Rescue a Pet and Save a Life

We, as a family, believe that it is better to rescue a pet from a shelter and save a life, than buy one at a pet store.  I have heard over and over that if you don't get a pet as a baby that they will never attach to you.  I know for a fact that this isn't true.  All of our family pets have been rescued and all of them were at least a year old, and each and every one of them has been an amazing family member.  Aimee is a 12 year old Golden Lab/Beagle and she is the mother of the group.  The Cuteness (yes, that is his actual name) is a male medium hair cat who is 13 years old and he is our chatty diva who makes nests in clean laundry.  Then there is Gizzy, a 7 year old  Ragdoll, who she is glued to my eldest daughter every waking moment.  We call her the "stalker."  When my daughter watches tv, Gizzy lies on the back of the sofa behind her.  When my daughter goes to sleep, Gizzy crawls into her bed.  What is particularly wonderful is that they all get together amazingly.

We never knew when we rescued Bobby from a high kill shelter three years ago that he would win over our hearts so completely and become another integral part of our family.  What drew us to him was that he kept rubbing himself against the glass wherever we were, and he "spoke" to us.  He looked at us directly and meowed a warm little meow.  He was a sociable little kitty that needed a good home.  The ladies working the shelter couldn't believe that he hadn't found a home yet because he was so sweet.  When they told us that he was scheduled to be euthanized all of the kids eyes darted to me with question marks in their expressions.  How could I refuse?  A little nod of my head and they all cheered.

The funny thing is that we had never expected to adopt a new pet that day.  We had to go out of town because my son had an exam to write, and rather than drive all the way there and back and there again, I took the opportunity to have a day out with the rest of the kids.  We took a walk through the town and my littlest one saw the shelter and asked if we could just take a peek at the animals.  I flatly told her that we absolutely would not be bringing home yet another animal.  At that point we had two cats, a dog, and two turtles (all rescues).  With four kids and our menagerie, our house was already full.  The kids agreed to my condition and in we went.  Little did I know that we would be leaving with a new family member.  And you can't imagine my son's surprise when he got into the car after his exam to find Bobby pleasantly meowing in a new kennel.

During his first year with us Bobby was a complete spaz.  Even though he was two years old, he tore through the house like a kitten.  I guess he had been cooped up for so long that he needed to stretch his legs.  The other cats hated him.  He would taunt them and torment them and chase them.  Our dog, Aimee, wanted to be friends, but Bobby was so high strung, he was like a wild Tigger...bouncy bouncy bouncy.  Our dog loves cats.  She grooms them and tussles with them gently...she is like their mother.  But Bobby didn't trust her and didn't know that he had nothing to fear.  But Bobby came around.  Aimee was patient.  She took swats to her tender nose in stride.  She never reacted badly.  And then came the day that I knew things were going to be all right.  Bobby conked heads with Aimee.  That seemed to be the turnaround.  Once Bobby made peace with Aimee, the other cats mended their fences too.  Now we are all one huge happy family.

Beauty is Only Skin Deep

Beauty is only skin deep

OK, so I am one of the lucky ones.  I have really great skin for my age.  Most of the responsibility of that is due to genetics...my parents both looks decades younger than their actual ages.  This past summer I went to Canada's Wonderland, a local theme park, and my youngest daughter wanted to win a stuffed animal that was in one of those "Guess Your Age" kiosks.  I figured, "why not?"  I know I look young for my age, but how harsh was this teenager going to be?  He asked me a few questions and then he said he would write down his guess and show it to my daughter.  When my daughter giggled, I knew we had won.  He asked how old I was, so I told him 46.  His jaw actually dropped.  With his mouth still open he turned his clipboard around and I saw a big old 32.  Woot woot for the old gal!!

So how does she do it? you may ask.

Up until recently I just washed every day with Dove soap.  But this winter has been particularly harsh and so I have actually had to start moisturizing.  I have had a difficult time finding just the right moisturizer.  I have really sensitive skin and I am allergic to chamomile (I have hayfever), so I have to be careful with what I put on my skin.  I have about 20 jars and bottles of various creams that are in my bathroom vanity that I have tried.  Either they are too heavy and cause me to break out, they have overpowering smells, or they give me hives.  I guess that is why I stuck with Dove.

