• family

    Bras to Back to School Shopping – All in a Week #sandgen

    September 1, 2012 - By 

    From bras, to brakes, to back to school shopping. This was one of those marathon weeks in the life of me, when life became achingly exhausting. Deadlines mounted, a magazine article was due and then back and ready for edits that needed to be done yesterday and then of course brakes on my mini-van needed an unexpected service and eight paid jobs were due and so on and so forth. Oh, and somehow in there I am supposed to squeeze in massive dental restorations and back to school shopping – Huh?!  Anyways the life of a sandwich generation Mom is…

  • Health

    Back to School Backpack Safety: How to Spare Your Child’s Back From Injury

    September 1, 2012 - By 

    I was sent several of these Backpack Binders for review and was the slightest bit confused when they arrived. Are they a backpack? Or a binder? Well, my energetic one shown here tore open the package and all was revealed. They are binders, of course, but with a difference. These Backpack Binders are extremely light, because the company that makes them believes the lighter the better and that children’s backpacks are already to full, which is leading to a large number of back injuries. So lighten the load in the backpack, by carrying one of these and you are off…

  • Food

    Easy Meal Ideas with VH Sauces

    August 30, 2012 - By 

    Did I really just make this? Delicious Pad Thai? VH sauces inspired me to get creative this week. True story. I am a cautious diner, usually. I stick to a few dishes I like and I experiment on occasion with sauces, so VH delicious sauces seemed just right for me. I was asked to take part in a Collective Bias shopportunity and I jumped at this one because I know VH makes some great new Asian Inspired sauces. Months ago I read about the garlic hoisin sauce on the Yummy Mummy Club and I was excited to try that one.…

  • Uncategorized

    How to Keep Your Passion for Journaling: Review and Giveaway

    August 29, 2012 - By 

    I am journaling again. Oh I know you are thinking-  isn’t that what you do every day on your blog thriftymommastips.com? Yes, in some ways. But 10 years ago when my kids first joined our family, and before they joined us, when we waited to adopt, journaling was one thing that kept me sane. As I waited in between the period of time when we applied to adopt and were matched with a child, I wrote in a journal, a bit like this one, about all of the challenges and feelings that brought. A few years ago I gave that…

  • family

    Summer Night Easy Entertaining

    August 29, 2012 - By 

    Outdoor movie night at my sister-in-law’s house. It was a great way to spend a late August night. A sheet hung off the patio set outside, a projector that is borrowed and a DVD from the library. Use your computer to connect with projector. Add some treats, some family members and enjoy. Also very economical. Wordless Wednesday is a photo meme, hosted by many. Tara’s View of the World is where I usually link up. I hope the rest of the days of summer are good to you and your family.

  • Uncategorized

    Win A Unique Handmade Children`s Hat #Giveaway

    August 28, 2012 - By 

    My friend Dana is a bit of a dynamo. She created all of these great handmade designs and she raises four kids. She is a fellow adoptive parent and she has at least one or two with diagnosed special needs. I wrote about her here before once, when her little girl Sophie, a sweet dolly with some challenges including autism and FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) was still working on fundraising for her autism service dog. It was a costly proposition and yet it got her Crosby and he is an amazing helper for her. Dana is resourceful. I have…

  • Uncategorized

    Monday Mingle: August 27th, Back to School Soon edition

    August 27, 2012 - By 

    Well since I couldn`t recall the pickup line at the start of this vlog, here it is: (But I am only sharing it if you guys promise to get more creative than this and never ever use it.)Okay? Is this heaven? What? No, why? Well, I must be in heaven to be standing near an angel like you. (GROAN! I know, I know. I heard it and I didn`t make the line up you guys. Don`t shoot the messenger.)

  • Uncategorized

    Kettle Brand Potato Chips: Birthday Flavors

    August 25, 2012 - By 

    Dirty little secret.  I like my potato chips. Tiny fitness faux pas, but you know if I workout hard the rest of my week then I can have a small treat one or two nights, right?  Kettle Brand potato chips have been around now for 30 years and in honor of their birthday, they have released a mess of incredible creative flavor combinations. Limited edition. To be quite honest, I rarely stray from my lovely standby of sea salt and vinegar. So when I saw Jalapeno flavor and Cheddar and Beer, and even Salsa Mesquite, well I was a bit…

  • Uncategorized

    Friendship Friday – Pets

    August 24, 2012 - By 

    This is a little something new I thought I might try here tonight, because it is topical here at our house. Friendship Friday is a Bloghop. This week’s theme is Pets.These are ours. These are our fur babies. They are ready to  move on now. This summer my girls learned that the pet store is sometimes wrong when they tell you that your guinea pigs are both girls. We ended up with a surprise litter of the sweetest babies ever. I am a wee bit worried about the girl’s concept of the birth process though. The guinea pig barely made…

  • Uncategorized

    Cooking With Kids–Preserving Memories–#LMDConnector

    August 23, 2012 - By 

    It’s so very hard to believe that there are only 10 days left until school goes back. A wee bit sad about that. Our time vanished much too fast and yet, there were some very fun times. A week at the cottage. Our first ride on the subway in Toronto. A weekend in Toronto. For me, there was Blogher 12 and a great work trip to New York City. For my kids there was drama camp, riding camp, learning to ride a new bike, visiting Toronto and of course the baby guinea pigs!! My oldest girl got to sleep in…