Day 5: Disneyland

We started the day off less than magically.  First, our shuttle bus was late.  Then, when we finally got to the park, we discovered we needed our full coupon book (not just the tickets I had torn out of it) so the kids and I waited while Adam walked back to the hotel and got it (a twenty minute walk each way). 

Inside the park is a fairytale kingdom populated almost entirely by overpriced souvenir stands and restaurants.  Each ride is a long line, followed by a short seizure-inducing acid trip loosely based on random Disney films.  Did we enjoy ourselves?  Oh yes.

My favourite ride is It's a Small World.  Cultural stereotyping at its finest.  Everywhere you look, animantronic children of various nationalities sing their hearts out under psychadelic black lighting.  A goofy Mountie with a totem pole represents Canada, but I can forgive them for that, since some other countries didn't do much better.  And of course some random characters were thrown in, Ariel from Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, Woody from Toy Story.  A big bright yellow moon!  And ducks!  It was totally insane.

William's favourite was a Taxi ride based on Roger Rabbit.  He describes it as "the ride where you drive a taxi and the taxi goes into a scary tunnel with scary things in it."  Most of the rides were a little scary actually, but the kids seemed to like it anyway.

I'm not sure what Jadzia's favourite ride was.  She mostly enjoyed making friends with random strangers.  On the way home on the bus, the woman sitting behind us had a tattoo of a bird on her arm, which delighted my daughter as much as anything else we saw today.  Though she did enjoy the playground that we hung out in while Adam took William on the Goofy roller coaster.

By the end of the day, we were so exhausted that some of us were tantruming, and the rest of us felt like we would any second. We had dinner at the buffet across the street from Disney, then went back to the hotel for a relaxing dip in the pool.  Adam even juggled two swimming children a moment so I could go in the hot tub.  Ahhhhhhhh.

Day 4: Universal Studios and the Hollywood Sign

My children being under 48", we noticed immediately that there was lots they couldn't go on.  That turned out not to be a problem, since what we did see filled our entire day nicely. 

First, we purchased "All-you-can-eat" passes and immediately proceeded to the nearest participating restaurant to gorge ourselves on burgers, onion rings, KFCesque chicken tenders, giant cookies, all manor of ludicrously fast food (so fast it was sitting there before we ordered it). 

What we saw:

An animal actors show, with dogs, birds, monkeys, etc that have been in movies. One of those amusingly cheesey shows.  The chicken changes the special to pork, the pig changes it to chicken sandwich.  Oh the hilarity! Jadzia loves animals, so she especially liked the part when we got to meet one of the dogs and have our picture taken.

A Curious George water play area.  I took the kids through while Adam stood with our camera equipment and stuff.  90% of the fountains, squirt guns, and buckets, were kid-operated and kids will always aim for the nearest grown-up, so I probably got wetter than my children (luckily I brought my swimsuit).    Every so often a countdown would start and all the kids would run under a rocket ship which would "blast off" with water and mist spraying out in place of flames.  William wouldn't run under the rocket.  In fact, he seemed adverse to anything that would get him wet.  Next to the water area, there was another Curious George sponsered attract which involved small foam balls and various methods of shooting them, vacuuming them up, and air-blasting them.  William really got into vacuuming, perhaps I can put this interest to use when we get home.

2 "4-D" shows.  A Shrek 4-D and a Terminator 4-D.  They were very different, though both had the same basic framework.  First you are given 3-D glasses and are lead into a room that you think is the ride but is actually a longish pre-show, which involves recapping the original movie, ignoring all sequels.  Then, you go into a movie theatre and proceed to watch a short 3-D movie.  The 4-D comes in because of all the ridiculous effects, shaking your chair, spraying you with water (in Shrek, this was Donkey sneezing, while in Terminator it was a T-1000 getting destroyed).  I had to sit in a stationary seat in Shrek to have Jadzia on my lap, but in Terminator there was no such restriction.  Terminator had the extra bonus of real actors coming in to play the parts at various times.  Arnie's double didn't really look like him though.

The Universal Studio tour.  This is the real reason anybody goes to Universal and as such it had the longest line-up, which zig-zagged annoyingly so I never quite knew whether we were at the front.  By the time we did get on the tram (a train-like tour-car thingie) Jadzia in particular was ready to riot, and I had to nurse her while the tour was going on.  We actually did drive through sets that were used in movies and TVs, most impressive to me was the giant crashed jumbo jet, used in War of the Worlds.  Every once in a while they would cheesily pretend that something was going wrong and shake us, spray us with water, and show us cool special effects.  Jadzia got scared when the subway station started to come apart all around us, but I snuggled her and kept her safe.

We stayed until the park closed.  Then, since we were in Hollywood, I decided that we should find the Hollywood sign and take a picture.  The GPS lead us up the side of a mountain, on a route that was so winding that it looked like the GPS screen had been scribbled on.  The narrow, residencial streets (yes, people live on the sides of mountains here) were quite beautiful, and we both agreed that even if we didn't make it to the sign the route was well worth it.  When we did get close to the sign, I was totally geeking out about it.  We weren't the only ones there taking pictures, which was a little surprising since we were the only ones on the road the whole drive up.  We took some pictures of the sign, and each other, and a stranger took a picture of Adam and I while the kids were in the car.  (Jadzia was comatose by this point).  The Hollywood Sign!  Awesome.

What a great day!

Day 3: Driving through Arizona

Lured by the carrot of a free car, we opted to fly to Phoenix and drive to California, instead of the ever more convenient option of flying directly and renting a car.  When my husband checked my inlaws' Rav 4, he noticed a couple of things.  Number 1, the air conditioning (which my father-in-law checked two weeks ago) was broken.  Number 2, two of the tires were leaking.  Adam switched the leakiest tire with the spare, and we stopped at every gas station en route to buy air for the other (BTW: there aren't that many gas stations in the middle of the desert, surprisingly).

And yes, we drove across the desert with no air conditioning.

While I was staring out the car window, hot air blasting through my hair and eardrums, I was thinking about how best to describe the Arizona landscape.  It felt, to me, like we were driving on an alien planet.  There's no grass, at least no green grass.  Instead, tufts of widely-spaced green bush-like plants grow out of what might otherwise resemble the surface of the moon. The tallest plants are the cactuses (cacti?).  I've seen pictures of cacti before, even owned a small potted version, but it didn't prepare me for the sight of the ten-foot alien fingers reaching towards the sky.  When we got into California, we saw more and more palm trees, but obviously they need more water than cactuses, because we saw several dry-looking trunks with dead palm tops littering the ground.  And of course the entire landscape was framed by mountains, majestic, rocky, and completely naked of greenery.

