I have a confession to make:
I’m not a fun mom.
I’m not necessarily UN-fun, but my natural inclination isn’t to drop everything and do something out of the ordinary and exciting.
In fact, most days we don’t leave the house at all, or if we do, it’s for a trip to Target. (I mean, I think that’s fun!)
Part of it is the hassle.
Loading up three littles into carseats, buckling them all in, oh wait, where is your other shoe?!, I should bring a couple diapers, man the wipe case is empty!, hurry, get in your seat!, how did the dog get out here?!…
And then once we get to wherever we were going, it’s all the unbuckling, popping open the double stroller, threatening Henry with his very life that he must obey and stay near, consoling Lucy who thinks she’s old enough to walk around like her brother, prying random merchandise out of Jill’s hands that she grabs as we walk by displays…
And let’s not even start with all the stuff I have to get done at home.
But.
Every once in a while, I get that guilty itch.
The one that reminds me that
And I know it’s true.
I don’t want my kids to recount memories of me “My mom never really played with us, but our house was really clean and the laundry was always done.”
Boo.
So yesterday, I decided that a long overdue trip to Chuck E. Cheese was in order.
Groan with me.
Ugh.
I can’t stand that place.
But kids like it, right?
And this was an exercise in fun.
I was a little worried.
After all, I was by myself…with three kids.
Two who can walk and wander, and one who needs to be on my hip the whole time.
Translation: I don’t have full use of both my arms/hands.
I did the Mom Threat Thing in the car before we got out:
“You WILL behave. You WILL listen. You WILL stay near Mama. You WILL NOT cry and complain when it’s time to leave. OR I WILL NEVER BRING YOU HERE AGAIN.”
Little okays and head nods all around.
Deep breath. I can do this.
$15 in tokens kept us busy for a couple of hours.
Remind me to wear something with pockets next time.
Fishing coins out of my purse while holding Jilly and trying to help Lu from chucking skeeball overhead with an aim that looked like it was going to take out the little kid in the aisle next to her was a bit of a disaster.
We didn’t eat their cardboard pizza. Just tokens. And a root beer for mom.
There was the little photo booth.
Just one token!
Here was the perfect opportunity to get a family portrait!
I mean, this would be just as good as something by Drew B, right? (Click that link. Prepare to die from the cute.)
Of course. And just ONE token! What a steal!
There we are. All four…of our foreheads.
We played games.
We rode goofy little rides.
We watched bigger kids play games that were too hard for our 4 and 2 year old selves.
Honestly, I was kinda bored.
But the kids seemed to be having fun.
And this wasn’t about me.
Once tokens were “exhausted” (that’s Mom Code for ‘I’m over this place, so yes, we’re all out kids’), Lu and Hen decided to play in the structure.
I. was. terrified.
I just kept praying: “Dear Lord, please do not have her get stuck up there and not know her way back out. I really really really really don’t want to crawl my sorry butt up there to rescue her.”
The last time we went to Chuck E Cheese, Henry was 2 .
He managed to get lost in the rainbow maze from hell, and although I was 11 weeks pregnant with the girls, I was still smaller than Andy to do the honors.
Can we talk about those tubes for a second?
NASTY.
Sticky. Smelly. Greasy. Vile.
Kids with greasy pizza fingers crawling through, probably leaky diapers, snotty noses…so so so so gross and smells TERRIBLE in there.
::excuse me for a moment as I dry heave remembering it::
I certainly didn’t want to be crawling up there again this time…not to mention that I’d somehow have to drag Jill with me because I wouldn’t be leaving her unattended in the stroller while I was up in Nasty Land trying to find Lucy in some random dead end.
More threatening ensued: “Henry you MUST stay by your sister. You have to be a good brother and help her because she’s little and I don’t want her to get lost. If you don’t protect her and keep an eye on her up there, I WILL NEVER BRING YOU HERE AGAIN.”
Mind you, the kid is all of 4 and I’m putting him in charge of his 2 year old sister.
Super awesome.
