As most mums can attest to, finding fun, indoor activities to do with a headstrong and sometimes just downright defiant, almost two-year old can definitely be a challenge.
My search for these elusive outings began the moment the thermometer dipped below zero, as that was the day we elected to forgo our daily trips to the playground. Unfortunately for this tired, newly pregnant mum, any place that would cater (non-judgmentally) to my rambunctious toddler seemed to come with a set of criteria that we could never quite meet. K had to be potty trained, or I had to be able to baby wear, K had to be only crawling (no walking), K had to be able to independently participate, the contradicting lists seemed to go on and on. It seemed K was too grown up for somethings, but not old enough for others. We were stuck in toddler no-mans-land in the middle of a Canadian winter. We just couldn't win.
Lucky for us, we were saved by the holidays, which saw D's schedule ease and our social calendar fill up with tons of fun, indoor events. While Christmas (and all the presents that accompanied it) was able to get us comfortably through the January freeze, by February the luster and allure of all those (now battery-drained) toys had inevitably wore off.
So there we were, getting all bundled in our snow gear, ready to trek to the library for story time (for the 3rd day in a row), when K said "no books, no, no, no". I looked down at my little bundled burrito and thought to myself, "He's right. If I have to listen to that librarian sing "The Wheels on the Bus" out of tune, and with a slightly obscure twist on the melody, one more time, I may just break into a fit of my own "no, no, no, nos!". So instead of turning left to head to the library, I cranked the stroller right and took off for Tim's (that epic toddler-snowsuit showdown that I had just won was not going to be wasted).
When we returned home, and K was happily unbundled, I sunk into the couch to enjoy my first Roll-Up the Rim of the season. As I sat there, blissfully sipping away on my fully caffeinated, regular coffee with milk (for anyone who may want to enable my indulgence), I looked down to see K pushing himself up into the "downward-facing dog" and repeating "yog, yog" while giggling. I couldn't help but laugh (which only encouraged him more) as it was quite apparent that he had been paying closer attention to my sad attempts at prenatal yoga, then I thought.
Then I had another thought, yoga! (Ok, same thought but different context). I wondered if there were any toddler yoga classes we could sign up for? I busted out my computer to search (as my pregnancy brain has been in full-force and I knew it was only a matter of time before this idea was gone) and low and behold I stumbled across Yoga Nest. What was more, was that this week was Yoga Nest's birthday and to celebrate they were offering all of their classes for free.
After perusing their website I discovered, that Yoga Nest offers classes for new mums, old mums, toddlers, families and mums-to-be. They cater to all ages and abilities, and Wednesday mornings they offer a Toddler Yoga Gym with absolutely no exclusion criteria! Yay! With a couple clicks of the keyboard we were all signed up. Free yoga? Don't mind if we do!
So that brings us to today, Wednesday! We bundled up and trekked 15 minutes on the crappily-plowed, snow covered sidewalks to Jackson and Locke where we found the most welcoming (non-library, non-grandparent's house) environment we have experienced since moving to Hamilton. While I don't consider myself to be particularly "yoga-y", I must say, I will definitely throw my support behind any organization/movement/lifestyle that so completely supports mums and young families.
Thank you Yoga Nest for a fun morning out of the house. We will be back!
For any mums of toddlers looking for somewhere to go, or something to do, might I suggest looking into toddler yoga (and more specifically Yoga Nest for any local mums). It has all the stuff our rambunctious, cuddly, defiant, insecure, overly-confident little ones love, while promoting heart healthy activity and developing motor skills and coordination. Plus it gives us mums a chance to have some guilt-free, distracted, constantly-interrupted, adult conversations while getting some stretching and breathing in ourselves!
Until next time friends!
-A
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| Taking a yoga break from barn chores |
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| Yog! Yog! |
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