Magic Pennies

With the exception of getting the kids hair cut on Saturday and a trip to the pool and the Edible Books at Eastern Edge; we let the snow keep us inside this weekend.

Plenty of cardboard box puppet theatres and muffin baking. Frances told me yesterday she missed her pink soccer ball. We're all getting a little anxious for spring.

One thing we did do was roll coins.

The kids loved the sound of dumping out their piggy banks in stainless steel bowls and then rooting through the "the brown ones" (pennies); "the princess ones" (nickles, dimes and quarters) and "the big ones" (loonies and toonies).

FG really got into it.

I'd count out 50 pennies and then she'd place them one by one in the roll. She did this for about 1/2 hour. When she'd start a new roll, she'd say "When I'm finished you say 'I'm so proud of you', 'kay Mama?"

I guess love is like a magic penny.

Fists of Fury

I don't think either of mine had colic. At least not like how it sounded on Sounds Like Canada (March 26).

But that's because they are grown now with new and increasingly less frequent (thank gawd!) tantrums to throw.

But that said, Ben did have a period around 6-7pm we called the "Witching Hour" where he would get so frustrated that there was little we could do to calm him. We'd walk around with him in a Baby Bjorn to dancing Nancy Griffiths album "Other Voices, Other Rooms" or go for a spin around the block.

When it really got nasty, he'd turn red as a beet, clenching his hands in "fists of fury".

One evening -- a fists of fury evening -- I just took him and put him in the bath. The crying immediately stopped. Not sure if was the shock of sitting in the water or playing with his water Whoozit , but the crying stopped.

From then on, I started bedtime for Benjo at 5:30 to ward off the witching hour.

March Madness

My kids are still in daycare but I'm already wondering what we'll do next year for March Break. If you're like me and have a limited number of vacation days and don't have a lot of family close by, you have to be pretty creative.

Here's a few tips I've tried on snow days, sick days and other school vacation days that might work for March Break too.
- Sitter Share with a neighbour, family member, co-worker, friend. You know "I take your kids, you take mine..."
- Book it as vacation days.
- If your employer agrees, consider Flex-time (he works the morning, you take the afternoon).
- Consider enrolling them in a camp. YMCA St. John's and Camp Whatchamacalit are popular.
- If you are at home, consider planning the week with fun activities. Check out Canadian Family's website for some great ideas you can do inside and outside the house. I like this web site because it breaks things down by age group and can work whether you live in a major centre or smaller town.

And most importantly, have FUN. Little ones are only little once...Enjoy the time.

Disney for Free

Want a travel tip when travelling to Flordia with toddlers and preschoolers? Check out Downtown Disney. It's the shopping area outside the theme parks geared to get you spending. If you can hold back from buying Mickey & Minnie Salt and Pepper Shakers and Buzz Lightyear for eveyone you know back home, it can be an affordable and fun way to spend the afternoon.

This year, we skipped the Magic Kingdom and went to Downtown Disney. There, you park and enter, play at the make-your-own-Mr. Potato Head bar, rake through bins of blocks at Lego land for FREE!

The carousel and Winnie the Pooh train are $2 and the water park is (you guessed it!) free. A perfect afternoon for preschoolers, toddlers and parents who get fussy in the afternoon sun.

The Marketing Magic of Disney

For the 3rd March in a row, we've packed our bags and headed South with PL's family. And for the 3rd year in a row, we have not taken the kids to Disney World.

So I really thought my crowd knew little of Disney. We don't watch any of the movies or own Disney merch.

That changed on this trip at Downtown Disney (see: Disney for Free) when FG told me she wanted to go to the Princess's House. She dragged me by the hand to the front of a souvenir shop flanked by statues of Disney characters and posed for pictures.

Later when I asked her what was the best part of her day, she said "I had my picture taken with Sleeping Beauty. Mama, she's in the pink dress and then I took my picture with Cinderella, she's in the blue dress."

I had never mentioned those words to her.

I was astounded (and a little scared) that she knew them by name.

Chalk it up to the marketing magic of Disney.