Betty Brinn Children's Museum Review (Milwaukee, WI)

While we were on vacation, we visited the Betty Brinn Children's Museum in Milwaukee. The museum is right on the lakefront near two museums we'll have to go back and check out when X-man is older. One called Discovery World (which offers a science experience working cruise from Milwaukee to Montreal -- ahem.) and the other is the art museum. I took loads of photos that I'll put on on X-man's web site sooner or later, but for right now here are the highlights. 

1.) Admission is $6 per child/adult over the age of 1. 

2.) This is the first children's museum I've been in that had yuck bags AND hand sanitizer stations bolted on the walls. Since I was a mother who had a kid sticking everything in his mouth to until he was almost 2, having yuck bags would have made me feel like I wasn't some kind of crazy parent with a weird slobbery kid -- because clearly if there are bags, it's not just my kid.

3.) For the older set, they had a working TV studio, where kids could be newscasters, camera operators, play with green screens and be the news director of the broadcast. No, this isn't X-man, he was too young to give a crap about it. But I thought it was cool... 
4.) They had a "Backyard" world for kids 0-3. Near the front was a playhouse that had the usual household activities. But then when you stepped out on the porch you got a whole backyard, with a sandbox, a "water slide," a soft building area, a really cool constructed tree that the kids could climb into and more. Mostly X-man liked mowing the lawn.

5.) Like other children's museums, this one had a café and a grocery store. But it also had a florist, a bank, a garage and a post office. And as a letter carrier kids could deliver and pick up mail all around the "town." There were also phones that linked from one to the other, so you could call over to the post office and say, "I have a letter for you to pick up at the store." And some kid would come running over.  Or you could call the florist from work at the garage and pick up flowers on your way home...You can see X-man getting some milk out of the cooler to put in his cart in the back right of the photo.

6.) A section for the Arts. I loved this section, but it's definitely geared toward the 5 and up crowd. In addition to regular tables of arts and crafts (offered next to the inside of the GIANT glass clock that shows out into the downtown area so the kids can see the inner workings of the clock while they paint or draw), is a section where you can direct the Milwaukee Symphony, play with different instruments (film of MacTroll conducting is at the bottom of this post), put on a puppet show, put on a play, or in this exhibit, the Milwaukee Ballet leads kids through a warm up on a dance floor, and then teaches them different dance steps. X-man just wanted to push the buttons. 

7.) X-man's favorite exhibit was in the "town" area. And it's no surprise that it had to do with cars. Here he is working on changing the filter, adding coolant and window washer. Daddy helped him change the tires and Mommy helped with putting in a new exhaust system. We spent most of our time here saying, "Can we fix it? Yes, we can!"

8.) Outside on the terrace overlooking the waterfront, was a giant brio play train with a xylophone on the front. X-man loved driving the train. 

All in all, I'd gotten so used to Rockford/Bloomington/Champaign and Decatur's children's museums that it was nice to go to a new museum and see some familiar exhibits, but also find brand new ones. All of the exhibits were funded by community businesses/corporate sponsorships, which made me wish that our larger businesses would care enough about the Orpheum to put some money into it for exhibits that were as clean and well maintained as what we found at Betty Brinn.

Putting the T in Toddler Time

Today was an awesome ending to our vacation. Tomorrow we'll get in the car and travel back home. But today, we drove down to the Mayfair Shopping Mall in the suburbs of Milwaukee and bought X-man some new tennis shoes. Because Champaign has no children's shoe store to speak of any more. Last April he was an 8.5 XW. Now he's a 9.5XW. He didn't want to go buy the shoes until I made him a deal.

"Xander, if you help Mommy get you new shoes, we'll go down and BUILD-A-BEAR." He didn't know what one was until today. I'm not joking when the kid ran into Stride Rite, played with the toys waiting for his turn. He tried on two pairs of shoes, ran around in them, let the guy check them out and then CHOSE the shoes he wanted. He picked out a special bear and had a great time helping put in the fluff and giving it a bath before we made a "birth certificate" for it. 

