Welcome to Our New Sponsor: Laura Daub - Artist

I’m so happy to have the chance to welcome our new sponsor. After several years of teaching out of her basement studio, Laura Daub has just recently moved to a big, bright art space in the beautiful Britannia Beach area. Even though the studio is new, Laura has been on the Ottawa Art Scene for many years. In fact, the reason we met was that my two daughter’s have had the pleasure of taking art lessons with her for the past few years.

Formally trained in Art and Design, teaching others to love and appreciate art and creativity has always been one of Laura’s passions. She truly believes that exposing children to the arts promotes creative thinking, problem-solving and aids in mastering fine motor skills. As well, she feels that nurturing a love for fine arts in all children allows them to explore their imaginations, express their creativity in all aspects of life and aids in them becoming more well-rounded young adults.

In her new studio, located at 2728 Howe Street, Laura is able to offer so many different ways for both children and adults to connect to their inner artist. She has drop-in Saturdays, where you can take some time out for some creative play and learn the art of doodling and there is also a whole list of classes for both children and adults to choose from.

Between the classes, drop-in art times and workshops, Laura still finds time to offer private classes to children who have a passion for art and are looking to further explore their talents. From personal experience, I know that she takes a very nurturing, hands-on approach with kids of all ages to help guide them in their exploration of many different art mediums. Laura’s dedication, gentleness and passion are infectious and she can truly help those budding artists reach their full potential.

If you interested in perusing through her gallery, or want to find out more about the classes she offers, please check out her website and connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Welcome to the neighbourhood, Laura. It’s nice to see you here.

High Tea at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier

***We updated this post! You can view it by clicking here!**

I’ve been hearing a great deal about the Prince and Princess Tea at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier for a while but never really gave it much thought. As the mom of two pre-teens, I have quickly learned that anything with the word “Princess” in it is taboo. However, since a friend had recently brought her older daughter there (just calling it High Tea) and had rave reviews, I omitted the word princess and brought my two girls there for High Tea.

Every afternoon, High Tea is served in Zoe’s Lounge. The decor in both the Chateau Laurier and Zoe’s is beautiful and posh. Just walking into the lobby of the hotel made my girls stand up a bit straighter and carry themselves a bit more grown up. In Zoe’s Lounge, all the staff were extremely attentive, and everything they served was presented so elegantly. Both my girls were amazed.  There were three different High Tea menus to choose from both my girls actually stuck to the Princess Tea menu since if offered more of what they would actually eat.   The scones, sandwiches, fruit salad and desserts served to us were delicious. We watched as the “tea expert” made her way around the room pushing a cart filled with so many varieties to choose from. Both my girls chose hot chocolate instead of tea but they did get to drink it from fancy china. The treats were endless. When our plates or cups were empty, they were quickly refilled and both girls were amazed at each and every new pastry and cookie offered to us.

Although my daughters aren’t strangers to eating in fancy restaurants, this experience probably topped the list. They both sat so quietly and politely, just watching everything that was going on around them. It was a treat to just be able to sit with them and hear about their day, school, friends and to speak with them as young women instead of just rushing them around from activity to activity. It’s something that I hope to do again very soon.

How old do you think your children should be before bringing them to a fancy restaurant where manners and decorum are important?

Disney on Ice - Rockin' Ever After

For weeks the Little Man, now 6 and half years old (the "half" being very important to him) has been asking to go to Disney on Ice. We went last year and while he remembers having an amazing time, I remember trying to entertain a bored little boy and avoid spending a small fortune on merchandise. So while part of me wanted to take him, especially since he doesn't ask for much in the way of entertainment, I was a little worried about shelling out money for another boring show.

Thanks to Kids in the Capital we were able to review the show this year and so I brought along one of Jake's oldest friends and his Mom - the same folks we saw the show with last year.

And we were so pleasantly surprised by the changes Feld Entertainment and Disney made to the show. Even though princesses were predominately featured throughout the two-hour show, there was lots to keep our boys riveted. The skating was fantastic, the costumes and props elaborate and colourful and the music was fun and upbeat.

