Baby H – Tobogganing Adventures

by Natasha This is the first winter season that I was able to enjoy with my son. He was too little and immobile in the previous winters to really enjoy anything but the sight of snow. But now that he’s up on his feet walking and is able to express himself in little words here and there, I decided the time for him to enjoy the season has finally arrived.

That was also greatly helped by his exceeded enthusiasm every time we stepped out of the house to get in the car and drive to the day car. He would see the snow on the ground and start saying, “snow! snow!”. When it got a little warmer outside, I decided it was time the Baby gets his fill of the white fluff.

I dressed Baby H in his winter attire, layers upon layers of clothes and we went out to our front yard. I had thought about the big-kid hill around as a start, but Baby H is too little for it still. He sat on the red Micky Mouse round sled and I began pulling it forward. At first he was a little confused about my part in this activity, but once he clued in, all I could hear from behind is “Again, Mommy! Again!”.

Back and forthing on the front yard eventually created a nice smooth path, but I think the bumps along the road were Baby H’s favourite part. Every time we’d hit one, he’d giggle to the point of falling out of the sled.

We played and played for an hour, and I couldn’t stop watching my child smiling and laughing this whole time while sledding about in his red Mickey and rolling in the snow uncontrollably.

It was a great and season-appropriate activity to do in our own yard, and a good workout to boot.  If we get more of the good weather and fresh snow, you’ll be sure to find me out front pulling my little dude around. I suggest you take some time and enjoy the season too.

Natasha is a new mommy to her first born, Baby H. She runs ShopHaven, a blog that reviews products and profiles local businesses and individuals from the Ottawa area. Natasha is also the creative force behind ShopHaven Baskets; a highly customized gift baskets service.  Follow Natasha on Twitter (@shophaven) to keep up with her daily adventures and Baby H’s mischiefs.

Canada Science and Technology Museum

 by Yumi There's something about the smell of the trains that takes me right back.

 When I was little, there wasn't much that I enjoyed more than a trip to the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology. I loved teetering through the Crazy Kitchen, exploring the locomotives and peering through the windows of the various train cars and playing with the telephone switchboard. And oh, my goodness, the buttons you could press. This was a museum where not only were you allowed to touch things, it was encouraged! (Any museum worth its salt now encourages interactivity, but thirty years ago, that was a pretty exciting thing.)

 Today, an outing to the museum brings me as much joy as ever, but for different reasons. I'm introducing my one-year-old son, “Moe”, to this amazing museum. I'm not going to lie – the museum is old and underfunded and would greatly benefit from a new space. But they have been able to work some real magic with their artifacts in the space they have. The artifacts I remember are in new and relevant exhibits, which are hands on and great fun. (And the train area smells as wonderful as ever. My husband and I were trying to identify the smell – it's like engine grease combined with old books. We both grew up in that museum, so we joke that it smells like childhood.)

 For a little guy like Moe, one of the best parts of the museum is the bright and colourful Mini Science Area, for kids under five. There's a train table, Duplo blocks, puppets, puzzles and more. It is a safe place for him to explore. He's also a fan of the locomotives and the canoe ride simulator. He can sit patiently and watch a demo in the amphitheater – we especially enjoyed watching the interpreter play with liquid nitrogen!

 Older kids will love Connexions – The Plugged in World of Communications, which traces communication from 19^th century telegraph to current digital networks. The Search for the Canadian Car, and Canada in Space also provide food for the imagination for little minds and lots to do for little hands. There's also a space simulator that will blow kids away.

 As a parent, I love the gift shop, which is a wealth of educational toys and games. I'm also a big fan of the free parking. We recently got a family membership for the museum – and it's paid for itself already. It allows you entry into the Canada Agriculture Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, as well as more than 290 museums and science centres across Canada and around the world.

 The museum is a great spot to hold a birthday party – they even have sleepovers! There are day camps, family workshops and programs specifically for preschool groups.

 For more information, visit the museum's website at www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca.

Yumi Webster (@yumikid) loves her job, but is dreading her return to work after a year off with her incredible son “Moe”. You can read about Moe’s adventures at kidsquared.livejournal.com, and about Yumi’s own adventures at yumikid.livejournal.com. Yumi has lived in Ottawa all her life.

Monkey Rock: A family night of fun

by Lara

It's always a challenge to go out for dinner with a three year-old and an almost one year-old...but we may have stumbled on something spectacular!  Monkey Rock Music (MRM) plays the first Thursday of every month at Tucson's Restaurant in the South end of the city.  The premise is get there at 4:45, kids eat at 5, show starts at 5:30 and parents eat while the concert is underway. 

So we tried it.  Friends of ours have two school-age kids, we live at the opposite ends of the city and we really don't get to see each other very often.  It's also a challenge, our kids being so different in age, to find family friendly events and outings to appease and entertain everyone.  John does this successfully with MRM!  He even gets the parents involved, or at least singing at their tables. 

I have to say the night out went extremely well, we had a great time.  The older kids were excited they got to go to their first "rock concert", my kids were excited because they love MRM.  They truly were entertained the entire concert, they danced, sang and Stinky Monkey even got on stage to participate with the movements that matched the song!  I really wish I had brought my camera.

The adults had as much fun as the kids, we could watch the kids from our table, enjoy a tasty beverage (or two), listen to some great kids tunes and eat our meal (relatively in peace, Bella Bear shuffled between the four of us clapping). The food was good and there was plenty of choice for everyone, even on the kids table d'hote menu.  Tucson's was extremely well organized and service was quick and understanding of a restaurant full of kids.  We were entertained by the music but also were able to talk, catch-up and enjoy each other's company. 

All in all a very successful outing for us, one in which we may just become regulars!  Thanks MRM and Tucson's for making a great family friendly event!

Lara is mom to Stinky Monkey (3) and Bella Bear (1).  She enjoys making the best memories with her active cardiac preschooler and a healthy heart toddler.  Lara also works, volunteers, shops (way too much), and is new to blogging at www.parentingwithheart.blogspot.com

Felt garland

by Sara Our play room is full of toys, its bright, and I've been itching to add some 'flair' since we moved in.  We have fantastic wall decals and a few of the kids works of art on display but I've been waiting to find something colourful to add to the walls.  At a maternity photography session at the end of December I noticed a beautiful felt circle garland hanging on my client's walls and decided to replicate it.

I bought felt on sale at Michael's for less than $10.  I used craft foam to make circle templates for the felt: I traced three different size glasses from the cupboard and then used the templates to cut out the circles of felt.

My 2.5 year old monkey had no interest in the activity so its been a special project for the 4.5 year old firefighter and I to work on.  He chose the colours of felt to use and would then collect them and stack them as I cut them out.   On Sunday morning we were up with the birds and set to work finishing our project.

After cutting out all the circles we sorted them by colour and then the firefighter made patterns of circles on the floor.  He learned all about size and colour patterns in kindergarten this fall and had fun choosing what patterns he was going to make with the circles.   We made rainbow patterns, big-medium-small patterns, patterns with our favourite colours, and when we were about 3/4 of the way through the circles the firefighter decided to make one huge pattern that looked like the wheels on a big rig truck.

I used white thread and did one simple running stitch at the top of each felt circle and then slid them down the thread.  Because of the weight I ended up making two separate garlands for the playroom walls.  I used white push pins to attach them to the playroom walls and we managed to wrap the garland halfway around our play room!

Depending on your children's ages they could be more or less involved in the project.  Older children could cut out the felt shapes themselves and they certainly don't need to be circles: you could use any shape or even combine different shapes.  There are endless colours of felt available that you could use to colour coordinate with the room you want to decorate.  You could even layer the felt (smaller shape on top of a larger shape) for a two dimensional pattern.  Dark thread would look great on light walls (and vice versa) and its a great opportunity to introduce sewing to your kids (a simple running stitch is all that's needed to link all the circles together).

How have you decorated your play room?

Sara is a photographer and mom to a 4.5-year-old ” firefighter” and 2.5-year-old “monkey”.  You can also find her at her blog, My Points of View.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

by Josee This is for the Birds!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is on this weekend, from Friday February 18th to Monday February 21st. This activity has captured my imagination - I just love it when learning, frugal fun, and the great outdoors collide!

The purpose of the GBBC is to create a snapshot of where birds are located across the continent. Everyone is encouraged to participate, and the GBBC's wonderful website makes it easy for children to get involved.

Here's how it works:

• Pick your bird-watching spot. It can be your back yard, a park, a forest...anywhere you're likely to spot some birds.
• Spend at least 15 minutes keeping track of the largest number of birds you spot at one time. For example, if you see three Canada Geese together at 10:00 a.m., then spot six Canada Geese together a few minutes later, you will need to record the six Canada Geese for your tally. Don't add the three and six together, since you might end up counting the same bird twice. You can spend as long as you like at your location watching for birds.
• If you decide to participate on different days or in more than one location, keep a different tally sheet for each day and each location.
• Enter your results on the GBBC website.
• Watch the on-line maps develop as more and more people enter their results.

Don't know the first thing about birds? If you're like me, the only birds you can identify off-hand are Canada Geese, Blue Jays and pigeons! No worries - that's where the GBBC's amazing website comes in. Enter your location here, and a list of bird species native to your area will come up. You can then click on each type of bird to get information and photos. You can also search birds by name here. The GBBC's kids' page also has a link to an application that will teach you and your child different bird calls, as well as numerous other fun, interactive games, colouring pages, and puzzles.

I think my four-year old daughter will love bird watching. I'm just trying to decide where we'll go to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Come to think of it, we could even count the Rock Pigeons in our downtown neighbourhood - there are always plenty of those around!

Josée is mom to three-year old daughter B.G., and one-year old son Bonhomme.  She is always searching for fun and frugal Ottawa events and activities, and puts her research to good use at her website, www.frugalfunottawa.ca.