Greenhouse Gas Bag

Recently I was lined up to register for more Japanese lessons (I suspect this will be fertile ground for blog entries – stay tuned). I was standing behind this non-Japanese guy who was there to register his four year old half-Japanese son (who is no doubt operating at a much higher level than I am on the foreign-language front). He also had his other son, about one, in tow.

I kind of zoned out, as one does when one is standing in a line moving at glacier-like speed. At first I wasn’t really paying attention to the guy talking until I realized that he wanted me to hear what he had to say.

Guy (to woman near back of line): Oh hi – how are you?

Woman: Good. Where’s your wife today, she didn’t bring your sons to register?

Guy: She works on Saturday.

Woman: I see.

Guy (to his four year old son): That was Mayumi. Do you remember her from the organic market we went to a couple of weeks ago?

Son: Hmmm…

Guy (to his four year old son): You know, the organic market we went to?

Guy (to his one year old son): Do you see Mayumi over there? We saw her at the organic market.

One year old: ????

Guy (to four year old son): Mayumi brought her son to the organic market. Maybe he will be in your class.

Okay already. We all get it. You go to organic markets. Good for you.

You know, go to your organic markets, drive your Smart Cars, compost your dog’s doo doo, but try, please just try, to be less smug and sanctimonious about it. People like him are less about being environmentally friendly and more about trying to make sure everyone knows that they are morally superior to you and me by pointing out all their efforts to “out-green” the next person. It might be good for the planet, but bad for those of us stuck in line behind you.

Canada's Best Kept Secret

Hubby the Great and I love our adopted hometown of Ottawa. We’ve been here six years, first as singles, then newly-marrieds, and now as parents. This city has been a perfect fit for all three of those stages.

Ottawa gets an undeserved bad rap for being a boring government town. So not true. There is such an excellent quality of life here. We have discovered a beautiful and elegant city full of history. People are friendly here and the crime rate is surprisingly low for a city of this size. The housing prices haven’t gone berserk like Toronto, Vancouver, or Calgary and commuting times are still comparatively reasonable. Ottawa has an abundance of quality restaurants and no end of amazing festivals, historic sites, and museums. It is a dynamic city with a young population that has come from every corner of Canada. There is always something to do and see here.

Yes, the winters can be miserably cold, but this is Canada after all. Good luck trying to avoid snow unless you live on the west coast (and even they got DUMPED ON last year). And, yes, the best place for shopping in Ottawa is still Montreal. But, that too is changing (a shout out to the shops on Sussex Drive).

Everyone who comes to visit us from out of town is pleasantly surprised over how much Ottawa is different from their expectations. They all leave being as enchanted with the city as we are.

So it was with such pride (and a bit of smug validation) that I saw this survey ranking Ottawa as Canada ’s Best Place to Live 2007. I know these things are always highly subjective but it still warms my heart to see others coming around to our point of view.

Milk On The Rocks, Please

We went out for dinner last night to one of our favourite restaurants. We love it for the great food and great service but also because they are cool with babies (it helps that we now do our fine dining at 5 p.m.).

I swear, the following picture was not staged. He opened the cocktail menu himself and found his reading material to be of the utmost fascination. I have no idea who he takes after.

And So It Begins

A new NFL season that is. Not that I care very much but for Hubby the Great, he has been waiting for this since February. And with each new season comes a close personal relationship with the T.V. every Sunday (and sometimes Monday night too if his beloved Chicago Bears are playing).

Oh but being a football fan doesn’t just constitute cursing at the T.V. at regular intervals anymore. It has become A WHOLE LOT MORE.

The introduction of fantasy football leagues has virtually ensured that being a fan is a 24/7 job. There are trades to be made, lineups to be set during the week. Then there is the obsessive checking of scores on game day. I’m not sure if Hubby the Great spends more time watching the games as he does running to the computer.

This is all harmless fun though as I can tell it really enhances Hubby the Great’s football season experience (and I didn’t think that was even possible). But this year, he has got himself a recruit…

Do You Throw In A T.V. With That?

Like most childless couples, Hubby the Great and I didn’t have much of a clue when it came to baby equipment. But when I got pregnant we had to get wise. At least we thought we were getting wise.

When it came to strollers we chose a “travel system”. It fit all our needs - a stroller combined with a car seat. We selected the best-selling one Babies R’ Us carried. And we were oh so grateful when The Wee Man’s great-grandparents bought it as a gift for us as it came in just around the $500 mark. A lot of money, to be sure, but we knew that we would get a lot of use out of it.

As it turns out, we love his stroller. It is durable, moves well, and has all the necessities for parents like a large storage rack and cup holders. As for The Wee Man, he digs his ride. He leans back, arm up on the side of the stroller, and acts as if Xzibit himself pimped it out for him.

Poor guy, if he only knew that it appears we have the stroller equivalent of the Griswold Family Truckster.

Apparently the stroller “to have” these days isn’t ours. The one mothers are clamoring for in baby boutiques (forget Babies R’ Us – how utterly common) all over town has a price tag double the cost of ours.

Now, I’m all for style, but when it comes to baby equipment, practicality and functionality usually win out.

When I told Hubby the Great about this stroller caste system and what the going rate was for this Rolls Royce of strollers, he rightly asked if the price included a television set.

“Ha! You’d think so,” I came back with. “But get this. These strollers have crappy storage, no cup holders, and, they’re wide open at the top, leaving the baby exposed to wind, rain, sun, whatever. I can’t figure out what the big deal is.”

“Well for a thousand bucks those things better damn well push themselves,” said Hubby the Great.

Or at least come with a T.V.