January 31, 2024

An Indoor Birthday Paradise: Ocean5

January 31, 2024/ Heather Brown

I am here to talk about birthdays...again. It feels like my kids have back-to-back birthdays. Oh wait, they do! My younger son has an early December birthday (see post), and my older son has a birthday at the start of January. It's wild. It's hectic. We have a birthday, we have the holidays, we have another birthday. Once January rolls around, I am ready to be done. But I have to power through that last birthday.

I need something easy but fun. And indoors because, hello, it's January. Oh, where or where can his birthday be? Oh (light bulb), Ocean5.

June 11, 2022

Ultimate Indoor Nerf: Gotcha Arena

June 11, 2022/ Heather Brown

I’m going to whisper a word in your ear: nerf. Did your kid hear it? Because I think my kid heard, he is in the other room. I kid…but nerf is like the real-deal big kid thing - they love it. So imagine the thrill of nerf plus a huge arena where the imagination can run free. Yup, that’s Gotcha Arena.

While I enjoy a good game, I thought Gotcha would make the perfect dad and son fun day out. They invited two other dad and son friends, and it was game on. They had a total blast. In fact, they went a few weeks ago, and all the boys (and dads, haha) are still talking about it and want to go back. They had a blast. My son is planning his next birthday there, which is over six months away. Needless to say, this place is a great time. Let me tell you all about it!

May 21, 2022

Cruising Through LeMay Car Museum

May 21, 2022/ Heather Brown

When it comes to the LeMay Car Museum, have you asked yourself these questions…

I wonder if my kid is old enough for the LeMay Car Museum?
I am not much of a fan of cars. Will I like the LeMay Car Museum?
Is it worth a visit to the LeMay Car Museum?
What is inside the LeMay Car Museum besides just cars?

I sure did. I don't know why I was so unsure about it. I worried my toddler would want to touch all the cars, and some museum employee would come up to me and say, "excuse me, ma'am, your child is touching everything; you need to leave. We'll escort you out."

Then one blustery day, while my in-laws were visiting, we didn't know what to do with the poor weather, so we just went for it. If we didn't like it, eh, no big deal. And guess what: we all loved it!!

October 27, 2020

[Guest Post] Brr, It's Cold: Indoor Activities for House-Bound Kids

October 27, 2020/ Heather Brown

Well, we’ve already seen some rainy days here this October, and we all know that this is just the beginning. Eeek, the rainy season is upon us and many of our normal energy release places are still closed. I know rain doesn’t mean outside is out-of-the-question, but there will be a lot more time spent indoors. To help with some indoor ideas, Carrie from The Spencers Adventures is here as a guest to share some ideas!

Here’s a bit about Carrie:

Carrie Spencer created The Spencers Adventures to share her family’s homesteading adventures. On the site, she shares tips on living self-sufficiently, fruit and vegetable gardening, parenting, conservation, and more. Their goal to live as self-sufficiently and environmentally-consciously as possible.

September 19, 2020

Review Time: National Geographic Crystal Growing Kit

September 19, 2020/ Heather Brown

My son, Caleb, is 4.5 years old and his latest interest has been in rocks and gems. He found this triangle-shaped rock at the beach and was so excited because he found a gem rock. Do you know what a gem rock is? I only just learned of these magical rocks. They give you three powers; the power of strength, the power of speed, and the power of knowledge. The most awesome thing about it, he really believes it.

Given this newfound power (and love) for rocks and gems, I started to search for ways to promote his rock and gem interest. I was browsing Amazon and came across the National Geographic Mega Crystal Growing Lab kit, and knew this would be a hit. I added it to Caleb’s Amazon “wishlist” until a good reason popped up to purchase it. The lucky kid didn’t have to wait long because the grandparents saw me add it and sent it at as “just because” gift. Aren’t grandparents great?

I thought I’d give you the rundown on this kit experience to help in case you’re wondering if you’d like to get it for your kid(s). I always love a good insider view of a toy or activity. So pretend I’m your mom-friend and we’re trying to chat over our kids playing in the background and let me share my experience.

March 29, 2020

Simple Science Experiments for Young Kids

March 29, 2020/ Heather Brown

My 4-year-old son is obsessed with experiments and our isolation indoors has only increased this obsession. His favorite experiments involve water. Generally, he wants to freeze little things (like the tiny animals and insect figurines) in his science test tubes and then melt it. Better yet, add color tablets we have to color his bath water to change the water’s color of his experiment. I guess there could be worse obsessions, but I’m constantly drying the floor, tables, chairs, etc. Water everywhere!

Honestly, I love that he’s so interested in experiments and I want to encourage it. I try to come up with simple experiments for us to do together. The experiments need to have rather immediate results because he’s four-years-old and needs instant gratification. And simple so that I don’t have to go to a special store to get supplies, and better yet, I already have them all at home. I’ve gathered a few good ones and thought I’d share so you have some fun ideas in your back-pocket during all the social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

January 17, 2020

It's Raining, It's Pouring: Indoor Activities in Tacoma

January 17, 2020/ Heather Brown

It’s raining, it’s pouring, there is no time for snoring, she bumped her head…well, let’s just stop there. We all know that raining days are the worst when you have kids. You get all couped up inside and everyone is stir crazy and it’s just a loooooonnnggg day. These days, I find my self racking my brain on what to do and/or where to go. I started a list on my notes app on my iPhone and usually start there. I thought I’d take it a step further and write a post.

September 14, 2018

Indoor Fun: Pump It Up

September 14, 2018/ Heather Brown

I feel like the closer I get to my due date with baby #2, the harder it is to get posts written. Life has been busy to say the least especially with an active two and a half year old son. During the daytime, I’m busy keeping him entertained. During nap time and evenings, I’m busy keeping things running at home and preparing for the baby…oh yeah, and some relaxing and sleeping.

That said, here I am! And I today is about a new indoor play space. I’ve been meaning to check out Pump It Up for a long time and I finally got there on Wednesday. Sometimes I get stuck into my routine or set places, and I also get a bit of anxiety when I don’t know anyone that’s gone or know what it’s like. But I gathered up my mama courage and headed over there in hopes of getting some Caleb wiggles out. And my hopes came true: wiggles were definitely gotten out. Caleb LOVED it. I thought he might be more timid, but he dived right into the fun (quite literally).

May 10, 2018

Must Go: Children's Museum of Tacoma

May 10, 2018/ Heather Brown

I'd be remiss if I didn't have a post about the Children's Museum of Tacoma. Seriously, what kind of Tacoma children's blog would this be without it? I'll tell you, not a very good one. This was one of the first posts I planned to write here on Raising Tacoma. I'm ashamed to say it's been over three months and I'm just getting to it now. Better late than never, right?

We go to the museum at least once a week. We love the programs and the open museum play space. It's even where we had Caleb's second birthday. I am so grateful we have the Children's Museum here; it's definitely saved my sanity more times than one. If you haven't been, then you need to drop everything and go. Okay, that's hasty, you probably have questions. I always have questions. Let's tackle some of those questions.

Raising Tacoma