What are some fun activities that you have planned for your kid(s) this summer?

I'm so glad you asked. Here's what we have planned for the rest of the summer:

Locally:

A visit to Springridge Strawberry Farm

More splash pad time at Lakefront Promenade Park

Port Credit Busker Festival

In Toronto:

Must make at least one day trip to Toronto Island

Riverdale Farm

In BC:

Camping with the Cousins!!

Me: What do you want for breakfast, honey?

ReRe: O-meal.

Me: Ok, I'll make you some.

ReRe: And tea!

Me: ?

ReRe: Pease.

Me: Ok, honey. (Make oatmeal and tea, which is warm milk and honey). Here's your breakfast.

ReRe: (Chugs the milk, hears Daddy upstairs) Go see Daddy!

Me: Honey, eat your oatmeal.

ReRe: No. No yike it.

Me: Come on, honey, eat it.

ReRe: No Yike It! Go see Daddy!

Me: Honey, just one bite, and then you can go see Daddy.

ReRe: ...........Ok. One bite! (takes a big mouthful and runs for the stairs).

Daddy: (From the top of the stairs) Hey honey! Are you eating your breakfast?

ReRe: No! Mummy said "Come on honey" but I no yike it and Mummy said "Just one bite" so my UM!! and see Daddy now.

Uh, dude, I'm like, right here.

I don't know why I hadn't heard about this playground before, but in High Park there is a community-build playground called the Jamie Bell Adventure Playground that is truly amazing. Here is a picture:

For anyone thinking about making a trip to Toronto with kids, the playground, and the rest of High Park, is a must. ReRe liked it so much, we went on both Saturday and Sunday. It has areas for smaller and bigger kids, and very innovative, yet low-tech, activities to try. But if you are thinking of going by car, get there early. At 9am, there is no trouble finding parking. At 11am, the nearest parking lot is full. We've only taken advantage of a very small portion of High Park (including the small zoo) but we still have not made it to the splash pad or onto the trackless train ride.

We also made it to Afrofest again this year, but for us it is turning more into just an opportunity for a family picnic, rather than a chance to really listen to the music. It is very different from other music festivals, which is both good and bad. It is good in that it is free, there aren't all those barriers up to keep out the non-payers, there is a great children's area, and it is just so free-flowing and fun. On the other hand, there is no schedule published ahead of time, so you don't know when or where you will see certain performers, and it is getting busier and busier every year, so when we are with ReRe we tend to stay on the fringes. But it is still a wonderful place to go, and it's so much fun to see our little guy running and dancing to the beats.  

And could we fit in any more free fun in one weekend? Hard to believe, but yes. This is going to sound strange, but Dixie Outlet Mall is a great place to go for free fun with a toddler, since they let you use their car strollers for free (other nearby malls charge $5) and they always seem to have coupons around for free stuff - like this weekend, you could get a free cup of coffee at Cinnabon (not for the toddler), and a free popcicle (ok for the toddler) at Sears. Posh, this mall is not, and no where near as chic as saying you spent the day at High Park, but on a rainy day, it is awesome.  

Last night was the first night that ReRe went right into his crib after stories without needing an extra cuddle or rocking to help him fall asleep. The reason he was eager to get into bed was because Red Teddy, a little red teddy bear that was a Valentine's gift from his grandmother, was in his crib, and ReRe wanted to cuddle with him. He's shown little interest in cuddling with toys, even though I have actively encouraged it as a way for him to fall asleep without myself or his father. The reason that Red Teddy made an appearance was because yesterdat was Teddy Bear Picnic Day at preschool, and he randomly picked him as his +1. I'm glad, because I'm awaiting the delivery of the mattress for his big boy bed, and the more comforts he will have for the transition, the better. I'm just so surprised how the order of his stages of sleep are so different than any book I read, and doing what was right for us, rather than what was prescribed, has always been the best decision. Yes, it has made it difficult for anyone other than us to put him to bed, but we've worked so hard at getting a predictable (and peaceful) bedtime routine together, that I don't want it compromised.

According to ReRe, ambulances pick up people with big boo-boos and take them to work.

While falling asleep the other night, ReRe spontaneously said, "Simon Says, tickle your ears!"

While I'm very happy to hear his speech coming along, I'm also just a little sad at hearing the end of some of his own words for things. For the longest time, he called bananas daddle-la's, watermelon was watermetton, and oatmeal was o-o-oatmeal.

