HRM Parent Blog

Happy long weekend! The weather report is looking promising so enjoy and have fun! 1. There's no better way to get the family moving on Victoria Day weekend in Halifax than to participate in the 9th annual Scotiabank Bluenose Marathon. There are events and races all weekend including the Doctors NS youth run on Saturday! This is the largest children's race in Canada. If you don't have any little runners participating, find a spot along the route and help cheer these kids on. It's a long route and your encouragement will mean a lot! 2. The Museum of Natural History is hosting Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television which features more than 40 costumes and related objects from science fiction films and television programs such as; Star Wars, Blade Runner, Terminator, Star Trek, Batman and more. The grand opening is this weekend! 3. Could it be? Merlin Macaw is turning 10? Head to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and help say Happy Birthday to our fine, feathered friend! Families can make Paper Bag Parrots, Paper Roll Parrots and create their own Merlin Macaw colouring sheets from 1:00 to 3:00 in the Small Craft Gallery. At 3:00, Merlin will have his afternoon bath before he gets his presents and there will also be cake! 4. This beautiful weather is perfect for a road trip! Spring is here and the sheep at Ross Farm Museum have had their lambs and are ready for their annual shearing. At Woolly Weekend there will be demonstrations in sheep shearing, washing & spinning wool. 5. For the first time in its 24 year history, the Canadian Chess Challenge is coming to Nova Scotia. This prestigious national chess competition brings together the Twelve Grade Champions from each of Canada’s ten provinces to compete in matches that will be held at St. Mary's University!

On June 6th of this year, a very rare event will occur in our skies at sunset: the planet Venus will meander through its orbit along a path that takes it between the Sun and the Earth, making it visible during the day as a dark spot on the bright disc of the Sun. This isn't an eclipse (scheduled by the way for May 20th); this is something very rare, and a bit different - a transit.

Planets all orbit around the Sun at different rates, so every now and then, they line up. When the Moon crosses between us and the Sun, it blocks it out briefly, but planets are farther away and much smaller, so they appear as little dark spots crossing the bright disk. From our perspective, Venus transits the Sun twice (in two events eight years apart) every hundred or so years. The last one was in 2004, and the next two will be in December of 2117 and 2125, respectively. Hopefully that gives you a sense of how rare this is!

We cannot, of course, look directly at the Sun. Building a Solar viewer is very easy though - you only need two pieces of stiff poster board (or similar), some aluminum foil and a pin. By covering one piece of board with aluminum foil and poking a pinhole in it, the image of the Sun can be shone on the second piece. Simply place your pinhole board between the plain board and the Sun, and you can focus an image by moving the pinhole board closer and farther from the projection surface (plain board).

It is also possible to use binoculars or a telescope to project an image onto a page or piece of board, but these need to be covered or aimed away from the Sun frequently (at least every minute or so) to avoid damaging their lenses (from overheating!). Never look directly at the Sun without specially-made Sun viewing filters, especially through binoculars, a telescope or a camera.

If you're looking for another rare opportunity you've got to check out the Discovery Centre's upcoming new exhibit - Be the Dinosaur. This exhibit, the first time in Canada, will give you the opportunity to become a T-Rex or Triceratops through a sophisticated but super-cool video simulation that puts you right in the middle of a dinosaur world. Rare indeed!

For more great things to discover - visit the Discovery Centre on Barrington Street in Halifax, check out their website  or join them on facebook. 

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lbs ground turkey or beef

1 egg beaten

½ cup rolled oats

½ cup bread crumbs

1 small onion diced

3 tbsp ketchup

¼ tsp dry mustard

salt and pepper

Cooking spray

4-5 potatoes

¼ cup milk or cream

Butter

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In a large bowl, combine turkey, egg, rolled oats, bread crumbs, diced onion, ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper.  Mix until combined.

3. Lightly grease muffin pans with spray or butter

4. Fill muffin cups with turkey mixture and press slightly to flatten

5.  Bake for approx. 20-25 mins or until brown and slightly shrunken on the sides

6. While turkey is cooking, peel, chop and boil potatoes in lightly salted water until tender

7.  Drain potatoes and add milk and 1-2 tbps of butter.  Mash until well blended and smooth.

8.  To prepare the cupcake place the turkey muffin on a plate and top with a scoop of mashed potato

9. Use your imagination for the “sprinkles” on top: chopped chives, grated cheese, coarse black pepper, shredded carrots…we used Roasted Maple Flax Seeds from Omega Crunch (a great local company)– so yummy!

Our kids giggled their way through eating these – hope it makes your dinner a little less stressful too! 

In just a couple of years since it was introduced by the federal government, the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) has become a very popular personal savings vehicle. And with good reason: Who doesn't like the idea of tax-free savings growth? In fact, the TFSA has been called the most important savings option since the 1950's launch of Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs). If you haven't already hopped on board the TFSA savings wagon, you may be asking yourself these questions: Is a TFSA really that good? Should I have one? Will it work for me? Good questions - here are the answers.

