Yesterday Pie wanted to go to McDonald's Play land. She bugged and begged her daddy until he gave in and took us all for a late lunch before we did a little grocery shopping. The closest indoor Micky D's play land is in Bangor about 25 miles from home. I continue to be amazed that there are so few places to take your kids to play, especially in the winter. I guess maybe that is why Maine has such an obesity problem.
Both girls fell asleep on the way. This made me happy because Sam had been getting in the habit of taking some really long, late naps lately which means she wants to stay up late. That would be OK except that Pie likes to get up when the rooster crows.
Both girls were so thrilled to wake up and see Ronald's shining smile greet them at the door and the smell of chicken nuggets and of course that promised toy in the happy meal box. They both ate a good unhealthy lunch ( and yes I let them have fries over "apple dippers" because well, they like them.) Then we headed off to play!
McD's has have recently replaced their play land equipment and created a toddler area with an cool piano slide that makes music as you slide down. Unfortunately, there were 5 girls that had taken over the area who were clearly older than the age limit of 3. Pie can hold her own pretty well but the older girls weren't so nice to Sam. I was about to bust out my mama bear protectiveness when the nice older lady who oversees the play area stepped in and got the girls under control.
As I looked around and matched up the kids with the parents I found it interesting to see how many parents had their laptops open or were absorbed by their smart phones while their kids were running amok. I will admit that I do spend plenty of time online and the girls spend a considerable amount of time watching TV but when we are out doing something as a family, I want to make the most of it and I actually enjoy watching my girls play. I felt bad for the parents who were missing out on the time they were wasting with their children. They grow up so fast and I have the feeling that the internet will be here for a long time to come.
My New Year's resolution is to remember to keep those priorities straight.
We have had so much snow this year that we are all seeing white! The girls have a bit of cabin fever and our "cabin" isn't big enough for them to get all their wiggles out. I would be happy the lay on the couch all day with a blanket and a good book, but that wont get the house cleaned, meals cooked or keep the girls occupied. When they are bored they get grumpy!
So on Wednesday, we headed out in the cold to do some snow painting. I had read about this way last summer and Pie had been waiting for he chance to do it for months. We filled some spray bottles with water and food coloring and went after the 4 foot high snow banks all around the yard. Pie had fun squirting the snow, me, Sam and Tig. Sam had fun too but didn't quite have the strength in her hands to squirt much.
Chris went back to work this week after 3 weeks of time off over the holidays. Partly due to a hurt neck and partly due to a lack of work. It was nice to have him home but nice to get back to normal too. 
