This post is probably a couple of weeks late in coming, but I blame it on unseasonably rainy weather syndrome.
How have you been passing the time over the past few weeks in this Pacific Northwest climate?
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With small kids we go to Fernbank (we are members) or Northlake Mall. Northlake Mall has the bungee jumping, the train and the play area where they jump on the activities on the floor.
I’m not a summer person anyway–too buggy and humid here–so this rain hasn’t affected me much because I would have been indoors a lot anyway. But it has to have been a bad summer for car washes (been only once myself), Six Flags, Stone Mountain, new construction, etc.
On the positive side, our power bills have never been so low in the summer.
Carving totem poles and drinking coffee.
Walking around the Michael C. Carlos museum at Emory, which we used to call the “Charlie Chan museum” due to all its hidden staircases and artifacts.
I’m not sure what DM’s first thought about the best activity for a rainy day is, but I’m not falling into his trap to moderate me by answering honestly…
Sounds like you mind is residing next to mine in the gutter this morning.
So what you’re saying is we might need to revisit school expansion plans in another 5-6 years.
Best Rainy Day Activity: Inventing new post ideas to distract site visitors and keep “Shots Fired” comment stream from veering any further off course.
+1000
I can help with that distraction a little. When I was driving in this morning 106.7 said there was a pedestrian accident at Commerce and N. Decatur. But those roads don’t intersect anywhere I’m pretty sure. Or do they?
I read on Twitter from @DeKalbFireWire that the accident was at Church and N. Decatur.
The pedestrian accident was on North Decatur just south of Ponce de Leon. I went by about 6:05 am.
Very handy link GBK. Thanks
dusted off my umbrella this “summer” – it has about a decade’s worth of dust on it.
haven’t had to water my vegetable garden in about six weeks either. which leaves for time for catching up on my stack of books I want to read.
We have spent some quality time eating breakfast at Ikea, then walking/running around the store. Great way to get the wiggles out of a toddler. Toddler also likes to “chase” the arrows at Ikea (as well as jump on the bed/sofa/chairs). Yes, we are those people with the misbehaving kid at Ikea, but you gotta do what you gotta do…and he is too young for their play center.
Mentally picturing that put a smile on my face. Thank you.
Ha! I can totally picture him doing that too! When he’s just a bit older, you can play “Find the Nubbs” there. There is at least a 67.4% chance that Ikea has an item named “Nubbs”.
Fun IKEA game for grownups: Surprise yourself with how many IKEA product names sound decidedly dirty when moaned repeatedly as if in the act of coitus (see J_T, I *did* manage to take it there).
Credit for this goes to a standup bit or movie clip that has long since been forgotten…
And merchants wonder why so many people do so much of their shopping online.
+Infinity!
Ah – that reminded me of when my youngest was a toddler and before there was an IKEA. I would think of some small DIY project and we would would go to Intown Hardware or HomeDepot. She would sit quietly in the shopping cart looking at all the stuff – remember one time trying out all the mcmansion door bell options.
watching librarians going full-on Beastie Boys fills does it for me
https://vimeo.com/66169135#
Slow day in the stacks…
Best part is when one of them Dukes of Hazzards it over the counter the other one’s like, “Why?” and just walks through the swing gate.
Yes!
no brainer, bowling at Suburban Plaza.
Before responsibilities- it was drinking at the Brick Store!
Stop by the Decatur Recreation Center and walk on our elevated track, play basketball during open gym times, or stop by on Sunday and play some table tennis. Check out the new classes coming this fall – brand new active adult classes including art, cooking and more. http://www.decaturga.com/index.aspx?page=348
when our kids were really little we would ride marta…get off wherever…get back on..good people watching!
now that they are a bit older we take them roller skating….it’s like a time machine back to the 80’s for real!
also–farmers’ market…library…walking in the rain…and who remembers sci trek? that was so great!
I do miss SciTrek. Planning our first trip to the Children’s Museum with our little ones soon and hoping it’s on par with that.
