HaPpY NeW YeAr

Hi Everyone!!

Here's what I've found!

Free Events in Waterloo
Manulife Financial Sportsplex & Healthy Living Centre, RIM Park
2001 University Avenue East,
519-884-5363 TTY: 1-866-786-3943
7-9pm: Public Skate @ Pillers Rink
7-9pm: Public Skate @ Optimist Rink
7-9pm: Adult Skate @ Lions Rink

Albert McCormick Community Centre
500 Parkside Drive,
519-885-1220 TTY: 1-866-786-3943
7-9pm: Public Skate

Waterloo Public Square Family New Year Celebration
King Street & Willis Way, Waterloo
519-886-1177 TTY: 1-866-786-3942
8pm-12am: Ring in the New year with music, dancing and free skating on the Ice Rink.
Bring the kids for a 9 o'clock New Year Celebration or stay for the main event at midnight. 12 midnight Free ginger ale “champagne” toast.

(The swimming at the Rec Complex has been Cancelled)

Free Event in Kitchener
City Hall
Ring in 2011 at Civic Square!
Join us for the largest free, outdoor New Year’s Eve celebration of its kind in Waterloo Region! Ring in the New Year at Kitchener City Hall on Friday, Dec. 31 from 5 p.m. to midnight.
Enjoy an evening of family fun with free public skating, live entertainment - and two countdowns to 2011!
Erick Traplin kicks things off at 5 p.m. with a children’s New Year’s Eve celebration.
Beginning at 9 p.m., ring in 2011 with K-W Glee and opening artist, 2009 Canadian Idol contestant Alisha Nauth.

Free Event in Cambridge
Family New Years Eve Party
Friday, December 31st, 2010
Join family and friends to celebrate a new year. Family skating, costumed characters, video skating party, games and more.
6:00 - 8:00pm
Location: Hespeler Arena, 640 Ellis Road
Contact: 519-740-4681 ext. 4277 or
http://www.christmasincambridge.ca/


Free Event in Brantford
Come celebrate New Years Eve at Harmony Square!
With entertainment from Green Daydream! The ultimate Green Day tribute band taking the stage at 10:30pm. Checkerboard Floors will play at 8:30pm. Full stage schedule coming soon!
There will be food, an outdoor licensed area provided by The Piston Broke, skating, music and entertainment all night long! :)
Bre Creative will be facepainting too!
Bring in the new year at Harmony Square!
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Chicopee Event
Ticket cost for this one details are here http://www.discoverchicopee.com/index.php/events/info/chicopee_new_years_bash/
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New Year's Day
Meet Mayor Zehr and council at New Year’s Levee
Citizens and visitors of all ages are invited to join Kitchener’s mayor and city council at the 2011 New Year’s Levee, held at city hall on Sunday, January 2, 2011 from 2-4 p.m.
This free event is an annual ritual to mark the start of another year, exchange New Year’s greetings with friends and neighbours, and with council, in anticipation of good news for the year ahead.
Bring skates for a spin around the rink on Civic Square, then warm up indoors in the Rotunda, where the Kitchener Musical Society Band will be performing. There will also be a special performance by members of the Grand Philharmonic Children’s Choir.
Refreshments are donated each year by Bingemans.
The levee is a great chance to greet returning members of Kitchener City Council, meet the newest councillors, and continue the holiday spirit into 2011.
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Jan 9th

Mayor’s New Year’s Levee
Time: 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Description:
Don’t miss Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran and Council’s annual New Year’s Levee. The event is on Sunday, Jan. 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., at RIM Park.
Enjoy free skating, children’s activities, live music and entertainment, and food and refreshments, while quantities last.
Entertainment will be provided by the K-W Symphony Community Orchestra, pianist Jason White, the Chinese Singing Group, the Wilfrid Laurier University Singers, the Waterloo Collegiate Institute Ensemble, the K-W Skating Club and Happy Space Clowns.
A free Grand River Transit shuttle will run from Conestoga Mall to RIM Park during the event. Call 519-585-7555 for more details on the shuttle.
RIM Park is at 2001 University Ave., Waterloo.
For more information on the levee, please email linda.vandenakker@waterloo.ca or call 519-747-8700.
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Also FYI most kids are off school Jan 14th if you're looking for a good place for them to spend the day while you're at work I highly recommend The Camp @ THE MUSEUM (aka The Children's Museum)
http://www.themuseum.ca/children-camps.htm
 ask for Sherri tell her Lisa McDonald sent you.


In the not so distant future we'll be having our APRIL 9th MeFest at the Waterloo Rec Complex. If you know anyone who would like to be a vendor please have them email those2girls@writeme.com

We hope you put it on your 2011 calendar! It shows how much you support this group when you come to the show!


