Cancelled Plans...

Often turn out to not the best plans anyway. I was supposed to go shopping at the mart last Thursday with my friend and leave the boys with a sitter. (Thanks, Gail!) :) However, my friend's sitter cancelled on her so it turned out no girl's day out for us. I still wanted to do something fun though. You know how you get yourself built up to the excitement of fun stuff. I had planned on taking the boys to the Aquarium downtown this week and instead decided to go ahead and go that day. We've been before with Paul, but Preston was two months old! So, it was time to go back for sure. The boys didn't know what to expect, but as you can tell they thought it very neat and exciting.

Jackson loved the playground areas. I typically leave those until last hoping for good behavior througout the rest of the exhibits (no, I would never blackmail my children!:)) But, this day Jackson I could tell was constipated (sorry, to share so much information), but quickly it was apparent he was in a unhappy place. The first two exhibits he was just not feeling it. Preston was though. It was lunchtime though as well, so that might have contributed to the grumpiness. Jackson is so hungry lately! He's a growing boy. So, we stopped for lunch and I instead chose to do the playgrounds in the middle of the day hoping instead for good behavior during the remaining exhibits afterwards. It actually worked. We did make one last quick stop at the playground right before we left again, too, though.

My kids have never really been terribly afraid of characters. And, Deepo, the fish, was no exception!

Preston, like I said, thoroughly enjoyed all of it and make himself quite at home.

AND...my kids who are terrified typically of 3D or 4D movies, actually sat through the 4D movie featuring Deepo without making us get up and leave. Notice I didn't say they did not get scared..they did..but not too bad. They just grabbed my arm and closed their eyes. Jackson took his glasses off a few times. But, overall they squealed and laughed and really I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with their anti-4D stage.

Many people would think I'm crazy for attempting stuff like this without big JPM. Actually he does like the aquarium much more than other fun stuff we go do without him. He was working this day though. And, while he does enjoy it, he is very busy and enjoys his off days doing stuff around the house or in the garage. So, either we don't go or we go alone often is how it turns out. I am not afraid to go alone, and really if you've ever done big things like this alone with your children, then you know what I mean when I say there are very tender, special bonding moments that happen when it is just you and them. Now, there are also chest pain filled moments where you are shaking you have your hands so full, you want to smack yourself for thinking you could go it alone. :) But, no seriously. That is why I enjoyed Stone Mountain so much with them the past few years. It was just our thing. Me and them. Noone else. There were times we'd be sitting on the train, Preston sucking his thumb and Jackson playing his pretend banjo where the wind was blowing back our hair and we were bouncing along, that I thought...if I died tomorrow...THIS is what I would remember.

Preston was very happy, too, to see that he was able to play on the playground, too. One playground he wasn't tall enough for so I was thinking well, we won't do that one. Jackson begged, and I thought gosh their age difference is starting to show. I let Jackson go (thankfully they could only go on it two times so I didn't have to drag him off later), but Preston cried that he couldn't. We are going to Six Flags later this week, and I have a helper going with me to assist during those moments or on the rides where an adult must accompany each child. But, still I'm not looking forward to telling Preston he's too small. But, it's equally unfair to hold Jackson back from doing things he's been waiting to do for a few years.

Now, the one thing about being alone is the missing set of eyes for safety. The entrance to this slide was nowhere near the exit. So, I had to go up to the top with them, slide down first (yes, I fit...barely), and then have Jackson send down Preston and Jackson follow. It was still too risky for even me because there was like two seconds where I could only hear them and not see them. The good thing was I could see the two exits from where they were so I could see if someone was trying to escape with them. But, still... That is hard going places alone. I feel like sometimes we don't have quite as much fun because I put the fear in Jackson. Do not leave my sight. Do not talk to strangers. If he ends up in a crowd a foot away from me, he panics and cries. It's difficult. You don't want them to live in anxiety, but you also want them to understand the danger of bad people in this world.

If you have ever been to a festival or fair with Jackson, you know that he isn't much for face painting. I thought he'd outgrown it. But, he didn't want his face painted this day (maybe because it was before lunch. Oh, I forgot to add he did poopy after lunch:)) There was a lady there doing it, and Preston at first said no. But, when I explained it was like having a sticker on you, he was ALL about it. He sat up in the chair all big boy. I knew what picture he had picked out, but I made him ask for it. I said, "Tell her what you want." He said, "I wanna dawfin!" This child LOVED that dolphin. It was life altering when late in the day he was crying about something because he was tired and kept rubbing his eyes. I kept saying stop! You are rubbing off your dolphin. Finally, in a bathroom mirror he realized he'd rubbed it off. I tell you it was like someone said your dog died. He was trembling he was sobbing so bad. He said, "Wha happened to my dawfin?!" I told him you cried and rubbed it off. He said, "You gotta go get me a new one!" (sweetly and pleadingly) I felt so bad, I almost gave in. But, I though heck, it was going to come off in the bath hours later anyway. Oh, well.

This was my favorite creature...

The boys really liked the jellyfish...from a distance..I think they thought it could sting them through the glass...

Some of the fish were plain huge!

As you can see, we had a great time. Really. I am so chatty tonight, sorry! I typed so much! But, if you haven't been, go. And, if you are one of those moms that never takes your kids places by yourself, do it. You won't regret it. It's hard, but SO worth it. Your children will never forget it.