Visiting Canmore and Gluten Free Wild Garden Snack Packs

I remember when vacation was all about me; what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go, what I wanted to eat, me, me, me. Now that I'm a mom, that's such a distant memory, I'm starting to wonder if I imagined the entire thing.

Seriously, this place is gorgeous! The kid is cute too ;) #canmore

A photo posted by Amber Smith (@mommastuffblog) on Aug 23, 2015 at 11:26am PDT

We're currently on  a family vacation in Canmore Alberta and although it is an absolutely stunning place to be, keeping two boys aged 4 and 6 occupied, entertained and quiet is a challenge and a half. Fortunately, we are staying in a small condo, which is by far preferable to a basic hotel room, however when you're used to a three floor home, its not a lot of space.

And then there's the food. When your family requires both gluten-free and peanut-free options, simply grabbing a bite to eat is generally not an option. I emailed a bunch of local restaurants before we arrived and was pleasantly surprised to hear how aware and accommodating they all were. That being said, tonight is our fifth night here and we finally ordered pizza, every other meal we have cooked for ourselves.

When it comes to outings, I put a lot of effort into healthy snacks for the kids but for myself, I'm perpetually just grabbing something from the cupboard on the way out the door and otherwise noshing on the gluten-free portions of the kids' snacks.

I'm super excited about Wild Gardens NEW Gluten Free Hummus Snack Packs; these little packs are convenient, shelf stable and delicious. Each box comes with a pack of hummus (that tears open easily and even I managed to eat without making a mess) and one of three types of crackers. And one of my good friends was ecstatic to hear that two of the three varieties (veggie chips and and quinoa chips) are also soy free.

Wild Garden Gluten Free Snack Packs are tasty little snacks packed with just enough protein to fuel me to my next meal without wanting to nibble on every little snack in my beach bag. They're quick, convenient and gluten free; if that's something you're looking for, I highly recommend you try them out.

Disclosure: I received samples of Wild Garden Gluten Free Snack Packs for the purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own.

Taking Time for Mom and Dad

For the first time in over three years, the hubs and I had the opportunity to get away for the weekend with good friends and no children. As much as I love my little boys, to say Mom and Dad needed some time away is a major understatement.

Our weekend away was just what we needed; peace, tranquillity, good food and good people.

And I'm certain the grin on my face was huge when we came home to our two little men bounding towards us with hearts full of love and happiness.

It's amazing how much more connected the hubs and I feel, after hanging our Mom and Dad hats up, for just a few days. After four and a half years of parenthood we have days, even weeks where we barely talk. Our lives circle around the amazing little creatures we have the honour of raising into men, but in so many ways they strip us of ourselves. Of the people we fell in love with and the traits that make us unique.

I knew that a weekend away would help us find ourselves, but for some reason, I didn't expect that we would find each other.

And I'm so happy we did.

There's no way we're waiting that long for another weekend away.

recycling in the garbage breaks my heart

There's only a few days left in our Oregon coast vacation; we've spent most of our time relaxing, walking around town and of course enjoying the beach.  Fortunately the beach here in Rockaway is fairly deserted, which means the boy can have his run of the beach and we don't have to worry that he's disturbing anyone else or stealing other kids toys.

The boy loves the sand, the rocks and the seaweed but is not so keen on the Ocean itself, in fact after six days here, all he will do is stomp his toe in the edge of the water and then bolt up the beach.  That being said, I have to admit it is absolutley adorable when he hunkers down to run from the waves. 

I love the sleepy, beach town feel of Rockaway and I have but one complaint; there is no recycling.  Although as a state Oregon recycles, there is no facility, collection or means to recycle here.  Our welcome package at the house was very clear, EVERYTHING goes into the garbage.  Every time a recyclable goes into the garbage my entire family's heart sinks just a little bit and add in the disposable diapers we're using because we are on vacation and our garbage has more than tripled this week.

Despite my passion, I rarely talk about living green on the Momma Stuff Blog.  It almost seems redundant to write about day to day green living activities like recycling, composting, reusable cups and shopping bags, because to me its not an option, its a way of life.  Where I live we have curbside pick up for all recyclables, papers, plastics, metals and cardboard and they are even rolling out a food scraps program so that all food wastes, paper towels, paper plates and the like can be sent out for composting.

I do not consider our town overly progressive from an environmental perspective, however we are getting there.  At a recent City-sponsored event I was ecstatic to find not only were the recycling and composting bins considerably more prominent than the garbage, but there was also a portable tap water station to fill up water bottles.  We have some of the best tap water on the west coast and I am proud to say I drink it every day.

This trip to Oregon has reminded me that living green may be my mantra, but I shouldn't assume that everyone else is afforded the same luxury of having the facilities and the means to look out for the environment every step of the way.  I hope this trip will serve as a reminder to share more of my environmental knowledge and experiences, so that we can all work towards a greener future.

Does your family 'live green'? 
What actions do you take to minimize your impact on the Earth? 

there's no place like Home

There's nothing like a little time away to remind you just how nice it is to be home.  After a week away we were all ready to return to life, as soon as I told the boy this morning he signed 'home' - totally adorable.

The trip started off busy, Saturday morning we had a 5 hour drive and a two o'clock wedding but we made good time and although the boy was cranky for a while, he slept for about an hour and a half so I can't really complain.  The wedding was beautiful; an intimate, casual, lakefront affair.  The boy and I watched from behind the action with our feet in the lake, fortunately it kept him happy, I could still watch the ceremony, and I knew the bride wouldn't mind.

We spent two more days in Lake Country and had the opportunity to spend the majority of our time with our newly married friends and family at the lake.  T is one of my closest friends; we met in prenatal class and her son is exactly a month younger than the boy.  I took great delight watching our boys, only bumps in our bellies when we met, playing on beach, splashing in the waves and mucking in the sand.

My sister-in-law and nephews spend their summers at their trailer in a riverside campground, en route to home, so we stopped in there and spent three full days relaxing and playing in the sun.

It was amazing to see the boy interacting with all the kids in the campground.  He was covered in dirt by 8am every day and was quick to spot the play guns and tote them all around the playground like the big boys, despite the fact that they were far too big for him.

The hubs had his birthday while we were at the river.  Fishing, family time and a BBQ dinner in the company of family - a lovely day amongst a truly great vacation, but Dorothy was right, 'there's no place like home'.