Just Another Day with Em and T in Paradise
I had a great day in The City with the kiddos. And except for one small glitch when I think I may have walked two city blocks with my skirt jacked up in back in my underwear, everything was smooth sailing. Yes, there was one minor meltdown, but that was to be expected. It happened when we were leaving the playground, and what kid wants to leave the playground? Especially a playground in The City?
Playgrounds. Man, I never thought I would spend so much time at playgrounds. I don't think I even noticed playgrounds existed before I had kids, and now I will plan entire vacations around them. I know I didn't have to walk ten miles to school in the snow, but I certainly walked three blocks--rain or snow--and I know for a fact that I did not get to go to playgrounds as often as my kids do. Did they even have playgrounds when we were little? I remember a couple, but they were old and filled with metal monkey bars that in the summer heated up to a temperature hotter than the air outside and in the winter were the stuff of legends. Don't lick a cold metal bar! Your tongue will freeze to it and will have to be cut off! How many of us heard that one?
Please, somebody raise her hand. I would hate to think I am the only person who was raised by fear.
Oh, and you were told that bad kids were sent to orphanages, too, right?
Anyway, we all know that I take my kids to cool metropolitan locales because I want to go. I adore driving into San Francisco and right now I've got two built-in buddies who don't yet know that they can object to my ideas for how we spend our days.
So today we went and saw a concert at Union Square put on by Market Street Association: People in Plazas. They are putting on a different show at various venues every Monday through Friday afternoon this summer. Cool! Today we saw Panther Slim, and he and his band were pretty good. They played both original tunes and covers. My favorites were their covers of "Wild Horses" and "Home On The Bayou." Thomas liked "Home On The Bayou" and thumped my leg with his left hand during the song. He couldn't clap his hands together because he was too busy using his right hand to shovel rainbow goldfish into his mouth.
After the concert, we ventured over to the Sony Metreon for lunch at Long Life Noodle Co. Yum. If you get the chance, go there. And order the Cucumber Juice. I didn't, but a woman next to us did and it looked delicious. Lunch was nice because of the food and also because it was way past lunchtime so the place was deserted. A bonus when your lunchtime companions eat with their hands and cry tears when they're thirsty.
An odd thing happened as we were eating lunch. A man who was sitting at a table behind us got up to leave and told me that I had "cute kids," and that he had gotten a real kick out of watching them have lunch.
What?! My kids? Of course, he made my day. I'm going to have to add that to my list of nice things to do for strangers. So far on the list is:
1. Go up to people taking photos of each other and offer to take one of all of them. (But only if they have an easy-looking camera.)
2. Compliment people's children when your own are not with you. (They're more likely to believe you if they don't have evidence to the contrary.)
The compliment must have hyped the kids up because when we went outside to Yerba Buena Park to run off our lunch, they started doing this silly running and hugging thing. You know what I mean -- like two lovers on a beach who haven't seen each other since breakfast. They were being cute and I know this not because I'm their mother or because the guy in the restaurant told me they were, but because I saw two different people taking pictures of them. Look, honey, cute little people! I think they call them children! Awwww, maybe we should make some of those. They look so easy and fun! Hehehehe. Nine months from now, formerly childfree people will be cursing me and my offspring when they discover the truth: life isn't always a frolic in the park! Those children you saw today were hyped up on hoison sauce! You should have seen them thirty minutes later when I said we had to leave the playground!
After frolicing in the grass, we ventured over the bridge to the other side of Yerba Buena Gardens. The side I've never been to and the side that has A.Huge.Playground. Doh. Also a carousel and a children's interactive museum (Zeum) and a bowling alley and an ice skating rink. I imagine we'll be spending a lot of time there in the future. At least, that's what I promised Emily to get her to leave today.
***
Technorati tags: San francisco, Fieldtrip, kids
Playgrounds. Man, I never thought I would spend so much time at playgrounds. I don't think I even noticed playgrounds existed before I had kids, and now I will plan entire vacations around them. I know I didn't have to walk ten miles to school in the snow, but I certainly walked three blocks--rain or snow--and I know for a fact that I did not get to go to playgrounds as often as my kids do. Did they even have playgrounds when we were little? I remember a couple, but they were old and filled with metal monkey bars that in the summer heated up to a temperature hotter than the air outside and in the winter were the stuff of legends. Don't lick a cold metal bar! Your tongue will freeze to it and will have to be cut off! How many of us heard that one?
Please, somebody raise her hand. I would hate to think I am the only person who was raised by fear.
Oh, and you were told that bad kids were sent to orphanages, too, right?
Anyway, we all know that I take my kids to cool metropolitan locales because I want to go. I adore driving into San Francisco and right now I've got two built-in buddies who don't yet know that they can object to my ideas for how we spend our days.
So today we went and saw a concert at Union Square put on by Market Street Association: People in Plazas. They are putting on a different show at various venues every Monday through Friday afternoon this summer. Cool! Today we saw Panther Slim, and he and his band were pretty good. They played both original tunes and covers. My favorites were their covers of "Wild Horses" and "Home On The Bayou." Thomas liked "Home On The Bayou" and thumped my leg with his left hand during the song. He couldn't clap his hands together because he was too busy using his right hand to shovel rainbow goldfish into his mouth.
After the concert, we ventured over to the Sony Metreon for lunch at Long Life Noodle Co. Yum. If you get the chance, go there. And order the Cucumber Juice. I didn't, but a woman next to us did and it looked delicious. Lunch was nice because of the food and also because it was way past lunchtime so the place was deserted. A bonus when your lunchtime companions eat with their hands and cry tears when they're thirsty.
An odd thing happened as we were eating lunch. A man who was sitting at a table behind us got up to leave and told me that I had "cute kids," and that he had gotten a real kick out of watching them have lunch.
What?! My kids? Of course, he made my day. I'm going to have to add that to my list of nice things to do for strangers. So far on the list is:
1. Go up to people taking photos of each other and offer to take one of all of them. (But only if they have an easy-looking camera.)
2. Compliment people's children when your own are not with you. (They're more likely to believe you if they don't have evidence to the contrary.)
The compliment must have hyped the kids up because when we went outside to Yerba Buena Park to run off our lunch, they started doing this silly running and hugging thing. You know what I mean -- like two lovers on a beach who haven't seen each other since breakfast. They were being cute and I know this not because I'm their mother or because the guy in the restaurant told me they were, but because I saw two different people taking pictures of them. Look, honey, cute little people! I think they call them children! Awwww, maybe we should make some of those. They look so easy and fun! Hehehehe. Nine months from now, formerly childfree people will be cursing me and my offspring when they discover the truth: life isn't always a frolic in the park! Those children you saw today were hyped up on hoison sauce! You should have seen them thirty minutes later when I said we had to leave the playground!
After frolicing in the grass, we ventured over the bridge to the other side of Yerba Buena Gardens. The side I've never been to and the side that has A.Huge.Playground. Doh. Also a carousel and a children's interactive museum (Zeum) and a bowling alley and an ice skating rink. I imagine we'll be spending a lot of time there in the future. At least, that's what I promised Emily to get her to leave today.
***
Technorati tags: San francisco, Fieldtrip, kids
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