Vacation Day 2: the trip

The Plan:

Drive to Buffalo.
Stay overnight.
Take 10 am flight to Chicago.
Board connecting flight to Phoenix at noon (local time)
Arrive in Phoenix.
Take shuttle to in-law's house in Surprise, Arizona.
Stay overnight in Surprise.
Drive to Annaheim using inlaw's car.


The Reality:

Drove to Buffalo.
Stayed overnight.
Took 10 am flight to Chicago.
Circled Chicago airport unable to land because of "weather".  (What kind of weather could be bad enough to close an airport in June?)
Landed in Southbend, Indiana.
Left Southbend at 3:40 pm local time.
Arrived in Chicago.  Missed connecting flight to Arizona.
Were given a much later flight going to LA with a connection to Phoenix.
Hung out in Chicago airport approximately 5 hours.  (Luckily they have an awesome kids play area)
Boarded flight to LAX late.
Missed connecting flight to Arizona (again).
Stood in line at customer service and received hotel vouture.
Took shuttle to hotel.
Hotel was full.  Took a taxi to another hotel and paid for it out of pocket.
Slept for a little under 4 hours.
Took taxi back to airport. 
Boarded flight to Phoenix.
Took shuttle to inlaw's house in Surprise.

Pros:

Everyone was friendly (while not always helpful).
Chicago's awesome children's play area.  It had a play jumbo jet, play control tower, cargo containters to crawl through, all kinds of bells and whistles. It ruled.
Kids slept on the flight to LA without too much convincing.
Kids were reasonably good considering.
Inlaws had frozen pizza in their freezer.
Palm trees and cactuses.

Vacation Day 1: Buffalo

I`m writing from our hotel room in Buffalo.  We`re staying overnight here and flying to Phoenix tomorrow with a stop-over in Chicago.  It`s cheaper this way, which is good, because we`ve already eaten out twice and we haven`t even left our time-zone yet.  First at the International House of Pancakes (which sounds so much fancier than IHOP), then at Ruby Tuesday`s. American cuisine at its finest.

So far, putting Jadzia to bed in the playpen the hotel provided is less than successful, although she`s starting to quiet down as I write this.  Adam is reading William stories on the other bed, after which he will totally go to sleep no problem.

Now Jadzia is crying again and William is saying ``I don`t want to sleep`` so I should probably shut down the computer and figure out what I`m going to sleep in (since I forgot to bring pjs).  I didn`t have much else to say anyway (except that this hotel has a salt water pool, so we had an early taste of the ocean this afternoon).

Early Father's Day

I've gone to the mall several times with my children over the past two weeks, in preparation for our family trip to California.  For those of you who don't have children, let me give you some idea of what this entails.  There are two reasons that children misbehave: they are tired, or they are hungry. 

Children eat every two hours on a normal day, every fifteen minutes during a growth spurt.  Whenever I take my kids out, I pack at least twice as much food as I think I'll need.  I'll still run out, inevitably, and mall food is as expensive as it is unhealthy.  I like to pack sandwiches if we're going to be encroaching on lunchtime, but Jadzia is not crazy about bread, so I give her an applesauce, which means William must have an applesauce as well.

I try to rush from store to store to minimize actual time in the mall. But neither child wants to ride in the stroller for any length of time, so we're usually going at the pace of an easily distractable 17-and-a-half-month old.  And of course, when it's finally time to go home, even though we've spent the entire time looking at men's and women's clothing, William will have a meltdown because he doesn't want to leave. 

Crying children tend to attract elderly people who come up and say things like "What's a matter cutie?" which tends to stop the tantrum for a moment (just long enough for a wtf face).  Once, a little old man followed us all the way through the mall saying "Don't cry.  If you cry you will not go home, you will come home with me!"  I'm sure he was trying to be helpful, but it just came off as creepy.

So that's what the mall is like with children. (Without even mentioning the toy section and the kiddie rides).

Anyway, I bought Adam a bathing suit for "Father's Day", and today (which is not really Father's Day, don't get excited), the kids and I got up while he was still sleeping and made him breakfast in bed and a card.  Eggs (which would've been sunnyside up, except my son cracked the eggs), bacon, and hashbrowns (or what passes for hashbrowns in the frozen food aisle), and toast with jam.  Yummy! (The kids and I had Rice Krispies).

Later we had all you can eat Sushi for lunch and went to Walmart where Adam got to fully appreciate what I have to go through to "pick up a few things" with the children (and I got a new bathing suit). 

It occurs to me that I should get something for my Dad, this not after all being "Husband's Day".  But it's not Father's Day yet, I can think about it while I'm in California.  That's right, I know you're jealous.

My Fish Story

Today we made use of the early summer weather and spent the morning at the beach.  While my children and husband played in a giant hole dug in the sand, I decided to go for a swim.  We'd gone into the water together a few minutes earlier, but the adults only made it in up to our ankles. 

The water at Burlington Beach takes forever to get deep. By the time it was up to my hips the people on shore were the size of sand flies.  I was watching a school of minnows swim by when, suddenly, I came face to leg with an enormous creature.  The fish, which was about the size of a small dog, swam right up to me.  I gasped and jumped a little.  The fish had the same startled reaction (if you can picture gasping without lungs and jumping without legs).  I lost interest in swimming and ran to tell my family what I'd found. 

A passing kayaker identified the beast as a carp looking for a mate (sorry, fish, I'm married).   Wikipedia says the carp is related to the goldfish.  Now that I think about it, it did kind of look like those big goldfish they have at the Mandarin, only this one was much larger, and less festively coloured.

Of course, when I waded out with my family to show off my discovery, my gigantic swimming friend had already disappeared into the deep.

Girls' Day Out!

Today William went off with Daddy to watch drag racing and go camping, so Jadzia and I had a girl's day out.  I put out the APB on facebook that I was looking for a fun girl's playdate, and two of my Mommy friends responded; Zoe's Mom, Columbia, and Leyla's Mom, Cara.  Zoe and Leyla are older than Jadzia, but since she thinks she's three that wasn't a problem.

Our recent aquisition of Summer Bronte Creek Passes made it the agreed upon favourite place to hang out. We planned to see the old Victorian farm house, but it was closed. We did, however, enjoy some pigs and peacocks nearby.  The male peacock even spread his tail feathers for us and did a little mating dance.

