Tacoma Kids

After a trip to the zoo, or on a rainy morning when you need a place to go for a good coffee where you can talk to your friends and  ignore your kids (OK I’m kidding - relegate them to the background, anyway), head to one of the most kid-friendly cafes we know - the Antique Sandwich Company on Pearl.

The menu for lunch is a little on the granola side, but it’s great healthy food for kids of all ages and they make a mean PB&J. Reilly shared a chocolate milkshake with his Grandpa there that was delicious. He insisted on eating it out of the tall old fashioned milkshake glass, of course, not the small paper cup we provided.

But the real draw here is the small stage toward the back filled with toys, and the laid back atmosphere. The kids have a nice time playing and the adults can have a nice chat or read a paper or just be for a moment. They have some open-mike and musical events here, so there may be times when it’s less convenient to bring children, but we have never run into trouble.

Until last weekend, we mostly went in late mornings for coffee. Our lunch last weekend was really nice - Reilly played by himself while the adults sat and talked a few tables away, then we all ate together when the food came and he went back to playing when he was done so we finished our meals in peace.
I wish more places had a little play area like this - makes for a real parental rarity - a relaxing meal!

We have now experienced 3 car trips in a row with a pukin’ kid. Delightful!

Aside from the fact that it takes a pHD and a monumental physical effort to take apart the car seat to clean the straps and then reassemble it, and uses up half of Reilly’s wardrobe before we’ve even gotten to our destination, it’s incredibly sad to see the poor little guy toss his cookies.

He’s been quiet and stoic each time. This time he said “I coughed, mommy.” Broke my heart! You know he was feeling awful before it happened, but didn’t have the words to tell us about it.

So I’m wondering, has anyone else out there had this problem? We’re looking for tips. Any foods to avoid or that are good to eat before or during the ride? We’ve heard give ‘em Benadryl and will check with our wonderful docs at Union Ave Pediatrics, but would prefer any non-drug approaches. We gave up on reading in the car after the first puke experience, stopping at McDonalds after the second, and now will avoid cranberry juice prior to a long ride. We’ve also stocked the car with a roll of paper towels. But we were wondering if anyone had a more comprehensive list so we can maybe avoid a fourth episode. Ideas?

A couple of weekends ago we went to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge with a neighbor family for a kid’s hike. This is not quite Tacoma, but close, and made a wonderful half-day trip. It’s about a half an hour drive (Exit 114 off I-5 going south, about 22 miles south of Tacoma), and an absolutely beautiful area. There’s a longer hike for more serious hikers, but the 1-mile trail is along a boardwalk, most of it with railings to keep adventurous children corraled. It was perfect for Reilly at this age (27 months) — he ran ahead and felt like he was walking by himself without us freaking out, and he completed almost the entire walk on his own (made for a great nap later).

Even with three happily screeching children to warn all the wildlife to give us a wide berth, we saw an Ardea Herodias (Great Blue Heron), a river otter, a huge flock of Canadian geese, a hummingbird, Red-winged Blackbirds (gorgeous - check out this photo - http://www.christinevadai.com/RWBL.jpg), and some darling little green tree frogs, up close and personal.

The kids and adults alike were fascinated with the frogs, which we found jumping about in the grassy area near a tree at the picnic area about half way along the walk. It’s a great place to stop for a snack or a full-fledged picnic. There are two enormous barns there that have become the home of many swallows. They swoop in and out of their little mud nests and are delightful to watch from the ground below.

There’s a little visitor center open Wednesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Don’t forget the $3 per carload fee paid at the drop box - well worth it!

Thanks to the website Time For Kids, I just learned that it was recently the 50th birthday of the children’s book, “Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss. The article below is full of all sorts of Cat in the Hat and Dr. Seuss facts, like it took Dr. Seuss one-and-half years to write the book. Yikes! Just think about having those rhymes stuck in your head for that long, that’s commitment!

Reilly is a huge fan of the book, and the movie, along with about every other book put out by Dr. Seuss. Thank you Theodore Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) for all the great stories!!

Don’t forget to visit this fun site, caution…it’s flash heavy.

Official Happy Birthday, Cat in the Hat website

and if you’re looking for the book…

Happy Birthday, Cat in the Hat article at TFKs website.

