• special_needs_parenting
    family - Health - Parenting - parenting - special needs

    When Hard Doesn’t Break – Special Needs Parents

    April 26, 2016 - By 

    Maybe your child has curly hair, or is slightly unique in some other tiny way. Small genetic blessings that somehow will turn to a source of pride. Over time. Maybe you think that parenting is hard, but your hard is a moment. Your hard is a glass of wine, some retail therapy, girl’s night out, and then you move on. Your hard breaks. There’s nothing heartbreakingly extraordinary that impacts the way your child moves throughout their Mondays, or Fridays – the way they approach their school day, year to year. Just a kid, potentially a great kid, maybe even an A student, going…

  • water_parks
    active family travel - family - parenting - Travel

    Four Water Parks Near Detroit, Michigan #Travel

    April 25, 2016 - By 

    My family and I love going to water parks. There’s really nothing like them. Water parks offer fun in the sun, water play, family togetherness, and memories that last a lifetime. You might think you have to travel to Florida or some other sub-tropical U.S. Destination to find a great water park, but I’ve got a list of water parks for you that are actually close to my Ontario, Canada home. These water parks are near Detroit, Michigan. 4 Water Parks Near Detroit, Michigan All of the water parks below are wonderful destinations for family fun, and they’re all within a 4…

  • clean_water_challenge
    family - Health

    Join World Vision Water Challenge Twitter Party May 3 #WorldVisionWater

    April 22, 2016 - By 

    How often do you think about water? Do you wake up wondering where it will come from today? Do you worry about leaving your family to walk for miles to collect a bucket of water for all of you to use? Does your heart hurt thinking that your child will never be able to attend school if he or she has to walk to collect water for your family? Do you consider whether you will have enough water to cook dinner, wash hands, clean clothing, bathe? I didn’t think so. I rarely thought about water here, until World Vision Canada…

  • school_lunches
    family - Food

    Five Fun School Lunches

    April 21, 2016 - By 

    I am a proud MOM of a tween and teen. Most of the time they make their own lunches. Most of the time. Not always. The youngest is still bit hit and miss, but that’s okay. They are both pretty good at packing a balanced lunch, but on occasion we have all been guilty of packing boring school lunches. Anyways, a decade of packing lunches, or supervising kids packing lunches, I have learned a few pointers to pass on and motivate them to build some good habits. Let’s face it lunch can be a totally boring meal. It’s the one I am most…

  • dirty-oreo-cupcakes
    family - Food

    Oreo Cupcakes Are Perfect for Your Two Foot Tornado

    April 15, 2016 - By 

    Do you have a little mess magnet? Chances are if you have children, then you have a mess magnet! I have one of those. She’s a little tornado inside any room she enters. It’s hard to maintain a clean kitchen or living room, or any other space when she’s around. Once in awhile it’s okay to indulge that chaos and even embrace it. That’s what these worms in dirty Oreo Cupcakes are all about. These Dirty Oreo Cupcakes would be great for a birthday party, or a bake sale. But I really like the idea of making them for Earth Day.…

  • flowering-trees
    family - homes

    Five Flowering Trees – Put a Splash of Colour on Your Lawn

    April 14, 2016 - By 

    Flowering trees are beautiful. They can add a pop of colour and a three dimensional beauty to any yard. The problem with landscaping with flowering trees, however, is the sheer number of trees to choose from. Today, let’s take a look at a few of the trees that can add beauty to lawns in Canada and the U.S. 5 Flowering Trees – Hardy Beauties for Your Lawn There are many, many different trees to choose from, but not all trees are created equal. Only some will do well in certain climates, so it’s important to know if a tree can withstand…

  • water_challenge
    family - Health

    Take The World Vision Canada Water Challenge #WorldVisionWater

    April 13, 2016 - By 

    All children should have the chance to grow up happy and healthy. Kids who do not have access to clean water don’t have that opportunity, which is part of the reason I am happy to take the World Vision Canada clean water challenge. A few weeks ago my family started the World Vision Canada water challenge. The goal was to get everyone here thinking about children and families around the world and the scarcity of clean water as a resource. It was also my intention to help my kids to see how many sources of clean water we have available to us here in…

  • spring gardening
    family

    Spring Garden Prep – Get Ready for the Growing Season

    April 13, 2016 - By 

    Spring garden prep is important whether you grow veggies or flowers. The groundwork you do now for spring will absolutely determine how successful your garden is this coming year. With that in mind, there are some things you can do in your spring garden prep to help you get a jump start on your beds. Spring Garden Prep can Make or Break Your Garden If you’ve done any amount of gardening, you know that proper preparation is the key to any kind of successful garden. Whether you grow your own vegetable or fragrant blossoms, laying the groundwork now will produce…

  • multi_generational_travel
    active family travel - family - parenting - Travel

    5 Benefits of Multi-Generational Travel #travel

    April 12, 2016 - By 

    Listen to me closely. If you are in your 30s and 40s and thinking why on earth would I want to take my children’s grandparents along on a trip with us, there are a few things you need to know about multi-generational travel. Both sets of our parents have passed away and I wish more than anything that we had had the time and money to include them on our big annual trips together to see the world. My husband and I both always managed to go to the cottage together with our respective families and that was one sort…

  • REALice technology
    family

    This Earth Day Why Does REALice Technology Matter? #RealiceCA #Earth Day

    April 11, 2016 - By 

    When we can do better we should always try to do better. In our cities, our provinces, and our homes. In our arenas too. When we find a tool like REALice® technology that is better for the environment and saves money, then we need to take notice and begin to use it when and where we can. That’s common sense to me. I have always said if you live in Canada you might as well embrace winter sports. We are not a hockey family, but we are skaters and skiers. We embraced skating again as new parents, because it’s a great way…