Here's something fun http://email.chuckecheese.com/hostedemail/share.htm?h=22b5b765ad01a9916028973f5d35e003&CID=12354845010&ch=DB51DA44B20FCA2FD5FFBD3DEE703526&show=1
If you move the mouse around & click the mouse it's grabbing tickets for you to redeem at Chuck E Cheese (I got 27)

Also I'm putting together a post about Friendships Formed on Facebook & Twitter. If you'd like to contribute just send a message to my inbox facebook.com/lisamcdonald122

HaPpY NeW YeAr!!!
& Keep Smiling!
Lisa

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/

Coupons for Ontario Attractions

A few days ago we went to the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was a great time. We don't go to too many museums as my son wants to blow through the whole place & it doesn't make it worth the cost of admission.

BUT.....

I knew the theme would make him take notice (plus there's a fun interactive zone too).

How did I make it affordable?

With a KIDS GET IN FREE COUPON! For the Hockey Hall of Fame
http://www.attractionsontario.ca/index.cfm?DSP=Chapter&ID=11&ACT=Coupon-Info&Coupon_ID=73&Member_ID=1069

You see that's one of my tricks
If I'm ever going somewhere I google
Coupons for _____________ (place I'm off to)
& then I google Deals for ___________________

A couple of other good places for deals are
RedFlagDeals.com & TicketOps on the ShoppersDrugMart site

Here's a full list of coupons from Attractions Ontario
http://www.attractionsontario.ca/index.cfm?DSP=Chapter&ID=19

The fact I live in Kitchener Waterloo helps as I'm just 45 mins from Toronto, an Hour away from Niagra, an Hour & a half from the Niagra Border & 2+ hours from the Detroit/Windsor border.

My problem is I don't like to drive outside of KW, but I'm getting braver. Next year I hope to get a newer vehicle & I'll get a GPS!

But for now I try to find stuff to do in my region.
Want to see what's available in KW?
Visit
http://stufftodowithyourkidsinkw.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your Labour Day Weekend!

New Meaning to TUB of LEGO

It's been very chilly in the evenings her in KW, so that means every time you open the door (to let the dog in/out) a gazillion little bugs want to enter as well.

I thought we were doing well by keeping the outside light off when opening the door, but then I heard it...

"MOM MOM MOM there's an earwig in the LEGO tub"
CRAP CRAP CRAP is more like it.

We keep our LEGO in a big Rubbermaid Tub with a lid, hence our LEGO TUB.
Well this incident sure changed the meaning of a Big LEGO TUB




Yup after I got the earwig out, I clean all the LEGO. I gave it a bath in OUR tub (with some bubble bath). Seems easy enough, but the trick is getting it out without losing any of those OH SO TINY, but yet OH SO IMPORTANT pieces. You know the ones, the little sticks & buttons that hold the Star Wars sets togther.

So I put a big towel around the drain so when I pulled the plug we wouldn't have to worry about pieces heading down the pipe.
Next I grabbed the plastic strainer to scoop everything out of the tub. That was when I realized I got more than I bargained for.
There was pet hair, dimes, candy wrappers, pieces of pencil crayons, action figures & all the other things boys like to keep in their pockets, amongst the OH SO PRECIOUS LEGO.

I kept scooping & finally finished. I put all the LEGO on a towel to dry & realized it looked like a page from an I SPY BOOK.
Can You Find Darth Vader?

Tweenisms

Slang is something that will always be a part of TWEEN language.

In the 50's it was words like NeatO! &
The 60's brought forth Groovy & Psychedelic
For the 70's it was Macho & Out A Sight
The 80's there was the whole "Valley Talk" Gnarly, Tubular,
The 90's gave us Sweeeeeet & Doh & my fave Not a Fan or Not So Much, as well as the act of "dis"ing others & trash talk (both basically the same)
Now that we're are well into the 2000's the word weird has been replaced with random, the expression Shocking is now "wow this got Real" Uber is the new Very & Sweeeet is now Nicccccce.

I thought I had all the lingo down pat. I felt I can keep up & then I heard it...

Cheap!

"I was playing a game & one guy cheated! That was so CHEAP" said my son

CHEAP is the new rotten (bad, not called for, etc)

Who knew?

Being well behaved has it's reward _ Finally got that lesson through!

So I always explain to my son that kids that are the most eager & well behaved get the perks!
Usually lessons from me go in one ear & out the other with a "aww Mom!" attached to it.
Well for some strange reason this one made sense to him.

He loves going to camps at the Waterloo Region's Children's Museum. The leaders tell me how well behaved he is & tell them how much he loves attending. They are always happy to see him & recognize him at other events in the community. This week they had a very special event & he was chosen to be one of the 2 children at the camp who were able to inspect the new officers.

It even made THE RECORD (the local newspaper)PROUD MOMMY HERE!

Not sure how long the link to this article & video will be up, but there's also a pic underneath this post.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/585047

http://news.therecord.com/videogallery/585004

What life lessons have your tweens responded to? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear it!

From Toddler to Tween

I've always taken my son to Kidspark, from the time he was a toddler until now.
Lots of different activities for every age group.
Want more info?
Then scoot on over to
http://stufftodowithyourkidsinkw.blogspot.com/