Micky Dee's

I've never been one to promote McDonalds. It's not that I'm against fast food (I looooove Wendy's, but of course don't eat it often), it's just that I don't think their food is that great. Wendy's burgers are usually loaded with toppings, but McDonalds burgers look like they've been run over with a steamroller. They look nothing like the ads. Fries are too skinny and salty.

But since Nathan was born, my opinion has changed. And its not because the food magically got better. 

When I was still nursing, I found McDonalds was the perfect place to stop on a road trip. I tried once (with a friend who was nursing as well) to feed Nathan in a Starbucks, but the folks enjoying a $8 coffee weren't too pleased with the interruption of their jazz music, so we picked up and left for the McDonalds across the street.

It's the perfect place! Lots of them have a "playplace", a separate room where kids are free to scream and run around like chickens with their heads cut off. So it's not out of place to nurse there. Everyone crazy enough to be in that room has been there before, so they don't bat an eyelash when they see a nursing woman. Sounds kinda wacky, but it makes a relaxing environment.

McDonalds is usually a messy and loud place anyway, so no one really cares if your kid is making a huge mess or making tons of noise. You don't have to feel stressed out to keep them on their best behaviour. 

Also, if baby has a poonami, there's a huge family restroom where Daddy and Mommy can fix the problem together, with help from a.... CHANGE TABLE! Gasp! I've changed a poonami on the floor of a dirty restroom before. Not healthy, not pretty, not fun.

And since Nathan is old enough to eat real food now, he can do that at the Golden Arches (wait...real food at a fast food restaurant??). He can eat the grilled chicken and cheese out of my fajita, have some apple slices, or some chicken nuggets (which Mommy has eaten the crispy skin off of...love that Mom diet...fried skin and bread crusts).

And hey. If he's really fussy, a fry can go a loooooong way.

Every McDonalds I've been too has bench seats where baby can lie down to eat a bottle. A&W... not so much.

He's going to start cows milk soon and they sell that too. 

Plus, in the past several years, they've go on the "health kick" and have started serving food for adults that won't lead to a heart attack. Well, at least if you eat in moderation!

It's so hard while on the road to know where to stop that can accommodate a baby, so I am ALWAYS thankful to see that familiar sign in the distance. Way to go McDonalds, for being the one true family orientated restaurant I know.

Pass the TSP Please

Riddle me this:

What is the first snack food you feed you baby?

What food do you put into a tupperware container and have in your diaper bag at all times in case your baby gets fussy at the store?

What food to babies learn fine motor skills with?

If you answered Cheerios, you're right.

They dissolve in the mouth great, and are small enough so baby doesn't choke. It's cute to watch them learn how to use their fingers by picking them up, "o" by "o" and finding the correct place to put them. 

They're great! But I found out something terribly disturbing in the past few days. 

They have TSP (tri sodium phosphate) in them. You know, the cleaning agent you put on your walls to prepare them for painting?? It's the 6th ingredient. Right after salt.

I looked up other uses of TSP. It's a stain remover, degreaser, but can also be used as a laxative. Well, no duhh. What else do you think will happen to your digestive system if you ingest the chemical under my sink that says "do not get on skin or clothing. Keep out of children's reach".

Needless to say, we have been re-thinking the decision to give them to Nathan. I don't think we're being unreasonable or over paranoid about it. Yes, billions of kids have eaten the stuff (like, every baby I know) and are totally fine. Yes, there is probably only a teeny weeny amount in it, (and a Cheerios rep says that gastric juices break up the ions so no actual TSP remains). And no, Cheerios didn't get to be one of the best cereal sellers of all time by poisoning its consumers, but still. Why not try an alternative?

So at the grocery store today, we checked all the brands of "O" cereal, and they all contain TSP. We even looked at Heinz's "Nutrios", an "o" cereal especially for babies, and even that has TSP. The only one we found without it was an organic kind called "On the go O's". So we'll give that a try. 

I doubt this phase will last long. It's just gross right now. It's like finding a cockroach at your favourite restaurant. You get grossed out and avoid it for awhile, but then you realize how good it was and go back when your appetite for the place has returned. 

But until then, our box of TSP-ios will be going stale in our cupboard. 

Happy Belated Canada Day

Happy 141st birthday Canada!

