ten minutes to myself

flying colours

Last post from St. John's, folks. We'll be saying goodbye to this lovely little city on Saturday, heading home to Calgary via a short holiday in Orlando. I'm hoping that our sunny detour will allow our boxes to arrive in Calgary within a few days of us doing so, but I can't say for certain when that Toddler vs The Disney Marketing Machine post will be appearing. My goal is to be back online sometime in the beginning of April.

The weather wasn't really great this morning, but I wanted to take Madeline to see one more thing in St. John's - the butterfly exhibit at Bowring Park. It's in their conservatory (though I would personally call it a greenhouse) on the duck pond side of the park (as opposed to the swimming pool side of the park). Madeline and I parked in the lot near the duck pond, and walked up. I thought she'd love seeing real, live butterflies because she's quite attached to her Time for Kids: Butterflies book and really enjoys the Little Einsteins DVD about the caterpillar/butterfly.

Truth be told, I hardly recognized my little Lepidoptera fan as she cringed and ran every time one flew near her at the exhibit. The butterflies were spectacular (and there seemed to be hundreds), but it wasn't nearly the fun time I imagined, considering that Madeline was cowering on a bench. One little orange butterfly actually landed on her orange parka, but I thought twice about telling her about it :)

Even if Madeline wouldn't recommend it, I would. Go see the butterflies at Bowring Park. The exhibit runs for a few more weeks. Admission is $5 for adults, and free for kids four years and under.

the things you find when you're lost

This morning, I loaded Madeline up in the car and set out to run two errands - dropping a spare pair of contact lenses off at my husband's office and then onward to the yarn shop. The first errand was accomplished deftly enough (considering that we drive to this office multiple times a week), but it was our subsequent journey where things went quite wrong. The yarn shop is located in a part of town that I am embarrassingly unfamiliar with, so I was using my TomTom to get there. Only, I must have inadvertently turned the sound off, so I have no idea what kind of directions it was giving me, I kept driving straight for way too long, turned off somewhere, and I suddenly found myself on the highway to the Irish Loop. Ooops. I took the first exit of the highway, and ended up on Topsail Road. Was there anything good on Topsail Road? Why, yes! St. John's sole baby boutique, coo chi coo. Hadn't been there before.
 

Madeline's not really a baby anymore, but I did think that maybe this place would stock the Mustela shampoo that I'd been recommended for finally banishing her cradle's cap, so we stepped in.

Lo and behold, they did carry Mustela products. And tons of other nifty things like Zooper strollers, Hotslings, Babylegs, and Bjorn potties, which I had in the past ordered over the internet, and often from the US (hello, duty fees). They carry Snack Traps, an item that I quested after while in Edmonton this past summer. Manhattan Baby toys, which we liked spoiling Madeline with when we were still in Calgary. And other cool things, too. I offered to buy Madeline a Steady Cup, but she turned me down, saying those were for babies (hee hee!). She tried on a few pairs of SKRs, but the Size 9s were an inch too big, and the Size 8s were a squeeze. Boo.

I'm kind of impressed that the types of things are so much more available domestically than they were when Madeline was an infant, and even more impressed that it's possible to buy a pair of Babylegs without having to leave St. John's!

snowbunnies

The Aliant Winterlude Family Fun Day has been rescheduled for tomorrow (Sunday). It's in Bowring Park, from 1-4 pm, weather-permitting.

... got the winter-in-st.john's-blues ....

A few cures for the winter blahs, all at the Dominion on Stavanger Drive (Cabot Square):

Invest in Kids

Fridays, February 9 - March 9, 10-11 am, Ages 1.5-3 years
There is a different educational theme for each of the five sessions. Each session is supposed to include stories/songs, crafts, and snacktime. A nominal charge of $5 applies. Maximum of 10 children. There is a flyer posted on the community board in the store that has more detailed information, and you must register your child in person.

