Disney on Ice - Rockin' Ever After

For weeks the Little Man, now 6 and half years old (the "half" being very important to him) has been asking to go to Disney on Ice. We went last year and while he remembers having an amazing time, I remember trying to entertain a bored little boy and avoid spending a small fortune on merchandise. So while part of me wanted to take him, especially since he doesn't ask for much in the way of entertainment, I was a little worried about shelling out money for another boring show.

Thanks to Kids in the Capital we were able to review the show this year and so I brought along one of Jake's oldest friends and his Mom - the same folks we saw the show with last year.

And we were so pleasantly surprised by the changes Feld Entertainment and Disney made to the show. Even though princesses were predominately featured throughout the two-hour show, there was lots to keep our boys riveted. The skating was fantastic, the costumes and props elaborate and colourful and the music was fun and upbeat.

The show featured Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald Duck, along with scenes from Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Tangled and Brace. I especially loved the "Be Our Guest" and "Under the Sea" routines and our boys were both taken with Maximus from Tangled. We had such a great time!

If you go . . .

1. There are still tickets available for today's performances. They range in price from $15 - $67.50.
2. Parking is $8 - cash only.
3. Popcorn and drinks will set you back $12 apiece, but you do get to keep the bucket and fancy plastic cups.
4. Merchandise featuring the main characters is also up for grabs, but be prepared to spend a fair bit.

We saw lots of little girls dressed as their favourite princesses, mickey ears and light up toys galore. Still, the boys in our homes still had a great time, and chatted about the show all the way home.

Have you been to a Disney on Ice show? What did you think?

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband, her 6 year old son, Jacob and her 10 month old son, Noah.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.

Fall tye-dye cupcakes

by Carly

I really wanted to make something nut-free for the Little Man to eat for dessert at our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  Since I knew the pie I was bringing had nuts, I decided to make some fall-themed cupcakes.  I didn't have time to fuss with fondant, creating fancy turkeys or pilgrim's hats (not that we really do the pilgrim thing here in Canada anyway).

Since Jake really likes rainbow coloured cakes and cupcakes, I used that as my jumping off point.  We made white cake batter, then divided the batter into three bowls.  One bowl of batter was tinted yellow, one orange and one terra-cotta (I'd run out of red but had terra-cotta lying around for some reason).  I used food paste as you need less of it to get a nice strong colour.

To make it easier to get the batter into the cupcake liners, I put it in plastic baggies and snip a tiny bit off one corner.  I started with the lightest colour, pouring some into each cup.  Then we added the orange and finally the terra-cotta.  Don't mix the colours as the batter will turn out muddy - just leave them "piled" on top of one another.

While the cupcakes were baking in their plain white cupcake liners, I nosed around our cupboards looking for some pretty fall-themed liners to put them in for added colour, but I came up empty handed.  So I tinted some extra white liners I had with yellow, orange and terra-cotta food paste mixed with water.  Using a spoon I poured the different colours over the liners while they sat upside down on a wire rack nestled in a rimmed cookie sheet to catch the run-off.

I didn't want to completely cover the liners, so I left a fair bit of white showing.  When I had tinted all the liners, I poured any excess dye off them, then put them right side up in a cupcake pan.  After taking out the baked cupcakes, I turned the oven off and put the liners into the warm oven to help them dry.  Keep a close eye on them - they only need a minute or two.  The bottoms were still damp, so I turned them upside down on the wire rack and popped them back into the still warm oven for another minute or two.

While the cupcakes cooled I made some buttercream frosting and divided that into three bowls.  I coloured each bowl using the same colours I'd used in the batter.  Each colour was then put into it's own individual piping bag and twisted closed at the top using a twist-tie.  I loosely attached the three bags together around the middle using a pipe cleaner, and put all three into another piping bag with my largest round tip attached.

I did a test swirl on a plate to make sure the three colours would come out nicely and fairly uniform, then piped the cooled cupcakes, starting at the outer edge and moving toward the middle.

Ta-da!  Tye-dyed cupcakes with tye-dyed frosting and tye-dyed decorative liners.

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband, her 6 year old son, Jacob and her 10 month old son, Noah.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.

