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New Carseat Regulations: What You Should Know

There’s been a fair bit of buzz lately about new Transport Canada and Health Canada car and booster seat safety regulations. There’s also been a lot of confusion. Here’s a break down of the new regulations and how they may affect all of us who have  kids or who drive them around.

img via Transport Canada website

New Rules

As of January 1st, 2012 all car and booster seats bought and sold in Canada must meet the updated safety standards. You can read a full run-down of the new legislation on the Transport Canada website, but the major changes include  new testing requirements using a three-point seatbelt to secure car seats in vehicles, changing the definition of an infant from 9 kg to 10 kg, an increase in the maximum allowable weight limit of child seats and adopting most of the U.S. testing parameters. Manufacturers were given from May 12, 2010 to meet the new regulations and while some complied immediately, others waited until the deadline.

What does this mean for parents & caregivers?

• The only way to know if the car seat you bought in 2010 or 2011  is compliant is to contact the manufacturer directly. 
• If you own a car seat that hasn’t expired, and it complied with the previous 2011 standards, you can continue to use it.
• If you own a car seat that hasn’t expired, and it doesn’t comply with the new 2012 standards you cannot sell it or give it away

Keep in mind that the car or booster seat you bought last month (in December 2011) may not be compliant with the new regulations. You should contact the manufacturer to find out. If your seat is not compliant and you no longer wish to use it, you should look for a recycling program or facility in your area.

What does this mean for Used buyers and sellers?

These new regulations affect people buying and selling car and booster seats on the Used sites. To simplify things, we’ve removed all existing car and booster seat ads from our sites and have contacted the sellers directly. We’ve asked all sellers to contact the manufacturer to find out if  the seat they’re selling is compliant and to repost the ad with the compliance information. We’ve also added an explanation in our car seat category to help inform buyers.

What should I look for when buying a used car or booster seat?

You want to pay careful attention when purchasing a used car seat. Here are some tips to consider:

• Does the car seat have a National Safety Mark?
• Is there an instruction booklet?
• Is the car seat appropriate for the development, weight and height of your child?
• If the car seat has an expiry date, will the time period cover your needs?
• Can the car seat be installed correctly in your vehicle?
• Are the harness and tether straps easy to adjust?
• Are all of the pieces present with the seat?
• Has the seat been the subject of any recalls?
• Ask the seller if the seat’s been in any collisions, however minor, or dropped from a height of three or more feet.
• Has the seller made any alterations, changed the routing of the straps or added any extra pieces?
• Read the helpful information on Transport Canada’s Keep Kids Safe page.

Parents and caregivers have always had to be vigilant when buying or selling a used car or booster seat — the rules are just a little different now. If you have any questions for us, please feel free to leave a comment.

You can find more information about the regulations on the Transport Canada website and by calling Health Canada 1-866-662-0666.

Five used Valentine's gifts. For me.

Would you consider buying secondhand gifts for Valentine’s Day? Why or why not?

I’ve been giving this quite a bit of thought lately, and I think the answer is… it depends. Like any gift-giving scenario, you need to know the recipient. And excellent gift giving requires a few different things: (a) Listening. If you’ve been paying attention you should already know what your loved one likes. (b) Creativity. This is where the Used sites come in! (c) Time. So start shopping now!

I decided to pull together a list of things that are on the UsedOttawa site right now that I think would make compelling Valentine’s gift ideas for someone like myself.

1) A one carat naked diamond. No setting, just the rock. I would carry it around in my wallet, just to say I had a diamond in my wallet.

2) A Pandora bracelet with a starter bead or two. Voila! You have the next 20 gift-giving occasions taken care of!

3) Something that has the words “vintage” “designer” and “Italian” in the title. Like this silk scarf. Again, you need to know your gift recipient!

4) A gorgeous tote or handbag, like this lemon yellow Charles David.

5) A romantic weekend at a chalet in Wakefield. Ok, so maybe this one doesn’t actually qualify as “used,” but still, it’s pretty nice. And don’t forget to arrange child care!

Unacceptable Valentine’s gifts (according to me) would include exercise machines and kitchen appliances. You know what they say, buyer beware! Good luck with your shopping!

It Takes a Village to Support a Pregnant Woman

As it sometimes happens in life, this week’s “lesson” presented itself with a strong theme.

