Pass the Bad Mommy Award and Happy New Year

Pass the Bad Mommy Award this way as I have been publicly chastized by another parent.

I took the kids to the "other" Air and Space Museum this morning while DH stayed home. I thought the museum would be a good place for the kids to see some great things as well as get to run around a bit. So we started by seeing the airplanes in the "airplane hangar" and Natalie spotted the simulator rides. I told her we could do those later after seeing the space hangar. So we toured through the rockets, the astronaut materials, the missiles and -- of course -- the space shuttle. Then we headed back to go to the observation tower. Natalie had not forgotten about the simulators. Nicholas, on the other hand, did not even want to be 40 feet near the things -- as in he is going bananas and is begging me to take him home. So I managed to get him to sit down and I gave Natalie money to go on the simulator ride by herself. I told her repeatedly that she would have to go on alone, and she was all set with that. She was the last one seated in the ride.

Needless to say, it didn't go well. She got off the ride first and came over to me. She seemed "okay" -- until a man came over to me (with his kids) and loudly pronounced that she "should have never gone on the simulator by herself as she didn't like it at all and that I should never have allowed her to go on alone and should not do it again". All I could say to that was "Thank you." When I told DH about this, he said that he would have used some other phrases instead. (!!!)

So, we all had a good time other than the simulator part.

And the reason for going without DH? I had been doing all the "activity planning" for when my parents were in town -- they left Thursday. On Friday we all went to see Charlotte's Web at Tysons and we had lots of fun. Yesterday I left things up to DH and he planned butkus. It was I that took them on some errands. It was I that took them bike riding -- or more accurately Natalie did the bike riding and Nicholas did the walking while I did the tricycle carrying. So I "took charge" today instead of being bored out of my mind. ;-)

One of my New Year's resolutions is to do more "fun things" with my kids. I hope to do these sort of things and take advantage of everyhting we have in the metro DC area. AT least in between dance classes and swim classes and library visits!

Happy and Healthy New Year's wishes from all of us!