October 24, 2011 by Barbara.

If you looked at photographs from much of Reid’s childhood, you would think, “Wow, that kid goes a lot of fun places with her dad.” You might also think she does cool activities and wonder who was with her. To a large extent, I’m reluctant to give up control of the camera and Ken only occasionally takes it from me and gets me in a shot. Until…

Until Reid grew old enough to ask for the camera (expecting it to be shared) and to take pictures of both Ken and me - at the same time. All of a sudden, there we all are standing together at the top of a hill, overlooking a forest and lake at Deerhurst and Reid took a picture of Ken and me. Soon enough, the picture is printed and hung on a wall. We admire Reid’s photography skills and thank her for bringing us both into the photographic record.

Capital Mom provides a theme each Friday for these Monday Moments. Others have written about their own moments. I also wrote about other  Monday Moments.

Posted in Monday Moment, Growing up, Pastimes, Uncategorized | Print | 4 Comments »

July 22, 2011 by Barbara.

I’ve been lucky enough to attend BlogHer twice and am gearing up for a third trip. For some reason, Ken was the one who discovered that BlogHer even existed - and that BlogHer07 would be in Chicago. He encouraged me to go and, of course, I took Reid. (I took Reid everywhere, she nursed until she was 4.) At my first BlogHer, I wrote that I’d finally found a playgroup that I wanted to attend and this sense of belonging has kept me returning.  Reid and I weren’t staying at the conference hotel, though, and so I headed back to see her, Aunt Karin and Shea as soon as the sessions ended each day. I attended only one evening party. Admittedly, the conference, expo hall and party schedule were all much smaller but I was at a point where being away from Reid for 8 or 9 hours was more than enough.

While I was in the conference, Aunt Karin, Shea and Reid saw the sites of Chicago. They had a wonderful time and I was a teensy bit jealous. I planned a vacation to Chicago in 2009, in fact, so that I could see some of the amazing sights that they had taken in. This might mean I’m like the kid who wants to eat the cake and have it, too.

Last year, I attended BlogHer10 and I sort of brought Reid. We arranged to go to New York City with Aunt Pam for five days before BlogHer started (I’d learned my lesson about not seeing the city the conference was in) and then Reid and Aunt Pam left while I stayed on. It’s a scary thing, kissing your child goodbye when you know that they’re going on an airplane without them. Statistically, flying is safer than driving but it’s a less familiar risk and I was worried. They got back to Grandma Joyce’s safely and weren’t troubled at all and I stayed on to attend the conference and many parties, kid-free.

For BlogHer11, I am blending these approaches. We’re going to arrive in San Diego on Monday and we’ll explore La Jolla, Legoland and other exciting venues (to be named later) together until Thursday. For the conference itself, I’m planning to attend the sessions, have supper with Reid and Cousin Sari (Reid likes people to have their “rank”) - unless they’re not done exploring whatever part of the city they head to that day - and then go back for parties. Anyone who is missing their kids will be welcome to join us for dinner.

I don’t think Reid will mind me leaving for the evening because she’ll have her super-cool cousin (who is at least 30, I’m a responsible mom) to hang out with. I think it will do me good to have a break from the unreality of the conference - it’s fun but it doesn’t seem entirely real - and also to get a bit of sensible food in me. I recall eating way too many canapés in lieu of supper last year.

While I’m in the conference sessions, Sari and Reid will see the sights of San Diego. We have a membership to the Canada Science and Technology Museum, which entitles us to free entry to more than 330 science museums in North America, including the Rueben H. Fleet Science Centre and the San Diego Natural History Museum and I imagine those will be on the list of places to visit. (If you don’t have a membership to your local science museum, I highly recommend one. It’s a great deal for so many reasons.) I’ve bought Go San Diego cards so that we can visit lots of places and not have the pressure of “it cost $$$ to enter, we’re staying” for the venues that aren’t as amazing as we thought. Sari and Reid will be able to choose from the list of 48 options. We’ll have Monday to got to the beach and then we’ll get our tired (and, hopefully, happy) selves onto the plane on Tuesday.

Whew! I’m tired just thinking about it.

Do you have strategies for when you take your family to a conference? A story to share from having done so in the past?

Posted in Pastimes, Vacation, Mama, Barbara's family | Print | 4 Comments »

June 2, 2011 by Barbara.

Reid and I took part in the 2K Family Run on Saturday as part of Ottawa Race Weekend. All participants received race t-shirts and time chips to attach to their shoes, which had the effect of making Reid feel like a “real” runner and also enables me to tell you that Reid ran 2 kilometers in 13 minutes and 48.9 seconds. That’s pretty fast and put her in 86 out of 469 females under 8 years old. She ran much of the distance with only a couple of walk breaks.

