Camping. With kids.

I have been looking into buying a new tent for our family. I would like to introduce my children to the world of camping. I have not been camping in nine years. I have not owned a tent in nine years. The last time I went camping was while I was teaching in Monterrey, Mexico, back in 2002.

My tent did not return home with me. It was a good tent, but parts of it were held together with duct tape, and I calculated it would be better if I sold it to a teacher who was staying in Monterrey, instead of having to pay the extra money to bring it home with me, and probably never use it again. I sold it for 300 pesos. I likely would have had to pay $30 to bring it on the plane, so I was actually up $60, in the end.

It was a tent by Eureka. It was roomy, and had a full fly. I had used it on a school canoe trip. I had used it for camping at a weekend concert in Gimli, where I saw Pearl Jam, briefly. I had also used it camping several times in BC, and stayed quite dry. And, I used it on our many weekend excursuions while working in Mexico.

My parents had bought the tent while I was still in high school. It replaced our massive, heavy, canvas tent we used when we were much younger, and our parents still enjoyed camping. I ended up trading a tent I received from my brother for my birthday and Christmas one year for it. The tent he had bought me from Canadian Tire might have been okay, but it didn't have a full fly. I wanted a tent with a full fly.

And now, I am searching for a tent for my family, so we too can experience camping. I haven't decided where we will camp. Next summer, we want to drive out east, to the Quebec Maritime, or Cape Breton. Perhaps we can camp along the way, instead of staying in motels, as we did for our trip west last summer. Santa's Village has a campground. We could stay there one night instead of doing the crazy three hour (one way) drive for a day trip. There is always the back yard. I would like to get a canoe or kayak one of these days, but I really am not experienced enough for that. We might all need to take canoe lessons before we foray into canoe trips.

My first step is to decide what tent to buy, and move on from there. Any advice? I have looked at Canadian Tire. I have also looked at Mountain Equipment Coop, and on the Eureka website. A friend said they really liked their Broadstone, with two rooms. They have since moved up to a tent trailer. My best friend said she bought her tent, with a full fly, at Costco. She too has upgraded to a tent trailer. Another friend, who is an active canoe tripper, and a single mom of one little girl, is still using the same tent she had as a tree planter. I suppose it depends on how much money I am willing to part with. I want a tent that will house a family of four, fairly comfortably, and keep us dry. I would like to spend less money, if possible, but am open to options.

Then, we need to buy the rest of the camping gear so we can truly live outdoors!

No Barney, Wiggles or Doodle Bops in our home.

One day, you are doing dishes in the kitchen with the radio on as your preschooler is playing in the living room. A catchy pop song comes on, and you hear your daughter singing " I like it, like it, come on!". Oh, how cute, she knows the words to popular music. But then, you realize your three year old is singing along to Rhianna's S and M. Not really appropriate lyrics for your little darling.

This got me thinking, what kind of music should our children be listening to? I am pretty sure we listened to songs with questionable lyrics as children. We probably didn't even realize the words had meaning. Songs catch on, usually, because of a melody. Often we have no idea what the actual lyrics are, even as adults. I am pretty sure I am not scarred, or morally depraved from listening to music with explicit lyrics, but we would like to shelter our children as long as possible and keep them...children.

In our home, we listen to a lot of French children's songs. My kids love them. I know it can get annoying for adults to have to listen to " children's" muisic all the time, but we have come across quite a few artists who play catchy songs. There is quite a broad range of music I am willing to listen to, so I am fairly easy to please, but here are a few suggestions.

For the Francophones: My favourite, by far, is Shilvi. My daughter loves her too. She has a lot a jazzy influences, and she references various music styles, and famous pieces. She also has a lot of play on words, so linguistically the songs are interesting. Of course, Annie Brocoli is popular with the kids, and I don't mind her songs. Carmen Campange sings a lot of the traditional songs I remember learning as child, like Bonhomme, Bonhomme Sais Tu Jouer?, so there's the nostalgia factor with her. We also picked up a CD while in France, and it has songs like Une Souris Verte and J'aime La Galette.