I had my first appointment with my midwife this week. I was really hopeful that she would take me on as a patient because I would like to have a natural, drug-free birth and I want the extra care and attention through my pregnancy and labour.

15 weeks pregnant

I explained to her that we have recently moved back to Halifax from Vancouver (but we’re originally from Edmonton). We made the decision to move back to Halifax partly because it was a much more realistic and affordable place for us to live the life we wanted (house, travel etc.). But, it was a challenging decision because it meant moving 6,000 kms away from our support base – our families and our lifelong friends. Granted, we already lived “away” but it was a reasonable drive (occasionally). I also explained that my need for extra care also stems from the fact that I lost my mom to cancer when I was 16, so I wasn’t going to have her along for the journey. Kelly spent the majority of the appointment talking about the importance of building a strong support network through my pregnancy (and beyond). She talked about how it was one of the key ways to stay emotionally healthy and strong and she gave me some homework. I had to think about my support network and consider how to bolster it in the next few months.

And just like that, I met my first new pregnant friend in Halifax. I have always enjoyed (and required) a large social circle. I love making friends and having lots of friends is important to me. I have some amazing friends in Halifax but I’m the first in our group to venture into motherhood. I also have a great network of friends in Edmonton who are moms (and have been great virtual support). But, I think it’s important to make a few friends who I can bore to death with the details of my pregnancy (and eventually, my baby) in person. One gold star.

Friends with babies

I have not completed my goal of finding a regular outing that involves pregnant women, but I have decided that I am going to try out prenatal yoga (several people have suggested it). Two gold stars (ok, well, I know I haven’t technically earned this star yet – but I’m taking it!)

And then came my first test: a week alone. My husband Mark went to the UK to visit a friend for the week, and I am on my own. Usually, I’m quite content to be on my own, but in my pregnant state, I’m feeling quite needy, lonely and emotional and well, alone. Time to test the ol’ support group. I’m happy to report I’m feeling very supported and have had several opportunities to stay social (board game nights, dessert dates, 1 hour phone calls). Three gold stars.

And so, in my 15th week of my pregnancy the importance of support is the clearest it has ever been. Being pregnant is exciting, but it’s also physically and emotionally draining and a little bit scary. Building yourself the proper support network should be on the giant list of “to do’s” you find in books and on parenting websites. Peruse the bulletin boards at libraries and coffee shops, look online (many local mom groups have their own Facebook pages), read local publications and talk to your doctor/midwife/doula/astrologist – whatever!  Just be sure to take a good look at your support system and devote some time to build it up if needed.

Homework complete.

Just Keep Skating

My kindergartener has dreams of playing hockey.

Oscar is five. Hockey is big in Prince Edward Island: recent statistics suggest 14% of kids here play organized league hockey, as opposed to 9% nationally. So once a week, in preparation for living his dream, we cart him off to CanSkate lessons, suit him up in snowpants and a helmet, lace his skates, and set him loose on the ice.

Sure, we tried teaching him to skate on our own. The year he turned two, we bought bobskates – the little double-bladed ones – and a tiny helmet. We have video of him standing in the middle of the ice, holding my hands, chirping with laughter. Then promptly plonking firmly down on his diaper.

The next two winters? More or less a repeat. He’s a kid for whom new physical skills don’t always come easy. He has to work hard just to coordinate himself. When really engaged in something, he frequently forgets whole zones of his body: he is a danger to neglected coffee cups everywhere. Smash. Oops.

I sympathize: I remain the same, to this very day. On the other hand, his father skates like he was born on a hockey team. But alas, sometimes the apple falls from the less optimal tree.

Still, he wants to play hockey, this kid. So off we went to skating lessons.

The CanSkate classes have been good for Oscar. When he started back in October, he could barely walk on his skates. This month, he actually graduated from the beginner to the intermediate group. He came home that night with a badge and shining eyes.

This past week, though, I brought him to his first intermediate class. The beginners had been mostly four and five, like him. The intermediate group? Gargantuan children of seven, most of them. Lined up next to them, he looked distinctly out of place, smaller than he’s seemed in years.

And when the group began to skate, the gap only grew. The teachers led the group around a small circuit of pylons, and the kids followed, gliding and working on their backwards skating. Oscar hasn’t really mastered gliding yet. Within forty seconds, some of the bigger kids had lapped him.