We started our race in the company of Sara and Ben. Sara is one of my Losing It In Ottawa blogger buddies and Ben is her fabulous son. It was fun to have friends in the start corral with us and also to have people to share stories with at the end of the race.

After the race, Reid commented to me that this race was her longest ever. I agreed that it was true. Next, she grinned and said it was also her second. That, too, was true I said. Reid said that she also wants to run a 5 kilometre race next. I recommended a few more 1 or 2 kilometre races but now I’m wondering if we should train for a 5K. The thing with little kids is that they tend to run hell bent for leather and then fade on longer distances. With my Garmin GPS watch, though, Reid might be inclined to pace herself.

Can I explain the matching outfits? I saw the Running Skirts display at the Army Run last September but resisted buying one. Once I registered us for the 2K run, though, I couldn’t resist buying matching skirts for Reid and myself and then, once we had matching skirts, matching t-shirts and headbands seemed necessary. Reid loved it that I was her “twin”. We’ll have to run several races to get our use out of the outfits.

 Everyone who completes a race receives a “Finisher” medal. Reid was delighted with hers. Now I’m wondering what to do with the collection of race medals that we’ve begun amassing.

When I was getting ready for my half-marathon run on Sunday morning, Reid asked how far I would be running. I told her 21.1 kilometres and she shook her head. “No, Mama. Yesterday I ran 2K. How many “K“ will you run?” I grinned and told her that it was 21.1K and then I explained that the “K” represented kilometres.

I had to be downtown for my race at 8:00, for the 9:00 start. I asked Ken and Reid to come later and cheer me on near the end. They were stationed within the last kilometre, right where I needed them most. I was more than a little tired after more than 2 hours of running but I wouldn’t let myself be walking when I saw them. Nothing like pride to keep yourself going! Seeing them at the side of the road brought tears to my eyes - good ones - and the tap of the hand that I got from Reid gained me at least 10 seconds.

Posted in Sports, Pastimes | Print | 4 Comments »

May 15, 2011 by Barbara.

Reid took part in A Red Carpet Celebration skating carnival last weekend. It marked the 40^th Anniversary of the Gloucester Skating Club. Reid was excited to be participating – a very good thing since she performed Friday night, Saturday morning and again on Saturday afternoon.

Reid’s class skated to a Hannah Montana song. I don’t know the title and Ken seems to have blocked any knowledge of what the lyrics were. My running clinic conflicted with Reid’s lessons and so Ken was the only one who saw and heard the weekly practices. He seems somewhat traumatized. ;+) (Just kidding. Sort of.)

We first put Reid in the CanSkate program last summer to reinforce her skating skills since she was struggling at hockey. She made such progress that we enrolled her again in September. I have to confess my anti-figure skating bias. When I was growing up, lo those many years ago, the kids who weren’t good skaters were made to feel like they were wasting the teachers’ time and taking ice time from more deserving skaters. As you might guess, I wasn’t one of the skilled skaters. I had some enthusiasm at the beginning but not much talent. I didn’t want Reid exposed to a “be competitive or go away” culture. The CanSkate program was not like this at all. There is a competitive stream but there are also lots of learning to be done without following that stream.

When Reid brought home the form about the performances, I asked whether she wanted to participate and she said, “no”. The day before the deadline to submit the forms, I asked again and the answer was “yes”. (It seemed better to ask again than to have a kid full of remorse at missing a deadline.) For several weeks the kids who signed up practiced at the end of the regular class. Finally, there was a practice on the Monday before the performances and I got to watch. Reid concentrated so hard to do the right move at the right moment.

At bedtime on Thursday night, Reid was stressing about the performance but I reassured her that even Olympic skaters fell sometimes and that the main point was to get back up and continue skating. I wonder if Reid’s worrying is common or if I can take “credit” for it. I certainly get butterflies myself.

When I took Reid to the arena on Friday night, they said she could stay with me for an extra hour or go straight to the dressing room. Reid chose the dressing room option – I guess the butterflies had subsided – and I half-watched the other kids performing. I didn’t watch too closely because we had tickets for Saturday morning, too, and wanted to be surprised with Ken. I couldn’t ignore the 3 and 4 year olds, though. They were so small and so cute that they brought tears to my eyes. How did Reid get to be so much bigger than these little ones?!

I volunteered in the dressing room from 1:45 til 4:15 on Saturday afternoon. Being confined to a regular-sized dressing room (with typical accoustics) with approximately 30 children was a bit of a challenge. I’m not used to spending long stretches of time with 5 and 6 year old boys and they’re louder and more active than Reid and her buddies. There was hitting and pushing and way more noise than I like. I guess moms of boys get used to it slowly as their own sons grow but I found it a big culture shock. Also, I question the intelligence of parents who send their kids into public with electronic devices that aren’t labelled. Really, when Mabel’s Labels says that they make “labels for the things kids lose”, they mean the DS and Leapster and that sort of thing. As the adult volunteer trying to mediate between two kids each claiming the same toy, I didn’t have nice inside thoughts to say about the parents who sent the electronic devices unlabelled.

