Ba Ba Dum - Learn a Language and Have some Fun - Imparare una Lingua Divertendoti

The Webby's Award Winners were announced this week and as I was browsing through some of the sites to see what's new and best out there in the WWW, I started to play Ba Ba Dum, a site nominated in the Games category.

People always ask me how I learnt Italian or how they can learn English and I always say that the key is making it fun and not taking it seriously. Ba Ba Dum blends these two ideas seemlessly and provides a free vocabulary building game in 5 different languages. It's great for kids too! If you're hoping to learn something new today, check it out!

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I premiati del Webby Awards sono stati annunciati questa settimana ho iniziato a giocare a Ba Ba Dum, un sito nominato nella categoria dei Giochi. 

Spesso gente mi chiedono come ho imparato Italiano o come possono imparare l'inglese e ho sempre sostenuto che la chiave per imparare sta nel rendendolo divertente e non prenderlo sul serio. Ba Ba Dum prende queste idee e fornisce un gioco per imparare le lingue in 5 lingue diverse, Inglese e Italiano comprese. Se state sperando di imparare qualcosa di nuovo oggi, check it out!

♥ Jess

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Quick Quick! Toca Boca Apps are on sale today!

Just got an email that one of my favourite kids' app developers is having a 24 hour sale! You can get any of these apps for just $0.99 today! If I hadn't already bought most of them at full price I'd be going on a shopping spree!

Toca Hair Salon 2  Toca Kitchen Toca House  Toca Tailor Toca Band  Toca Store Toca Train Toca Tea Party  Toca Doctor HD (iPad) Toca Doctor (iPhone) Toca Robot Lab I hope you and your kids enjoy them as much s Sera and I do. If you do happen to take advantage of the sale because you've read this post please leave me a comment below! Thanks!

Testing Out Canva Giveaway

I just got access to Canva, the coolest on line graphic design web-app suite and have been playing around with it to see what it can do.  It's really awesome!  It's a drag and drop system with really wonderful graphics to choose from. The image above was made in less than 5 minutes and the whole thing has been customised.  It's a great little tool to have for quick party invites, e-cards, blog graphics, photo collages and more. You'll definitely be seeing more of it's uses here on Buonaserababy in the future cause I'm super excited about the possibilities!

I had to wait a few weeks from the time of registration for my account to be set up because the program is still somewhat closed, but the great news is I have 5 instant access accounts available for my blog readers to join up. I'm holding my first giveaway for my readers to be able to grab their access to Canva immediately.

You can join in 2 ways. Either like Buonaserababy on Facebook, or leave a comment to this post. Or, if you do both you'll have more chance to win!  Use the widget below to join! The giveaway ends on Monday so act fast!

Best of luck! And happy designing!


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A Funny Thing Happened - My Beginners' Italian (anche in italiano!)

Woody Allen by Kerry Waghorn

AMICI ITALIANI!!! - VERSIONE ITALIANO IN BASSO!

I'm lucky enough to hear compliments on a regular basis on my fluency in Italian.  Either it's because Italians are very kind to foreigners learning their language or it's because I've actually mastered the language after living here for the past 9 years.

People often continue in the conversation to say how they're envious and would love to learn a second language themselves, but that it would be too complicated or they don't have time or that they're just not language minded. They tell me it's too late.  First of all, if you're still breathing I don't think it's ever too late to try something... even if you don't succeed at it.  Secondly, no language doesn't come to everyone easily and at times it can be embarrassing, but eventually with persistence, patience and a sense of humour it will come

Here is an anecdote from my own personal journey towards my current level of Italian:

