What I've been reading lately

Great article on avoiding gender stereotyping with your children. It's much more than boys wearing blue & girls wearing pink, it's about boys not learning to talk about their emotions & girls learning to be passive.

Since I first wrote about it in my post, Mount Pleasant Pride, I've learned a lot more on Vancouver's Smallest Park, aka, 'Gather Round' & how you can get involved in greening our city further.

Source: amightygirl.com via A Mighty Girl on Pinterest

Some picture book suggestions from A Mighty Girl. Even if you don't have a daughter, don't you want your son to see examples of strong girls too? It's not just girls who need these role models & great characters they can identify with. Boys need to see girls in stories that aren't pathetic princesses. 

A really long, but worthwhile op-ed on the myth of having it all as a working mother. Creating a mythical SuperMom ideal just makes most of us feel like crap because we can't achieve that. We need fundamental change from our workplaces to make work & family more compatible for mothers.

A perspective on how much freedom to allow a toddler. I'm constantly asking myself, "Should I let him do that?" I can't swaddle him in bubble wrap & prevent every single bruise, but where's the line between overprotective too lax?

Not really something I've been reading, but rather watching: a short CBC news story on a few warrior princess type characters in movies marketed at girls. Maybe, just maybe, Hollywood & Disney in particular are getting the message that the passive pink princess types of yesteryear need a serious revamp. Check it out:

Book Review: Celebrating Beginnings & Endings

A couple of months ago, I received a copy of Paula Pugh's Celebrating Beginnings and Endings to review. It was suggested as a great guide to making life's milestones special. I thought it sounded a little, well, new-agey-hippy & it is. However, after reading it, my inner skeptic realized there are some great ideas in there.

The book consists of a series of stories of various people's celebrations, from baby showers, to graduation parties, to gatherings to involve both families in an adoption, to divorce, to funerals & more. At the beginning there's a 'recipe' for how to approach planning any of these celebrations. Most of the events described are not what you might expect a baby shower or wedding to be like, because they incorporate very personal aspects of the people's lives into the gathering.

What I like best about the book is that it is entirely focussed on making a simple event that will mean something to all those involved. It's not about all the surface stuff that so many other event planning books focus on: decor, venue, fancy food. The book is about the meaning & the memories created by these events, not designer cupcakes or pricey gift cards. This resonates with me; when I was planning our wedding, I didn't want to just follow the formula that's out there with the church, the white dress & expensive reception. I wanted the place where we got married to be somewhere important to us, which wasn't a church or even a building. (We hiked up to the third peak of the Stawamus Chief in Squamish & had the ceremony there)

Even if you're not planning something big like a wedding, there will be something in your life that's worth acknowledging. Maybe it's a child finishing kindergarten, or the death of a much-loved pet, or your kids leaving home. Take a look at Celebrating Beginnings and Endings for some ideas on how to thoughtfully mark the occasion in a way that everyone will remember.

Celebrating Beginnings and Endings , by Paula Pugh sells for $19.95. It was published by Sound Wisdom Press, February 6, 2012. For more information visit www.mark-the-moment.com  or check out Paula's blog for more stories of celebration of others.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book to review & as an Amazon affiliate, I'll receive a small commission if you buy a copy via the links in my post here. My words & opinions stated here are my own.

Bike Life: Mike Carrier, the Cycling Realtor

This past weekend while I was at MEC BikeFest, I noticed a guy wearing a vest with a URL on it that said Cycle Realtor. My curiosity piqued, I had to go talk to him. Mike Carrier is a realtor in Vancouver who runs his business by bicycle. He graciously agreed to an email interview, which I've posted the entirety of below.

How long have you been a realtor?
I started selling real estate early in 2000 with a small independent company on the North Shore (Angell Hasman & Associates) and now they are a large, very elite firm and I felt that West Vancouver was a good fit for a cycling realtor.

What area do you work in?
The offices for The Residential Group are downtown and in Kits, but I work everywhere. Since I have moved my practice from the North Shore, I have been mainly working with my buyers network and that can take me as far as New West (the Sky Train is wonderful for bikes :-). Essentially I would like to focus more on my marketing strengths as opposed to my knowledge accumulated from living in many parts of the city over the last 25 years.

Do you live in Vancouver?
I was born in Coquitlam and raised by wolves, strike that. I was raised near Mundy Park and spent most of my youth wandering its many trails, forests and lakes. My parents sold, moved east (Maple Ridge) and I moved into Vancouver at 19 and never left.

When did you start cycling rather than driving in your business?
I started cycling five years ago after a long hiatus and only in the last 3 years have I been full time for business and pleasure.

Why did you decide to make the change & get rid of your vehicle? How has this changed your business?
The choice was easy really. I was using my car mainly for trips out of town and transporting signs and riding the bike for work, but when I was in the car coming home one day with some groceries, someone made a hasty left turn and made a mess of the car. I never replaced it.

How many kilometres do you think you put on your bike in a year?
I don't know how many clicks I bike per week/month etc. I have had to rebuild the hubs and replace various parts on my commuter, but never keep track of hours logged. I am not your typical cyclist as I am trying "not" to workout. I give myself adequate time between showings so I maintain an "air" of professionality. Once in a while you will find me inside ice rinks preparing an offer presentation. You learn to use different neighbourhood resources when you the need arises.

Who do you typically work with--are most of your clients cyclists themselves?
My clients are just regular people with families. For years I was told that I need to drive a big car (preferably German at the least) to be a realtor, but even when I had a car, most of my clients had car seats and toys etc so they would prefer to just meet me there or follow me. That was part of the reasoning for not replacing my vehicle. I would love to work exclusively with like minded individuals and just use the bike, but when I am showing "out of towners" around, I rent a Modo vehicle and play the chauffeur with the local knowledge of the roads and services.

I get the impression that many realtors think having a high-status vehicle is important for their image. Do you think you lose potential clients because you don't own a car?
In West Vancouver, the industry is rife with high status this and high status that. Many realtors drive M-5s, Ferraris and Aston Martins. (my Cannondale Quick was out of place.) And yes, I have lost a few clients that could not get past the idea of my nontraditional way of doing business. It is a business entrenched in "tradition" or maybe the word stigma fits better.

Do you know of any other realtors who cycle rather than driving? (or any other professionals you might not expect to run their business by bike?)
There is a woman (I don't know her name) in a Kits office that rides a lot apparently and the Shift Delivery Co-Op has a great platform as well.

