Left Coast Mama » Being Savvy Vancouver

Ladner May Days

Gwen — Sun, 24 May 2009 03:13:22 +0000

As I search for interesting things to do for families with children for Being Savvy Vancouver I come across things I like to try with our family and today was one of those times. We went to Ladner for a day of May Days fair fun and geocaching in another local park. Aidan got to try some of his first fair type rides and Quinlan got some quality time with the grass.

Aidan was really exited to try some of the rides and nearly got on a very small roller coaster. Up until we were actually on the platform and he realized that I wasn’t going to be on the ride with him he thought the Dragon was going to be the very best time ever. Luckily there wasn’t a big line and he did have fun on the other fair rides. He rode on the “train” (a set of Flintstone cars on a track) and then we went onto the Berry Go Round. I wasn’t as fond of this ride as my sinuses were not feeling to well, but the boy enjoyed himself. The fish merry go round was the first ride he tried by himself and he had a blast. I will get Anthony to put some of the video up on the Left Coast Floyds.

As we went around the fair grounds we took in all the free activities. The Delta Police Bear was a little bit intimidating for Aidan though he did like him from a distance. We got to hold some bunnies, played in the Fire house, got a new fire hat and ate some of the requisite mini doughnuts. There was music and face painting (though like always Aidan shied away from anything like face painting or stamps on his skin) and some travelling jugglers and other interesting characters. If you have a chance to go tomorrow I highly recommend it. It was a fun day to be out in a new place.

Aidan and Mommy in the "Train"

Aidan and Mommy With A Bunny

Aidan in a kid sized paddle boat.

Aidan in the Paddle Boats

Quinlan relaxing in the grass.

Quinlan Smiling at Mommy

Hey Mommy, guess what? I am too cute.

PS We got 4 caches in Ladner Harbour Park. Another park we would not have found without geocaching. Even if you don’t geocache it is a nice park full of easy trails and a nice playground at the entrance.

© 2009 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | 2 comments
Related: Aidan, Being Savvy Vancouver, Family Time, Firsts, My Boys, Quinlan, Vancouver, outings.

September, a New Beginning

Gwen — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:11:50 +0000

A brand new month and a whole lot of firsts are awaiting my family. Aidan turns three and a half at the end of this month and he starts preschool next week. In the end of the following month I am scheduled (well hopefully) to give birth to our second child, so we are trying to get ready for the new baby as well. With preschool twice a week, swimming lessons twice a week and starting at the end of the month a science exploration class with Anthony, I am hoping that Aidan will have enough of his own stuff to keep him happy and not too jealous when the new baby comes. I am also hoping that having a couple of months to get into a routine will help him to adapt before the baby comes.

This weekend we have spent a lot of time getting the boy’s room ready to share with the baby. A new bed, play area and a moving of furniture in order to make a crowded room for one into a still crowded but usable room for two. The crib is set up and Aidan loves his new bed. He has a place to play and read under his bed. Almost all is set. My real hope is that getting everything ready now will make the transition easier later on. I want Aidan to have the time to process as much as he can before the baby is born.

In the meantime I am looking for some advice on coping with two children and helping to mitigate any jealousy that may arise. If you have any advice please comment or email. Any good books that deal with a new baby in a positive way? I don’t want the I am so jealous I hate the new baby books, but ones that share the excitement and joy of a new brother or sister. If I need to deal with jealousy I can always find books on that later.

For the grandparents and those who may be interested I will take some pictures of the new bad and room setup tomorrow. I will post them tomorrow. I may even try to get some regular posting in here as well as at the Being Savvy Vancouver blog. I am realizing how much my personal blog has been suffering lately.

© 2008 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | One comment
Related: 2nd Pregnancy, Aidan, Anthony, Bed Time, Being Savvy Vancouver.

Menu Plan Monday

Gwen — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:14:08 +0000

Happy BC Day, Natal Day, or other bank holiday! I am trying to get back to regular blogging here as well as on the Savvy site so Menu Plan Monday will make a return. It is a good idea anyway as I am so uninspired to cook with this pregnancy. So on with the plan.

Monday: Baked Tilapia with garlic and butter, mashed potatoes, salad.

Tuesday: Pasta and Meat Sauce. Garlic Bread, salad.

Wednesday: Hamburgers

Thursday: Pizza

Friday: BBQ Chicken, potatoes and corn

Saturday: kabobs, rice

Sunday: Open

Have a Great week and check out my Savvy Vancouver Blog for some cool beach and pirate posts! For more menus check out Organizing Junkie.

© 2008 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | 2 comments
Related: Being Savvy Vancouver, Gwen, Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, Menu Plan Monday, organization.

Contest Link

Gwen — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:53:11 +0000

On my Being Savvy Vancouver blog I am having a contest open to the US and Canada for a Naturebag. This is a really cool bag meant to help kids and their parents to get out an enjoy nature, whether in the back yard or in the park.

I have a review of the bag here, and the contest and a guest post from the creators here. Please check it out and enter the contest!

I am Savvy

Gwen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:04:26 +0000

When I was in Nova Scotia I wasn’t on the internet as much as I am here in Vancouver. Luckily for me Anthony was working from home in Nova Scotia and was following twitter. I was upstairs and Anthony said that City Mama was looking for bloggers in Vancouver. I got right on twitter and had a conversation with her. This started a number of emails, a couple of blog posts as interview, and a job offer. I was stoked from the beginning and once the contract details were figured out (I was the first Canadian hired) I was writing up a storm. My blog is finally live, though with a few bugs to be worked out.

I am now the City Editor for Being Savvy Vancouver. This is a local blog affiliated with Savvy Source, a mostly US based source for preschool parents. I am the first of two Canadian cities to be included though there are a few ex-pat Canadians living in cities in the States who are writing for Savvy Source as well. As amazing as it seems, I am writing with an fantastic group of writers, most of which I have been reading for a very long time.

Check out my new blog at http://vancouver.savvysource.com/ and show some love, and by that I mean comments, or add me to your blog roll, or shoot me an email and I will send you a badge for your post. If I can get enough Link Love for my new blog I can win another contest and maybe get a little more cash for the new little one. So, if you do write a post, or put me on your blog roll, please send me an email so I can let the higher ups know.

You also might want to check out some of the other Savvy Source bloggers by using the drop down box on Being Savvy Vancouver. There are tons of cities and ideas to keep your preschoolers busy. While you are at it take a look at City Mama and enter her contest. All you need to do is link to her post, and then comment on the post to let her her know you did. Easy peasy.

I guess it is apparent that I am really excitied about this writing gig. I not only get to write about things to do with Aidan, but I get paid a little bit as well. So far I have been able to be really organized about my writing time and I hope that I can keep it up. Come the end of October, I will hopefully have a huge number of posts pre-written so things don’t get too out of wack with the new baby. I am sure a parenting website will be a little accommodating in the first few days after the new little one is born, but I will have a bunch of posts ready in case. Wish me luck!