Monday, August 29, 2005

SF SWIMMING


After poking our heads out this weekend and feeling the unusual and welcome summer weather, we spent part of Saturday and Sunday afternoon at the Mission Pool. Ruth is pictured here stuffing her fist in her mouth to muffle the shrieks of delight brought by the mere prospect of getting in the water. There are Parks and Rec pools all over the city, and the modest $3 fee for adults and .50 for kids makes for a cheap and easy toddler pleaser. Check the schedule for "family swim" or lessons if you are the commitment type. With the coming super storms and the encroachment of the sea upon our shores, everybody should know how to swim! Course, you don't have to scare the kiddies with that tidbit.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Pasta Pomodoro


Everybody knows Pasta Pomodoro, there are seven of them in SF alone. It's cheap, fresh, tasty, and fast fast fast, which is key when you are more than a little cranky and don't want to walk back down the hill to make lunch for your very spicy toddler. The green on Ruth's chin is the basil dipping oil, she loves it. They also have a quick lunch menu that comes served with a salad or soup and a kid's menu that comes with a chocolate sundae. On this outing, Ruth got her first potty chair from Peek a Boutique. She isn't using it yet, but is demonstrating that she knows it is for her by putting her toys in it.

Friday, August 12, 2005

Oakland Athletics!



Despite the tears pictured (who can blame her -- giant elephant making squeaking noises?) Ruth had a great time at yesterday's game. The A's encourage young fans with a club and activities for older tykes as well as have a playground (Little Stompers, across from section 219-220) for when somebody gets bored. On a crowded day as was yesterday, you may be stuck wheeling around enjoying the game through the portholes since you can't really get a stroller up that many stairs. Course, this was a solo trip for Ruth and her dad, might be easier with two guardians.

K-Rod dropped the ball in a breathtaking finish to a game that will surely send us to the series. Perhaps somebody else cried like a baby...

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Civic Center Plaza


We have begun combining our Wednesday rabbit food outing with a visit to the nearby playground. There are actually two fenced play areas, we presume segregated by age, but kids and parents seem to enjoy both. The bums steer clear which alleviates some of the worry about flesh eating diseases (this is Civic Center after all). One plus, the structures are pretty easy for parents to chase their toddlers around on. You will recognize this as a bonus after you have played the twist in a panic on those tiny little walkways trying to keep your 18-month-old from flinging herself off the monster slide.

Friday, August 05, 2005

Le Soleil in the Richmond


We finally broke our jalopy and had to replace Ruth's ride which entailed a visit to City Kids (3rd and Clement), the only full service stop for baby wheels in the city. Great store, great staff, best quote of the week ("we should send lawyers to China, maybe that'll slow em down") and tons of strollers you can test drive with your critter. When you're about to plunk down that many dollars, you best make sure your feet aren't cracking into the frame. Across the street is the excellent Le Soleil Vietnamese restaurant. Delicious, affordable, baby friendly. They only have one high-chair, so Ruth sat in her first big-girl booster seat. Were it not for the noodles (which the waiter brought out upon request in about 18 seconds) she may have wiggled out. But she loved it and so did we. Yesterday we received a good farmer's market hint from Apartment No. One. If you visit the later in the day, you not only get great organics but they are discounted. That's news as good as free beer.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Civic Center Farmer's Market

Wednesday mornings find us on the BART headed not to our usual Montgomery stop but to Civic Center to buy our bag of rabbit food. If it weren't for this market, we would have had to take out a loan by now to pay for the organic produce that, in regular stores, costs MORE THAN MEAT FOR CHRISSAKES. But, Ruth still has that surface to volume ratio that demands to be kept relatively pesticide free and one day someday sometime, the prices will come down. Do we buy exclusively organic? That's nuts, like trying to get through the night with cloth diapers. We just shy away from the more heavily doused crops and feel like we are supporting a revolution at the same time. You can also pick up a bouquet of flowers for less than five bucks, bedding plants at amazing prices, olive oil, nuts, and cheese. Wear a hat, it is always sunnier than you think.