thing that made me happy.

Sigh.

As the years go by, I'm becoming less and less excited about the ring of the back to school bell.

The kids seem soooo much older on the first day of school.
Watching them head out the door with fresh sneakers and new haircuts always makes me think of the years gone by.
How little they were the year before...
How tall they've gotten...
How much more mature they seem.

Am I crazy?

Please tell me you feel the same way too.
Please tell me I'm not the only one that greets the beginning of a new school year with a touch of sadness.
Please tell me I'm not the only one not rejoicing after walking away from the schoolyard that first day.

Please tell me I'm not alone here.

Here's a great guest post by Lisa Fielding, the copy chief at Canadian Living and a new mom to nine-month-old Archie. After filling out Archie's baby book, Lisa wanted to find out more about her family roots. Here's a little of what she learned. – Wendy

When I started to research my family history, I was skeptical that it would be very interesting – all I thought I’d find was a bunch of names, dates and places. It became clear, though, once I started digging, that it wasn’t just about compiling a list of basic facts: it was about uncovering the day-to-day details of our ancestors’ lives, piecing them back together to make a wonderful story.

I connected with a distant cousin, Gail, through Facebook, and she sent me a few old photos of my great grandpa. Long before I was born, he had lost his hands working on hydro lines in Ontario – and one of the photos Gail sent showed him before the accident. If I had never asked my family to dig into their photo albums, I might never have seen it. It was wonderful to think of him as a young man, working to build the province into what it is today.

There are lots of little details I discovered once I started to really read some of the documents I found online. WWI draft papers showed that many of my ancestors were farmers by trade (which I knew), and that many were Methodist (which I didn’t).

Census records not only noted who lived in each house and their ages, but who their neighbours were as well. When someone got married, the certificate had the witnesses’ signatures, sometimes another couple they were friends with; birth records showed the father’s occupation (machinist, telegrapher), though not the mother’s. So I got a sense of not only the major life events, but also what my relatives did for fun, who they hung out with, what their daily lives were like. It made them more real.

Researching your family history can be a massive undertaking if you really want it to be – or it can just be fun to poke around on the Internet and see what’s out there. I’d like to keep working on it and one day compile a huge scrapbook for my son and future generations, so that they might know not only our names, dates and places, but what we did for fun on a Friday night as well.

Here are some links to get you started on your search.
• Ancestry.ca – their resources include the Canadian census (as well as English, Welsh and Scottish ones), passenger lists, and birth, marriage and death records
• Globalgenealogy.com – they sell various genealogy resources, including books and e-books, as well as family tree charts and magnifiers
• Library and Archives Canada – their resources include immigration and land records, as well as birth, marriage and death records

Have you checked out your family’s roots online? Did you discover something new about your family?

Not until my little boy received a set of cars on his first birthday did it dawn on me that I was raising a son. I mean, I knew he was a boy but up until then he was really just a baby.

We parent baby girls and boys the same way.
We run to them when they cry,
We cuddle them,
We play peek-a-boo,
We rock them to sleep and
We love them the same way.

That set of cars was my first glimpse into the world of boys.

First set of cars

One day in particular, when my little guy was about two, he went over to the neighbour's yard and started playing with the little rocks surrounding her garden. His dad scolded him and said, "No, no buddy. Put those down". He did as he was told and quickly walked away. Later, when his dad was out of sight, he went back onto the neighbour's yard, picked up a rock and said, "Daddy, ha ha!"

Little. Bugger.

More recently, coming out of WalMart, I couldn't find the car. I asked him if he remembered where I had parked it and he replied "Yes. Between two yellow lines. I hope that helps, Mom."

Little. Bugger.

Today, my cereal-munching, juice-chugging, prank-pulling, joke-telling, heart-tugging, fun-loving boy turns 12.

He can be rough and tough.
He can be funny and witty and wild and crazy.
But more than all that,
He is sweet and soft and gentle.
He has a way of warming my heart like no other boy I've ever known.

Boy Child of Mine

I love watching him grow.

Happy birthday, boy child of mine.

It's sneaking up on us. I know it is; I can smell it in the air.

Fall.

It's coming and I don't know about you, but I'm not quite ready for it.

The cooler mornings and evenings I've noted lately remind me that I really should spend more time outdoors before cocoon-worthy weather arrives. And since the back-to-school commercials are now broadcasting, that's your cue to savour the rest of summer before your little ones head back to class.