Anyone who's been to the USA will know they are a patriotic nation (hold on...why am I talking about the States in a Canada Day blog...just hang in there). I just got back from our southern neighbours last week. I'm always astounded by the amount of stars and stripes I see. Not only on businesses, but on every second house I pass (I'm sure there were more than usual, due to the 4th being around the corner). And they're not the dish-rag-flags we have here either, all tattered and torn. I'm disgusted as the state of some Canadian flags I see around here. Like the massive one in Surrey. It spent YEARS looking more like a maypole than a flag. I kept meaning to write a letter but never did.

Anyway, as I was riding around town yesterday, I noticed the lack of flags. Well, there were flags around, but nothing compared to the States. 

But I'm guilty too. Where's my flag? I don't even know where to buy one. Would I put it up? Would it look tacky? It made me wonder if we are just not as patriotic as the Americans. 

Are we any less proud to be Canadian because we don't have a flag? I say no. Everyone who visits here knows they're in Canada so we don't really need flags to remind them. We show them it's Canada by doing other things... like giving universal healthcare and not being so populated. Plus, there are no outlet malls so they'll know it's Canada. 

Last night there was the annual fireworks display. We wanted to go, but didn't want to get Nathan out of bed. When we heard the first boom, we looked out all the windows to see if we could see them. No luck. 

So we went on the roof of our house and could see them! It was such a great moment. Just the two of us, standing on our roof in the warm airwatching a celebration for our country.

I'm proud to be Canadian.

I'll leave you with a song about Canada. It's by the Arrogant Worms. 

CANADA'S REALLY BIG

When i look around me, i can't believe what i see

it seems as if this country has lost its will to live

the economy is lousy, we barely have an army

but we can still stand proudly because canada's really big

we're the second largest country on this planet earth

and if Russia keeps on shrinking, then soon we'll be first!

(as long as we keep quebec)

The USA has tanks, and switzerland has banks

they can keep them thanks, they just don't amount

cause when you get down to it, you find out what the truth is,

it isn't what you do with it, it's the size that counts

most people will tell you that france is pretty large

but you can put fourteen frances into this land of ours!

(it'd take a lot of work, it'd take a whole lot of work

we're larger than malaysia, almost as big as asia

we're bigger than australia and it's a continent

so big we seldom bother to go see one another

but we often go to other countries for vacations

our mountains are very pointy, our prairies are not

the rest is kinda bumpy, but man do we have a lot!

(we've got a lot of land, we've got a whole lot of land)

so stand up and be proud and sing it very loud

we stand out from the crowd, cause Canada's really big

In Review

I thought I'd do you a service and rate & review the last 5 movies I've watched, on a scale from 0 - 5 stars. No worries, there are no spoilers. Hopefully you enjoy my recommendations. And even more importantly, I hope I've spared you some hours of boredom. 

Be Kind Rewind *

Wow. What a waste of time. I want those 1.5 hours of my life back. And the 5 minutes I'm spending writing about it. The only reason I didn't stop watching it was because I was too hot to get off the couch. I am usually a Jack Black fan, but this was just plain stupid. It gets one * because I think I remember laughing once. Maybe twice. 

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets * * *

If I had a dime for every time I said, "AS IF" during this movie...

Not as good as NT1, but then again, what sequel is? It was too unbelievable, totally predicable, yet still entertaining (it would have got 2.5 starts but I can't figure out how to do a half star using this font).

Fools Gold - not rated

I think I watched 30 minutes and then left to go do other entertaining things like brushing my teeth or cleaning the toilet. Same old, same old. Didn't rate it as I didn't finish it. 

The Lion King * * * * * 

I babysat my nephew last week and we watched this movie 3 times back to back before noon. I can't get sick of it! The opening scene still gives me goose-bumps. I first saw it in the theatre in 1994 when my sister sent me there for my 14th birthday. I think I've seen it 2 billion times since. It was awesome to watch it with my nephew because we both were reciting the words and singing the songs. Colin doesn't let me do that. I don't know WHY! 

P.S. I Love You * * * *

Ladies, ladies, ladies. This is one of those chick flicks that you MUST watch at least once (like The Notebook). Rather depressing concept, and one questionable scene (doesn't every movie have one now?), but a great movie I definitely recommend. Watch when you're depressed for even more waterworks. Watch WITHOUT the husband if you hate those clueless "guy" remarks they have to make during the sappiest parts. Would have been 5 *'s if that one scene wasn't in it. 

There you go. Enjoy.