Coffee & S'cream

There is a little coffee shop on Northmount Drive called Coffee & S’cream.  What’s different about this coffee shop is the fact that it has a separate area for Parents and tots (up to 6 years).  The coffee shop has the usual coffee items, of which I have not tried as I do not drink coffee, but have heard are very good.  They serve a variety of food, such as baked goods and lunch items. 

There is also a large variety of ice cream, with different cone types and sizes, as well as sundae options.  The lunch menu offers a variety of healthy food which my kids and I really enjoy and we have not tried the ice cream yet but I think we will this summer!

Coffee & S’cream is owned by a couple and they have built it into something amazing.  It opened in 2004 and is still going strong despite the fact that many other such places have opened and closed down again in that time.

The separate area for parents and tots is the real draw for my kids.  They love the open floor plan that gives them so much room to run and play.  There are three main large climbers, with a track around the edge for the ‘cars’ to drive.  A couple of houses, kitchens and many food pieces are available for the kids to play.  Tables and chairs for Mom and Dad are place close to the small picnic tables, and high chairs are close at hand for the babies. For a full review of the play area go to  http://calgaryplaygrounds.blogspot.com/2010/11/coffee-and-scream.html

All in all this is a great place to visit, whether it is with the kids, or just for a coffee for yourself!

Wordless Wednesday

Ikea

I love Ikea.  My kids love Ikea.  It is where they ask to go when they are bored.  There is so much to see and do when we are there, it is kind of like a stimulation overload!

I like to go and look at all the things I would buy if I had all the money to spend and an unlimited amount of houses to decorate.  It is hard not to spend my money when I go there.  They have such a variety of things, and a lot of them you cannot find anywhere else.  Some things are so inexpensive that I cannot help but to buy them!  I have so many things from Ikea I can hardly name them all.

But I must say my favorite part is the lunch (or breakfast, or supper – whatever time you happen to be there!).  It is so cheap to eat.  My favorite is the meatballs.  My kids love the Mac and Cheese (although I find it a little mushy), and my husband has been trying everything on the menu.  I like that you can get a free jar of baby food (Heinz) with every adult meal purchased.  There is not great selection, but it is free food for your baby!

My kids love going  it Ikea because there is so much for them to do.  Scattered throughout the store are small interactive play stations.  They do not always work (which makes us very sad), but when they do I have a hard time pulling them away.  In the kids section they have a spot where the tables and chairs are set out for the kids to try, and they have a section where there are toys for them to play with!  What a better way to get the parents to buy things for their kids, than to be able to see how much fun they have with them?  In the cafeteria area, there is a place with a TV and more toys!  The kids can play and watch TV while  you enjoy your lunch.

Although we have never tried the Småland, my kids think it looks great!  You have to be a certain height and potty trained.  Madison just reached the height milestone, but every time we go it is very busy and the line up is too long for us to wait.  We will have to make the trek on a weekday so we can try it out.  I think it would be less busy then.

Cardel Place

We went to Cardel Place today.  This center is a great place for a number of different activities.  We went for Gym days.  This is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 12pm.  It costs $5.50/child, unless they are not walking.  The gym (which is across from the pool), is divided in half and set up with physical activity toys.  There are balls, hula hoops, a small slide, small climber, pylons, large mat area and a parachute. On Thursdays they set up a very large jumper with a slide.  It is a great place for kids to run, when they can’t outside.

View Full Album

Aside from that, there are also other services there as well.  The Calgary Public Library has a branch set up there, a climbing wall, skating, Jugo Juice, childminding, exercise room and of course the swimming pool.

We have taken advantage of the pool, and the kids love it.  There are different areas of the pool; tots pool, hot tub, main pool, deep end and shallow ends are divided and a lazy river.  There is a slide into the pool, but it is fairly small.  Cardel offers swimming lessons, as well as a Parent and Tot time on Wednesdays from 10am to 12pm ($5/child, parents are free).

My nephews play hockey at Cardel, and my niece takes figure skating there, my brother in law has a gym membership, and another nephew took a martial arts class there.  There is something for everyone.  We seem to be at Cardel Place a lot, especially in the winter months, when it is colder, so you are wanting to spend less time outside.

Wordless Wednesday

Sleeping

 Sleeping Sleeping

Car Seat Safety

I am the mother of three young kids.  My oldest is almost 4, my second is 2 1/2 and my youngest is 9 months.  They are all in car seats.  I am a very firm believer in using car seats in the safest manner.  I read the manuals (not cover to cover, but I get the essentials), and follow the instructions.  I look at the correct way to install them, and I figure out how they work.  My knowledge in the proper usage of car seats is something that I am proud of.  Friends come to me to make sure their seats are installed correctly, or ask for help in doing so.  In 2002, I took a Child Safety Seat Training Session. 

I feel well informed on the issue.

A couple of weeks ago, my oldest daughter told me she could now undo her chest clip on her own.  I thought this was great!  It made it much easier to get them in and out with her doing part of the work.  Then my husband, while getting her out one day, noticed that the clip was not staying together at all.  It was popping open with the slightest pressure!  That is not good.  The chest clip needs to be secure for the car seat to work correctly.  So I took the seat out immediately and was going to buy a new chest clip to put on it.  I happened to turn the seat over, and saw the expiry date.  The seat had expired before she was even born!  I had been using this seat for a  long time.  I was given it (and the one she used in the second vehicle) when my niece outgrew it.  I never thought to cheek the date.

So I pulled out all the seats  (six of them, three in each vehicle!), and had to replace three of them because they had expired.  I feel slightly humbled, and very thankful that I was not in an accident while I was using old seats. 

PLEASE  check  your car seats for expiry dates.  They are stamped on the bottom of the car seat, molded right in so they cannot be removed.  Do not wait.  The plastic wears over time, and the integrity of the seat is reduced, and as I found out, they can become unsafe.

Wordless Wednesday

 

View Full Album

Beaners – Hair cuts for kids

So I took my kids for hair cuts today.  The last time I took them, we went them to my own hairdresser and they cried the whole time.  They wanted to go to the place with the cars.  Since then I told Madison the name of the place she wanted to go – Beaners.  I don’t think she will ever forget the name now.  It really is a neat place for kids to go, as they cater to them like you wouldn’t believe.  They have rides (like you would find in the mall) as chairs for the kids to sit on, they have TV screens with kids’ movies playing (today it was a Barbie fairy movie), and they have a ball pit to play in when their hair cut is done (or while they are waiting).

I called for an appointment when they opened at nine, and was able to get in the same day, which was really nice. They have four locations in Calgary, but I have only been to the one on Country Hills Boulevard.  They are open six days a week.  The hairdresser that cut Marshall’s hair told me that when it is their first haircut, they try to make it special , but I’m not sure how, as I did not take them there for their first cuts. Maybe I will for Makenna’s.

View Full Album

Madison just had a trim, then the hairdresser asked if she wanted sparkles!  That made her day.  Marshall had a lot of hair cut off.  I loved his long locks, but everyone told me he looked like a girl, so we went for a ‘boy’ cut.  It took a while, but the lady that did his hair was great with  him.  I thought he was going to cry (cause that is what he does!), but he didn’t.  She even used the razor on him, and he just sat there!

About me!

So staying at home with three small kids is sometimes trying, but I could not imagine leaving them and going to work.  I was running a day-home, but have recently stopped.  There are so many things to do around the city with and without my kids.  I am going to try to write about thing in Calgary, and because I do have three small angels, most things will be about them!