Sunset

IMG_9984
Originally uploaded by tjrossignol

The sunset at Crescent Beach on Saturday July 25th. Couldn't get any great shots of the lightning. But caught this shot before the sun went down.

Staying active with a toddler

Okay so the title is a bit of a misnomer - you never stand still when you have a toddler. And I am constantly running after him, but I'm struggling to find ways to stay fit and active myself.

I've never considered myself an athlete. Even when I was competing in figure skating. I pretty much skated as soon as I could walk. I have pictures of me in skates on ice when I'm sure I couldn't even say skates yet. I probably spent at least 5-10 hours in a rink a week. I took ballet to help my skating. I never went to camp, I was always attending summer 'skating' school. Never felt I missed out as all our friends were also skaters (except maybe at University when I realized how many drinking songs are learnt at camp). I skated for about 18 years. But I never thought of myself as an athlete.

My problem was what to replace that activity with once I quit. At University I never gave it a thought. It wasn't until I was in the work world that I realized I needed something. So I did what every other young person in their 20's does in TO - I joined a gym. Hated the gym, but went. Until I finally discovered salsa. It was a great way to exercise, learn something fun and socialize. When I moved out West in 99 other social dances replaced salsa, finally landing me in lindy hop (swing). In 2000 I added pilates to my life and didn't look back. I will admit to a short stint back at the gym, when I was travelling too much with work to dance regularly. But generally dance became my active outlet.

I met my husband swing dancing. And while we danced less after we got married it was still a big part of our lives. I've never been skinny, but I've always loved activity for exercise to keep my heart healthy and the stress release. And dancing let us be social at the same time. We'd travel to dance - weekends full of live bands, late night dancing, daytime sleeping. LOVE it. I've danced in New Orleans, Chicago, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Seattle, Portland, Victoria, Port Townsend, San Fran and of course Vancouver. I've even attended full week swing dance camps.

Even after I was pregnant I still danced and did my pilates. I was dancing 3 days before I went into labour. And I had to call while I was in labour to tell the pilates studio I wouldn't make my class that night.

Even in the year or so after the little guy was born I planned out time for me to get some exercise. I took up salsa babies. And once a week Dad was in charge so I could go to pilates. Then came swimming lessons instead of salsa babies. And in January I switched things up and tried Nia. It was a great blend of dance, yoga, marshal arts. I loved it.

Then my hubbie had his skiing accident. I couldn't leave him with the toddler alone for several weeks, and then I was trying to balance a bunch of networking, my volunteer work meetings and my hubbie's new schedule and next thing I knew I hadn't done any real exercise in 3 months.

NowI feel grumpy, pudgy and soft in the middle. I know a lot of moms run. But after 18 years of skating my tendons and knees aren't up to running. But I know I need to find a solution to this problem sooner than later. Because it isn't going to get any easier once I go back to work.

My little guy has gymnastics, karate, the park, etc. What about me? Thoughts? Suggestions? Offers of free babysitting so I can go dancing???

Bouncy castles & more weekend fun

We won a family pass for the Agoo Kids Active Day at the Kits rink for Saturday, from @savvymomvan http://www.savvymom.ca/. I had heard a lot of great things about Bobs & Lolo and thought our little guy would LOVE it. Plus proceeds went to Canucks Place. So we packed up the family, failing once again to leave the house before 10:30 and headed off for some active fun.

Our little guy is only 22 months, so when we saw all the HUGE bouncy castles we were a bit concerned about how much there would be for him to do. Especially after he got into the first one and wanted right out again. Thankfully he was just bored and was easily amused in the next one. But most of them were just a bit too big for him to go in by himself. But we quickly figured out that my rather slender husband could easily accompany him into the larger ones and the two of them had a ball. The HUGE slide - with a massive skier on the top, was the favourite. Closely followed by a sort of obstacle course with another slide at the end. They went again, and again, and again. My job - carry all the bags and take pictures. Not a bad gig if you can get it. Not sure who had a better time the little guy or my hubbie. But both naps really well in the afternoon.

