Fashion Angels Charm Mashup is a toy I would have gone nuts for as a tween or teen girl. I loved to craft and make things just like my girls do. So, I figured this would be a lot of fun but I was surprised it made me feel like a kid again too. Usually bead kits drive me a bit batty as a parent because the beads can wind up tracked all over the house, but we have learned a few tricks from the kid’s crafting experiments here over the years and I quickly just made sure ALL the…
Guest Post: Pick the right day to fly Busy airports, crazy-high fares, winter weather delays — are you sure you want to do this? The busiest (and most expensive) travel days of the year are around the holidays. Armed with our fare calendar chart (see below), you’ll save a lot of stress and small stocking of cash by picking the right days to fly. Rise and shine Don’t want to miss the carving of the turkey or the unwrapping of presents? Book the earliest flight you can. Sure, you’ve got to wake up early, but those first flights out are the least…
I spied the Chrono Bomb game this past summer at a toy show in New York City and it screamed Ainsley’s name to me as I walked by, so I struck up a conversation with the person representing Patch Products and told her all about this girl of mine. Back when Ainsley was about 8 and we were living in our old house, she would grab string, or yarn from the closet and string it all over her room creating an elaborate web of lasers so that she had to limbo and contort her body just to get into the…
If you know me at all, then you are aware of my love for chai latte. Chai tea latte is my favourite beverage on the planet. I can drink it all year round but it’s my favourite thing to order from Starbucks when I travel. There’s something very comforting and smooth about a chai tea latte. This season I love experimenting with the flavours that are Fall and Winter standbys. This time of year gingerbread is a smooth partner in so many holiday recipes. Gingerbread cookies and treats are synonymous with Christmas. Gingerbread is to Christmas what pumpkin is to…
Home organization is the most important thing you can do to help your days go more smoothly if you have kids, especially when those kids are in school. Between rushing the kids off to school trying to get homework finished and getting the kiddos into bed on time, home organization makes a huge job a little less chaotic. Home Organization Steps to Make it All Easier Having kids is chaotic enough, so anything we as parents can do to make the environment a little less chaotic is a good thing. Theh key to making things run more smoothly is home…
It’s no secret how much World Vision Canada means to me. I travelled many miles with several World Vision workers in 2014. I told many of those stories over the past year. We climbed a mountain by car, on roads that were not remotely stable, while goats looked on perched in trees. We tried not to look down for fear our legs would fail us at the end of the journey. The destination one day led us so far up a mountain just outside Bucaramanga that it seemed like we were standing on the top of the world, when suddenly a school revealed…
This past week someone googled ” I hate adoption awareness month” and they arrived here on this blog which had me shaking my head at google. So I wanted to set the record straight. Here’s the truth. I don’t hate National Adoption Awareness Month. Quite the opposite actually. But I have gone on record many times over saying awareness is not enough. And I stand by that. I am an adoptive parent. Our family was built via adoption and it is a wonderful means of forming a family. I celebrate that all year round. I celebrate adoption awareness activities and fundraisers…
Adorable Newborn Tekno Puppy is the cutest gift that has arrived here so far this year. Tekno Puppy will be a huge hit this holiday season with any child you choose to give this too. If I were a child again, this Newborn Tekno Puppy would top my Christmas wish list. As it is it will top my list of toys that I give, especially for little girls between ages 5 and 13. The suggested age range for Newborn Tekno Puppy is 3 and up. But together my kids and I both discussed this and felt like the age range is…
Boys play with a wooden gun used in re-enactment dramas, which can be part of rehabilitation therapy sessions. Many are familiar with how to handle the weapon. – Photographs from World Vision’s Children of War Rehabilitation Center in Gulu: daily life under World Vision’s care and reunions with their families; portraits to accompany Nigel Marsh interviews. This is a Guest Post by my Daughter Payton Schuck, she’s in grade nine this year and has been involved with helping us choose which World Vision Canada gift catalogue holiday gifts that we give as a family. This family tradition started last year.…
The Tomorrowland film is one of the best movies I’ve seen in quite some time. It’s also one of the last movies I watched at the theatre. That shows you how often I get out! Luckily if you are like me and rarely are able to get to the movie theatre now you can watch Tomorrowland at home. Tomorrowland is one of those movies that exudes everything that’s great about a family film. With a ton of action, adventure, and heart, the Tomorrowland film has something for everyone, from kids to adults. The Tomorrowland Film is Perfect for All Ages One of my…