My middle school ex-boyfriend, Neil, is now a rookie dad to a toddler (ain’t facebook great?). He likes to take his son, Graham, out in the Burley trailer for coffee dates. Neil drinks the coffee while Graham sips his leche.

Neil reports:

Even in the fun Portland winter weather, I like to take Graham out as much as I can. He’s recently been asking to go for rides in the Burley, so I take him to a coffee shop that’s ~1.5 miles away. He usually falls asleep, but didn’t yesterday. We did that trip again today. 3 for 3 now. We’ll see what he does tomorrow.

Don’t underestimate the power of sitting and sipping your normal beverages in a special place. I used to watch parents of toddlers serve their sons little demitasse cups of foamy or whipped milk at our corner cafe. Adorable. And sometimes free!

The baby version of this activity is Pretend You’re in Paris.

Like they used to say on TV, membership has it’s privileges. Both of the Bay Area children’s museums that I have been to are part of a consortium of Children’s Museums that have reciprocal memberships. This means that if you get a one-year membership at Habitot in Berkeley, for example, you can go to the Discovery Museum in Sausalito for a significant discount. Also, if you travel to a place with another children’s museum, you are totally in.

The point, however, is not the membership. The point is that these are destinations with rooms for crawlers. Usually they have mats on the floor or different textures and large scale shapes that babies and young toddlers can put their grubby hands on, in and through. The Discovery Museum Tot Room, for example, has at least four waterbed-type areas for babies.

If you live near one of these places, and buy a membership, consider it a mommy meet market. Go there when you and baby are feeling lonely, let down your hair, and have a juice box or two.

Your 47th weekly challenge is to seek out a children’s museum and make a special trip there with your baby. Tell us, how was it? (Baby too young for this outing? Start at the beginning.)

Photos: Minnesota Children’s Museum;  Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco

If you are like I was, by the time my baby was 10 weeks old, I had not exercised for about 6 months. Baby Bootcamp was my re-introduction to sweating and I loved it. I am not a gym-goer in my normal life, and Baby Bootcamp was perfect for me. Here’s why:

1. Exercising in the company of other sleep-deprived, temporarily overweight, leaky-breasted women is more fun.
2. It was no problem that I walked the course rather than ran it much of the time. I had many excuses lined up for not running (all of which are somewhat valid and mostly shared by other participants).
3. Stopping to deal with my fussy baby was par for the course.
4. It got me out of the house to do something good for me and enjoy the outdoors.

This is our 23rd Rookie Mom challenge. Not ready for it? Go back and pick an easier one.

Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can invite your partner and show him or her how awesome and athletic you are. The other parent and grandparents can tag along for free.

Check babybootcamp.com and a similar organization strollerstrides.com for locations and schedules.

Did you complete this challenge? Share your story.

• Comment below and spill the details.
• Share a picture with us on Facebook.

[photo: strollerstrides.com]

Baby-friendly theaters? Yes, please.

We sure love our DVRs and Hulu, but refuse to give up on going to the theater. Did you know some theaters also have special showings for new parents? These showings have different names in different cities, but the idea that yours will not (most likely) be the loudest baby in the movie theater is the common thread.

Both of our firstborns were frequent attendees of “Baby Brigade” (now known as “Bringing Up Baby“) at the El Cerrito Theater during their first year.

Select theaters are participating in a program called Baby Pictures. Check the website to see if there is a baby movie showing in a city near you.

The Kerasotes chain in Illinois and Indiana offers Matinee Movie Magic. I thought I was pretty magical when I sat in a movie theater while doing my first in public breastfeeding (without crying!) when Julian was 5 weeks old. (This mistakenly led Heather, my 19-weeks pregnant escort, to believe that nursing is easy.)

Stroller matinees are a good early outing for freaked out new parents. Crying is totally allowed.

This is your ninth weekly rookie mom challenge. Even if you cannot find a mom and baby movie in your area, consider taking a risk on an 11 am showing. Heather and I brought baby Milo to Knocked Up while I was super pregnant with Scarlett. We saw the first show of the day and only one other person was in the theater. Milo stayed in his carseat for much of the movie and when he got sick of that, Heather held him up on her lap facing the movie.  The volume at the theater is much louder than any grunting or fussing that tiny babies do.

In LA, Monday Morning Mommy Movies weekly at 11:00 am at the Grove, Glendale, and Northridge.

In Portland, McMenamin’s Kennedy School hosts the occasional Mommy Matinee and for cheap!

Austin, TX has Baby Day Movie at Alamo Draft House Cinema (Tuesdays). Parents are allowed to bring infants into the movie for shows starting before 2:05 pm. (check website for movie times and location).

In San Francisco, realtor Jill Russo sponsors a monthly Mommy Movie on the second Thursday of each and every month. And it’s FREE!

Have you done this outing? Please tell us where!
Loved it or hated it?
Not quite ready for a movie? Pick a challenge from an earlier week.

photos: Grand Lake by ThomasHawk on flickr; theater interior Associated Press

Today is national PARK(ing) Day, an art-slash-activism event that encourages folks to occupy a public parking space with a DIY park. There are 700 temporary parks across the globe this year.