Afterward we ate Subway in the foodcourt. X-man loved that they had a live piano player to listen to. Then we left and drove downtown to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum. We used our reciprocal museum membership from the Orpheum, so we got in "free" and saved $18. Plus they gave us a $2 discount off parking, so technically the whole thing cost $3 for parking. X-man had a blast. We were there for 2.5 hours, and X-man was wiped when we left. 

Then we picked up some dinner and frozen custard from the Drive Thru at the Harley Davidson store in Sheboygan before coming home to watch some movies. 

I'll have photos and a review of the children's museum a bit later. 

Milwaukee County Zoo Review

This morning we drove down to Milwaukee from Oostburg (about a 35-minute drive) and took X-man to the Milwaukee Zoo. The wind has kicked up something fierce on Lake Michigan after a couple days of the water being serene. And now the waves are breaking about 30 yards out and they're about 3 feet tall, which is pretty impressive. Not ocean impressive, sure, but definitely lake impressive.

Anyway, I am two ways about zoos. I think that as people we suck for plucking wild animals out of their natural habitats and putting them in a zoo. However, I do have to say that as a kid (and even now as an adult), I loved going to the zoo because it taught me a lot about appreciating animals, ecology, evolution and science. 

The cost of the zoos are getting steeper too. We were at Brookfield near Chicago in June and past the regular zoo admission there were LOTS of add ons like dolphin shows or zoo rides. Milwaukee is a bit cheaper, but it's also half the size. It's $11.25 during peak season per adult, but kids 2 and under are free. It does have its own add ons (skip the sky ride, so not worth it, but if you have a train fanatic, the little train looks fun. Unfortunately, we melted down before we could go on it). 

We arrived around 11 a.m. and left around 2 p.m. when X-man refused to walk and refused to ride in the stroller. And well, we made it clear that we refused to carry him. So, we were at an impasse and took him home (i.e. carried him out to the car screaming "More animals, more animals!").

However, before the post-lunch, pre-nap meltdown (he's been asleep now for 2 hours, and survived the move to the house from the car), we had a good time wandering around. 

His favorite animals this trip were the Prairie Dogs. Prior to this he's been in love with Meerkats, so it's not hard to see how he made the jump.

They also have an impressive Ape house and a family farm that you can visit to see how a farm operates. 

But my favorite part of this zoo, was that it was food friendly. I ordered a veggie burger on whole wheat combo for my lunch and shared the fries with X-man. In return, he shared his mega fruit salad and yogurt dip with me. MacTroll had his 3rd brat in as many days with his fries and coke. X-man also drank apple juice out of a big boy cup (we neglected to bring his cup in from the car with us in all of the "Hooray! Zoo!" excitement).

We came home with a monkey shirt for him to sleep in. (The whole way through the zoo, all he wanted to see were the monkeys, and, lucky us, we got to see a few of them mating.) Now the family is resting (Riley and X-man are still sleeping) and MacTroll and I are working on arrangements for X-man and I to potentially go to San Francisco for MacWorld this year. 

Fine Living Network

It rained all day yesterday, and X-man was a huge handful. So we had the TV on for a break from having to build and rebuild little garages for his cars out of Jenga blocks. What I learned from being in a house with Dish is this: if X-man's favorite cartoons (Bob, Thomas, George, Blues Clues, etc.) aren't available, X-man would rather watch Iron Chef or Anthony Bourdain or Bizarre Food on the Fine Living Network than family friendly sitcoms (he booed The Cosby Show and Full House). 

This is all new to me:

A) Before vacation, I didn't know there was a Fine Living Network.

B) What am I going to do if he grows up and asks for Shanghai crab brains or Spanish Bull Balls for dinner? I mean, seriously. 

Flashbacks

I grew up in a family with two sets of grandparents who had summer cottages. My mom's parents had one in Canada in Rondeau Provincial Park. My dad's parents had one in southern Wisconsin. So, I spent all summer long bobbing between cottages for most of my tiny person childhood. 

