Thank you to Nayla Natural Care for hosting such a great giveaway! We SO love to support local mom businesses!! Joanne is the lucky winner of of Kinderville Little Bites Bowls! Please email Gwen at info@naylanaturalcare.com
Congratulations Joanne - we're sure you'll love them! And everyone else, please take the time to visit our fabulous sponsor Nayla Natural Care.
by Brie My three-year old girl has had a great time so far this summer. A big part of that was due to the international language classes she took through the Ottawa-Carleton school board during the month of July. Every weekday morning for four weeks she joined some new friends and had a chance to speak Japanese.
What? You didn't know we spoke Japanese? We don't. Does the girl? Well, kind of. Or as she would say arigato.
Another mom told me about the international language classes being offered at a school near our house. I reviewed the options, none of which we or the girl speak, and decided on Japanese. I mean, why not! She loves sushi. How could it go wrong?
It didn't. She loved the Japanese class. The teacher was very patient with her. The fact that she wasn't the only non-Japanese speaker in the class helped. It was great to see a mix of kids who spoke Japanese at home and other kids just eager to learn.
I would recommend the summer langauge programs to any parent looking for something different for their elementary school-age kids to do next summer. You also can't beat the cost. Have I mentioned the only class cost was a $10 registration fee?
The Ottawa-Carleton school board has come out with the Fall schedule of language classes for elementary and secondary school-age children. If you speak a language other than English or French at home and think your child would benefit from learning the language in a classroom setting, you should definitely investigate the langauge programs on offer. Maybe you want your child to better communicate with their grandparents or extended family? Maybe your child wants to explore a new language? Whatever the reason, this is a great, low-cost learning opportunity for your kids.
The only hard part? For me, it's deciding which language to pick.
Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter “the girl” and eighteen month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.
by Caroline Water parks are part of summer in my family. Ever since my husband and I were dating, we would hike off to one water park or another, and ride through (and on) tubes and around loops getting soaking wet and having a blast. Call it what you will, but we fell in love over swimsuit wedgies and sunburns.
One place we visited was Mont Cascades, in Cantley, Quebec.
Recently, my husband was hankering (read: Pleasepleaseplease can we go to a water park Hun? Please???) to spend some time in a water park, and agreed our son, now two, would be old enough to enjoy it as well. So, we looked at all the water parks in the Ottawa area, and decided on Mont Cascades for his introduction to the water park experience. We figured this park would not have parking fees, traffic jams, long lineups and maybe have a more relaxed atmosphere, one where we wouldn’t worry quite as much about crowds, or how many people would see me in a bathing suit. Seriously.
Mont Cascades delivered. We discovered a great, inexpensive and enjoyable outing for our family with our choice. We have been twice this season, and are very happy with the experience both times.
The best part is the price. For the park’s 20th anniversary, all entry fees have been dropped to $10 (plus tax). Kids two and under, as usual, are free. This meant, for us, that our entry for the day was $23.20! This was a much welcome alternative to $88 plus parking at other places we looked at. Parking is free at Mont Cascades, and you can bring in all your own food.
Subway is available if you don’t want to bring your own food, so at least you can have a healthy choice other than fries and burgers. I believe there is also bar that serves regular fare. We didn’t check out either, since we had all our own food with us.
The first time we arrived, we came for the afternoon, and the second time, we came in the morning and spent a good part of our day. Both times, the parking lot was quite full, and a bit helter-skelter to find a spot. Not surprisingly, most were family vehicles that had gaggles of kids and teenagers piling out, like clown cars at the circus. Who knew minivans could hold so much? No matter where you park, the walk is never that far to get to the gates.
I suggest arriving right at ten a.m., when the park opens, if you are planning a full day. Not only will you get a better parking spot, but there are several tents and areas with shade, and they fill up really quickly. If you come anytime after opening, you’ll have to do paper-rock-scissors with the family of ten taking up the last table, or sit out in the sun. Both times we were in the sun (which is just fine), but we did manage to snag a half-picnic table to stash our cooler and bags. The park suggests not bringing in valuables, of course, but we felt very safe leaving our stuff “out” in the groups of people.
The park is kept clean, and we appreciated the ability to recycle our waste from our picnic lunch. Picnic tables and structures are in good shape too. There are change rooms in the main building, and pay lockers (bring loonies) if you want, but again, if you arrive later in the day, you likely won’t get one. A suggestion is to bring a bicycle cable lock to keep your stuff attached to a picnic table leg, if you feel necessary.
