Are you all packed up and ready to go on a March Break vacation? It’s not really a vacation if the kids are along – it’s a trip. A probably worthwhile, hopefully restful, possibly educational trip. A trip with the kids involves lots of pre-planning and pre-packing. Even I, procrastinator extraordinaire, will obsess and work on the tiniest details before boarding a plane.

My husband, being the anal-but-lovable guy that he is, has very strict requirements for when the five of us travel: only two suitcases and the kids have to be able to handle their own carry-ons. His logic (and he’s not wrong) is that since he has to carry everything, it has to be manageable for one person. I have gotten the packing down to a bare minimum but it takes many days of weeding and culling until I can cram it all into the two suitcases. A point of pride: when we went away skiing, my family of five had less luggage then my mother and step-dad.

At approximately 5:36 p.m. the email messages started pouring in: “I believe” and “Oh My god!” and “We did it”. They were, of course, referring to the Canada-U.S. hockey game and the winning of Canada’s 14th  and some say, most important gold.  The funny thing is that all those emails were from my Canadian friends who live in the States. They were watching with their kids and their Maple Leafs on their shirts and in some cases drinking a 2-4 of Canadian beer.

Some of them have lived in the States for 15 years, their kids were born there, they eat, sleep and dream the U.S.  and they are mostly like there for the rest of their lives.  But they feel Canadian, and they instill a sense of Canada in their kids too. One of my best friends lives in New Jersey Devils territory and even knows some of the players, but her son very politely told his pals that he would be rooting for Canada.

A few years ago the school boards in Toronto decided that the playgrounds were not safe, tore them down and re-built them with child safety regulations in mind -- and injury rates in the new playgrounds decreased by 49%. Obviously a lot of thought went into the new playgrounds but I wonder if they could have also upped the fun quotient along with the safety.

We just got back form the happiest place on earth, if you are under the age of 15 and live north of the border, that is. Yes, Great Wolf Lodge. For the unintiated Great Wolf Lodge is an indoor waterpark/hotel in Niagara Falls (and 11 other locations in the U.S.).  It is nirvana for the kids.

Waterslides? check

Talking trees and animatronic animals? check

Bunk beds with its own TV? check

Overly nice service by people who use the word wolf in every greeting? check

Kids in pajamas at mealtimes? check

Arcade with tickets and redeemable prizes? check

Junk food? double check

No rules? triple check

A fake log cabin on steroids with terrible food and waterslides would never have been my idea of fun in the pre-kid universe,but it is a great weekend because the kids are so deliriously happy. By the way, Great Wolf did not sponsor my trip and in no way gave me any SWAG.

Our basement is like a preschool, full of fun toys that appeal to all ages, skill levels and gender. Sometimes it gets so full, it feels like is going to explode. So a couple times a year, at the urging of my clean husband, we do a purge. And I don't want to sound like a person on Hoarders, but getting rid of toys is an emotional experience for me.

It can also be an emotional experience for the kids and I would like to think that my reaction is one that stems from maturity and good memories and theirs stems from greed. But I am not always so sure that they are seperate.

Sometimes it is hard to find activities that our whole family can enjoy. There aren't many movies that appeal to a nine, six and four year old; and they like different exhibits at the museum and science centre. Skating hasn't been a big hit since Aaron broke his arm on the rink and while we do all love to ski and snowboard, it's hard to do in downtown Toronto.

But tobogganing, everyone loves tobogganing. It would be hard for a cranky preschooler not to crack a smile while sitting on her brother's lap and shooting down a hill. Even us parents find ourselves in hysterics while watching, and even more when hitting a  hard landing.

If you walk into my son Aaron’s room you will be confronted by the full array of Star Wars clone armies pointing at your feet. The ships are lined up against the wall and their enemies are facing them with all the weaponry that George Lucas could think of.

And each and every piece is Lego, painstakingly put together following the precise directions that can drag on for 20 pages or so.

Directions for Lego? If you are wondering what I am talking about then you have not been in contact with any boy older than 5 in a long time. Lego has changed, it’s not just a bucket of bricks that you fashion into guns and towers anymore, it is all about exact instructions and Hollywood replicas.

Every parent and grandparent who is currently scouring the shelves of the toy store looking for the limited edition Venator-class Republic Attack Cruiser™Item #: 8039 has asked themselves: what happened to the Lego I remember?