With the fall weather in full swing and all the kids back in school, my Dad thought it would make for the perfect zoo day. He was right! We piled everyone in the car, packed some popcorn, sippy cups, 2 strollers, and sweatshirts, and we headed off to the zoo.
First stop: The Train
My oldest LOVES the train, and we kept everyone occupied by looking out for animals, number signs, and waving at the other occasional zoo visitor. My littlest was hesitant to get on at first, but then, of course, no one wanted to get off.
Luckily, we lured them into their strollers with the promise of popcorn and Monkey Island.
Before anyone got too antsy in their strollers, we went into the Reptile and Aquarium building. The fish, alligators, and other creepy creatures were right at their eye level, so it was a great place to stroll through. We then went outside to see the bears, antelopes, and finally the sea lions.
This is when everyone wanted to exit the confines of their stroller. Luckily, I brought their “backpacks,” so Grandpa took one twin, and I let my oldest take the other. It actual worked pretty well.
Until it didn’t.
By that time, it was playground time. Woo Hoo!
And how do you get everyone out of the playground? Ice cream, of course.
With everyone stuffed full of ice cream, we took one last play on the elephant and cow, then headed home for naps. We really had a great day.
Unfortunately, the next day didn’t turn out exactly as planned.
It was Friday, our 6th wedding anniversary. We lined up a babysitter (actually a couple of babysitters…who are actually a couple,) to watch our oldest after the twins were in bed. We had grand plans of dinner, drinks, etc. or at least dinner and drinks, but unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
My poor littlest one took a pretty long nap, and woke up crying. This is pretty unusual. Normally, I hear the twins talking, I open the door, and they jump up, saying, “Hi Mommy!” My sad little boy had a fever and the chills.
His fever was pretty low, but I was uneasy about leaving. I called my husband at work, and gave him the lowdown. Luckily, he totally understood that I would not enjoy myself out at dinner because I would be worrying the whole time.
My oldest was not as understanding. He was looking forward to having his babysitters, popcorn, and a movie…and NO mom and dad around to spoil the fun.
At this point, my little one puked all over himself, the blanket, the couch, and the rug. This was enough to convince everyone, oldest included, that little one was really sick.
Soooooo, in order to keep everyone happy and worrying to a minimum, here’s what we did.
Dad picked up takeout. Mom moved the monitor to the living room, so she could see and hear sick baby sleeping/breathing (after puking, he seemed to be a little better and went right to sleep.) Babysitters still came over and went with oldest to the basement for popcorn, movie, and no parents.
Plus, we got to sit on our comfy couch in PJ’s watching an adult show.
Not the anniversary I imagined, but it turned out to be just fine with me.
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