That's it for this week! 

Ma Ma Sisterhood

What aspect of motherhood has been most on your mind lately?

Lately, I've been most concerned about the impact of potentially going back to work full time. There are a couple opportunities I am exploring, and one of them would have me back in a 9-to-5, 5 days a week. I'm finally seeing what everyone was talking about, being lucky to be able to work only part time, and from home. But there are many pros and cons to both sides, the major con being that my little guy would be in full time day care, rather than part time. The good thing is, we're all very happy with the little montessori school he's attending, so actually finding full time care is not an issue. So that question of a major career boost, versus quality time with my son, is staring me straight in the face, and I can't get it off my mind. Even after the decision has been made (likely in the next few weeks), I am sure I will be unsatisfied, either way.  

I just got back from having lunch with a great friend, Candy, who I met in our prenatal class, and whose son is just a little younger than ReRe. She is letting me test out a new business idea I have at her son's birthday this weekend (details next week if things go well), so we got together to talk about it, and she brought me what look like 4 great books, which she picked up at a book sale at her work. What is so funny is that she was spot on with her choices:

I have actually been thumbing through this book at the bookstore, but hadn't made the commitment to buy it yet. David Bach's book, Smart Women Finish Rich, is the only self-help book I've ever read cover-to-cover, and from which I have actually taken very useful advice. It's like this book was made for me, cuz I'm all about saving the environment, and getting rich. And there's a Canadian edition. Sweet!

 

 

 I have been looking for a book about women entrepreneurs, but hadn't found one that seemed to speak to my situation, but this one looks really interesting. It has all the financial and legal details that I've been trying to figure out, but had had a hard time getting all in one resource, and this looks like it could be the one. The authors run a web publishing company that caters to non-profits and small businesses, and I could really use some good advice when it comes to marketing in the non-profit sector. And again, it has a lot of info for Canadians in it. Two for two!

 

Because I need all the help I can get fitting 3 martinis and vacation into the same sentence.

 

Now this is an amazing pick. It is written by an Ethiopian author who immigrated to the US as a child, and is about the isolation immigrants can face, and nostalgia for homes they can't return to. I have a feeling this one will be passed around in our family. Good choices, Candy!

Do you feel that your experiences (work and otherwise) and/ or education has prepared you sufficiently for motherhood or should their be some kind of additional/alternative training for those women who choose to be mothers? What aspects of your previous experiences, jobs, or education come in handy in your day to day mothering? Do you think that women desiring solely to be stay-at-home moms should forego education and/or careers and focus on preparation for motherhood?

This is my first post to the Ma Ma Sisterhood Group. I feel that, of all my life experiences, it was my upbringing that prepared me the most for motherhood. School, especially high school and university, prepared me to be anything but a mother. If anything, becoming a mother would be a diversion for The Plan, which was all career, all the time. I was told I could be a successful engineer, scientist, teacher, or politician, but never a great mom. I chose a career that was very hard to square with having kids, since it required traveling around the world, which I loved, and hardly being beholden to my marriage, let alone kids, for when or for how long I would be gone. The only part of my work that prepared me for motherhood, really, was getting to work on an early childhood education program in East Africa, where I learned about the benefits of ECE, and influenced my decision to put my son in a montessori school. Nope, it was the example set by my mother that most greatly influenced the type of mother I am, so I think I can say that, without my education and career, I'd pretty much be the same mom I am today. I honestly didn't value the skills and knowledge I had learned from my mom until I was a mom myself. Where I saw value was in my advanced education, my career progression, and my knowledge in my field. But it has done very little for me as a mom; conversely, not having felt a great value for motherhood before, and having been so career driven, has made the adjustment to motherhood much more difficult than it would have been, had I valued both motherhood and career equally.

