• luggage
    family - Travel

    How to Shop For Luggage #travel

    December 29, 2015 - By 

    I’ll admit it. When I was first married my husband and I bought our first set of luggage at Zeller’s. We didn’t really know what to look for and there really weren’t many choices 20 years ago. We looked for sizes, got the cheapest luggage we could find, and went on our merry way. That was a horrible decision. Luggage is one of those things that definitely falls under the category of “you get what you pay for.” To save others the time and headache of getting terrible suitcases, I’ve put together some things to watch out for that will help you get…

  • personal goals
    active family travel - family - Health - parenting - Travel

    Personal Goals – My Word of the Year for 2016

    December 27, 2015 - By 

    It’s that time of year again, the time to set some personal goals. When December 31st approaches and another year has gone by, the lists start populating your twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook feeds fill up with reflection posts. That tends to cause some degree of nostalgia for the year gone by. I mean right now it feels like everyone is sharing their: Top Ten Posts of 2015 or Top Five Celebrities of 2015 and so on. Motivation Every year for the past few years here I have chosen a word to symbolize my year and my professional and personal goals…

  • male_infertility
    family - Health - parenting

    Male Factor Infertility – What You Need to Know #Health

    December 26, 2015 - By 

    When it comes to infertility issues, a lot of people don’t realize that almost half of all infertility issues are male factor. It’s true: 40 % of infertility is male factor. 40 % is female factor and 20 % is undetermined causes, or unexplained infertility. Male factor infertility affects 1 in 25 men, so it pays to know what it is and how to combat it. Some Facts About Male Factor Infertility What is It Male factor infertility can be related to a few different causes. Birth defects can sometimes cause male factor infertility. Occasionally men are born without ability to…

  • peanuts bouquet
    family

    Teleflora Peanuts Bouquet – Bring The Perfect Hostess Gift #TMMGG2015

    December 23, 2015 - By 

    Are you heading off to visit someone for the holidays? Christmas or New Years, or anywhere in between? Have you given any thought to what to gift your host or hostess yet? Do you need a little festive decorating touch for your home? Well, luckily Teleflora Peanuts bouquets can help you with that. I am a fan of flowers. I enjoy giving them and receiving them and I really enjoy buying them for myself. Well, actually I enjoy buying them for the entire family, and for my home. People often say – “Well we used to do that, but flowers…

  • cold sores
    family - Health

    How Do You Tackle Cold Sores? #Abreva #ColdSore #GetReal

    December 23, 2015 - By 

    Winter is here. For my daughter and me, that means one thing – colds, often accompanied by by cold sores. Every winter, my daughter and I both get cold sores. They pop up at least once every cold and flu season. It’s horrible. They hurt sometimes and they look awful. It even pains me to see my daughter with that cracked, chapped lip cold sore every year. It looks like it hurts, but my sporty daughter is not super on top of tackling them at the outset. After years of this though I am on top of it and luckily we’ve found some ways to limit them as…

  • ski-resorts
    active family travel - parenting - Travel

    Six Great Ski Resorts in the U.S. #travel

    December 22, 2015 - By 

    If you love to ski, then you know that you need more than just good slopes. You need cozy comfortable accommodations when you come in from the slopes. These 6 best ski resorts in the U.S. have the powder and the cozy atmosphere that can turn a ski trip into an ultimate ski getaway. This year, I am hoping we can visit a couple of ski resorts in Canada or the U.S. and practice our new skiing abilities. Last year we were extremely fortunate to take a travel writer media tour to Mont Tremblant where they taught my family of four how to…

  • family

    10 New Year Celebrations for Kids

    December 21, 2015 - By 

    10 New Year Celebration Ideas for Kids Family Slumber Party Grab your sleeping bags, pick out a couple of your favorite movies, make a yummy dinner that everyone will enjoy, and bring out the board games. Hunker down for a great family slumber party while you watch the clock tick tock down to the New Year. Here are some of my suggestions for a great family slumber party. –Melissa and Doug Suspend Game –Mickey Mouse Playing Cards –The Bee Movie –Epic Movie Apple Juice Toast Indulge your kids and let them be part of the New Year’s toast. Pick up…

  • instagram bullying
    family - parenting

    After The Instagram Bullying Incident

    December 20, 2015 - By 

    For weeks after the Instagram bullying incident people kept asking me: How is your daughter doing? I have answered the question often in person, but I haven’t had time to share news here. So today is the day I finally got around to writing about what happened  – AFTER. Here’s the thing. Immediately after the Instagram bullying incident my teen, who struggles with anxiety,  had a kneejerk reaction. She wanted to quit school, leave grade nine and stop entirely. That lasted about one to two days. Then came this. .. We talked her through it and we took our time…

  • small-business-for-teens
    family

    Small Business Ideas For Teens

    December 18, 2015 - By 

    Just a few short months ago my kids discovered the beauty of starting a very small business. I couldn’t have been happier. Oh one of my daughters has been babysitting for years. But this summer the kids stumbled upon a petsitting business they didn’t even really set out to build. A friend of ours needed some cats watched for three days. So we volunteered. Then another friends needed petsitting and we said we could do it and then a couple more friends were heading away for a week and both of my girls decided they’d help out there too. So…

  • family - Health - parenting

    6 Female Fertility Facts You May Not Know

    December 17, 2015 - By 

    How much do you know about your own fertility? Chances are some of these female fertility facts will be new to you even if you consider yourself to be well informed. Female Fertility and Infertility is something we don’t seem to ask about or inquire into until there is a problem. Let’s change that. If you’re trying to have a baby, you need to know these female fertility facts. You may know some of these, but all of these female fertility facts can give you a better chance of making a little bundle of joy without so much of the worry and…