This vacation reminds me a lot of those days. You have to rinse the sand off your feet with the hose by the door before you go in. Attached to it, of course, is some ancient metal sprayer. Much to Rogers' and Quigs' dismay, sand is pretty much on everything, but you stop noticing at some point. 

You cook your meals at home rather than eat out. And you have bonfires with s'mores when company comes to visit.

Here are some other summer cottages experiences that bring back childhood flashbacks:

1.) Bathing in the kitchen sink because cottages usually only have a tiny shower that a toddler suddenly becomes claustrophobic in when he realizes he is expected to just stand there and get clean and not play in the water... 

2.) Sandy and wet but VERY happy dogs.

3.) Special time with Papa.

4.) Digging holes with Dad in the sand.

5.) Jumping into the hole and hugging Dad because you're so excited about building a hole!

6.) Being so tired that you really should take a nap, but you can't bring yourself to walk to the cottage, so instead you just lie down and watch the clouds for 20 minutes until your next wave of energy hits you.

7.) Grilling out!

8.) Hanging out with family.

Oostburg Rental House

My husband talked with a family member before we left for vacation. He said they kept asking how many blocks our house was from the beach. He wasn't clear if they didn't believe we were on the beach or just couldn't comprehend it.

So, I guess, I'm not sure how many blocks this is...

Yes, these are my boys, dig, dig, digging.

Breaker Bay Indoor Water Park Review

We took X-man to Breaker Bay Indoor Water Park today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. If Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington is a key first zoo experience, this was a great first waterpark experience for our toddler. Professional water park visitors might be willing to stop by for an afternoon, but it's probably not a weekend destination, unless you happen to be in Sheboygan in Wisconsin in January. In which case it might be fun to watch snow fall over Lake Michigan while you ride around the lazy river in your bathing suit.

MacTroll and I both went down one of the two water slides, so X-man could see us come out the bottom. We also watched MacTroll come down one of the two tube slides. There was a very tiny lazy river, which worked out great because X-man has a short attention span. 

In addition. there's a huge tower of water toys that connects to the line areas for the body and tube slides (No one was there on a Sunday in September so there were no lines to speak of). The water tower has water guns, showers, buckets and all kinds of fun stuff to pull, turn and pull, even if you don't plan on going down the slides, you can have fun running around this water world. 

X-man's attention though was caught every 10 minutes when a bell at the top of the water tower started clanging warning that a GIANT bucket of water contained in a bow of a ship was going to tip and pour an obscene number of gallons of water (1,000) on top of folks below. (Movie of this will come later when I get home, the satellite internet link up is a little testy.)

X-man didn't take part (even though he likes to watch, the pressure's a bit too much for someone his size, in the movie at the bottom of this post you'll see the dad send his pre-schooler out of the way and the Mom almost lose her bathing suit bottoms) in the big boat dumping. But X-man did take part in a little people version at the S.S. Minnow which contained a lot of wheels for toddlers to turn to control turning on and off water on the little shipwreck. X-man would pull on a lever and a large tub of water would dump on top of his head (photo below). Most of the kids seem to enjoy pulling the lever and running a way while giggling and hearing the water crash behind them. Then the parents would fill up the pan and it would go on and on and on. Until one of the kids would figure out how to pull the rope to fill the pan for the others. 

One of my favorite parts of this water park were the slides for toddlers/pre-schoolers. There were three slides that gave X-man the sense that he too could be a big kid because they weren't contained in any "kiddie pool" area like at home, but it was forbidden for anyone taller than 42 inches to go down them. X-man started out on the beginner slide (the red one) and then advanced to the super fast blue ones. 

Unfortunately, in order to go on them, he had mommy at the top of the slide and daddy at the bottom to catch him. So we we didn't get a photo of him on it. But he was really cute. It was slippery up there, so X-man slipped a couple of times when he got really excited and didn't follow the "No running" rule. 

