I have been blessed that Alex’s grandparents and great grandmother are usually available when I need a babysitter. The few times they have not been available, I have managed to find someone. Still, it has always been a concern to me what I would do in case of an emergency if I could not find a trusted friend or relative to watch Alex.

There are some places around Portland that offer drop in child care. I decided to do a little research and put together a guide to help parents in case they need child care in a pinch or are just looking for a convenient place to take care of the kids when they need a break.

The Art Cubby
503-446-1237
1500 NW 18th Ave., Suite #115, Portland
Hours: Mon – Wed and Fri: 8:45am – 5:00pm, Thurs: 8:45 am – 9 pm, Sat 10 am – 3 pm
Ages: 3 to 12 years
Rate: $12 per hour
Drop in daycare with arts and crafts activities. Kids work on fun art activities and bring home unique creations along with lots of ideas for do at home activities.

A Child’s Kingdom
503-203-8728
10110 SW Park Way, Portland
Hours: Mon – Fri: 6:30 am – 5:30 pm
Ages: 1 to 12 years
Day care and drop in child care with activities including art, music, science, and field trips.

Children’s World Learning Center
503-667-9028
840 NE 181st, Portland
Hours: Mon – Fri: 5:30 am – 6:30 pm
Ages: 1 to 12 years
Day Care and drop in child care.

Eva’s Day Care
503-257-3243
9801 Ne Wygant street, Portland
Hours: Mon – Sat: 6 am – 12 am
Ages: 6 weeks to 12 years
Day care and drop in child care.

Garden Home Childcare Program
503-629-6341
7475 SW Oleson Rd, Portland
Hours: Mon – Fri: 8:30 – 11:30 am & 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Rates: From $3 per hour for parents in onsite programs or $15 for 3 hours for independent care.
Drop in child care for parents taking classes and using on site amenities or up to 3 hours when parents are off site.

Happy Bear Day Care Center
503-460-0102
4326 NE Killingsworth St, Portland
Hours: Mon – Sat: 5:30 am – 6 pm
Ages: 6 weeks to 12 years
Day care and drop in child care.

Kids Clubhouse
503-297-1400
7515 SW Barnes Rd., Suite #102, Portland
Hours: Mon – Thurs: 8:00a m – 10:00pm, Fri: 8:00 am – 11:00 pm, Sat: 9:30 am – 11:00 pm, Sun: 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm, closed holidays
Ages: 2 ½ to 12 years
Drop off care for kids, minimum 1 hour. Activities and amenities include arts and crafts, coloring, video games, and a movie theater.

Little Adventurers Day Home
503-775-6577
5003 SE 84th Avenue, Portland
Hours: Mon – Thurs: 7 am – 6 pm, Fri 7 am – 5 pm
Ages: 8 weeks to 5 years
Rate: $10 per hour
Day care offering drop in service. Potty training assistance, tutoring for grade school kids, and night care services also available.

MJCC Childcare Programs
503-244-0111
6651 SW Capitol Highway, Portland
Hours: Mon – Fri: 8:15 – 11 am, Mon – Thurs: 5:15 – 7 pm, Sun: 9:15-11:45 am
Ages: 6 months to 5 years
Rate: $3 members, $15 non members per day, maximum 2 hours per day
Drop in child care for adults using the center’s amenities. Adults must stay on the premises while children are in the child care center.

Village Childcare
503-286-4859
2036 NE Martin Luther King Boulevard, Portland
3508 North Michigan, Portland
Hours: Mon – Fri: 6 am – 6 pm, evenings by appointment
Ages: 6 weeks to 12 years
Rates: $10-$12 per hour
Child care services including hourly drop in care.

We Village
503-935-5590
424 NW 11th Avenue, Portland
Hours: Mon-Thurs: 8 am to 9:30 pm, Fri: 8 am to 11:30 pm, Sat: 10:30 am to 11:30 pm
Ages: 2-12 years
Rates: Members $10 per hour, Non members $15 per hour
Licensed drop off child care for kids. Preschool also available for kids age 3 and over.

Yoga Shala
503-963-9642
N Williams
3808 N Williams Ave, Portland
Hours: Mon – Fri: 9:15 am – 1:15 pm, Sat: 8:45 am – 12:15 pm, Sun: 8:45 am – 11:45 am
Southeast
3249 SE Division, Portland
Hours: Mon: 9:15 – 11:15 am, Tues & Thurs: 9:45 am – 11:45 am, Wed: 9:15 am – 11:15 am
Ages: 3 to 12 years
Rates: Nonmembers $10 per hour, Members $8 per hour
Drop in child care for up to 4 hours for kids when parent leaves the premises or reduced rate care for kids while parents are taking Yoga classes.

Inflatable Kingdom offers Open Play which can be a great, inexpensive way for a parent to get a little break, however, a caregiver does have to be present while the kids are playing. There is a nice waiting area where you can sit, drink coffee, and relax while your child enjoys themselves jumping and sliding around the inflatables.

I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible with this list, but if any of this information is incorrect or you want to add another place to my list, please send an email to info@inflatablekingdom.com.

