This was my first full week at home. Allison's preschool teacher took the week off for vacation. Perfect timing for not having to find a sitter, but not so perfect in that my first week at home didn't look anything like it will in the future. It was nice to have her around more though. I watched a girl from her preschool named Kate. She turned 5 in early September, and is a whole foot taller than Allison. She has an older sister named Grace who is in the 2nd grade, so Kate, naturally, seems more grown up than Allison.
It's interesting to watch my daughter, who is naturally the leader of the pack, want to do everything just like Kate. She discovered that Kate can whistle (not much...but enough to matter), Kate can tie her shoes, and she doesn't ever take naps. Needless to say, we tried to skip naps Monday (big mistake after the weekend we had). I had BSF Tuesday morning so Kate did not stay with us that day. Allison was supposed to nap, but alas, she did not, and woke Andrew in the process. Wednesday, I made her nap, even though Kate was here, and she only got in about an hour. Yesterday I let her stay up, and she did great, and today I had to put her down at 2:30 because she was having a melt down over the need to have the exact same snack and drink as Kate - even though I knew she didn't like what she was picking. I tried to gently encourage her to do her own thing, and she broke down in tears saying she wanted to do the same thing Kate did.
So...there are lessons to be learned, and we will get to those over time.
But, having Kate here did prompt me to spend some time with the kids out of the house at various *free* activities around KC. I absolutely cannot sit at home all day. I'm a bad mommy and my kids are miserable. But when I venture out, I typically spend money. I need to change that.
Monday we hit up Deanna Rose. I know many of you know about the farmstead, but it's a great place to go during the week, when they don't charge, and great for after the start of school as the place isn't nearly as packed...or hot. We had a great time!
Wednesday we went to the arboretum again. If you remember the pictures from this post, the kids had a great time last week. I met my friend Gianna there with her three kids, and apart from a small wardrobe malfunction (ok, ok, I squatted down and ripped my pants open - there, are you happy?), we had a great morning. It was beautiful weather, and once again...free! The arboretum is located at 179th and Antioch, just off 69 hwy.
Thursday it was the Johnson County Museum. It's off 435 N and Shawnee Mission Pkwy. They have a little children's area that is free that reminds me a lot of a miniature Wonderscope (which is definitely not free). The kids can play there for hours. They have a train room, a doctor room complete with babies and doctor kits, a library and coloring room, an arts and crafts room, a putting green, fishing pond, and stage set up with theater seats and costumes/instruments for the kids to put on a show. I only took a couple pictures of Kate and Allison that morning playing doctor (or nurse practitioner!) but they were in there for a long time. They had sheets to document on. I asked Allison if her baby took any medicine. "Yes, the purple stuff." Does she have any allergies? "Yes, the pink stuff." What seems to be the problem today? "Well, she has a fever and she just won't eat." We worked her up, gave her a shot and sent her on her way.
Today we headed to the Johnson County Library. We just went to the one closest to our house on 119th and Roe. It has a nice little children's area with books and a train table. The girls sat and read books for quite a while and Andrew did puzzles and played with trains. The library off Shawnee Mission Pkwy and Antioch has an even bigger and better kids play area, as well as a great story time, so I would definitely recommend that. The one by my house is doing a toddler story time on Thursdays at 1030, so I think Andrew and I will hit that up next week.
I know there are lots of other things to do around here, and as I find them, I'll let you all know. I'm going to be very diligent about my spending habits from now on. Working had lulled me into a false sense of security when it came to our budget. But now it's time to get serious and cut stuff down. Jason has already said that this credit card statement is the smallest we've had in a very, very long time. Yay!!
Here's to everyone having a great weekend!
Val
1 comment:
Those are all favorite places for us except I get tired of the museum much sooner than the kids do. We also love the Lenexa Community Center open gym. It's not free...but since it is only $1 for 2 hours it is close enough. We also like the open gym time at Pinnacle. Again, not free ($4/hour..or that might be a special rate for my play group)but it is cheaper than gymnastic lessons. But when it is this nice outside we go to the park pretty much every day. That's always free.
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