For even more Dr. Seuss facts here’s his official Wikipedia page

Guess I need to read our local paper more often, they covered this story in February…better late then never, if you ask my mom, she’ll confirm I’ve always been horrible at getting birthdays right.

Being an early computer geek ( bought my first computer, an Apple IIe when I was about 14), and enjoying my fair share of video games, I can certainly relate to this article on Wired.

You Grew Up Playing Shoot’em-Up Games. Why Your Kids Can’t.

Although I guess I’ve been spared in a couple of ways; knowing how addictive computer games can be, I’ve not bought a gaming console. And since Ruth isn’t a video game player, it doesn’t make for good family time. But I see a day soon when we will have to make the decision of what game system to buy for the family, or else assume that Reilly will be spending more time at his friends houses. I’m hoping we can make gaming time family time, and choose titles that we can all enjoy.

Lest you really begin to think we are Microsoft millionaires, (based on my last few blogs), lets come back to reality and talk about where we really shop instead of where I like to dream about shopping. Here are two great “gently used” kids consignment stores that other mommy friends and I swear by:

Once Upon a Child, www.ouac.com, located at 3815 S. Steele St., Tacoma WA 98409 (beside the Pho restaurant and Dollar Store, directly behind REI).
This store just opened recently - I think it used to be on Hosmer St. but closed there because of the construction of the new Lowe’s going in. (I checked, yes-same store, new owners).

It is large and has a really great selection of clothing. These stores are great for getting a little cash or store credit in return for passing on those large plastic items we all love and those baby items we can’t live without for all of 3 to 6 months, but then have absolutely no use for or room to store. I love to buy books and especially movies at these stores, and staple clothing items like jeans. It looked like they had a really nice selection of cribs too. We got a Monster Inc video today for $2.50. Woo hoo!

Also check out Kids Kaboodle (aka Other Mothers for those who have been around a while) located at 6409 6th Ave, Tacoma WA 98406 behind the El Jimador Mexican restaurant. (253) 566-8344, kidzkaboodle@comcast.net. I found some great clothes here when Reilly was smaller but last time I went in did not find a lot of 2T and larger items. I bought a small port-a-crib here that really helped us travel a little lighter and I have friends that always seem to find beautiful things here.

Like any consignment stores, these are businesses, so be prepared not to get as much as you’d like for the items you sell, but I always figure it would only go to Goodwill (or god forbid, the trash!) otherwise, so it’s a win-win, all the way around.

Here’s a great find from Mike’s sister Wendy (our guest blogger for Great Toddler Book full of creative and fun activities):

www.Commonsensemedia.com

Not sure if a movie, television show or video game is too scary or violent for your child? Unsettled by the messages movies like Cinderella might be sending your daughter (just look pretty and wait for the handsome prince to rescue you)? Need some help wading through the swamp of how today’s media may be affecting your child and how you can manage it?
This site is a great resource. You can search by title, categories or age and there are reviews from children and adults. Each movie has a “common sense note” that highlights some of the things to consider and highlights anything that might be a concern. Each movie is rated as 1) Appropriate for age, 2) Know your kid, or 3) Not age appropriate. Content is rated by sexual content, violence, language, message, social behavior, commercialism, and drug/alcohol/tobacco.
There are some nice tips for managing media for your family and discussion and survival guides.
Since Reilly is already a little television-a-holic despite all our best intentions, we’ll be using this a lot in the future!

With our annual Easter Egg Hunt coming up we’ve already bought all of our colors, but maybe next year we can take advantage of those beets that only Ruth seems to be looking forward to cooking.

DIY Easter egg dye

With the weekend forecast, we’re actually looking forward to a sunny hunt for the first time in 3 years! We’ve also cut way back on the number of invites; believe me, there’s only one thing that many kids, that early in the day can lead to…

Wish us luck!

A local boutique owner is selling some very cool t-shirts, I hear designed by a local artist using old type setting print, that allow us proud Tacomans to advertise: “Gritty Tacoman.”

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For those of us who would like our kids to be inspired by surroundings that are not directly from Disney or the latest television cartoon, here’s some sites I ran across in a post on www.printpattern.blogspot.com (kidsweek post) with some cool links for kids design: (It’s just too bad it’s all so expensive, but it’s fun to look at anyway…)

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