All aboard! A visit to the Ottawa Train Station

by Vicky Call me crazy but I have a soft spot for train stations. Maybe it's from all those years I traveled by train to and from University for holidays or spring break. I remember the nervous excitement about going back home to see my family and old friends, and the feeling of  gloominess that the break was over too fast and I was heading back to reality of readings, essays and midterms.

When I take the train, I always sit next to the window. There's nothing like looking out on the countryside and watching it zoom by. The train slows down as it passes through small towns, the perfect speed for stealing a quick glance into  backyards. Sometimes the gentle rocking of the train lulls me to sleep. I rarely talk to the person sitting next to me, nor do I read. I just sit and watch and think. I find it extremely peaceful.

Like most 3 year olds, Joel loves playing with trains, so what could be more exciting than seeing them in person! Today my younger brother was arriving by train. Joel and I went to pick him up.

When we first arrived, the train leaving for Montreal was about to depart. We hurried to watch it pull out of the station. Joel grinned from ear to ear as the train's big wheels started turning. We waved at the people watching us as the train rode by. What was supposed to be a 2:30pm train was in fact late, so that gave us half an hour to explore the station - more than enough time for a 3 year old!

We started by looking at the antique model trains encased in glass. They were larger than most models. I wished there was a story to accompany those trains. It's a little piece of history that always intrigues me - the way people relied on train travel so much more years ago, and how entire communities were built around stops along the CN railway. Then we discovered the spiral ramp - which thanks to a very kind VIA rail employee, we were allowed to run up and down on despite not having tickets.

Next we tried out a couple of different seats, to find which one was the most comfortable. The massage chairs definitely won that prize, although for $1 for 2 mins we just sat in them to take a photo. Then we found an old luggage scale. Joel hopped on so we could weigh him. I put my foot on the scale to pretend that he had suddenly grown and gained a few pounds, which lead to some hysterical laughter! Then we checked out the restaurant briefly, picked up a few brochures and sat in a chair to wait for the train to arrive. A few minutes later we heard the chimes and an announcement that train number 42 was arriving! We rushed to the window to watch the train pull in. Quickly the passengers arrived up the escalator as Joel loudly said 'nope' for each one that wasn't his uncle. Finally Uncle arrived and we were ready to go! We paid the $2 for parking and headed home.

This summer I'm planning to take Joel on the train to Toronto to visit a friend. We went once before when he was 9 months old, but I have a feeling the next trip is the one he'll remember.

Vicky is the mom to 3.5 year old son named Joel and 9 month old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Wondermom.

Decorating your kids' rooms

I have a slight addiction to scouring the web for kids' room decorating ideas. When I was pregnant with Joel I spent hours on end searching for the perfect nursery room decor, and the addiction continued into my planning of his big boy room! His room isn't completely finished, but I chose a vintage transportation theme with trains and airplanes. In my searching, I have come across a few fantastic websites that I'd love to share with you. I'm sure I'll have more to add once I start planning my daughter's big girl room! Pottery Barn Kids This is where I go to window shop for my dream playroom. If only I had the space, and the means to create a space as cool as this for my kids. You can also shop for boy, girl or baby themed rooms, furniture and accessories too. I'm trying to think of a way I can convince my husband that we need to get this dollhouse bookshelf for my daughter. She neeeeeds it, right?

The Land of Nod I stumbled upon this site when I was looking for some vintage inspired transportation items for Joel's room. I picked up these airplane curtain tie backs and they look great!

They have a huge selection of artwork for kids rooms, and some really fun bedding too. I would love to get a clothes tree like this for his room. You can also find quite a selection of knock-knock jokes on this site!

Just My Luck Designs If you are into wall decals, you should check out this shop! I picked up this very cool train decal for Joel's room. It's above his bed, and it just makes his room pop!

Restoration Hardward Baby & Child What's not to love about Restoration Hardware? I bet you didn't know they have a baby & child department! I've been getting their catalog for a while now, and it makes me drool. Monograms! Polkadots! Convertible cribs! Oh my!

