Happy Friday!

Before I announce the two winners of the Taylor Swift CDs, I want to let you know about some great music I heard last night.

My dad and I went to see Gordon Lightfoot live at Massey Hall. It was a wonderful evening ... the company (when was the last time I went out with my dad?), the venue (I think Massey Hall is my favourite place in Toronto) and, of course, the music were all just superb. I still love Lightfoot's oldies the most and it was magical to hear him sing The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald and If You Could Read My Mind live.

I read in the house programme that Lightfoot is embarking on a country-wide tour in spring 2010 so watch for him in your town.

And now for the winners (drum roll please ...)

Congratuations to Alison (I, too, love Loreena McKennitt's To Drive the Cold Winter Away) and to Josie.

Thanks to everyone for all the great song suggestions. I have two favourite holiday tunes: The Huron Carol (especially when sung by my kids' school choir) and the original Band Aid's Feed the World - Do They Know It's Christmas Time?

Have a great weekend everyone. Watch out for another contest next week. Kathryn

Are any of you Taylor Swift fans?

I confess I'm not, but my eldest daughter, Liv, likes her music and she's a lot classier (Taylor, not my Liv!) than a lot of young music stars out there today. (Don't I sound like the prudish, judgmental mum?!)

I'm also happy to report that, in addition to Taylor, my daughter has a fair share of Abba (you gotta love Abba), The Beatles (best band in the whole world!) and ColdPlay (great to see live) on her beloved purple iPod.

My favourite CD these days is Dolores O'Riordan's "No Baggage." Dolores is the lead singer in the fab band, The Cranberries. If you haven't listened to her latest solo recording, it's a must. (Bonus: This Irish songstress married a Canadian and is now a mum who spends most of her time living in northern Ontario.)

Back to Taylor Swift ... I'm giving away two CDS:

Taylor Swift Fearless - the CD/DVD Platinum Edition

(includes videos plus six brand new recordings — is that a great plug, or what?)

You could win this CD/DVD

The second CD is Christmas on the Open Road, featuring two Taylor Swift tracks

that haven't been released yet in Canada!

You could also win this CD!

What do you have to do to win? Tell me what your favourite Christmas tune is ... and why.

Good luck! Kathryn

Thing a ma ... what? Thing-a-ma-boob!

It's a brilliant little idea — a key chain that helps you remember to do breast self exams and raises money for breast cancer. The key chain is made of pink beads of different sizes; each one represent the size of lump that can be detected through a variety of breast screening methods.

The smallest beads represent the average size lump found during regular mammograms. And the biggest one is the average size lump found by women checking their own breasts. It's a real eye-opener.

So-o, where can you get one of these funky and functional key chains? You can buy them through the Canadian Cancer Society ... or win one of three that I am giving away.

What do you have to do to win? Write to me!

Tell me what you love best about your body - and why.

I can't wait to read your responses.

Happy Friday!

Congratulations to Kiki and Roseanne who are the winners of my Canadian Living Slow Cooker Collection contest. I hope you both love the book.

For those who didn't win, watch for it in bookstores in October - you'll love it!

Thanks to everyone for your great comments. It's nice to hear there are so many men helping out in the kitchen. (Way to go ladies!)

Talk to you next week. Kathryn

I'm excited to annouce a new contest ... read on!

One of my biggest mum dilemmas is keeping meals healthy, easy and yet not serving the same old thing week after week. Can you relate?

If you haven't used one yet, you must try a slow cooker. You can make amazing one-pot meals, get your kids involved in the prep, and ... the best part ... you don't have to worry about rushing home from work to get stuff in oven. Plus, there's no multi-dish clean up. What's not to love?

Do I sound like a slow cooker pusher? Well, I am. I'm completely sold on the concept. Once you have a slow cooker, all you need is some great recipes. That's where my contest comes in.

I am giving away two copies of  the Canadian Living Slow Cooker Collection worth $22.95.  This book isn't out on shelves until Oct 20th so two lucky winners will get an advance peak.

What do you have to do to win? Tell me how you get your kids and/or guy to help out in the kitchen.

Talk to you soon.

Congratulations to Sue and Cheryl who have each won a copy of The World Needs Your Child - How to Raise Children Who Care and Contribute (me to we books, 2009) by Craig and Marc Kielburger and Shelley Page.

Here are 8 parenting pearls of wisdom from this great book that I would like to share with you:

1. Of course your children are gifted: Your challenge and joy is to help them discover their talents.

2. Give the presence of time: Don't rush. Let your child discover her own abilities at her own speed.

3. Make room to explore: Your talents are your talents. Give your kids the freedom to find their own way to shine.

4. Take an interest in their interests: If your child is fascinated with dinosaurs, take him to the library or the natural history museum. No matter the flavour of the month, help him explore.

