Slow Down, Gym Shoe!

Groovy, Lets Go See A Movie!

Hi everyone! Yesterday I got brave and took Little Bear and Pufferfish to see a movie. (If you've ever taken a one-year-old to a movie theater, you know why I say "brave!") There are a lot of theaters around here that have discounted movie days for kids. It seems like they all are showing the same bunch of movies though and they just rotate them through!
Anyway since it was raining I figured we'd go see a movie, and the Classic Cinema in Downers Grove was showing The Waterhorse. I thought Little Bear would like that one. It turned out she had actually seen it once already with her dad, but that was okay because she did like it, and wanted to see it again, and could in fact describe the entire plot to me! That kid really pays attention to stuff!
The cool thing is that, if you show up to the theater early, you get to play games. Little Bear won some candy and a Waterhorse movie poster!
Pufferfish didn't do so good with the movie viewing though. At first she was fine, sitting in her booster chair thing and eating a sucker. Then she wanted to be on my lap, which was fine. Then she started hollering to get down and walk, which was not so fine in a darkened, crowded theater! She couldn't even be bribed with a bottle or popcorn or anything! She started screaming and banging her head, so I had to bring her out to the lobby, which was where we spent most of our time. I tried to go back adn forth so Little Bear wouldn't have to watch the whole movie alone. Finally Pufferfish fell asleep in my arm and Little Bear and I were able to watch the second half of the movie in peace.

I think Pufferfish would have done a lot better if we'd gone to see an animated movie, or at least a movie with more colors. The Waterhorse is a kids movie, but its more in muted colors and with muted voices, like the old Disney movies (think "Old Yeller") used to be. Good for Little Bear, but not so much good for Pufferfish! Little Bear would like to see a movie again. In fact, she told me she'd like to see one every Wednesday! We probably won't do all that, but I'll try it once or twice more. Next time I'll pick an animated movie. I know on the tenth of July one theater is showing Alvin and the Chipmunks, one is showing Horton Hears a Who, and one is showing Bee Movie. Maybe we'll have better luck with those!
After the movie, we had lunch at this train-themed restaurant where the food is delivered on a small model train. The food was great, and the kids loved the train! Finally we went home, and made fingerpaints out of shaving cream and glue. Unforunately, while I was getting Pufferfish a snack, Little Bear grasped the opportunity to paint her entire body with the sticky mixture! Ugh! She really loves to get everything all over her. Maybe we'll have to make bathtub paints or body paint again! Painting her body with shaving cream would hjave been okay, but the glue in it made it a real pain!
So thats what we've been up to. How about you?

Strange Kids Ya Got There!

Yesterday was a pretty weird day, partially because our schedule for the day got all messed up! Diana's mom and I were thinking of becoming CASA volunteers, so yesterday we went to the courthouse for an orientation. We left Sarah to watch all the kids for a few hours. By the time we got back, Pufferfish had gone down for an early nap (she had gotten up at five in the morning for some reason, and was exhausted!) so we couldn't really go anywhere until she woke up. I figured, once she got up, we would just go hang out in the near by town of Wheaton, which is a cool town to hang out in. Its a rich town, and the home of Wheaton College, so they have a lot of cool spots other towns don't have!
We went to the DuPage Historical Museum first. I have never been in there before in my life, not even when I lived in Wheaton! I kind of like historical museums, but I always figured it wouldn't be a very good idea to bring Little Bear and Pufferfish into one. I was pleasantly surprised, though! It was a small museum but they had a lot of interactive exhibits, including two playrooms where kids could just hang out and play with toys.
There was also a place where you could try to ride on one of the first bicycles ever created...

<--------Poor Little Bear couldn't even reach the pedals!

Strangely, the kids' favorite exhibit was this room where you could do laundry using a wash bucket, a washboard, a wringer, and a plunger. They had real water and towels out so the kids could actually experience it. I think we spent about forty minutes there, with Sarah, Monkeyboy and Little Bear working diligently on the laundry! They were actually talking about it and mapping out a plan so each one of them had a job in order to get all of the towels cleaned! Hmmm, maybe if we just buy a wash bucket, washboard, plunger, and wringer, the kids can take over the household laundry!

Next, we got ice cream cones, and then we visited the Popcorn Shop. I don't know if thats what its really called, but thats what its referred to in Wheaton. Its a very small shop... in fact, it doesn't even have a real address. Its like 111 1/4 Front Street, or something like that. Its so small, you have to walk in sideways! I'm not even joking with you! However, wdging yourself into the little claustrophobic shop is well worth it! They have the best popcorn in the world. I don't know how it tastes so good! You don't even need butter on it, because its delicious plain, too! And they have a wide selection of dime-store candy that still costs bout a dime! Once you get into the shop, you take a small white bag, and you can fill it up with pieces of candy. A full bag of candies like those little paper dots, Slow Pokes, candy cigarettes, etc, can add up to just about two bucks!
After consuming ice cream cones, popcorn and candy, we hung out by the fountains.

 

<-----------Aw, how sweet! We love throwing coins
                                                                                                into fountains and making wishes!

<----------Oh no, Little Bear! What happened???

