Category: parenting

May 8, 2015

The Motherhood Journey: Support, Guidance, Love and Trust #TheMotherhood

Motherhood: the state of being a Mother, maternity, the qualities or spirit of a Mother, Mothers collectively. As an adjective: having or related to an inherent worthiness, justness, or goodness that is obvious.

The day my first son came into this world was the most incredible moment of my life. Hearing his cry, counting his fingers and toes, cuddling him close to my chest were moments of absolute bliss. The moment I first held him against my chest, was probably the closest any one person can get to heaven on Earth. Those feelings were revived when I gave birth to my second son almost seven years later. It is a moment of absolute perfectness that is so hard to describe.

Those moments also marked my first steps into the journey of motherhood. It wasn’t long after I gave birth that I realized becoming a Mother wasn’t a role that I had to nor one that I should face alone. The saying, it takes a village to raise a child, becomes clear after you become a parent. Mothers need to form a group of people around them to guide, support, love and give them much-needed adult time.

So who helps me with my motherhood?

My Motherhood group consists of a large group of women that includes my Mom, sister, Aunts, colleagues and my neighbour. Each one of these incredible individuals has helped me in so many ways grow as a Mother and be the best Mother that I can be for my boys. I turn to them when I am lost, when I need advice and for a shoulder to cry on.

My sister has always been there for me night and day. When I am scared or stressed, I know that I can message her at any time and she is always there to answer me (even at three in the morning!). She is my sound advice and shoulder to vent on. She is the first person I share all my news with, especially about my boys, my career and my goals. I am grateful to have her in my life.

Those ladies right there – they are my biggest supports in life and motherhood. They are so much more to me than my colleagues. With just one look, they know how I am feeling, if I need a hug or just a moment to breathe. When our youngest started daycare, all I wanted to do was cry everyday after the drop off. They are the ones to give me a hug, make me laugh and remind me of their own experiences with their children. You know those crazy questions you have about parenting? The ones that you think no one will be able to answer? These ladies are the ones I go to for help, they help me without judgement and even manage to make me laugh about the situation. No matter what they always help me see the goodness in every situation.

These incredible individuals help make up my ‘motherhood’. This Mother’s Day, Campbell’s hopes you take a moment to reflect on those people in your life who help us on our Motherhood journey, they don’t have to be a Mother but are those people in our lives who help make us better for our children. Take the time out this week to thank them for all that they do.

Who helps you on your journey of Motherhood?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post from Campbell’s Canada. All opinions and reflections are my own.

April 28, 2015

Five Easy Tips to Encourage Your Child to Contribute to Their RESP

Saving for your child’s post secondary education can be daunting – not only for yourself but for your child as well. They are at an age where they may not yet understand personal finances and the financial obligation that goes along with attending post-secondary institutions. Personally, I did not understand the OSAP loans I signed off on at that time, and I wish I had paid more attention – or at the very least had a second check – to make sure I wasn’t making a mistake.

Saving is an essential part of life, and the earlier our children learn how to do it, the better it will be for them in the long run. Helping your child understand the importance of saving for their own education will not only give them pride in their accomplishment, but foster sound financial skills later in life. It will also encourage them to take control of their education, as they have more at stake when contributing their own finances.

An RESP is a helpful tool used by parents (or grandparents) to help finance higher education for their child. Opening an account is pretty straightforward, and involves contacting an RESP company (such as Heritage Education Funds) to set up an account. Once the account is open, growing the account is all up to you and your child!

Encouraging your child to contribute their own earned money towards their education is important, but may seem like a daunting task at the time, as your child has other priorities. Here are some helpful tips I have learned along the way to encourage your child to save towards their education in an RESP:

1. Take the first step in encouraging financial independence by setting up a bank account for your child. Both of my children have their own bank accounts, bank books and debit cards (the cards are mainly used for deposits and not purchases at this time) and this was a major stepping stone for them. I want them to understand finances, how money works and how quickly it can depart! Children need to appreciate the value of a dollar, as this will better help them appreciate the cost of their education.

2. Encourage your child to be part of the monthly family budget. An important part of attending a higher education institute is dealing with the extras: utilities, rent and groceries. This is one of the areas I lacked knowledge of when I went off to university. Since a portion of my RESP’s went to financing my room and utilities, I needed to understand how they worked and how to budget for these costs, but I had no clue. So of course I overspent in these areas and my budget never balanced.

3. Start up an allowance system for your child. Having a bi-weekly allowance for your child is important, regardless of their age. This allows your child to allocate their money for wants, needs and savings. Our boys put their savings into their RESPs at the end of the month. It’s important to let them view their statements, so they can see their education fund increase month to month. If there’s an online option, allow your child to view it monthly, so they learn to appreciate growth over time.

