A Bike Ride with 2 & 1/2 Kids... What Were We Thinking?!

We are eternal optimists.

We know how difficult it is just to survive a day with a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old. Most of the day is spent nagging, cleaning up, managing children and gear, and telling Jonah to be nice to Jackson.

So WHY do we continue to leave the house? WHY do we think we can go places and do fun things?

Jonah got his first bike this summer and he's been doing really well on the sidewalks around our house. So we decided to venture out for our first Big Trail Ride this morning. The weather was absolutely perfect and we found a beautiful trail near Mt. Gretna, which is about 30 minutes from our house.

Every time we go somewhere on a weekend, we plan to get everything ready the night before and pack the car, so we can get the kids up and go. I mean, EVERY time. Yet, in 3 & 1/2 years, we have NEVER managed to do this! Admittedly, it was my fault this time. If we hadn't spent an hour on a quest to secure fried chicken for my dinner, Brad might have had time to get the bikes ready last night.

Instead, he spent almost 2 hours this morning airing up tires and getting everything together and loaded onto the truck. I managed the kids (not fun... they HATE waiting!) and packed a lunch. We wanted to leave by 8:30. We left at 10:00. Not too bad... still time for a nice ride before lunch time. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the parking lot and started to unload the truck, Brad discovered that one of the tires for the bike trailer had gone flat again, meaning we would need a new tube. Which we didn't have. We were proud of ourselves for looking on the GPS and finding a bike shop just 2 miles away. However, when the nice lady on the GPS announced that we arrived at our destination, we were at someone's house. Great. So we headed for Walmart, which was another 6 miles away, down winding roads, on the other side of an art festival, and past a couple of little towns.

Thirty minutes later, we were back in the car and on our way back to the trail head parking lot. By that time, Jackson was all-out screaming and Jonah was yelling for him to stop. Pleasant. We finally made it back to the parking lot and Brad got everything set up while Jonah and I experienced the local porta potty. Awesome.

Finally, we got on our bikes and headed down the trail. By that time, it was almost noon and the kids were all but spent for the day. Jonah couldn't pedal on the gravel parking lot, but we finally made it to the trail, which was packed limestone. It was smooth and not very hilly, but Jonah needed a push every 10 feet or so to keep going. About 100 feet down the trail, he admitted that he no longer wanted to ride his bike and would like to ride in the trailer with Jackson. We abandoned his bike on the side of the trail and he got in the trailer. Great. Now we could enjoy the ride. Don't they look happy?!


Two minutes after we took off, we heard--predictably--"I'm hungry!!" So we stopped for a snack. Which Jackson immediately dumped out... "UH OH!" We finally got going again. They were quiet for about three minutes, until Jonah refused to give Jackson any crackers and Jackson started screaming at him. For the next 20 minutes (or maybe it was only five?!), we attempted to move forward on the trail, but it was impossible to make any progress while admonishing Jonah and trying to convince him that Jackson was not touching him ON PURPOSE.

We finally turned around and headed back to the truck. I'm sure every person we passed (none of whom were biking with small children, by the way) rolled their eyes at the screaming coming from the trailer and then said a small prayer of thanks that they were enjoying a nice peaceful ride on an amazing trail on a picture-perfect day.

Eventually we did make it back to the truck and had a nice lunch at a little park adjacent to the parking lot. This was somehow the highlight of the day for the kids, even though it's the kind of thing we do on a weekly basis.

Oh well.

I'm sure if we get an earlier start next time, it will all be FINE, right?!

Satisfying Jonah's Curiosity

I know it's only August, but Jonah's starting to ask about Christmas. It's pretty ridiculous, I know, but we have a LOT going on the next couple of months and Jonah has an overwhelming need to know when everything's going to happen. Our timeline goes something like this:

• When it gets a little cooler, Olivia's coming (yes, we can go to Great Wolf).
• After that, it'll be Halloween (yes, you can go trick-or-treating with Benjamin).
• Then it will be Jackson's Birthday (I don't know what kind of Birthday party he'll have; we'll decide when it gets a little closer.)
• When it gets a little colder and all the leaves are red and orange and mostly fallen off the trees, the new baby will come (no, she won't be ready to play and yes, you can paint her toe nails).
• Next is Thanksgiving (yes, you can watch the parade on TV).
• THEN, when it's pretty cold outside, it'll be your Birthday (sure, you can have a parajumper Birthday if that's what you still want by then).
• Finally, when it's cold and snowy it'll be Christmas (yes, Santa Claus will probably come, but I don't think you should dress in a Santa suit so he won't be scared away if he sees you... you will still have to go to sleep that night).

