We didn’t have our boys until our mid-thirties.  Until the arrival of our first son, our lives revolved around work, socializing with other childless couples and an ordered home.  We hardly ever came across children and, as an only child, I had never had the experience of growing up with siblings. I had never worked with kids - not ever babysat.  Considering all this, it’s a miracle I wanted children of my own (thank goodness for the primeval urges of the biological clock.)  Now you might be thinking that there is nothing wrong with this picture, but I do... More »

How wonderful it is to be able to share thoughts, memories and advice through the written language. We know what a gift it is to be a competent reader and writer but, it is more difficult to appreciate or even remember the effort and direction it took to get to this point.  Revisiting the world of the beginning reader is a good place to start when we are trying to best support our children make the transition into literacy learning. Beginning readers typically refers to kindergartners or first graders although some will be second and third graders. To best... More »

The transition to solid food has been one fraught with spits, tosses and smiles.  My daughter has developed her independence from a very young age and strives toward “I’ll feed myself thank you very much” with a vigour that I admire.  She is only 7 months old and she is determined to cook, prepare, feed and clean on her own!  It’s hard to break the news to her that I still need to be an integral part of the picture for some time to come.  Over the last weeks, I have experimented with what tasks are appropriate for a... More »

Today I was sitting in a room full of people who are not parents trying to explain myself.  I was introducing urbanmoms.ca and discussing the importance of moms connecting with other moms.  How becoming a mom impacts EVERYTHING in your life but doesn't define who you are.  How only another mother can truly relate and understand that your issues and concerns are not complaints but a desire to connect, to know that you are not the only one who struggles with the complexity of this life-altering role.  I was confident in what I was saying yet, I was met by... More »

Little Meagan was four years old when she was diagnosed with brain stem glioma, a cancerous brain tumour. Two weeks after her fifth birthday she passed away. The community where she lived has rallied to support her family in their mission to raise hope, awareness and research funding for paediatric brain tumours which are the number one cause of cancer deaths in children under 20, through a first of its kind Mother's Day event -Meagan's Walk, Creating a Circle of Hope. When I met Meagan's mom, Denise, and heard her story I was overwhelmed by sadness.  However, I was... More »

By Sarah Chana Radcliffe Not too long ago (actually, 3months, 7 days and 10 hours ago – but who’s counting?) I had the enormous pleasure of being my daughter’s labour coach for her first baby – my first grandchild. What an emotional experience! As I breathed with her and massaged her forehead, fingers and toes, I reviewed our life together as mother and daughter, my journey with her, my first child. It seemed like yesterday that I was giving birth to her and now, here we were, bringing forth the next generation. In the next days and weeks there was... More »

Fifteen Princess Valentines...check...twenty-eight Harry Potter Valentines...check...red and pink clothes for the Valentine's party...check...chocolates and cards for my kids...check, check...I have this haunting feeling I have forgotten something or, more like someone...but who?  My poor husband.  This has been the story for the past six Valentine's Days.  It used to be we would surprise each other with a weekend away or a romantic dinner and show.  We would spend weeks planning a romantic evening and a well thought out gift.  Now it is midday on February 13th and it has just occurred to me that I have nothing...not even a card. ... More »

I’m learning so much along with my kids, but I’m not talking about the classroom classics such as math, English and history.  I’m learning less tangible and, I would argue, much more valuable things about life and about myself. One of the biggest revelations has been about love. While expecting my second child, I was wrecked with the worry that I would not love him or her.  I love my first son so much, so how could I possibly love another?  I worried so much about the baby I was carrying coming into the world without a mother’s love.  My... More »

In the beginning, my life followed a pretty predictable path.  I finished school, went to University, got a job, got married and got a promotion.  Life was looking good.  Then, everything changed when, after 6 years of marriage, our twin daughters were born.  At the time, I was working in a senior management position at a mid-sized firm and I was putting in some ridiculous hours at the office.  Even while my wife was being admitted to the hospital, scared she was going to lose the babies, I was finishing up the final stages of a presentation for a... More »

I'm tired.  Why didn't anyone tell me how hard this was going to be?  Oh, yeah...they did, I just didn't believe them.  The last few days have been particularly hard.  My 3 year old daughter has been sick with a fever and cough and suddenly I started to feel a bit under the weather.  When I took her to the doctor to get checked out I asked the doctor to take a quick look at me.  I have Strep Throat. How am I supposed to get better when my sick little girl only wants her mommy?  She calls, so... More »