Seattle Mom Blogs

Things have been getting rough lately. Really rough. And I mean really really.

The week before last started out with five meltdowns in two days. Five! In two days! (The kids, of course, not me. Although by the fifth one I swear I nearly had a meltdown myself.) Then we had a couple of good days with some drama and at least one more meltdown sprinkled in. Then we topped the week off with a sibling spat that ended in a split lip, one kid screaming bloody murder, the other one swearing it wasn’t their fault, and two frazzled parents at their wits end.

This past week has been only slightly better. Seems like at least one of the kids has a tantrum or meltdown at least every other day. And the fighting between the two of them is an every day occurrence.

I know what you’re saying. Welcome to parenthood, right? Sigh

My kids are good kids. Really they are. But they are kids with a lot of emotions and feelings inside them that they don’t know what to do with. In their short lives they’ve been through more than a lot of people go through in a lifetime, not to mention that they’ve had very little control over the things they’ve had to deal with. Now they are in yet another new home, with yet another set of grown-ups in charge of their lives. I can’t even imagine what that must feel like.

According to our social worker the fact that the kids are acting out is actually a good sign. She said that means they feel safe enough with us to share their honest emotions. While intellectually I was glad to hear that, the honest truth is that it doesn’t make those meltdowns and tantrums any easier. Emotionally it’s still incredibly draining. I’m exhausted every day.

But never fear, my friends. Reinforcements are on their way. We’ve got an appointment with a family therapist who has specific training and experience working with foster and adoptive families. I talked to her on the phone the other day and she seems to know her stuff. Which is good because we need a pro! Interestingly enough we had planned to get therapy during this transitional period anyway, even before we knew who our kiddos were going to be. We thought it would be a good thing to do to get us off on the right foot and set our family up for success. Little did we know then how necessary it would be!

I have every confidence that the family therapy will be invaluable, but I also know that a large part of this is just a matter of time. Not only are we still getting to know each other (it hasn’t even been 2 months), but I’m certain the kids must be wondering if this is really their forever home. After so many moves is this really the last one? Living with that kind of uncertainty must create incredible anxiety; the kind of anxiety that no reassurances from us can ease. Only time and an adoption decree will be able prove our unconditional love and commitment.

While it’s been really hard, I don’t want to make it sound like it’s all bad all the time. We also have a lot of fun together. In fact, the last three days have been relatively drama-free. That said, I know this is just a brief calm before the next storm. There’s lots of healing to do before things can stabilize. For now we just need to savor the good moments and hang in there and ride out the rest.

This entry also posted with the .

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In addition to being a writer and adoptive mom, Susan Metters also carries the distinguished title of Cancer Survivor Extraordinaire. Some of her secret ambitions include meeting Dr. Phil, hosting Saturday Night Live, and rising to the top as a rock star. You can read more about Susans life adventures by visiting her blog with the Seattle P.I., Lemon Margaritas. If you have ideas, questions, rants, or ramblings feel free to email susan [at] seattlemomblogs [dot] com.

With our weather outside beginning its turn to the wet side, why not go get wet on purpose inside and have fun doing it?

The hubs, Kid and I spent the weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, WA. And what a great time we had. In case you hadn’t heard, the west coast now has one of these lodge/indoor waterpark destinations. Four Seattle Mom Bloggers wrote about its grand opening this spring, so check out their photos and opinions, too.

After a long summer with lots of work trips for my husband, our family really needed a getaway, and this one magically managed to make everyone happy. Since we’ve been home, I’ve gotten a lot of questions from friends about this lodge. If you’re wondering if this place would work for you, here’s the lowdown:

Getting there took three hours in Friday afternoon traffic from Bainbridge Island, driving across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (”extortion bridge” as the hubs says now that there’s a toll), but the same route took only two hours coming back on Sunday afternoon.

