Stay-cation: Day 6 - The Reveal from Day 5

I might have implied that our entire "vacation" was a "stay-cation", but we actually took the kids to Chattanooga on Thursday and came home today.  It's only 90 minutes away, so it is still sort of a "stay-cation", but now that we are home, I thought I'd reveal some of what we have been doing:
The pictures from yesterday's post were from last night at Coolidge Park along the riverfront in Chattanooga and just about 1/2 mile from the small house that we rented.  The house worked out nicely for us though we have learned that bringing a pressure gate (didn't have it) and the door knob covers (had three) is advisable when traveling to a new place with three curious two-and-a-half year olds.   I also brought along two new toys that proved to be quite the entertainment when we first arrived and had to unload the car and set up their pack-n-plays.
Coolidge Park is just amazing with fountains, a HUGE grassy area, great parking (and cheap rates) and lots to see!  We spent both Thursday evening and Friday evening there and the kids really had a great time. 
We had dinner at the Greenlife Market after our play time at the fountains and the grassy area.  The kids did pretty well, though Emma was struggling (as was the case for most of the 48 hours that we were gone).  They loved spending time with their cousins who were really great at wearing them out!  Aunt Marsha took them on a run around the market while we got the table cleared and the car ready to go again. 
Despite a temperamental Emma, we still decided to brave the Tennessee Aquarium for the river side of the exhibit this morning (we did the ocean side a few weeks ago).  Thier cousins were really looking forward to the chance to see the Aquarium (and we now have annual passes), so we thought we'd give it a shot.  She did pretty well once we got there and got moving and did enjoy seeing all of the fish and turtles.  Kendall soaked up the sights sticking close to her cousins for most of the visit.  And Clark was pretty enchanted by the fish as well, though he was most impressed with the alligators which lead to a five-minute presentation of "Alligator, Alligator....Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp." 
We headed back to K-town around lunchtime and stopped for a quick bite on our way.  The kids had a rough time getting home (and so did the parents) because of the long days, short nights and lack of naps during the last 48 hours, but they are now sleeping somewhat peacefully and hope that they will stay that way until tomorrow morning. : )
I'll post more pictures from our quick trip again tomorrow.  I highly recommend Chattanooga for anyone with children because the Aquarium, Creative Discovery Museum and the parks and water areas are AWESOME!

Stay-cation: Day 5

The kids had some fun outdoor playtime with their cousins, David and Marshall today and this evening.  They obviously loved the football and mini-soccer ball.  I get the feeling that there are lots of sporting events in my future.  If you know me very well at all, you know that isn't normally high on my list of things I would love to be doing, but I think it all changes when it is your own kids, right?  Suddenly you aren't hot and sweaty because you are so interested in the face-paced game of t-ball or soccer that you just can't think about anything else, RIGHT????
I didn't get a chance to review all of the (hundreds of) pics I took today, so there are many more to come.  I tended to select one and then would find another that was similar that I liked as well and posted both.  I also need to do some editing, but wanted to get to bed soon as it has been a LONGGGGGG day!
Stay tuned.....

Stay-cation: Day 4

I will be posting about our stay-cation adventure later, but for now I thought I'd add a couple of pictures from Kendall's outing with Auntie Karen on Wednesday.  They hit story time at the library and did a craft project (lighthouse) and then spent some time at Auntie Karen's house checking out the blog.

Stay-cation: Day 3

Those are shots of the inaugural ride in the toddler trailer.  Kendall had an outing with Auntie Karen this morning and our super-cool sitter, A, took the remaining monsters to her parent's house for lunch, playtime in the kiddie pool and, most importantly, a ride in the toddler trailer.  They loved it!  Auntie Karen dropped K off at A's house and then Daddy rode over to bring her home in the other toddler trailer.  She is also a huge fan.  Now if we can just get Mommy out there on a bike towing those kids!  They both made it look really easy, but the sweat told me otherwise.

