• Parenting

    Twenty-one Things I Am Proud of in 2020

    January 2, 2021 - By 

    So what are you proud of in 2020? What was your greatest accomplishment? What are you proud of in 2020? People keep asking this question. Part of me wants to be a total smart ass when I read the question – I mean 2020 accomplishments at the end of the year were dramatically different than our expectations at the start. Let’s be clear. I got up, got out of bed and kept going in a year full of anxiety and stress. That was enough many days. My 2020 Moments Instead of making it a negative or griping or dismissing the…

  • art_of_walking_family
    Health

    The Simple Art of Walking

    December 14, 2020 - By 

    Or How I Don’t Want Your Pity Walk Became Let Me Get a Sweater and My Shoes) With gyms closed for much of the past year, I have discovered the value of the simple art of walking. We walk in all the weather, sometimes alone but often together. That’s been a highlight of this year actually. Walking. Discovering the art of walking has been an unexpected positive in a year too full of negatives. The Art of Walking It started as a way to get the kids moving and a means for me to get my steps in for the…

  • parenting_through_the_pandemic
    family

    Parenting Through the Pandemic – Life Kicks it Up a Notch

    May 24, 2020 - By 

    Isn’t it crazy how life sometimes kicks it up a notch out of nowhere? Parenting through the pandemic has definitely been like that here. Week Nine went like this… Two weeks ago we were coasting along doing Tickety Boo, a phrase I once found charming and a favourite of my now deceased mother-in-law. But cute phrases aside, I was all set to write the WE ARE ROCKING Pandemic Life post. I was even contemplating having the T-Shirts custom made (not really), when out of the blue everyone broke. That’s right. Everyone broke. Everything. Week Nine of Pandemic Parenting It’s like:…

  • Health

    Mental Health Resources To Access Right Now

    March 31, 2020 - By 

    It’s no secret here to most of you that I have children with mental health diagnoses. One of my biggest concerns at the start of this pandemic was my older girl’s anxiety disorder and my younger girl’s aggression, which is a result of her FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.) Both teens do therapy on a regular basis and the youngest was in crisis for most of 2019. She might have turned a corner on that just recently due to therapy she’s finally been able to access. But jeopardizing any progress also was a concern for me. Keep These Mental Health…

  • inspirational_quotes_about_being_different
    family

    Best Inspirational Quotes About Being Different – For Misfits and Rebels

    March 2, 2020 - By 

    Here’s to Being Different and having the strength to stand strong in a world that makes you feel often as if you need to conform. What a dull place the world would be without unique and rare thinkers. Last month, my inspirational mental health quotes post did really well. So, with that in mind and because I love creative thinkers, here’s the Best Inspirational Quotes About Being Different. Post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers. I receive a small commission via qualifying purchases. “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs…

  • Health

    Best Inspirational Mental Health Quotes

    January 20, 2020 - By 

    I read a story this morning about a skier’s wife who committed suicide in 2016. That story reminded me again how fragile mental health is. I know too well how hard it is to secure mental health supports and help for young people who need treatment. In fact, I just wrote a CBC Parents piece about that precise issue and the unbearable weight of being waitlisted. But there has to be something that sometimes gives us the strength and the ability to get through the wait. Right? It’s completely undoable otherwise. What Can You Do to Get Through the Hard…

  • Parenting

    A Child’s Separation Anxiety Story

    June 21, 2019 - By 

    By Ainsley Schuck My daughter wrote this recently for a school project. I asked for her permission to share it here. This was her reflection for art about separation anxiety and how starting school felt when she was 6. That girl right there is trapped. She’s trapped in her own feelings. She’s stuck inside that bottle and can’t break free. That bottle is so full and it is ready to explode. This is how most kids feel. Did you know 12% of kids experience separation anxiety once, or many times, before reaching the age of 18? This is what the…

  • OCD_child
    Health

    How To Treat Aggressive Behaviour in an OCD Child

    March 28, 2019 - By 

    Aggressive behaviour is hard to deal with for anyone. But, if you have an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) Child, or a child diagnosed with a challenging mental heath disorder, the frustration and sadness they feel often spills over into hostility and aggression. As hard as that is to watch and to manage as a parent, it’s important to try to remember behavioural outbursts are typically even harder for a child. An OCD child, or a child with any childhood mental health disorder doesn’t have tools to handle all of the big emotions that go hand in hand with complex mental…

  • reducing_anxiety
    Health

    Reducing Anxiety with these 5 Great Apps

    March 11, 2019 - By 

    Reducing anxiety is one key to overall good health. The mind and body are connected, and when one is out of sync, the other soon follows. I’ve found this to be incredibly true in my life. As many of you know, we have a lot of experience with anxiety. My oldest daughter has social anxiety and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. For years, she has struggled with anxiety symptoms that can lead easily to feeling overwhelmed while also chewing up your physical health too. It is not uncommon for stomach pain, nausea, headache and sleeplessness to come with anxiety. Our Anxiety Journey We’ve…

  • meditationrings
    Giveaways - Health

    MeditationRings – Beautiful Jewelry That’s Good for the Soul #spinandwish #Giveaways

    June 22, 2017 - By 

    MeditationRings brings fashion jewelry with a little something extra to Canada and now the United States, as well. That little something extra is good karma, spirituality and an outlet for positive mental health. Now, whether or not you’re into spirituality and Karma one thing IS for certain, MeditationRings offers some beautiful jewelry and their unique story adds a nice touch. Their rings are almost conversation pieces in addition to being just plain beautiful. The Story of MeditationRings This jewelry company based out of Toronto had humble beginnings as a mother-daughter family owned business. The concept was simple – make gorgeous jewelry that…