In the first season of Downton Abbey, the Dowager Countess famously asked, “What is a weekend?”
The weekend, dear lady, is over, but thank you for sending it out in such magnificent style. It is so much easier to face the lunch boxes when I’ve had a dose of the upstairs downstairs drama.
And when I face the lunch boxes in the morning, I can just ask, “What would Mrs. Patmore do?”
Traveling with your children this week? With the extra week off of school after New Year’s Day his holiday, undoubtedly some of you are packing your bags for (hopefully) warmer climes.
But, how to entertain them on long car and plane trips? Thank Jobs for Iphones and Ipads.
Yes, I know. We survived family vacations with nothing but a deck of cards, travel bingo and those magic mystery ink books. But really, wouldn’t you have preferred to play Fruit Ninja when you were stuck in the backseat of the station wagon?
Here are some of my family’s favourite Ipad game apps. These are in frequent use in our house, even when we’re not on the road.
Carcassone: Identical to the popular board game of the same name, play is deceptively simple: build a medieval territory and garner the greatest number of “followers” by linking to other players’ roads, cloisters and and cities while preventing your opponents from doing the same. Simple to learn, and quick to play. You can also play against others online.
Ipad Chess (Mastersoft Chess version): there are numerous chess apps available for the Ipad, but we like this one for its clean graphics and smooth play.
Scribblenauts Remix: You may already be familiar with Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS, but this game is 
even more fun to play on the larger Ipad screen. Maxwell, the game’s main character, needs to collect “starites” to complete each level. You can use the objects on screen to achieve his goal, or you can summon random objects to help him. Type in a noun, add the required adjectives (my favourite so far, courtesy of Sebastian, has been “Big yellow knight shoes”) and see what happens. Educational (you have to spell the words correctly!) and imaginative, this game is fun even for grown-ups.
Of course, Angry Birds can eat up an afternoon, too. Not that I recommend that.
For younger kids, try out these apps:
AniMatch: Littles will enjoy trying to match the animal faces. They can match animal sounds, too!
Pictureka!: Kind of like Where’s Waldo and I Spy, but with cooler graphics. Note that the most recent version appears to be a bit buggy.
Helicopter Taxi: Uses your Ipad camera to simulate a ride in a toy helicopter.Fly around the room and pick up more passengers as you go.
All of these apps work on your Iphone as well.
What are your favourite Ipad/Iphone apps? Any you think we should know about? Be sure to leave a comment.
It was back in March that I blogged about a fantastic (and much needed) trip to Paris that my husband and I took. It was exactly what we needed to do: reconnect. We needed something more than a dinner date or a quick night away – we needed time to really rediscover our relationship.
While we were sipping champagne in the glow of the Eiffel Tower, we made a commitment to each other to make our relationship a priority. It’s much easier said than done. In between the kids’ schedules, family obligations and a demanding job, it’s easy to see how relationships can become neglected.
We do have a weekly dinner planned and although the night may shift and the time and location variable, we try never to cancel our date. Should the circumstance not be avoided we reschedule.
This past weekend we took “date night” on the road and explored the city of Boston. If you have never been, I highly recommend it. The old brownstones and cobblestone streets evoke a European feel but the impressive monuments dedicated to the Civil War and the love affair with the all-things Kennedy instantly grounds you in America.
It was a short visit – only the weekend but thanks to the hop-on, hop-off trolley we were able to see the sights and learn of the city’s rich history spoken by our jovial guide with that distinct Boston accent.
Eating and drinking are a common theme on our trips, so I thought that I would share with you our favorite eats.
Neptune Oyster House – this tiny, strictly seafood restaurant (pictured below) located in Little Italy is worth the line-up. There are not many seats in the house, and after a forty-minute wait we sat at the bar, which arguably is the best place to sit. The oyster shucker pried open the shells feverously to keep up with the steady demand for fresh grub and the bar tender was quick to offer up her favourites on the menu. I had the best lobster roll I have ever eaten. Steaming hot lobster, drenched with butter atop a perfectly sized bun. So simple, yet so delicious!
