Thursday, May 27, 2010

A Week in the Life

Monday is our down day. We have no formal activities, so we usually take our time eating breakfast, lounge around, and then head out for some errands. Always, after the dry cleaners, we walk down to the pet store. After 30 minutes of looking for a green fish and "high 5-ing" the kittens, I was eager to get home for lunch. I had something new planned. A few homeschooling sites I frequent had inspired me to try Muffin Tin Monday. Here's how it looked:
Tuesday, our regular library, had a sign language instructor come. The Salad sat and signed their way through Old MacDonald. It was a little cold outside, but they wanted to have a picnic. So I opened the back of the car and we ate right on the floor of our minivan.

Wednesday, our usual playgroup planned a field trip to Smith Playhouse. It's an awesome old mansion, filled with toys and exciting finds. Except it was rainy, so it was crowded. And loud. My kids aren't big fans of crowded. Or loud. After M melted down 3 times and A once during lunch, another mom took pity on me and suggested burning off some steam on one of the many playgrounds or the giant wooden slide. "Yes," I thought, "they just need some fresh air." Boy, was I wrong. These pictures are misleading because it looks like we are all having fun. Except A wasn't. Having any fun. Instead of fun, she had 47 random meltdowns, stating her toes hurt her and she missed her friends Peter and Billy. So on Wednesday, after 2 hours of crying, I was that mom, who leaves a place, flushed, sweating, near tears herself. Holding the hand of one crying kid, with a second crying kid clinging to her neck like a monkey, with the third crying kid pulling up the rear, wailing she's "Frustrated! She doesn't want to leave. A! Please stop crying so we can stay! You are making me very sad! Very mad!"
Once I got back to the car, I remembered that I had followed our friend Amy there, and now was stranded in West Philly. After a few stretches and deep breathes, I pulled myself together, said a silent prayer and drove off in search of anything that looked familiar. A few right turns later, we stumbled past the Zoo, so I was able to make it home safely.

Thursday, we hung out at home in the morning. But I got antsy being in the house on such a beautiful day. So while the Salad took quiet time, I packed our afternoon snack for an outing. I piled everyone in the car and drove into downtown Media. After a quick Trader Joe's stop, we headed down to the tiny square in the middle of town. There's a small fountain, murals on the buildings, lots of dogs to gawk at, and a foot pedal that when pressed shoots water into your face. A perfect setting for eating grapes and throwing pennies. Friday, we went to our second gymnastics class of an 8 week course. Halfway through class, M got distracted when a UPS truck pulled up alongside the window. S kept checking to make sure I was still there, then played it off as a wave. A pays close attention to the teacher and makes sure to do everything just right. She's going to be an excellent student when she's introduced to formal education.
Saturday, was Peter's 3rd birthday party at the park. Despite swings and cupcakes, the highlight of the day was throwing soft pretzels off a bridge to the fish waiting below. Although the highlight for me was watching 15 preschoolers tear into a pinata. That poor, decorative baseball didn't stand a chance.We took advantage of a member morning stroll at the Zoo on Sunday morning. At noon, after 3 hours of horseback riding, carousel riding, swan boat riding, train riding, tractor climbing, goat feeding and face painting, M had a massive break down. It went something like this "I want mommy! I want daddy! I don't have to pee-pee! I don't want lunch! I want to eat lunch by the polar bears! I want my snack! No! I want the peanuts! I don't like these peanuts!" There was just no pleasing him. So we left. In retrospect, perhaps we over did it?
He regrouped after quiet time and we spent a peaceful afternoon planting our tomatoes. And playing with our beach balls. And squirting each other with the hose. And painting our bathtub with shaving cream.

Dude, maybe we do too much.

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