Luckily, it was fine, she didn’t get lost, Henry kept up his end of the bargain and coaxed her through and I stayed safely in my plastic booth watching robotic animals that look like they have mange play guitars and sing with Jill.
I don’t think that this outing will ever qualify me as the fun mom.
But I’m okay with it.
We do fun stuff at home. Where it’s safe. And not grimy.
I try though. I gotta get some points for that.
Please say yes.
Or it will all be in vain.
And that would suck. Bad.
Are you a fun mom? How do you do it? What’s your secret?
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I much prefer to do the fun stuff at home, where its easier, less germy, comfortable. I took my kids to Chuck E Cheese once, and 2 days later they had the stomach flu so I don’t EVER want to go back. I will admit I don’t keep the laundry done and all that stuff but we do play a lot as long as we are home.
I have this guilt trip ….often. I find myself tied up with cleaning or something really important like Pinterest and my boys are going crazy with borednumness (that’s a word right?). So then I take them outisde for a little “fun” time, but in this Flordia heat it’s not so much fun. Then there are the times I try to do “fun” crafts, which end up into a big horrible mess and no one listening to me. One is trying to swipe the glue and the other one is trying to run off with the scissors.
So yeah, I for one say trying does count. All you can do is try, right? Your Mommy threat sounds a lot like the one I give my 4 yr old. My 2 yr old doesn’t listen, so it’s just in vain trying to talk to him. You’re a braver woman taking your littles to Chuck E Chesse. I only have 2 and I hate just going to the grocery store with them by myself. Which I need to be doing right now….
I am not a fun mom which often causes me guilt. Like you, a trip out of the house for us is the store (or doctor’s appointments.) At night when I put our 2 year old to bed she asks what we’ll be doing tomorrow. It’s usally “are we going to the store tomorrow?” For my kids a great day is Wed. when my mom takes them for an afternoon. Kuddos to you for the solo Chuck E Cheese trip. I hate that place. We don’t go because my son has Down Syndrome and the noise is too much for him. We recently tried a similar type place for a Down Syndrome Association event and he did okay. They have less noisy games and there were two of us to handle the two kids. The zoo (when it’s not a blazing 100+) is about my speed.
Wow. You are so brave! You are a fun mom. Memories can be made at Chuck E. Cheese or at home, what’s important is that they are being made.
I’m not a fun mom, but I try not to sweat most stuff, and as a result my oven is dirty and my floors are sticky, but I’m not necessarily a fun mom. Sounds like lose-lose to me! :) I know how hard it is to go places with twins + 1 – been there done that, and it gets easier, even with a special needs kiddo. I promise. There’s plenty of fun to be had all over the place, I find our money is often wasted on expensive outings that are “typical fun kid stuff” because my kids just want to run around and pick up rocks or something. So we go with it. And we end up with a lot of the “outside” inside.
I…am not a fun mom. And I feel crappy about it often. When my 6 year old was little we would ALWAYS play outside (well, we did live in Hawaii at the time…) and made playdough and finger painted and played dress up and took lots of fun pictures and make crafts. Now she is 6 with an 18 month old brother. We do nothing. I blame moving to small town Alabama but really…what is keeping me from the playdough and finger paints? Im lazy. And tired. And more lazy. My poor boy totally gets the short end of the fun mom stick.
well that was fun reading it. i’m sure the kids had fun, though. Even though my 3 kids are all in their 20’s, we made many trips to chuck e cheese in their young years. even had one’s birthday party there while the youngest who was 15months old screamed the entire time scared of billy bob. But now with “older kids” our fun times out are when we all meet at restaurants. That seems lame, but we really have a great fun time laughing, joking around, and eating, and the best part for them is that mom and dad pays the bill!
I go back and forth..it is a VERY hard balance. I often feel bad, especially this summer as my almost 10yo son just told me this has been the “most boring summer ever!” But there is only so much you can do with 3 kids that doesn’t cost a lot of $$ and everyone is happy! I do think you get major points for going! :) all we can do is try as moms!
