Last week we took the kids to one of those indoor playgrounds. It’s pretty cool: a huge play structure, slides, a climbing wall, basketball hoops. And it’s FREE.
Looks harmless, right?
We also finally bought a membership to Indy’s incredible children’s museum so we’d have some more options for wintertime activities. We figured out that if we go at least four times, it’ll be worth the cost.
But only if we make it out alive.
I’m grateful for all these places because as I whined incessantly last winter, it can get pretty tedious being stuck indoors for days at a time with a toddler. Add a baby to the mix (albeit an adorable, chubby, smiley and intellectually advanced baby) and you’re practically begging for a Shining situation.
Wait, not THAT Shining situation.
THIS Shining situation.
The problem with all these indoor play places is that they are crawling with disgusting little children wiping their filthy booger hands all over everything.
Kenzie, Codie and I are just getting over some kind of gunk I am certain we picked up at the indoor playground. While I was crawling around behind Kenzie inside the play structure, we came across this little girl who had a WALL of snot coating her face from the bottom of her nose to the top of her lower lip. I smiled politely and steered Kenzie in the other direction. When I saw that little girl again later, the snot wall was suspiciously absent. I’m hoping it actually got wiped away and not smeared somewhere.
I know I’ve said this before, but it seems like whatever the toddler brings home always afflicts me tenfold. She gets a sniffle and I get the plague. And it takes me longer to recover because I refuse to stop running every day or even admit that I might be getting sick.
People often ask me what the most difficult thing is about being a parent (LOL nobody asks me that), and next to being responsible for the welfare of a small human being, it’s definitely the germs. I can only imagine how much worse it will be once they’re in school. Homeschooling: because if a campus shooting doesn’t get them, the flu surely will.
Tomorrow we’re going to try out a new indoor playground though because it’s really cold outside and because fuck it, we live dangerously.
Just going to wipe my nose and mouth all over this kthx
Cheaper Than Therapy 
KID GERMS! I don’t have kids, but my coworkers do, and our offices are in a high rise. If one person gets sick, EVERYONE gets sick. Which is how I came to run a half with the flu last weekend. I wasn’t contagious anymore, and didn’t want to lose the ridiculous registration fee I paid. I’m still feeling really shitty about it because I have to really train for a half (this was only my second), so essentially all that time was wasted on a race I coughed and hacked my way through. What a waste.
At least you get sweet kid snuggles in exchange! I don’t even get that!
But just think, you’re next race will feel so easy in comparison! That’s smart training if you ask me.
OK, so, people told me that when I became a mother, I would get this super amazing immunity and never get sick. WRONG! I catch EVERYTHING the kid gets. My husband is the one who never gets sick. No fair! I ruined my body for nothing!
Immunity? Pffft. I’ve thrown up more times since having kids than I did in probably my whole previous life.
Man, the girl I tutor came in today coughing about once every 3 seconds. I’m pretty sure I’ll be next.
I rarely get sick. It must be my gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, FOOD-FREE diet. Either that or one’s susceptibilities are inversely proportional to the number of offspring one has.
Hmmm. Neither of those sound worth it.
Where is that amazing place? (Sorry you got sick)
Are you in Indy? It’s at Trader’s Point Church in Whitestown. 🙂
Hold up. You went to a CHURCH?!?
Uh huh. There’s a back door for us heathens.
Yes mam I live in the Indy area. Hamilton county
Oh wow that is a twenty minute drive for me! You’ve been so helpful these past couple of days. Thanks again! HORRAY I MIGHT NOT KILL MY KIDS THIS WINTER! 😉
Hahaha, so pleased to have helped!
Children – little bags of pestilence, I call them.
Sorry to hear about the illnesses. You could wipe stuff down with the anti-bacterial wipes if you don’t mind having another thing to carry/stuff in your purse.
Oh yeah, it’s one of the items in our bottomless pit of a diaper bag. We try to disinfect whenever possible!