Every year, we host a big Victoria Day fireworks party. For my American friends – this means that yes, we celebrate the birthday of a long dead English Queen, but we’ll take our holidays where we can get them.
With such a big family, I’ve always told my kids that they can’t be on travelling sports teams. When my children have asked to try out for such teams, my response has consistently been, “There are enough kids in your own city that are good enough to play with you.”
It has been 10 years since my son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. Back in those days, you got your diagnosis and you were sent on your way to deal with it. Very little information regarding treatment, agencies, education or help of any kind was provided. It was pretty much a “Yes, your son has autism… don’t hit yourself with the
Throughout my parenting journey, I’ve generally put value on experiences rather than stuff. I’m not fussed about having fancy furniture or cars, mostly because I’m simply not interested. Those things don’t excite me. My friends often laugh at my lack of interest over things like a new house or new car. When it was time to buy outdoor furniture, my neighbour picked it out. When
There’s a general statement I often hear about kids, usually when there has been an incident of bullying or unkind behavior. That statement is “kids are so mean”. I cringe every time I hear it because: It’s not true Generalizations don’t serve anyone well and usually end up making me feel twitchy. Unlike the bullying stories you often hear, I recently had an experience with
I discovered yet another parenting “hot button” topic this week. In the past, I’ve been sucked into every controversial parenting topic possible. We’ve all beaten a dead horse talking about our stance on different types of vaccinations, circumcision, breastfeeding – the list goes on and on.
Despite the fact that Valentine’s Day can be a bit of a contrived holiday, kids love it! And with six kids in elementary school, it’s generally a very busy holiday in my household. I try to remember that it’s only a Hallmark holiday – there’s no point in letting it cause stress. So, I have a few easy tips to keep Valentine’s Day in perspective:
There seems to be a Facebook group for everyone about everything. I belong to several local mom Facebook groups, a school moms group and a few others based on my interests. For the most part, these groups are a fabulous resource – somewhere to go to get information from like-minded people, share stories and even get support.
There is one big problem with the awesome and much adored Santa. Mainly, that he is fictional. This becomes problematic because it means every family has a different Santa, which causes consistency issues.
Last winter I had five of my six kids playing hockey. Madness, I know.
Many have asked how I survive the driving, the expense, the equipment and – let’s face it – the hockey smell that consumes my home.
What Happens When Someone is More Worried About Your Kid Than You Are. Last week while on holidays, my family went on a whale-watching tour. The boat looked very much like a pirate ship, so the kids were fairly impressed. About half way into the adventure, a visibly stressed out older woman went over to my four-year old, took him by the hand and brought
Thirteen years ago, I had my first child. He arrived into this world all tiny and delicious after a fairly unpleasant delivery. Our eyes met and I fell in love. He’s always been my baby boy. Until recently.
I recently had the opportunity to read a book. As a busy, working mom of six, it was a rare occasion. We were at the cottage for a week and my kid had been nagging me to read her favourite novel, The Hunger Games.
Last week I told my tween girls that I’d got them a subscription to a magazine. I thought they’d be excited, but instead they responded with “We don’t want it mom – we don’t want to read about lip gloss”. Interesting.
When you’ve been changing diapers for almost 11 years straight and you have been pregnant for about 250 weeks, it is fair to make claim to a bit of brain mush now and again. Sleep deprivation can make a mama foggy at times. Going to the grocery store and leaving without the item I went for is a common occurrence. Once, I was driving down
Every year, we host a big Victoria Day fireworks party. For my American friends – this means that yes, we celebrate the birthday of a long dead English Queen, but we’ll take our holidays where we can get them.
With such a big family, I’ve always told my kids that they can’t be on travelling sports teams. When my children have asked to try out for such teams, my response has consistently been, “There are enough kids in your own city that are good enough to play with you.”
It has been 10 years since my son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. Back in those days, you got your diagnosis and you were sent on your way to deal with it. Very little information regarding treatment, agencies, education or help of any kind was provided. It was pretty much a “Yes, your son has autism… don’t hit yourself with the
Throughout my parenting journey, I’ve generally put value on experiences rather than stuff. I’m not fussed about having fancy furniture or cars, mostly because I’m simply not interested. Those things don’t excite me. My friends often laugh at my lack of interest over things like a new house or new car. When it was time to buy outdoor furniture, my neighbour picked it out. When
There’s a general statement I often hear about kids, usually when there has been an incident of bullying or unkind behavior. That statement is “kids are so mean”. I cringe every time I hear it because: It’s not true Generalizations don’t serve anyone well and usually end up making me feel twitchy. Unlike the bullying stories you often hear, I recently had an experience with
I discovered yet another parenting “hot button” topic this week. In the past, I’ve been sucked into every controversial parenting topic possible. We’ve all beaten a dead horse talking about our stance on different types of vaccinations, circumcision, breastfeeding – the list goes on and on.
Despite the fact that Valentine’s Day can be a bit of a contrived holiday, kids love it! And with six kids in elementary school, it’s generally a very busy holiday in my household. I try to remember that it’s only a Hallmark holiday – there’s no point in letting it cause stress. So, I have a few easy tips to keep Valentine’s Day in perspective:
There seems to be a Facebook group for everyone about everything. I belong to several local mom Facebook groups, a school moms group and a few others based on my interests. For the most part, these groups are a fabulous resource – somewhere to go to get information from like-minded people, share stories and even get support.
There is one big problem with the awesome and much adored Santa. Mainly, that he is fictional. This becomes problematic because it means every family has a different Santa, which causes consistency issues.
Last winter I had five of my six kids playing hockey. Madness, I know.
Many have asked how I survive the driving, the expense, the equipment and – let’s face it – the hockey smell that consumes my home.
What Happens When Someone is More Worried About Your Kid Than You Are. Last week while on holidays, my family went on a whale-watching tour. The boat looked very much like a pirate ship, so the kids were fairly impressed. About half way into the adventure, a visibly stressed out older woman went over to my four-year old, took him by the hand and brought
Thirteen years ago, I had my first child. He arrived into this world all tiny and delicious after a fairly unpleasant delivery. Our eyes met and I fell in love. He’s always been my baby boy. Until recently.
I recently had the opportunity to read a book. As a busy, working mom of six, it was a rare occasion. We were at the cottage for a week and my kid had been nagging me to read her favourite novel, The Hunger Games.
Last week I told my tween girls that I’d got them a subscription to a magazine. I thought they’d be excited, but instead they responded with “We don’t want it mom – we don’t want to read about lip gloss”. Interesting.
When you’ve been changing diapers for almost 11 years straight and you have been pregnant for about 250 weeks, it is fair to make claim to a bit of brain mush now and again. Sleep deprivation can make a mama foggy at times. Going to the grocery store and leaving without the item I went for is a common occurrence. Once, I was driving down
Kids Events and Fun Things To Do in Toronto, York Region, Peel, Durham, Halton, Simcoe County and Southern Ontario for Families.
