Tales of life with a girl on the go

I know it seems like I’ve written this before and that’s the problem – we seem to have to travel whenever the weather is bad. If you don’t believe that we’re the centre of the universe, the two aren’t necessarily linked but it’s happening too often to be a coincidence.

Reid, Ken and I left home in the rain for a quick trip to Chapters and then Kindermusik before getting onto Highway 7 for the drive to Frankford. I was startled when we didn’t take the ramp to the 416 but Ken, the one who doesn’t sleep for 2 of the 3 hours we’re in the car, said that we wanted something better to look at than what the 401 has to offer. When the rain wasn’t heavy, it was nice to see the fall colours and the rocky outcrops that characterize highway 7. My husband has lots of good ideas.

We got to Grandma Barb and Grandpa Terry’s in good time. I had ridden in the backseat with Reid and was still buried in blankets and stuff that needed to be put away when Ken and Reid went in. By the time I got in, Reid was cuddled into Grandmama’s lap. Reid was happy to see Grandma Barb and Grandpa Terry, to be sure, but Grandmama was a particularly welcome surprise.

We had a good visit, with lots of silliness as Grandpa Terry delights in teasing Reid and Reid delights in climbing on him as though he were her personal jungle gym. Grandma Barb prepared a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and Reid managed to eat some food other than the olives that were so tantalizingly close for a while. At one point, Reid wandered away from the table and I said that I would take her to sit in car if she didn’t sit down. This apparently amused the others but I couldn’t think of a place at Grandma and Grandpa’s that Reid wouldn’t find interesting to be in. She did sit and eat nicely and so I didn’t have to go out to the cold, damp car. It’s important to choose discipline techniques that don’t punish you as well, to the extent possible. I had a moment of doubting Reid’s parentage when she tried a butter tart for the first time and reacted as though it were dirt laced with rotten eggs.

After supper, Reid and Grandmama did some painting with the Elmer’s Squeeze and Brush kit that I bought at Costco a few weeks ago. I like to have a new toy when we travel and ones that are washable and mess-free, like this one claimed to be, are particularly appealing to me. I think Grandmama would have contested the mess-free claim. She spent quite a bit of time wiping her hands off – not counting  when I painted her hand and had her make a handprint. Reid covered her hands with paint as her love of handprints continues. Her face and arms were collateral damage. The paint came off with soap and water, though, and so the mess-free claim should have an asterisk with a note that it is mess-free in the long term.

We got checked into our hotel just after Reid’s usual bedtime. With only overnight bags, we could have easily carried our things but I got the cart so that Reid could have a ride. The small things that make kids happy, eh?