Today’s Vancouver Mom: Lorraine Pond of Bobs & LoLo
Lorraine is mom to a kindie student and an active preschooler and expecting a new wee one in early 2017. She also has a furry ‘firstborn’ and can often be found adventuring around East Van parks with her family. Lorraine’s busy mom life is mirrored in her professional world as she is also the LoLo half of the award-winning children’s music duo, Bobs & LoLo. Bobs & LoLo are four-time JUNO nominated singer-songwriters and stars of the upbeat, musical preschool series Sing, Dance and Play with Bobs & LoLo (Nick Jr Canada) and Action Packed (Telus Optik TV). Recently named Canada’s Favourite Kids’ Entertainer in a nationwide poll by CBC Music, Bobs & LoLo are dedicated to connecting children to nature with music, movement and make-believe.
Trout Lake
My family’s backyard! Seriously. We live in a townhouse, so this is where we play. We are all-season visitors to this urban green space from dog walks and picnics to playgrounds and sport to rec centre fun, special events and farmer’s markets adventures. We love Trout Lake!
Sweet Salt Bakery
Great for moms and kids! This is our fave casual café for play dates and afterschool treats. With a small play space for the little ones and yummies for all (including caffeine for mom!), this small, locally-owned bakery is a regular stop in our week.
sweetsalt.ca
Famous Foods
Our ‘famous’ neighbourhood grocer! We stop in here almost daily as I am a horrible meal planner. When we first moved from Kits to Cedar Cottage 4 years ago, the first thing people said was, “Wow – you must miss the beach!” followed by “OMG – you are so close to Famous Foods!” We get it. They are awesome. Great variety of reasonably priced local, organic and natural foods and they offer amazing community fundraising opportunities for our neighbourhood elementary school. Win!
Kensington Branch VPL
When dreary weather strikes, this is where we head! Hidden away in King Edward Village, we love losing ourselves in the kids’ corner of our local library. It never feels too busy, and family programs are offered weekly too!
Hazel & Jools
One stop shopping for mom and kid fashion! With two little ones at home and another on the way, I’ve pretty much been in and out of maternity wear for the last 6 years. I love that I can get beautiful pieces (including lots of local designs!) for pregnancy or not and fabulous finds for the kids too!
Granville Island Toy Company (Main Street)
My birthday party shopping savior! With one kid in preschool and another in kindie, the party invites are fast n’ furious. I love that the staff here know their business and are quick with age-appropriate, budget-friendly gift ideas. The gift-wrapping service is also a mega bonus. And yes…your child’s gift receipt was date stamped 20-minutes before the start of the party.
The Happening Dance Studio
Small space, humongous heart! We are new to The Happening community and my daughter is tackling her first adventures in tap and jazz under the guidance of studio founder, Kim Stevenson. As a non-dancer, this place completely caught me off-guard. The Happening is busy and LOUD. The music is contemporary, pop-inspired and pretty darn empowering. The energy in the space is the opposite of any preconceived notion I had about “dance”. And my kid loves it. Enough said.
