Does Caring For Aging Parents Have You Caught In The Middle?

Editor’s Note: Good morning. Wendy Johnstone is on site discussing the Sandwich Generation and offers up some tips on how to manage this time in your life. Here she is:
Being a parent gives new meaning to the word exhausted. When my three-and-a-half-year-old, falls to the ground after a quick trip to the grocery store and says, [...]

Deciding on Kindergarten – Options, Talk & Opinions

Editor’s Note: If you missed the Sunday Morning Walk post, you can read it HERE. The forests are alive with mushrooms and fungus and other coolness this time of year. Now, we dig into Kindergarten options here in the Comox Valley. Please jump in on the discussion.
It’s the hot buzz among preschool parents in the [...]

Year In Review – Mom Entrepreneurs of 2009

Good Morning! It’s that time of year again when we start to take a look back at the last 365 days and reflect a bit on the goodness, the craziness, the lessons and the shifts of the last year. I thought we’d kick it all off with a look at the women who made up [...]

Getting Away – Planning Your Family Winter Road Trip

Editor’s Note: If you missed Robin’s morning post on holiday sanity savers, you can check it out HERE. There are definitely some tips I need to incorporate! This afternoon we have Alix Wilson with us sharing tips on preparing for and enjoying the holiday road trip. Here she is:
The holidays are alarmingly close. For my family, [...]

Is It A Cold or the Flu? Symptom Checker

Editor’s Note: If you missed the morning post by Marcie Dumais on helping kiddos learn the value of generosity, you can check it out HERE. This afternoon, we have some great information on the topic of cold Vs. flu.
With the news this week that St. Joseph’s Hospital in Comox is asking people who have only [...]

The Fit Family – In The Groove…Getting Motivated to Move

Editor’s Note: Whoa is it ever wet out there! This late Fall rain is absolutely crazy, definitely time for hats. If you missed it, be sure to check out our piece from this morning on scoring the coolest hats in town HERE. Now, it’s time for our fitness update. Stay dry!
Getting fit is an uphill [...]

Gather for a Family Heritage Experience

Editor’s Note: If you missed this morning’s AMAZING nature journal, you’ve got to go check out Jocie’s fantastic post on identifying slugs HERE. It’s fantastic. This afternoon, we’d like to extend an invitation to families of all ages to join Our Big Earth and The Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park for the Family Heritage Experience. [...]

The Fit Family – Creaky Bones & The Death of Procrastination

Editor’s Note: Happy Monday. If you missed our early post, check out our review of Roylco’s fossil rubbing plates HERE. Meanwhile, we are slugging through finding our workout groove:

Oh how uninspiring we find ourselves these days. Ken and I both agree that we have mental blocks when it comes to long term fitness. But, really, [...]

NeighbourWood Walking at the Courtenay Air Park

Happy Friday afternoon. Hopefully you all are just about done with your weeks and ready to enjoy a fun Fall weekend. We’ve got lots going on including the Cumberland Harvest Fair where we’ll be making binoculars and other coolness from 10 a.m. to Noon tomorrow.
If you missed our morning post today, Deepa took a peek [...]

What Is Socially Responsible Investing?

Happy Thanksgiving Monday afternoon. While you are recovering from the holiday meal make sure to check out our post from this morning HERE. We’re trying to find the perfect kitchen counter compost bucket – a hot topic now that the temperatures outside have cooled and the veggie scraps are plentiful.
This afternoon we are excited [...]

Need a Night Away? Hit Cliffe Avenue

No, I am not suggesting that you hit the street in an attempt to spend an evening among adults.:) Actually, I’m not even suggesting you hit the road.
It’s a painful reality in our house that leaving said house is generally virtually impossible in a “date night” sort of way. Going out to dinner, that is [...]

Parent Appreciation from the “Middle Place”

A few months back, a friend sent me a YouTube internet link that led me on a journey. The link was to Kelly Corrigan reading words about women and strength in a speech she calls “Transcending.”
A full Kleenex box later, I was ordering her book The Middle Place and within days of receiving the [...]

