Shandean Reid's Blog, page 8

20+ Date Ideas for the Holidays (Blogmas Day 9)

Depending on where you live, date ideas for the holidays can be hard to come by. However, dates can literally be anything so long as they enable you to spend quality time with your partner and foster friendship and bonding. Hubby and I finally got some kid-free alone time recently and I went on the hunt for some date ideas for the holidays. Here’s what I came up with.

You can do pretty much anything on a date. What you do outdoors depends on where you live.

Christmas or Craft Markets...

5 Ways to Stay Marketable as a Stay at Home Mom

You might want to stay marketable as a stay-at-home mom if you decided to focus on your kids for a time while they are young, but intend to go back to working in your career field after the kids get to a certain age. It’s not uncommon for stay-at-home moms to even want to go back to work at that point, even if they didn’t know they would want to. That’s only a few off the top of my head. Obviously, there is a myriad of reasons a woman may choose to re-enter the workforce.

As much as we w...

Drive-by Christmas Lights Viewing (Blogmas Day 7)

A couple of days ago, an acquaintance invited my husband and me to go look at the Christmas lights. Though I had no idea what that meant, I was excited to get out of the house and go see something that I had never seen before. So, off we went into this late evening adventure. During the ride, our acquaintance explained that these lights we were invited to go look at were people’s houses that were decorated quite elaborately for the holidays. Apparently, it was a tradition for people to go look ...

How to Apply for a Canadian Study Visa in 2022

Between family life, my spouse’s profession, I’ve been a stay-at-home mom/wife for the past five years. Sure, I’ve occupied myself substantially during that time, but for all intents and purposes, my husband and I agreed that while he was in residency and our child was an infant, I would be her primary caregiver and support our family through this period in his career. When opportunities came up, if they didn’t allow me to carry out my functions at home, they were rejected.

So for five years...

Netflix Christmas Movies: My Cheesy Favourites (Blogmas Day 5)

I thought I would share my favourite Cheesy Netflix Christmas movies. Last year during Blogmas, I shared some classic Christmas movies the family might enjoy. This time I’m sharing some of my favourite corny, romantic holiday picks from Netflix. Now is the time to admit it does not need to be Christmas for me to watch Christmas movies.

I love small-town shows and movies. Most are corner than a two-acre maize plot, but they have a feel of home which gets me every time. You might wonder w...

Mom Guilt: Handling It in Real-Time

Mom guilt. I’ve experienced more of it in the past weeks than I have in the last five years, and believe me, I’ve experienced it plenty. It’s ugly, messy, inconvenient and real. I’ve learned though that it’s a normal part of motherhood. It shows up when I see her quietly playing on her own, thinking she deserves to have a sibling and she shouldn’t have to be lonely. It shows up in her display of emotions when family members visit and have to leave. It shows up when she excitedly wants to show m...

Mom Guilt: Handling It in Real-Time (Blogmas Day 4)

Mom guilt. I’ve experienced more of it in the past weeks than I have in the last five years, and believe me, I’ve experienced it plenty. It’s ugly, messy, inconvenient and real. I’ve learned though that it’s a normal part of motherhood. It shows up when I see her quietly playing on her own, thinking she deserves to have a sibling and she shouldn’t have to be lonely. It shows up in her display of emotions when family members visit and have to leave. It shows up when she excitedly wants to show m...

Mom Guilt: Handling It in Real-Time (Blogmas Day4)

Mom guilt. I’ve experienced more of it in the past weeks than I have in the last five years, and believe me, I’ve experienced it plenty. It’s ugly, messy, inconvenient and real. I’ve learned though that it’s a normal part of motherhood. It shows up when I see her quietly playing on her own, thinking she deserves to have a sibling and she shouldn’t have to be lonely. It shows up in her display of emotions when family members visit and have to leave. It shows up when she excitedly wants to show m...

My Christmas Wishlist 2021 (Blogmas Day 3)

I’ve never had a Christmas wishlist before. As a matter of fact, I’ve never made any gift wishlist before. Even after ten years together, my husband just might think this blog post is a gift to him in itself. It’s certainly a leap from the forever “I don’t know” he gets when trying to figure our birthday, anniversary and Christmas gifts. You know, that complete blank you get when someone asks what you want for gifts? No? Just me? Ok.

Anyway, I’ve decided to put all the tangible things I fanc...

DoubleTree by Hilton, Toronto Review (Blogmas Day 2)

My husband and I stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Toronto (Chestnut St.) for a few days in November. I’d been looking for a hotel in Downtown, Toronto that I feel safe (and clean) staying at. I landed on DoubleTree.

The hotel is about a 20-minute drive from Pearson International Airport. If you book this hotel beware you’ll pass by another DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. Note that both hotels have the exact same name. The Chestnut Avenue one, however, is the one that is Downtown and the one ...