Children's Museum

Merz and I bought a three-pack of passes to the Gateway Children's Museum close to a year ago. They were a really great deal, we've just put off using them. Now that we're getting so close to their November expiration, we're trying to pack the trips downtown in. I haven't taken Kaeden to the museum in probably close to a year. He's three now, which means his admission is nine bucks. Add that to my nine bucks to merely supervise, and you can see why using all the gas to get downtown, then pay $18 for my kid to play in a crowded germ-infested playland isn't too high on my list of things to do. And we all know how much I love my lists of things to do.

But for $5 for both Kaeden and I to get in.... I'm game! Merz and I decided to go early in order to maintain the napping schedules of our little fellas who would be joining us. Sure, Carter and Cameron can't play, but their kinda attached to thier mommas. Come to find out, 10 a.m. is the BEST TIME EVER to go to the Children's Museum. I thought it was going to be crowded since it was a holiday weekend, but we practically had the place to ourselves. I don't know if it's because the kids are older and understand more of what's going on, or if it has to do with the fact that they could actually explore each of the activities without a thousand other kids swarming them, but I think they had more fun this time around.

Even though it was an all around more pleasant experience at the museum than we ever had, there still had to be that one kid that just annoys the living hell out of me. I'm looking at you pre-teen who pretty much ruined Kaeden and Jane's experience on the horse while you acted like a wild bull [? I'm grasping at straws at what you were really supposed to be] trying to knock it down. Oh hi mom of this kid.... It's called Ritalin. Get some. That or a tranquilizer. Really. Either will do.

Moving on.

Can I tell you how much I love that these two voluntarily hold each other's hands? It's like our dreams of them falling in love and forever making me and Merz sisters is slowly coming true.

I kid. It took Janer awhile to really warm up to Kaeden. I don't know. Like 2.5 years. Kaeden always wanted to hug Jane and hold her hand. Jane would just give him a look like, "Dude. It's called personal space. Learn it." But now I think she's pretty happy to call him her friend.

Not gonna lie. This pic of the kids walking around could have very well gone at the end of the post as well. Because it might have taken Meredith and I roughly 30 minutes to find the car when we left.  We may or may not have paid attention to where we parked, what elevators and escalators we took to arrive at our destination, and we may or may not have been totally convinced that her car had been stolen. But for the record.... I'm like 99.99% sure the car was moved to a different parking level while we were in the museum. I'm just saying.

Here the kids are playing with the ball/air thing-a-ma-jig.

True story. The kids practically had the place to themselves, and what do they do? Decide to play in the toddler area. You know... just sitting on a boat and a giant goose.  In revising this post, I now realize it's a giant swan.  You say tomato, I say toe-matoe.

Ha! I love how Kaeden is holding onto Jane in this pic. It's like he's afraid of breaking some code of conduct for touching her sides.

Once we coaxed them out of the small toddler area, they had fun in the water area.

Ahem. Kaeden. THIS is how you smile for a picture. Is she not the cutest?!?!?

They had fun on the farm...

[Minus the raging bull],

But the absolute cutest was the two of them playing in the supermarket.

I don't think they've ever even had a chance to come near those registers or shopping carts before.

My absolute favorite part of our experience though? When Jane and Kaeden saw an employee retreive one of the food items for the supermarket from the water playland, and then take it to the hand dryers to dry it off before returning it to the store.

So next thing you know... Jane and Kaeden take some vegetables from the produce section and proceed to dry it. Even the employees had a good laugh. Which by the way... the employees at this museum renewed my faith in the youth of today. They are so freaking cute with all the children running around. Every one I saw working there really impressed me. If I worked there, I think I would pull my hair out about an hour in. Actually I'd be fired probably 3 seconds after I kicked raging bull boy in the teeth. Who's to say really.

If you're wondering what the other two children did during this outing. Well, Cameron slept, and Carter hung out. Literally. Hanging like this is his favorite position to be in. It's really weird.



When we were leaving and Kaeden was crying that he wanted to stay, I was able to tell him that we'd come back soon and actually not be lying about it. And that my friends made me feel like a good mom for the day.  Sort of.

The End.