All Articles on Survive Parenthood Magazine

This Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel Review is a re-post of a review from my old blog, but it’s worth a read if you’re heading to the Anaheim area. The year was 1978 and I was 7 years old. I had just flown (back when you could smoke on airplanes, I remember there was a haze the entire time!) from Saskatchewan …

There’s nothing I love more than a new hotel, and if given the choice I will always, always choose a new hotel over one that’s been there forever. This is especially true in Anaheim and for hotels near the Disneyland Resort. I have my favorites picked from staying in the area over the years, but if a new one pops up …

If you’re about to plan a road trip with your kids down the West Coast from Vancouver/Seattle to Los Angeles or, more specifically in my case, straight to Disneyland, you’re going to have to plan a few stops along the way. I’ve taken the I5 on our road trips for the most part – taking the exit to San Francisco …

I love me some solar lights. They light up the entire yard at night and I don’t have to string cords all over my yard to get them to work. After I spent $30 a single string of solar lights to hang in my tree (in my defense, they were stars and I love them), I decided it was time …

Bates Motel Movie Set I was running past the film set the other day (not because Norman was there, it’s on my running route) and saw this. I don’t know when it was added but it’s definitely a new addition to the Bates Motel Movie Set. Nothing seems to be going on there right now. If you’ve heard when they’re …

I grew up watching the smurfs, so when we stumbled upon Blue Smurf ice cream in our local gelato spot, I was a bit grossed out. My kids however, were in love with it. It tastes a bit like Cotton Candy and Raspberry, and the color is definitely attractive to a pile of kids who think dying their tongues different …

We’ve had a teacher’s strike out here on the West Coast, and that means we were immediately thrown onto a fast moving train to crazy town for the past few weeks. There’s nothing quite like having summer instantly thrown at you. All of the plans we made and the slow build up to having the kids home full time has …

I’ve never made any bones about loving the Telus brand. Sometimes it seems to be in style to groan and moan about the cable company, but I’ve never had that experience and I think it’s kind of fun to tell other people that. From the moment I picked up my first Telus flip phone in 1998 to when I switched …

We do quite a few toy reviews here on Survive Parenthood, and that’s because you just can’t go wrong with a good toy. Not only does it make your kids happy for a long period of time, but it gives you those moments of sanity you need to collect yourself and get on with your day. I recently had the …

Long before I had any idea I was going to be able to visit Walt Disney Studios, I used to collect Disney Movie Rewards points. Someday, I swore, I’d use those points for a private Walt Disney studio tour. And when I did finally get in there, I’d go straight to the Walt Disney Archives and spend about 3 weeks …