The giggle of the day was some of the outfits. Not sure some of the moms did the math when they got dressed that the activities would include a Phoenix gym circuit, helping kids up and down off bouncy castles, and potentially sitting on the floor to watch the show. Although we didn't see any of the men complaining.

Our disappointment was that the schedule was not posted online and the Bobs & Lolo show was scheduled for 2pm, with pix from 12:20 - 1:30. We got around 10:45am. And with a guy under 2 we had about an 1.5-2 hour window before he would tire out. Plus he is ready to nap by 1:30. So we had a great time, but were sad to leave at 12:30 and miss the best part of the entertainment.

Also had a comment from my hubbie about the amount of text messaging & cell phone usage by the staff 'working' on the different bouncy castles. I guess it gets boring watching kids all day, but that is afterall what they are being paid to do.

Kids Farmer's Market

It is funny how you don't go to a place for years and then you are there twice in a weekend. We returned on Sunday to the Kits Community Centre for the Farmer's market. We started with a quick tour around the stalls to discuss what was available, we saw some familiar vendors (we usually go to Trout Lake). So I headed to the swings with the little guy and dad went shopping. Dad did very well, lots of fresh stuff like apricots, summer squash, potatoes, tomatoes, radishes, zucchini, etc. The only downside was he bought a whole flat of blueberries & raspberries. I LOVE me some berries, but I figured a flat is going to be a challenge. After a few hours at home, I'm thinking it might be gone by tomorrow. Call us berry pigs!

Riding Bikes

I don't remember learning to ride my bike or my first bike. But I used to love to ride my bike when I was a kid. Now of course I lived in Saskatchewan at the time, and there was lots of safe places for me to ride in our nice residential neighbourhood. We rode to school, the park, our friend's house or all over the place just for fun. They were our tickets to freedom.

The first bike I remember had these huge banana steering handles, and I had these great flowing sparkling things hanging out the end, plus some coloured bits on my spokes. Totally fantastic and very popular in the 70's. And then came the magical day that I took over my Dad's 10-speed. A 10-speed. How fantastic. I felt like such an adult.

Just as puberty was starting to set in we moved to Ottawa. The few blocks around us were pretty quiet so I could ride to a friend's house or along the river. But to get anywhere useful you had to cross the 'bridge' across the Rideau River. It had no extra room for bikes, a skinny sidewalk, and a HUGE curb. Was certainly NOT bike friendly. So with the combination of body changes, falling over that stupid curb one too many times, and getting old enough to take the bus across time by myself - I stopped riding my bike.

Today, I look at my little son and know he will LOVE riding the same as I did as a kid. We have been eying those balance bikes and hoping that the Grandparents will get him one for his birthday. And then I saw the contest on 5 minutes for mom http://www.5minutesformom.com/6461/balance-bike-giveaway/ where we could win one. No banana handles, but hey you can't have everything. Check them out here http://www.pedalcarsandretro.com/Balance_Bikes-p-1-c-269.html.

Wish us luck!

What I learned on vacation

We just returned from a vacation to visit the out-laws in Alberta - vacation included camping (car camping in a tent for us, trailers for most of the rest of the family) and then some stampeding in Calgary. We've done long trips with the little guy before, but this was the first long car trip now that he is a full fledged toddler.

Lessons learned:

• Your heart can stop for just an instant when you see an Elk standing on the shoulder at dusk. And then it pumps twice as hard once it starts again.


• MUST always bring bro-in-law who owns a coffee roastery camping. He made the most heavenly coffee everyday. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I couldn't wait for the coffee to be ready everyday. He tried out different beans on us each day, and on the darker roast days I did add a bit of bailey's. But there is nothing like a great bean, ground right, brewed right and sipped under in a lawn chair outside your tent. (coffee company is Fratello if you want to try it out).


• Good idea to bring a generator just in case the battery in your trailer runs out. Or to grind coffee everyday.


