I like to do various semi-education activities with my kids, most often on Saturdays. We call these Science Saturdays activities. I am going to post about some of the successful activities and the less-than-great semi-educational activities.
Mini Mushroom Grow Kit
Mushroom growing kit
Growing Mushrooms clearly takes a bit more than a single Saturday, but it is a great science activity with the kiddos. We grew a back to the roots Mushroom mini grow kit. That can be started in just a few minutes. The initial setup involves opening the box, cutting the bag, and soaking it in water. All the while discussing mushrooms, it was super easy to start.
mushrooms growing
Then it is fun to watch as it grows from tiny baby mushrooms to something we can eat in just 2 weeks. We grow tons of stuff with the kids, with a summer outdoor garden and our basement hydroponic garden (which I will cover in a future post).
Our kids love eating and cooking mushrooms, so it seemed like it would be fun to grow some so they could see the process and eat their bounty.
The mushrooms start coming up fast, and I think Theo pulled his first one off the box and popped it in his mount by day 6 after starting the kit.
preparing the mushrooms
From reading a bit about these kits, we should be able to grow two or three crops of mushrooms. We just started the second batch yesterday.
Our kids enjoyed sauteing them in butter, the first batch we harvested a bit too late, and they were a bit dry and cooked up chewy. We will see how we do with the next batch.
We have been into climbing as a nice form of exercise. Theo has been climbing since he was a baby. He first visited this climbing gym at age 3. Now that Sasha is 3, we needed to get her to her first gym as well. It was fun to go as a family, and they have daycare available making it possible to climb with the kids for a while, then have them play with other kids while you get in a few climbs without distractions.
It was good to get them more experience at the climbing gym, as Theo could start youth group climbing classes in just a few months when he turns 6.
Theo climbing a few routes
Sasha, had fun at the gym, but quickly wanted to go to the daycare so she could play with the toys and other kids… She was happy and we were able to focus on ab it more climbing with Theo.
Sasha trying some routes
A great way to spend some time with the family and to get some exercise during the cold and snowy winter months in CO.
2022 started in quarantines and ended in continuous adventures – culminating with a 10-year anniversary couples trip to Puerto Vallarta and a 9-person family trip to Disney World.
Four days of child care between quarantines in January was enough for the whole family to get Omicron. Our post-quarantine 90-day pass allowed us to take the kids to the Children’s Museum and dine inside the first restaurant of Sasha’s memory. With eventual vaccine access for the littles, the adventures continued through the fall with two trips to Oklahoma City, and family trips to Billings, MT, Colorado Springs, Crestone, and Grand Junction. The kids are becoming swimmers and gymnasts. This year, we learned that they love raw oysters — they’ll each eat two dozen in a sitting — vacations, and amusement park rides – especially roller coasters.
We finally got our little family out skiing. We tried two years ago for our first ski trip, and our car broke down on the way to the mountains… After that disaster, we finally built up the courage to try again.
Our kid’s first time on skis.
We go on Christmas eve day to Loveland, a family tradition before kids. We had to bring two duffle bags of gear to have all that was needed, along with backups for any issues that might come up. For a family of 4 renting everything and getting two passes along with a small shared lunch, it costs about $300 for a single day… Which is pretty expensive but much less than the bigger resorts.
The kids going through the lift line and getting sized for rentals
Getting the kids through the lift pass (free for kids 5 and under) line and fitted for rentals was a breeze. Loveland is really well set up for beginner kids, with folks helping size boots, helmets, and goggles, sweetly telling our kids how great they are doing.
Theo made amazing progress on his first day
It was amazing to see how Theo took to it, with no complaints and learning so quickly. He sometimes carried his skis up the bunny slope so I could carry Sasha. He went from his first time standing in the skis to being able to do “pizza pie” stops, riding the “Magic Carpet” lift, and even finishing off the day with two real lift rides.
Sasha also had fun and was excited to join the adventure
Sasha also did amazingly well for a 3-year-old. She did three bunny slope runs before wanting a warmup and snack break. She got comfortable with all the gear and asked to go “again and again.” She got pretty good at skiing down but couldn’t yet master the “pizza pie” stop.
Theo keeps going and going
Theo kept going, and I was looking for a break to get some water while he still wanted to ski more. He finally admitted he might need a break as he was “running low on air.”
After all four of us had a break (in shifts so we could sneak in a few bigger runs), we got everyone out for round two, and Sasha did three more runs, including going up the “Magic Carpet” lift once… They did pretty great for a cold day, with snow and a first time on skis.
Sasha skiing to Erin
I also need to mention the help of having grandpa who would watch kiddos when they needed a break for a bit in the lodge. Erin and I both managed to sneak in a few non-bunny slopes runs. I am not sure we could have pulled that off without another adult.