If you are looking for free French music for kids, there is usually one or two cable or satellite channels that offer children's music in French or English. Also, Le Loup (Sudbury, Timmins, Chapleau) plays kids music in the mornings on the weekend. We also listen to Espace Musique, on CBC. It is not children's music, but it isn't generally pop either, so the lyrics tend to be more appropriate. Also, you coukd hear Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English music. It is a great way to broaden everyone's musical horizons.

For the Anglophones: We have been taking Kindermusik with our kids four several years, and I have a huge collection of CDs which my daughter quite often asks me to play. (Pas mon oncle Stef, maman! If I happen to have the radio on Le Loup between 3 and 6 pm. Sorry Stephane, she just doesn't find your stories as engaging as the rest of us.) The Kindermusik CDs are quite varied, and there are many different music styles, so my children are being exposed to classical, jazz, country, folk, as well as some traditional kids songs. I also like Here Come the 1,2,3s by They Might Be Giants. Quirky pop bands do great kids CDs. Barenaked Ladies is another great example. For the Kids Volumes 1, 2, and 3 also has kids songs sung by pop artists. And, another option is to listen to CBC Radio 2, for something other than pop.

I have also heard that Mini Pops do sanitized versions of many pop songs. Yes, Mini Pops are still around. Also, Glee versions are a bit "cleaner" too.

What do you listen to with your children? Do you have suggestions of your own?

Which company makes the best bubble solution, or why I love being home with my kids

Yes, it has been ages since I have written on my blog. I was busy working this year, and then June arrived, and it felt like summer already.

I am teacher by profession. What this means is that I spent a year at university learning how to teach school aged children, and this is now my "preferred" area of employment. I also studied biology, and forestry at university, but I do not have my registered professional forester designation, and I didn't do much field biology. I supposed I could qualify myself by saying I am a science teacher, but really, I am currently an occasional teacher, which essentially means I am a Jill of all trades. You want me to teach French immersion, pas de probleme. Phys. Ed., sure! Junior Kindergarten? Bring it on, I am a mother of a two year old and a four year old, I can handle it.

And yet, being an occasional teacher is quite challenging. You are always jumping in midway through the year. You are not sure if you will finish off what you have been assigned to teach. You are taking over classes with someone else's rules. You might be one in series of teachers, and the students no longer care.

I love teaching. I am constantly listening to, and reading about new things I can introduce to students, if I were given the opportunity to actually have a class of my own. But, with declining student enrollment, permanent teaching jobs are becoming harder to obtain, and new graduates somehow get scooped up before me. Former students are often hired to work beside their former teachers. I am not originally from here, so I don't often have that connection to the schools. Also, I have been home with my young children the past few years, and tend to be more constrained with regards to the jobs I can take. It becomes quite a different thing to drop everything at 7:30am when you also have two children to get ready to leave the house, and you have to line up a sitter on short notice.

I have been lucky enough to have a sitter who said I could call her in the morning if I needed her. Usually, I try to line up my work ahead of time, to prevent the morning anxiety. It is even better when I can land a longer term for teaching, because there is much more stability. Regardless, I do love the days when I have the opportunity to be home with my children.

Hence the title of my blog. Summer is upon us. We have had a bit of slow start to the warm weather, but lately, it has been so nice, you have to spend time outside with the kids. One afternoon, my daughter was entertained for two hours, just blowing bubbles. Seriously, I had quite a lot of fun too. Who doesn't like blowing bubbles? Well, it can get a little frustrating when the bubble solution works as well as water!

