• clean_water_challenge
    family - Health

    Join World Vision Water Challenge Twitter Party May 3 #WorldVisionWater

    April 22, 2016 - By 

    How often do you think about water? Do you wake up wondering where it will come from today? Do you worry about leaving your family to walk for miles to collect a bucket of water for all of you to use? Does your heart hurt thinking that your child will never be able to attend school if he or she has to walk to collect water for your family? Do you consider whether you will have enough water to cook dinner, wash hands, clean clothing, bathe? I didn’t think so. I rarely thought about water here, until World Vision Canada…

  • spring_word_search
    Printables

    Fun Spring Word Search for Kids

    April 22, 2016 - By 

    I’ve got a Spring word search for kids on my mind today. If you know me at all, then you know that my entire family loves printable fun word searches and crosswords. Last night I supervised my daughter doing a cute crossword for grade nine English class. It was all about literary terms like – fill in the word – a comparison using like is called a: SIMILE. And a comparison that doesn’t use like is a: Metaphor. Anyways that was fun homework. I can totally get behind that kind of homework. This Free Spring Word Search for kids is not…

  • Giveaways

    Weekend Flash Giveaway

    April 22, 2016 - By 

    Hello weekend! It’s time for a chance to win a Flash Giveaway prize. I’m happy to offer you another chance to win again this weekend. What are you up to this weekend? We had one daughter who was super sick this week and home for three days. Thankfully she’s better now and I am looking forward to getting back on track. For THREE Days ONLY we are offering this Flash Giveaway! One lucky reader will receive $50 USD Paypal Cash or Amazon Gift Card!! This giveaway is for THREE Days Only! Enter Now! We are making it easy peasy to enter!…

  • school_lunches
    family - Food

    Five Fun School Lunches

    April 21, 2016 - By 

    I am a proud MOM of a tween and teen. Most of the time they make their own lunches. Most of the time. Not always. The youngest is still bit hit and miss, but that’s okay. They are both pretty good at packing a balanced lunch, but on occasion we have all been guilty of packing boring school lunches. Anyways, a decade of packing lunches, or supervising kids packing lunches, I have learned a few pointers to pass on and motivate them to build some good habits. Let’s face it lunch can be a totally boring meal. It’s the one I am most…

  • parenting

    Teacher Appreciation Week Free Printables

    April 20, 2016 - By 

    Did you know that it is Teacher Appreciation Week coming up May 2 – 6? Teachers can and often do make a huge impact on a child’s life. A really dedicated and kind, caring professional can change the course of a child’s future. I believe in rewarding people and other classmates who help my children at school. So, for instance, with certain classmates of my daughter, I make sure to buy Christmas presents, or send an extra snack once in awhile so my daughter can share. When we were KinderCanada ambassadors a couple of years ago I would have her…

  • inn_at_mount_julian
    Travel

    Viamede Resort’s Inn at Mount Julian – Best Meal I Have Ever Eaten

    April 19, 2016 - By 

    Food as an Adventure The Inn at Mount Julian is an unassuming, intimate, cozy space. A part of Viamede Resort, the Inn is part of a century old, newly renovated family and couples resort, on Stoney Lake in the Kawarthas area just north of Toronto. A fine dining experience, grounded clearly by the area’s landscape and the abundant local farms and resources, the Inn at Mount Julian is exceptional. The resort and The Inn subscribe to a locavore food philosophy that means all the food is locally sourced. This is the story of the meal I almost didn’t eat. It was…

  • active family travel - Travel

    Viamede Resort is a Gem in the Kawarthas

    April 18, 2016 - By 

    I’ve been dancing around this post for a couple of weeks trying to decide what is Viamede Resort? Is it a family resort? Is it a romantic weekend getaway? A summer cottage destination? Conference centre? It’s all that and more. The beauty of Viamede Resort is that it becomes pretty much what you want it to be. On Easter weekend my family and I were invited to visit Viamede Resort, a gorgeous spot on Stoney Lake with a world class fine dining restaurant that is on its own entirely worth the four hour drive. You can read more about The Inn…

  • dirty-oreo-cupcakes
    family - Food

    Oreo Cupcakes Are Perfect for Your Two Foot Tornado

    April 15, 2016 - By 

    Do you have a little mess magnet? Chances are if you have children, then you have a mess magnet! I have one of those. She’s a little tornado inside any room she enters. It’s hard to maintain a clean kitchen or living room, or any other space when she’s around. Once in awhile it’s okay to indulge that chaos and even embrace it. That’s what these worms in dirty Oreo Cupcakes are all about. These Dirty Oreo Cupcakes would be great for a birthday party, or a bake sale. But I really like the idea of making them for Earth Day.…

  • flowering-trees
    family - homes

    Five Flowering Trees – Put a Splash of Colour on Your Lawn

    April 14, 2016 - By 

    Flowering trees are beautiful. They can add a pop of colour and a three dimensional beauty to any yard. The problem with landscaping with flowering trees, however, is the sheer number of trees to choose from. Today, let’s take a look at a few of the trees that can add beauty to lawns in Canada and the U.S. 5 Flowering Trees – Hardy Beauties for Your Lawn There are many, many different trees to choose from, but not all trees are created equal. Only some will do well in certain climates, so it’s important to know if a tree can withstand…

  • water_challenge
    family - Health

    Take The World Vision Canada Water Challenge #WorldVisionWater

    April 13, 2016 - By 

    All children should have the chance to grow up happy and healthy. Kids who do not have access to clean water don’t have that opportunity, which is part of the reason I am happy to take the World Vision Canada clean water challenge. A few weeks ago my family started the World Vision Canada water challenge. The goal was to get everyone here thinking about children and families around the world and the scarcity of clean water as a resource. It was also my intention to help my kids to see how many sources of clean water we have available to us here in…