• active family travel - adoption and tweens - family - Parenting - parenting

    What Does Ten-Years-Old Look Like?

    This past month my youngest girl turned 11 and we celebrated with a Minecraft cake and a sleepover and a family dinner at Lone Star Texas Grill. We all learned to ski together as a family in Tremblant the weekend before her birthday party. In many ways, that was the perfect start to sporty spice’s birthday week. This is the daughter I still joke never met a sport she didn’t like. The one who wandered off at Disney when she was four and nearly gave me a heart attack on the spot. The one who sported my eye shadow the…

  • family - Food

    Easy Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge

    FUDGE!! Who doesn’t love fudge? Seriously. If you don’t love fudge I am not sure you are a person I can trust as a human being. It’s just not natural. I love fudge. I have lately had some challenges getting fudge right though. So when this Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge turned out, well I was super happy and felt I needed to share it with you. So here you go my friends: Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge recipe is below. It’s a mighty good thing this turned out because if it hadn’t and I wasted all those yummy peanut butter cups my kids…

  • family - Health - homes - parenting

    Carbon Monoxide Alarm Installation and Maintenance is Key for Family Protection

    Carbon monoxide alarm installation is important for the maximum protective benefit to you and your family. Tragically, everyone has seen the stories on the news of families that simply don’t wake up. Entire households can die from carbon monoxide, a poison that many people don’t even know is in their home. Carbon Monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas and it can be deadly. There is nothing scarier to me as a parent. Danger from carbon monoxide poisoning is not restricted to any one season. It can be lethal all year round. That’s why carbon monoxide alarm installation, maintenance and replacement…

  • family - parenting - Travel

    Hugs from Dad #WordlessWednesday #Travel #Tremblant

    I rarely share shots of my spouse here. Why? Because he hates having his picture taken. Sad but true. Husband of blogger hates having picture taken. Honestly. So capturing a nice shot of him on film is a big deal for me. I often point my iPhone at him when we travel and he turns or moves ruining the shot. Early in March we were all invited to Mont Tremblant to visit as a family unit. While we were there, the entire family learned how to ski in two days!! I am super proud of that, in case you couldn’t…

  • family - Food

    Best Three Cheese Extra Cheesy Spaghettini Bake

    This cheesy spaghettini bake is perfect for nights when you have no idea what to make. This recipe will be sure to delight everyone in the family. Best Three Cheese Extra Cheesy Spaghettini Bake Comfort Food Any Time of Year I know I’m not really still supposed to be making comfort food in the spring, right? But cheese!! Cheese makes me happy. So when I discovered Ivanhoe cheese is also made by Gaylea Foods, I thought I might give some a try and concoct a meal out of as much cheese as I wanted. We ended up with the best three…

  • family - Food - parenting

    Six Best Easter Brunch or Dinner Recipes

    It’s Easter brunch that always gets me. Well, to be truthful it’s brunch, period. Any holiday. When we have guests over and we have cooked the night before I am always hunting for some great ideas for Easter brunch or just brunch in general. That’s why I decided to pull these together – Here are the Six Best Easter Brunch or Dinner Recipes I could find. Easter is such a great time of year. Finally after months of snow we get a long weekend to celebrate with friends and family. Food is naturally a big part of that celebration. I…

  • family - Food - Health

    Thai Coconut Curry Soup Recipe

    I love soups and crockpot recipes and I love to experiment with spices too. Sometimes the ingredients and the results are magical. This Thai Coconut Curry Soup recipe is one of those magical meals. This is quite a versatile recipe. This recipe goes well with beef, chicken, shrimp, or just vegetarian and with some rice noodle.  It serves two people, comfortably. When I have used either beef or chicken, I make sure I cook it aside first and then cut it into bit size pieces. Also, you cut up your veggies any way it looks more appealing to you.. I…

  • adoption and tweens - Health - Parenting

    Why I Protect My Family With Vaccines #ONVaccine

      Maybe it’s because it took almost forever to become a parent that I feel so strongly about holding my kids close and protecting them from illness, accidents and harm. Maybe it’s because I have a compromised immune system myself. I have Crohn’s Disease, an autoimmune disorder. I know I can’t afford to get ill. When I get sick, I have a much higher likelihood of ending up hospitalized than your average Mom does. Maybe it’s because our babies, both adopted as infants, needed more health care, more nurturing, support, and security, because circumstances of their birth were not what…

  • family

    Best Friend Sisters #WordlessWednesday

    This rarely happens anymore. They grow their own ways once they hit a certain age. Occasionally we come back together and circle round during summer months, or family vacations. This was unexpected the other day on the way to school. I had to take a picture. And yes it’s dark out these mornings. This is my Wordless Wednesday for the week.  

  • Food

    Seven Mouth-Watering Muffin Recipes

    For years I lived on muffins. So easy to make and I loved all the various varieties of muffins out there. Now I eat them quite a lot less than I once did and that’s okay. You know how absence makes the hard grow fonder. Well, that’s kind of how I feel currently about muffins. Now, as far as my family is concerned – they can’t get enough muffins. So I need to have some easy and delicious muffin ideas on hand frequently. We are big fans of honey bran and carrot. Sometimes the old stand chocolate chip muffin recipes…