The Travel Itch

Right before I go on a trip en famille - I get a travel itch.  It's a worry-ing, nervous, anxiety-ish type of itch (it's the way I am). 

And those who know me - know my worries go straight to my tummy.  Never a good thing.  Especially when travel approaches.

So instead...I focus (almost imprint) on something to BUY for a trip.  (I'm not a buy buy buy type of girl usually - I'm fairly un-splurge-ous).

Trip before last I had to buy this:

Please Mum Puddle Jumper - it is great

And that coat was perfect for chilly, rainy walking!  (and shipping was free and it was on sale...so really it was meant to be!).

Going to the cottage, I learned about...and had to BUY

Go-pod - it is le great

And the babe LOVED hanging out in that go-pod (and I loved packing it - super portable).

Are these itches so capricious?  When it's the kids who benefit?  And if it helps direct my energies away from my tummy....can't be bad right?...

And so leaving this weekend on another trip and I have a bit of an itch...

Peg Perego Pliko 3 - kijji-ing it right now

If you've got an itch you have to scratch right?...

FREE RIO screening in Toronto

Dear readers, rsvp directly to Nicole.McKnight@Ketchum.com to reserve your seats for this free screening. 

I can tell you, we've seen RIO, great music - no scary parts - funny dialogue.

FREE Concerts at Ontario Place

FREE Family-field trip alert for this weekend!

THE WHERE: Echo Beach outdoor concert venue - Ontario Place

THE WHAT:   Friday August 5, Canadian indie-rockers Sloan will take the stage at 9:30 pm, with opening acts starting at 7:30 pm

Saturday August 6 will feature a double-bill performance.
4 pm  Toronto Concert Orchestra
9 pm Platinum Blonde

The concerts are in partnership with Live Nation and free to guests as they enjoy free admission to the grounds of Ontario Place throughout the summer, which is presented by CTV. For more information about Ontario Place’s 40th Anniversary Concert Series please visit www.ontarioplace.com/concerts or echobeach.ca

Cool FREE Places To Beat The Heat

With record hot days, the following are some free ideas on where to cool off, en famille, for an hour or the whole day. . .

❂Public library
❂Public pool
❂Wading pool
❂Splash pad
❂City cooling station
❂Mall
❂Beach/Lake

Remember to keep kids (and yourself!) hydrated! Water is great but active sweaty bodies need electrolytes replenished in great heat-ish days like today. So gatorade-type drinks is not only a treat but a good thing for big kid bodies. (Popsicles, freezies, ice cubes and home-made slushies are also great treats to cool off hot little bodies)

Offer babies lots of feeding opportunities.

Stay cool my friends!

#TravelTuesday | CN Tower

Visiting the CN Tower in Toronto?  Here's a hot tip...make a reservation at the Tower's 360 restaurant and receive complimentary admission to the viewing level.

This means you can by-pass the LONG elevator line up (both going up and coming down).  Enjoy the atmosphere of the revolving restaurant. Child's menu starts at $17 (kid-friendly choices of pasta with tomato sauce, roast beef and french fries...) .

Restaurant is not stroller friendly so bring a carrier for baby.

#TravelTuesday | Rent it

Traveling with kids is awesome - taking all the baby/kid gear is not awesome. 

THUNDERBOLT CONCEPT!:  Rent your baby/kid gear!  No more hauling of highchairs and jamming in jumperoos.

When we go to France, we have needed carseats & boosters, strollers & highchairs - and thankfully family has sourced it all out for us each time...but I can tell you - not packing those everyday must-haves are awesome.  If you don't have family at your destination - renting the gear is the way to go.

In Canada, you can google (google is such a great verb) a site like http://www.weetravel.ca/ - which is all about renting baby and kid gear. 

And also, check out my friend Corinne's site www.havebabywilltravel.com for tips (I love her Have Stroller Will Travel series)

Parent Club Reviews: Kodak EasyShare Mini

THE WHAT: The KODAK EASYSHARE MINI Camera

THE SIZE: as big as a credit card. really.

THE FEATURES:

Kodak's Share button is a one-touch-sharing tool to KODAK Gallery, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, YouTube, FLICKR and more.