I am laughing so hard I am crying! BEST. POST. EVER! My son has been begging to go to Chuck-E-Cheese, and I have done all I can to put it off. It is SO GROSS there! And I understand about the nasty play-land tubes. When T was little he would BEG me to go with him to climb in them. There was no way in…well, you know where.:) I almost threw up when I read you had to climb in them pregnant! I am SO SORRY! And yes, the smell is enough to make regular morning sickness look like fairy land. :)
Anyway, you are a WONDERFUL mom! And not because you brought them to the-grimiest-place-on- earth-that-kids-love, but because you care enough about being a good mom to even think of what you could do to be a fun mom for them. You are amazing and I admire you. :) Way to go!!
I agree about the mouse place, it’s NASTY. I work in the medical field and anytime I see kids in tubes or a ball pit, I think of all the nasty germs and bacteria that are swimming around in the pit and tubes with the kids. Gross!!!! I think, not only does the attempt count, but so does the thought (just like presents!) LOL
I love this. It describes me to a tee. And I am also a fanatic about ball pits and the like, ugh disgusting. It’s winter here, but the sun is shining, it’ warm and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. I really should take the kids out to the park. But after chicken pox round 2, my house is a disaster, my washing pile almost as big as Everest. I’m going to tackle that, and then be a good Mum!
ohmygosh. You are totally the fun mom. Just risking the dry heaves makes you my hero. HA! I’m glad you survived Chuck E. Cheese. My kids are 20 and 21 and I still pretty much have nightmares about going there. Still.
You win the brave/cool mom award.
I am LOL right now because I have thought the same things about myself. That “I am not a fun mom”. My kids (8 and 10) are self-professed home-bodies, and anytime I suggest going somewhere, they say they’d rather stay home. This is fine because my husband works from home when he isn’t traveling, but sometimes I want to take them somewhere… FUN! EXCITING! STIMULATING!
But maybe that’s just me. My kids are 2 years and 8 days apart in age, and even though they are opposite sexes, they are best friends. They have plenty of playing to do with each other at home.
At the end of the day, I am soooo thankful they are close and prefer to be with each other than anyone else. I choose to see it as a blessing than as a hindrance of not leaving the house and doing anything “fun”.
If they are content, why rock the boat? :)
Dairy Queen at 9:30 at night….spur of the moment…..right out of the blue. Its cheap and they love it! They are 13 and 10, so in the summer there is no worry of a late bedtime.
This entire post is a mirror image of ME… LOL. I’m always feeling guilty for not being a “fun mom”!
…And my kids have never been to Chuck E Cheese… (I know, I’m terrible) But last year my 4-year-old learned about the awful place at pre-school, and she’s certain we are having her 5th b-day there… wow. Shoot. Me. Now. :)
Oh, I’m a fun mom. And you are, too. You don’t have to go out of the house for your kids to have fun! We do stuff in and outside the house, but on days we stay in, my daughter enjoys herself just as much (that’s why we buy toys and books). Plus, if I had three kids, we’d probably have more fun days AT HOME, too! (And Target TOTALLY counts as fun.)
Our outings consisted of heading to Weinerschnitzel and walking down to the park (when we lived in Los Osos). The beach. But we did go to Chuck E. Cheese with other cousins and my mom-in-law was going crazy trying to keep an eye on all the cousins and grandkids. We all had “fun” trying to keep our kids in sight. Couldn’t believe what a zoo it was! Jeannett, you’re doing great with your kids. I think I say that everytime I comment. :) But I enjoy seeing the pics of the fun things they do around the house and on your camping trips. love you much, girl
Your a great mom, for that I am sure! Simply acknowledging that you think you are not means you are. And really, I LOATHE CEC! YUCK!
I adore this post!! I often feel the same way. It’s just chaos trying to do anything with my kids. I have 3 that are 3 and under. They exhaust me. But I’m fortunate that we only live 30 mins away from the LA Zoo and we have a pass. We venture there often. I pack our lunches, we see animals, and we play at the park that is inside the ZOO. Love!! I feel good getting them out…they run around like animals and tire themselves out. The ride home includes mommy’s well deserved iced coffee and a LOOOOOOONG nap for the 3 little monsters.