Overall it was a super exhausting day, and carrying both kids and gear up a hill while on skis is far more exhausting than just going skiing oneself. Still, it seemed like a success and went well enough we will probably rent a cabin for a long weekend sometime. Feel free to check out the full ski gallery if you like.
As we had kids, I set up mounts in the ceiling to attach a variety of swings… Over the years, they have served us very well. Both our 3-year-old and 5-year-old still enjoy a variety of attachments. We even have hanging chairs for adults when we end up playing games or watching movies in the basement.
Indoor Ceiling Swing Hangers Unlock Many Options
The most popular attachments change over the years, with the original baby swing and traditional swing long original favorites… These days the rope swing and trying to jump from and land on various targets seems most popular. It is the most popular obstacle in games of “the floor is lava.”
our kids have enjoyed a variety of swing attachments.
If you have a suitable playroom for something like this… You need a few things to make this work. I am not giving detailed instructions as I am not a contractor, etc… You can find great youtube videos and instructions to ensure you have the mounts in studs in the ceiling. All of my mounts I test with around 150 lbs ensuring when a swing is attached to two mounts, it should be able to handle crazy kids or most adults.
Stud finder, drill, and suitable studs that can take the load.
Our kids have been getting good at waking up, making breakfast, and entertaining themselves while we get up and get ready to take them to school… As they learn to make breakfast, they are also “exploring” other things in the kitchen…
Today after dropping them off at daycare/school… I found they hadn’t used their little milk as intended for cereal. Instead, they used it to mix with food coloring to drink purple milk for breakfast… Amazingly didn’t make a mess. After school, I told them I was impressed that they remembered where to get the food coloring and were careful not to make a mess. Hilariously, they admitted they had made a mess and worked together to clean it all up before we came downstairs.
Honestly, I don’t really know, all I know is I would have done it differently if I knew what I know now. This has been somewhat of a constant battle and silly learning in our family… I often reference it as poor planning and wastefulness, while my wife probably has a fond place in her heart for most of the strollers. I believe you can get by with one or two strollers, and perhaps my descriptions of all our strollers will help someone out there decide on the right set of strollers for their family.
If you only plan to have one kid or you’re determined to get a second stroller when you have a second kid this is the absolute best single stroller for a single child. It travels great it fits through the metal detectors it doesn’t require you to buy a second travel stroller (see more about that later )it’s a highly efficient and easy to move around the stroller with lots of space, adapters, and features. It’s great on all sorts of terrain from bad sidewalks to lighter hiking trails. We have been able to effectively use it as an “offroad” stroller, which is something our travel stroller could never do. If you are headed towards two kids, read on for the best double stroller.
AKA: If you know you are having two kids, just buy this one
If you’re only going to have two kids, you can perhaps just get away with this as a single stroller! This stroller is a great option because before the second kid arrives at has all sorts of attachments to use the extra space like a shopping cart attachment or other things helpful when rolling around a city. The city double isn’t quite as easy to maneuver as the regular city mini, but it’s still quite great — it’s wheels work really well even on bumpy and off-road conditions like going on trails. We have yet to travel with a stroller yet, I don’t believe it will fit through the standard security scanner. Which will require extra time for the stroller to go through the metal detector and inspection, so that’s a negative against it. That is the primary reason to get more than one stroller, having something smaller that can get through security. If you really want to limit yourself to a single stroller and you’re planning on two kids this is a great option.
Did you jog a lot before you had a kid? No… Now that you have a kid you’re going to find all that extra time for extra workouts… Really No, it isn’t likely to happen. We’ve used the stroller maybe 10 times in the multiple years we’ve had it. If you are already a serious exercise addict maybe but don’t believe having a kid will help you get in shape.
The Travel Stroller
Actual Name: ?
AKA: we should have just brought the city mini GT
The idea that you will want a smaller stroller while traveling is cute. Although most of the time you will just want your trusty primary stroller. If you’re going to Europe and running around all tiny alleys and public transportation it sort of makes sense, but the wheels on the travel stroller across bumpy cobblestone roads and areas without sidewalks really make you regret the decision to have a less than good stroller with you. You generally just want your primary stroller with you, one that can travel well enough and fold up well enough. A travel stroller has limited storage capacity starts to fall apart quickly, after taking a beating while traveling, and really isn’t that much easier to move through an airport than anything else.
Just a quick note from Erin here — I took Theo around Europe a lot and definitely think we needed the travel stroller. This one is a good mix for price, weight and utility. You want your primary stroller to have more of the features described above, but if you are traveling outside the US with a kid too big for a carrier, you’ll want something like this too. If your kid still fits in the carrier, use that. If not, you want a stroller that is light, easy to fold, and can be carried over your shoulder one handed while your kid is in the other arm — both to walk up to your 5th floor walk up and to maneuver the many stairs in their metro systems.
