Rookie Moms

Karen Solomon, author of The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to San Francisco, used to work with Whitney years ago when the Internet was fresh and before they were both mamas (when I still lived across the Bay in San Francisco and dated all the wrong guys *sigh*).

If you’re coming to BlogHer with children next week, we hope you enjoy Karen’s suggestions!

These days Karen shares with us Seven CHEAP Things To Do With Kids in San Francisco (many of them approved by Baby Emmett):

Sunday: Whip Cracking and Juggling Classes at Circus Center
Crack that whip. Juggle that ball. Ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages are welcome not just to watch the circus arts at this full-time school offering a myriad of classes, but also to participate and learn a few tricks. And Sunday evenings, real circus knowledge can be yours for the price of a bag of peanuts. At 6:00pm, anyone is welcome to get their whip cracking skills cracking, and at 7:00, an additional four dollars buys three hours of juggling instruction. Drop-ins are welcome. You may not fly through the air with the greatest of ease, but hey, it’s better than being shot out of a cannon…

755 Frederick St., SF
(415) 759-8123
Sundays, 6:00 and 7:00pm
$4 per class ($8 for both)
info@circuscenter.org

Monday: A Yerba Buena Gardens blowout
Spend a day in penny-pinching splendor in SF’s multifaceted Yerba Buena Gardens area. Picnic or relax on the lawn between YB and the Metreon, making sure to check out the Martin Luther King, Jr. waterfall. A brief stint in the Metreon – the City’s own failed mall-of-the-future, will yield free video games in the Sony Playstation store. If you can pry the kids away, there’s an excellent playground on the rooftop of Yerba Buena – with a nearby ice skating rink and bowling alley if you’re up to a splurge. If not, the $3 antique carousel in front of Zeum is an equally entertaining tryst.

Centered around Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Mission between 3rd and 4th, SF
(415) 978.2700
Mostly free

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Sometimes a baby just must be worn.  I have a distinct memory of marching up and down my stairs with Julian in my arms, just to get him to stop crying and relax.  If I had been smarter, or hadn’t just blown all my brain cells giving birth, I might have just worn him and saved my arms the trouble.  And, now as a sophomore mom, if Scarlett wasn’t already trained  to nap in her crib so well (yes, I am the best parent ever), I’d probably be stair climbing right now instead of typing at the computer.

I recently met Darcy, a woman who had the same experience as a new mom.  She, being a dancer, had a solution that was less monotonous than a staircase.  She danced.  She soothed her baby to sleep while getting her own heart rate up and toning muscles.  Call it overachieving, or call it crafty, but I have to give her a (virtual) high five for figuring out how to get something for herself out of a marathon soothing session.

If you are like me, you are not going to do this yourself. You might need someone to boss you around, er, I mean guide you.  And Darcy put her work out on a video, so now you have it.  It’s called Chicks-n-Chickens Lullaby Exercises and the DVD shows a room full of baby-wearing women getting a workout.

No time for the gym? Restless baby? Here you go.

What do you think? Would you try it? Does your baby demand to be worn?

Related links:

• Order Lullaby Exercises DVD
• Bay Area free classes - bring your baby and try out the Lullaby Exercises routine.

You city mamas probably already know that it’s Pride Weekend season.  That is Gay Pride for those who are not familiar with this most fabulous event.  The family-friendly folks who march with their kids in San Francisco have invited us (anyone who wants) to join them, and I’m thinking it sounds like a good idea for my little dude. He knows what a parade is, and I’m thinking when I inform him that he can actually BE IN THE PARADE, he might go crazy with excitement.  And more, he can wear a funny hat and ride his tricycle if he wants.  And, more, it’s all about being proud of who you are, and my son is all about that. Proud that he pooped in the potty, proud of his sister for eating watermelon. He shares generous doses of pride with us all the time, so this seems like a good event for him.

I posted some of the details on East Bay SavvySource for my local peeps, but it’s Pride weekend in a few other cities, I think.

(photo of our friends Norrie and Angela courtesy of Mama Isobel)

Most music classes for children provide a free trial class. Take advantage of these freebies before committing to a paid class. Try to talk your other mama friends into joining you so it’s the most fun for YOU.

• Kindermusik Village classes are for babies under 18 months and each class is 45 minutes long.
• Music Together is mixed age classes up to age five and the classes are an hour long.
• In Berkeley, Jingle Jamboree is for ages 6 mos to 15 mos.