So far, the best bubble solution (not homemade), that I have come across is called Blast O' Bubbles. We got them at a birthday party. The bubbles last long, and you can make a multitude of them with each dunk. I am not sure if wand shape is a factor too. I do know that the mega bottle of Miracle Bubbles I bought does not work at all. It frustrates my daughter, so we've shelved this brand. Maybe it will work better in the bubble mover, since half of that solution gets dumped out when the kids are pushing it around the yard. Does anyone else have a good experience with bubble solution?

We didn't have much luck with the Walmart big wand bubbles either. The bubbles aren't any bigger because the wand is narrow, and once the solution goes below the opening of the wand, it doesn't function as well. These bubbles also popped quite quickly.

Looking for some more outdoor activities? Water pistols are always a hit, and cooling in the hot summer weather. The latest recommendations from the Health Unit is to stay out of the sun between 10am and 4pm. This can be a bit of a challenge, unless you have a child who still naps most of the afternoon. Find some shade, like that of a tree or an umbrella. We have a large carport, and a garage with two big doors, so we'll hang out under the cover of these when the sun is at its highest. Another fun thing is putting our slide into the kiddie pool. Of course, this only works well with shorter children, but it provides a few hours of splashing fun. If anyone else has some ideas how to wile away the warm afternoon hours, let us know.

I am looking forward to spending lots of time with my kids this summer. Hopefully, I get a job in September, but if not, I get to watch my eldest start school, and could attend her school events. Plus, I get to spend some quality time alone with my youngest. He rarely gets the opportunity to have me alone since he's the second child. Stay at home mom is a very rewarding job.

PS. The U Pick Strawberry farms are starting to open around the area. Where is your favourite picking place?

New focus for the blog

On February 3rd, it will be a year since Nickel City Parents was launched. Also, as of February 3rd, 2011, this will be the new location of Nickel City Parents. www.nickelcityparents.ca was the website I wanted to have for residents of Greater Sudbury, however, it didn't function the way I had intended. I am hoping people will continue to visit us, and discover new activities and events of which they were previously unaware. I still want families to email us with suggestions of activities and events they do throughout the year. The only difference is we are now using Blogger as our "base of operations".

In the past few months, I have not been blogging very much. I was working full time, and did not have as much time to work on the website, and blogging. I am doing this as a "hobby", one might say, but it is something I have a passion for. I want to get families involved in community events. I want the families of Sudbury to interact with each other.

If you have any suggestions or ideas, let me know. I have a Facebook page as well, and often post links on Facebook that were not posted on the original website. We still have the Events and Activities pages. The Recipe page will be up very soon.

Tell your friends about Nickel City Parents. Remember, our new address is now
http://nickelcityparents.blogspot.com/.

"Mommy Wars" a discussion on Q with Erica Jong and Taffy Brodesser-Akner

I love the program Q. I love most CBC Radio One programs. Seriously, I could spend the whole day listening to these programs. Anyway, check out the interview Jian has with Erica Jong and Taffy Brodesser-Akner about different parenting techniques and how parenting debates get blown out of proportion so rapidly. Erica Jong is so well spoken, and definitely knows how to articulate her thoughts. The program was broadcast on Tuesday, November 23, 2010.

http://www.cbc.ca/q/

Another recipe. Sneaky muffins.

I won a book through the Everything Mom website. The book is called Sprout Right by Lianne Phillipson-Webb. It is a good book. Lots of wholesome recipes. Often the recipes use ingredients you (most people, but maybe not you) wouldn't normally find in your home, such as agave syrup, xanthan gum and rice flour. Many of her recipes are vegetarian or gluten free.

I decided to make some wholesome muffins for my family. These "Sneaky Little Muffins" were certainly better received in my home than the "sugar-free" cookies. However, the muffins themselves are also sugar-free. My daughter likes these, and of course, my son really likes them.

I modified the recipe from the book because I didn't have some of the ingredients in my home. Her is my modified recipe, taken from Sprout Right, pg 263, Sneaky Little Muffins. I made the batter in a food processor. It was quite a bit runnier than other muffin batter, but the muffins turned out to have a good texture.