Little Hands Cooking School

Tuesdays, Feb. 6 - Feb. 27, 11:30-1:00pm, Ages 3 - 5 years
Each week (register separately) a preschooler and parent/caregiver prepare a few different dishes (each week seems to have a theme; it's best to check the notice on the community board for the actual details). It's $7 per class, sounds like a lot of fun,  and when I checked, 2.5 year-olds were not yet allowed to sneak in ...

miss manners

Madeline and I went to the Y today, after a three-week hiatus created by snow and our jet-settin' ways. I was kind of in a blue mood during my workout, but that changed when I went to collect Madeline from playing with her friends in the child-minding room. One of the caregivers came over to me and was gushing about how charming Madeline was. I guess that Madeline had wandered over to her, and then had this conversation:

Madeline: Hi! What's your name?

Caregiver: I'm Sherrie!

Madeline: Nice to meet you! I'm Madeline! (imagine hand offered for shaking)

And I was told that Madeline ended up repeating this exchange with the other caregivers and the older children. What a little shmoo she is ... charming when I'm not around, trying to to flood the kitchen when I am :)

Anyway. I heard an exciting announcement on the radio this morning, for anyone in St. John's who is reading along still. Aliant Winterlude Family Fun Day will be celebrated in Bowring Park on Sunday afternoon, from 1-4 pm. The weather might be okay for some outdoor fun ...

local interest

A random assortment of St. John's links for today ...

There is a new-ish upscale-ish baby boutique on Topsail Road, and they have a website: coo chi coo.

I found a pretty awesome website that keeps a calendar of kid-friendly activities in the St. John's area: On the Go Kids. I am really loving the calendar feature, even if two of the events listed for every Sunday are predictable skating at Mile One and swimming at the Aquarena.

The terrific playgroup at the CUPW building that I blogged about awhile back has an actual website: Family and Child Care Connections.

Not necessarily St. John's related: Madeline went to bed at eight last night, and didn't stir until 6:47 this morning! Whee!

Riddle of the Day

It's like a lame joke: How do you night-wean a two year-old toddler?

Why, very gently.

Madeline and I have made good progress with the weaning project. The night-time nursing sessions have been gone for over a month now, and I'm feeling so much better. And we're both sleeping better, which is also a good thing.

I did this on my own, and thus prepared myself to face hours of inconsolable wails. A few days before Night 0, I told Madeline that very soon I wasn't going to have any milk for her at nighttime, but that she and I still could cuddle. On Night 0, before tucking her into bed, I told her that if she woke at night, I wasn't going to have any milk for her; night-time was for sleeping, but that if she was hungry she could have some Cheerios, or if she was thirsty, she could have a drink of water.

Sure enough, Madeline did wake up shortly after midnight. She howled in my arms for about six minutes, but then asked for water and Cheerios. I tucked her back into her crib, and I didn't hear from her again until morning. I was shocked. I guess that sometimes it *is* possible to reason with a toddler!

The second night was similar, except she was angry for a much shorter amount of time. These days, Madeline usually wakes up once and calls for me, but it's a quick bed-side visit. Most of the time she merely asks for her cup of water to be refilled or a cuddle, and then she rolls over, taps her Ocean Wonders Aquarium on, and re-assumes her sleeping position. Two nights ago, she actually slept from 8:30pm - 7:15am without requiring my attention at all. Amazing!

Friday Links: The Carseat Version

• I stumbled upon Kids in Safe Seats, which is a volunteer organization promoting the safe use of carseats in the province of Newfoundland. Their information about the importance of staying rear-facing longer isn't up-to-date, but they do hold free seat checking clinics (and the schedule is on the website). The neat thing about this organization is that they've been keeping stats on correct and incorrect installations since the fall of 2000. Thus far, only a little over 6% of parents are using their carseats correctly when brought for inspection. I'm stunned.
• One of the other parents on the parenting forum I'm a member of posted a link to Top 10 Cars for Kids in Car Seats, and it's a really good article! To date, I've installed Madeline's Marathon in an elderly Ford Tempo, a Toyota Camry, a Toyota Tercel, a Chevy TrailBlazer, Mazda Proteges of both the sedan and hatchback varieties, a Nissan Altima, a Mazda 6 sedan, a large Lincoln something-or-other, a Chevy Malibu Maxx, and now, a Ford Escape. Let me tell you, bumpy seats, oddly angled seat-backs, and protruding headrests are the bane of my existence. I agree with the article naming the Malibu Maxx to their Top Ten - the rear seatback reclined so I could get a better fit with Madeline's carseat, and the entire rear bank of seats could be adjusted back so that there was plenty of room. My next fave would be my Tempo back in Calgary. It's too old to have anything other than a plain-jane backseat.
• Car Seat Safety with Winter Coats is another timely article about how to check that your child's warm winter gear doesn't compromise the performance of their carseats. Everyone knows that thick coats are a no-no, right? Even if you live in Alberta and it's 48 degrees below zero with the windchill factor it's a no-no :) Jokes about my traditional winter home aside, please read this article and make sure your little person will be safe in a crash. Keep the thick and puffy coats in the car in case you need them, but they don't belong in a carseat.

