Susan Sierra

We’re on the ferry, headed home after a long weekend o’ fun. Steve has taken the boys to the arcade and Jayla is settling in for a nap. We’re on one of the older ferries, with chairs you can move so I’ve rigged up quite the bed for Jayla (lucky girl!).

After our quest to find the perfect spot for our mini-vacation, we settled upon the Chateau Victoria. And what a perfect choice it was. Priority #1 while traveling with small kids is to book a one-bedroom suite. That way, the kids can go to bed in the bedroom, and we get to stay up past 9:00! I read lots of reviews about Chateau Victoria, so I knew it would be great…but it was even better than I expected. Extremely friendly staff, sparkly clean rooms and comfy beds…what more could you ask for?

I’m always a tad embarrassed upon arrival when the bellmen unload the mini-van and just barely manage to load all of our stuff onto one cart. This time was no different. Packing lightly isn’t something we’re very good at. We like to have all the comforts of home. And this time we also had to bring along all the supplies for an Easter egg hunt in the hotel room!

One of the highlights of our trip was the visit to Craigdarroch Castle. My oldest son Jacob (8) especially, thought it was “so cool”. Since I brought along my new bff (my lap top) I was able to check dinehere.ca while we were there and found some great restaurants too. Shizen Sushi served up some of the best sushi we’ve had and Café Mexico was fun and casual for the kids.

Well, the idea of a nap for Jayla was a nice one, but who am I kidding? It’s back to the play area we go…

In the early 90’s, I was working at JRFM. I was single, no kids. I’d finish work at 2:30 in the afternoon and have the rest of the day to myself. I’d usually go for a rollerblade (for however long I wanted), cook dinner for one, maybe talk on the phone to a girlfriend and hmmm…that was about it. I remember saying the words “I’m sooo busy”. hahahaha. I always laugh when I think of that. Here’s my day tomorrow…

10:30-Noon - Jackson, soccer game
11:15-12:15 - Jacob, hockey game
Noon-3 - Jayla, birthday party at Go Bananas
2:15-5:00 - both boys, birthday party at Planet Lazer
5:00-8:00 - Jacob’s year-end hockey party - swimming and trophy presentations

Of course I also need to grocery shop, buy presents for those parties, oh, make dip for the hockey party…

aaaaaaaaaah……

Happy Spring Break!

When I got home from work on Friday, I noticed Jackson (6) had left some art work on the fridge…

The best part though, was the message on the back…

Translation if you need it: “I’m pretty sure you’ll like this, Mom”.

…and as a matter of fact, I do;)

So this year, we wanted to plan another quick getaway after Christmas. We bounced around some ideas with the kids. Victoria, Seattle, Whistler…of course there are lots of options. But the convenience of being able to get to our destination in 15 minutes, combined with the fact that hanging out in downtown Vancouver is a pretty fun way to spend a few nights…brought us right back to the Palisades.

Sometimes it’s tough to recreate the magic of an event the second time around, but this year’s trip did that with flying colors. I think it’s partly because the kids are a little older now and are becoming more fun and less work all the time. We dined out more than last year…Hon’s for Chinese (and I use the word “dine” loosely for that place…but definitely a fun experience for the kids), great sushi down the street and dinner and breakfast at Zin’s (located right in the hotel). Have you ever eaten at Zin’s? The food is outstanding, the presentation is lovely and the staff is wonderful…completely friendly and welcoming to the kids.

During our stay, we went for a long walk down Robson street…in the pouring rain with 5 umbrellas, snuck in a trip to Science World, swam in the hotel, stayed up late and slept in (a little).

Next time you’re stuck as to where to go with limited time, don’t forget about your own city. It could prove to be a great family adventure.

I actually wrote this at this time last year, but we ended up having a similar adventure this year, so I thought I’d post this now…with part 2 coming soon…

We had planned on going to Whistler for a few days over the holidays, but when that fell through, I needed a back-up plan in a hurry. I came up with something that seemed kind of strange at first. I booked us a getaway to…downtown Vancouver! Yep - just a 15-minute drive from home. Not even enough time for fights in the car!

