Chores

This is not child labour. This is a learning opportunity. I am teaching my child a life-skill. As the mother of a boy, I try to remember that my job is to raise a good man and that house cleaning, laundry, and dishes are equal opportunity jobs... as are barbecuing, lawn mowing and putting out the garbage, I might add.

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Summer Sun, Fishy Fun! Free Kids Events

The Craft Council is hosting a kids activity tomorrow July 31st and Monday August 6th.  From the web site: Something's fishy at the Craft Council Gallery this summer! On Tuesday, July 31st and Monday, August 6th from 2:30-3:30 p.m., children age 8-12 are invited to come get creative at Devon House Craft Centre.
Join summer students Terra and Julia for one (or both!) of these hour-long craft sessions where kids will learn how to linocut print and collage their own cards.
Register your child online HERE! Registration is required.
Visit the web site.

Tuesday at the Rooms

Tuesday, July 31 2-4 Pm

SPECIAL PRE-REGATTA DAY FAMILY FUN
The Royal St. John’s Regatta is just around the corner. Author, Susan Chalker Browne will be here to share her picture book, Freddy’s Day at the Races. Following story time, make a special flag to decorate your home in celebration of the Royal Regatta.

Story time at 2 pm and 3 pm.

Life's a beach

Thanks to a brilliant idea by blog follower and book club member, Andrea (and the


Newfoundland weather Gods continuing to grant us beautiful summer days), we joined several other families for a Friday night bonfire and cook out at Middle Cove Beach. Andrea sent us an email inviting us to join her family and some others at the beach. I wasn't sure who would end up being there, but the weather was too good to pass up the opportunity, and besides, I enjoy getting out to meet knew people. I especially love giving my child the chance to broaden his circle of friends.

The sky was cloudy, but the wind was warm. There were four or five families and a dozen or so kids (I only know how many because we handed out glow in the dark bracelets and luckily we had just enough!). The children ranged in age from newborn to kindergarteners. There were Newfoundlanders and people new to our province and the mix made for interesting conversation.

We cooked hot dogs and s'mores over the fire. The kids collected rocks and threw rocks in the ocean and climbed on rocks... what can I say, it is a beach in Newfoundland. You would be amazed at the entertainment children can find in rocks!

I got to meet a woman who follows the blog who I had only talked to by email and Facebook before and a guy I work with was there with his family. I didn't even know he had children, much less three! And a very lovely wife too. In Newfoundland the whole six degrees of separation thing can be whittled down to about two degrees.

It had been a very long time since I ventured on to that beach during the evening. I always assumed that evening would bring the rowdy teenagers and people coming to drink and party-hardy and that it might not be family-friendly. Boy was I wrong. The beach was lined with campfires and every one was surrounded by a family group with kids of various ages.

I am hoping we can do this again soon.


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La Leche League Canada -- August

Breastfeeding Support Group
Topic: Nutrition & Weaning
Monday, August 13, 7pm
Sobeys Community Room (Torbay Road & Highland Drive)
Pregnant Women, Nursing Moms and Babies Welcome
Members & Non-Members Welcome (Free of Charge)
Info: Jane H 722 5815 Jan H 739 9368
Supporting Breastfeeding Families Since 1961

Lantern Festival

Reminder: Tonight is the Lantern Festival at Victoria Park...unless they postpone until tomorrow for the weather. The forecast looks decent for today once the rain clears off. This is a great family-friendly event and it is free! Your kids will have to stay up until it gets dark to get the full effect and see the final parade of lanterns, but it is fun to go even if you have to leave early for little ones bedtimes.

If you want to know more check their web site.

Maybe we'll see you there!


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Hava Java Play Date Reminder

Don't forget that the Hava Java Play Date is every Sunday from 9 AM - 12 PM. The


idea is that you can enjoy an a good coffee and breakfast while your kids play with some games, books and puzzles and maybe meet some friends. There is a new kid-size table which wee ones love. My recommendation is make a date with some other families to meet up down there. People come and go over the course of the three hours, so inviting friends to meet up will ensure you and your kids get to have some fun with friends. I think we'll be there this Sunday if you want to join me.


