I’m currently writing an article for Mother’s Day about mamas who don’t have their own mothers around. It’s fascinating to me that people can raise children when their own moms are not retired, living locally, emotionally involved or alive. So, you have that happy read to look forward to. In the meantime it got me thinking about another valuable player in the extended family - the childless aunt.
I had a childless aunt who we tragically lost to breast cancer a dozen years ago when she was only 46-years-old. For the time that we did have her, she was a committed babysitter, sleepover participator, baseball and hockey game attendee, dance recital enthusiast and crazy eights player. She set out to make each and every one of her 16 nieces and nephews feel tremendously special and did a decent job of it.
My children are fortunate to have a collection of seriously invested and interested aunts and uncles. But there is a unique relationship they have with my childless sister, affectionately known to all as “Mare”.
A couple of weeks ago, my Number One Son announced that Monday was his favourite day of the week. It made no sense to me - Monday is the first day back at school and on Monday evenings he attends a two-hour reading group. Not exactly a nine-year-old boy’s idea of fun since reading group is a far cry from hockey games or Pokemon battles. He reminded me that on Mondays my sister, Mare, picks him up from reading group and takes him for a burger before returning him home.

During their time together, my boy gets to tap into Mare’s knowledge and experience, which is wide and varied. I’m not sure why or how, but Mare is fluent in the language of “nine-year-old boy” and can speak in length and detail about Star Wars, sharks, retro comic books, cartoons, etc. Clearly, it just doesn’t get much better than that!

When we are all at the cottage, I’m fairly occupied keeping the place tidy, fixing lunch and settling babies for naps. While I’m doing those little tasks, Mare is swimming with the kids, setting up treasure hunts or collecting bugs with them. My kiddos think that my older sister is a teenager.

When we become mamas, we suddenly recognize and value our relationships in different ways. In preparing the Mother’s Day article it became quite clear to me that those of you who are doing this mama gig without a mother OR a childless sister are pretty impressive. Kudos to you - I don’t know how you do it.

It’s so hard to find a good toy that is both fun for your child and at the same time throws in a bit of education.  I mean really, the greatest gifts my children have ever received are usually the boxes they come in.

I came across the Noobee on www.pookafun.com and thought that I had stumbled upon the perfect combination.  It’s a book, game, toy all wrapped up into one little package.  You really have to see it for yourself I don’t think I could explain it to justice.  It can be carried along wherever you travel, is machine washable and has countless of activities for your child that will keep them entertained for hours (and let’s be honest who can’t use a little peace and quiet every now and than?)

The illustrations on the Pookafun are bright, the shapes are easily recognizable and best of all there are NO BATTERIES REQUIRED! 

It really is a fun toy for the kids that help them learn their abc’s, 123’s and their colours all at the same time.

It makes a great toy for your child and an even better gift for someone else – because there really is nothing out there like it.

Check them out at www.pookafun.com