10 MP

3X wide-angle optical zoom

Blur reduction

Kodak’s Face Recognition feature

video with audio capture

THE WHY: Because parents' bags runith over - this compact camera is perfect for family-field trips. Pop it in your pocket and you are good to go. Plus, the Share button takes your photos everywhere you want them to go (for us it's mainly Facebook or Twitter) easily. It's even small enough that kids can hold, click and share.

Parent Club Quick Tip

Headed on a family trip for March Break? This is the week to check passports to ensure everyone's (including kids) are up to date!

Passport Canada has online forms for Adults and Children to help make your passport getting easier.

TIP: one parent can be the applicant for a child and the other can be the guarantor -as long as each have up to date Canadian passports.

Parent Club Family Calendar

What's going on for families this weekend in the GTA?

The Toronto Motorcycle Show
South Building, Metro Toronto Convention Centre(beside the CN Tower)

When:
Friday, December 10, 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 11, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 12, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Admission:
Adults: $16.00
Juniors (Ages 6 to 15): $10.00
Children (under six years): Free when accompanied by an adult
Family Pass (two adults & two juniors): $38.00

Specifically for families:
Yamaha Riding School for Kids: Yamaha Canada and Canadian Motorcycle Training Services present a free opportunity for kids aged 6 - 12 (certain conditions apply) to learn to ride on the latest Yamaha TT-R off-road motorcycles.

Parent Club Review: Medieval Times Thrills Kids' Birthday Parties

THE WHAT:

Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament - Toronto, ON castle

THE WHY:

It all started with a discussion about where to have Thing 1s 10 year old party. Being October, we couldn't have it in the backyard. Being pregnant, I didn't want to go to great lengths to host at home. Solution? I offered to take a few friends out to something special. Thing 1 said "I'm ok to go to Medieval Times for my birthday".

THE BONUS:

• Kids study medieval times (the history - not the dinner theatre) in Grade 4 curriculum - so this party theme fit perfectly with things they had already studied #teachablemoment.
  
• Medieval Times has a complete birthday party package: dinner, activity, photograph, cake and souvenir programme & cup & banner (think: loot bag!). No clean up by parents required!

THE FOOD:

Eating with your hands has never been so fun! Tomato soup, half a chicken (the kids LOVED the chicken), a spare rib, half a potato, garlic bread (kids asked for 2nds of garlic bread - which the serf nicely and dutifully brought)and a pastry. Drink choices at table are water or Pepsi - beer & wine available at the bar.


THE TOURNAMENT:

Edge of your seat entertainment. From the horses, to the knights, to the falcon, to the story-line. Kids cheered & booed. Smiled and laughed. Completely kept their attention!

THE RECOMMENDATION:

Go forth to Medieval Times for your next celebration! With complete honesty, I can share the kids had an awesome experience. Be prepared to go past a gift shop in order to enter the stadium (read: "Mom can I get that?". The noise levels can be loud. There is a bad guy who cheats. However, the tournament is action packed for the whole family. There are no bad seats. The food is good and servings are humongous.

Medieval Times is a great place for a birthday party - also a fun family field trip - so keep it in mind over the winter holidays as a go-to destination.

November/December promotion: Medieval Times is running a seat sale – all seats $35.95(upgrades additional) so it’s fun and affordable over the holiday break! (http://www.medievaltimes.com/)

Our friends at Medieval Times sponsored our experience

CBC Kids - culture days

There are some pretty cool family field trips coming up - presented by Kids' CBC - across Canada that you should know about...

Toronto is Sept 23:
Kids' CBC Live Show on stage from 2-3pm, with Patty, Sid, Mamma Yamma, live music from Jason Collett with Zeus, and Great Lake Swimmers, with a special appearance by CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence. All day long you can visit the Kids' CBC tent, have your photo taken in the What's Your News set and meet Gi-Ant from the show, and do arts and crafts with Artzooka. Yonge-Dundas Square

Winnipeg is Sept 25:
An open house at CBC Winnipeg, from 10-4, meet Whyatt from Super Why. Tour the production facilities, meet CBC Manitoba personalities, storytelling and giveaways for kids.