After snacks it was off to the play barn (which meant driving to another section of the park). On our way to the parking lot, another Bronte visitor let us pet her dog, much to Jadzia's delight.  "Buster" loved the attention and didn't want to leave all the friendly preschoolers. Nor did Jadzia want to leave the dog.

Eventually we made it to the Nature Centre near the play barn (which is hardly ever open when I go).  Jadzia was delighted to watch the bees in the beehive, but backed away when I held out a cuddly stuffed larva for her to hug.

Next more pigs, goats, chickens, and finally the play barn. If I'd brought William, he would have been all over the upper level of the play barn, running, sliding, and jumping.  The girls, on the other hand, seemed content to hang out with Jadzia on the slower kiddie slide. I can imagine William being jealous when he sees the pictures of his sister hanging out with his girlfriends.

By this time it was past lunch time, so we all went out to an Indian buffet restaurant for lunch.  Some of the dishes were a bit too spicy, but they had lamb so I was a fan. Among other things, Jadzia scarfed down like five little dessert cakes (I don't know what they're called but they are like TimBits drenched in syrup). 

I had a wonderful time.  And Jadzia did too, as evidenced by her screaming as soon as she was alone in her carseat.  But the tears were short lived, and she soon fell asleep. She's been dozing long enough now for me to have a shower and write this blog entry.  Huzzah! 

Super Happy Jen invades Daylight Atheism blog.

I'm guest moderating at Daylight Atheism, while the blog's author gets married and goes on a honeymoon.  Today I used my powers for evil and wrote a short guest post. I warned him that if he gave me this power his blog would become a parenting/star trek blog.  Parenting, check.  Now I have to figure out a way to tie Star Trek in with atheism.   Enjoy!

Rattray Marsh

Recently Adam started a local photography meet-up group, because there wasn't one in Burlington, and because he was jealous that I meet with a writer's group every three weeks. So far the group has had two meetings, one at the Royal Botanical Gardens before sunrise on a Saturday, and another today at Rattray Marsh in Mississauga at a more reasonable hour. I joined the group of course, despite my lack of a single lens reflex or desire to spend a grand or two on accessories.  William recently got into his kiddie camera, which he brought with him (his isn't an SLR either, but it shoots video aswell).

Rattray Marsh is a beautiful boardwalk trail on the shore of Lake Ontario. I ended up spending most of the meet-up today with William and Jadzia, divided between two awesome 80s-retro playgrounds near the trail, both with sand (Jadzia's current favourite food).  William must be growth spurting because he downed two peanut butter and jam sandwiches, an applesauce snack, and nearly half a pint of strawberries.  We brought Morty the jackapoo, who happily ran up and down the play equipment after I "accidentally" let go of his leash.

I finally convinced the kids to find Daddy, and we miraculously tracked him and his new photography buddies down, even though we stopped to throw rocks in the water, and paused every few steps to have yet another strawberry.  The photographers were on a part of the boardwalk overlooking the swamp, taking pictures of egrets and swans.  I later asked Adam how he thought the group went and he pronounced it "Okay" and said he was "glad somebody showed up."  I think he had a fabulous time.

*I should note that all the photos in this post were taken by me, and not a real amateur photo enthusiast with a suped up SLR.

Annoyances and Joys.

I give you a list of minor annoyances that are giving me a bad hair day (am I the only one whose hair gets static when I'm stressed?)

• This morning William wanted to play with his activity book that comes with a dry-erase marker.  I gave him two rules: not on your skin, or on the floor.  He proceeded to draw a "hole" in the carpet.
• Yesterday we were refused admittance to the walk-in clinic because William's healthcard is expired.  I wish they still gave out the red ones.  The man in front of us in line had a healthcard that is older than both my children combined and HE got in.
• I was going to get a new health card but couldn't find the accordian thingie with all our documents in it.
• Raccoons (or some other creatures) helped themselves to our green bin.  I don't mind if they eat our garbage, but is it too much to ask that they do it neatly?
• This morning my parents' dog (who is staying with us for a couple weeks) woke Jadzia up 20 minutes before she would've woken up naturally.  That means, before 7 am, which is against my religion.
• If I hear a sentence that begins with "I want" one more time, my head will explode.
• Jadzia has hidden my watch somewhere.

Joys

• I found that accordian thing.  It was on the black shelf where we always keep it, where I looked at least seven times.
• On Tuesday, my fabulous husband took me out for a delicious lobster dinner.  I love lobster.  I wish it were cheaper so I could have it every day.  Okay, maybe just once a week.
• I got an appointment with my doctor, who declared my children healthy.
• My fabulous husband cleaned up the raccoon's mess this morning.
• He also filled the dishwasher.
• I got into an Early Years program where they mind the kids for two hours while I sit around and listen to a talk.  What's the talk on? Who cares!

The Nap-Time Drive

William does not like to sleep.  Nighttime involves a long Super-Nanny-style routine of screaming, guiding him into his room, more screaming, more guiding him to his room, negotiations for water, milk, stories, hugs, more screaming, and finally silence (theoretically sleeping but could also be laryngitis from all the screaming).  Luckily, Daddy usually handles the nighttime routine.

The same routine, attempted at nap time, achieves all the same results except the silence.  Once, after an hour, he agreed to "go to sleep", dozed for precisely 3 minutes, and then declared nap time over.

Time to give up naps?  In fact, William only has a nap about every other day, when I determine that he really needs it.  Some indications that William needs a nap:

• He has 2 or more meltdowns in the span of five minutes.
• He hits me, or Jadzia.  Or he hits me because I caught him hitting Jadzia.
• With no prompting whatsoever, he says "Mommy I'm not very tired right now."
• I observe him taking thirty-second cat-naps on his tricycle, train table, or on the floor.
• He asks me to read him ten stories in a row.
• He becomes slightly more demanding than usual.
• He giggles like an insane-asylum inmate.
• He throws his toys.
• He demands television, and a glass of milk.
• His listening drops from around 40% to -50% (the negative meaning he actively does the opposite of what I'm asking).

The only way I know of to get William to sleep is to put him in the car and drive until he dozes off.  I used to time every outting to end around nap time so he would fall asleep.  He soon got wise to the fact that I was taking the extra-long scenic route home from playdates.  I would make up bogus reasons for the detour.  In winter, we were looking for snowmen.  In spring, we were looking for new parks we could visit later.  The moment I see that he's konked, I drive home and transfer him, and his sister, into their beds.

