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The Oopseat: Interview and Review with Mompreneur and Autism Advocate Lisa Goodman
Moms are some of the savviest and most creative people I know. If necessity is the mother of all invention as the saying goes, then mothers are also the greatest inventors. Take Lisa Goodman for instance and her protective chair covers. Goodman, the single mother of a young child with autism, was looking for an item on the market that would protect furniture from those little spills children so often make when eating, drinking, crafting. When she couldn’t find what she wanted, she designed the perfect chair covers herself and so began the Oopseat. Lisa sent me a square Oopseat and placemat to try out. These colourful Canadian chair covers come…
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A Tale of Two Politicians So Far_ Election 41 #Cdnpoli #elxn41
Prime Minister Stephen Harper Sunday night The lobby of the Ignatieff town hall event Well it’s been a bit since I did the federal election dance. Ten years about. This weekend I found myself dancing again as two of the leaders of Canada’s federal parties swung through town. It was a most unexpected weekend. I started Thursday with the Ignatieff town hall. Michael Ignatieff, Harvard graduate and well known genius, packed the Best Western Lamplighter Inn. Here was a Liberal leader shrugged off as pretty much unelectable a couple of years ago. And yet the polls have started to indicate maybe more people are seeing him in a new light. His event…
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Soul Surfer Rides Into Theatres Soon
Picture Helen Hunt playing the Mom of a surfer girl who experiences a great tragedy and learns to come back from the brink. If that doesn’t peak your interest, then imagine a killer soundtrack. Dennis Quaid as a Dad. Lots of beach shots and stunning cinematography. Put them all together with big screen debut of Carrie Underwood. Excited yet? I am incredibly fortunate to be able to bring information about this amazing new movie to my readers. Soul Surfer is an inspirational true story of a teenager named Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to surf again. She brought hope to many worldwide…
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Deadbeat Dads and What is Missing in the Ontario Budget 2011
Well the long-awaited 2011 budget came out Tuesday with a galley full of bobbleheads and not so many surprises really. It was a document that looked a lot like an election year budget. Restrained, yet well worded with so much emphasis on FDK, as they call it. Not surprising Premier Dad is hanging it all on full day kindergarten. By no means am I against full day kindergarten. It makes sense for working parents and it makes sense too for typically developing children. It is not the answer for every child. It would never have worked for my youngest, a child with special needs, for whom a best case scenario…
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A Girl and Her Dog: Autism Services Dogs and Sophie
No Frill’s owner Brian Macdonald with Sophie Davies-Hales, mom Dana and their newly certified Autism Services Dog Crosby Tweet Meet Sophie. She has a riot of dark brown curls, cheeks as round as apples, a little brother who likes to play dressup and a big sister. Sophie also has a whole host of largely invisible special needs, and now an autism service dog that shadows her every move. Sophie was adopted as a baby by Mom Dana Davies-Hales and Tony Hales. She was three when she was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Neurological Developmental disorder ( a condition that falls under the umbrella term of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, and PDD-NOS (…
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Monday Mingle: Life Apps
Hi there and Happy Monday! Pop by Jennifer Regan’s site over at http://www.eightymphmom.com/ and visit more of my favourite blogger and vloggers for a fun start to your week. Cheers! Tweet
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Clean Up Your Couponing With Coupon Chief
I am sadly the messiest person on the planet with my coupons. Just ask my kids! They are savvy coupon clippers. I am training them well. LOL. But the problem with that is my crazy coupons are: in the dining room; on the fridge; in my wallet (there are more coupons there than cash actually); in the pockets of my purse; in my daughter’s room; on my computer and on my KOBO. Really, I tucked one into my Kobo sleeve. Sometimes they fall from my pockets and I feel like that little cartoon character PigPen on Charlie Brown. Sooo Embarrassing. But then I found CouponChief.com. Clean up Your Wallet Now I…
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FASDOne Symposium
Fasd camp 2009 outside London, Ontario Many London parents, professionals and educators will head to Toronto tomorrow for the first ever province-wide symposium tackling a challenging disability gaining national attention. The FASDOne symposium began with a limit of 300 parents and professionals, but demand for the training and information being offered has been so great that organizers have had to cap attendance at 425 and turn people away. A large number of participants are from the London area, many are part of a local group of experts and professionals here called the FASD ELMO (Elgin London Middlesex Oxford) network. Health Minister and London MPP Deb Matthews is opening the day. It is…
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Virtual Politics Pre-Budget Consultations: Numbers Talk
Picture courtesy of Wiki Images Love it or hate it – virtual politics is all about the numbers. 100,000 to be precise. This week Londoners took part in an experiment, a virtual telphone townhall that was part of Ontario’s pre-budget consultations. There have been several of these townhalls across the province and they began in February. Telephone townhalls have taken place in Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and Kitchener already as well as a few other areas. Last week the consultation process took to Ottawa. The virtual stop in London was the most successful so far with 20,000 people taking part. Ontario’s Finance Minster Dwight Duncan led the townhalls…
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Virtual Politics with a Side Dish of Social Media
A virtual townhall tour came to London Monday night and a whopping 20,000 local voters took part. The townhall run jointly with Health Minister Deb Matthews, Attorney General Chris Bentley, London MPP Khalil Ramal and the big cheese Ontario’s Liberal Finance Minister Dwight Duncan was a bit shaky at the start. This night was one of a series of stops throughout Ontario as the Liberal government tries something new – virtual politics with a side dish of social media. I was called on the weekend by Minister Matthews. I am a consituent and I often end up writing her or talking her up regarding issues that impact adoptive parents and children…