I came across the idea for making crayon drawings into iron-on crayon transfer designs several years ago. But it wasn’t until I was looking for some way (other than the promise of cupcakes) to get my young children excited about attending their older cousin’s baby shower that I realized how beautifully this quick craft might transform into a handmade gift.
Flu Season is almost upon us again, and although we’ve come a long way from the years when these types of illnesses could wipe out whole cities, the flu is still deadly serious. The CDC has estimated that between the 1976 and 2007 flu seasons, deaths attributed to flu ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people in the US. For most people in the first world, the flu is just a difficult week or two; for many, it’s literally deadly. Worldwide, according to CDC estimates, flu affects approximately one billion people per year: three to five million will be severely affected and between 250,000 to 500,000 will die.
Even after visiting many schools in Liberia for Right to Play, I wasn’t prepared for what I would see when I did a similar outing in Jamaica. Maybe because Africa is farther. Maybe I equate the Caribbean with vacations. You see photos of soft beaches, tropical drinks and killer sunsets and think everyone must live a resort lifestyle. Whatever the excuse, it’s embarrassing that I’ve been so blasé and undereducated.
It’s that time of year.
We’re all counting down the days until the holidays begin. I’ve always been a big fan of Advent calendars. I remember going to sleep at a little girl willing my eyes shut, despite the utter excitement of knowing I’d get to open a new door in the morning and Christmas, glorious Christmas, would be one day closer.
These hip baby gifts will not only make the kid look cool, but mom and dad will seem like rockstars who are oh so cool and collected. Even if they are not. Because, well… baby.
Stocking stuffers are so hard. They need to be small, yet inexpensive, and getting useless stuff is a waste. This year we think we’ve nailed it with these stocking stuffers for charity that give back.
When you have to go, you have to go. When you suffer from overactive bladder (OAB) or a urinary tract infection (UTI) when you have to go, you have to go, and go and go and go again some more. But how common are they, really?
In reality, both are quite common. 1 in 5 – the number of Canadians over the age of 35 who suffer from overactive bladder. 1 in 2 – the number of women who will experience a Urinary Tract Infection. The bottom line is that if you suffer from either of these conditions, you’re not alone.
Both conditions cause an urgency to urinate and an increase in the amount of times this urge is felt. When you have overactive bladder (or OAB), this can mean 8 trips a day and more than once a night. It can also mean difficulty holding back, which can lead to embarrassing accidents. People who struggle with OAB often make lifestyle changes to hide their condition and can internalize a lot of shame.
When I was a child, manners were drilled into me, and part of the teachings included what was appropriate to discuss in public. Money, politics, religion, and anything to do with bodily functions was taboo. Somehow my grandparents always seemed exempt from this rule, as bathroom talk was as much a part of mealtimes as overcooked roast beef, but I suppose it was ‘all in the family’ so reasonably acceptable.
I saw a teenage girl recently depriving herself of food, worried about how she looks and embarrassed to speak up and share her opinion to a group of other teens. This interaction caused me think about my own two daughters, ages 14 and 17, and reminded me of the importance of making sure they know they’re good enough.