Boston Children's Museum

Yesterday at work my Internet suddenly went down. Then my Office Outlook. When I asked if anyone else was having problems, they not only concurred but they pointed out the phones were knocked out as well. The server blew and rumor has it the server blew pretty badly. They sent us home for the day which coincided perfectly with when Brent was coming downtown to take Liesel to the Children's Museum. They both had the day off and Brent needed to use the free tickets he'd received from work which were set to expire yesterday. I was happy to discover I would get to join them. Whitney also took Liesel to the Children's Museum over the summer and I'd only heard about the Bubble Room and other novelties second-hand.

Brent dropped us off near the entrance and then went to park the car in the metered parking which is free on holidays in the city of Boston. As would be expected, it was a madhouse. Even Liesel who is one to jump in the fray was taken aback by all the kids and excitement. We waited for Brent who called my cell and asked us to come to the admissions desk. I guess he looked like a kidnapper or something because without a child in tow he was being asked to turn in his ID. When they saw he was with a very pregnant woman and toddler they let him go. I had to laugh because as I've mentioned, Brent looks like a kid himself. It's good to know they're careful though.

We saw the famed Bubble Room, played in the Construction Zone, and experienced the Boston Black section. Sadly Liesel wasn't interested in going to the African Queen Beauty Salon to try our hand at styling black hair. In the middle of the museum they have this amazing sculpture/ climbing structure which goes as high as all 3 floors. When I first saw it I nearly had a heart attack. As I looked more closely, I realized it was well-designed to have a very low slope on each piece and to intertwine in such a way that it's amazingly safe. Liesel loved climbing on the lower pieces but her favorite part of the museum? The drinking fountain. No lie, there was a drinking fountain with a step stool just her height and she screamed when we finally pulled her away from it. This just added to my parenting theory of not buying toys. Kids are entertained by some of the plainest things in their world, why not put that toy money towards her 529 plan?

I discovered a few things about the Children's Museum: 1- It's where all the pregnant women are. I was definitely NOT alone in that respect. 2- The uniform of choice for mothers is yoga pants, lots of makeup and a Louis Vitton bag. 3- Kids don't ask to have a turn. They just walk up to you and stare until you get the picture. I'm thinking of employing this method at work just for fun. I wonder how much faster Product Support would be at resolving one of my issues if I stood outside their cube and just stared at them... I bet it would be much faster than it is right now! I'm really glad I got to go with Brent and Liesel. One of the greatest joys of my life is seeing them together having fun.