Oh Daddy, proud of your planets! Oh Mommy, proud of your sun!*

Ever in search of new experiences and diversions, I took the girls to the planetarium today and left my post-call DH to sleep the afternoon away in peace. Actually, our plan was to go to the university's free museum -- the toddler loves the dinosaurs, all of them T-Rexes (to her) with big growls -- but the planetarium is connected to it and shortly after we arrived, they announced over the loud speaker that a star show would start in just a few minutes. In addition to dinosaurs, I happen to know that girl loves her planets and sparkly stars. I figured this would be the best outing ever.

Holding on tight to the toddler's hand and awkwardly steering the baby's stroller with its bum wheel, we made our way to the planetarium and waited in line. I tried to prepare them for what they would see: It would get very dark, but there would be a movie on the ceiling that showed a twinkly sky and lots of beautiful outer space things. "Oh boy!" said the toddler. "Outer space! Shake your booty, Mommy!" (Lately she's been inserting that command at random times. Go figure. I did a little dance and moved on.)

We sat toward the back, so as not to bother people, and at the end of a row so we could park the stroller. I pulled the baby out and placed her on my lap, hoping she'd cuddle and fall asleep in the dark since she had stubbornly refused to nap earlier. But as the lights dimmed, the toddler scrambled off her chair and into my lap, as well.

I've only got so much lap.

The baby, already a bit cranky from the sleep deprivation, started to whine and climb Mount Mommy. In doing so, she stepped on the toddler's hand (I think -- it was pitch black at that moment) and the toddler began to cry. I tried to bounce and soothe and distract them both: "Look up there, guys! It's sooooo sparkly!" But nobody cared. And the toddler's cries seemed to be turning from pain into panic at the darkness of the room.

I decided we'd better go, but leaving a pitch black planetarium with two young children and a mildly defective stroller isn't exactly the easiest thing, either. Holding the baby in one arm, the toddler in the other, I felt my way to the stroller, plopped the baby in and fumbled for the straps. The three of us then bumped into the wall and followed it around to the exit. Of course, upon leaving I noticed the baby was missing one of her shoes -- her first pair ever, bought a mere three days ago -- and so I left the girls alone in the hallway (bad mommy) while I went feeling around in the dark under seats for the infant size 3 shoe that had been lost in the scuffle of the lap war.

*Sigh!*

Fortunately, I found the shoe and the girls didn't get abducted while I searched. So I guess something good came out of our trip to the planetarium.

Maybe we'll try again in a few years.


~RCH~

*A prize of five pretend dollars to the first person to name the song/artist referenced in the title of this post. ;-)