Fredericton is Sept 25:
An open house at CBC Fredericton, from 12-3, meet Bo on the Go and play in the Bo Zone. Tour the production facilities and mobile broadcast truck, meet CBC personalities, activities for kids.

Check out more information on their site: http://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc/#/parents/appearances/

Tips for Great Wolf Lodge

Just back from a Great Wolf Lodge visit (click that link to read a detailed review of a GWL experience). Here are some tips (gleaned from the Niagara location) on Great Wolf Lodge.

• Though you cannot check in until 4pm you can pre-register at 1pm. This means you can do your paperwork and get your wristbands (thus enter water park) straight away. The lockers in the change rooms are big enough to hold a backpack for your change of clothes. GWL takes down your cell phone and calls when your room is available thus allowing you to play and not have to check back with front desk.
  
• WRISTBANDS -> your wristband is your room key, lock, wallet, kid keeper. Your wristband is micro-chip-connected to your room - so you or your child can open the room door just by pressing the wristband against the doorknob. If your child becomes separated GWL staff can check the child's wristband to see his/her room and thus family name, contact information. The wristband also locks the lockers in the change rooms. You can also use your wristband at the restaurants to have bills put on your final bill.
  
• Story time is at 8pm - yes, your kids can wear pjs. (FREE)
  
• Check out the Kids Club art area - lots of great activities and toys (some FREE).
  
• Restaurants - the all-you-can-eat buffet has everything...but if you have kids like mine - they eat two things and are ready to go. For smaller eaters the restaurant downstairs has lighter fare (BLTs, Bagels & cheese, pre-packaged salads). The one con is the "healthier" choices - tho on the menu - are twice the price.
  
• You must check out at 11am - but you may stay and play until 9pm.

Finally, pack snacks for the drive home. Kids will be tired and hungry after all their fun.

Interview with Lays ChipTrip Spokesperson: Kathy Buckworth

Parent Club: You are the spokesperson for Lays ChipTrip - what is that?

Kathy Buckworth: I'm working with Lays to promote their ChipTrip program, which has been developed with the Canadian Tourism Commission, as a way to encourage Canadians to become tourists in their own cities and provinces, or to travel to new provinces and explore their local attractions. I've found their website extremely helpful in finding activities, making plans, and of course redeeming the points has been a huge cost saver for me. I already buy Lays chips, and I have four kids, so our points are adding up just through moderate snacking. I think most families would be the same.

Parent Club: A new survey says staycations are the new trend for families...why do you think that is?

Kathy Buckworth: Over 75% of Canadians say they won't be taking a summer holiday at all, will be staying near home or vacationing within their own province for 2010. I think it's a combination of the economy as well as the fact that it can be hard to get away for longer periods of time in the summer with an active family. Canadians are also very excited about seeing their own country, having recently seen the beauty of Vancouver/BC during the Olympics, and making an effort to support their local economies and stay a bit closer to home.

Parent Club: What are your top 5 suggestions for staycation ideas?

Kathy Buckworth:
1. Plan the staycation - whether it’s a day outing or an overnight venture- with the kids. Going on to the www.lays.ca website is a terrific way to search for ideas and inspiration, across Canada.

2. Keep a budget in mind, and look for activities which can fit easily into it. Redeeming ChipTrip points can really help in keeping costs down.

3. Plan for both rainy day and sunny day alternatives.

4. Be a tourist in your own city. Live like a tourist - take transit, guided tours, explore city landmarks and quiz the kids on their knowledge afterwards so that they can become an ambassador for your city as well.

5. Plan your meal stops (check the www.lays.ca site for food options from Subway, to Boston Pizza, both great for families) as well as some unstructured, or downtime, which kids always need.

Parent Club: Any tips for keeping kids entertained in the summer?

