Mom Life · Real Talk

Welcome To The Shit Show

If you’ve found yourself here and things like bacon and cuss words tend to offend you, you might want to re-think those two life strategies because I’m pretty sure you’re going to want to be friends with me.

I’m Rachel. I’m a Snack Bitch to two womb trophies by day, and a work-at-home mama by night. I’m married to a man who travels extensively for work, so I’m a bit of a lukewarm mess solo parenting most of the time. I’m also a digital creator, a bento box maker, (not a candlestick maker), and a writer of all things crafty, foodie, humour-y, life-y and parent-y. I’m authentic, sarcastic, hilarious, and a little messy – aren’t we all, though?

I think about food way too much, love making things, drink too much diet coke, and spend more time than I care to admit laughing at memes on the internet. I believe weekends are best spent at the local Farmer’s Market, followed by embracing my inner sloth and becoming one with my bed. I’m fluent in sarcasm, and humour is the way to my heart.

Here’s what you’ll find on my blog – healthy-ish bento box meal ideas for your little crotch fruit, some bomb-ass recipes that I mostly make up in my head, deals and discounts to things you never knew you always needed, exclusive sales, and hilarious stories from my actual real day to day life. Basically a metric shirt-ton of fun stuff, so pull up a seat because I can’t wait to interact with all you forkers.

Thanks for popping by, folks. Drop me a line sometime.

 

For The Kids · Mom Life · Review

Spring Break Boredom Busters

Depending on where you live, you’re probably coming up on your child’s school being out for Winter or Spring Break (here in Canada, some school districts take 2 weeks off in March and others do a week off in February and April). If you’re looking to avoid an overdose of screen-time and encourage your kids’ creativity while taking a much-needed breath for yourself, consider one of these boredom busters to peacefully pass the time and have a minute to breathe.

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For The Kids · Gift Guide · Home and Design · Mom Life

The BEST Gift for Kids Who Don’t Need “Stuff”

Please note: this blog may contain affiliate links and as an Amazon associate, I may earn commission from qualifying purchases.

If you’re like me, the last thing you want in life is more “stuff” – and when someone asks you what your kids want or need for a birthday/Christmas/holiday gift, the urge to say “NOTHINGGGGGG” is strong. Experiences are the gold standard, and we welcome the swim lessons, dance classes, zoo passes, and movie tickets over just about anything else. But what about the well-intentioned friend or family member who *insists* on gifting something tangible? That if you don’t provide very clear instructions, they’ll go rogue and BOOM, more stuff?

Here is my #1 go-to in that situation.

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Mom Life · Review · Travel

Traveling With Kids to The Netherlands

(This blog outlines our travel experience & references many products we bought, used, and recommend for your own trip. This entire trip was bought and paid for on our dime, as well as the products mentioned. You can find those products highlighted here (Canadian link) (American link), and I may earn a small commission if you choose to shop from my link – this is the sole way I monetize my content and keep my blog alive).


As a family, our number one leisure priority is traveling (and our budgeting reflects this). The world is our oyster, and we want to see as much of it as we can. Unlike many folks who yearn for a child-free vacation (rightfully so, parenting is hard work!), we love bringing our kids with us and experiencing the world through their eyes. We’ve traveled a few times a year since they were babies!

In early/mid-2024, we began planning out vacation options for 2025. We settled on San Diego. While Disneyland is *not* our jam (too crowded, too expensive, too many lines, etc), we still saw so much value in what San Diego could offer. We booked a gorgeous air bnb with a pool and a hot tub in Escondido, booked our rental car, set up direct flights from Calgary to San Diego, bought tickets for Legoland and the San Diego Zoo, and planned a whole day in La Jolla.

Then…November 2024 took place. Yes, we’re Canadian. However, when your country’s largest ally and closest geographic connection elects Mango Mussolini, you begin to have reservations about spending money in that country on leisure. You have major reservations about supporting tourism there, about keeping your children safe there.

So – we canceled it all. Everything. We canceled our flights (refunded to flight credit to be used within one calendar year), canceled the air bnb (full refund), and we forfeited our tickets to Legoland and San Diego Zoo (about $1,000 USD for the four of us). Air travel is a privilege, canceling our plans based on our personal beliefs is a privilege, and being able to forfeit the cost of experiences we had prepaid for is a privilege – I will be the first to admit that. For us, it was necessary.

With only 3-4 months until our intended vacation time frame (decided a year prior based on work schedules), I began to look overseas. We’ve loved our beach vacations to Mexico, Hawaii, Cuba, St. Lucia, Jamaica (read more about how we beach vacation with kids here) but were looking for something different. Our daughters are 10 & 8, and we’ve finally left the stroller/car seat/nap era in our rearview mirror – we’re ready to explore. Continue reading “Traveling With Kids to The Netherlands”

Amazon Prime Day

Amazon Prime Day is COMING SOON!

