London ontario Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips

Best London Christmas Lights to See Now (Have a Drive Through, Socially Distant New Year!)

Paula — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 14:59:29 +0000

So where are the best London Christmas lights that are safe to see from the car? Are they still open? Can you make that part of your New Year’s Eve tonight? Read the information below to find out. Obviously parades and the holiday season went virtual this year around Ontario and in many places throughout Canada. But, what about New Year’s Eve? And what about social distancing? Good news. There are still a few London Christmas lights and homes to drive by and enjoy. Check out some of the Best Drive Through London Christmas lights and holiday light displays before they end! Drive Through London Christmas Lights (And Surrounding Area) While we still can’t do much in person, we can get out for walks and the occasional drive. There are a couple of local areas where you can visit Christmas lights and enjoy them safely with your family from the car. Drive by, or drive through lighting displays, help cheer everyone up. Making Spirits Bright When social distancing and lockdown is the name of the game, you can actually still safely do a few things to keep spirits bright. Believe me, that’s what we have been working on, because this round of lockdown is pretty crappy, especially since we have been following the rules and being extremely cautious in my home since March. (Even though many others have not extended the same courtesy and exercised responsibility.) Lockdown 2.0 in Ontario It has been extremely hard to watch as others don’t provide the community with the same consideration as anti-maskers decide their freedom is somehow negatively impacted by wearing a small piece of cloth that protects people from germs. Our Routine During the first round of lockdown, some days my greatest goal was actually just making sure my teenagers got out of bed and moved. In my house, we manage mental health with medicine (and doctors), plus a routine of water, diet, sleep and exercise. These are the things that I tell my kids are not negotiable. I am a broken record that way. Most days, I was reasonably sure at least 2-3 of us in this house were actually dressed. Other days, I said the heck with it and told my teens throw on a jacket and walk in your pyjamas with me. Nobody else will know or care. Winter Lockdown Over the last year, I have rallied the troops and plugged in all the virtual support possible. Yet, here we are again, in the middle of winter, with ski season postponed indefinitely. Don’t even get me started on that. Ski hills have been working for months on how to social distance and be safe and still offer people the chance to stay fit mentally and physically on ski hills. And no other province in Canada has blocked ski hills from opening because they have all implemented strict ski with your family and leave protocols. So, with little to do but sit tight again and get mad occasionally because others aren’t following rules and politicians are also not following their own rules, we have found the occasional local drive through London Christmas lights (and surrounding area) a small respite from the repetition. Lighting of the Lights Everyone in London knows that there’s typically a unique tree lighting ceremony in Victoria Park called Lighting of the Lights. This year, that display on Clarence Street in downtown London is up and ready to view from your car or from a social distance with masks on only. Typically in years gone by we have also gathered to skate and watch the fireworks at 9 pm, a kid’s display that we loved when the kids were younger. Maybe another year that will happen again. I always loved skating in Victoria Park. Downtown London Although the official ceremony of Lighting of the Lights will not be held this year, crews are still working to install over 75,000 lights in the park. Residents can still visit on their own time and enjoy the beauty of nature and the lights! Lights on Stratford A stunning display throughout Stratford. The City of Stratford has released new details on the upcoming Lights On Stratford festival, which will run from Nov. 19 to Feb. 14, 2021, in several locations throughout the city. That makes this a MUST DO open through part of February! From north London this is a quick 45 minute drive. We are planning to see it this week. Every single report that I have seen from friends indicates this is stunning and super spread out throughout Stratford. So, hurray and that makes it even more socially distant!! Ilderton Listen, there’s a home there in Ilderton that goes nuts on Songbird Lane. Wear your mask and get out for a quick photo if it is safe. This is a pandemic. Please be safe. We took photos in Ilderton on Christmas Eve after we did Zoom calls and FaceTime calls here with all of our relatives. We didn’t SEE anyone in person all Christmas and I am desperately trying to keep teens with mental illness alive in my home during a pandemic. So, I need all of the small boosts possible, whether that is a drive by light display or making hot chocolate bombs or doing a silly TikTok. I am attempting to boost the mental health of people here in my home, so we drove by the display and we paused to take photos with our masks on and we loved it. While this is outside London, it qualifies for me as one of the best local London light displays. St. Marys Winter Lights-St. Marys.. on until January 3, 2021 – enjoy their lights throughout the holiday season! Take a short drive to St Marys to see their winter light show from your vehicle. City of Woodstock Virtual Tour of Lights. While this is a bit further away than the rest of these London Christmas lights, it is also available virtually. Check it out here – > City of Woodstock Virtual Tour of Lights. I love that this one is available on Youtube. So check it out from home, no matter where you are! Happy New Year and Happy 2021! Wishing you a brilliant new year ahead!