Kathy Buckworth: I like to schedule the weeks whether they're in formal camps (day or overnight), or at home at what I like to call "MomCamp", or "DadCamp". I sit down with them and we plan out the top 3 things they'd like to do (beach visit, a fair or exhibition, movies, etc), and then we try to make sure each child gets to do at least one thing on their wish list. My kids are involved in quite a few sleepover camps during the summer, and after all of that activity while away, I find they do need a schedule of activities when they're at home to try to avoid that "Mom I'm bored!" syndrome.

Parent Club: Where will we find you this summer? (events, launches, twitter, vacation, funny farm?...)

Kathy Buckworth: I'll be everywhere! The kids are off to camps the first part of the summer, and I'll be travelling out west to speak and do a book tour. I'll be Tweeting the whole time, (plus exploring some attractions in BC and Alberta) and returning home to spend a week at a cottage in Ontario with the whole family, as well as doing a lot of day trips. We're already planning a trip to the Polar Mountain Express, and I've promised a shorter trip to Medieval Times as well. And yes, you might just find me poolside with a glass as well. Have BlackBerry, will travel.

Follow-up on Travel With Kids

So after you take your kids on a plane trip (to Europe for example where said kids become Travel Troopers) - we have some valuable after-travel-tips.

• Jet lag equals one day for every hour of time change (an Air Canada steward told me this). So if you fly to France - it will take about 6 days to get over the jet lag (6 hours difference between Canada and France).
  
• Have a comfort food ready in the freezer for when you get back. (Homemade pasta sauce was defrosted & fusilli was cooked the night we returned home - on the table in less than 20 minutes).
  
• Have your Mom, neighbour, friend stock your fridge with essentials. (It's nice not to have to dash out for milk when you've just gotten home).
  
• Try to get the kids to stay up. (When going to Europe with kids, they want to go to bed at 7pm but wake up at 4am when they get back to Canada)

Also, when you get back from a trip - you have fresh eyes onto the state of your house (good ghandi! We live like THIS?!). Take advantage and spend some time spring cleaning excess toys/stuff.

Travel troopers

Wednesday: Location: Toronto Airport. No indoor playground in Terminal 1 but kids more than happy to climb on golden lion statue near gate. Actually, many kids climbing on lion. Perhaps lion is the indoor playground?

The travel gods have smiled upon us. Each seat on the airplane has an individual TV with movies & cartoons on demand. PLUS, the kids meals arrived (plain pasta w. cooked carrots & peas, a Motts applesauce + a bear paw cookie).

Kids watch Princess & The Frog and then go to sleep for the next 5 hrs. BLISS.

Thursday: Location: Munich airport. Kids wake up after "big airplane" and want breakfast. The menu chose is pretty much German terminal is sausages & saurkraut. Kids settle for margarita pizza.

Take shuttle bus to "small airplane" (where we walk up the stairs, in open air, to the plane). Bumpy, bouncy, plane ride. Happy to finally arrive (with luggage) in South of France.

Friday: Location: South of France. Car ride 3 hrs north (we are headed to middle France for a wedding). Kids listening to ipods (thank you Justin Bieber & Michael Jackson). HAPPY.

Take kids out to a bar/cabaret to celebrate various family birthdays. Thankfully, with time change midnight in France is only 6pm in Canada - kids were good to par-tay.

Saturday: Location: Middle of France. Wedding day. Travel gods still smiling on us. There is a playground just outside the city hall where the marriage is to take place. Kids play with cousins throughout picture taking. That is until, Thing 2 runs up to me covered with blood (ah...the 1st nose bleed).

Take chid to a bar (I'm telling you France has a bar on every corner) to get cleaned up.

Wedding lasts until 2:30am - at which point kids and I are super le tired. Enough - I call "go to bed"!

Sunday: Location: French Countryside. We are having lunch at Aunt Maria's (a paella of course) before our 3hr trip back. I realize kids haven't asked to watch TV in days. They are happy enough to follow Aunt Maria's dog around for hours (damn dog slobbered all over my bag!).

Monday: Location: Avignon. We are taking ONE day to visit the
country rather than family. Since Thing 1 is studying Medieval History in school we decide to go see the Palais des Papes.


Thing 2 got a bit bored half way through the tour - so she and I started making our own narriation about the castle "This is where the princess slept, this is where the servants worked" (ignoring that it was really only Popes who lived there)

(Note: If you ever visit the Palais des Popes it is very stroller un-friendly).


