THE STOMPING GROUND

If the 1st day of the week is characteristically known as Manic Monday, then the 2nd has to be Tumultuous Tuesday. Well, at least it was, yesterday...

Remember the rather off-beat poem that goes:

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread,
Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

I say 'off-beat' becoz I've always thought it an oddity to promulgate such acts of discipline (read: child abuse) in a childrens' nursery rhyme. Furthermore, it 'exposes' children to the realities of life - an old, single parent with obviously NO means of birth control, no wonder she's highly-strung! And let's not get started on why she's subjecting her children to such deplorable living conditions! I mean, why live in a shoe, for crying out loud?

But I digress...

Today, I read this nursery rhyme with new-found understanding and empathy.

Hell, it ain't easy juggling that many kids. So old woman, I salute thee.

Callous as this is going to sound but when you're out with 20 children, you too, would be tempted to 'whip' them into order!

And such were the thoughts that flooded my mind (389,280,201 times!) as I tried to compose myself, surrounded by Danielle and her other little primates playmates who were having the most RIOTOUS time at the Natural History Museum.

This, is how it is on a (nursery) school excursion...

By a stroke of luck, Danielle's nursery organised an all-expense paid trip to the Natural History Museum on Tuesday. Thank goodness we didn't bring Danielle to the exhibition the last time! We go in for free now! Hoorah!

We were told to gather at school at 9:15am. Children who, like Danielle, attend school part-time, had to be accompanied by a parent. So including myself, there were 4 other parents participating in the excursion. Us sad ol' victims.

(Cute boy clad in the yellow anorak is Leo. Bunmi is the little black girl in the 2nd row. They were Danielle's unfortunate 'victims', remember?)

The kids were in high-spirits knowing they were going on a field trip. After waiting for the last child to arrive, we finally set off at 9:40am.

Now, if you've been out with children before, you'd know it takes FOREVER to take them anywhere. Coupled with the fact that none of the children were on buggies/pushchairs, it took us 20 minutes to lug them to the Tube station, another 40 min to haul them onto the Tube (we changed at 2 stations, walked up a million steps to different platforms!). When we finally arrived at the Museum, it was 11am! Phew!

Once at the Museum, we made a bee-line for the 'Dino Jaws' exhibition. Danielle was quivering with excitement, especially since I've been reading her Ian Whybrow's Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs. She couldn't wait to see T-Rex, Triceratops, and Stegosaurus 'in the flesh'!

I think she was a little disappointed to see more dino bones than the real McCoy (well, she wouldn't be able to since they lived 230 million yrs ago, but you know what I mean) but cheered when she saw a lifelike moving T-Rex. I think that was the ONLY highlight for the kids! It was so lifelike, its penetrating stare was just a little unnerving...

Half an hour into the exhibition, some of the kids started getting restless. They slumped over showcases/exhibits, rolled on the floor, started wandering away from the group, started whining and whinging etc... Most of us parents had to double up as 'carers' for other children since the more eyes we had on each child, the better. So, I often found myself dragging Danielle with one hand, and some other kid with the other, to keep up with the rest. And because each child walks at a different pace, it was simply EXHAUSTING trying to get each of them to catch up with the other.

By lunchtime, all the adults had a slightly glazed look in their eyes. Everyone was flat out. Lunch was a welcome respite for us and between feeding the children, and ourselves, we exchanged niceties and bemoaned the 'trials and tribulations' of motherhood. I really respect some of the mothers I met that day - so many of them are mothers to 2 or more children(!!!) - I found myself slightly in awe of how they juggle it all. Just HOW do they do it??!

And I found myself asking the question: Can I do it too? *shudder*

After the last mouth was wiped clean and their clothes given a dusting-off, we bundled the kids to the Mammals Exhibit. Stayed there for another 1/2 hour or so before declaring the excursion O-V-E-R. The kids were starting to get cranky and irritable - reasons enough for the adults to take to their heels and get the hell outta there!

Caroline (Zack's mummy), Margo's au pair and I opted to take the bus instead of the Tube. We figured it would be a lot more leisurely. It turned out to be a fantastic alternative because with less kids, and thus less strength in numbers, the 3 kids behaved themselves a lot better. Margo & Danielle had a swell time playing with each other's Triceratops during the bus ride.

And they were even cheerful enough to pose pretty at the bus stop. So here are Margo, Danielle and Zack posing genially after an eventful (but absolutely exhausting) school excursion!

Let's hope my recent streak of pandemonium* ends its run today. I'm in dire need for a Wonderful, not Wretched or Wired-Up Wednesday!

* Monday was absolutely manic coz Danielle threw up, not once, but TWICE. Had to do a MAJOR clean up and the launder the bedding! Oh, the whiffs and the pong!
** Oh, and a Happy Valentine's Day to all! *muuuuacks*

Love xxoo, Saggs & Danielle