The indoor waterpark has attractions for all ages, from a little toddler pool (6″ deep or less) to two giant slides that yours truly chickened out on and never saw the insides of. But the hubs liked them. Maybe if they make an elevator to the top, rather than five flights of stairs, I’ll think about it. That and a liquid frozen strawberry Xanax beverage…. I heard they’re adding an outdoor pool area for next summer, too.

They have lots of inner tubes for all to use and lots of life vests in three sizes for the littler swimmers, so don’t bring your own water wings. We thoroughly enjoyed the wave pool which reminded me never to fall overboard in the ocean. I’d never make it.

We enjoyed getting hit by the water, and I mean “HIT”, when a giant bucket three stories up dumped I don’t know how many gallons down. Everyone was lying down on the floor and getting pelted, so naturally, Kid and I did, too. (see the photo below) Let’s just say, remember to plug your nose.

If we got a little chilly, which we did a few times, we just headed over to the indoor/outdoor hot tub. Sweet.

The room we had was quite spacious. Each room or suite has a small fridge, microwave, coffee maker and hair dryer. And a TV with on-demand games, movies and tv shows. Each room does not have its own swimsuit spinner, so use the one downstairs at the park. And do what we did: bring two suits per person, so when you head back to the water later that same day, you have a dry suit to wear.

The food from the two restaurants was good, and boy, talk about complete kids menus! All the basics were covered: hot dogs, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, spaghetti and meatballs, carrots and dip, and applesauce. One restaurant was an all-you-can-eat buffet style, and the other a sit-down restaurant with menu (which made more sense if you’re not going to eat a lot). They lost money at the buffet the night the hubs found the mussels and crayfish. They even surprised us by having an Erath pinot noir. Yum. Given the fridges in the rooms, you can bring a lot of your own food and/or drinks to keep in your room, too, and spend your money on more fun things….

This brings me to the other activities. Oh, sure you go for the waterpark, but you will be thoroughly entertained by the other games. These GWL people know what they’re doing, in a Disneyland kind of way. Not only is there an arcade with all those Chuck E. Cheese type games, and ticket, and toys. There’s also a “cubs club” room for crafts for littler kids, and a teens room with I don’t even know what. They even have a nightly “musical show” in the lobby with singing animals and storytime afterwards. If all that is just too much for mom or dad, you can purchase a giant beer or margarita and stroll the property with your glass. Like a college dorm party, only some of the partygoers happen to be kindergarteners.

In case the swimming scene isn’t your thing, the lodge offers a spa with massages, facials, pedicures, all the fun stuff, for the biggest kids.

But most fun of all, in a totally addictive way, was the Magi Quest. This game involved us buying a magic wand which activated tons of magical treasure chests, paintings, and crystals throughout the hotel. You pick a quest to earn a rune and have a 21st century scavenger hunt. Over and over again. On five floors of the hotel. Everywhere you went kids, big and small, were waving these wands. (The lodge also provides “birthday packages” if your kids need some way to blow everyone else’s birthday parties out of the water, so to speak.)

Of course, you could buy additional decorations for your wands. I think Kid’s wand now has a street value of $50, easy. And when we go back, the wand will remember where we left off on the adventures. Cool, eh? Let’s hope the dog doesn’t enjoy the wand in the meantime….

All in all, we had a blast. This lodge is a great addition to our area of the country, especially for this Northwest climate. Move over Mouse; here comes the Wolf!

Thanks, GWL!!

Wendy can be found drying off at Let the dog in! You can reach her at wendy(at)letthedogin(dot)com.

LittleBirdieSecrets.blogspot.com is a blog dedicated to helping people make creativity a way of life. Featuring a new project or idea everyday, we offer valuable tips, tricks, and tutorials for all kinds of crafts, from sewing to woodworking. But now, Little Birdies’ creators are coming out from behind the computer screen to host exclusive craft classes at the Tot Spot Caf in Woodinville! Join us to learn and make a new craft uninterrupted while your child enjoys fun indoor play, supervised by Tot Spot’s Room Monitors.

