Petland and 2Toots

Okay, I am finally going to get around to updating about our fun spring break! On Monday I took the kids to Petland in Wheaton to see the animals. This is a nice little outing that is free. Every time we have gone, the people working there have been great. They like helping the kids with the animals. The cool thing about this place is that just about all of the animals are in open top things that are close to the floor so the kids can get to them. Even the birds are out in the open! Here is a picture of E with a bird on his arm.








New this time were the hermit crabs. E really enjoyed playing with them and telling everyone around about them. Here is a picture of him holding one.









Another thing that was new this time was the puppies. They had puppies before but now they have only rescued puppies. I really liked that! Also, if you have kids who like puppies, they will let you play with them or you could do what I did and just have them bring one out for the kids to pet for a minute.

Later that day, we went to 2Toots for lunch. It was my first time there but an old favorite of the kids. It is a cute little train theamed resturant. They have a train that goes around in a big circle that brings you your food. No matter where you sit, you will get your basket of food from the train. I wish I had taken pictures while we were there but it was a bit chaotic that day since it was spring break. We were not the only ones taking advantage of no school. Anyway, it is a fun place to eat. We went to the one in Glen Ellyn but there is also one in Downers Grove. You can check out the website for their address and menu at www.2toots.com

Still no computer

We still have no computer here. I'm starting to get used to it but it does drive me crazy at times. Rob's computer doesn't completely start up so it is unusable for now. We are trying to get a OS disc from someone so we can completely redo the whole thing. In May I have an extra paycheck so I looked at computers today and found one that I will be able to afford at that time as long as nothing else comes up first.

Anyway, in the meantime I have been thinking of more ideas for this blog. I have decided that in addition to posting about the places we visit, I would also like to post other ideas or issues related to children and also share some of the funny things the kids say and do. I have a few things already that I want to post before I forget.

First, I have something that I hope you will find useful when getting kids to clean up or in other situations as well. The other day the kids had the Easter eggs out and scattered all over the living room floor. It was almost time for us to leave to take E to his playdate and I wanted to get the kids to clean up the eggs first. I said to the kids "we can't leave until the eggs are cleaned up." I found myself repeating this over and over. Finally I realized how negative this must sound to the kids so I rephrased it. "As soon as all of the eggs are put away we can go to J's!" Almost right away, E was scrambling to put all of the eggs back in the basket! It's amazing that putting a positive spin on something makes all the difference!

Here are two examples that I know E is learning! He just amazes me sometimes! First, we had lunch at McDonald's with E's friend on Monday. On Wednesday he asked if we could go there for lunch and I reminded him that we had just been there on Monday. He then told me that he wanted to make a pattern of it. We would eat at home one day and McDonalds the next. I'm really amazed with the next thing. We had just pulled into his school and got in the drop off line. I like to be there early so I don't have to line up in the street but that usually means we have to wait a little bit. E has asked about the wait before and I always just tell him that the teachers are not ready for us just yet. On this particular day there were only two cars ahead of us in line. E said "the shorter the line, the longer we have to wait." He was absolutely right. The fact that there were only two other cars meant that we were really early and would have to wait a while. I am 99.9% sure that I have never said anything like that to him and I am stunned that he put that together!


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A bit of a delay

I had a fun filled week with the kids and look forward to posting about all of the places we visited. However, we are still having computer issues here. Mine died a few weeks ago and I don't have the money to replace it right now. I have been using Rob's computer but the computer and I don't always get along. Anyway, hopefully Rob will have the computer up and running by tomorrow so I can catch up on this week. For now I am using my phone. It's nice that it has a blogger app but it's just not the same. Plus I can't post the pictures taken with my camera from my phone. Also, the app likes to crash at inconvient times. So until then, here is a list of the places you can look forward to reading about:
Petland in Wheaton
2Toots
Lake Ellyn
Brookfield Zoo
The Children's Garden at Morton Arboretum
McDonalds Play Place
Plus the beginning of a project we will be working on through out the summer!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone