Lovin’ Vancouver! Our favorite places : Aquarium

Maybe it was Tt’s early obsession with sharks, maybe it was just a nice, relaxing atmosphere for Tt to learn to walk (IF you time it right outside of those danged school tours by the busload). We’ve driven across town to visit the Vancouver Aquarium at least twice a month for almost 5 years now.

We like to get the most out of our memberships.

We ALWAYS visit the big, bright, colorful fish tank first. It’s Boo’s new favorite. There’s a cubby I can shove both boys into while we watch fish watching us.

Next door is the sharks/turtle, which of course is a “must”. Oddly, even though Tt can name off 25 different species of shark (out of the 360 known to exist, btw… Ya, we read a lot about sharks), we still know very little about the blacktip reef shark…

(yes, many of these photos are crappy dark indoor kinda shots…)

We usually head in to see the bats (sorry, no photo could turn out in here), and Momma loves the warm “Tropics” with the bright red birds, the turtles, sometimes butterflies and fishes.

And the wee little monkeys.

Then to the caimen, my favorite bright green snake which has NEVER moved, and icky spiders.
And, on to the Kiddie Disco and Dress Up Lounge…

We’ve learned to time our visits to the rest of the Aquarium OPPOSITE to the shows to avoid all the crowds.

We saw the new Baby Beluga!
We always take our lunch down “under” the Beluga tanks. For some reason it’s far warmer than the Dolphin tanks, and has bigger windows.

Then we pay the frogs a visit. I love the tiny, tiny ones.

And, of course, we ALWAYS wander into the gift shops…

One day we’ll treat ourselves to an overnight in front of the Beluga tanks – what a way to go.
Assuming the boys are still ocean-crazy by the time I can save up.
Thirty isn’t too old for a sleepover, is it??

Visit Vancouver Aquarium soon – and often.

Two weeks ’til Spring!???

Really??

Then what’s up with THIS?!?!

I know some of our US neighbours think Canada is ALWAYS covered in snow, but I live in Vancouver. Our annual snow consists of 1 week, 4″, and then it’s all gone. Usually.

But apparently not this year.

Too bad Hubby had just taken out all the “spring” things in the yard this past weekend…

That’s ok, Hubby – I’m sure it’ll melt before March 21st!!??
In the meantime, think warm, sandy beach thoughts…

Enjoy your day – whatever your weather!

From the Mouths of Babes – Being a “cool” Mom

Mother-daughter relationships can be stressful. I have many girlfriends with girls who are DREADING the oft tense pre-teen/teen years coming up. I’m just SOoo fortunate to have a great relationship with both of my daughters, but then it’s been easy for me as they were so young and so thrilled to have a new Mom for their beloved Daddy when I came along. I’ve often been told that I’m the “cool Mom”. While flattering, I’m wondering what could possibly make an older, wrinklier version of your kids “cool”?

So, I asked them.

Mom: “So, would you consider many of your friends’ Mom’s cool?”

A – 14yrs old: “No. They’re nice, but they’re not really cool.”

B – 17yrs old: “<steph>’s mom. (I like her too). And two others. (I think they’re cool too). I don’t know many people’s moms.”

M: (to A) “None of them are cool?”

A: “They’re not really like you. (I didn’t even fish for that one!). I guess it’s because they’re older.”

M: “What makes a mom cool?”

B: “They talk to the kids, my friends. They joke around a lot. Not like in an “adulty” way.”

M: “Does it make a mom cool if she dresses at “teen” stores like Garage? Does that make her cool?”

A: “That’s kind of weird sometimes. Like if they look too young. Like, you wear nice stuff that’s cool. But like <susie>’s Mom who’s trying to be too cool, that’s kind of weird. There’s a difference.”

B: “It depends. If it’s one or two things, it can be ok, but otherwise they’re just wanna-be’s.”

M: “If she hangs out with your friends all the time, is that cool?”

A: “Depends how often.”

B: “No. Only once in awhile.”

M: “You don’t want some Mom around all the time.”

A: “No.”

M: “If a Mom is on facebook, is that cool or uncool?”

A: “Not everyone’s Moms. Only certain Moms.”

M: “So “cool” would be a balance of being there and not being there.”

A: “Yeah.”

M: “Do you think other Moms could be “cooler” or are they just “too old” (those were HER words, not mine!)?”

A: “Yep – they could be. They’re just too stressed all the time.”

M: “They could be cooler if they kind of just chilled and hung out, but only once in awhile.”

A: “Yeah.” (Teens love one-word answers, especially if they’re trying to do their homework, talk on Facebook, and answer Mom’s nagging questions to post on the internet for all to see…).

M: “What’s one thing that makes me SOOOOO cool? (Ok, now I’m fishing…)”

A: “You can relax, and you’re not such a strict Mom. I don’t know – I just compare you to the other Moms and you’re just so much cooler and nicer. And you die my hair for me (bright red streaks at that!). And you let us get piercings and you let us make our own decisions and stuff.”

M: “But I make you talk about all your decisions.”

A: “Yeah.”

M: “I like making you responsible for your own decisions though. It makes you more grown up.”

A: “And then when we’re older we’re not depending on other people to make our decisions for us still.”

M: “See? All grown up! Thanks for thinking I’m cool (and for being such a cool daughter). What can we tell Moms to so they can be a little cooler?”

