Weekend Outings

Weekends are pretty laid back around here. Karen and I take turns sleeping late. And unless we have a playdate arranged, we usually don't have any plans.

This is a good thing because our tempo is more relaxed. But it's a hard thing when Kylie wakes up at noon and Karen and I look at each other and ask, "Okay, what are we going to do to occupy the darling girl between now and 6pm?"

I'm accustomed to my weekday schedule with Kylie. But the activities we enjoy on weekdays such as Gymboree aren't open or places like the duckpond or the zoo are packed with too many people.

It is strange to admit this but unplanned weekend activities make me a bit nervous. I'll never forget last Fall when, on a whim, I thought the three of us should visit a pumpkin patch. Worse possible trip ever! That day was filled with horrible traffic, stinking pumpkins, tons of bees, a colicy baby, and stressed out moms. The only picture we got was this one. (I could have taken this at my local grocery store.)


So maybe you can understand that when I decide we should go someplace new, my heart rate accelerates and I hear, "another pumpkin patch day of despair" echoing around in my head.

But this was not the case this past weekend when we decided to visit a new indoor playground named "munchkinland". Kylie loved it! It had this type of play props--similar to mall playcenters, except that they weren't the usual germy, sticky things. Nope, these props were impeccably clean.


The place also had dollhouses, train tracks, chalk boards, and lots of books and child-sized furniture.


The best part was that there was a small cafe with a few tables and free Wi-Fi so the adults could relax a bit while the kiddos played within sight. And we got to do exactly that. Kylie felt so comfortable that she toddled around and played with everything. And Karen and I were able to read a bit and sip cafe mochas. It was heavenly!

(Note- if you are a local reader, send me a comment or email and I'll give you some directions. This new playcenter doesn't have a website yet.)

If you aren't a local reader, please soothe my mind and tell me that you get nervous on some outings as well. It's comforting to me to know that I'm not the only occasionally neurotic person.

Here are a few recent scrapbook pages!
Clorox wipes


Kylie and the sea lions