B is for Books!

We just got back and you can tell by looking at us that the girls had a great time. Ash Lee is covered in purple juice and markers (I've anti-stain-stuffed it so they should come out), Scout's hair looks like it hasn't been brushed in a couple of weeks, Sydney looks a little wilty from sweating and I look about 3...maybe 4 years older.

First things first, STORY TIME! We made it to story time just as they were starting the first book. I had such high hopes for this. I thought the "Professional Storyteller" would not just read a boring book in a monotone. I thought the "craft" would be something kids could actually do. I thought the snack would be something semi-healthy. I thought the "Singing Time" would not be the "Professional Story Teller" shuffling through a book of finger plays and trying to remember how 'Rain Rain Go Away' goes. April Fools! Oh. Wait. It's April 2nd. The girls loved it though. Which gives me a ray of hope that my inept juggling of circle time looks slightly more graceful in their non-jaded cynic-free cute l'il eyeballs.

We lost Scout, found her again (no it wasn't that easy or that trauma free but it's over and I'll pay for therapy later) and headed over to the play place.

Someone needs to write their doctorate on the social dynamics of a mall play place. The disheveled veteran mothers in their yoga pants, the hyper-vigilant new moms with their constant look of panic, the socially starved Chatty-Kathies, the worn out grandmas, the awkward, out-of-place grandpas...and then the kids. 4 year olds rule the roost in these things. They are the oldest kids (during the school day anyway) and they have almost super-human large motor skills (they can climb toddler sized steps in a single bound!). The 3 year olds don't care what-the-heck anyone else is doing, they just gotta dance! The 2 year olds are frustrated that their slippery socks won't let them climb as fast as they want to and the babies...the poor babies. I spent a good portion of my time up-righting the poor tipped-over babies.

It was great to see all 3 girls really shine and let their alpha-female personalities come out. They all 3 had these troops that followed them around, up the slide, over the turtle, dancing at the mirror. I don't think they noticed what a fan club they each had but I was proud of how kind and patient they were with the kids around them.

Then to lunch! I brought sack lunches but the capri suns were woefully inadequate. Luckily we were right next to a Jamba Juice. Banana Berry is really stainy. Sorry about that.

Off to the library! The girls played in the dollhouse and each of them put on a puppet show for the other two. We picked out books (Sydney: Curious George, Scout: How to be a Princess, Ash Lee: Wide Mouthed Frog). I picked up a book on parenting and all the children's books I had on hold.

Now we're back. The girls are playing some game that involves an imaginary Scout and going to the store.

Field Trip

The girls and I agree that we need more Field Trips in our lives.

Wednesday is International Children's Book Day and I thought that was definitely cause for an outing.

If it's ok with everybody's moms and dads we'll be heading out to the Clackamas Mall Barnes & Noble for their storytime at 10am. Then we'll head over to the Play Center in the mall until we get bored. I'll bring a sack lunch to eat while we're there. After that we'll head to the library and let each girl check out a book to keep at my house during the week.

That should be a pretty good field trip...AND it's free! WOOT!

We're Baaaack!

Our trip to the Portland Children's Museum was a big hit. It had it's high points and low points, it's sticky points and its sweaty points, but all-in-all, it was a triumph. Here's a blow-by-blow:

We left around 10:30 but by the time I stopped to get gas we were just too hungry to go on. I busted out the PB&J and the kids went to town.

When we got there it was raining with a mix of snow. We ran in and quickly realized that we weren't the only one to have the clever idea of going to the Children's Museum on a soggy Spreak Break Wednesday. The place was packed to the brim with tiny kids suffering from some serious Ritalin withdrawal and their pampering lumbering grandparents. It was like a commercial for Playskool meets Depends. Very strange.


The kids thought the building section was a little dull. Ash Lee liked the hats and the older kids liked running to the top level to bang down on the portholes at us.


The boys ran off to find the digging pit while the girls explored the medical area. There was an ambulance with flashing lights, a working receptionist area and anatomically correct baby dolls. The girls found a little fold out couch and got comfy.


We made it in time to "Jam with Johnny." We sang Wheels on the Bus, If You're Happy & You Know It, I've Been Working On The Railroad, Miss Mary Mack and many other public domain songs ...along with some Original Works (available on CD in the gift shop). It was...long. It only lasted half an hour but Johnny managed to make it feel like a whole week of wholesome family entertainment. We even had to take a potty break. The kids really liked it though and the best part was when Ash Lee & Scout got up and danced in front of everyone...they did the Robot. It was RAD.