Lump – we have friends that love it, but I was totally disappointed and prefer Fernbank. We have been to the Children’s Museums in smaller cities that are MUCH better. You also have to pay to park ($10), and then walk from the parking deck all the way to the museum….in the rain….wow, I sound like a spoiled brat….we were gifted a membership and are thrilled it has reciprocal privileges, as we likely won’t be going back. The toddler had fun – but he also had a blast at Fernbank…which is closer and free parking.
Yes, we also did the Marta thing. In fact, my toddler’s “ticket” is still in my car. He had a blast switching trains at 5 points and thought riding the train was the best thing ever.
Losing Sci Trek was a biggie.
$5 Dark and Stormies at Leon’s.
My dad makes a mean Dark and Stormy using Blenheim’s ginger ale. One of the rare cases where the non-alcoholic portion of the cocktail burns the hair out of your nostrils.
hear, hear, Blenheims, Kraken rum, and a squeeze of lime is what every Dark and Stormy aspires to be.
I did the Legoland thing with my 3 year old this Sunday and thought it was a rip-off. Probably better for older kids. Mine spent most of the time on the slide, which could have been anywhere and not $30 for the two of us to get in.
A hidden gem – Plaza Fiesta on Buford Highway. Cool play area in there for the kiddos, fun things to eat for kids and parents, fantastic cultural experience, cheap junk to peruse and the best western-wear store ever makes me want to live out my dream – be a gunfighter in the 19th century Wild West.
YES! I am scrolling down this thread, lamenting that no one knows of the awesomeness of Plaza Fiesta! You win the golden churro!
I was just there last night with six kids. They played in the huge, clean play structure, they won an armload of tickets in the arcade, they marvelled at the Quinceañera dresses and two foot long pointy alligator boots, they ate at the food court (Tortas Puras has 50¢ tacos for a limited time, including tripa, which usually costs extra!), they had gelato, and we all wondered why the hell there is a store for butt-enlargement products.
The Santa Fe Mall in Duluth is similar, and it has the $2 movie theater–second-run films, clean theaters, and the best movie popcorn in all damnation.
Regular ol’ malls pale in comparison.
Has the Santa Fe movie place cleaned up its act? My son and a friend went there perhaps 5 years ago and were really creeped out by the experience. And isn’t that where the peeping tom guy fell through the ceiling into the ladies room?
When my kids were smaller, we lived walking distance from Plaza Fiesta. Though they enjoyed it on occasion, they had too many experiences with “unsupervised kids” and wouldn’t go to the play area very often.
My eldest still reminisces about SciTrek. I loved taking my kids there.
Hippo Hop up on Clairmont is fantastic for little ones. We also go to Leaping Lizards for its closeness, but with all the money people spend there you’d think they’d upkeep it better than it is. Decatur Library and Little Shop for storytimes. We were gifted an Aquarium membership which has been priceless this summer. Ripping off ideas from Pinterest to keep a preschooler busy is also on my go to list.
Where do you find the Decatur Library story and activity schedule? No one there will ever help me to find a schedule. No lie.
here you go:
http://www.dekalblibrary.org/component/option,com_events/Itemid,133/locid,2/task,view_loc/
I don’t go to storytimes anymore, but I always look for events on the DeKalb County Library website. You can look at events by branch, age group, type, etc.
http://www.dekalblibrary.org/eventscalendar/
Apparently my comment is in moderation.
Here’s the link:
http://www.dekalblibrary.org/component/option,com_events/Itemid,133/locid,2/task,view_loc/
There aren’t any storytimes in August. They will pick back up again next month. But on the Decatur library website you click “Events” in the green banner. Muy bueno Spanish Storytime.
Apparently, I am insane because I have never been able to find this
I drove past an indoor play place on Roswell Road yesterday called Catch Air. I of course read it as Cat Chair and started giggling.
What on earth would possess you to go to Roswell Road?
I really miss the Ann Frank exhibit.
On Saturday afternoons there are $5 drop in art classes for 6 and up at North Decatur Mall. Took 10 and 7 year old this past rainy Saturday and they had fun for at least an hour and a half. The class is run by an illustrator and the place is also set to sell books.
Y’all could come and pick mushrooms growing in my yard from all the rain …