The show featured Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald Duck, along with scenes from Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Tangled and Brace. I especially loved the "Be Our Guest" and "Under the Sea" routines and our boys were both taken with Maximus from Tangled. We had such a great time!

If you go . . .

1. There are still tickets available for today's performances. They range in price from $15 - $67.50.
2. Parking is $8 - cash only.
3. Popcorn and drinks will set you back $12 apiece, but you do get to keep the bucket and fancy plastic cups.
4. Merchandise featuring the main characters is also up for grabs, but be prepared to spend a fair bit.

We saw lots of little girls dressed as their favourite princesses, mickey ears and light up toys galore. Still, the boys in our homes still had a great time, and chatted about the show all the way home.

Have you been to a Disney on Ice show? What did you think?

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband, her 6 year old son, Jacob and her 10 month old son, Noah.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.

Dino Idol at the Museum of Nature

By Kamerine I was lucky enough to attend the media preview of Dino Idol at the Museum of Nature last week. It's now open to the public so you should go!

Dino Idol is a fun initiative by the museum to stir up interest and intrigue. Like American Idol the public gets to vote on their favourite, but the contestants are dinosaurs!  The museum has more than 200 fossils in storage and a new palaentologist got to pick 5 to star in the show. The fossils are encased in rock and sealed in plaster, and are now on display at the museum. They've all been given catchy names and a description of what lies beneath the plaster. The almost 100-year-old field notes are sometimes vague so the descriptions could be right on or way off.

Kids and their parents will have fun looking at the pictures of the dinosaurs and reading the descriptions, and finally choosing a favourite. The five contestants are Mystery Jaw, Stumpy, Regal Ed, Headrosaur, and The Canadian Club. There is a ballot box set up beside each to cast your vote.

The winner will be announced March 19th and will be opened at the museum's research facility. The process of extracting bones and preparing them is tricky work and can take up to a year so the museum will be blogging with updates periodically. What a fun way to get involved in the next dinosaur bones to be displayed at the museum!

Dino Idol is open to the public and included with the price of admission to the museum. It runs until March 17th. This is your chance to have a say in what dinosaur is cracked open next so go vote!

Disclaimer: I was provided free admission to the Museum of Nature to attend the media preview of Dino Idol. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own.

Green Eggs and Hamadeus: A Children's Theatre Review

Saturday February 9th was a very busy day in downtown Ottawa!  Winterlude was in full swing, the canal was hopping, and the sun was shining beautifully.  My son and I however were at the NAC for the performance of Green Eggs and Hamadeus, the second in a series of 3 performances that we purchased tickets for back in the fall.

This was a much more interactive performance (bilingual as well!) with audience participation!  The conductor of the orchestra broke down one of Mozart's pieces, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, Allegro, Romanze: Andante, Menuetto: Alegretto, Rondo: Allegro for the audience to explain how a piece of music was put together, the difference between the melody and they accompaniment, and how it all fits together in the end.  He explained that even the instrument, in this case it was the viola, with the most basic notes to play, was very important to the entire piece because they might have one "surprise" that stands out when the orchestra plays together.  He invited two children up onto the stage to conduct the orchestra after giving a little lesson on how it was done.

Then it was onto the story of Green Eggs and Ham.  It wasn't a very long performance, but it was well done, funny, the actors were very expressive which the kids in the audience loved!  There were a few times when the operatic singing was a little bit too much for the little ears, I did notice my son and a few other children a few times covering their ears.

As usual there were activities preceding the event, they had a large train set up for the little ones to look at, they were very strict about their "no touching" policy, which I could understand since the pieces were very delicate, but not exactly conducive to a bunch of kids who naturally want to explore with both their eyes and hands.

It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon!

http://nac-cna.ca/en/orchestra/event/2397

Amanda was born and raised in Ottawa where she continues to live with her husband and son “J”. Amanda is bilingual and interests include reading, blogging, socializing, and advocacy on children and teen issues.