Serious Muscles

Today was a spectacular day. I can't say it was perfect due to how much Ian upchucked and Nadia being a bit fussy (think prone to tantrums) at certain moments of the day due to the fact that out of the past 4 days she only got to take her nap in her bed one time (Monday). In the car she only naps for 40-50 minutes whereas in her bed she naps for 2-3 hours. Tomorrow I'll make sure she gets a nap in her bed after her dentist appointment. The most amazing part of the day was our time spent at Knoebels. I loved going to amusement parks as a child, but I have to say the joy I feel in going there with my kids is even greater. I can't wait until next year when Ian is able to enjoy more of the rides. It was a bit tricky going by myself with a 1 year old and 2 year old. It meant Nadia had to ride most of the rides by herself, and of course it meant there weren't any pictures of me with the kids since I was the only one taking pics. Here are some of the highlights of our day today:

1. When we arrived at gymanstics this morning, I discovered that the families of their competitive team were having a huge yard sale. I didn't get to shop at it as much as I would have liked to (since I wasn't really supposed to leave Nadia unsupervised in the class as it's a "Mommy and Me" class), but I did get some wonderful bargains. I got Nadia a gorgeous dress plus matching hat for $3, her first leotard for $8, an orangle plastic Tonka construction hat for 25 cents, a book with 365 nature activities to do with kids (some inside and some outside) for $1, and Nadia picked a bag that contained several different sets of flash cards and card games for 10 cents. Next week she'll get to wear her leotard to gymnastics for the first time.

2. Ian slept in my arms during the majority of the class, which was a huge blessing. It's been much harder to hold him now that he loves to run. Nadia will soon be eligible for the preschool class (3-5), and then I'll only be responsible for Ian during her class as moms don't participate in that one. Whew.

3. Nadia cracked me up twice today. First when the substitute coach said "Show me your muscles" she said loudly "I have muscles!" To which John replied, "Where are they?" To which Nadia replied, "They're at home." HA HA HA! The second was when the 3 of us were riding a hot air balloon type ride at Knoebels. Ian was beside me and Nadia was across from me in our "balloon." I guess it was a bit too scary for Nadia (it wasn't a child's ride but was a very tame "adult" ride) as she said "I don't like this ride. It's making me serious." LOL!!!

4. After gymnastics we drove straight to Knoebels and enjoyed a free lunch and free handstamps for Nadia and myself. None of the ride attendants ever asked for any tickets for Ian so the only thing that we did that cost us money was buy one cup of soft serve ice cream that Nadia and I shared. We used to live 10 minutes from Knoebels. Part of me wishes we still did, but I am glad we're still less than an hour away. I'm sure we'll be going back a few more times this summer! The rides we all did together were a train, 2 different carousels, the balloon ride, and the ball pit (well just my feet were in it). A few weeks ago when we went there Ian was scared by the ball pit, but he loved it this time!

5. The ice cream was spectacular as was the large soft chocolate chip cookie included in our lunch bag. I love peanut butter/chocolate twist soft serve and hadn't had that in a very long time. It was so yummy and special to share it with Miss Nadia (I also gave Ian a little taste although in hindsight I shouldn't have due to avoiding milk/peanuts. OOPS).

6. I was very impressed with the quality of pictures with my new camera. I have soooo much to learn in how to best use the camera, but even just on automatic it's a million times better than my old camera. I regret having bought my Lumix. The last time I almost got a DSLR instead. I should have! What was I thinking? The downsides of this camera are that it's of course heavier and bulkier than a point and shoot and of course knowing it cost a lot more is making me very paranoid about it right now. I'm sure I'll get used to it in time. It's just an adjustment. I am very glad I bought it. I've had better timing in the past as far as getting great smiles on the rides, but the quality (only 1-2 shots were blurry compared to usually about half of them were blurry) was soooo much better.

7. I was able to go to choir rehearsal tonight. I missed the last two rehearsals due to #1 not having anyone to watch the kids since Paul was too busy and #2 being in Maryland. We only have one more rehearsal left until we take our summer break. I'll miss it!