But he was game. He didn’t stop, or disengage, even as the class wore on and it became clear he was by far the slowest in the group.

He just kept skating.

He worked away diligently at the circuit, trying to learn to turn his body backwards. When he fell, he picked himself and dusted himself off, and started again. He wobbled and struggled, and once one of the bigger kids nearly took him out as he flew by. Oscar just kept skating.

I sat in the stands, watching, biting my lip. It’s hard to see your kid fail to keep up. Our culture doesn’t leave much room for it, anymore: we leap in, we mitigate, we try to make sure no feelings of inadequacy are ever fostered.

But Oscar, left to himself, didn’t seem to feel inadequate. He just felt like learning to skate. As I watched, I found myself swelling with pride. Of all the kids speeding around on that ice, he was the one having to work for every step, every last-second-save of his balance. But he wasn’t daunted.

Just keep skating, I found myself chanting under my breath.

He eventually mastered a tuck, and he got up some speed just in time for a spectacular crash. He laughed. I nearly clapped. And then my head cocked, and I looked at him and thought, I want to be like you, kiddo.

I turned forty last week.

I also started two new professional gigs this month, on top of my full-time student status. The learning curves in my life are high, right now. And that’s hard for me, sometimes. It’s easy to notice the people younger than I who’ve already gotten where I want to go. I notice when I’m being lapped by people who started at whatever endeavour after me, but are still racing ahead, making it look easy.

I’m a perfectionist by nature. Most of my life, if I suspected I was the last in my group? At ANYthing? I didn’t do that thing anymore. Enough came easily that I focused where I excelled.

But at some point in life, that’s not enough. At some point, doing what comes easy loses its entertainment value. At some point, if you’re lucky, you start realizing you have something more to gain than lose.

There’s something freeing about forty.

And something wise about five, apparently.

I have things I want to learn, and the learning will take some humility, and some doggedness, and some willingness to put myself out there and probably fail, in public, a few times. I will blush. I will feel exposed, likely, and silly. And I will be tempted to stop.

I need to take a page from Oscar. I need to just keep skating.

I’ll try. I’ll keep at it. And hopefully I’ll occasionally stop and remember to play triceratops with my skates now and then, just to make sure it’s all still fun.

Are you finding yourself more free to learn and grow, as you get older? How have the kids in your life surprised you with their wisdom?

An infographic is worth a thousand words

Put the bubble wrap away and park the helicopter

Parenting advice from Dr. Brodie Aikman *

* – Not a real doctor. All observations and advice in this blog post are mine and do not reflect the opinions of UsedEverywhere. And they’re just jokes, so lighten up.

This is for protecting your china, not your kids.

Ok, I’m sure to make some enemies with this post. But it’s time to speak up. Parents: you’re turning the next generation into  people who can’t think or do for themselves. A legion of whiny wimps whose lives are over-protected and over-scheduled.

As parents, we’ve heard all of the buzzwords – ‘bubble wrap kids’, ‘helicopter parents’ (because they’re always hovering), ‘free range kids’, etc. But these words are stupid and come from books from so-called ‘experts’ who, if they have as much education and did as much research as they claim, they most likely didn’t spend enough time with their own kids, in the trenches, getting the practical child-rearing experience they actually need to become experts. And because we’re reading all these parenting books that we’re turning into these phrases they’ve coined.

I dislike all of these books for two major reasons. For one, I think they undermine a parent’s confidence in their ability to raise their kids. For the most part our parents did a decent job of raising us, without the aid of tome after tome telling them what they were doing was wrong. Secondly, I think it creates the idea that there is an easy, quick-fix program or series of tactics to raise your child. Or even worse, they give parents an excuse for their child’s behavior (FYI – your kid was acting like a brat when they hit that kid or threw a fit – he or she wasn’t being ‘spirited’. Kids are brats sometimes. It happens). And if you’ve ever dealt with two kids fighting, while coated in every disgusting body fluid kids are known to emit, you know there are no universal solutions or easy answers.