If you have trouble pulling your kids away from video games, TV, the Internet, their bed or the couch, try some of the following 15 outdoor activities to enjoy with your kids, excerpted from Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv.

1. Adopt a tree. (Go ahead, hug it.)
Pick an existing tree or plant a special one to help mark important family occasions -- a birth, death, or marriage. The Take a Child Outside campaign suggests taking pictures of the tree in its first snow or after a big windstorm. Make bark rubbings using crayons and paper; record what animals use the tree.

2. Revive old traditions.
Collect lightning bugs at dusk, release them at dawn. Make a leaf collection. Keep a terrarium or aquarium.

3. Dig a backyard pond or establish a water garden on a porch or patio. Many nurseries and online vendors sell aquatic plants that do well in shallow pots filled with pebbles and water. Add a goldfish or other small fish to keep mosquitoes from breeding in the water. Frogs and turtles are also welcome. A few duckweeds, which look something like miniature lily pads, will entice other creatures to come near.

4. Encourage your kids to go camping in the backyard. Buy them a tent or help them make a canvas tepee.

5. Be a cloudspotter; build a backyard weather station. No special shoes or drive to the soccer field is required for "clouding." A young person just needs a view of the sky and a guidebook.

Cirrostratus, cumulonimbus, or lenticularis, shaped like flying saucers, "come to remind us that the clouds are Nature's poetry, spoken in a whisper in the rarefied air between crest and crag," writes Gavin Pretor-Pinney in his wonderful book The Cloudspotter's Guide. To build a backyard weather station, read The Kid's Book of Weather Forecasting by Mark Breen, Kathleen Friestad, and Michael Kline.

6. Make "green hour" a new family tradition. The National Wildlife Federation recommends that parents give their kids a daily green hour, a time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. Even 15 minutes is a good start.

"Imagine a map with your home in the center. Draw ever-widening circles around it, each representing a successively older child's realm of experience," NWF suggests. "Whenever possible, encourage some independent exploration as your child develops new skills and greater confidence."

7. Take a hike.
With younger children, choose easier, shorter routes and prepare to stop often. Or be a stroller explorer. "If you have an infant or toddler, consider organizing a neighborhood stroller group that meets for weekly nature walks," suggests the National Audubon Society.

Involve your teen in planning hikes; prepare yourselves physically for hikes, and stay within your limits (start with short day hikes); keep pack weight down.

That's me, returning to my campsite after a short hike and scratching a mosquito bite on my forehead. Remember to cover up and wear insect repellent, friends.

8. Invent your own nature game.
One mother's suggestion: "We help our kids pay attention during longer hikes by playing ‘find 10 critters' -- mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, snails, other creatures. Finding a critter can also mean discovering footprints, mole holes, and other signs that an animal has passed by or lives there."

9. Go digital. Try wildlife photography -- appropriate for small children, teenagers, and adults. Digital cameras are portable, decreasingly expensive, and save money on film. True, wildlife photography can become costly, but in the beginning, using a small digital camera to take photos through one eyepiece of your binoculars can work well.

10. Encourage your kids to build a tree house, fort, or hut.
You can provide the raw materials, including sticks, boards, blankets, boxes, ropes, and nails, but it's best if kids are the architects and builders. The older the kids, the more complex the construction can be.

11. Plant a garden.
If your children are little, choose seeds large enough for them to handle and that mature quickly, including vegetables. Whether teenagers or toddlers, young gardeners can help feed the family, and if your community has a farmers' market, encourage them to sell their extra produce.

Alternatively, share it with the neighbors or donate it to a food bank. If you live in an urban neighborhood, create a high-rise garden. A landing, deck, terrace, or flat roof typically can accommodate several large pots, and even trees can thrive in containers if given proper care.

12. Go harvesting.
In past decades most children had family connections to farming—grandparents who still farmed, for instance. That connection can be echoed today by picking berries and other fruit or vegetables on commercial farms or in orchards open to the public. Consider joining a local food co-op; some invite the public to help with the harvest.

13. Read outside.
People who care about nature often mention nature books as important childhood influences. Reading stimulates the ecology of the imagination, especially if it’s done outside, say, in a tree house. Look for nature adventure books, particularly ones with young protagonists.

