Flash back: Surviving the Cottage with kids

We have so many great posts from last year that are still very relevant so we're going to bring some back from time to time.  Here's one Vicky wrote last year about going to the cottage with kids. by Vicky

On a bit of a whim, I booked a week’s holiday at a cottage with a friend and her family. I found it on www.cottagelink.com, and it looked beautiful. One of the features that sold me instantly was that it was owned by a family with young children, so everything we needed was already provided: highchair, crib, change table, toys, toys and more toys, picnic table, wagon, playstructure etc. Also the water was only a foot deep off the dock, so despite not having a beach, it was shallow enough to enjoy with my 1 year old.

This was my first experience renting a cottage with kids. I’ve been lucky to have friends with cottages and have enjoyed many summer holidays by the lake since I was a teenager. But this time was different. It was great to see the kids enjoying the water and playing outside, but it wasn’t what I would call a relaxation vacation. Someone still has to cook, clean and get the kids in bed so it’s not exactly a break for the parents.

That being said, I definitely think I’ll try it again next summer, and I’ll be better prepared for it with this list of tips on how to survive a week at the cottage with kids.

1. Portable DVD player – your best friend. If you don’t have a built in DVD player in your car, this is the next best thing. Throw a movie on, with headphones, and you’re guaranteed a quiet trip. Also this is great for a bit of quiet time in the afternoon if the cottage has no TV or cable.
2. Plan your meals ahead of time. Make a quick menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and pack food items you already have at home. Make a grocery list and pick up what you need before you go or in the closest town if that’s possible (or if space in your car is limited). You don’t need to stick to the menu per say, but when kids are hungry you won’t be running around trying to figure out what to cook for lunch.
3. Do not over pack clothes. I brought WAY too much for the kids – a different outfit for every day, plus extras. What happened was that my son stayed in his bathing suit all day long with a pair of crocs. Shirts can be rung out and hung to dry, and most cottage towns have a Laundromat for emergencies (like being thrown up on, twice!)
4. Bring long-legged PJs for evenings. Cottages can be sweltering during the day, but get cool at night.
5. Swimming tires kids out! If you are trying to get a nap out of your kids, get them into the lake just before nap or bed time. If you can also give them a bath in the lake, you’ll speed up the bedtime process (speaking of which can anyone recommend a good biodegradable baby shampoo or soap?)
6. Bring a box of activities to keep them busy. I brought colouring books, activity books and paints which were all used. Why not try making a nature scavenger hunt that you can work on during the week?
7. If you are cottaging with friends, it helps to have similar aged kids so they can play together. My 3 year old got bored quickly with the 3 babies he had as playmates.
8. Explore the nature! There are so many learning opportunities around that will keep kids busy - go for nature walks, look for frogs, or feed the fish bread off the dock.
9. Expect that normal routines may not be easy to follow when you're away. Bed times may be later in a new environment, middle of the night wake ups will happen, and all this can make for cranky kids during the day. I would say try to go with the flow, and once the kids are in bed crack open a beer or a cooler and relax.
10. One more thing, if you are going to a cottage this summer with your kids, or thinking about it, please be water wise!

What are your tips for an enjoyable cottage vacation?

Vicky is the mom to 4.5 year old son named Joel and 2 year old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Wondermom.

Moving and Grooving on a Rainy Day

by Ezmy After a few rainy days in the row, I began to feel as though Budsie might be getting bored with the usual chilling out on the family room floor, reading and playing with puzzles and his musical fridge. Frankly, I was pretty stir crazy myself. One can only play so much ‘Pull The Laundry Out Of The Basket’ or ‘Let’s Count The DVDs’ before one starts to feel a little nutty.

But what to do? I tried a rainy walk but while the kid loved it, I came home covered in mud and feeling icky. Hmpf. Then, one particularly gloomy morning, I gave Budsie some Os and threw on some music while I unloaded the dishwasher. When I turned around to show Budsie how to put away cutlery, I was rewarded with the best sight: my little man just rocking out to Simon and Garfunkel. He’s always been a big fan of music - I think most babies are. But this was the first morning he really went all out, swaying back and forth in his highchair, laughing and bobbing his head.