I was studying 3D computer graphics shortly after arriving in Italy and all my classes were held, amphitheatre style, in Italian.  My way of following the classes and learning what I needed to know for the exams consisted of me writing everything down in notebooks, even the words I didn't understand, for review later on at home.  The notebooks from those days are classics and I with I had photographed them now to share with you. Every word is spelled incorrectly, every word misunderstood.
One of my courses was Film History.  I sat through the invention of Cinema and the Lumiere brothers and up through Charlie Chaplain without any trouble having done it all before.  The course was going OK and I felt confident that my Italian was also improving.
One day the teacher came in and started his lecture about the films of Woody Allen.  I was a bit surprised because I didn't realise that Woody Allen, though a great film maker, merited an entire 3 hour lecture to himself.  'I film di Woody Allen' this and 'I film di Woody Allen' that. The teacher went on and on.  I put it down to cultural differences.... maybe Italians LOVE Woody Allen??
When the next weeks lecture started much in the same way.... with 'I film di Woody Allen' I was confused and worried.  Surely a culture couldn't be obsessed with Woody Allen.... I peeked over to a neighbours notebook and to my horror found these words:
I film hollywoodiano
The translation is not the films of Woody Allen but rather the films of Hollywood.  That's why the lectures made no sense.  I was certain that Woody Allen had nothing to do with 2001 a Space Odyssey.

And on that note, as a special treat to my Italian readers I will attempt to translate this post, as best I can into my adoptive country's language... please forgive me.

If you also want to learn Italian here's a good place to start.

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Sono molto fortunata perché ricevo spesso i complimenti sul mio Italiano.  Non so se è perché i italiani sono generosi con i complimenti oppure perché veramente sono bilingue dopo 9 anni di residenza qui a Milano. 

I stessi che mi fanno complimenti dicono che sono invidiosi e vorranno imparare anche loro una seconda lingua (sopratutto Inglese). Dicono che non c'è tempo oppure non sono bravi ad imparare. Dicono che è troppo tardi, ormai.  Nel mio parere, se respiri ancora non e mai troppo tardi per qualsiasi cosa nuova... almeno di provare anche se i risultati non sono quelli che aspetti.  Poi credo anche che imparando una lingua nuova è difficile si, ma con pazienza e un senso di umorismo si può fare.

Adesso vi racconto una piccola storia di una mia prima esperienza in Italiano.

Appena sono arrivata in Italia ho iniziato un corso di Grafica 3D. Parlavo il minimo Italiano immaginabile.  I miei corso erano in una grande Aula con tantissimi studenti.  Ho deciso di seguire i corsi scrivendo tutto quanto che sentivo passare per le orecchie su un quaderno e poi a casa mettere insieme i pezzi del puzzle nella mia mente.  I quaderni di quei tempi sono pieni di parole miscelati, scritti male e tradotti in maniera brutale.Dovevo seguire un corso di storia di cinema.  L'ho seguivo dal introduzione dei fratelli Lumiere a Charlie Chaplain e oltre. Mi sembrava che tutto stava andando bene. Ero contenta che finalmente cominciavo a capire Italiano.Un giorno il docente inizia a parlare dei film di Woody Allen. E parla, e parla, e poi parla ancora dei film di Woody Allen.... ero un pò sconvolta perché anche se Woody Allen e un bravo filmaker, non pensavo che meritava 3 ore di classe.  Magari i Italiani AMANO davvero Woody Allen?La settimana dopo la lesione inizia nel stesso modo. I film di Woody Allen. I film di Woody Allen. I film di Woody Allen.  Non potevo credere!! Guardo il quaderno del tizio al mio fianco e inorridito vedo queste parole:
 I film hollywoodiano.Al mio orecchio Inglese i due frasi erano uguali.  Adesso ho capito il motivo per quale le lezione non avevano senso.  E poi ero quasi sicuro che Woody Allen non avevo da fare con 2001 Odissea Nello Spazio.

Allora, amici italiani.... sto facendo il mio meglio per condividere questa esperienza con voi per farti vedere che siamo tutti idioti mentre impariamo nuove lingue e non dovete temere niente!  Al massimo fai un gaffe... ma la vita è troppo breve per non provare... per avere de rimpianti... o per dubitare.

Se vuoi imparare inglese davvero, farlo.... se no, smetti di dirti che vorresti farlo.
E se vuoi farlo puoi provare con questo sito. Sto usandolo per migliorare il mio Francese ;-)

Finished my Headspace Journey

I'm sure I've mentioned in the past my love for meditation and mindfulness.  It's really been life-changing for me and has put me in a happier place.

