Not A Normal Mommy blog
As promised, the second excerpt from the Spanish ex-pat files- Living Outside Your Comfort Zone. Click here for the first installment. Backstory We always planned to do a “gap” year in Spain but we wanted the kids to be big enough to remember some of the experience. But not too big. They still needed to be […]
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We have expectations. But we don’t have blind expectations. We understand the kids will stumble, fall, and disappoint as they navigate their way to adulthood and eventual independence. We also celebrate their individuality. Our only real hope is that when they venture out in the world – we’ve raised good humans.
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Last month, I turned 45! I’ve always embraced my age and love celebrating my birthday. Actually, I just love birthdays in general. It’s the one day of year when it’s truly your day when all things are about you. This last birthday came with some reflection now that I’m officially middle aged….cause yes, I’m hoping […]
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Want your child to swim like a fish and embrace the water? Step One: Ditch the water wings. 6 Reasons to Ditch the Wings: They can easily pop, deflate and/or slide off (sun lotion) – leaving your child at risk of drowning. Toddlers are able to pull them off within seconds, often without being noticed […]
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St. Valentine’s Day – the most romantic day of the year. A day for love and grand sweeping romantic gestures. Traditionally, little kids exchange cards with their classmates, and big kids send lollipops to their crushes. Enamoured adults purchase sappy cards, boxes of chocolates, and bouquets of roses, and splash out for romantic dinners. Couples get […]
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Savour the Moments My 9-year-old came to me in tears last weekend. Not the fickle kind of tears but the real ones. But life is hard ones that leak down your face uncontrollably and leave you exhausted. He wasn’t hurt and he wasn’t sick. He was scared. My heart may have stopped beating for a […]
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Revisiting Amsterdam (A’dam to the locals) with my children was a bit different from previous visits in my late teens and early twenties. This crazy liberal, bike and cheese loving mecca should be on everyone’s bucket list of travels. Even with its often bleak and gray weather, the Dutch Capital never disappoints and holds something […]
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1. The Idea of Home is Fluid. “Where are you from?” – Is no longer a simple question. As an ex-pat, the idea of home is multidimensional. 2. You Separate Friends by Time Zones. You have friends in all corners of the globe and have places to stay from Malaysia to Chile. The internet is […]
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Expat – short for expatriate. A person residing outside their country of citizenship. Third Culture Kids (TCKs) – children raised in a culture other than their parents during their formative years. Now that we got that out of the way. What does ex-pat really mean? You may have learned from my bio, that I’m Canadian as is […]
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