Saturday, April 29, 2017
Places/Activities: This week was filled with fun. On Sunday we explored downtown Ellicott City and supported local businesses there. Monday I took the twins out shopping to the mall so I could find myself an outfit to wear to my cousin's wedding. That was an interesting experience. The mall we went to was not very accessible - which was disappointing. Not only was there only one handicap entrance, but in the department stores themselves, it was a pain to find the elevators to go from one floor to another, and I had to go to 3 dressing rooms before I found one large enough to accommodate me and the double stroller. Having twins and needing to use a double stroller has opening my eyes to how difficult it must be for those bound to a wheelchair to get around. I think the ADA needs to be revised a bit because meeting the minimum standard is pathetic. I mean, really pathetic. It's not that much extra work to make sure all doors have the automatic open option, and to include at least one accessible stall in EVERY dressing room. Ok, rant over - but you get my drift. So, the next time you see someone in a wheel chair, or having a tough time getting from point a to point b, ask if there is anything you can do to help. The few times that we are in a place that isn't common to us and people have been kind enough to hold the door or offer to help me get the stroller up or down the stairs are people that usually mention that they have a family member or friend who has a disability and they can relate to accessibility issues. While I was in the dressing room and trying on clothing as fast as possible (the twins hate shopping as much as I do) the twins were beginning to get a little fussy. Nothing major, just a bit whiny - but times two of course. The woman in the room next to me in a very loud voice went, "SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" For real? The nerve? I quietly filled up their snack cups to buy me a few more minutes and guarantee their silence until we could get out of there. But really? Who shushes random children? I mean, other than a librarian? Which, by the way - libraries aren't quiet anymore and I don't know of any of my librarian friends who have ever shushed a child. Ever. Myself included. I mean, other than my own kids. I shush them all the time - but they don't count as random to me. So, I got my outfit and left. I was a little irritated for a hot minute, but then all was well when the super nice cashier gave us the sale price for my purchase a day early. So, shopping Monday, Tuesday we went to the National Building museum to meet up with a friend and her new baby. It was really neat there and we will definitely be going back. Lots of hands on stuff for kids to try out! I pulled Squeak out of school so she could join us. She really enjoyed herself. Wednesday I took the twins to SkyZone. They lasted all of 45 minutes, which was the longest 45 minutes of my life. I think I'm going to wait until they are a bit older to take them back again. It was too hard to try and keep up with them running in opposite directions. They had loads of fun bouncing around. They don't really jump just yet, and instead bounce and run. Bear would run as fast as his little legs could carry him and then fall flat on his face and laugh hysterically. We took the kids out to eat on Wednesday night just for fun to get pizza. Thursday I took a 3 mile walk with the babies, which was great. I felt very energized afterward. Although by the time I made it to yoga in the evening, I was so ready for a nap. Friday D and I went to my cousin's wedding. It was very lovely and the bride was gorgeous. It seems so bizarre to me to continue to see my cousins get married and settle down. I remember holding my cousin when he was a small baby, and now he is all grown up with a college degree, job, and a wife. It's always good to see good things happen to good people. I'm glad we could be there to help celebrate their special day - even if we felt like we were more a part of the "old" crowd there. ;) Today we took the kids to an event called, "Touch a Truck" where kids can walk up and get inside a fire truck, police cruiser, various work and construction vehicles, etc. It was neat and everyone had fun (except when the police cruiser would put on the siren). Puff especially was not a fan of the loud noise. Last night ended with bookclub which is always accompanied by good friends and good food. A very full, but very satisfying week!
Reading: I finished my book for bookclub just in time (I was sitting in my car and reading the last few pages before going inside). This month we read
A Thousand Miles from Nowhere by John Gregory Brown. I can't say I enjoyed it very much, but at least the ending was somewhat satisfying (I hate cliffhangers).
Random Thoughts:You might notice I've been blogging a bit less these days. I've been terribly busy lately between outings with the kids, finishing up teaching my online class, and writing. Yes, writing. I've been sitting down and actually pouring my heart out into the keyboard to write. I've found that I have a lot of things to say, and sometimes blogging just doesn't fill the void that I need to fill. So, I don't really want to talk to much about it for fear of it flopping, but I have some ideas that I'm finally writing about.
