Parc Bertrand
Bioparc
Escalade
Museum d’Histoire Naturelle
Fontenette Piscine
End of School year festival in Parc Bastions
Ice skating in Parc Bastions
Spring festival
The Lac (paddle boating/kayaking, swimming next to the Jet d’Eau and Boat cruises)
The Madeline Carousel
Old Town
Carouge
Caves Ouverte
Terroir Festival and Pere Jacob Brewery
Vitam Parc
Christmas Markets
Thanks to M’s expert trip planning and driving skills we have had the chance to explore quite a bit during our posting. Traveling with three kids is sometimes complicated but we quickly figured things out and hopefully the Tiny Humans will have fond memories of some pretty incredible Family Road Trips.
Our last road trip of the year was to Lyon, 90 minutes or so from Geneva and a city we had on our must visit list for awhile.
The St. Lucian Lad came with us for the trip, which I find lowers my stress level on day trips because I am not worried about him home alone desperate to go out for a walk. As long as the weather cooperates and we can find underground parking, he is very content to nap in the car while we visit museums etc.
First stop was the Lyon zoo (surprisingly mostly dog friendly) located within a huge park in the middle of the city.
While Lyon is known for its fine dining we know the limits of our Tiny Humans and conscious of time given it was just a day trip, we found a little burger chain King Marcel. While not fine dining, the burgers were adequately fancy and we were back out exploring the old part of the city. Shopping for Tiny Humans 1&2, pigeon chasing for Tiny Human 3 and a cathedral for the adults.
Next up the Museum of Confluence, Lyon’s Natural History Museum. Tiny Human 3 was not a fan of wandering through the museum on his own steam but did enjoy the birds and the girls are in their element wandering through museums like this.
After a quick pit stop for me check out a kitchen store I had been eyeing we headed out of town. Lesson learned from previous trips, we stopped for dinner at a brewpub for a brewery we like rather than trying to stop somewhere on the way home.
We arrived in before 23h but a lot of driving for M and we barely scratched the surface of the city so we will have to find time for a return visit soon.
I am not a germaphobe but I’ve never been exactly comfortable with the Tiny Humans eating directly off the table as Tiny Humans are prone to do. This is particularly the case at restaurants, especially fast food restaurants lacking plates. I usually improvised with napkins or food packaging but after purchasing a new changing pad that rolled like a yoga mat, I started to wonder if something similar existed for portable placemats. During my scouting mission I happened upon Skip Hop Zoo’s fold and go placemat. I am a sucker for the cute characters, but there are similar thin silicone or plastic products on the market that roll up tight enough to earn a space in a mommy bag.
Tiny Human #1 has thankfully curtailed her need to spread her meals across the table but Tiny Human #2 quickly embraced her new eating surface. Depending on the food whims of Tiny Human #2 however, the mat does seem to get a little sticky or greasy and it’s not always convenient to run it under the bathroom sink for a quick rinse.
This is where the clever cleaning hack comes in. (NOTE: I didn’t call it clever, M did) On a recent road trip to visit my family, I realized that a little splash of vinegar is perfect for giving the mat a quick clean before returning it to the mommy bag. Quite a few restaurants have vinegar in packets or bottles, no doubt intended for french fries, and I have taken to stashing a packet or two in my bag. Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and does a great job of cutting through any greasy or sticky mess created by Tiny Human #2. Unlike using a baby wipe or alcohol wipe, I don’t need to worry about rinsing the mat before Tiny Human eats off of it again.
Frankly newborns don’t need much, something to wear, a source of food, some sort of diaper and somewhere to sleep is all they really need. The below list is more to help you get through those first few crazy weeks.
M posed this question to me a couple of weeks ago when I floated the idea of buying another baby carrier. In his defence it is a fair question, somewhere along the way in our parenting adventure I began to amass a small stash of baby carriers.
and the newest addition, BabyHawk Mei Tai.
I blame it on the fact our tiny humans are little cuddle monsters. The Moby was perfect when the Tiny Humans were very tiny, the pouch sling great for leaving in the car for emergencies. The Ergo is M’s favourite and our go to for hiking but I never really warmed to it. The padding was just too overwhelming. The Boba Air is my favourite, perfect for travelling or quick trips but it’s black, boring and I started feeling the pull to find something with a bit more padding but still easy to store. The Blue Celery Wrap was the solution to my last round of carrier blahs. I bought it for a steal on clearance at a local baby store. My second favourite after the Boba Air, the Blue Celery is pretty, easy to store and I can wear it as a scarf BUT Tiny Human #2 is getting bigger and it is no longer as comfortable. SO in comes the Mei Tai, I knew having a baby store right next to the library we go to for Babytime would prove dangerous. I am still trying to get the hang out of tying it and the weather hasn’t really lent itself to long baby walks but so far it is pretty looking and pretty comfortable.
Will the Mei Tai solve the carrier blahs? we shall see. What’s your favourite baby carrier?
UPDATE: The Mei Tai did add a touch of colour and got rid of SOME of my blahs but I found the straps annoying when wearing the carrier inside my coat and I could not put it on first then slip the baby inside. For Tiny Human #3 I have added the Phil and Ted’s Airlight to the mix. I worry it may be discontinued. I found it at discount at our local baby store. The carrier has many of the features I love about the Boba Air with the added benefit of working from newborn and folding into a little fanny pack rather than a pouch.
Inside the Mommy Bag 