Recently I was sent a sample face masque from Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spa in my Influenster Maple Vox Box for me to try.  I was prepared not to like it or have some sort of allergy reaction.  What I wasn't prepared for was how amazing the Clay Infused Fabric Masque was.  I have done clay masks before, but they were all so terribly drying.  With the old clay masks it made my skin feel like a mask...so much that I was worried that my face would crack.

This was absolutely not the case with the Montagne Jeunesse Masque.  I made a short video of when I used the Masque for the first time.  I walk you through the steps of using the Masque and then at the end I give my honest reaction to the results.  Yes, it looks scary, but it is well worth it.

If you are interested in finding out more about Montagne Jeunesse Clay Infused Fabric Masques:

https://www.facebook.com/montagnejeun...
https://twitter.com/montagnejeuness
http://www.pinterest.com/montagnejeun...
http://www.farleyco.ca/Montagne-Jeuness

How Do You Empower Your Children to Give Back?

I feel that it is the responsibility of parents to not only love and raise their children well, but to also to empower to be socially responsible and for them to give back to their community.  As a society we can help improve our community with not only money, but with our time...something that seems to be the most precious commodity of all.  

I have been volunteering with the TDSB since I was a teenager.  I started volunteering in a school's student publishing company where I helped students from kindergarten to grade 8 write and publish their own stories to be showcased in their school library.  While in University I volunteered with adult ESL students, and I even taught a few cooking classes in North American cuisine.  It was wonderful to see their faces when they first tasted Apple Crumble.  I have been the Chair of the Parent Councils at my children’s schools.  Throughout the years I have involved my family as much as I could. My children have been volunteering since they were toddlers.  They helped at Movie Nights, Fun Fairs, Activity Nights, Education Days and countless other fundraising events at their own and their siblings’ schools.

I volunteered for seven years in my children’s kindergarten classes.  I went in at least two times a week to work with the students who needed extra help and assist the teacher during classes. I spent the next four years going into the school two times a week to read with the students who were considered “at risk” of failing. Teachers would call me when they didn’t have enough parent volunteers for their fieldtrips, even when my children weren’t in their current class. I had hoped that if my children saw me donating as much time as I did, that they would learn about the importance of helping others.  Leading by example seems to work for me.

We have been involved in several food drives for specific families in our area. We have done clothing drives for some Romanian Newcomer families and for a few families who lost everything to fires. My children collected clothes, books and toys that they wanted to donate and we boxed them according to size for the families. And when we didn’t have anyone specific to give the items to, we donated the items to Goodwill, so that others could benefit.

We raised money for a friend of my eldest daughter who found out that she had cancer. We raised enough money to buy her an iPad, so she could communicate with her classmates by Skype while she was in the hospital.

We used to foster cats that were rescued from a high-kill shelter until one foster cat came in that was infected with feline leukemia and we lost several cats. The cats had all been vaccinated prior to coming into my home, but somehow it was still contagious. It was a horrible event. We found homes for the remaining cats and didn’t take any new foster cats. It was just too difficult to foster anymore.  All of our pets in our house are rescues from shelters and each and every one of them has been neutered or spayed as we don’t want to be responsible for overpopulation. We have tried to teach our children that animals deserve our respect and that they are not disposable.

Our Foster Animals Got Along Well

We were also involved in the beautification of our local park. Children had stopped using the park because it was in such disrepair and the equipment was quite old and rusty. We held a number of fundraisers in order to raise money to put in a new slide, swings, ride-on toys, and climbing cage as well as putting in new landscaping for the benefit of the neighbourhood. My children sold raffle tickets, food and drinks, and they hosted games for the children. They put in countless hours into rebuilding this park, with no benefit to themselves, apart from the fact that they know that they are helping their community.

