Twice Upon a Time

Reading with the kids is something that is so important to me. For that, we need to have books around. We have lots of books because we're fortunate: we're able to buy them, but we also get a lot given to us. Not all families are as fortunate and I was happy to learn about a non-profit group in Ottawa that gives away books to kids. Twice Upon a Time have given away more than 1000 books since they opened in May. They have a pop-up book store, staffed with volunteers, to give out new and gently-used books for kids up to age 12 in Ottawa.  They are located in Vanier inside Heartwood House at 404 McArthur Avenue.

This weekend they are having a fundraiser, a concert of holiday music with Voices in Harmony. Full details below.

Sunday, December 7, 2014 at 4pm Trinity Anglican Church, 1230 Bank St Doors open at 3pm – join us for coffee and a holiday bake and craft sale

Tickets: $15 – children under 12 free Available at at the door and in advance from: Kaleidoscope Kids Books, 1018 Bank St Ottawa Folklore Centre, 1111 Bank St Trinity Anglican Church, 1230 Bank St

Sounds fun! And if your kids have outgrown any of their books, please consider donating them to Twice Upon a Time and share the love of reading with less fortunate children in Ottawa.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post. I think this is a great program and am glad we have it available for the kids of Ottawa.

Fundraising for Candlelighters: Supporting Children with Cancer

by Andrea As life gets busier with growing kids, getting together with your core group of friends becomes quite the challenge. But when you do manage to pull it off, and see the kids laughing and playing together while you share a glass or two of vino with your besties, you ask yourself and each other: Why don’t we do this more often?

We all feel that part of being a good parent is providing activities for the kids: sports, music, dance, and the list goes on. But then it begins to seem “quality time” with your kids is spent mostly in the car. And quality time with friends happens only on birthdays or holidays. So let’s add this to the New Year’s Resolution List: spend more time with friends and quality time with kids actually doing activities with them instead of always driving them to one.

This sentiment snapped into focus for me after I received an email from one of those friends (because that is the only way we catch up these days) that says her daughter - one of the special, wonderful, brilliant kids that I have seen grow up - has been diagnosed with Cancer. I am stopped in my tracks.

After taking time to absorb and re-absorb this news my mind springs into action: how can we help, what can we do – there must be something? There is nothing we can do about the Cancer and this is a hard pill to swallow – nothing to help this little 6 year-old except be there for her and her family that we hold so dear.

Ways we can help

We can raise money and awareness about some exceptional local organizations that help support families through this difficult period, organizations like Candlelighters and their Childhood Cancer Support Programs. Candlelighters puts a smile on the kids’ faces when they receive iPads and other support – and in this situation it means a lot to see a child smile.

We can give blood, because who knew that your little 6 year-old friend would need blood transfusions?

We can get together with friends, make time before or after activities, schedule in some parent and kid activities.

As small business owners we are in a position to hold such events, which we are doing Sunday November 16th 1:00-3:00 with all kinds of services: mini manicures, deluxe French braids, funky hair with temp colour, face painting, treats and more all for donations to Candlelighters.

We also organize events that can make it easy for you to spend time with your children or have your children spend time with friends (and maybe have that glass of vino next door).

Check us out (and like us) on our Facebook page  or email us at info@prettyhandsome.ca for more information.

Upcoming Events include: Frozen Spa Evening – Nov 14th 1st Birthday Celebration for Candlelighters – Nov 16th PD Day PJ Day at the Spa – Nov 21st Happy Hour Fridays – Book a Mani Pedi with your BFF between 3-6 and receive 50% off December Birthday Parties – Birthday Girl receives a deluxe up-do for free! And many more specials and events!

What does your community need?

Have you seen the #CBCStreetTalk team in your neighbourhood? Our local CBC Ottawa team has been busy visiting city wards to speak with residents about local issues (because unless you have your head buried in the sand, you'll know that we have upcoming municipal elections on October 27th!)

The question they're asking is: What would make your neighbourhood a better place to live?

This got me thinking about ways I would like to improve my own neighbourhood. Choosing where to live in a city is a tough decision - many middle class families can't afford the trendy and vibrant areas like Westboro, Hintonburg and the Glebe. And although I sometimes yearn to be closer to downtown, I do appreciate the big property and quiet that comes with suburban living.

But I want to have my cake and eat it too! How come I can't live in a trendy suburban neighbourhood? Most of us in the older part of Orleans are within walking distance to St. Joseph - but the walkability of our ward is dismal. Who wants to walk around places when you could break your ankle on a broken sidewalk or get run over by a speeding car?

