Adventures of a SAHM: Parks

I've been a SAHM for four months now, and I think I'm finally starting to find my groove.  With the exception of the "lack of income" thing, it's a whole lot more fun than I thought it would be.  Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but I don't even really want to be with myself all day long, much less with anyone else.  And I doubt they want to hang out with me either - I'm old, crabby, and I make them wash their hands after they pee.  With the advent of spring, though, a whole new world has opened up to us:  The Park.

When the sun is out, I find it next to impossible to stay inside.  So I pack some snacks, slather on the sunscreen, and we hit the park.  But me being who I am, I can't just go to the same park all the time.  I'm always looking for the next best thing.  Shiny!  Pretty!  New!  I have ants in my pants and I need to dance.  Here are some parks that we've found that have really tickled our fancy:

Pricefield Park
Although, it's impeccably maintained, there's not really much to this park.  In fact, when we drove up, I actually thought we had come to the wrong place.  We had decided to go here because I got an email about Toronto parks that said it was great, and I just had to check it out.  It had some fairly nice climbing structures.  It also has a digger that you can sit on and play "construction".  Unfortunately, it was too big and too heavy for my 4 1/2 year old to operate.  The best thing about this park for the kids, was the fact that it's situated right by the railway tracks, and you get to see real, working trains going by.  The best thing for me, was that it was near a Timothy's and the Summerhill LCBO (quite possibly the best wine store in all of Toronto)
Bathroom:  In the Timothy's attached to the LCBO.
Coffee/Snacks:  (See above.)
Accessibility:  Free parking around the neighbourhood, Summerhill subway station.
Cost:  $$$ (But only if you like wine as much as I do.)

Dufferin Grove Park
This is probably one of the best parks in Toronto.  People sing the praises of the castle playgrounds at High Park and the Beach, but there is no way one person can watch a preschooler and a reckless toddler without having a heart attack at those places.  Dufferin Grove is shady, outdoorsy, and has a lot of fun play structures.  There's a wading pool for hot summer days, and they constantly have fun events as well as regular features like pizza making and a farmer's market.  There's even a place to have picnic lunches.
Bathroom:  In the park, or across the street at Dufferin Mall.
Coffee/Snacks:  Other than the above-mentioned, you can get Tim Horton's or Second Cup in the mall
Accessibility:  I would say you could park at the mall, but I just got a warning ticket there.  Look for street parking - shouldn't be too hard.  It's a bit of a walk from Dufferin subway, but it's only long if you're walking at preschooler speed.
Cost:  $$ (But only if you need something at H&M, Winners or Toys 'R Us.)

Huron Street Playground
I only found out about this one because I struck up a conversation with a lady at an Early Years Centre we visited.  This playground is right near Spadina and Bloor on a little street called Huron (just south of Bloor).  It's entirely fenced in, they have two impressive play structures, a music centre, "rock" climbing and plenty of swings.  It looks completely new, and it's our new favourite Big Adventure destination because it's just a lot of fun for a park.  And I would never have known it was there.
Bathroom:  Second Cup and the JCC are not too far away.
Coffee/Snacks:  TWO Second Cups right at Spadina and Bloor.
Accessibility:  Spadina Subway is your best bet, although there is street parking in the immediate neighbourhood, and a Green P on Huron just north of Bloor.
Cost:  $ (But only if your forgot your Second Cup coffee card and metropass)

So tell me - what are your favourite Toronto or GTA parks?  We're always looking for that next Big Adventure...

Comments

[kgirl]

You must check out the East End parks! We have a few favourites. East Lynn park is on Danforth between Coxwell & Woodbine, with a wading pool, a great play structure for both the kids, swings, sandbox and a farmer's market on Thursday afternoons. We're there every week throughout the summer.

There's also Measurement Park in the beaches, but not the busy part. It's at the foot of Coxwell, there's tons of street parking, and the the path from the north end of the park is dotted with these huge fun rulers - hence measurement park - sticking out of the ground. The playground itself is great, if a bit sun-blasted, and it has these big caterpillar-like tunnels for the kids to crawl through. there's a little pond with picnic benches to eat a snack and watch birds at, and then, of course, there's the rest of the beaches with all of its wonderful trappings.

We also love Monarch Park, Danforth between Greenwood and Coxwell; it's all fenced in, great for both kids, and when you want a break from the park, it's surrounded by a shady grove where you can sit under a tree and have some juice.

[Mouse]

Scooter's preschool class went to the Huron Street park all the time (he was at the co-op just down the street). When we lived in the Beaches, I really did love the one in Kew Gardens. It has a fence around it, which at least gave us the feeling that he couldn't get too much of a head start on us.

[katie ~ motherbumper]

Huron Street park - thank you! I was totally looking for an excuse to make a trip down to Sarah's for a fafafel and now I can claim "it's really for the child". When I lived in that area (in my childless days), I was blind to those kinds of landmarks.

[baby nursery decoration]

I am a new SAHM too and I am loving taking my daughter to the park these days. It's a great time for both of us, plus it practically ensures she will have a decent nap later - more good times for me!

[petitegourmand]

great tips- I love Sunnybrook park too.
great bike riding and there are horses to watch as well.
They have a little snack bar there which has yummy fries and gravy- highschool caf. style. plus bathrooms throughout the park.
A great park for a picnic.
it's adjacent to Edward Gardens which is also beautiful and a fun place to feed the ducks and relax under a giant willow tree.
The weekends are pretty busy but during the week it's suoer quite.
Sherwood park - across from Sunnybrook hospital and the brickworks are also great if you venture uptown at all.
I also love Withrow, Bellwoods, Riverdale Farm, HighPark (the mother of all parks) and the park at the corner of Mount pleasant and Davisville.
Just to name a few.