HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!

Happy New Year Y’all!

At the risk of sounding cliché, it is crazy how time flies. I decided to drop the ball on all things KOHORT in December because of life in general through the holiday season. Seems I wasn’t up for much in terms of outings and instead opted for Christmas crafting, cookie baking and snowman making when the snow finally hit. My little entourage and I became Pinterest crazy with all the potential all-things-Christmas ideas. I’ve never made so many crafts in my life in one week, let alone a month. And, in all honesty it was great. I loved seeing my 3 little munchkins (that includes my 2 children and the sweet heart I’m caregiving 4 days a week) lined up on their chairs making masterpiece tree ornaments. Caregiving, although not always easy, has been a blessing in the last month. It’s brought some balance to my household with my kids fighting less, laughing more and frequent dance parties to their latest favourite song, Gangnam style (yes, I went there, and am actually admitting it).

 

 

Today is the 29^th and Christmas has now passed. My husband and I started a new tradition and decided to stay home on Christmas day for the 1st time. Although I love visiting family and friends who live out of town, which I’ve done all my life over the holidays, it’s just tougher to do with kids and enjoy (who can relate?). Little ones have minds of their own, whose tummies grumble early and bedtime coincides with dessert time for most people. I wasn’t sure how I would actually feel without being at my parents or the in-laws once we made the decision not to travel until after Christmas. But in the quick Christmas day debrief after all presents were opened, played with and some even forgotten, my hubby and I both felt at peace with our decision. Besides, there wasn’t any shortage to Christmas celebrations before or after the BIG day anyway.

 

 

 

This year we hosted a turkey dinner with my family a couple weeks before Christmas which was really nice. I’m hoping that maybe this tradition will carry on with my siblings rotating who will host each year (not that I have any problems hosting myself, I can be a real Martha Stewart when I want to be).  Last year, I hosted a Christmas Eve supper with a few friends whose families are also not local and it went so well, we did it again this year the week-end before Christmas. That was a great time as well, because the kids are all at the age where after they’ve gotten over the initial shyness, were off running and playing with each other. It reminded me of when I was little and we’d have Christmas at my Grandma’s and I’d hang out with all my cousins who were all pretty close in age. The only thing that would have made our parties better is Euchre or some other card game after dinner. All in good time though because I know it’s a matter of a few short years that our guests won’t have to be out the door by 7:30 pm (at the latest – lol), so that we can clean up and get to bed at a decent hour and not throw off all the little pip squeaks schedules.

Our holidays will always involve travel though. My in-laws live down near London, ON (which is where I am now) and my father-in-law doesn’t like driving long distances in the winter. Today, I happily slept in until 9 am and then spent a better part of my afternoon both napping and laying in bed contemplating what I might write about in this blog. Essentially, I should have gotten to the point about…..ohhhhhh…..2 paragraphs ago, but when I have something or someone on my mind I can get a little long winded. Just ask my friends whose answering machines get bogged up with my off the wall rambles about life. You’re smart people in reader land though, so I’m sure you’ve summed up that it’s been a great Christmas for my family and I. Now, it’s my time to reflect on the future. Where will we go in 2013? What kind of resolutions, if any, will I make? How can I make 2013 better than 2012? For now though I’ll save the questions and answers for later, pour myself another drink, sit by the cozy fire, and enjoy the peace and quiet of my little ones sleeping.

Cheers to a most excellent year 2013! And here is hoping the best is yet to come.

Gingerbread Gala

     Have you ever been on an outing and it turned out better than predicted. I think that is how I would sum up the Gingerbread Gala.

     When I found the Gingerbread Gala listed on the Ottawa Museum Network website back in October, it seemed clear. Gingerbread House. Decorate. Done. Sounded like a nice morning out and a great way to keep my little ones entertained.

     What I didn't know was that this event was open to kids of all ages and it coincided with a PD Day for the Ottawa Carleton District School Board. This made much more sense after they suggested you pre-register on their flyer. I actually did contact the museum in advance to be sure there was space. My kids are only 3 years and 18 months old and I was planning to attend with them, so registration wasn't required. The older children who were registered attended without their parents.  Their registration ensured enough staff support.

    There were a couple things that shocked me before even arriving at the museum. First, the location of the Nepean Museum, 16 Rowley Avenue, in the heart of suburbia, and the size of the museum itself, to be perfectly honest.

I have travelled in and out of that neighbourhood in the past to visit a former client and had no idea that the museum even existed.  In fact, in the 10 years I've lived in Ottawa I had never even heard of the Nepean Museum.  My first impression: a nice small neighbourhood museum. Their website goes into greater detail, but they have a nice little set up of various regionally based exhibits. There was a play area set up for this event, which was a good way to entertain the kids before the gala started.

    Pulling into the parking lot, there were 2, maybe 3 other vehicles and I knew one was a fellow KOHORT member.  I thought for sure we were in for a very intimate gingerbread house making experience.

     SURPRISE!!! within moments...kids galore! Really, not a crazy amount, maybe 20-30, but overwhelming at first to say the least.  I had no idea it was a PD day.  However, the staff had everything ALL. UNDER. CONTROL. Thank goodness.  I have to give credit where it is due, Andrea, the program coordinator was absolutely amazing. Proof of that, several neighbourhood kids, who obviously attended programs here before, were hanging on her every word and her very well planned agenda.

