It’s time once again for London’s Santa Claus parade. This is my family at the parade last year. The year before that I think it poured rain and I took no pictures but hid under an awning and shivered. Saturday night Santa Claus will make his way down Dundas Street as usual. The night parade starts at 6 p.m. London Transit is offering free bus rides to those headed to the parade. TheMet will be open serving hot chocolate and having a bake sale. Don’t forget a can of non perishable food and mail carriers always take the letters to Santa…
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We are a family formed by adoption and most of my readers know that I often write and blog about child welfare and adoption issues. November is National Adoption Awareness Month. I have a series of posts on adoption scheduled to happen each Monday of this month. This is the first of those posts and lucky for all of you, Jockey has reached out to me to offer one special reader a giveaway. So read to the end and follow the directions. This is our story: One decade ago we became parents. Hard to imagine it has been that long.…
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Tonight my kids will dress up and go out like so many legions of little goblins, Mario bros. characters and Disney princesses. This year I will probably be the one at home handing the surprises out to those who venture to our door. Kindersurprises this year will be a big hit, I imagine. But this year I can’t help thinking where has the time gone? I also can’t help remembering Halloween adventures in the past. Halloween Themes My kids are now ten and seven. I love them madly still – most of the time – even when girly girl…
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Every woman knows someone who has been touched by cancer. And if you know someone right now struggling with the incredible challenge of a health care battle that is so emotionally and physically draining you know it’s not always easy to find the words that say what you mean in light of the terrible daily reality. There are cards and presents and flowers. And they all have their place. Nothing is as meaningful or helpful to a family dealing with cancer as real acts of support such as offering child care, or bringing food or driving a loved one to their doctor’s…
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If you are a parent to a child with special needs, then odds are you are familiar with this level of exhaustion. Dog Tired. Yup, that’s me this morning. And every morning lately. But this morning, well it was epic in its bleary-eyed beauty. This morning, before I could find the Visine eye drops my charming child turned to me and said:”wow, are your eyes ever red.” And yes they were. Because I am tired, the kind of tired that comes from shivering for a week without a furnace. The kind of tired that is show week for oldest daughter,…
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My seven-year-old thinks outside the box. She is mostly a hands on kind of gal. While my ten-year-old was dreaming of princesses at her age, my youngest well she was climbing trees and sliding into home plate ripping holes in all her jeans. I love their differences and think it’s kind of great to have a kid who doesn’t care to be a pretty pink princess. This year she is Batman. She loves her costume and has worn it every day after school for the past week. On the weekend she showed the furnace repair guy that she was Batman and…
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I have been fortunate enough to attend two conferences recently. I was named one of the 200 Most Connected Women in Canada and, for the second year in a row, took part in the She’s Connected conference in Toronto. I also bought a ticket to Blissdom Canada for the first time ever which solidified in my mind the need for a whole wardrobe makeover. Not a frumpy affair. I have gained a lot of insights into blogging as a business and I will share more of that with you soon. These events always come with samples and swag and so…
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For the first year ever I am taking part in this great November giveaway hop with Life With Two Boys and Mommy’s Reviews and Giveaways. It will run for one week and interested bloggers should click here for more information and to sign up. Sign up runs until Oct. 31st. The requirements are:* All participants must have a giveaway specifically for this event that runs the duration of the event* All participants must find their own sponsor(s) and host the giveaway on their own blog. You may sponsor your own giveaway if you wish * The prize/prize package should be…
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This is the best freebie I have seen in a long time. I am super grateful that Cineplex sent me this email for my readers to enjoy. Cineplex theatres throughout Canada will throw open their doors tomorrow morning (Saturday, Oct. 22nd starting at 8:30 a.m.) for free. So Skip the Saturday morning cartoons and head over to Silver City theatres in London at 8:30 a.m. to catch a movie. Concession items will be sold. All of the proceeds will go to the Starlight Foundation. The Starlight Foundation helps children who are seriously ill and their families through offering education, entertainment…