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Botanical Gardens Family Program

WADING INTO WETLANDS FAMILY PROGRAM
July 29, 10 am - 4 pm

Wetlands are home to our provincial floral emblem, the pitcher plant and a variety of fascinating critters. Get to know Newfoundland wetlands through a variety of crafts, stories, games, activities, and nature hikes. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Botanical Gardens

Pizza: a Love Story

If you follow me on Facebook you know I have been raving about my "Dinner: A Love Story Cookbook." Well, this week I tried another great recipe from it, mushroom and onion pizza. What I love about pizza is it is versatile and everyone can have the toppings they like and I don’t have to cook an entirely separate meal for my kid. We can all essentially eat the same thing. I also think it is a good gateway vehicle to introduce new foods: once your kid is ok with the crust, then sticking the odd new ingredient on top isn’t such a big hurdle. If they don’t like the new thing then they can pick it off.

Pizzas are also great for getting your kids involved in cooking because the rolling and dressing of a pizza is something even very small kids can do. If you have been reading my blog for a while you have probably heard all this before, so I apologize for being a broken record on my love of pizza night.





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Thursday at the Rooms

 Thursday, July 26 2-4 PM

THROUGH THE GLASS
Visit our stained glass window and then join us to create your own whale and iceberg stained glass picture.View other artifacts made from glass, play an old-time game of marbles and find out where glass comes from.

NL Folk Festival

One of my all-time favourite family activities in St. John's. When the weather is good, there is no better event in the city for kids of all ages. It is so much fun to see the kids dancing at the front of the stage enjoying the music well past bed time. This year's line up looks particulalry good even if 'folk music' isn't up your ally.
Bannerman Park is a spectacular location in the heart of the city and the playground nearby helps keep the kids interested too. The Festival Starts on August 3rd this year. More information here.

Tuesday at the Rooms

Tuesday, July 24 2 PM to 4 PM
SEAL-FRIENDLY
Come to The Rooms and make a friendship bracelet with seal fur. Using an assortment of beads, shells and found objects, you can easily personalize your bracelet while learning something new. All materials are provided.

Peekaboo Beans and a contest

When Sherry Frost and I met for a coffee to discuss the children's clothing line she sells from home I must admit I was hesitant. It had been a long day at work and I was triple booked that night and I wasn't sure I would like the  clothing and she was asking me to try out the clothes and write a review on my blog. That idea made me nervous because I was afraid of not liking the product and having to say that, or worse, saying I liked it when it wasn't true just because she gave me a free sample.

Well, happily the outcome of that meeting was all positive. Sherry was very nice and very passionate about the clothing line; Peekaboo Beans. She told me all about the woman who started the company and about the ‘philosophy’ behind the clothes which was basically that it be functional and comfortable and easy for kids to play in and easy for moms to clean. This would seem like the obvious way clothes for kids should be designed and made, but we all know it isn't. Sherry offered me a hoodie to try, and before our meeting was over I had already decided to buy a pair of pants for my son too. The Peekaboo Beans line is kind of like Lululemon for kids. It is well made in a soft, comfortable fabric and despite its gym-clothes-comfy feel it looks sharp too. The material is thick and durable. The prints are playful. The waist bands are wide so they won’t pinch little tummies. There are no itchy tags; there are ties at the waist for skinny guys like mine. All the zippers have a cover to ensure chins don’t get pinched. Some of the tops have thumb holes so you can hook little thumbs in them to keep the sleeves from riding up when you are layering. It would seem they have thought of everything. Some pieces can even convert from dresses to shirts or from pants to

shorts which make the price point more reasonable when you can extend the life beyond a few months.

On the price: the pants I bought for my son were almost $40, but given the way they are made, his size 4’s will fit him for more than a year. I had them hemmed in such a way that they can be let down later and the waist band has a tie so it can be adjusted too.

Another thing I like about the boys clothes in particular is that it isn’t covered in footballs and race cars. I don’t know about you, but it seems like clothing companies are always trying to make sure no one accidentally mistakes your boy for a girl by emblazoning everything with trucks and cars and sport images. Why can’t more places just sell nice plaids and ginghams and other fabrics for boys? That’s a rant for another day.

