• Health - parenting - Travel

    Dear Mom Camp Series: Five Ways to Prepare Your Special Needs Child For Camp

    June 24, 2013 - By 

    The June instalment of Dear Mom #muskokawoods camp seriesHow do you Prepare Your Special Needs Child for Camp? Dear Mom: Just 29 days!!!! The countdown is on. I am going to pack my new swimsuit, sunscreen, a sketchbook, markers, shoes, a brush, no scratch that two swimsuits, Cutie, one blanket, my favourite Aeropostale sweater, one pair of jeans, seven books, underwear and a sleeping bag.  I love you and it’s so awesome to be going with Ainsley this year!! It’s going to be amaze balls! Love: Payton Alright, alright. Those of you who have been following this sponsored series in…

  • Food

    Deep River Snacks All Natural Kettle Chips Review

    June 23, 2013 - By 

    Deep River Snacks makes several tasty items, but this week right before a road trip to Blue Mountain I was sent a box full of their kettle chips. I was thrilled to note the variety of unique flavours from Sweet Maui  Onion to Aged Cheddar and Horseradish and my old standby favourite – Sea Salt and Vinegar. The Sweet Maui Onion was delicious and the Sea Salt and Vinegar is always a hit. The Aged Cheddar and Horseradish nearly burnt my lips off, but just because that flavour wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean it won’t be your new favourite snack.…

  • family

    Part 1: Business Blogging:Five Ways to Find Your Voice

    June 17, 2013 - By 

    I have taken on a new client recently and am helping her to explore and build her business blog. The client has a blog already and has taken certain steps to identify how to improve business on line, but there are still areas in need of improvement. For instance the blog is sort of an add on to the main entry point – web site – portion of her business. It is not as seamless as it should be and it isn’t sharing well to social media right now. (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest). Blogging is not an add on to a…

  • family

    Blundstone Boots Review

    June 15, 2013 - By 

    Still searching out that perfect Father’s Day gift? Is your spouse an outdoorsy type? Does your Dad like to hike? Does he appreciate a well constructed pair of shoes? There’s still time to buy him a pair of Blundstone boots. Blundstone partnered with thriftymommastips.com and provided us with a pair of boots for review. Next week we plan to put these to the test hiking while on a blogging trip to Blue Mountain in Collingwood.    Blundstone is a name I had heard often but never really had a chance to inspect up close until this week. There are numerous…

  • Health

    Kids Kicking Cancer Canada #ldnont #health

    June 13, 2013 - By 

    Kiara Szabo is 10 and a cancer warrior. Two years ago the London girl was diagnosed with leukaemia and began the hardest battle of her childhood. With support of an amazing team of child cancer experts, her family, and Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario she is now in remission and on her way back to being a typical kid. But along the way, during a painful challenging fight no child should have to face, she found strength through martial arts. Szabo was one of three children demonstrating a program, Kids Kicking Cancer at London Health Sciences Centre. London’s Children’s Hospital…

  • Health - infertility

    We’ve Been Trying Since I Was 25: An Infertility Story #ivf4on #onpoli

    June 12, 2013 - By 

    Ashley and Brandon Powell Ashley Powell is 29, diagnosed with PCOS and she has exhausted most of her options trying to get pregnant. Ashley ’s infertility story starts back at puberty. She had her first period at 13. But it took a full year before her next period arrived. Her menstrual cycles have always been erratic and painful. Powell typically had only 4-8 periods each year and they were extremely painful. In college she was diagnosed with Polycystic ovarian syndrome and referred to a gynecologist. The doctor told her she might have trouble conceiving and that has been proven repeatedly.…

  • Travel

    #WordlessWednesday My Parasailing Family #Travel

    June 12, 2013 - By 

    My family is daring. I am not. This is the photo I took of them getting ready to go parasailing. Five minutes after this photo the three of them were flying down the beach watching sea turtles and such from way too high for this Mom. Thank goodness the husband has no issue with heights at all.

  • Health

    Five Tips for Getting Results on Your Petition #ABHC4IVF #Abpoli

    June 10, 2013 - By 

    One of our amazing motivated Generations of Hope community members has taken the petition challenge to heart and filled three full pages with signatures already. So, based on her experience and my history of advocating for others I thought we’d share some of the incredible tips we know work well for collecting signatures on a petition. Here is the original Alberta Generations of Hope petition challenge post I shared June 1st. We know 1 in 6 people (or couples) struggle with infertility. We also know infertility is a complex health condition as recognized by the World Health Organization. Want more…