All of this is true. But that’s only the superficial reason. After all, being invited to an event and actually attending the event are not the same thing. So why does one drive through the early-morning rain, while listening to an endless string of questions from the back seat, when one would really rather be sleeping? Why does a parent put on 3D glasses and stand in line for cookies they can’t eat (because of the gluten)? Why does a mother make an origami jellyfish, or spend far longer than she would like examining every single thing in the gift shop? You could say she’s doing it for her child, and that’s true, but it still wouldn’t uncover the true rationale.

I accepted the invitation to see Luminescence at the Vancouver Aquarium. I watched a 16-minute version of The Polar Express and learned that electric eels aren’t actually eels, they’re fish. I watched lights bounce off of paper jellyfish and added milk to my daughter’s hot chocolate until it was the perfect temperature. And I did all of this because, for just a moment, I could see pure wonder on my child’s face. And when I did, I felt that wonder myself. I lived vicariously through my daughter’s joy, and it reminded me of something inside myself.

Moments like these are the real reason we have children. They’re the real reason we put up with the mess and the inconvenience. They’re the real reason that we go out of our way to accept invitations to events that we know our kids will enjoy, even if they require us to get out of bed early and endure a little bit of wetness. And they’re the real reason we tell stories about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. These moments are what make it all worthwhile, and we’re forever chasing them. Those moments of wonder, when we see the world through new eyes.

What lengths have you gone to, to see the wonder in your child’s eyes?

I saw lots of things during my day at the amusement park. And I thought I would share them with you, because that’s what I do on this blog. I share things with you.

Things You See at an Amusement Park

… a cleaning crew, mopping something off the stairs under the Wave Swinger (I just hope it wasn’t too gross).

… children who are so excited that they are literally bouncing up and down as they wait in line.

… your husband, having just as much fun on the train ride as the kids.

… teenagers making eyes at each other across a packed line-up.

… your toddler very seriously steering his “pirate ship”.

… teenagers riding the kids’ coaster ironically, and trying not to let anyone see how much fun they’re actually having.

… sticky faces covered in candy apple and candy floss and sugar from little bags of mini donuts.

… carnival game operators calling out to passersby along the midway, urging you to step right up and win a prize.

… little kids trying to stand as tall as possible while the ride operator holds up a measuring stick and passes judgment.

… parents waving over and over and over again as their child rides around and around and around on a ride.

… your children, having fun together – maybe even more fun than they’ve had together in their whole lives.

… bathroom line-ups that never seem to end.

… a toddler who is willing to wait patiently for his turn, because just this once the reward is worth all the effort to contain himself.

… much-needed sno kones to cap off a long day.

… world-weary parents, fishing their screaming children off of rides that somehow turned out to be all wrong.

… a child who falls asleep almost as soon as you buckle him in his car seat, because that much fun can tire a kid out.

… a lineup that makes you glad you arrived early, before all of these people showed up.

Do you make an annual trip to a local amusement park with your kids? What are your favourite parts? Tell me all about it!

The fact that I’m passing up this one campaign doesn’t mean I’m immune to PR pitches, though. Because I’m not. Do you want to know how to lure me in? It’s not by sending me a press release outlining how awesome your cleaning product is. It’s by offering me the chance to do something fun with my kids. Like, say, offering free tickets to the new show (cough Birds up Close cough) happening at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Because what parent can resist this?

Or this?

If you can convince me that my kids will even be learning something by attending, well, you’ve really got me. It’s now my solemn parental duty to attend, especially when it supplements the unit my daughter’s class did on birds of prey this year. Just think of the enhanced education she’ll be receiving!

Throw in free food afterward, and let my 6-year-old go back for seconds of the chocolate mousse, and I will kiss the ground you walk on.

And to cap it all off, who could resist a freaking baby beluga? I am not made of stone, people.

Here’s the point I’m getting at – I don’t think there’s anything wrong with brands connecting with bloggers, and hoping for a little bit of cross-promotion. We all just have to make our own decisions about what does and does not work for us. And if you throw in the chance to share a moment with a baby beluga, well, that never hurt anyone, either.