What are the advantages to biking instead of driving as a realtor?
When I ride I have this big grin on my face (even in the rain sometimes) instead of the typical stress of being behind the wheel of a car and worried about a traffic jam making me late. You also have a better feel for the "soul" of the neighbourhood on a bike. You see the alley street hockey games instead of blowing by at 50. You see the poverty and the addicts, in other areas you see the community efforts to beautify the streets. I guess you are more a part of your environment when you don't have metal walls and windows surrounding you, therefore you experience more.

What's the downside?
The downside is you need to be better prepared and better equipped.

What kind of bike do you ride?
I ride a battered and bruised Cannondale Quick something or other. It runs well most of the time and I don't worry too much about inadvertently losing it. I don't even have a "status bike", although I have an old carbon graphite Cadex that I rigged up some friction shifters to that works for my "road bike".

What advice would you give to someone who's considering ditching their vehicle in favour of a bike for work?
Don't delay: get some decent all weather gear and any kind of bike will do the trick. Upgrade if you need to later. It will put a smile on your face.

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Bike Life is a regular feature here on The Sprog, profiling individuals & businesses in Vancouver that cater to or get around with bikes. If you or someone you know would like to be profiled here, please contact lisa DOT corriveau AT gmail DOT com.

Wordless Wednesday

My headshot from the Top Bloggers Event, photo by Bethany Schiedel

List #31: Eight Reasons that Cycling is Better than Driving

The family vehicle of the Bicycle Hotel owners (Amsterdam)

I couldn't let Bike Month slip away without a bike-related list, now could I? Here are eight reasons why biking is better than driving:

1. It's great low impact exercise that really works your whole body. The leg part is obvious, but you also need your core muscles & upper body to maintain stability. I don't need to remind you of the myriad reasons why exercise is good for you--just imagine not having to plan when you're going to exercise. It could just happen automatically when you go from point A to point B if you bike.
2. It's nearly free once you've bought a bike. Cycling is very accessible for anybody--you can get a serviceable bike used for very cheap if you're totally strapped for cash. Maintenance of my bicycle has averaged out to less than $50 a year & I bought the bike over TEN years ago for around $500. That works out to about $100 a year. You don't pay for insurance & parking is always free. No other transportation option except walking is that cheap!
3. You really get to experience your neighbourhood on a bike. While cycling, I have chatted with strangers, bought a poetry collection from a street vendor, stopped for a glass of lemonade from a kids' stand, seen tiny little lizards sunning themselves on the road & watched seals in False Creek. I would never have done any of these things if I were driving. In fact, I probably would have run over the lizards.
4. Biking saves you time. Bikes can whiz past traffic jams, take sidewalks (slowly & cautiously) to detour around road work without taking a longer route & sometimes take more direct routes through parks or streets that are one way for cars. If you're cycling regularly, you don't need to make time (or as much time) for exercise. Plus, it's unlikely you'll spend several minutes driving around to find a parking space.
5. Cycling is greener than driving. Bikes require a lot less material, energy & resources to manufacture than a car. Also--this one's a no-brainer--bikes don't require gasoline. Of course, you do burn calories (~300 for a half hour of 20km/h cycling, depending on your weight) but because it's the most efficient way to travel in terms of energy used to distance travelled, you don't need to eat much more to fuel it. An extra snack & you're good to go. Then again, if you're like most of us & want to drop a little weight, maybe skip the snack?
6. It's really easy to combine cycling with other modes of transportation. This is a great way to do longer cycling day trips or vacations. You can take bikes on the Skytrain, Seabus & most buses have racks for two of them. BC Ferries charges $2 to bring your bike on board--compare that to the $49.25 for a car! If you have a folding bike, the world is your oyster.
7. Cycling is fun! Feeling the wind whip past your face & the satisfaction of getting somewhere on your own steam is awesome. When I get to the ferry terminal by car, I think, "Great. Now I have to sit in my vehicle in a giant parking lot & wait to squeeze it onto this ferry." When I biked there, it was a feeling of accomplishment.
8. You can maintain your own bicycle. The mechanics of a bicycle are pretty simple & it's all right out there in the open, unlike the workings of a car. Changing cables, adjusting brakes, cleaning your chain & replacing tubes or tires is not difficult work. You can take short courses to learn bicycle maintenance with an organization like HUB, or go to a place like Our Community Bikes where you can use their tools & get some help to learn as you go. Even if you don't fix your own bike--taking it in to the shop is not going to cost you anywhere near as much as it would with a car.

- - - - - - - -
Why Monday lists? Reading the lovely Chloe's blog, Tea Swamp Park, I found an idea I had to 'steal': a list of all her Halloween costumes, with quite a few photos. She got the idea from Hula Seventy's List Project. I've decided to do the weekly lists for a year that Hula Seventy is doing. 

Tea Swamp Park & Hula Seventy are not the only ones doing lists, however. Check out NorthWestMommy's list & 'assignment' for next week.

Exercise Challenge: Month 3, Week 3

Here's this week's exercise confessional:


Sunday was Car-Free Day, so we moseyed up Main Street to check out the festivities. Not what I'd call real exercise, as there was a lot of standing around & only a little dancing.
(Like this)

Monday I biked Sprout over to Buddings, which is a nice 25 minute round trip.
Tuesday Ditto Monday, with 10 minutes of walking as well.
Wednesday I pushed Sprout in the stroller over to VGH to drop off a little sewing project I did for my sister Dr. Sarah (she's a neurology resident). The round trip was a good solid 70 minutes of walking.
Thursday we went out for dinner at Vera's Burger Shack on Main, which is a 20-minute round trip on foot. 
Friday I biked Sprout over to Buddings & back: 25 minutes total.
Saturday was MEC Bikefest at the Athletes' Village, so we biked down there & back, of course. That's about 20 minutes of riding.


Weekly total: 195 minutes. 15 minutes shy of the 30-minutes-a-day goal, but I'm not going to stress about it.


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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Book Review: Whole Foods to Thrive

This particular review has been a long time coming. Bit by bit over the past couple of months I've been reading Whole Foods To Thrive: Nutrient-Dense, Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health, by Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier. It's not a difficult read, though dense with interesting information.

Last year's Whole Foods To Thrive follows up on Brazier's book The Thrive Diet: The Whole Food Way to Losing Weight, Reducing Stress, and Staying Healthy for Life, published in 2007. It's a treatise on why a plant-based diet is healthier for people (including athletes) as well as the planet, as well as being a resource on nutrition & a cookbook too.