14. Go fish.
For kids five-years-old or younger, expect and encourage them to put the rod down and poke along the water’s edge. For older kids, start with the simplest techniques and gear. Bend down the barbs on the hooks for safety: this also makes it easier to release fish unharmed if you prefer not to keep the fish.

15. Collect stones.
Even the youngest children love gathering rocks, shells, and fossils. To polish stones, use an inexpensive lapidary machine—a rock tumbler. See Rock and Fossil Hunter by Ben Morgan.

Outdoor activities excerpted from Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. Excerpted with permission from Algonquin Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publishers.

Which outdoor activity on this list would you most like to do before summer's over?

Most people have fond childhood memories of road trips taken with their families. I have none.
We didn't have a car growing up so taking a family road trip was near impossible, especially with our large family (I'm one of five siblings).

My husband has spent many years trying to convince me that a family road trip would be a whole lot of fun.

I couldn't see it.

Image by Let Ideas Compete via Flickr

I couldn't see how being confined to a vehicle with three kids for two days could ever be considered "a whole lot of fun".

But...

He did it.

He finally talked me into it and with some hesitation, I set off on my very first road trip down south last year.

And you know what...

I. LOVED. IT.

Every last bit of it.

From the excitement of watching the kilometers disappear behind us to the first palm tree sighting to the greasy pancake house to resting our heads in that cigar smelling motel in the sketchy part of town.

I . loved. it. all.

Had I known that I would fall in love with everything that signifies "road trip", I would never have put it off for this long.

Don't let it happen to you. Take it from me - don't put off that road trip any longer.

Before you head out on the road, make sure you have an active CAA membership. We placed an order for TripTik (a customized detailed map). It's a free service for CAA members. CAA also offers hotel discounts.

Invest in or borrow a GPS. Coupled with Triptik, it provided added security to ensure we were on the right track.

Don't forget about entertainment for the kids. We borrowed a friend's portable DVD player, packed a few books, magazines and electronic games. That being said, we still heard that ever famous phrase "Are we there yet" at least a zillion trillion times!

Co-ordinate re-fuelling, belly-filling and washroom breaks so you're not stopping any more that every 4-6 hours. Unfortunately, as much as we tried, this didn't always go as planned. Sigh.

Are you a road trip newbie or are you one of the lucky ones that's been riding in the back of mom and dad's station wagon since the beginning of time?
I'd love to hear all about it.

Share your fondest road trip memory and you could be the lucky winner of a Canadian Living cookbook.

Today marks the start of one of my favourite weeks of the year: the Rogers Cup tennis tournament. For the first time, the men’s event (this year in Montreal) and the women’s event (in Toronto) will be played simultaneously.

I am a huge tennis fan (well, a huge sports freak fan in general). My family didn’t get a lot of TV stations when I was younger; we were at the mercy of the reception from the large TV aerial outside my bedroom window. But every summer I could always count on watching Canada’s pre-eminent tennis tournament.

Aleksandra Wozniak, from Blainville, Que., will be playing in Toronto this week. (Image via Wikipedia)

I can’t say for sure if I started playing tennis because I liked watching it, or I started watching tennis because I was playing it. Either way I still have fond memories of hitting the ball against the fence next to the house and against the wall at one of the local public schools while my brother played his weeknight soccer game.

Learning to play against a fence and wall served me well once I started playing tennis competitively in high school. My playing “partners” never missed, which helped turn me into a human backboard of sorts. Being barely five feet tall, I certainly wasn’t going to overpower you, but I would run down and return anything you sent my way!

I have even fonder memories of my dad and I grabbing our racquets, driving to the local community college and playing a set or two a few times a week.  We were a little erratic when we first started playing, just as likely to hit the ball over the net as we were to hit it over the fence behind the court. (Being an active baseball player as well, I would give those shots my best home run call.)

Tennis, anyone? (Image via Wikipedia)

As my dad and I spent more time playing together, we not only got better (my dad lobbing the ball over my head as I stood at the net now being intentional, not an oops) but also more competitive (I loved getting him running from side to side, although I’d usually start laughing and end up losing the point).

A lot of our father-daughter bonding moments revolved around sports: playing catch outside the house; Dad coaching my softball team; and him and another dad leading a chant of “We Will Rock You” at one of my volleyball games.

Was there something that always brought you and a parent together? Do you have a favourite summer memory of time spent with your mom or dad, or  with your own kids today?