Parking Permits for Moms in Miami

Miami-Dade county offers a special parking permit just for Moms! Hooray! Actually, the permit can be used by mom, dad or legal guardian traveling with a baby in a stroller, until the baby is three years old. There are special assigned parking spaces close to entranceways in many parking lots; the spaces are marked with green signs picturing a baby carriage.

The permits cost 50 cents per month, and you can get them at any Teametro office. Learn the location of these offices, and more details on the Stroller Permits at the Teametro website.

Personally, with one two-year-old and one nine-year-old, I don't think I'll take advantage of this service. I feel like others need those spaces more than I do. I'm picturing the new mom with infant twins and another kiddo or two well into the terrible twos....now THAT mom needs the permit! Also, while some people get really excited over a primo, up-close parking space, I'm not one of those people. One of my weird pet peeves is when people circle a parking lot endlessly to find THE CLOSEST SPACE POSSIBLE. Unless you have a good reason, park where you can quickly find a space, and WALK--walking is good for you, you know, and stressing out in your car in a parking lot all to get a few hundred feet closer to a doorway is definitely not good for you.

Also, when Elle was a newborn and I would see those spaces, I didn't realize you needed an official permit to park there. I've never studied one of the signs up close, but I'm wondering if the signs specify that a permit is required?

Happy Parking, everyone!

Hurricanes with Kids

Bertha is out there. I'm not following it--you don't have to when you live in South Florida. When a hurricane gets close, it's all the talk, all the time. You KNOW.
I lived here a few years ago when we were hit more than once; it was a summer and fall of hurricane panic. The year of Katrina. The next year, I was pregnant with Elle, and then in July, was in posession of little Elle, and I hoped, wished, and prayed that we could get through a season hurricane-free. And we did, and we have--no scary storms to speak of for the past two seasons.
For those of you new to the area, or living elsewhere, here's the drill. You find out the hurricane is coming. You find out where it might hit, and if you are in "the cone." You find out how strong the hurricane might be, and when it will arrive. Of all those factors, time is the only sure one. The where, the how bad...guesses. But those monsters are easy to spot, and don't move too quickly, so time is on your side.
So, you have to figure out WHAT TO DO. Do you stay, or go? Hunker down, or bail out? Leaving is a huge PITA...if you drive, you will be sitting in traffic with all the other bailers, for hours and hours, and maybe for nothing. Flying is the way to go for those who decide to bail early--if you have that luxury. I'd love to tell my boss at the hint of a hurricane heading our way, "gotta go, take the kids, head to mom's in Atlanta..." Yeah, right. Not an option.
In the past, pre-baby, I've always chosen to stay. Our house is located pretty far to the east, but luckily is at one of the highest points above sea level in Miami. We weathered the storms a few years ago quite nicely--loss of power but not for too long, fallen trees all over, but none through the roof, etc. But now with a two-year-old? Loss of power, and the potential of trees through the roof, is a different story altogether.
At this point, I'm going with the cross fingers, hope/wish/pray method that has served me well for the past two seasons.
Stay away, Bertha, stay away!

Great Fourth of July Idea for Families

This isn't an original idea, mind you, but it is so good, I have to share. If you're looking for a fun and family-friendly idea for the Fourth, read on. Every year, some friends of ours reserve a well-located hotel room on July 4, to check out on July 5, and invite other friends with kids to the room for a cocktail hour, which culminates by watching the fireworks show. When I say they reserve a "well-located" hotel room, I'm talking about one of the many hotels or resorts we have here in Miami that have balconies high in the sky, facing the ocean or the Bay. Last year, the Sonesta Coconut Grove was their destination--the Coconut Grove fireworks were right downstairs in the park (walking distance) for those who wanted to be in the thick of things, and others chose to watch from the balcony. Several fireworks displays were visible from the balcony--what a bonus!

Because we are in "slow season" here in Miami, the rooms tend to be really reasonable. I just checked the Sonesta Grove, and they have rooms listed starting at $139/night. Biltmore starts at $179.

Have a great Fourth, everyone!!