5. No pain, no pain: Dragging a kid to practice only works for so long. Help him find his groove.

6. Encourage effort, not results: Marks and scores are important to a point. A the end of the day, the real goal is for your child to feel a sense of accomplishment.

7 . Model optimism: Tell your children that you have faith in them and believe they can succeed.

8. Show and share: Encourage kids to share their talents with friends, family and community.

If you have any other tips, please share them. Talk to you soon.

For the most part, the first day back to school went smoothly in our home.

My oldest daughter, Liv, 10, was a bit anxious last night. But she calmed down when we assured her that her grade 5 teacher wouldn't mind that she had forgotten how to do long division and spell the days of the week in French over the summer. She woke up this morning, ready to take on the new year.

Sophie, 7, skipped from our house to the school yard - five minutes away. But she froze and turned ashen when another mom announced that the grade 1/2 teacher had broken her leg last night (what timing!) and there would be a supply teacher for at least a week. Sophie wouldn't let go of my hand until the last child in her class was finally marching in the door and she had no choice but to follow.

Oh, how I hate going to work knowing one of my kids is not happy or stressed.

The good news is that my husband picked the girls up at 3:30 and called me to say they both had a great day. (Sophie loved the supply teacher - her older sister used to call them "surprise" teachers).

The best back-to-school story came to me from a former co-worker who left Canadian Living magazine last week to pursue a degree in environmental studies. Miriam went to orientation day at University of Toronto this afternoon and then and emailed me  to say a lot of students brought their parents ... and it was the parents who were asking all the questions.

Yes, this is university! Talk about not being able to let go.

I hope the first day back to school went well for your family. Write and tell me your stories!

- Kathryn

P.S. Tomorrow I'll announce two winners of book contest.

Happy Friday ... especially because we are headed into the last long weekend before we kiss summer good-bye.

As I promised, I have a new contest ... but first, let me digress ... something that I must admit I'm very good at!

One of my favourite aspects of my job as the life & health editor at Canadian Living magazine is working with a wonderful organization, Free the Children (FTC). Started by two Canadian brothers, Craig and Marc Kielburger, FTC has built schools for hundreds of thousands of kids all over the world and been an advocate for children's rights.

(Check out our annual Me to We awards program with FTC online at www.canadianliving.com)

Why am I telling you about this?

Because the contest involves a new book that the Kielburgers have written called, "The World Needs Your Child - How to Raise Children Who Care and Contribute (me to we books, 2009). It's an inspiring read full of  heart-warming stories and incentive to nurture a sense of compassion and community in kids of all ages.

I'm giving away two copies of The World Needs Your Child.

What do you have to do to win?  Tell me about an act of kindness that you or your kids did recently!

I can't wait to read your replies!

Welcome to September! (I know I'm a few days late.)

Forget Jan. 1st, for me, this month is the official start of the new year. Time to get back into routines, take stock and set some new goals ...

For a while, I've been thinking about the community and volunteer committments I have in my life. Figuring out exactly how I want to "give back" is on my list of 'things to do' this month.

Recently, I have served on my daughters' school council and lent a hand at functions at my local United Church (which does a great job of helping out the homeless and those with addictions). I'm also big on charity walks.

I love getting involved in my community. Despite the time committment in my busy life (doesn't every mum have a 'busy life'?), the work energizes me, fills me with a sense of purpose and, all too often, reminds me that I have a lot to be grateful for.

This fall, now that my girls are getting older (enterings grades two and five), I want to get them more involved in the community and volunteer efforts as well. I think I'll start by taking them to the annual Run for the Cure (for breast cancer).

I'm open to new ideas and suggestions so tell me ...

What kind of volunteer/community efforts are you invovled in? What about your kids?

Talk to you soon and watch out for a new contest that I'll post on Fri. Sept 4th.

Congratulations to Lorraine who has won the Finn on the Fly DVD. It's a quirky Canadian family movie that I enjoyed watching with my kids. I hope you like it, too, Lorraine.

Speaking of movies ... I confess that I haven't been to any 'adult' ones this summer. (You know what I'm talking about.)

I was hoping to catch "The Time Traveller's Wife" because I loved the book so much. (I know, the movie is never as good as the book). Has anyone seen it?

It's a sad reality that my summer theatre experience has consisted of ... drum roll please ... Harry Potter, G-Force and Ponyo. All kid flicks. I must say, though, that Ponyo (a Japanese animated movie with an English-speaking voice cast) is very charming and a refreshing departure from much of the kid fare we, mums, are used to.

What movie (kid-oriented or otherwise)  are you dying to see? And what are your all-time favourite family flicks?

Talk to you soon, Kathryn