The first part builds his argument against eating animal products with facts & copious statistics. Though I found most of it engaging, I think the book struggles a bit when trying to explain how much CO2 is produced from producing meat by comparing it to driving huge distances. This still doesn't really make climate change tangible, in my opinion. I'm also not sure where he gets his concept of the 'healthy American diet' from--I'm not sure the average healthy eater actually eats meat three times a day.

Brazier's focus on nutrient density really jives with what I've learned while researching baby food & feeding Sprout. He looks at the environmental toll of various food production/processing methods & assesses food using a nutrient to resource ratio. He advocates for veganism because of the  inefficiency of meat in terms of water, fuel, land used & pollution generated as well as considering the micronutrients & calories in it.

I think this is a really valid point & a great way to decide what's really healthy for us & the planet. However, I find it a bit disingenuous for him to focus so much on the environmental impact of food production while freely admitting that he travels all over the world constantly.

There is some useful info on particular 'superfoods' as well as a section with 200 recipes follows this. We tried a few & like them.

Though I know Brazier hopes his to convince his readers that becoming vegan is a healthier & more planet-friendly way to live, I still like to eat cheese & meat. This book did make me really think about the impact that my animal product consumption has on the world, however, so I think I may endeavor to eat less meat in particular.

If you're looking to green your diet this book is a good resource. For those out there with food allergies & intolerances, the plant-based recipes in the last section are all allergen-free & contain no wheat, yeast, gluten, soy, dairy or corn. I think I'll keep it in rotation to add a few healthy meat-free meals into our diet every week.

Whole Foods To Thrive: Nutrient-Dense, Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health is available online or in bookstores, as a paper book or in ebook format.

And the winner of the Will Stroet DVD is...

Random.org picked lucky #3, which means Callie! As they are a biking family, I know her two girls Keira & Carmen will enjoy the Bike Safety Boogie.

Thanks to everyone who participated & spread the word about the contest!

If you'd like to get a hold of some of Will's music his videos are available to download for $1.99 apiece & each download comes with a free song. You can also pick up 'Will's Jams' DVD for $14.99, which also includes a  download of the soundtrack for free.

My Summer Bucket List

Photo: ilkerender on Flickr

I know, I know, I've been posting A LOT of lists lately. I couldn't resist after reading The Frugal Girl's Summer Bucket list. Here's mine: 

1. Go camping (I'm embarrassed to say it'll be Sprout's first time--it's been three years since we went)
2. Get the deck & roof fixed
3. Have some summer barbeques
4. Start regular fitness classes again (I'm thinking deep water aquafit & maybe a bootcamp style class I've heard about)
5. Go to water parks & pools weekly
6. Do a short bike tour, maybe on the Gulf Islands
7. Take a trip or two to Vancouver Island
8. Go on at least one hike a month with Sprout
9. Get out & play in nature at least once a week (the ocean, the forest, lakes--not just groomed parks & gardens)
10. Find a men's XL shirt at a thrift store & try out some of these looks
11. Renew/get passports for all of us & travel to the US (I really want to visit Portland)

Have you got a bucket list this summer? What's on it? Let me know in the comments or... if you have a blog: I'm trying out a Linky.

Quick Primer on Linkies: If you have a blog & you want to share your summer bucket list, hit 'Click here to enter' then put in your blog info. Your bucket list will be linked below so my readers can find you too!

Free Baking Class at River Market

Each kid gets to wear an apron!

Last week the sprog & I took the train out to New Westminster to try out a little kids' baking class at the River Market. This was all part of some 'research' I was doing for a Vancouver Mom article on kids programs at the River Market. (Check out my Vancouver Mom article for more on all the other stuff for kids aged 1-12, including summer camps) We arrived early (don't faint--I was surprised too) & Sprout ran around the Food Hall exclaiming at all the 'gwahges' (there are roll-up garage doors on all the businesses) while River Market staff Melissa & Pamola Bakery owner Katia set up for the class.

After donning little aprons, each of the dozen or so children was given a lump of cookie dough to knead & roll out. Then they got to use cookie cutters to create quite a few cookies each. Sprout hasn't really ever been interested in play dough the few times I've offered, but he got into the rolling & cutting.

Carefully adding sprinkles.

All the cookies were laid out on trays with each child's name written on the parchment. While the cookies baked, Katia & Melissa handed out chocolate cupcakes to decorate. This reminded me instantly of the Stanford marshmallow experiment. A few of them got nibbled while the kids waited for the cream cheese icing to be distributed. Next the kids got to add a few other colours of icing as well as several kinds of sprinkles. Sprout definitely ate more sprinkles than he put on the cupcake.

Too pretty to eat?

Once the cupcake masterpieces were finished, they got eaten pretty quickly, except for Sprout's. Oddly, he didn't seem at all interested in having any. He finally had a few pieces from the bottom, but didn't eat any of the icing. At that point, all the cookies came out of the oven & we were handed a little bag with Sprout's name on it, full of delicious sugar cookies. I noticed that despite serious variation in the thickness of the cookies rolled out by all the little bakers, none of them seemed to be over- or underdone.

Bag of treats to take home.

The River Market's free kids' baking classes happen at 10-11am every Tuesday in the Food Hall of the River Market.

Wordless Wednesday

Why, yes, that is a fabric lunch bag on his head.

List #30: If I had $1000

NorthWestMommy's Monday Listicles 'assignment' for this week was to list what ten things we'd buy with $1000. Despite a difference in three zeroes, I've now got the Barenaked Ladies song stuck in my head, "If I had a million dollars". Ouch. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. $1000. Ten things. Hm... Since this is all in my imagination, I'm not going to be realistic & spend it on particularly practical things or things for other people. I'm going to treat myself. I'd be inclined to drop it all on a bike. Or, rather, put it toward a bike, as the ones I'm coveting are well over $1000. Heh. But that's not the game. Here goes, ten things I'd spend a grand on:

What I came home with last time I went to Electroladylux

1. Another tattoo by Teresa at Electro-ladylux, of course. I'll really restrain myself & try not to spend most of a thousand like last time... heh. $300+
2. A short credit-card tour (by bicycle, natch) to a Gulf Island for a couple of days. $200?
3. Jumping stilts. Just walking around three feet taller than everybody isn't enough. I want to fly! $187
   