I think that by volunteering and participating in community events they will become healthy, well-adjusted and productive adults. I want to teach my children that charity is a way of being, and that they have the power to make the world better through simple acts of caring. I love the quote from Helen Keller, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something, and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”

Memorable Moments

Memorable Moments

As far back as I can remember I knew I wanted to have kids.  Yes, plural...kids.  Not just one kid, I wanted a bunch, and I wanted to fill their childhoods with memorable moments that they would remember when they had kids of their own.
I remember I was about 9 years old when we were moving from Quebec back to Toronto.  My mom had given me the task of packing my toys and books, and getting rid of anything that I didn't want any more.  It was funny because at the age of 9 I had already stopped playing with toys.  I was a tomboy.  We had a creek in the backyard to catch frogs and a field one block away to explore in.  I didn't need toys anymore.  I was surrounded by nature in this small town at the base of the Laurentian Mountains.  I played with the kids in the neighborhood and only had to go home when the street lights came on. It was a different world for parents.  No car seats to wrestle with.  No safety helmets for biking.  No cell phones.  Today, you couldn't pay me a million dollars to let my kids run wild like I did.  I want them wearing their helmets when they bike.  I want them in their car seats for as long as possible.  And I want to know where they are...all of the time...so they all have cell phones.  I really don't know how parents coped without cell phones.

After I had finished sorting all of my belongings, my Dad saw two neatly packed boxes.  One was marked "LITTLE KID TOYS" and the other "LITTLE KID BOOKS."  He asked if he should get rid of them.  I told him that I was keeping them for my children.  I was 9 years old and I already knew that I was having children, and that I wanted to save my toys and books for them.  These toys and books had special meaning and memories for me and I wanted to share them with my children.  I looked forward to it.

My Dad didn't actually believe that I meant when I said, so he gave my books and toys away.   A few years later I found my books at my younger cousin's house.  I was thrilled...at first.  When I went to look at my books I noticed that the pages had been scribbled all over and others had been ripped out.  When I had packed the books they had been in pristine condition, even though I had reread them numerous times.  It felt worse to see what my cousin had done to the books, than having them given away in the first place.

Many, many years later I was in an old book store with my boyfriend (pssst...he later became my husband) and I happened to see the set of books that I had put away for my (future) children over a dozen years before.  I was thrilled to see them but we were heading out to meet some friends, so we couldn't buy them that evening or we'd be stuck dragging them around all night.  We planned to pick them up a few days later, but sadly they were gone.  But not for long.  I received the books for my birthday!

We have read the whole set of books to each of our four kids, and passed along a memory that is infinitely better because it not only belongs to my childhood, but also that it was made possible because of my absolutely wonderful husband.

Pro-Active Parenting

Where Can you Buy Unusual Gifts?

Where can you buy unusual and unique gifts?  Where can you buy a medieval helmet?  Where can you find a onesie pajama for a 15 year old?  Where can you buy a Sonic Screwdriver for the 10th Doctor Who?  Where do you go when you want to find a Jester Car Antenna Topper?  How do I find a replacement for a "lovey"  that was left on a bus?  

My go-to place for buying interesting and unique gifts is the internet.  I have been purchasing products online since 2001.  I started off with Ebay and I would look at Feedback scores and read comments to see if the sellers seemed trustworthy.  I could learn a lot about a seller this way.   In the beginning I only paid for my auctions with money order so there was no chance of having my credit information stolen.  I was a victim of identity theft in 1994 and I never wanted to go through that again.  I was extremely cautious.  As Paypal became more popular sellers stopped accepting money orders, so I started using Paypal regularly in 2007.  I have been pretty lucky because I only had a few transactions go awry.  If an item never arrived and  the seller wouldn't respond to my concerns I would open a dispute.  Paypal worked quickly and would refund my money in a relatively short time.  It has been wonderful because I feel that my credit is secure and if something goes wrong Paypal will work with me.  Feeling secure with online payments has allowed me to branch out from Ebay and start buying directly from online merchants. 

I have poked around on Amazon over the last few years but it was difficult because there weren't many sellers who would ship to Canada without charging exorbitant shipping charges...if they shipped to Canada at all.  Just a few weeks ago I tried to buy a Monty Python watch for my older son, and Amazon said they had several in stock.  When I clicked through none of the store-fronts had any in stock or they wouldn't deliver to Canada. It was very disappointing. 

Over the last few years I have purchased directly from several online retailers.  Recently I have purchased from Etsy, Best Buy, Future Shop, and a few other online stores.  In general I have had very good experiences.  I make sure to do a bit of research on the companies and read reviews about their customer service.  If people consistently say that they can't get help or make returns, then I don't buy from them.  There was one purchase that I made several years ago where I regretted not doing my research.  The seller took three months to ship it and it arrived a month after Christmas.  The warning signs were there, but I disregarded them because I was desperate for the item.  

