Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in toronto, CN

Panera Bread Fundaiser for the Make-A Wish Toronto & Central Ontario

by Katie

August 10, 2009

Recently I found out about a new bakery cafe in Toronto called Panera Bread. They bake their own handcrafted, artisan bread plus make delicious sounding sandwiches with wholesome, healthy stuff like antibiotic chicken and in-season veggies. I'm always looking for new places to try for lunch, especially places that offer sandwiches because I've also recently discovered that putting meat and/or veggies between bread increases the likelyhood of my picky eater actually consuming it, or at least giving it a try. I have no idea why but who am I to question the mind of an almost-four year old?

Anyhow, I also just found out that Panera Bread is starting a really cool program that will raise money to benefit three kids in need of the Make-A-Wish foundation.  Now this isn't a one day fundraiser kind of thing, this program will run each weekday for two weeks -- during lunch hours -- in all three of the locations. They shared some information on the program with me, and maybe next time you are craving a sandwich, you can grab one that will help a child in need.

Panera Bread will be starting its Weekday Wishes program in support of Make-A-Wish Toronto & Central Ontario. As part of its Weekday Wishes program, Panera Bread will join the Toronto community in supporting Make-A-Wish by donating five percent of proceeds from the sale of any item between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.  The Weekday Wishes program will run Monday through Friday for two weeks beginning next Monday, August 17 and concluding Friday, August 28.
 
Proceeds raised will help grant the wishes of Casey, age 16, who loves sports and wishes to go on a shopping spree; Stephanie, age 7, whose favorite color is pink and who dreams of going to Disney World; and Caroline, age 19, whose best day was the day of her prom and who wishes to go to New York.
 
Additionally, as part of its ongoing Community Breadbox program, Panera Bread will match all cash donations made by customers in each of its three Toronto-area bakery-cafes.  Funds raised will be donated annually to support Make-A-Wish’s mission to grant the wishes of Toronto-area children with life-threatening medical conditions.
 
As part of Panera’s further commitment to the communities in which it does business, Toronto-area bakery-cafes will also give back through the local Day-End Dough-Nation™ program, in which all unsold bread and baked goods are donated to local hunger relief organizations. Collectively, Panera Bread bakery-cafes donated over $40 million worth of unsold bread and baked goods in 2007 to help people in need.
 
Panera Bread bakery-cafes are now open in Thornhill (1020 Centre Street), Richmond Hill (9350 Yonge Street), and Mississauga (55 Square One Drive).

image courtesy of Panera Bread

Please Share: Favorite Movie Snacks for Stay-At-Home Movie Night

by Katie

May 25, 2009

These days, seeing a movie in the theatre is rare treat only done in times of free babysitting. If it wasn't for the free babysitting, movie night probably wouldn't fit the budget. But we are movie fans so we do reserve the theatre experience for movies that deserve big screen (like the most recent Star Trek - we were not disappointed) while waiting for the majority to come out on DVD.
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Veggie Recipes My Kid Will Try

by Katie

April 13, 2009

It wouldn't be exactly true to say my daughter is a fussy eater because she will try almost anything at least once and she loves a pretty good variety of foods. That said, she also isn’t the easiest child to feed because as far as I can tell, her taste buds appear to have multiple personalities. Not to mention when it comes to nutritious foods, it would be more accurate to say that sweets rules her tummy. She will do many things for candy, and don’t think I don’t use that candy/dessert reward leverage to gain entry for nutritious items likes of vegetables on a fairly regular basis. I like to call it reward, not a bribe (or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.)
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My Sous Chef

by Katie

March 09, 2009

How did I ever get this far in life without knowing about Monkey Bread? Well, I'm as astonished as you are. I only learned about the magic hunks of gooey goodness last week when I picked Gigi up at nursery school.  Her teacher recited the recipe while my daughter excitedly presented me with a baggie full of the bread.  We all had a laugh when Gigi pulled her now-infamous of "look mommy, I saved you a treat but I'm going to eat it for you now that you've seen it" scam and gobbled it down as I emptied her cubby spot.
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Math in the City

by Katie

February 10, 2009

Anything can be turned into math. In fact, it’s so darn easy, it’s a shame not to sneak some math learning in when the kids least expect it.  I think it's my parental nagging duty to do such annoying things.  Gee, I hope doing stuff like that is not driving her crazy... but mark my word, one day she will (probably not) thank me for the effort.

It's important to me!

by Katie

January 06, 2009

Three has presented some interesting challenges in parenting. And when I say interesting challenges, I mean to say: Three has presented some of the most frustrating and head-butting moments in my history as a parent. But I say that with love - no really, I do. Don't get me wrong: I find Three a lot of fun and so far this year has been full of all sorts of amazing magical parenting moments. But  Read more...

Not a babysitter to be found this New Year's Eve

by Katie

December 29, 2008

We do not have a baby sitter this New Year's Eve, nor do we have concrete plans, so what the heck are we going to do? Personally, I think the evening deserves some kind of recognition because it is the perfect time to declare some resolutions and it might as well be done with a bang ( though most of those declared resolutions are bust within a day or week ). In the past, New Year's involved  Read more...

Festival of Lights

by Katie

December 22, 2008

Today marks the first day of Hanukkah and last week, Gigi and I enjoyed a big plate of yummy latkas with apple sauce and sour cream while one of her classmate's mom taught us all about how her family celebrates Hanukkah. We sat around the nine-branched Menorah, lighting the shamash (Hebrew for "guard") candle in the middle and then one candle to represent each night of Hanukkah. After each  Read more...

What's going on this weekend in toronto

by Katie

November 07, 2008

I know that Hallowee'en was just last week but the winter season had descended full-tilt on Toronto already. Maybe not weather-wise (not that I'm complaining - I'll take 17 in November any day) but the Christmas decorations are up in the shops and the candy canes have replaced the Hallowe'en loot on the store shelves. This week marks the start of the downtown Winter Wonderland window  Read more...

What's for lunch?

by Katie

September 18, 2008

What's for lunch? A common question from Gigi, especially since nursery school began last week and she has suddenly developed the appetite of a teenage boy on the football team. I find it amusing that she is so darn hungry, because if the food isn't just "right", it is completely and utterly rejected. *Big Sigh*. Her finicky taste is going to be the death of me, I swear. So what else could I  Read more...

Staying cool

by Katie

August 26, 2008

Just because school starts next week (!!!! - I'm freaking out - this is new to us both !!!) doesn't mean that summer is over. It still gets hot and we still need ways to beat that heat. Gigi and I have a few tricks up our short sleeves, some involving prep, some involving activity, but all involving satisfaction of cool proportions. Staying Cool Tips a la Gigi: Make Juice Popsicles! We don't  Read more...

Best cupcakes in town

by Katie

June 03, 2008

Gigi shares my love for desserts, which on the passion scale of one to ten, ranks an eleven. I was famous as a child for declaring myself full at the dinner table while in the same breath explaining that I had a separate stomach for desserts, so bring on the sweets. Now cupcakes are a dessert I never refuse if I do, call the doctor - and Gigi is a big fan of icing so when one of us has an  Read more...