I didn’t bring my wallet, and stashed my camera and phone in the car, so I have no pictures. Next time I’ll buy a waterproof instant camera and get some snaps.
Neither time was the lineup long for entry, when we arrived. Even with lots of people waiting, park staff had all their ticket windows open, and everyone was moved through quickly. You can pay by debit or credit card, but we always had cash to make it quick, and negate the need to carry our wallets.
Once you have your tickets, you go through a gate where they make sure you don’t have any glass or sharp knives (tip: pre cut veggies and cheese so you don’t need a paring knife). The gate is also where you get your massive, indelible-paint-like stamp on your hand. My son was ecstatic to get a “sticker” for his hand, and giggled like mad when the park staffer stamped him. Mine has yet to wear off, but my son’s came off right away. I suppose this means I need to moisturize more. I have lizard skin.
For us, we didn’t venture to any of the big slides in the park, as our son is just a toddler, and was relegated to the 48” and under area, called Mini-Splash. This was no sacrifice, since there are five slides in the kid’s area to play on.
Three white coloured slides are right off the main wading pool. One is a wide slide that several kids, or kids + parents can go down at once, and another is a straight, narrow slide that one child can easily slide down. There is also a twisty-turny one, but very tame. Two orange and green slides are above the main area, and exit out to a separate deck. Both quite fun, twisty-turny slides for kids. My son liked these best. I’ll admit they were right up my alley too, I’ve slowed down in my old age *creak*.
One thing we really liked was that all the slides are capable of taking a parent with a child seated firmly in your lap. You can stay with them the whole time. For smaller children, this is so important, as they learn water safety. Always within reach, is the adage, and I firmly adhere to that. The wide slide in the main area could handle my husband and me with our son between us, and he got a real kick out of all three of us sliding together, holding our hands and grinning ear to ear each time we went. Every time we would go down together, people would laugh. I suppose we made quite the sight, two adults holding a tiny boy’s hands and all screaming “WHEEEE!” at the top of our lungs.
Another plus is that you can bring in your own flotation devices for the kids, instead of having to rent the ones the park provides. We have a wee swimsuit for our son that has foam on the back and front, and fits him properly. He looks like a robin-egg blue turtle with a tiny rear-end, but he floats on his back automatically, if he gets in trouble. I believe you can also rent lifejackets, but it’s not a requirement for small kids.
There are two other pools for swimming and wading, and both are quite nice. Once is right by the main buildings, and another is up a wee hill, and has water jets spouting at various points, like a massive town centre water fountain you can actually play in. We tended to stay at the slides, as both times we went, the pools were packed with older kids splashing. But we did get some swim time in, since our son is learning to dunk his head, blow bubbles, and float.
For over 48”, but not ready for the big slides, is a place they call Splash Forest. This has one of those massive tilting water buckets, and some tube slides that come off a big play structure. There are water squirt guns, and various other attractions. We went up to see if our son might like to play in it, but he was more content to watch. The big bucket spilling over everyone was quite a fun game for him to watch, and he would jump and point in anticipation as the young boys all gathered right under the apex of where the water dropped. He thought it was hilarious as they all screamed. We didn’t take him under it in case it scared him, though. Next year, when he’s older, my guess will be we won’t be able to keep him away.
Overall, I think the value for what you pay is very high at Mont Cascades, and would recommend it to families with small kids, or even older ones who want to ride some really cool water slides like Black Magic or Mammoth River and not blow the bank. It’s close to Ottawa, very friendly, and family-oriented. But don’t take my word for it, you should go!
http://www.montcascades.ca/aqua/en_home.asp
Directions from Ottawa: Take the MacDonald Cartier Bridge North and take the 2nd exit, Highway 50, direction East to Montreal/Gatineau. Take 1st exit, Saint-Louis, #138 and turn right (North) onto Highway 307. Drive 15 Km, turn left onto Mont Cascades Road and proceed 7 Km to Mont Cascades.
Caroline bought a Mustang, and began dating the man who sold it to her. Two years later, after a wedding and the birth of her son, she found herself with a family. The car seat fits just fine in the Mustang and her two-year old son takes great pleasure in calling it “Daddy’s car”. Caroline has stopped correcting him. He did earn a commission when he sold it, after all… You can find her blogging at http://www.mustangsabby.wordpress.com and http://nomorepicklesandicecream.blogspot.com
by Anna
We decided to have a 'tourist in our own city' day and took a ride on Paul's Boatlines Cruise, of the Rideau Canal. I have lived here (almost) my whole life and I have not been since the mid '80s. Hubby has lived here his whole life and never taken the tour. So that was settled.