I know it comes from a place of wanting the best for our kids and the need to protect them from pain and suffering of any kind. I’m guilty of it too. But I think as a generation of parents, we’ve taken it too far. Pain and suffering is a part of life and the best way to prepare for it is to experience it. If we protect them from every little thing, where do they learn any problem-solving skills or coping mechanisms? Without practice, they don’t.

Case in point, here’s a little story that happened last year:

Let me set the stage.

I’m playing ball tag with my boys in the back yard.

I’m it.

Harrison is hiding behind a slide, his head barely visible, framed by two upright plastic protrusions on the slide, maybe a half inch wider than the ball. I do an elaborate spin move from across the yard and thread a bullet through those plastic uprights, hitting Harry square in the face.

We both stopped, stunned.

Now this could go two ways: I can run over and make sure he’s all right. Or I can acknowledge what an awesome throw it was and hope he appreciates its awesomeness.

There was no blood. It wasn’t a hard ball. And, all modesty aside, it was an awesome throw.

So I did the right thing – I raised my arms in victory and told him he was it. Harry smiled and the game resumed, both of us knowing we had just witnessed one of the most glorious moments in the history of ball tag.

In that moment I went from someone who tells him to clean up his room to someone who can share a good fart joke.

If I had rushed over and made a big deal of it he probably would have seen my overreaction and joined in, crying and feeling the hit much more than he actually did.

What I’m saying to all parents, myself included, is lighten up. Every little event and misstep doesn’t require a big talk or a making a big deal about it. Let the knees get scraped – that’s part of being a kid. The scrape heals, but the lesson will stay with them.

And speaking of being a kid, remember when we were kids? Do you remember being in an organized class, sport, craft or hobby every day of the week? Me neither. The phrase “just go and play” seems have been thrown to the side.  Kids need time to develop their own unstructured creativity – they need to learn to think for themselves.

There, I’m done. Please direct any angry comments to me. But I may not answer right away. I’m about to go take my kids out snowball-style.

Remember the Parisienne?

This week’s car pick is a beautifully restored 1965 Pontiac Parisienne. This car is the brainchild of the Canadian marketing geniuses at Pontiac (GM). For years Pontiac was never a top seller in Canada, due to high fuel costs, and large initial price tags. This time around, Pontiac actually built the Parisienne on a average Chevrolet chassis and drivetrain, with luxurious details, and only for a little bit more than the average Chevrolet. The result was widely successful, and produced 5 generations of the car. Another fun fact, the Parisienne is the Canadian only model, while in the US it was called the Bonneville. Obviously we had the much better name! The result below is a custom ‘candy green’, Parisienne, that has been beautifully restored. Showcasing the original luxury in its upholstery, flashy exterior chrome accent pieces, and its ability to be both a hardtop and a convertible, this gem is a beautiful Canadian classic.

1965 Pontiac Parisienne

This retro convertible reminds us of  simpler times back in the 60s, when one could simply cruise around to the local drive in burger joints and theaters without a care in the world. Sigh. So today, I have found a bunch of retro goods that are sure to jog your memory and bring back some easy-going memories. Relax, man.

from left to right: CocaCola trays via UsedPei, vintage vibrating belt machine via UsedOttawa, 1960s pole lamp via UsedRegina, vintage pop bottles via UsedCalgary, 

Dust off those greeting cards: here's a tutorial on framing!

Today, we will learn how to make a lovely piece of art out of a greeting card or other small print, without the expense of professional framing. For our project, I used two greeting cards designed by Ottawa’s Mad Mother Designs. We love the Edith Died Laughing series, and have wanted to frame these two adorable cards for a while, but were having the hardest time finding attractive frames of the right size. I had given up for a long time, figuring the right idea would come to me…and it did.

YOU WILL NEED:

-greeting card(s) you want to frame

-cool paper. We used scrapbooking paper left over from our wedding.

-scissors or an Xacto knife

-ruler

-tape

-string

First, I found two mats. These can be expensive, but you can find them in old picture frames; some really cheap, ugly, and even broken frames can provide you with lovely mats. In my case, I had made these two in high school: in grade twelve, I had a teacher who made us make mats for every piece. I hated it, because it’s miserable slow math-heavy work, so that’s why I’m encouraging you to find old mats instead of making your own. If time is money, your time is worth more than all the work it takes to cut a mat. So…I freed my old mats from the high school lino prints they’d been holding. Separating the mats from the prints took 5 minutes.