somebody really needs to put this on a website ...

This is just an update to my previous post on St. John's playgroups. There was a pamphlet in my mailbox today about the Daybreak East End Downtown Family Resource Initiative (DEEDFRI) playgroups, and there are lots of them.

• St. Michael's Playgroup - located in the St. Michael & All Angels Anglican Church (where St. Clare Ave meets Lemarchant). The brochure includes a note to use the double glass doors, and ring the bell. This playgroup is in effect on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30 - 11:30 am, and then on Friday from 10:00 - 11:30 am.
• Macpherson Family Resource Centre - located on Newtown Road in the Macpherson Elementary School. This one also runs three times a week: Tuesdays and Wednesday from 1:00 - 3:00 pm, and also on Thursday from 9:00 - 11:00 am.
• Youth Service Centre - there are two playgroups run at this location on Carter's Hill Place. First, a regular playgroup is held on Mondays from 9:30 - 11:30 am, and a special Baby & Me group (for infants 12 months and younger) is held on Tuesdays from 1:00 - 2:30 pm.
• The Boulevard Playgroup - located at #74 on The Boulevard. Ironically, this would be the closest playgroup to us. We could walk there. We've lived in Quidi Vidi for nine month and had no idea that it was there!  This playgroup is held on Wednesdays from 1:00 - 3:00 pm.
• Chalker Place Drop-in Playgroup - this one is run in the Chalker Place community center, located behind the YMCA/YWCA. Again, how did we not know about this? We're members at the Y! Anyway, this playgroup is on Wednesdays from 9:30 - 11:30 am.

My pamphlet states that all of these programs are offered to families at no cost, and they are open to families residing in the east end of downtown St. John's with children under the age of six.

remedy for cabin fever

I decided today that I'd write about the playgroup options for parents of toddlers (and infants and preschoolers) in St. John's, but I feel oddly hypocritical doing so as we rarely attend. That being said, I met one of my mama-friends at the playgroup at Wedgewood Park, and I'm happy that we found that one right away after we moved here because hanging around our house 24/7 was getting kind of boring for Madeline.

Without further ado, and in no particular order:

