It's raining, it's pouring

So, I'm stumped. I've only been off of work a month and a half (if you don't count summer vacation) and already I feel like I'm running out of ideas for how to keep two active little ones entertained. When it was sunny out, we would go to parks, go jogging, play in the front yard, whatever. Now that it's raining, we're all starting to climb the walls a bit. We're tired of play dough, blocks, cars, coloring, cooking and keeping the TV turned OFF has become a constant struggle. So, my question is: what is something you have done with kids that A) doesn't cost much (any?) money, or B) doesn't require the use of an outdoor facility?

Gas prices are starting to come down a bit...I saw it at $2.85 a gallon and got really excited. Then I remembered that $2.85 by any normal standards is still expensive. So I'm trying to stay close to home.

Just to illustrate how frustrating it is for the kids to be sitting around the house, as I'm typing this, Bella brought me her shoes (although she's only wearing a onesie) and started whining and pointing at the door. I put her shoes on and went back to typing. Next, I hear more whining and then I look down and she's holding my tennis shoes (I'm still in my pajamas). I think she's trying to tell me something. Now if only I knew what it was...

In other news, we went to the zoo yesterday, dressed in our costumes for Zoo Boo. One of my favorite moments was when we were walking up to the aquarium and Carter looked up and said "wow! Look at all that shampoo!" Perplexed, I started looking for what Carter could have deemed to look remotely like shampoo, and realized, we were walking through a forest of bamboo.

Bamboo, shampoo...it's all about the same :)

The not-so-golden arches

McDonald's is forcing me to question my faith in humanity.

We took the kids there today after a doctor's appointment. It was a shrewd move, I know. Your kids are upset because they just got shots? Why not give them the gift of childhood obesity to calm their nerves? That'll clear up their clean bill of health in no time. But I digress...

We sit at a table inside the play area, which is PACKED. Kids are running around like maniacs, screaming. Parents are having casual conversation, completely ignoring their kids. At one point, I look up and there is a little boy (probably 2-3 yrs old) cracking up laughing as he is pushing someone else's baby around in a high chair. I'm sure that's what the wheels on the high chair were intended for, right? He was running full-kilter around the play toy, ramming the high chair into various objects and people. The baby was laughing, but all I could think is am I the only one seeing this??? Why aren't there two sets of parents jumping up to stop this inevitable train wreck??? And the kid just kept picking up speed. Finally, I see one parent, apparently the mom of the boy doing the pushing, look up and smile and say "not too fast now."

Seriously?

Next thing I know, the lady next to me starts SCREAMING at her kid. Now, I'm not perfect. I've lost my temper on many occasions when pushed hard enough. And I only have two kids. This woman had at least four. But this was exceeding the bounds of decency. I was already on edge, so I looked up without even thinking and then quickly looked away without making eye contact, instantly recognizing that this was not the right move. I could tell that she had seen my reaction though. The lady started screaming even louder at her kid(s), "Now look what you've done! That lady over there is giving me dirty looks like I'm some kind of trailer trash or something!"

Amazing. Although kind of funny that one would jump to that conclusion. Sounds kind of like a guilty conscience to me.

It kind of made me almost wish I had gotten a dirty look in. I don't know why I even go to McDonald's any more. I just walk out feeling dirty. And guilty. And maybe even a little bit angry.

From now on, I'm only going to eat at Burger King. (Just kidding).

Naptime Blues

I knew this day was coming, I just never thought it would come so soon. It seems that both of my kids have officially sworn off naps. Now, Carter, I get. He's four and spent a year attending preschool during his naptime, so his naps have been inconsistent, at best. But Bella??? She's only 18 months. We got a good solid three years of dependable napping out of Carter before he threw in the towel. I remember reading somewhere that sleep patterns go all haywire at around 18 months, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's just a phase.

So it is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I bid a fond farewell to my daily two hours of peace and tranquility. Naptime, you have been a dear friend to me for so long now. You will be sorely missed. As will my sanity.

That is all.

Runner's highs and lows

As I've mentioned before, we have started taking long walks each night after dinner. These walks have turned into jogs as of lately and, while I've never considered myself a jogging type person, I've actually kind of enjoyed it. Yesterday I bought new running shoes (I won't even tell you how old my last pair was) and even got the Nike+ chip that syncs with my ipod so we can time ourselves and keep track of distances.

Our nightly jogs have been so successful that today we went to the park and I decided to go for a little run with the kids. Bad idea. I put Bella in the stroller and had Carter run along side of me, like usual. Neither of them wanted to have anything to do with it. Carter didn't want to walk or run, Bella didn't want the stroller, but didn't want to walk either. Halfway through the trails, I was pushing Carter in the stroller, carrying Bella and doing my best power walk. Not for the exercise, but simply just to get the heck out of there and back to the playground.

I've been looking for a double jogging stroller on craigslist, but they're so expensive. If anyone knows someone who is looking to get rid of one, keep me in mind.

A picnicking we'll go

Ok, the kids looked nonplussed, but they had a good time, I swear!

Today I was feeling about 90% (ish) back to normal. Then my pain medication wore off. Now, I'm thinking I overdid it just a wee bit. Hey, my surgery was a whole two days ago, why would I not want to run out and enjoy a full day picnic/family outing???

Dave's company had a picnic at Remlinger Farms today, out near Carnation, so we loaded up the car and made the trip out there. There was a hay ride, pony rides, a bouncer, good food...we had a lot of fun.

I had my new video camera in hand all day and put started playing around with some of the features, so here's the resulting movie. It's kinda goofy, but fun. Enjoy :)

Busy Day

Today was a busy day. We went to my cousin's wedding at Lake Wilderness. It was a beautiful wedding. Lake Wilderness is where Dave and I got married and this was our first time there since our own wedding 6 years ago. And wouldn't you know I made a wrong turn and nearly got lost :) It was really neat having the kids out there and telling them stories about the day when we got married. That spawned this gem of a conversation between Carter and I:

Carter: What's a wedding?
Me: It's where two people get married.
Carter: Am I getting married?
Me: Not until you're 40.
Carter: Are you married?
Me: Yes...
Carter: (confused) Who are you married to??? (by now people around us are starting to chuckle)
Me: I'm married to Daddy.
Carter: What about Bella? Who's she married to?
Me: No one. Not ever. She's becoming a nun.
Carter: Oh, ok.

The ceremony was outside, on the lawn by the lake and the reception was held inside. The kids wasted no time whatsoever breaking in the dance floor...




This went on for a really long time, receiving random bursts of applause from thoroughly entertained onlookers . A little later, they settled down and grabbed a bite to eat...



















Next, it was off to a birthday party at the Little Gym in Renton. Carter has been watching the Olympics, so he has been counting down the minutes until this gymnastics party.

By the time we got home, all of us were totally wiped out. I put Bella down for a nap, in hopes that I might be able to get some rest as well. I woke up 3 hours later and she was still sleeping. That was 5 hours ago and still not a peep. I have a feeling it's going to be an early morning for us tomorrow...

I wanna live on Sesame Street!

We have a morning ritual at our house. The little ones crawl into bed with me and we turn on cartoons (generally because I'm too tired to actually get my lazy butt out of bed). This may happen anywhere between 5 and 7 AM. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, it might even be 8. Lately our morning show of choice, while Mommy is getting her bearings, has been Sesame Street. I loved watching Sesame Street when I was little, but I don't ever remember it being such a hip place to be. Lately I've woken up to scenes like this:




and this:



Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? No, seriously...