Coffee House Cafe Supports Breastfeeding

I was recently contacted by Nikki from the Coffee House Café on Liberty to tell me that they recently put up the International Symbol for Breastfeeding on their front door to show support for mothers breastfeeding in public! Kudos to Coffee House Café for creating a space that is safe for moms to breastfeed! What could be more kid friendly?

I’d love to see more businesses in our area show support for breastfeeding. I have not personally ever been asked to leave any local place of business for breastfeeding my daughter, but I’ve heard a lot of stories of that happening to others.

Word of Mouth Bistro

After hearing tons of fabulous reviews about Word of Mouth Bistro, we decided to give it a try last weekend.

We got extremely lucky and had a very small wait during Saturday breakfast last weekend, which I’ve heard is not very common since they are a hot spot, especially for breakfast. I was very grateful since I wasn’t sure how Bug would do with too long of a wait.

Bug is just under 3 years old so she still doesn’t eat very much at each sitting. We sometimes buy her a meal, but most of the time she shares with us. Unfortunately, WOM doesn’t offer a separate printed kids menu or smaller portions for kids, but they did tell me that if you ask, they can offer single pancakes for breakfast or a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch/dinner. I would really love to see even just a small menu for kids that maybe included some fresh fruit, steamed veggies, etc. for a more well-rounded meal. At other restaurants, we’ve sometimes ordered items ala carte for Bug, but that can get pretty expensive pretty fast.

The staff was very friendly and helpful and brought us an extra plate for Bug so she could share our veggie hash, corned beef hash and creme brulee french toast. Sharing our meals works well for us now (though I have to admit that their food is so delicious that I don't really want to share), but we may need to stop going there once Bug is eating too large of portions to share but not enough for a full-sized plate, because buying a full-sized breakfast portion for a little would get pretty expensive, as they are around about $8. We did order her an orange juice, which they do offer in a kid size, and it was brought to us in a small to-go cup with a little straw. The cost was $1 per cup of juice.

Their bathroom was very clean except for a dirty plug-in air freshener that is right next to the toilet, which of course Bug went right for. There also wasn’t a foot stool in the bathroom to assist with washing her hands. Though we didn’t use one, I did see their booster seats and high chairs and they looked exceptionally clean.

We’ve been there twice so far and have enjoyed almost everything that we’ve ordered. Bug really loved their sunflower seed toast with their yummy homemade strawberry jam. They have nice portion sizes and I think their pricing for adult portions is extremely reasonable, especially considering that the food is very fresh, made from scratch, the quality is excellent and they try to buy local whenever possible.

Splash Fountains

I just came across a great link for the area splash fountains! What a great resource!

Come On In - The Water's Fine!

Yet again, long time no post! I've been ill over most of the summer and we have rarely gotten out and about to check out new places. I'm also finding that when we do go out, we tend to go to the same places over and over again because we know that they'll make an easier family day out.

I'd love to start receiving some reviews from the readers out there! Check out our rules for submitting a review and send them in!

Salem Saturday Market

I'm very behind on posting lately - spring cleaning and life has kept me away, but I definitely want to make sure that I keep the posting up!

This last Saturday, we decided to make a quick trip to the Salem Saturday Market. I am not as familiar with the Salem market as the Eugene one, because for years we have taken road trips down to Eugene for their farmer's market (as well as a quick stop into Ben and Jerry's!). It's probably been 2-3 years since I've been back to Salem's Saturday Market.

What is really nice about the Salem market is their parking. I really appreciate easy parking in the gravel lot just across the street that provides easy in and out.

We got going much later on Saturday morning than expected so by the time we made it to the market there was just a little over an hour until it closed so I'm sure we missed out on the early morning bounty. I had a list in mind of things I wanted to get: basil (and lots of it to make some homemade pesto!), maybe some carrots, peas and beans. Unfortunately though, I wasn't able to find any of those things (could only find basil plants and only 1 stand had some peas).

