Y, oh Y?

For the first two years of the twins’ life, it’s been mostly a survival game. We did what we needed to do to get the kids fed, clothed, diapered, cleaned, rested and the cycle started all over again. Our “Family Fun” time was limited to McDonald’s Playlands and trips to the zoo, neither of which were very “fun” for mom and dad. Now that the boys are a little older and can follow directions better, new opportunities have arisen.

The first time we realized this was on our drive home for Christmas. We stopped in Des Moines to break up the trip and stayed at a hotel with an indoor pool. It was a little nerve racking, but the boys had a great time swimming and goofing around. Plus, all of us sleeping on two double beds reminded Scott and me of family vacations in our own childhoods. The boys, of course, didn’t get to sleep until well past their bedtimes. Everyone was in bed, and it would be nice and quiet when someone would make a funny noise or pretend to snore. Then all of the boys would break out in giggles. Who doesn’t remember doing that as a kid? As frustrating as it was to be the parent in that situation, we had to just laugh (to ourselves, or course) at the boys interaction and senses of humor.

Since we are back to sub-freezing temps here in Milwaukee, the boys have been driving me crazy in the house all day. They’re little boys… they need to get out and run. We did some research and decided to join the YMCA. One Y about 15 minutes away from us has a zero entry family pool that is just perfect for us. We visited on Saturday (during the Packer game – that place was a ghost town!) and everyone had a great time. The Y closest to us has swim lessons for Joe - he starts on Wednesday – and some little “padded room” classes for Patrick and Luke to run around and burn some energy.

Since those classes haven’t started yet, I had a stroke of motherly genius today while we were signing up there. I borrowed three balls from the front desk and took the boys to a racquet ball court. It’s totally enclosed, sounds make cool echoes, and they weren’t bothering anyone. They all ran around bouncing and throwing their balls and chasing them down for a good half hour. When they started lying down on the court, I knew they were tired enough to go home. What a good little workout!