• family

    Summer Birthday Blog Bash Outreach: A Brand and Blogger Hookup

    June 25, 2011 - By 

    Summer around here means birthday after birthday followed by an anniversary or two, so in honour of a really great summer I am throwing a blog bash. Brands/ Sponsors: To take part brands need only contact one of the publishers below and offer a product for a giveaway. I am looking for one sponsor here to donate a great prize for one of my lucky readers. Suggested items: books, electronics, toys for school aged children and tween products. Also clothing items and summer travel or fitness related things. You must also send one of your book or toy or object to the Mom…

  • Travel

    The Thrill of Last Minute Travel

    June 25, 2011 - By 

    My kids, my husband and I have had a lot of adventures and they have been successful and fun, save for one very difficult flight back from Jamaica a couple of years ago when my youngest who has sensory processing disorder, had a major meltdown at 30,000 feet in the air. But we dealt with it and moved on. (And so did some of the passengers sitting nearby.) My daughter was very tired and frankly a flight attendant might have avoided the whole panicky episode if he hadn’t been so insistent that my darling girl cram her blanket and favourite teddy bear into…

  • Technology

    No More Naked Gadgets – Gelaskins Review

    June 23, 2011 - By 

    I skinned my computer with Gelaskins and I couldn’t be happier with the result. I had been looking for a decent way to make a skin for my laptop that would show off my brand as a blogger attending conferences and other events. I truly could have used this one year ago when I headed to Type A Mom conference for the first time ever. But at that time I searched high and low and couldn’t come up with anything that would work. So my laptop was naked, save for a silver Toshiba emblazoned across the black. So when I got a…

  • Health

    Stylish and Affordable Glasses and an Exclusive Deal

    June 20, 2011 - By 

    Your glasses can be a great investment, especially if they are stylish. Glasses have the power to make you feel confident, playful, bookish, smart, funky or sophisticated. They should never be a snap decision. Ideally you should try a lot of frames and learn what shape suits your face. You should be able to envision yourself wearing the glasses and feeling powerful, comfortable and in charge. You should be able to play a bit with looks and have fun – which is exactly what GlassesUSA.com is all about. We all know people whose glasses wear them and who clearly invest more…

  • family

    Father’s Day Weekend Wrapup – Kids Expo

    June 18, 2011 - By 

    Ainsley one year at the Kids Expo Well there is no shortage of things to do this Father’s Day weekend if you are staying in town. The Fringe Festival is on through the weekend and so is Kid’s Expo. Kid’s Expo is a fun event at Victoria Park for kids and families. There are rides and treats and fun face-painting type things to do for the weekend and the weather looks perfect for it. If you are seeking a gift for Dad there are still a few ideas. Shoppers Drug Mart has some excellent deals on things like a Wii system…

  • family

    Here, Home, Hope: A Culturally Relevant Story for Everywoman

    June 17, 2011 - By 

    Here, Home, Hope is a charming and easy read, a lovely addition to your list of summer reads      Here, Home, Hope is a charming, funny, culturally relevant story for everywoman. It is the story of what happens when your kids start to need you less and you question where do you go for your second act. Kelly Johnson can’t stop grinding through her bite guards and she is suddenly a weeper. She has what appears to be a perfect life to most of her neighbours and friends and yet, when her boys leave for their annual summer sleepover camp…

  • family

    AMF Getting Unplugged This Summer: Free Bowling For Kids

    June 16, 2011 - By 

    Free bowling all summer long!! Yes, I thought that might get your attention. When I was a kid we did a lot of bowling in the summer. My Mom was a teacher so we took the whole summer off together. Our small family often spent a lot of time searching out fun and thrifty ways to stay occupied without spending too much time on the sofa surfing the channels, barking: “I’m bored.” So we went to the beach and we visited Storybook Gardens every year. We mini-golfed once a week and we bowled at least once a month. This summer AMF bowling…

  • FASD - special needs

    A Note to the Month of June: Signed Just the Mom of a Child With Special Needs

    June 13, 2011 - By 

    Oh lovely July when we throw our school cares out the window, in more ways than one.      Dear Month of June:             I hate you madly. You suck the life out of me every year. My family needs a bloody vacation as my child is off the wall and the school is spazzing me out. Right now I am trying to come up with the smartest way to tell the school to quit losing my daughter. See she reacts to June by running away and leaving school and such. It’s called fight or flight. It’s pretty common with sensory…

  • family

    Sunday Spotlight

    June 12, 2011 - By 

    This is a late version of Friday Finds and so I officially dub it Sunday Spotlight. The Sunday Spotlight this week is the Monster Sale at Children’s Place with tons of items marked down to $5.99. That is a great deal and frankly one of the cutest children’s stores in town. Gap also has 30% off this weekend only and online as well. For on line deals use the code SUMMER30. Happy Weekend!

  • parenting

    Calling In Tired and Kid’s Mental Health Days

    June 7, 2011 - By 

    My kids being silly. Payton is in the pink dress and Ainsley is pretending to be a fish. Today I called in “tired” for my daughter. That’s right. Tired, not sick. Last night Payton took part in the Original Kids graduation gala. It lasted longer than expected. It was 10 p.m. when we got in and a full two hours after bed time. Daughter woke up tired, as did I. I knew we would and I sort of mentioned last night that we might take a couple hours, or a morning to rest. So this morning I picked up the…