Boston Comic Con and Other Adventures

     This was Adventure Week, and boy, was it ever.  I gave Punkgirl and Happyboy the life skill challenge of navigating the bus system, and we made it to our destination (a local crafts store) after a somewhat rocky start (Happyboy had read the wrong bus schedule.)  Rose demanded to be breastfed in the middle of said store, so I had the dubious honor of taking my boob out in a back aisle to placate her.  It was an experience, and the trip itself made me realize that we needed to spend more time on the local T.

     My favorite challenge was the spy training, though.  I wove a web of red yarn back and forth through the hallway to make "laser beams", and had them start from opposite ends, forcing them to cooperate to get by one another.  Then we did a few campy pictures for our Camp Awesome scrapbook.  At the end of the day they made Coffeeguy make a hilarious attempt at maneuvering the overs and unders and small spaces.  I'm fairly certain it was a favorite challenge for everyone.  

     Although the spy challenge was a fave, my favorite reward was a trip to Boston Comic Con.  I am a geek's geek, and I love the things you can see and do at Comic Con.  My brother and I collected comics for years, into our adulthood, and just the sight of those characters coming to life brings a warmth to my heart.  Although it is hot, and packed, and often difficult to maneuver (more so with Rose's giant dino-carriage), people are so happy to be there, amongst their own kind--geekdom--that it's a pretty friendly crowd.  The kids love it too--it has a way of letting them feel their individuality, and it leaves me with that feeling of "ok, I'm raising them right!" (rare for me, so it's a bonus!)

     The one thing that did make it difficult was that, as a Mom, it's tough to go in costume.  I did--throwing together a hasty Scarlet Witch (Avengers) look, but I felt kind of foolish, with my three kids in tow.  As a younger woman I frequented many a convention in costume, without a bit (well, ok, maybe a teensy bit) of embarrassment or hesitation.  As a Mom, you suddenly feel like you should be more grown-up, and that you don't have time to do the silly, fun, extraordinary things you once did.  You don't have a lot of time to put the effort in either, so while you may feel a little brave for putting the costume on, you also have this overwhelming sense that the real costumers are snickering--I can assure you, they are not,

but it doesn't stop the feeling.  My cardboard headpiece looked sad and pathetic next to another SW, who had a little hand-crafted leather piece.  Ahhh, I digress into geekdom again.  But I'll tell you, the guy who stopped me to take my picture made my day--thank you, guy. (But no thank you, guy who wanted to take it while I was breastfeeding Rose!!)

     Bottom line, great week!  But now Rose is fussing (for the tenth time--not sure if this is a growth spurt or what!) Suck at home moms, how do you fit in the things that made you you?  Or do you?

Camp Awesome

     I've mentioned before I'm an ex-teacher.  I also have some control issues, so the idea of spending my summer without a concrete plan sounds more like torture than a vacation.  With that in mind, I make a calendar, complete with themes and activities and, yes, field trips, so that I can keep my sanity and still enjoy the time with my children.  In life I use my last name, but for the purposes of anonymity, I'll call it Camp Awesome.

     In years past, we had two paychecks coming in, and while mine was no whopper, it paid the bills.  This year, we have a new baby (Rose), and since it costs more to send her to daycare than I would make, it makes more sense for me to stay home--hence this blog, because I suck at that.  I don't like not having a little money for vacations, or extras, or sometimes, even groceries! So how do I plan a bunch of activities with little to no cash?

     The first thing I do is look up the Highland Street Foundation, and its Free Fun Fridays.  If you live in the Boston area, or even in Massachusetts, this is an invaluable resource.  You can take a look here:

http://highlandstreet.org/freefunfridays.html

but basically, you get six free attractions to choose from every Friday throughout the summer.  Nice ones, like the Museum of Science, the Museum of Fine Arts, Franklin Park Zoo, Buttonwood Park Zoo...I plug one of these free visits into each week of my schedule, because I know that way I have someplace to take the kids that will only cost me gas (I will go over how to avoid the "gift shop trap" at a later date.)  

     Next I go to my community website.  Most towns have a "Wicked Local" or a community news source, a recreation center website, etc.  I check these out, because there are numerous free events your town offers, and since your taxes are paying for them, you should make full use of them.  In my town, there are free movies outside at night at town hall once a month in the summer.  There are community events at each of six parks, including cookouts (being gluten free, I pack myself and Punkgirl a GF sandwich, but we get the chips and soda or water that they offer free.  Coffeeguy and Happyboy can enjoy a nice glutenous burger or dog--and it costs me nothing!)  

Now, before I go on about other sources of free fun--like lakes and beaches--I should mention that I never let Punkgirl and Happyboy just go someplace.  They have to complete what I lovingly term "challenges."  It might be a simple one like designing a recycled dollhouse (see my last post), or it might be a ten-minute triathlon of running, using the elliptical, and getting six dishes loaded in the dishwasher (see how that last one works for me?), but they have to complete the challenge to go anywhere.  I try to make challenges where they have to work together, but the most important part is that they are doing something.  You would be surprised how much time even a quick challenge can take, and it makes them feel like they've gotten double out of their day--even if you get rolled eyes at first, I guarantee it will be something they're talking about to everyone they know for days.  Be consistent--if they don't do the challenge, they don't get the reward.  One time of missing out on the special activity or special trip or even special dessert, and they will be clamoring to complete each challenge.

     Now, we've talked about free activities, but there are some small investments that I recommend which will result in "free" activities for the rest of the year.  Memberships, memberships, memberships!  Now, memberships aren't super cheap...but once you pay for them, you have a free place to go all year long, not to mention deep discounts on exhibits or special events.  What most people don't know is that you can also save money on memberships.  Yes, you can.  There are two ways.  The first, is phone a friend.  That's right, you can share a membership with a friend!  Usually you have to get a higher level membership to do this (anything that allows you to have another cardholder from a different household), however, when you split the cost with your friend it still costs less than just a regular membership!  You and your friend each get the benefit of the membership, and as long as you don't go on the same day you can each take your whole family (because generally the children on the membership do not have to be named, and only one cardholder must be present.)  The second way to save a few bucks is to check out the cost of a membership at a reciprocating museum, and buy it there if it's cheaper.  The Capron Park Zoo is probably a little cheaper than the Stone Zoo, but if you can get into the Stone with your Capron Park membership, buy it there! (Disclaimer: Memberships change all the time, so actually check the membership reciprocals before you buy.)

     This is just how I start my Camp Awesome lesson plan.  I take any memberships, free activities and events, and plug them in.  Stay tuned for how I come up with activities to fill in the rest.  Suck at home moms...how do you fill your summer?  How do you save a few bucks?  How do you challenge your cherubs?