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.

Question of the Month: Parenting in a Digital Age

Trying to raise kids in this digital age can be very nerve-racking. We are living in a time where things change so fast that we barely have time to grasp one innovation before another one comes along and renders it obsolete.

As a mom, I do believe that my kids need some exposure to the online world. I really think that there is a huge benefit in learning how to incorporate the many online tools into their lives and schoolwork while they’re still young. I hope that with my guidance, they will learn healthy habits about sharing, privacy and online safety.

As a parent, what do you struggle with when trying to raise responsible children in this age of connectedness, sharing and online dangers?

But Mom Loves You Best!

  If your kids are like mine, you’ve probably heard the words “that’s not fair” more times than you can count.  As a mom, I try really hard to make sure that things between my two girls are equal. This includes portion size, one-on-one time, and even the number of pieces of new clothing they get but throughout the course of a day, there are so many things shared, both emotionally and physically, it’s impossible to be fair all the time.

There are times when I find that trying to treat my kids equally is a little like trying to stay on top of the water: the harder I try, the deeper I sink. So one lesson that I try to teach my girls is that fairness doesn’t always mean equal or the same.  In reality, they are both so different that it really is impossible to treat them both exactly the same anyway. I mean, as adults, do we really treat everyone the same? We interact, communicate and react to individual personalities and temperaments. Everyone is different, including my children.

I promise I really try not to compare them to each other. I know that they both have different temperaments and they both respond to discipline differently.  I try hard to pay attention to each of my girls for all their accomplishments and console their feelings when they fall short. I’m their cheerleader (equally) and I’ve even come up with a solution for the “she got more than me” conundrum (basically, one girls pours or scoops and the other chooses first).

The hardest part for me is when they accuse me of favouritism. I’m sure you’ve all been in this bind before. As frustrating as it is, I try to take a deep breath and rather than getting into a debate over who is more loved, I remind them that they are each irreplaceable. And while they may think that I am not always be fair, the truth is that I really do love them equally. Really.

How do you respond when one child accuses you of loving their sibling more?

A Trip to the Ottawa Food Bank

  I’m embarrassed to admit that I have never really thought much about volunteering with my children. We donate to charity and gather clothing for different organizations but I have never really come face to face with the concept of hunger and not having enough to eat. Neither have my children. That changed today with a trip to the Ottawa food bank.

In honor of a friend’s birthday, my daughters and some friends got together to help unpack, sort and box donated food at the east-end warehouse.  None of us had ever been there before and it was certainly an eye-opening experience.

In a tour of the facility, we learned that, on average, the Ottawa Food Bank helps 45,000 people per month. They have clients of every race, sex, part of the city, and age – including 37 per cent of whom are children. Some of their clients work, while others don’t. Some live alone, others live with families. Some have homes, and some sleep in shelters. We learned that there is no “type” when it comes to hunger.

This experience really made me see the positive impact that volunteering has on kids. I think they actually enjoyed the whole experience. It also opened up a discussion about people who are less fortunate than we are and how hard it is for some to make ends meet, even when they have the best intentions. I think it helped my girls appreciate what they have too. It made us all think about how the whole world is connected and that even one person can make a difference.

The Food Bank couldn’t exist without the support of volunteers and donors, gifts of food and the gift of your time. Please check out their website to learn about the ways you can get involved.

Have you ever thought about volunteering with your children? At what age do you think they are old enough to understand the concept of fortunate and less fortunate?

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.