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Archive for the ‘Kids’ Category

Staying Together for the Kids

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

I hope you had a great weekend. It was a long weekend in Canada, Victoria Day Weekend to be precise, and it was wonderful to rest, relax and regroup. My kids went back to school this morning after a 6-day break (hallelujah), I went back to the gym, and life returned to normal.

I was chatting with some moms last week about quite a heavy topic, and it took me back to something that happened a couple of years ago. I remember it clearly – at the time, I was grabbing a salad for the road and on the way to my son’s school to serve hot lunch to 650 students. Never one to skip a meal, I was waiting for my salad, when I bumped into an old friend’s sister. I actually found out on Facebook that this old high school friend had recently separated from her husband. Unfortunately, they also had two young children. I proceeded to ask the sister, “How is your sister doing?” To which she replied, “My sister seems much happier and he seems much happier too, so I guess good for them, but I’m not so sure about the kids. I have a different point of view than her. Who’s happy? Who is living in marital bliss? Sometimes you have to suck it up, and stay for the sake of the kids.”

In fact, we hear things like this quite often: couples divorcing after 25 and 30 years of marriage. When you ask many of them why, often they’re quick to answer, “I couldn’t break up my family. I stayed for the kids.”

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Party’s Over. Back To Reality. And No, I’ve Got No Plan.

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

Hello, I’m back! Back in the groove. Kids are at school. I’m at my computer. Happy 2013 my beautiful ladies!

For the first time in over three years, I did not check in once while on a blogging hiatus. I felt guilty for not connecting with you these past two weeks, but I really wanted to decompress, rest my head, spend time with my family, and be fresh for 2013. I feel ready.

Well not really.

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The Shooting In Newtown

Friday, December 14th, 2012

I will not post any pictures, videos, clips, or names from the biggest tragedy and devastation this world has seen in decades. My heart bleeds for the families of the victims of this elementary school shooting, and I am crying as I hold my children extra tight right now.

I want only to quote Michael Moore, and then I’ll be done.

“The way to honor these dead children is to demand strict gun control, free mental health care, and an end to violence as public policy.”Michael Moore

Amen. Amen.

When are we going to do something about gun control?  When are we going to do something about healthcare? We need to address mental health – prevention and treatment, otherwise we will never be able to prevent these horrific acts.

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How Hard is Too Hard?

Monday, December 10th, 2012

Today I turn to you for feedback, asking you how you parent in these types of situations. Today, our topic is: how hard is too hard to push our kids? Where is the line between too tough, and not tough enough? (Insert word coddling, as my husband put it this morning, accusing me of not being tough enough).

We just came off a wonderful weekend.

It started Friday, 5pm. The kids were on a playdate, and clearly, us moms were too. ;)

 

We lit the menorah for the first night of Hanukkah.

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My Son is Being Bullied

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

By Guest Blogger Connie Bernardi

It’s 2:03am on Saturday night and I’m wide-awake and completely unable to sleep. My mind keeps replaying the conversation earlier this evening my husband and I had with my six-year old son.

My son tonight admitted to us he was being bullied at school.

Now for those who know my husband, know that he is the founder of the #NoMoreBullies campaign. This campaign has Majic 100 (an Ottawa radio station) and a team of speakers visiting schools in Ottawa and the surrounding area speaking to kids about bullying and putting an end to it. Needless to say that gigantic neon sign flashing the word ‘irony’ over and over again isn’t lost on me.

That conversation, listening to my son talk about being bullied was the hardest, most gut-wrenching thing I’ve ever had to listen to. My son who was a happy, optimistic, always positive kid had turned into this angry, moody, fly-off-the-handle argumentative, non-trusting shell of a boy that I once knew. Honestly for the longest time I blamed myself. I thought he was angry with me for having gone back to work full-time. I wish that my going back to ‘work’ was the reason behind the personality change in my son. The fact that it all stemmed from him being bullied was overwhelming for me. I haven’t cried that much in a long time.

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Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 31st, 2012

While preparing for Halloween tonight, I came across this picture from Halloween 2004. My son’s 1st Halloween – he went as a race car driver. Here he is with his daddy. Wow, how time flies.

Happy Halloween and enjoy your excuse to eat chocolate and candy. I know today marks the beginning of my 5 pound weight gain. It lasts as long my sons’ candy lasts– and that’s usually a long time. They’re pretty enthusiastic about going from HOUSE TO HOUSE TO HOUSE TO HOUSE.

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How To Safeguard Your Kids Using Mobile Monitoring Applications

Friday, October 26th, 2012

(I would like to start off by saying that today’s post is a true ‘on the fence’ topic – to monitor your child’s mobile use for safety purposes, or not to monitor their use arguing that it’s a complete invasion of their privacy. I decided to post this, as evil lurks among us, and many parents want to know their options- ED)

By Guest Blogger Sharon Stouffer

The technological advancements we have made have resulted in the entry of new generation mobile phones which are smart enough to perform multi-functions. With the advent of the smartphone, kids are now increasingly utilizing these mobile devices for their various activities. The internet option helps them to browse websites; the inbuilt camera allows them to capture pictures, and so on. Most of these are beneficial, while some of them can be dangerous.

Kids make use of these incredibly advanced features beneficially at most times– such as looking up study content, keeping their parents informed of their whereabouts, playing games as a means of entertainment, and so on. But unfortunately, the cyber space is laden with cyber crimes especially against children and teens, such as cyber bullying, child pornography and pedophiles stalking kids online. As a parent, you are naturally worried and would like to prevent such abuse. In case you did not know, mobile monitoring applications can come to the rescue.

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