In each of her performances, Reid followed the routine with great care. She did particularly well near the end when they cocked their hips and let their Hannah Montana attitude show through ;+) I wasn’t allowed to take pictures during the performance but I did take a few when we were in the dressing room. You can see the attitude that Reid took with her onto the ice.

Posted in Sports, Pastimes, Mama | Print | 2 Comments »

April 23, 2011 by Barbara.

Guest post written by Reid, photographs by Barbara

 The beginning of the story: how it started. One day Reid was blowing eggs at her Grandma’s house for Easter.

 Reid likes to hold the eggs in the bowl of dye instead of using the dye thingamajigger.

 Once the eggs were dyed and dried, Reid painted them.

 Look at how messy her hands are.

 After Reid was done dying eggs, she helped Aunt Pam with the cake for Easter.

 Reid put icing over top of the white icing that Mama had put on at first.

 The icing that Reid was putting on was the colours that are primary and one colour that was secondary and one colour that was tertiary.

 In the end, Reid was very messy.

Posted in Food, Pastimes, Vacation, Mama, Barbara's family | Print | 9 Comments »

April 11, 2011 by Barbara.

We live in a townhouse. When Reid was small, we were always on the same floor to be safe. And close. And, yet, we played hide-and-seek together. It went something like this.

Mama counts and allows time for concealment before beginning the hunt. ”Is she behind the curtains in the living room?” she asks. “No. Maybe she is beside the bookcase?” And so it went, from speculating about the hall closet, bathroom, under the table, beside the china cabinet and in the pantry to the end of the couch.

Wondering aloud built suspense as Reid knew her non-hiding spots were being ruled out. It prolonged the game. There were, after all, only so many place to hide on the main floor. It gave Reid ideas for places to hide on her next turn and when to look for her mama. 

And, though they could both run and hide, it made Mama think of her own mother reciting a poem by Henry Cuyler Bunner, called “One, Two, Three”;

…

It was Hide-and-Go-Seek they were playing,
Though you’ve never have known it to be–
With an old, old, old, old lady,
And a boy with a twisted knee.

The boy would bend his face down
On his one little sound right knee,
And he’d guess where she was hiding,
In guesses One, Two, Three!

Capital Mom provides a theme each Friday for these Monday Moments. Others have written about their own moments. I also wrote about  Monday Moments.

Posted in Monday Moment, Pastimes, Barbara's family | Print | 2 Comments »

April 7, 2011 by Barbara.

For reasons not exactly clear to me, Reid is interested in ways to save money. She isn’t thinking obvious ones, like eating at home instead of at a restaurant or not going places that charge admission, though. When we first started talking about Reid taking cello lessons, she said that it would be a good way to save money on electricity since we wouldn’t need to listen to the radio, just to her playing the music. We talked about taking art classes this morning and immediately Reid suggested that she could write and illustrate books. So that I wouldn’t have to buy any, of course. It’s good to have an artist/performer in the family to save costs right. (No, I never point out how much money the lessons cost. ;+)

At the supper table tonight, Reid was talking about how good it be if she could take art classes near the pool where her swimming lessons are held, especially if there is a gas station and bank nearby. She explained it all clearly: we could walk from the swimming lesson to art class without needing gas but when we did need gas, we could walk to the bank to get the money and then drive to the gas station. Many of Reid’s sentences are at least as long as that last one. It’s a gift we share.

I’m not sure if these are the first signs of Reid as a budding accountant or financial advisor but it’s nice to know that she has an eye on the bottom line.

Posted in Music, Pastimes | Print | 2 Comments »

April 1, 2011 by Barbara.

Instead of pranking Ken for April Fool’s Day this year, I decided to target Reid. I couldn’t take advantage of ideas relating to switching drawers in the Reid’s dresser or pinning her underwear together since she doesn’t choose her own clothes. I know, I know. At 6, Reid is old enough to do this but my life is easier - and Reid’s room is tidier - when I do the choosing.

What I tried, instead, was serving pizza for breakfast. “Here are your pancakes,” I said as I placed the plate in front of her. “April Fool.” Reid looked at me in a disgusted sort of way and said, “That’s not an April Fool’s.” If she knew about Charles Dickens and Scrooge, she would have said, “Bah humbug!” Well, I sent her off with Cheerios in her thermous and a note on the front that said, “Poisson d’avril. Ajoute du lait.” It said also, “Je t’aime.” Because I do.  We’ll have to see what Reid thought of the prank when she gets home.

Did you pull any pranks today? Did you get fooled?

