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cameras and cottages
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 at the beach I borrowed my five-year-old’s cute as a…
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excerpts from a conversation about the tooth fairy
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.This is the conversation I had with my five-year-old Ainsley the other morning as I drove Payton to day camp.…
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Dear Mannerless Mommy:
Dear Mannerless Mommy:Dear mannerless Mommy who butted in front of me in line this morning as I was dropping my child off for her first morning of day camp. Yes, that’s right I am talking to you! You know who you are, you are the one who shows up always hurried – and that’s okay I get it I do really – I am often also very hurried too. However, I generally do not cut in line in front of everyone else as if I am in fact the centre of the universe and must be first everywhere. I would really like you to know that yes it was rude.…
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BBQs and propane and firefighters, Oh My!
I am the world’s biggest fan of summer for several reasons, not the least of which is the BBQ. From Friday night to Sunday in mid-May until the end of October I can typically count on my darling husband to BBQ. Sometimes it’s delicious – (steak marinated and cooked just so) – and sometimes, not so much – (experimental kabobs last night that flopped), but it’s always most importantly not me doing the cooking. Yeah! Let’s hear it for barbecues. Which brings me to my sad story of the evening and the explanation of this picture. Having returned from long hour of grocery shopping with my five-year-old I warned husband…
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Day Camp Rules
I recently read in an article by the excellent old colleague of mine Randy Richmond of the London Free Press of the city of London’s new day camp policy. So I was not surprised when a London YMCA day camp counsellor called to advise me I would need photo ID to pick my daughter up from camp next week. The policy has recently been changed as a direct result of the tragic abduction and murder of Tori Stafford from Woodstock. Stafford, 8, was taken from her school before Easter weekend. A massive search and media outpouring went on for months as parents held their children closer and Stafford’s devastated parents held on to hope she might…
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Our Canada Day
I wholeheartedly, unabashedly love Canada Day. The first of July every year heralds summer here and we typically go out of our way to make this celebration of our country a fun family experience. Maybe it’s the fireworks. Or maybe it’s because it is the day before my eldest daughter’s birthday. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a time when we moaned at length through high school and university about the lack of a true Canadian culture. The lack of a Canadian identity. Entire careers and courses were made or taught on the topic. But somewhere in the last 10 years I think we discovered our Canadianness and tapped a source of pride. I…
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Garage sale kid’s project
There’s something about a Garage sale that gets kids excited. Unless of course they are being dragged to one for shopping purposes. My kids ask for a garage sale most years actually. I think they figure it is a get rich quick idea. In reality it’s often a lot of hard work. But here is what happened when my guys held a garage sale. I have never been a fan of garage sales. From the time we had our first sale back in the 80s I developed an extreme distaste for these seasonal events which we, as a family who lived very close to the poverty line, held far too often.…
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Avoid Lunchbox Letdown – product review
When my daughter Payton, started senior kindergarten at a local London school the secretary seemed to have me on speed dial for a time. “Payton ate all of her lunch and is in the office” was a familiar refrain I tired of too quick. On occasion there was also the “Payton forgot her lunch” call, prompting me to drop everything and deliver food to her school, despite the fact that I knew she’d taken her Disney princess lunch bag with her that morning. But thanks to a cute new lunchbag, in grade one her problems were history. London area Mompreneurs Kathi Blackwell and Lynn Petcoff have taken a bite out…
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Junior Kindergarten Graduation Poem
Updated – one of my kids is starting university in September so when this sweet junior kindergarten graduation poem popped up in my memories this morning, I almost cried with how sweet this memory is. Also, seems like maybe five years ago and it’s been almost 12 years!! This Junior Kindergarten Graduation Poem came inside the booklet that my daughter’s teacher helped her prepare this year cataloguing all of her Junior Kindergarten achievements. Kindergarten Graduation is Special Kindergarten graduation is a special and emotional time for MOMs and DADS too. This year we are extending our daughter’s school at the private preschool where she started when she was 2 1/2.…
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An Ode to Toes – Siblings of Special Needs Children
Parents of children with special needs live on a planet most other people wouldn’t even want to visit, not even for a stopover flight. So constant are the stresses on these families that many break down. It’s hard to stay healthy when a child consumes everything, financially and emotionally. Stresses on siblings of special needs children run high too. Stresses on Special Needs Families I ran across a statistic recently that indicated 85 % of families who have children with special needs break down. It’s a stunning statistic that ought to make everyone – including government, social services and education – stand up and take note. When they are done…