We also visited the le pont d'Avignon (you know the song:"Sur le pont d'Avignon").

It completely bummed out Thing 2 as apparently singing and dancing was expected rather than this ->

The next 1/2 hr contained "this is DUMB" and "I'm bored" while the tour of the bridge was finished. FUN TIMES.

Wednesday: Location: South of France. Whole family flocks to spend one last day with us. Older cousins are keeping younger ones occupied while parents snack on saucisson. MUST PACK.

Thursday: Location French Airport. So apparently there some sort of volcano business while we were away?

I have never seen a board with so many cancellations! We fly to Munich then waitlist for Frankfurt. In Frankfurt we are stranded. STRANDED.

to be continued...

Mom's weight, eating and body image

I have been thinking about this post for a while.  Partly inspired by my friend (you know who you are) and Phat Mummy (aka Maria who writes an awesome blog over at the Yummy Mummy Club about weight and mummydom).

If you know me, have met me, or saw me on the TTC platform - I am a skinny, slight, slender-ish person.  Always have been.  Always.  My confession: I have a digestive disorder, IBS-D, which is unreliable, embarrassing and the ball on my friggin' chain.

So when, someone says "I hate you -  you're so skinny" (hello mom!) I accept it (though - would you say this to someone on the other side of the scale?! "I hate you - you're so fat" no - you wouldn't because it is a faux-pas to talk about someone being heavy - however skinny girls - they are hate-worthy).

See the thing about IBS-D is that I don't get the nutrients of my food.  An exciting event, stress, certain foods...can all make me drop pounds.  I lost 4 lbs at an all-inclusive resort (and don't say "I wish I could do that" because I call liar liar pants on fire - you don't want this - you eat and nothing stays in - you can't go out into the world - you are in pain - you are embarrased - you have no control over your life).  I never know when or for how long an IBS crisis will strike.  So at that all-inclusive resort - I ate rice and chicken - for 7 days - and still the IBS thunderstorm descended. 

Through my teen years, I delt with my IBS by not eating until it was "safe" (read: I'll eat when I get home and there is a bathroom at the ready).  So I got the anorexic tag.  (Elaboration: I still don't eat when I go out - it is years and years of habit management - I don't need comments, advice or snorts about "that's how you stay thin" - no this is how I manage having a life and going out into the world - everyday - of my life).

In September 2007, I weighed 99 lbs (my prince had suffered a pulmonary embolism and the stress of it sent a brutal thunderstorm) - I looked horrible (so my mother-in-law kept telling me).  Weighing so little also makes one really friggin' tired - not good when you busy leading two little children through life.

I've been to a nutritionist, counsellors, doctors and naturopaths.  I have a prince who loves me so much that he points out the washrooms to me whenever we go out in the world.  I have family & friends who don't snort when I have a liquid lunch while they eat at a restaurant. 

I must say - there was a hiccup in my grand food management plan.  When my kids started saying "I'll eat when Mommy eats" when we went on a family field trip (we all know, by now, I'm not going to eat - not because I'm on a diet but because when I have an IBS thunderstorm it is sudden and raging - and that can't happen when I am the only caregiver on a family field trip - I have to have control over my body).  So, I eat a couple bites of a granola bar while I supervise the my kids eating a full and balanced lunch. (and before anyone gets rant-y on me: I eat full & balanced meals all the time - at home - in front of my kids - they know I get thunderstorms - we don't talk about #diets, #weight or #gettingfat.  We talk about #being active, #healthy food and #going out).

I am inspired by my friend and Phat Mummy because I connect on the other-side-of-the-scale to their weight, eating and body images.  I support anyone who makes the decided-effort to take off - or put on - weight in a healthy fashion.  In my little opinion, everyone has an imperfect body and we can chose to accept it, manage it or change it -- but I don't think anyone should be hated because of it. 

I'm trying to teach my kids that weight doesn't matter - it's how you feel in your own skin which counts.