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| National Building Museum |
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| Look at me. I'm a tree! |
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| Fun at SkyZone |
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| Cotton candy ice cream. |
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| When the Amazon shipments come - there's always a fight regarding who gets to play in the box first! |
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| Sometimes it's fun to play IN the toybox. |
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| Oh, you know. Just sitting here cheesin'. |
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| Bear inspects my outfit for the wedding. |
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| Sprinkle donut envy... |
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| Clinging to big sis for dear life! |
Places/Activities: This week was filled with fun. On Sunday we explored downtown Ellicott City and supported local businesses there. Monday I took the twins out shopping to the mall so I could find myself an outfit to wear to my cousin's wedding. That was an interesting experience. The mall we went to was not very accessible - which was disappointing. Not only was there only one handicap entrance, but in the department stores themselves, it was a pain to find the elevators to go from one floor to another, and I had to go to 3 dressing rooms before I found one large enough to accommodate me and the double stroller. Having twins and needing to use a double stroller has opening my eyes to how difficult it must be for those bound to a wheelchair to get around. I think the ADA needs to be revised a bit because meeting the minimum standard is pathetic. I mean, really pathetic. It's not that much extra work to make sure all doors have the automatic open option, and to include at least one accessible stall in EVERY dressing room. Ok, rant over - but you get my drift. So, the next time you see someone in a wheel chair, or having a tough time getting from point a to point b, ask if there is anything you can do to help. The few times that we are in a place that isn't common to us and people have been kind enough to hold the door or offer to help me get the stroller up or down the stairs are people that usually mention that they have a family member or friend who has a disability and they can relate to accessibility issues. While I was in the dressing room and trying on clothing as fast as possible (the twins hate shopping as much as I do) the twins were beginning to get a little fussy. Nothing major, just a bit whiny - but times two of course. The woman in the room next to me in a very loud voice went, "SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" For real? The nerve? I quietly filled up their snack cups to buy me a few more minutes and guarantee their silence until we could get out of there. But really? Who shushes random children? I mean, other than a librarian? Which, by the way - libraries aren't quiet anymore and I don't know of any of my librarian friends who have ever shushed a child. Ever. Myself included. I mean, other than my own kids. I shush them all the time - but they don't count as random to me. So, I got my outfit and left. I was a little irritated for a hot minute, but then all was well when the super nice cashier gave us the sale price for my purchase a day early. So, shopping Monday, Tuesday we went to the National Building museum to meet up with a friend and her new baby. It was really neat there and we will definitely be going back. Lots of hands on stuff for kids to try out! I pulled Squeak out of school so she could join us. She really enjoyed herself. Wednesday I took the twins to SkyZone. They lasted all of 45 minutes, which was the longest 45 minutes of my life. I think I'm going to wait until they are a bit older to take them back again. It was too hard to try and keep up with them running in opposite directions. They had loads of fun bouncing around. They don't really jump just yet, and instead bounce and run. Bear would run as fast as his little legs could carry him and then fall flat on his face and laugh hysterically. We took the kids out to eat on Wednesday night just for fun to get pizza. Thursday I took a 3 mile walk with the babies, which was great. I felt very energized afterward. Although by the time I made it to yoga in the evening, I was so ready for a nap. Friday D and I went to my cousin's wedding. It was very lovely and the bride was gorgeous. It seems so bizarre to me to continue to see my cousins get married and settle down. I remember holding my cousin when he was a small baby, and now he is all grown up with a college degree, job, and a wife. It's always good to see good things happen to good people. I'm glad we could be there to help celebrate their special day - even if we felt like we were more a part of the "old" crowd there. ;) Today we took the kids to an event called, "Touch a Truck" where kids can walk up and get inside a fire truck, police cruiser, various work and construction vehicles, etc. It was neat and everyone had fun (except when the police cruiser would put on the siren). Puff especially was not a fan of the loud noise. Last night ended with bookclub which is always accompanied by good friends and good food. A very full, but very satisfying week!
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