Now I don't even bother lying, or timing my outtings for that matter.  If we're sitting at home, and it looks like he needs a nap, I'll say "I'm going to put you in the car and we'll drive until you fall asleep."  Why not?  If he had any power against the magic sleeping spell of the back seat, then it wouldn't work whether I lied or not.  Of course he fights me, but he still sleeps.

Today, I was driving around the neighbourhood, feeling like a failure because I didn't have a better nap time routine for my son, and because I don't command enough respect to prevent him from hitting me as I put him in his carseat.  Instead of driving around the block, I drove straight up Brant Street (past where it's still called Brant Street) into farm country.  As William began to nod, I saw a blue heron fly by.  As Jadzia started to look drowsy I turned around.

There in front of me was the entire city of Burlington, looking clean and new in the sunlight, and Lake Ontario beyond reflecting the brilliant Mediterranean blue of the clear sky. 

Zoology lesson

Jadzia brings me her toy cow and farmer.

Me:  "This is a farmer and this is a cow.  Do you know what a cow says?"

Jadzia: "ROAR!!"

Dinner conversation with William

William: "If I eat my ribs all gone then I will grow bigger and bigger like a dinosaur and you can let me out of the house and I will just CRUSH all the cars."
Adam: "What will happen to the people in the cars?"
William: "Oh, they will just get hurt."
Adam: "You don't want to hurt people do you?"
William (cheerfully): Yes I do!

Later on:
William: "Mommy if you eat your ribs all gone then you will grow bigger and bigger like a dinosaur and when Daddy lets you out we can be a family"
Me: "But we already are a family."
William: "No, a DINOSAUR family."

Our New Neighbours.

Everytime we drive into the carport, open or close the front door, the mother bird flies away.  It makes me wonder why she chose the top of our exterior light for a nest.  For warmth?  Unlikely, since the energy-saver bulb doesn't give off much heat, especially since we rarely turn that light on.  I do vaguely remember seeing a nature doc where some small creatures (hummingbirds, I think) nested near scary predators because they frightened other predators away. Perhaps the same logic applies here.

She doesn't fly far, usually sitting in the vines above the backyard gate, puffing up and singing presumably to distract us from her nest.   The nest is so high up that until today I couldn't even tell if there were any eggs in it.  Now I can see that there were eggs, and they've hatched, giving birth to some adorable baby birds. (Adorable, ugly and freakish-looking, same thing).

California here we come! (But not today William, don't get excited)

We're going to California. No, we haven't won the lottery. No, we have no extra money. But, this is the first time since our honeymoon that my husband has had two weeks vacation, and we're not going to waste it hanging around Ontario! We'll be leaving in June, staying one night in Surprise, Arizona (where my in-laws have a house) and borrowing their car, then off we go to where all the themeparks are (Anaheim and San Diego), maybe do a whale watching tour, Hollywood, you know, California stuff.


William doesn't seem to grasp the concept of planning ahead for a trip and keeps thinking we are going to leave right now. "No, we can't go to the store right now, we are going to California!" I try to tell him that we have to wait a whole month to go, but he just acts like I'm being ridiculous.

Just before we go I plan to chop off my ridiculously thick hair that currently reaches the middle of my back. I had a dream that I chopped off my ponytail and it ended up looking sort of like this, so that's the kind of style I might get. That's obviously the most important preparation, not booking hotels or anything.

Cool internet thingies

We're having a pretty slow day here in Super Happy Land, so I thought I'd take some time to show you some random, cool, internet thingies I've found.

First of all, yesterday was BoobQuake, a fun event started as a joke by fellow atheist blogger Jen McCreight (great name Jen).  After an Iranian Cleric linked immodestly dressed women to earthquakes, Jen urged everyone to wear their most revealing outfits on Monday, April 26 to see if there were any more earthquakes than usual.  200 000 people, including yours truly, wore our sexy shirts in support of this, and the story was picked up by CNN, CTV, and The Colbert Report, among others.  There was a pretty major Earthquake in Taiwan yesterday, but as Jen explains, it wasn't statistically significant.  Just to make sure though, there's talk of making this an annual event.  Oh, and Jen's selling BoobQuake T-shirts and giving all the proceeds to charity.  I'll buy one as soon as I figure out what size fits me...I hate buying clothes online.   Oh and just for the record...I read Jen's blog before she became internationally famous, so I can say I knew her when....Well only about a month before she became famous but still.

I was going to share more awesome internet stuff for you but my son is demanding "racing crashing toy videos"  So I shall leave you with this image:

I made this using IOGraphica, a program that tracks your mouse movements to make a pretty picture.  I first heard about it on my sister's blog, Design Chick's Blogaboo, which I've found to be another excellent source of random internet fun.

Mall Fair 2010!

This time of year a fair randomly sprouts up in the mall parking lot and starts charging ridiculous prices for food, rides, and games.  But what is normally a useless money-vacuum, is a worthwhile and wonderful experience when children are involved (of course it helps to share a bulk pack of ride tickets).  All the kiddie rides are variations on the same thing; kids drive around in a circle in some sort of vehicle (car, boat, worm).  Watching them is hilarious.  Zoe concentrates as though she is taking a driver's test.  Aedan performs over-the-shoulder blindspot checks.  William, in full road rage mode, growls "Go faster!"

Speaking of looking silly while on a ride, my husband took a video of me riding the ferris wheel in an attempt to capture my fear of heights on film.  As you can see though, I was fairly calm and collected the whole time:

He looks so innocent

We were the first to arrive at the beach for our outdoor play date, despite having taken an hour preparing peanut butter and jam sandwiches, packing fruit and cookies, and washing off the sand toys that have been sitting in our sand box (aka mud and leaf box) all winter.  Most of my favourite Mommy friends came and the kids barely glanced at the playground equipment they were so excited to play in the sand.

Before anyone else arrived I had to remind William not to throw sand.  There have been times, while at the park near my house, that I've gone home for this after only one warning. But this park is a 15 minute drive, instead of a 5 minute walk, and my friends were coming.

In the next little while, it became clear to me that William was simply in a sand throwing mood.  Part of me understands.  The sand at the beach is so soft, so perfect, so throwable.  When he threw sand directly in his friend Aedan's face, I had a fun lecture-talk with him about what we could and couldn't do with sand.

"Can we throw sand in our friend's face?"
"No!"
"Can we throw sand in our sister's face?"
"No!"
"Can we dig a big hole in the sand?" 
"Yes!"
"Can we dump sand on our friend's head?"
"No!"
"Can we use the sifter to play in the sand?"
"Yes!"
"But we don't throw sand, right?"
"I will not throw sand!"

Soon after, William threw sand AGAIN.  This time at his friend Annaliese.  He likely did it because he was pretty sure I wasn't watching, and he would be right.  But I had lots of other mommies and children being my eyes and ears.   I took William aside on a bench for a time out.  I showed William the time on my watch and told him what numbers it would change to when three minutes were up.  Then, having no more weapons in my dicipline arsennal, I gave him the ultimate threat :  we would go home if he threw sand again.

My friend was just congratulating me on my calm doling out of discipline, when he threw sand again! The final straw was a fairly innocent exchange between him and his friend Leyla.  I say innocent, because she threw sand too, though I'm pretty sure William started it.    I had no choice, I had made a promise.  I packed up our stuff, and we left. 

He cried all the way home, saying "I want to go to the beach!"  I honestly told him that I wanted to go to the beach too, but we couldn't because he was throwing sand. We were running out of children who had not had sand thrown in their faces and hair by my son.  I only hope he remembers this incident, so he doesn't become a schoolyard bully, or the class loner.

Now, hours later, William just calmly told me "I've very mad that you left the beach."  There's always next time, William.  It's going to be a long summer.

One child less

Today my Mom whisked William off to Toronto for a media day.  They're going to ride on the GO Train, see the CN tower, have a special lunch, maybe see a play...or something.  Anyway the point is I only have Jadzia today!

Now should I go somewhere just for Jadzia, like the pet store or animal shelter or on a nature walk  OR should I go do something that would be tedious to do with William, like grocery shopping?  I was thinking of buying myself a timer to motivate myself to clean (and to make sure I never do more than 5 minutes of chores a day), so I'm thinking I'll go to the mall, get a timer, and visit the pet store with Jadzia.

But then it's Earth Day, so maybe I should go outdoors and not use a car?  I've walked to the mall before, but it was a long walk, and I got a ride back.  I could bike it too, but then I'd have to bring the gigantic 2-kid stroller, and there's still the problem of the entire way home being up hill.  Which is totally the Earth's fault.   I'm trying to be good here, Mother Earth, but you're not making it easy!

Super Happy Family Search Story

Here's my version of a Google Search Story, w using their search story creator on youtube. What a fabulously sneaky way to spread your ad campaign. As if they need an ad campaign. I mean, who hasn't heard of/used Google? W

BTW: The W's in this post are not typos.  They were requested by William.  Now off to watch monster truck videos.

How to get kids dirty

Step 1:  Make sure you pick a day that's kind of rainy in the morning, but not too much so there's still sunshine to enjoy.  Today, for example, was perfect.  The sky opened up as I was driving to the Royal Botanical Gardens to meet my friends for a playdate, but by the time I got there it said "Just kidding, cue the sun!"

Step 2: Bring lots of children. Especially three-year-olds, and a 16-month-old who thinks she's a three-year-old.  They will get each other nicely riled up.  They may even roll on the ground for you!

Step 3: Go on a hike in nature.  Since you picked the perfect weather, parts of the trail will be muddy.  Make sure you let the children walk through the mud without assistance.

Step 4: Pause for a while on a particularly muddy patch of trail.  While you're trying to identify what species of swimming larvae you're looking at, pay little or no attention to what your 16-month-old is doing.

Step 5:  Hot dogs and ice cream.  Nothing dirties a kid's face faster than a chocolate ice cream cone.

Step 6:  If they aren't dirty enough yet,  FINGER PAINT!

Biking with kids

Today I was desperate to get out of the house and do something in the gorgeous weather, so I decided to try biking with my giant chariot stroller hitched up to the back of my bicycle.  We've had the stroller since last year, but the rules say that you can only put a kid in there (while attached to a bike) if they are over one year old, so this is the first season that both offspring can ride.

Things to keep in mind:

1. My children weigh 20 lbs and 37 lbs respectively.
2. Despite the appearance of a trim physique, my body is actually hiding fat very well and I am extremely out-of-shape.
3. I live in a deceptively hilly neighbourhood on the top of the Niagara escarpment.
4. Jadzia hates her helmet and spends most of the trip trying to liberate herself from it.
5. I hate excercise.  No, really.

My parents only live about a kilometre away, so I made that our destination.   My pipe dream when we bought the chariot was that I would bike everywhere, save a million dollars in gas, and become the fittest girl in the world.  As I began my journey I was thinking: this is easy...I'm always going to use my bike to go to Mom's house, and the library, and maybe some farther places too.  Then I hit my first hill.

I then noticed a design flaw in the road system.  Every stop sign and curb is followed immediately by a steep hill.  Once the bike gets going, I can pull 57 pounds of children plus 20 lbs of stroller fairly easily.  Getting going is the tough part.  Getting going up a hill is next to impossible.  The stroller does its darnedest to drag me backward while I huff and I puff and I creep up the hill at the break-neck speed of one inch an hour.  But exercise is the name of the game so I only gave up and walked the whole contaption up the hill twice, the rest of the time I charged ahead.  Super woman, was I.

By the end my legs were jello, my lungs were on fire, and my heart was threatening attack.  Luckily the ride back was slightly more downhill.  I was right about one thing; much more of this and I will definitely become the fittest girl in the world.  But is it worth it?

Ottawa Weekend Gettaway

Adam's friend-since-elementary-school Chris and his beloved Lisa are getting married in September and this weekend was their Stag  & Doe.  So my parents watched the kids for the weekend and we high-tailed down to our nation's capital to enjoy the party (and more importantly to enjoy a kidless weekend).

About halfway throught the 6-hour drive, Chris called to tell us the Stag & Doe had been cancelled.  The Maid of Honour/sister of the Bride had gone into labour 27 weeks pregnant and Lisa had gone to Toronto to be with her.  We found out later that the baby, Liam, was born 2 lbs 10 ounces with lungs strong enough to cry (I'm no expert, but I think this means he's going to be okay.  The really horrid complications from premature birth are usually from lack of oxygen due to under-developed lungs.)

Anyway, while I missed the opportunity to dance with my hubby, we got a lot more hanging out with Chris time than we would have had the Stag & Doe gone on.  The cancelled event would have included lots of people we don't know, and I would have spent the evening convincing Adam to get on the dance floor, while explaining to random strangers that we really are good friends with Chris and Lisa even though we have lived in different cities for years and years. 