• You can eat very well when camping... can anyone say eggs benny for breakfast.


• The environmental thinking campers who brought their own plates do more dishes than the red neck Albertans who use paper.


• The girls can ROCK at poker. Out of 12 players, last 2 standing were women. Last one standing = ME!!!!!!


• The toddler will pick the 'best' possible day to launch his first escape out of his sleep tent and then the pack n'play.


• You can never bring enough toys.


• The bath water in the large rubbermaid bin can be used for a foot bath after the kids have had their bath.


• Always keep at least one toy hidden for the return trip home - no matter how bored your child gets it will always be worse 6 hours into a 12 hour drive home. Keep it hidden.


• You can do cloth diapers while camping. Just be sure to launder at the camp or town laundromat during a quiet period (and remember your laundry line, thankfully for me my father-in-law had some extra rope).


• No matter how cold it is at the camp site it is always HOT HOT HOT at Dinosaur Provincial Park.


• Rockets are still fun at any age. So are remote controlled planes - unless you crash it into a tree.
• It is possible for a 22 month (who hasn't pooped in 2 days) to clog a low flow toilet. So much for water conservation when you have to flush it a thousand times and plunge.


• Your 22 month old CAN stay focused for 2 hours at the Calgary Stampede Parade.


• Omi does in fact make the best muffins.


• If you plan your driving around your toddler's normal sleep times, he will sleep when he damn well pleases. So plan your drive home around your own schedule. Toddler still does what he wants, but we got a great lunch in Field, BC at Truffle Pigs.


• No matter how long you've been driving, the craziest hour driving with a toddler is the hour before dinner.


• I forgot how cool and scary those Alberta thunder/hail storms could be.

But the best lesson of all is that you can survive a vacation with your in-laws, and actually have a little bit of fun (and yes my in-laws do read my blog and yes I still kiss-up).

Travelling light with kids - is it an impossible dream?

I waited a long time to get married. My friends used to joke that I skipped the starter husband and went straight to the boy toy (my hubbie is 6 years younger than me). So I had a lot of years where I could travel at my leisure and pack whatever I wanted.

When I was a kid and travelling with my figure skating team, we had a rule. You pack it. You carry it. So once I had my skates and dresses packed there wasn't much room left for much else. I carried this thinking to my business travel, I could pack all my needs for a week of meetings on the road into one carry-on bag (plus the lap top bag of course). I was usually the only girl on the road and who wants to make all the guys wait for my baggage.

But I was never very good at packing light for personal. And while I did pack just one suitcase for 3 weeks in Greece with Mirella and Sarah, it was a large suitcase and it isn't like you have to plan for difference types of weather in Greece. Bathing suit - check. Towel - check. Sundress - check. Sandals - check. Good to go.... pretty much. So how I crammed that large suitcase I'll never know.


My husband is also not a great light packer. His issue isn't shoes, sweaters and such. His issue is electronics, camping equipment, cooking stuff and his J.R.R. Tolkien books (which he never reads).


So you can only imagine how much fun it is now travelling with a little man along. And little people need a lot of stuff. We went to Germany for 3 weeks last year, when our little man was about 8 months, and boy did we have a lot of stuff. We ended up leaving one bag with some friends for part of our trip. We were almost comical on the train with 2 large rolling suitcases, car seat, duffel bag, day pack and then the baby.


Funnily enough our problem wasn't all the necessary baby gear, but clothes and bits and bobs we thought we might need. We tried to pack a week's worth of clothes and to do laundry as needed. The last time we had travelled with the baby he was 3 months and had pooped through a sleeper a day - a result of a skinny butt baby and disposable diapers. Since we were going to use disposables on this trip we figured we had better be prepared and took about 9 sleepers.

Where we did 'win' was in the baby gear department. We found some great stuff that really helped minimize the heavy lifting.

Stroller free

We didn't take a stroller. With the exception of a few days in Chemnitz where friends loaned us a stroller (was actually a bigger pain than a help, but we felt obligated to use it), we used our Ergo carrier everywhere.

