Humour or Humor: The Difference between America and Canada

Posted by Christy on Jun 11, 2013 in Humor, Uncategorized | 0 comments

I grew up in Selkirk, Manitoba Canada where I lived until I was 18.  I moved to North Dakota when I was 18 to attend college and play volleyball and have lived in the US ever since.

Here are some of the differences I have discovered between the two countries.  These are honest differences that I have found over the last 13 or so years and are meant to be humorous and not offend anyone in either country, enjoy

Language Difference between American and Canada

• They don’t call it the” bush” in the United States and I still haven’t figured out the equivalent term the US uses (trees or forest maybe). For example a Canadian would say we partied in the bush last night or he lives in the bush but not sure what would be said in the US
• In America “pissed” means mad, in Canada it means drunk
• Americans pronounce the letter Z “Zee” while Canadians pronounce it “Zed”
• Canada says” grade 1” while America says, “first grade” Words that are pronounced differently: root, room, boot, garage, semi, level, and crayon (I still have a hard time when someone says cran in American versus cra-y-on in Canada)
• Americans use some funny terms like “want to come with?” “do you have a scissors”
• Canadians really do say “eh” a lot
• Every toy my kids have from Canada has a button to change it to French
• Every movie my kids have from Canada starts with a menu for French of English
• A beanie in the US is a toque in Canada
• Canada spells a lot of things with “u”s like colour, favour, behaviour
• Lots of people in Canada spell a bank check, cheque
• Lots of things in Canada are spelt with the re at the end like centre

Food differences between Canada and America

• Canada has ketchup chips, pizza pops, and poutine (I still can’t figure out why America doesn’t have any of these).  The fast food chains in Canada serve poutine even).  What do junior high kids eat in the US if they don’t have pizza pops??

• The chocolate bars in Canada are way better. Even though it’s the same manufacturers like Nestle making them in Canada they have Aero, Caramilk, Coffee Crisp, Oh Henry which are all way better than most America chocolate bars
• A&W in Canada is thousand times better than the American one and the American ones are barely around while the Canadian ones are seen as many times as McDonald’s

 

• Americans have Taco Johns while Canada has Taco Time
• KFC doesn’t have French Fries in the US (which means no French fries supreme for KFC/Taco Bell combo sites- what???)

• Smarties in the US are actually Canadian Rockets while Smarties in Canada are chocolate candies like M&Ms

Social/Other Differences between America and Canada

• In Canada you are considered an Adult at 18 (you can write you own notes for your absences in high school, drink in most provinces) and your parents generally shift you into adulthood while in America you can vote, gamble in some states, and buy cigarettes at 18 you don’t really feel like or get treated like you are an adult until you are 21 which means you can drink alcohol (weird)
• The “skaters” people who wear skateboard style clothes are the most popular kids in high school while the jocks and smart kids are in the US. I think Canada has this backwards.
• Hockey is definitely the sport in Canada that everyone grows up playing. I haven’t really found out what that is in America (basketball, football, and baseball it seems) the parents kind of push the kids towards what they think they will be good at in the US
• Yards are full of junk in Canada while the back seats of cars are full of junk in the US
• I don’t think anyone in the US calls themselves “The States”
• America gets out of school in May while Canada gets out at the end of June (sucks for Canada)
• Waitresses in the US get paid super crappy (like sometimes 3.75 an hour) but Canadians don’t know that so they don’t tip which means American waitresses hate when they get seated Canadians at their table
• Canada has a grad for grade 12 which combines the commencement ceremony and a big party (that serves alcohol) that lasts all night.  The US separates these into a Prom (for both 11th and 12th grade) that people spend tons of money on and you can’t drink at. Then they have a graduation day with the commencement ceremony in May with open houses where people give you tons of money. Not sure which one I like better, Canada probably wins because booze is served at theirs.  Plus if you don’t have a date to the American prom you don’t go- that sucks!
• I am not going to go into the Health Care!
• The different colored money in Canada is way cooler. I have mixed up 1s and 10s in the US a few times

I am sure I will think of more differences between Canada and the US after I post this so I will add on if I do and feel free to comment below if you have your own differences you would like to share!