Stay-cation: Day 2

We had another productive day with a little relaxation thrown in for good measure.  Troy did an amazing job fixing my little boo-boo on the van.  Yesterday I looked like a distracted driver who has no sense of the size of her vehicle.  Today it isn't quite that bad.  As the kids would say "Good job Daddy!"  :)  Since he did such an awesome job, I suggested that he use his Valentine's gift from me and go get a massage (he gave me the same thing and I'll have to get an appointment scheduled as well).  I met Auntie Karen to do a little Summer 2011 shopping for the kiddos.  Have I mentioned how hard it is to shop for them?  First of all, they seemed to have sort of stalled in their growth.  Plus I have two girls who are completely different sizes and one has long torso and short legs, while the other has longer legs.  Anyway, it's getting harder and harder to predict what clothing sizes will work for them in the next season, let alone the next year!
I returned home to continue working on filing, organizing and eliminating stuff!  I have almost filled a second 13-gallon trash bag of shredded papers!  I had paperwork from 2007 that had never been filed or sorted because of my pregnancy and then the kids arrived, so that has all just been piling up in storage bins, except for things that are absolutely necessary (like backup for filing tax returns).  I've been denying that it was quite that bad, but when I found 2007 bank statements and other receipts I knew I was in trouble.
Anyway, we also took a family trip to Target this evening to buy the kids (and Daddy) bike helmets.  I already got mine the other day, but everyone needs to be there in person to be sure that you get the right fit.  Daddy also put together the second bike trailer and is working on installing the pieces that will hook them to our bikes.  I still can't say if we will get the kids out in the trailers in the next few days, but we'll see.  They did have a lot of fun spinning the tires and I took Emma on a make-shift rickshaw type ride in the little trailer. 
Tomorrow is another day of home projects and then preparing for our Thursday surprise, which could take a little while.  I'm hoping to take some time out and maybe even fit in a nap, but I won't hold my breath! :)  Naps are overrated anyway, right?????
I was only able to take a couple of pictures this evening while they played in the garage.  They were pretty interested in the birthday party going on across the street.  Emma even took a break from licking her play doh to see what was going on over there.  Ewwww!

Stay-cation: Day 1

Today was day 1 of our stay-cation.  So far, we have found two bikes for the parents and two bike trailers for the kids (each one holds two children, so we have room for more.....stuff).  I am in a cleaning-out frenzy and trying to get our room to some sort of livable status where we aren't navigating through piles of papers to be filed, pictures to sort and junk to be put away.  I cleaned out our "office supplies" (since our office is in our bedroom now) and have a huge pile of pens to send to work with Troy when he goes back.  I also have more small note pads than I could ever possibly use in one lifetime, so I'm sending a pile of them downstairs to the kids art supplies cabinet.  And highlighters?  Let's just say that I think our three children will have plenty to get them through their college years.
What else is happening this week?  I'm hoping to do some updates and changes to the blog, just for kicks.  We'll see if I actually do any of that because I'm also thinking of entering a local photography contest.  I'd like to use some of my "free" time this week to go through the thousands I have from this year and see if any are worthy of submission to the contest (because the online forms are due by mid-August).  It would be fun just to try it out.  Oh, and I'm hoping to finish a book this week.  Not writing one; just reading one.  I started a book the other day and was getting so tense that I skipped to the last two chapters last night.  I just couldn't get any sleep stressing out over the whole thing and completely cheated!  What can I say, I should just stick to sappy romantic comedies, mommy and parenting advice or something similar.
And our "stay-cation" wouldn't be complete without plans to do something fun and exciting with the kids, though I'll wait to share it until later this week.  That little secret is in addition to the bike-riding that we hope to do this week as well.  I know I'm not in very good shape, so I question my ability to ride anywhere, much less tow a child or two behind me.  I might need a good month of training!
As far as tonight's pictures go, the kids have discovered a new trick where they jump off of the arm of the couch into the pile of pillows and stuffed animals.  We are trying to tell them that jumping like this is a no-no.  They are welcome to slide off the couch into the fluffy pile, but the jumping thing is stressing me as much as that stupid book!  I got a couple of pictures as Daddy was giving them the "no jumping" lecture.

