I've learned, in my seven years of being a mom, that my purse, or what's inside my purse, that can really be a lifeline in a tricky or stressful kid situation. So I always have certain things tucked away in my purse that, if I weren't a mom, I wouldn't necessarily have, but they've saved me …

AHHHHHHH witching hour!!!!!!! You know, that horrendous hour before bedtime where you've exhausted all of your energy and "vroom vroom" sounds and creative mommy or daddy ideas, and you're just counting down the seconds till bath and bedtime?!

Summer... it's startin' to drag a bit, no? Don't get me wrong: I love having my bean home with me. But by the end of a week, where I'm not only trying to work from home but give him a great summer, saying "I'm pooped" is the understatement of the year!

On a scale from 1 to desperate, I think bribing my kids with toys to stay in bed when they wake up in the middle of the night really only falls around 2.

If asked to list important skills to teach their children, most parents might propose social skills, problem-solving, or creativity as necessary to their children’s future success. While developing these abilities is recommended, there is one skill that often fails to come up on lists of thi…

I recently heard a mommy-friend say she doesn't want to go anywhere with her kids where she's not in control of her environment. 

"Mommy... daddy... come play with me."

When the summer season was approaching, I was worried that COVID-19 would limit my “summer fun” and that I’d be stuck in the house every day! However, in attempt to make the most of my summer, I’ve found a few places that I feel safe visiting.

Summer is definitely a time to put school days behind us and relax a little... but it's also a great time to get some extra help around the house. It's important that kids of all ages pitch in at home, and there are chores that kids as well as teens can easily do. Make it obligatory or an al…

Our summers are usually spent exploring our amazing city. We love taking the bus and metro to museums, restaurants, and other great sites, wandering the streets, hitting as much pavement as possible. This summer was obviously different. After having my bean home for three months leading up t…

Happy Canada Day everyone! Usually, our Canada Day is all about barbecues with friends, taking in the fireworks, and doing a lot of socializing. With this year's "circumstances," we're doing things a little differently this year.

Big Canada Day parties are out this year, but that doesn't mean you have to forgo celebrating our amazing country, especially with everything that is going on.

Summertime means lots of water fun, but the pool and other bodies of water can be extremely dangerous too. Even a shallow plastic kiddie pool can become a potential drowning risk. All too often over the summer season, we read about children succumbing to the dangers of swimming, so we want t…

I am grateful. I am soooo grateful. I have a warm and wonderful home, and a partner to share my life with, and I have a beautiful and healthy little boy who literally makes my heart sing every single day. This past Sunday at church the homily was about planning for the future but also findin…

In years past I went nuts making homemade teacher thank-you gifts. We made them for all the teachers the bean had, from his main teachers to the gym, music and art teachers, lunch monitors, etc. I loved putting together little pedicure kits with tags that said "Have a toe-tally amazing summe…

Holidays in the last few months have looked a little, well, different, but there are still lots of fun ways to celebrate dad. The only thing that matters is that you're all together as a family. So, here's how to enjoy Father's Day... social-distancing style.

The countdown is on.... EIGHT MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL! I have never looked so forward to the end of the school year as much as I am this year. Don't get me wrong: I think my son's teacher did an AMAZING job going to virtual learning - it's gotta be super tough on the teachers to adjust their tea…

Do we share too much information on social media?

Yes, you read that right... when schools closed on Friday, March 13th, I did one big grocery store order, and I had not stepped foot in a public place since. My husband is still working and he offered to then also be in charge of errands and groceries. So I happily compiled (truth be told, I…

If you were to tell us parents, three months ago, that our kids would be on lockdown with no school and no access to friends for weeks and weeks, we would have thought: no way. No way can our kids handle that. They'll go squirrely. They'll go nuts. They'll make us nuts.

Creating a baby registry, especially when you're a first-time parent, can be extremely daunting - there are just so many products out there, and with little to no experience using any of them, how should you choose?

How many times do parents of children with autism wish we knew a meltdown was on its way? How many times have parents said, I never saw it coming!  If I had, I would have gotten in, and reminded my child about using their calming down strategies to nip it in the bud.

Having only one child who just turned 8 years old late last year, I’ve only had the pleasure (is that the right word?) of two back-to-school experiences. Kindergarten doesn’t count since that was a first-time deal, and all new from the get-to.  I am by no means a back-to-school expert.

I don't think I realized how difficult it is to be a mom until I became a mom myself. How could I? Plus, I had a mom who made it look super easy.

So dads: Mother's Day is all on you this year. The kids won't be bringing home homemade gifts from daycare and school, so you're going to have to step it up. But don't worry - I've got you covered.

