The Tennis Staycation

We spent a fun-filled stay-at-home vacation last week. The theme: Tennis.

Papa took the week off work and attended daily tennis matches at the Montreal Rogers Cup, watching the likes of Maria Sharapova and Agnieska Radwanska.. The event kicked off with Family Day, and S1 and S2 attended. They had their faces painted, tried wall-climbing, and even gave some mini tennis a go. They enjoyed it so much that we decided to order a mini tennis net for home. Baby also joined the fun, readily getting her hands on any tennis balls that her sisters weren't using.

The week ended with Papa and Mama's very first date night since the birth of S3: The quarter-finals!

Yay Victoria Day!

Although not called Victoria Day in Quebec, this last Monday was nonetheless a holiday for both my husband and I. And the first day we both had off in a number of months. It had been so long that I had forgotten what it was like to:

-sleep in
-go out for breakfast
-simultaneously share parenting duties for an entire day

I had the pleasure of sleeping in until 8AM. Although that might not be considered "sleeping in" by most, everything is relative. And it is far better than 6AM!

Next, we headed to our favourite kid-friendly breakfast restaurant, Chez Cora. An hour later, with our bellies full, we headed home. Out baby and my husband then napped for a good hour, while my toddler and I enjoyed an hour of arts and crafts.

After a quick at-home lunch, we headed to Grandma's house. There, our daughters enjoyed the company of their aunt and grandmother as my husband and I went in search of a larger house. We visited two brand new houses in the suburbs, and I found myself hoping that we would soon sell our small condo!

My husband was playing tennis from 16-18h, and so the girls and I decided to hang out in a nearby park. After about an hour, my toddler insisted that we join papa in a game of tennis. We mostly stayed in an adjoining empty court, where the girls enjoyed playing their very own brand of tennis:

Our toddler taking a water break

Our ball girl

After their adventure-filled day, the girls slept soundly. Thus allowing their parents to do the same. Long live the Queen!

Staycation # 2: a photo journey

Around the same time last year, we had our first stay-at-home vacation. And this last week, we had our second. It was so enjoyable, I am surprised we have only had two...

We played tennis together for the first time this year. We went swimming with both babies. We attended some great tennis matches at the Rogers Cup in Jarry Park. We had some very special out-of-town visitors: baby #2 met her grandfather, aunt, uncle, and cousins from Ontario for the first time.

But perhaps most refreshingly, I got to sleep in almost every morning. Our daughters are early risers, and with both my husband and I off Monday through Friday this last week, I finally caught up on some lost sleep...And what a difference it made...I had not experienced boundless energy in a long time.

Hanging out at the park with her cousins 

Practicing yoga

Reading with her cousin

Cuddling with her cousin

Enjoying her cereal

Yummy, eating mommy's chocolate pudding

Our Tennis Staycation

What our baby thought about the staycation

What a novel idea, I thought, when I first heard the neologism for a stay-at-home vacation. You save on transport, lodging and food, and get to take in local attractions. We opted for a staycation this week as it coincided with Montreal's Rogers Cup. We had purchased tickets for every session well in advance. The only limiting factor was the Brat.

While the baby seems to enjoy swinging a tennis racquet, and even attempts to hit her nerf balls on occasion, spectating is a different story. We took her last year to this same tennis tournament when she was barely 6 months old. She behaved for relatively short periods of time, but we did not want to risk disturbing the players on Centre Court (for which we had tickets). I remember thinking last year that this year would be much easier. She could sit on our lap at centre court, we would explain the game to her, and she would be so enthralled as to quietly watch the matches. What was I thinking?!

We didn't even attempt to bring her along this year. We knew from the outset that she was too active to sit still for any length of time. Additionally, the weather was not cooperating. At the beginning of the week, the temperatures were too hot to have her sit outdoors, and by mid-week pouring rain had postponed a few of the matches.

In the end, my husband and I alternated caring for her and attending the tournament. Mostly, my husband attended during the day, while he watched her at home in the evening. This definitely defeated the purpose of us attending together, but like real vacations, nothing guarantees success.

The semi-finals and finals will take place this Saturday and Sunday, and my mother and sister have generously offered to watch her while we attend. Perhaps there is still hope that this staycation will be salvaged... or perhaps the next time we organize a staycation, the Brat comes first!