We headed downtown to find the ticket booth, which was located right in front of the Conference Center across from the Chateau Laurier. We were happy to see that they took interac as well as most major credit cards because we completely forgot to stop at a bank machine before heading downtown. We thought we picked a perfectly cool day and even brought sweaters for the kids, but Mother Nature has been playing havoc on us this summer and we were melting before we left the docks. After purchasing our tickets we followed the signs that directed us to where the boats are docked beside the Conference Center.
We travel Colonel By Drive all the time, but for this ride we got to see it from the water, so lovely and so green this year.
Our tour guide was funny and resourceful and we met some very nice folks from New York, so it really was like being a tourist in our own city. We passed this beautiful walking bridge and J yelled, "Hey that is where we skate in the Winter!" to which we replied, "we skate down this whole canal." J was so amused and thought it was pretty cool that we were now boating on the same place that we usually only skate.
The cruise down the canal took just over an hour and we were hot and hungry so we had a lovely brunch on the Market.
If you are running out of fun things to do this summer, we recommend taking a cruise, you get to see our wonderful city from a whole different angle.
Anna is a proud stepmom (18yrs) and mom (7 & 3 yrs) and blogs her quest to get to the Beach every year as well as everything in between at Life is Good...At the Beach. Anna is also a photographer, her portfolio can be viewed at Anna Epp Photography, and is often spotted around town with her trusty Nikon by her side.
*contest is now closed* by Vicky
I'll admit it, when I first laid my hands on these Little Bites Bowls from Kinderville, I had a sudden urge to bite them. Maybe I've been reading too much Twilight? But the colours, the texture, the smell... all beckoning me to bite down and gnom-gnom-gnom! If I were a teething child, they would be my chew toy.
This could very well be the best compliment ever - so good you'll want to eat them?
The texture of Kinderville products is just one of the many things you will love. Made from silicone, they are not only BPA, phthalate and lead free, they are also bacteria resistant and dishwasher, refrigerator, freezer and microwave safe. Bonus! I don't think I own any other dish that is so versatile.
Let me tell you just how excited I was to have been given the opportunity to review this product. When Gwen from Nayla Natural Care dropped off the box, it's no wonder I had an urge to eat them - the packaging alone was only one indication of just how scrumptious they were. I was just about to open the box when my 3 and a 1/2 year old ran by and snatched it from my hands. Apparently he was hungry too. Together we took them out of the box, and decided it was time for a snack. I dropped a few pretzels into the bowl and off he went.
The bowls are nice and wide which helps avoid spills, and are also the perfect depth for little hands; not too deep to get lost in, and just the right size for a snack. They also work well on the highchair tray, since the silicone prevents them from sliding around too much. Mind you, they aren't too helpful in actually preventing my 13 month old from pitching her food onto the floor at lunch time! We've used them outside, and in the living room too (gasp!) Is it bad that I've also been using them for my own snacks? Why should the kids get all the fun!
You know that cupboard in your kitchen with all the sippy cups, bottles, and kid friendly bowls? The one that things fall out of every single time you open it? Well these bowls are stackable, so you don't have to worry about the real estate you'll have to uncover to store them. And besides, you'll really want to pitch those other bowls when you get these.
Kinderville also has storage jars, cups, freezer trays and popsicle molds which are all available for purchase at Nayla Natural Care, owned and managed by Gwen. This busy mom of two has put together an excellent selection of safe, non-toxic, high quality and unique products for your family in one convenient spot! She also tests and approves all the products before they make it into the store, so you know you're buying only the best, mom-approved products available!
If you haven't yet discovered Nayla or the Kinderville line, you'll want to check it out.
Happy gnoming, er I mean shopping! ;)
Vicky is the mom to 3.5 year old son named Joel and 1 year old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Wondermom.
WIN SOME!!
Gwen has generously given us a set of Kinderville Little Bites Bowls to give away to one of our readers. To enter visit the Nayla Natural Care site and come back and tell us what product you would most like from the shop.
Once you've done that, you can get extra entries by:
- signing up for Nayla's email newsletter
- "liking" Nayla Natural Care on Facebook
- "liking" Kids in the Capital on Facebook
Please leave an extra comment for every extra thing you do. Good luck!
Contest closes on Sunday August 8 at midnight.
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