• Health - infertility - parenting

    Infertility Is Not a Choice – Unexplained Infertility #IVF4ON #onpoli

    February 23, 2013 - By 

    Danielle Xavier, Conceivable Dreams board member, 30. I proudly wear this button on my blog and I will tell you why. Building safe families, healthy families in the province of Ontario is an issue that should be non partisan. It should be front and centre every day. It should be the most important item on every party agenda. Plain and simple. Families are economic engines, building blocks, voters and future voters. This week a flurry of articles and TV segments ran on infertility – they framed the issue as one impacting only women. Families and men were absent from the…

  • the changing face of family
    Health - Parenting

    What is the New Normal #FamilyDay? #ohip4ivf #onpoli

    February 18, 2013 - By 

    On Family Day I wanted to spend my one thousandth post talking about family and the new normal and the changing face of family. Today, people will spend the day with their children, or their parents. Some may celebrate new births, a few may go out for dinner, sledding or to the movies. In our family we often take the afternoon to go skating on Family Day. It’s a fun tradition here at our house, one my daughter reminded me of today.  I spent a lot of time thinking about family here lately, and policies that impact family. On Family…

  • family_day_AB
    Health

    On the Eve of Family Day #ABHC4IVF #ABPOLI

    February 15, 2013 - By 

    Updated – for Family Day 2017 On the eve of Family Day 2013 I asked infertility patients a question. The answers were emotional and many were heartbreaking. For those who do not yet have a family many holidays are reminders of loss and grief and health care struggles. That could change if Alberta started to fund IVF in the province. There are currently in 2017 four provinces funding the procedure. Alberta is not yet one of those provinces.   A couple of short weeks ago I asked the question on Generations of Hope Facebook page I help manage. The question was this:…

  • family - Food - Giveaways - Health

    Peanut Butter What? #CanWin #LMDConnector

    February 6, 2013 - By 

    Well, we are very big Cheerios eaters here. It’s true. My family loves every variation of Cheerios and has for years, from first food to my husband’s only choice for maintaining his strict ninja training regimen (TEEHee!) Joking a bit, but honestly he’s fitness mad and he will only eat Cheerios. And I like to mock his ninja training while pursuing my own yoga training and weight lifting. We all love trying each new flavour of this tried and true staple in our kitchen. Anywho when I heard wind of this new peanut butter flavour offered for a limited time…

  • Health - parenting

    This is Proud #WordlessWednesday Linky

    February 6, 2013 - By 

    This may not be so wordless. I want to tell you that my daughter became a Junior Black Belt in December and this is my Wordless Wednesday Post. She trained for four years, starting at 4. That’s right, the day I took her to check the dojo out on a lark, the sensei invited her right on in, on a day when she was overstimulated and wearing mommy’s makeup all over her eyelids. My four year old that is, not the sensei. She begged to start after that and never ever wavered. This one committed to getting her black belt…

  • family - Health

    Five Triggers of Alzheimer’s Disease #Health

    February 5, 2013 - By 

    This year was a hard one. We have been doing our best to help my mother manage her diagnosis of dementia. Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease are heartbreaking and it can be devastating to watch. As words disappear and memories start to fade your loved one, can often end up being explosive. It’s not uncommon at all and is completely understandable. Over the last couple of years I have noted numerous Alzheimer’s Disease triggers. Here’s a bit more about what Alzheimer’s Disease triggers look like and how to cope. Alzheimer’s Disease triggers This past year was, at times, a glorious mess.…

  • Health - infertility

    Five Reasons Why #ABHC4IVF #ABPOLI Makes Sense

    January 31, 2013 - By 

     There are so many reasons why government should support families and work towards building healthy families. I wanted to take this post to note five reasons why public funding for in vitro fertilization makes sense for the province of Alberta. Right now in Canada the only province that pays for in vitro fertilization is Quebec. The WHO, clearly states that infertility is a health issue, so in Canada where health care is entrenched in our national narrative as a defining characteristic that sets us above other countries, not funding IVF (Three rounds Single embryo transfer) when it is the recommended…

  • Food - Health

    Healthy Living: Align Probiotic Review

    January 24, 2013 - By 

    Probiotics have been in the news a lot this past two years so I have updated this post to include a bit more information. Align Probiotic is one of the options on the market that claims to support digestive health. This post is my personal experience with the product. My loyal readers here know that I have some health issues, mainly digestive, directly related to Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s Disease is an inflammatory bowel disorder that effects the digestive tract the entire way through. How to manage life with Crohn’s Disease is a whole other post. It flares at any time…

  • Health - parenting

    The Kids Stay – Five Reasons My Kids Attend Political Events

    January 21, 2013 - By 

    Last year 2012 New Year’s drop in with Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews (The one in which I am serious about kids and politics.) This week I read with great interest the columnists who challenged U.S. President Barack Obama for bringing kids to an event where he announced executive orders to tackle gun violence. Many columnists, like this one loudly argued that kids should not be used as “props” to further political agendas. Obama was flanked by several school aged children at the executive orders announcement. He was also criticized for releasing videos of children reading letters they sent to…

  • Health - infertility - parenting

    IVF Funding Ontario Could Have Made a Difference to This One Family’s Journey #OHIP4IVF #Onpoli

    January 20, 2013 - By 

    With thanks to Kerri-Lyn Cuppage for her family photo. It is a given this time of year when temperatures dip and families begin the process of nesting through the winter, when holidays are pending and the year winds slowly to a close, that we all take stock of our blessings, our gifts, challenges and triumphs. For families whose children came to them either through adoption or in vitro fertilization, whose start was rooted in the sad realization of infertility, then compounded by medical issues and potential financial difficulties the blessings are magnified. But the challenges are not to be forgotten.…