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Blended Learning – How is In Person High School Right Now?

Paula — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 12:56:00 +0000

From Paula – Here’s what blended learning looks like to my high school student. We made the choice to send Ainsley back to school in person this Fall. She has been back for a bit more than two weeks and is in grade eleven. Here’s how it’s going so far. These are her words. On Blended Learning and High School Fall 2020 By Ainsley Schuck So, here’s the thing. I am going to school during Covid-19 in person. My days go like this: two days in school and three days at home, and the next week is three days in class and two at home. The term for this is blended learning. Not Your Average School Year Listen, nobody was more surprised than me when Ontario schools abruptly closed in March due to Coronavirus. Also, I was shocked that I missed school, because typically I am not a huge fan. So when the Ontario government announced we’d return to school I was a bit worried but mostly happy to hear we’d be going back. New School Terms This school year is not your average school year and suddenly we have all these new terms to use too: blended learning, hybrid, cohort, synchronous and asynchronous. A few times everyone here in my home has been frustrated and said: I don’t even know what asynchronous means. You get my point. It is a weird year to be in high school in person. Back to School In Person or Online School? I know many parents and students were divided over whether to go back to school in person or do school online. A few people I know, other teens with an IEP or a learning disability felt like there was really only one option. Many of us need that in person face time with teachers. Getting My Schedule We all need to check the class D2L site often and check our emails too. Communication has been pretty good so far, but it took forever to get my schedule at the beginning of the semester/ Octomester and that was super frustrating. Here’s What I Like About Blended Learning So Far It may seem like a lot of work crammed into a very short period of time. It is, but honestly I am adjusting and I kind of like some parts of the blended learning classroom. The Remote Days I like having days at home, because the remote days kind of feel like a mental health day for me. If you working at home, I still log in at 8 a.m. for attendance, so I am up at a good time. In fact, I actually feel more comfortable at home and can wear what I want so, I take advantage of that on remote learning days during this blended learning school year. So, for me the blended approach is working right now. I get to choose where I work at home basically. At School Days In my classroom, there are no windows right now, because we are in the computer lab. The computers have been removed but, it feels kind of like a prison with no windows and it’s a bit depressing. So, by the end of my school day, I am ready to get out of there. Wearing Masks in the Classroom I thought wearing masks at school might be hard but it’s not. We are just sitting all day, so to be honest it is not as hard as I thought. It’s not like we are sweating, running around or racing from class to class. Mask Choices I am a little anxious about what mask I wear to school and I feel like sometimes that’s the thing that could trigger bullying now. Your choice of mask is up to you as long as they cover your nose and mouth well. I sometimes wear Harry Potter or Pride masks because I like them. They are comfortable and they fit well. Little Social Interaction They spent a lot of time on the first day back talking about safety protocol. If you don’t wear a mask, you will get a verbal warning to get your mask on. You get one warning and, by the second warning, you go home for the day. If you actually get a third warning, you get suspended. We don’t talk much at school. I am better able to focus because there’s less group work and fewer distractions right now while at school doing blended learning. If everyone was talking at once, I feel like people would be removing their masks. Less talking equals less headaches for me and better focusing. Those are two things I struggle with normally and have to often leave school in normal years due to extreme noise and headaches. That’s a sensory thing. Right now, the sensory stuff at school seems to be a bit better. I Leave at Lunch When I come home at lunch time, the work is manageable. We go through until lunch and then we have study hall. Students stay for study hall if they take the bus home or need extra help. Really, unless you are reading, most of the work is getting done in the class. When I have math in a few months then I might need to remain for study hall. Right now though I come home and read or tackle homework questions. Sometimes that looks like my Mom helping me get through the books because we have to read them quickly, in a short time. The Class Numbers The number of kids in the class is much better actually. My teacher is amazing this year and relates well to the class. There are 16 students in my cohort and that seems reasonable. Our class is split. My cohort goes to school every Thursday and Friday and every other Wednesday, for instance, while the other group logs in and does work at home. Then we flip. Having One Classroom a Day for Five Weeks I actually love having just one class a day. In a regular day, before the pandemic we would have four classes each semester and that can be super stressful. That’s a lot of work to juggle. If we had four courses during a pandemic, and needed to switch classrooms several times, we would be super anxious moving around the school. We wouldn’t necessarily know what the teacher’s bubble was either, so this works better in my opinion. Kind of glad I am in one spot for the day when at school. Seems to Be Easier For Me Not having to focus on four subjects at once is kind of a good thing. I suck at multi-tasking, so in a usual year having four subjects at once is a lot for me. If I listen to music and work, I can’t do both, for instance. It’s the ADHD, I think. Fewer Distractions Right Now There are fewer distractions right now and less group work, so I feel like I have the right amount of time at school. This sounds ridiculous, because the speed of the courses is like summer school, so I realize that makes no sense as each subject is going so much faster than it used to. But I only have to focus on one subject – right now that is English and I love English. Easier to Juggle Assignments Sometimes, during a typical year, I forget to do assignments because of the volume of assignments and all the planning required. I have FASD and ADHD and an IEP and sometimes school is hard work in a very busy, noisy environment. Less to Forget Right now, there’s nothing else to forget about. There’s only one assignment at a time for the most part and one book/ topic to study, so you have hours upon hours to work on that topic each day. A Few Kooky Adjustments There’s no leaving and going to the bathroom to hang out with friends because if you do that, then you get paged to head back to class. “Jessica, YOUR bathroom break is over. Please return to your class!” Without getting too personal or gross, I am just going to say I don’t care really because I never go to the washroom at school. In the pre-pandemic days too many people vaped or were just hanging out in there. No, thanks. How it Feels at Times It feels a little like a maximum-security prison at times, but for the most part it is working. Blended Learning 2020 Looking ahead, I feel like this year I will have better grades at each individual subject. Blended learning doesn’t look exactly as we thought it would but there are a lot of reasons I am liking it this year so far.

