Bal de neige

I grew up in Ottawa, I have the requisite pictures of little kid me being pushed around the canal on a sled, I've eaten a fair number of Beavertails in my life and I have fond memories of being privileged enough to grow up walking distance from the canal. But the fact is that I haven't been to Winterlude in years, except for a very short journey with the stroller a few years ago – while putting on my new skates I realized that I had not in fact skated in over a decade. When the kid had a day off school and the weather was forecasted to be just about perfect, the kid and I made the trek to Jacques Cartier Park to see what Winterlude looks like these days.

How was it? In the words of the kid: "Awesome."

We walked through the gate and she saw the ice covered slides and immediately was ready to go. We had barely come to a stop in our inner-tube at the bottom of a hill when she asked to go again.

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(The guy they had at the top pulling those tubes down was awesome, truly, and really seemed to be enjoying himself).

A combination of fresh air, exercise, fun and tasty treats made it a great day.

Quick and easy Valentine's Day craft

Valentine's Day Craft

I asked the kids this morning if they wanted to do a Valentine's Day craft. This was before I had figured out what we could possibly do. I grabbed some construction paper and scissors and started cutting.

Valentine's Day is all about the hearts, so I cut out different sized hearts in red, pink and white, and handed them over to the kids who were eager to colour them. They went wild and when they were done we attached some white ribbon to the hearts using tape.

Ceiling Hearts

I used thumbtacks to pin them to the ceiling. The result? A very festive living room, decorated with hand-made hearts, making our Valentine's Day and the days leading up to it special. Try this for a quick and easy craft to do with your kids. They'll love seeing their handiwork.

Kids' Craft: Bowling at Home

My daughter's been bowling several times now, and loves it! Although she can barely manage to get the ball down the lane, she has a blast knocking over any pins she can. When I noticed empty toilet paper rolls piling up around our house, I questioned my hubby - why weren't they being put in the recycling? He told me he was saving them for a special craft/activity. This is why I love this man - he's the crafty genius in our family!

So yesterday evening, the toilet paper roles got decorated with stickers and markers, and were placed at the end  of our long hallway. We started by using one tennis ball as our bowling pin, but discovered that two tennis balls actually worked best :)

A great indoor activity for these cold and snowy days!

The Soother Fairy Came!

This is my daughter with her soother.....about 3 years ago. She is now 4.5, and yes, still has (had!) a soother. I know, I can hear the gasps now. Trust me when I say this - the timing has never been right. This is a kid who has no other comfort other than her pacifier. She can take or leave any of her stuffed animals, and there is no special "blankie" in the house that is reserved for her. Her only comforts in life have been nursing and "suckie." And since we stopped nursing a while back, suckie took its place. She has been using it only at nighttime for the past year (and very limited daytime use before that).

My husband and I have been talking about removing the pacifier for a couple of years now. It hasn't been done for several reasons:

1. It works! She sleeps well with her pacifier and it means minimal hand-holding at nighttime.

2. Our dentist approved. I know - many other dentists will tell you that it's a problem past the age of 2, but our dentist was ok with us restricting daytime use and trying to encourage her to use it less during sleep.

3. We're lazy tired. We have a 15 month old who has not been sleeping well for a long time, and the thought of losing more sleep scared us!

But alas, the day came. Our dentist told us it was time. Our daughter bites down on the soother throughout the night, which has resulted in a big gap in her bite. This needs to be rectified before adult teeth come in. Plus, she's much older now and able to understand reasoning as to why it needs to go.

So with poking and prodding gentle encouragement from my husband, we came up with a Soother Fairy plan. Just like the tooth fairy, the Soother Fairy comes and takes away the soothers, while leaving a special gift in their place. Hubby went clothes shopping at Carter's and found her some really nice outfits we knew she'd get excited about. He also wrote her a special card, congratulating her on becoming a big girl.

It's now Day 5, and things are going very well. The only problem we've encountered is early morning wake-ups - without the soother in her mouth, she's having a harder time sleeping in!

Did your child use a soother? At what age did you take it away?

Welcome to our new Community Manager - Misty

You may have noticed some changes around Kids in the Capital lately - we have a new Community Manager! Ali was such a wonderful asset to the Kids in the Capital community over the last year and we were sad to see her go (thanks for all your hard work Ali!!) but Misty has stepped into the position and we're excited to have her with us.

Misty has been a part of our community for quite a while now.  She is a mom of two girls, four and one and a half, and works in research at The Ottawa Hospital. In her spare time, she's a doula and childbirth educator. Misty moved to Ottawa 8 years ago, and loves raising her children in this city!

Misty will be your contact if you're interested in writing for the blog (we are always looking for more parents to share what they love to see and do with the kids in the Ottawa area!!) or in advertising on the blog (we have a lot of great opportunities for businesses to reach Ottawa families.)  You can always reach her at kidsinthecapital@gmail.com or fill out the form below!

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