Instead, we played boardgames at Chris's apartment, went out to dinner, then saw the most horrible movie imaginable: Clash of the Titans.  We were expecting a plotless action flick with over-the-top special effects but what we got was a really really plotless action flick with worse writing than is usual for the genre, under-whelming special effects, and bad 3D.
If I can be allowed a brief digression, some ideas for improvement (warning spoilers):

• Have someone who knows how to write go over the script, and remember show don't tell.  For example, the talk Perseus has with his father about how he really does love him even though he's adopted, could have been said with a look and a hug.  His father's speech about being angry with the Gods was just embarrassing.
• Actually film the movie in 3D, instead of doing a bad convert of a 2D flick.
• Make Olympus look more awesome and heavenly, instead of an over-exposed version of the counsel of the Jedi.
• Eliminate the character of Perseus's mother's husband.  The back story is okay, but why have him come back for revenge?  Can't Hades summon giant scorpions by himself?
• Only once should we be told that Zeus feeds on love but Hades feeds on hate.  After that, we get it.
• The whole plot with princess Andromeda should be either scrapped or built up so that we actually care about her being sacrificed to the giant octopus thing.  Seems like a no-brainer to me that we should feed her to the Crachen to save the city, what took them so long?  Instead we killed off five guys and a tree-monster trying to get Medusa's head.  That's just not good economics.
• The two hunters that join the team but don't actually do anything after that (beyond ride a scorpion) should be part of a subplot with Andromeda and we can have fun getting to know them.  In fact, all the characters should be developed better.
• Perseus should die at the end.  The fates said he would, so he should.  He's a demi-God, so he can come back to life if they really want.
• Longer fight scene with Hades at the end.  The guy is a GOD people!  Just because Perseus killed his pet monster doesn't mean he should suddenly be able to go down with one quick jab to the gut.  Even I could have lasted longer against Perseus (who is about as Godly as my pinky toe BTW). 

Anyway, we had a great time staying in a hotel without our children.  I mean, I love my kids, I really do, but they can be mood-killers.  In any case, the break was nice.  The next day we had a delicious breakfast at a restaurant Chris recommended and then saw the Aviation museum.  Lots of planes, but a distinct lack of fun interactive exhibits.  Not the most fabulous museum I've ever been in, but definitely more well-put-together than Clash of the Titans.  Perhaps I should see the original movie...it has to be better.

After the museum we drove home to Burlington.  Not only did our children not miss us, but William has been asking all day when we are going back to Omi's house.  My parents took the kids to the Science Centre and to High Park and they may have had more fun than we did.  They definitely did less driving.

Conclusion: MORE WEEKENDS AWAY!!!

My Genes at Work

Yesterday William yanked a handful of hair from his sister's head.  Today at the Early Years, he hit another boy in a fight over a toy and left a red mark on his face.  Those are some of the worst offences, but there have been many more instances of hitting, kicking, scratching and throwing.  He's getting more and more physical with other kids and with me.  I'm told he must be going through something: a growth spurt, illness, etc.  Or perhaps he's over-tired, but he has only himself to blame for that.  He fights sleep even more than he fights me.

When he's defiant, or physical, or both, I call him on it and his bubble bursts.  His bravado becomes tears.  He wants a hug.  He says "I love you Mommy"  and "I'm sorry I hurt you and Jadzia."  We talk about hitting and why it's not allowed.  We talk about how to get what we want with words.  We talk.  We talk. We talk.  And the next day, it starts all over again.

I was like this, I remember.  Oh, yes, this is all from my side.  It took me a long time to make any real friends in school, because when I met kids I couldn't bully the way I bullied my siblings, I didn't know what to do with myself.  First I acted crazy and noone wanted to be my friend, and then I became shy and everyone made fun of me.  I'm confident that my son will not become a murderer just because he hits at the age of three, but I would like him to have an easier time than I did in elementary school.

In the mean time I'll keep telling him I love him, trying to avoid love-testing experiments. What is a love-testing experiment, you ask?  It goes like this, do something that you observe your younger sibling getting away with (ie pulling hair).  When you get in trouble, think to yourself "HA! That proves that they love her more!" 

A night time visitor

Last night I was in the kitchen getting a glass of water when I happened to glance into the playroom.  That's when I saw a large rabbit, about the size of a three-year-old child (a little taller if you count the ears).  He had fluffy white fur, a perfect pink nose, and he was wearing a green jacket.  He hopped around the playroom, carrying a basket full of eggs.

As he pulled each egg out of his basket, I saw that they were the same eggs we had coloured the Friday before at my in-law's house.  I quickly checked the fridge.  The carton was there, but it was empty.

The rabbit hopped right past me, down the stairs to the basement.  His basket didn't look like it would hold any more, but he reached deep inside it, farther even than it looked like the bottom would be.  I knew then that it was a magic basket.  He pulled out two Easter Baskets, one for each of my kids I presumed, and placed them on the coffee table.

When he was all done, a hole that looked like the entrance to a burrough appeared in the middle of the carpet.  The rabbit hopped inside, and the magic hole disappeared behind him.  I thought this was all a dream, until I woke up this morning to find all the coloured eggs hidden in the playroom just where I saw the rabbit hide them, and two baskets of Easter goodies sitting on the coffee table in the basement.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Meeting Violet

Today we took William and Jadzia back to the place they were born to meet the newest addition, my brand new neice Violet McNicoll:

Violet was born yesterday (April 2) at 7 lbs 15 ounces.  She's Craig and Eireann's very first baby! (They are my brother, and sister-in-law in case you don't know).  I was going to go to the hospital to see her yesterday, but there were a million relatives all mulling around the maternity ward, and noone wanted me around because I was sick.  Nothing serious, just a 24-hour bug, actually more like a 10-hour bug.   Anyway, I'm better now.

Eireann is a super hero.  She couldn't have an epidural, so she did the whole giving birth thing using only lame drugs that don't actually work.  Violet was only one day late (early in my mind as my kids were 11 days late, and 5 days late) but she took her time clawing her way out of there at the end. 

Check out how big my baby looks next to violet.  She's enormous!  Jadzia was actually a tiny bit smaller than Violet at birth (7 lbs 7) and now she clocks in at just over 20 lbs.  My babies are old now.  Good thing I have a new niece to cuddle!

I can't have a pic of Jadzia and the baby, without posting a pic of William with the baby too.  William used to be a baby.  But he's not anymore.  Eireann and Craig: in only 3 years, Violet will be gigantic like this (only a girl)!  It's mind-boggling really.

Anyway I'm looking forward to watching Violet grow up, and play with William and Jadzia, and be super good friends with them.   Congratulations, Craig and Eireann!  Welcome to planet Earth, Violet!

Oh, I almost forgot.  Daddies and daughters!

