Is it me, or is it really quiet in here?

So, today my almost 5 year old started his second year of school, and unlike his first time at kindergarten, I was not an emotional wreck, I was a tiny bit sad to let him go again, but mostly kind of relieved, as he can be somewhat of an unstoppable force, you know, screaming, fighting, demanding, complaining, constantly talking… ummm, where was I? Oh yes, I was ok with him starting school again, despite my moments of ‘mommy-ness’!

My second son did not cry this time, he’s 3 and a half almost now, so he understands what is happening, he just really wants to go to school though. I am thinking that I may send him, but I fear that he’ll pee in his pants and tell only his brother who will totally lose his mind!

Treasure hunting for everyone!

Finally, when I was given a turn to pick the adventure on Day 6, of course I chose IKEA! Now, if you’re thinking that IKEA is not a real adventure, you’ve obviously never gone with my 3 kids!

We let them go nuts in the kids section, and I would say that it was a successful adventure!

Adventuring with kids tip #5: A small shopping trip can be considered an adventure if you talk about it in the right tone and add in a generous sprinkling of excitement!

On Day 7, we went on to what I would consider the most adventurous adventure; we went geocaching (which you can read about on our brand spanking new shared blog).

This was certainly the most interesting thing that we did all week, also the least expensive, and the in the closest proximity to our house! I was completely shocked at this world that I had not even heard about previously, but apparently geocachers have been doing their thing since 2000, so it’s possible that I may be just about the only one who does not know about this! If you have the opportunity, I really recommend trying it out, but maybe not with small kids, I think ages 7 and up should be fine.

Adventuring with kids tip #6: Adventures do not need to be all day activities or far away from home – geocaching can be a very inexpensive, nearby, mini adventure on days when you don’t feel like venturing too far or for too long.

From race tracks to corn fields

Day 4 of our adventures took us to Playdium for some kid-friendly Go Karting. Kids, ages 3 to 10 are allowed to go on with an adult, so of course my husband took both boys, one at a time. When the 3 year old came back to me, the first thing he said was “mommy, daddy was making my head fall out!”, which I think meant that his dad was driving waaaay to fast and causing the poor kid’s head to sway almost outside of the go-kart! When the 4 year old returned, I tried to get him on my side arguing that his dad was driving too fast, but unfortunately all he could talk about was how much fun it was and how cool his daddy was for driving so fast!

Adventuring with kids tip #3: Playdium has a “Toonie Tuesday” as well (for those of you that do not understand that term, it’s when establishments offer $2 deals on Tuesdays), so all of their outside games are $2 per game!!

On Day 5, we went to a corn maze and it was positively exhausting! It was also fun, but just more tiring than anything else! The kids though, had an extremely grand time, it seems to be the adventure for the week.

Adventuring with kids tip #4: If you’re going to a maze, or any event where you need to be able to keep track of your kids, dress them in like, VERY bright colors, with hats – they will be easy to spot!

My husband had the most difficult task of trudging through with the double stroller! I tried to help him out, but it was just too much for me, so if you’re going on an ‘off-road’ adventure with a stroller, you may want ensure that it’s bicycle type stroller!

On subways and other trains

As it is effectively the last week of summer and my husband is on vacation, we decided upon the theme “10 days of adventure” to celebrate the start of school!

Now, just to keep things in perspective, a walk to the nearest supermarket can constitute an adventure in our eyes, so some days may not be particularly ‘adventurous’, but surely our kids will think it is!

For our first adventure, we decided it was time to introduce our kids to the subway system, so we packed up (very lightly) on Friday evening and headed downtown to the Royal Ontario Museum.

Adventuring with kids tip #1: The ROM is free 1 1/2 hours before it closes everyday, and if you’re with small kids, that’s just about as much as they can handle! It is also half-priced on Fridays after 4pm.

We were on the subway back home at 10pm, which was quite an experience with 3 small kids, but they handled it pretty well, and the Toronto subway system is relatively safe.

On day 2 and 3, we took an impromptu trip to Ottawa to see Thomas the tank engine up close and personal.

Adventuring with kids tip #2: If you forget to bring milk for your baby, make sure that you send your husband with the empty bottle in search of sustenance, he will be looked upon kindly as the every-helpful dad. If, however, you have to go on this mission, be aware that you will be given looks of disapproval and disdain for being ‘the bad mother who forgot her baby’s milk’!

Stay tuned for more adventures and tips!

Use your word

Just like plain jane mom, my kids also have their own language, except that I have not been as good figuring out what some of their words actually mean.

“Anordita” is a pretty good one to use – if you ever meet my kids, say this word to them – I have no idea what it means, but it makes them laugh like there is no tomorrow! “M-O-Dodopee” is another good one, but it’s a pretty old one and is not really in use anymore. “Wowbawowya” also induces great amounts of laughter, but I do know how this one originated, and my 4 year old is very proud of it!

So, yesterday as they were playing, I heard them screaming “o-r-g-y, o-r-g-y”! (obviously without the dashes, but umm, I don’t want that kind of traffic to my site) I have no idea what it means, but I really hope they don’t start using that one in public!