• Back To School

    Backyardigans and Toopy and Binoo and an Amazing Playdate of a Lifetime

    August 29, 2011 - By 

    Who doesn’t love The Backyardigans? I can remember when they first came out and how my kids loved the show, with its cute characters always solving mysteries and, even I enjoyed the fun, varied, styles of music. Adorable! Over the years we have seen these guys a few times on stage. They are one of the more believable children’s performances. As in, the The Backyardigans on stage look like the ones from TV. http://www.facebook.com/KobaEntertainment So I couldn’t be happier to tell you that I have partnered with Koba entertainment to bring you news, reviews and contests involving some of their most…

  • Back To School

    Back To School Friday Finds and Midnight Madness

    August 26, 2011 - By 

    Well, here we are one week closer to Back To School and while some are singing that Staples song It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year, others among us dread the start of school and the crazy schedule that follows. I am the latter of the two. Summer was not long enough and I missed half of it at least. So I will not be happy when school starts. We started our BTS shopping yesterday at White Oaks Mall in London and I have one thing to say about that..where are all the clothes for little girls who aren’t…

  • Back To School

    Twitter Meets The Tooth Fairy or Why I Love TWITTER!

    August 25, 2011 - By 

    Darling daughter number two missing her front tooth. Cutie Patootie number one missing her front tooth. I love Twitter, unabashedly. It is filled with the smartest Moms and Dads around. Oh,  and there are some savvy brands on deck too. But, for now a word about the Moms and Dads. A few weeks ago at bedtime I had a tooth fairy problem. My daughter, 10, lost a tooth, perhaps her last for the tooth fairy and she forgot to put her tooth out, but we remembered late and stuck it in the cute little bedside tooth treasure box we have.…

  • Back To School - Parenting

    Each Adoption is Like a Snowflake

    August 17, 2011 - By 

    Having two children that are so incredibly different has taught me a lot. My eldest was easy going from the start – a good sleeper and a bright cheery little babe. She was Christmas Day every morning for the first five years of her little life. My youngest, well she appeared with some potential special needs and was born with prenatal exposures to drugs and alcohol. She was a sweet baby and a really challenging toddler. She is an active child with special needs. She teaches us a lot about life every day. I love my two unique girls with…

  • Back To School - family

    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…

  • Back To School - 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…

  • Back To School - 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…

  • Back To School - parenting

    Lessons Learned By The Props Lady

    May 17, 2011 - By 

    These are the elaborate props that were used at the Grand Theatre’s Peg and the Yeti recently. I take no credit for these, but their set design was inspiring. I was the Props Lady for my daughter’s last play. My daughter acts and sings with a wonderful London youth theatre organization called Original Kids Theatre Company. They are brilliant and the kids in the troupe are incredibly talented. She has been with them for two years now. You have to be invited to be part of the troupe and yes it is all very prestigious and fun. Did I mention the…

  • Back To School - Parenting - parenting

    Why I am Teaching My Daughter to Swear

    April 17, 2011 - By 

    I am teaching my daughter to swear. Oh not the hard core F this and F that. Hell no! I mean, you know, heck, No. But little steps like this: Piss Off! And even Don’t be a JackAss. Here’s why I am encouraging her to practice using a few expletives at school. Bring the F BOMB or Maybe Just a Good Piss OFF! And this week she used one or perhaps two of those phrases while at school. Public school. Tonight when she was falling asleep I told her she was one of the bravest girls I know. And I…

  • Back To School

    A Bullying Dilemma: What Would You Do Next?

    March 1, 2011 - By 

    I am torn writing this and I hope that some of you can help. One of my daughters is extremely vulnerable to bullying. She’s a super sensitive gal and very bright and creative and she sings amazingly well. But at school, it seems every year we have at least one child who picks on ours or leaves a pissy phone message or targets her for no apparent reason. I’ll be honest with you. We have tried to give our daughter life skills to stand up for herself. We advise her to say “No.” We tell her walk away. We tell her…