Well.

New rainy day activity for me and Budsie? Moving and Grooving. I set up our laptop in the family room and popped on CD after CD of music that A. and I both enjoy. Some of it worked (Amy Winehouse and Queen) and some did not (Tool and The White Stripes). But boy, when it worked it was so much fun!

So if you’re feeling icky and the rain is bringing you down, Moving and Grooving is a sure fire way to pick up the spirits and make a rainy day seem less doom and gloom. It might even wake you up a bit, which is handy particularly if like me, you're getting less sleep because somebody (I'm not naming names) seems to think that 2:30am is a perfectly reasonable time to start playing with toys.

Here are a few of Budsie’s suggestions for a rockin’ good rainy day:

*Queen - “Another One Bites The Dust” *The Foundations - “Build Me Up Buttercup” *Simon and Garfunkel - “Cecilia” (this was a HUGE hit)

Have a happy dancing day!

Ezmy is a new mum to son Ewan (aka Budsie). When she isn’t working on her master’s thesis, or playing games with her boy, she’s blogging furiously about life as a stay-at-home mum in our nation’s capital. Follow Ezmy on Twitter (@ezmytweets) where she posts daily resolutions and updates on life with an active and very vocal baby.

Summertime at the park

by Brie

Our family spends a lot of time at our neighbourhood park. And I mean a lot. We are there once, usually twice a day. Sometimes the only reason we leave the park is because I need a break from all the activity and fresh air. The kids would be happy to never leave!

 Ottawa has some great city parks. Some of them have pools and splash pads, which are perfect for this warm weather (and look for pools to be opening in the next week!). Some parks are best for toddlers and some have great climbing structures for older kids.

What I love best about spending time at our park is that it is free, we meet some great kids and parents and it is about as free-range as my two and four year old kids can get living in the city. When they are playing with their friends they feel like they are off on their own, but I am still there to keep an eye on them.

Here are some of my tips for making the most of summer at the park:

1. Bring lots of water: on hot days my kids get so thirsty running around and they end up drinking a lot of water. Some parks have water fountains but it is good to pack extra just in case.
2. Pack snacks to share: Nothing tastes as good as other kids' snacks. My four year old is a snack scammer and wants to try everyone else's snacks but her own. But that is okay, because we end up sharing all of our snacks too.
3. Watch out for the sun: I have a hard time keeping hats on my kids' heads. They always get thrown off eventually and, a couple of times when it was really hot, I had to take them off myself because the kids were overheating. I try to combine hats with some sunscreen and encouraging the kids to play in the shade when possible. I am also planning to get some long sleeve swim shirts once the pool opens.
4. Go over the rules of the park: At the start of park season every year I go over the rules with the kids. Rules for us include always being able to see each other at the park, not talking to strangers and not going to the bathroom without a parent. As the kids get older the rules are getting more detailed (I can't wait for the day when no hitting doesn't have to be included as a rule anymore) and I am talking to them more about strangers.
5. Become a regular: One of the reasons that our park means so much to me is because of the people. I have met a lot of great parents at the park and consider a lot of them to be my friends. Part of the reason for this is that we are regulars. We visit the park at the same time every day, the same days every week. Because of this we see the same people and get to know them. I also try to talk to anyone that comes within five feet of me! I remember what it was like not to have a lot of adult conversation in a day and so I always try to connect with other parents I meet.

 Do you have any tips for making the most of summer at the park?

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 year old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

A parents guide to surviving Westfest

by Andrea June 10, 11, 12 are tripled-circled in our calendar. We are BOOKED, and have been for weeks. We are officially ready for Westfest Weekend.

Like many of my Westboro-area neighbours, my family and I are proud of Westfest. Westfest is, at it’s heart, a giant street party. Some would argue that it’s the kind of street party that’s experienced a few forgivable growing pains in past years, but that’s to be expected from an undertaking of this size.

