Kids & Nature Festival

Here's the link to the Little Planets Indiegogo Campaign: "Little Planets Yurt & Playarea at IX - a nature-inspired indoor and outdoor play area for children and families at IX!" 

We had such a fabulous morning at the Kids & Nature Festival! Ix Art Park is one of our favorite places in Charlottesville and this event brought out so many Bright Birthing families, such fun activities, wonderful puddles for jumping and splashing and it was a fundraiser for our friends at Little Planets, with plans to build a permanent structure at Ix including a yurt, mud kitchen and so much more. 

Rain or shine we love this community so much!

Fourth Annual Truck Touch

We had so much fun at the bubble station collaboration between Bright Birthing and Debbie Wong of Nine Moons Midwifery!  We're excited to add this bubble machine to our event tool kit - watch for it next at our Yoga Picnic on May 12 and then at the Kids & Nature Festival on June 3. 

Photos from Crappy Dinner Numero Uno

Pizza at the Bright Residence on a Charlottesville Snow Day

Crappy Dinner

This year in addition to village circle each month (stay tuned here or on our facebook page for dates, speakers, themes, etc) we are excited to open our homes in 2018 for irregular, occasional Crappy Dinners!

A meme that totally speaks to busy parents, Crappy Dinners may be absolutely scrumptious and indeed not super crappy at all, the point being we will not go to great measures to clean our homes, we will not be showing off or entertaining. We plan to pull out frozen meals, request attendees show up with something to share, order pizza or something similarly casual. 

Commensality - sharing a table, eating together - is an intimate and enlivening thing to do. We laugh, make a mess, nourish ourselves on so many levels when we eat together with other beloved grown-ups and kiddos. We may discuss our day, our concerns, what we've been binge-watching on Netflix, or just touch base with one another. We are looking forward to a year of deepening connections with each other and with you - if you are interested in hosting a Crappy Dinner at your place, let us know! 

*Thanks to Sarah Struckmann and the Moms and Babies group at the Women’s Initiative for reminding us of the notion of Crappy Dinners, and this article from Mothering!

Celebrating with cookies

As a vocation we all have the privilege of marking major events in the lives of our clients and we have seen one another through major celebrations as well. This week our website (and the business, technically) reached its 5 year anniversary. Tonight was the third year we've had a holiday party all together as a team of 4 doulas and we invited our community to join us for dinner and cookie decorating - it was super adorable. 

Thanks to all of our clients, our families, our children and our community who have made so many beautiful memories with us in 2017. We're moving into the new year with a stronger commitment to one another, to our own and each other's families, and to supporting the birthing (and parenting!) people of Charlottesville. Stay tuned for more greatness in 2018!

Bluegrass Grill: Bright Spot #4

One of our family favorite’s is Bluegrass Grill, just a block off the Downtown Mall.  We seem to all get the craving at the same time.  Our five year old will wander into the bedroom and ask to head over there for breakfast.  Most of the time, we agree and probably find ourselves there once every couple weeks.  

We all love the kids’ play area and try to sit as close as possible.  My two year old makes phone calls and dumps out toys from the little red toy box.  My older son searches for dino toys and draws pictures.  Together, they cook up all sorts of delights in the little wooden kitchen, complete with stainless pots and pans, pancakes, and even pats of butter!  My husband and I REALLY appreciate that there are plenty of things for the littles to get into without being too disruptive.  

Although there is not a separate kids’ menu, there are lots of menu items suitable for your sweet wee ones.  For under $5, you could piece together a picky-eater breakfast from the a la carte menu or set them up with pancakes, granola, or oatmeal.  UNLESS, your too-smart-for-your-own-good five year old wises up to the fact that the Hungry Norman IS the most delicious breakfast possible and starts requesting the $12 parent pleaser in place of his usual short stack of honey-wheat pancakes.  Of course, adults can enjoy a solid variety of menu options, including vegan, vegetarian, and GF-friendly picks.  Currently, I’m totally stuck on P3-a mouth-watering mess of home fries, chorizo, peppers, and cheddar cheese...so, so good!  

We have found the BGG (our family name for our beloved fave breakfast spot) to be easy to get into most weekdays.  Weekends are a totally different story.  If you get there past the initial opening time   (and sometimes even then) plan to wait a while before a table becomes available.  There seems to be a bit of confusion around how waiting works.  I must say, we don’t do the waiting thing.  If there is a wait, we go straight to plan B.  However, I BELIEVE the wait list is on the wall and folks add their own names to the list and seat themselves when space becomes available.  

The BGG only takes cash or check, so be sure to prepare ahead of time, or you’ll be walking over to the mall to find an ATM to pay for your meal!

It isn’t always clear to me whether the staff is as happy to have us around as we are to be there.  I’ve decided to chalk it up to them being busy and the actual fact that kids in restaurants can be potentially disastrous for everyone involved.  Generally, the service is good enough, even if no one is smiling at us or gushing about how cute my kid’s drawings are.  

