The Stay at Home Mother

I can't believe that August is already here! July seems to have just flown by!

I think I'm over the worst of whatever ailment I had with my throat and flu, so very happy that the long weekend is almost upon us and can really enjoy it with the family.

Today, we headed in to Vancouver to see the Acquarium (we have a family membership) as the children absolutely love to see the fish and its a bit of a routine breaker, however I wasn't prepared for what lie ahead....

The crowds were massive! The lineup for people without a membership snaked its way around the building and appeared to be at least a half hour wait to get in. (keeping in mind it was raining today)

We waited about five minutes to go through with our passes (thank goodness!) But once we were in, tour groups, daycare classes and tourists were running amuck and it made it almost impossible to get near anything.

I'm not very good in crowded situations, as I don't really like the thought of people squeezed in to areas where they are all pushing and running in to one another. However, as both my children were excited to see the sharks, dolphins and aligators, I kept my opinions to myself and braved the crowds.

Our entire stay lasted about an hour which also included my daughter trying to forge in to the crowd on her own at one one point, and ended up in tears, and my son who insisted on taking us only where HE wanted to go. All in all - they really did enjoy going and I am glad I took them, but feel that summertime is really not the best time to pay a visit to the acquarium.

With that said, we had a recent opening yesterday of WalMart in White Rock. So I took the children to it this evening to see it. I wanted to see if they would stand up to the Save On Foods and Safeway stores in our area. Needless to say, once again, the crowds got the better of me. There was absolutely no parking (only one was found in the underground parking) and the store is so big, it took an hour just to figure out where everything was.

The lineups to pay were 35 minutes long (that's how long I waited to pay for a few groceries I made the mistake of buying).

The cashiers are mostly new, and for the ones who aren't new, they have never worked with grocery items like produce or deli. The complained they weren't getting their breaks due to the massive crowds and on opening day yesterday weren't able to leave until 2:30am (people were still trying to shop at 12:30am after the store had officially closed at midnight).

It would appear that our little city has a bit of WalMart fever. So until this "fever" dies down, or I figure out exactly the most quiet time to go to it is - I'll be steering clear of it.

If you are a mom with a young one - this weekend in Vancouver, Mimic Baby is having a show for young children with stories, songs, dancing and fun featuring sign language. It is geared for children from 0 - 6years old. There will be live entertainment, music, Mimic the Monkey, and learning of sign language.

When: August 1st and 2nd at 4pm Duration: 50 minutes

Tickets are $5.50 with .50cents going towards the Orphans of Post Earthquake China)

Where: Havana Theatre, 1212 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Tickets are available only at the door - box office opens at 3:30.

Visit their website at www.mimicbaby.com