No we didn't go camping, and we barely left the city limits. But yes, we still had adventures aside from our everyday routine. As part of my 30 day commitment, I intend to have more adventures with Scarlett-check out some new places, satisfy the extrovert in her, and find some kid friendly places. Myself being a home-body, this is proving to be a challenge, and I love my house and garden more than new places. Here's what we've been up to over the weekend, but definitely NOT high on the originality scale.
Bowness Park- We always love it there. Three kids playgrounds including a water park, the lagoon with ducks and geese, many pathways to take the stroller or to let the little ones run, and lots of bathrooms. And of course, dogs and other kids and parents. I almost never have to park there but I always see parking spots when we're walking. And did I mention it is year-round? Skating in the winter and the paddle boats and canoes look ready to go for the spring. And yes, coffee and ice cream and snacks are available too.
Calaway Park- Is it safe to say that every family in Calgary who wasn't out of town this weekend was at Calaway Park at some point? If you don't like amusement parks, don't go, but we can usually have fun for a morning or afternoon. So far we've only been on a few rides with Scarlett, but I find that the excitement of the place is something our daughter thrives on. She eats better, laughs a lot, and loves watching the big kid rides and hearing the screams. And then we have an almost guaranteed nap to follow. We take our big stroller but I imagine it may be difficult in the restaurants and washrooms if I was the only adult. I recommend packing your own lunch and snacks because the food choices are limited, or just be content that you will be eating burgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, fries, or pizza! And we always forget that we live in Calgary. The weather may be balmy at our house and the park may have a wind chill. Pack every type of clothing, plus hats and sunscreen.
And reader, beware... As much as I love the idea of growing my own food, supporting local producers, eating safe and organic, the truth is, we still shop monthly at...
Costco- And why did this make the list for friendly kid places? Again, for us, the busyness of the place keeps our kid occupied. There is a lot to look at. On our last visit, we also had samples galore, of some okay food. Scarlett ate more than her usual lunch-with 2 samples of organic lentil soup (I had to bring some home), and crackers, and cereal mix. There are some food options to purchase that are tolerable in my books and I just figured out that based on a monthly shopping trip, the savings on our lettuce alone pays for my membership. ($3.50 for a 3/4 lb container of organic spring mix). Of course, my lettuce is now sprouting in the garden and I prefer that any day. But for time and financial economy I will overlook some of the terrible things about a place like Costco.
I feel this list is pretty Calgarian. It isn't necessarily a reflection of the lifestyle that I wish I was living, but some days, it is easier to just embrace our city. It is about consumption and having our entertainment provided to us, and then a little bit of enjoyment of our natural surroundings...
Showing posts with label kid friendly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kid friendly. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Search Begins
I feel a little guilty about my last post. Yes, I whine, and I also know I should be creating my own happiness. Hence, the Happiness Project book that I'm currently reading. And soon, I hope to start my own happiness project, but I want to finish the book. Maybe that will be the theme of future Tuesday posts. That or the search that I plan to soon begin.
Today is going to be a long day for our little monkey as she will be coming to work this afternoon. My plan for days like today is to wear her out in the morning, get a big nap in after lunch and then she'll be ready and refreshed for work in the afternoon. We just happened to have plans for a play date with her little friend today.
To take a positive change of direction after my complaints of non-kid friendly places, how about we scout out some friendly ones? Today was easy-we went to Playgrounds Coffee in Strathcona and they are geared for both families and non families alike. You can sit in the front with your coffee and not even hear the kids, or you can enter through the glass door into kiddie land. (Please note: If you send your kid in to play, you're going in as well). Scarlett had fun and I was happy with the experience-lots of toys to climb on and through, a kid sized camping van, trains and tracks, mats on the floor, and more than I'm going to list here. I found it clean, not too loud or busy, and I would go back. And yes, there are places for adults to sit on the edges of the play area and drink coffee or eat.
But I don't really mean to scout out the obviously kid friendly places. We have found many of those: libraries, pools, pet stores, book stores, and parks of course. What I'd like to find is the places that may not be catering to kids but treat them like gold.
