Sotterley Plantation Trip

On Tuesday I told my mom a deliberate lie. I told her that I wasn't going to take the kids to Sotterley Plantation for the spring break activities after all. It was a lie I had to tell. Otherwise she would have gone with me. I know it sounds like I didn't want my mom to come with me, when in fact, I did. I just knew she didn't want to go, but I knew that she felt like she had to go because she thought it was too hard to take four kids on my own. My mom had other things she wanted to do, the "other things" being: paint my stairwell and do yard work at my sister's house.  My mom is many things, but selfish is not one of them.

Anyhow, I lied, and then I tried to sneak out of my house before she showed up to paint it. It didn't work. Getting four kids out of the house takes a long time. I haven't completely adjusted to the new requirements. She pulled up as I was buckling car seats and loading snacks; I explained the lie and my reasoning and then got the heck out of there before she could convince herself to jump in the van with me.

Honestly, however, I was worried I made a big mistake because I am not yet fully comfortable with juggling all four. Sena and Gus are really helpful, but I wanted them to enjoy their time and hopefully learn something. I wasn't sure if they would be able to if they had to chase after Arlo while I nursed Alamae.

As luck would have it, it all worked out. The weather was beautiful, the tantrums remained at bay, and I'm pretty sure that Sena and Gus did, in fact, learn a few things.

I also learned something: homeschooled kids don't know about raising their hands. Guess I need to teach them that practice. My kids were eager to call out answers. I'm not sure if the homeschooled kid stereotype is that they are shy and awkward, or precocious and awkward, but my kids are definitely the later.

The trip also confirmed that I should always try to plan museum trips to correspond with special events. Like our trip to the marine museum last week, the interactive workshops made the experience so much more engaging. Sena is one of the only people I know who diligently reads every plaque and sign: for the rest of us, it sure helps to have someone talk us through the most important information.

We ended the day on the rag tag playground-- a beat up, random assortment of half broken equipment that made for some good, slightly dangerous fun. A reminder that sometimes fancy isn't better.

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