 

ReRe finally decided this week that he had had enough of us "Going to Work", and decided he was going to find out what this Work thing was all about. Tuesday night after dinner, while his Dad was still at work and we were catching up on some Thomas, ReRe got up suddenly, and quite firmly told me "I'm going to work now, mummy." He went and got one of his ride-on toys and headed for the stairs. This is the point at which I should have told him that he couldn't go to work, but I really had nothing planned for the rest of the evening, and I was curious to see how much of a concept of 'Work' he had. So instead I just watched as he tried to get his ride-on up the stairs, and then stopped and said "Mummy, take truck upstairs please." So I did, and he pushed it to the door out to the garage, sat down, put on his boots and coat, and asked me to open the door. As I did this, he put his hand on my leg as if to stop me, and said "No mummy, you stay, I going to work now." But he soon realized that he was going to need my help getting out into the garage, and out the door. So I helped him as he carried his ride-on down into the garage, and he put it right where his Dad's car is usually parked, and pointed at the garage door, since asking me to open it would have been stating the obvious. So I opened it, and he headed down the driveway, calling over his shoulder "Mummy stay, I go work!" Now, if this were the 1950s, I may have let him go, but this the the 21st century, so I couldn't let him out of my sight, and headed down the driveway after him. He got to the street and turned left, and headed for the corner. We passed one of our neighbours, who he informed of his intentions. ReRe looked at her derisively when she laughed. But then he got to the corner, which was pretty far under his own steam, and turned to head up towards the highway, and I had to stop him. He got quite upset with me, and was crying that he wanted to go to Work, and this pretty much tapped out my mummy skills, cuz all I knew to do was pick him up and carry him home. I'm going to need to come up with something that can constitute 'Work' for a 2-year old, without violating UN Protocols. Thinking about gardening.....

Today ReRe had a doctor's appointment, so he showed up for montessori an hour or so late. When I opened the classroom door, he and his little friends looked so relieved to see each other, and they started to run towards him. ReRe ran a couple steps forward, but managed to trip and end up on his back somehow, but then got up and headed back to me at the door. So I have this image of him being pursued across the classroom by this mob of 2 year olds. I had to quickly squat down to catch them before they all made it out the door, and ReRe got a big group hug from his friends.

So those are the week's highlights, have a great weekend! 

Well, it seems lil'ReRe is a pretty resilient little guy, because he was unfazed (I spelled that unphased the first time) by my absence. My husband and I agreed that, if he asked where I was, we'd say "At Work", since he was used to Getalife being gone to work for what seemed like days to him, leaving before he got up and coming back after he went to bed. We also opted to not talk on the phone, as the status quo seemed to be working, and we didn't want to upset him. He did ask his dad "mummy finish work soon?" often enough, but seemed satisfied with the answer. I ended up coming home a little early, so I was able to pick him up from school on Friday, and it was all I could do to respect the Montessori principle of parents waiting at the door for their kids to come to them. But it was worth it, cuz ReRe did that little run thing where he doesn't go any faster, but he's moving his legs as quickly as he can, which results in a little twisty dance. We went out for dinner that night, since I was in no shape to cook, and I had to hold myself back from having me some ReRe for the appetizer, main course and dessert. Getalife had to keep reminding me we were in public, but I didn't care, we had a lot of cuddle time to make up for.

And I just wanted to say thanks to Ron&Melvin, Eileen, Cath, Janette and my seestor for your encouraging, supportive words. I read them every time I opened my laptop to again look at pictures of my little guy.

I'm in the midst of packing to go up to Ottawa for a few days for a training workshop, and it will be the first time that lil'ReRe and I will be apart overnight. And it won't be just one night, but 3 nights. I feel just sick about it, but this particular course is only being held in Ottawa this year (it was in Toronto last year, but fell over ReRe's birthday weekend) so if I want to take it, I have to go. Getalife has taken a light work week, so that he'll be available to get up with ReRe, get him fed and clothed, and off to school, then picked up, entertained, fed, bathed, and off to sleep. I have joked with my husband that my biggest fear will be that they will be able to get by just fine without me, but I know that what I'm most dreading is a little boy crying over the phone. That will completely kill me. Just last night we were out for dinner with friends, and their 4-year-old son had the babysitter call them because his ear hurt. After some assuring words from his mom, he went off to bed, still crying, but 5 minutes later the babysitter called back to say he was asleep. Our friends were very calm and firm on the phone, but you could see how hard it was for them. I'll try to channel their strength when the time comes. I know the course will be jam-packed, and I only have 2 free evenings to fill, but it turns out my old employer is having their board meetings, so many of my old colleagues from overseas will be in town, so there shouldn't be any shortage of distraction. I'm just going to miss his little face so much. I've scheduled my flight to leave after his bedtime, so while that means a late night for me tonight, at least I'll get to give him his bath, and try not to bawl my eyes out.