What do you think makes for a great evening out with your kids? Do you find baby belugas as irresistible as I do? And do you have a killer recipe for chocolate mousse? Please share!

PS – I’m still looking for your feedback. So please, take a moment to share the love and complete my reader survey. I’d really appreciate it!

I have been talking about Crafting my Life pretty much non-stop around here. I’m working hard to set the example that self-promotion is OK, because it is. I’m borrowing inspiration from Danielle LaPorte’s fabulous “radiate and state the facts” philosophy. But, that’s not all I’m working on.

I still have a book dream! If you haven’t heard about this, or you’ve forgotten, my big book idea involves collecting stories from first-time parents who welcomed their baby while living in Canada. I’m looking for pregnancy stories, birth stories, adoption stories, breastfeeding (or not breastfeeding) stories and stories about adjusting to life with a newborn. I’m collecting these stories because I believe that stories are important, and because I believe that there are very few books or resources that speak to the Canadian experience.

Putting on my aspiring birthy-baby-author hat, I want to tell you about a local Vancouver event that’s sort of up my alley. It’s BirthFest 2011, presented by the fabulous Birth Lounge collective. The collective got together out of their desire to create a community of care for expectant and new families. There are midwives, childbirth educators, a mama-run cloth diaper shop, mom and baby fitness instructors and more. All the kinds of people who make my hippie mama soul sing.

Their website says:

We’ve all heard that “it takes a village to raise a child,” but how many of us know what our village really has to offer? Local families are invited to discover their village with the wonderful support offered by members of Vancouver’s Birth Lounge.

See? My people, creating a village.

I’ll be dropping by this free community festival, and if you’re local, you might want to check it out, too. Here are the details:

When: Saturday, February 26, 2011 from 11am – 4pm
Where: Britannia Community Centre, Gym D
What: Shopping and services from over 50 vendors and organizations

To community, and babies!

We managed to find the studio and arrived on time. And we discovered that on this beautiful fall Saturday, we had the whole place to ourselves. I suppose that all the other children were out enjoying the weather. Suckers.

Hannah arriving at The Pod

We met Carlin Sandor, the creator of The Pod. She has a background in art, but worked for the government for years before she was laid off. While doing childcare to make ends meet, she was struck with idea of an art studio for kids. I love that she’s on her own Crafting my Life journey – I groove on people doing their Thing. And this is her Thing. She has dreams of expansion, and knitting circles, and sewing groups for teenagers, and a thriving centre for people of all ages to come and do art and handcrafts together. On so many levels, Carlin is singing my tune.

We made purses using bubble mailers and hockey tape. Before opening The Pod, Carlin did a bunch of focus groups with parents. There were two main themes that came out of those – make something useful, and don’t use glitter. I feel those parents – glitter is lovely, but evil.

Hannah colours before the class begins

Carlin shows Hannah what she’ll be making

Hannah cuts some tape, with a little help

Measuring Hannah for her bag’s strap

Hannah loved the studio. She was really quite disappointed that we only got to do one project. She wanted to make a robot and paint a rock and use the fabric scraps she found. Put a 5-year-old into a crafting paradise, and they could go all day, I think. Carlin graciously let Hannah take a piece of styrofoam home to use in a project. This piece of styrofoam has become Hannah’s Most Precious Thing. When I later asked her what her favourite part of the day was, she mentioned the styrofoam. 5-year-olds are really very cool, and sometimes surprisingly easy to please.

Hannah tucking her Most Precious Styrofoam into her new purse

When we were done at The Pod, we couldn’t just head home. We made our way to Commercial Drive and found a lovely bakery café. I had a chocolate croissant and a cup of tea, and Hannah had a gigantic brownie and a cup of hot chocolate. She informed me I had chosen the wrong thing, because apparently the brownie was the best ever. She kept telling me how this was a great day, and how much fun she was having just the two of us. And I told her the same thing, because it was fun. Time alone with Hannah is tragically rare for me. Having a 2-year-old in tow nearly all the time has that effect. Just watching her enjoy herself was really pretty awesome.

