This weekend was a lesson in going-with-the-flow.You see, with 2 blizzards under our belts since my last post, we had been suffering from a bit of cabin fever. It felt like it had been so long since we had an adventure that I began to worry Will would no longer embrace a change in scenery. Furthermore, every Friday we are repeatedly pelted with the question "What are we going to do fun tomorrow?" by an eager 7 year-old. So I was thrilled to hear about a fantastic childrens band that was visiting Easton on Saturday morning. Something fun for both kids and it didn't interfere with Will's nap schedule! (Recently I had been investing a great deal of effort implementing techniques from The No Cry Sleep Solution and was starting to seem some improvement in Will's nighttime sleep - I did not want a setback caused by a skipped nap!) Bella could dance and sing at the concert (two of her favorite activities) and Will could learn that applause is not a bad thing. We managed to get the whole family out the door in time to see the show. As we were walking to the venue (a local coffeehouse), Bella was bursting with excitement and ran ahead of us down the sidewalk. The delicious promise of hot cocoa and muffins welcomed us as we opened the doors, and the band sounded jubilant as they warmed up. We approached the ticket table with much anticipation and...... sold out. Sold out?! It had not even occurred to us that such an event at 10am on a Saturday morning would sell out! I was shocked and stood there for a moment staring at the guy collecting tickets. "I'm sorry ma'am." I lingered, thinking about slipping him a wad of cash, feeling for my wallet, then remembering that I live in America and have probably been watching too many Weeds episodes of late. I didn't have any cash anyways. Bella, not realizing what had just transpired, looked up at me hopefully. Fighting back tears (yes, my tears - I'm a bit tired I think), I hugged her, explained the concept of limited seating and fire codes and told her we'd find something else fun to do. Although Adam and I brainstormed for a good 20 minutes while Bella imbibed sympathy hot chocolate and nibbled on cookies, we could not come up with anything comparable that met our criteria - inexpensive, indoors (2 feet of melting snow makes a sloshy mess), and nearby enough to accommodate Willem's necessary nap. We bought and checked the local paper: nothing. Defeated, we went home.
As the day wore on, we continued to think about something fun we could do. After learning that we had Sunday free as well, it was decided - tomorrow could be a DC day!! The museums there are FREE and only 90 minuted from our home. The sun would be shining, the mercury nearing 50 degrees F... perfect! We chose The National Museum of American History for our little history buff, who is fascinated with events and lifestyles of days past. As we have learned to do over the years, we refrained from telling her until that morning, just in case someone woke up sick or some unforeseen circumstance prevented us from going. We didn't need 2 disappointments in one weekend. Still, I went to bed smiling at the thought of Bella's face as she pondered the exhibits.
An hour later Will awoke. Uh oh. While he had been having some difficulty sleeping recently, the past few nights hadn't been so bad. I coaxed him to sleep and climbed back in bed. An hour later Will woke again. I nursed him and helped him back to sleep, thinking we should get a pretty decent stretch of sleep this time. Uh uh. As I was climbing back in bed, I heard him babbling. Oh dear. The next 3 hours were a blur, but I do recall saying tearfully to Adam "We won't be able to go to DC if he doesn't get some sleep! Poor Bella!!" Around 6:30am, as I was rubbing his back and debating about what to do with our plans, I finally decide to just go for it. And so (after another hour of sleep), we did. When we told Bella that we'd be visiting a history museum in DC, her face lit up and she exclaimed "The Monument!! Can we go up in the monument?!?! Please??!!" I had almost forgotten about her fascination with this tower.
The day was meant to be. The Washington Monument was right next to the museum and we found a parking spot in-between the two. While most of the day was booked, we managed to get in with the 3pm tour of the monument, which allowed for a few hours at the museum first. Bella constantly impressed us by providing commentary and facts she has retained from her many hours of reading. I let go of Will's 2 hour midday nap, and he did wonderfully, never melting down once. Fortunately, these kids are very good at going with the flow. And we've all learned that disappointments are often open doors. :)
(An exhibit about the history of windsurfing! How perfect!)
