Guest Post: Unsung Parents

Glosette Girl does so much for Margot's school I thought I would dedicate this week's blog post to her. But instead of me telling you all the amazing ways she helps out I thought I would let her tell you what she does in her own words.

As for why she does it? Well here is Glosette Girl again!

I'm pretty sure that if the teachers in Margot's school didn't know who Margot was before, they certainly do now - "the daughter of Glosette Girl"! (haha well maybe they don't say "Glosette Girl").

p.s Glosette Girl tells me that all the teachers tell her all their secrets and life stories! Bonus! Great gossip!

Chateau Sneaksters

To celebrate the last official weekend of winter*, Glosette Girl, Margot and I spent one night at the Chateau Laurier in downtown Ottawa this past weekend. Spending a night in a hotel that's 15 minutes from your house isn't something I would normally do, but I won the a one night's stay at the Chateau Laurier at a Christmas raffle at work and thought, "what the hay, let's try something new!"

It was a fun evening. Full disclosure, it was originally supposed to be a date night style weekend away for Glosette Girl and I (oooh la la!) with Margot sleeping over at a friend's house. But we've had some choppy waters lately and we thought it would be best if we stayed together as a family. The only hiccup was that technically we had to sneak Margot into the hotel but that wasn't too hard (my family is naturally shifty).

Straight out of "The Shining!"

Turns out bringing Margot was a good call!

First, it gave us an incentive to use the 1920's Art Deco pool in the basement.

Second, instead of eating at a fancy schmancy restaurant we tried a more kid-friendly local southern smokehouse. Yummy with a dash of good ol' boy charm thrown in? You betcha! Vegetarian-focused? Mmmmm not so much.

Craft Beer?Yes Sir, one Bud Light coming up!

Third, we spied on a movie set that was set up downtown. Maybe we will appear in the background of a future blockbuster? Keep an eye out for us!

Finally, we topped off the eating by buying junk food from a local store and chilling out in our hotel room reading and watching nature specials. Thank you David Attenborough for your rich voice.

Definitely a fun little evening. Remind me to sneak Margot into more five star hotels!

Look for the room with the book in the window - that was ours!

*Saying that spring starts on March 21st is someone optimistic in Canada.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Lately Margot's after-school Brownies activity has been a little "meh". There are a couple reasons for this: first, Margot is one of the older kids in her troupe and she's finding a lot of the other kids aren't very mature (and trust me, when an 8-year old who believes in Santa Claus notices that, there's a problem!); second, the troupe seems a bit more disorganized this year in comparison to previous ones.

So recently, after she asked us if she could try something else, I found it hard to say no. While I'm not normally a fan of quitting something half way through (the Brownie "term" ends in June) since she's been in Brownies/Sparks* for a couple years now and had a few good adventures along the way I didn't mind so much in this case.

We've actually tried a variety of after-school activities over the years with mixed results:

• Dance -  Margot's first activity and still going strong!
• Swimming lessons - an essential life skill in my books. Our go-to activity when we can't think of something else.
• Drama - pretty fun but the time slot conflicted with dance.
• Pottery - really nice/zen atmosphere at a local studio. Artsy but a bit off-beat.
• After-school-art. OK. Margot liked it. I'm not so sure she learned much.
• Singing - also fun but Margot got bored.
• Gymnastics - I was not impressed. If you're not in the competitive stream the instructors don't put too much effort into it.
• Brownies. Pretty sweet because it's hosted down the street at a nearby school but again I'm not sure if Margot actually learned anything. At the end of the day it's all about the troupe leaders

As you can see that list is pretty arts-and-crafts-heavy. So in an effort to try and balance out Margot's life skills, Glosette Girl and I asked her to select a sport for a change of pace. Ah Margot - she's a sly cookie let me tell you! Guess what she selected?

The cowgirl gettin' ready at Wesley Clover Stables

Equestrian!

Geez. What a lucky girl. Who would have thought that even living in downtown Ottawa we'd be only 20 minutes away from a riding school and stable?! Next stop, the Olympics! (Well, once she gets on a horse - that happens in week 4).

Parents have to sit in the waiting room and watch the action from a TV monitor

* Brownies = junior Girl Guides. Sparks = junior Brownies

6 Ottawa Winter Activities

It has been a loonnng winter - if you don't think so it's because you don't live in Ottawa. However, when you live in a city where there is a realistic chance of snow six months of the year you can't mope around all the time. You have to get creative! Here are 6 things our little family likes do to pass the time while while we wait for more humane temperatures to return:

1. Go tobogganing in the woods. The more trees and obstacles, the better. One day soon Margot will be too old for this...but today is not that day.

(p.s that's not me pulling the sled!)

2.  Eat ice cream in the winter. Margot loves this. Amazingly, she's not alone. While we usually go for ice cream at Stella Luna, which has a nice sit down area, the Merry Dairy down the street stays open almost all winter and always has customers even though most people get ice cream to go. Wha?!

3. Skating, of course. Especially on the Rideau Canal. When I was a University student in Ottawa I didn't go skating once. What was I smoking? It's super fun... at dusk or at night. During the day on a weekend the sheer volume of people can take away from the experience. But when it gets dark... it's just you, the ice and some conveniently located snack shacks:

(again, that's not me in the picture with Margot. Who is that mysterious lookalike?)

4. Eat out/in. Is it just me or are restaurants more enjoyable when there is snow falling outside? I love a good patio, but many of the nicest restaurant experiences Glosette Girl and I have had have been during the cold winter months.

5. Plan our summer vacation. Seriously! We always do this in February and have great fun dreaming about where we are going to be in the summer. This year. Well let's just say we're visiting a country that rhymes with Grizterland.

6. Be secretly happy when it snows so much you're forced to stay inside all day in your pjs, reading books and playing video games and staying cozy.*

* except when Glosette Girl asks you to shovel the driveway three times a day. :)