For instance, we love Kane's Harley Cafe in Inglewood. It is a diner so it may not be the healthiest food option, but when we've taken Scarlett there, we have had a waitress fawn over her, on repeated visits. She played games with her, peek-a-boo, picked up things off the floor, and our little girl loves that. So we'll go back. It's just a long drive for us, so we don't go often, but it is in our heart.
We love our local Angels cafe because Scarlett loves the milkshakes. Yes, we know it is bad for her, but we also love the burgers. We overlook the splintered wood in the picnic area and the cigarette butts everywhere because its local. I think Angels is to Bowness as Peters Drive In is to Calgary.
It is my goal to find places like this in Calgary and hopefully within a 10 km radius of our home. I hope to find ones that are not overly kid populated, but where the owners/employees love to see them. Any suggestions? Stroller accessibility optional.
Today is going to be a long day for our little monkey as she will be coming to work this afternoon. My plan for days like today is to wear her out in the morning, get a big nap in after lunch and then she'll be ready and refreshed for work in the afternoon. We just happened to have plans for a play date with her little friend today.
To take a positive change of direction after my complaints of non-kid friendly places, how about we scout out some friendly ones? Today was easy-we went to Playgrounds Coffee in Strathcona and they are geared for both families and non families alike. You can sit in the front with your coffee and not even hear the kids, or you can enter through the glass door into kiddie land. (Please note: If you send your kid in to play, you're going in as well). Scarlett had fun and I was happy with the experience-lots of toys to climb on and through, a kid sized camping van, trains and tracks, mats on the floor, and more than I'm going to list here. I found it clean, not too loud or busy, and I would go back. And yes, there are places for adults to sit on the edges of the play area and drink coffee or eat.
But I don't really mean to scout out the obviously kid friendly places. We have found many of those: libraries, pools, pet stores, book stores, and parks of course. What I'd like to find is the places that may not be catering to kids but treat them like gold.
For instance, we love Kane's Harley Cafe in Inglewood. It is a diner so it may not be the healthiest food option, but when we've taken Scarlett there, we have had a waitress fawn over her, on repeated visits. She played games with her, peek-a-boo, picked up things off the floor, and our little girl loves that. So we'll go back. It's just a long drive for us, so we don't go often, but it is in our heart.
We love our local Angels cafe because Scarlett loves the milkshakes. Yes, we know it is bad for her, but we also love the burgers. We overlook the splintered wood in the picnic area and the cigarette butts everywhere because its local. I think Angels is to Bowness as Peters Drive In is to Calgary.
It is my goal to find places like this in Calgary and hopefully within a 10 km radius of our home. I hope to find ones that are not overly kid populated, but where the owners/employees love to see them. Any suggestions? Stroller accessibility optional.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Kid Friendly
We just celebrated an early Mother's Day by spending the weekend in Canmore. Nice town in many ways and so close for us.
But I'm somehow stuck on the concept of Kid Friendly. Before Scarlett, I didn't need to give this idea much thought, but all of a sudden it feels like there are huge signs and flags everywhere.
For instance, our hotel was pretty kid friendly. (Best Western). We saw lots of kids everywhere, there was a pool with a slide - well that was big-kid friendly, and there were lots of food options at the complimentary breakfast that Scarlett would eat. Our room also came with a fireplace that we couldn't use since there was no protection between us and the hot glass, and a desk with sharp corners right at kid height. That's ok-no fire and we strategically placed items so Scarlett would make it to the real Mother's Day with both eyes. Plus, they let us bring our dog, so for us, dog friendly also meant kid friendly.
We decided to walk into town and use the stroller. It was a very accessible walk as the sidewalks have a smooth graduation to the road-perfect. And Canmore is a pretty busy town for the moms with babies and kids. It may have very well been the highest number of Chariot strollers per capita that I have ever seen.
We quickly realized that what is a friendly pedestrian area is not a friendly stroller area. We didn't venture taking the stroller into any stores for fear that we'd never get out, but the clincher came when we stopped at a cafe for tea and saw the sign "No strollers beyond this point". Really? So we decided to sit at the patio. I probably should have taken our business elsewhere, but I was tired. We we sat down with the stroller on the patio. And the dog-did I mention we had our dog? A few minutes into tea, I read another sign, "No strollers on patio?" Really? And no dogs. Oops. We stayed, no one asked us to leave, but now I felt uncomfortable. The servers were friendly but the rules were not.