Dominican Republic and Me

Back from our unplugged family vacation.  Leave it to me to lose 4 lbs in 7 days at an all-you-can-eat, all inclusive, holiday (le sigh).  

However, overall, it was a great getaway.  Here is a quick round-up:

Our Dominican home (our top floor room faced the Atlantic Ocean)

Our Dominican setset (we watched for Pirates but Johnny Deppe didn't show)

Dominican beach (not shown: my prince boogie boarding - I tried but the darn board kept getting away and hitting me in the face [not elegant].) 

We did a day trip into the outback (we be adventurers!)

Laughed out loud upon reading this

Oh, and it isn't MY family's vacation unless there is a medical emergency...(to be continued...)

Field Trips: Discuss

Field trips:  Good? Bad? Discuss amongst yourselves (or comment below - because comments make our day - really comments and chocolate.

Recently, I received 2 field trip forms...one for Thing 1 and one for Thing 2...here is the killer -->same field trip!  Now, anyone who has gone on a field trip knows you sign up to go with ONE respective class.  Here was my quandry:  whose class do I accompany?  (complete lose/lose situation there - if I go with one child - the other child will be upset and vice versa - isn't parenthood grand?)

I have a theory about field trips - they were the reason happy hour was invented (and invented by June Cleaver).  I bet June cracked out a martini, while making roast beef on a Wednesday night, because she spent all day at Beaver's field trip.  It's a theory.

I have gone on more than one field trip.  The positive is that you spend time with your child.  You also get a look into the class life.  Child's friends & frenemies.  Teacher organizational skills.  What the other kids get in their lunchboxes (my 1st kindergarten field trip: a kid had a can of coke, a baloney sandwich and a dunkaroo...despite my nudges...the sandwich was the only thing not eaten).

The negative of a field trip is that you are on a field trip.  A day off paid work.  Noisy school (or TTC) buses.  Sketchy-clean-factors of public bathrooms.  The responsibility of 4 or more kids on public transportation/in public spaces (that's 4 or more uber-excited-on-a-field-trip kids who are probably not on best behaviour).

I'm putting it out to the Club - what do you think about field trips (make my day and comment).

*re. my field trip quandry - Thing 1's teacher chose two other parents so I'm off the hook, available for the other class.

Parent Club Review: Great Wolf Lodge (2)

There is a reason why Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls was the 2009 Traveller's Choice Winner: Best For Families; it accommodates adults and children.

For example, the buffets (breakfast, lunch and dinner) have adult stations with made-to-order omelet and pasta. One can also find child-sized islands where the child can take a non-breakable plate and choose from child-friendly foods (ie. french toast sticks, chicken nuggets, mac & cheese). When our waitress realized someone didn't finish their apple juice a take-away cup was offered so the juice could be finished later. Smart!

Other food choices include Pizza Hut Express, and the Bear Claw Cafe. Even the Trading Post Gift Shop (on-site) has single serving cereal containers and milk in case you choose to have breakfast in your room.

*Note on the Trading Post Gift Shop: Surprisingly, the gift shop has items starting as low as $2.00 - so the kids can bring home a souvenir and the parents don't have to break the bank. Additionally, Simmonds notes that many items are produced in the Niagara region - supporting the local artisans and local economy.

After meeting Wiley at breakfast - we head to the 10am breakfast show in the lobby (free for all). The kids LOVED it!

We walked the animal-image carpet (in fact - they do a great job of animal imagery throughout the facility) to the Cub Club Room where the kids could craft their hearts away. They chose to colour their own Great Wolf T-shirt with fabric markers (cost $15.00). Free day long craft activities are; making a fruit loop necklace, stamping a bookmark and painting. The staff in the cub room were friendly and very helpful. (Note: child-sized potty in the cub w/c!)

From there (and no, we haven't even been to the water park yet!) we head to Scoops Kid Spa where kids can wear a tiara and enjoy ice cream themed spa treatments. Oh la la!

My prince, taking advantage of adult time, headed over to the Iron Horse Fitness Room for a workout.

I, on the other hand, ventured to Elements Spa (right beside Scoops) for a Pumpkin Wrap (ask for Carolina!). It was a decadent treat!

