Wading Around

I have an interesting relationship with the weather. For as long as I can remember, talking about it hasn’t been small talk for me. My grade school journals often included entries that read, “It feels warm, like 75 degrees. The sky is bright blue and the clouds are high and fluffy.”

I’m often asked how I deal with Seattle Weather since I grew up a California Girl. The answer is that I am patient. Yes, the winter days are short. Tiny. Miniature. I wait for the summer days which are simply divine.

I am patient. I’ve been patient. Very patient… Where is the warm weather already?

In anticipation of my baby’s first summer, I’ve stocked up on gear. He has infant friendly sunscreen, a super floppy lightweight hat and the cutest darn swim trunks with a built in swim diaper.

Now I’m waiting. I wait to wade. While I wait, I have learned that Seattle Parks and Recreation boasts a whopping thirty wading pools!

From mid-May through late August, these water wonders will be open when the temperature is forecasted to be 70 degrees or warmer. The advantage to these community pools is that high public use consumes a substantially lesser amount of water versus neighbors filling commercially purchased pools or running the sprinklers in their own yards.

Sleepless in Seattle

I don’t consider myself an insomniac. In college I was able to sleep-on-demand. I took full advantage of the fifty minutes between my classes: nap for twenty minutes, hit the cafeteria for a bite to eat then jet off to my next class. That’s a skill right there.

Easy sleeping is not in my son’s bag of tricks. Like Father, Like Son.

In my quest to help my son catch more Zzz’s, I attended Let’s Talk About Sleep at the Community Birth and Family Center in the Eastlake neighborhood. This two-hour seminar was facilitated by Ann Keppler RN, MN, co-author of Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn.

I learned about how infants sleep in different parts of the world, SIDS and safe sleeping environments, transitional objects, things that disrupt sleep, recommended amounts of sleep by age, etc.

My husband and I are going to begin incorporating a transitional object into my son’s daily routine. I hope it provide our sleepy one with comfort in our absence.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more sleeping in Seattle.

How Momma Got Her Groove Back

In my heyday, I frequented dance clubs. I danced my way from Boston to Washington DC and from San Francisco to Chicago. My love for dancing to a good tune didn’t start there.

When I was a kid, my parents would invite their friends over for house parties. With a spread of tasty food and beverages, Motown on the record player and Members Only jackets on the Dads, kids and parents would dance on the burnt orange carpet until the kids’ bedtimes rolled around.

So much has happened since my last dance. I got married, started a family and my bedtime happens during double-digit hours instead of the single-digit ones. Now my dancing is limited to wedding receptions and the goofy dancing I do around the house to keep my son entertained

The idea of going to a dance club in Belltown makes me cringe. Not only am I out of touch with current music and bring the average age up a couple of years but I’m pretty sure my moves are dated.

Where oh where can I get my dance on? I’ll tell you where - Baby Loves Disco. Baby Loves Disco is an afternoon dance party for parents and kids (aged six months to seven years). Clubs across the country and around the world are transformed into a family friendly atmosphere of dancing, playing and snacking on healthy food.

We danced to disco, twirled under the bubbles, made music with the egg shakers, took a break in the quiet room to read a book and received great gifts at the door. The best part was that this Momma got her groove back. Hurray! Whoo Hoo! Ha Cha!