Product Review – Old Maid, B.C. Bird-Style

Good Morning and happy Victoria Day!
In celebration of a lazy day off that is hopefully filled with parades, barbecue and sunshine, we vote for a game of cards.
Back in the day, cards were just about the only thing other than Lawrence Welk on the tube that made me feel right at home on Summer vacation [...]

Green-e-ology: Hanging Laundry = Big Savings

Showing up at my house unannounced on a laundry day during Winter months has people wondering if they’ve entered some type of laundry house.
Clothes are hanging to dry ALL over.
Shirts, jeans, socks and underwear are in plain view.
[that’s right, even underwear]
I make good use of my wooden drying rack and the four dining table chairs.
When [...]

Moms in Need Seek Affordable Fitness Trainer

As parents, we will do almost anything to ensure that our children are healthy and well cared for.
We do whatever it takes to get them to eat their veggies, give them creative/ play time, and make sure they get adequate sleep and exercise each day.
Our priority is to give them the best possible start, all [...]

Monday Morning Mom Poll – Green Laundry Soap

Welcome to Monday. If yours is anything like our house, one of the biggest challenges we have with being more eco-minded is the constant din of the washer and/or dryer. We hang clothes year-around and try like heck to keep the laundry low. But, it seems like someone is always down in the basement throwing [...]

Product Review – ELC Travel Felts

Welcome to our first official Monday Product Reviews post. Mondays, they pretty much leave us all needing a bit of therapy. So, why not the savvy retail kind? This is a place where you’ll get the chance to talk shop about all kinds of kids, household and outdoor gems that make your life healthier, greener, [...]

Tita’s Warmth is Culinary Sunshine

As we move into the season of cold and darkness – and there may be a few extra bucks slotted for mom/dad dinners found tucked away in holiday cards recently – it’s time for the parents to find someone to watch the young people and head out for an evening on their own in pursuit [...]

Parent Getaways – Snuggles, Wine & Dessert

Editor’s Note: Reality of Parenthood #1 – if mom and dad aren’t happy, nobody is happy.
Finding those moments to reconnect as a couple or spend a bit of time regrouping by yourself may seem nearly impossible most days. But, making them possible can be what levels your head, rejuvenates you and helps you [...]

Stress-free Holidays – Tips for Getting Organized

Editor’s Note:
If you are anything like me, it generally dawns on me somewhere around Dec. 10 that Christmas is two weeks away. In the mommy universe, that very late recollection of time and, well, time, is a not-so-happy moment.
Now that we have a baby on the way (holy cow, yes, it’s true, we are pregnant [...]

The Great Escape Modern Indian Food

At last, our bad Valentines Day dinner karma dies.
It started out less than inspirational.
My husband and I, looking forward to an evening playing dress up, drinking something rather adult and eating well-spiced food at a leisurely, uninterrupted pace made reservations a week ago to finally hit The Great Escape in Cumberland for our annual Valentines [...]

Top 10 Late-Night Valentines Movie Picks

Happy Valentines Day!
Whether you are of the school of greeting-card-company holiday or season-of-love, Valentines is all about showing those you love how much they mean to you.
I’ve heard from a few moms and dads the last couple of days who have spent some great family time busting out homemade valentines and test driving those yummy [...]

Tofino in January is Heaven

Well, we’re home after a great week wave watching, trail hiking and late sleeping on the Clayquot Sound.

Wow, is it ever refreshing to have a few days off in order to better appreciate everyday life.

It also, however, requires a day or so to re-acclimate.

Hope you all enjoyed your time with our guest writers this week. [...]

Kayaking Tofino

I know, I know. All of you were expecting Dr. Ivey today, and I planned on it – I promise.
But, the lure of the beach, the crisp of the air and honestly my unwillingness to think about anything other than where I’m at while on vacation means Dr. Ivey’s debut will have to wait until [...]

Getting Back to the Workout as Parents

If you are one of those women who gained like 25 pounds while you were pregnant and lost it all within a few months of giving birth, I salute you for recovering so nicely.
For the rest of us, it’s hell.
Actually, I did only gain about 28 pounds while pregnant with the tiny person. But, I’d [...]