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How to Bleach Dye a T-Shirt in a Few Easy Steps
So, a few weeks ago my daughter was all about this bleach dye phase. We had seen it on several sweatshirts and hoodies and thought that it looked cool, but the finished product always seemed expensive. So, we wondered if we could do it ourselves. How hard could it be? Post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers. I receive a small commission off of purchases made via qualifying links. Then we saw t-shirts and long sleeved shirts in Michaels one day on sale. Fate. Serendipity. Whatever you want to call it. It’s all good and it clearly was a sign that we had to do this craft.…
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My Daughter Has FASD – My CBC Parents Post
My youngest daughter has FASD. I have occasionally written a bit about that here, but I am adding a bit more content about this invisible disability and publishing in major national outlets to grow awareness. My CBC Parents Content Over the last two years I have been writing a lot of consistent content on CBC Parents. I am happy to be able to reach a wider audience and frankly freelance, of course, is where I began years ago when I started writing. A few of my posts have centred on our journey parenting kids with special needs, or mental health issues and disabilities. For whatever reason, that content resonates with…
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Affirmation Cards for Teens to Build Positive Self Image
Raising teens is all at once the hardest thing I have ever done and also the most rewarding. As hard as it can be for me to parent them, sometimes I fully recognize that it is even harder to be them right now, especially during a pandemic. Teens need all the mental health tools they can find. These Affirmation Cards for teens are a positive way to encourage mental health and self esteem. I printed these out for my oldest daughter and she was thrilled with them. You never know how these things will be accepted. But, she said OMG I need those. So, I am calling that a big…
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Six Netflix Series to Watch with Your Teen Now
These days we are spending so much more time in our homes that it’s inevitable at some points we resort to curling up on a sofa to watch Netflix. I have teens, so over the last seven months we have often looked at each other and said Netflix? So, we thought we’d share some recommendations for Netflix Series to Watch with Your Teen Now. Sometimes we all feel like binge watching something…and off we go often to the family room in the basement to queue up the next in a series. It’s actually something I enjoy on cold days when the weather is rainy or dreary or just not nice…
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Two of the Best Books for Parents of Teens to Read Right Now
Why aren’t there more books for parents of teens? I mean is there a harder stage? I don’t think so. That’s why, when I found these two resources for Parents of Teens I was happy to share them with the world. I received product for consideration here. Post also contains affiliate links. The title, Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety by Dr. John Duffy snagged my attention immediately when I saw it recently from Mango Publishing. Anxiety, check. Teen daughters, check. Could this be more relevant to my kids, my life as a parenting and my current situation? What is the New Teen? The new teen is…
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Parenting Through the Pandemic – Life Kicks it Up a Notch
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: Oh Hey Paula, you thought you were doing great? PSYCH.…
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Inspirational TED Talks for Teens
Inspirational TED Talks can be great for anyone, but teenagers, in particular can really benefit from these 18-minute or less talks that can cover almost any topic. Teen years are hard slogging and watching them struggle sometimes as parents is so challenging. If you can remember your teen years, you’ll probably easily recall the angst and fear and general uncertainty. Right now, that angst and anxiety is running even higher for most because of the pandemic. That’s where inspirational TED Talks come in. Inspirational TED Talks to Ease the Teen Years From zits and breakups to proms and makeups, the teen years are arguably some of the hardest anyone will…
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So How Are We Doing Easter During a Pandemic?
But are we even doing Easter this year? We’ve gone back and forth on this actually, a few times this year. I mean honestly no judgement at all if you are taking it easy and simply getting through. But this week, I did a fair bit of reading and a whole lot of thinking. What would Easter look like in the middle of a pandemic? Would we be doing Easter? Our original plan was to drive to my brother’s home in Toronto. But that was back in February before we’d even heard the term Covid-19. Before spring vacations were cancelled and people started dying of a virus that was travelling…
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How to Make Reusable Beeswax Wraps
Reusable beeswax wraps are insanely easy to make and so popular too. Recently, we had a Friday night where one of the kids was grounded. Hashtag TEENs. Need I say more? And we were all looking for something to do. So, we made a plan to make Reusable Beeswax Wraps for food. This is a craft that my oldest daughter, 18, and I both have been wanting to do this year. She’s very into recycling and reusing and striving to be environmentally friendly. I love that about her. It inspires me to be better. So, I hunted down beeswax pearls or beeswax pellets at Michael’s – also available on Amazon…
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New Affordable Canadian Mattresses – Mirabed
We received product in exchange for honest consideration in this post about affordable Canadian mattresses. My youngest daughter has been asking for a room makeover for months. There never seemed to be time. But last summer when she went away to camp in Muskoka, we stripped everything off of the walls and painted the room three different colours. Of course, she helped picked the shades out. That gave her space a big boost of colour. And she was thrilled with the results when she came home. But, there was still the matter of the furniture and a mattress. Her bed, a loft bed, was way too small and she had…
