My kids are crafters. In fact that’s why I originally signed my older daughter up for preschool many years ago. I couldn’t keep up with her need to craft. It was constant. She still loves to craft and little daughter has followed in her footsteps. So, I always know when it is birthday time, or Christmas, a great craft kit will be appreciated almost more than any other item or toy. Beados arrived here on a day when Payton came home from school because she had been feeling sick. Beados is now one of my new favourite craft gifts for school…
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We had a strange event in our neighbourhood last weekend involving one of my children. A person we did not know pulled over at the side of the road where my one daughter was playing with a friend and started taking pictures of them. The girls had been out playing on their bikes, in daylight, after school. Normally I can see my child out front. That afternoon I couldn’t see her, nonetheless, I knew she was riding her bike, helmet on, safe on our street with a friend. But the safety I take for granted was taken away when the…
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Many of you who are regular readers here know that this September I travelled with World Vision Canada to Colombia. While I was there for the better part of a week I toured many of the area development programs where the work of volunteers and staff at World Vision Canada is changing lives. The experience was life altering and heartbreaking all at once. I saw children who had grown up with World Vision Canada sponsorship and become leaders in their communities. I recently wrote about Johan Espinosa who impressed me so because he has spent his life working with World Vision…
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Mutant Mania arrived here this week and I originally thought, well this is just another trendy toy. But, then we started playing with them together, my daughter and I, and I really found myself enjoying these hot collector toys. First thing to know, these are not for teeny people under five years old or anyone who puts too many toys near their mouth. They are, however, extremely fun hot collector toys. The heads and bodies of Mutant Mania Mix and Match Wrestlers come apart and can be interchanged to make each tiny figure into something different. These are so much…
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Several weeks ago I announced my Gifts with Heart gift guide here on Thrifty Momma’s Tips. That Christmas gift guide 2014 is meant exclusively this year for gifts that give back to the world, or the community. Right now that means that it is dominated by World Vision Canada gifts. A gift from the catalogue there gives back to children and families living in poverty around the world. I have launched that guide and asked all my personal friends and family members to buy things such as artisan gifts from the World Vision gift catalogue. Many of my friends have informed…
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This is a twitter party with a difference. We at Linked Moms, often tackle hard topics, like infertility, adoption, advocacy and poverty. It’s one of the things that makes us unique. We have a voice, a platform, and an audience too. We care about topics that matter. We care about families and issues. We never underestimate our readers. We know they want to hear about things that matter. We know several of you are just like us parenting kids with special needs, trying to make a difference in the world and struggling with the reality of aging parents. Life is…
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This post contains affiliate links. If you order anything from the links I will get a small percentage of the profit. My family are massive fans of Mabel. We take her everywhere. We always have done so. From the minute the kids hit preschool and needed some help “remembering” their belongings, we had Mabel’s Labels on all the relevant items. Mabel has great 411 wristbands for kids with special needs or allergies and over the years we have used those also. They help the kids feel safe sometimes when they are in public or away from Mom and Dad. We…
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Baby’s first Christmas is a time of special magic. Babies bring hope and wonder to the world just by their presence, and depending on their age, they help us see this season with new and excited eyes. My oldest daughter Sunshine was ten months old at her first Christmas—old enough to taste the mashed potatoes and peas, play strange at all the new relatives, need help opening her presents, and have fun with the wrapping paper. The following year, she made us all laugh by ripping a piece of wrapping paper from a present, running across the room to…
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No big secret here that my kids are Barbie fans. So, when we heard this new movie featuring Barbie was coming out we had to see it to believe it. Some days I am still certain Barbies are hatching a plot to take over my house. My one daughter has collected Barbies since she was two. I have written about our Love for Barbie often over the years. I fact my daughter’s love of Barbies is well documented. But what about my Barbie beginnings? Timeless Toys Look Like This In the 70s and 80s I grew up with Barbie…
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I never thought a soccer ball in Taminango Colombia could make me cry. Let me explain… How Does the Gift of Sports Change Lives? This is what the gift of a soccer ball looks like in Colombia. A team in the middle of a dirt field practising every night. Two young men, sponsored as children, now coaches, committed and clear-headed. Mentors in every way. This is the living breathing outcome of presents from a World Vision gift catalogue. A vulnerable space made into a soccer field in a community where drugs, gangs and crime are extremely big threats to a…