• Travel

    14 Things You Must Have on a Family Road Trip

    August 10, 2009 - By 

    Heading out on another family road trip which means I have some packing to do. Since we started this great foray into family travel my husband and I – well mostly I – have learned a few things about the tricky business of travelling with tots in tow. My first tip for travelling with children is planning, planning and then planning some more. When we flew to Disney last year it was my daughter, Ainsley’s first flight. She was four and, for those of you who don’t know, she has sensory processing disorder, which means life is often too loud,…

  • family - Parenting

    Child, Youth, Infant, Toddler? At What Point is a Child a Youth?

    August 4, 2009 - By 

    Is a child a youth or is my youth no longer a child? Sometimes, I think it’s a bit like the chicken and egg question. At what point is a child a youth? I received in the mail the other day confirmation of my daughter Payton’s enrollment in a workshop we’re doing in the United States this coming month. It had details of her conference itinerary and some other basic stuff outlining all the fun things she’ll be doing while Mommy speaks and does a writing workshop at a conference. How Did This Happen? But the thing that jumped out at…

  • family - Travel

    East Park Golf and Waterpark

    August 3, 2009 - By 

    Thriftymommastips decided to take her family for a holiday weekend adventure at a nearby waterpark in London, known as East Park, 1275 Hamilton Road. While the weather Saturday was lovely and the waterslides excellent the adventure was not inexpensive, so be forewarned. What Can You Expect East Park offers many different packages and many different activities but for the holiday weekend a special family of four for $50 deal was advertised in the newspaper. The deal caught my eye and we figured we’d give the waterslides a whirl. Now it should be noted that we had no complaints and spent…

  • ribfest sign in foreground on a path in London Ontario with tents in the background and some plastic bubble soccer bubbles in an open park field that kids are playing in
    family

    Ribs, Staycations and Princesses

    July 31, 2009 - By 

    Ribfest will forever be our favourite festival in London but we almost didn’t even find it until this one dragged me out one August weekend to explore. Looking for something fun and cheap to do with the family this weekend in and about London, Ontario then look no further than Ribfest in Victoria Park. My youngest kiddo and I overheard the radio station mentioning that Ribfest started yesterday and so we made it our mission to go check it out for thriftymommastips. It was the first time ever that I’ve made it downtown for the festival and despite the hideous search…

  • Parenting

    Somebody Else’s Daughter book review

    July 30, 2009 - By 

    Somebody Else’s Daughter, by Elizabeth Brundage, caught my eye at the London public library several months ago but I was too busy to read it then, so when I spied it again at Indigo on sale and in paperback I was one happy camper.  Book also available on Amazon – BUY NOW LINK – > Somebody Else’s Daughter Now I am a busy gal and is super selective these days about what she reads so I applied my three tests of whether a book is worthy of my time and this one won them all. Is this Book Worth My Time…

  • orphan_movie
    Parenting

    Orphan Movie – Time to Change the Script

    July 24, 2009 - By 

    Orphan movie hits theatres today from Warner Brothers. I’ve been asked to comment half a dozen times this week in print media and on TV regarding adoptive parents concerns. Basically, the movie shows a negative portrayal of older child adoption. The latest media is in today’s (Friday July 24th) Globe and Mail in the life section, so go buy the paper now or look up on line. A channel also interviewed me in my role as cofounder of the Canadian Coalition of Adoptive Families. The Orphan movie protest began a couple of months ago over negative language used in the previews.…

  • Travel

    Rainy Day Family Fun on the Bruce Peninsula

    July 21, 2009 - By 

    What to do when you are at the cottage and the rain starts? Well why not visit the Bruce County Museum? There’s plenty to do and see for kids of all ages. Plus the exhibits are always a hit. Here’s one more reason to visit the Bruce Peninsula. I have spent all my summers from the time I was a tot heading to the beach with my family, often winding up at a rental cottage hanging out and enjoying the summer months near Southampton. But only last year at the ripe old age of 40 with my children in tow…

  • family

    Backyard Science Experiment Photos

    July 20, 2009 - By 

    Summer 411 Summer 411 is in full swing here, and I have to say this is one of the best ideas I’ve had yet. At the beginning of the summer I looked up a number of fun backyard science experiments my kids and I could do and it’s been a real highlight for us. Most of the experiments are quite cheap and several are worth repeating. The last week of school I settled on about 12 experiments and took my five-year-old grocery shopping for all the ingredients. She proudly told random strangers, “We’re doing science experiments” which was a good…

  • family

    cameras and cottages

    July 19, 2009 - By 

    Just back from a week at the cottage up north on Lake Huron. Not a bad trip with the kids and Mommy survives yet another road trip. But sadly my Sanyo camera did not. Half way through our week at the beach shooting pictures of my gals frolicking in the waves my one-year-old pink purse-sized Sanyo digital camera died. The lens stopped closing and opening and the message Lens error began appearing. So what’s a good Mommy to do and how did I get this picture, you ask? Well, Fisher Price to the rescue. Over the remainder of my week…

  • child grinning with several front teeth missing
    family

    Tooth Fairy Conversation with a Five-Year-Old

    July 10, 2009 - By 

    The tooth fairy made a visit at our house this week, as those of you who follow thriftymommastips, will know. Anyways naturally as my children are five and eight now there were a few questions that came out of the process, some more comical than others. Now any moms and dads with any experience fielding life’s great philosophical questions can picture the setting…mommy driving down the busy road (or highway), sunlight in her eyes making dangerous turn when duh duh duh duh…darling child unleashes a good one from the back seat. Backseat Questions This is the tooth fairy conversation I…