Those complaints aside, I love my neighbourhood and I can't wait to see it flourish! So here's my wish list for Orleans, Ward 1:

•  A great local coffee shop within walking distance (bonus points if the coffee shop has a playroom for kiddies!)
• A redesigned "Main Street" (St. Joseph) - making it pedestrian and cyclist friendly
• More healthy, fabulous restaurants using local ingredients
• A revival of the Ottawa Farmer's Market, which seems to be dying a slow death in Orleans
• Ottawa River Action Plan for the health of our river and Petrie Island!
• More attention paid to the trail system in Queenswood Heights - the bridges which are being replaced have been chained off for over a year now. There was also a major landslide down there, and I'd love to hear how this will be cleaned up and future stability managed.
• Future LRT (check out this fascinating idea about demolishing the Queensway!)
• Promotion of cycling to downtown - I discovered this past year it only takes me 1 hour and 15 minutes to bike to work (if that seems crazy to you, it's also possible to bike partway and bus partway). We need more education around safe cycling, and campaigns to get more people on their bikes!

So tell me, how would you make your neighbourhood a better place to live?

Tysen's Mission to a Million

Every once in a while we hear about great kids doing great things. These are the inspiring stories of young entrepreneurs and activists, and can make us stand up and pay attention. But even rarer are the stories about super, awesome, AMAZING kids doing unbelievable things - the kind of things that make us both cry and laugh. That's how I felt when I started reading about Tysen's Mission. When Tysen was born he was diagnosed with Pieffers Syndrom Type 2, and had his first surgery at just nine days old.  Since then he has had more than 20 trips to the OR, at both CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) and Sick Kids in Toronto.  As Tysen's Mom wrote to me in an email:

"This has never stopped our little man from looking at life in a positive way and wanting to help others.  I know that every mom is proud of their children as they should, but I consider myself extra lucky to be blessed with an amazing kid who reminds us every day that we shouldn’t sweat the small stuff!"

In November of 2012 Make-A-Wish granted Tysen’s wish to meet Adam Sandler.  The trip was game changer for Tysen, and he still dreams of his special day with his man Adam!  When Tysen found out he was going to be granted a wish, he decided he wanted to ‘pay if forward’ and wanted to raise money for Make-a-Wish.  But instead of raising a few thousand dollars, Tysen decided that he wanted to raise 1 million dollars for Make-A-Wish Eastern Ontario - enough money to ensure that 100 other local children get their wish granted.

With help from Make-a-Wish, he  launched Tysen’s Mission to a Million, and has already raised over $190,000. You can follow him and the wishes he adopts on his Facebook page. His first anniversary for this mission is October 29th, and he hopes to reach $200,000 by then!

Want to help Tysen on his mission? Until November 1st, you can donate $5 via text. Simply text "Wish" to 45678, and help him reach 200k!

Community Cup 2014

It's hard to make connections in our community. We're busy people, with jobs (sometimes multiple jobs!), kids, pets, housework and financial worries. But building a community to support yourself and your family is a marvelous way to make friends and find others to lean on when times get tough. I've built my own community here in Ottawa in many different ways, and participating in groups and events has been instrumental in helping me find other like-minded parents to hang out with.

That's why I was excited to hear about the Community Cup, taking place this Saturday (June 28th) at Brewer Park.

The Community Cup is a not for profit, multicultural initiative that integrates volunteerism and sports. Initiated and hosted by the Catholic Centre for Immigrants in 2005, this volunteer driven, major event in Ottawa, is primarily a fun and engaging way to help newcomers and non-newcomers connect in a barrier free way that celebrates diversity and welcoming communities. The Community Cup is now an annual community festival, featuring soccer, multicultural dance and music, international food, a citizenship ceremony, events for the kids, and more.

In this day-long event, there will be:

• A 64 team co-ed recreational 7-on-7 Soccer Tournament with 4 divisions starting at age 7 and up.
• A Community Tent hosting 25 Ottawa-area non-profit and community service organizations
• Live Entertainment and Music with hints of Multicultural flavours
• Live streaming of the FIFA World Cup matches
• A Kids Zone for ages 14 and under providing non-stop activities, games, crafts, entertainment and a youth soccer challenge.
• Soccer Skills Challenge hosted by the Ottawa Fury and CKCU. Come meet the players!
• An Interactive Demonstration Sports area presented by various sports clubs/groups to learn and try out new sports and find out how to get involved. All abilities welcomed.
• A Canadian Citizenship Ceremony (1pm to 2pm). Witness and welcome newcomers to our great country.
• Experience delicious Local Food provided local vendors and food trucks.

And bonus? You can pop over to the Ottawa Farmer's Market for some fresh fruit and veg!!

Check out the website for more details, and comment below if you end up attending! Have fun!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=examfJRI5EE