It all started last Sunday, April 11th. Forgetting that it was TV Turnoff Week, my body went into autopilot mode at 7am when Mikie bounded into our bedroom and turned on the cartoons. An hour later, when Nibbles woke up demanding food, I stumbled downstairs and realized the error of my ways.
After turning off cartoons (which Mikie handled pretty well), I realized that we needed to find something to entertain two kids, one of whom has the attention span of 15 minutes; the other, 15 seconds.
Mike: "We could go to the Science Museum."
Lauren: "We could go to the Children's Museum."
Mike: "The Science Museum is free." (note to readers: it is not free to all; just free to Mike through his employer.)
Lauren: "Except, Hannah is going to be miserable and throw a fit because I won't let her run around for fear of breaking something. Sounds like a horrible time."
Ultimately, we settled on the Providence Children's Museum which is both cheaper and smaller than the Boston Children's Museum. If you have ever had to chase your child around a museum with five stories of fun and entertainment, you would appreciate the "smaller" detail even more than the cost savings. Trust me when I say you need to get more than 8 hours of sleep plus a Venti sized caffeinated beverage from Starbucks (ideally with a double shot of espresso) before taking children with a pulse to Boston's Children's Museum.
Both kids had a good time. Mostly due to the water exhibit. I think Hannah would have had more fun if allowed to sit in the larger exhibit that Mikie was playing in and have water directed right at her. But, she settled for splashing (and licking) the toddler exhibit.
When she got bored (which having not made friends with a dozen children like her big brother, happened fairly quickly), she started exploring the rest of the first floor exhibits. This involved stalking kids who appeared similar in size to her big brother, flirting with herself in any and all reflective objects, taking the pegs out of the oversized Lite Bright as people (mostly me) attempted to make pictures, and stuffing pom-poms in the clear PVC pipes to watch them fly around the room. By the time she had lost interest in the first floor, Mikie emerged from the water exhibit to play. So, Hannah and I snuggled while watching brother build ramps on a magnetic wall and construct a space station out of pool noodles with "some girl".We finally managed to convince Trouble to see what exhibits were upstairs. I will admit, the second floor was less entertaining than the first. The biggest draw was the pirate ship which was overrun by very active, very loud, boys. This made it fairly dangerous for Hannah, who wanted nothing more than to play where Mikie was. After almost being knocked over twice by kids chasing each other through the ship AND having a potato hurled at her head by an angry three year old boy, we moved on.
There were a lot more historical activities, reading nooks, and less "active" activities on the second floor. Hannah and I found a toddler friendly area where we hung out while Mike and Mikie assembled a skeleton. But, ultimately, we decided to leave in search of lunch.
Sadly, after spending hours at the museum, if you ask Mikie what he did for TV Turnoff Week, the trip to Pizzeria Uno is the most memorable activity. Although, better that than all the scantily clad cheerleaders we encountered at the Providence Place Mall that day. . .We did spend the balance of the week listening to music and books on CD during the hour long commute to school. I have had trouble falling asleep because I can't get the lyrics to "Captain Vegetable" and "The Batty Bat" songs from the Sesame Street CD out of my head. We also read two more books in "The Magic Treehouse" collection (which even I am slightly addicted to) and spent evenings playing "Ratatouille" and "Scooby Doo". I did let Mikie play some computer games on the Lego website (admittedly more for my sanity than his), which, since he still played computer in the lab at school, I considered not in violation of the rules. All in all, he did a good job of following the spirit of the week. He didn't even ask to watch TV when Mike turned on game one of the Bruins in the playoffs.
I do think it was great family time for all four of us. And, I will probably try and encourage less TV watching as a result. However, when 7am rolls around tomorrow, my body will be very happy to reach for the remote, turn on PBS and buy another 60 minutes of sleep.
Love, The Trahans
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