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spiders and snakes and rap stars
Nov. 18th, 2010 11:15 pmI meant to post this last week, actually.
Last Friday, Z. and I had a playdate with Miss B and Miss A. It was a good one--for a while there I deapaired of our ever having a good playdate; they're both good kids, but they're both only children and they're both three--at the Imaginarium. We've been there before, but they'd rearranged things somewhat, so it was exciting in that regard.
I had a free pass, from back when Erin was down and we'd taken her to the Imgainarium (it was a cloudy day, so we didn't hit the park). We'd stood in line at the gift shop while the woman at the counter set up a bunch of memberships; it took her a while, she was short-staffed, and we were chatting and Z. was bouncy but not obnoxious, and I don't think we even noticed we were waiting that long, but the lady was so grateful that we weren't annoyed or rude about the wait that she gave me a free pass for two adults and two kids.
Anyway, we used that, and let the kids run around like nuts. They played together and played apart. Z. was actually, I think, bugging A. on purpose--like, when your spouse/partner person gets in your way as you're doing something, or steals your seat on the couch when you get up to do something. A. was in the mini-block pit, making towers, and Z flopped down across it (he's tall!) and just proceeded to play his hand-held ring toss game with this little grin on his face that reminded me of his father.
So A. and I buried him in blocks.
B. and I got to chat while the kids played in the sandbox (they dumped sand in each others' hair; it was cute but we had to get after them about it), which was nice because lately a lot of our playdates are at really loud places where you can't just talk.
We fed fish, ran around, did science experiments, looked at rays, saw a godawful depressing (and also just godawful) 3-D movie about extinction, and finally went to the animal show.
We've done the animal show before, Z. and I. He is an expert at the two-fingered petting technique they ask you to use to touch the snakes and alligators. Z. has touched snakes and alligators--they usually do a volunteer section to the show where a couple kids get to go up and handle the animals, and then at the end everyone can file by and touch one critter.
Today the audience for the show included a group of kids on a field trip. They were on a schedule, so the lady running the show stopped it a little early and went out with the alligator so the kids could touch him on their way out. But she asked the rest of us to stay so our kids could have a chance.
Well, once the field trip cleared out there were about seven kids left, so the lady just had any of them who wanted to come up to the front. So Z. got to wear a ball python on his shoulders and hold a tarantula.
The python, he said, felt like a cardboard box. The tarantula (named Mrs. Fuzzy Feet) did, in fact, have fuzzy feet.
I went up with him and just held his hands while he tried on the snake, and then put my hands under his so that if he flinched from the spider he wouldn't drop it. But he didn't flinch at all. He was awesome, and just carefully held and looked at it.
After ward we stopped by the station to see Scott. We took the elevator upstairs and exited into the upper lobby area, where these guys were sitting. Z. and I were babbling on about puffer fish (a new addition to the Imaginarium) and Mrs. Fuzzy Feet, and the guys smiled like you do when you see a babbling kid. Scott asked if they were being helped, they said yes, we went on in.
Found out later? Those guys were 2 Live Crew.
2 Live Crew smiled at my kid because he was cute.
Dude!
Last Friday, Z. and I had a playdate with Miss B and Miss A. It was a good one--for a while there I deapaired of our ever having a good playdate; they're both good kids, but they're both only children and they're both three--at the Imaginarium. We've been there before, but they'd rearranged things somewhat, so it was exciting in that regard.
I had a free pass, from back when Erin was down and we'd taken her to the Imgainarium (it was a cloudy day, so we didn't hit the park). We'd stood in line at the gift shop while the woman at the counter set up a bunch of memberships; it took her a while, she was short-staffed, and we were chatting and Z. was bouncy but not obnoxious, and I don't think we even noticed we were waiting that long, but the lady was so grateful that we weren't annoyed or rude about the wait that she gave me a free pass for two adults and two kids.
Anyway, we used that, and let the kids run around like nuts. They played together and played apart. Z. was actually, I think, bugging A. on purpose--like, when your spouse/partner person gets in your way as you're doing something, or steals your seat on the couch when you get up to do something. A. was in the mini-block pit, making towers, and Z flopped down across it (he's tall!) and just proceeded to play his hand-held ring toss game with this little grin on his face that reminded me of his father.
So A. and I buried him in blocks.
B. and I got to chat while the kids played in the sandbox (they dumped sand in each others' hair; it was cute but we had to get after them about it), which was nice because lately a lot of our playdates are at really loud places where you can't just talk.
We fed fish, ran around, did science experiments, looked at rays, saw a godawful depressing (and also just godawful) 3-D movie about extinction, and finally went to the animal show.
We've done the animal show before, Z. and I. He is an expert at the two-fingered petting technique they ask you to use to touch the snakes and alligators. Z. has touched snakes and alligators--they usually do a volunteer section to the show where a couple kids get to go up and handle the animals, and then at the end everyone can file by and touch one critter.
Today the audience for the show included a group of kids on a field trip. They were on a schedule, so the lady running the show stopped it a little early and went out with the alligator so the kids could touch him on their way out. But she asked the rest of us to stay so our kids could have a chance.
Well, once the field trip cleared out there were about seven kids left, so the lady just had any of them who wanted to come up to the front. So Z. got to wear a ball python on his shoulders and hold a tarantula.
The python, he said, felt like a cardboard box. The tarantula (named Mrs. Fuzzy Feet) did, in fact, have fuzzy feet.
I went up with him and just held his hands while he tried on the snake, and then put my hands under his so that if he flinched from the spider he wouldn't drop it. But he didn't flinch at all. He was awesome, and just carefully held and looked at it.
After ward we stopped by the station to see Scott. We took the elevator upstairs and exited into the upper lobby area, where these guys were sitting. Z. and I were babbling on about puffer fish (a new addition to the Imaginarium) and Mrs. Fuzzy Feet, and the guys smiled like you do when you see a babbling kid. Scott asked if they were being helped, they said yes, we went on in.
Found out later? Those guys were 2 Live Crew.
2 Live Crew smiled at my kid because he was cute.
Dude!
