ECHOage's Blog (13)

Our First Big Fight

I knew it was coming. My daughter who has just turned 11 can get very feisty when she is tired. That is just one piece of the bad news; the other bad news is that she is already a master at arguing. With two lawyers for grandfathers and her new found interest in debating at school - defending her point comes very easily to her…a little too easily. On the one hand I am proud of her for being so good at something that will probably serve her well in years to come, on the other hand, I don’t want t… Continue

Added by ECHOage on November 10, 2009 at 10:05am — No Comments

H1N1 Mom

What is a mom/wife to do? Late last week my husband took himself to bed and he still hasn’t budged. Actually he budged once - after 3 days in bed, he took a turn for the worse and his chest was feeling tight so we took him to the Ermergency dept. to get him checked out. His lungs are clear so they sent him home. Here is my dilemma: What is a good mom to do? We have more or less quarantined dad/husband to his own bedroom and bathroom. My kids and I are well and operating as usual (with very clean… Continue

Added by ECHOage on October 28, 2009 at 8:07pm — No Comments

Doggy Diaries

Having just celebrated our family dog’s second birthday, I find myself reflecting about whether I like being a dog owner or not. I will be the first to admit, I am not really a dog person. I had to be talked into the dog by my husband and our two children. We have a very good (most of the time), very affectionate, cute dog, and of course there is no negative to the affect a dog can have on kids. From time to time, I get asked by other busy parents whether or not they should get a dog. My gut rea… Continue

Added by ECHOage on October 18, 2009 at 5:54am — No Comments

Making Grandparents Work

I am one of those people is lucky enough to spend a big lump summer up at the cottage with my kids. Our cottage is on an island and is only accessible by boat. The island is windswept (Canadians; think Tom Thompson) and very exposed to all the elements. The cottage itself is, well there is only one word for it, simple. The best way to describe it is a shack with no hydro, no phone (no computers) - that is our family’s idea of paradise. For my in-laws, however, this is a whole summer without the… Continue

Added by ECHOage on September 24, 2009 at 10:17am — No Comments

My 41 Year Old Body

Is it just me or is my 41-year-old body giving out on me? Last year, I was an athletic rock star, I won a tennis tournament, I ran a half marathon - I felt great as if I could do anything. This summer I was plagued with plantar fasciitis, stiff neck, sore lower back, and sore hips, to name a few. With every drip of sweat an injury followed. First I must deal w/ my feet. Plantar fasciitis is killing me. Every morning I wake up and it feels like there are steel posts shooting up the heels of my f… Continue

Added by ECHOage on September 9, 2009 at 9:59am — No Comments

Happy Campers

This was the summer for our kids to go to camp. Our daughter (10) was gung-ho, she had been asking since last summer if she could go for two weeks to overnight camp in Quebec where she could practice her French while paddling a canoe and swimming in the water. Our son (8) on the other hand, was an emotional roller coaster on the subject of summer camp. Initially he was all for it. He watched the DVD sent by the camp, filled with fun activity including canoeing, archery and skeet shooting - he wa… Continue

Added by ECHOage on August 12, 2009 at 5:11pm — No Comments

Swim Team Blues

Swim Team Blues I have a daughter who is a good swimmer. She has always loved swimming, her strokes are beautiful and she never tires of spending time in the water. So when she was finally the right age to try out for the swim team – I just knew she would make it, and of course… I told her so. Try out day came, I didn’t make a big deal about it mostly because I didn’t want to make her more nervous and also because I just knew she would make it. Three days later they posted the team…needless to… Continue

Added by ECHOage on July 2, 2009 at 11:54am — No Comments

When Less is More

Today I had the joy of chatting with a lovely woman in the dog park. She is the mother of three adult girls, she teaches pilates and she and her husband met while they were working as performers with Cirque de Soliel. She really gave me hope about parenting. She had a sparkle in her eyes every time she spoke about one of her daughters. Not because they were out there working in high profile jobs, or getting top marks in university, but because they were happy, making their own choices and having… Continue

Added by ECHOage on May 29, 2009 at 10:27am — 1 Comment

I gave in to the Twilight madness

Twilight When my 10 year old daughter told me she wanted to read Twilight I have to admit I was taken aback. Wasn’t it too old for her? The last thing I want to do is censor a kid who wants to read, but I wasn’t quite ready for teen sex and all that goes with it. When I asked a few moms, the responses were varied. Some moms rejected the idea altogether, while others could not see the harm in her reading Okay, okay - I admit it - I am reading it. I am 40 years old, a university graduate who ha… Continue

Added by ECHOage on May 14, 2009 at 10:27am — No Comments

dogs dogs dogs

Who of you have dogs? We have a mini goldiepoo named Alice who is creeping up on the 2 year mark. Here is the good: -she is house trained -she gets me out of the house walking and excercising (she'll even jog with me) -the kids love her and they are taking on the responsibility of walking her more -she is cute Here is the bad: - she likes to eat things that are very gross (think bathroom garbages) -she seems to mop up the streets and bring it onto my floors -I suffer doggy guilt if I have to le… Continue

Added by ECHOage on April 2, 2009 at 8:25am — 1 Comment

Observing Lent

For the first time in my 40 year life, I have decided to observe Lent. It really isn't for religious reasons (I'm not religious), I decided to do it because I am inspired by a lovely friend who does it every year and I thought I needed to prove to myself that I do indeed still have something called will power. I gave up sweets and I am well over half way there! Last week my husband gave me an article called "Lenten Reflections" and the writer spoke of Lent as a time to get rid of what weighs us… Continue

Added by ECHOage on March 30, 2009 at 7:14am — No Comments

The Upside of the Down Economy

Last week I called my brother out of the blue and asked him what he was doing and did he have time for me to come over for a coffee. He'd been on holiday and I felt like catching up. I stayed for an hour - we never run out of things to talk about, and when I left I felt blessed to be so close to my brother (physically- he lives just 5 blocks away and emotionally). On the flip side I often hear of people doing anything to avoid spending time with their family. I have a friend who pre-planned a Me… Continue

Added by ECHOage on March 5, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

ECHOage.com Forum

We would like to invite Green Bloggers to post on our forum at www.echoage.com Please post any of your green ideas for mommies and promote your blog in the process... Debbie (ECHOage.com Co-Founder) Continue

Added by ECHOage on November 25, 2008 at 9:17pm — No Comments