October classes include ballerina tutus and sparkly crowns for your little princess, classy Scrabble tile pendants that are all the rage, and luxurious aromatherapy bath bombs for an amazing spa-like experience in your own tub. Share your creativity with those you loveLittle Birdie Secrets crafts make perfect from-the-heart Christmas gifts!

Classes are $32 per person and include child care, all supplies, and instruction from our experienced teachers. There is a $10 cancellation fee for all classes. Classes are limited to 15 students per session.

Class projects can be seen on display at Tot Spot Caf, or on our blog at littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com. Sign up at Tot Spot ( Woodinville, WA 98072) or by e-mailing us at . Please include your name, e-mail address, phone number (in case of class changes or cancellation), and which class you’ll attend. We will confirm your registration by sending a PayPal invoice that must be paid within two days of receipt to hold your spot.

So theBeeb reported todaythat the UK Family Planning Associate is pushing a sex ed booklet – to six-year-olds.

It’s called “Let’s Grow with Nisha and Joe”. Its topics, according to the article, include parts of the body and how to be safe.

I can just see my husband’s reaction when I forward him this link.

“What?! Are they crazy?” he’d respond on IM. I always know he’s serious when he responds an email with an instant message because he doesn’t like to chat at work.

The cliche has always been that Asians are a little more conservative than Westerners when it comes to open displays of affection and sex. It’s a cliche for a reason – it’s the truth.

Until a few years ago, the act of two lovers kissing in an Asian movie (apart from porn – and even those show more of the hard stuff because, you know, kissing is very intimate) was considered risque. I remember about ten years ago, Singapore made its first serial that had a couple kissing for more than 30 seconds. It was the talk of the country for a month – and the most awkward thing I’d ever seen.

The irony is, most of us are okay with Westerners kissing, hugging and what have you. We aren’t prudes. It’s just that such flamboyant displays of affection are just not our thing, but we don’t judge it.On the other hand, if we see a couple of Asian teens making out on the bus, we’d not hesitate to give them two smacks up side the head and tell them to show some respect.

This is very odd because my husband and I are affectionate people, and we are often kissing and hugging in front of his parents, not the heavy stuff, you know, just regular pecks on the lips and lingering hugs before work. We’d always been this way, even in Malaysia. It’s just different when you’re married I guess (being married makes all the difference in Malaysia – you can be getting jiggy at the playground and it’d be okay as long as there’s a ring on your finger).

So back to this whole sex ed for six-year-olds thing. I think it is futile to try and shield our kids from these things when sex is so pervasive in our society. Don’t even go that far.I think my six-year-old already sees that the way Daddy kisses her goodbye in the morning is very different from the way he kisses Mommy. How the heck do you hide that?

I believe that kids are becoming smarter and this makes trying to hide these facts of life all the more dangerous because the more you try and distract them from the truth, the more they’d want to know. Here we are trying to encourage a healthy sense of curiosity about the world around them, but when it comes to sex, we’re just going to pretend it does not exist until they’re, say, seven? That’s just silly.

I’m not saying Family Porn Night. Surely there is a way to talk about sex to a six-year-old without it degrading into some smutty discussion. And what better way than to start the conversation with a picture book?

What do YOU think about a sex ed book for six-year olds? Is it too much too soon? If so, why?

Read more of Jennifer Tais writing at The I’mPerfect Mom or enjoy her photos at www.jennifertai.net. If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Tea Leaf Journals, email jenn[at]theimperfectmom[dot]com.

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So you’ve been nominated for a contest and you really, really want to win.

You know you probably won’t win on your own merit, because let’s face it, you’re really not all that good.

But why should how deserving you are have ANYTHING to do with winning?

What’s an unethical blogger to do?