Next, I went through my stack of cool papers and chose two that had a Victorian feel, to match the greeting cards. When you see scrapbook paper on sale, grab a sheet or two; it’s a simple thing to store neatly away, and if you’re crafting you will, guaranteed, find uses for it. I picked one for each card. This would act as the backdrop to fill in the space around the card that was left empty by the oversized mat. I then cut the paper to be about the size of the mat’s empty middle, plus a minimum of .5” on each side. This is important for easy taping. Cutting the paper took 5 minutes.

Next, I taped the paper in place. This can actually be tricky. You want to be sure that, if there’s a repeating pattern on your paper with vertical and/or horizontal lines in it, they should line up in the frame correctly. If you mount your sheet of paper a little crooked, you will really notice if, like the black paper I used, you have clear light horizontal lines suddenly running slightly on a diagonal. I like to place a small piece of tape on the back of the paper and mat, then flip it over and double check how it looks. Once it looks right, tape all four sides of the paper into the mat. Checking and taping the paper took 5 minutes.

The next step was to prepare the greeting card. These cards have an artfully frayed edge on the opening side, which is a nice design bonus. I used tape to tape the card shut—I don’t want to risk any buckling of the paper by using glue, and while a glue stick won’t cause buckling, it will dry up and eventually stop working. Tape is just best, and I always prefer good ol’ fashioned, nasty sticky super-clear tape. Not that ‘magic tape’ nonsense. Who is it magic for? People who like sandy-textured plasticky unsticky tape, that’s who. I actually cut off half of the back of the card, so that instead of making tape loops and sticking them inside the card, I tape the card shut by taping the new (shorter) edge of the back fold to the back of the front fold. (Sorry if that’s confusing…you can always just make tape loops and adhere the card shut from the inside.) Regardless of how you do it, you are now ready to centre the card (carefully, now!) and tape it down to the scrapbook paper. I used loops of the super-clear tape for this. Taping the cards closed, plus taping the cards to the backdrop, took 5 minutes.

And lastly, we prepare the piece for hanging. Simply, I took some yarn (cut from the fringe of a scarf, as I didn’t want to go find my knitting box), made two fat knots, one in each end. I then tape the string behind the mat, being sure to have the knots either taped, or sticking out the far side of the tape. The knot will help the yarn not slip through the tape and let go. If it keeps slipping, you can tie a toothpick or piece of straw to the end of the string and tape that to the mat instead…anything that adds some grip. Stringing the piece took 3 minutes.

And voila, you are done. You now have a really cool piece of art that you can hang and enjoy. Finally, a greeting card that won’t moulder in your desk drawer. Oh, and best of all: next time you’re at an art gallery or museum and see a cool piece you wish you could own, this is a nifty way to have a small print of it at home. Some of you may be collecting Artist Trading Cards; this may be a lovely way to display your favourites. This entire project took 23 minutes!

One more bonus tip for you: if your piece hangs crooked no matter how many times you adjust it, tape a dime or penny to the edge that’s hanging high. With our crooked apartment, I can tell you that there are various pictures around here that now have bolts, quarters, and buttons taped to their edges. Ah, the joy of old houses. Our bookshelves are also shifted on one side by pieces of moving boxes.

Top 5 UnValentines Day Gifts fors Moms

As I’ve said before, I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day as I don’t believe people should be forced into being romantic on one specific day. Plus everything that is considered “romantic” is ridiculously expensive…flowers and chocolates cost ten times more than usual and don’t even think about going out for dinner without spending an entire pay cheque.

But this year, being a first time Mom, I’ve realized there are plenty of things that my husband could do for me on Valentine’s Day that would blow chocolates and roses out of the water! I’m sure most of you moms out there will agree that there are certain things that you took for granted prior to motherhood that you wish you’d cherished more. And so, here’s my  list the top 5 Valentine gifts for moms:

1. Sleep!  If you have children under two, you probably can’t remember the last time you had a full night’s sleep (unless you are one of those really lucky moms whose baby has slept through the night since 3 months old…now I know how the devil gets all those souls!)  The gift of sleep on Valentine’s Day would be better than any 5 star restaurant and it doesn’t cost a thing.