Sneaky Little Muffins (adapted) Makes about 36 mini muffins
Ingredients:
2 overripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup (125 mL) grated carrots
1/4 cup (50 mL) agave syrup
1/4 cup (50 mL) honey
1/2 cup (125 mL) milk
6 tbsp (90 mL) melted butter
1 medium zucchini, grated
1/3 cup (75 mL) ground flax seed
2 cups (500 mL) whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
1/2 cup (125 mL) chocolate chips, optional


Beat the bananas in a mixer. Beat in eggs. Add carrots, syrup, honey, milk, butter, zucchini, and flax seed; mix well and let sit for 5 minutes.
In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Mix in chocolate chips, if using. You can also put the chocolate chips in only part of the batter, or try raisins, cranberries or other cut up dried fruit.
Spoon into 36 greased or paper-lined mini muffin cups and bake in 325F (160C) oven for about 25 minutes or until muffins are golden and lightly spring back when touched.

Birthday Cakes

Both of my kids were born in August. They are almost two years apart; only nine days separates their birthdays. Now, my oldest is only three, and the youngest one, so I haven't had a lot of time with the two of them. So far, we have had a birthday party for each of them, instead of combining. One of the reasons this has happened is each set of grandparents live in different locations. Before my son was born, we had two first birthdays for my daughter because we celebrated with my parents first, and then with my inlaws.

This year, we celebrated my son's birthday at home with my inlaws. It was his birthday, but with a minor component being devoted to my daughter. When her birthday came around nine days later, we were visiting my parents, and we celebrated her birthday, with a minor component devoted to my son.

So, I made a birthday cake for each occasion.

For my son's first birthday party, I made Lego cakes. This year, I opted for a cake mix, instead of making the cake from scratch. I made all of my daughter's previous birthday cakes and cupcakes from scratch, and they turned out well. I was just too busy this year. I used the President's Choice Organics chocolate cake mix. It turned out pretty good. The colours for the Lego blocks were not traditional because I only had a set of neon food colouring at home, hence the bright green, blue, "red" and orange.

I followed the idea and instructions from the Betty Crocker site, using marshmallows for the pegs. I even did a crumb coating before finishing off the icing. It turned out well.

For weeks prior to her birthday, my daughter wanted a Tinkerbell cake. I was going to modify a cake using an Esmerelda pan. Then, my daughter decided she wanted a Dora cake. I rented a pan from Bulk Barn for $2 (this is the daily rental). I made a cake, using the President's Choice Organics vanilla mix this time. I made the cake a few days in advance, and kept it in the fridge. The pan also came with decorating instructions, so I used these as a guideline for icing the cake.

The cake ended up looking really good. My husband had been doubtful, having seen the cake undecorated. I guess he didn't think I could pull it off. The main issue was that I was short of star tips for the icing bags, and I didn't have couplers on the bags, which would have enabled me to quickly switch between different icing colours. I had to refill new bags, and use the same star tip with a new colour. The icing process took a few hours. If I had couplers on my icing bags, it probably would have cut the time in half.

My daughter loved the cake. She often refers to it as Dora's birthday instead of hers because we did have a cake with Dora on it.

If icing cakes is something you enjoy doing, I encourage you to try it for your next special birthday. As I mentioned, Bulk Barn rents pans for $2 a day. They usually come with the instructions on how to decorated the cake. Many of the supplies you would need are also available at Bulk Barn. I think Michaels probably has stuff too. Michaels actually offers cake decorating classes at their stores, if you are interested.

Oh, last year, for my daughter's second birthday, I made butterfly cupcakes. You cut off the tops of the cupcakes, cut them in half and flip them, rounded parts inward, to make wings. I decorated the wings with icing and use gummy worms and jujubes for the bodies. You can use string licorice for the antennae. Alternately, you can make ladybug cupcakes by not flipping the cut tops. Google to find pictures of examples. Some are pretty cute.