Earlier this week, the blogging gang got together for SteakCamp at The Brave Bull. [read Raul and Karen's reviews.] I couldn’t attend as I was at our daycare’s BBQ. It’s one of the things about being at the higher end of the SocMed demographics. Most of the gang in town are single, or married without children. Not me, I gots responsibilities.
The tag line is “making eating out child’s play.” The concept is a large open area for the children to frolick freely, while around the outside moms and dads chill with lattes and salads and have a stressless visit.
It is novel. I’ve seen many a mom with a squirmy son while she tries to kibbitz with her girlfriends on a Starbucks patio, this is the kind of place they could now frequent. Moms get to gossip, kids get to squirm wherever they want.
You do have to pay to play, $4 for the kids and $2 for the adults. They’re selling memberships at $125/yr for kids and $75/yr for adults. That’s about $25 a month to have a membership at a cafe with a playroom. Seems a little steep. But then again, perhaps that’s the crowd they’re going for. The National Post piece is nothing but dollar signs and name droppping.
… crawling with $1,000 Bugaboo strollers .. after several Vancouver-area house flips, raised the equity (just shy of $300,000) … The adult chairs are Eames and the $425 highchairs are HiLo, by Montreal’s Age Design … These are the kind of kids who learn sign language just for fun. … there is organic buffalo meatloaf on the menu, and Weleda nursing tea … wooden trucks by Fagus and bright plastic Trioli chairs … our stylishly rounded-off James Burleigh table … the designer toys, the melamine dishes, the German wallpaper … [National Post]
It all sounds veryPosh and Becks.
The food is all organic, and ultra healthy. I had a Portuguese Stew, Jen had some salads while Z had brown rice pasta with turkey quinoa meatballs.
My stew was all potato with sauce, Jen’s salads were a little too much to have as a full meal (as in the taste got boring quick), while Z licked and smacked his fingers inhaling the meatballs and pasta. The portion was huge for $5 and we have some locked up in the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch.
babyeats has only been open a few weeks, and, as you’d expect, some of the things just didnt quite seemed finished about it.
Rachel, the owner, admitted they didnt have the rice balls that were on the menu because they hadn’t found an appropriate rice yet. We weren’t given napkins or wipes and the highchairs were very high for Z (our $40 ikea chair at home blows the stink out of these $425 beasts). The place is called babyeats, but at a larger 13months, the tray was almost tight under Z’s armpits.
Would we go back? I don’t know. $4 for a 13 mo old to mess around for a while seems a little steep, especially when you toss in $2 for each adult. Our entire meal came to $36, which felt expensive for what it was. Jen wasnt a huge fan of the toys either. There were lots of sharp edges and a few of the heavier toys (like a wooden cash register) weren’t attached to the shelf and came crashing down.
I asked her if it was a place she would come with her girlfriends and relax while the kids ran around, again she wasn’t sure.
The demographics seem a little off, for what they offer. There was one child there pushing 5 who seemed really bored, the walking toddlers had a bit of fun, and you really had to hover over Z to make sure he didnt bonk himself, so the demo seems tight. 2-4 year olds only.
It’s a fun and interesting and fresh idea, will it still be open in 2 or 3 years? Not so sure. Then again, we don’t have a Bugaboo stroller and a Danish au pair.
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Last year, on this day, we took a 3 week old Z to a live broadcast Nat and Drewwere having at English Bay to kick off summer. They had one again this morning, and we thought it would be fun to go down and take some pictures to compare last year with this year.
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Birthdays are not about us. They’re about our Mothers.
Sure, your birthday is the day you came into the world and it’s the day we fete ourselves, or are feted by others - but really, it’s about Mom. We just kinda handed our ticket to the attendant and went along for the ride. Mom did all the work to make things happen.
I have had many different ideas about what to post today, Zacharie’s first birthday. I was going to do a montage of videos, or a montage of photos, or write something profound.. instead I want this to be about Jen. Zacharie’s here, but she did the hard work.
So have a look at these clips, filmed by Jen when Zacharie was about 7 weeks old and tell me she’s not the greatest mother in the world. I dare you.
The music in the background is a song called A Day in May. I wrote it while sitting next to Jen in the hospital. She was in labour, I was writing a song in Garage Band. Yes, today is a day to celebrate Zacharie, but it’s also a day to stop and say thanks to Jen.
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Angelina Jolie has given birth to twin girls and she stole our girl name. Isla Marchelina and Amelie Janewere born in France this weekend, and are, no doubt, already gorgeous.
Amelie! That was ours! Oh sure, it was from a movie that both Jen and I liked, but it’s also a richly beautiful french name that we adore!
Now, it’s not as bad as one of Jen’s girlfriends stealing a baby name, but it’s almost as bad. I mean, who wants to be a famous baby copycat namer? You don’t see people running out and naming their kid Apple do you?
