Morning Splash Pad Adventures

Today I took my 4 year old to a downtown splash pad park.  This park has climbers, a large splash area and lots of trees and grass.  I took a blanket and staked a claim in a nice shady area and unloaded our gear.  (I didn't take as much stuff as it sounds - just her towel and clothes, snacks, water and a book for me)

Little Miss walked all around the splash part - she watched the kids shrieking and playing and getting soaked, then she came back and told me she was going to the playground area.  Okay, whatever.  Play over there in your bathing suit.  Just don't get hurt.

I actually succeeded in reading some of my book.  I'm struggling with the joy that comes with that as I feel I've neglected to watch my kid while I was immersed in a book.  However, nothing untoward happened with all the other kids and parent and school groups around.

Little Miss did finally get almost wet, but she is so hesitant to play in the various streams of water.  She talked to some of the bigger kids, stuck her arm through a water jet, but would not really go in and play.

Little Miss in the Splash Pad

My miss is the one in the hat.  She got her feet wet, but that's about it.  And she was so excited this morning to go to the Splash Park!

Next time we go we will have to bring more kids along (including older Sis who is still in school until tomorrow.)  I suspect she's more likely to play in the water with someone she actually knows.  She loves the sprinker at home - how is this any different?!

I know it's the 4 year old mentality I've discussed in other posts, but it can be frustrating.  At least there were climbers for her to exhaust herself on as well.  We had a good morning anyway.

Toodles!

Old Friends Becoming Mom (or Parent) Friends

I am ridiculously excited. I have a coffee date tomorrow with a friend (who I love!) that I have not really spent any time with since before I had kids. My oldest child is now 6 so it's been a while. She has also had 2 girls in the intervening years so my pre-child friend is fast becoming an awesome mom friend.

This friend of mine has spent all of her time over the last few years completing a degree, often by correspondence, while having babies and toddlers and of that. She just recently finished up and I am so excited for her, not to mention in awe of the things she has accomplished during the very young child phase of her life.

Her daughters dance at the same studio as mine and now with this crazy rehearsal schedule we've been running into each other more. I was so glad she was as keen as I was to get together!   I've tried reconnecting with other old friends with much less success.

In case you can't tell I am very much looking forward to this coffee date. Partly because I'm going to indulge in some fancy (expensive) coffee and snack, and partly because I miss sitting with my friends and just talking.

I hope this is the beginning of my return to doing the things I used to do all the time before kids. Of course the things will be modified and changed to fit my current lifestyle, but so will be the people I hope to do these things with!


Toodles!

Letter Writing in the Modern World

Yesterday I wrote a letter.  I mean a pen and paper, put it in an envelope with a stamp, letter.  I even managed to get it into the mail before an entire week had passed.

I don't know when I wrote a letter last.  I had only written a few lines before I started to get that hand cramp I remember so well from highschool days of writing pages of essays or whatever.  It made me a little sad to realize letter writing is so much work now.

When I was a kid I would write to pen pals, to friends who went away for a week or two in the summer, or even my best friend who went to University a year before I did.  I even still have the boxes of stationary I bought for those letter writing occasions.  Of course I pulled those out before I got down to business.  Stationary really sends the message that I definitely want to be writing to you.

When did you last write a letter?  I had to end my letter with the idea that my recipient would already know all the news I wrote down for her, which made me a little sad.  A good friend of mine moved away and then right away took a trip to Europe.  So I thought she would enjoy a note from me, in her new mailbox, when she returned.  I hope she appreciates it.

Tell me about your letter-writing experiences.  Does anyone have regular correspondence (not including Christmas cards)?  Am I the only one left who owns stationary?  I'm intensely curious if letter writing has not fallen as far out of fashion as I feel it has.  So let me know!

Toodles!