Today I have cause for celebration. A little over a year ago I first started meditation with an app (believe it or not) called getsomeheadspace and today I finished the series. That's 365 20 minute meditations!

I didn't manage to finish in exactly a year because I didn't manage to sit to meditate daily, but I still feel this is an amazing personal accomplishment.  Here's how my life has changed as a direct result of meditating daily this past year:

• I am more aware of everyday moments.  For example, I have decided I don't like minty toothpaste, I just always use it because I always have.
• I am more aware of the choices I am making while I am making them and am less attached to my convictions.  I'm more flexible.
• I am treating my body better and making healthy choices for eating, sleeping and exercises.
• I have managed to find total recovery from post-partum depression and post traumatic stress disorder
• I have less emotional outbursts and feel like my emotions are not something to worry about.
• I see life from a better perspective and don't get hung up on little things
• I enjoy helping people more
• I am a better mother and wife
• I am better at letting go of what I can't control
• I have less expectations and go with the flow more often.

It's a bit of a crazy list and makes me seem as if I was quite unbalanced before I started meditation, but I suppose in a lot of way I was. I'm 100% grateful for all of these positive changes and thrilled to have found a way to unwind and take a step back from this hectic world to just find some peace.

I'm going to be continuing on my meditation journey by revisiting some of the topics I found in Headspace as well as continuing to follow meditation challenges as they come up (there's a free one available now with Deepak Choprah) and by practicing yoga and mediation with my teacher here in Milan.  There's just too much to gain in continuing to stop now. I feel like it's a lifelong habit that will keep me younger, grounded and healthy for longer.

I wish you the same success if you decide that you'd also like to meditate. Headspace is a great place to start.  If you do let me know how it goes!

What I've Been Doing Wednesday

Has it really been a week since I've posted? Naughty me!  Here's a quick catchup on what you've missed:

Sera started 'Sezione Primavera' which is a grade between Pre-school and Kindergarten for kids born from January to May. In Italy the grade a child is in is determined by the year they were born and not from September to September like in Canada.  Sera was born in 2011 so can't qualify for real Kindergarten but is too old for Preschool/daycare cause she's basically at the same level as the kids born 28 days earlier than her.  Sezione Primavera is for the kids born from January though the springtime of the year following who will turn three this year but don't officially qualify for actual Kindergarten.

All this said, the insermento* is going horribly.  Sera seems to hate her class and cries a lot every morning when I drop her off. This morning she grabbed onto my leg and told me 'I don't like school.' through her tears.  It's really tough for both of us.  My heart breaks a little and when I leave I stand outside the door until I hear her stop crying. The teachers say she doesn't cry long but instead curls up and tries to sleep on the couch... which I imagine can't be easy in a small room with twenty loud and crazy kids.  I hope it gets better soon especially since last year she loved her old school and was very excited to go every morning.

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When the weather gets colder and the leaves start changing colours I have a few things I always instinctively do.  I start researching soup recipes, thinking about getting out my winter clothes (though I never do until it's too late and I'm freezing in the house in a tank-top) and I drag out my pink-polka dot bag with all of my knitting needles.  That's my official cue that the fall has arrived.

This week I have started a new project... a scarf and hat for Sera. The wool was gifted to me by an amazing crochet artist friend and x-neighbour named Daniela Cerri several years ago for my birthday and has been crying out to be used now for ages. It's very woolly and fluffy and I've used an amazing pompom tutorial for some creative finishes so keep your eyes open for the completed work... In the meantime here's a peek.... though it's not quite finished Sera has told me 'It's my favorite!'


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On a spiritual journey update I have started Yoga classes on Mondays and an definitely enjoying them. The practise is pretty much one-on-one with the teacher and is very very meditation centred. It's good because I'm already quite involved in my daily meditations so it's just a bonus that I have even more clarity during the class.  Speaking of meditation, a new series with Deepak Chopra 'The Secrets of Mediattion' started on Monday so I'm super excited for that. It's not to late to join in and it's really really accessible to beginners. And it's free!  The last 21 day meditation challenge I did with Deva Premal and Miten was surprising.  I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did and definitely didn't expect to adopt a mantra practise, but by day 6 I was 100% loving it. It's taught me that it's worth trying something new and letting go of your prejudices.

