Parade Etiquette

I was lucky enough to have a Saturday night off the same night as the Cambridge Nightime Christmas Parade.

It was a great time for us, yet I feel some out there could have used these DO & DON'T lessons......

DO Allow time for travel, parking & picking out the perfect site.
The parade started at 6pm & Cambridge is about a 20 min drive from my house, plus I wanted to park somewhere that is easy to leave from. Also being the shorty that I am, I always like to get there early enough so we can both see, yet not too long before otherwise my son will get impatient & want to leave.

DON'T Arrive late, & expect to stand right in front of my perfect spot that I've been waiting at least half an hour

DO If someone does stand right in front of you be polite. In my case I said "Excuse me, I don't mind if you block my view, but please don't block my son's"

DON'T Be like the lady next to me who then yelled out "Yeah how ignorant is that!"

DO Get everything organized before the parade starts. Camera out, water bottle opened etc.

DON'T Do things you should have done while walking from the parking lot IE start yelling "Well I'd go to Tim Horton's but no one will move for me" or my fave light up your smoke in a crowd of children (I don't really care if you smoke, just don't do it in a dense crowd).

DO Dress properly. Yes it was a beautiful 15 degrees Celsius in November yesterday, but I knew that once the sun came down it would not stay that temperature. We brought toques & gloves.

DON'T Think it will be warm enough for your child to wear a sleeveless vest so that their nose can drip beside me the whole time.

DO Help the people out around you. Taking family pictures, passing money for cotton candy etc.

DON'T Keep up your conversations by trying to yell over the bands passing by

DO Cheer for Santa!

DON'T Run in front of others to get to the front (see 1st "DON'T)

DO Wait for the crowd to disperse to pack up folding blankets, folding chairs etc.

DON'T Come stomping through, pushing around all the small children in your path.

DO Ask your child what he/she enjoyed most about the parade on the trek back to the vehicle

DON'T Feel that everyone around you needs to know you're going home to enjoy a cold one!

Yes, agreed most of these items are common sense, yet these DON'Ts are actually things I witnessed last night. That's why I now refer to Common Sense, as RARE Sense (it rarely gets used in these situations). So make sure to review these few simple steps to enjoy the parade as much as he did!



For a listing of parades in your area, please visit http://yummymummyclub.ca/santa_claus_parades

1st Christmas Card of 2009!

I came home to find a letter in my mail from my Grandma, known in my family as Gramma on the Farm (yes Gramma is spelled this way at our house!)

She wanted to send me this pic of my son & her from this summer & figured she might as well send the Christmas card along as well.

Isn't this a beautiful pic? This lady is in her 80's & she looks spectacular! I was her 1st grandchild & my son is her 1st Great Grandchild! She's exactly how I want to be when I get to be a senior! She goes to card parties, takes bus trips, is involved in her community Bazaars & fall fair SHE ROCKS! & she's MY GRAMMA!

I hope to look this great when I'm a Great Grandmother!

Phew!

Yesterday I got a call that my son came home from school. I tried to keep the worry out of my head, but the worrier I am made me almost sick to my stomach. He was at his Dad's for the afternoon, so I knew he was fine, but still with all that is going around right now, PANIC seems to be the reaction.

Once I picked him up, I could see he was not himself. He had glossy eyes & his regularly pale skin had changed to a shade of olive green. HERE WE GO....

Yet the car ride home gave me a different impression. He was talking, but not in the OH I'M SO SICK VOICE. He's been listening to me finally see my summer post here
The whole way home he kept saying, yes I'm sick, but not that H1N1 kind of sick,I'm a healthy kid, I just need to feel better.
I told him that his good attitude will help him get better quicker.

So throughout the rest of the day we watched movies in between bouts of coughing.

Today we went to the Doctor's. I gave him the full details, told him that I'd be willing to take any recommendations & medications required.

The Doctor said that he had the beginning stages of Bronchitis & not to PANIC! He said it was good he came in right away before it advanced. Apparently this is going around as well, but with all the other stuff no one really takes a 2nd look at it. He prescribed cough syrup & said it would pass in a few days.