4. An Astrosatchel. I've been coveting one for years, but with so many designs I love, I've always had trouble choosing. $85
5. Another pair of these fishnets from The Dance Shop, in black. They are as strong as real fishing nets. I kid you not. $39
6. Riyoko's Three-way arm warmers. Sleeves are never long enough for me: I need supplementary sleeves.  $39
7. A pound of loose herbal teas from Granville Island Tea Company. I'm partial to their Bella Coola & Pear Rooibos. $33
8. A case of environmentally-irresponsible-shipped-all-the-way-across-the-damn-Atlantic Spa water (the red ones, if I could find them here) because it reminds me of Brussels. $36?
9. Some vivid coral lipstick, maybe MAC's Good to Go. $20
10. Another bottle of Joseph, an organic spelt ale, brewed in Belgium (as most of my favourite beers are) by Brasserie de Silenrieux. (I'd link it to their site, but Belgacom sucks, so it probably won't work for you either.) $8

- - - - - - - -
Why Monday lists? Reading the lovely Chloe's blog, Tea Swamp Park, I found an idea I had to 'steal': a list of all her Halloween costumes, with quite a few photos. She got the idea from Hula Seventy's List Project. I've decided to do the weekly lists for a year that Hula Seventy is doing. 

http://www.northwestmommy.com/2012/monday-listicles-51Tea Swamp Park & Hula Seventy are not the only ones doing lists, however. Check out NorthWestMommy's list & 'assignment' for next week.

Exercise Challenge: Month 3, Week 2

Today's Car-Free Day in Vancouver! Since we live just a few blocks east of Main, that's where we'll be today. See you there?


Here's this week's exercise confessional for y'all:

Sunday I lounged around the house (this is becoming a regular thing).
Monday I got in a little walking--20 minutes total, hauling toddler & milk in a wagon.
Tuesday I did a little walking & running between buses downtown. Maybe 10 minutes total.
Wednesday I biked to the Museum of Vancouver for the Vancouver Mom Top Bloggers event. It was a lovely evening for a ride & got a little more of a workout due to being fairly weighed down by two swag bags on the ride home. The round trip was just under an hour.
Thursday I walked about 22 minutes.
Friday I biked Sprout over to Buddings Daycare to sign up which was 26 minutes total.
Saturday was another day of lounging, so we're not going to make the 210 minute goal this week. :(

On a happier note, my knees are feeling better. 

Weekly total: 135 minutes.

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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too. 

DIY Sand Table for Under $5

Sprout has started to really enjoy the 'sand' table at the Mount Pleasant Family Centre, so I thought I'd get one for him at home. Not wanting to spend $50-100 for one like these, I decided to make my own. I used an under bed storage box that I had around, attached it to a plastic box with packing tape & filled it with 'sand', then added shovels, containers & sifting toys.

Maybe you're wondering why I keep using quotes around 'sand'? Because the sand is actually corn meal. Here's the 'recipe' for how to make the 'sand' table:

Ingredients:

• 2.5-5kg corn meal (I used 2.5kg for a box that's about 45cm by 60cm)
• plastic containers & toys
• under bed storage box (preferably with a lid)
• plastic shopping basket/milk crate
• clear packing tape (or Tuck tape, or duct tape--it all depends on how visible you want it to be)

(Really simple) Instructions:

1. Tape the base to the top. Here's what I did: I cut four 10-20cm pieces of tape, pushed one end through the holes at the sides of the basket/crate. Folded them over themselves at the ends a few cm to secure, leaving most of the piece sticky side up. Placed the under bed storage bin on top of the basket/crate & pulled the tape strips up around the sides to stick it down.
2. Fill with corn meal & add toys. Voila! You're done.

Tips

• Use a base that's about the same width & length as your top so it isn't tippy. 
• If you use the sand table indoors, put it on a large mat to reduce tracking the 'sand' around the house.
• Use binder clips or bungee cords to secure the lid on when you don't want little fingers (or critters) getting into the sand table. 
• You could use other types of containers for the top of the sand table, like an old baby bath, or even a sturdy cardboard box--just tape the seams to avoid corn meal escaping.
• A base isn't necessarily required--you could just use a shallow container to hold the sand & put that on a low table. A non-skid mat underneath should help keep it from sliding off.
• If you wanted your table to look a little fancier, you could make a fabric skirt around it. Attached just below the lip of the under bed box, it would cover up the base as well.
  

How much does it cost?
I found a set of relatively small-scale toys for $7, but you don't have to buy anything. Yogurt cups & containers, measuring cups, spoons & other kitchen utensils you might have on hand work fine too. The box & bin were just taking up space in my garage, so we'll call them free.

Pros & Cons
Using corn meal rather than sand has two disadvantages: firstly, you can't get it wet, or you end up with moosh; secondly, animals might want to eat it. However, the advantages outweigh that, I think. Corn meal is cheaper than non-toxic play sand (I paid $4 for 2.5kg); it's easier to find--you can get it at any grocery store; you can buy it in small quantities; it's okay if your child eats it; it isn't abrasive; you can easily see dirt in it & lastly, it comes in a lovely bright yellow colour.

When you want to get rid of the corn meal, you can compost it, feed it to the birds or sprinkle it on your garden or lawn. The corn meal encourages Trichoderma, which is a natural fungicide, helpful if you're having any root or leaf rot.

Try out my 'recipe' & let me know how it worked for you.

Will Stroet DVD giveaway (CLOSED)

This contest is now closed! Thanks for playing! Don't worry if you missed it--you can still see Will's videos online or buy a DVD. Details below...

Here on the Sprog, I'm excited to be hosting my second giveaway! While I don't mind doing product reviews or contests, I won't devote blog space to just anything. Particularly when doing a giveaway, it's got to be something I can get behind. Well-written, multilingual kids' music, made by local musician Will Stroet? Check!

We first heard Will Stroet perform this year at the Vancouver International Children's Festival. One of the reasons we took Sprout to his show was that I'd heard Will was really fun & the show was listed as appropriate for two & up. The kids in audience--babes in arms to 7 or 8--all were engaged, singing & dancing along because Will is a really interactive performer. From his years of teaching, he's gleaned the skills to really connect with his audience.

Will & his Backyard Band played a set of fun, catchy tunes that also have educational value, covering things like eating veggies, bike safety, French vocab, colours, counting. His songs are so attractive to kids because they have associated dance moves or actions that go with the music; seeing Will in concert or watching his videos is really worthwhile.

