Staying Active

I’ve said before that my job as a mom seems to be more about exhausting the kids on a daily basis than it does “raising” them.  They are raised by me kicking them out of the house into the backyard to play, whatever that happens to mean to them at the moment.  Often, it means digging for dinosaurs by the fence or being farmers with a rake and a shovel or just throwing a hundred pickleballs all over the yard.

 

My boys have a lot of balls.

 

But with the abrupt and timely arrival of autumn this weekend, my two monsters spent a bit more time indoors than they are used to.

 

Back are the daily wrestling matches with Tony on our queen bed (the dog bed at the foot serves as an extra cushion for the kid who is knocked off during play) and the evening dance parties with me.  Also, this:

 

 

Pull ups for everyone!  Actually, I still can’t do a pull up.  Or a chin up (I understand that one is with hands facing out, one with hands facing in, but I don’t know which is which).  But my boys almost can!  And Tony can do, like, a hundred.

 

But the big fun this weekend came from visiting the YMCA for “Bitty Open Gym,” for which the entire basketball court was closed down for an hour so that families of small children could go nuts with the Y equipment.  Remember those planks on casters that you roll around on?  Yeah, those are awesome.

 

He’s moving too fast for you to see the uncontrolled glee on his face.

 

 

Charles could push himself around, and I claimed a plank for myself as well.  Tony got the mountain-climber workout of pushing Jamie.  Plus, there were jump ropes, hula hoops, a small basketball hoop, bowling pins, bean bags, about a zillion balls (though none of the pickle variety, so we still have the advantage there), a tunnel, and a parachute.  Best hour ever.

 

I thought for sure that after tearing up the gym for sixty minutes, both of the kids would take a well-deserved nap, but no.  Jamie didn’t nap at all yesterday, resulting in meltdown after meltdown.  Sharing is hard when you’re tired, I guess.  It’s especially bad when you get to 5 pm and you’re willing to nap, even saying, “I go nigh-nigh mine bunk bed” and mom makes you stay up because you’re too close to bedtime for a nap.  I am such a bitch sometimes.

 

Regardless, you’ll likely find us at the Y every Sunday from now on.  It’s like P.E., but without the rules.