Walking in the Capital

by Sasha As I write this, it is a beautiful sunny day in Ottawa. Spring has finally, truly arrived! And so baby and I were out enjoying one of our favourite pastimes: walking the bike paths.

CNN bills Ottawa as one of the world's most bike friendly cities. But the 170km of bike paths are not just a boon for cyclists: they are also great for the strollering set. And as an added bonus: it takes a stroller a lot longer to burn through all that pavement.

My favourite stretch of paths runs along the river, from Andrew Haydon Park up to Parliament Hill, partly because of where we live but the views are also lovely.

Although there are some sections that are designated pedestrian-only, it is important to remember that the path is shared between pedestrians and cyclists. Some rules of safety and etiquette for pedestrians to keep in mind:

1. walk on the right, and leave room to pass on the left
2. if you are using headphones, make sure you can still hear someone coming behind you
3. cyclists should ring their bell before passing - if they do, it's nice to give them a little wave so they know you heard them

But the number one rule: the nice weather is here, so get out and enjoy it!

Where do you like to go walking in the capital?

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.

Andrew Haydon Park

by Sasha Andrew Haydon Park is ready for spring.

The snow has melted from the paths. Well, almost.

And the geese are struting around in pairs, fiercely defending their territory.

Pretty soon, the chains will be off the gates. Water from the waterfall will fill the pond, and the delightful chaps at the shoreline will race their remote-controlled sailboats. And if you ask, they will be happy to show you how they work, perhaps even pluck one out of the water and point out the magical gears inside. (This has been known to happen.)

There will be kids on the play structures, and water in the water park. There will be concerts in the bandshell on Wednesday evenings, and fireworks on Canada Day. The geese will rule the ponds, but if you're lucky, you may spot a heron.

Are YOU ready for spring?

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.

The National Gallery - For Moms

by Sasha

The National Gallery isn't the first place most people think of when it comes to activities for kids. But kids can appreciate art too. I'm thinking about the younger set. The much younger set. I don't know how much a baby gets out of the National Gallery, but I can tell you that it can be a nice place for mom.

Last week I visited the gallery with a couple of other moms, and our kids (aged 6 weeks, 6 months, and newly-walking 9 months). I'm not an art afficionado, but it was a nice place to walk around and just take in the ambiance. Basically a mall, with culture-cred.

I am actually sitting in the middle of the gallery right now, in an indoor garden space reminiscent of a medieval cloister. Not bad for midwinter in Ottawa.

Whenever baby gets fidgety from sitting for too long, we move on. In fact, I've moved twice so far in this paragraph :).

In practical terms, the gallery is a good place for a new mom. It not only provides a break from "four walls and a baby", there are change tables in the washroom, it is nice and quiet and has comfortable chairs to nurse (I recommend the arm chairs in the entrance to the Canadian Gallery). It also has underground parking, a real perk during an Ottawa winter.

And if, like me, you know nothing about art, I'd encourage you to take in one of the Docent's Choice talks, a ten-minute talk about a single piece of art.  My primary goals in today's trip were to get out of the house and to get this post written, but much to my surprise I wound up falling in love with a painting - so much so that I bought a gallery membership (I sure wish I'd known that before paying admission).

The other big concern for a mom with a new baby is the potential disruption if baby gets fussed.  Thankfully, I didn't have that issue today - when baby got fussy all I needed to do was keep moving.  The docent's talk was a particular worry for me.  But not only was baby well behaved, I got the distinct impression that, had it been any different, I would have gotten nothing but sympathy.

Have you been to the National Gallery with your kids? Where do you like to go to get out of the house with baby?

Sidewalk Chalk - The Winter Edition

by Sasha Remember summer? It sure does seem a long time ago now.

Remember hopscotch? I don't know about you, but that's even longer ago. Longer than I care to admit :).

That is, until I read Brie's beanbag post. The shapes she taped to the floor reminded me of sidewalk chalk. And then of all the marvelous things you can do with sidewalk chalk.

And so I shot off to our local paint store for some coloured masking tape and voila! Basement hopscotch!

Not only did we have fun jumping around, Miss Bea also enjoyed adding a few of her own artistic flourishes:

Now I just need to find masking tape in some colour other than green!

How do you like to fill the dark, chilly hours of these winter evenings with your kids?

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.

This Post Is For The Birds

by Sasha Many, many (many many many) years ago, I read an article in Owl magazine about a girl who had trained the chickadees in her backyard to eat from her hand. This took some patience and perseverence - going out every day with a handful of seed, working her way ever closer to the feeder, and finally taking the feeder away. I finally tried this a couple of years ago - and after a week or so I did manage to get a few brave little birds to land on my outstretched hand. It was pretty neat.

I now have a 2-year-old. "Patience" and "perseverence" aren't really in the lexicon yet. But 'bird' certainly is. And so, when I heard rumours of some really friendly chickadees at P11 in the greenbelt, I decided to check it out.

The plan was to take the girls out on Christmas Day, so just to avoid any disappointment, I swung by on Christmas Eve. And sure enough, those birds know where seed comes from. I had none with me, and yet all I had to do was step out of the parking lot and stand there, and within a minute or two the nearby bushes were a-twitter with chubby little birds, all eyeing me hopefully.

Christmas Day was a success. We went out with a big back of black sunflower seeds, which Miss Bea cheerfully scooped from the bag into piles on the ground. She liked the birds, and tried to hold some seed out for them, but then squealed and jumped away whenever one came near (and as a testament to how brave these birds are, that didn't stop them trying).  Before long they were actually tusselling for the seed on my hand (video).

If you would like to check it out, P11 is located off Hunt Club road between the 416 and Moodie. There are pathways & ski trails, but you can find the chickadees just by stepping out of the parking lot.  Note though, as we learned on a later visit, the chickadees have the sense to stay inside on the blustery days, leaving us wishing we did too.

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.