Besides having seen Will play at Kidsfest, I also had the pleasure of meeting him & his family a few times. I was introduced to Will at the opening night party then chatted a couple of other times during the festival. He really is as genuine as he seems in his shows.

Now that I've introduced you to Will, here's the scoop. I will be giving away one copy of his new DVD, 'Will's Jams', which features ten music videos of his songs. To enter the contest, you need to do THREE things:

1. Go take a look at his videos HERE.
2. Leave a comment on this post telling me which song is your favourite & why.
3. BONUS: you get one extra entry if you share this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Just leave a second comment telling me where you shared.

Follow me on Twitter or leave your blog address or email address in your comment so I can track you down if you win! Contest closes at noon (PST) on Friday, June 22, 2012. I'll choose a winner from the comments with a random number generator.

The fine print:
Two entries maximum per person.
This contest is only open to people living in Canada & the continental USA.
DVD will be mailed out to the winner the week after the contest closes.

Just in case you can't wait, or you don't win, Will Stroet's videos are available to download for $1.99 apiece & each download comes with a free song. 'Will's Jams' DVD retails for $14.99, which also includes a  download of the soundtrack for free.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of 'Will's Jams' DVD, but was not otherwise compensated for this giveaway. 

A Fabulous night

I'm probably the last of the bunch to post my report on the Vancouver Mom Top Bloggers celebration, but it's not because I didn't have fun. I also don't have any impressive photos to post here, except a couple of really lame ones on my phone camera.* That was quite intentional, actually. Yesterday, when I was deciding what to bring with me (business cards, lip balm, credit card, ID, keys--that's about it!) I thought, "Hey, I should bring my camera." Then I realized what that would mean. I'd be trying to get good photos all night, experiencing the event through the LCD on my camera back.

So I put the camera down & decided not to take photos all night. Which is not to criticize the people there who were taking photos--I'm glad the event was documented. But for me, the night was about meeting people, in real life, without the electronics between us.

Harriet & the 2011 riot window boards.

The evening started off great, with the weather picking up to make for a lovely ride there. It's less than 30 minutes along the Ontario, 10th Ave & Cypress bike routes. I realized a few minutes into my ride that I'd left my front light at home, so I grabbed an MEC Turbo Turtle on my way. (really bright & under $5--awesome little light!) Once I arrived, changed into my fancy shoes on the sidewalk outside (classy, eh?) then washed the bike grime off my fingers I was ready to party!

All the agonizing that we did about what we were going to wear on Twitter in the week leading up to the event seems to have paid off, because everyone looked great. I was one of the few not wearing a dress, my excuse being that I still have bruised knees from my last minor spill off my bike.

Over the evening, I talked to so many new people that I completely lost track of them all. Despite trying hard to match Twitter handles & blog avatars to the faces, or even to remember who said what, I think I missed a few names. It was a lot harder than I expected to recognize people from the tiny little Twitter icons I see all the time. The three (generous) glasses of wine didn't help, either! It was great to meet up with some bloggers I'd only talked to online & see some I'd met in person before.

One of the surprising highlights of the evening was the speeches. Surprising, because--let's be honest--speeches can often be the most boring part of an event. Past Top 30 Bloggers Harriet, Tracey & Amber were given a three minute limit & a topic of What I know now. Their speeches were all very entertaining, but I have to say that it was Harriet who made me laugh hard enough to spill wine.

Yes, it's a plastic golf club.

Later in the evening, after I'd moved on to sparkling mineral water, I checked out the dresses in Art Deco Chic. It's a lovely exhibit for those interested in fashion from the early 20th century. I marvel at the hours that must have gone into the hand embroidery & beadwork on some of the gowns.

By ten pm, the museum staff were gently nudging us out the door, so I strapped my swag basket to my bike, stuffed the other bag of it (yes, I came home with nearly my weight in swag) into my backpack & off I rode.

My head was buzzing when I got home, not just from the wine but the chance to talk with so many new interesting people. I learned a lot & hopefully started a few new friendships. I really needed to go to another blogger meetup like this again soon.

Thanks again to Christine Pilkington of Vancouver Mom for organizing the Top 30 Blogger contest & last night's great event.

*my cycling photos are often lame, as there is always some Scotchlite creating a massive flare in the shot. Sigh.

What I've been reading lately

Here's a random collection of things I've come across in the blogosphere that made me think.

Photo by voteprime on Flickr.

Kids & the News
Annie at PhD in Parenting always nails it & I'd repost everything she writes, but well, that's a bit excessive, isn't it? Couldn't resist this one, though, as I've been thinking lately about Sprout's exposure to things like the recent mailed-body-parts saga. Her recent post on how much DEATH! DESTRUCTION! MAYHEM! in the news that she exposes her kids to is thought-provoking. I think she's got a good point that sheltering children from what's going on in the world isn't necessarily a good idea. Has this come up for you? What news sources do you let your children watch/hear/read?

Are Drivers an Endangered Species?
A really interesting look into the possible reasons behind the decline in young drivers on MacLeans Magazine.

Dog Body Language
As the mother of a very friendly & dog-loving toddler, I am constantly worried he's going to get bitten. I'm hoping what I learned from this illustrated primer on when NOT to pet a dog will help avoid a potential injury. Thanks to Shihtzustaff for posting it on Twitter.

Etymology is Fun!
Focussing on words that came into the English language from books, this article goes over the origins of neologisms like galumphing, chortle & nerd as well as more established words like bump. Have you ever wondered where the word yahoo came from? Read the article to find out. :)

Behind the Time Cover
A bit late, I know, but if you haven't seen it yet, here's the great interview on Kellymom with the mothers in the sensationalistic Time Magazine article on Attachment Parenting. Unsurprisingly, they were mislead about the focus of the article & photo shoots. The media's exploitation of people for stories really irritates me: in my few dealings with the news media (TV & newspaper), I've found the same thing to happen. You're told that the article will focus on one thing & when published, the result is not at all what you agreed to participate in.

Thank you for your support!

Tonight I go to Fabulous, the Vancouver Mom Ultimate Blogger celebration, at the Museum of Vancouver. I get to go for free thanks to making into the top 30--I'm grateful to all of you who nominated The Sprog for the contest. I didn't win the top spot, (that honour went to Melissa of The Thirties Grind) but I'm not upset about that. There are still plenty of prizes for the top 30, but more than that, the contest has connected me with a lot of other bloggers & introduced The Sprog to a wider audience.