HOW NOT TO WIN A CONTEST:

1. Email people that you haven’t talked to in 6+ months and ask them to vote for you.
2. Email people who you don’t really know but you happen to have their email address and ask them to vote for you.
3. If people don’t vote for you after the first email, keep emailing them until they do. Fill up their inbox! THAT will make them want to vote for you.
4. Email everyone you know and all the people you hardly know and ask them to make up fake accounts in order to vote for you.
5. Ask people to forward your email to all the people they know (and even the ones they hardly know) asking THOSE people to vote for you.
6. Email all the bloggers who have more traffic than you do and ask them to dedicate a post on their blog to you and your contest. They owe it to you, after all, because they have traffic and you don’t.
7. If you email bloggers and ask them to post about you, and then they don’t, keep emailing them. If you email them enough times they’ll probably change their mind.
8. Set up a Facebook account called “VOTE FOR ME” and invite all your Facebook friends to join it.
9. The last day of the contest, start a contest countdown. Email everyone hourly reminders about voting and faking voting and forwarding the email to their friends. You don’t have anything better to do, so they probably don’t either.

Did I forget anything?

(You realize that this is sarcastic, right? RIGHT?)

Jenny Blackburn. All Rights Reserved.

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Catch more of Jenny Blackburns humorous anecdotes on being a mom, a woman, and a whole lot crazy at Absolutely Bananas. If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for On Blogging, email jenny[@]seattlemomblogs[dot]com.

I bet by now youve started thinking Ive dropped off the face of the earth. I havent, although my world has turned upside down.

After 5 months of waiting and wondering (which in the adoption world actually isnt that long), we found our children. Were parents! YIKES!

We first received info about them from our agency on July 14th; an 8-year old girl and 5-year old boy. (Cmon, admit it. Youre relieved we didnt end up with 3 kids.) Their social worker had read our home study report and asked about us specifically, wanting to know if we might be interested. Their description sounded good (and as an added bonus their pictures were pretty cute), so we said yes, we were interested in more info. Our agency sent along a summary of their foster files.

Now we didnt think much of it right then. Wed gotten to that point with other children several times and they didnt pan out for various reasons. So having a social worker interested in us and getting to read a foster summary didnt necessarily mean anything would come of it.

But then we read their summaries. There wasnt anything that jumped out at us as something we couldnt (or werent willing) to deal with. They sounded like good kids who had been dealt a bad hand. And with a bit of curious wonderment we looked at each other. Could these be our kids?

We called our agency and said we were still interested, and from there things started accelerating much more quickly than expected. We talked to their social worker and then their current foster mom, and before we knew it we were driving 3-hours from home to meet them.

First we had a one-hour meet and greet, then a half day at the park the following day. A week later we spent a full day at the beach. Less than a week after that they joined us for a 5-day overnight stay in our RV. Then Monday August 11th they came home. Home with us. Home for good. Home to their forever family.

And it feels like my life has gone from zero to sixty at lightning speed.

Parenthood has hit us like a ton of bricks. All things considered we are doing pretty well, but we are exhausted. Thus the reason for no blogs. Trust me, I have more than enough fodder for blog after blog, but little time and even littler energy. (Littler? Who uses a word like littler? A frazzled mom, I guess. Sheesh, I need a nap.)

But its all good. Well get there. School started after Labor Day and it brings with it a welcome (and healthy) respite from the new kiddos every day. They are great kids, really they are, its just that were still getting used to each other.

So stay tuned. Now that Ive got 3 and a half hours to myself every day (all-day Kindergarten was full dang) I should be able to start blogging again. That is, if I dont fall asleep at the keyboard.

This entry also posted with the .

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In addition to being a writer and adoptive mom, Susan Metters also carries the distinguished title of Cancer Survivor Extraordinaire. Some of her secret ambitions include meeting Dr. Phil, hosting Saturday Night Live, and rising to the top as a rock star. You can read more about Susans life adventures by visiting her blog with the Seattle P.I., Lemon Margaritas. If you have ideas, questions, rants, or ramblings feel free to email susan [at] seattlemomblogs [dot] com.

“Mom, mom, I really want a cell phone!”

”But you don’t even talk on the regular phone, why do you need a cell phone?”

”I just do . . . everyone has a cell phone.”

”Well, we’re not everyone.”