Taking the mourning out of our mornings

by Carly With the possible and occasional exception of my husband, we're not morning people around here.  I think I've mentioned that a time or ten in the past.  And now that the Little Man is back to being on the school bus every morning at 7:40 am, not to mention being gone for a whole day and therefore needing more crap stuff, I knew I needed to get my bum in gear so that mornings wouldn't be a nightmare.

I've got two and half months before my maternity leave ends and I'm back to work full time.  That means two and half months where my only task in the morning (is it terrible that I shudder a wee bit inside every time I type the word "morning"?) is to get just the Little Man out the door and on the bus, clothed, fed and watered.  Come mid-November I'll have to add myself and the Baby Man into that mix.

Knowing this, I started planning ahead for that eventuality.  I may have a hate-hate relationship with mornings (shudder), but I love me some organizing.  Here's what we're doing . . .

1. Must-Do Posters Inspired by a similar poster designed by Kids in the Capital mom, Kim-Anh, I made these:

They're on the wall between the kitchen and the powder room and the Little Man loves checking them every morning and afternoon to ensure he's crossed his "must-do's" off his daily list.  My personal favourite on this list?  Choosing his clothes for the next day the night before!

2. "Make" Breakfast the Night Before We've all heard of making lunches the night before, which we do around here too, but Mr. Tree was quick to point out how much easier it would be for the Little Man if we set out everything he needs for breakfast before going to bed every night.

Since the Baby Man wakes up at the same time as the Little Man, and still needs a grown-up to feed him, I put out what Jake will need for his breakfast the night before.  Thankfully Jake loves a good, big breakfast but dragging stools or chairs to the necessary cupboard to get everything he needs out in the morning is time consuming and leaves us tripping all over each other.  So his bowl, spoon, cereal and honey are put on the table for him, and the milk is left easily accessible in the fridge.  Whenever possible, I get his fruit and yogurt ready to go as well.

3. Making use of the Powder Room Like most kids, Jake is an easily distracted dawdler.  Imaginary friends can suddenly and unexpectedly pop out of anywhere, urgently needing his attention.  Sending him upstairs to floss and brush his teeth every morning was taking anywhere from 3 to 30 minutes.  So we put a second toothbrush (for everyone in the family), toothpaste and flossers in the powder room on the main floor.  Amid the hustle and bustle of everyone in the family getting ready, Jake finds it easier to stay focused on the task at hand.

No running back upstairs (to get dressed or brush his teeth) also ensures he doesn't get sidetracked by the ALL! THE! AWESOME! LEGO! in his room.

4. No TV in the Morning This was a tough one for Jake, as there's nothing he loves more than chilling on the couch first thing in the morning watching a fifteen minute episode of pretty much anything on Treehouse or Disney Junior.  Like a lot of children (and adults), the Little Man has a hard time focusing on more than one thing at a time.  Even having the news on while he eats is distracting so we're working on limiting TV even for the grown-ups to the first 10-15 minutes after the hour or half hour . . . to catch the weather and traffic.

5. No Dishes in the Morning If it doesn't go in the dishwasher (we prefer to wash some of our kid-friendly dishes by hand), it gets left neatly in the sink to be washed later.  Right now I'm doing those dishes once Jake is on the bus, but I plan on teaching my recovering perfectionist self to just leave them there until I get home from work.  Sure it's not always fun to walk in the door to a sink full of dirty dishes, but since mornings and I already struggle to get along, this works for me.

And one of the very important reasons I'm choosing not to do dishes is because I want us to have . . .

6. Ten Minutes to Hang as a Family As I write this we're only on the second day of school and so we're still working on this one.  I'm trying to make sure we're setting aside ten minutes in the morning to just touch base as a family.  Ten minutes for Jake to sit on the floor and be goofy with Noah.  Ten minutes to read a short story.  Ten minutes to express our hopes for the day ahead or just talk about a crazy dream we had last night.

I'm a night owl at heart so I'm always interested in what works for other families.  What do you do to make mornings less mournful?

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband, her 6 year old son, Jacob and her 10 month old son, Noah.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.

