Meet my little friend Jacqueline and her big brother Billy. I love this moment I captured on film a while back because it screams delightfulness that only children can emit.

Jacqueline has a genetic tumor disorder called neurofibromatosis (also referred to as “NF”) where nerve tissue grows tumors for life and there is no cure. She has myopic glioma, tumors that grow inside the brain as well as an abnormal mass on her tongue and on the back of her head.

Imagine what it is like to be her family, dear friends of mine, who have to take her to several specialists each month.

Where would YOU go and who would YOU be if you followed the truth of your heart? Your choices determine your destiny.

I have always been a silver lining kind of girl, so I was not overly discouraged today when my nagging tendonitis kept me from racing in the Red Dress Run.  Like so many other volunteers, I woke up at 5AM this morning in order to arrive in Elizabeth Park by 6:15AM.  From 6:30 to 8:30, I had the great pleasure of working with two fine young people in their twenties.

My 5-year-old son recently had a little friend over. They found one of the sisters’ cootie catchers (yes, I provided a picture so you know what I’m talking about) and were having some fun with it. Eventually the friend picked “number 7” and my son opened it up and read the comment. It said “You will marry Justin Bieber”. Friend innocently replies “I can’t marry him because I’m a boy and he’s a boy”, to which my son responds “Of course boys can get married”.

Yesterday I came across a “philosophy” that is frequently attributed to Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip. I would like to share it with you because it is simple and profound. And it will make you feel good. I call it the Feel-Good Quiz.

What does it take to make your dream come true?

Last week I was in Holland, and my love for my country came back as soon as I swung myself in the saddle of my bike and rode along the little winding streets in the old part of Amsterdam. It brought back a lot of nostalgic memories.

In the downtown core where I work, the grocery stores are minimal to be kind. You can purchase milk, eggs, flour and processed cheese, that’s about it. On weekends we bring the kids grocery shopping at larger chains to take advantage of increased selections of produce. Keeping Ryan and Chloe in the grocery cart continues to be a challenge, we tend to bribe them with snacks in order to keep them sedentary and reasonably quiet. Today, ground turkey looks inticing. Chloe enjoys eating meat, any meat, especially burgers, the spicier the better.

For Mark’s birthday, we had a small BBQ featuring smoked meats, of course. This Thai Coleslaw was a great accompaniment, along with corn on the cob and a pesto pasta salad. The flavours come together nicely and the combination of sesame and peanut tastes make this salad different from conventional coleslaw. The freshly roasted peanuts add a good crunch. Even the most picky eaters asked for seconds, and thirds. Also, it’s good for picnics as there is no mayonnaise to spoil.

Summer is officially here, the kids are out of school and Mom is still meeting work commitments while trying to juggle some real quality time in with the kids to make the summer count.  Summer should be fun for the kids, but juggling so much fun into the schedule, making up for the extra groceries needed with the kids home all day not to mention extra phone calls at work during the day from kids who say "Mom, I'm bored" calls for a plan of action to make sure Mom doesn't get burned out and stays on track this summer to have a little fun herself.  Selfish?  I call it the Flexi

I Promise To . . .

As parents, one of our promises is to make sure that our kids can advocate for themselves and to stand tall when necessary.  Learning how to advocate takes practice, and the earlier our kids start practicing, the better. 

The Catch

For practice to make perfect, practice has to be meaningful.  It feels mighty risky for parents, but this means that you’ll need to invite your kids’ input on important issues. 

King of the castle