“When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college ‑ that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, ‘You mean they forgot?’” ~ Howard Ikemoto, artist
Like many parents I experienced a Cheerio up the nose moment when our oldest son was a toddler. This is a rite of passage for parents, is it not? Whether it’s a Cheerio, a raisin, a pebble, or in the case of my very unlucky friend, a hearing-aid battery which caused a trip the emergency room.
Dads certainly have come a long way in the last few decades. It wasn’t too long ago that fathers were called “Sir” and were feared for the most part. Children needed to behave or else they heard the dreaded sound of a belt being ripped free from Dad’s pants.
Make a trip to your local garden centre so you can create a cascade of rainbows in your yard by planting colourful flowers.
2. The Thrill Of The Grill
Throw some burgers on the barbie, haul out the paper plates, and enjoy the company of good friends and good food because food always tastes better when you eat it outdoors.
Do you only use your car's air conditioning in the summer? Many drivers think that they will prolong its life if they don't use it that often. However, the opposite may be true.
Heading into the holiday season can be stressful for parents of young children and babies. Suddenly routine and consistent sleep schedules seem next to impossible and finding out how to keep your baby well-rested during the busy festivities is at the top of your Christmas list.
There are steps you can take to help you and your family find better sleep this holiday season. My 12 Days of Holiday Sleep Tips will give the gift of sleep to your little one, and a few extra hours of eggnog and cheers for mom and dad as well.
My very first job out of University involved me traveling from one coast of this country to the next on a regular basis. I spent at least two weeks of the month on the road and because of that I was able to see the majority of Canada before I was 25 years old. It was a great pre-kid job and I look back on those traveling days fondly.
We have now experienced three Christmas celebrations, taken a couple long car rides, hosted a few shindigs, and done all of the shopping, eating, drinking and making merry that goes along with our holiday season.
Throughout our travels, the packing and unpacking, the laundry, the grocery lists, the gift exchange spreadsheet, and the gazillion details (that always work themselves out one way or another), I have been overcome by emotions a few times as I tried to put into words what Christmas means to me. Here goes:
Packing your hospital bag for labour and birth is one of the most exciting things you will do in pregnancy. It’s your last chance to take some control of the environmental stimuli you will experience during labour, delivery, and recovery. It’s your chance to access the creature comforts of home while you’re in a hospital setting. It’s an opportunity to feel as cozy, clean, relaxed, and prepared as you possibly can for the arrival of your little one.
The lead-up to the holidays is always hectic and busy, but when the kids are out of school and the snow is falling and there is nowhere I need to be, my favourite thing in the world is to curl up on the couch with a big mug of steaming coffee and Baileys. It's such a cozy, seasonal thing for me; reading a good book in my warm flannel pajamas, or maybe watching "The Price is Right" with the kids, curled up under a knitted afghan, but always, always with a coffee and Baileys.
The phrase "Find something to DO!" often heard around households this time of year...here are 20 suggestions of activities kids can do without parents...(feel free to add your own in the comments)
Parents often try to balance the ‘gimmes’ of the holidays with giving back. We want our children to appreciate what they have while teaching them about what other people don’t have. We want them to understand that life isn’t about what you have, it’s about how you make others feel. And we want to do all this amidst the frenzy of Black Friday shopping, toy commercials, and our kids writing out lists of what they want for Christmas. Sometimes lists that are longer than they are tall.
There's something lovely about seasonal change, isn't there? I admit that I am more of a Summer Girl than anything else; I love sunshine and warmth and fresh, local vegetables, and am loathe to say goodbye to it. However, there is something cozy and comforting about fall; the crisp air, the crunchy leaves, the glory of orange and red trees against the blue skies. It feels festive and happy, somehow, even if it's the harbinger for winter.
It's ironic, isn't it? A season that's meant to be a happy, wonderful time of celebration so often ends up being stress central. But do the holidays have to be synonymous with stress? Not if you take steps to cope.
Whether I'm baking for my children's school functions, birthday parties, or my daughter's recent Christmas Caroling Party, I love creating fun and easy treats that bring smiles to my children's (and their friends') faces.
Hi, everyone, it's me, Debbie Downer again! I'm here to tell you that with the sparkle and joy of the Christmas holidays come allergens. Allergies often spike over the holiday season, since we're trapped inside with our allergens. As if the cold and snow this time of year wasn't depressing enough, we can't even get an allergy reprieve! But it's ok, I'm not just a bearer of bad news. I'm here with some tips for keeping your allergies at bay over the Christmas season: