Observation:
Emma lives to make her sister laugh. This is mostly done with
slapstick-type antics. Falling, shouting, making wild hand-gestures...
my kid is a miniature Jerry Lewis. But cuter.
Today's
family activities:
Breakfast,
morning prep.
Swimming
in the kiddy pool. Playing in the park.
Snack
at home.
Play
in the backyard.
Lunch
in the backyard.
Nap.
(Sarah only)
Play
in the backyard.
Play
in the front yard.
Go
for a ride in the wagon. (Pulled by mummy)
Dinner.
Feed
friend's cats.
Play.
Sleep
... (TBD).
Celebrating
Canada Day is a new tradition in our family, but both Mark
and I have been celebrating together (and individually) for
years.
This
is an important occasion for Canadians. Three hundred and
sixty four days of the year we are quietly patriotic. We aren't
into flag waving, unless it's during hockey playoffs or the
Olympics.
But
when Canada celebrates her birthday we go a little nuts, but
nuts in a good way. It seems like everyone does something
to mark the day. And this is nice. We have even been known
to wear our national colours! Honk our horns! Break into our
anthem!
Ottawa
is the epicenter of celebration. It's the nation's capital,
and for some reason I think Ottawans have a reputation of
being a stuffy bunch. But we let it all hang out on Canada
Day!
When
I was in university I went to Parliament Hill every year.
This was a must. And if you liked to swelter in the sun (or
get soaked in the rainfall, but it usually never snows here
on July 1st) along with 500,000 other people than this is
the place for you. Music, amusement, food, drink -- it's all
there, it's all so amazing.
It's
great, but I also would never bring preschool-aged children
to the Hill during the day. When
the girls are old enough to wait in line 20 minutes to use
a johnny-on-the-spot then we'll start bringing them downtown.
Until then, we will do other things to celebrate the day.
This
year we began with a pancake breakfast, complete with embedded
banana slices and chopped strawberries. Add in the coffee
and OJ, and we were ready to go.
Destination:
Andrew Hayden park for vague and unknown Canada Day activities.
Rumour
had it that Bananas in Pyjamas were performing. Yes,
they are actually bananas in pyjamas. I don't know why, but
there it is. I wasn't keen on it, but I knew the girls would
enjoy the frolic.
Highlights
of the morning: a mother duck sitting on her eight ducklings
(protecting, not hurting); Mark trying to catch a frog but
the sunscreen on his hands let him get away (but at least
there's a frog out there who is properly protected with SPF
30); Emma getting rope burn from a climber; collecting a big
slice of tree stump for unknown garden decoration.
We
wrapped up, and went home for a BBQ lunch.
We
spent the day around the house, and after dinner headed out
to see the fireworks on Parliament Hill.
At
the last minute we decided to stick the wagon in the car.
This was a lifesaver, as we had to walk a brisk 20 minutes
to "our" spot. It was parking insanity. But how
could we expect anything else?
There
was no way we were going to venture on the actual Hill. We
stayed away from the high traffic areas, and opting to watch
from behind the Supreme Court building. This was an a great
vantage point, and it didn't get too crowded.
The
girls were good, even though we had to sit and wait for 35
minutes for the show to begin. We've discovered a trick to
fall back on when we're in these kind of situations. We feed
them labour-intensive food. It's usually popcorn, but this
time we gave them each a small bag of chips.
I
tried to explain the concept of fireworks to Sarah before
they started... big lights, in the sky, BIG BOOM! But I think
it took her a bit by surprise. She spent the whole time staring
in the sky silently. Emma on the other hand had to be shushed
for her gibbering running commentary:
The
crowd was pretty mild mannered. There was an annoying clown
on my right (overdoing it with the Woo-Hoos), and Mark told
me later that a guy next to him spent the whole time on a
cellphone. This is something I don't get. Who was he talking
to? How could he hear? Was it REALLY SO IMPORTANT?
On
the way back Sarah was so tired that she was falling over
in the wagon. But she's too heavy to carry, so we had to hightail
it back to the car as quickly as we could.
The
next day Sarah was making loud BOOM BOOM BOOM noises, and
motioning with her hands. "BOOM up there! In the sky!
Fire-works!"
I
hoped the girls would sleep in this morning. They didn't.
I think I'm more tired than anyone.
Free parenting tip: keeping kids up the night before
does not guarantee they will sleep in the next day. If anything,
they'll have a total fatigue-induced meltdown around lunchtime
and have a longish nap.
Free parenting tip: keeping kids up the night before
does not guarantee they will sleep in the next day. If anything,
they'll have a total fatigue-induced meltdown around lunchtime
and have a longish nap. 
