Minnesota Children's Museum

The past couple of days has produced our first dose of arctic chill for the season. Side streets are still ice rinks after last week's ice storm and non-windchill temperatures have only reached as high as the mid-20s. The sidewalks are still passable with a stroller, but after another snowfall, they won't be. We're still going outdoors, but our walks are more condensed. No more dilly-dallying and taking in the sights and sounds. We head out on our usual loop so I can get my exercise and Oliver his fresh air, but then I call it good for the day. Despite how much I persevere with the cold weather, Oliver and I may already be suffering from cabin fever. And it's not even December...

Oliver is at the age where he needs to be on the move, but he isn't old enough to run around outside to burn off some energy, let alone be outside on a blustery day. So walks end up being his only outdoor time, and he's contained in not only his stroller, but the straight-jacket effect of his stroller bunting. Even if he likes trips to the store because there are new things to see and he can play in the seat of the cart with some of the items we're going to buy, (boxes of pastas make great impromptu rattles) there are only so many places we can go to get out of the house and where he can move around and just be a baby. The children's section of the library is one, and there are even toys there, in addition to the books, and another is the Family Center with its playroom located in the school down the street from our house. But that's about it for public places close to our home.

Chris spent this afternoon with Oliver so I could get a much-needed haircut and meet up with a friend for equally-needed time to catch up, and he was faced with the "What do I do all afternoon indoors with a baby?" question. His answer was to finally get the Minnesota Children's Museum membership we'd been talking about for months now. At $9 admission per person over the age of 1, visits quickly become pricey for our family of three. But a membership, starting at $89, was a commitment too. When Oliver was still an infant, we had debated whether to buy a membership, but then decided to wait until he was crawling and could get more out of a visit. Even when he was crawling, he could really only enjoy the room geared towards younger babies and toddlers, so we wondered if we should wait until he was old enough to enjoy more of the museum.

Now that Chris made the decision to go ahead and buy a membership, (he even sprung for the one that allows us to bring a guest for free so Oliver's grandparents or Uncle Andy can join us) I know I'm going to wonder why we ever waited. Oliver woke up at 2:30 this afternoon from his nap and Chris changed his diaper, put his clothes on and fed him a snack and still had him to the downtown St. Paul museum by 3:00 p.m. They spent all their time in the room with the water tables where Oliver got to splash his hands in faucets and fountains and race boats and ping pong balls down chutes of water - all the stuff we're never doing at home due to lack of space, equipment and my impatience for mess. After an hour and 15 minutes, he'd had his fun and they were back home in time for Chris to feed him an early 4:45 p.m. dinner.

Now that we have the membership to the Children's Museum, I'm excited to go with Oliver more often. Even if we only stay an hour, I won't feel guilty because our visit is "free." The change of scenery will be exciting for Oliver and just might save my sanity this winter too.