Every child is nothing short of a miracle. No matter how they come to be, or where they start. Miracles. Each and every one. Some simply have harder starts than others. Whether their challenges arrive in the form of health issues, prematurity or complications at birth. Some are born into the families they will live with forever. Others need help finding a soft place to land.  My kids are the latter. We found them, caught them, held on tight.  We are parents by adoption. This time of year we gather often with our friends, an extended family of parents who…

Many of my friends and acquaintances have arthritis. When I was younger my mother had some classmates that attended teacher’s college with her and were left in chronic debilitating pain with rheumatoid arthritis. They had hands and legs twisted and gnarled so badly by the anti-inflammatory disease they could not work and really had horrific challenges getting around their own homes, never mind getting around in the community. My mother’s friend and her friend’s mother both suffered terribly from arthritis. We visited them often as children when we lived in Guelph. They have long since passed away. While their challenges…

Hi and Welcome to Wordless Wednesday. This is a linkup for those who like to blog or take pictures. This is Payton having some fun with one of the apps on my iPhone. Why not? Everyone looks funny with a moustache. Linkup over at Tara’s View of the World.

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend a Simon and Schuster Canada shindig with the awesome Wanda @YMCBookalicious. We attended author Alison Griffith’s book launch and tweetup of sorts. It was a hoot as most of us attempted to comprehend the savvy investment industry. Alison’s book, Count on Yourself, thankfully explains things a bit (Just a wee bit) better than I can, and may lead you to investment success. Anyways, it was one of those affairs where some swag was given out to the attendees. Like little grown up loot bags for people who blog. This amazing little…

Happy Monday! This Mingle is brought to you by me of course. But the meme is hosted by Jennifer Regan over at http://www.eightymphmom.com/ Visit my new friend Kim over at Kimperfection and leave her a comment. ‘K?

My family has a new favourite cereal. When we received Kellogg’s brand new Cinnamon flavour of Corn Pops I was over the moon. I love trying Kellogg’s new products. Kellogg’s is a brand I trust. But cinnamon. Well, I defy you to find me someone who does not like cinnamon. It is a comfroting flavour and a sweet homey aroma that reminds me of French toast and childhood. Baking with cinnamon makes the whole house smell comforting. So I had high hopes for Cinnamon Pops. They were met, luckily. We have in past bought the regular Corn Pops and the…

Okay, I know I promised you all a healthy recipe this week because we keep cooking sweets lately and last week those cupcakes were yummy. So, here it is simple. Couldn’t be easier and my kids, well the shortest one, she could make these every night. Salmon patties. (for four) Double the recipe if you have more people or big eaters. One can of salmon. Drain and remove bones. Toss it into a bowl. Add two eggs Stir and add bread crumbs or for yummier results crush crackers and use as breading. Pat into balls. Then flatten them in a…

This was tossed onto my bed yesterday after school. Post-meltdown apology. We received a great new campaign product and are ambassadors together for Mom Central Canada and the Clearasil Perfectawash face system. While opening the package and assembling the really cool motion activated stand we inadvertently started it up which was cool and then I was having a Mommy moment because I love motion activated stuff. I mean how cool is that? Apparently I used too much of her face wash and that unleashed a shrieking three headed puberty monster girl yelling: Turn It OFF! Clear proof that we are…

Today we had a field trip to the school board because my daughter’s school continues to fail her and today all she needed was a bit of attention and help getting into class. But one person yelled at her, yanked a timer from her hands and told her to go home. Another adult told her she has to want to be in school or she will have to go to a different school (in front of me) and same said I am really busy right now. Then we ran into her at the bank three minutes later, because I pulled…