Well, the boys are happily off to Neverland, and Will and I are watching DWTS. I have to admit, I never used to be a fan (too much jabbering and not enough dancing – ironic since it’s a dancing show!), but for some reason it’s become one of “our shows” to watch together. It’s a good ending to a great day.

I took the boys to the Nevada Discovery Museum in Reno again today. It was Brayden’s first visit, but Zackery’s second. He was soooo excited he could barely keep himself in his seat (thank goodness for 5-point harness car seats!) on the way there. At every turn, lane change and stoplight, he asked “Is this it? Are we here?!” It was genuinely adorable, and luckily not too annoying either.

We spent a solid 2-1/2 hours there, and could have spent all day if I were bold enough to forgo a little mister’s (Brayden’s) nap – which I was not willing to attempt. Will was able to meet us for lunch in the “picnic” room, which was a wonderful extra bonus surprise for the boys. They rarely get to see Daddy during the day, and they are also usually in bed before he gets home from work, so to have some fun time with Daddy was great for all of us.

I had a message from another Mommy friend when we got home, wanting to know what my afternoon plans were. Since Brayden only napped 40 min in the car until Zackery woke him up (that’s a whole other story on some other day…), my original plans became null and void. We ended up having them over for a little playdate and dinner.

I’m not exactly sure how we did it, but amongst the 3 of them running around the house, dumping every single toy out on the floor, and screaming (mostly in joy), my friend and I actually managed to have a series of uninterrupted conversations. We talked about feeding our kids (and what they will or will not eat); we talked about our husbands (mostly good, but honestly, you have to expect that when two married women get together there will be some venting); and we talked about weekly schedules (as much as we can realistically try to stick to one).

When it comes to my weekly schedule, the one thing that’s constant is that I have both boys all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Zackery’s in preschool M/W/F). I know myself, and I know that if I’m going to do anything “crazy” for the week (and by “crazy” I mean taking them both to a place of pure kid imagination, pandemonium and adventure – a.k.a. The Discovery Museum – all by myself), I better do it on a Tuesday. By Thursday I’m so exhausted that even thinking about anything “crazy” would make me want to reconsider.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my boys, and generally I love taking them places, but it’s a lot of work all by myself. The 2 hours of prep work (which without kids running underfoot would take any normal person 15 min) – making lunches, filling water and milk bottles, making sure there’s enough diapers, wipes, change of clothes (even for Zackery, just in case he has “too much fun” and forgets to “take a [potty] break”), and then having adequate (and not too messy) snacks for the car (long gone are the days when I was “one of those Moms” who never let their kids eat in the car), oh, and maybe even shoving some resemblance of breakfast in my mouth as I’m zipping up jackets, buckling shoes, remembering to put my shoes on, and the list goes on and on and on… – okay, where was I going with this one?

I know that as the boys continue to get older, it will get easier and I’ll need less “stuff” to prepare and take with us on our adventures. For now, as they are still a little young (and I am enjoying both their ages very much) I will be prepared to prepare. I will also be realistic (is this allowed?), not expect too much of myself and stick to planning one “crazy” thing a week.

So, I hereby officially declare (at least in our little house) that Tuesdays are now “Let’s Get Out of the House Day.”  Where will we see you?