One huge advantage that Salem has over Eugene is wide walking areas making it easier to maneuver through the crowds.

Organization is a bit lacking - I would much prefer to have the farmer's market stands in one area, hot food in another and homemade goods in another so I wouldn't have to walk the entire market if I only wanted to go to the farmer stands.

I didn't spot any restrooms while we were walking, but I'm sure that they were around somewhere.

There is a Friends of Salem Saturday Market site that lists some upcoming free events, but none specific geared towards kids. It'd be great to see some activities maybe like how the Ag Fest provides!

The Original Roadhouse Grill

This weekend we were running late getting going with dinner. It was so hot outside that we decided to just go for a drive and pick up some take out.

We decided to head to the Original Roadhouse Grill on Lancaster because we like their salads and dinner rolls and we can usually split an appetizer as our main meal and then add salads and it isn't too expensive.

We didn't have a menu with us or their number so dh ran inside to place the order and Bug and I stayed out in the car to wait. Dh placed the order and came back outside.

About 20 minutes later, Bug said she needed to go potty so dh took her inside. Dh said that the bathrooms seemed clean but were pretty dark. On their way back out to the car the hostess noticed him and said that she'd gotten so busy she'd forgotten to put his order in but she'd try to push a rush on it. By that time, Bug was distracted by the peanuts they have to snack on so they decided to stay inside and wait for the food.

It was extremely busy even for a Saturday night, as there must have been a prom going on. While inside, dh said there was a waiter who was messing around acting silly who started swearing like crazy in front of people in line plenty loud enough for everyone, including my 2-year-old, to hear. Not so great.

They finally got our food and we headed home, only to be disappointed once we got back that they'd forgotten a few things in our order. I made sure to send off a comment via their website, though I haven't heard a response back yet.

Since we only got take out I wasn't able to rate their overall family friendliness - has anyone else dined there recently that could shed some light?

Question From Reader

I received a comment the other day from a new reader that had a question about local areas to swim:

"I am new to the Salem Area and i am deperately trying to find a place for kids to splash and play in the water. we've been to silver falls park and that was alot of fun and i know the few spray pads will be open in june, but is there somewhere along the river bank where it is safe to let my kid splash and put her feet in the water on a hot summer day? I know the YMCA has a pool but we're not members yet and a visit to the pool would cost us $ 15 which i think is outrageous. I can't wait for the kroc center to open! Any suggestions would be very appreciated!"

This is a great question. I've heard good things about Silverton Reservoir, but other than that, the other places that I know of are definitely not clean and family ok.

We have yet to really venture out to do swimming with Bug. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Movies In The Park

Thanks to Jessica who commented with this information for the upcoming Movies In The Park. I've heard they project the movies onto a large inflated movie screen at dusk! Sounds like fun!

Here's the city's information for the movies

5 movies this summer on Saturdays at Riverfront Park in Salem. The line up is classic, and fun, and FREE (however donations are encouraged)!

Raiders of the Lost Ark (the first one) July 11th

The Wizard of Oz - July 25th

March of the Penguins - August 8th

Shrek I - August 22nd

Wallace and Gromit - August 29th

Regal Free Family Film Festival

I received the schedule for this summer's Regal Film Festival. I think that dd is old enough now to go to see a movie for the first time in the theater. I'm looking forward to Curious George - that is one of our favorites!

