Brrrrrr. It’s cold. And rainy. Downright dreary. So what to do with two kids? If it’s a Tuesday like today, I’m great staying in and screening a show but what about the other rainy days? Here are our top things to do when we need to escape cabin fever and the parks are muddy, cold and swampy.
I pretty much love Barnes and Noble. I know that with on-line purveyors like Amazon {I heart Amazon.com}, there is less need for brick and mortar bookstores but when it comes to getting out with the kiddos, you just can’t beat it. The B&N that we frequent boasts a train table, storytime, a little stage-ish area, a Lego table and of course, books upon books at your fingertips ripe for the reading. And there is no cost for admission. B-E-A–Utiful.
Oh how I love thee, Hy-Vee. I know that there are plenty of mommas out there who bargain shop way better than I but when it comes to pairing kiddos with grocery getting, I freaking love Hy-Vee. We have one just a hop, skip and jump from Casa de Brehm so sometimes in the summer months, we wagon it there and snag a slush from Hy-Vee gas on the way home. The rest of the year, the boys enjoy the little ankle-banging carts {which honestly make me wish I had an adult bevvy while cruising with my cart}, testing out fruits and veggies on the produce scales, free cheese at the deli counter, free cookies in the Bakery, visiting, counting and naming the lobsters and the grand finale — getting a sucker at the end. For a place that can be dreaded by some, we find a whole lot of fun and festivity in our trips to fill up the cart. And there’s a helpful smile in every aisle.
The Rock Star nanny has a great twitter hashtag which is #playingwithtoysthataren’tours which perfectly applies to this slushy day site. We buy very few toys. Unless it’s a holiday or birthday, new toys are a bit of an anomaly at the Brehm house. But you know what we do instead? We go peruse places that sell toys and they stay behind when we leave. Target, Fat Brain toys and Lakeshore Learning are all great places to go test out toys, see what they like, see what makes the most annoying sounds and also which ones provide redeeming value.
As crazy as it might sound, the boys love going to these stores, specifically in the months of October, November, and December because they love looking at the Holiday displays. While it’s sometimes more of a pain to get them in and out of the car to simply see the stuff, it’s never an annoyance when I have to run in to get my hands on something for the house.
5. Library
And if you’re curious, I omitted the Omaha Children’s Museum purposely even though we have a membership. Not only am I completely underwhelmed by it in comparison to Lincoln’s, I also know that on a cold, rainy day, it is the very last place I want to spend the day with the boys and the 782 other children that are seeking a rainy day respite.
When I was in college and living in the sorority house and Netflix were just a pipedream, rainy days called for staying snuggled in my 2, 3, 4 or 5-girl room and watching Sex and the City dvds. And now I really like to be home, with a candle lit, cool music on the iPod and drinking a cup of coffee. But the kiddos aren’t really coffee drinkers. And they can only handle so much of mommas coffeehouse tunes. So we have to seek out other solutions.
So what are your fave activities on cold and rainy days? And do you love or loathe this weather? Because I sort of LOVE it!