We had asked for an MEC hard carrier for Christmas. But we realized that it was too bulky for a long trip like this. And we were finding our backs were getting sore carrying the little man in the baby Bjorn for longer walking trips. The Ergo was recommended because the little man could sit in the front or on our backs. We found a great used one on craigslist and absolutely LOVED it.

He was happy to be carried on either the front in more crowded places like the metro. And on our backs for touring around. He could look around at everything. He could nap. And he generally felt very safe and secure next to Mom or Dad in all these strange and wonderful places.

There are a couple of downsides to using a carrier vs a stroller. The first is the shared body heat. Germany had a warm spring last year and there were days that both the little man and myself were soaking in sweat. The 2nd is you have to carry the rest of your stuff. There is no little basket underneath the Ergo to store your stuff for the day. Either you have to attach it to the Ergo (they sell a couple of accessories for this) OR your partner has to wear the stuff.

• Interesting observation. The strollers in Germany are like big Cadillacs. Lots of features, big baskets, bassinets, etc. Was funny for us to see these huge strollers everywhere. There were a few other folks with carriers. But the trend is certainly is bigger is better over there right now.

Sleeping Light

We knew we'd have a crib in Chemnitz and again in our rental apartment in Berlin. But we didn't know about any place else. So we did a lot of research on portable cribs before we left. In the end we picked the KidCo Pea Pod http://www.tjskids.com/kidco-peapod-travel-p101-p-1228.html. It was fantastic for travelling: packs small, easy set up, baby secure but still accessible. Plus he wouldn't outgrow it in a few months. The little man started using this about a month before we left - for weekend at Grandpa's house, sleeping at friends when we went over for dinner, camping, etc. He loved it. And actually slept better in his little tent than he did in the borrowed cribs on our trip. He felt he was in a place he knew when he woke up in the tent.

We recently upgraded to the Pea Pod Plus http://www.tjskids.com/kidco-peapod-plus-travel-p201-p-1241.html. The little guy is almost 2 and was getting too big for the regular version. He can now sit up and play when he wakes up. The only downside is that he can open the zipper on the Plus. This will be great when he gets a bit older. But his escape act while camping on the weekend was NOT welcome. So we have figured out a way to 'lock' the zipper for now. If you think this will be useful for travelling when your child is a toddler then I'd skip the regular version and go straight to the Plus size.

Sitting Pretty

Our little man was just starting to really enjoy real food when we left on our trip. We didn't want to have to hold him at every meal, so we looked for a different solution. We found a small cloth seat called a Tot Seat http://www.pinkyblue.ca/Tot-Seat_p_1225.html. The only downside was most of the seats at those lovely German outdoor cafes are barrel type. So we had to hold him there. But it worked well at our friends' homes for breakfast and dinner.

Unfortunately this seat doesn't work well much beyond 1 year. Our little man can still fit in it and is usually willing to sit in it. But he likes to feed himself now. And this seat doesn't bring him up high enough to do that. So we now carry around a little portable baby chair. Thankfully he is getting big enough to kneel up on chairs to eat at the table once in a while. So we might be able to go without on trips in future.

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We just returned from a camping trip. And while our car was JAMMED full of stuff, it doesn't feel like we were grossly over packed. As I get more practice at this parenting thing I feel more confident that I can being to apply my 'business' packing theories to my personal world. Fingers crossed anyways.

I would love to get to a place where we can pack with carry on luggage like Earnest Girl at Yummymummyclub http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/earnestgirl_west_coast_chronicles. But I'm not holding my breath.

Keep up or get out of the way

I moved my cloth diaper (CD) thoughts to a separate blog a few months ago. In part because I thought that not all my regular readers may be interested in CD, nor the inevitable discussion around poop.

But today I wrote about the increased competition in the diaper service game. And some of my marketing readers might find this interesting. If yes, check it out here

http://cdmomramblings.blogspot.com/2009/06/keep-up-or-get-out-of-way.html