LANCASTER MALL STADIUM 11

06/16/2009-06/17/2009
Space Chimps (G)
Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (PG)

06/23/2009-06/24/2009
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G)
Evan Almighty (PG)

06/30/2009-07/01/2009
Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G)
Nim's Island (PG)

07/07/2009-07/08/2009
Horton Hears A Who (G)
Inkheart (PG)

07/14/2009-07/15/2009
The Tale Of Despereaux (G)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)

07/21/2009-07/22/2009
Everyone's Hero (G)
Surf's Up (PG)

07/28/2009-07/29/2009
Igor (PG)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG)

08/04/2009-08/05/2009
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
Bee Movie (PG)

08/11/2009-08/12/2009
Curious George (G) - UPDATE: IT SEEMS THAT CURIOUS GEORGE WILL NOT BE SHOWING DUE TO LACK OF ENOUGH AVAILABLE COPIES OF THE MOVIE
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

MOVIELAND 7

06/16/2009-06/17/2009
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G)
Evan Almighty (PG)

06/23/2009-06/24/2009
Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G)
Nim's Island (PG)

06/30/2009-07/01/2009
Horton Hears A Who (G)
Inkheart (PG)

07/07/2009-07/08/2009
The Tale Of Despereaux (G)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)

07/14/2009-07/15/2009
Everyone's Hero (G)
Surf's Up (PG)

07/21/2009-07/22/2009
Igor (PG)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG)

07/28/2009-07/29/2009
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
Bee Movie (PG)

08/04/2009-08/05/2009
Curious George (G) - UPDATE: IT SEEMS THAT CURIOUS GEORGE WILL NOT BE SHOWING DUE TO LACK OF ENOUGH AVAILABLE COPIES OF THE MOVIE
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

08/11/2009-08/12/2009
Space Chimps (G)
Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (PG)

Here's some more info from their website:
"When school's out, kids around the country visit selected Regal theatres forthe Free Family Film Festival. It's a fun-filled nine weeks of movies forkids and parents. Since 1991, Regal has provided this service to thecommunity, and best of all it's FREE!

Select G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during thefestival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity.The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kidsto spend a weekday morning in the summer.

Tickets for our 2009 Free Family Film Festival are exclusively available atselect theatres' box office on the day of the show."

Olive Garden

The sickness has hit my family these last few weeks pretty hard. I thought we were making some headway but this a.m. Bug woke up with a barking cough so I am up early and intend to do some catch up with my blogging.

A few weeks ago while running errands, moments after I’d realized that I hadn’t had anything to eat that day, I started to have a blood sugar low. I was feeling dizzy and nauseous so we decided to stop and get some lunch at the closest place to where we were, which just happened to be Olive Garden. I figured it couldn’t be busy at 2 on a Saturday, right? Wrong. But, within 15-20 minutes we were sitting at our table and I begged the waitress to bring us anything asap before I started to eat sugar packets.

I appreciate when we are seated in a low traffic area and that day they put us in a corner so we were able to sort of tuck Bug in the back, which was helpful in trying to thwart her constant escape attempts. I’m not a fan of their chairs with rollers on the bottom though because they move very easily and Bug fell off of hers and almost hit her face on the table when she was leaning forward to color so dh and I spent the rest of the meal with our feet wrapped around the bottom so it wouldn’t slide. The food arrived quickly and was good, but Bug’s plate was scorching hot when they set it right in front of her. Prices seemed higher than what I remember. Most of the children’s items were around $5, which includes a drink but says “Share the grown-ups breadsticks and salad with your meal.” For $5, the portion seemed pretty small, heck even my adult portion seemed pretty small.

While we ate, I started to brainstorm different things that would be really helpful in restaurants. Besides foot stools in the bathrooms, what about bringing them their color pages/crayons if there is a wait, or providing smaller utensils so they can eat easier? The only picture that I was able to get during my low blood sugar madness was of Bug’s fork, which was massively huge.

The bathrooms seemed clean, which is always nice, especially when your toddler says she needs to go potty, but then when you get her in there she’d rather play with the toilet paper and collapses on the floor when you try to pick her up to sit on the potty “just in case.” No foot stools though. The changing area for babies had lots of room so that you wouldn’t have to move out of the way to let other in/out of stalls.

Overall it was okay and I’m grateful that we received pretty quick food once we were seated. But, the prices are a little out of our range right now, especially so since their portion size was pretty small, so I don’t think we’ll be going back anytime soon.