Today our collective chests puff out a little when talk comes around to this little festival that grew. It draws massive crowds, great musical acts, and best of all, it’s a great family-friendly event that’s totally free.

Every year my daughters (who are now 10 and 12) marvel at the fact that Westfest takes place at the end of our street. We live so close that we end up paying multiple visits over the entire weekend. Westfest weekend is the one time of year we get to visit and chat with almost all of our friends and neighbours. (Of course it goes without saying that my kids hate this part, because it holds them up from The Fun Stuff.)

Westfest has become a summertime tradition in our family, and since we’ve been doing Westfest since the very beginning I think I’m qualified to give some advice on how to survive with kids in tow.

If you live close enough to Westfest you must consider walking. If you live outside a comfortable walking distance, please be aware that street parking is extremely limited. Get comfortable with the idea that you will have to leave your car far from the action.

Wear your best walking shoes and haul out that umbrella stroller, because it’s a bit of hike if you plan on taking everything in. Westfest covers 14 blocks, nearly a one kilometre chunk of Richmond Road, which can feel very long if your feet hurt.

Taking your bike is another option. Save yourself some aggravation and lock it up in the secure area on Tweedsmuir Avenue at Richmond.

Check the weather before you leave the house, and if you’re planning on spending some time there, prepare for any weather-related eventuality. We’ve been going to Westfest every year since it began and have experienced it all: days so cold you crave cups of coffee just so you can warm up your hands, and days so hot we’ve come close to fainting from heat stroke. And on that note…

Bring water and sunscreen, and make a food plan. If it’s a nice day it is guaranteed that restaurants will be packed. Many of them extend out to the street and serve a pared down menu in order to take pressure off the kitchen staff. The Works, for example, only serves two or three kinds of burgers during Westfest. If you don’t have a plan and find yourself walking from restaurant to restaurant long after lunchtime you will soon come to regret it, especially if there are kids involved. One year we just plain gave up on finding room on a patio and so we ordered takeout pizza from Newport and ate it by the side of the street.         And last but not least, tie balloons securely around little wrists!

Daytime at Westfest is for the families to enjoy what they call the “On The Street” stuff. There is a lot for kids to see and do. In past years we’ve seen many cool street performers, enjoyed various inflatable bouncy things, and taken advantage of some great facepainting artists too.

But in my view, Westfest is truly about the music. Check out the lineup here first, and then book a sitter. The Domicile main stage has moved to a new location and is now situated along the grassy strip behind the Real Canadian Superstore. (Here’s a map.) The main stage will open at 5 pm and the entire audience area at this year’s Domicile main stage will be fully licensed. (!)

Our family is really looking forward to a bigger and better Westfest this year. If you see us, please stop and say hello!

Andrea Tomkins is mother of two imps and wife of one. She on the board of directors of the Westboro Community Association and keeps a personal blog called a peek inside the fishbowl.

Question of the month : Sleep

Kids in the Capital is all about parents in Ottawa helping each other out by sharing tips and advice. Each month we ask a parenting question and we want to hear all the gems of advice you have to share. Just leave your answers in the comments! And if you have a question you’d like to see be a future question, leave it in the comments too! Sleep, or really, the lack thereof, is one of the biggest hurdles in parenting.  Being tired can make everything else so much harder.

My four year old is no longer going to sleep until after 9 just about every night.  This seems too late to me but despite all our efforts (waking him up earlier in the morning, running him like crazy after dinner) he just isn't tired.

Is 9 too late for a 4 year old? How late do your kids go to bed? Have you found strategies that have helped a kid who "isn't tired" relax, wind down and go to sleep more easily?  Please share!

Also, we're starting to use our Facebook Page more actively.  I posted this question there yesterday and got a lot of great feedback.  Please use this space if you have any questions for other parents (there are hundreds of them who could offer great advice!) - we're here to build community and help each other!