• family - Parenting

    Disneynature #Chimpanzee Preview – Earth Day Edutainment with a side of #Adoption

    April 15, 2012 - By 

    The gorgeous latest Disneynature film Chimpanzee hits theatres on April 20th, just in time for Earth Day. But my daughter and I were invited by Disney to attend an exclusive early preview in Waterloo Saturday. I knew enough to expect brilliant cinematography as in all the Disneynature series. These incredible voyages and educational glimpses into life in a particular habitat are remarkable always. Chimpanzee, narrated by Tim Allen, is every bit as spectacular as Planet Earth in its film sequences, close ups and fast speed transition scenes.   I didn’t expect the adoption theme that caught me off guard. Now adoption…

  • family

    Clearasil PerfectaWash: Review and a Quiz

    April 1, 2012 - By 

    How do you know if your sweet little girl or boy is ready for the talk about skin care and the importance of a skin care regimen? Let’s pretend this is a quiz. Like in Cosmopolitan magazine. But, not smutty, a clean kind of quiz. ‘Cause this is a family blog y’all (channeling Kerry here from @HouseTalkN) Answer true or false to all of these questions. M’Kay? Is it the teens?  1. Does your son or daughter struggle to get out of bed every morning? 2. Do they proclaim each and every day The Best Day Ever! rapidly followed by…

  • family

    #DisneyOnIce and Me

    February 24, 2012 - By 

    This is not a review. I want to be upfront about that. This has become our February family tradition – every year – we race off to see this amazing Disney On Ice show at the John Labatt Centre. This is a post about love and traditions and the ways in which we celebrate being parents and childhood. And the bittersweet way that kids grow so strong so fast and leave us shaking our heads, holding our hearts in our hands. From the time my oldest daughter was two, we would every December, walk over repeatedly to the London Public…

  • family

    If it’s Thursday..A Valentine’s Cooking With Kids #Bloghop

    February 9, 2012 - By 

    Well, I know you are all dying to know what we cooked or baked together this week, so without any further introduction here it is.  Oh don’t get all healthy on me. It’s Valentine’s so we decided to make treats and give them out to the volunteers and friends that we see at SARI therapeutic horseback riding program every week. We only ate a *cough* couple hundred  ourselves on the way to and from the horses. It is a long ride you know. Anyways, nothing much kids love more than cooking and making candy. This one is easy peasy. I…

  • Parenting

    Five Easy and Free Sensory Play Activities for Kids

    January 23, 2012 - By 

    With an increasing number of kids who have sensory processing disorder or sensory issues related to brain injury, concussion or autism, there’s a lot of new knowledge about sensory play and sensory activities. We started reading up on sensory play and sensory processing disorder years ago when Ainsley was first diagnosed.     Depending on whether your child is sensory seeking or sensory avoiding any one, or all of these may appeal to them.   FIVE EASY SENSORY PLAY ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS     Fill a sink with warm water and soap suds. Have them wash things. Toys, dolls, dishes.…

  • family - Parenting

    Schools of Thought On OverCrowding and Education #ldnont

    January 11, 2012 - By 

    Schoolhouse image from creative commons, copyright Caitlyn Willows There’s a school of thought out there that goes something like this: well, you make do with what you’ve got. And that should be good enough, right? Wrong. I don’t buy it. This is not a picture of our school, but it is a symbol of what that phrase stands for to me. If we all made do with what we’ve got there would never be any progress and our kids would all still be sitting in one room schoolhouses with no heating and doing math on tiny handheld slates. Guess what?…

  • family

    Crafts and Compassion: Nurturing Compassionate Little People

    January 3, 2012 - By 

    We started our day today with crafts – and compassion. It’s a strange combination perhaps, but it works for us. Because I am a Mom, I spend hours thinking about things like the future and how will my kids make a difference. And what are the values I want to leave them with, because if we are all being real, then let’s state it as it is: our children are tiny slingshots, arrows, we shoot forward into the world someday to land a target without us. Sad, but true, and also magical and wonderful and life. I want for my kids…

  • family - Technology

    Magic Keyhole World by Glass Puppy – App Review

    January 1, 2012 - By 

    Magic Keyhole World is an interactive and educational app designed for three to eight-year-olds and intended to nurture curiosity and imagination along with literacy skills. I took a peek at this new app over the Christmas holidays, with the help of my daughter, and was able to explore geography of ten different world habitats, from the Sahara to Egypt and the Arctic. The app is best on IPAD or on a desktop, laptop or notebook computer in Windows or Mac operating systems.It is also available on the Kindle. The pictures are vibrant and a simple click makes animals like jaguars, anacondas and Caribou…

  • family

    Happy Bittersweet New Year Closing Sales

    December 30, 2011 - By 

    Well now don’t get me wrong, I like a sale as much, or more than most of you. But these ones pain me slightly because they are closing sales and that, to my way of thinking, does not bode well as an indicator of 2012 economic outlook. At Masonville Mall:Clair de lune is closing and has FAB deals on home furnishings.Also at the mall, Eddie Bauer is closing.While Sears is not closing, if you can stand the mess of the warehouse sale, then you will be greatly rewarded with deals of 40 % off all clearance merchandise.Also in London on…