• family travel

    Bruce County Museum Prehistoric Sea Monsters

    August 26, 2010 - By 

    Last year I spent some time blogging about the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre in Southampton.  At that time there was an amazing dinosaur exhibit. This year, when we once again found ourselves back at the cottage, we wondered how they might top last year’s animatronic dinos and BBC film. Well, somehow they did it with prehistoric sea monsters larger than life. (See Payton below.) If you are still heading for the beach between now and September 6th, when the exhibit ends, you should find a way to visit this one. It was well worth it and more than…

  • family

    Weekend Sale Roundup

    August 21, 2010 - By 

    Blogging from the beach was trickier than I thought. Sorry these are a bit late, but here they are: Bonnie Togs – $10 denim sale. $15 for coveralls.Shoppers Drug Mart has their use your points event on this weekend. This is a good deal. Real Canadian Superstore: spend $150 or more and receive a free box of Nestle favourites chocolate bars and treats.Chapters/Indigo has buy one book and get one 50 % off  just this weekend.Also just this weekend at Children’s Place is spend $50 or more and get 25 % off purchase.Old Navy has $8 hoodies. Happy Shopping! Also…

  • life_or_death
    family travel

    Cottages: How to Save Money

    August 14, 2010 - By 

    It is a truly Canadian tradition – that of heading to the cottage every year to soak up our two months of summer. Let’s face it, this is a unique Canadian thing. There may be cottages in other lands, but we have perfected this idea of escape. I have been doing this every summer from the time I was a toddler and it is at the very least a habit for us. We meet extended family once a year and crowd into a tiny cottage, barbecuing food, and roasting ourselves on the beach. My children are now accustomed to this…

  • family

    Fun Foam or Volcanoes

    August 14, 2010 - By 

    So today we woke up looking for things to do and we came up with this Backyard Science Vlog for you. The only other thing I want to add is that sometimes this experiment can help children to talk about emotions too. You fill up all the ingredients in the bottle and describe the bottle as a person, or a child. Then when the foam froths over the top, you can tell them that’s a bit like what happens with anger when it grows so big you can’t hold it all in. It explodes. Then talk about some ways kids…

  • family travel - Travel

    Kobo and Fairmont: An Intriguing Partnership

    August 11, 2010 - By 

    This is one of the coolest partnerships in travel amenities and publishing that I have seen in some time here at thriftymommagogo. Today Kobo, the ereading service sold far and wide at Chapters/ Indigo and Wal-Mart, among other retail outlets, announced it has partnered with Fairmont hotels and Random House. Fairmont Gold travellers will be permitted use of a Kobo preloaded with numerous popular fiction and non fiction titles carried by Random House. Kobo and Fairmont recognize that travellers occasionally forget their books, or don’t want to travel with bulky heavy hardcovers. Let’s face it hardcovers can weight the luggage down…

  • family

    Cora’s

    August 10, 2010 - By 

    We finally had a chance to celebrate summer holidays with a brunch at Cora’s, something my niner has been asking for well about three or four months now. It was my second time there, at the breakfast place, with two locations now in London. Both times I wasn’t disappointed. The menu is exclusively crepes and waffles and bacon and eggs and breakfast foods. But as you can see here (to the left) this isn’t your average breakfast spot. The waffles my daughter chose were flavoured with cinnamon, covered in fresh fruit and drizzled with icing sugar. Yummy and also from…

  • family

    My Answers to Lisa the Party Mommy at YummyMummyClub

    August 10, 2010 - By 

    1. Did you attend Blogher10? No. Dammit! I was actually a bit afraid. The swag frenzy and scary anecdotes from last year’s Blogher made me think umm.. nope I’ll try Type A Mom Con for my first conference. Thanks. 2. Are you attending BlissdomCanada this fall? I am crossing fingers and toes and approaching sponsors right now so I don’t need to remortgage house just to go. That would be frowned on by my husband. 3. When are you at your blogging best –  I guess night. Here it is 10 p.m. again and I am bloggy baby. 4. How many…

  • family

    Disney’s Geppetto and Son

    August 7, 2010 - By 

    Once again the Original Kids Theatre Company brings a magical performance to life and a clever commentary on parenthood. This weekend is the last chance to catch Disney’s Geppetto and Sons at the Rotary Reading Garden downtown London. It is a funny take on Pinnocchio and a great family performance. We caught this one last night. Bring blankets or chairs. It is pay as you go and runs through tomorrow. The performance lasts about one hour or slightly longer. The ensemble here works very well together. Musical numbers are dazzling. Tonight and tomorrow a.m are the last chances to see…

  • special needs

    Thursday Western Fair Thank You

    August 5, 2010 - By 

    Thursday is a happy day here. We were part of the outcry that challenged Western Fair to change their policy and last night they admitted they had made a mistake. That is, in my opinion, a cause to celebrate. What was at issue: the changes to fair pricing that meant disabled people and their attendant workers were going to be charged admission. For us here that meant that Ainsley, 6, with special needs would be charged admission and so would any support worker or attendant care worker we sent to the fair with her. That policy throughout the city is…