• ted_talks_for_teens
    Health - Parenting

    Inspirational TED Talks for Teens

    April 20, 2020 - By 

    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…

  • easter and a womans hands doing crafts at a table with chocolate bunnies wrapped in gold foil in the foreground
    family

    So How Are We Doing Easter During a Pandemic?

    April 10, 2020 - By 

    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…

  • reusable_beeswax_wraps
    Food

    How to Make Reusable Beeswax Wraps

    March 26, 2020 - By 

    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…

  • affordable Canadian mattresses
    family

    New Affordable Canadian Mattresses – Mirabed

    December 26, 2019 - By 

    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,…

  • family

    Practicing Gratitude – 85 Things I am Grateful for Today

    May 27, 2019 - By 

    Lately I’ve been having a hard time with a few things. It’s been a challenging year so far and there are a lot of moments when it’s easy to slide into a funk. A BIG ONE. The kind you can’t slip out of easily. When everything black and white that was pink, or red or blue yesterday is now grey and grossly misshapen. Parenting teenagers is NO fun some days. Sometimes they suck the air out of a room with borrowed drama, angst and mood swings. Occasionally you look at them and wonder where the cute kid went. There are…

  • parenting

    How To Cope With Teen Mood Swings Now

    December 20, 2018 - By 

    Teen  mood swings and hormones can be hard to handle. That might be the understatement of the year. Of all the ages and stages of child development the teenage years can be the hardest. One moment your teen is engaging and strong willed and they have clearcut ideas and opinions and they can carry on great conversations with you on topics like social justice and politics. And then the very next day they are slamming doors, shrugging at every thing you say, seemingly incapable of more than one word answers. Parenting teens is a Jekyll and Hyde experience. You never…

  • unicorn_gifts
    family

    The Best Unicorn Gifts for Teens

    December 7, 2018 - By 

    Alright, I know dozens of kids who are obsessed with unicorns. Kids of all ages actually and genders too. Unicorns are hot right now, so if you are searching for unicorn gifts this year then you need to note these right now and pick out a few. The signs and sayings here are some of my favourites. Unicorn gifts for teens I think the gifts are super quirky and cheery too. I kind of get the appeal here. If I was still a teenage girl (scary thought) I would adore any of these unicorn gifts for teens. For Their Bedroom…

  • te_hardest_stage
    family

    Is Every Step of the Way the Hardest Stage?

    December 3, 2018 - By 

    Is every step of the way the hardest stage when parenting? Lately, I ask myself a lot of questions related to parenting teenagers. Like how is this stage even harder than when they were infants? How am I losing more sleep than ever over my kids? Why did I think parenting would be a good idea? How is it possible this is the hardest stage yet? Are you a parent of teenagers? Do you know what I mean? Do you ever ask yourself why did I have kids? Be honest. Of course we love our kids, who are now teenagers.…

  • raising_teenage_daughters
    parenting

    11 Survival Tips For Raising Teenage Daughters

    August 10, 2018 - By 

    Raising teenage daughters is not a walk in the park. Your sweet little girl, that adorable baby you used to dress up in cute pink dresses, who insisted on reading Robert Munsch bedtime stories all snuggled up in her toddler bed for years, is now a teenager. Oh yeah, it happened fast too, didn’t it? Overnight, she’s a surly teenager with attitude, and you wonder how your relationship will survive this. Relax, the good news is you’ll both be fine…eventually. There are just some things that you need to remember. Chief among those is DO not take it personally. You…

  • back_to_school
    family

    Back to School Shopping Doesn’t Need to Be Scary

    August 1, 2018 - By 

    I have partnered with YMC and Staples and have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own. The closer my kids get to college or university the scarier life gets for me as a parent. My oldest starts Grade 12 this year and my youngest is heading to Grade 9. Both kids are in high school. Which gets me thinking about the costs involved in attending college or university. Lately I lay awake at night or I break out in a cold sweat randomly throughout the day thinking HOW will we ever afford college or university? Have we saved…