How a TFSA works
Every Canadian over the age of 18 is eligible to save up to $5,000 a year in a TFSA and the investments held within the TFSA grows on a tax-free basis. TFSA withdrawals can be made at any time for any reason - and the withdrawn money is tax-free.

The value of the TFSA eligible investments is increased by making the most of all available contribution room. For example, you can contribute $5,000 a year plus the total of withdrawals made in the previous year. \And all the contribution room you don't use right away accumulates year after year so you can fill it any time you choose. It's important to know that contributions to investments held in a TFSA do not affect RRSP contribution room.

TFSAs provide investment flexibility. TFSA-eligible investments are the same as those available for investments held within RRSPs, including mutual funds and money market funds, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), publicly traded securities, and government and corporate bonds.

How a TFSA works for you
A TFSA is a worthwhile investment option for almost every income earning or retired Canadian because it works so well for both short- and long-term financial goals like these:

- Providing an immediate source of emergency funds.

- Saving for just about anything - from a new car or cottage to a dream vacation.

- Saving for the down payment on a new home or even starting a business.

- Reducing taxes on your non-registered investments.

- Adding to your retirement savings. By the way, TFSA withdrawals don't affect eligibility for such income-tested benefits as Old Age Security (OAS).

- Splitting income with your spouse to minimize taxes.

To explore these and the many other ways a TFSA can work for you, and to make sure you'll always get the most from all the elements in your financial plan, talk to your professional advisor.

Call us to find out more about how the team at Investors Group - Halifax can help you prosper now… and over time.  (902) 423-8294.  www.investorsgrouphalifax.com 

by guest blogger, Deanna Cogdon Miller

The alarm went off at 5:15am. I rolled out of bed, threw on my yoga pants, tiptoed down the hall and walked out the door. A quick drive-through for a coffee and within minutes I was walking through the grocery store filling my cart with everything we’d need for the coming days (remembering things like compost liners, the birthday present required for a party on the weekend, how close our ketchup bottle was getting to empty and the fact that our three year old had outgrown most of her socks). Although the store was relatively empty, I met up with two other women in the refrigerator section. As we all reached for children’s yogurt products, we started laughing about the ridiculousness of grocery shopping at such a crazy hour. As I jokingly asked them why we were there so early, one of the women looked at me with a big smile and said, “Because we’re Moms, that’s why.”

The dictionary defines “mother” as “the female parent”. Although there is no arguing with that statement, I can say with great certainty that you can ask any Mom out there what the word mother means and they will not answer with those three little words. That’s because a Mom is made up of a number of very important roles. Picture a chart with ‘Mom’ in the box at the top. Connecting to it are three more boxes that say Inventory Manager, Social Coordinator and Emotional Support. It doesn’t stop there – connecting to each of those are many more boxes that are in constant flux as you hit different ages and stages of life.

The 1/3 Inventory Manager has overall responsibility for everything going on the house. This tends to be things like children’s clothing (knowing what fits, what doesn’t, what needs to be packed away, what needs to be given back to people and when it’s time to move up a shoe size). This talent for inventory extends into the kitchen with an understanding of what’s needed, what’s running low and what is going to cause a major problem if it runs out. This same skillset is what enables Moms to hear questions like, “Where’s my little blue clip?” and provide answers like, ”I think I saw it inside the empty paper towel roll that is in the basement closet zipped into the big front pocket of the purple suitcase.”

The 1/3 Social Coordinator keeps the family calendar up to date and on track. This part of Mom tends to register kids for lessons, coordinate activity times, ensure all important kid things are attended and book babysitters when required. This is also the part that volunteers to make cakes for the spring fair, go door to door selling popcorn or cookies and solicits family and colleagues to buy tickets for fundraising events. Most of the time, this part of Mom is responsible for the planning and execution of children’s birthday parties. This includes, but is not limited to, finding venues, creating invitations, figuring out activities and of course, decorating cakes and stuffing loot bags until 1am. The Mommy Social Coordinator has the incredible ability to map the entire day out in her brain and pack everything required to make the day run smoothly (as well as a few extras in case of unforeseen circumstances).

The 1/3 Emotional Support does what Moms are best at – unconditional love. Everything from hugs, kisses, cuddles, attention and a listening ear whenever required.  This is the Mom part that goes to bat for their child, supports them in everything they do, helps fulfill their dreams, thinks about them constantly, lets them make mistakes and helps them learn from it when they do. This is also the Mom part that can stay strong and focused when helping their child through something and then retreats to a quiet corner and lets the tears flow when nobody is looking.

After our first was born I remember telling my Mom how I always knew that I was loved growing up but until I became a Mom, I didn’t understand the sheer magnitude of that love. How could I ever have predicted what it would feel like to watch my heart running around outside of my body on a daily basis? It’s indescribable and indefinable. A good friend of mine summed it up perfectly. “Define Mom? Impossible. Just like it’s impossible to define ‘ life’ and ‘love’.” Coincidence? I think not.

Deanna is a Mom of three, wife, marketer and blogger - lover of travel, morning coffee, family time, belly laughs, good friends and uninterrupted showers! Follow her on twitter @DeannaCMiller