A Fish Tale

Cheap Entertainment
Our most recent family trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa happened to coincide with the 7th Annual Kids Free Fishing Day in Traverse City. This past Saturday was what seemed to be the perfect day for fishing (at least to this amateur fisher who admittedly knows next to nothing about the sport). I heard that they had stocked 1000 rainbow trout, and the event was totally free including bait, a borrowed fishing pole, and food. I figured we had nothing to lose. We would for sure leave with at least one trout (the limit was 2 per child so we could have ended up with a total of 4 if luck had been on our side), and I wasn't completely looking forward to this since I had no idea what we were going to do with a dead fish -- certainly not eat it, anyway. So even though we didn't really know how to fish or what in the world we would do if we caught a fish, we headed out for a family adventure. Both kids were thrilled at the thought of fishing and I was happy to have some form of cheap family entertainment.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part
They were a bit less enchanted when they learned more about what fishing really entails. As we waited in line to get our gear, one family was just leaving, and I overheard the mom announce to nobody in particular, "We got skunked. We fished for an hour and caught nothing." I realized that this was an important point that I had overlooked in prepping the kids (and myself, it turns out) and took the opportunity to tell them that we might not catch anything.

Once we got our Dixie cup of worms and a pole, we found a spot that wasn't too crowded and I asked Brett if he wanted to put the worm on the hook or if he wanted me to do it. I can't remember why I even asked that. He told me I should do. That should have been my first clue that he was not fond of fishing. Despite the worm's squirming protestation, I got it on the hook. I double stabbed it, too, just to make sure it stayed on. We were ready to go. Brett cast the line and let Mia reel it in, then he repeated this process to give Logan a chance. Over on the other side (where it was pretty crowded), people were reeling in fish left and right and after a few minutes of waiting, I convinced him that we had to move the the other side where the fish were obviously biting.

{Logan reels in the line.}

{Mia was excited to go fishing for the first time.}

{This is the spot where the fish were not biting.}

The only difference there, it turns out, is that we got a closer view of everyone else catching fish. And occasionally, someone's line would get tangled with ours. Plus, there were the crazy folks who wildly cast their lines backward with total disregard to the tons of people, mainly children (hello, it's kids free fishing day) who may have gotten hit. I kept seeing mothers snapping photos of little kids holding up their fish while standing next to their proud fathers. I was getting a bit disheartened. When was I going to get a chance to take a similar picture? More casting, more reeling in, more waiting. Logan got antsy, so I took him off to get plates of hot dogs and chips for both kids.

{And here we are at the spot where I was sure we would catch a fish...}

{Logan decided that eating a hot dog was better than fishing.}

"The One that Got Away"
I brought him back as quickly as possible, because I didn't want to miss that moment when Mia got her first fish. And, of course, I would finally get to take that all-important photo. Then, the grandfather next to us helped his grandson reel in fish number two, and I noticed that his hands were totally covered in blood. Eewwww. Even knowing that they had a station with volunteers waiting to clean the fish couldn't make me get excited about the idea of actually catching a fish. Mia wasn't ready to give up, though. Brett told me they had a fish nibble on the worm while we were off getting food. Logan was content for a bit since he had food. Like that other family, we kept on trying for an hour when Logan was really, truly fed up with the waiting and we had to call it quits. There would be no bloody fish to deal with (whew, dodged a bullet there) and unfortunately, there would be no proud family photo. However, I mentally patted myself on the back for hooking that worm so well that it stayed on for a full hour, nibble and all. Trying not to think about "getting skunked," we headed off to find more fun...

{Such concentration. Too bad luck wasn't on her side.}

Catch of the Day
What we found called for more waiting. After about 1/2 hour we made it to the front of the Great Lakes Children's Museum booth. (Brett took the kids one at a time off to get their free tee-shirts from another booth while we waited in line.) Fortunately, we didn't have to leave completely empty handed. Mia made this pretty print using some sort of rubber fish and printmaking ink pressed onto cotton cloth. (Logan had decided that he was done just as we made it to the front of the line, so Brett had taken him to the van to wait.) With Mia's pink and purple fish print, we left the free fishing day, and one of the Rotary volunteers told her, "What a pretty fish" as we passed. I laughed about how it was the only one we had caught.

{This is a cool project, and I have to say I prefer fish art to real fish any day.}

{Detail of the fish print}

In the end, I was a bit surprised that we didn't catch a live fish. I thought it would actually be easier, which just shows you how little I know about fishing. I had to remind myself that the goal was to have fun as a family and I think we managed that. I get the sense that Brett would prefer not to do any more fishing. Logan may have been a bit too young, so there is always next year. Mia handled the disappointment about not catching any fish well, so I was pleased by her attitude. And I decided that we have to try again next year. I told my parents how well planned out this event was. It really was nice to get a chance to try out something that Mia has wanted to do for quite awhile without the hassle of investing any money. This definitely met my expectations as far as cheap family entertainment goes. Admittedly, I wanted that photo with Mia looking thrilled with her catch. I am sure that day will come, so I will just need to wait.