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Here's a quick list on the rest of what's been keeping me away from you:

What I've been watching: Continuum Season 2

What I've been reading: A brilliant article on Painful Periods and an alternative to disposable sanitary products by Christina at A Clean Plate - I had been meaning to write a similar article but couldn't have said it better. She talks about diet at the beginning of the article but then goes onto talking about something I love love love...

What I've been working on: Animating the kiss scene from Hick!

What app I've been using: Duolingo to brush up on my French. It's so embarrassing to have come from Quebec and not speak a word!

Where I've been: We spent the weekend in Piemonte near Barolo drinking amazing wines and eating tartufo with friends. Yum!


*inserimento is a period of time where a child is introduced slowly to a new school environment by gradually increasing the time away from the mother on a daily basis.  This period normally lasts 2 weeks.

wonderful FREE apps for toddlers 2

As a followup to my previous posts on Apps for Toddlers I thought I'd direct your attention to some more fabulous apps for toddlers, all free free free!! at the app store:

Here's are a few more of our favourite free apps:

• Spatter & Spark - adorable graphics that are hard to resist.

• Toca Tailor Fairy Tales - Hours of Dress up fun from our friends at Toca Boca

• Elmo Loves ABCs Lite - Though this is a lite version of a full app it's a great place to start with your ABCs and offers everything you've come to expect in terms of quality from the Sesame Street workshop.

yoga monday

I have a membership at the local gym and they offer a yoga class on Monday evenings which I go to when I get the chance.  I'll probably go tonight.

I'm interested in yoga but can't say I'm 'into' it as such or that I practise it daily in the same way I practise meditation, but I do dabble. I have to say that I can see the draw and the benefits when I manage to stick to it for more than a few times in a row.  But, being a busy mum and my gym only offering it twice a week (the other slot is during the afternoon when I'm home with Sera) I don't get around to practising as much as I'd like to.

If you also can't get to a course or a class there are a few ways of practising yoga at home that I've found helpful. I sometimes follow along with a DVD by Antonia Kidman.  It's a bit fast paced for me at times and she does a lot of sun salutes which can be quite cardiovascular so I'm not always feeling up to it.

Another option, though much more technical and clinical in nature is a free app offered by women's health magazine Hot Body Yoga. There are set programs which 'talk you into and out of' poses and asanas. There are a few very brief sequences which are nice to follow.

I also have a copy of Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness Meditation Practise  CDs. There are 4 CDs in totla, two of which are 45minute long yoga sessions that you're meant to follow at home as a compliment to the guided meditation study on the other 2 CDs. These CDs are meant for people who are trying to attain a higher level of mindfulness and stress management in their daily lives whether they are facing physical challenges or not, but the practise does stem from a medical background.

When I practise at home sometimes Sera joins along with me. She can do pretty much any of the poses that I can and often much more successfully. I think as soon as she turns 3 we'll look for a course we can go to together as Mummy - Kid Yoga is becoming popular here as well.

Just for fun check out this video: Yoga for Wine Lovers and you'll be touching on a few of my favorite subjects

what's on your mind?

Since I can remember I've struggled with the inner workings of my own mind. I tend to think too much, to analyse what other people's intentions might or might not have been and to suffer from worry for the future or nostalgia for the past. I never really managed to 'live in the moment'. From experience I know that this can lead to unhappiness despite life being 'on track' or everything being ok, even good.

Even when Sera was born, when I had everything in the world I could have possibly wanted, I found it very hard to keep my mind from remembering some negative experiences I had directly after the birth and suffered some post-partum depression because of it.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon an app this past summer which has really changed all of that for me. Changed my life actually... Well, not the app itself, but the skills it has taught me have changed my life.