Peekaboo Beans fans are loyal. Sherry pointed me to a Facebook Page where people across the country sell and buy only used Peekaboo Bean clothing. This is a great way to reclaim some of the money you spent buying Peekaboo Beans new or a way to get items at a lower cost. I can say that the quality of these clothes would make me comfortable buying it used.

I love the hoodie and pants and will definitely be investing in a few more pieces before the winter comes. If you want to get in touch with Sherry about the clothing line or host a party ( there are benefits for the host), go to her Facebook Page. Sherry has also offered a $50 Peekaboo Beans Gift as a prize, to enter you just need to sign up for the newsletter via her page.

P.S My meeting with Sherry went well beyond the clothing line and she told me about a wonderful thing she and her family did last Christmas that I have asked her to share in a future guest post.

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Baby steps

Back in the days before I had a child not a weekend would pass without a hike. Sometimes on the amazing East Coast Trail, sometimes in uncharted territory and sometimes at somewhere close by like Signal Hill or the White Hills. With both of us working and a baby and then a toddler in the house, hiking was pushed off our busy agenda.

I suppose we could have put our Phil and Ted’s back pack to better use and taken our child hiking with us, but we just didn’t. Now our child is almost four and we realized that he has enough energy and stamina to run around all day long, so there is no reason he can’t take an hour long hike with us. We are also feeling the guilt (and seeing the sagging results) of not getting enough exercise ourselves. With our busy lifestyles and limited time to spend with our child each day we haven’t really been able to make a regular gym schedule work.

A family hike each weekend seems a good solution to spending time together and getting some exercise. There ar lots of good trails at varying levels of difficulty within a short drive of St. John’s.

Here are a couple of useful links.

 East Coast Trail

Grand Concourse


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Butter makes everything better

With Suppermoms on hiatus I decided to add a few recipes and dinner tips to this
blog. My newest obsession is compound butter. Basically you make butter with

herbs, citrus, garlic or whatever your heart desires and fridge or freeze it for use any time in pasta, as a final topping for any meat or fish, in a sauce, or even simply for buttering a loaf of good crusty bread. This is a great way to whip up something tasty fast. My butter obsession has included garlic scapes given to us from a friend's garden (see picture), thyme and olive, tarragon and rosemary. I can't wait to try more and I am thinking that they would make a lovely gift for people who love to cook.
Here's a link to some recipes.
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Shamed to say...

As shocking as this may be, and especially because I love to garden, we had never been past the cafe at the Botanical Gardens. There is no explanation or excuse for it so I won't belabor the point. We finally fixed that gaping hole in our Townie credentials.

It was one of those days where the sun didn't come out until 3:00PM so we booted it up to the Gardens to catch the best part of the day. It was lovely. We didn't participate in any of the many organized family activities, we just took a stroll through the Garden and down to the duck pond and back. There are short and long trails, the longest appearing to take over an hour.

Our kid really liked holding the map and helping us follow the trail. He also enjoyed a self-guided game of spotting ladybugs and bats in the trees. The animal cut outs had answers and facts about wildlife printed on the back so it was an educational treasure hunt. I enjoyed the gardening inspiration and ideas. Now that I know what to expect and have seen that there are numerous trails there we will be going back again before the summer is out. Maybe next time with a picnic!

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Tuesday at the Rooms

Tuesday, July 17 2 PM  to 4 Pm

DREAMSCAPE STENCILING
Merge your imagination with your reality to create artful dream worlds. Drop by and try and play with positive and negative space and combine pigments & resists and, then see how artist Michael Pitman creates his own dreamscapes in the Art Gallery exhibition Haunted Half.

Fast Food

Suppermoms is on hiatus, but that doesn’t mean I am not cooking. I recently acquired the Dinner: A Love Story Cookbook and it has inspired me to restart something I used to do before our child was born: write down great meals so I can remember them for the future. I dug out my old dinner journal and read through it and it helped me remember not only good recipes, but good times as well. If you are not a great diary keeper, this might be one way to approach it. I also started to try and create a list of my go-to recipes: our favourites and the ones that are easy enough to make after a busy work day. I have come up with a solid list of 15 so far that includes everything from pizza and pasta to chili and tagine. I am going to share some of these recipes here over the next few weeks. Here’s one from Dinner a Love Story that I have just recently added to my list. My kid tried this and was okay with the shrimp (yay!), but loved the naan bread of course.  This is lovely with a simple side salad. It takes less than 15 minutes to make and is a great recipe for people watching their waistlines.

