• Technology

    Make Coding Fun with Botzees Now

    December 13, 2019 - By 

    Make coding fun with a toy that combines building and lots of entertaining puzzles alongside simple to understand coding. Botzees is a toy that combines all these elements into one experience that helps to make coding fun for kids. I received product for consideration here. I love that because as any long-time reader knows, I’m a huge supporter of STEM and figuring out ways to introduce it to our kids at an early age. That’s why I’m so excited about Botzees and how they approach coding. Technology is moving so fast these days. A few years ago, apps were an…

  • Printables

    Cute Christmas Owls Colouring Page

    December 11, 2019 - By 

    What is it about owls? Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated with owls. Not sure when that started, but I definitely recall being a Brownie and following along to a leader called Brown Owl. She was wise and smart. Then, as an adult along came the Harry Potter series and frankly Harry’s Owl is one of my favourite owls of all time. If you like owls, then don’t miss this roundup of Harry Potter gifts this season. When my kids were little we would go to Storybook Gardens and there was always an owl there –…

  • Printables

    100 + Best Christmas Printables to Share

    December 11, 2019 - By 

    When I launched this site over ten years ago my main goal was to talk about saving money. I was a stay at home mom then working hard at raising two little girls we had recently adopted from London-Middlesex Children’s Aid Society. Over the last decade, my site has evolved dramatically and now my posts are largely travel writing, health writing and parenting stories that resonate with readers. However, I know my audience and you LOVE to give, but you also love giveaways and saving money. Every year I share some of the best Christmas Printables here. This year, I…

  • Travel

    How to Travel with Christmas Presents Now

    December 9, 2019 - By 

    If you’ve ever travelled at Christmas then you have also undoubtedly travelled with Christmas gifts too. I mean Christmas and presents go hand in hand no matter where in the world you are celebrating or spending it. So, how exactly is the best way to do that? Do you wrap them and bring them with you through an airport? Um, probably not the best idea. What about if you are simply driving all the way to a relative’s house? How do you make that work with gifts? Wrap them first or No? Here’s what works for us. Here are tips…

  • Technology

    Best Tech Gifts She Will Love This Season

    December 8, 2019 - By 

    This season, I am stoked about several tech gifts for women. My favourite gifts are often books and tech gifts, because I am a gadget girl at heart. So, when these great gifts arrived here for testing and consideration I was thrilled to be able to use them and have some fun. I feel like these picks are definitely tech gifts she will love! I received product for consideration in best tech gifts she will love. My opinion is all my own. May contain affiliate links. Here are Three of my Favourite Tech Gifts for Her this Season. Listen, fun…

  • Giveaways

    Clean All Your Messes Up with Hoover ONEPWR Floormate Jet

    December 7, 2019 - By 

    My kids are pretty crafty and creative. I’m not complaining. I actually love that about them and always have. What I don’t love though are the messes they create when making things. That’s why I am now loving the Hoover ONEPWR Floormate Jet. Post sponsored by Hoover, which means I received compensation. Crafty Teens are No Match for the Floormate Jet In my house, we have a desk in each of the kid’s bedrooms and we also have one in the basement too. Occasionally I like the opportunity to move around the house and work where I want to. I…

  • wish list printable for kids
    Printables

    My Christmas Wish List Activity for Kids

    December 6, 2019 - By 

    My Christmas Wish List. If there was a single phrase that could evoke childhood and the spirit of Christmas long ago for me, then I think it would be My Christmas Wish List. Post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers. I receive a small commission via qualifying links. Do you remember being small, poring over catalogues or flyers that arrived in the mail, circling items you dreamed of owning? For me, as a child, it was always dolls and Barbies. Meanwhile my brother lived for the latest race cars and trucks and puzzles. I have a daughter…

  • Parenting

    We Don’t Get That – Friendships and FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder)

    December 4, 2019 - By 

    “You know how everyone else has a best friend when they are small and they kind of grow up with them? Well, it’s like we don’t get that.” – my daughter, 15, who has FASD. Recently we found a peer support group for my younger daughter. This has been a long time coming. In fact, I’ve basically been looking since she was old enough to have been diagnosed with FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) at 4 or 5. For years, we had nothing. No support. No local FASD parenting group. I mean, I had a loose group of online advocates…

  • corning New York
    Travel

    21 Things to Do in Corning, New York Now

    December 3, 2019 - By 

    Seated at a work bench, my teenage daughter spins a bead of glass over an open flame. We are at Hands On Glass Studio, a small, friendly, glassmaking studio in Corning New York and she’s working with flame crafting something with her own two hands. Pretty much a perfect activity for a teen. Glass blowing, bead making, shopping and dining too! There’s a lot to do in Corning New York. Recently we visited Finger Lakes and explored the area for 24 hours as we worked our way through upstate New York. Here’s what we found and did while there. What…

  • Travel

    Simplify Travel with Park Sleep Fly Options

    December 2, 2019 - By 

    So many moving parts involved in planning a trip. Park Sleep Fly options can simplify your vacation, no matter who you are traveling with and it’s often an affordable option. This is a sponsored post which means I received compensation. Imagine planning a trip with multiple family members. Not only do you have to choose where to go and comparison shop for best prices and activities, but you need to book the flights, juggle the passports and snacks and negotiate all of the busy airport details. Then you drive to the airport hoping and planning for potential heavy traffic and…