There's also a 3-4 ft deep pool to swim in with two water basketball courts and some floaties that are tied to the bottom of the pool that kids can climb on and jump off. The floaties look like rays, turtles and snakes. There's also a water obstacle course for older kids and adults.

In addition to the water park, there's a small arcade upstairs, but you've got to be dressed to go in. 

We ate at the snack bar around noon. All outdoor food was forbidden, so no bringing your own lunch. Our combo meals were $5 each, which is pricey in comparison to McDonald's. 

After lunch, we changed and got into the car and drove around the lake front. X-man fell asleep in 15 minutes. So if that's a measure of a good time for a toddler, he really enjoyed it. It also reinforces my plan to stay at a water park in Rockford when we go up there for Christmas. 

Putting the "Great" in the Lakes

MacTroll, X-man and I are on vacation in Wisconsin. We are currently at a cottage in Oostburg, Wisconsin 15 miles south of Sheboygan and 45 miles north of Milwaukee. I was worried about the weather, but, um, apparently there's something in my genes that I forgot about.

I have no fear of cold water and refuse to let less than 85 degree weather ruin my beach experience whether it's in the Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Halifax or Oostburg, Wisconsin.

Yesterday X-man, Riley and I all got up to at least our knees in the water (X-man actually dove in like a true kid with no blood). Then we dug a BIG hole in the sand and then we cooked out on the grill.

It was a 4.5 hour drive up here yesterday. It took us right through the Chicago burbs on 294. We passed Oakbrook (and thoughts of stopping to go shopping for comfy sweaters for winter crossed my mind), then we passed by Six Flags Great America at the Gurnee Outlet malls (and more shopping crossed my mind) and then we passed through downtown Milwaukee and I remembered the giant shopping mall where I spent my 9th and 15th birthday parties (well, okay, there was also a lunch with a dolphin performer at age 9 at a nearby restaurant that I wanted to go to... the mall was just a timekiller that worked out well -- can anyone say Hello Kitty store?)

This morning I've taken Riley for a walk. He chased some sea gulls, took a big poop and rolled on a dead fish. So, um, he's happy.

Today we're hoping to go visit the Blue Harbor Resort indoor water park in the a.m. and then come back here and relax and read during naptime. 

Right now I'm getting the crap creeped out of me by something called, "Lazy Town."

This is not a show for a woman who hates puppets. 

MacTroll's Monday

When MacTroll is home during the week on Mondays, I try to make every excuse to be out of the house. Monday is MacTroll's conference call day. He has between 4-6 of them today. Each of them taking at least an hour. You do the math. It's a lot of time to be on the iPhone.

I was supposed to be outside all day staining my fence, but given the sheer amount of crazy ass rain we got last night in the never-ending storms, I'm stuck inside doing inside jobs. 

UPDATE: You can head over to Cruzin' and see how MacTroll and I spent our morning being Toad rescuers!

Most of these I can do in the basement or the 2nd floor. But around the first floor will be nothing but pacing and loud talking, "LDAP, LDAP, Active Directory, Kerberos, Magic Triangle, deep into the keychain code..."

Blah. Yuck. I think I'd rather be vacuuming little tumbleweeds of fur that got scattered around the house last night from their hiding places due to our no air conditioning/open window preference. 

In other news: The cookout at Rayne of Terror's went very well. I got to meet Soy is the New Black and Mrs. Chicken as well as some other great people. I loved Mrs. Chicken's pasta salad. And X-man and I were the first to jump in the pool. It was a beautiful day.

Today is also Day 1 of the weekly budget. I just spent half of mine on gas. Seriously. I'm picking up the trailer and the bike this week. Let's see if that will save me some $$$  in the weekly drive-the-kid around situation.

I am just a couple weeks away from seeing KTDID, my nieces and nephews and from vacation. This year we're driving up to Oostburg, a few miles south of Sheboygan to stay in a rental house on the beach of Lake Michigan in September. I liked that it was in a family friendly area where we could just walk out of the house and be on sand.