Cold Weather Is Depressing

Toddler Tuesday at Mall of America from 10-12. You can meet and socialize with hundreds of moms and kids=) This has been a pretty long winter I must admit.

I don't know where you live or your money situation, but there are some fairly cheap indoor playground options--The Eagles Nest in Coon Rapids and Edinborough Park in Edina. Check out Community Centers in your area. Some of those have indoor playgrounds and/or pools. (Maple Grove and Woodbury, I think are supposed to be good). The Minnesota Zoo has a lot of indoor exhibits--Tropics, Ocean area and Most of Minnesota Trail. They also have a monorail. A family membership is just under $100. ($105 for a Family Plus One Guest, and that is for a whole year.) The Science Museum, History Museum and Children's Museum in St. Paul also offer annual memberships which are reasonable if you plan on going several times. The Children's Museum is free the third Sunday every month.

Check out the Minnesota Parent and Family Times publications, both which are usually available in your library at the beginning of the month.

The point is not to do everything, but to know your options and do something. Right now, my kids are doing a lot of Community Ed and YMCA classes over the winter. It gives me a set time to have them out of the house, and my decisions are made in advance so that I don't have to do a lot of planning constantly, which stresses me out.

Welcome to Minnesota. Don't worry--the summers are super hot and then you'll be trying to figure out what to do to stay cool. We are the land of extremes!

I completely understand since I grew up in CA as well and worked full-time until I had my litte one (now 3 yrs old). When I became a stay at home mom, I also became depressed from the cold weather and the lack of outside contact. The 2 best things I did was : attend ECFE (have you heard of it? Only MN has them. and join the Mom's Club of Bloomington. Immediately I had a playgroup through the mom's club where I bonded with 5 other women and had a ready-made calendar of events each month to pick and choose from. The great thing was that you tended to see the same moms and got to know people. It really helped to put down roots in my new life. Take care.

Embrace it! I spent many years hating winter. It is just a fact of life in Minnesota. Go sledding, it makes you laugh out loud. It will also wear out your older child. Taking walks helps, and you do get used to the cold eventually.

Welcome!!! I have lived in MN my entire life and wouldn't change it :)
There are days when you think you're going crazy... I recommend one of the indoor water parks. Grand Rios or the Waterpark of America. They are a little spendy for some people, but I love them!! They really make me feel like it's summer again :D

I highly recommend Eagle's Nest in New Brighton. It's a playarea-they have a side for bigger kids 3+ and a toddler/baby side-all connected, just has a swing door divider-my 3 yr old loves it! There's also Adventure Park-Ham Lake- Same concept, just smaller. And there's one in Eden Prairie/Edina too!

Check out all the mall soft play areas; Ridgedale, Brookdale, Northtown, etc. *FYI-Ridgedale has a tendency to get kids sick, so bring disinfectant wipes to clean your kid's hands with after and during play. There's also free weekends at different museums. Or check out a "museum pass" at the Library-there's like 20 places they're good for.

A good reference is TwinCitiesMom.com go to parks/play areas-scroll down to the playareas and don't torture yourself with the pictures of summery outside scenes on the top of the page :)

*Most cities have MOMs clubs too-they offer things to do during the weekdays, playgroups and MOM only monthly outings-which is always needed. See if your city has one by entering on your websites search engine. Or contact me and I'll get you hooked up to one.

Hope that was helpful-MN is a great place to raise kids-there is so much to do-you just have to venture outside for a short time-to get to and from the car-during winter to do them. Hang in there. Spring really is coming soon :)

A.
Working Wife to wonderful Man and Mother of a sweet 3 yo. boy- expecting 2nd child in March.

Before my daughter was school age and we were stuck in the house all winter I invested in alot of season passes, or memberships all around the twincities so we could get out of the house.

MN Zoo in Apple Valley-has indoor exhbits and outdoor so open all year

MN Children's Museum in St.Paul

MN Science Museum

The amusement park at Mall of America best time to go is when all the older kids are at school.

Libraries

Edinborough Indoor Park in Edina

McDonald Playlands

Ecfe classes through your school district

Play groups

Usually in March/April you can get back outside again. I have pictures of my daughter swimming in her kiddie pool in April at 80+ degress...the past two years in a row

Hang in there this is one of the worst winter's we've had in a long time. I'm miserable too and crabby. I really dislike wearing winter coats I feel like they're restraining and confining and so I am sick and tired or freezing or feeling confined.

This has been a tough winter, take them to an indoor park. Ediborough Park in Edina is lots of fun. They have a website. That has taken a lot of blues out of our winter. Hang in there. A.

Dear Rose,

To cover all bases, you should think back to in your past accomodations in Cali about the amount of sunlight you recieved versus now do.
When it is so cold walking outside and even having kids play outside is not good to do or advisable when the windchill and or temperatures is so cold. We have relied on the MN Zoo for years and it does help. Since you are in Chanhassen visiting the Aboretum is a great idea to see tropical plants in their walk around greenhouse. The new lobby is huge and fun just to be in. There are many sitting areas that have nice views and one could sit and read a book. With young kids it is nice to also when open go to the plant library that has scores of kids books with many images of plants and animals. We have been members for about 8 years so far! There are free entrance days too.
3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska MN 55318 ###-###-#### Anyway about the sunlight it just maybe S.A.D. or Seasonal Affect Depression a pretty common periodic changes due to changes in exposure to natural like lights or sunshine... A Dr. is recommended then to find a seasonal use of medicines if needed. Also do exercises at home will pick your feelings up to. But I know what you mean we moved here from Texas!

Meet more people and get together! We find that we end up gathering more in the winter with people in their homes.

The winter is hard - I'm a transplant from California via Indiana, and I'm with you on being ready for Spring!

I could have written this myself. I also am originally from Cali, but lived in Colorado for 12 years (where it is sunny 300 days a year). We moved here also for a job. I think it is the dreariness and lack of fresh air that does it for me. I try to plan as many play dates as possible and keep my daughter busy with ballet and ECFE classes. Where do you live? I belong to a great Mops (Mothers of Preschoolers) group in Burnsville. If you would like more info on that please email me. The zoo is a great place to go. the first Monday of the month there arent any field trips so the kids can just run without being lost. The Childrens Museum is also fun and has a couple of no field trip days. Good Luck--I know how hard it is.