Getting Out of the House

What Would You and Your "Little One"
Like to Do Today?

One of the things SAHMs often ask, what do you do with your kids all day? How do you beat the cabin fever and boredom of you day in between taxi service for the older kids? For more info on today's family events in Fort Collins, Click the tab "Today in the Fort"

This is the Northern Colorado chapter of Attachment Parenting International. Meetings are held the 1st Tuesday of the month at 10am. We meet at Fire Station 6- 4325 McWhinney Blvd, Loveland. Meetings are free and open to all. Children are always welcome! You can contact API at nocoapi@gmail.com

Cool Beans - This is a great place to hang out with your Mom friends over coffee and let the kids play! Its a coffee shop with an indoor playground. Whoever came up with the concept of this place is genius. It's a great place to hold a preschooler's birthday party too and the parents can hang out too.

Parks & Playgrounds in Fort Collins
Fort Collins literally has the best parks. Fort Collins currently has 820 acres of developed park land including 6 community parks and 44 neighborhood/pocket parks. We also have 29 miles of recreational trails that flow through.
One of my faves is Spring Canyon Park, AKA "inspirational playground" which is a bike ride away from our home and I swear it feels like an amusement park! It has a hug "sleeping giant" which even snores! In the summer it has a splash area! The one thing I don't like about it is that the trees need to grow a little bigger for more shade. Time will fix that however.

Storytimes at our Awesome Fort Collins Libraries!

Main Library -is now closed for renovation
Storytime for Twos and ThreesTwo- and three-year-olds (with a favorite adult) enjoy interactive stories songs and games that encourage their early literacy skills.

Council Tree LibraryMondays and Tuesdays, 10:35 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Harmony LibraryWednesdays and Thursdays, 10:35 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

Northside Aztlan Community Center, 112 Willow. St. November 4 - December 16, 2011 (No Storytime November 25, 2011.)
Fridays, 10:35 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

Mother Goose Time at Harmony LibraryA special small-group program for infants through 24 months and their caring grownups. Age-appropriate books, rhymes, and songs are shared. 20 minutes. Mother Goose Time is scheduled in 4-week sessions on Mondays at 10:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Register at Harmony Library or call 204-8404.

Fall 2011 Sessions:
September 12, 19, 26, October 3
October 10, 17, 24, 31
November 7, 14, 21, 28
No session in December

 
Peek-a-Boo Time September 6 - December 14, 2011

A lively, interactive program full of songs, rhymes, fingerplays, and fun for all! For babies from birth to 24 months and their caring grownups. 20 minutes. No registration is required.

Northside Aztlan Community Center, 112 Willow. St.
November 1 - December 13, 2011
Tuesdays at 10:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

Council Tree Library Wednesdays at 10:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

Animal Afternoon 2011Join Larimer Animal People Partnership volunteers and their special story-loving critters. Enjoy good books and the opportunity to read to friendly animals. For children in grades K-5. 40-60 minutes. For more information call 221-6680.


Council Tree Library
2nd Sunday of the month at 3:00 p.m.September 11
October 9
November 13
December 11

Harmony Library
4th Sunday of the month at 3:00 p.m.
September 25
October 23
November 27
No program December 25


Pump It Up!   It's the inflatable party zone! Good for parties for the older kids, but parties are a little pricey and they don't allow you to bring in your own food. 'Nuff said.

If you can't seem to get out of the house, this story here will make you laugh & cry. Remember that attachment parenting is not a supposed to make you feel like a self-sacrificing martyr. We all just do the best we can!

 Did You Do Anything Today?

My husband came home today and saw me sitting on the couch, toddler on one knee, and baby nursing on the opposite breast. I was trying to turn the pages of a book with the hand not attached to the infant,while listening for the sound of the stove buzzer, which would indicate that tonight's pork chops were at the stage between "well-done" and "the dog gets tonight's entree."

