ApartmentMom

Hitting the trail

We made it out on the bikes!  Me, my son on his bike and my daughter riding in a child seat on the back of mine!  And it was a good time!  I don't have a picture because I didn't think of it.  Now that I'm blogging I'll be more aware of photo opportunities.

Now, it was not a cheap time.  My son and I already had bikes.  But he was due for a new helmet, I needed a helmet and my daughter, apparently, has a big head and got a new helmet, too.  And I had to buy a seat for her, which I found on Craigslist, cheaper than new but not truly cheap.  But the most expenisve item was the rack for our car.  I tried buying a less expensive hitch rack for our car - only to discover our car didn't have a hitch!  I am not usually so ditzy but I didn't realize that I would need a $300 hitch (or so I was told) - I assumed everything I needed was in the box with the rack.

Instead I spent the $300 on a Thule 3-bike, locking trunk mounted rack.  I have a tendency to over-buy, but I figured it was work the $100 difference to be able to lock the rack to the car, and the bikes to the rack.   It would be more costly to replace the bikes, if anyone were ever tempeted to help themselves to a ride.  We don't live in a high-crime area but why tempt anyone?

As for storage, the bikes are on our balcony.  We've had a lot of rain and I've been trying to remember to bring them in when I know it's going to pour (there's another balcony above ours but rain still blows onto ours.)  Still looking into storage options.  The rack and my daughter's seat are taking up my trunk space. 

Biking with the kids is one of those moments where what I was doing matched the picture I imagined of myself and my kids sharing an activity.  I find those moments truly satisfying and I'm looking forward to our next ride.

 

 

 

 

 

I want to ride my bicycle

I think I bought my bike in 1995.  I first moved to an apartment in 1998 and I haven't ridden it since then.  The bike is in great shape; me, not so much.  It's been residing in a relative's garage.  I've given birth twice and haven't been to a gym since 2000.  But I've always loved the IDEA of riding a bike.  You know, in my imaginary town with flat, smooth streets and little traffic. 

Now that my son has learned to ride a bike (still with training wheels) I want it to be a family activity.  So I bought a kid's seat to put on my bike for my 3-year old daughter, and a bike rack for the car.  Did I mention I haven't actually ridden my bike since 1998?  One of the reasons is that I've had no place to keep it. 

You see, every square inch of my aparment is already full of stuff.  And I don't have a garage.  Or a basement.  I do have a balcony but when all the bikes are out there, there isn't space left for people.  And they get rusty (the bikes, not people!)  Do you know what else I would have if we had a basement?  A home gym.  Nothing fancy, of course.  But with a home gym and a bicycle, we could be a very fit family!  Do any of you have suggestions for storing bikes safely in an aparment with kids?  Perhaps rigging them to the ceiling?

Welcome

Hello!  I hope you'll join me here to discuss any and all things about family life.  When I imagined my adult self as a parent, I did not picture being the mother of two children while living in an aparment in the suburbs.  I have been a full-time working mom, a stay-at-home-mom and now a part-time-working-mom.  There is no single right way to be a mother,  but I believe there are better ways of managing the myriad things that we are responsible for.  And dads, you are welcome here, too. 

This blog exists because like any parent, I am learning that I have to adapt my expectations to fit the current situation.   It seems as though there are too many things that are harder, or just not possible, because we are not living in a house.   This blog is here to minimize our frustrations by seeking and providing creative solutions to some of the challenges of being an apartment mom.