Bunchland

Robyn Knickle shares stories from Hamilton, Ont.

There are a lot of really great things about Hamilton.  A great arts community, beautifully architectured buildings, and a ton of green space and hiking trails; the list could go on forever.  Some of my favourite things here, however, are the parks.  They are big, historic and so much fun for everyone, especially kids.

We’re within a 10 minute walk from Gage Park, which has two play areas, a splash pad, a band-shell, a baseball diamond, a squash court, a greenhouse and plenty of space for a picnic.  You can normally find us there, but this weekend we wanted to shake things up, so we headed to our amazing waterfront for some some fun at Pier 4 Park.  Read more...

Robyn Knickle shares stories from Hamilton, Ont.

My favourite conversation happened this week in the wee hours of the morning, when I rolled over in bed to find my 3-year old son, Rudie, next to me:

Rudie: Mommy, can I ask you something?
Me (very sleepily): Sure, buddy.
Rudie: Who made me?
Me: Mommy and Daddy did.
Rudie: How?
Me (now wide awake and totally unprepared for this conversation): We made you with love.
Rudie: Did you go to the store and buy my eyes, nose and lips?
Me: No, you made your own eyes, nose and lips while you were in mommy’s belly.  You did a perfect job, too.
Rudie: I did?
Me: Yep, we couldn’t have bought cuter eyes, nose and lips if we tried.
Rudie: Okay, goodnight again.
Me: Goodnight again, sweet-boy.

Previously: Three toddler meltdowns on a morning when you’re already running late.  Read more...

Robyn Knickle shares stories from Hamilton, Ont.

CONFESSION: I’m a procrastinator. I can’t help it, it’s who I am. I love a deadline and will wait until the last possible second to meet it. I’ve always been like this. I’m not sure if it’s the thrill of possibly not getting it done on time or if doing everything but the looming task at hand is my way of saying f-you to the person imposing the actual deadline.

When I was in university, this was an alright way to live. Rather than work on a paper, I would use my free-time to sleep, watch movies, clean my apartment or just sit on the balcony, watching other people live their lives. There was plenty of time to be productive and it always ended up being the night before the paper was due. It would always get done, and my marks weren’t too shabby, if I do say so myself.  Read more...

Robyn Knickle shares stories from Hamilton, Ontario

One of the things I love most about living with two pre-schoolers is how pumped they get about holidays.  It doesn’t matter what the holiday is for, they just love to celebrate!  Our kids were so excited when we told them that Mommy and Daddy were staying home from work and that they were staying home from daycare to celebrate Family Day.  I must admit, we were pretty thrilled about it, too.  It’s so nice to do weekend things on a Monday!

We decided to take a walk just a few blocks away to spend our day at the Hamilton Children’s Museum.

We were greeted at the door by a turtle, whom my 3-year old named Peaches.

Next, we met a gecko, (also named Peaches).

We turned plain old pinecones into bird feeders,  Read more...

Robyn Knickle shares stories from Hamilton, Ontario

This weekend, we celebrated the first birthday of my niece and nephew, Lyla and Jack. Thirty of us gathered with pizza, cupcakes and a mountain of presents, each of us wondering where the time had gone. Had it really been a year since these wonderful twins came into our lives? Their first birthday party was fun and special, but there was also a little anxiety in the air. The mom of these amazing little people, (and my fabulous sister-in-law), Melissa, was soaking in the last few hours of her maternity leave. The next morning, she would be waking up, getting dressed and heading to work for the first time in over a year.  Read more...

Robyn Knickle shares stories from Hamilton, Ontario

With just three weeks until we move, I can’t help but reflect on all the little things I’m going to miss about our life here in this house. One of the things I think I’ll miss most is the special bath time we’ve created at first out of necessity and then out of our love for the daily cuteness it brings.

My son was 6-months old when I got pregnant with number two and, I swear, my belly was massive as soon as sperm hit egg and it just kept growing. I had to do some things a little differently to accommodate the giant torpedo where my abs once were. I quickly discovered that leaning over the bathtub was just too uncomfortable, so I started bathing my son in the kitchen sink – it was easy, I could stand and seeing that little naked babe in my sink turned out to be the cutest part of my day.  Read more...

Robyn Knickle shares stories from Hamilton, Ontario

We decided to venture outside of Hamilton this weekend and headed west to St. Thomas!  Our son turned three a few weeks ago and his birthday gift from us was tickets to A Day Out with Thomas, a traveling tour with a full-size Thomas the Tank Engine.  We weren’t sure what to expect but assumed the day would be filled with over-priced merchandise, ridiculously long line ups and, therefore, a whole lot of whining but hey, you only turn three once, so we figured it would be worth it.  Read more...