Kids love hotels, so really, you can have a great time in one whether you’re on the other side of town or the other side of the world. If you’ve got elevators, a pool and ice machines, it doesn’t really matter where you are. There are a few must-haves in a hotel when traveling with kids….one for me is definitely a kitchenette. It’s nice to be able to do at least one meal/day at “home”. Another necessity – an extra bedroom! Sitting in the dark after the kids fall asleep isn’t ideal, so if you get a suite, the kids go in the bedroom and you can stay up past 8.

I soon discovered that what I was looking for was not so easy to find in Vancouver. That was until I came across The Pacific Palisades. It had it all…a kitchenette, extra bedroom and a pool – yeah!

To say the staff was outstanding is an understatement. They were friendly and helpful and so nice to the kids…even inviting them to the wine and cheese (and juice) reception. Which is where we received what would become one of the highlights of the weekend…the card for complimentary Haagen Daz…delivered to our door! Yippee!

We ended up having the time of our lives. We shopped Robson Street, ate out in the hotel at Zin (YUMMY), swam lots and rode the elevators. It was a fantastic spur-of-the-moment getaway that my kids are still talking about.

Here’s one of the boys waiting for that tub of Haagen Daz…

First off…I’m back. I’m going to try really hard to continue my blog on a regular basis. It’s a time-zapper though, that’s for sure!

My son Jacob (8) is in hockey for the first time. It’s been a bit of a challenge for him as most of the kids he plays with have been playing for a few years already. He has taken that challenge with flying colors though…bouncing out of bed at 6am on the weekends, smile on his face, and getting fully dressed himself before waking Steve up.

He played in his first tournament over the holidays and on December 28th at 3:57 of the first period…HE SCORED HIS FIRST GOAL! Yippee!

My husband Steve is a piano player (and a really amazing one if I may say so myself) :) Yesterday, Angela Kelman and the rest of her band were over at our place for a rehearsal for a show they’re doing this weekend.

I took Jackson (5) and Jayla (2) downstairs to listen to the band (not a bad way to spend a morning at home!) Jayla just wanted to dance, but Jackson chose to lay on the floor with his eyes closed and really take it in. He opened his eyes after a few songs and whispered to me…

“Mom, when I hear this music I feel like I can do anything!”

We have 2 kids in ball, 2 different teams, 2 different sets of games, one other kid to occupy and only 2 parents (one of which coaches both teams).

This past weekend was the big ball tourney of the year…and the wettest weekend in awhile. We spent all day Saturday and Sunday getting kids ready for ball, getting them to ball, getting them back home to dry off and then getting them ready to go back to the ballpark.

My biggest challenge was trying to watch an inning or two while keeping Jayla happy at the same time. 2-year-olds aren’t that keen on sitting still for more than, well, 5 seconds. So, I scrolled through my interior list of parental tips and came up with the perfect solution.

Candy.

That one actually comes from the old list of “things I will never do when I’m a parent” but now do.

During just one bag of Skittles, I got to see Jacob (8) get someone out at first base and crack a double, walk over to the other diamond (kid and candy in tow), and see Jackson (5) whack the ball and run around the bases with the look of “that’s my mom watching me play!” plastered on his face.

Sugar…is sweet.

At dinner we were marveling that Jayla (2) sometimes looks like her cousin Shelby (13) did when she was two. I said to the kids “well, it makes sense because Jayla is part of me, Shelby is part of Auntie and Auntie and I are from the same place.”

And Jacob (7) said “yes, you and Auntie came from the same opening”.

*****

Today we saw the Wendy’s commercial where they are chanting “Big Juicy Burgers, Big Juicy Burgers”.

Jackson (5) asked “Why would they call them juicy? They’re not juicy, they’re greasy” :)

That sounds like something my dad would say. After 70 years, almost every meal he has is still “the best ever”!

While my description of how Mother’s Day would be was slightly tongue-in-cheek, it turned out to be not that far off. The kids slept until 8:46. 8:46!! The boys actually woke up much earlier but decided to watch a show and let me sleep. And Jayla just slept a couple hours longer than usual. On Mother’s Day! How great is that?

I was then showered with artwork that now proudly adorns my fridge.

Aside from one ball game, we didn’t have anywhere else we had to go today. We just hung out and enjoyed the day together. And an item my sons got in a birthday party goody bag yesterday really added to the festivities.