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Indoor Kid Activities: Around the House Scavenger Hunt

Posted by Christy on Jun 4, 2013 in Kiddos: Activities & Ideas | 0 comments

Hunter’s summer vacation kicked off with two rainy days so far.  Yesterday morning we went to the park early to beat the rain but today there was no beating it.  This around the house scavenger hunt is a great idea if you are looking for some indoor kid activities to spend a rainy day.

Grab a pad of paper or use the computer to create a checklist of things that can be found around your house, give the kiddos a bag or box and pen, and let them search around the house finding their items.

I made two versions of the scavenger hunt; one for Hunter (6) and one for the girls (3).  Hunter’s was more complex and he had to read the scavenger hunt items himself.

Some examples on Hunter’s scavenger hunt were:

• Find a toy that is green
• Find a book that has the word “the” in the title
• Find two toys that are the same
• Find a toy that starts with the letter T
• Something brown that you color with
• A blue article of clothing
• Two things that are opposites

Some examples on Riley and Emmy’s scavenger hunt were:

• Find a rocket
• Find a doll
• Find an Angry Bird
• Find a book

I sent Hunter on his own to find is stuff and told him I would verify what he found when he was done.  I went around with the girls and we found the stuff together.

 

This indoor scavenger hunter was a great activity to keep the kids busy on a rainy day.  They got a treat if they found all the items on their list which was a tootsie roll.

We ended up doing this over a few times with different lists, the only negative is having to put all the stuff back after it’s found.  The kids didn’t like that part too much!

Looking for more indoor kid activities?

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Teaching Kids About Where They Live Activity

Posted by Christy on May 20, 2013 in Kiddos: Activities & Ideas | 0 comments

It’s hard for kids to comprehend where they fit into the world in terms of they live in different towns or cities, countries, etc.  The girls and I spent a rainy day learning about where we live and how we fit into the world.

All of my family lives in Canada while we live in the USA where all of my husband’s family lives.  This has been difficult for the kids to understand, I am hoping this Where We Live Activity will help my kiddos understand about where we live a little better.

I did four stages for the girls; my house, my town, my state, and my country.  With Hunter I would take it even further and add my continent and the world.

 Materials Needed for Where I live Activity

• Plastic lids from ice cream, sour cream, butter containers
• Children’s craft foam
• Hole punch
• Scissors
• Markers
• Metal clip or key ring

Directions for Where I Live Activity

1. Cut four circles with the plastic lids, each one a little bigger than the other.

2. Cut the same size circles with the children’s craft foam.  You can either stick the craft foam on yourself or have the kids stick it on.

3. Hole punch each circle in the same spot

4. Have your kids write or you write the My House, Town/City, State, and My Country on each piece and decorate.  I thought about printing out some pictures and having them glue them on each circle, I might do that with Hunter since he is older.

  

5. Put all the pieces together in order and attach with the metal clip or key ring.

Teaching kids about where they live can be a fun activity and there are many possibilities for customizing this activity.  Googling pictures or maps of cities, states, or counties is just one example of how you can update this.  You can have kids cut out maganize pictures that reminds they of the different section and glue them on or print pictures of maps to glue one with their sections circled.

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DIY Fridge Magnet Organizers

Posted by Christy on May 13, 2013 in For the Home, Sewing & Crafts | 4 comments

These handy DIY fridge magnet organizers are made using cereal boxes and are quite simple to make.  The idea started with with a jar of Box Tops that were sitting on my counter that I collect for my son’s school.  The jar started getting on my nerves sitting on my already limited counter space but I still wanted to have the Box Tops in the open so I would remember to clip them and save them.

Materials Needed for DIY Magnet Organizers

• One or two cereal boxes depending on the sizes and shapes you are making
• ModgePodge
• Fabric to cover the boxes (you could also use any kind of paper)
• Sponge brush
• Magnets (not ones with adhesive back)
• Glue gun

  

Directions for DIY Fridge Magnet Organizers

Box 1:  Letter Holder or Box Top Holder

I made two different sizes of boxes, one that can hold letters or Box Tops and one that can hold pens and pencils.  The directions below are for the fridge magnet organizer that holders letters, papers, or Box Tops.  The directions for organizer box for pens or pencils are below this first box.

Step 1:  Cut out your base piece right on the bottom fold of the box. Mine measured 12 inches by 8 inches when all laid out.

Step 2:  Cut an inch inside each side of the box right along the bottom fold.

Step  3:  Fold the bottom cuts of the box up and the front and back edges of the box up.