The Butcher Shop – Just as the name suggests, The Butcher Shop is a small restaurant across from the famed Hamersley’s. The wait to get in is long, because so few tables pepper the shop. Vegetarians be ware this is not the place for you. Meat abounds at this place and the quality and presentation don’t disappoint.
Coppa – Tucked away in a residential neighbourhood, this Italian osteria is a noisy mess hall for locals. The food is modern Italian that can be described as a nod to traditional dishes but with a twist. Since this was my birthday dinner, I indulged in carb overload. I started my meal with a wood fire pizza (don’t judge – I shared!) and then went on to eat lobster linguine (only a half order). The pre-dinner cocktail, wine and limoncello for dessert helped to assuage my guilt for playing food group favourites.
Legal Sea Foods – Perhaps it is a bit touristy but for a quick, and easy lunch this is the spot. Families are welcome here! The food comes out fast and it’s good. There is a reason that this place is considered an institution.
Limoncello – Because we hadn’t stuffed ourselves enough, we decided to end our trip with a meal from Little Italy. We had heard from many locals and tourists alike that we wouldn’t be disappointed. Wandering the winding cobblestone streets of the North End to choose a restaurant proved to be more challenging than we thought as all of the menus beckoned. As we walked by this restaurant, a quick peak inside sealed the deal. For one, the décor was beyond tacky (see photo below). An obnoxious mural of Florence lined the wall, white cloths draped the formally set tables, knick-knacks such as fake grapes were displayed on ever-available surface and the chairs looked to be about thirty years old. The way we see it, any place that has survived so long that it feels like a time wrap usually means good things. And secondly, there were other people in the restaurant speaking Italian. Let’s just say that the food was so unbelievably good (and to quote our waiter: “Why not? You deserve to eat the best! ) that I actually contemplated untucking my shirt so that I could unbutton my pants and keep eating.
Before I had children, I had a vague notion that my life would change but really nothing can prepare someone for the complete transformation that occurs once baby makes his arrival.
Gone was my self-centeredness. It wasn’t a conscience shift. I didn’t have some sort of epiphany. It was much simpler than that: I just didn’t have the time to focus on myself anymore.
I was quite blinded when it came to my marriage. I was naïve to think that my relationship would somehow escape the trials of parenthood unscathed.
Somewhere between diaper changes and car shuttles to skating lessons, I opened my eyes to the fact that my husband and I were becoming a cliché: ships passing in the night. Each of us charting our own course: me, on a quest to be the perfect mother and him the perfect provider.
Both of us were unintentionally neglecting the very glue that holds our precious family together.
It happened in a natural flurry, the shift between coupledom and insta-family. Our relationship comfortably grew and evolved but in the mess and mire that is parenthood, such a connection between partners can easily fray.
We try to maintain balance with regular “date-nights” but the idea of spending a week away from the kids, our home and all of our responsibilities was exactly what we needed to recharge our selves and our relationship.
Paris gave us a chance to slip off our mother/father identities and try on our former selves. Our time away was reminiscent of when we were dating. Amazingly, we fell back into our familiar ways. No longer was I the bossy, exhausted mother – always pressed for time. I laughed. A lot. We blew off the museums in favour of champagne cocktails and afternoon naps. We ate late. Really late. When normally I would be sleeping.
Without the constraints of time we aimlessly wandered the cobblestone streets and found ourselves.
On the plane heading home, I was as giddy a newlywed; full of promise and renewal, the balance restored. I watched my husband sitting across the aisle casually sop up the mess from a spilled drink and the little girl beside him fidgeting on her wet seat. I was overwhelmed with emotion.
In the quiet of that moment, I saw him as the easy-going young man that I had married, the compassionate father he had become and the husband that I have always loved.
The equinox marks a shift. The day and the night are equal and balance is restored (albeit for a fleeting moment). This week I am restoring the balance between motherhood and being a wife.