A Hoppin' Good Time

by Carly The Little Man will turn six in August, but because it can be hard to get school friends together in the summer, we decided to have a small party  to celebrate the momentous occasion before classes ended.

We recently won a birthday party package from Tiny Hoppers and  while we hadn't done anything like that before now, we figured this would be a great time to take advantage of our winnings.

I was actually a little hesitant at first because after visiting their East End location it was clear they catered more to toddlers and preschoolers than school aged children.  So we talked it over at length with Jake and he decided he wanted to go for it.

Tiny Hoppers Standard Birthday Party Package Includes:

* Up to 16 children * Ages 1-10 * 1.5 hours in length * 45 minutes of structured activities with the children * 45 minutes of free play, time for cake, snacks and presents * Various themes available * Balloons for each child * Set up and clean up * FREE Class Passes * $150

We arrived  about 15 minutes before the party was due to start, to put out Jake's cake and speak with the staff on hand.  The two women who facilitated the party were lovely and accommodating.

The kids spent only about 30 minutes (instead of the 45 minutes indicated in the party package) doing "structured" activities.  They used different musical instruments, hopper balls and ribbons to sing and dance around to different songs.  The facilitators were really enthusiastic and animated, and all the kids enjoyed themselves.  They wrapped up that part with some parachute games and we followed that up with some free play, cake, and the gift opening.

Overall I was really happy with the staff and their willingness to help and support our needs.  The songs were silly and fun and the kids really enjoyed the ribbons, drums, hopper balls and the slide.

I do think the party would have been better geared toward younger children and I was happy that only six children in total could make it to our party because the space was really small for children of that age.  As it was, our guests were bumping into one another a fair bit and there were a few scraped knees and backs from climbing through the small-ish tunnels and slides.

The structured activities were great, but with a smaller and older group (less chaos, more listening to instruction) they took less time than anticipated and I do wish the staff had allowed for that by planning some additional games or songs.  In the end I stepped in and led the kids in a few rounds of musical chairs when I saw their enthusiasm for the free play lagging.

Because the space was small, the parachute couldn't be fully opened (though the kids had a blast anyway) and the floors were pretty dirty, both the surface of the foam mats that covered the floor and underneath them), as evidenced by the black feet the kids had by the end of the party.  Everything else was spotless and it was handy to have bathrooms with nice low sinks and the like for the kids to wash up in.

From a customer service perspective, it was a wonderful experience and I'd certainly go back for another party.  The East End location is primarily used to accommodate a full time daycare and the space is set up as such, so I'd definitely recommend their party package for children 3 or 4 years of age and under.

In the end, Jake had a blast, which is really all that matters.  I was really pleased that their facility was strictly peanut/tree nut free and whole egg free as the Little Man is allergic to both..

What are some of your favourite places to have birthday parties?

*****

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband and her 4 year old son, Jacob.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.

Flashback: Summer Camps with the City of Ottawa

Summer is quickly approaching!  Here is a post by Carly about summer camps through the city. by Carly

I'm a big believer in recreation and the Little Man has enjoyed and benefited from the fantastic and highly-trained staff who look after the City of Ottawa's summer Day Camps.  Every time we drive by the community centre where he first went to a half day camp two years ago, he begs again to go back to "Animal Adventures"!  Whether you're in need of childcare this summer or just want to give the kids (or yourself?) a break for a week here and there, the options abound.  I took a few minutes to go through the City's Summer Activity Guide and picked out a few camps that caught my eye, for kids from 2 years of age and up. 

 PRESCHOOL CAMPS:

Fun in the Sun A fun filled, action packed summer with arts and crafts, games, sports, special events, outdoor activities and local trips.  This camp for 4-6 year olds has full or half day options for maximum flexibility and takes place in Orleans, at the brand new AQUAVIEW COMMUNITY BUILDING, 318 Aquaview Drive.  Call 613-580-2782 for more info.

Kinder Korner Community Camps If you live or work in the Nepean area, you’ll find these preschool camps right in your own backyard!  Amazing staff offer camps that are just the right size for your little ones.  Children 2-5 are welcome, camp runs from 9-11:30am from Monday to Thursday at a number of COMMUNITY BUILDINGS throughout Nepean.  Call 613-580-2424 ext. 41238 for more info.