Posted in Pastimes, Mama | Print | 2 Comments »

March 15, 2011 by Barbara.

Ken, Reid and I took a fieldtrip to Scotiabank Place to watch Disney on Ice - Mickey and Minnie’s Magical Journey. (It really does feel like a field trip when we have to travel 33 kilometres from home.) I first thought we should consider going to the performance based on the draw of Mickey and Minnie - Reid has been enamoured of these mice for several months - but when we were getting ready, it was the Disney Princesses that determined wardrobe choices. Reid certainly pulled together a great outfit.

Ken dressed a bit more low key but, when Reid’s cotton candy came with a foam rubber fish hat, he knew how to accessorize. (Which is good, I guess, since we paid $10 for the cotton candy.)

We watched Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Daisy and Goofy as they travelled on a magical journey to see segments based on The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Peter Pan and Lilo & Stitch. We haven’t seen the movies in question, though we did see The Lion King: the Musical when we were in New York City and Reid has read stories that feature Ariel. Nonetheless, Reid was entranced by the drama on the ice.

Reid was also impressed by the evident effort that the skaters had put into training. In the midst of the first number, she said to me, “They really did practice!” Reid knows about such things thanks to the practice that she has been doing at CanSkate in preparation for the end of year Red Carpet Celebration.

Midway through, I figured out how to use the zoom on my camera and got a few shots of the performance. It was a magical morning.

Posted in Pastimes, Mama, Daddy, Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

March 5, 2011 by Barbara.

When I first thought about signing Reid up for skiing lessons, I was mostly thinking about her being comfortable on school trips. Multiple trips to a local ski hill seem to be a ritual here in Ottawa for grades 3-8. We know lots of families that ski and it seemed like a basic living-in-Ottawa requirement. Then, I got thinking about what Reid would say if I signed her up for another sport that I can’t do. (I’ve never played ice hockey.) And I thought about how I write over at Losing it in Ottawa about the importance of being active.

And so it was, that Reid and I both started learn-to-ski lessons at Camp Fortune on January 9th. I had talked up my excitement about learning to ski at the same time Reid did and we were both keen on the way to our lessons. Ken came with us to help manage all of the newness. We were headed to the lesson meeting places, when Reid stopped suddenly. She had heard that I was going to the red flag and she was going to the blue flag. Reid had thought, I learned, that we were taking lessons with the same instructor. We coaxed Reid into going over to her class and Ken watched a bit while I hurried over to my own.

Reid’s class spent the first day on the bunny hill and magic carpet lift but made it onto a bigger slope the next week. The small kids ski without poles and also without fear. Reid can be a bit timid sometimes but skiing lessons aren’t one of those times. She learned how to make “pizzas” with her feet (snowplow) and eventually moved on to “french fries” (parallel skis). The kids link their turns to ski across the hill as they ski, just like adults do. Reid’s instructor - a teenage boy - is great with the kids. He’s playful and physically engages them but still keeps them in line. It’s pretty cool to see a line of 8 little kids snaking down the slope behind the instructor and even cooler when you recognize your own kid in the line. As we end our skiing lessons, Reid skis on the same four slopes as I do.

It’s a bit humbling to learn a new physical skill as an adult. I’d skiied a couple of times years ago but now that I’ve had 8 classes (we missed a weekend for Sulienne and Ryan’s wedding), I can’t imagine what I looked like that first day. I’ve learned so much and have so much yet to learn. During the first lesson, they taught us to snowplow and turn and took us to a slope. Okay, it was a gentle one but I was still scared. I fell 3 of the 4 times I got off the chairlift and several times on the hill. Thank goodness for the patience of my instructor and my own stubbornness!

As time went by, we left the two easiest slopes and went onto two slightly more challenging ones. Each was intimidating at first and became less as we practiced. Funny how new challenges work like that.

Last week, I noticed a near-empty slope at the top of a T-lift. Since the slope we were on was crowded and we’d never been on a T-lift, I asked if we could try it. The instructor - a substitute - agreed that we should go. I like to think our regular instructor would have reined in my enthusiasm. The slope was SO steep! It made me queasy to look down. Once you’re up at the top, though, you have to get down and walking looked like it would be as hard as skiing. I skied - scared - and fell several times but it was steep enough that standing back up was easy. At the bottom, I was victorious and humbled. We all headed happily back to our more familiar hill.

On the way, one of the women in my class told me that she thinks she’ll skip lessons next season and just buy a membership. I was surprised. That last hill had convinced me that I need lessons next year. Being able to ski on 4 slopes out of 23 doesn’t seem like a good time to stop.

Reid and I have much to tell Ken at the end of our ski trips. We’re both hoping that he’ll be persuaded to sign up for lessons next year.
It’ll be fun for our whole family!

Posted in Ski, Sports, Pastimes, Mama | Print | 1 Comment »