<--------Oh well, what can ya do....

Life is so much fun, huh!

Day at the Museum

Little Bear, Pufferfish, Monkeyboy and I went to the Children's Museum today! Monkeyboy actually ditched school to go with us. Shhhh... don't tell! We had a lot of fun! I took a bunch of pictures I thought I'd show you. (Remember to click on them to see them in full-size!)

There is this scale there that you can stand on to see how much you weigh in gallons. For some reason, Pufferfish loved that scale and kept climbing on and off of it! She would have stayed there all day!

 

Pufferfish also loved this little rocking chair!

Here she is launching herself off the rocking chair when she was done with it!

Little Bear loved the Pet Vet!

Monkeyboy pretended Pufferfish was a pet, and gave her a rabies shot!

The kids also loved playing in the Clifford Exhibit...































and the water room...











and the music room!






(Little Bear was actually pretending to be a pilot in this photo while she listened to the headphones!)


















What a great day! I wish I could afford a membership to the Children's Museum so we could go all the time! With a year's membership, you can actually get into all of the Children's Museums for free!  That would be really cool because it would mean we'd always have an option for something to do, even for an hour or so!  Oh well... maybe when I'm rich!

Cinco de Mayo!

Hope everyone had a great Cinco De Mayo! We did! We went to our playgroup in the morning, which involved playing at a playground and then going on a hike through the woods. We actually did hike, on a dirt path, hauling strollers and toddlers and everything! It was lots of fun!
Here's a picture of Pufferfish on the swing... the only thing she can really do at the playground besides try to eat the woodchips. (I actually didn't get any pictures of Little Bear, because she was busy running around with her friends, and because I had Pufferfish in my hands the whole time!)

(Remember to click on the pictures to make them bigger so you can see them!)

We also tried hard to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! The holiday is important to us because Monkeyboy's birth father was Mexican, and we try to teach him about his heritage in whatever ways we can. He was at school all day today, but I did things with the girls anyway. We read a book about the meaning of Cinco de Mayo and how it is celebrated in Mexico, and we listened to tapes of Spanish children's music in the car.
We also made maracas. A very easy way to make maracas is to take two plastic or foam cups. Fill one about halfway up with rice or beans or something else that will make noise. Glue the second cup on top of the first one, mouth to mouth. (I also like to tape over the crack to make it more likely to stay closed!) You can also decorate them however you like.
For a different sound, make a long coil out of tinfoil, and put it in the cup before you pour the rice and beans in!
Here are some of the maracas we made...

And here is the picture of Pufferfish trying to eat the maraca I made for her!

Finally we went out for Mexican food and fried ice cream!
A great time was had by all!

Did you do anything to celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

Nature Is The Best!

Little Bear and Pufferfish and I belong to a playgroup that I found on Meetup.com. Once or twice a week the group meets in public places and does activities together with all of the kids, who range in age from newborns to about five or six. Now that its nice out, a lot of the activities are outside.
Today we went to this awesome nature center where they have rescued wild animals. Little Bear had a great time running around with all of the other kids, looking at the animals, and pretending to be animals! We had a picnic lunch, the kids played tag and stuff in a field for a long time, and then we went for a mile-long walk on a walking trail!
The cutest thing was that there was one little boy there who Little Bear really got along with. He's the same age as her, although he's a lot taller. They only met each other once before, because he doesn't come to all of the activities that we do. But today they spent the whole time playing together, and were even holding hands a lot! It was so sweet.

(Click on the picture to see it bigger!)

Here are a few more pics from the nature center today...

Little Bear looking at a rescued raccoon in a cage

Pufferfish by the goldfish pond

And the best part? They're both asleep right now! Pufferfish fell asleep in the car on the way home, and stayed asleep. Little Bear fell asleep resting and watching Sponge Bob! And, by the way, Little Bear never takes naps! Its a miracle!

In other news, I'm a little worried that ten-month-old Pufferfish is going through the Terrible Two's a little early. Whenever she doesn't get her way, she throws herself backwards onto the floor and screams, banging her head on the floor! This morning she followed me around the house throwing tantrums. I was trying to make lunch to bring with us to the playgroup, and I let her stand up on the steps and watch me at the counter (She knows how to climb up them already!) which made her happy for a while. She's usually such a happy baby, but when she's angry, she is aaaaaangry!

Well, Monkeyboy is home, and I gotta go check on the baby, so, until later... C-ya!

Through Little Bear's Eyes...

Yesterday Little Bear and Pufferfish and I went to the Rainforest Cafe! (We had originally planned on going to the park with our playgroup, but it was cold and rainy, and I had been waiting for a good time to take them to the Rainforest Cafe!) We got there right when it opened (11 am) so we didn't have to wait in line at all. We had the whole place to ourselves, in fact! Little Bear loved it! I gave her my digital camera and let her walk around freely, snapping pictures, while I finished eating and feeding Pufferfish. Little Bear took a whole ton of pictures! At home, I loaded them all into my photo editor and did some cropping and light adjustment, and they turned out really good! Check out this work of art! (And keep in mind, these pics were taken by a four-year-old!)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com