Harvard Musuem of Natural History with Good Friends

Today I was reminded of the power of great friends. It is sad that we live so far from family, but how blessed we are to live by such wonderful friends. I must first thank the wonderful women you see before you for enticing me to fight the battle to get out the door and have an adventure. So, first and foremost, thank you dear ladies.

Now on to the story. My friends Megan and Heidi are part of a pre-school co-op and twice a month they take these amazing fieldtrips, but open the invitation to all of their friends. This month one of those trips included a trip to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Fabulous. I was in. What I didn't know was this would include taking the subway to Harvard Square. Sounded a bit daunting as I imagined myself trying to get three kids and a stroller on the subway, but parking in Cambridge can also be daunting. Frankly, navigating Cambridge has been one of my greatest nightmares and has caused me need to repent for the naughty utterings that have slipped my lips. I decided to take the subway.
We parked the minivans, unloaded our ten tons of gear, found the handicap ramps and arrived at the station, all without incident. We bought tickets with the aid of a subway employee that worked in the information booth who was not only informative, but friendly to boot (a friendly native Bostonian, you say? Tis true!). The train arrived, we successfully boarded and took a big sigh of relief. One hurdle jumped.
After a lovely walk through Hahvahd Yahd, we arrived at the museum, met up with our friends, Jessica, Naomi and Annika, and let the kids run wild (we were looking at wild animals afterall, and when in Rome...). The girls went crazy with excitement. I don't think I've ever heard Lady say "wow" so many times before. She looked like a kid in the candy store, running from glass case to glass case, pointing and yelling "Wow, Mommy, look at this." Bell took a more graceful approach and held hands with her good friend Naomi as they strolled through and admired bird eggs, gorillas, hippos, elephants, lions, camels, sharks... the list goes on. It was a bit crazy; the museum was packed with oodles of school children, and we were busy trying to keep an eye on our little flock while still maintaining adult conversation.
Then the girls started to come undone... Bell was tired of walking and asked to go in Baby's stroller (Baby was asleep in my sling), but then I had a jealous Lady crying for "I turn." I switched Lady in the stroller and put Bell out, which resulted with her throwing herself on the floor and kicking her feet around a bit. I knew the bewitching hour had come and my girls were about to turn into pumpkins. These are the moments when you wish the train ride had been a one way adventure. I was exhausted leaving the museum, but still had to walk through Harvard, board the train and then walk to the parking garage, unload, blah, blah, blah.
Now it is the end of the day. The girls are bathed and asleep, my house is a mess and I am exhausted, but I feel like a good mom. Today is one of those days when I feel successful, like I did it right. I put the right things first. Today is one of those days that I am so grateful to be at home with my kids and grateful for good friends who are down in the trenches with me, fighting the good fight. Now... if I could only remember these things for tomorrow!