We are lucky to live in a town that has a lot to offer toddlers & preschoolers. A new Children's Museum just re-opened in our area and we purchased a membership. The kids LOVE it there & I do too. It is a fun & safe enviroment for the kids to explore. However, going with my three kids is CHAOS! Our last visit went something like this:
We arrived a couple of minutes before it opens at 9am. I always plan to go right when the doors open to maximize our playing time before it gets overly crowded. I get everyone out of the van & Bree immediately starts running towards the door. Eli tries to dart off as well but I don't trust him to stay out of the street so I hang on tightly to his hand. He gets angry with me & refuses to use his legs. I scoop down and pick him up with one arm while carrying Toby's carseat in the other. When we get inside the door Breena & Eli immediately strip off their coats, throw them on the floor, & run over to the craft area. I check us in & before I even pick up their coats I look over and see Eli by a sensory table full of water. I utter the words, "Eli NO!"- but it's too late. He nearly dives his entire upper body into the water. His shirt is sopping wet. And I left the diaper bag in the car. I ponder whether or not it's worth getting everyone's coats back on & trecking back to the van to retrieve a fresh shirt or just let it dry- I opt for the latter. Fortunately there are many volunteer staff members that are always willing to lend a hand. After just two visits they already knew Eli by name (why is it that the trouble makers' names always stand out?!?). There is one volunteer imparticular that has really taken a liking to Eli & she swooped in to keep an eye on him long enough for me to get Toby out of his carseat. I tried to distract Eli from the water table & get him interested in something else. It wasn't working. A few minutes later he yelled "splash!" and water flew all over Breena & another little kid. Eli was banned from the water table. Breena had started building with some giant foam blocks they have. By this time the place was really starting to fill up. Breena is extremely well behaved there which is nice that I don't need to be by her side the whole time. A group of boys were alway building & kept taking blocks from her- their mothers were too busy drinking their lattes and gossiping to notice. She went to grab a different block because hers had been taken & she fell. She was wimpering & so I helped her up & ruled out any injuries. I turned to check on Eli only to find him chewing on a rubber xylophone mallet. I quickly went over to get it out of his mouth (Toby is strapped on my chest in the Baby Bjorn the entire time we are there). Eli & I headed in to the 'farm' room to play with farm animals. I thought Bree was right behind us but when I looked she was not there. I found her in the 'zoo' room right next door. She was sitting alone on a bench crying. Talk about breaking a mama's heart! She said her finger hurt when she fell but I think her feelings had been hurt that others weren't playing nice with her. With a few kisses & tickles her owie disapeared & she had cheered up. By this time Eli was bored in the farm room & had placed three giant stuffed dogs into a wooded stroller & was RUNNING as fast as he could down a hallway. Yikes! I caught him just before he plowed over a little girl who appeared to have recently learned to walk. Breena was off building blocks by the boys who wouldn't share again. Eli had ditched his shoes somewhere in the room in order to play with some dress up heels. I hunted them down inside a play bus. I had had enough & was ready to leave. We always stay for one hour when we go- and no matter how stressful it is I force myself to stay. It's good for the kids. It HAD to have been close to a hour by now. I checked the time on my phone; 9:15am. It had only been 15 MINUTES! Ugh! We did stick around until 10am. I ended up taking a nap with the kids in the afternoon! What an exhausting trip!
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