Step 4:  Cut a piece of fabric big enough to cover the inside back of the box.  Because the back is higher than the front pouch of the box, you will want to cover it will fabric.  You don’t have to be exact because you can trim the fabric after it has dried.

Step 5:  Cover the inside back of the box with a coat of ModgePodge using your sponge brush, and place your fabric or paper over the ModgePode.  Make sure to smooth out any wrinkles or bumps.

Step 6:  Cut enough fabric to cover the front and sides of the box.  You won’t need to cover the back because it will be hidden by the fridge.

Step 7:  Coat the front and sides of the box with ModgePodge and place your fabric over it making sure to smooth out any wrinkles and bumps.  Depending on what your cereal box looks like you might want to do two layers of fabric or a layer of white paper or fabric over the box first.

Step 8:  Let dry for about 20 minutes.

Step 9:  Fold the sides up and use your hot glue gun to glue them together to make the box.

Step 10:  Use your hot glue gun to glue the magnets on the back.

Directions for DIY Fridge Magnet Organizers

Box 2:  Organizer for Pens and Pencils.

Step 1:  Cut the bottom corner of the cereal box out.  Mine was 5.5 inches tall and I left 4 inches on each side of the box.  When folded in each side of the box was just over two 2 inches.

Step 2:  Cut the two open bottom fold lines in about an inch and fold up then fold the inside flap over.

Step 3:  Use your hot glue fun to glue the box together.

Step 4:  Lay your box on your fabric and cut a piece that will cover your entire box while leaving an inch on the top and bottom of fabric to cover the bottom and top.

Step 5:  Coat the entire box with ModgePodge and lay your fabric on top like you are wrapping a present with the two ends left open.  Make sure to smooth out any creases or bumps by running your fingers over the fabric.

Step 6:  Fold the two ends of the bottom fabric in then over and coat the entire bottom with ModgePodge so the fabric on the bottom stays in place.

 

Step 7:  Coat the inside top inch of the box with ModgePodge and fold the insides of the fabric down into the box and flatten out any creases or bumps with your fingers.

 

Step 8:  Because the magnets will be glued to the fabric for the second box you should let the ModgePodge dry overnight before hot gluing the magnets to the back.

These DIY fridge magnet organizers do add some cute color and style to my out dated kitchen that will hopefully be updated in the next year or two!

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DIY Mother’s Day Gift: Picture Flower Pot

Posted by Christy on Apr 23, 2013 in For the Home, Kiddos: Activities & Ideas, Sewing & Crafts | 9 comments

I actually didn’t make this pot for mother’s day the kids and I made it for Grandma’s birthday but since Mother’s Day is approaching I thought this would give people a good idea for something to make for Mother’s Day.  This flower pot is a great DIY Mother’s Day gift that the kids can help make and both the kids and mom or grandma will love seeing the faces.

Materials Needed for Picture Flower Pot

• Terracotta Pot and Tray
• Crafter’s Paint
• Outdoor ModgePodge
• Camera, computer, printer
• Brushes
• Flower or plant

  

Directions for Picture Flower Pot

 

First take pictures of the kids preferably in front of the same color as the base of your pot (I took ours in front of our white shower curtain) with their arms up in the air like they are “growing.”  Then print the pictures on plain copy paper.  Make sure you let the pictures dry for at least 8 hours or the ink will run when putting them on the pot.  Cut the pictures out with only a small border or white around them.

Then take your pot and saucer and paint it whatever colors you would like.

Once the initial paint was dry I let the kids each take turns painting on the pot.

After everything is dry coat your areas of the pot where the pictures will go with ModgePodge and place your pictures.  Let them dry for about 30 minutes.

After the undercoat of the ModgePodge is dry place a top coat with a sponge brush very carefully over the entire pot.  Watch to make sure the ink from our pictures does not run so be very gently with the coat.

Let the first top coat dry for about an hour and then do another coat over the entire pot and saucer.

The kids had fun going to the local nursery and picking on a flower.  They decided on a cute white daisy in the end after much debate.  I was originally going to put a quote on the pot like, “thanks for helping us grow” or “Grand Kids are growing”  or “Watch us Grow”  but decided against it.

This picture flower pot is a super cute DIY Mother’s Day gift idea especially for Grandmas.

  

Other DIY Mother’s Day Gift Ideas…

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