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve had this conversation with my 11 year-old son, well, you know how rich I would be.

It’s not that I don’t understand his want to have a beloved cell phone, one he can hang from his backpack and download the coolest games onto. A phone he can text his friends with on his way to school, one he can customize with his very own ring tone.

But are these reasons to give a kid a cell phone?

Until now, we have been strictly anti-cell phone for kids in our family. I, myself, really try to only use my cell phone when it is absolutely necessary. Although I occasionally break that rule, my friends can attest to the fact that I hardly even answer the thing. But this isn’t about me.

With the recent additions of middle school and more responsibility for our children, my husband and I have decided that the time has come to get the kids a cell phone.

Gasp!

A cell phone. For our kids? Are we crazy? Now, hear me out. We call this cell phone the “family phone.” And it is just that. it does not belong to either of the boys and it certainly does not belong to our 4 year-old daughter (she does just fine with her sparkly Cinderella phone, the one that she can call her fairy godmother on). We added a third line to our existing 2-phone plan and picked out it’s color together (blue). Don’t ask me what the number is for it, because I have no idea.

The plan for this phone is not for our children to rack up hundreds of dollars in text messaging each month or to chit chat with their friends. They are more than welcome to send their friends an email or use the antiquated land line if they so wish. The plan is not for them to bring the phone to school, I think phones are way to distracting in an educational environment and unnecessary – as there are plenty of phones on school grounds and responsible adults to help in an event warranting a call home. The plan is for this phone to be available to them when they need it. Keyword: need.

When our oldest wants to meet his friends at the park, I feel more comfortable sending him if he has a phone. If the boys want to ride their bikes to the store, they take the family phone. If, for any reason, I would need to leave them at soccer practice or taekwondo, or they want to go somewhere with a friend whose parents don’t have a cell phone, they could take the blue family phone.

I know that a cell phone is not a replacement for a parent, believe me, I know. But our older children are old enough to be able to handle the responsibility, along with the freedom, that the phone provides. When I was their age, I was allowed to explore our neighborhood with my friends, answering only to the call of my mother’s whistle when it was time to come home. I want the same for my kids, and I think in this day and age letting them bring a cell phone along is the only way I will feel comfortable sending them out into the big bad world.

Setting guidelines and knowing your child are important in determining if they are ready for a cell phone. Making sure they follow the rules and appropriately use the phone are also important and we’ve only just begun on our journey.

I’m curious, what have others done when it comes to kids and cell phones? At what ages did you allow your children to have one, or share one, or have you decided to not allow them at all? Do the news reports regarding the safety of cell phones on developing minds have any bearing on your decision?

Tell me, what do you think?

Carrie can be found hanging out at her personal blog Stop Screaming I’m Driving!where she is kept busy wrangling three kids, one goofy Aussie, and her very own firefighter. She can be bribed with lattes and offers to do her laundry. Please send column suggestions to carrieb at seattle mom blogs dot com.

Hello, my name is Stacy and I am a blogger. I have one blog (so far), Mama-Om. I know y’all are dying to know how a nice girl like me ended up writing for the internets, so read on!

1. Where do you live and how long have you lived there? Where did you grow up?
I’ve lived in Seattle since back in the grunge days (early nineties for all you young ones out there). We currently live in a central neighborhood in Seattle — we love Seattle and we love our neighborhood. We moved into this house six weeks before our first child was born. Amid all the chaos and boxes and huge belly-ness, I could focus on only one thing: CURTAINS. All I needed was curtains on the windows so I wasn’t flashing my heiney to all my neighbors as I gave birth (both our kids were born in this house). We got the curtains up and pretty much haven’t done another thing to this house since, unless you count the crayon wall markings.

Before Seattle, I lived in Ketchikan, Alaska, where I was born and raised. Ketchikan is a small town on a huge island amid an immense ocean. With no way to get anywhere except by boat or plane. And it rains all the time (really! 160 inches a year). It is exceptionally beautiful, especially if you’re into the temperate rain forest with everything absolutely stunningly green thing.

