• Health - Parenting - parenting

    This is Who She Will Be #tweens

    January 17, 2013 - By 

    I am always proud of my kids. Every day from the second they joined our home, their tiny hearts beating in sync with mine. I love them beyond measure, like many Moms the world over, and yet, sometimes parenting is dull. It is magical – ephemeral – a little unbelievable – and then it is exhausting. Draining. Bone weary hard work. The older they get, the further and faster they speed away from you. Daily. You can see it when they wake up and walk down to make their own cereal. And it is good and welcome and even a…

  • family

    Boogie Wipes – Perfect for Children’s Colds – Review

    December 16, 2012 - By 

    I may be embarrassing my kids by saying this, but even today at 8 and 11 years old, it is still often like pulling teeth to get them to wipe their noses properly. It’s true. Something about the tissue making contact with sore noses, or sensitive noses, drives my children to the point that they avoid blowing at all. This makes both my husband and I crazy. (I mean seriously? Just blow your nose already.) Anyways, how happy was I to get a batch of Boogie Wipes in the mail this past week? Well, I was giddy and ripped the…

  • Parenting

    Are They Real Sisters? – National Adoption Day Bloghop

    November 17, 2012 - By 

    These are my girls, Ainsley and Payton. Sisters. Daughters. Great friends. They love and fight and play and hug and eat and drink and dance and dream and share part of our lives, our home and hearts.  They are the reason we wake up and breathe and do – pretty much everything. There was a time when we didn’t know if we could be parents. There was a time I didn’t even know if I wanted to be a parent, if I am being 100 % truthful. I wanted a career – writing was my passion – and many days…

  • family

    Shopping With Kids Stinks – Thank Goodness for Sears Club Points

    October 15, 2012 - By 

    This shopping with kids post was sponsored and I received compensation and product in exchange. Saturday Shopping I spent my Saturday shopping. Oh now before you go getting all jealous, let me just state that we all went shopping. Yes, for whatever reason, we took leave of our senses and headed over to Sears at Masonville Mall in London all together. As a family, shopping. That’s right we went shopping with kids. What Were We Thinking? Yup, big family fun day here at the Schuck house. Winter Coats See, my kids have had crazy growth spurts over the summer and…

  • Health

    Saving Money at the Dentist with DentalPlans

    August 10, 2012 - By 

    No secret that dentistry, planned or unplanned, can leave the average person out of pocket for hundreds, perhaps even thousands of dollars. If you don’t have insurance, what’s a family to do? Luckily DentalPlans has some answers to your dental needs. With plans that start at $79.95 a year, you can help your family save. I am all about the savings here, so this is one service that caught my eye. Plans start at the low price of $79.95 for single patients and $129.95 for families. That’s a good deal less than many dental insurance plans.  As a mom of…

  • best_butter_tarts_on_the_planet
    Food

    Best Butter Tarts on the Planet

    April 26, 2012 - By 

    Butter tarts are one of my all time favourite treats. We have made these together many times here and every single batch of these quintessentially Canadian treats is an opportunity to experiment. There are so many variations that you can make when it comes to butter tarts. In fact we like our yummy Canadian desserts simple so the flavour shines through with every bite. We’ve dubbed these the best butter tarts on the planet and even writing about them makes me want to go grab the butter and sugar and start baking. Do not scrimp on the filling whatever you…

  • family - Health

    My Worry Box – A PTPA Winner for Children #Giveaway

    April 17, 2012 - By 

    Does your child worry? Chances are good, if they are preschoolers on up, there are times their little minds won’t turn off the busy actions of the day. Or times their thoughts are racing. Sensitive children, gifted children, children with special needs, perfectionists, or simply children who spend a lot of time thinking. All children at one time or another handle worry, or anxiety. That’s just part of life. These days, worry and anxiety seems to be more prevalent among children than ever before. Healthy adults handle worries and anxieties every day. But most healthy adults have a toolkit of…

  • Parenting

    Five Easy and Free Sensory Play Activities for Kids

    January 23, 2012 - By 

    With an increasing number of kids who have sensory processing disorder or sensory issues related to brain injury, concussion or autism, there’s a lot of new knowledge about sensory play and sensory activities. We started reading up on sensory play and sensory processing disorder years ago when Ainsley was first diagnosed.     Depending on whether your child is sensory seeking or sensory avoiding any one, or all of these may appeal to them.   FIVE EASY SENSORY PLAY ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS     Fill a sink with warm water and soap suds. Have them wash things. Toys, dolls, dishes.…

  • family

    Zero Tolerance For Bullying Not Good Enough

    December 1, 2011 - By 

    My daughter Payton. Both my kids have at one time or another been bullied. One of my children could also easily be perceived as a bully. She is not, but she has special needs and is frequently mishandled, undersupervised and left to handle situations she cannot because of her disability. My heart breaks when I read of kids who have ended their lives because of bullying. This is tragic every time and I can see too easily how a child could feel that there is nothing good in the world when school is not a safe place. I believe bullying…

  • Adoption Awareness Month
    family - Health - parenting - Parenting

    National Adoption Awareness Month – Our Story Part Three

    November 21, 2011 - By 

    This is the picture of the day we met our daughter over ten years ago now. People often ask me how the process was and when they hear we adopted domestically they are astonished. I often say: Have you seen our beautiful girls? I could never complain about either one of our adoptions. We got two gorgeous daughters, we got to be parents and we found a great community of friends in the process over the last decade and we have found a passion advocating for other families. Part 3: This is part three of my series in honour of…