Created by Andy Puddicome, an x-Buddhist monk, getsomeheadspace.com and its connected app aim to teach people, through mindfulness meditation, how to actually live within their lives. To actually be present with the moment, and to train the mind to stay with the moment at any given time. For example, when you're washing the dishes, you're washing the dishes. When you're eating an apple, you're eating an apple and when you're spending time with the people you love you're actually there with them, not just physically but mentally present as well... You're not thinking about fixing up the house, the pile of work you left on your desk for tomorrow, or that conversation that didn't go well with the barista at the coffee shop this morning and what you should have said to him when he spilt the coffee all over your new shoes.

Every day now for the past 236 days now I've been sitting down to meditate, connected with my headphones to the iPod for 10 or 20 minutes. Puddicome guides you with his voice (nice British accent!) into a state of relaxation and then helps you to visualise different scenarios which you can then apply to your everyday life.

For example, your thoughts do not 'belong to you' you can watch them pass as you would cars down a road.... You don't have to hold onto the positive ones or run away from the negative ones... You can just watch as they come and go.

Or: the sky is always blue.... Clouds come an go and just block our view of it (I particularly like this one because it reminds me that its always sunny somewhere).

I love the way the meditations go because they have no religion or excessive spirituality involved with them. There are no mantras or chanting or religious icons and figures involved. It's just you, alone with yourself for a little bit each day.

I recommend trying it out if only for the first 10 days in which you only sit for 10 minutes a day. It's like a quick workout for your mind and then you're charged and ready for the rest of your day. It lets me be a better wife, mum and friend for the rest of the day as well, which the people who know me can definitely confirm!

I have, since starting with the getsomeheadspace app, investigated other sources of meditation training and mindfulness training including reading books on the subject and following online meditation seminars as well. Jon Kabat-Zinn has some wonderful books and Deepak Chopra probably has the most soothing voice I've ever hear, but more on that another time.

Best of luck with your own spiritual and self-discovery journey from a fellow traveller!

Wonderful FREE apps for toddlers

How many of you have iPods, iPads or iPhones?  It seems that nowadays there really indispensable tools in a parent's arsenal of activities for their kids.  Sera uses Fabri's phone or my old iPod motsly only when we're in restaurants, and our iPad when we're at home, but only on special occasions (like Sunday morning when I don't want to get out of bed at 6:30am!)

Here's are a few of our favourite free apps:

• Toca Kitchen Monsters - Cook for 2 monsters and learn their tastes in food

• Goodnight Safari - Adorable animated e-book for chiling out at lights-out! 

• Toddler Seek and Find In the Morning - watch as your little one taps and taps and taps the page to find out what happens

Kid Art - To keep or to bin?

Every parent has been there at some point... What to do with your little angel's masterpieces?

Should you devote a room in the house to them?
Bin them as soon as they arrive?
Make a photo scrapbook for them and put the originals 'in storage' (generally meaning they're being stored at a recycling facility).
Or maybe an entire wall? The above photo comes out of Vogue and sure looks lovely!

It's a real dilemma... And becoming more of a problem in our household as Sera is starting to bud into a little VanGogh. Here's some strategies we've used or tested:

Last holiday season we used quite a bit of Sera's art as homemade wrapping paper. It went over very well so we've continued the trend through to birthday, new baby, and housewarming gifts as well.
There's an app for all you iPhone users that hopes to resolve the problem of archiving the kids' work, Artkive. I haven't personally been able to use it because the whole idea is to take photos of the artwork and then get rid of them. it has lots of options to add the date and to use for more than one kid but what ended up happening in my case was i still couldn't bring myself to throwing the originals. I've effectively managed to double the problem!
Letting the little one be creative digitally. This strategy works because kids are fast learners and can figure out a way to be creative in almost any form, you can stored loads of digital info nowadays without losing precious square meters in your apartment and its mess-free. It does have its downside as well. No computer or iPad program could ever compare with the delight children feel when they've actually created something they can see and touch. That's why parents for generations have been investing in fridge magnets for prime display positions in the house. I think that digital artwork should be a compliment to and not a replacement for finger paints, potato stamps, wax crayons, craft glue with tissue paper and rainbow coloured markers.

What about you dear readers.... Have you got any creative ways to display, preserve, store or filter your kids works? Do tell!

Shells on Uncooked Salt Dough - 2013 SJL