Sadly, it’s rare for Amy, Baxter and I to enjoy an outing together these days. Life is busy.
Last Saturday we made a break for High Park with modest supplies and big appetites. Besides being in a place where the word ‘park’ is everywhere, it took us quite a while to do just that. After finding a spot to park (not an easy task), we took a long walk to the hot dog cart (first things first).
Satiated, we were able to appreciate our own company, take a breath, and although all the cherry blossoms had frozen off their perch days before, and wind was brisk, dry and cold, we couldn’t help but appreciate all the sights. What a wonderful way to spend time with the family—a trip to a great park complete with a zoo (please support your local zoo!).
Normally, I would tout the tranquility of such an outing, but Baxter isn’t much for tranquility. He did enjoy screeching at the bunny rabbit. I enjoyed having my nose suckled by an eight-week-old llama. Baxter was more fascinated by the other babies. He also felt he was louder and more flamboyant than the pheasant. Amy concurred and so did many innocent bystanders. Amy also documented all she saw through the lens, taking the time to enjoy the details. Baxter was a little jealous that the capybaras got more lens time, but he has his ways of attracting his own attention.
It’s easy to appreciate the many simple moments in a day when you share them with your family.
As a brand new Dad to Baxter Roy Bond, Trevor is just getting a taste for fatherhood, balancing work and family. An entrepreneur running his own design and web development firm, Trevor is also known for his previous life in Peterborough, ON as the owner operator of a retail store and a restaurant, banquet and rep theatre, The Kaos Café and Revue. Creative by nature and encouraged by his talented wife and jewellery artist Amy Bond, Trevor has been seen on small stages playing live music or involved in creative projects, renovations and dabbling in real estate. Yoga takes up the bulk of his competitive sport routine and his bicycle is his friend.
Another week, another five. Moms are really into the Nutella lawsuit, videos that are pulling on our parental heart strings, design-your-own-shoes sites and more. Here’s what caught my attention this week.
Firstly I just want to clarify that no, those are not my shoes. But here’s a cool trend that caught my eye—websites that allow you to design your own shoes. Move over, Manolo. Sites like Milk and Honey give you the option to choose the heel, toe, strap, material and colour for your perfect shoe. It’s a whole new world of opportunity.
I don’t need to expand on the Nutella story because people already seem to be quite familiar with it. We’ve received more comments about it through our blog and Facebook than any other post—moms care. Interestingly, most feel that moms are responsible for knowing what their children eat and that it’s ridiculous to blame the brand.
So, Nutella lies to consumers at a time when childhood obesity is a National epidemic and moms say so what? Moms accept that reading labels and getting to the truth is their ultimate responsibility. But what does this say about how much they are paying attention to marketing messages? Not much. It sounds like they accept the fact that brands don’t tell the whole truth. Interesting.
One of my favourite comments was from a mom who suggested that Nutella still be punished but that the money should go to a cause rather than the moms who filed the suit. I think putting it towards healthy lunch programs for schools is a good start. Does anyone want to take on that project?
On a lighter and more sentimental note, I have two awesome videos to share with you. Both will hopefully remind you to enjoy your kids—whatever age they are (even crazy toddlers!) because they are proof that kids grow even faster than all those old people keep telling us they do.
This one has made the rounds so you might have seen it already—but just in case you haven’t…
We recently published a list of baby essentials for our readers. All of our selections are beautiful and lovely but I think if I was going to a baby shower I would bring this print. It’s got high impact for a great price—and it’s a fun alternative to an Eames rocking chair.
If you went to a baseball game (close your eyes and pretend you don’t have kids for a minute) and caught one of the fly balls, would you keep it? Or would you look around for a small child to give it to? Apparently the fact that an adult caught the ball and didn’t give it to a little kid is newsworthy. The story was caught on camera at a Blue Jays game and then picked up by the Globe and Mail (and now I’m writing about it). Even as a mom of two young boys who are baseball fanatics, I say, ‘he who caught the ball gets to keep it’. Those are the rules of the game after all. If only the game of baseball could move along at a faster pace, the media wouldn’t have to look for human interest stories to help pass the time! But I digress.
Comments
hey just read this story about the worst mother’s day gifts.
http://www.nantonnews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3555792