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Online Prescription Refill Makes Managing Family Health Easier

Paula — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 17:03:40 +0000

This online prescription refill post has been sponsored by The Health Depot. I received compensation and my opinion is truthful. Prescriptions are the bane of my existence. Let me explain. Everyone here is on at least one prescription. My kids have anxiety disorder and FASD and ADHD and I have Crohn’s disease. I make no effort to hide our health care struggles and challenges. In fact, I talk about them often, because I know we are not alone and other parents need to know they are also not alone. Recently, I found a solution to a BIG health care pain point. Easy Solutions Give Me Time Back The Health Depot and The Health Depot Pharmacy saves me time, money and frustration with next day delivery, reminders that prescriptions are about to run out and the ability to add medical supplies, or health care items necessary to keep your family functioning. Their online prescription refill service is easy, cost efficient and it helps me to get a little more life back. So, I can also enjoy summer a little, while managing everyone’s health care needs at the same time. Why Has This Been So Hard Until Now? Managing our family health care seems like a full time job some weeks. And yet, there’s also that pesky full time job to deal with, as well as the usual parenting, plus advocacy and so much more. Right now, after months of pandemic, online school and social distancing, my kids are also clamouring to get outside, and explore safely within our bubble. We don’t want to miss summer entirely. Some days fitting everything in seems like an impossible task. A Typical Day Take today for instance. As I sit here on an extremely busy work day, I am staring down numerous deadlines, a car repair that needs to be handled stat, several emails I have to return, and a pitch that is due. On top of that, I am juggling pick up and drop off of my oldest girl, who is working this summer during a pandemic. And, of course, one of the kid’s prescriptions is due for refills again. Why Is Someone’s Prescription Always Out? Both of my girls have prescriptions they need daily to manage attention deficits, impulse control and anxiety. But sometimes we are too busy to see that they are almost out. By tomorrow my youngest will be out of the medication that helps her to function in the morning. How did this happen? Easy. I am busy and I have too many balls in the air, along with teenagers, who are still learning they need to LET MOM or Dad KNOW when their prescriptions are getting low. GROAN. Don’t get me wrong. I have a long relationship with our usual pharmacy and their staff are super. But, they are in my old neighbourhood and running back and forth once a week to pickup or drop off prescriptions is costly and exhausting. It easily takes an hour out of a day. Time is money when you are self employed. This is My Pain Point In the last few years, I have often stated out loud that I could really use an online prescription refill service. I have tweeted it and also simply shouted to anyone who would listen. Why isn’t there a simple option that sends us reminders that someone’s prescription is about to expire? Well, finally there is. When I heard about The Health Depot Pharmacy and their approach to simplifying the online prescription refill process, as well as the ordering and delivery part, I was extremely interested. The Health Depot Background Founded in 2019 by Andy Donald, The Health Depot Pharmacy was created to simplify the prescription experience. Offering a seamless approach to getting prescriptions filled, and online prescription refill, which keeps individuals safe, and healthy, The Health Depot Pharmacy eliminates the headache involved in driving back and forth to the pharmacy last minute. What About Service? Here’s what I found….The Health