This is not an april fools prank, this is my reality.

Last night William went to bed at 11 pm, after a two-hour stand-off during which he woke up his sister at least four times, culminating in Adam and I turning all the lights off in the house and going to bed without any adult time. Well at least he's going to sleep in, right?


This morning at 6am my son, who normally wakes up between 7:30 and 8am (all other parents, feel free to hate me now), got up screaming his head off, as if he had only just paused for a breath and was now resuming his tantrum.

The rest of the morning went neutrally. No stickers went up on his "good listening" chart, but I had no impulse to tear any off either. After lunch, I decided that we should take advantage of the nice weather and head outside. William thought this was a great idea, he just had to watch one more racing crashing car video on youtube first.

We ended up on our way to the park a block from my house. I didn't bring the stroller, so I was holding Jadzia by the hand while William ran ahead (he knows to stop at the corner and hold hands to cross the road). My 15-month-old has become a fairly good walker in recent months, but her legs are shorter than the rest of us and it took a long time to walk this way. William kept running ahead, then running back to us, then running ahead again. Immediately after we got there, he noticed that he forgot to bring hotwheels cars to drive down the slide and wanted to go home and get some. Just play without them, said I.

Not knowing what to do with himself, William went down the slide once, then lay down in the sand. Jadzia put about five handfuls of sand into her mouth, one after another, and cheerfully cooed "Noooo!" when I tried to stop her.

I remarked that William looked tired and he leapt up and started throwing sand (an obvious no-no). I told him we had to leave because neither of them were playing with the sand properly. I could've given more warnings, but then sometimes kids misbehave because they want to go home.

William burst into tears and started screaming. I know that people tend to use the term "screaming" when a kid is only crying. This is not what I mean. The sound that came out of William's mouth was an ear-piercing, high-pitched noise, somewhere between a rabid squirrel and a horror-movie heroine. I grabbed a squirming Jadzia by the waste, and held William's hand as gently as I could while he thrashed around trying to get away. With his free hand he hit and scratched me, and my left forearm now looks as if it has been mauled by a miniature wolverine. The school kids and teachers were out for recess, and observed the whole horrifying ordeal.

He calmed down soon after we got home and I lay down in bed with him. Of course as soon as he started to doze off he jumped out of bed and ran back to the computer. The only guaranteed way to get William down for a nap is to drive him to sleep. I mean literally drive him to sleep in a car.

I was completely honest with him. I told him that I thought he was tired enough for a nap and that he would probably fall asleep if we drove anywhere. I would drive towards Ikea. If I was right, and he fell asleep, we I would drive home and put him to sleep. If I was wrong, and he was still awake when we got to Ikea, then I would let him play in the ballroom. This was a win-win deal for me. Either I get a napping child, or someone else can deal with him for an hour. (Why don’t more stores have these ball-rooms?)

At first I wanted him to sleep, but as we got halfway there I started liking the idea of having a peaceful snack in the Ikea cafeteria. And then they both fell asleep and I drove home.

Quiet. Ahhhhhhh.

The Rules, as imposed by Jadzia

1.  Never, ever, leave the room.  No, not even to pee.  You don't actually have to pay attention to me while in the room, but if you leave I will cry. (Note, this rule only applies to Mommy)

2.  Yes, it does go in my mouth. 

3.  Pens are for babies.

4.  The floor and my face are great things to colour on.

5.  I can type your novel!

6.  I can write your blog entry!

7.  I can use your mouse  (and you can't).

8.  I can call random numbers on your call-display.

9.  I only like the remote control that will actually mess up the tv program, video game, or DVD you are playing.  Don't insult my intelligence by giving me the satellite remote.

10.  Food goes on the floor.

11. "No" doesn't mean "no".  "No" means I'm having a really good time doing something I'm not supposed to do.

Warning: seriousness

Despite watching a lot of youtube videos that talk about morality, religion, atheism, etc.  I don't post them here that often. This blog isn't about heady topics that actually matter.  Don't worry, my next post is sure to be an amusing annecdote about children and kitchen remodeling.  But I had to post this one (which is long, just watch it), because this guy is singing my song:
While I don't claim to have all the answers, I've always been annoyed by the "my opinion is as good as yours" philosophy.  Some people are clearly wrong.  Like this guy. Or these guys.  And unlike apparently everyone else, I care what the truth is. 

I was talking to my mother today, not about morality, but about an aquaintance who had recently passed away.  Now I don't believe in heaven (shocking), and Mom seems to be preoccupied with this.  She said was asking where the comfort was in believing that there's nothing after death (I'm paraphrasing here).  I think my response was "It's not my fault that heaven doesn't exist."  What I meant was that an afterlife either exists or it doesn't.  When deciding whether I think there's an afterlife, I didn't really consider what would be most comforting.  Comfort doesn't cause things to exist.  I care what the truth is (see how I tied that in there).

Anyway heaven, or lack thereof, is not all that important to me.  I sometimes get the feeling that my mother is worried that I'm miserable worrying about death and nothingness.  I honestly don't think about it that much. Life is too joyous and wonderful to be sitting around thinking about death all the time. I spend much more time watching TED talks on youtube. 

Amazing Kitchen Cupboards

Last weekend's new pantry has started us on a kitchen improvement kick.   So using a fresh coat of paint (and primer and more coats of paint and maybe a clear coat), we're now in the process of turning my ugly retro wood laminate cabinets, into cupboards so beautiful that they will make me want to spend a lot more time in the kitchen and I will totally get all the dishes done.  Always.  Totally.

 Well you know the old saying: "Anything worth doing is worth doing in red"  (or something like that).  So we chose a nice bright red.  The name of the colour is AMAZING.  No really, it's called Amazing.  Being a sucker for marketing, I immediately knew that this was the colour for us. 

Normally when we're doing any home decor where colour selection is involved, I campaign shamelessly for the brightest colour possible because I know that Adam, when left to his own devices, will choose various shades of tope.  This time, however, Adam found a random picture on the internet with red kitchen cabinets that looked kind of cool and agreed to the brightness without any fuss.   My husband is convinced, though, that we'll have to paint the walls a neutral colour like grey, and not a fantastic complimentary colour like green, to go with our amazing-coloured cabinetry.  Apparently there's some kind of a down side to lots of in-your-face colour.  No matter, we'll cross that bridge some other day.

In the meantime, the small bit of red already painted in the kitchen, is almost enough to make me weep from the beauty. Can you imagine how gorgeous it will be when it's all done?