I said it during my entire pregnancy, but don't we all: "I'm never doing this again." But when I said never, I actually growled it. Truth be told, I kinda knew deep down, while I felt the bean rolling around in there, that I really wasn't going to do it again. Not because it wasn't a good ex…

Hooray for spring and warm weather and being outside (and, when it's raining, crafting like we're outside)! My bean is much more grown now, but we always kept busy doing all sorts of fun activities when spring arrived and I thought we'd share our favourite springtime crafts.

We’ve all been here for the better part of 40 days, at least here in Quebec. Self-isolated, self-quarantined. Doing it for ourselves, for our neighbours, for our elderly relatives. For our healthcare workers. For our country.

Oh my goodness I want to shop!! I want to walk around a mall, ANY mall, even the crappy ones with just as many kiosks as there are stores. I want to buy senseless things I don't need and come home and open the packaging and not have to wipe it all down with bleach first. I want to eat in the…

Feel like getting out? Why not head to the museum... virtually, of course. You can tour some of the world's most popular museums safely from your own home, and take the whole family on an adventure filled with culture, art, science, space and more. Let's go!

Over the past few weeks, DK Canada has been sharing home learning and home activities for both adults and children on their different social media channels and in their DK Canada newsletters, and they recenrtly announced via media release the next phase of their Stay Home, Stay Curious campa…

Animals always provide enertainment, humour and some learning opportunities too! They are fun to watch for the entire family. Check out these incredible live zoo and aquarium cams to check out with the kids.

I, like most mothers, suffer from a huge amount of guilt every single day. I think it becomes part of our DNA the moment that sperm enters the embryo and the process begins. We question ourselves from that first pee on a stick until our children leave the house (whenever that may be), and as…

With spring right around the corner, Toys R Us Canada is unveiling the most sought-after toys of the season. With early access to hot toy inventory, 12-year-old Méganne Dagenais from Lasalle — Toys"R"Us Canada's Chief Play Officer — let readers in on spring’s hottest toys, plus how she got h…

We could all use a good chuckle, and April Fool's Day can be a silly, lighthearted way to get a laugh. Here are our favourite April Fool's Day pranks.

In an effort to provide a constant resource for families during the global health pandemic, Hasbro announced via media release that they will be launching #BringHomeTheFun, a global initiative providing parents and caregivers resources to help keep kids occupied, calm, and engaged during ext…

One of the silver linings of being quarantined in this day and age is that there is no shortage of fun ideas online on how to entertain your kids at home. Our household is a Disney loving one, and with that I thought I’d share some ideas on how to visit Walt Disney World from the comfort of …

I am a proud Canadian. I always have been. I was born on the West Coast under the shadow of the Pacific Coast Mountains, and later in life moved to the East Coast and now live just outside the city of Montreal. I adore my big little country that touches two oceans and contains so many cultur…

This entire ordeal is testing my "brave mom" face. I can put on a "brave mom" face when my son falls and scrapes his knee, and even though he's bleeding a bit and my mind is racing and I want to throw up, I smile and calmly tell him "it'll be alright." But this time, I tell him everything is…

I've been doing this work-from-home thing for 11 years. Seven years ago, when I had my son, I did what I could working from home with a baby, and by 2 years old, we enrolled him in daycare two times a week. I filled those glorious hours with emails and articles and brainstorming notes, and f…

My bean turns 7 this weekend. We had lots planned - a video game birthday party on the Saturday with his closest friends, family coming in for his actual birthday, etc. Well, our plans have definitely changed.

Ten years ago, if you’d asked me where I thought I’d be in my life right now, the answer would not have been a divorced mother of an 8-year-old boy, currently having to work from home and home-school because of a worldwide pandemic, while also trying to juggle co-parenting with my child’s fa…

In these crazy times, we all have a responsibility to stay home. Practicing self-isolation and social distancing is the only way we will limit the spread of the Coronavirus and support our health care system. If we want the world to heal, we must all do our part and take this very seriously.

For those who started to self-quarantine last Friday, we're on day 7 and everyone's starting to get a bit antsy. It would be one thing to be confined to our houses but still be able to see friends or have playdates, but the isolation is challenging. 

When they told you it takes a village to raise a child, they weren't entirely right. You can raise a child without the village backing you. But when you've got the strength of the village on your side, you can raise a really awesome well-rounded kid!

Two weeks home with the kids is challenging, especially for those moms and dads who are working from home as well. So here are more than 67 easy ways to keep your kids entertained, and not just for 7 minutes, but for a good chunk of time. Stay well, everyone.

I'll admit it: a week ago I wasn't really worried about Coronavirus. But in the last few days, when the toilet paper craze began followed by the dwindling items on grocery store shelves, I started to get a bit nervous. Truthfully, it's not the virus that scares me - no, it's the mob mentalit…

Sometimes, the best vacations are the ones that are close to home, the ones that don't take too much planning and effort.