• Playgroup at Wedgewood Park: Tuesday and Thurday 10:30 - noon. It's $2 per child. They have some infant toys, and lots of things for toddlers and preschoolers. Wedgewood Park is just off Torbay Road at Gleneyre Street (north of Newfoundland Drive). I went to this a lot with Madeline in the spring as it was good place for her to run around, but I really found it crazy and chaotic by the same token. There is an area set aside for infants, but the toddlers and preschooler are free to get in each other's way.
• Playgroup at the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) building: Tuesday and Thursdays, 9:30-noon. This one is smaller, and I say it's set up more like a daycare in that there is an infant area, and then different stations for the older children (sand, water, crafts, blocks, play kitchen, etc.). A snack is served. It's free (and open to the public) but donations are appreciated. When Madeline and  I have attended in the past, I usually drop $2 in the donation can. This one is past Avalon Mall at 50 Pippy Place (it's at the back of the building, not visible from the road). I've been here twice with Madeline and I like it much more than the Wedgewood Park one. It's calmer, and more infant-friendly.   
• Playgroup at Bethesda Pentecostal Church: This playgroup, which has a name like "Mom & Tots", is open to the public and not affiliated with the church, located on Macdonald Drive. It's held on Wednesday mornings, from 10 - 11:30am, I believe. I don't have any personal experience with this one, but I've met several parents of toddlers who attend and find it well-organized.
• Daybreak East End Downtown Family Resource Initiative (DEEDFRI) Playgroups: My toddler and I went to their outdoor playgroups at Bannerman Park over the summer, and I know that DEEDFRI runs indoor playgroups from fall to spring. I don't have a current schedule - I called them up about three weeks ago to ask about their playgroups and apparently a schedule was supposed to be mailed to me. Hasn't shown up yet. Their number is in the phone book, if anyone else wants to try to get a schedule :)
• Brighter Futures playgroups: Brighter Futures is a community outreach organization as well, and they have no less than six active playgroups throughout St. John's, Mount Pearl, Torbay, and Bell Island (according to their brochure).  Madeline's Mother Goose program is held in their facility at Holy Cross Elementary, so I can say that they offer many activities to keep toddlers busy (play kitchen, crafts, sand table, blocks, books, etc.) and have separate area for infants (complete with sofas for nursing moms).  I don't know the times of any of the playgroups, but the program coordinators can be reached at 739-8096.

It's not technically a playgroup, but another option to pass away a morning is the Mother Goose program.  Madeline and I registered for the toddler program, and after three sessions I'm starting to remember some of the games and rhymes. Each session starts off with circle time (songs and rhymes), then the todders are whisked back into the playgroup room for snacks and crafts while the parents and caregivers learn a story to tell later, and then everyone is reunited again for songs and games. As I mentioned above, it's held at Holy Cross Elementary on Tuesday mornings. Childcare is available for older/younger siblings.

Quacking Good Time

One of the things that I've been meaning to do with Madeline for months is visit the MUN Botanical Gardens. One of my friends assures me that the pathways are good for running and that there are ducks, two of Madeline's criteria for having a good time. What I think is actually neat about the Botanical Gardens is that they have a variety of registered programs for toddlers and preschoolers, though the toddler "Nature Tot" program has been "fully booked for 2006", according to the website, ever since I found out about it in April. I wonder if they're taking registrations for 2007 already (not that it would make a difference to us)?

Another cool thing that I discovered on the MUN Botanical Gardens website was that they run family-oriented programs every Sunday. There's supposed to be a nature hikes, storytimes with a crafts, and visits to the ducks running throughout the day. I've suggested to Chris that we check this out on a couple of occasions, but we're still working on getting there. Hopefully I'll be able to post an actual review one of these days :)

completely gratuitous madeline post

Today, Lester's Farm in Mount Pearl held it's annual Pumpkin Fest. Madeline liked the corn maze, looking at the huge piles of pumpkins and gourds, but seemed to be the most impressed by the pumpkin-flinging festivities over by the trebuchet.

fall is in the air

Wahoo! Fall is here, and I've discovered more options for getting out of the house with a toddler in St. John's!  Madeline and I can't make excuses for being hermits like we were in the spring when we first moved here :)

• Kindermusik is actually offered here - the School of Dance/Music on Water St. offers classes for babies and toddlers, as does the Take Note music studio in Mount Pearl.
• The School of Dance also has a dance class for 2-3 year olds. Madeline's not registered in this one yet - she'd be all about the dancing, not so much the listening ...
• The Aquarena has a parent and tot swim several mornings a week ...
• Early Achievers has a program that I can only describe as pre-preschool for two year-olds running on several mornings a week.

And in the new year, just before we leave St. John's, a Little Gym is supposed to be opening. Argh.

"I walk on beam"

That was one of Madeline's first four-word sentences. She uttered those words while walking across a balance beam, her tiny hands cupped in mine. One of the things to do with a toddler in St. John's is take them to gymnastics class. There two gyms offering a parented class for one and two year-olds: Cygnus Gymnastics and Campia Gymnastics (okay, this one is really in Mount Pearl, but really, what's the diff?).

