• active family travel - adoption and tweens - family - parenting - Parenting

    What Does Ten-Years-Old Look Like?

    This past month my youngest girl turned 11 and we celebrated with a Minecraft cake and a sleepover and a family dinner at Lone Star Texas Grill. We all learned to ski together as a family in Tremblant the weekend before her birthday party. In many ways, that was the perfect start to sporty spice’s birthday week. This is the daughter I still joke never met a sport she didn’t like. The one who wandered off at Disney when she was four and nearly gave me a heart attack on the spot. The one who sported my eye shadow the…

  • family - Health - infertility

    One Year Later: Happy Anniversary to Infertility Patients And What is Happening with IVF Funding in Ontario 2015

    One year ago so many infertility patients in Ontario breathed a huge sigh of relief. I remember ecstatic voices and many tears too. I remember this post from last year and the patient reactions. It was an exciting time to be involved in this advocacy effort striving to generate support and IVF funding for infertility patients in Ontario. When the announcement came I remember being here watching it all unfold on television. Right before an election was called. The election plunged everyone into a period of high activity, anxiety and nerves too. It was a roller coaster ride added to…

  • active family travel - family - family travel - homes - parenting - Travel

    It’s Time to RSVP For The #ParkbridgeLife Twitter Party April 15 at 8 p.m. EST #travel

    It was a rainy afternoon in August and our second day at Parkbridge Resorts, Lakes of Wasaga. We were there for three nights as guests. The kids had a friend with them and I was wrestling with the urge to tell them all to get off their Nintendos when I heard my youngest daughter holler: “There’s something over there by the lake.” All three children threw their sandals on and they ambled towards the lake. That weekend we had already spied dozens of groundhogs, we’d been swimming multiple times, made our own fishing poles of twine and branches, spied many…

  • beauty products - family - Health

    End Bad Hair Days With Living Proof Hair Products

    Good hair days don’t have to be few and far between especially with Living Proof Hair Products. It’s no secret that this winter was hard on my hair. In fact, I posted about it often enough. I think most of you have already heard me ranting about dry winter hair. I’m a curly-haired woman and some days more waves than curls, and that’s alright by me. No More Hair Fuss When I was little, my curls were always tangly and dry. I was not so much a fan of my curly hair. I would have traded it for the short…

  • family - parenting - special needs - Technology

    Microsoft Summit on 21st Century Learners – EVENT in Windsor, Ontario, April 11 Geared Towards Teachers

    When I see educational opportunities like this Microsoft Summit on 21st Century Learners happening nearby in Windsor, Ontario I get excited, for several reasons. I am a parent of two children who are still in grade school. Digital kids. I arm both of my girls daily with technology at home and at school and I am abundantly aware of how they absorb media and how they learn. It’s radically different than how I learned 20 to 30 years ago.  Only 20 to 30 years ago we trotted off to school with books and pencils and paper. Now kids carry tablets,…

  • family - Food

    Easy Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge

    FUDGE!! Who doesn’t love fudge? Seriously. If you don’t love fudge I am not sure you are a person I can trust as a human being. It’s just not natural. I love fudge. I have lately had some challenges getting fudge right though. So when this Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge turned out, well I was super happy and felt I needed to share it with you. So here you go my friends: Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge recipe is below. It’s a mighty good thing this turned out because if it hadn’t and I wasted all those yummy peanut butter cups my kids…

  • family - Health - homes - parenting

    Carbon Monoxide Alarm Installation and Maintenance is Key for Family Protection

    Carbon monoxide alarm installation is important for the maximum protective benefit to you and your family. Tragically, everyone has seen the stories on the news of families that simply don’t wake up. Entire households can die from carbon monoxide, a poison that many people don’t even know is in their home. Carbon Monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas and it can be deadly. There is nothing scarier to me as a parent. Danger from carbon monoxide poisoning is not restricted to any one season. It can be lethal all year round. That’s why carbon monoxide alarm installation, maintenance and replacement…

  • family - Health - parenting

    Basketball #WordlessWednesday #Linky

    I am the proud owner of a jock. It’s true. Never met a sport she didn’t like. No, strike that. Love. Straight As in phys ed all of her young life. Which makes me laugh because my phys ed marks were pretty much the only ones that were never As. So I signed her up for basketball. And she loves it. I enjoy watching her play sometimes. Mostly I just enjoy seeing her do something she is good at that she also loves. My jock. This is a Wordless Wednesday post. Go ahead and link up and don’t forget to…

  • family - parenting

    Dora The Explorer Live Show in London April 13th

    Dora The Explorer Live Show in London DududududududDDDDDDORA!! Even now with a teenager and a tween, I still hear that catchy Dora tune! Hard to resist. What did I love about Dora, as a parent? Well, Dora was a cute, smart and curious little girl. I am a parent of girls and I nurture curiosity. So I loved that. Dora was a polite character without all that snark or sarcasm that is sometimes on television. She is wholesome. I know that’s a strange, and maybe inadequate, word for what I am describing, but Dora was, and still is, a child…

  • family - parenting

    Five Indoor Chores Most Kids Can Do and a Reward Chart Printable

    Indoor chores are simple for any age. If your children are old enough to stand at the sink then they are also old enough to learn to help. There are many small simple indoor chores even toddlers can help with daily. The trick is making any job fun and encouraging them along the way. We have a few rules at our house. One of them is that we all strive to be respectful. That is a work in progress some days, because my kids are now 11 and 13 and they often argue a lot. But even when they do that…