Rosenberry Rooms This is the mother of all kids decorating websites! You can find furniture, decor, bedding, accessories and art in any theme you can possibly imagine! Search by colour, or pattern, or sport or animal for whatever you imagine in your kids rooms. You name it, you'll find it here.

Warm Biscuit The most adorable bedding and fabric ever.

In case you were wondering, I decided on a Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme for Joel's nursery (since I didn't know what I was having, it seemed pretty gender neutral). This was my inspiration. And here is the room - I took these photos just before my daughter was born in June, after we moved Joel into his big boy room and set the crib up again. I did end up buying the bedding and mobile you see in the photo.

Vicky is mom to a 3.5 year old boy Joel and nine month old girl Mieka. She also blogs at Some kind of Wondermom.

Bob MacQuarrie pool

by Vicky Here's a little tip for new parents wanting to take their babies swimming, or thinking about signing up for swimming lessons for the first time. The Bob MacQuarrie Recreational Complex (previously known as the Orleans Recreation Centre), has a heated kids pool!

The city offers a Preschool Swim on Wednesdays from 2:00-3:00pm from April 6 to June 27th. Check out the schedule for more public swimming times.

Vicky is mom to a 3.5 year old boy Joel and ten month old girl Mieka. She also blogs at Some kind of Wondermom.

Paint pucks

by Lara Do you remember these from elementary school?

I'm always looking for new crafts to do with Kiernan and when I saw these at Wallacks (I know you can also get them at Scholar's Choice) a wave of nostalgia came over me from elementary school art class and I couldn't help but pick them up. They cost about $13 for the starter pack and then you can get replacement pucks as well as other colours for when you want to mix things up.

They are awesome.  We use them all the time. The colours are vibrant, there's no wasting, and best of all when this happens to your paint (and if you have a 3 year old too, the chances of this are quite high ;)....

... all you need it a little water to get the paint looking good again.

And the best part of all is the artwork you end up with at the end.

Lara is the mom to 3.5 year old Kiernan and 10 month old twins Quinn and Juliette. You can find her at her blog Gliding Through Motherhood.

It's NOT Delissio, or delivery!

by Jenn Not long ago, it got to a point where when the door bell rang, the boys assumed it was the pizza guy.  Not good.  As well, Paul's weekend lunch was often a frozen pizza.

I started noticing how much they cost and how much it was a waste of money for not great tasting and very unhealthy pizza.  As I was researching Freezer Cooking, I discovered how easy it was to prepare and make your own Freezer Pizza's.  If you have a bread maker and a desire to cut down on your pizza costs, then keep reading!

So, what I do to make Frozen Pizzas is actually pretty simple.  First, I prepare my pizza dough in my bread maker.  Here is the recipe I use:

Bread Maker Pizza Dough Makes 3 12" pizzas

• 1 1/2 cups beer or water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 4 1/4 cups white flour
• 2 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients in bread maker in order listed.  Set your bread maker to the dough setting and press start.  It takes my machine about 2 hours to make the dough.  If you happen to not be around when it finishes, it isn't really a big deal.  Please don't freak out if your dough rises to the point of lifting the lid of the bread maker open.  :D  All you need to do is pat it back down with floured hands.  It will be fine!

Preheat your oven to 500 F.  Divide dough into 3 equal balls.  Roll out each ball into a 12" circle and place on a pizza stone or pan.  Bake crusts for about 3 minutes.  This will par bake the crust so that it has some form to it.  Place on cooling rack once finished.  Let cool completely.

Now you have two choices.  You can either freeze the crusts and then top and cook them when you are ready to eat them, or, you can top them right away and then freeze.  I do the second option.  It makes getting dinner on the table quicker when we are home from work late.  Which ever option you choose, the next step is the same.  Tightly wrap the pizza in plastic wrap, squeezing out any air, then wrap in tin foil.  Label your pizzas and throw them in your freezer.

When you are ready to enjoy your pizza, take it out of the freezer.  Top your pizza if needed.  Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake for 10-15 minutes until crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly. Put the par baked pizza crust directly on the oven rack unless you're using a pizza stone.

Enjoy!

Jenn is mom to five-year old Jacob and two and a half year old Zachary.