Children's Museum

One weekend this fall we decided to try out the San Antonio Children's Museum.  It did not disappoint!  

We started out in the toddler play area.

We played with bubbles...

glow sticks...

fun ball tables...

slides...

drove cars...

 loved on horses...

 made music...

 and made faces at ourselves in the crazy mirrors.

Then we went to the HEB Market.  This was by far the twins' favorite part of the museum!  It was so neat....they had little shopping carts and aisles of food.  It was real HEB boxes and packages (with the food removed).  There was a produce section, a bakery section, seafood/meat section, canned foods, paper goods, snacks, etc.  Once you finish your shopping, there is a real checkout lane with a real scanner that beeps and displays the item on a little computer screen.  Super cute!  Rhys would have stayed in there all day if we would have let her.  That girl was serious about her grocery shopping!  

big kids shopping

getting some tuna and pasta 

 a long shopping list today...

After shopping, Rhys milked a cow.

Then Rhett played chess on the giant board.

R&R played in the kitchen.  I think Rhys "washed" her hands in the sink 25 times.  There was a pretend container of soap and she liked that, I think.

Rhys tried out the piano.

And on our way out, Rhett found the most amazing ball contraption he had ever seen.  We had to carry him out when it was time to go!

The twins had a blast, and we did too!  We were close to the Riverwalk, so we took a little stroll and had our snack on a bench by the river.  A little duck decided to join us and enjoyed all the crumbs that R&R dropped.

Can't wait to go back again!

Let's Go to the Zoo!

We have been wanting to get a San Antonio Zoo membership for a while now, and finally decided it was the right time.  Since Tim has had some time off from work, we decided to go last Friday morning while the weather was nice.

We started out just walking around looking at the monkeys and birds.  The twins were in awe of everything, and there was lots of pointing going on.

Then we came to the farm petting area.  We weren't really sure how the kids would react since we don't have any pets, and they haven't spent a lot of time around any animals.

 "look guys, it's a pig!"

Both twins were cautious at first, but Rhett immediately warmed up and wanted to touch the animals.  Rhys was not so sure.  This picture shows her hesitation.

Then, Rhett got a little too confident and poked this goat in the eye.  Poor goat!  I guess he is so used to kids messing with him, he didn't even flinch.

I tried to get Rhys to brush the pig, but she refused.

Rhett was really into the animals, and loved the goats' horns.

This pig was the funniest one.  Look how fat that thing is!  Her name is Penelope.  She just laid there as the kids would run around, pet her, brush her, etc.  She was so relaxed and carefree!

Rhys did not want to touch the animals, but she loved carrying around these brushes.

Rhys' favorite part....the tiny sink where she got to wash her own hands with soap and water!

After the petting area, we wanted to put the kids back in the stroller so we could continue on, but they were not really interested in getting back in.  So I did what any good mom would do.  I bribed them with a snack.

We walked around for a while, and then finally gave in and let the kids out of the stroller to explore.  They loved it!

Then we found the aquarium and this was definitely one of their favorite visits of the day!  I think they liked it because they could see everything without us having to hold them.

We stopped by the flamingos and found a shady spot to have lunch.  R&R ate all of their lunch, but thought it was so fun to share my apple with me!

We ended our visit with a trip to the Tiny Tot Nature Spot.  What a fun area for toddlers!  The kids climbed on foam blocks. went fishing in a stream, saw and touched a centipede, and explored.

What a fun day!

Look at these tired babies.  We headed home and all took a long nap.  Can't wait to go back again!

6:18 a.m.

Today Rhett woke up at 6:18 a.m.  When I heard him crying, I checked the monitor and found him standing in his crib, looking towards the door, and getting louder every second.  I knew he wasn't going to go back to sleep, and I didn't want him to wake Rhys up.  Tim was still snoring (how do guys sleep through the crying anyway?) and so I got up to get Rhett.

I must confess, though, that I was annoyed.  I didn't want to get up at 6:18 a.m.  He was supposed to sleep until at least 7 a.m.  And why did I have to get up?  Why didn't Tim jump out of bed so that I could sleep a little more?  We did have a schedule to keep, ya know?

I know what some of you are thinking....that I must be a brat to be complaining that I had to get up just 45 minutes earlier than usual.  And maybe I am a brat.  But I was tired.  And I had stayed up too late last night doing important things.  Okay, so maybe not important, but I had stayed up watching t.v., reading status updates on facebook, catching up on all the blogs I like to read, and looking for fun activities to do with the twins on Pinterest.  And we had had a busy weekend with lots of company.  So let's just say that I was a little grumpy from my lack of sleep.

So, yeah, it was 6:18 a.m. and I drug my feet down the hall to the nursery.  I opened the door and heard a little voice say, "hi."  But it was more like "hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii," because Rhett likes to draw out the words he knows.  I like to think this is because he is from Texas.  Anyway, it was cute, but I was still annoyed.  I picked him up and then sat down in the big chair with him.

At first, my mind started racing with negative thoughts, like, "it's so cold in here...I'm going to be tired all day...our schedule will be off....I'm going to have Rhys up when Rhett sleeps and Rhett up when Rhys sleeps...what about my time...I'm probably going to have a headache...when am I going to take a shower...why can't he just sleep...I'm not appreciated...blah blah blah.

As we sat there in that dark, quiet room, Rhett snuggled his face into my shoulder and I felt his whole body relax against me.  I felt his hot little breath on my neck.  And immediately I was thankful for that moment.

My heart was convicted, and I knew that I had definitely been acting like a brat.  I couldn't believe that God would allow me to be Rhett's mom, me-- the one who was feeling so sorry for herself that she had to get up early, me--the one who is so selfish so often.

In that moment, I thanked God for my sweet children, for my family, and for allowing me to be a mother.  I thanked him for forgiving me, and for giving me a fresh start each day.  I am truly blessed and have so much to be thankful for.

Because I love being a mom....

Even at 6:18 a.m.

Today is a Gift

"You will never have this day with your children again.

Today is a gift.

Breathe and notice.

Study their little faces and feet.

Relish the charms of the present.

Enjoy today, mama, it will be gone before you know it."

(quote by Jen Hatmaker from her book, Out of the Spin Cycle)

Yep, needed to read these words today.  It was one.of.those.days.  The kind of day where you just want to get in bed and pull the covers up over your head and hide.  Or stand in the pantry and eat Oreos.  Alone.  (Note: I may or may not have done one of the above mentioned activities.)

Being a mom is hard work!  It can sometimes be lonely, even when you seem to never get a moment alone.  I don't want to wish these chaotic days away.  I just want to say that it is hard.  That is all.  It is hard to hear a sweet giggle when there has been whining all day.  It is hard to notice a big brother give his baby sister a hug when they have been fighting over toys most of the day.  It is hard to just enjoy the day when the kitchen floor is covered in dropped cheerios and last night's dinner crumbs.  It is hard to balance playing with the kids and making sure that load of laundry gets put in the dryer, folded, and put away.  It is hard.

Older women frequently remind me that kids grow up so fast, and that one day I will miss these days.  I know it is true.  So as my kids grow up before my eyes, I know that God is using these days to grow me, too.

So on days like today, I remind myself that today is a gift.