That's what I'm most excited about: matching Twitter handles & avatars to faces in real life. I'm looking forward to meeting lots of new people & celebrating all the writing we do. Also, after much discussion on Twitter about what we're all going to wear, I can't wait to see the outfits!

Thank you again for voting for me in the contest!

My Vancouver Draw Down experience

Saturday I went to the Vancouver Art Gallery to join in the Vancouver Draw Down workshop there. When I arrived, I got paired up with another person & we drew portraits of each other on black paper with white pencils. It's been several years since I did any life drawing, but the old habits came back quickly & I stepped back to literally objectify the person in front of me, focussing on light & dark, form & negative space. It was a fun challenge to use white on black & create the image by layering white cross-hatching to bring up the lighter portions of her face, the opposite of the usual adding in of line & shadow. As we were both drawing I moving our heads constantly, it was tough to get a really accurate likeness, but I'm happy that I got a sense of her. Here is my drawing & my model with hers:

I wish I'd gotten out of the house sooner so I could have visited more workshops, but I'm happy I made it to one. I can't wait til next year--maybe Sprout will be old enough to be interested in drawing images by then. At the moment he likes to use crayons & markers, but he just scribbles.

After I drew my portrait, I looked around the Matisse show at the gallery. Calling it a Matisse show isn't really the whole story, however. The works on display are from the collection of the Cone sisters, two avid modern art collectors from Baltimore. As you walk through the exhibit, you're introduced to Etta & Claribel Cone, their travels & the incredible amount of art they collected. I really enjoyed watching a short BBC documentary showing in the gallery on the Cone sisters, hosted by Michael Palin.

Collecting Matisse & Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore is on at the Vancouver Art Gallery until September 30.

List #29: Signs your neighbourhood has been gentrified

Don't even THINK about asking for drip coffee at Matchstick

I'm joining in with North West Mommy's Listicles this week with my take on the topic: Things that make you go hmmm... or, you know your neighbourhood has been gentrified when:

1. A new children's store has opened up, featuring princess dresses, $60 toddler tee shirts & ballet flats for 3-month-olds
2. The closest full-service restaurant is French food & has a two-week waiting list for reservations
3. There is not one but two yoga studios within 200 feet of each other
4. Detached single-family homes sell for a minimum of $800,000 (unless you want to live on an extremely noisy trucking route or are buying 'for lot value only'. Then you could score something for a mere $700K)
5. There is a vegan shoe store & it's somehow stayed in business for over a year
6. You see two Stokke strollers in five minutes
7. $200,000 buys you a 14-year-old 423-square-foot studio apartment
8. The closest cafe has only hand-poured single-origin coffee

- - - - - - - -
Why Monday lists? Reading the lovely Chloe's blog, Tea Swamp Park, I found an idea I had to 'steal': a list of all her Halloween costumes, with quite a few photos. She got the idea from Hula Seventy's List Project. I've decided to do the weekly lists for a year that Hula Seventy is doing. 

Tea Swamp Park & Hula Seventy are not the only ones doing lists, however. Check out NorthWestMommy's list & 'assignment' for next week.

Exercise Challenge: Month 3, Week 1

Sunday was a day of lazing around & recuperating from a busy week. The only exercise I got in was walking to the corner grocery for a few things to make dinner, maybe a three block round trip. We won't count that.

Monday we walked to & from Famous Foods for groceries, a total of 50 minutes.

Tuesday I wheeled Sprout around in his stroller to the toddler gym in the morning, then out shopping on Main Street in the afternoon. All together, about 50 minutes of walking.

Wednesday we walked over to Clark Park to participate in a little neighbourhood Casseroles. The walk there, the route we took plus the walk home amounted to an hour of exercise.

Thursday I had an appointment downtown & by the time Oli got home from work to watch Sprout, I didn't have time to take the bus. It had just stopped raining, however, so I had a nice ride to & from downtown for a total of 40 minutes cycling.

Friday we walked over to see Oma & Opa where they're staying in the Holiday Inn on Broadway. It's a half hour trip one way, which was all I did, as I had to jet off to massage therapy downtown afterward, which I did by transit.

Saturday was a rest day in more ways than one. Rather than bike, I took the bus downtown to go to a Vancouver Draw Down workshop at the Vancouver Art Gallery & checked out the Matisse exhibit. Stay tuned for more on that Tuesday...

Taking a few days break from cycling actually helped my knees feel a lot better. Though I love being on a bike, I think I may have to work up more slowly to hauling Sprout around by bike for 30-60 minutes a day.

Weekly total: 230 minutes of walking & cycling.

Safety: How much is too much?

Photo by storyvillegirl on Flickr

I was recently looking through this list of 10 Surprising Safety Hazards on Parents.com & wondering: do we really need to be afraid of all these things? Some were really good tips, like keep your guests' purses & wallets out of baby's reach. We all know how much little kids like to rifle through a new bag & there are likely to be items inside that could pose a choking hazard or cause other injuries. The stats on pet-related injuries were striking as well: "About 100,000 children under age 10 are treated in hospital emergency rooms every year for dog-bite-related injuries, according to the CDCP. The majority of attacks happen in familiar places by a dog that belongs to the victim's family or friend."
However, the second item on the list was latex balloons. I'm not saying they're okay for babies to play with, but the stats quoted don't really make me thing it's a very likely accident: "Since 1973, more than 110 children have choked to death when chewing on or blowing up latex balloons." That works out to two or three kids a year, compared to cited number that up to 900 suffocate in soft bedding annually. On the other hand, the amount of exposure to balloons versus pets or bedding is vastly different.

There are so many sources of fear & guilt about parenting these days, often as a part of marketing a product to help you solve the 'problem' that you didn't know you had. I found it quite overwhelming initially & had to fight the paranoia that books, marketers & even other parents seem to want you to have. When it comes to safety, I'm not going to say I'm against doing any babyproofing, but how much is too much? I've seen ads for padded helmets for children learning to walk or crawl--isn't this too much? What does that do to a child if they're never allowed to take any risks? Do they learn if they're not allowed to make mistakes that result in the occasional bump or bruise?

An open letter to my dream cafe

Marche St. George has a basic toddler area

As the mother of a now very mobile & energetic toddler (though he's not at the extreme end of the spectrum--I have friends whose kids run laps around him) I have almost entirely stopped going to cafes during the day. I used to go a lot when Sprout was easily portable & would sit (or better: sleep) in his stroller, on my lap or in a carrier for hours. But now that he's likely to run straight out the open door of a cafe into traffic, I can't just sit & enjoy an overpriced chai soy latte or a half-kilo muffin in peace.

