• family

    Midnight Castle Sweepstakes – Win an iPad Mini

    March 24, 2014 - By 

    Midnight Castle game is family friendly and pretty enjoyable for all. My 12-year-old has been using her iPad mini obsessively since she got it last summer. This past week my oldest daughter and I both discovered Midnight Castle game and we have been playing together ever since. Head over to the Midnight Castle Facebook page to learn more.  Up until now, when daughter wasn’t using iPad for homework or building a Prezi presentation for some assignment, she was glued to games that drive me mad. Most of her current games in rotation on the iPad are wholesome enough but vapid.…

  • family

    Four Reasons I am Attending Mompreneur Conference

    March 21, 2014 - By 

    This weekend I am heading to the Mompreneur conference in Toronto. As you all know this is not my first conference. I attend about 6 social media workshops and conferences throughout the year. But this one is different. First of all, it’s a business focus. In particular, a women in business focus. Why is that important? Simply put, I am a business. And I am a woman. I run a social media strategy and marketing business in addition to the health blogging and marketing that I do here at Thrifty Momma’s Tips. Business has grown and I know full well…

  • family

    #DisneyLive at Budweiser Gardens #ldnont Review

    March 19, 2014 - By 

    All roads lead to Disney lately at our house. This entire March break was filled with song and dance and theatre. Oldest daughter was Tinkerbell in an Original Kids Theatre troupe production of Peter Pan. Before that we saw Disney on Ice featuring Peter Pan and then at the end of March break we ran into half a dozen families we know at Disney Live. That, in itself, was a hoot.  I never ever mind time spent enjoying Disney movies, shows, books, toys. There is something to be said about the quality of time spent together as a family. Disney…

  • family

    Available Today: Disney’s Frozen on Blu-Ray and DVD

    March 18, 2014 - By 

    This Disney’s Frozen post contains affiliate links. I received product for consideration here. If I had to pick a runaway hit of the year, Disney’s Frozen would be it. Today, it’s available on Blu-Ray and regular DVD. Amazon.ca and Amazon.com are both selling copies now. I am an Amazon affiliate so if you click through to this Frozen DVD on Blu-Ray https://amzn.to/2VTRdC4 now you can purchase a copy fast. The music was fantastic and my kids have downloaded the entire soundtrack from iTunes. But the story of two sisters who become solely reliant on themselves after their parents die, is one that…

  • family

    Barbie My Dreams Express Your Style Contest

    March 18, 2014 - By 

    I asked my kids if they wanted me to post some more stories about Barbies. They hollered great whoops of joy. “Wait, what’s that? You girls still like Barbies?” “YES!!!!!” They hollered loudly and in unison. Such are the conversations in my house.    I make no excuses ever for our unabashed love of all things Barbie. There was a time I thought my girls would be tough sporty girls (and they are). They would never like pink. (My Mom bought one exclusively pink clothing for the first 6 years of her life and it still remains a favourite colour…

  • overcoming_adversity
    Health

    Kevin and Amber’s Infertility Story – Overcoming Adversity

    March 17, 2014 - By 

    I have spent a lot of days this past year getting to know people impacted by infertility. Their stories are all unique, each an impossible combination of heart-wrenching, uplifting, and heart-breaking. Every infertility story, each couple’s life narrative has some common threads.   One Alberta Couple’s Infertility Story The starting chapters are filled with love, suddenly interrupted by sadness, grief, sometimes health care drama, then infertility tangled up with financial stress. For some, like Kevin and Amber, the clouds will part with help, the obstacles shrink just enough to give way to a happy ending. Images of Hope Last week…

  • Food

    Making Time for Breakfast Treats #strudelgram

    March 13, 2014 - By 

    This post has been sponsored which means I received compensation.  What does your breakfast routine look like? Are breakfast treats ever involved? Is that different on work and week days than it is on the weekends? Ours is typically pretty rushed but we do all make time to sit down together every day of the week. That’s something we have always valued and wanted to maintain. Some days that means we work hard to schedule that time in but it’s mostly natural here now. Family time starts at breakfast when we most eat healthy but small meals and race out…

  • Health - special needs

    Ten Ways to Help a Child with FASD

    March 11, 2014 - By 

    For the first five years of my daughter Ainsley’s life we spent countless resources trying to figure out ways to help manage her disability. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is incredibly tricky to diagnose, and then to manage on an average day. FASD is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, an invisible brain injury brought on my prenatal alcohol exposure.   In Ontario we are likely 15 years behind the autism movement and advocacy effort. I have been told this by many experts in the education and health care fields. So, in the province where I live we have very limited resources right now.…

  • Food

    Kale, Quinoa and Fresh Vegetable Superfood Beef Stew

    March 7, 2014 - By 

    This year’s endless winter has been a challenge. So too has our schedule. The kids are busier than ever with one in a big March break play that runs the entire week. Rehearsals three nights a week. Martial arts, swimming and work, plus SARI. Ouch. We are too busy to cook last minute so I have been using my crock pot like crazy. I am a big fan of stew and my crockpot makes it beautifully. This is what I am calling Superfood Beef Stew. My healthy year and my fitness plan for the whole family has us embracing some…

  • Health - infertility - Technology

    Five Free Infertility and Fertility Apps

    March 5, 2014 - By 

    Fertility apps and infertility apps are a great way to track ovulation and reproductive health. Here are five free fertility apps that will help at any stage of your fertility or infertility journey. When you are struggling with infertility or trying to conceive you need a huge toolkit of resources just to get through the journey. Knowledge is power, right? Luckily power and knowledge in the age of Google are right at your finger tips.    Lately numerous press releases regarding the latest and greatest fertility and infertility apps have been flooding my inbox here at thrifty momma’s tips, so I…