This one was produced by the people who work at method in downtown San Francisco.  The idea is that you simply feed the meter all day, entitling you to use the space for the things you’d like to do in a park. In the case of the PARK(ing) space above, they set up a putting hole.

Here’s one in Seattle that’s happening right now.

Can you participate? I’m giving you sort of late notice for this year, I realize. However, if you want to cruise by and see a PARK(ing) spot inhabited by some other crew, check out the map on the PARK(ing) Day website. Is there a location near you that you can stroll by?

I know everyone does not live within a two-hour flight of Portland, Oregon. And some of you even live right there, so a weekend in Portland probably holds less interest for you.  But if you are in possession of the same magical combination that I have – a set of willing grandparents, two children who don’t need to nurse, and a husband who is good at making reservations – then off we go. (And yes, it rained.)

After having dinner with Heidi and looking at her post about Portland, I had some things on my list I wanted to do. Mostly, however, I just wanted to relax — in a new city.

We stayed at the Hotel Lucia downtown. My friend Amanda, who lives in Portland, had stayed overnight there with her husband as a mini-getaway earlier in the year, so I had been warned about the small rooms. Luckily, the aforementioned reservation-making husband had already requested a corner room, so our quarters were just perfect. The Hotel Lucia is very cool and centrally located.

Our first meal was at Clyde Common, a restaurant in the bottom of the trendy Ace Hotel.  It is a lovely place for lunch because the huge windows let the light right through to the stylish communal table at which you are seated, probably next to some guys with beards, because in Portland all the men wear beards.

Next we walked around the Pearl District, stopping at cute shops like Dig and Oblations where we bought Julian a tape measure on a keychain, two of his favorite objects rolled up into one.

After resting in our hotel room for an hour or so, we got picked up by friends and headed to Toro Bravo for dinner, where I felt totally cool because so many readers mentioned it on 101cookbooks.com.  The food was great, but I really loved that the bar upstairs accommodated everyone who was waiting for a table. Somehow it was way less stressful than waiting for a table in San Francisco.  (Maybe cause all the dudes have beards. Except my husband.)

Ryan and I stopped for a post-dinner drink at Saucebox which is a hipster bar that serves amazing cocktails and some food that I didn’t try. Ryan ordered a snack that involved tofu and I don’t eat that stuff.

The next day we had breakfast at Mother’s which I definitely recommend. The (bearded) waiter was overly enthusiastic about everything, but it gave us a good laugh at the Portland pride surrounding coffee.  Um, they have a lot of coffee pride.

After hours of strolling around downtown, including a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Craft where a woman was live knitting with thread that had been unraveled from mass marketed clothing, like Gap and American Eagle sweaters, as a gesture of resistance, we ate lunch at the Pearl Bakery and went to a movie.  You fellow parents surely understand that we did not feel we needed to see every sight in the city. Skipping from location to location without bringing snack traps or looking at the clock was so liberating. The nostalgia of all the other vacations in Ryan and my shared past bubbled up throughout our aimless wandering.

City Island with Andy Garcia and Juliana Marguilies. That’s the movie we saw. Very very good. And safe to see with your parents. We played Boggle and tasted a flight of beers at Bailey’s Tap Room after that. I think Ryan mostly beat me, but only because I’ve taught him how to play so well.

That night we had dinner at Davis Street Tavern where I ordered scallops. Dark chocolate bread pudding with cardamom and black pepper for dessert. Yes, it was that good.

In the morning, Ryan’s high school friend Brian picked us up from our hotel with his wife Debbie and their 7-year old son, Hawk.  They used to live near us in the East Bay. We ate more delicious food and got to hear about Brian’s soccer camps for kids and Debbie’s photography business.

They dropped us at the light rail station and we headed back to the airport.  That is all.

Yes, I’m endorsing a product/service here. No, I am not being paid to do so.  It’s called Music Together and two past experieinces made me decide to recommend this activity.

Several of my friends had done Music Together for three consecutive “semesters” and then decided to skip a semester. During that period we met at the park during the time that many of us used to do Music Together and Sarah was saying how much she missed it, couldn’t wait til it started up again, and that not doing it made her see how much she values it. Our park-based playdate was simply filling the hole in her life left by abstaining from Music Together.

Ok, so Sarah (hearts) Music Together. Her enthusiasm made me think hard about how I feel about it. I had been thinking that it’s just too expensive, and then I decided that I agree with Sarah.

Later that day, I read that most North American families only know two or three songs to sing to their children when they are born, and one of them is often 99 Bottles of Beer. And here’s where I relate to how much value you get out of these classes. From Music Together, my husband and I have learned countless songs in that can be sung and re-sung in different ways. The class is designed to teach you, the parent, how to incorporate music into your kid’s life.* Each song can be changed around to include your kid’s name, interests or description of the activities you’re doing. Our teacher, Ryk, also gives great advice on using music to distract while diaper changing or putting on shoes. People, it works.

Julian was obsessed with the CDs that come with the class. He begged for us to put them on and then, as a baby even, would smile and wave when he heard the first song.

