What an event filled week! Where to start where to start. Let's start with today and work backwards. Might want to grab a snack, this could be a long one.
So this morning we managed to get all of us dressed and into the car by 8:30 - no small feat - to head to NYC - woo hoo! Josh's parents were meeting us for lunch and a trip to the Children's Museum. A pretty uneventful car trip until we made a pit stop and learned that Jocelyn isn't tall enough to make the toilet not flush, that she's also terrified of the flushing noise, and that mommy isn't smart enough to put her hand over the sensor. Bad enough we had a 10 min wait to use the bathroom in the first place, but then I had to spend 5 min trying to coax her into peeing. When we got back to the car Morgan was crying because we hadn't gotten french fries, Jesse was screaming because he didn't get to get out (Josh and I take the kids in shifts), so Morgan was pinching Jesse, making Jesse scream louder and also yell "MORG NO PINCHING" and then more screaming, and of course that resulted in more pinching, repeat. Took about 10 min to get everyone settled down.
Still, we managed to be exactly on time for our 11 :30 meeting time at Kosher Delight - a fast food style kosher restaurant - and Jonathan and Susan were waiting for us right out front. We were very surprised to see cousin Samantha there! Uncle Jeremy also joined us. The food and space of the restaurant get an A, but my kids' behavior at lunch was a C+ at best. Jocelyn was putting everything in her mouth, even the stuff that fell on the floor, Jesse wanted DOWN, and when Morgan wasn't lying down on the booth bench kicking the person next to him (Jocelyn), he was bouncing up and down sending the whole row of us on a ride. When Jonathan and Susan said "who wants dessert" at 12:30, I screamed no and shoved all the kids towards the door - haha.
But this is where the real fun started. We drove up to the Children's Museum in a relatively uneventful manner and parked at a garage right across the street. Susan and Jonathan arrived via cab right before the attendant was done taking our keys - perfect timing! We walked in and Susan managed to get the dirt on the best exhibit for the younger kids so up to the 3rd floor we headed and boy was it ever! A huge carpeted climbing structure, a wall of blocks, a alligator that ate letters, a place to record yourself on a movie, a play doh station (Jocelyn's favorite - when I pointed it out to her she made a bee line for the table and sat right down with everyone else), a huge sand table, an oversized light brite (Jesse really liked that), a wall of chalk board, a fire truck with dress up clothes, a bus, a full grocery/deli with beeping check out and cash register, and a couple other things I can't remember. We stayed for about an hour and a half, until Morgan started lying down on everything. They had SOOOO much fun!
Jocelyn was just too excited about everything, and Jesse was too. Every time Jesse came down the slide or down stairs our out of a bus or got the light brite peg, he'd yell "I DID IT!" and jump up and down. It was so cute! Even Morgan really had fun - he loved the variety of cars and busses to drive and also the slide.
So then we made our way upstairs and found a bit of quiet in a post office room that didn't have anyone else in it. Jesse drove the mail truck and Jocelyn built a tower with the packages and Morgan sat out in the hall on a play NYC transit bus driving and pressing buttons. After a bit of sensory rest we went down to the 2nd floor, which was an entire floor of Dora and Diego! Jesse kept shouting "backpack! gogo! backpack! gogo!" At this point it was starting to get a little crowded - apparently it had started raining out. Still - the kids ran about. Jocelyn pulled and replanted flowers in the flower box, Jesse walked the bridges and stepping stones, both used the phone to call and talk to Diego and friends.
When Morgan had had enough we made our way back down to the first floor. Susan and Timothy headed to the gift shop and Susan let him pick out gifts for all of us, which he REALLY enjoyed and did quite a good job with. Josh and I did bathroom duty with the rest. Then we all headed out, with many thank yous to Susan and Jonathan who picked up the tab for the whole day.
On our drive out, Josh took a 2 block detour to show me where he used to go to school. Just as we were headed back to the highway, Jocelyn woke up (both she and Jesse were asleep within minutes of hitting the car) crying and saying her tummy hurt. I asked her if she wanted me to put a diaper on her so she could poop. Between cries she said "I don't wear diapers, diapers are for babies!" So Josh pulled a U-turn and we stopped at a kosher pizza place near his old school and he doubled parked while I grabbed Jocelyn and ran inside. The sign on the way in said "restroom is for customers only" but I ran by it, holding a crying 3 year old, and luckily the very small bathroom was unoccupied.
At first she just peed and kept crying, now because she didn't want the toilet to flush. I assured her it wouldn't flush and coaxed her back up there. She cried that her tummy hurt, and I explained that if she could poop she would feel better. So finally after what seemed like forever (and 2 different people knocking on the door) she got on board with the idea and started trying. Well it wasn't happening as fast as she wanted so she yelled "come on butt! poop!" I called Josh to ask if he was still out front and he was, so I told him to send Timothy in with cash to order a large pizza. I figured we had used enough of the bathroom to warrant the purchase! 2 more knocks on the door and she was finally done and feeling much better. Of course, then I had to flush, which made her start crying again!
So when we finally joined Timothy at the counter she was crying and all red-faced. The nice lady behind the counter asked what was wrong and I explained she wasn't feeling well. The lady and I then got into a conversation because she had 4 kids also - all boys. Our pizza was ready and we headed for the car. I packed them in and realized I had no plates or napkins so ran back in and she had them ready for me before I even asked.
The trip home was about as fun as the trip there, except that there were several periods of backed up traffic and it rained the whole time. On the upside I learned to put my hand over the sensor at the rest stop. One funny thing was that the part that was backed up still in New York had a flashing sign that said "heavy traffic through Pelham Parkway" Sure enough, the SECOND we were past that, no more traffic. No apparent reason, everyone just started driving. So weird!
We finally arrived home at 7pm and put the little ones to bed. Morgan had his bedtime lifted to 8pm recently, so he went to bed a bit later. At 8:15 Timothy said he was tired and went to bed voluntarily before his bedtime.
Despite the rough times in and out, it was totally worth it to see the kids having such a great time at the museum. I really don't think they could have possibly had a better time.
ok, so backing up to yesterday. Josh and I finished ripping out the rest of the ground cover in the front garden (I ripped all the things I could, Josh went back and yanked out all the stumps) and got a little bit of the bark mulch down before calling it a day. I had to start my packing list and then start actually packing for vacation, so spent the afternoon doing that. The kids had played with the water table and chalk in the driveway while we were gardening, but of course we hadn't actually thought ahead enough to put their bathing suits on them, so that was fun! Next time.
Friday I left work a little early (3ish) so I could come home and *start* ripping the ground cover out of the garden. Went fast in places but near the end it was getting just impossible so left it for Saturday.
Timothy had basketball camp this week, which he really enjoyed. They worked on various drills and skills all week and also did games. On the first day he got a reversible sleeveless shirt for when they play, and pretty much wore it every second for the rest of the week. This week he has drama camp and then we leave Saturday morning for 2 weeks of vacation! My "to-pack" list is 2 pages long, one for clothes and one for non-clothes - both pages are full. This is going to be a tight squeeze!
Morgan had a good week at school, or so they say. We can never really tell the difference at home between a good day and a bad day.
Jocelyn had her last week of play group at the library. Miss Dana said she REALLY came out of her shell this week - haha.
Jesse continues to surprise us with new words. We have Walter the Farting Dog on Josh's iPod and Jesse and Jocelyn both find it hysterical, as does Morgan. Jesse already thinks *fart* is a funny word and uses it frequently. He was also kind enough to yell BUTT! and point at someone bent over the in parking lot today.
I guess that's about it from here - if you are still hanging in there, congrats for making it through this very long note!!
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