This week the the teeter-totter is about to become level as I take in the City of Lights with my husband.
This week it is all about being a wife, a partner and a friend. This week is for us. Balance restored! (albeit for a fleeting moment).
photo credit: http://stubwah1.wordpress.com
We subscribe to over a thousand television channels and I can say with certainty that there is nothing worthwhile watching about 90% of the time. It used to be that Maury Povich and his “Who’s your daddy?” episodes were the most deplorable, soul-sucking train wrecks on TV. Now the medium is cluttered with “reality” programs that feature pretty much the dreads of society making a complete mockery of the human race (yet, I find some of it too fascinating to turn off. Do people really live like that?!?).
In an effort to protect my brain from any further softening and to stop padding the wallets of these “stars”, I have renewed my interest in live theatre.
As a Christmas gift, my brother and I purchased a series of shows from Mirvish Productions for my mother. The poor catch for her, is that she has to attend each performance with me.
A few weeks ago, we attended Billy Elliot. To say that it was a musical spectacle worthy of Sir Elton John’s sequined pants is a gross understatement.
Billy is a young boy growing up without his mother in northern, working class England. His father, brother and most of the village men work at the coalmines. It is 1983-1984 and while I was just toddling around with my Chatty Cathy doll, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was determined to privatize the long public coalmines of England. A fierce standoff between the government and the union ensued. After a yearlong strike that affected more than 300,000 workers the union was defeated.
Billy’s father, a recent widow, is a hard working, hard drinking, hard fighting man. He scrapes together a few coins a week for Billy to learn boxing. It is after a boxing lesson that Billy stumbles upon an all-girls ballet class. The instructor soon identifies a raw talent in Billy but he is torn between his newfound love for ballet and his loyalties to his father.
The storyline tugs at the heartstrings, as Billy faces ridicule from his peers and disappointment from his elders. However, Billy remains true to himself despite the challenges that he faced with.
There is no disputing that the moral of Billy Elliot is one we can all stand to hear (again) and to share with our children. The theatre was a full house and many of the seats were filled with boys who watched in awe at what can only be described as musical electricity!
The young boy(s) who plays Billy is destined to be a star. It is impossible to take your eyes off him during his numerous tap dance solos and the power behind his voice begs one to pay attention. And it is the attention of Sir Elton John that he caught.
This March Break consider catching a performance of Billy Elliot at the Cannon Theatre in Toronto. Billy is also playing in London and New York and maybe your city too. Click here to find out!
Coming up: This Thursday, I will be giving my “review” of The Secret Garden.
photo credit: www.steveonbroadway.blogspot.com
If you’re wondering how to make Canadian history interesting for your kids, one of the best ways is to encourage them to go back in time – or, at least pretend to. This weekend, Black Creek Pioneer Village hosts its 54th annual Pioneer Festival, promising activities like horse drawn cart rides, a spelling bee in the old school house, and a chance to try such pioneer skills as butter churning and candle dipping. Not only is Black Creek Pioneer Village a great historic and educational resource for the family, it can be good for you, too: if your kids find it hard to believe that they can’t have an Ipad for Christmas, get them to try writing lines with an old slate and chalk; they’ll thank their lucky stars for HB pencils.
Next weekend, the Black Creek Brewery at Black Creek Pioneer Village hosts Brewsfest, celebrating Ontario’s craft brewers. You can enjoy free samples of the Black Creek Brewery’s own beers, live music, and exhibits and demonstrations at the brewery. Billed as a family-friendly event, tickets are available here.
When Sandra Bullock accepted her Oscar for best actress for The Blind Side, she thanked her mother for not letting her ride in cars with boys when she was a girl. Her kind of riding in cars with boys sounds like more fun than mine. I wonder if her mother is available for babysitting in cars with boys?