We went on the baordwalk by the river-and hauled the stoller up and down the stairs. What would someone in a wheel chair do? No river walk for you.
The trip was still good. We chose to get take out for dinner and eat in our room. Was that influenced by the unpredictable nature of our toddler when we strap her into a high chair, escpecially when we need to wait for food? Of course. And we did visit some fun stores-but individually and not as a family. The second hand book store did have a small kids play area, we were happy to see.
Is this a customary practice to not allow strollers into businesses? Is that the same criteria as wheelchair accessibility?
Yes, strollers are big and awkward. Yes baby carrying can be more friendly at many times. But the amount of stuff that accompanies little people is sometimes too much to carry, with a baby in your arms. And that stroller that may not fit in your store, may be the thing that keeps my toddler from running through your store and checking out all the items on your shelves. Is the no stroller rule saying you don't want stollers in your store, or kids?
A parent has enough things to watch for out that truly matter-keeping the kid from running into traffic, not picking up and eating garbage off the street, not petting stray dogs, leaving items that don't belong to us, where they belong, and not disappearing, period. I personally don't want to also have to watch for the signs that say that I'm not welcome somewhere.
But I'm somehow stuck on the concept of Kid Friendly. Before Scarlett, I didn't need to give this idea much thought, but all of a sudden it feels like there are huge signs and flags everywhere.
For instance, our hotel was pretty kid friendly. (Best Western). We saw lots of kids everywhere, there was a pool with a slide - well that was big-kid friendly, and there were lots of food options at the complimentary breakfast that Scarlett would eat. Our room also came with a fireplace that we couldn't use since there was no protection between us and the hot glass, and a desk with sharp corners right at kid height. That's ok-no fire and we strategically placed items so Scarlett would make it to the real Mother's Day with both eyes. Plus, they let us bring our dog, so for us, dog friendly also meant kid friendly.
We decided to walk into town and use the stroller. It was a very accessible walk as the sidewalks have a smooth graduation to the road-perfect. And Canmore is a pretty busy town for the moms with babies and kids. It may have very well been the highest number of Chariot strollers per capita that I have ever seen.
We quickly realized that what is a friendly pedestrian area is not a friendly stroller area. We didn't venture taking the stroller into any stores for fear that we'd never get out, but the clincher came when we stopped at a cafe for tea and saw the sign "No strollers beyond this point". Really? So we decided to sit at the patio. I probably should have taken our business elsewhere, but I was tired. We we sat down with the stroller on the patio. And the dog-did I mention we had our dog? A few minutes into tea, I read another sign, "No strollers on patio?" Really? And no dogs. Oops. We stayed, no one asked us to leave, but now I felt uncomfortable. The servers were friendly but the rules were not.
We went on the baordwalk by the river-and hauled the stoller up and down the stairs. What would someone in a wheel chair do? No river walk for you.
The trip was still good. We chose to get take out for dinner and eat in our room. Was that influenced by the unpredictable nature of our toddler when we strap her into a high chair, escpecially when we need to wait for food? Of course. And we did visit some fun stores-but individually and not as a family. The second hand book store did have a small kids play area, we were happy to see.
Is this a customary practice to not allow strollers into businesses? Is that the same criteria as wheelchair accessibility?
Yes, strollers are big and awkward. Yes baby carrying can be more friendly at many times. But the amount of stuff that accompanies little people is sometimes too much to carry, with a baby in your arms. And that stroller that may not fit in your store, may be the thing that keeps my toddler from running through your store and checking out all the items on your shelves. Is the no stroller rule saying you don't want stollers in your store, or kids?
A parent has enough things to watch for out that truly matter-keeping the kid from running into traffic, not picking up and eating garbage off the street, not petting stray dogs, leaving items that don't belong to us, where they belong, and not disappearing, period. I personally don't want to also have to watch for the signs that say that I'm not welcome somewhere.
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