Family Friendly Outdoor Theatre and more

Friday July 13, 2012

I received the following email from the Shakespeare by the Sea people and thought I would share:


FAMILY FRIENDLY ADVENTURE OPENS TOMORROW IN BOWRING PARK

The 20th annual Shakespeare By The Sea Festival opens their family-friendly adventure ABOVE AND BELOW tomorrow, Saturday July 14, at 2pm in the Cabot 500 Amphitheatre in Bowring Park, located just behind the playground. The play takes place in a balloon city in the clouds - and instead of an admission ticket, each audience member gets a balloon! This production continues every Saturday and Sunday at 2pm until August 12.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM also continues every Sunday and Monday at 6pm in the northwest section of Bannerman Park, and A CURIOUS CASE IN THE COLONY: A SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURE continues every Sunday and Monday at 8pm in the Newman Wine Vaults.

For more information, visit www.shakespearebytheseafestival.com or call 722-SBTS – that’s 722-7287.


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Nurchr

About once a month I get an email from someone asking if I know of any available childcare spaces. I have heard stories of people searching Kijiji, the classifieds, and grocery store bulletin boards for childcare providers. Friends of mine have interviewed literally dozens of childcare providers trying to find one that meets their family’s needs. Well now someone is trying to help connect childcare providers and parents.  Check out this new web service called nurchr. It is a listing and searching service for childcare and other child-related services. I haven’t used the service as  I am lucky enough to have wonderful childcare, but if any of you have or do in the future, I would love to know what you think of it.

S’Mores and Stories

With our summers so short and suffering from PTSD due to last year’s ‘summer’ that apparently was some sort of punishment of biblical proportion, I am trying to maximize every bit of outdoor time I can. So we have taken to reading the bed time stories by tiki torches in the backyard in our PJs and having s’mores as bed time snacks. How do you make the most of summers with your kids?

Thursday at the Rooms

Thursday, July 12 2 PM to 4 PM

JELLY-BEAN ROW
Look out our windows and be inspired to create your own Jelly-Bean Row House. Draw your own design on our downtown mural and read a story about the people who live on Jelly-Bean Row.

Blue Tongue

We are lucky that our almost four year old will still sit in and fall asleep in his stroller when he is tired which makes evening walks a nice trick at bed time. It also makes excursions like walking to the Canada Day fireworks easier. We had watched them from the DFO and RCMP building in the White Hills in previous years, but this year since it was so warm and lovely we decided to walk to the pond and set up a blanket on the grass. It was the first year we felt our child was really old enough to appreciate them and he did. He also appreciated the Canada Day glow stick thing that looked like a light sabre and trying cotton candy for the first time. We decided to get the full lakeside Canada Day experience this year, blue tongue and all.

The City of St. John’s put on a good show and at the end the crowd clapped their appreciation. It was a really family –friendly environment. The only downside was that compared to the White Hills the fireworks seemed far away. Next year we will definitely walk down again of the weather allows, but we’ll set up further down the lake to be nearer the fireworks and farther away from the street lights.

Tuesday at the Rooms

Tuesday, July 10 2PM to 4 PM

CREATIVE CARICATURES
Caricatures are portraits that exaggerate personality traits. Learn how to draw faces and then create caricatures of friends and family members, or maybe even yourself.



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Capelin Season

Last Friday I had a surprise day off with my kid and decided to see if the capelin flash-mob had subsided at Middle Cove. It had, so we went down to the water to watch big kids, some of whom were in their 40’s, catch capelin in everything from nets to grocery bags.

My kid was pretty fascinated by it all and after some initial trepidation worked up the courage to pick up a fish and inspect it.  The annual rolling of capelin on our beaches has been a kid-friendly excursion for generations and even today with iPhones and DS’s, it was nice to see kids enthusiastically taking to the frigid water to scoop up the fish with big smiles and squeals all around.

