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.-
Funderland
This is one you won’t want to miss if you are having a winter staycation with kids and are hunting for stuff to do. Western Fair Agriplex has a Winter Funderland running this week. I plan to check this out asap with my crew. The indoor kids carnival runs until the end of this year and there is a special New Year’s Eve bash. The Western Fair location is at 845 Florence Street in London and this is a limited time event. Cost for a ride all day pass is $20. Open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Presumably at least one ride – the ferris wheel – is outdoors…
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Alvin and The Chipmunks The Squeakwel
My two girls have been pestering me to go see this movie for the last couple of weeks, so we decided to take them today. Apparently a very popular choice as it was packed at Rainbow Cinemas in the Galleria Citi Centre downtown London this afternoon. While I have read some questionable reviews of this Alvin sequel and despite the fact that I would have happily chosen a different Disney show (Princess and The Frog) I was happily suprised by the movie. Alvin and the Chipmunks are now a major rock band performing at venues througthout the world when Alvin, grandstanding, causes Dave serious injury and has to fly home…
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Building Adoptive Family Traditions at Christmas #adoption
People are forever writing and asking about traditions this time of year. I didn’t always feel as strongly as I do now about creating family memories and traditions. In fact there was a time I would have scoffed out loud at that kind of talk. My traditions in my family of origin were sometimes fun and sometimes, as a child, they seemed painstaking. Many were aimed at pleasing adults and a lot were centred around eating and sitting around the Christmas tree. When I got married I made a choice to create my own type of marriage, my own style of doing things. That same philosophy extends to my family.…
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Weekend Roundup
This weekend again there are excellent deals to be had in and around London, so don’t miss these: Saturday Dec. 12th Mark’s Work Wearhouse has a customer appreciation event running from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Also on Saturday Zellers has a customer appreciation hour from 8 to 9 p.m. save 10 per cent off every purchase. Northern Reflections: on line coupon for 40 % off until Sunday. Also customer appreciation event now on 30 % off all regular priced items. Gymboree amazing sales on now. Tabi has a whole host of weekend deals, ranging from buy one get one half price sweaters to buy a scarf get the hat…
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Alternative Advent Calendars
This year we found some of the coolest Advent calendars we’ve yet to find. Advent calendars are as much a part of Christmas as stockings and mistletoe in our house and the kids love them. But too often, in past one of my children would find the cute chocolate advent calendar and scarf all of the chocolate bits down and be left with nothing. Then other child would follow suit of course. Monkey see, monkey do, right? For the last two years I have made it my mission to find toy Advent calendars. This year instead of the cheap chocolate calendars we’ve had in days gone by, we found amazing…
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High School Musical 2
From preschooler to preteen and everything in between – every girl in the London area will be thrilled over this news. If you and your kids haven’t already seen it, High School Musical 2 by Oakridge Secondary School, plays all this week. I took my daughters to see the preview performance of the show Friday night. Despite a couple of small complaints the show was fun. Sharpay played by Mandy Mates was a highlight and the orchestra was amazing. Choreography and dancers were remarkable and every child there enjoyed the show. Afterwards the HSM 2 cast signed autographs and the kids went wild. Fulton it should also be noted stole several scenes. Emily Soti…
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Five Favourite Holiday Traditions a la Schuck Casa
Like my attempts at Spanish? Well so Twitter Moms issued a challenge and contest this morning and I thought what the heck I am up for it today as I am really procrastinating doing any actual work I am supposed to do. (For your chance to win a $100 Amex gift certificate visit http://www.twittermoms.com/ )So here without much fanfare at all are our five favourite things to do at Christmas. 1. Gingerbread House: Every year my girls love to build and sneak bits off the top of our gingerbread house. It is fun with a capital F and it is our tradition. 2. Get active: We love to sled or…
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Dinner With Princesses and Superheroes
This is who came to dinner the other night and frankly that’s more than okay by me. This is my Ainsley, five-year-old girl superhero. I love all of her many sides, the kickbutt girl who charges through a room like a bull in a china shop and the scared toddler hidden just beneath the skin unable to control her reactions to the world and her place in it. The fearless fish who plunges into six foot deep water and races across the pool like mini Michael Phelps and the kid with sensory processing disorder who screams – perhaps to shut out the other sounds that annoy her and cause her…
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Christmas Traditions
I have a holiday tradition started when my babies were each so tiny they couldn’t even say the word Christmas and it is one I maintain each year. Sometimes realtives also get in on the fun as I do. Every year I buy a Christmas ornament – started with Baby’s First Christmas and then Baby’s second Chistmas and so on. My daughters are now five and eight and they love to periodically get their own Rubbermaid Christmas ornament containers down and peer at each of the ornaments they’ve been given. Each one holds a memory. There’s precious granddaughter and a Hallmark sisters one that breaks apart so each sister has a…
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Gifted
Maybe it’s the time of year, closing in on Xmas as we are right now. Maybe it’s the adult onset ADHD I seem to be developing. Maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve been sick and am now feeling overwhelmed by all my blessings. I started out today thinking I was going to blog about bargains this weekend, or maybe the Santa Claus Parade in London tomorrow night. But then I started doing email and I began chatting with someone I hadn’t really talked to in a long time. I started telling them about all the wonderful things my eight-year-old has been doing and I quickly realized today’s post was…