Adoption and Family
Parenting by adoption is bigger, louder, and often harder to start with. From the assessment and waiting process to the adoption probation period, it can seem endless and like it will never happen. Then you get the call and your life changes forever in a miraculous way. But what next? Sure there is often a honeymoon and parenting is a blessing no matter how you get there. It is a new adventure every single day. AND also adoption comes with numerous other ups and downs.
Find Your Supports Early and Stick With Them
Very often there's minimal support for adoptive parents and families after they leave the courthouse finalizing their adoptions. Consider this your supportive honest space where we share what's worked, what doesn't work, and all the challenges in between. Share your stories, learn and grow together.-
How To Drive Traffic to Your Website
Need Traffic? Get in the Driver’s Seat to bring Traffic to Your Website or Blog. Website traffic is often key to carving out a niche for your on line business, web site or blog. For business, the more traffic you have, the bigger your bottom line. Whether you’re launching a new product or a new blog sometimes you want traffic or followers. Here are 5 solutions to generating traffic and followers. But Mommybloggers and web site owners beware – there are no overnight solutions here. Social media is about establishing a conversation built on trust. While there are many advertised ways to purchase followers and raise profile, these are often short-term solutions,…
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Crayola Sidewalk Chalk Maker – review
I am a huge fan of Crayola products. Their sidewalk chalk is forever being used around here to create great murals on the back patio. Their crayons are the best, the strongest, most colourful. My daughter, diagnosed with sensory processing disorder, often overexerts pressure on things and misjudges the amount of force required to do a task, and as a result, in her hands crayons snap into tiny bits causing frustration. But over the years I have proven Crayola crayons much stronger than other brands and less likely to cause meltdowns around here. So for those reasons I adore Crayola products. They are simply made better than others. Over the…
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Social Media: How to Maximize Use of Linked In
Linked In was my first big foray into the adventure that is social media and that was a trip I took thanks to a PWAC (Periodical Writer’s Association of Canada) workshop. One year ago social media expert and writer Dawn Boschcoff came to London and gave a great presentation about the evolution of media. Me, being an old media gal, well let’s just say I had a lot to learn and the best way to do that, with respect to social media, is generally just to wade into the waters. That’s what I did as soon as Dawn’s words settled. For a time I flailed about but then I started to…
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Chip Trips
Looking for amazing and affordable family travel ideas this summer? Eat more chips. Thriftymomma is on a blog tour with Lay’s Chip Trips this summer and I can hardly wait. The excellent Frito-Lay’s promotion means that every time you buy a bag of Lay’s chips you get a code on the side of the bag. On the top of the bag there are points. Some say 5 and some say 10. Visit http://tiny.cc/7hud0and sign up for the Lay’s Chip Trips promotion and, no matter where you are in Canada, you can redeem the points for a trip or a voucher for a free kid’s meal at Boston Pizza, half price…
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A Unique Summer Job Project
Graduating from high school but not yet sure where you want to go with your life? Or college perhaps? Nobody knows that topic quite like Sean Aiken, author of the One-Week Job Project. Aiken, a British Columbia native, became a media celebrity when his very cool 52 jobs in one year tour of North America caught on with legions of people caught in career limbo. Hot on the heels of the book’s success, Aiken who blogged consistently about his jobs over the year, has launched a one-week job summer job project modelled on the very premise of his book. Over at http://www.thriftymommasbrainfood.blogspot.com/ my book review site, I posted an author interview…
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Mental Health Week: Or Children’s Mental Health Week Makes Me Crazy
Well my darling followers it is still children’s mental health week here and there have been multiple workshops and various other offerings in and around town and still it feels like nobody seems to care. No press in the rag about town. Minimal audience at the various events I have attended and sadly this is making me crazy. Can anyone else say inducement? Or irony for that matter? Children’s Mental Health is a topic I am passionate about but it is making me crazy. Breathe with me. In 2 3 4. Out 2 3 4. There, that’s better. One in five children are suffering from mental heath disorders. Some will muddle through school.…
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King Tut Exhibit
Looking for a fun way to spend a rainy April afternoon? Why not drive to Toronto and head over to the Art Gallery of Ontario to take in the King Tut exhibit. The exhibit originally slated to close this week has been extended through May 2nd, so if you missed this one due to timing you have one more chance. Trust me, it’s worth it. The last time the exhibit of Tut’s treasures came to town was 25 years ago. The ancient Egyptian ruler has captured collective imaginations for many years because he was so young when he ruled at only nine years old and because of the mystery surrounding…
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What If You Got Different Kids? #adoption
So it appears daughter number two is content to follow in daughter number one’s footsteps. At least when it comes to asking the very serious heart-stopping adoption-related questions. Up until now – she recently turned six – she has been relatively passive about her adoption story. She hears it but does not question it, at least not usually. Sometimes I wonder if she is even hearing me. But I repeat the words and rehearse the script, full of phrases common to our family now. Part of telling the story is learning how to get comfortable with it yourself. My elder daughter from the age of two and a half started asking…
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The Tooth Fairy movie and some days are like that…
This should be the review of the PG-rated movie The Tooth Fairy. But instead it is a post about flexibility. Not the kind that comes from doing pilates or yoga or any of that. The kind that comes from being a parent, especially well known to those parents of children with special needs. Anyways, what started out as noble intentions last week – a family movie with Grandma and me and my sweet kids, home for the March break, turned out to be what I can only guess was a full sensory assault to my little one, who as some of you know suffers from sensory processing disorder. There…
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Starbucks Freebies Today
Love that morning cuppa, well this one is just for you. Although I really prefer my timmies in the a.m. I may be hitting Starbucks this morning for my free pastry before 10:30 a.m. Today (Tuesday) all Starbucks coffee shops are offering free pastry with the purchase of a handcrafted coffee. Make mine a tall cuppa breakfast blend and as for the free pastry, I’ll see what they’ve got that tickles my fancy. After all thriftymomma loves freebies. Cheers and enjoy your coffee.! P.S. Print this coupon or show it to the Barrista on your mobile phone.