And here's a cute shot of my kids hugging in the cart at HomeDepot:

I'm Famous!

So I've been watching this web show called Bump+. It's a fake reality tv show (shot like reality tv but using actors) where all the characters have unplanned pregnancies and the writers used the comments to shape how the plot goes.

Anyway apparently I was such a valuable commenter (it's the nerd in me) that they asked me to make a short video for their featurette.

It doesn't matter if I look awesome and am reasonably well-spoken, I feel instantly embarrassed when I see myself on camera. (Also in that second clip, they cut me off in mid sentence. What's that about?)

If you want to see the other Bump+ episodes go to bumptheshow.com. The season is over now so you can no longer affect the outcome of the show through your comments, but no matter, I'm sure they'll do this again.

Watching it again...argh I'm terrible on camera. I can't stand it. But I can't look away.

My new pantry

I'm trying to write a blog entry about my new pantry, but instead I keep looking over my shoulder into the kitchen to gaze admiringly at it.  I'm in love! Both with this beautiful new cupboard and with the handyman who built it for me.

Here's the before shot:

Picture this useless alcove with a giant black Ikea shelving unit sticking sideways out of it.  These shelves were meant to display decorative knick-knacks, but instead were stuffed full with pots and pans, appliances, books, papers, cereal, and anything else that was too tall or awkward to fit in our kitchen cabinets.  I don't know why our house's architect designed such an oddly-shaped kitchen, but it was the seventies (lots of drugs back then).











And some in-progress shots:

My man building me a pantry.  That's pretty much the sexiest thing I've ever seen.  I never got a really good picture of him using the drill though, unfortunately.  Also, I got bored of taking pictures by the time he started building the shelves, so no in-progress shelving shots (I know you're disappointed).  You'll just have to trust me that he built everything with his own manly hands.

























And Tah-dah!

Just look how all our kitchen stuff fits neatly into these shelves with room to spare.  That's a miracle, I tell you.  There's even a little space between the shelves and the doors for the broom, and the sweeper, and for hiding from the kids.  Adam still plans to fill in that space above the doors with some drywall (and paint the kitchen), but that's a project for next weekend.

I love my new pantry!  Thanks Adam!

Happy Mail

I just received what I'm going to call fan mail, from my friend and former Ryerson classmate.  Star Trek bookmarks and Wonder Woman stationary! What more could a girl ask for?  Now I have to buy stamps so I can send some super hero snail mail.

This letter came at the perfect time.  I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself because I'm suffering from the cold that has infected half of Burlington (I suppose it could have infected the other half as well, but haven't talked to everyone in town).  Last night was a good night because I actually slept and so did Jadzia.

The night before, on the other hand, was a different story.  I was all sniffly and snory and mouth breathey and having trouble falling asleep.  As soon as I found a pontentially tolerable position, my husband (who is a light sleeper) asked me to turn over because he couldn't sleep with all my obnoxious breathing.  I tried to accomodate, but Adam eventually went to sleep in William's room.

Then Jadzia woke up screaming.  She's just as miserable as I am, with a constant stream of slime oozing from her nostrils, and an appetite for boob to soothe her sore throat.  From 4 am onward she refused to leave me alone.  She showed no interest in sleep and would not stop screaming unless she had one of my breasts shoved into her mouth.  Finally I brought her into my bedroom, where she crawled all over the place, fell off the bed, played with the clock radio, sorted the dirty laundry, and eventually fell asleep with her upper body on my bed and her legs dangling off the side.  I slept a little until 7, when William came into my room.  He leapt onto the bed, causing Jadzia to slide onto the floor, although miraculously she stayed asleep for another 2-3 minutes.  I was so exhausted I called my parents for help, but everyone was busy.

Last night was so much better (because it included sleep), and the letter in the morning's mail was enough to make the day start with smiles.

A shopping list for Adam

Eggs  - Just one dozen, we have a dozen in the fridge already

Milk - Two bags

Crackers - Any kind that's not whole wheat.  We have whole wheat ones and they taste like wood chips.

Lots of fruit - Whatever's in season and on special.  I think peaches and pears are good, but if they're too hard get something else.  Maybe oranges if they look good.  Don't get apples because we have a few and William doesn't really eat them.

Bread - one loaf, we have another loaf on the fridge.

Margarine

Real butter - Salted or unsalted, whatever's the cheapest.

Brown sugar

Something for dinners - What depends on where you go to shop.  Chicken nuggets are on special at Fortinos.  I believe Longos has some kind of fish.  I'm making stew with leftovers tonight, there's chicken in the freezer and of course we have dinner at my parents' house Friday, and your parents' house Sunday, so only get enough for three dinners.

Vegetables to go with the dinners.

Cream of something soup - Mushroom, or chicken, or celery or whatever.  In case I want to make a casserole.

Something for lunches - KD is on special at Longos.  You don't have to get KD but don't get no-name KD; it is offensive.

Cereal - Not Honey Nut Cheerios but I think that goes without saying.  I've also noticed that William is less likely to eat cereal that has flakes.

Maybe some yogurt - If you have money leftover.

Something you think of that I've forgotten.

Disney on Acid

Today we went to the Disney Ice show at the Skydome in Toronto (yes, I'm one of those people who refuses to call it "the Roger's Centre").   Once in a while, my Mom gets tickets to these things because she's "media".  If you haven't been to one of these ice shows, picture every animated Disney movie you've ever seen, minus any conflict and plot, all mushed together, on speed, and on skates.

We began be eating in that restaurant that looks down on the skydome.  Jadzia didn't come with, so there were no worries about high chairs and strollers.  The adults were my parents and me.  The kids were William and my nephew Hunter.  Try the pumpkin ravioli.  And my Dad's burger looked nice too.

The boys were very good.  Most likely because my mom planned ahead and brought activity books, glow sticks and M&Ms to keep them occupied.  And of course at intermission, Mom bought Hunter a Buzz Lightyear, and William a ridiculous twenty-two-dollar light-up twirly-whirl thingie.

William loved everything, even the parking garage.  "I've never been here before," he said as we walked through the grey dungeon.  He also liked staring up at the CN tower, eating Kraft Dinner at the restaurant, and using the automatic soap dispenser in the washroom.  The Ice Show was pretty cool too. 

My favourite part was the rendition of "The Sorceror's Apprentice" in which all the skaters were dressed as giant blacklight-activated brooms.  I also liked the bit where a bunch of random Disney villains went trick-or-treating at Jack Skellington's house. Each bit was as fun, high energy, and nonsensical as the last.