Hannah and her chocolate

After we finished up at the café, we stopped in at the vintage shop next door and ogled melmac dishes, old suitcases and gorgeous teak sideboards. Hannah settled on a vintage Hello Kitty mug. I managed to restrain myself, but I still sort of regret not buying the set of pastel melmac egg cups. They were just so pretty. Bygones.

It was great to get out and do 5-year-old stuff with my 5-year-old. To make art and explore a very cool neighbourhood and discuss the politics of kindergarten. I’m glad I did it. I hope to do it again soon.

Do you get one-on-one time with each of your kids? How do you swing it? And what kinds of stuff do you do? Tell me all about it!

^{* To be clear, we did not pay to attend the class, although there was no requirement that I blog about the experience.}

While I was chatting with one of the owners of Snugglings, she filled me in on a great event happening in Vancouver for the month of May. From May 1 – 30 a whole bunch of local designers are getting together to create Pop-Up Vancouver. They will have a temporary retail location at 1-4421 West 10th Avenue [map] where you can drop in and shop. I hear there will be loads to see, like baby and kids’ stuff, handbags, jewelry and art.

A handmade doll of Hannah’s made by a local mama

I love the idea of Pop-Up Vancouver. There is something really cool about having things that are designed and made right in your own back yard. There is something really cool about meeting people who are doing their thing and making their art. And there is something really cool about local designers coming together to support each other and work together. It makes me want to join hands and sing “Kum Ba Yah” because working together is how great things happen, even if it does sound a little schmaltzy. Just because your kindergarten teacher said it, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

This sense of community and shared purpose is the same sort of thing you also see at local craft shows. My father was a goldsmith and so I attended a lot of craft fairs as a kid. They have a unique vibe that I love. Vancouver’s biggest, Got Craft?, is happening this Sunday May 2. One of my local bloggy friends, and regular blog commenter, PoMo Mama will be there with her creations. Sadly, I won’t be able to make it this year, but I’ve been before and it’s definitely one-of-a-kind. A random stranger commented on 9-month-old Jacob’s aura. Do you see that at Wal-Mart? No, you do not.

Photo credit – PoMo Mama on Flickr

A few years ago I didn’t know about all the ways to buy locally produced stuff from people who live where I do. My new awareness is at least partly due to the way that handmade and local is catching on. Etsy, anyone? But it’s also partly because I’m looking for it. It’s surprised me to see how many ways there are to buy things that don’t involve a trip to the mall. I love it, really.

How about you? Do you look for local or handmade when you’re buying things? Are you an Etsy fanatic? Tell me all about it!

There are a lot of reasons to go to Northern Voice. It’s billed as “cheap, friendly and open to all”. It’s the premiere blogging event in Vancouver. And, as icing on the cupcake, I will be speaking!

I will be join the likes of Kerry from Crunchy Carpets, Harriet, The Green Mama and Danielle from The Momoir Project in a panel called Family Matters: Blogging the Parenthood Experience. They refer to us as “some of the nation’s top mommy bloggers”, which is really quite flattering. We’ll talk about the intersection of family life and blogging and that sort of thing. There are a lot of us, so it will be interesting to see how it pans out. Will I be able to get a word in edgewise? Given my love of talking, I think my chances are good, but you’ll have to be there to see for sure.

Our panel will be taking place from 2:30-3:15pm on the Saturday. Which is serendipitous, because I don’t think I can make the Friday in spite of the co-operative childcare. I’m really looking forward to the day. I’m also looking forward to attending the other panels and hearing what everyone else has to say. This is my first Northern Voice, and so I’m really excited to connect with some other local bloggy types.

(Aside – I originally wrote, “I’m really excited to hook up with some other local bloggy types,” but then I decided that might be misconstrued. Ahem.)

