• american_girl_event
    family

    American Girl’s First Ever Blogger Event #BittyBaby

    August 26, 2013 - By 

    The years are brief, in which girls play with dolls. Blink your eyes and they are almost done. Even shorter, if you have a sporty girl who had no interest in anything girly until very recently. So colour me happy and a wee bit shocked too when this one – who has been christened sporty spice, bug, two foot tornado and Hurricane Ainsley at various points in her short nine years – decided she was a doll girl. She is prone to these whiplash about turn moments now as a young almost tween. So, when I was invited to an…

  • infertility - Parenting

    Conceivable Dreams First Ever Picnic #ohip4ivf #onpoli

    August 25, 2013 - By 

    If you are near Toronto and struggling with infertility, or suspected infertility, then you won’t want to miss this opportunity. Conceivable Dreams, the provincial patient group advocating for public funding for in vitro fertilization is hosting their first ever picnic on Sept. 15th at Earl Bales Park in Toronto. The event will start at 11 a.m. and run through 3 p.m. All family members and supporters welcome. The picnic features door prizes and entertainment.  “This picnic is extremely important to raise awareness and show the many faces of infertility.  Not only to bring together a community, who suffers in silence, but…

  • Health - parenting - special needs

    Why I am Relieved: On Autism, #Special Needs and Hate

    August 21, 2013 - By 

    Sometimes I wonder how does hate help anyone? It is a horrible vile and debilitating feeling to carry around as a human being. And it doesn’t help anyone in a minority community, not that hateful people consider that. How is hate allowed to fester? Of that, I have no clue, but it is in fact more prevalent in neighbourhoods and institutions than you’d ever believe. This week we saw that with this horrendous letter that circulated on the news and on line. My daughter last year. Sometimes this is what special needs looks like. By now you have all heard…

  • family

    iPoll – An App that Makes you Money

    August 16, 2013 - By 

    An App that makes you money? Tailored to your very shopping haunts? Um, yes please. iPoll is an app that makes sense for you if you like making money. iPoll is free to download and it takes only a few moments to register and set up your profile. Then, every so often log in and check your missions. Missions can be surveys, or shopping-related tasks. Each task that you complete earns you money. Every time you log in, there is something new waiting. I got $5.19 already! Everyone gets $5 when they sign up. Click here to head directly to…

  • family

    How To Make A Do It Yourself Container Fairy Garden – Ten Easy Steps #DIY

    August 14, 2013 - By 

    My girls are crafty and their imaginations are always on the go especially in the summer months. One summer we spent our days blowing things up and doing science experiments in the yard. That was a lot of fun, but mostly it was hands on learning, structured to keep my kids out of trouble. (My girls are going to blow stuff up anyways, so we might as well do it right.) At the end of the school year my oldest daughter started digging up the lawn grabbing grassy clumps of clod and flowers. She told me she intended to build…

  • family

    #LinkedMoms Hard At Work #Blogher13 #WordlessWednesday

    August 7, 2013 - By 

    This conference circuit is hard work. Just sayin’. Actually, this is me with my good friend Margarita Ibbott, also my business partner at Linked Moms. Who are Linked Moms? We’re the gals chatting every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST. Join us weekly. Sometimes we talk about pressing parenting issues, health, special needs, travel or what tickles our fancy. Sometimes, we have guests and sometimes our chats are full scale twitter parties.

  • how_do_I_get_rid_of_monsters
    parenting

    How Do I Get Rid of Monsters?

    August 1, 2013 - By 

    How do I get rid of Monsters? Every single parent knows there comes a time when you ask yourself how do I get rid of monsters? How do I get my child to stop thinking there are monsters hiding in the closet or under the bed? How to get rid of monsters is something you will get good at. Trust me.   We have found several ways to get your child to sleep again. At one point my youngest was super convinced there were monsters hiding in her closet. Luckily that passed, but not without a bit of work on our part.…

  • parenting

    Great Mystery Box #Giveaways #Canada Only

    August 1, 2013 - By 

    A slew of Canadian bloggers teamed up to bring this great giveaway to you this month. I couldn’t resist sharing it and bringing this opportunity to my readers at thriftymommastips.com. Here’s what you need to know.  This amazing and fun mystery giveaway runs from August 1st – 15th. You can enter for a chance to win one of 4 amazing mystery boxes filled with surprise goodies you’re gonna love!  Each box contains specially themed-filled, brand-new goodies (save for media reviewed items, such as books and DVDs,) including:  Baby ($500+ value), Kids ($250+ value),  Health & Beauty ($500+ value),  and the…

  • family - Travel

    Win a Family Trip to Syracuse ARV $950

    July 30, 2013 - By 

    Welcome to the Syracuse Family Getaway Giveaway! This Giveaway is made possible by the Syracuse Tourism Organization! HOSTED BY: OTTAWA MOMMY CLUB CO-HOSTED BY: CANADIAN BLOG HOUSE ~ JOURNEYS OF THE ZOO ~ LIFE IN PLEASANT VILLE ~ SHANNON’S VIEW FROM HERE GETAWAY PACKAGE: 1 room with 2 double beds for 2 nights at Double Tree Hotel by Hilton for a family of four with buffet breakfast for four each morning based on availability. Valid through 4/30/14 4 Tickets (2 adult & 2 children) to the Pole Position Raceway in DestinyUSA 4 tickets (2 adult & 2 children) to the…

  • family

    #DIY How to Tie Dye: Ten Easy Steps

    July 27, 2013 - By 

    Before the girls went to camp and I headed off to Blogher’ 13 in Chicago, we had a week of manic hunting for things to do that would keep them busy enough not to kill or eat each other. I mean, we had a fun week of unscheduled activity. AKA crafting. This is one of the fun things we did together. Ainsley actually loved it so much she got all sweet and cuddly and cute.  Believe me when I say that is worth all the T-shirts in the world. 1000 times over.  How to Tie Dye: 1. Buy 100 %…