Fun with the Kids

Some days, I hate my job. It's hard and it's a lot of work to be responsible for the well-being, manners, education, and civilization of my two children. Some days, I don't think I'm cut out to be a stay-at-home mom. But then I have days like yesterday and today. At dinner last night, I told Dan about our fun day and I could see his eyes change. I imagined he was thinking in his head, "I wish I could do fun things like that with the kids every day!" I realize how lucky I am to be home with my babies, and enjoy the cool stuff with them.

Yesterday, Jackson went to Parents' Day Out and Katie and I had an adventure. We went to the City Museum, which was closed. But the World Aquarium inside the museum was opened just for our mom's group. It doesn't look like much in this photo, does it? But, oh! It was fun! The kids got to touch animals like turtles, sharks, stingrays and rabbits. They saw a tarantula, an armadillo, otters, fish and snakes - including a two-headed snake. I touched the stingray too, and it was such a cool thing. There was a small stingray that kept swimming to the side of the tank and then gliding up the wall to the top of the water, almost like he was trying to climb up to us. He kept fluttering there, letting everyone touch him.

The aquarium also has these fish that are so unusual, called Doctor Fish. They have been trained to nibble dead skin off people. Some of us stuck our fingers in the fish tank, and they came to nibble. Can you see them in the photo? It was the weirdest feeling! Seriously. Weird. The kids crawled in a tunnel through the shark tank, and some moms joined them. We also got to play in the City Museum's Toddler Town before our visit ended.

After the World Aquarium, we grabbed lunch and went to eat it at Kiener Plaza. After eating, the kids enjoyed dipping their hands in the fountains and running amok while all the business professionals on their lunch breaks watched. We're such fun lunchtime entertainment! Here's a photo of me and Katie at Kiener Plaza.

Beth and I took some photos of Ryan and Katie at the top of Kiener Plaza, with the St. Louis Courthouse and Arch in the background. This is the spot that almost every St. Louis couple gets photos on their wedding day. We were trying to show Ryan how to dip Katie back like all the other wedding photos we've seen. Who knows? Maybe one day Katie will marry Ryan, and we can recreate this photo again. But it isn't likely to happen; Katie and Ryan already treat each other like an old married couple and bicker over every petty little thing. They'll probably be sick of each other when it comes time for marriage. Ha, ha!

Today was also a lot of fun. A local skating rink opened up for our mom's group, and the kids got to ride their scooters and bikes all over the rink. Some of the kids used their roller skates for a bit, but riding a bike or scooter indoors was too exciting and they spent most of their time doing that. The parents chased after the little ones and also danced to some of the songs on the sound system, like C'mon and Ride It (The Train), the Cha Cha Slide, the Macarena, and Hakuna Matata. We had lunch back at Beth and Sean's house, and the kids went wild playing with all the toys in the basement. Even better? It's a rainy day outside, and we are enjoying every minute of it with fun things like the skating rink and playing at a friend's house.

This week, I like my job. Think I can ask for a raise?