Next we went to the Twilight Area where the kids colored with LEDs onto glow painted walls. It was really cool. I took a video so you could get a better idea of what was going on. The flash makes it look bright and shiny but it's actually really dark.

The video is Scout and Ash Lee. Scout says "We are bad bad children, we are coloring on the walls" and Ash Lee says "I'm coloring a picture for my mommy."

The kids all got into the trees for a picture but Ash Lee decided that was a little too dark for her. She went over to the theater section and got her make up started while we finished up the tree pictures.

At this point we lost Ash Lee. I was drawing the butterfly on Williams face (his choice I swear) when Scout took off back toward the trees. Troy went after her and when he got back seconds later, Ash Lee was no where to be seen. Talk about panic time. We were both grabbing kids and running in opposite directions. Troy was giving orders to Random and Savannah who were splitting up and I was YELLING her name (lost child time is not the time for worrying about causing a ruckus). The staff at the Children's Museum was AWESOME. A lady came up to me with a radio and said, "How can I help?" I described Ash Lee (all the while still running around calling her name). She radioed all the areas and followed me around getting more descriptions. All the areas radioed back to her and she was this little command central checking off all the areas ("Clay area clear" "Water Area Clear"). They found her just around the corner from where we were on a stage with a group of other kids having a blast. Troy and I recovered from our cardiac arrest and thanked those people who were so fast. The whole thing lasted about a minute from the time we looked up and didn't see her to having her back with us. After that we gave Savannah the job of holding Ash Lee's hand and Random the job of holding Scout's hand.


Next we went to the digging area (only one exit!) and let them dig around in the rubber chips. They had their painted faces at this point.


Finally, we ate the rest of our lunch at the snack area. Everyone got to pick their own drink. The kids were so well behaved. I took them one at a time to pick out their drink while other kids (aforementioned ADD kids) were running around pushing the buttons and the change return (on our vending machine while we were trying to order and their grandparents just watched with this haggard expression), they just waited patiently and were joyfully grateful when they got their treasured drink.

It stopped snowing by the time we left but it was still drizzling. The ride home was uneventful and now the kids are watching Pete's Dragon and eating crackers...I think I need a nap!

P is for Pickles

We went to the store this morning. I needed to grab a couple things from the dollar store so we went there first. Dollar stores are MADE for 3 and 4 year old girls. Everything was AMAZING to them. Pink fluffy things leftover from valentine's day, cheap plastic shiny mirrors, hot pink lipstick, flashlights, candy...it was overwhelming to them.

We stopped by JoAnn's to use their potty (this time it was for me :-P) but we ended up walking through the store finding things that started with P. There were huge bolts of pink and purple fabric, cascades of purple and pink flowers, piggy banks, paint, pails and pictures. Plenty to see although our favorite thing was walking down the wind chime aisle (P is for Pipes) and picking out which ones we liked best. Noisy free fun with clean bathrooms...does it get any better?

Next came WinCo which has Ps everywhere. I had packed a lunch for the girls so they sat in the cart (Ash Lee in front, Scout in back) and pointed out the big Produce sign, potatoes and pork. We were a little confused for a while through dairy...B sounds very similar to P so they pointed out the butter and bananas on the yogurt cups. Frozen foods was better...popsicles and pizza!

We were almost done when the girls started to get thirsty. There were old people walking around carrying cups of juice. I'm not sure where they got it because I couldn't find any free sample tables. Maybe it was just Free Juice for the Elderly Day at Winco. We hurried through the rest...past the pickles, pretzels, bread (close! bread starts with b) and got in the way back of a long long line. Luckily, a new checker came by and invited us to be the first in her line. WOOHOO!

The checkout went ok until Ash Lee saw a bug flying around. The bug was probably 10 feet up in the air, against the far wall and so small I didn't see it for a while but it was still pretty traumatic. Since at WinCo you bag your own groceries I couldn't distract her very well (although trust me I tried...much to the girls' embarrassment). The thing that worked was to have Scout jump up and down between the cart and the fly shooing it away. The fly didn't even notice but it was enough for Ash Lee. Yay for Scout and her Fly Shooing!

The only hitch with the ride home was the girls fighting over who was going to hold the middle seat belt...yep...you heard me...who was going to HOLD THE MIDDLE SEAT BELT. There's no way I was that weird when I was little. I buckled in the Imaginary Girl and that appeased them both.

We're back home, food is put away, everybody's had drinks and now we're off to do circle time!