Pedalling away

I first heard about Pedalheads last year and thought it sounded like a great idea for parents (like me) who are a bit nervous about taking the training wheels off. After hearing more great reviews from friends, I signed the kid up for a week of half days. She was very excited to get out on her bike with the other kids. 

When I dropped her off, with training wheels, on her first day I was immediately impressed with the two instructors. They were greeted her and made her feel welcome, as well as explaining a few things to me. 

When I picked her up that first day she told me that on the second day she was going to take her training wheels off. 

We knew that her bike was a bit small for her, and I sought advice from the instructors on whether she needed a new one and what size it would be. They were very helpful and we dropped her off on Tuesday with a bigger bike, no training wheels, ready to go. And go she did. 

With their encouragement she was able to ride by herself by the end of the second day, and then she spent the next three days working on stopping and starting. 

They also spend time playing games and learning about road safety. One day they built a bike rack and another day they built a bike wash, which they then got to ride through. There was much giggling. 

Before the end of the first week I had already signed her up for a second and soon she'll be road ready. 

I really can't express how impressed I am with the way the camp is run. My husband and I watched from a parking spot one day before and saw how excited the instructors get for every success a child has. They seemed almost as thrilled and my daughter was and there were many high fives thrown. 

We were at the Kanata camp, but there are camps across Ottawa and some still have space for this summer! 

Mother–Daughter Time

I was given two opportunities recently for some mother-daughter time and I took them both. The first was a Groupon for a night's stay at Montebello and the second was a day out in a Ford Focus Electric to explore my city. 

The first I took with my daughter, the second I took with my mom. 

My daughter and I have done special Mommy-Daughter things since she was born, but staying over night and going swimming not once, not twice but three times at a hotel with a sundae bar? That's super special. And it's something she's only really done with Daddy in the past. 

My mother lives with me and while we do go out to movies or go shopping sometimes, we don't often get to spend a day just out without the kid. We drove around Gatineau Park, we went to high tea at Mackenzie King Estate, we stopped for some window shopping. 

There's something about the relationship between mother and daughter. It's special, often tense, sometimes frustrating. Not always easy, to put it mildly. So a bit of time removed from reality is sometimes required. 

Getting away – exploring together away from reality a bit – is the best way to reconnect. 

My daughter, who enjoys being photographed

My mother, who does not enjoy being photographed

I highly recommend getting out with your kids, having some time. Just being together, talking, doing the fun things they choose to do. One of my greatest memories from childhood was the trip to Toronto my mother took us on - just her, my sister and me. We took the train, we spent three days, saw Phantom, shopped at the giant Sam the Record Man. It was great. 

It's great getting to repay a bit of that, and it's great paying it forward, doing things with my daughter that I know she's going to remember. 

Hanging out at The Loft

A few months ago there was a Worth a Visit post on Kids in the Capital about The Loft. Last weekend my husband and I finally got the chance to take our five-year-old, who we are hoping will share our love for board games. 

We invited a cousin out, headed downtown and picked a few games to start. We ordered some food and started to play.

We ended up staying there for four hours. And I'm not sure any of us were entirely ready to leave when we did. 

We started with the games we knew the kid would like – Hungry Hungry Hippos, Kerplunk and Jenga – games that require no real skill but offer lots of noise and action. 

Being very, very careful

Then the kid and I walked up and down the shelves looking for something else that could be fun. There are so many options it's a bit overwhelming, but since we were looking for games suitable for younger ages, that narrowed it down a bit. We settled on Pictionary, teaming up in twos, which proved to be a good laugh as we critiqued each other's drawing skills.

Then moved on to Headbanz, in which Daddy got to be a toaster and a potato and Cousin Trisha was a turkey. 

Potato

We finished up with a game of Trivial Pursuit – one of my favourites. And this was the family edition, which was much better than the circa-1970s Genus edition we had when I was a kid. This game is probably why four hours seemed to pass so quickly. And, though I got all my pie pieces first, the kid managed to win. 

While we were playing we sampled from the menu. Though I didn't get to try the S'mores waffle (darn, I'll have to go back), we did get one of their pizzas, some good coffee and a most excellent brownie. When you order you give them a name – it can be your real name or a made up one – so we were the gymnastics family: Flips, Cartwheels and Somersaults. 

The Loft is also licensed if you plan to hang out with grown-ups. 

We will be going back, both with the kid and without. It's definitely a visit I'd plan for a rainy day. It's great to have such a wide selection of games for different ages and skill levels without having to store them in your own home!

A very merry half birthday

My daughter was born in January, just a couple of weeks after Christmas, which makes the rest of the year very long for her. It's hard to be five. We usually note the day of the month that marks her half-birthday and this year I thought I would take an idea from Pinterest and let her celebrate her half birthday. 

She got to invite two friends over and play some games and have some cake. I also took two more ideas from Pinterest and we made our own bubble soap and the pinata she's been asking for since before her last real birthday. 

I was going to steal another Pinterest idea and make a half a cake, but then I realized that might not be quite enough for her guests and the guests we were having later that day for dinner. The kid was a little sad I didn’t just make two half cakes, but she still got to decorate it. 

The Bubble Soap 

Four tablespoons Palmolive (which I’ve heard is the best dish soap for bubble soap) to every one cup of water. I also added one tablespoon on corn starch for every one cup of water, which was supposed to make the bubbles last longer but didn’t seem to have any effect. 

The Piñata

Classic paste (flour and water) and newspaper over a balloon. Once it was dry the kid got to paint it and Daddy put a string around it and hung it on the swing-set. The two of them then went out to the local dollar store and found some things to fill it up with – a mix of fun stuff and candy. Three of each thing was put into the piñata, and one special toy for the person who broke it open. 

A sunny day with friends, bubbles, dancing and treats was a pretty good celebration for being done with junior kindergarten, half-way to six, and ready for summer. 

Tea with Alice: Billings Bridge Estate

by Amy

I first heard about Alice's Tea Party, hosted at the Billings Estate, last year. I'm so happy that this year I managed to remember to make a reservation. 

On our arrival we were escorted to our table by the Queen of Hearts (much more mellow that her book self), and while we waited for our food we were entertained by the Mad Hatter. Who knew he can do magic tricks? 

The kid was delighted by the Mad Hatter, but even more thrilled when our tray of food arrived. Three tiers, from tea sandwiches on the bottom to sweet treats on the top. 

Cupcake goodness

As we ate and drank our lemonade we also got to go through the sheet of riddles on our table and try to solve them all. There was one I didn't know that she guessed right (smart kid), and she was thrilled that we won a prize for our answers. 

After lunch and dessert we searched for the hidden Cheshire cats around the grounds of the estate and we played a little croquet, which I haven't done since I was a kid. This game was complete with flamingo mallets and hedgehog balls (sort of). 

You can find out more about upcoming events at the Billings Estate here. They host weekly teas, without Alice, on Wednesdays throughout the summer.