My Darling husband looked at me innocently, and asked "So, did you do anything today?" It's a good thing that most of my appendages were otherwise engaged, as I was unable to jump up and throttle him to death. This was probably for the best, as I assume that asking a stupid question is not grounds for murder in this country.

Let me back up a bit, and explain what led me to this point in my life.

I was not always bordering on the brink of insanity. On the contrary, a mere four years ago, I had a good job, steady income, and a vehicle that could NOT seat a professional sports team, and me, comfortably. I watched television shows that were not hosted by singing puppets. I went to bed later than nine o'clock at night. I preferred sex to sleeping in. I laughed at those people who drove halfway across the country hauling a tent trailer, three screaming kids, a drooling dog, and called it a holiday.

Now I have become one of them! What happened? The stick turned blue.

I have traded in my Victoria's Secrets lingerie for cotton briefs and a firm support nursing bra. Good-bye, Garth Brooks. Hello, Raffi, Lois and Bram. My idea of privacy is getting the use the bathroom without a two-year old banging on the door, and the baby spinning the toilet paper roll from my lap. And I finally understand that the term "Stay-At-Home Mom" does not refer to a parent who no longer works outside the house, but rather to one who never seems to get out the front door. So here I sit, children in hand, wondering how to answer my beloved husband.

DID I DO ANYTHING TODAY?

Well, I think I did, although not much seems to have gotten accomplished. I shared breakfast in bed with a handsome young man. Of course, the breakfast consisted of a bowl of porridge and leftover cookie crumbs found between the sheets. Then a handsome young man is about thirty-four inches tall and only gets really excited at the sight of bugs, a little blue dog, trucks, cars and Pancakes.

I got to take a relaxing stroll in the woods. Of course, I was on the lookout for frogs and lizards, and had to stop and smell the dandelions along the way. I successfully washed one load of laundry, moved the load the was in the washer into the dryer, and the dryer load into the basket. The load that was in the basket is now spread out on the bed, awaiting my bedtime decision to actually put the clothes away or merely move them to the top of the dresser. I read two or three classics. Of course, Dickens and Shakespeare cannot take credit for these works, as we have moved on to the works of Seuss and Sandek. I don't think I will be making any trips to the Adult Section of my local library anytime soon. In between, I dusted, wiped, organized and rearranged. I kissed away the owies and washed away the tears. I scolded, praised, hugged, and tested my patience, all before noon.

DID I DO ANYTHING TODAY? You betcha!

I will now understand what people mean when they say that parenthood is the hardest job they will ever have. In my LBD (life before diapers) I was able to teach young minds how to divide fractions and write complex sentences, but I am unable to teach a strong willed three-year-old how to use the toilet. I was once able to navigate urban streets while talking on the car phone and looking for a decent radio station, but now I can't get the wheels on my stroller to all go in the same direction.

I've graduated from a university, written newspaper articles, and won awards, but I can't figure out how to get carrot stains out of the carpet. I used to debate with my friends about politics, but now we discuss the merits of cloth versus disposables. And when did I stop talking in sentences that had more than five words?

So, in response to my husband's inquiry, yes, I did do something today. In fact, I am one step closer to one of life's greatest accomplishments. No, I did not cure AIDS or forge World Peace, but I did hold a miracle in my arms. Two, in fact. My children are my great accomplishment, and the opportunity to raise them is my greatest challenge. I don't know if my children will grow up to be great leaders or world-class brain surgeons. Frankly, I don't care, as long as they grow up to be happy and fulfilled. They are my greatest joys, even though I sometimes cry myself to sleep at night in frustration. The point is, that today I got to watch my children take another step on the great journey of Life, and I even got to point out some of the sites along the way.

As challenging as parenthood is, it is also equally rewarding, because we are using all our wisdom, our talent and skills to help forge a new person. It is this person, these people, who, in turn, will use their gifts to create our future. So every nursery rhyme I recite, every swing I push, every little hand I hold is SOMETHING!

                                                                                                        ----- by Cyndi Devlin