Pretty much all of the cafes I used to love going to have some sort of major hazard or two that make them off-limits to me & Little Mr. Curious. Even the ones that try to be kid friendly often miss the mark a bit. Glass terrariums set on low shelves, doors always wide open to  streets with heavy traffic, fireplaces, display shelves full of breakable mugs at toddler height, lit oil lamps, play kitchen near an oven, buckets of choking-hazard sized toys.

I guess the people who own cafes in Mount Pleasant are already making money enough, but they could make even more by catering to all the parents of toddlers who are free during the day. Seriously, this is not a small market--there are a lot of us who work from home, work part time, work nights or whatever--just look at any morning drop-in gym, Strong Start program or community centre tots class. We get serious cabin fever staying home with the kid(s) & we'd love somewhere that we could actually sit, have a drink or a snack (better yet, beer!) while the kids occupy themselves in a play area full of new, interesting toys. Yes, I get to meet & talk to other parents at the aforementioned kids activities, but we rarely get to finish a sentence without having to dash off & nab a kid from a ladder, an overturned ride-on toy or the glue pot at the crafts table.

Business owners, if you cater to us, we will become loyal devotees because there aren't that many other places we can go. We're social media savvy: we will blog about you, check in on Foursquare, post about you on Facebook & tweet about you. We will talk about it in our stroller bootcamp classes & at the drop-in toddler gym. We will bring friends. If our kids like you, they will beg us to go all the time & we will give in to stop the whining. Then we'll come in & buy food & drinks for both/all three/four/five of us. Think of the turnover: even if you're really kid-friendly, we won't likely stay much longer than an hour anyway--you can earn a lot more money from us than all those people who camp out with their laptop for hours, buying one coffee.

So here's my wish list for this new kid-friendly establishment in Mount Pleasant:

1. Get a sturdy play kitchen & fill it with toy food, dishes & pots. If you're worried about noise, plastic dishes are quieter & Ikea has (washable) fabric food.
2. Don't put the play kitchen near the oven, the door or any other potential hazards.
3. Large building blocks & cars are also fun, cleanable & not that tedious to pick up at the end of the day.
4. The play area doesn't have to be huge, nor does it have to be fenced off entirely, but enclosed on three sides will make it easier for parents to relax.
5. Keep the toys safe for all ages: don't have anything that's small enough to fit through a toilet paper tube so no little ones can choke.
6. If you have the square footage, have a seating area near the kids area & one that's separated for those who aren't fans of the younger & smaller sized humans.
7. You don't have to spend a mint on gear--there's lots on Craigslist for super cheap--but don't stock it with broken or dirty toys.
8. Have a kids menu (hint: salads don't usually go down well with small children) of quick to prepare foods so kids can get their meals/snacks really fast. This will avoid a large percentage of low-blood-sugar tantrums.
9. Have a baby change table in EVERY washroom. It ain't just women who change diapers, you know.
10. If you offer table service, make sure to train all your staff on serving hot things around children: don't put tea/coffee/steaming food within their reach & don't move it over their heads when you're putting it on the table. 
11. Make sure you have a lot of high chairs. If they take up too much room (there are stackable ones) get some boosters that strap onto chairs--they're pretty small to store.
12. Leave enough room between tables so that strollers can actually manoeuvre. Better yet, provide an area for stroller parking.
13. Have a lost & found--we lose stuff all the time but would love to get it back.
14. Get a liquor license! Just because we're with our kids during the day doesn't mean we wouldn't like a beer or a glass of wine.

Parents: have you got any ideas to add to this list? Cafe/restaurant owners: are you convinced yet?

List #28: Habits I'd like to break

Here's my Monday list, just a few days late!

Sin (Chocolate Cherry) Cheesecake at Trees Cafe

Everybody has habits they hate, right? Here's a list of some I would like to change.

1. Procrastinating
2. Staying up until 2am writing lists for blog posts
3. Eating sugary food too often
4. Wasting food
5. Starting projects & not finishing them
6. Twirling my hair in my fingers
7. Not stretching
8. Sleeping in late (see #2)
9. Eating a lot of animal products (I'm not going vegan, I'd just like to cut down)

What habits do you have that you want to break? Have you had any success kicking a habit that you'd like to share?


- - - - - - - -
Why Monday lists? Reading the lovely Chloe's blog, Tea Swamp Park, I found an idea I had to 'steal': a list of all her Halloween costumes, with quite a few photos. She got the idea from Hula Seventy's List Project. I've decided to do the weekly lists for a year that Hula Seventy is doing.

Wordless Wednesday

Repurposed water bottles: Soundscape at Kidsfest

Advertising

Hello Sprog readers! I've got a favour to ask you. Could you look around here & tell me what ads you see? There should be a banner ad below each post ↓ as well as a tower ad in the right sidebar under the brown Top Mommy Blogs ad →.

I signed up for Adwords a while ago & I've tried to play around with the settings to limit the types of things that can be advertised here. I don't really want to have ads for phone sex lines or guns or pyramid schemes, etc. :) However, because Adwords displays ads targeted to each visitor of the site, based on what Google knows about you, I have no idea what you're seeing.

If you could leave a comment below to let me know what company & product (if any) the ad(s) is (are) promoting, that would be lovely. Also, if you just happen to click on any of the ads, that means I might make a few cents. So far, my Adwords account hasn't made enough money to cross the $100 threshold required to actually be sent a cheque. Eventually I'd like to be making enough money to cover hosting, postage for giveaways & some of the other costs of running The Sprog.

Thanks for your help!

My first sprog, Arrow

I'm going to interrupt my usual Monday programming because today is an anniversary that is tied up in the origins of The Sprog blog. Probably none of you know that I actually started this blog nearly four years ago, in September of 2008. It was a private blog, more of a diary between Oli & I. I used it to collect my thoughts about the baby we were trying for. I wrote about getting pregnant on the fifth cycle & all the milestones of my pregnancy. I had lists of names & useful pregnancy-related sites collected here. I can't recall when or if I intended to make it public (as it is today) back then.

Then exactly three years ago today, my first pregnancy came to an abrupt end at about 18 weeks along. My first little boy, Arrow, came into the world a few weeks too early to survive. It had been a completely normal pregnancy. I'd just gotten my quad screen blood test results back with no anomalies. We were about a week or so away from the detailed ultrasound. Despite trying hard to find them, there were no answers: the doctors were never able to tell us what went wrong.