My husband found this website in his search for help with how to maintain our sanity for the long drive to Nova Scotia at the end of this month. My mother-in-law and her three siblings and their children all have cottages along the same stretch of beach on the Northumberland Strait. There are ten of them in a row. We drive out there almost every summer, and though I love our time there, I must steel myself for the drive with the kids. My mother-in-law did this drive herself every summer, and her trick was to have a treat (food-like or fun-like) for each of her five boys every hour on the hour. Eighteen hours of driving times five boys. That’s a lot of treats.
Griffin and Rowan are easy: movies, movies and more movies. They love the gluttony of the long stretches of screen time, scarce as it is at home. At two, Gavin is not into feature films, and he is not yet old enough to understand intervals of time. I need ideas for how to keep him happy.
How do you survive long drives with toddlers?
We spent Canada Day in Ottawa this year, and I’m back and raving about the city as a destination for a holiday with young kids. I’ve been a few times before, but never with all three boys in tow.
Here is how we prepared: hotel reservations. We thought we might need them on this of all weekends. My husband also arranged for a spectacular view of the fireworks from the Ottawa office of his firm, which has a great balcony on the 20th floor, and he booked us a tour of the Parliament buildings.
That’s it.
Our days were more of a drift than a drive. It’s easy to wing it in Ottawa, even for folks like us who usually have things planned out minutely. We are big fans of Lists, Planning, Thinking Ahead. This trip was not at all minutely planned, and a big part of the break for me was not planning, not observing the usual bedtimes, not clock-watching. Sometimes the best vacations are the breaks we take from being our usual selves.
We stayed at the Sheraton on Albert Street and were within easy walking distance of lots of attractions:
It was great to be able to load the younger boys into the stroller and just head out the door. It was also great to be in a hotel with a pool, which we used almost every day. What a blessing when three boys need to burn off steam.
We used the car to get to the Museum of Civilization, which also houses the Children’s Museum. (Do any of you remember the Children’s Own Museum that used to live in the Planetarium building in behind the ROM? I miss that place…) The Children’s Museum is an amazing resource, and our kids spent hours in there, shopping at the grocery store, exploring the pyramids, using the cranes on a cargo ship, building with intricate wooden blocks, riding and driving planes, trains and automobiles. They also got to experience themselves being dwarfed by the awesome assortment of totem poles in the First Nations exhibit. Griffin took one look at Bill Reid’s “The Spirit of Haida Gwaii” and said, “Hey, that’s on our $20 bill.” I love it when kids make connections.
Also a car ride away was the Museum of Aviation, where there was more riding in planes. (For a fee, you can also go up in a real helicopter or bi-plane, though we did not.)
Another car ride took us to the neighbourhood near Carleton University, where our friends led our little party to an amazing water park/splash pad and then led us home again for cold, cold beer and mounds of the most delicious Indian food.
We woke up on Canada Day and just aimed the stroller towards Parliament Hill. A bit more planning might have ensured a better spot from which to see the Queen, but we were still within 20 meters, and have her on our very own camera(s).
Parliament Hill ended up being a homing beacon, and we would wend our way back to it each day.
We watched fireworks from a balcony that had a spectacular panoramic view over the river and Parliament Hill.
(Photo credit: Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)
The day after Canada Day, we did our tour of the Parliament Buildings, and I was amazed that each of the kids enjoyed some aspect of the tour. (I must admit, I did not have high hopes of this part of the trip working out well with the kids, but they did really well.) For Gavin, 2, it was running through the James Bond tunnels that connect the various buildings. For Rowan, 5, it was the view from the top of the Peace Tower. And for Griffin, 9, it was the memorial chamber in the Peace Tower, with its massive books of the names of the war dead inscribed in beautiful calligraphy. They made quite an impression on him. He also liked getting full marks on the questions our guide kept asking him. (He knows his Canadian geography better than some law students, apparently.) Go early to avoid long security line-ups. It’s like going through security at an airport, but, happily, without the surly security officers. Everyone we met was unfailingly kind, cheerful and helpful.
On the last night of our trip, after an evening boat ride on the river, we played tag in the dwindling light on the lawn under the Peace Tower. We strolled home when it had finished striking ten. A great end to a great weekend.
