My Creatively Random Life

I had the joy of watching my oldest graduate grade 8 the other night, which was a big accomplishment for him.  It was a long road for us to get him there through years of bad diagnosis' and schools that did not work for him. We were lucky just before grade six to finally find a doctor who recognized his struggle for what it was and tested him to see if he was on the spectrum.  (he is)  At the same time he transfer to a smaller school where it really felt like the teachers and his peers cared more. I watched my son change from an unhappy, miserable boy to a positive, humorous young man.  The change did not happen over night, it was a long road.  I usually keep my struggles with the children pretty private but you never know who might need to hear something. This kid here holding the honor roll medal, 3 years ago we were at the point where the school he was in was refusing to grade him and I was crying every night because I did not know how to help h...

I have a 13 year old now and he is moody and full of attitude.  But once upon a time he looked like this.  A happy, cheerful, little boy with chubby cheeks.

I have found my favourite leggings for which I am now a distrubuter and to celebrate that fact I am  giving away a pair. I have thrown up some pictures of some of my favourite things that we carry just to give you guys an idea.  You can check things out for yourself  here . a Rafflecopter giveaway

The end of the school year is once again upon us and I have become overwhelmed with tiny pieces of classroom art. This year though Cat and I have struck a deal.  Every piece I share on here I get to recycle.  So once a week I will share a piece of this year's classroom work and it will find a new home that is not in my house. This is a friendship heart and it talks about her teacher, whose favourite drink is coffee.  (mine too).

On Sunday the Toronto Argonauts played their first game in the 2017 season against the Hamilton Tigercats, and Cat got to go to her first Kids Zone in The Zone of the season.  Toronto Argonauts Kids Club is an interesting thing, $29 gets you an Argonauts swag bag and a kids club passport and membership card which gains you entry into Kid in the Zone events.  After the game we met up with the other kids club members and their families and were escorted down onto the field. The kids got to run through a little tunnel onto the field and then met and greet with the players and the Argos Cheerleaders.  Cat was a bit shy so we did not get a lot of pictures but she did get a few autographs for her collection.

Sadly it feels like it's been forever since I've done a blog post about a day out with the kids.  It's not that we don't do the days out, it's mostly that I don't take pictures as I haven't been able to find my camera since we moved and my phone was sketchy at best.  I have replaced my phone and the new one has a fantastic camera so look out for lots more fun posts! On Saturday the kids and I went to the ROM to spend the day seeing if they could soak up any knowledge.  Cat was excited to go see the dinosaur bones and Ace wanted to check out the mummies. Me, I wanted to check out the Mexican textiles exhibit. Ace didn't want to join in our pre-museum selfie, he's too cool to take pictures with his family. He did pose with his sister behind this old door frame though. Dinosaur bones and the kids checking them out. Our Egyptian detour, how cool is that step pyramid?  I just read a bunch of books about ancient Egyp...

This morning as we got ready for school I reminded Cat and Ace of the importance of reflection and respect during their Remembrance Day ceremony at school.  As it usually does, the conversation evolved into a discussion of what they have learned about school regarding war, soldiers and why it is important to honor those who serve or have serve in our military.   I know what they learn at home, we have lots of family and friends who have served and some that are serving.  The key word to me there is serve, they are doing this for their country as a whole, which means they are fighting for us.  So that we can sleep at night not in the constant terror that exists in some parts of the world. Today at the assembly my son's class is singing Blowin In The Wind, I had a struggle with that when he was practicing.  When I was his age we had already been asked to memorize In Flanders Fields and that and Oh Canada were the school's contribution to this occasion.  A...

  Currently.... {I read  Jamie Morrow's  Currently every week and I always want to hop on board because it seems like such a fun way to keep you guys updated on the stuff going on in my life so here I am.} Loving... Work. Right now work is the break that I get from all the stress of moving.  I am never so happy as I am to walk through the doors of my office and sit down at my desk. Reading... War and Peace.  Well, really I have been reading it since the beginning of the year but since all my current review obligations are filled I am sinking my teeth back into it and really, truly loving it. Watching... I FINALLY got to see Antman over the weekend.  It was much better than it looked like it was going to be which made me very excited for Civil War. Listening To... All the music as I pack box after box.  The best stuff I have found for packing?  Ke$ha. Thinking About... How I am going to save all my pennies s...

Celebrate the Small Things is hosted by  Lexa Cain  along with wonderful co- hosts  Writing Off The Edge  and  The Cyborg Mom . Life has been so busy lately that blogging has taken a huge back burner in my life.  I have learned a lot about moving though, mostly that I hate it and anyone who does it with children and does have a nervous breakdown has all my respect. This week I am celebrating that Ace is having a fantastic summer away with his Uncle.  If you follow us on  Instagram  then you've been able to follow along with some of their adventures. The other thing that I'm celebrating is that our one-on-one time with Cat while her brother is away is not getting lost in the shuffle of the move.  We've gotten to enjoy all sorts of fun stuff so far, the water park, the beach, movie night. What are you celebrating this week?