Taking place each summer, Amazon’s price-slashing Prime Day bonanza is one of the best annual sales in the calendar, second only to Black Friday. The sale is exclusive to Amazon Prime subscribers, and always sees some of the biggest discounts available on mattresses, small appliances, personal care and household essentials, laptops, headphones, TVs and Apple devices, so you won’t want to miss out.

Below, I’ve answered some of the most common Prime Day questions (providing you with my top tips to save big) and highlighted all the best deals you’ll want to check out.

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Book Lovers

Stuff Your Kindle Day – How Does It Work?

Stuff Your Kindle Day is one of those events that has you narrowing your eyes and reading the small print, because it’s hard to believe that anything in life truly comes free (especially these days). But it’s 100% real –  This special day provides access to literally thousands of free books. I know you’re waiting for the catch, but in this case, there really isn’t one. It’s as good as it sounds. Don’t have a Kindle? No problem. Download the Kindle app on any smart device and enjoy the free books in whatever manner you choose.

How it all started…


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As Seen on Instagram · Mom Life · Travel

My A-Z Guide for Traveling with Kids

So, you’re taking a vacation with kids. Maybe it’s your first time. Maybe you’ve done it before, but it was a total shitshow. You’re overwhelmed. Where do you start? What do you need? Traveling with kids is a whole new ball game compared to solo travel, and it’s easy to feel like you’re in over your head. Here are my best tips, tricks, and suggestions to make your family vacation as smooth as possible.

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Amazon Prime Day · Holiday Shopping

Early Prime Day Deals are Here!

There are a few constants in life – death, taxes, and Amazon Prime Day deals. I was lucky enough to be invited to Toronto by the Amazon Prime Canada team in June for a sneak peak at everything we can expect this Prime Day and let me just say that we’re in for a doozy of deals frenzy. The focus this year is on steeper discounts, more household essentials, and better value. Whether you’re early Christmas shopping, need a reason to update an outdated device, school shopping, or need a good reason to treat yourself, you won’t want to miss the Amazon Prime Day gems I’ve curated here. 

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Christmas · Gift Guide · Holiday Shopping · Holiday Traditions

Shop Small 2023 – Rachel’s Holiday Gift Guide

        If there is one thing we may have all collectively learned these past few years, it’s that home is where the heart is and some of the best gifts come in small (business) packages. Tens of thousands of small businesses nationwide have navigated the covid-19 pandemic like dinghy’s in a hurricane – and many didn’t make it. I wanted to curate some of my favourite Canadian small shops to share with you and encourage you to shop if you have the means. Purchasing from these shops goes a long way to making a small business owner do a little happy dance (and staying afloat). There is some overlap between categories, and I have some categories “gendered” (not because I believe some gifts should be for men/women only, but because these are the most common search parameters). This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here’s at least 250+ of some of the best small shops/businesses I want you to know about while you’re hunting for the perfect gift this holiday season!

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Making Food Fun · Mom Life · Real Talk

Countdown to Back to School: My Tips To Get Ready and Be Prepared

Summer 2023 has flown by, and we are knocking on the doorstep of the next school year yet again. This isn’t a post to convince you of all the fancy new things you need to buy, because truth be told, none of it really matters. This is meant to show you all the ways that you can prepare you, your child, and your child’s teacher for success this year and beyond. Please note the following suggestions come from my experience as a parent of neurotypical children, and may not be realistic or applicable to neurodivergent children with more complex needs. Consider this a starting off point to build on.

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Home and Design · Real Talk · Review

Product Review – Coulee Outdoor

This Spring, Mr Bows and Bentos and I were discussing landscaping ideas for our yard. We knew we wanted more planter boxes, some trees, gravel & paving stones down one side of our house – and he also pitched the idea of a fire pit. He grew up in the country surrounded by space and animals and a relax by the campfire at night was something he was accustomed to. Me? I’m a city girl and admittedly, I wasn’t interested at all.

  • I hate the smell of campfire smoke (which permeates every hair and piece of clothing on your body and means constant laundry on my to-do list)
  • Fire pits can be expensive and take up so much space in your yard (we live in an urban area and our yard isn’t huge by any means)
  • I didn’t want to commit to one spot for a fire pit (a firepit is usually permanent and it is so windy here, how can we know we picked the right spot)?
  • Obtaining and storing firewood is one salty pain in the arse (I don’t even know where to buy firewood, embarrassingly enough).

I suggested potentially looking into a natural gas firepit (you know, once of those Costco ones you can put on your deck?) – my husband told me those are ridiculous and not even real fires so he’d rather not even have one, than have one of those. The logic of a country boy….you know. We agreed to shelve the idea for a bit and think about it while we assessed the budget and considered if we wanted to make this work.

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