*The class is not about building music skills in your kid. In fact, they are welcome to sit absolutely still and silent. The parent or caregiver is the one participating. The theory is that you can develop musical interest and enthusiasm in children by enabling them to watch you have fun with sounds, songs and instruments. Given that we don’t have community music experiences in this culture, our kids will not pick up songs to pass down to their kids unless we make it happen.

So there you have it. My love letter to Music Together.

Find one near you.

And again, this is not an advertisement.

[Photo from Music Together's website]

An umbrella is a terrific gift for a preschooler. My toddler loves to hold her own kid-sized umbrella, and it gives us something to do on a rainy day – go outside and stand there with an umbrella over our heads.

I saw this rainbow umbrella for kids in a Museum catalog and thought it was worth sharing. Then, when I searched for it on Amazon, I found even more cuteness – all six umbrellas are less than $20.00. Great gift for nieces or nephews.

Rainbow Spectrum Umbrella

Cloud Umbrella for Kids (comes in adult size, too!)

Monkey Umbrella

Red Polka Dot Umbrella

Apple of My Eye Umbrella

Ladybug Umbrella

My friend Amanda lives with her husband and son and daughter in Portland, so she’s done this maternity leave thing twice. Once with Jed, and now that he’s in preschool, with baby Willa.

She’s done us the favor of laying out a plan for the week that offers a rainy day option for each day, because in Portland, you never know…

Don’t forget – if your city hasn’t been represented yet, you can write it up for us. Send your suggestions to moms at rookiemoms dot com.

Monday

• Rainy Day: Book Babies at Sellwood-Moreland Library (11-11:30) followed by lunch at Grand Central Bakery (kids’ area in the back) at 7987 SE 13th Street
• Sunny Day: Oregon Zoo ($9.50 for adults) – make sure to get animal-shaped French fries at the Africafe. Also check out the zoo concert series. You can bring a picnic dinner and hang out on the lawn.

Tuesday

• Rainy Day: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry [OMSI] ($9 for adults) – go the Science Playground upstairs and visit the 0-24 month section or brave the sandbox.
• Mommy Matinee at the Kennedy School ($3 at 1pm)
• Sunny Day: Take a walk in the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden – Admission is free on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Stop at the farm stand on 28th street just north of the Garden and buy some cracked corn to feed the ducks for $1.

Wednesday

• Rainy Day: Moms and Babies Yoga class at Yoga Shala Southeast (10:30-12:00). Afterward, go with your new yoga friends to lunch at Urban Grind (22nd and NE Oregon) where they have a baby room in the back complete with swings, exersaucers and tons of toys.
• Sunny Day: Play in the fountain at Jamison Square (10th and Johnson) and then walk around the Pearl District. Free WiFi and kid-friendly food with toys at SohBet Café 2710 N.

Thursday

• Rainy Day: Mamalates class (10:30-11:45) at The Yoga Space. Wendy also has a special pilates class for mamas who have had c-sections! Lunch at Old Wives Tales at 1300 E. Burnside or coffee and a sweet treat from Crema at 2728 SE Ankeny
• Sunny Day: Go to a Farmer’s Market or do the work yourself and pick some berries out on Sauvie Island.

Friday

• Rainy Day: Freedom Fridays at the Academy Theater (78th and Stark Street). Movies cost $3 and childcare is $5 per child. BiPartisan Café after the movie at 7901 SE Stark. Dinner at Gino’s Restaurant and Bar (8051 SE 13th) They give little ones a free bread, cheese, and apples appetizer while you wait for your food.
• Sunny Day: Visit the International Rose Test Garden – it is the city of roses after all. Grab a cupcake at Saint Cupcake if you’ve got your stroller (no highchairs).

Saturday

• Rainy Day: Visit the new family friendly spa in Portland: Zenana Spa and Wellness Center (opening at the end of July). Dinner and drinks at Laurelwood Public House and Brewery 1728 NE 40th.
• Sunny Day: Head out toward the gorge and check out the waterfalls and take a quick hike

Sunday

• Rainy Day: Southwest Community Center’s Family Swim (11:30-1:30) $5.75 for a drop in visit. Lunch at Peanut Butter and Ellie’s (across the street)
• Sunny Day: Swimming at Sellwood Pool (beach entry) – Parent/pre-school swim 11:30-12:50

There is a lovely knitting shop in Oakland that invites us to come and knit with other moms, babies and moms-to-be. If you are a local to this area, check out Article Pract on Thursdays at 10.30.

Sarah in Portland wrote, “Mabel’s has long offered a knitting with babies hour on Mondays (1 to 3 p.m. I think), although I’ve most often gone with my babies at odd times and, often, found other babies there.”

Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks, also in Portland, has “clubs” — one is expectant moms, etc. They don’t have a specific time for babies now, either, but they welcome babies with toys and a little table just for them in the cafe.

Our Cambridge, MA correspondent, another Sarah, wrote “Minds Eye Yarns does not have a specific new moms group, however babies and children are always welcome, so long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian! We also have lots of wonderful knitting patterns for baby and children’s clothing, toys, blankets etc, so come on down and check us out!”

Photo courtesy of shescrafty.com.