My biggest complaint is the ginormous pile of seasonings, condiments, and decor in the middle of each table, no matter how tiny.  There is the small vase with a single flower, the libations menu (good to know in case your trip really goes down hill!), salt & pepper, a variety of sweeteners, three types of jellies, a dish of single-serve margarine cups, two types of hot sauces, and I don’t even know what else!  This is like a gold mine of mischief for my children and ends up getting scooted to every corner of the table multiple times before we leave.  Exhausting.  

I can’t recall if there is a changing table in the bathroom because i never actually go in there.  I don’t know why my husband and I haven’t actually started to plan for this phenomenon, but EVERY time we go pretty much, my two year old has a massive bowel movement AND we leave the diaper bag in the car.  So….the kid gets changed in the back of the car and I cannot report on the presence or absence of a changing table.  Maybe if you take your diaper bag in with you, you can find out and let us know!  

Overall, the BGG feels fun and easy for our crew!  We love the food, our kids are entertained, and we feel like the prices are reasonable.  It is a bright spot that we look forward to pretty often and love to share with visiting friends and family.  And they have chocolate covered bacon.  Bloody Mary’s, a play kitchen, and chocolate covered bacon.  Winning!

Indoors at Ix: Bright Spot(s) #2

The Ix Art Park is basically my favorite place in Charlottesville. The fundraising for the art park coincided with my first year here and I remember looking at the plans and feeling so grateful that a community space like that could arise in this small town. Over the past five years I have only fallen deeper in love with the murals, sculptures, events and businesses that have blossomed there. My kiddo adores the free ranging she can do in the outdoor portion of Ix and our family made it to nearly all of the Free Fall concert series Saturday evenings this year, but this post is really about three excellent indoor spots to enjoy Ix during the cold months ahead.

Brazos Tacos recently celebrated the first anniversary of the changing table in one of their Either/Or bathrooms, deserving of kudos on several fronts. Other than the changing table, there’s a stack of kids’ books for borrowing, and wee toddler-sized table with chairs in primary colors. Their guac and creamy black beans were some of my daughter’s first solid foods and it just so happens - since we used to live within walking distance - that Brazos was the first place I nursed in public. Their kids’ menu is sweet, simple and to the point, but there are also endless delicious possibilities for adults including margaritas. Coming from California, “queso,” was not part of my Mexican food experience before this setting, but I can hardly go there without ordering it now, I love it that much. I’ve come around on Tex Mex. Pro tip: order ahead via their website or by calling the Taco Phone to avoid the lunch rush line!

Sweethaus is a bit controversial as its sugary goodness may not be everyone’s idea of a healthy snack, but they always have gluten-free options and I swear I order carrot cake there just because there’s a vegetable. For many months I got away with going there to play and have a coffee without even purchasing a cupcake, but my wee one is now in love with them and I can hardly blame her. A mini cupcake for around $1 and a decaf Americano for mama is totally worth it for their adorable play area, whether your kiddo is crawling or running around. We don’t have stairs in our apartment and Matilde enjoys practicing climbing up and down to the cute lofted sitting area, where I’ve also attended a lovely gathering of mamas who all peered down on our kiddos happily playing below. Head’s up: a dozen or two mixed mini cupcakes will impress folks at any gathering.

Three Notch’d is a recent addition to the Ix space and the build-out is remarkable. The night we were there for dinner there were several parties including balloons and lots of revelry - while the noise level was above my comfort zone, my kiddo had so much fun playing in their kids’ area where there were crayons, books, toys galore and lots of playmates. The children’s menu hummus platter served us as an appetizer (since Matilde was mainly into playing rather than eating) and they could stand to have smaller spoons if they’re going to serve apple sauce to toddlers, but we would happily go back...if friends invited us!

Bright Spots

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I’m constantly amazed at the many, many great opportunities for family fun in C’ville.  It seems like every family I meet has favorite activities, often for free or on the cheap, that I’ve never even heard of.  And I feel like I know what’s going on!  

We want to dedicate blog time to some of the spaces and faces that delight Charlottesville parents because of their family friendliness.  Thus, the conception of BRIGHT SPOTS!  These places, people, and activities truly brighten the days of many weary, loving parents, grandparents, sitters and kiddos!  And let’s face it, sometimes it doesn’t take much.  A little effort to make an outing easier can go a LONG way!  So, maybe it’s a restaurant with a great kids play space, and unexpected changing table in a retail establishment….something that helps put a caregiver at ease when out and about with wee ones.  

Every now and then, we’ll feature Bright Spots on our blog!  We’re super excited to help folks identify kid-friendly options around town.  We’d love to hear about your Bright Spots as well!  Please give a shout out to your favorite B.  They might Bright Spots even end up on the blog!

Keep an eye out for Bright Spots in the weeks and months to come!