When children put on a show

My kids love putting on "shows" for us. They even go "into the studio" to rehearse. Then, when they're ready, they perform for us. Here is a sample of The Benjamin and Lauren Show, performed in a one-night, standing-room only, intimate engagement in Kona, Hawaii. Here is a video clip.



As you can see, it is crafted so well -- it's like it wasn't even rehearsed at all. Gotta love kiddie theatre. Next stop: Vegas, baby.

The art of negotiating, as taught by a 4-year-old

My 6-year-old son Benjamin and 4-year-old daughter Lauren were fighting over which colour Gatorade they were going to share. I had told them that they could share one for a treat, but they had to agree on the flavour. Naturally, they each wanted a different flavour. Benjamin wanted orange. Lauren wanted yellow.

To take myself out of the middle, I told them they had one minute to decide between them which flavour they would share. This is what ensued as the timer was set. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock...

Benjamin: You should want orange, Lauren. It's really yummy. You'll reeeeally like it.

Lauren: (with vice grip on a bottle of yellow Gatorade) I want yellow.

Benjamin: (moving closer and holding up a bottle of orange Gatorade) But look! The orange is better because it actually has TWO colours in it: yellow and red. You like red. And it's Mommy's favourite colour.

Lauren: (with steely-eyed stare) Yellow.

Benjamin: (with voice cracking and slipping into a whine) But, Laaaaauren... that's not fair because I want orange!

Me: Okay, you have 15 seconds left to decide.

Lauren: (without flinching and possibly without even blinking the entire minute) Yellow.

Benjamin: NOOOOOO! You always get your way! (throwing himself on the floor) We're having orange and that's it!

DING

Me: Okay, guys. Time's up. What's your decision?

Lauren: YELLOW!

Benjamin: No, I want orange!

Me: If you two can't agree, then it's nothing...

Benjamin: OKAY! Yellow!

She's got negotiating chops, that one. And the "are you kidding me?" face perfected. See?

2009 Cover Contest winner chosen

Congratulations to Torben, our pint-sized 2009 Cover Contest winner! You'll see his image on our Winter 2009-10 cover.

Thanks to everyone for entering!

Win a Little Capers superhero costume

I love these superhero costumes by Little Capers. They're fun and they're not attached to any particular licence -- giving your child carte blanche to create his/her very own superhero persona. There are t-shirt superhero outfits and tank dress versions as well. All with detachable cape.

Want to win one? Enter to win by June 22, 2009, midnight. Just visit the Little Capers website, pick out the ONE product you'd like to win, and comment on this post with your choice of prize. Be sure to include your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win. Open to BC residents only.

Gardening with young children made easy

This year, I decided to do what urbanbaby & toddler magazine has recommended parents do with their young children in the spring/summer: plant and enjoy the bounty of a vegetable garden. (Such a good little magazine -- with such handy and timely information!)

I didn't exactly plant the garden with my kids...but I did do the next best thing: I hired Vancouver-based Landmade (604-781-5421) to establish and plant my vegetable garden for me. Why didn't I do it myself? Because I found the establishing part daunting. Where do I do it? How do I do it? What will grow?













It turned out beautifully (see pic above). They planted vegetables based on what our family likes, and based on what is compatible in the garden. They made the raised beds in an afternoon, and then took another couple of hours to put in the organic soil and plant the seeds. They even built a compost for me, so that I have rich soil for next year's garden. For this year, they planted carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, onions, basil, parsley, lettuce and broccoli.


















You can choose to have Landmade establish, maintain and harvest your garden for you (they can just leave a basket of the goodies at your door every week or so). But for us, most of the fun is in the maintaining and harvesting, so I opted to have them establish the garden and let us do the rest.

We've already eaten our first harvest of radishes. Tonight, we're going to dine on salad grown right in our own backyard! My kids love learning about how the food on the table grew. They have become fascinated by how their veggies grow and have become excited about what they can grow next year. (They have asked if I could plant a candy tree next year.) It is all great fun and good eating. Thank you, Landmade!

Sustainable kids' decor & artwork SALE

Looking for some cute artwork for your child's room or for the play room? Cici Art Factory and Saplings Sustainable Kids' Decor is holding a Summer Garden Sale.

• What: Summer Garden Sale
• When: Sat, June 6, 10 am - 3 pm & Sun, June 7, 12 - 4 pm
• Where: 2556 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver
• Info: 604-561-2512

Want to see the style of artwork you can expect? Check out their websites: ciciartfactory.com and saplings.ca