It still really hurts to think about the details. It was such a traumatic experience to miscarry so late. I went to counselling to deal with the grief & didn't blog at all through the painful summer & fall that followed. When I got pregnant for the second time, I started writing here again, still privately. I had more anxiety than the first time, though less than I'd expected. Getting past 18 weeks was a huge milestone & I breathed a sigh of relief after that.

At Botanical Beach, June 2009

June 4, 2010--when I was about 30 weeks pregnant with Sprout--we travelled to the west coast of Vancouver Island to mark the anniversary of Arrow's death, visiting the place where we'd scattered his ashes the year before. I felt it was important to go back to honour his memory & I though it might become an annual pilgrimage of sorts.

Despite the sadness of passing Arrow's anniversary, I really did have fun my last trimester, going to prenatal aquafit & enjoying the summer, since I wasn't working. However, it wasn't until I was only about two weeks from Sprout's due date that I opened the blog up to you all to read.

June 4, 2011 came & went without a trip to the island. Busy with my almost 10-month-old & a course at SFU, I let it slide. We won't be going to Botanical Beach around Arrow's anniversary this year either, but I haven't forgotten him. Though I do think of him often, I don't associate Arrow with every post I write here. Nonetheless, he's the reason the blog exists.

The Sprog has really evolved in the last couple of years. Since then, I've become much more serious about writing; it's been over seven months since I started blogging daily. I have readers in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia & Australia. I've found work & met people because of this blog. Who knows what the future will hold for the Sprog?

Exercise Challenge: Month 2, Week 4

Sunday we walked down to a classic car/bike show & shine outside The Whip restaurant. We were seriously outnumbered by the rockabilly/hipster types gazing at the shiny hunks of steel & making vaguely threatening child-eating jokes with their bull mastiffs. (Wish I'd told the guy what I was thinking: the bigger the dog, the smaller the penis.) The walk to & fro was about 35 minutes.

Monday I got A LOT of exercise: first we walked up to The Outpost for lunch with Nana & Gumpa. Then I biked out to Kits with Sprout in the trailer to pick up his 'new' runner bike. After dinner we biked to Auntie Sarah & Uncle Aaron's place in Fairview to drop Sprout off, then headed down to Granville Island for the Kidsfest opening party. All the walking & biking added up to 95 minutes!

Tuesday the only walking I did was to the Mount Pleasant Family Centre & back--a total of about four blocks. Not enough to count as official exercise, even though I was wearing Sprout. After all the riding the day before, however, I think taking the day off was fine.

Wednesday was our first day at Kidsfest. We biked there in record time--20 minutes--because we took the more direct route. We took the scenic route home, about 25 minutes riding.

Despite the fact that is was Bike to Work Week, Thursday we took it easy & didn't do any biking at all, just walked down to the library & back. I wore Sprout in the Beco all the way there, but he actually walked more than half way back by himself. Kid likes to walk. :) Total walking time was about a half hour.

Friday turned into a rest day with very little exercise to be had at all. Saturday we went to Kidsfest by bike again, getting me about 45 minutes of good exercise.

I am feeling a little more fit these days, but I have to say my knees are a bit achy from all the cycling. I've been trying to gear down more to help, but I'm still a little stiff.

Weekly total: 250 minutes! Over my weekly goal of 30 minutes a day. :)



If you like what you read here, please vote for me in the Vancouver Mom Ultimate Blogger contest. Voting closes soon on June 4, 2012. Thanks!

Kidsfest Day Two

We started off our second day at the Vancouver International Children's Festival at Soundscape. I love the idea of using repurposed baking pans, racks & water bottles to make music. There was even something I'll call a Seuss-a-ma-phone made of bent PVC pipe with whacking implements made of old foam sandals--brilliant! Sprout liked making noises, but he's not quite at the WHACK IT WITH A STICK age yet, so we didn't stay too long.

Next up was the Pete the Cat show. I'd heard that Pete the Cat has become quite the phenomenon (New York Times Best Seller at both the #1 & #3 spots!), but I have to admit we didn't know anything about the books or the author, Eric Litwin, going into the show. I'm now a confirmed fan: the show was as fun for parents as for the little ones. 'Mr. Eric' had someone from the audience up on stage helping him for every song & story he did. In between singing, storytelling, playing guitar & harmonica, he made lots of jokes & picked on several adult audience members (all in good fun, of course).

After the show, we picked up a copy of Pete the Cat & his Four Groovy Buttons, which we had signed by Mr. Eric. It's a colourful, fun story about a cat with a message: don't sweat the small stuff. It's also great for kids working on their elementary math skills.

After a quick lunch with Will Stroet, his wife Kim & daughter Ella at Agro Cafe (Stay tuned for my upcoming Will Stroet DVD giveaway!) we headed back to Kidsfest for some Twist & Toddle time. I think we could have just taken Sprout there both days & he would have been happy. Today he spent a bit of time playing at the water table, crawled through the tunnels, built things with the various types of blocks on hand & played cars.

We got to see lots of my performer friends at the event. Yesterday Dawn was performing on stilts & we got to see Danielle as the crazy purple butterfly. I ran into Lindsey Long Legs before his set, but unfortunately missed seeing his lovely King Koi stilting character. I think this is something that makes the Children's Festival just that much better. Because there are roving performers all over the site, all day, you never know when you'll see something magical.

Speaking of magical, Sprout was clearly enthralled by the lion dancers. He wasn't scared like some of the kids were--I had to keep him from running into the circle to dance with them. I think his favourite performer might have been Indigo's furry mascot. He needed to give the giant mouse not just one, but three hugs.

Our last stop was the World Youth Stage, where we watched the kids from Circus West put on a great variety show. I decided to skip Sock It To Me & the Bicycle Spin Art as I doubt Sprout would have been able to wait in line & they were pretty popular. We have to leave something for next year, right?

Just in case you haven't been there yet, you've got one last day to experience the fun that is the Vancouver International Children's Festival: Sunday, June 3, 10am to 4pm. Don't miss out!


Disclosure: I was asked by Limelite PR to be part of a team of bloggers promoting the festival through writing about our experiences with it. My posts & opinions are my own. :)


If you like what you read here, please vote for me in the Vancouver Mom Ultimate Blogger contest. Voting closes soon on June 4, 2012. Thanks!