2. What’s your blog about and why did you start blogging?
Mama-Om is a place for me to share sincere and silly stories about my attempts to parent from the heart. I write about my kids. I create and photography skits starring their toys. I make fun of myself. I make mistakes and try again.

I started my blog almost two years ago when my first child was three years old and my second was three months. In an attempt to fit together the puzzle pieces of WRITING, WORK, MOTHERING, and MEDITATING, I started working from home part-time, quit my writing group, started a meditation class and began this blog, all in the same week. At the time, starting the blog was a way to say to myself, “See! I’m still writing!” One of my first posts was about trying to remain calm as the new mother of two, and that has been a theme ever since.

3. What are your most and least favorite parts about blogging?
My favorite things are writing and meeting people in real life. I love thinking up new posts, revising posts, and then reclaiming the work and repurposing it for other mediums (mostly personal essays). I have also really enjoyed meeting some bloggers in real life (through Seattle Mom Blogs!) and maintaining a connection with them.

Another favorite part is seeing all the great blogs that are out there! I love getting comments and then getting to know other bloggers. There is such fabulous writing and photography happening in the world.

My least favorite? When the computer overtakes my life, and the blood in my veins begins to feel like electricity. Must. unplug. from. the. borg.

I’ve recently started keeping the computer upstairs and mostly off during the days, and my kids and I are much more relaxed! No-computer-for-mama days seem to go much more smoothly.

4. What does your spouse/significant other/family think about your blogging?
I didn’t tell my family (other than my spouse) for a long time. My mom loves it, in only the way a mother, and grandmother, could. My husband likes reading the stories, and supports me in my desire to write.

5. What goals, if any, do you have for your blog?
Goals? To keep writing, to connect with other parents, provide some entertainment value to all those who are reading, and to record my life with kids. Mama-Om is basically the only baby book my youngest son has ever had!

6. What topic would you never discuss on your blog? (yes, discuss it now!) I try to practice Right Speech in my life but even more so on my blog. Right Speech is understood to be abstaining from lying, abstaining from divisive speech, abstaining from abusive speech, and abstaining from idle chatter.

To put it positively: I try to be truthful, kind, gentle, and helpful in what I write. One way I do this is to only write from my own perspective and from what I know to be true. I do not want to tell anyone what they should be doing, but I will talk about what I am doing.

I tend not to write about anyone else but myself and my kids, but I always ask myself, “Would I be comfortable saying this directly to the person I am writing about?” If the answer is no, then I won’t post it.

7. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Both. As an adult, I’ve had cats (and loved them lots!), but I think I see a dog in our far-off future, once our kids are bigger.

8. What’s your favorite coffee drink (this IS Seattle Mom Blogs!)? Um, tea.

What a way to end, huh?

Thank you, Wendy, for doing these interviews!

Blessings,
Stacy

Thanks, Stacy, for sharing! We SMB members are all enjoying getting to know each other with these features. It’s fascinating to see our diversity! SMB members and everyone else can visit Wendy at Let the dog in!, where she will be taking a deep breath. She can be reached via email at wendy(at)letthedogin(dot)com.

This is step 3 in The Bloggy Chiropractor 3-step program, in which we work on correcting our blog/life balance.

In this session, we’re going to focus on analyzing our blogging. Then we’ll use this self-analysis to make positive change.

Ready?

Good.

Analyze it

Pull out a clean sheet of paper and a good pen. Put on some jazzy music and pour yourself a glass of wine. It’s time for some introspection, baby!

Think about these questions.

1) Why do I blog?

2) What about blogging stresses me out?

3) What do I do under the guise of “blogging” purely because of habit, or because I think I should?

4) What do I truly enjoy about blogging?

5) What are my goals from blogging?

These are tough questions, so don’t expect that you’ll get them answered all pat with your t’s crossed and i’s dotted the first go-round. Take a stab and then let it simmer for a few days. Revisit your answers and make edits. When you feel good about your list, move on to the next step.