We took the toddler class at Cygnus over the summer - the last class was on Friday. Madeline and her classmates got to try out miniature versions of the highbar, the parallel bars, and the balance beam (though the toddlers were free to walk on the elevated beams, which Madeline totally preferred). There were trampolines for jumping, soft padded blocks and mats for tumbling and rolling, and a big pit of large, moist, damp, mildew-y foam blocks for jumping into. Oh, how I loathed that foam pit ... I think that most of the parents felt the same way, actually. One thing that I have to mention is that the facility is really dusty, probably because of all the chalk, and that it could be a dangerous environment for toddlers who run before they think. In parts of the gym, there are cables running from equipment to the ground every few inches, so the tripping hazard is great.

The cost was about $10/class, and the classes were an hour long. Madeline had a really good time, and it was neat to watch her courage increase and her balance improve from week-to-week. The class ended with "sticker time", so she was always happy when we exited the building.

Madeline and the Kids

Madeline meets the kids at Lester's Farm
Originally uploaded by goingdomestic.

Yesterday, Madeline, her Auntie Julie, and I crossed off another item on the toddler-friendly St. John's list - we went to Lester's Farm on Brookfield Road. I first heard of the place when Chris and I were looking for strawberry u-pick farms, but one of my friends mentioned that when she'd taken her little guy last fall, there were a small petting farm area with animals.

The petting farm area is a separate building that is accessed from a path outside the side door of the main building (where the farm's produce is for sale). There was a donkey, an emu, a cow, two sheep, two pigs, two mature goats, two turkeys, a handful of chickens, and a cage of ducklings. Auntie Julie had a lot of fun feeding the bunch. Madeline liked looking at the ducks and the sheep, but wasn't too impressed with the mature goats who tried to nibble her sunhat :) Outside the petting shelter, there was a cage with a few little cute little bunnies. Madeline's favourite part of the farm was the pen further into the field with the baby goats - they were about as tall as she was, and non-threatening enough that she wanted to stick a hand with the 25-cent goat food over the fence and feed them herself! Tricky, as she hasn't quite figured out that whatever is in her hand falls off if she tips it over! I think she had a lot of fun, and it's totally free-of-charge (unless a person wants to feed the animals - then bring quarters)!

summer in the city

Apparently, the weather this summer has been unusually warm here in St. John's. Madeline and I try to get outside on a daily basis, and even have been brave enough to walk the trail around Quidi Vidi Lake (it took a really long time, and I had to take both the Zooper and the Ergo with us). A playground should be built any day now on our street. I kind of hope that "any day" means before the snow comes again ...

Even though it's not the most suitable playground for Madeline, we've been going to Bannerman Park a lot recently. There is one playgroup that meets there on Wednesdays from 10 - 11:30 am. It's free, offered by the City of St. John's. They have an assortment of toys for non-mobile babies, a play tent, lots of balls, a wee picnic table for snacks and drawing, and a bunch of ride-on toys for toddlers.

A different playgroup meets at Bannerman Park from 10 - 11:30 on both Thursdays and Fridays. The folks who run it bring sand toys (even though it's a gravel surface), and bubbles, and serve juice and a snack.

Both groups welcome anyone who shows up with a child under 5. I may not have made any friends by going to these things, but getting out of the house sure beats turning on the tv.

do lab coats come in 2T?

Another item for the toddler's guide to St. John's category - the Newfoundland Science Centre.  Madeline and I checked this place out earlier this month. I hadn't even realized that there was a science centre here until I saw a brochure for it at the tourist info centre! It's tucked away in a corner of the Murray Premises (entrance is through the science gift shop). A positive - children Madeline's age get in free (I think my admission was $6, but it might have been less). A negative - no parking is provided, so guests have to pay to park on the street or in the Murray Premises lot.

Madeline probably would have enjoyed her visit to the Centre a lot more if she was a couple of years older, but there still were some things that she really enjoyed. With the current dinosaur exhibit, she spent a few minutes making a crayon-rub of a dinosaur skeleton, and enjoyed playing in the sandbox with a brush to uncover a buried fossil.  A more experienced paleontologist would probably have managed to get less sand on the floor, I'd expect.  There is a puppet theatre station with sea-creature puppets that Madeline and I played with, a row of aquarium tanks with a gecko and assorted bugs to look at, and an area with blocks fashioned to look like stone bricks to build with. I would have liked to linger at the mental challenge stations, but the pint-sized boss had other ideas.

