Getting Out a Little

The kids love (love!) the makeena/car.  I know that many families have trouble even getting home from the airport that first day because their kids have a hard time with car seats, but we've had no issues with that whatsoever.  A friend (thanks Sharla!) had suggested some time way back, when I created photo albums for the kids to include in their gifts after passing court, that we include a picture of our van and a picture of Matthew strapped into his car seat.  I have no idea if this made the difference in the ease of our kids getting into the car, but I do know that they practically leaped (only a slight exaggeration) into their car seats at the airport and that the next morning, Seth A. pulled out his photo album and showed me the pictures I just referred to.  They've been great ever since, and both seem to like the bit of 'adventure' that the van seems to provide.  Even their favourite toys in our basement rec room are the Little Tykes cars that Matthew has outgrown; one makes various sounds when the horn is pressed and Seth A. has claimed that from his little sister.

The only time Seth A. has balked at a makeena ride was at the end of last week, when I wanted to take him for an early ride to get a jug of milk - he clearly wanted to go in the van and got so far as climbing into his car seat, but then the terror of leaving his sister did him in and he couldn't bring himself to leave her.  When I invited him to go and buy milk with me a few days later (we have been drinking a lot of milk around here), to see if anything had changed, he ran back and forth from van to house about a half dozen times (completely torn between wanting the van ride and not wanting to leave Lizzie S.) and then finally jumped into the van with a grin and dove for his seat.  He was totally fine after that, and when he saw the produce section of our grocery store, he covered his mouth with his hand and gasped...well worth the adventure, I'd say!

Every morning, Seth A. asks hopefully if we're going in the makeena.  For the first week+, we really didn't want to go anywhere, so that the kids would get used to being home, but I love that we've been able to get out of the house in the past two mornings (well, I didn't love Monday's errand to the provincial health authority, but it was still good to get out of the house).  We haven't had anyone other than family over to our house yet, and I'd like to continue that for the next couple of weeks.  But the kids seem ready for outings, and there is no complaining during our time in the car.  Yesterday, we met up with friends at a play structure for a bit and, in addition to watching the joy of all three kids on the swing sets and play structure (they'd clearly never been down a slide before), it was just lovely for me to be able to connect with a friend and 'hang out' for a bit.

Today it's raining and I'm wondering what adventure we can go on in the car.  We will be taking Matthew to gym class this afternoon, but the mornings seem now to stretch out very long in prospect if we have nowhere to go.  Maybe we'll try a grocery shopping today, because we've eaten through a couple of crates of mangos already, and are completely out of Seth A.'s beloved oranges.  At the grocery store, maybe I'll even push the kids around in the 'theme' cart they have - it should be fine...after all, it's in the shape of a car!


P.S. Check back here later today if you'd like...I've had requests for pictures of the kids' bedrooms and I'm happy to oblige!