Where is Julie the Cruise Ship Director When You Need Her?

We are quickly approaching winter here in KY- the days are short and the temperatures are falling. Until now, Em and I have spent a good half of our weekday evening hours outside. This has involved playing, walking the dog, going to the park, visiting friends and neighbors, etc. Good times really. I pick her up every day at 4 o'clock or a little before, and G does not get home until 6:30pm. This gives me over two hours of solo responsibility for entertaining the baby. This used to be easy because of the above listed outdoor activities and her being a mostly immobile, little blobish baby girl. Sitting on my lap on the porch swing and reading the occasional book was really all the added entertainment needed in addition to our outdoor rec. Oh, but the times they are a changin'! Playing outside is out of the picture most days now, though you can that believe any day 50 degrees or above and we will be at the park (maybe even in the high 40's if we bundle up!). And Ms. Em is an expert crawler and non-stop cruiser. She thinks she can walk, and needs constant play and exploration opportunities yet my options are more limited than before. Oh, and did I mention that Mommy is a generally, low-energy thirtysomething who lacks in creativity when tired? Poor Em! I try to combat against these obstacles by structuring our time somewhat. We have days when we visit family and friends or have visitors, which are really nice. Em loves to visit and so do I. But we also have our Mommy-Daughter days, which are truly special but also times when I occasionally lose steam. Em has pretty intense needs for stimulation right now, and if you don't keep her occupied she just wants to get into trouble! She tries to mess with the dog (poor Bobby!), fall on her head, eat the mail, lick the glass while looking out the front door, etc. So sometimes field trips are in order! Em still has no idea about half of the stuff that exists in this world, so I figure it is all pretty interesting to her. I can take her along on errands and tell her about what we see, and she loves all people so there is always that point of interest. Sometimes our trips are more fun. Today I'm going to take her to see the new photography exhibit at the UK Art Museum. I know she is a little young to have any true artistic appreciation for it, but she loves photographs right now. Especially photos of people, and this is an exhibit of rural life which should satisfy this artistic inclination of hers. Last time I took her there I got some strange looks, and she was much quieter then. I am curious to see how long we last before she starts squealing or trying to lick the displays! I'll let you know how it goes. Actually, you'll know it went poorly if I report that our next field trip was to a demolition derby or chainsaw factory instead of a museum.