A quick lunch later...and we hit the water park. It had a little something for everyone. Big slides for family tubing, four sizes of water slides (ranging from appropriate for teens & adults to toddler sized), swimming pool, wave pool, frog pond and our favourite the lazy river. We went mid-week and it was busy but not overpopulated.

After a few hours of water play, we changed activities and went outside to try out the Wacky Wilderness Mini Golf. Usually, mini-golf with un-coordinated youngsters is not-so-fun, but this course has animated animals which move and talk at each hole giving you something to giggle at while you wait your turn.

We also hit the Northern Lights Arcade (and we aren't an arcade family so this was somethin'!). The skeet ball tables were returned to again and again.

It is true as, Mr. Simmonds so eloquently put it; "Great Wolf is making family traditions one family at a time". My kids are already asking to go back for their birthdays. I'm sure they would love the upcoming Easter Eggstravaganza complete with the Easter Egg Hunt. A Dad might like the Father's Day race cars & drivers activity. A Mom would enjoy the Mother's Day Tea (a spa treatment would be nice too).

Though the building does have WiFi; I didn't see one parent checking their blackberry. What I did see was families playing and re-connecting.

We will go again - and recommend others to go too. The fact that everything is housed in one building makes it feel like an all-inclusive resort (psst...a meal package is in the works so it will soon feel even more all-inclusive).

Thinking of going?...check out the Great Deals section of the website. Also, save by looking into into corporate rates (Teacher's Union for example).

Read Great Wolf tips from our own Parent Club readers - HERE, HERE and HERE.

Follow on twitter: @GreatWolfLodge
Surf their site: http://www.greatwolf.com/niagara/lodge

Parent Club Review: Great Wolf Lodge

The lobby of Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls is amazing. Enormous antler-clad chandeliers, a glowing hearth and big welcoming chairs. Wolves (robotic wolves!) looked down from their ledges above the fireplace. This is some-kind-of-place!

On check-in, we get our first two tastes of family-friendliness...

First: hand prints are etched along the wall - where kids can touch and hear animal sounds during check-in. Whoever thought of engaging the kids during check-in and check-out must be a parent!

Second: we are given, each, a wrist band. The microchip in each wristband is a room key, lock for the change room lockers and can have money added to it in lieu of carrying around a wallet. Should a child become separated from his caregiver, says Keith Simmonds, (General Manager of Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls) the wristband can be scanned - to find the room number and then the family name of the child. In such a large and populated facility, they have never lost a child outside of the building.

We stayed in a Kid Cabin suite; a large accommodation with a queen bed, pull out couch, refrigerator, microwave, TV, gas fireplace, patio and cabin for the kids. The cabin was an almost separate sleeping space (no doors or windows to actually separate it - so you can keep an eye on the kids) housing two bunk beds, one single bed and the kids very own TV (note: cartoons are the first channels to come up on the menu). Ah, luxury!

The kids notice the recycling bins in the rooms straight away. In fact, water conservation and recycling are seen throughout the hotel and water park. From shower heads to composting kitchen waste to large recycling bins (complete with raccoon sitting atop) Great Wolf is a green destination - demonstrating that mini-vacations and fun can be environmentally friendly.

8pm is The Great Forest Friend Show and Story time - where kids in pjs (ahem...some adults in pjs too - not judging - just reporting) gather to enjoy a free show. Talking (robotic) moose, bear, tree and those wolves above the hearth entertain the kids. If you have a nervous child - this might be scary, but most children are very much entertained.
Should you want to go out after the kids go to bed (perhaps visit the falls?) there are themed programs for in room care ("Cub Care") by trained and certified attendants.

We chose to go back to our suite, though only a drive from Toronto -it is far enough to feel like you're getting away without a long travel time. The kids were more than happy to tuck into the bunk beds in their own little cabin. They knew, to be up for breakfast at 8am to have a visit with Wiley or Biko (the mascots) in Antler Shanty. [Ed. Note: they were up at 6am]

There is a reason why Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls was the 2009 Traveller's Choice Winner: Best For Families...*

*part 1 of series