• parenting

    Character Is The Key Book Review

    October 28, 2009 - By 

    Very few could argue with the title of this book, Character Is The Key, by Sara Dimerman. It is to many parents an obvious goal of good parenting, teaching a child moral fibre and building great people, leaders and compassionate adults. But how to get there? It is so easy to get caught up in the daily ins and outs of parenting that character-building could easily be a topic that is neglected or placed on a backburner. For this group, Character Is The Key, subtitled How To Unlock The Best In Our Children And Ourselves, could be a worthwhile guide causing one to…

  • family

    Tales From the PTA – involvement vs. engagement

    October 26, 2009 - By 

    I sat through an interesting parent conference the other day intended for those who are in their school parent teacher associations or home and school associations or parents seeking to become more involved in education. The topic at first seemed cut and dry but the speaker from Saskatoon got me thinking about the role of parents within their child’s school and how best to spend my time within the various committees, boards and non profits with which I am involved. Dr. Debbie Pushor, of Saskatoon, told a cafeteria full of parents attending the Thames Valley Parent Involvement Committee’s yearly gathering…

  • family

    London roundup this weekend

    October 24, 2009 - By 

    This is a super quick Friday roundup of events in and around London, Ontario this weekend. I don’t usually do this but as I tallied up all the things happening here this weekend I began to get really excited and wondered what I will have to forego as a result of a jam packed social schedule. So here it is: a very big craft show starts today at Western Fair and runs all weekend. Also there at the same time in the special events building is the annual London public library Friends of the Library book sale. I have never…

  • family

    Halloween roundup and another giveaway

    October 20, 2009 - By 

    I was never really a huge fan of Halloween until I first became a homeowner and then became a mother. Now, I know what all the fuss is about and I truly enjoy the decorating, the leadup, the choosing little costumes, sometimes even sewing them myself. And what’s not to like about candy. The best part of the night for me is handing the candy out. I adore seeing the neighbour’s children all dressed up and find there’s something fun and magical about the whole affair. So from the start when my tots were young I looked for ways to have…

  • Uncategorized

    Apple Land

    October 18, 2009 - By 

    One of our favourite annual fall pastimes is a visit to the apple orchard to handpick a fresh batch of apples. Luckily just outside London, near Thorndale, we are blessed with the amazing Apple Land, a pick your own orchard with train ride, pumpkin hollow, a store and small petting barn. This year’s weather has been dicey, but Saturday we risked the cold temperatures and were rewarded with a wonderful sunny day. For anywhere between $20 and $30 a family can spend an afternoon on site enjoying the sunny brisk fall day, have a train ride, enjoy the animals and play on…

  • family travel

    Crowne Plaza Toronto DVP

    October 16, 2009 - By 

    Last month we had the opportunity to visit family in Toronto and not wishing to impose we opted to stay at a family hotel. Toronto’s Crowne Plaza Don Valley Parkway has served us well a couple of times now. This year we timed it just right with the weather and both indoor and outdoor pools were of use. The outdoor pool is relatively shallow and easy to reach on the street level of the facility. There is a conference centre, great breakfast buffet on site and service was fantastic. A couple of weddings took place here over the weekend. The…

  • family

    War on Children – CAS funding cuts

    October 16, 2009 - By 

    So it seems in the wake of a massive Ehealth screwup in which it has been established that billions of provincial dollars were wasted, we have the Ontario government declaring war on children. Huh? That’s right you read that correctly. War on children. In today’s London Free Press article Children Safety At Risk Over Funding Cuts, Patrick Maloney reported that Ontario’s many Children’s Aid agencies are facing massive funding cuts. London-Middlesex Children’s Aid Society will see $1.2 million less this year from the province. Elgin County will receive an estimated $307,000 less. And the list goes on throughout the province. It has…

  • family

    Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – 3D review

    October 14, 2009 - By 

    I’d been promising my daughters a trip to the movies again, so we chose Cloudy With a Chance Of Meatballs after seeing the preview for it several months ago. The movie, based loosely on the 1978 book by Judi and Ron Barrett was an odd choice for adaptation but a charming unoffensive little flick. We’ve read this story several times in my house and I can tell you I was puzzled at first in the same way I was when I heard that there would be a movie version of The Cat in The Hat, wondering how on earth someone…

  • family

    Tales from the PTA – Pizza Day

    October 10, 2009 - By 

    So yesterday was pizza day at my darling daughter’s school. First pizza day of the new school year and naturally to show my worth as a valuable member of daughter’s school I volunteered to help hand pizza out. As an added little side bonus while I am volunteering there I get to keep tabs on her (Hah, take that!) I drove up to the school slightly before noon and spied about six cars parked out front, which made me think they had enough volunteers. But I decided to check anyways and sure enough the pizzas had just arrived, so all…

  • Uncategorized

    The Parent Child Book Club – book review

    October 7, 2009 - By 

    I am nothing if not an avid reader. In fact, I have never needed a whole lot of encouragement that way. As a child reading was an escape and as an adult it is the way I unwind, learn and build better writing skills. My children luckily are both turning out to be book lovers, not entirely by accident though. In order to encourage budding readers I followed famed New York Times columnist and author Anna Quindlen’s advice of books in every room of the house. So in my bathroom is a drawer full of children’s books and in my living room are…