My preference is to buy from Canadian retailers because the shipping charges are more reasonable, there are never any extra International charges tacked on, and returns are so much easier.  I also like to buy local and support Canadian artisans and small retailers.  

Buying online can be scary, but if you do your research, and purchase from reputable retailers you should be fine.  And when you get your packages in the mail, it's just like Christmas!

...until you have to rewrap them!

Buying Gifts Online

I have been buying gifts online since 2001 because I wanted to buy my children unique gifts for Christmas and their birthdays.  I started off with Ebay and I would look at Feedback scores and read comments to see if the sellers seemed trustworthy.  I could learn a lot about a seller this way.   In the beginning I only paid by money order so there was no chance of having my credit information stolen.  I was a victim of identity theft in 1994 and I didn't want to go through that again, so I was extremely cautious.  As Paypal became more popular sellers stopped accepting money orders, so I started using Paypal in 2007.  I have been pretty lucky because I only got ripped off a few times and if the seller wouldn't refund my money I would open a dispute, and Paypal would refund my money.  Paypal has been wonderful because I feel that my credit is secure and if something goes wrong they will work with me.

As my confidence grew with online purchasing, I started branching out and tried buying directly from online merchants.  I poked around on Amazon a few years ago but it was difficult because there weren't many sellers who would ship to Canada without charging exorbitant shipping charges...if they shipped to Canada at all.  I also found that the third party Amazon sellers would often say that they had an item in stock, but when it actually came to shipping the item, they didn't actually have it.   Over the last few years I have purchased directly from several onine retailers, and in general I have had very good experiences.  I make sure to do a bit of research on the companies and read reviews about their customer service.  My preference has been to buy from Canadian retailers because the shipping charges are more reasonable, there are never any extra International charges tacked on, and returns are so much easier.

Buying online can be scary, but if you do your research, and purchase from reputable retailers you should be fine. Keep in mind that if it sounds too good to be true...it probably isn't!

I Love Online Christmas Shopping

It's 3 o'clock in the morning and the kids are all in bed.  I am staring at the ceiling in my bedroom and I can't sleep.  If only it was sugar plums that were dancing around in my head.  Sadly my mind is a buzz about homework, what's for dinner tomorrow, how do I get the kids out on time in the morning and thoughts of what to get my kids for Christmas.

I give up!  I can't sleep.  What should I do?  I could read but I am peeved at the current book I am reading.  I could do laundry but the washer and dryer are so loud.  So I head to my good old friend, my computer.  I check my mail and I see that my mailbox is filled with coupons, offers and flyers from retailers.  I start glancing through them when I see that one of them is advertising watches.  I remember that my son had asked me for a wind-up pocket watch for Christmas.  I had been through three whole malls and had no luck at all.  I found pocket watches, but they were all battery operated...and they were all quite expensive.

I open up Google and type in "wind-up pocket watch."  Instantly I have a few thousand watches pop up.  I glance through the first two pages and I see that there are several on Amazon and Ebay, but I check the independent retailers first.  As I check these first sites out I see that there are so many options for wind-up watches...antique, steampunk, polished, skeleton, etc.   I get excited.  I never knew that there were so many different types of pocket watches.  I realize that I won't just have to settle for whatever I can find...I will be able to find the perfect pocket watch.  I am so thrilled.  I had spent a whole day futilely searching three shopping malls without any success, and within just a couple of minutes the possibilities grew immensely.

I took me about half an hour to pick out the perfect wind-up pocket watch for my son.  I purchased it for approximately 1/10th of the cost of the battery operated watches that I saw in the mall, that weren't even half as nice.  With that huge feat accomplished I was able to get back to bed and get some well-deserved shut-eye.

I saved time and money and found a present that was far better than anything I could have found in a physical store and I was able to do it all in my pajamas.  Now all I have to do is find a Sonic Screwdriver for my younger son and a sock monkey onesie for my daughter.  I won't waste time looking for those in stores and I will head straight to the internet and I will have my Christmas shopping all done before the beginning of December!