4. Once your child reaches the working stage, encourage them to contribute money to their RESP. This will probably be the hardest thing to do, but it is so important for them to save rather than splurge all that hard-earned money on clothes, movies or food. This is where all previous education on budgets, utilities and being involved in the family budget will pay off. Your child will have a greater appreciation for their pay cheque and will spend it wisely.

5. Have your child create their own post-secondary education budget. Sit down with them and help them figure out tuition, supplementary fees, textbook fees, rent and utilities (if they are moving away for school). Use this as a tool to figure out how much money should be contributed monthly into their RESP. This is an area I wish I had concentrated on more before I made my educational choices. I was never involved in the family budget prior to living on my own, so I had unrealistic expectations of the costs, which forced me to rely on loans.

Teaching our children how to save for their post-secondary education is an essential lesson that will help them later on in life as they leave our homes to start their own home.

To help you on this journey, you can now enter to WIN a $50 gift card from Tim Hortons sponsored by Heritage Education Funds. Contest is open to Canadian residents only and ends on May 17th, 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How do you help encourage your child or teen to save towards their RESP and post-secondary education? Are they currently contributing to their own plan?

Make sure to follow Heritage Education Funds on Facebook and Twitter to keep up-to-date with news and advice for planning for your child’s educational future.

Disclosure: I am a Heritage Mom and receive perks associated with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 15, 2015

But It Was Just a Little White Lie? #StreamTeam

“You better be good or Santa won’t come visit you”.

“If you tell a lie, your nose will grow just like Pinocchio”.

“Mommy can see out of the back of her head, so watch out!”.

We all tell lies. Sometimes they are little ones to avoid hurting someone’s feeling, others keep the magic of holidays going for their childhood and other times they are major lies that hurt everyone involved.

While it may seem like we foster a culture of lying to protect those around us, I want my children to understand that a lie hurts, no matter how good their intentions might be. I also want my children to understand that they should come to me with anything that they did. I have always encouraged and told my children, while I may be upset at the situation I will never be upset with them. Lying will only make things worse.

One of my favourite movies of all time, Mean Girls, is the perfect example of how those little lies can spin out of control. What starts out as a little bit of a fun game quickly turns into cruel and unintentional (at times) lies and actions that hurt everyone involved. This is an important lesson for children, teens and adults! What may start out as a small lie can quickly turn around to damage your reputation and more importantly the trust others have in you.

Another great flick you can catch on Netflix this month, Just Go With It starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston.

Oh Adam! In this film he is just full of nonsense (but oh so funny!!) – talk about a serial liar! But it has an ending that will make your heart warm inside.

iCarly is a huge hit in our house (although I am beginning to wonder if my boys just like the two main actresses!). This series is full of moral lessons for your children that comes across in a fun and light tone.

How do you teach your children about lying and the consequences that come along with this?

Disclosure: I am a #StreamTeam member and receive special perks associated with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 10, 2015

The Journey to Pregnancy: Patience, Forgiveness and a Little Bit of Science with #TheStork Conception Aid

As many of you may know I am the Mother to two beautiful young boys. I have also suffered with PCOS, survived four miscarriages and seven years of failing to conceive. This has never been an easy topic for me to discuss because of all the pain and frustration that goes along with miscarriage and failing to conceive. But the truth is, we are not alone. 1 in 5 couples will have difficulties conceiving. Many of my female readers reading this post will have lived through a miscarriage or infertility. We can each take a positive step at this very moment with patience and forgiveness. The Stork wants to help take care of the science part (because let’s face it if you have been dealing with fertility issues you understand that becoming pregnant comes down to science) with their home conception aid.

My journey started over eight years ago after the birth of my first son. I have always loved children and wanted a large family but this was not meant for me as we soon found out after I miscarried three times in one year. The pain of these miscarriages was awful and haunted me for months afterwards. I kept thinking what would my child have been like? Following these miscarriages came the worst six years of my life. I could not conceive at all. I was barely having monthly menstrual cycles. I saw an endocrinologist, a gynecologist, a homeopath and finally a fertility clinic. I put myself through rounds of vitamins and medications that made me so sick I couldn’t leave the house at times. I also knew that I could not afford the fertility treatments that I wanted so badly. That hurt even more.

Here are some tools to help you on your journey to pregnancy and parenthood:

Be Patient.

Pregnancy does not just happen right away so be kind to yourself and be patient. These little miracles can take time to happen. Some couples can even take up to a year to conceive!

Be Forgiving.

Do not be hard on yourself. It is not your fault that becoming pregnant is not happening right away. Don’t blame yourself or your partner. Learn to be kind to yourself.

Try to focus on the positive.

