Bored and Lonely

C.,

Where in Co are you. I live in Falcon, Although I personally do not have any toddlers anymore, I do know of a great group of ladies and one man who get together for playgroup every week.

I too am a Military Spouse, my husband is also deployed at this time. It is a very difficult time... It does get so lonely. so any time you want to chat feel free to send me an email or we can exchange instant message info. I also have a myspace page. www.myspace.com/suncow

Here is a great craft site for all ages...

http://familyfun.go.com/

Good luck!!

When my kids were little, we used to go on what we called nature walks. We would look for seashells (at the beach) and pine cones & leaves & rocks & all sorts of bugs & interesting plants. We spent a lot of time at the park. We also went to galleries & looked a the pictures & sculptures and so on. The Pueblo Zoo saw us a lot becasue their year-round membership was pretty cheap (I don't know about the springs zoo). We also went to the amusement park (when it was open) that was right accross from the Pueblo Zoo because the rides were only (at that time) a quarter a ride.
I was a single mom on a tight budget, so I found lots of places to go that were free, or darn near free. We packed a lot of lunches & walked & played all over the state. Ft. Carson has a lot of resources for spouses and the recreation & morale & welfare centers are packed with ideas & brochures. Its also pretty neat to look at & has picnic tables & walking paths around it.
I hope you can join a group of other MOPS & get out and enjoy our beautiful area.

The library has story time and sometimes a craft time.
http://www.ppld.org/

I highly second Westside Moms! www.westsidemoms.org

I am an Army wife and I survived through 3 deployments all in the past 4.5 years I have two little girls. First was born during deployment #1 and second was born during deployment #3. This past deployment was so incredibly hard on me. I was pregnant with my second child, dealing with behavioral issues with my first and having to do it all on my own AGAIN! Plus after my second was born, I was diagnosed with PPD. I found WSMs right before I found out I was pregnant with my second and I cant tell you what a Godsend that group was to me. Not only was I able to get my daugther out to play with kids her own age weekly but I was able to interact with other moms. They are supportive and wonderful and I cant recommend that group enough.

Also if you havent already checked with your FRG, I would do that. I know some FRGs are more active than others. My FRG did weekly playgroups while the guys were gone. We also had a Bunco night, bible study and moms night outs every month which was great because I got to hang out with other women in the same situation as I was in and they provided childcare for the events.

Army Community Services also has a playgroup that meets every friday. You call to register ###-###-####) and the playgroup is held at the Family Readiness Center from 10am-12pm.

The YMCA (ppymca.org) also has a program called Tumbling Tots or something like that. Its for kids ages 18 months to 3 years. I did that with my oldest during the second deployment and she loved it. Plus she got to interact with kids that were around her age. Its a half hour class 2-3 times a week depending on what you sign up for. It was great because I scheduled it so that we had swim lessons right before that and then went to our class.

Hope some of this helps you out!

Joining a MOPs Group (Mother's of preschoolers) is a wonderful outing for moms and kids. We live in Briargate, but our church in Black Forest has a group that meets for a meeting once a month and then a FUN field trip once a month. Let me know if you are interested. Focus on the Family has a FREE play area, inside for kids to run around, explore, learn, create, etc... open daily from 10am. (church ph # ###-###-####). There are groups all over town too, maybe visit www.mops.org for locations.
Also, my son (almost 4 now) has always loved cutting and glueing things... anything! Of course these items need constant supervision. Last week we cut out egg shapes and other shapes... dots, zig-zigs, crosses... and glued them to make Easter eggs and put them in a basket. He even wanted to send one to my sister. Your family (if they don't live here)would love these little personal crafts from your daughter mailed to them. "School supplies" such as a package of construction paper, glue, kids' scissors could go a long way. When he was younger we did a letter a week from the alphabet and worked onthe sound and whenever we were out we tried to find things that started with that letter. Puzzles are good fun and brain-builders.
I also saw a Craig's list post for moms who like to enjoy an adult beverage. These type of play dates have been controversial and featured on Oprah, the Today Show and Dr Phil (I think), but that might be something fun to let kids run around and play and enjoy ADULT conversation for a while, and enjoy a relaxing beverage in the process.
Last, but certainly not least, it's getting nice... head out to the parks and let her spend some of that energy!!

B. M

Does your husbands unit have an FRG? maybe you could meet some other wives thru that. There are a lot of mom groups in town, check out momsclub.com and meetup.com, there are about 5-6 moms groups on meetup in colorado springs. We also go to gymboree and they have a great military discount. Mr.Biggs has little biggtown for little ones that I believe is free if the kids are under 2 and also my gym, little gym and pump it up have alot of open play times. Good luck!!

Take a look at www.momsclub.com

MOMS Club is such a wonderful group! You will be in a chapter depending on where you live. There are 5 chapters in Colorado Springs. I'm in the East Chapter and our web site is www.momseast.com We have a packed calendar of things to do every month like park dates, get togethers, playgroups and so on. It's helped me so much - get's me out and about and around other moms doing what I'm going.

Hi C.
I do understand the lonely feeling I have lived here 19 years and all of my good friends have moved or work full time. My hubby travels alot so he is not home alot. I have a 4 year old little boy who also does not have many friends but some of the places we go to is Chick-fil-a on Wed (powers they have a playgroup time) and on Academy on thursday they have the playgroup. All age go there. I also go to Bigg City it is only 5 dollars to go there and let then play in the Little big town. I also belong to a playgroup and there are 2 year olds there. If you are interested let me know. We are up North by Chapel Hills Mall. I hope this helps. D.

Hi C. I have a 19 month old little boy... What side of town are you on?? We would love to get together and play go to the zoo the park lunch anything.... Let me know here is my e-mail... ____@____.com.. Talk to you soon
C.

Check out www.westsidemoms.org !

C. M., CBE, CLD, MWA
The Westside Birth Connection
###-###-####
www.westsidebirthconnection.com
Marketing Chair, Colorado Doulas Association
www.coloradodoulas.com