• family - infertility

    Raise Your Voice IVF Funding Alberta Twitter Chat #abhc4ivf #abpoli

    October 7, 2014 - By 

    It’s time, Alberta. Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST. It’s time to raise your voice and make some noise on twitter. It’s time to challenge our notion of a health care system that is accessible to all. It’s time to tweet and talk and write and visit and share this message with the politicians in your area – the MLAs you vote into office. It’s time to tell them healthy families matter to everyone in Alberta and IVF funding matters to Alberta. By now you have to know the facts. I talk about them often enough here in this space.…

  • Travel

    The Strength of Women in Morales Duque, Colombia #TMMWVC #worldvisiongifts

    October 6, 2014 - By 

    The women of Morales Duque, in the south of Colombia, have gathered us inside a community centre. I am here to listen to their stories, as a representative of World Vision Canada visiting this country of contrasts. They hand us treats, and a traditional Colombian corn drink and a certificate signed by each member, thanking World Vision Canada. I thought I knew what strong resourceful women looked like. I know a lot about strong women in the context of Canada and the United States. I have never had to look far for brilliant female role models. My Mother, my grandmother,…

  • ontario_college_of_teachers
    parenting

    Three Ways to Stay Connected with Your Child’s School – The Ontario College of Teachers

    October 4, 2014 - By 

    Shutterstock images This is a sponsored post. I have been compensated. My opinion is all my own. If you parent a child that is in school then you will be familiar with this timeless afterschool exchange. “How was school today?” “Fine.” “Anything exciting happen?” “No.” “What did you do today at school?” “Nothing.” It’s the communications challenge of parents everywhere. Sometimes staying in the loop regarding your child’s education seems like an insurmountable task. So what’s an educated, involved, parent to do? Luckily there are a lot of tools available to you these days with digital assets and email to…

  • family

    Exclusive Launch of Gifts With Heart

    October 3, 2014 - By 

     This year I am tackling Christmas with a purpose. So, while this is an open invitation to brands to send me your pitches to be considered for inclusion in my gift guide, please understand that I am only accepting a select few gifts for this exclusive Gift Guide this year. The Thrifty Momma’s Tips 2014 Gift Guide will be focussing on Gifts With Heart. We celebrate Christmas here in my home and we enjoy the time together and the moments spent creating memories, even the moments just cuddling up and watching a special movie. I love this season. But with…

  • Food

    My Favourite Shopping App and a #Flippsgiving Twitter Party

    October 2, 2014 - By 

    Talking turkey, but no idea where to get the best deal on your bird this year? Flipp has the answer. Thanksgiving can be a beautiful opportunity to share a meal with your family, decorate your house and start celebrating all that you are grateful for. But let’s face it. First there’s the shopping, the cleaning, the cooking and decorating. All of that can be hard on the budget. Sticker shock from the turkey alone can leave you in despair. This year I am using Flipp shopping app because it rocks. Honestly, not sure why this wasn’t around months ago. It’s…

  • family

    Summer Days with Cousins

    October 1, 2014 - By 

    Summer days are my favourite. I mean what’s not to love? Summer days with cousins are even better than average seasonal sunny days we already love. Always have been and always will be, simply because of moments like this. I shot this random picture of Ainsley when her cousins were visiting this summer. Cousin fun is always special and it was a gorgeous sunny day, as you can see. Summer days are hanging out and leisurely swimming in the pool and sometimes doing day camps and being outside more often than any other time of year. Being out of doors…

  • Health - Travel

    Two Hands are Enough – My Experience Travelling with World Vision Canada

    September 30, 2014 - By 

     People told me I’d be changed after travelling with World Vision Canada. That’s fair, of course and true and yet also trite. Inadequate.  Changed Words sometimes are so thin, evasive and even limiting. Changed doesn’t begin to capture the depth or range of emotions that I felt when walking through Asimiflor, a brand new area development program in Bucaramanga, the saddest place I have ever seen children living. My week travelling with World Vision Canada was jam packed with big adventures and interviews and so many stories shared that I will be recounting them for a decade or more. Eye…

  • Health - Parenting - parenting - special needs

    Learning Resources For Kids with Special Needs

    September 29, 2014 - By 

    It’s the time of year when updating Individualized Education Plans and getting all the specialists lined up again takes a front seat here at my house. This past week I spent a few hours juggling the numerous doctors and people I want sitting at the table when my daughter’s new IEP is revised. She has been identified now with a learning disability in one area of math. It took me four years of pushing the school to believe that and it also took a private educational assessment that cost us a lot of money this summer. But it’s all good…

  • infertility

    Three Things You Can Do to Help Advocate for Public Funding for IVF in Alberta #abhc4ivf #abpoli

    September 29, 2014 - By 

    1 in 6 people struggle with infertility. I talk about that often here in this space. Why? Because I believe in a Canadian health care system that is accessible and great. And because infertility is a hard emotional and financial journey. It is devastating to far too many. That’s part of the reason why I help advocate for public funding for IVF. Couples, and singles, who are diagnosed with infertility, are sometimes prescribed In vitro fertilization as the best course of action. In Vitro Fertilization is a process by which sperm and egg are introduced in a lab and left…

  • Giveaways - Health - Parenting

    Levana Sophia Digital Video Baby Monitor #Giveaway ARV $100

    September 29, 2014 - By 

    Every new parent is nervous, I think. But new adoptive parents are a whole different level of nervous and anxious. We are crazy from the waiting sometimes and so grateful for our precious gift of parenthood that we can be hyper vigilant about our new roles and responsibilities. I can easily recall how we (mostly I) spent many nights hovering outside the door of Payton’s nursery. I remember how I didn’t trust that Payton would keep breathing all night long on her own. I read a lot about SIDS and I worried about the things that could go wrong. I…