After our fishing foray, we made our way over to the Grand Traverse Library to check out the children's garden. It was also very nice (and free), which I loved. The kids' favorite part was the wooden train. I enjoyed all of the sculptures and the sun dial that told us where to stand in order to get our shadow to tell us the time.

{Logan as conductor}

{Mia in the "dining car"}

{And peeking out the window}

{I think the look on his face says it all: a great day of family adventures!}

On to Plan B...

On our way to Minnesota for my brother's wedding, we decided to stop in Chicago. Our plan was to visit Shedd Aquarium to let the kids blow off some steam. We quickly discovered that it was their free entrance day which meant that the wait to get into the aquarium was an hour and a half! Obviously, we weren't going to stand outside in the sun in the heat of the day for that long, although many, many other parents of young children seemed willing to do this! So we went to the Field Museum instead. (In retrospect, we probably should have just gone to the nearby outdoor children's garden to let the kids play since it was free, and the Field Museum, well, wasn't.)

We ended up tooling tearing around the Field Museum for about the same amount of time we would have spent in line for Shedd. Seriously, the kids didn't stand still long enough to really take in any of the exhibits, but they used up some energy, which was our main goal. It was good that we didn't go to Shedd, because there is no way there would have been space for them to go crazy expend some energy. I was a little bummed that nobody would pose with me in front of Sue, the T-Rex, but I did get one photo of Logan and Mia. Honestly, I am lucky to have gotten the one picture. We were moving that fast.

{Apparently, if you look through these holes you can find out what it's like to be a barnacle. Not sure why you would want to, but they found it amusing.}

Before leaving the Field Museum, we headed to the bathrooms (obviously), where I encountered something I have never seen before: a Nanny Caddy. It's a vending machine that dispenses baby and toddler items that parents may have forgotten or run out of while out and about. I don't know if they just have these in big cities or if it's something totally new, but I couldn't help but wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?" Someone is getting rich off of frazzled parents who have run out of diapers or band-aids or who simply can't find that last pacifier!

The Toughest Job

I've been thinking about a shirt I saw that said, "Motherhood: The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love." I have to agree that being a stay at home mom is a great job, but it has to be the hardest job on earth! Here are some of my observations on why this is:

1. Moms are always on duty (or at least "on call"-- remember who gets up at night?). Moms don't get lunch breaks, bathroom breaks, or coffee breaks.
2. If your kids sleep 10 hours a night, that means you work 14 hour shifts! I don't know of too many other professions that keep such long hours.
3. Moms don't get vacation time. I think that going away is actually more work than staying home (packing, everyone is out of their routines, keeping everyone happy in the car, and then the aftermath when you return: think LAUNDRY). 
4. Moms don't get paid (not in money, anyway). It is nice to be there to see my kids learning and tackling new things, but sometimes I wish I made a financial contribution to our family (other than selling our used kids clothes). 
5. Moms get very little "me time," and it is hard to take that time for yourself without feeling a bit guilty. I often think, "I should be doing something productive or spending more time with Brett."

There is no doubt that being a mom is a tough job, but it's totally worth it!

Going Places: Finding a Balance between Preparation and Flexibility

I keep trying to be more organized when going on outings with the kids, but it seems like flexibility is just as important as organization. I knew we needed to leave kind of early this morning to go tour the Chelsea Teddy Bear Company, which the GPS said would take about 40 minutes to get to. So, I packed the diaper bag last night along with lunch for everyone. Then, I set my alarm clock (don't do that much anymore) to get up and get ready. Normally, I just wake up when the kids do and grab a shower whenever is convenient. Despite my best intentions, we left late and of course, arrived late. Luckily the mom's group is patient and waits a few minutes for stragglers (usually us).

It turns out that their "factory tour" isn't much of a tour. The lady told us about the history of teddy bears and how the company was started. Naturally, the kids weren't interested in that. Then she took us inside to a small closed in area and showed us a little about the steps involved in creating teddy bears from drawing to completion. Again, the kids weren't that interested in looking at the pattern on the wall or feeling the materials used to stuff the bears. The highlight of our tour was seeing the world's largest teddy bear, which is pretty sad looking. Gravity and time have not been kind to him, so he is a bit droopy and bedraggled. After the "tour" we looked around at all of the merchandise they had for sale, and I showed Mia the items I saw that had a sign reading "$2 or less." She chose a blue cheerleading skirt that I thought would fit her animals or dolls at home. It was a bargain at 53 cents.

The three other moms and I discussed our options for what to do next. Others didn't bring a lunch which left the Treehouse play area or McDonald's. I didn't want to buy expensive food at Treehouse since it would have cost $6 to get in, so we headed to McDonald's. I guess I didn't need to pack that lunch, but oh well. Mia enjoyed the play area and she even ate her entire Happy Meal, so I was happy. Logan made an enormous mess eating his food that I had packed for him. I think more ended up on the floor than in his belly, but again, oh well.

We loved the drive there and back since the Garmin took us on many winding, hilly back roads. Mia called out every time she saw horses, which was often, and I saw some really pretty houses. The most interesting part for me was having to stop to allow seven ducklings cross the road in front of us! I think everyone had fun even if it wasn't doing the thing we originally set out to do. This reminded me that it's important to be flexible. Sometimes it's nice not to have a schedule.