Toddler Groupies!

The lights dim, the roar of the crowd grows as everyone waits to see the band come out...

the fans wave their light sticks, proudly display their concert T-shirts, and throw flowers.

Sounds like any concert, but this is a concert for toddlers.

The Wiggles!

We just got back from our first toddler concert experience. It was pretty hilarious. And quite the business. Roses are sold at the souvenir shop, which are promptly handed back in to Dorothy the Dinosaur. Shirts, Cd's, and DVDs were flying off the shelves.

We, as you will learn if you follow my blog, are pretty frugal and try not to be excessive consumers. I won the tickets on a morning TV show and we opted to not purchase anything at the concert, just enjoy the show.

It was a really fun show for kids, complete with castle set, clowns, all of the mascots, and audience interaction galore.

My only negative comment would be why have this show at 1:30, when the audience is largely made up of 2 and 3 year olds who are overtired? Have it at 10 a.m.! Jack was fine until 2:30, then hit a wall and basically laid down for the next 4 songs but did perk up for the big finale.

All in all, the look on his face and the dance moves he came up with were priceless, and well worth the trip out to see the band, and the ringing in my ears, and the tylenol from my migraine, and the bruise on my back from being kicked by the twins behind me...

Rock on Wiggles!

Mom and the City

Traditions

Last night City Dad, Jack and I had the inaugural night of our " Friday movie night" tradition. We ordered pizza, Jack got in his pj's early, and we watched Polar Express, which Jack absolutely loved, being a train fanatic. We lit a fire, chatted about the day, and relaxed. It seems, to us, to make sense as a way to wind down the week, and Jack is already looking forward to our next movie night, in 2 weeks since Halloween is this coming week.

It made me think about the other traditions we have already started in our family, and about the ones we both had as kids. The repeated routine of the same fun activity with your family seems to be key in memories, and in establishing values, and close family ties.

We have, for instance, started another tradition that the Saturday before Christmas Eve we have both sets of grandparents over for a Christmas get together. We go out to a restaurant, come back for dessert, and Jack gets Christmas Eve gifts of pj's and books. All of our family lives in Ottawa, and we are close; however, Jack does not see both sets together that often, and he enjoys seeing them all together.

In my family, growing up, we had a Friday night movie night, which was a great break and always cause for discussion. As we got older, I swear sometimes it took hours to decide which movies to rent, since my brother is the world's most detailed movie critic. I look back on these times and am thankful.

City Dad's family had a tradition of going camping in a trailer every Summer on long road adventures. When he and his family get together, they always have funny stories about driving the trailer down Yonge Street in Toronto, or celebrating a birthday on the road. We hope to start camping this summer with Jack.

Carrying on, in your own way, traditions from the past, is a way to continue your family's unique heritage.

What are some other traditions people have? I would love to hear some other family's ideas.

Until next time,

Mom and the City

Naptime

Jack at 2 months old, " a bundle of cute"

Here I am, squeezing in a cup of steaming coffee and typing as quietly as I can so as not to disturb the precious moments of time I already feel slipping away.

Aaah, the joy of naptime.

The army of moms who stay home know what I'm talking about.

Nothing feels quite as good as those first five minutes after my son Jack settles into his Thomas the Train bed for a few hours.

Of course, it is a Russian roulette as to how long the rest of the nap might be - which makes the time all the more treasured. Will it be a 40 minute day, or a 3 hour dream trip?

The gentle buzz of the monitor stays silent as I take another sip of coffee, and truly count myself blessed for this time. It is one time every day when I don't envy the working moms (which I believe every mom does, at least once in a while) their adult lunches and even thier quiet or not so quiet commute.

When I hear the bellow, "Mommy - too long. I'm up, Jack is UP!" I am rejuvenated and ready to face the rest of the day, whatever it brings.

I can proudly say I try not to do a whole lot of chores during naptime. It is my time, to enjoy and do with as I please.

Jack's nap is getting shorter and shorter as he gets older, and I can foresee a day in the not too distant future where I will look back on naptime (at least with Jack) as a distant memory.

For any moms reading this who feel the need to rush around during naptime, as I did at first, stop, and realize that the break will make you a less harried, calmer mom. Who really cares if there are crumbs on the table a few hours longer? Do the front of the cupboards demand attention this second?

I say, naptime is:

• a break from all the questions
• time to call another adult
• time to indulge a hobby, be it writing, cooking, or making jewellery, like my super chic mom, known in this blog as Grandma L
• time to read a book that makes you feel grounded in the outside world again, rather than a world of Wiggles and Backyardigans

Maybe it's time to read this blog, and if so, thank you. This is my first attempt at blogging, and I am really enjoying getting my thoughts out there.

And there it is, the bellow of the toddler...

Until next nap,

Mom and the City