Take me out to the ball game

Did you know that baseball is coming back to Ottawa? If you haven't heard, we now have an Intercounty Baseball League team called the Ottawa Fat Cats!

I have to say I'm not a baseball fan, but I did go to several Lynx games years ago with friends and had a good time! We are planning to take Joel to see a game this summer. At 3 years of age he probably won't understand how the game is played, but I'm sure he'll still have a great time. How could you not have a memorable experience at the ball game? A bus ride to the stadium on a weekend afternoon spent outside, finding our seats, buying peanuts and cracker jacks, or hotdogs, and doing the 7th inning stretch (do they still do that?), it all sounds like a great time to me!

Tickets are $12 per adult and children under 6 years of age are FREE (ye-ah!!) The first home game is Saturday, May 15th against the Mississauga Twins @ 7pm. Since they are a new club and trying to establish the franchise in Ottawa, there are many great deals being offered.

For example, the Ottawa Fat Cats really wants the next generation to learn about the sport of baseball so they are offering a complimentary ticket to all seniors (60+) who bring one paid child to the ball park. They are also offering free transportation to the stadium!

According to the Fat Cats website, baseball fans and concert goers can board any OC Transpo bus by simply showing the bus driver a concert ticket or baseball game-day for that date.

For more information, to buy tickets or see the game schedule check out http://www.ottawafatcats.com.

Ottawa Public Library: Treasures for the Little Ones in Orleans

by Isabelle I still remember going to the library with my mom as a preschooler. I don't know how often we went, but I do know that every time we did, I took out a huge stash of books, often the same ones over and over again. Now that I have my own preschooler, I love our library trips. We are huge readers, and going to the library means that we're getting a little variety in terms of bedtime stories. With four books every night, we go through them pretty quickly.

My local branch of the Ottawa Public Library  is on Orleans Boulevard. It has a good selection of books for preschoolers in both English and French. There's also a smaller section of board books, again in both languages, for babies and toddlers. The children's section at the Orleans branch has kid-sized tables and chairs as well as a rocking chair for moms and dads.

This particular branch offers a number of different programs for kids of all ages. For instance, it offers several sessions of Babytime and Toddler Time each week, with stories, songs and games for the tiniest library aficionados. For preschoolers, the Orleans branch offers Storytime sessions on weekdays, and older kids (6-9) are invited to special events at the library, such as the Springfun program in April, where kids will hear a story, do a craft and participate in other activities. All of these programs are identified as "bilingual" on the library site, although it is unclear whether the stories and activities will be presented in English and French to the same group, or whether groups will be divided up according to language. For kids who need a little bit of help with schoolwork, the Orleans branch also offers a homework club on Saturday mornings for grades 1-10.

My little guy loves the library and I look forward to bringing my daughter to the baby programs when she's a little bit older. No matter the season, a Saturday-morning trip to the library is always a treat for our family!

Isabelle is the mom of 3.5 year old Jay and two-month old Rosie. You can also find her at Dr. Peach’s Blog.

Going to the dogs

by Brie There is a dog park within a five-minute walk from our house. We always walk by it when we go to pick up the husband from work. Recently I realized the wisdom of walking there and stopping.

The dog park is part of a larger park. On one side is a sidewalk and on the other side is a field leading to a play structure. Both sides offer optimal viewing. And if we visit both sides of the dog park I can prolong the experience even more!

Once we arrive at one side of the fence I like to let my three-year old daughter and nineteen month old son out. They like to peek through the chain link fence and walk along it. This also allows them to follow a dog from one end of the park to the other and burn off some energy.

My son has a deep love of dogs. From afar. He will screech happily as he watches them run around the park but if they come anywhere near the fence he will back up cautiously until he is hiding behind my legs. As soon as they wander away again his face is pressed right back up against the fence.

Yes, a visit to the dog park is a great thing to do with my kids. And if I grab a coffee from the cafe around the corner I am happy to let them watch frolicking dogs for as long as they want.

Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter “the girl” and eighteen month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

The Ottawa Public Library: The Ruth E. Dickinson Branch

by Shawna For those of you that use it, this will be a “no duh” kind of post, but for those of you who haven’t discovered it yet, your library is waiting for you! The Ottawa Public Library is a fantastic resource for parents, no matter what age your kids are!