Sooo .. I guess we have to hope for a second boy for #2 (Although I would LOVE to have an Amelie in the house). I’m not going to tell you that name, you know, in case Nicole Kidman steals it.
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Zacharie was supposed to be born May 30, the same day as my mom. We had an appointment to get induced, and this is the video we shot as we left for the hospital at 8a.
After 9 hours in the hospital, Jen still wasn’t in full blown labour. The doc gave us a choice: kick it up a notch and have the baby at 2am, or come back on the 31st and try again. We chose the latter.
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Jen and I subscribed to the newsletters from BabyCenter.com when she found out she was pregnant. They’re great. They give you updates as you move through your pregnancy about what’s happening to your body and how your baby is growing.
Yes, they also send you links to buying baby items, but since they’re all American, we’re not tempted since we don’t qualify - so it’s purely an information source for us.
I didnt know the emails would continue after Z was born, but they have. Your Baby This Week arrived every Thursday detailing growth and behaviour and diet changes in our son to watch for. I just got the latest email and realized everything has changed. Z will turn 1 on Saturday.
This latest email is titled: My Toddler This Week: Your 1 Year Old. No more baby, he’s a toddler.
Now I admit the toddling is limited to pulling himself up on boxes and chairs, but he’s pretty adept and sliding down the step from our kitchen to living room and he can haul ass up the stairs to the bedrooms pretty quickly. And, come to think of it, he’s also mastering the slide (forward AND backwards) at daycare. Wait .. he IS a toddler.
As devoured for the first time, by a young boy 1 week shy of his first birthday.
Last night Z also got his first taste of La Casa Gelato .. unfortunately no cameras were present .. he didnt like it at first, but was soon grabbing and clawing to get his face buried in my bowl of creamy goodness.
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Working in radio locks me in to a pretty specific time frame. It’s not flexible, I’m on the air from 2p-7p every day. That’s it. That’s my shift. If I’m not there, it’s dead air.
I had an ex who joked that I would be so easy to cheat on, because she could just turn on the radio and know exactly where I was. Hmmmm I wonder why she’s an ex?
Jen’s a sales rep, so her schedule is a little more flexible and fluid. She has some conference calls and meetings, but really she makes her own hours to get the job done.
Z is pretty sick this week. The poor little bear is congested, has a runny nose and is having trouble sleeping. I caught a piece of what he has this weekend, and you can add achey and miserable into the mix.
Today as we were getting him ready to take him to daycare, he just started fighting. He was stuffy, coughing and crying. We couldn’t take him - but who would look after him? Jen had a day planned with her supervisor to get retrained coming back from mat leave, and I have to be on the air at 3.
Rock, meet hard place. Hard place, meet rock.
Eventually I traded shifts with our evening guy, so here I am at the radio station rocking the evening shift for the first time in more than a decade. It’s weird - but fun.
A caller just told me about Nannies On Call. A local company of bonded professional nannies who will offer care in a pinch.
Nannies on Call is Western Canada’s premier childcare agency serving Calgary, Vancouver and Whistler. We have been offering exceptional on call, temporary, part-time and full-time nanny services since 2001. You can put your mind at ease knowing that all of our nannies have been carefully screened – we ensure that our nannies are highly experienced, educated women with a passion for childcare.
The service is recommended by the concierge at the Fairmont Hotel, which makes sense. Away for a weekend and you want to leave the kids for a night - these pros will help.
$18/hr would have nicely covered the 2hr window between my work starting and Jen’s finishing today.
Next time.
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So the type of restaurant reviewing I’m up to is a place like babyeats in Lynn Valley. It’s a new concept that’s been getting quite a bit of media buzz (National Post - BCLocalNews - North Shore Outlook - North Shore News), so Jen and I checked it out.
You do have to pay to play, $4 for the kids and $2 for the adults. They’re selling memberships at $125/yr for kids and $75/yr for adults. That’s about $25 a month to have a membership at a cafe with a playroom. Seems a little steep. But then again, perhaps that’s the crowd they’re going for. The National Post piece is nothing but dollar signs and name droppping.
Rachel, the owner, admitted they didnt have the rice balls that were on the menu because they hadn’t found an appropriate rice yet. We weren’t given napkins or wipes and the highchairs were very high for Z (our $40 ikea chair at home blows the stink out of these $425 beasts). The place is called babyeats, but at a larger 13months, the tray was almost tight under Z’s armpits.
The demographics seem a little off, for what they offer. There was one child there pushing 5 who seemed really bored, the walking toddlers had a bit of fun, and you really had to hover over Z to make sure he didnt bonk himself, so the demo seems tight. 2-4 year olds only.
Jen and I subscribed to the newsletters from 
Z is pretty sick this week. The poor little bear is congested, has a runny nose and is having trouble sleeping. I caught a piece of what he has this weekend, and you can add achey and miserable into the mix.
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