The staff didn't strike me as particularly knowledgable, but they were high school students who had probably only been at the job for a couple of days at the time. We stayed and played for over an hour, and our parking charges weren't much, so I'd say that the science centre was worth the price of my adult admission. It was an okay place for a toddler, though I think that a preschooler or a school-age child would get way more out of it, of course.

Owls, woodchucks, and moose, oh my!

I know that this category is supposed to be filled with activities to do with toddlers in St. John's, but really, the Salmonier Nature Park is only about an hour outside of town (in Salmonier, natch). The three of us had a great time! The park is designed in a big loop (wood boardwalk surface, friendly to strollers and wheelchairs) that takes a person past enclosures for ailing or retired indigenous wildlife, with some very pretty Newfoundland foliage everywhere and in-between. It was the first place I've seen a bakeapple, outside of a jar of Auntie Crae's jam.  The visitor's centre has a changing table for diaper-clad guests in the wheelchair accessible washroom as well.

I will also mention that we stopped at The Wilds golf resort for lunch before heading back to the city. I have to give our dining experience there a thumbs down because they actually had a children's menu (with the words "kids eat free at the Wilds" written in large type across the front) but did not offer one to us when we sat down, even though it was very obvious that we had a child dining with us (we discovered the existence of the menu after we'd placed our orders). So I ordered chicken fingers for my entree - something that she and I could share. Even when we asked to see the kids menu immediately after, we didn't receive one.

the life aquatic

Well, it's not the Calgary Zoo, but St. John's does have the Fluvarium.

What's a fluvarium, you ask? As far as I can tell, it's a structure with windows that is built into the side of a stream for the purpose of observing the resident ecosystem. There's probably more to it, but Madeline didn't exactly let me pause for long at the exhibit explaining where the term "fluvarium" came from!

Anyway, it cost Chris and I $5.50 each to visit the Fluvarium with Madeline (children too young for school are free), but neither of us are sure that it was worth the expense at Madeline's current age. She honestly seemed to have more fun climbing the spiraling staircase and running from the display case with the stuffed duck to the display case with the stuffed beaver than she did learning about watersheds and trout. Even watching the trout in the viewing windows didn't mesmorize her for longer than seven minutes (though she did sign "fish" and empathically exclaim "Nemo!" a few times). I think that Chris and I were hoping that we'd get more out of the visit. Maybe if we returned again in two or three years, our visit would last a little longer :)  I think that older kids would think that the Fluvarium is rather cool!

Sidenote: another venue for getting up-close-and-personal with wild things in the St. John's area is the Ocean Science Centre. They have a touch tank and a seal cam. We haven't been there yet, but it's on the list.

book 'em

Today the weather in St. John's was characteristically overcast and cool. Not officially rainy, but close enough to warrant a rainy day type of activity: Madeline and I finally visited the A.C. Hunter Children's Library. It's quite small, but it has a seating area with a child-sized table, a sofa, an armchair and a rocker, a Madeline-approved bead-maze, and a tank of really cool fish. The board books are organized in a chest nearby, easily accessible to wee little kids. I was hoping to find some sort of pamphlet listing story times and such, but didn't see anything of the sort, although a message board outside of the library doors had notices for activities for school-age kids and a schedule for La Leche League meetings. We came home with a pair of temporary-resident library cards (no fee) and five picture books to read ...

kid in a candy store (the book version)

When I lived on West Broadway in Vancouver, one of my favourite ways to spend a Saturday involved browsing through Kidsbooks. The only thing I ever bought there was my least favourite Harry Potter; I was really there to peek at the picture books and admire the illustrations.  St. John's is fortunate enough to a dedicated children's bookstore as well, Granny Bates (located on Bates Hill).  Madeline and I spent more than a half-hour there the other day - she sat in the little child-sized chair and flipped through a few volumes of Clifford  for awhile and then settled on the steps by the cash desk to look through books with the terrifically nice (and patient) lady who manages the shop, while I browsed the shelves. We left with two more books than I intended, but it was hard to resist getting Madeline the board book version of Alligator Pie. I remember my dad reading that one to me when I was little!