Shakespeare by the Sea Festival

While some of these plays may go over the heads of wee ones, the one at Bowring Park says it is family - friendly.

The 20th Annual Shakespeare by the Sea Festival presents the following performances for July and August. Please note the various dates, times and locations.

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Date/Time: Sundays & Mondays from July 8 - August 13 (no show on Sunday August 5) at 6 p.m.
Location: Outdoors in the northwest section of Bannerman Park, off of Rennies Mill Road
Admission: FREE - but the fairies will bless you for your donations.
Note: Grass seating only - please bring a cushion, blanket, or chair to sit on. All outdoor shows take place weather permitting.
For more info visit the website or call 709-722-SBTS (7287)

A Curious Case in the Colony: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Chris Hibbs (presented in partnership with the Newfoundland Historic Trust)
Date/Time: Sundays & Mondays from July 8 - August 13 at 8 p.m.
Location: Underground inside the Newman Wine Vaults Provincial Historic Site (436 Water Street)
Admision: $20
Note: This venue has limited seating, so we advise that you arrive early to avoid disappointment - ticket sales begin 30 minutes before performance time, cash only, sorry no reservations.
For more information visit the website or call 709-722-SBTS (7287)

Above & Below  a family friendly show by Philip Goodridge
Date/Time: Saturdays & Sundays from July 14  August 12 at 2 p.m.
Location: Outdoors in the St. John?s Cabot 500 Theatre, located in the west end of Bowring Park, behind the playground.
Admission: $10 / $5
Note: Grass seating only - please bring a cushion, blanket, or chair to sit on. All outdoor shows take place weather permitting.
For more information visit the website or call 709-722-SBTS (7287)

King Lear by William Shakespeare
Date/Time: Fridays & Saturdays from July 20 - August 18 at 6 p.m.
Location: Outdoors on the tattoo field next to the visitor?s centre at Signal Hill National Historic Site of Canada
Admission: $20 / $15
Note: Grass seating only - please bring a cushion, blanket, or chair to sit on. All outdoor shows take place weather permitting.

Light up the night

Another of my favourite kid-friendly events of the summer is the Lantern Festival at Victoria Park. If you haven't been, don't miss it. Here's their web site for all the info. It falls on the last full weekend of July. Bring a blanket to sit on and wait until the sun goes down for the magic to start. Glow sticks and homemade lanterns are welcome.

Lantern Making Workshops have begun. Check here for details on those.

Harbourside Park Concert Schedule

Free, all ages and outdoors. Super activity for kids

Free lunchtime concerts at Harbourside Park Every Friday 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. July 6 Opening Act: Pete Mills Featured Act: Brad Jefford Trio July 13 Opening Act: Chelsea Parsons Featured Act: Ken Shortly Trio July 20 Opening Act: Matilda Goldie Featured Act: Eastern Wind Ensemble July 27 Opening Act: Brianna Gosse Featured Act: Dana Parsons Project August 3 Opening Act: Fiona Shea Featured Act: Ian Foster August 10 Opening Act: Peter Sullivan Featured Act: Duane Andrews August 17 Opening Act: Maria Peddle and Anthony Chafe Featured Act: Fergus & Jim August 24 Opening Act: Leslie Aminson and Esmee Gilbert Featured Act: Denis Parker & John Clarke August 31 Opening Act: Jenna Maloney Featured Act: Michael Hanrahan

Sound Symposium

If you have never taken in any of the Sound Symposium events consider doing it this year, especially with the kids. Even if you haven't taken part before, you have almost certainly heard the Harbour Symphony of boat horns.
A lot of what happens at Sound Symposium is fun, experimental and sometimes wacky. A lot of the shows take place outside and at small all ages venues.  You can find out more and see the schedule here.

Create a postcard at the Rooms

Thursday, July 5

Did you know that the first postcards were made more than 150 years ago? Today, postcard collecting is one of the largest “collecting” hobbies in the world. Why not drop by The Rooms to create your very own postcard. Bring along a mailing address and we’ll help you send your postcard to someone special.
2PM to 4PM


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