Depot provides free delivery, real-time access to customers’ medication through PharmaConnect, a low dispensing fee, and support with reminders when people are running low on a specific prescription. They offer a team of Pharmacist Specialists (Certified Respiratory & Diabetes Educators and Certified Geriatric Pharmacists) available to help and can personalize medications to the individual. On call pharmacists who are knowledgeable and professional are available all the time. I was extremely impressed with the customer service. AND, in addition to that, they also have an impressive online health care store. NEED I IMPRESS on you how useful that is right now in 2020, during a pandemic? So, How Did it Work? I wanted to test this out with one of the kid’s prescriptions. So I went on line and set up an account with The Health Depot, basically telling them where I live and how to reach me. Then I indicated that I would like to switch a prescription over. A pharmacist called me to confirm and I also got an email and it was switched. That’s right…they did all the work. When you have your prescription with The Health Depot you get an automatic refill notification either by text or email, so you never run out of medication. The Health Depot Pharmacy team also lets you know when you run out of refills and need to renew a prescription with your healthcare provider. Next Day Delivery Often in Ontario The next day, the prescription arrived on my doorstep with a shipment of personal health care products we needed. Allergy pills, Laxative, tampons, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, disposable surgical masks and more. DON’T Miss MY EXCLUSIVE $10 OFF DISCOUNT – > USE: THRIFTY10 discount code at checkout and save $10 off your first order! Link automatically gets you $10 off a minimum purchase of $50. One use per customer. Other Things to Know Low Dispensing Fee The Health Depot dispensing fee is $9.99, compared to $12.99 at many other pharmacies. The online health store, The Health Depot, carries staples and also some GREEN Product lines, like Green Beaver, OWN, Every Man Jack and f.e.t.e Bamboo toothbrushes. There’s also a home health care section – so if you need catheters, enteral feeding supplies, incontinence products, bath safety, post-op or ostomy supplies, they are also available here. Oh and for seniors, people with disabilities, or parents of kids with special needs, if you have something highly specific that you need, they can often order it for you. BONUS!! Shop online and have items delivered straight to your doorstep, with free delivery anywhere in Ontario when shipped with prescriptions, or on all orders of $50 or more. That part might seem like a small thing, but it’s not. For years, I have joked that I should have purchased stock in a pharmacy. We drove back and forth every night often for something – bandages, Tylenol, allergy pills. When the kids were small it was diapers and infant Motrin, now it’s Midol, pads, allergy pills and tampons. Online Prescription Refill Ends Our Prescription Chaos This is genuinely a great idea, long overdue. Everyone here has prescriptions, so it is a constant time drain for one of us to have to go drop off and pick up all the time. During the height of the pandemic I didn’t want to be anywhere near a physical pharmacy. The pharmacist and staff provided quick and personal service. In fact, I was blown away by that because I feel like we’ve come to expect a lower level of service sometimes when doing things online. The Health Depot Pharmacy team has proven that’s not the case. Getting A Bit of Freedom Back So, here’s to getting a bit more life back. This week, instead of wasting time racing around hunting down prescriptions, vitamins, sunscreen or allergy pills, we all visited a cat cafe in Stratford, and I took my daughter to the beach where she smiled so much she told me her face hurt. I haven’t seen that big a smile in about five months now.

