And please don't come again another day. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep two nearly-two-year-olds occupied when playgrounds, petting zoos and the back yard are off the table? Do you know that with the exception of going to the library (30 minutes' entertainment, tops) or to someone else's house for a playdate (which requires painstaking advance scheduling and hopes that everyone is germ-free) toddler-friendly indoor activities generally require dropping serious amounts of cash?
It was (yet another) mostly rainy weekend here in the Greater Boston Area, and we were challenged accordingly to figure out things to do with the girls to keep them and ourselves from going stir crazy. It went a little something like this:
On Friday morning, we had a legitimate errand: we went on our first official preschool visit. (!!) That was great, and the girls totally dove right in, playing with the toys, climbing in the play area, etc. But all told, it took up about an hour. Legos, Play-doh, crayons and Sesame Street got us through to lunch and naptime. In the afternoon, while I took my requisite depression sufferer's 2-hour nap (my little mid-week mood boost didn't last), Alastair took the girls to our nearest indoor play gym, Together in Motion, along with every other parent in Arlington, Somerville, Cambridge and Medford. He came back looking rather like Wile E. Coyote after a TNT mishap.
On Saturday morning -- still raining -- I suggested we go to the mall. For no other reason than it was somewhere to go. As it turns out, a mall is a good place to go with toddlers. The escalators were a source of endless fascination. There were lots of loud, battery-powered things to play with in the toy store and a play table in the Lego store. We skipped the play area at the food court, which was swarming with kids (we clearly weren't the only parents using the mall as a source of rainy-day entertainment) and wandered down toward Santa's prematurely erected holiday photo/torture compound (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called) where there was a string quartet playing (premature) holiday music. The girls loved that -- they danced and spun around and clapped, looking like wind-up toys.
We also attempted lunch at the mall's Rainforest Cafe. This was against our better judgement, but it just seemed to be going so smoothly -- the girls loved the big fish tanks and all the monkeys and birds and things hanging from the ceiling in the waiting / retail area. We were seated fairly quickly, and there were free crayons, which the girls were totally psyched about. But right after we'd sat down, all hell broke loose, in the form of a simulated "storm." Thunder, lightning, mechanical apes bellowing, birds squawking, pythons hissing. Clio and Elsa totally lost their shit. We carried them out screaming, and retreated upstairs to the brightly-lit, gorilla-free food court, where a rotating billboard sign was all the entertainment they needed: Doggie! (An ad for some new Disney movie) and then a few seconds later, Shoes! A few more seconds -- Doggie!! Shoes! Doggie! Shoes! Who needs animatronic snakes and $12 hamburgers?
I had the girls on my own all afternoon, and we managed to keep ourselves entertained between board books and Curious George and a visit from a friend of mine. But when the sitter arrived at 5:30 so I could go to Alastair's early gig at a local bar, I was out of there like a shot.
We had a plan in place for Sunday: we'd borrowed our friends' passes to the Museum of Science, and planned to spend the morning there, then Alastair would take the girls for the afternoon, when the weather was supposed to improve. The MOS is a great place to bring kids -- the Discovery Center area is a total hands-on, toddler and kid-friendly smorgasbord of fine and gross motor skill fun. Other areas of the museum have live animals, tons of interactive exhibits, etc. Again, crowded, and expensive if you don't have a membership (or a friend's membership to bogart). Also, definitely a two-parent activity if you've got twins. (Like so many things.)
Unfortunately, our museum visit was cut short on account of my mental health, or lack thereof. My doctor recently prescribed another drug to help "boost" the effect of the antidepressants I take, since the increased dose doesn't seem to be working, and I had taken the first one the night before. All day, I was like a zombie. Seriously, I felt like I'd been lobotomized. I was going through the motions of normal life, but it was like I was controlling a video-game version of myself. I had no inner monologue, no desire or motivation to do anything. I was also drowsy and slightly dizzy. It seems crazy that one pill could have such an effect, and maybe it's something that would have lessened over time, but I would rather look at other options before willingly taking the undead route.
Anyway.
I will end this rather rambly post (I think I've still got a bit of a zombie hangover today) with a plea to you, my ever-wise and helpful readers: what do YOU do with your toddler-ish kids when it's rainy / cold / etc.? Low-cost and Boston-area-specific ideas are particularly appreciated, but all are welcome -- even novel at-home activities. Things that one parent alone can handle with twins are also particularly helpful. And while you're at it, how about solving the global financial crisis? Thanks!
Here we are now, entertain us. (Inside.)
