Do you remember the days before you had kids? How different life was! I’ve just been thinking about the vacations I used to take before I had my girls in tow. OK - I’d plan the whole trip but I’d always allow plenty of room for things to just sort of happen and I never worried too much about the money side of it all. That’s all changed now that I am travelling as part of … [Read more...]
How to Create an Art Centre in Under 5 Minutes with 3M Hooks & Cord Clips
My six year old daughter LOVES to draw. She will happily spend hours at her art table creating masterpieces. I wanted to tidy up her art space and give her "a place for everything and everything in it's place". We have two small lidded plastic bins for her piles of colouring books and art creations. This is also where we've been stowing her pencils, crayons, scissors and … [Read more...]
How to Save Money on Car Insurance, One Important Factor that Can Save You BIG
Ever wonder how auto insurance works? Basically everyone pays into a big pool, and claims are paid out of that pool. The payment you make is called a premium. You pay a premium to your insurance company so that you'll be covered if something bad happens. But because not everyone gets into an accident, or has their car stolen, there are more people paying into the pool than … [Read more...]
Lunch-Making Time and Sanity Savers, Tips & Tricks
How are you guys coping with the back to school lunch making routine? I feel like I'm getting into my lunch making groove, and I am shocked to find that I actually prefer having to pack school lunches every day, rather than every other. How do you ensure your kids eat their school lunch? How do you save time getting lunches ready? As part of my Rubbermaid LunchBlox giveaway … [Read more...]
5 Tips from IAMS on How Cats & Dogs CAN Happily Co-Exist
"Fighting like cats and dogs" is a pretty common catch phrase, but it isn't always true. I remember being shocked as a kid when I discovered that my family's cat and my grandparent's dog got along just fine. Cats and dogs can tolerate each other, even grow to be good companions and friends. If you're considering playing both sides of the "Cats are better pets.", "No, dogs … [Read more...]
Back to School Recap
I hope September has been treating you and yours well? Aside from the inevitable nasty cold making it's way through our household and a little bit of separation anxiety on the part of my littlest girl, things have been going pretty smoothly over here. To help mark our third week of back to school, here's a quick recap of Maple Leaf Mommy's back to school giveaways and … [Read more...]
The Importance of Tenant’s Insurance… or Advice I Wish My Younger Self Had Received
I remember moving into my first apartment. I was twenty-one years old and starting university. My parents had just bought a new house out in the county, with no bus route on hand and no easy way to get into the city each day to make it to classes I was forced to find my own place. I remember the excitement of having my own space, and filling it with the various necessities. … [Read more...]
Would YOU be prepared in the event of a natural disaster?
The deadly tornadoes that have hit in the Midwestern US are a wake-up call for us all to make sure we do what we can to be prepared to face severe weather. A natural disaster like a tornado can form at any time, sometimes with little to no forewarning. Having a family emergency plan in place just might save lives. I remember the devastation when an F1 tornado touched down in … [Read more...]
Let’s Talk Insurance ~ Private Run vs. Government Run Auto Insurance
IBC, Insurance Bureau of Canada, has been working to make insurance less confusing. Their Time to Talk campaign is all about explaining to people how insurance works and what it means for them, in everyday terms. So as part of their Time to Talk campaign, I'm here today to talk about the difference between private and government run insurance, auto insurance in specific, and … [Read more...]
How Insurance Fraud Hurts Everyone & What You Can Do to Help
The Insurance Bureau of Canada is a national association that represents the insurance companies that give you coverage on your home or car. I've complained for years about how high our insurance rates are, particularly our car insurance, but I've never really thought about the reasons behind it. Reading up on the Insurance Bureau of Canada really put it into perspective for … [Read more...]
The Mystery of the Disappearing Emails, or How NOT to Use Gmail
I finally figured out why my emails have mysteriously been disappearing, part of the problem is me and part of the problem is with how Gmail works. I only started using Gmail in the past few months. I've had a Gmail address for years, but in the past I forwarded everything to Outlook, resident on my desktop PC and did all my email stuff from there. This set up was great for … [Read more...]
Free Online Tools for Healthy Lifestyle Resolutions and Why Some of Them Suck if You’re Overweight
Happy New Year! It's resolution time again! I know what you're thinking, "Wait, it's almost April, why the heck is she talking about new year's resolutions?" but my birthday is in March, so for me I always mark March as the start of a new year. Another notch in the birthday belt seems somehow more inspiring to me then the start of a new calendar year. And speaking of belts … [Read more...]
Why Staycations Suck and Four Tips on How to Make Yours Better
Normally every year around this time hubby and I take off for a two night stay somewhere in Ontario, like say London, which is home to all of my favourite bookstores, or Toronto which is well... Toronto! This year we decided to celebrate my birthday at home with a little staycation. My mom took the girls for the weekend and hubby and I set out to explore Windsor, tourist style. … [Read more...]
Recipe Copyright Confusion, What’s the law in Canada?
I think I'm pretty competent in the kitchen. I cook "from scratch" dinners for my family 99% of the time; I love to cook, I love to try out and tinker with new recipes. Yet I blog about cooking fairly seldom, and the reason is I worry about copyright issues. I have a recipe box full of dozens of handprinted index cards, many of which I wrote down so many years ago that I no … [Read more...]
Saving Diaper Dollars, Tricks for Buying Pampers Cheap
I've always been confused by people who say Pampers are too expensive. Diapers are something I never pay full retail for. I've gotten both my mom and my mother in-law into the habit of collecting Pampers coupons for me. I wait for a sale and I use coupons. I buy Pampers in large quantities and stash them in the closet. I don't mind stockpiling them, as it's not like diapers go … [Read more...]