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Max and Ruby in the Nutcracker Suite Coming Soon

Paula — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 16:26:00 +0000

When my kids were small they adored Max & Ruby on Nickelodeon. My girls still enjoy seeing live entertainment and Centennial Hall, London, has often been a space where we built happy family memories. If you ask me Centennial Hall is the perfect size for events that are somewhat intimate, welcoming, warm and family friendly. Our last show might have been The Backyardigans there. Over the past decade there have been many great Koba Entertainment productions witnessed and experienced by our family. There’s something about these entertaining productions that makes kids of us all. Coming Soon Max & Ruby, the brother sister duo that enchant children who are toddlers and preschoolers, with their daily hijinks on television, are embarking on a holiday season tour. How exciting and perfect is that? For those of you who are not super familiar with the characters: Max is 3 and Rosemary is 7 and the wiser older sister always providing advice to her little brother. They sometimes stumble upon little adventures that involve some problem-solving. Their quirky sibling relationship is always at the heart of the episodes and their parents are always off screen, not full characters in any of the shows. The series came from Rosemary Wells and it has endured many years now as a staple on various networks and streaming platforms. Details In London, Koba Entertainment’s Max & Ruby in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite will hit Centennial Hall November 20th. There are numerous scheduled performances as the brother sister team tour Canada. What’s lovely about this performance is the fact that something as traditional and lovely as The Nutcracker Suite story is now engaging and accessible to younger crowds. What a great way to get your children hooked on live theatre. Why We Love This This type of early experience can be a great gateway into lifelong appreciation of classical music. The Nutcracker Suite is set to Tchaikovsy. I personally have always felt the arts are an essential part of my children’s lives and I work hard to enrich their childhood and youth with opportunities to grow and experience theatre, visual arts and music. Never to young or too old for Tchaikovsky. Max & Ruby bring to life a wonderful tradition this holiday season as they take to the stage their most magical performance yet! Inspired by one of the greatest musical scores ever composed – Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite – the beloved bunny siblings star in Koba Entertainment’s brand new musical production Max & Ruby in the Nutcracker Suite. Get Tickets Now Coming Wednesday, November 20 to London’s Centennial Hall. For ticket information, visit: Max and Ruby On Tour Follow them on Facebook too for more deals, news and offers. https://www.facebook.com/KobaEntertainment/ Enter to Win In order to win this giveaway – with a gift of One Max & Ruby prize pack – Max & Ruby book and DVD!! – you need to answer some trivia questions about Max & Ruby. (Psst some of the answers are in the body of this post.) Leave your answers in the comment section on this blog please. Also this giveaway is only open to Canada. I will choose the winner with random.org on November 11th. Good luck!! This will be a great Christmas present for one lucky reader to place beneath the Christmas tree. Questions to Win: Max & Ruby Trivia Q 1) Who wrote the music for The Nutcracker? Q 2) Name one of Ruby’s friends. Q 3) What is the relationship between Max and Ruby? Q 4) Who is the stubborn sibling, Max or Ruby? Q 5) Who knows ‘just about everything,’ Max or Ruby? Q 6) Who wears a blue dress with purple and blue flowers?

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London’s Double Decker Bus Sightseeing Tour

Paula — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:41:00 +0000

For months, we have seen London’s Double Decker Bus Sightseeing Tour around town and thought wouldn’t that be fun to do one day. This morning, keenly aware of the passing days of summer I woke both of my kids up and told them we were once again going on a surprise adventure. (These are truly one of the best parts of parenthood.) What is London’s Double Decker Bus? I had secretly planned to take them on the Tourism London’s Double Decker Bus Sightseeing Tour. The 1969 Bristol VR leaves every day of the summer through until September 7th from Tourism London’s office. My daughters and I have both been spotting the bus around town for a couple of years now and vowed to ride it just for fun, so today was the day and we were not disappointed. The bus leaves daily at 10 a.m. for a quick two hour tour of all the city landmarks and hotspots. We even learned a thing or two. For instance my children heard that the flame at Banting House will not go out until there is a cure for diabetes. Also, they enjoyed hearing the history of some of the oldest mansions in the city and Eldon House, the city’s oldest home. There was even a road we’ve never actually been on before in the 8 to 10 years I’ve lived in London. So, in short, fun times were had by all. The tour stops halfway at Storybook Gardens for bathroom breaks and a twenty minute visit. The Tourism London office was extremely busy this morning with likeminded parents, a day care group and many seniors looking for a fun educational outing. I know sometimes we are loathe to celebrate our successes in London and we are quick to mock this city, but this is an example of smart savvy London. Service was great. Reservations are highly recommended, as I noted, so call 519-661-6157 to ride the bus before school starts. What is the Cost? Prices for London’s Double Decker Bus Sightseeing Tour are $13 for adults. $5 for children and children under 5 are free. I would be somewhat loathe to take too many children under five to this tour though as it is history and perhaps a bit dry for preschoolers.Thriftymommastips review $$$$ out of $$$$$.

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