I would strongly recommend that all parents have a backup care plan for their kids just in case. If you are thinking of using one of these care centers, take the time to visit them in advance and check references. It is also a good idea to leave your child there for a short time some time when it is not an emergency, so you can get feedback from your child, and the situations is more comfortable for everyone involved if an emergency ever arises. Besides, checking out a care giver makes a great excuse to give yourself an hour or two off!

-HL

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Last night I went out to Applebees with Alex, Brian, and Alex’s grandparents Wayne and Kathy for a belated Mother’s Day celebration. We decided on Applebees because I had a coupon for any burger for $5. Considering their burgers usually sell for twice that, it seemed like too good a coupon to miss out on.

What I did not know was that Tuesday is kid day at Applebees, which means that Alex’s meal was only 99 cents. With all the discounts, our entire bill including the tip was comparable to what we would have spent at a fast food restaurant, and the food was delicious.

As if all that wasn’t good enough, the Applebees we went to (on Halsey Street) also had a balloon artist doing the rounds. Jeremy Briggs (also known as Jeremy Balloony or the Portland Balloon Guy) stopped by our table, and Alex turned the other way and ignored him. It’s nothing personal and had nothing to do with the man’s hot dog shirt. Alex is just scared of strangers.

Since Alex wasn’t talking, I asked for a sword for Alex. The balloon guy made us three, so we would be able to sword fight, and Alex would have another one in case one of the balloons broke.

Alex was thrilled with his sword. He had been eating his macaroni, but once he got a balloon sword, he just wanted to play. Thankfully he’d eaten pretty well before the balloon guy stopped by, so he certainly did not go hungry.

The balloon guy made all sorts of fabulous creations for the other kids in the restaurant as well. Swords were popular, and he also made some crazy balloon hats, cute animals, and other odds and ends. He booked a couple parties in the short time we were at the restaurant, and I could not help think how much fun it would be to have a balloon artist at a birthday party at Inflatable Kingdom.

When we got home, Alex played with the swords with his grandparents, and he was having a great time until his balloon sword broke. That is the problem with balloons. Luckily there were two more swords for him to play with, but it took a while to talk him into playing with a different one. He wanted his red sword and the yellow and blue ones just were not the same. Brian told him that we would just have to go back another time and get another sword, and I think we will. The Portland Balloon Guy is at Applebees every Tuesday after all.

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Lesson learned for the weekend: Jumping on inflatables at Inflatable Kingdom is fun. Jumping off a running horse is not so fun (at least the landing part anyway). Alas I am not sixteen anymore and a fall that I probably would have bounced back from with a few bruises at a younger age causes much more damage now. Oh, I still got the bruises mind you, but I also broke my ankle.

I spent most of Mother’s Day in bed, though I did get up and wander around a bit. I have crutches and a boot for my leg, so I can move around, but it is tiring and I need to ice my feet frequently. As a result, my husband, Brian, and my son, Alex are not getting the time or attention that they would ordinarily get from me. I am having to ask for help a lot more, and I can’t carry Alex no matter how much he wines. Perhaps that will be good for Alex since he likes to have me carry him a fair amount.

Brian went to work this morning, so while he helped a lot before he left, once he left, Alex and I were on our own. Initially things went pretty smoothly. I put Thomas on the TV and settled in front of the computer. Alex kept wanting snacks, which I got for him begrudgingly, then he wanted to go on the porch. I let him on the porch, but failed to lock the outside door and he made his way outside. Luckily he called me outside to join him, so I discovered my error pretty quickly and no one got hurt. I sat on the front step while he ran around a bit with the dogs. He kept asking me to join him, but I said I could not run. I am not sure he believed me.

When it was lunch time, I needed help. I could not very well carry food and drinks from the kitchen to the dining room while walking on crutches. Alex got his macaroni out of the fridge and carried it from the kitchen. He also carried my water (though he spilled a little on the table). Unfortunately no mater how I begged, he refused to carry in my lunch, since he thought it was gross. It is amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it, so somehow I carried it into the dining room myself, crutches and all.

After lunch, Alex helped me put away dishes and we had desert. He can help me with a lot, if he chooses too. The challenge is getting him to understand what I want, and having him decide he wants to do whatever it is I want. Sometimes he’ll do it, other times he won’t, and no amount of yelling or begging will change him mind.

Napping is one thing that is coming easier since I got hurt. I have to ice my foot every so often, so it makes the perfect opportunity to lay down with Alex. The last two days I went to sleep with him after I iced my leg. Today I got up after he was asleep, but things went very smoothly.

I am not sure how long I will be on crutches, but I expect the one good thing that will come out of getting hurt is that Alex is learning to help out more since I can’t do everything for him. Perhaps this is a good lesson for me about how much he really is capable of doing (though I certainly don’t suggest getting hurt to teach your kids to be helpful around the house).

Looks like I won’t be doing any more jumping at Inflatable Kingdom or off a horse any time too soon, but I hope that I will have a chance to bring Alex somewhere to play soon. I am sure he is getting pent up as, because of my injury, we spent most the weekend at home. Perhaps we can make it to an Open Play session some time.

-HL

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