We have this conversation every day. The variation this morning was about Christmas:

Jonah: You should call Santa and tell him to bring Daddy another guitar.
Me: Daddy doesn't really play the one Santa brought last year, so I don't think we'll ask for another one.
Jonah: Why doesn't he play it very much?
Me: Because he's busy with school.
Jonah: Daddy's not in school!
Me: Sure he is... whenever he reads his ophthalmology books, he's studying and that's like being in school.
Jonah: (after a thoughtful pause) So daddy goes to school on the TOILET?!

:-)

Trying to be Deep about Being a Mom

Sometimes I'm quick to pass along funny stories or to complain about how hard my life is, but it's probably not often enough that I share some of the more precious times we have together. I've had two days--in a row!--that really made me happy to be a mom and I'd like to share a bit with you, my faithful readers.

I mean, I'm happy at moments every day, of course, and I love love love my kids more each and every day, but some days are just really hard. If you read my post about taking the kids shopping, you know exactly what I mean. In fact, if you have kids of your own, you probably know what I mean.

Yesterday morning, we got up and out of the house to head to Jonah's Garden Wonderers class at Hershey Gardens. It was a beautiful morning... not too hot for once... and we were happy to be out in the fresh air. When we got to the gardens, we couldn't find our group. When I inquired at the desk, it turned out that there was no class that day; I had marked my calendar wrong. Since we were already there, we spent some time wandering leisurely through the grounds and enjoyed the butterfly house and children's garden. We sat down at the end and had a snack together and talked about everything we'd seen.

That's a sweet enough memory and experience--and a good reminder to take it down a notch sometimes and not always have to have an activity to do--but what made me smile even more was when Jonah told Brad about his day: "Daddy. You might be really disappointed about this, but we didn't have flower class today." He then went on to tell him it was the best time he ever had at Hershey Gardens.

Last night before bed, he wanted to start a new chapter book (we finished Winnie the Pooh last week). He didn't want ME to read House at Pooh Corner to him and it was Brad's turn to read to Jackson. Earlier in the day I had told him about Charlotte's Web and he remembered to ask for it. We read and enjoyed the first chapter. The best part, though, was the reverent way in which he carried his new book over and placed it gently down on the table right next to his bed.

When he got up this morning, he came running downstairs carrying three precious things: his blue blankie, his new water bottle (who knew a kid could get so excited about a bottle?!), and his new copy of Charlotte's Web. We immediately read a chapter and then talked about our plan for the day. When I told him we were going to Hershey Park with a friend, he said he wanted to take his book with him to show his friend. At first I said I didn't think taking a book into the park would be a good idea, but he said "Well, let's take it with us and when I get tired we can sit down and read a little chapter!"

Sigh. It was just one of those moments that you want to freeze. Of course we took the book with us and read a little chapter after we had our picnic lunch. I hope and pray that I never forget the gratifying feeling of having my three-year-old want to take a chapter book with him to an amusement park. When he's older and wants nothing to do with books or me, I NEED to remember that feeling.

I know every one of you has had moments like this... maybe even on a daily basis. Aren't you thankful for them? I'm going to try my hardest to conjure up these special memories the next time Jonah is accusing me of child abuse or the next time we're running frantically out of the house, late to an appointment for a class or play date. Does any of that really matter?!

Yes, actually, it does. We need classes and appointments and play dates and there's nothing wrong with all of that. It's only wrong if we fill our lives SO full with other stuff that we don't make time to pick up a new special book--the reading of which might possibly change our lives forever!--or to sit down together under an umbrella and enjoy a snack and conversation or (literally) take time to smell the roses.

That's why we're doing this, right?

Have a great weekend, friends.

tara

PS Diana: you'll be happy to know that my baseboards are decidedly UNclean today.

:-)