If you’re local, I’d love to see you there. If you’ve been before, I could also use some pointers. Either way, I will take lots of photos and report back on the whole thing. Wish me luck!

Look, if you scroll down they even have my photo! I am especially thrilled to be sharing the podium with fabulous La Leche League Leaders Sandra and Monique who will be talking about breastfeeding, and Karen Randall from New and Green Baby who will be talking about cloth diapering. They will be a tough act to follow, but I will certainly try.

If you are in the area, I would love to see you. Here are all the pertinent details:

Date – Sunday, April 18, 2010
Celebration Hours – 11am-4pm
My Talk – 2-2:30pm
Cost – by donation to Basics for Babies
Location – Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive

Come early and check out the exhibitors and hear the other speakers. Then at 2:00pm be sure to catch me. I will give a mom’s eye view of how maternity leave works, what it covers and how to apply. I’ll also share some history and compare maternity leave in other countries. Like I said, I really love to talk about maternity leave.

Lara, the event organizer is a super-cool mama who taught me Strollerobics when Hannah was a baby and led my Salsa Babies class when Jacob was little. She is one dynamic woman! It means so much to me that she asked me to give this talk.

Now, please wish me luck! And if you are a local come on out and say hi – I would love to see some friendly faces.

If you are in the area, I would love to see you. Here are all the pertinent details:

Date – Saturday, March 20, 2010
Time – 10:30am
Cost – $10 per person
Location – 11997 A 224th Street, Maple Ridge (street parking only)

To register, call the store at 604-466-8637. Space is limited, so call early and all that jazz. My talk will include an overview of how maternity leave works in Canada, a rundown of its history, and some discussion of the benefits parents and babies experience when they have access to quality leave. I will also address any questions that come up as best I can and coo over babies and / or expectant moms who show up. But that’s not all! Attendees also receive $10 in store credit to Tiny Fingers Tiny Toes, so when the presentation is over they can go shopping for some truly fabulous maternity and baby gear. Is there a downside? I don’t think so!

Stacy, the owner of the boutique, is a friend of mine and fellow breastfeeding advocate. She is an example to me of the kind of mama I would like to be – volunteering, running a business, raising a lovely family, supporting new families. It means so much to me that she asked me to give this talk. I am pretty much tickled all over, and my ego is growing to monumental proportions. So, hopefully, there will be room for it in the store.

Now, please wish me luck! And share words of wisdom if you have ever done anything like this before. Or, if you are a local come on out and say hi – I would love to see some friendly faces.

Then I had children. Tiny little people who grow at alarming rates and always need some article of clothing or another. Suddenly, spending $20 for each new pair of teeny-tiny pants seemed exorbitant. Let’s say your kid has 5 pairs of pants, which is maybe not even enough. That’s $100 in pants that they will outgrow in 3 weeks, and poop on, and generally cover in yucky kid goo. Suddenly, the thrift store with its $4 baby pants seemed much, much more appealing.

Thrift store shopping has other things going for it, too. It’s an environmentally-friendly choice, since you are giving new life to old things, and not consuming any additional resources. Re-using at its finest. Also, the variety of items that you can find in a large thrift store is unparalleled. If you want the perfect shirt to match a great skirt you found, you’ll likely have better luck at a thrift store with hundreds of shirts in different styles and colours. They won’t all be winners, but you only need one. Plus, second- hand shopping is like the best treasure hunt ever, my 5-year-old loves combing through all the teacups and saucers and picture frames and sparkly shoes.

On some random Tuesday you’ll find the kids and I out on a walk to our local thrift store. We check out the books and the dishes, and I always take a spin by the pots and pans in search of cast iron. Sometimes we buy clothes, sometimes Hannah spends her allowance on toys, and we always stop off to check out the kids’ shoes and the jewelry. I find 3 shirts I like for a grand total of $17, which is less than one new shirt from the mall. And when we get home I just give our new treasures a thorough wash and we’re good to go.

Do you like to comb thrift stores for hidden treasure, too? If so, care to share any great finds? I promise to be suitably impressed.