Hello!
My family and I are in Canada, eh! We made it safe and sound, being in the car listing to the horrible news on what happened in Paris/France. What is happening with this world? I am just feeling very hopeless for humanity at this point. It frightens and eludes me at the same time. I am not getting into this now because it just upsets me too much. Most importantly, my husband’s family and friends are okay in France.
So, my “FRENCH” husband has his course all weekend and my son and I are exploring the area alone which is okay. We have been here all together several times and drive around and do whatever feels good with our car. We dropped my husband off in the morning and had breakfast at Tim Hortons. YUM! They have free wifi access which worked out well to do some more research on the area. Ottawa has it all, you guys! I am so in love with this city. After breakfast, our first stop was Carleton University to see and explore the campus. It is very nicely laid out and we found our way around easily. I saw huge banners on most of the buildings on campus of Carleton graduates and their achievements. Singers, famous writers, you name it. I thought this was pretty neat and encouraging.
There was a Starbucks that we used to warm up in for a while. It is cold here! I don’t really like winter or cold weather too much but for some reason in Canada, it is different. It feels okay – crispy cold but good. The key is to have the proper clothing. It does not matter how you look in your Canada Goose Winter Coat. The only thing that matters is that you stay warm. Especially in Canada. Being from Germany, I do know cold winters too. There were some really tough ones and as kids we all used to have full snowsuits and hats that covered your entire head, just the face peeked out. My son has one too! 🙂 He also has rain pants, rain boots and waterproof jackets; so do I. As my father always says “There is no bad weather – just bad clothes”.
My son is pretty energetic. He needs to be outside every day at least for a while. There is no way to keep him indoors without loosing your mind. So by having all the right equipment it is easy for us to go outside no matter what. My siblings and I used to be outside all the time. Literally! There was no computer, Playstation, cell phones etc. and we did not have too many toys either. But what we did have however was imagination. We played for hours in the park close to my parent’s house. We built dams, tree houses and caves in the bushes. Then we came back home when it started getting dark; all dirty but happy. We had a great childhood and I believe my brother and sister agree. Thank you mom and dad!
Being inside all the time is just boring. I want to give my son the same opportunities I enjoyed as a kid. I read a great book about raising kids even before I had my son. Sort of to be prepared and then it all comes differently anyway haha! It is by Harvey Karp and called “The Happiest Toddler on the Block”. The book is really great. Do read it if you have kids/toddlers (it mostly addresses 1-4 years old kids)
We went to the playground a bit until his little nose turned red due to the cold and I could not feel my fingers anymore. But guess what? He was so much calmer and happier afterwards, so it was all worth it. We went to a Thrift Store which was paradise for both of us. All the clothes and books made me so happy. And the toy section … well let’s say it was not the easiest thing to get him out of there. 🙂 Then it was almost time to pick up my husband but before, we stopped at Kardish! What an awesome store with a plethora of healthy food, supplements, drinks, creams, lotions and potions. I have to say it again: Canadians are the friendliest people. I have not met ONE rude person at any point while we were here. At Kardish they loved my son. They gave him a balloon that he has not taken off his wrist since.
We waited a bit for my husband and I saw this car:
How in this world can someone be that messy? Of course I waited for the person to return to the car. How could you not!? It was a normal looking woman! Make-up, hair done, the whole thing! I was just about to get out of the car and ask her a couple of questions but my husband came out of the building. We had dinner at HAO Sushi. I wrote a review about it here. Then we drove home. What a great day!
One more side effect of being outdoors when it is crispy and cold: You get tired! 🙂 My husband is sleeping after his long day in the classroom. I put my son to bed and he was gone within five minutes. Sleep well my loves – my son’s balloon attached to his wrist. <3
Thank you for reading my blog.