it's all about the playground

I've added a new category for posts about things that I've found to do with Madeline in Newfoundland.  One of the most challenging things for us since moving here is getting the scoop on where to look for good playgrounds, parent-and-tot activities, and other toddler-friendly places. There's very little information online, and there doesn't seem to be any local parenting magazines like there was in Calgary.  So, maybe the next new-to-St. John's mom will do a google search for toddler activities in St. John's, and find herself here on this site. Not a bad thing. Without further ado:

Madeline's Favourite Playgrounds in St. John's

1. The toddler playground at Kenny's Park Pond  - first, there is an actual pond to walk around at this park. It's home to many ducks, and we've observed a lot of pigeons vacationing there. Madeline and I saw our first duckling of the year on Kenny's Pond on Wednesday afternoon, and boy, was she thrilled! The playground is wonderful - several climbing structures which slides, two stand-alone slides (one regular and one twirly), plenty of swings (tire, regular, and bucket), and at least a half-dozen of those ride-on toys on the large springs. What really impresses me is that all of the climbing structures are scaled to toddlers - they're not high at all - the farthest that Madeline could fall down is maybe three feet!  Both of the stand-alone slides are accessed via stairs, not a ladder, which is a way less-freaky proposition for a parents of an independant toddler. Located at Macdonald Drive between Portugal Cove Road and Torbay Road, across from the school and by the Holiday Inn.
2. Bowring Park - Bowring Park has the largest playground that I've encountered thus far in St. John's.  If a person parks in the lot by the duck pond, it's a decent little hike deeper into the park where the playground is. Madeline always has fun at this playground - their climbers are great, although a little higher than what she's comfortable with.  She spends a lot of time in the bucket swings at Bowring Park. Located on Waterford Bridge Road, just west of Columbus Drive.
3. Bannerman Park - this park is the one that is closest to our home, so it's quite convenient to dash out to after naptime. They have the usual assortment of swings, slides, and climbing structures. Madeline favours the twirly slide, and climbing up to the top of the biggest climbing structure to get to the tube slide, only to chicken out and decide not to go down the tube side. I'm kind of leery about this one as there is an opening in the structure right by the slide that would lead to a free-fall of at least seven feet! Eeek! Located just east of Rennie's Mill Road at Military Road.

desperately seeking

"Active toddler in diapers (ATID) seeking other ATIDs (or without) for regular social interaction, occasional sharing of toys and germs, and maybe a chicken pox party"

This isn't the first time that I thought Madeline ought to write a personal ad since moving to St. John's.  There seems to be a missing cohort of 1 & 2-year olds here. At the one playgroup we sometimes go to, there are lots of preschoolers, and a handful of babies, but it's a lucky day when there is another toddler or two there.  Nothing against infants and preschoolers, but putting all ages together in one room results in a wild craziness that I hadn't experienced before when Madeline was with similarly-aged kids in her actitivies in Calgary. Another challenge of the playgroup at Wedgewood Park here in STJ and of the playgroup at the Y is navigating amongst the mommy-cliques (or the nanny-cliques). I read Bridgermama's post about politics of playgroups a few days ago and I could relate to every little bit of it.  A lot of the times when I do talk to other moms here, I tense up, worrying that somehow the facts that Madeline is *still* nursing (formula is a hot seller in Newfoundland, from what I understand) and that her carseat isn't turned forward-facing will escape and I'll be labeled as some weird hippie mom (not that there is anything wrong with being a wild hippie mom - I'm just not cool enough to be one of them).

Happily, Madeline and I have had some positive social experiences of late. I've chatted with some fun young moms of toddlers this week and I hope that I'll chat with them again.  Interestingly, every one of them has moved here within the last year. We've all traded info on where there are swim classes, gymnastics classes, and storytimes in the hopes of finding out where all of the toddlers in this city are hiding ...