Wooly bully

Last weekend, my daughter, my sister and I embarked on a leisurely stroll throughLeslieville for ice-cream sampling. We debated on the great big line-up at Ed's Real Scoop, blew bubbles on the delightful patio at Nathalie Roze and Co. (try the Vanilla Fig), wondered if the neighbourhood really needed a soon-to-be-opened new place and then decided YES as we treated ourselves to more ice cream at the newly opened Leonidas.
My husband got Nate a reliable and affordable scoop at The Film Buff and we met in the middle at Leslie Grove park to compare notes. The kids played happily (thanks to their sugar high) and as I was formulating dinner plans in my head, Lucy wandered over to the sand toys where a three-year-old girl was playing.


Any mom at an urban park has probably experienced this: The toys are there for everyone, but one kid doesn't want to share. The three-year-old would not give up a single toy. Not wanting to be a "helicopter mom" I stood back and figured I'd let them work it out. Plus I need to round everyone up so I could get dinner started. I turned for a second to get Nate's shoes on when I heard crying.

I whipped back around to see the three-year-old sobbing and my daughter looking half-guilty, half-amused. The mother of the girl was wiping her daughter's eyes. Oh boy. My daughter had thrown sand in the non-sharer's eyes.


I reprimanded my daughter immediately (though with her personality, whether or not that had an effect is undetermined). I was sincerely apologetic to the mother and daughter and offered a bottle of water for the girl to rinse her eyes with. No one wants to think of their child as the bully and I felt horrible.


I could definitely put myself in her shoes. She grabbed her other child (a baby) and started carting them off to the fountain for further eye-rinsing. I could see her frustration. She was alone with two small kids at the park. I know first-hand the effort it takes to get there on your own. And then some mean kid throws sand in your kid's eyes and the outing is ruined.


I kept apologizing (as I'm prone to do) but it didn't seem to ease her frustration at all. So we left the park. And as we left, my husband said, "Geez! That woman was livid!"


Me: "Rightfully so! Our daughter did a terrible thing. Wouldn't YOU be upset if that was your kid with sand in her eyes?"


Husband: "No. They're kids. These things happen. I tried to explain to the woman that that's just who Lucy is, but she seemed to get madder at that. She needs to lighten up."


Oh boy. Yes, Lucy is a tank by nature. And approaching the Terrible Twos isn't exactly making her get along with everyone. (It's like she has PMS, but on an hourly basis.) But that's no excuse for her behaviour, IMO. And the fact that my husband thinks it is (when he's her primary caregiver no less) is cause for concern.


Or is it? Should I have felt as guilty about the situation as I did? Should I have sided with Team Silverthorne? What do you think?

Wish I was here

I have a million posts in draft and a lot of funny stories to tell you. But life is getting in the way these days. Which is good and bad. I miss you guys...

In the meantime, I HAVE to blog over here, so I hope this tides you over...
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Last weekend, my daughter, my sister and I embarked on a leisurely stroll through Leslieville for ice-cream sampling. We debated on the great big line-up at Ed's Real Scoop, blew bubbles on the delightful patio at Nathalie Roze and Co. (try the Vanilla Fig), wondered if the neighbourhood really needed a soon-to-be-opened new place and then decided YES as we treated ourselves to more ice cream at the newly opened Leonidas.

My husband got Nate a reliable and affordable scoop at The Film Buff and we met in the middle at Leslie Grove park to compare notes. The kids played happily (thanks to their sugar high) and as I was formulating dinner plans in my head, Lucy wandered over to the sand toys where a three-year-old girl was playing.

Any mom at an urban park has probably experienced this: The toys are there for everyone, but one kid doesn't want to share. The three-year-old would not give up a single toy. Not wanting to be a "helicopter mom" I stood back and figured I'd let them work it out. Plus I need to round everyone up so I could get dinner started. I turned for a second to get Nate's shoes on when I heard crying.

Continued at Sweetmama.ca: Woolly Bully

Mama moments: the first haircut

I always thought cutting kid hair would be a cinch. Just park them in front of a video and take the scissors to those overgrown bangs and do a little trim around the ears. No prob.

Or how about in the bath? Just rinse them down afterwards, right? I did not consider that there would be a pound of hair in the bathwater that would make rinsing impossible. Or that my attempts to get their bangs just rightwould cause them to look like Emo Phillips.

So I've hung up my scissors. If you're in GTA, the options for kids haircuts are amazing. There's the Melonheads chain, which offers cute seats and kid-friendly decor, as well as a myriad of bribes to buy on the way out. 

There's a great new service that I've been hoping to try called Haircuts on Wheels. Owner and stylist Kimberly Irwin will drive to YOUR HOUSE and give your kids a respectable, attractive haircut (while parked in front of the TV if you wish). Best of all, this Mary Poppins of hair does all the clean-up and hands your kids a lollipop before she tiptoes out. Now that's service!

My big kid is not a fan of change or the unknown, so when I had to cancel our appointment with Haircuts on Wheels, he insisted on going to Little Tots in the Beach. The clincher there is that they have a germ ball pit. All the parents cringe uncomfortably, thinking of the thousands of children that have touched those balls over the years, but the kids have the best time ever. After a really short wait, Baby Girl was up for her first official chop.

She doesn't actually have much hair. She has that signature toddler mullet. If she would just sit still and let me put in some fabulous Bugalugs or Angel Lily hair accessories, we'd have no problem. But as it stands I am constantly brushing her wispy, flyaway strands away from her eyes. 

But the haircut was so much fun -- for me at least. Watching my little girl in her wee seat, having her blonde locks snipped and styled was more than my mama heart could bear. (I took so many photos that I crashed my BlackBerry!)

Angie, the gentle stylist, finished it off with a cute top-of-head pigtail (with minimal protest from Lucy). We were given a few locks of Lucy's hair along with a certificate commemorating the event. Finish off with some Yummy Earth lollilops (I had the foresight to pack -- I'm getting better at this Mom gig) and one last adorable brother-sister pic. Awesome!