Celebrate the Small Things is hosted by  Lexa Cain  along with wonderful co- hosts  Writing Off The Edge  and  The Cyborg Mom . I have a big celebration this week, my baby turns six!  It's so hard to believe that she has grown up so fast.  :(  It seems like just yesterday she was a tiny baby and now she's getting ready to graduate senior kindergarten. Check out what everyone else is celebrating today:

Celebrate the Small Things is hosted by  Lexa Cain  along with wonderful co- hosts  Writing Off The Edge  and  The Cyborg Mom . This week a had a few small things crop up to celebrate, Ace had a trip to the orthodontist and he isn't going to need the expander that thought he would need at his last visit. (huge relief) Also had an old friend get in touch that I haven't spoken to in a very long time which is always lovely. Finally, I am vaguely starting to feel less like I am going to die when I am running.  It's only the smallest improvement but I can feel.  It makes me happy because after today's run the next one get really hard. This post is part of a blog hop, please swing by and check out what everyone else has had to celebrate this week,  Have a great weekend everyone.

Celebrate the Small Things is hosted by  Lexa Cain  along with wonderful co- hosts  Writing Off The Edge  and  The Cyborg Mom . Wow, I haven't been here in ages!  Seems like with all the sick and life in general I haven't felt like there was much to celebrate but you know I have found it this week.  The kids and I made a lasagna for the first time on Wednesday afternoon and it was fantastic!  Ace ate half a pan of it.  The joys of having a pre-teen boy in the house. I started 5k training this week as well, it's my goal to be able to run a 5k by the end of the summer.  If you are laughing now then that means you know me.  But I am serious about this, once the A to Z Challenge is over I am going to start keeping you guys posted about how it is going.  I assure you so far it's been pretty hilarious.   Lot's of fun and exciting stuff coming up though so keep an eye on this spot.  I am back in full force.  This...

Even with the kids being a little older I still worry about them and the electrical outlets.  Heck, sometimes I worry about me and the electrical outlets.  Especially the one in the bathroom near the sink.  Some days I think that one was but there for the soul purpose of taking years off of my life. Take a look at this cover plate though, called the  Cover Plug  it sits over the outlet completely and pretty much just blends into the wall. I wish these had been around when my babies were tiny, tiny.  We used those old fashioned round things.  I could ever get them back out of the outlet to use it but Ace sure had no problem.  With this he would never even have been tempted. Want to try them out for yourself?  Enter below. a Rafflecopter giveaway I received this product in exchange for an honest review.

There is nothing that stresses me more than the fact that Ace is having trouble in school.  He's such a bright kid and the frustration that he has with certain aspects of stuff he's expected to do at school is turning our lives into a nightmare. The Learning Success Program is a simple do-at home program that will show you how to find core problems and overcome them.  Learning is made up of basic core skills.  There are sixteen of them in all.  Typical learning difficulties are small weaknesses in a combination of two or three of these skills.   The Learning Success program offers a variety of activities building in complexity designed to help children improve their learning skills.  So far the only improvement I have seen in Ace is his focus but that's a huge start because at least he is focusing. I look forward to seeing where the activities go over time. I received this product in exchange for an honest review. a Rafflecopter giveaway

You may or may not know this but I love my e-readers with a great passion.  They are not books and they will never be books but they hold a very large space in my heart because they are quite portable and they can hold so much information in such a small space. My children, especially Cat, do not feel the same way.  She loves the feeling of a book in her hands to poke at and turn the pages.  To flip back and forwards.  It has to be a pretty interesting story or have great art or something to catch her attention and hold it all the way through in an e-book and this one didn't make the cut. That being said, it is a well done, simple book for beginning readers.  It was right at her level and she only needed help with one or two words of what she went through. I loved the activities and the word list because I am big on reinforcing what they have learned in what we just read and it's easier when the book lays it out for me.  ;) I received a copy o...

My family got chosen to be one of the families to get to a Hasbro Family Game Night Vox Box from  Influenster Canada .  The kids were so excited when I told them, hardly any of the stuff I get to try out is aimed at the kids.  The odd book maybe but this was specifically for them and a fun thing too. Does this not look like the most fun game for a little kid?  Cat was super excited that there was a cat piece to play.  She has claimed it for every game we will play EVER.  Ace has claimed the dog.  I honestly hope any friends they have over that want to play are okay with that. A little background information for you: we are board game crazy in our house, we own six copies of Monopoly alone.  (I know that's actually not all that many but my mom thinks it is)  And I am the mom that gives board games for presents for birthday parties whenever possible.  Family time is the best time and my kids love to compete with each other. ...