 

Remember when I thought it was going to be a "house" decorating event only. Look what else we were getting for our $7/child fee. Totally worth it in my eyes (especially for the parents who were able to drop their older children off).

 

     Andrea and the staff started off with a puppet show, then onto craft time making a house plan and creating fun gingerbread pencils (top photo). Everyone was then shuffled from the main room down to the lower floor for juice and crackers before being given a prepared house to decorate. The room was a bit squishy for some of us parents/staff, but there was a chair and work station for all the children. Each child received their own bag of icing to use as the candy glue, and there was more than enough candy to decorate every house and probably a dozen more if needed. Here's some work in progress:

 

 

 

 

     When all the children were done decorating,  they just left their houses to dry on the table, headed back upstairs and had the option to either continue colouring an assorted selection of gingerbread themed pictures, have free play with toys available, or play a staff prepared game.

 

     The reason this event was better than expected is because a) we got our money's worth with more activity than planned, b) the staff were excellent, c) there were smiles on everyones faces the whole time, and d) now we have a nice centre piece for our Christmas entertaining. I will certainly keep watch for future programs at the Nepean Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Valley View Little Animal Farm

 

 

     Wow, we were lucky to have one of the sunniest, warmest, Fall days to go to the farm. It was my first visit to Valley View and I was impressed. More importantly, the kids would probably give it 4 thumbs up, if they fully understood what exactly it meant to do so.  The truth is we stayed longer than we expected and there was a whole lot of protest when it was finally time to leave.

 

     When we arrived, we quickly learned what exactly the "valley view" was. For being so close to the city, the look out onto the valley of corn fields was refreshing. Being an Ottawa Valley girl (Calabogie/Burnstown) originally, it's always nice to get back to my country roots. As you enter into the farm you quickly realize it's harvest time, because you pass by the silos processing the corn silage. In all honesty, it was a wee bit loud, but I was able to quickly tune it out.

 

     In the main building you can find washrooms, a cafe/gift shop, a covered picnic area and there's also a meet up section for groups where a farm video or puppet show is played. I highly recommend using the bathrooms before you go off and wander. We were in the outdoor play structure area and I experienced first hand a happily playing, potty training child, who accidentally opted for "#2" in her pants. If that didn't come with refusing to walk in those soiled pants, along with pushing my son in a fully loaded stroller, I may not have found it so annoying to have to walk back over to the main building. It really isn't that far to go, but with so many people around and dealing with a potential mess, it is always nice to have the option of a sink, water and paper towel.

 

     Back at the main building you head left to tour the farm. If you name the farm animal you'd like to see, it's probably at Valley View, from cows to horses, ducks to peacocks and much more.

 

 

    

     You'll also find the Old Farm Museum on-site which has farm equipment and unique antiques from the 1800's and up.

 

 

     The biggest hit of our day was the play area. Even with a couple bus loads full of children and their parents, the play area had so much to offer that there was never a wait or a fight over using any of the various slides or wood structures such as the ship, airplane, and fort. Even some of our youngest KOHORT participants were thrilled to enjoy one of the tractor tires to hang out and play in.

 



 

 

 

     We packed a picnic lunch, which we ate in the sheltered area. I was also curious about what the cafe had to offer so we went in for a Popsicle. If you choose to eat they have a few grab and go options like sandwiches, muffins and some seasonal treats, such as Halloween themed cookies, which I saw some youngsters munching on. You can also order hot food like fries, grilled cheese, or soup and they will bring it to your table once it is ready.

 

     After lunch we had planned to take the free train ride tour of the farm, but we got carried away back at the play area and missed the ride that is offered 3 times per day on week-days and every hour on week-ends. That's something we'll look forward to on our next visit. We were also happy to see that another playground is in the works for the future.

 

     Overall, among the KOHORT members that attended, the consensus seemed to be that this was a great outing option. One member suggested it may not have been as fun if we had rain or cooler temperatures given the time of year and I agree. Certainly, the Autumn season is hit and miss but worth it even if you come out to purchase a pumpkin and stay for an hour or so. The fact that it's reasonably priced is a bonus, and if you do like it alot, they offer a "Frequent Farm Visitor Pass" - every 8 admissions paid gets 2 free admissions.

 

 

You can find more Valley View Little Animal Farm information by clicking on this website link below.

http://www.vvlittleanimalfarm.com/index.html



 

 

 

     

 

    

 

    

 

     

Hello and welcome to the Where to Next, Ottawa?

Sooo, if you've been here before you that the format of this blog has changed since I first started it as a "Mom Blog". When I started blogging my intentions were to attract others with the idea of introducing the reader to activities that were new to me and my review of my experience.

Now, my intentions have changed. I blog for pure self pleasure now. I've always been a journal writer and still do hand write journals for my children. But, like many, my comfort on a keyboard far outweighs my ambition to put pen to paper. Taking photos is also a passion, and I really should have pursued that more (maybe one day I will) as a profession, but for now a blog is the best spot for me to combine both my thoughts and memories from travelling around the city, across the province or into various countries.