2. A homemade dinner cooked by your man. Now that I’m on maternity leave, I’ve claimed the role of dinner maker which seems fair as I’m able to prepare it throughout the day plus I really do like cooking. But there are days where I spend ALL DAY thinking about what we should have for dinner and it becomes daunting and stressful and by the time five o’clock rolls around, I’ve ended up pulling out the KD box with shame. Wouldn’t it be nice for your partner to surprise you in the morning by letting you know that he will be cooking dinner on Valentine’s Day so you can rest your brain? And it doesn’t even have to be fancy… just not KD!

3. Alone time. Hubbies and boyfriends, go out to your local book shop, pick up the latest book by your sweetheart’s favourite author as well as a Starbucks gift card.  Wrap them up and when she opens them, send her straight to the coffee shop and tell her she can’t come home until that book is at least half read.  Trust me fellas, she will be melt over this one!

They usually started out with "Roses are red, Violets are blue..."

4. Help the kids make mom a homemade Valentine’s card.  I remember when we were kids; my sister and I would spend hours perfecting cards for our mom and even write her a poem. She always said these were the best gifts she could ever receive and now that I’m a mom, I see why. Because as your kids get older and go through those fabulous hormonal teenage years where they don’t even want to talk to you, you can still pull out those homemade cards to remind yourself that your kids really do love you and were very sweet at some point!

5. Do all of the above for the mother in your life. But why not surprise her with everything on Feb.11th or Feb.12th instead of Valentine’s Day? She’ll be shocked beyond belief which will only make the sentiment that much sweeter.  And maybe think about doing this again at some point during the year (but not on Mother’s Day!) to show her how much you care and appreciate everything about her.  See, I’m a romantic…but only for 364 days of the year!

Good luck and Happy UnValentine’s Day!
Coupon tip of the Week: Not finding the coupons you want to use? Try online coupon trading.  smartcanuck.com has a coupon trading forum where you can post what coupons you have to trade and also a wishlist of coupons you need. Also if you search on facebook, you are sure to find a local coupon trading group to join which will help trade your coupons more quickly.  So the guy with pets can trade his diaper coupons to a mom for pet food coupons!  Everybody wins!

Skiing on the cheap

I’ve often said that in order to survive an Ottawa winter you should be prepared to get outside and make the best of it otherwise it will seem like the longest and coldest six months of your entire life.

One of the things that makes winter go by a little faster for us is cross-country skiing.

Skiing can be one of those pursuits that can be incredibly expensive (designer duds, top-of-the-line gear, ski passes and/or lift tickets) but it can be done totally on the cheap as well.

My husband and I already have the gear (albeit my snowpants are from the early 90’s… much to the horror of my tween daughters), so all we need to do is worry about getting the kids outfitted. Last year we discovered that Trailhead offers seasonal rentals of ski packages, which we decided to do since our kids are still growing. It is a bit of a gamble because skiing is so weather dependent. It can be a snow-heavy winter or not. The conditions can be downright Arctic-like, or not. You can be a motivated skier, or not. But we did it and it turned out to be a good deal that year.

This time around, because the snow didn’t hit until late in the season, we decided that we’d opt for weekend rentals instead. We picked up the skis last Friday afternoon and went out on Saturday and Sunday. This option only cost $25 per kid, and that’s because they’re into adult sized boots. It’s even cheaper for really little kids.

We debated whether or not to check out the trails in Gatineau, but since our goal was to ski as cheaply as humanly possible (you have to buy a pass in order to ski there) we decided to hit the Trail 26 at Stony Swamp on Saturday and Shirley’s Bay on Sunday. Both were free, and both were amazing trails for novices like ourselves. In fact, I’d say that Shirley’s Bay was a notch more interesting, what with the view of the water and the ice fishing huts. It was incredibly pretty and peaceful.

Skiing out on to the water at Shirley's Bay

It’s a 4 km loop that we managed to do in less than an hour, and cuts though a variety of interesting landscapes.

Skiing is a great way to spend time as a family. Not only is it great exercise, but it tires the kids out and practically guarantees a good night’s sleep for all.

Looking for cheap skis for keeps? I recommend checking out the skiing category of one of our Used sites right now. There’s a lot of great gear to be found there, not just for cross-country but for downhill too.

Good luck, and happy skiing!