Stay-at-home (and working) parents in Clearwater (Tampa, St. Petersburg: YMCA, school, income)

[nc expat]

Hi, everyone! I've been posting and reading these boards for several weeks now and found a ton of useful information. My husband and I are relocating to Clearwater from Raleigh, NC in about a month. We're excited, especially because I'll finally be able to stay at home with our two-year-old little girl.

I've already gotten in touch with a mom's group in Clearwater and plan on joining when we move. But I want to know what your favorite things to do with your little ones are in Clearwater/Tampa. I know Busch Gardens is very close and Disneyworld is two hours away, but I'm talking more day-to-day things. What do you do for fun during the week?

Also, as a brand new stay-at-home mom, I'm uncertain what a typical day/week will look like for me and my little one. I'm very anxious to get started, though, and want to know what your days look like. Do you have a daily schedule, or do you just kind of go with the flow?

I look forward to hearing from you!

[algia]

Booooooring, I'll never do it again if I had the op, distances here are enormous because of the sprawl, I stay home now bc one of my son's is autistic and needs me to drive him to therapies all over town....but as a stay at home, unless you have disposable income to spend on indoor playgrounds, going to the aqarium etc it gets old pretty fast....basically going out somewhere all the time, I like to work and I like my work so staying home is atrocious for me....others disagree and find it the perfect lifestyle choice, I find it staying on one income to suck a lot, and even if we made 100k I would still be bored as I said I like to work.....I cant wait to go back to work full time....

If I was to stay home in DC, or NYC where I could walk to a bunch of different things rather than drive....I may not be so bored and annoyed with it....but here, I am done and over with it. There is no variety in scenery per my taste....

Good Luck, I hope your experience here be better than mine.

[Sumermarie]

If you like parks and nature, Pinellas County has a ton of beautiful parks to choose from.

http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/default.htm

For a 2yr old there are a lot of places for you to have fun:

Lowry Park Zoo - Tampa
Great Explorations - St. Petersburg (Sunken Gardens is also in the same location, its a favorite of mine if you like botanical gardens)
MOSI - Tampa
Adventure Island (near Busch Gardens, Tampa's water park)
Celebration Station - Clearwater
Honeymoon Island - Great state park, has been voted as America's favorite beach in the past.
Busch Gardens - Tampa - There is a new Sesame Street section with HUGE play areas for the kids. BG has two of them.
Planet Jump - Largo
Florida Aquarium - Tampa

There really is a lot to do around here, just have to know where to look.

Good luck with the move!

[tankerwifega]

I have been a stay at home mom now for 11 yrs and finally ready to go back to work! The key to being a successful stay at home mom of toddlers is finding play groups where you will find other moms just like you and establish a routine. There are alot of different types of play groups, I am not really sure about that area, but if you are PROTESTANT, try MOPS- Mothers of Preschoolers. Many of the churches have MOPS. Hang out at different local parks, you will find many moms there too. Many local gyms (YMCA, maybe)will have mother and tots workouts too and mommy and me gymnastics. I found staying home with mine could be boring at times, but you just have to plan a day to keep busy. I visited McDonalds and Chick Filet play areas often.