Refocus

Pull out the brainstorming you did. I’m going to walk you through how to use that information to refocus your blogging efforts.

1) Why do you blog

Look at the reasons that you wrote down. Evaluate each reason for the following:

- is this healthy?
- is this realistic?
- is this maintainable?
- is blogging the best way to accomplish this goal?

This isn’t easy. These questions require a lot of self-reflection and honesty. But it’s worth it.

2) What about blogging stresses me out?

3) What do I do under the guise of “blogging” purely because of habit, or because I think I should?

The next part is easy. I want you to look at what you wrote down for #2 and #3.

Now stop doing every single one of them. Seriously, STOP. Don’t do those things until you feel like you want to again. No matter how important you think they are.

You know what? Youprobably won’tmiss them.

4) What do I truly enjoy about blogging?

Now that you’ve cut out a whole lot of stuff from #2 and #3, you have more time. Give yourself permission to spend MORE time doing the things that you enjoy.

Every time you feel drawn to do something under #2 or #3, consult this list and choose something here instead.

5) What are my goals for blogging?

Look at your blog as it is today. Is this blog in line with your goals? If not, how can you bring it in line with your goals?

Create an action plan of at least three concrete things you can do to move your blogging activities more in line with your long-term goals.

To infinity and beyond

I wish I could say “goodbye and you’re healed.”

But the truth is, this is a process.

The next time you feel like you’re getting in over your head, do a bloggy detox and take a 2-week vacation. Or re-read step 2. Or go through the answers for step 3. Or redo the whole process.

It’s your turn

Now I want to hear from you… your thoughts on the process. Where are you at? What are you excited about? Let’s motivate and inspire each other, shall we?

Jenny Blackburn. All Rights Reserved.

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Catch more of Jenny Blackburns humorous anecdotes on being a mom, a woman, and a whole lot crazy at Absolutely Bananas. If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for On Blogging, email jenny[@]seattlemomblogs[dot]com.

The Puyallup Fair is back! And while the fair is classic family fun… it can also be overwhelming. So here are eight insider tips to keep you and the kids sane and happy.

The besttip I can give are to not go on the weekends. Here are a few others:

1. Avoid the long lines at the parking lots by parking at the South
Hill Mall and taking the Pierce Transit Shuttle. Ride Pierce Transit’s
“Fair Express Bus” for just $1.50 each way or $3 round-trip. Plus, up
to four children, 13 and under, ride free with a “fare-paying”
passenger. Express buses run often and conveniently drop off and pick
up at the Fair’s Blue Gate
http://www.thefair.com/puyallup-fair/visitor-info/getting-here.php

2. Mark out the entire day. This is a huge event and it takes no less
than 5 hours with children in tow.

3. Kids 5 & under are free.

4. Pack snacks. Fair food is expensive! I feed my kids before we leave
an then plan on one meal and one treat. Which still amounts to about $40.

5. Next year, buy a ticket pack from Fred Meyer. It was $31.95 for 2
admissions, 6 ride coupons (1 coupon per ride instead of buy all those
little funtastic tickets for $1 each and giving up 5 tickets per ride)
and $12 in food vouchers.

4. Consider the Dizzy Pass: The Dizzy Pass ($25) is valid Tue-Thu
(Sept. 9-11) and Mon-Thu (Sept. 15-18). Includes unlimited Funtastic
rides and $3 worth of game coupons. *Great for the school-aged*
crowd. Excludes Extreme Scream.

6. Plan your day before you arrive. Read the schedule and make a plan
of what shows you or the kids want to see (the draft horses, Let’s
Pretend Circus, Pig Races, Trout fishing, etc) then you can prevent
walking back and forth around the ginormous fairgrounds.

7. Give your kids their money when you get there. I have found this
limits the gimmes when they know their allowance right away.

8. Wear walking shoes and bring jackets. The Fair is in the Puyallup
Valley which can be windy in the fall.

Mamikaze can usually be found writing at Life On the Run.