The Easter Eggstravaganza

The very first weekend... the very first day... it opened, we went to the Easter Eggstravaganza at the Irvine Park in Orange. I found out about it where I find most my tips, the OC Parenting Magazine. There are a few magazines put out by orange county that are monthly and free and always give me great tips of fun activities. 

 Our first stop was signing up for one of the Easter egg hunts. I have never been to a more organized egg hunt. They even sat the group down and said each child gets 8 eggs and parents are NOT allowed to pick up the eggs (a pet peeve of mine). There were still parents who picked up eggs because they were raised in a world where rules don't apply to them.

 Tyler worked with Tidus and I was with Ted.

 I made him stop in the middle of the hunt to take a picture with this rabbit. I was in no hurry because if every kid is guaranteed 8 eggs than we should have nothing to worry about right? WELL, some kids were taking way more than 8 and their parents were not counting. Ted got all his eggs but Tidus was one short and we were scrambling (get it?) to find one. I noticed one on the grass and standing next to it I said here Tidus! And right as I said that a parent snatched it up to put in her kid's basket. She then noticed me and my 1 year old and was like oh here you can have it... sigh... so we got our eggs and moved on.

 We then moved on to the games where everyone wins a prize just for playing. That is my kind of game!

 And then a ride on the train. As far as train rides go it was not the most amazing experience but Ted had fun and still talks about it. Probably because the train got stuck on the track. They had oiled the tracks and since it was still early in the day the tracks were slick. The conductor had to completely back the train up almost to the beginning and then take the slight incline at a faster speed.

 We also decorated cookies. Tyler is much better at this than I am. He put on tons of frosting. Mmm!

 Ted LOVES bounce houses.

 Tidus not so much. I had to shove him in the small hole and then he wandered around for a bit before deciding he was over it and got back out.

 He would rather play with his game prize than jump in the bounce house.

 There were still some ticket left over so we played a few more games and then we had to take Tyler into work for the rest of the Saturday.

Pirate Party, General Conference and Playing Around

Recently Pinterest has opened my eyes to the world of Tinker Trays. It is a STEM focused activity. For future generations, STEM is the educational buzz word of the days. It is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. A way to create more engineers in this world. Which is fine with me. 

So I have been setting out a caddy on the boy's desk full and random craft type objects for them to just have fun with a be creative. Sometimes I give them a task like asking them to make a bed for Goldilocks. But mostly they have more fun making up their own things to do. 

We made a rare trip to the $0.99 cents only store and I found a few more things to put in their trays. 

Outside the store was a coin operated car. I have the inability to say no to those cute coin operated rides. It is such a fun and simple part of childhood. (And hey, it's less than a trip to Disneyland) 

One of our finds at the dollar store was bumblebee and ladybug wings. Ted was so excited he put on the bee wings and ran outside to look for bees. He said the bees will think he is one of them.

That night was donned our best pirate garb and headed to the Aquarium of the Pacific.

We had to pick up daddy from work and we ended up arriving at the aquarium about an hour too early so we wandered around outside. A part of my wondered if people would think we were crazy all dressed up like pirates and then I remembered that it was Long Beach and we were probably not even the craziest dress at the pier that day.

The name of the game for Tyler and me is efficiency. We know how to beat the crowds at events. Once inside we hit the photo op section.

Then we moved quickly along to the craft and coloring stations.

We picked up all the free handouts. Barely made it into the first showing to the puppet show and finished the scavenger hunt in order to win Ted his booty (a handful or toy gold coins). It was fun. And stressful at times. The kids are not necessarily at their best at 7PM on a Friday but we were able to wrangle them and keep the good times going.

Then on Saturday and Sunday we watching General Conference. In this picture Tidus and I are watching it on my computer but Tyler figured out a way to get it on our TV so we watched most of it on that.

Saturday evening we took the kids to see the newly released Boss Baby. I blame bus stop billboards for the fact that Ted has been waiting 2 weeks to see this movie. That first theater we went to was completely sold out for the next 2 showings so we drove to another theater and ending up waiting an hour and a half. During that time was went for some Weinerschnitzel, Goodwill and Dollar Store action. Here the boys are playing dress up at the dollar store.

And we scored a $7 Razor scooter for Ted at Goodwill which was pretty fun.

Monday I spent most of nap time building a shadow box and puppets for the kids. I got the idea from What's Up Moms. Which is where I get most of my ideas. Ted loved it. Tidus made it his mission to destroy it. I became upset with him after repeatedly telling him to stop smashing in the paper on the front of the box. Eventually he received a spank on the bottom. He gave me the biggest frown and I immediately apologized for my actions. I am still a work in progress.

We go down slides, we climb up stairs and ladders

From day 1 with my kids I have emphasized the importance of only going down the slides at the park. My oh too familiar phrase is, "We go down slides, we climb up stairs and ladders."

Even when there are no other children playing the rule continues to be enforced. Not only do I see this as a safety precaution but it is also a way to teach courtesy and thinking of others. How can your friend enjoy the slide when you are clambering up towards them.

This rule is not always a popular one. Especially as the boys grow older. Even more so when they notice every other child at the playground is climbing up the slides and their mom is not saying anything. On one such occasion Ted was playing with a group of slightly older kids. They were all climbing up the slides, on top of the play structure, and anywhere else their monkey bodies could carry them. Ted continued to attempt in following their lead and I continued to caution and enforce that we don't go up slides. At one point, obviously exasperated with me, he proceeded to storm off the playground and into the nearby field. I followed him and bending over to his eye level I began gently talking to him. I told him I know it can be hard to follow rules when everyone else is doing something different. It does not seem fair but it is important to listen because it helps keep you safe and it lets everyone have their turn on the slide.

He cheered up a bit and went back to playing.

Ted continues to climb up the slide and I continue to tell him not to. I often feel like the biggest buzz kill mother.

Then came the day when I felt a small mamma victory. Ted was playing with a much older boy (7-8) at the park and (of course) the boy ran up the slide. The boy called for Ted to follow him to which Ted replied, "Okay but we don't climb up slides, we climb up stairs and ladders." And he went around the jungle gym, up the ladder, and the play continued from there.