The Zoo
I feel so much pressure this week to do something fun with the kids. My husband left early Monday morning and returns Friday afternoon and while he's gone, I have the car. And the kids. Normally, I only have the kids, so I wanted to take advantage of the situation and seize the day.
Only two things stand in my way. Okay, three things. The first obstacle is DaycareKid. It's tough to go anywhere with a toddler, but add an additional toddler and truly, you have double the trouble. Or triple the trouble. For instance, there is no way I'd take him to the ocean or up to Mount Rainier. I just couldn't. The second obstacle is nap-time. Nap-time is sacred around here. So, we can't be gone for longer than three hours. We must return home by noon. We can't go after nap-time, either, because that's when DaycareKid's mom comes to pick him up. These two obstacles alone leave me pretty well boxed in.
And then, admittedly, the last obstacle is one of my own making. The last obstacle is my inertia. An object at rest stays at rest, right? That's me. It's just easier to stay put than it is to muster up the momentum to get us all moving forward in the appropriate direction. It's easier to just watch The Wiggles, then go outside to play, then watch Sesame Street while playing in the family room, then having lunch, then watching more Wiggles before nap-time. Taking a toddler anywhere is like plopping a live grenade in your purse and just hoping no one jostles you. Too many things can nudge a toddler into a full-blown tantrum. It's a chance I am loathe to take.
But this morning, I propelled us out of our normal orbit and off we went to the zoo. We left before 9:30 a.m., which seems like a minor miracle since I didn't decide we should go until 8:30 a.m.
The zoo is on the smallish side. They've just redone a habitat featuring tigers, but my kids loved watching the elephants eat hay and spray dirt all over themselves. We spent a good deal of time watching sharks swimming by in the South Pacific aquarium. The bigger kids loved the dark tanks full of jellyfish and mysterious unfamiliar fish in the lower aquarium, but Babygirl was not so fond of those eery, spooky places, so we hurried through that part.
Half-way through our adventure, Babygirl decided she would no longer ride in her stroller. She wanted to walk and push her stroller herself. So, she did. Fortunately, the zoo wasn't crowded or she'd have been bashing into people every two minutes. Thus, we entirely missed the polar bears and the penguins and scarcely glanced at the beluga whales and--my favorite--the grotesque, pinkish, gigantic walrus. He floated between two submerged stones, as still as a stone himself, but for the flaring of his nostrils and the flickering of his whiskers. Normally, he does a ballet around and around his tank.
It wasn't until we left the zoo and I buckled Babygirl into her carseat--overriding her wishes to do it herself--that she screamed and cried. I thought that was pretty lucky since I had five kids with me and anything--literally anything--could have gone wrong at any step along the way. My big kids were very, very cooperative and helpful. Some days they are like that. I should fall on my knees and thank God.
We went through a McDonald's drive-thru on the way home, thus accomplishing two goals: feeding the kids and keeping the little ones awake. When we got home, it was just about nap-time.
And during nap-time today, I was a responsible grown-up and I balanced the checkbook. I know. I should get a medal of some sort. Or a brownie. Or a day off.
Only two things stand in my way. Okay, three things. The first obstacle is DaycareKid. It's tough to go anywhere with a toddler, but add an additional toddler and truly, you have double the trouble. Or triple the trouble. For instance, there is no way I'd take him to the ocean or up to Mount Rainier. I just couldn't. The second obstacle is nap-time. Nap-time is sacred around here. So, we can't be gone for longer than three hours. We must return home by noon. We can't go after nap-time, either, because that's when DaycareKid's mom comes to pick him up. These two obstacles alone leave me pretty well boxed in.
And then, admittedly, the last obstacle is one of my own making. The last obstacle is my inertia. An object at rest stays at rest, right? That's me. It's just easier to stay put than it is to muster up the momentum to get us all moving forward in the appropriate direction. It's easier to just watch The Wiggles, then go outside to play, then watch Sesame Street while playing in the family room, then having lunch, then watching more Wiggles before nap-time. Taking a toddler anywhere is like plopping a live grenade in your purse and just hoping no one jostles you. Too many things can nudge a toddler into a full-blown tantrum. It's a chance I am loathe to take.
But this morning, I propelled us out of our normal orbit and off we went to the zoo. We left before 9:30 a.m., which seems like a minor miracle since I didn't decide we should go until 8:30 a.m.
The zoo is on the smallish side. They've just redone a habitat featuring tigers, but my kids loved watching the elephants eat hay and spray dirt all over themselves. We spent a good deal of time watching sharks swimming by in the South Pacific aquarium. The bigger kids loved the dark tanks full of jellyfish and mysterious unfamiliar fish in the lower aquarium, but Babygirl was not so fond of those eery, spooky places, so we hurried through that part.
Half-way through our adventure, Babygirl decided she would no longer ride in her stroller. She wanted to walk and push her stroller herself. So, she did. Fortunately, the zoo wasn't crowded or she'd have been bashing into people every two minutes. Thus, we entirely missed the polar bears and the penguins and scarcely glanced at the beluga whales and--my favorite--the grotesque, pinkish, gigantic walrus. He floated between two submerged stones, as still as a stone himself, but for the flaring of his nostrils and the flickering of his whiskers. Normally, he does a ballet around and around his tank.
It wasn't until we left the zoo and I buckled Babygirl into her carseat--overriding her wishes to do it herself--that she screamed and cried. I thought that was pretty lucky since I had five kids with me and anything--literally anything--could have gone wrong at any step along the way. My big kids were very, very cooperative and helpful. Some days they are like that. I should fall on my knees and thank God.
We went through a McDonald's drive-thru on the way home, thus accomplishing two goals: feeding the kids and keeping the little ones awake. When we got home, it was just about nap-time.
And during nap-time today, I was a responsible grown-up and I balanced the checkbook. I know. I should get a medal of some sort. Or a brownie. Or a day off.
posted by Melodee at Wednesday, July 21, 2004
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