AKA: We should have just bought the city mini double stroller
This stroller’s fine but it’s only just that, fine. It’s wheels aren’t great on bumpy sidewalks, it’ll get stuck on small bumps, and you’ll have to push and pull to get it going again. It kind of starts to fall apart quickly, the bottom already his required home repairs to keep the basket from tearing apart as it drags on the road when loaded. It’s okay it was just me I’d probably keep it, and avoid spending more money. Why did we get another double stroller, the 10% of the time I’m not pushing a stroller and my wife or a grandparent is using this stroller all you will hear is complaints about how hard it is to push and how it doesn’t maneuver well and how y’all really should have just paid for a better stroller.
AKA: Another Stroller, just for visits, sure why not…
The one on the left, another jogger kept at grandparent’s house
If you don’t want to always lug a stroller around, you can keep a stroller with your grandparents. I still think this is a bit silly, but we have used it more than the “aspirational” jogging stroller, so perhaps it makes more sense than I think. If your grandparent’s help with the kiddo’s a lot and want to keep a stroller at their place, go for it. Overall it is a nice stroller as well and has great handling. You can see it was in action alongside our City Mini GT on a pebble hiking trail.
So, obviously, if you are pregnant, you’re going to deliver– one way or another. And if you are far enough along to be thinking through planning for your birth, congratulations!! I know that the road to this place for many families is long and paved with heartache. Know that I am cheering you on.
This guide is imperfect and, by its nature, anecdotal. It’s based on my experience having two kids at two different hospitals with two different providers. But it’s also informed by my expertise and advocacy in maternal and child health policy.
My first birth (in February 2017) was a spontaneous vaginal delivery in a hospital, performed by a Kaiser physician who I had not met where lots of things went wrong. My blood pressure spiked, but the diagnosis of preeclampsia was missed until I was readmitted with severe symptoms 5 days postpartum. The delivery room was chaotic, communication was abysmal, and in the end, an uncontested episiotomy was performed that led to a 4th degreeperineal laceration. My baby boy was born small for gestational age, but healthy and vigorous.
My second birth (in June 2019) was a planned cesarean, due to ongoing pain and functional issues from the 4th degree tear — 4th degree tears rarely fully heal (unlike lesser tears) and can lead to long-term complications. My c-section was performed early, around 38 weeks, because I developed pregnancy-induced hypertension and my physician wanted to do everything possible to avoid risk factors for preeclampsia this time (being readmitted to the hospital and the treatment for preeclampsia are both miserable). My baby girl was also born small for gestational age, but healthy and vigorous.
This guide is designed to be action oriented and covers what I think are the most important pieces of preparing to welcome a baby to your family. There are book recommendations (item #7) that contain tons of great additional information.
Looking through this list, it’s a lot. Pregnant and stressed — no wonder! Check out this mental load! Yes, it’s true that you’ll be busy too when the baby comes, but this stuff is planning, it’s academic, it’s cerebral. And on top of all of this, the majority of pregnant women in the United States are working full-time without fully-paid maternity leave, so you are also planning your maternity leave from work and your family finances. In some ways, taking care of newborn is primal, it’s hard and overwhelming in a completely different way, and a welcome break from this type of thinking.
So, here’s my advice, YMMV. The items below are listed roughly in their order of operation. If you disagree or have other tips, PLEASE leave feedback in the comments.
Welcome to my birth and postpartum guide, item #10. Congrats on the upcoming addition to your family! Please take care of yourself and best of luck with your preparations. This is one piece of a 10-part guide. Feel free to explore the other pieces from the introduction page.
************ Given the breadth of the rest of this guide, it may seem odd for this last tip to be so very specific. But we are in this phase right now — blowouts happen, several times a week. With our first kid, it was winter and so he was dressed mostly in footed pajamas, which are very easy to change (especially those with zippers — always get zippers, not snaps). But it’s summer now with our second kiddo and footed jammies are an impractical choice for all-day use. And I realized that my husband got through most of our first kid’s early months without understanding why onesies have those folds at the shoulders — it’s so that you can pull them down, and don’t have to pull a poop-soaked onesie over your baby’s precious little head.
Welcome to my birth and postpartum guide, item #9. Congrats on the upcoming addition to your family! Please take care of yourself and best of luck with your preparations. This is one piece of a 10-part guide. Feel free to explore the other pieces from the introduction page.
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These exercises should be able to be done at home (you’re not going anywhere for awhile), start very slow and easy and gradually build-up. It’s great to have a plan to follow to rebuild your confidence in your body.
Adventures of the Miller Mayers 