Almost every Thursday I take my 4 year old daughter to Evening Story Time at our local branch, Ruth E. Dickinson (and pretty soon my son will be old enough to push back his bedtime to allow him to go too).  There, starting at 6:30, they read story books to groups of youngsters - half of which are usually in their adorable pyjamas - for half an hour, and when that's done they do a craft.

The library has regular events for all ages, including Babytime for the youngest set, on up to Homework Club for older kids.  Sprinkled into this mix are special and themed events, as well as some regular features such as conversation groups for various different languages.

Even if there's nothing scheduled, the library is a great place to go on a rainy or cold day to get out of the house and pick through the bins and shelves of brightly-coloured books for some free entertainment for you and your kids. They even have DVDs, and you can reserve most material.

I often like to log on from the comfort of my home computer and browse through the kid movies and books (and maybe some grown-up ones too) and add the ones that pique my interest to my "hold" list.  When it comes in I get an email letting me know that I've got a week to pick it up (which I do when we go to Storytime).  How easy is that?  I can even do this to secure passes to the museums of Nature, Science and Technology, and Civilization, though the waiting list for them is hugely long, so you have to be patient.  And as soon as I've used one of the passes and returned it, I go right back onto that list.

The best part of all this?  It's free!  Free!  Free!  I am always amazed to arrive at Storytime and not find every kid in Barrhaven there!

Shawna is mom to 4 year old Sage and almost-2-year-old Harris.  She has  been writing online since 2003, and her latest project is a fledgling photography blog.  Like many parents, she has a computer stuffed with thousands of pics of her kids.

All aboard! A visit to the Ottawa Train Station

by Vicky Call me crazy but I have a soft spot for train stations. Maybe it's from all those years I traveled by train to and from University for holidays or spring break. I remember the nervous excitement about going back home to see my family and old friends, and the feeling of  gloominess that the break was over too fast and I was heading back to reality of readings, essays and midterms.

When I take the train, I always sit next to the window. There's nothing like looking out on the countryside and watching it zoom by. The train slows down as it passes through small towns, the perfect speed for stealing a quick glance into  backyards. Sometimes the gentle rocking of the train lulls me to sleep. I rarely talk to the person sitting next to me, nor do I read. I just sit and watch and think. I find it extremely peaceful.

Like most 3 year olds, Joel loves playing with trains, so what could be more exciting than seeing them in person! Today my younger brother was arriving by train. Joel and I went to pick him up.

When we first arrived, the train leaving for Montreal was about to depart. We hurried to watch it pull out of the station. Joel grinned from ear to ear as the train's big wheels started turning. We waved at the people watching us as the train rode by. What was supposed to be a 2:30pm train was in fact late, so that gave us half an hour to explore the station - more than enough time for a 3 year old!

We started by looking at the antique model trains encased in glass. They were larger than most models. I wished there was a story to accompany those trains. It's a little piece of history that always intrigues me - the way people relied on train travel so much more years ago, and how entire communities were built around stops along the CN railway. Then we discovered the spiral ramp - which thanks to a very kind VIA rail employee, we were allowed to run up and down on despite not having tickets.

Next we tried out a couple of different seats, to find which one was the most comfortable. The massage chairs definitely won that prize, although for $1 for 2 mins we just sat in them to take a photo. Then we found an old luggage scale. Joel hopped on so we could weigh him. I put my foot on the scale to pretend that he had suddenly grown and gained a few pounds, which lead to some hysterical laughter! Then we checked out the restaurant briefly, picked up a few brochures and sat in a chair to wait for the train to arrive. A few minutes later we heard the chimes and an announcement that train number 42 was arriving! We rushed to the window to watch the train pull in. Quickly the passengers arrived up the escalator as Joel loudly said 'nope' for each one that wasn't his uncle. Finally Uncle arrived and we were ready to go! We paid the $2 for parking and headed home.

This summer I'm planning to take Joel on the train to Toronto to visit a friend. We went once before when he was 9 months old, but I have a feeling the next trip is the one he'll remember.

Vicky is the mom to 3.5 year old son named Joel and 9 month old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Wondermom.