Terrell Mill Park

One of my favorite local parks is called Terrell Mill. It's one of the few parks that has some shade and a good mix of play structures for big and small kids. A few weeks ago, I took the kids there and discovered that they had ripped out half of the playground. They've been replacing a lot of parks around here and not always for the better so I was bummed they'd hit one of my favorites. (They also ripped up the playground next to the gymnastics center. Not sure what that's going to look like yet.)

I heard the new section had been put in so I took the kids on Friday to check it out. And for once, I think it was a vast improvement. I love the new playground and it's fun for lots of ages. Benjamin loved the tubes and there weren't super tall slides that he could easily fall from so I didn't have to be on high alert every second. I think we'll have to go back soon and put this park back in heavy rotation.

Georgia Aquarium

Back in February, Zara had another week off school. (They get a lot of weeks off. I only remember getting Christmas and spring break, but I digress.) Being some form of masochist, I decided to take all three kids by myself to the Georgia Aquarium because they were running a special admission deal. We had visited once before before we had kids and I had wanted to visit again to see if purchasing a membership would be worth it. Aquariums are great for when the weather is too cold/hot or rainy and the zoo or park won't do.

 The Georgia Aquarium is one of the largest aquariums in the country and it does have some very impressive animals (like these beluga whales) and tanks. They even have a dolphin show which was delightful.

But I have to admit that after working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and visiting many others (including the Chattanooga Aquarium recently), the Georgia Aquarium is not my favorite. In part, it is because it is very crowded and not well laid out. It is terribly difficult to navigate with kids and especially when you are a lone parent with three kids and clearly not able to handle them all. But the biggest part is that it feels like a commercial aquarium that cares more about its big flashy displays and corporate sponsors rather than educating the public about marine life. 

I never feel like I come away any wiser about marine life or conservation issues which was the number one focus at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Still, the kids enjoyed themselves and loved to watch the fish. 

 They probably would have stayed there all day if I weren't so burned out and tired from coraling three kids all day. And since the aquarium is so crowded with narrow corridors, I couldn't bring my double stroller which would have made the trip so much easier.

So in the end, I'm glad we came for a visit. At least I have decided once and for all that an aquarium membership is not worth the price.

But watching all those fish swim around in those giant tanks was strangely soothing. 

Asleep in His Highchair

Never in the history of ever has any one of our three kids ever fallen asleep in an unusual place like their high chair. But Benjamin did today and I felt it needed to be documented. 

I picked up Zara early from school today because she was running a fever. She didn't want to eat anything and just went to sleep in my bed. Adelaide was being cranky and crazy and after her second accident after several days of none, I stuck her in her room to sleep the cranky off. So Benjamin and I didn't get our lunches until a little later. I set him up with his favorites (Cheetos and frozen yogurt) and was eating my own lunch at the table and checking things on my computer. 

He was making cute noises and then the next time I looked over, he was asleep. I'm just going to let him be and enjoy this rare and unusual gift of three children all asleep at the same time during the daylight hours.

Three Babies Part III

Everyone warned me that three kids was the hardest number and they weren't lying. There were certainly a few moments in those first few weeks where I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown. But for the most part, I think I've been handling the jump to three kids pretty well. I definitely have to be more regimented and stick to a routine as much as possible in order to not have our house devolve into utter chaos. It definitely helps that Zara is in kindergarten now so her school schedule forces us to have some semblance of structure. There are days that I'm able to be productive and on top of things, and there are some days when the house is in shambles and I never get out of my pajamas. But we're working towards a new normal and I'm pretty proud of myself for juggling all these babies. 

The other day, as I was walking with Adelaide and Benjamin to pick up Zara from school, I kept thinking how incredibly lucky we have been to be blessed with three such beautiful and healthy children. How did I get so lucky when I know so many people who have not been able to have children of their own or who have endured multiple miscarriages? Or who have had children but deal with health and behavioral issues on a wide spectrum ranging from learning disabilities to food allergies to autism or cancer. (And who work tirelessly to provide the absolute best for their children no matter their circumstances. I am in awe of these parents.) And yes, my children are still young and there may yet be some devastating diagnoses in our future, but for now, we're luckier than we really deserve to be. 

But amid this good fortune lurks the ever-present fear that something may happen to these children of mine, whether an illness, accident or something more serious. The hardest part of loving someone is living with the knowledge that you could loose it all. It keeps me up at night and knocks the breath out of my lungs when I least expect it. It can be debilitating sometimes, this constant fear, but the rational side of me insists I still move forward, tells me I need to let my children experience the world for themselves no matter how hard it is and how difficult the consequences may be. 

To give my heart to these three babies is the hardest thing I've ever done....because it also means I have to be open to the possibility of someday having to live without them again too. I just hope in this thing as well we continue to be far luckier than we deserve to be. I can't do without this family of mine.