Oh, and we also saw a double rainbow here this evening!  It was pretty cool and we tried really hard to get the kids to see if from the window.  I ran outside to take a few pictures, but had some trouble since the second rainbow was pretty hard to spot.  If you look VERY closely, you might see it in the upper right-hand corner.

 Insert the song "Rainbow Connection" from the Muppet Movie here please. : )
"Someday we'll find it.  The rainbow connection.  The lovers.  The dreamers and me."  Aaaahhhhh.  Sweet dreams!

Yuck-Zone

I'm not a germ-a-phobe.  Others might disagree, but I call myself a "pre-germ-a-phobe" because it really could be worse.  Sometimes I can skate through the day, week or month and not really think too much about what the kids are putting in their mouths and whether they ate some stale piece of cereal that they found underneath the couch cushion in the playroom.  Other days, I'm sort of a freak about things - like dog pee/poop in the back yard, flies in the bay window where they spend lots of time, dirty shoes arriving on their playroom floor and separate sponges for their dishes (that are STILL hand washed) and our stuff.  You get the picture.  And then there are days like TODAY.

We had a great breakfast as a family with Poo Pa this morning and Daddy made pancakes.  We all sat around the table and enjoyed the opportunity to take our time, enjoyed the funnies made by the kids and definitely enjoyed the pancakes (I actually ate leftover oatmeal from Daddy's trip to Cracker Barrel yesterday, but did get to one of the pancakes). 

Once we were finished, we got things cleaned up and the kids dressed (while they enjoyed their library DVD "Baby Dance"...a big hit!) and decided that a trip to Sam's Club was in order.  After unloading our goods at home, we thought that it would be a good chance for playtime at the mall play zone.  It was later than usual, so we realized we would not be the only ones there, but decided to gamble.  We were a little more hesitant once we got there because of the people who WERE there.  I don't want to "judge a book by it's cover", but when you walk up to a kid's area that very clearly states "No Food or Drinks" and there are moms and children walking around with huge wads of cotton candy on sticks, you know it has the potential to be a bad trip to the play zone.  We decided to get past our reservations and let the kids have some fun.  The other children weren't bad once that stupid cotton candy was gone.  But, of course, my kids then wanted to get the sticks out of the trash cans...gross!  But yes, it got worse.

A dad showed up with his little girl.  She was too cute with long hair and big giant curls.  She was older than our kids, but probably not more than five or so.  She was very sweet and played quietly until Troy noticed what he thought was...ummm....vomit on one of the climbing things.  Her leg was precariously close to it and he tried to warn her and pick her up, but...too late.  It got on her leg and we told her dad about it.  He started to get a little grossed-out, so I handed him some baby wipes.  In the meantime, the other moms just ignored what I was doing while I did my best to clean up the mess.  It was then that I realized it was NOT throw-up, but POOP!  Ugh!  I was mortified and even more ticked because I knew which kid had been the problem and the mom changed said child's diaper but didn't bother to offer to help me clean up HER child's gross poop.  And it also appeared that the child either had a digestive issue or a stomach bug.  I used wipes, sanitizer wipes and more wipes. 
At this point, Troy had the kids almost showering under the sanitizer thing that normally just squirts it in your hands.  The other dad is outside the play zone scrubbing his poor daughter's leg raw trying to get any last germ off of her.  I got more of the sanitizer wipes and handed them to him to try to help.  And I should mention that those other moms were still DOING NOTHING.  They just sat there chatting and being annoying while ignoring the BIOHAZARD WASTE that one of their own had created! 
Troy and I took the kids for a walk around the mall just before heading home to wipe them down with more soap, water and sanitizer  After a change of clothes, they went down for naps.  Both of us changed clothes too just for good measure.  Yuck! 
I don't know that I will be able to drag myself back to the play zone again.  I guess if I do, we will try to get there earlier in the morning and hope that we avoid some of these hazards. 
I think I'm just a tad closer to being a full-fledged germ-a-phobe.  Ewwwwwww!
(I should also note that today was a point-and-shoot day, so the pictures left something to be desired and we just didn't try very hard.)