There are so many things to explore down here and I feel like I have no time to explore anything. With Matt being off for so many days and now the kids are out of school for a few weeks and after they trashed the house yesterday, I couldn't stand being in the house for another day with them so I looked into going on an outing today. I kind of let the boys decide. Their choices were:
1. Go to the San Antonio Zoo
2. Go to the Natural Bridge Caverns
3. Go to MacCallister Park for a bike ride
One boy decided the Zoo sounded great and the other boy thought a bike ride would be perfect. I was really hoping they would pick the Caverns. So I sort of helped them agree on the Caverns. I told them that we were going to walk to the center of the earth and we would most definitely see dinosaur bones. That did it. That was their decision. We piled in the car and off we drove 19 miles away from our cozy little apartment. Here are a few highlights on our little outing.
Our youngest child, known as Moe to a lot of his friends and family has taken up a nasty new habit of licking and sucking on his fingers. Oh Ok... not just his fingers. I have caught him with his whole hand in his mouth and an occasional toe. He loves to slurp and he will slurp your arm, leg, face... what ever he finds convenient to slurp. So today, when were driving down interstate 35 towards our destination, I could no longer ignore the screaming in the backseat of my sporty new Buick. It was the oldest child having a freak attack because Moe had his fingers in his mouth and he was getting them all "slobbery" and putting them on the seat and the seat was now wet. We are at a loss trying to get him to keep his fingers out of his mouth. I have showed him pictures of disgusting bugs that could live on your fingers (most of the pictures are of filled up ticks and heart worms) and it doesn't matter. It doesn't even make him blink. Next, I have actually showed him pictures of warts... big disgusting warts. Nothing. So today, while driving he shrieks from the back seat that he is just trying to keep his tongue from falling out of his mouth. So we get it. We realize that is his fear. It isn't of bugs or worms or warts... he is seriously afraid if he doesn't hold his tongue in his mouth, it will fall out. This is good. Now I can work with him. Now I can explain how our tongues work. This will be easy now.
I'm going to give a shout out to the good Lord above and be thankful he was listening to me when I told the boys that we may see dinosaur bones at the Caverns. I know he was listening to me because when we pulled up to the parking lot, there were 3 awesome fun dinosaurs in the little park. A big "Mama" dinosaur, a middle dinosaur and a dinosaur egg with a little baby Dino's head poking out. This was awesome. Now I knew I wouldn't have to hope and pray we see a dinosaur bone... we had dinosaurs. YES!!!!!
We get to the tour spot to meet our tour guide. Moe is walking around getting in every one's pictures and we start walking down the little path to the entrance of the caverns. He kinda starts to freak out a little bit because he decides he doesn't want to go down that path. He doesn't want to go in the caverns at all. He starts getting a little freaked out when we decide there is no turning back. So, we get going in the caverns and as you all know, being in caverns has it pros and cons. The pros.... well we weren't going to lose the child because it is dark and he isn't going to step too far away from our side. The cons... well.... it is a THIRD DEGREE FELONY to touch anything in the caverns in the State of Texas. Because if the oils on your skin it will make the formations die and not ever grow again and basically throw off the balance of the cave. So... we are with Moe, in a dark cave and remember... he likes to slurp. I was waiting for him to slurp a big ole limestone formation and I was waiting to be hauled of to a Texas Jail. That would have been the highlight of the trip.
Moe has a very vivid imagination. He likes to tell stories. Some of his stories are very true. Some of his stories are a play off the truth and the rest are plain old stories. Today when we were in the caverns, 180 feet below the earth, in a rather dark part of the cavern, he decides he is going to ask his all time favorite question. I really think he asks this question when he knows he may get a rise out of the group of people standing around him. His question? It goes something along the lines of this:
"Mom, when are we going to see the dragons?" Yes. He asks that in places that only a 4 year old would think there would be dragons. A few months back, we went to the Portland Zoo, and when we were at an exhibit (and there were a ton of little kids standing an ear shot away from him) he asks if we can go see the baby dragons now? Of course most of the little kids heard him and either they are scared for life and are never going to another Zoo, or their parents think I am the crappiest mom that has ever walked the earth. A lot of the little kids that day really wanted to see the baby dragons. A few actually cried and threw a little fit when their parents said no. Of course, because I think it is wonderful for children to have a fabulous imagination, I said that we would see if the baby dragon exhibit was open. Thank the lord once again, it was. Those little tiny bats flying around in their little glass cage worked wonders for me that day. To bad some of the other parents didn't have the same intellect as me and march their kids to see the bats. So.... Because the "dragons" left the caves about 5000 years ago, we didnt get to see them... just what they left behind.
The Caverns went well today. It amazes me that I can tell my children that we are going to walk to the center of the earth and they are not bothered by that. I will tell you that if my parents would have done that to me, I would have needed extensive therapy years before I ever decided I needed therapy. I am waiting for the day when these children wake up and decide they may need to see a shrink. I will gladly dole out the money for it and let them know I told them the stories I did because it kept mommy sane. I figured it would be better to give them the money for therapy then to admit myself and have them grow up with out a mom.
I have another issue I need to tackle and that is figuring out how to tell Moe that he cant see a doctor to have his nose made like Mickey Mouse's. That is going to cause a complete breakdown. He is going to be broken hearted and I am sure a Therapist is going to charge me extra for that one.
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