While it can seem impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it will come. In the meantime focus on the positives in your life. Focus on de-stressing, eating right and getting enough exercise. Take time out for you even if it means reading a book in the bath! These little things help.

Speak With Your Doctor

Take the first steps to talk with your doctor. They may want to order blood work to rule out any causes for infertility. They may order other tests but it is always a good idea to keep your family health care team informed of your concerns and what is going on with your health.

Try a Home Based Conception Aid

The Stork has invented a safe and private way to help couples conceive at home. Dealing with fertility treatments can be personal and most of the time we crave our privacy (I was one of those individuals – it hurt to sit in the waiting room at the fertility clinics and it hurt to see others in the middle of their pregnancies). I was hurting and wanted to be able to take control of the situation more.

So how does the Stork Home Conception Aid work?

The Stork home conception aid uses a cervical cap insemination method. The Stork uses a condom like sheath that collects the sperm and a tampon like applicator to deliver the sperm close to the cervical opening. This helps to increase the chance of pregnancy (the success rate of this method is 20% which is comparable to the 16-21% success rates of IUIs). The Stork home conception kit is drug free, safe and a cost efficient first step on your pregnancy journey. The Stork provides a first step in fertility treatment for couples that are experiencing low sperm count, sperm mobility issues, unfavourable vaginal environments and ovulation timing.

Here is how it works:

The best part:

The Stork and Working Mommy Journal want to give you the chance to win your own Stork home conception aid!

Canadian residents can enter via the rafflecopter form below – good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you are looking for more chances to win check out Influence Central’s The Stork Social Engagement Contest (with a grand prize of a $500 Visa gift card!!). You can enter here.

Disclosure: I am part of The Stork at-home conception aid campaign with Influence Central and I receive special parks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

March 31, 2015

Maximize Your Tax Return By Investing In Your Child’s Future With a Registered Education Savings Plan

As we find ourselves near the end of the tax season (and if you haven’t yet filed your taxes make sure you get on it now to avoid unnecessary late penalty fees!) you may have noticed a slight increase in your return.

Why are families seeing more on their return this year?

The Canadian government has recognized the growing costs of raising a family and has implemented new changes as well as credits to assist families. These changes include:

New Family tax cut – families can claim a credit up to $2,000.
Increased children’s fitness tax credit – this is a huge bonus for many families, as the amount eligible to claim is up to $1,000! This has helped out many families that I know personally as sports fees are not cheap at all. Our soccer fees alone this year for one child were $565 without even factoring in exhibition games, rental fees and more.
An increase in the amount eligible to claim for child care expenses. For a child up to the age of seven, the amount has increased to $8,000. A child aged seven to sixteen can have child care expenses claimed up to the amount of $5,000.
Universal Child Care Benefit increases! A monthly increase to $160 for children up to the age of six. Children six to sixteen receive $60 a month. This increase won’t be seen until July but it’s definitely something to look forward to in the next couple of months.

Talk about an exciting time for parents and families! With the rising costs of living and raising a family, these tax credits come in handy during the tax season in order to get the most out of your tax return.

While it is always exciting to receive a return perhaps instead of splurging (which I used to do all the time pre-kids not even going to lie about that one and it is still tempting now), why not instead maximize your return and invest in an RESP for your child?

What is an RESP?

A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is a savings plan account used to save money to finance a child’s higher education.

A post-secondary education in Canada is expensive, but well worth it to help our child get where they want and need to go. In my first year of university, tuition was roughly $5,000 (not including supplementary fees) and my books costs me well over $1,000. This did not even include the smaller things that I needed (computer, paper or even groceries!). My experiences at university have shaped how I have approached saving for the future education of my own children. An RESP was the first account I opened for my boys after giving birth. I do not want them to have to live with the same financial constraints I had to while away at university.

Saving in a RESP Made Simple

Your first step is to register an RESP for your child, which can be as simple as making a phone call to a reputable RESP company, such as Heritage Education Funds. After you have chosen the right account for you and your child, the next thing to do is start saving!

Look for different ways to save:

Contribute to the account monthly with an amount that you feel comfortable with. When we first opened up the accounts, we could only contribute $25 a month. As our finances changed, so did our contributions.
Consider using the Universal Child Care benefit to pay into your RESP.
Use your tax return to deposit into your child’s account.
Take advantage of the government grants that are available to you – this is extra money for your child!

I still remember when I took this picture and time has flown by so fast since then. Soon enough, that will be a real car in the picture and perhaps they will be heading off to school! *tears* The best gift I can give them is their RESP’s to help further themselves once they leave our home.

How do you invest your tax return? How important is an RESP to your family?

Disclosure: I am a Heritage Mom. All opinions expressed are my own.