He also wants him to have the H1N1 shot, but not until he has fully recovered (he thinks next week). He also said that the H1N1 shot is not the regular flu shot & he should get that as well.

So we are happy with news & guess what my son's question for the doctor was.....

Can I still go trick or treating?

YUP
That was his biggest concern.

The Hunt for the PERFECT Hat!

Hi Everyone
Thanks again for visiting! So with Halloween right around the corner I thought I'd let you in on the costume happenings around here.
This year my son didn't pick out his own costume. Weird I know for a 10yr old not to have a say in his costume, but here's how the story goes.....

Last January I was at the DISNEY OUTLET in Vaughn Mills (love that store). They had a Captain Jack Sparrow costume for $12, please read that again TWELVE DOLLARS!!!!!!!!! This is the Official Licensed one they sell at Disney World for $60 US.

I grabbed it as it was the only one. It came with everything except the hat. I figured it would be easy enough to find a hat around Halloween since they were everywhere last year.

Yes well perhaps I was kidding myself....

Nowhere are there any Jack Sparrow hats! Just the red sash with the dreads. Not really my son's cup of tea. As I've scrambled all around KW all I get offered is sashes w/dreads, until finally

I FOUND IT............

& the cost was, wait for it, wait for it....

$8 Yup EIGHT DOLLARS.

Did you do the quick math? Full Jack Sparrow costume = $20
Pics of it to come next week!
Wondering what Pre-Halloween events are happening this week?
Make sure to check out
http://stufftodowithyourkidsinkw.blogspot.com/

Thanksgiving for the past year

more tips can be found at
http://www.wearethatfamily.com/
Part 1 of post: Explanation (not timed). I read once if you write down 100 things in one minute it shows what you are dreaming about (ie what your goals should be. I'm going to do a variation of it & take one minute & write everything that come to mind when thinking about what has made me THANKFUL for my son in the past year.
Please ignore how random it is & all typos that come into play. Part 2 will be the One Minute timed typing
(now going to tweet that I'm writing a ONE MINUTE BLOG POST.

Part 2 GO!

love, fun, stanley cup, Christmas, Star Wars, Bingemans, Wii, video games, card games, splash parks, cottage, car trip, Leaf games, hockey, laughter, giggles, too funny!

Son is watching NEXT STAR. "Hey mom do you know Justin Bieber is only 5 yrs older than me?" here we go into puberty

Lasting Power in a Boy's World

It will come sooner than you think.
CHRISTMAS
I know you're thinking Halloween, but really, buy costume, buy candy, put up some (hopefully) fake spiderwebs, carve pumpkin. Done!

Yes Christmas will be here before you know it. I'd like to give some advice to the parents of those 3 & up (basically any child that doesn't shove toys in their mouth).
Certain toys have lasting power, & most big ticket kids toys sit in the corner once the new year has started.
Believe me, I've been there & have some $60 "decor toys" to prove it.

I know every child is different, but my son is now 10, & this is a list of things that he has loved since age 3 & still plays with

1. Action Figures, particularly Star Wars & Transformers, but all the "dudes" end up in some battle of good guys vs bad guys. Unfortunately in my house the good guys never win. Apparently it's more fun that way.
2. Lego, the most (non messy) creative item for kids. Many times my son will ask for toys & cars for his action figures, & yes we do have some, but for the most part I will say, "Why not build it with LEGO?" Some great battleships & fortresses have been built this way.
3. DVD's. All kids love movies with their favorite characters.
4. Pokemon, don't kid yourself, it will happen. As soon as they start going to school Pokemon will invade your life (I use Pokemon cards as allowance tool). Sure we've gone through fazes of Yu-Gi-Oh & Chaotic cards, but it always reverts back to Pokemon.
5. Video Games. Here's a little hint about video games. If you're child really wants a certain video game, rent it 1st. We have a couple of video games that just sit here, as they are too difficult. Now we rent & if a particular game gets requested to rent again, I know that is worth the purchase.

Those are the TOP 5 toys that have stood the test of time in my house. Honorable mention also goes to Hot Wheels cars & Mini-Hockey sticks.

Hopefully this list will help with your upcoming Holiday purchases. Now back to buying Halloween candy (don't ask where the 1st batch of it went)!