A: “Let the kids make their own decisions, I think. And be more relaxed.”

M: “But talk about about their decisions together?”

A: “Yeah. And Moms that write blogs are cool (haha, A!). And Moms that read Teen Vogue and do their nails are cool (whew – good thing I did those tonight!).”

There you have it. Go forth and be cool.

The latest

Check here (or scroll below – they appear there first) for the latest ponderings from my brain.
Grab a cup of tea, enjoy the read, and feel free to leave some comments to let me know you stopped by!

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tuesdays for tea
June 9, 2009

Happy belated Tuesday…
Does it count if it’s still Tuesday in my head?!
<more here>

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Just Pics…
June 7, 2009

Nothing new to say today, so I’m posting some random pics.
Grabbed my Dad’s camera back, so it’s fun pointing and shooting!
<more here>

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Lovin’ Vancouver! Our favorite places : The Secret Garden
June 5, 2009

It’s a restaurant, it’s a shop, it’s a destination, it’s an event – the Secret Garden! Every year for the past…
<more here>

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the Poetry of Life #009
June 4, 2009

Tall and graceful now you stand
Where once you barely…
<more here>

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Crafting Time – Part 5
June 3, 2009
<more here>

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tuesdays for tea 09.06.02
June 2, 2009

Another tuesday, another chat over tea!I had THE MOST incredible experience last night – I just have to share. It was amazing! It was…
<more here>

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Thrifty Finds : SHOES!
June 2, 2009

I’m sorry to blog about one little photo (then again, why not??), but are these not THE MOST ADORABLE SHOES EVER????
<more here>

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April showers brought…
June 1, 2009

… Yes, May FLOWERS!
Generally I’m not crazy about anything growing that I can’t eat, but 90% of the flowers in our yard… <more here>

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Ahhhh, BBQ Season!
May 31, 2009

May has been a gorgeous month for Vancouver, and we’ve been taking FULL advantage of it!
We have to… <more here>

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Saving More Sharks!
May 30, 2009

Well, after this post about Saving the Sharks, we have a few updates!
I was working on our…
<more here>

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These past posts might also interest you:

Revisiting Your Home : Let There be LIGHT!
Thrifty Finds : Crystal Glasses
Vintage Aprons
Blogging, and What I SHOULD be Doing…
Travelling with Kids – Extra Advice

Thanks for stopping by and for all your lovely comments! It’s always nice to hear from you.

Crafting Time – Part 2

More of the craftiness we had going on here when the girls were a bit younger (pre-teen to early teens). They still craft now, at 14 + 17, but their crafts have definately become more elaborate (read “EXPENSIVE”).

One day we had walked all the way down to the beach, and had decided to collect all kinds of rocks while we were there to paint and glue. The critters turned out pretty cool, but I think we should have used better glue than the hot glue sticks as the weight of the rocks was too heavy for some to stay together. We added magnets to the back and had them on our fridge.

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A few times we sat with a pad of paper and designed all sorts of silly clothes. Come to think of it, those times were all in ferry lineups… But it was fun! And some designs were completely off-the-wall. This is one of A’s sheets from when she was very young.

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We had these magnets on our fridge for ages. We had pressed tiny flowers, glued colored tissue and the flower to the back of a clear “rock” and added a magnet. Beautiful! I think our last one just recently broke (the magnet-to-tissue bond isn’t great if you pick up the magnets many times over).

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Shrinky Dinks! The girls and I did these ages ago – can’t remember what in the world we did with them… This past Christmas Tt drew a bunch of mini B/W pictures and we shrunk them and made earrings for all the girl sisters + cousins. They were actually a big hit!
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These cute little felt mittens on a ribbon adorned all our Christmas gifts one year. We wrote “to” and “from”‘s on the back of each mitten. Of course, they coordinated with our wrapping paper and Christmas tree theme .

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We (meaning the girls, really) painted these bird houses, although I’m not sure why – we’ve never bought bird food… They so suit each girls personality – A is colorful and bright, B is thoughtful and precise. We have them outside now, which I hate to do for the potential wear and tear!

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More to follow! We have not yet even BEGUN to craft… Mwuahhahaha.

Lazy Moms Unite

New site to check out : TIPS for being a lazy mom! “How to get more done so you can have more fun!” is their logo and it sounds good to me! I’m totally, utterly, completely lazy at heart and love lazymoms for validating my lazy-butt attitude .

Here are my two “lazy tips” I’ve submitted so far:

1. I keep a small bucket for wandering toy pieces I find on the floor. Instead of walking ALL the way to put them away each time I find (step on) one, I put it in the “lost pieces” bucket.

Then one day when I’m feeling especially perky, I take the “lost pieces” bucket to the boys room and put each thing where it belongs.

p.s. WHILE a “lost piece” is in the bucket, it’s MINE. The boys temporarily lose use of it for not putting it away themselves. I put them all back in their boxes every month. Or so. Maybe.

2. I keep a sturdy tupperware in the car for boys toys, books, those danged McD’s toys that seem to multiply like rabbits, whatever. Not only does it help clean up the clutter, it doubles as a footstool for those raised carseats! (Needs to be sturdy for kid to be standing on to get kids own butt into his own carseat).

I’m going to get a second (for second boys feet) just for diapers/snacks/juice boxes so I have one less bag to pack out of the house each am.

The pursuit of laziness. Ahhhhh.