The late Terry Fox took his final steps in his unfinished Marathon of Hope in Thunder Bay, Ontario. We visited the Terry Fox monument on our first day in Thunder Bay on Monday. It honours his memory near the spot where he took his last step. Terry Fox is a famous Canadian athlete whose rightContinue reading “Every Child Needs and Deserves a Hero”
Tag Archives: children
Loving and Supporting the Often Misunderstood Special Needs Child
While standing first in line to be let in the outdoor pool, T tells me he’s peeing. I look down and sure enough, a puddle of pee on the pavement with 20 people looking at my 5-year-old. I feel mortified and I could not hold in my embarrassment. “That is disgusting, why would you doContinue reading “Loving and Supporting the Often Misunderstood Special Needs Child”
Return to Day Camp!
During yesterday’s day camp pickup, the staff told me that T was talking to them and the kids about Madonna and how he wants our family to move to London to live with her. Being a big Madge fan, moments like this are like a ray of light and remind me like a prayer thatContinue reading “Return to Day Camp!”
Family Weekend Roadtrip to Breathtaking Killbear Park
The last four months of lockdown – working, schooling, parenting – have been so hard but also creatively and emotionally rewarding. But the hubby and I are beyond burned out. So we took T for a recharge in nature with a short but sweet family roadtrip – three hours from home – to scenic ParryContinue reading “Family Weekend Roadtrip to Breathtaking Killbear Park”
Teaching My Son To Be Bored
When we started lockdown homeschooling, the blank page of a day gave me great anxiety. I’ve since learned it’s okay to leave pockets of time during the day as unstructured time for five-year-old T to be bored. Research has shown that boredom supports a child’s healthy development, as it helps them build creativity, resilience, andContinue reading “Teaching My Son To Be Bored”
Return to the Pool!
Our City opened outdoor public pools this week and T and I leapt into its refreshing water this afternoon like reuniting with an old friend. It brought me so much joy to see how giddy he got in the water, the first swim since early March. We’ve always gone to indoor pools, but we’re notContinue reading “Return to the Pool!”
Love is Love: Celebrating Pride at Home
Pride celebrations are different this year, but its spirit is even more relevant and important. Pride was born out of protest 50 years ago, from communities saying enough was enough. Activists and allies paved the way so that today, we – at least in our part of the world – can love who we wantContinue reading “Love is Love: Celebrating Pride at Home”
Camping in Our Backyard
The hubby and I were not going to let a pandemic take away our family camping tradition, so we pitched our tent in the backyard this weekend. It was also camping week at homeschool this week. T’s teacher gave a series of camping-themed learning activities, from books and poems, to math exercises, and more. TContinue reading “Camping in Our Backyard”
Fathers Day Reflections: 5 Favourite Moments So Far
The hubby and I are celebrating our fifth Fathers’ Day this weekend. Time sure does fly! I’ve written openly about the ups and downs of raising a child with great potential and challenging needs since launching this blog in December. This weekend, it’s all about celebrating the positive and favourite moments on this unpredictable andContinue reading “Fathers Day Reflections: 5 Favourite Moments So Far”
A Rejuvenating First Nature Hike Since Lockdown
A family of swans, Canadian geese, ducks, and a deer feeding from afar. My family basked in a feast of nature this afternoon, our first outing since lockdown began three months ago. It was a beautiful Saturday. Sunny and a comfortably cool 16 degrees for t-shirt and shorts. A steady breeze. We headed for LyndeContinue reading “A Rejuvenating First Nature Hike Since Lockdown”
Making the Hard Decision to Medicate Our Child for ADHD
I’ve avoided this for four years. But this week, the hubby and I face an important decision in our 5-year-old’s journey: medication. We adopted our beloved T four years ago – feels like an extra year in there with this pandemic! – and shortly after, he received a prognosis of at-risk fetal alcohol spectrum disorderContinue reading “Making the Hard Decision to Medicate Our Child for ADHD”
Our Budding Little Baker
Learning comes in all forms, as we’ve learned from homeschooling in lockdown. Making a no-bake keylime pie with T reinforced lessons in measurement, chemistry and having fun! The hubby enjoyed the strawberry and rhubarb pie that T and I made last week and asked us to make this no-bake keylime pie recipe from A MillionContinue reading “Our Budding Little Baker”
We Can and Must Do Better
Like many others, the horrifying murder of George Floyd weighed on my mind this week. Since we adopted T, I often view and process news and events through the eyes of being his Papa. I often think to myself about how I can protect T from the horrors of the world while he is young,Continue reading “We Can and Must Do Better”
Learning About Social Skills and Friendship From His Cats
It took four years and a pandemic but the Cold War between our hyperactive and loud five-year-old son and his skittish fur siblings has thawed. T and our two cats, Kyrie and Lanaya, had a rocky start. We adopted the cats, both at 1 year old, in 2015 and T came into our lives andContinue reading “Learning About Social Skills and Friendship From His Cats”
It’s All About Perspective
For today’s home learning activity, we gave T a magnifying glass and went for a nice walk to look at ants and the beauty of nature up close. T has been learning about ants for school this week. His teacher gave us a series of online books and videos about ants, fictional and factual. OneContinue reading “It’s All About Perspective”
Bonding Over Video Games With My Son
I’ve unlocked another fatherhood badge: Playing video games with my five-year-old T. For all the worries that I have about the learning gains that T may be missing out on while in lockdown, I have full confidence that he is excelling in digital literacy skills. Last weekend, T pulled up a chair and plopped itContinue reading “Bonding Over Video Games With My Son”
Self Care in a Pandemic for the Special Needs Parents
The one thing I often half joke about is that T can have a full blown meltdown without consequences, while us adults have to be more dignified about our emotions. Well, midway through this week, I had a grown up meltdown. My bottled up stress of the pressure to keep up T’s schooling, my work,Continue reading “Self Care in a Pandemic for the Special Needs Parents”
Discussing Feelings and Building Empathy
“You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself.” – John Steinbeck For all the anxiety and exhaustion our little T often causes us, one consistent strength we can always count on is his caring nature. Last summer, during an after dinner outing to the playground, an older boy, who must’ve been nineContinue reading “Discussing Feelings and Building Empathy”
Our Fixer Upper Renovation – One Year Later
“There’s no place like home.” – Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz A year ago this week, our family made the leap and moved into our house. The hubby and I had previously lived in a small townhouse for over 10 years. T spent three wonderful years in that condo with us, but it was evidentContinue reading “Our Fixer Upper Renovation – One Year Later”
Supporting My Little One During These Challenging Times
“Even a happy life has a sad day. We fail to provide a context which says it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to be sad.” – Marianne Williamson Against the backdrop of a beautiful warm Spring afternoon, our little T finally broke down in tears for the first time since our self isolation started. TheContinue reading “Supporting My Little One During These Challenging Times”
My Life With T 