Season passes and memberships? General SAHM tips?

slwprincess · November 2013

I am officially going to be staying home for 6 mos with this baby. Financially, it makes more sense than paying for 3 kids in daycare/summer camp. Going back to work after Gavin starts 1st grade next fall.

Anyway, I'd like to ask the grands for some season passes/memberships for Christmas gifts so we can have some regular activities this summer. Right now, we have the zoo and children's museum. I definitely want to keep the zoo- probably going to drop children's museum. Aquarium is a maybe but it's tough for me to handle alone with 2 kids- let alone 3! Kids ages will be 6, 3, newborn. We don't have a pool so I'd also like some recs on water activity places too?

Oh and please share your best tips for setting/sticking to a schedule as a SAHM. I'm pretty scared as I've always been relieved to have daycare set a daytime schedule for my previous babies and this time, it's all on me. Sophie will be in daycare for about 6 weeks and then she will be home w/me and baby so I also need a plan to keep her socialized. TIA.

Daisygirl613 · November 2013

we just got the aquarium one as an early christmas present…if you get that we can go together…that might help you with that...

dleigh2020 · November 2013

I get to play SAHM each summer. I basically set up a morning activity almost everyday whether it is a trip to a local park, going to the zoo/aquarium/children's museum, or whatever. I try to get in touch with all the other mommys who stay at home in order to have some friends for my kiddos to play with. After the morning playdate we come home for nap and then the afternoons are spent playing outside. One days where I don't have anything planned I usually try to come up with a craft or educational something to keep them busy in the morning. It has worked really well the past few year BUT I have never had a newborn during the summer so we will see how it works out this year. I am like you and will be home for 5 months before going back to work.

lioness13 · November 2013

Legoland at Phipps Plaza - $200/family of 4 annual pass
Leapin Lizards - no annual pass but you can get gift cards for 10 prepaid visits for $60
South Cobb Aquatics Center - Indoor pool with slides and water fun - https://prca.cobbcountyga.gov/Aquatics-SouthCobb.htm
Stone Mountain
Six Flags Whitewater
Atlanta Botanical Garden
YMCA - check your local one to see what activities they have and the monthly membership rate.

Louise06 · November 2013

I've heard the Y in Canton has a great outdoor pool, so you may want to check that out. Maybe a membership to Fernbank or the Center for Puppetry Arts. I found that my kids like going to the park or pool more than doing anything else in the summer.

Mrs.Guz · November 2013

The fernbank.

That.Just.Happened · November 2013

Although I do still work, much of it is out of my home and/or nights and weekends. So I get to play SAHM quite a bit. We have a zoo membership and love it, it seems like there is always something different to do depending on our moods (animals, train/carousel, playground, new splashground, petting zoo, etc). The Chattahoochee Nature Center is another good, not-too-pricey one if it is close to you.

As far as water activities, personally I think that in the summer months the best option is to get a YMCA membership, then depending on where you are located go to either the Buckhead or Alpharetta locations. They both have really amazing pools with slides, splash areas for the little ones, etc. Plus they have fantastic childcare that you can use up to 2 hours a day, which means you could get in a little ME time working out while they play with other kids. I am also not above dropping them off for an hour and going to sit by the pool with a magazine by myself.

Other good water options are the two Roswell splash parks and the Old Fourth Ward splash park (again, depending on where you are located). I like splash parks better for younger kids since there isn't the risk of anyone drowning.

Because E still takes an afternoon nap, I typically try to have an activity planned in the morning that gets us out of the house and gets her tired. When it is nice out, we try to be outside (parks, zoo, pool, etc) as much as possible. When the weather isn't great, I am a huge fan of Catch Air. I am also in a few different mom groups on MeetUp, which makes planning easier as there are always a bunch of options to choose from almost every day. I would definitely suggest trying to find at least one in your area, then it isn't so overwhelming trying to plan it all yourself.

In the afternoon we come home so they can take naps, and that is when I get work done and/or take a nap myself. The 2ish hours between naps and dinner/when DH gets home are the hardest. I count down every minute, and that is typically when I resort to turning on the TV for her and pouring a glass of wine for me.

The best piece of advice though is to get out of the house in the mornings. The days I don't seem to drag sooooo slooooooowly, EJ is bored and acts out and ends up in time out a lot, naps are a struggle because she isn't really tired, etc. Even if it is just running errands, it helps. And go ahead and accept that there ARE going to be days where you are exhausted and don't have any patience and your kids are just going to watch more TV, play on the iPad, etc than you probably want because it is the only way to get a few moments to yourself and keep you sane. And that's ok!

shacadu · November 2013

You've got lots of good advice here so far. I would just add to try to find a playgroup, so you have some moms you see regularly and connect with. Meetup.com is nice for that too, though it can be hard to connect with moms because different people show up to the events - but it helps to make plans and get out. Also the libraries have storytime so that's a good place to meet other moms and have a fun kids activity.

andrea922 · November 2013

I stay at home, and we have a lot of memberships. The best ones hands down are the zoo and Fernbank, mainly because parking is free. Another favorite is Botanical Gardens, great kids area, lots of space for kids to run around in, we go probably once a week. We had the Aquarium and didn't renew it.

Daisy22 · November 2013

The only membership we have is the zoo. The aquarium is just to expensive in our opinion especially with having to pay for parking which stinks since it's like 5 minutes from our house. We love the zoo though. We got for a few hours in the morning at least once a week during the summer/holiday times. Right now the boys go to morning preschool at a local church. Bailey goes 5 mornings a week and Bryce, Preston go 3 mornings a week.

During the summer, I planned at least 2 mornings a week out going to the zoo or local playgroup (there are a ton in atlanta to go too). We'd also go eat lunch with dh.

My boys actually like to play at home and even at home we never sit still. Having Preston it was easier having 2 other kids that were old enough to play together. It actually gave me more time to deal with Preston even when the bigs were home. Now that Preston is almost 17 months he is playing better and better with the big boys. And I actually have time to do other things while they are playing together.

Want a personalized experience?

Season passes and memberships? General SAHM tips?

Re: Season passes and memberships? General SAHM tips?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards