Parents in the Capital: Meet Sara

Ottawa has some wonderful bloggers and we are lucky that many of them are Kids in the Capital contributors and readers! We want to share some of our favorite Ottawa parent bloggers on a more regular basis so we are introducing a series of posts called Parents in the Capital. Say hello to Sara!

Tell us about yourself and your family I am the proud mom to two boys, the firefighter, who is 5, and the monkey, who is 2 and a 1/2.  My husband, who does not have an endearing nickname other than ‘DH’, and I have been married for almost 9 years.  We recently moved further out into the suburbs and I joke we now live closer to Montreal than Ottawa.  Orleans really is that far east.

Since the firefighter was born I have juggled part-time work and at-home motherhood.  I am a photographer who specializes in couples, children, families, maternity, and newborns.  The very same photographer who does not have a recent picture of her entire family together and instead decided to include this outtake from our Christmas photos.

What is your favourite activity to do with your kid(s) in Ottawa? We love the newly renovated Museum of Nature and our favourite outdoor haunts are Parliament Hill (“the place with all the grass and cats” according to the firefighter) and the Mer Bleue boardwalk.

What is your favourite at home activity to do with your kid(s)? Both boys are at a place where they live in a world of make-believe.  More often than not we are firefighters and rescue personnel of some sort but depending on whatever dress-up outfit or accessory they’ve unearthed we might be construction workers, hair dressers, secret shark divers, or cooks.

What was the biggest surprise that parenthood has brought into your life? I am incredibly tidy and neat.  I even blog once a week about my neurotically clean and organized ways.  However, I also embrace the mess and chaos of being a mom to two small kids.  We play in the puddles and the mud, we paint almost everyday; I fill the sink with soap and bubbles for them to play in; and there is always play-dough stuck to my kitchen floor.  Despite my preference for all things orderly, I’m surprised at how easy going I am about all the fun and mess that makes childhood so great!

What parenting tips/advice do you wish you'd known when you first became a parent? It gets better.  Parenthood is wonderful and full of joy and amazement.  It’s also exhausting and can be the source of so much despair.  So many times my friends reminded me “this to shall pass”

Tell us about your blog and how you discovered blogging. Less than a year ago I discovered Kids in the Capital and contacted Lara and Brie, asking if I could write some guests posts.  I had kept a password protected family journal for three years but wanted to write for someone other than my immediate family.  Two months later I started My Points of View.

I am also one of the bloggers at Losing It in Ottawa.  Last but not least I have a blog for my business, Sara McConnell Photography.

I have Kids in the Capital to thank for my discovery of blogging :-)

What do you love best about being a parent in Ottawa? Other than the fact that my entire family is here as are all our friends, I love all the green space.  Both my husband and I love the outdoors and there is no shortage of fun things to do with kids outside in Ottawa, irrespective of the season!

Thanks Sara! We are so glad that you found us and blogging.