T has off from school this week for winter vacation. My parents decided to go to Myrtle Beach on a golf trip all this week, and my sister is panhandling her way from NY to Wyoming to go to a wedding. I am here with all 3 kids, all week long, with basically no help. T is not happy there's no school-he cried all weekend that he didn't want to have vacation because he loves school. So I promised him we would have a great time and I would take him to a bunch of places.
He wanted to go the aquarium, the zoo, and to see the dinosaur bones at the Museum of Natural History. Since the weather is super nice for February, I thought none of this would be a problem. I didn't realize how hard it is to try to take 3 small children somewhere by myself. In the past, someone has always insisted on coming with me, or taking one of the kids so I only have 2 with me.
Not today. We had a little bit of a late start, so I decided to take them to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT. It's about an hour drive. The trip started okay, until T wouldn't leave the touch tank. Princess was terrified of the crabs and other creatures, so I kept an eye on her while she ran around to the nearby tanks. Goober kept crying, so I finally got T to keep walking.
Then Goober threw up all over himself and my brand new Sit and Stand Stroller. And I didn't pack extra clothes in the diaper bag because I have never once needed them on a day trip in the 4 years I've had children. And I did the one time they weren't there. We were right next to the children's play area when this happened, so while I attempted to clean as much as I could with the wiped I'd packed, there were 3 or 4 small children that weren't mine watching me, pointing out that there was a big pile of vomit all over.
Once my wipes were done, the mess wasn't that much better. We had to head down in the elevator to get to the bathroom, where another child complained that my baby smelled. No shit, kid. I had to sit poor Goob in the sink to get him clean, and there was only cold water. He was not happy. I spent a good 45 minutes getting barf off everything. But his shirt and jacket were soaked.
We had to go to the gift shop to buy him a shirt. We proceeded to walk down a long hallway, where I received a bunch of nasty stares and comments about my shirtless baby in the middle of February. Did these people somehow think I brought him to the aquarium without a shirt? Seriously. Of course I had to buy 3 shirts, since it wasn't fair if only the baby got one. $37 later, T decided he needed to eat.
Not the snacks I brought, but cafe food. We took the elevator upstairs (and I learned the baby is terrified of elevators), and the kids decided they wanted french fries and onion rings. I also got a grilled cheese sandwich since the baby wanted to eat and I felt bad. I figured it was less greasy than anything else there, and it was bland too.
After lunch, we went back to see more stuff. Princess wanted to see the sharks, and T wanted to go back to the touch tank. They were fighting about it, so I took them somewhere else entirely. They had a boating exhibit where the kids could play on a fishing boat and pretend to fish and put on life jackets. T had a bunch of fun. Princess sat on the edge of the boat, glaring and yelling at kids who ran into her or were too loud. I let the baby run around for a little, but his shoes kept slipping on the concrete and he wasn't too happy after he fell on his face a few times.
T didn't want to leave, and threw himself on the middle of the floor, so no one could get around him. I told him we were going home since he wasn't behaving, and had to carry him out of the exhibit. He screamed all the way outside. Those looks and comments I got from old ladies were fun. I have a tip for them: if you don't want to deal with noisy children but want to go to the aquarium, don't go on President's Day when all the kids are out of school!
He finally told me he would behave, but we were already outside and at the parking garage. So I promised him that if he was good all the way home, we could stop at Toys R Us. Yeah, I bribe my kids and they're spoiled as hell.
I couldn't find the highway entrance on the way home, got stuck in crazy traffic, and spent another $30 on a Power Ranger and Littlest Pet Shop toy. Of course, when I got home, the boyfriend hadn't cleaned anything or taken out any trash. I was exhausted, and he told me he would watch the kids for a couple hours so I could rest. Instead, he went back to sleep after sleeping all day. And Goob threw up all over my bed.
Well, it was an eventful day. Tomorrow, I think we're going to go to the museum. That is, if the boyfriend comes and the baby's okay. Otherwise, I'll leave Goober with him (or take him if he's feeling better), and go to the Bronx Zoo. The kids love it, and we have a membership, so it's totally free, except for food and the gift shop.
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