Let's Have a Sleepover!

I live on my own, with my dog Mocha.  My apartment is my oasis.  It is a quiet and relaxing environment, which is tastefully decorated in soothing tones of rich browns and tans.  I have added some zen with the use of bamboo plants and baskets.  Overall, between Mocha and I, we have created quite a comfortable little home that provides refuge from the rigours of daily life.  Sometimes, I want to share my oasis. 

It is with this thought in mind that I mentioned to my sister how nice it would be to have my four-year-old niece and three-year-old nephew come visit me for a sleepover.  Since I moved here five months ago, I have not had my niece and nephew over to stay the night.  My sister, of course, jumped at the opportunity for she and her husband to have a night off from parenting, and the date was planned fairly quickly for me to have them over the next Saturday evening.  I was more than happy to spend some time with my little relatives, and spent the entire week looking forward to Saturday.  Saturday came last night. 
  
My niece, Sara, and nephew, Andrew, arrived yesterday afternoon, bags packed full of toys with their sleeping bags and mattresses all ready to be rolled out for the sleepover at Auntie Kendra's.  I had gone shopping and made sure my fridge was full of cookie dough, pizzas, chips, juice and all of the other snacks that make sleepovers fun.  I was planning on taking them out for dinner, but when given the option, they decided they would rather stay in and make pizza. 

First challenge: getting them to eat their pizza.  As I soon found out, each bite is a bargain.  Andrew flat out refused to eat any pizza at all.  He was opting for potato chips instead.  He complained he was too full to eat, but seemed to have plenty of room for potato chips.  A battle of wills ensued between Andrew and I.  It was a tough one and was hard fought by both sides, but I eventually held out, and Andrew as per our negotiated eating agreement, ended up having five bites of pizza.  The five bite agreement was almost scrapped when Andrew decided to fake the bites and chew on nothing in an attempt to get me to believe he was eating the pizza.  The problem here, and at his tender age of three I don't think he foresaw this, was that there were still no bites taken out of his piece of pizza while he was pretending to eat it.  I called his bluff; he folded.  Sara, being a slight bit older than Andrew and therefore perhaps in posession of a greater amount of wisdom, observed the battle of wills and deduced that perhaps eating the pizza may be the easiest way for her to get through her dinner and continue on with the sleepover plans.    
 
Five real bites and three fake bites of pizza later, we continued on with our plan for the evening, which included a 'quick' road trip to Blockbuster.  Second challenge: coats, hats, mittens, car seats.  I don't feel one can go anywhere quickly when two car seats and two children under the age of five are involved.  It took half an hour and a flurry of coats, shoes, mittens, and hats before both Sara and Andrew were ready to walk out the door.  This also included another round of negotiations involving mittens.  We headed out to the car where the car seats ominously awaited.  I think there must be a better way to design those things!  I wrestled both Sara and Andrew into their car seats - pulling and fighting with their seatbelt straps in order to squish them into the safety clip that just never seems to reach out far enough from the base of their seats.  I mean, I know they're supposed to be tight for safety, but really?!  This took another 20 minutes, and then we were off!  Fifty minutes later our 'quick' trip to Blockbuster was finally underway!    

Next challenge: getting two children under the age of five to agree on the same movie.  The negotiations of picking out a movie was coupled with a close call involving pee on the floor of Blockbuster.  I think this one speaks for itself.  And yes, Blockbuster does have bathrooms.  I am guessing for exactly the same reason which sent me running to the Blockbuster counter, interrupting the current movie rental transaction, and frantically asking if there was a bathroom available because, "My nephew has to pee and cannot hold it!"  Yes, my nephew and his pee were much more important than the person who was trying to pay for their movie rental at that point in time.  It's funny how all dignity and decorum go out the window when children are involved. 

Another 50 minutes later and we were on our way home.  Our 'quick' road trip to Blockbuster lasted almost two hours from start to finish.  Is this perhaps the reason why people with young children never have any time?  I am beginning to think so.  Back at my place we put the movie on.  The Cat and the Hat was the movie that my niece and nephew had finally agreed on and I was amazied at the wonders of TV!  With a push of the play button, The Cat and the Hat took over babysitting from me for a while.  Sara and Andrew zoned in and I, thankfully, zoned out. 

Throughout the past 24 hours of spending time with Sara and Andrew I have realized two very important things: one, negotiating is key, and two, I am definitely not ready for kids of my own!  However, kid chaos aside, it was fantastic to spend time with them and I can't wait for the next sleepover!  In between now and then, I will be working on my negotiation and power of persuasion skills.     

Hello London, I'm Kendra. It's nice to meet you.

I love London.  It is my favourite city in the world, and although I haven't been to every city in the world, of the ones I have visited so far - London is my favourite.  There is an energy that crackles throughout the city, unlike anything I've ever felt anywhere else.  I fell in love with London, the very first moment I stepped onto her sidewalks and right into the hustle and bustle of one of the oldest cities in Europe.  There I was, all alone and experiencing my first taste of the United Kingdom. 

I had a goal:  get to Victoria Station, jump on the Tube and head over to Covent Garden.  I was in search of a pub on Maiden Lane near Covent Garden called the Maple Leaf.  Yes, a Canadian pub in London.  And yes, I was going to find it.  Some may think it a little odd that I came all the way from Canada to London and headed directly for a Canadian pub.  But that is exactly what I intended to do.  I was going to find my piece of Canada in London! 

I navigated my way throughout the London underground, deep below the streets of London, making all of the necessary station transfers.  Soon enough, I emerged back up onto the sidewalk and into Covent Garden.  I began to walk.  With each step the revelation became more clear: I was in London and I was caught in her energy!  I wandered throughout Covent Garden taking in the sights and sounds.  There were elegant theatres announcing exciting Broadway productions, there was a square attached to Covent Garden Market, an outdoor shopping area, where I paused to take in an opera singer performance for people sitting at outdoor cafes while they sipped their wine.  The architecture of the buildings reinforced my impression that I was walking on cobblestones that so many had walked on for hundreds of years before me.  And I felt like I belonged, not only to the present, but i was also connected to the past in that moment. 

With my ultimate goal of finding the Maple Leaf Pub still in my mind, I wandered on.  Quite quickly I stumbled across Maiden Lane.  This was the street the Maple Leaf was on!  I turned right onto Maiden Lane, and soon enough, there it was!  A big red sign announcing that a piece of Canadian culture resides right there, just off Covent Garden square and in the heart of London.  I had found my way!  I walked into my little piece of Canada in London and sat down.  There were pictures of the Blue Jays baseball team hanging on the walls, jerseys belonging to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens on display, Canadian beers on tap, there was even a huge stuffed bear looming over the patrons!  Incredible!  I had found Canada tucked away on Maiden Lane in London!  I sat down, ordered a pint of beer, and revelled in my surroundings.  I was in a Canadian pub in London.   

I went to London in search of a little piece of Canada, and I fell in love!  They say a good relationship feels like coming home.  This is the best way to describe how I feel about London.  My first trip into the city marked the beginning of a relationship that has been wonderful.  It has been filled with exploring new places and learning about history, discovering new experiences and understanding the past.  Although I do not visit her often enough, she is always there, waiting for me to discover a new adventure within her streets.