Disclaimer :: We received this ultimate cozy corner GARDEN PLAYHOUSE from Coco Village for review. All opinions are our own. With the Christmas Holidays just around the corner, my little homeschoolers seem to have already checked out. Between the changing seasons, chilly weather, and their natural inclination to staying in their fuzzy jammies for the […]
BACK TO THE FUTURE :: FAM-O-WEEN 2021
Back to the Future, with the Balinos, FAM-O-WEEN/ Halloween 2021It’s 2021 and, well… not much has changed as far as the worries and uncertainties of 2020. Yes, we have since been fortunate to be offered vaccines and hope for a new day – but life has yet to be back to how it once was, […]
Back To Homeschool, Hello Preschool
Here we are – it’s back to homeschool 2021/2022. The reaction to this decision has been relatively divided – understandably so. Why on earth would I go back to the craziness that was 2020? The truth is – though it was a bumpy year, in more ways than one, we finally found our footing. We […]
Why Mama Needs Her Sass Back
Darling – I need my SASS back…Once upon a time, I was a big city girl, chasing her big city dreams. Refusing to let anything or anyone stand in my way, I found myself immersed in the glamour of Hollywood, working in TV & Film, Music, Beauty, and eventually transitioning into the world of Kid’s […]
One on One Time with my Toddler :: Coco Village Bike
One on one time with my toddler while homeschooling my 9 year old, has been near impossible these last couple months. In the summer it was easy to bring both of them out, keep both of them in, play with both of them on the beach (or in my case, read my book happily while […]
The Addams Family FAM-O-WEEN with the Balinos
Happy FAM-O-WEEN from The Addams Family … errr…. I mean, THE BALINO FAMILY! Anyone who has followed our Fam-O-Ween themes since 2011 knows that we try to find a family Halloween Costume theme that reflects how our year is going. Well.. let’s talk about the year in question… 2020. (Need I say more? Sigh.) What a weird […]
Pretend Play with the Coco Village Mini Market
Disclaimer :: We received the Coco Village Wooden Mini Market pretend play set for review. All opinions are our own. Our little ones haven’t spent much time at the supermarket lately for obvious reasons, so we decided we’d give them a little dose of market life in the comfort of their own home. A Wooden Mini […]
Santa Claus Theme Treats for Christmas :: The Gift of Giving
Santa Claus theme treats, Balino-style… in full effect! 2018 had proven to be a year of abundant gifts and blessings for our family. If you’ve been following our journey – you will have already been informed one way or another, that after 5 long and painful years, we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. On […]
5 Strategies for Raising an Independent Toddler :: Coco Village 2 in 1 Balance Bike
Raising an Independent toddler, child, or human for that matter, hasn’t always been part of my M.O as mom. Anyone who knows me well – heck, anyone who’s seen me with anyone’s child, let alone my own, knows that I completely define the meaning of helicopter parent. I am guilty of hovering, following, peeking, checking […]
Peter Pan and The Lost Balinos :: FAM-O-WEEN 2019
Peter Pan and The Lost Balinos :: Fam-O-Ween 2019 Lately, I’ve been looking at my kids who are growing at lightening speed and thinking to myself… SLOW DOWN! Stop growing so fast! It’s mind boggling that Little Mama is now an energetic, lover of all things embarrassing, hilarious little 8 year old, and my Little […]
Keeping Active With Springfree Trampoline :: #GIVEAWAY (Greater Victoria through Duncan, BC only)
Now that school is out, and our summer bucket lists are in full swing, we have been scratching our heads trying to figure out how we were going to make this summer different for our little ones. When our Springfree Trampoline made its way to our backyard, it was pretty much the answer to our […]
The 16 Essentials for throwing a Kid’s Rockstar Party :: Thanks to Cricut
Throwing a kid’s rockstar party is no joke. It takes a lot of little details to fine “tune” such an undertaking. Especially when the rockstar is your 8-year-old-rock-lovin’-heavy-metallin’-daughter. One who loves powdered pink, no less. There are some fun essentials every Mama or party planning parent of a rockstar kiddo needs to get the party […]
Spring Declutter :: To Purge or Not to Purge
Sorry I’ve been a little behind on my posts lately…. It’s Spring! Declutter season! That means revisiting every room, every closet, every cabinet, every nook, every cranny, and finding what (and what does not) spark joy. Not surprising, spring clean up also inevitably means the blog has been put on the back burner for the […]
11 Perks of Having a Wide Age Gap Between Siblings
It’s National Siblings Day and we are celebrating in coordinating outfits and coordinating smiles … Well… “ish”… The benefits of having a wide age gap between siblings has been something we have been weighing out since the day I found out I was pregnant for the second time – 6 years ago. With every pregnancy […]
Vegas, Baby :: FAM-O-WEEN 2018
This year has been a year of all the good stuff – Good luck, great fortune, and even grander blessings. Despite the odds, we took inconceivable risks (pun, intended) to build our family, and with every step taken on this journey, we had no choice but to close our eyes, roll the dice of life, and hope for a […]
DIY Kids Cleopatra and King Tut Halloween Costumes :: Encouraging Kids to Create
“Mommy, we wanna be Cleopatra and King Tut for Halloween”. Sigh. I wasn’t completely convinced that my 7 year old and <gasp> my 4.5 month old understood what this actually entailed. Ever since our local museum featured the beautiful and everso ornate and interactive Egypt: The Time of the Pharoahs display, my Little Mama has been […]