Aqua Preschool Do you have a little swimmer on your hands?  Brewar Pool (613-247-4938), Deborah Anne Kirwan Pool (613-247-4820, Plant Recreation Complex (613- 232-3000) and St. Laurent Complex (613-742-6767) all offer half or full day aquatic camps for kids 3-5 years of age.  Games, crafts, and lots of fun are all on the agenda.

CHILDREN'S CAMPS:

Big Art and Clowning & Cartooning Have a budding artist looking for a creative outlet this summer.  These two camps, taking place at the ROCKCLIFFE PARK RECREATION COMPLEX are just the thing.  Drama, games, animation techniques and the art of clowning are all on the menu.  Call 613-842-8578 for more info.

Drama, Drawing, Photography and Much More The NEPEAN CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE, 35 Stafford Road, offers a multitude of camps on everything from dance to printmaking, music to movie making.  Call 613-596-5783 for more info.

Interior Design, Project Runway & Top Chef Those are just some of the themes offered at AVALON PUBLIC SCHOOL, 2080 Portobello Drive and in French at ÉCOLE ÉLÉMENTAIRE JEANNE SAUVÉ, 1917 Gardenway this summer.  Older kids will love expressing themselves through fashion, design and cooking.  Call 613-580-2782 for info.

Computer Camps Computer camps are offered in partnership with FutureKids of Ottawa right across the City.  Kids will love creating their own animated cartoon, elaborate video games, learning how to make digital movies or exploring the world of robotics.  Check out pages 24-26 of the City of Ottawa Activity Guide (link below) for a location near you, or visit www.futurekidsottawa.ca.

Into the Woods Looking to get your kids out of the house and into the great outdoors this summer?  Get back to nature with this eco-friendly camp and get down and dirty planting gardens, following bugs, exploring forests and going on fun trips.  This camp for kids 4-12 years of age (with full or half day options) takes place at the GENERAL BURNS COMMUNITY BUILDING, 86 Argue Drive in Nepean.  Call 613-580-2424 ext. 41238 for more info.

YOUTH CAMPS:

Leadership The city offers a wide range of Leadership camps for youth 12 years and up, from Orleans to Kanata and many places in between.  Learn communication skills, program planning, team building, child development and camping skills.  Have a teen on your hands who loves working with children in recreation?  These programs are a must prior to working for the City and many offer hands-on learning experiences in camp settings.  Check out pages 38 and 86 of the City of Ottawa’s Recreation Guide for more details.

Equestrian Camps Does your pre-teen or teen dream of spending the summer on horseback?  Both the ST. LAURENT COMPLEX, 525 Coté and the NEPEAN NATIONAL EQUESTRIAN PARK, 401 Corkstown Road offer a wide variety of camps for the horse lover in your family.  For more info on the camps at St. Laurent Complex, call 613-742-6767.  For more details on those offered at the Equestrian Park, call 613-829-6925

Skateboarding, Soccer, Swimming, Hockey, Rope Skipping, Beach Volleyball, Cheerleading & More! Pages 40-47 of the City of Ottawa Recreation Guide are chock full of outstanding sports camps for children and youth.  Pre-teens and teens have their choice of sport and camps are offered throughout the City.

Summer Youth Centres Perhaps your teen just want to get out of the house and hang out with their friends this summer.  Join us for sports, movies, games, special events, camping, outings and more!  TANGLEWOOD COMMUNITY BUILDING, 30 Woodfield Drive and LARKIN HOUSE COMMUNITY BUILDING, 76 Larkin Drive are open Monday to Friday from 3pm to 10pm.  BELLS CORNERS P.S., 3770 Richmond Road and LESLIE PARK P.S., 20 Harrison Drive are open Monday to Friday from 2pm to 9pm.  Call 613-580-2424 ext. 41232 for more info.

More information on any of the camps listed above, as well as many more fantastic options can be found by visiting www.ottawa.ca/recreation. Financial assistance is available to qualified applicants for all recreation programs, including day camps.

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband and her 4 year old son, Jacob.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.