A Girls Day Out

Since Bianca will be going to big school in a couple of months, I rescheduled the week so that I get to spend the whole day with her while Nico was is daycare. This was a "girls day" as she would call it. On some days when I'm feeling tired and need to catch up on housework, we stay at home most of the day and she helps out. On bright sunny days we go to the park, the mall or the hairdresser, then have lunch together.

But today started out bad for me, it was raining and I woke up with a bad headache. Hubby drove Nico to daycare in the morning. As soon as the boys stepped out and Bianca was in front of the TV, I went straight back to bed. A few minutes later, I woke up still light-headed, remembering I had to do some more housework. By mid-morning, I remembered I had to do an errand in the city. And then it occurred to me that this was supposed to be a 'girls day' and I did not plan anything special for my little girl. What was I to do?

And then I had a great idea ..... what if we took a bus to the city, do my errand with her and then do something special with her the rest of the afternoon. Shopping was an option, but I wasn't too sure she'd enjoy that. And then I thought, maybe the museum might be a better place. It was educational and the first time for both of us, and most of all it was all for FREE. At that same moment, my headache disappeared as quickly as the rain clouds vanished. After a quick call to hubby, we made a plan: ride the bus to the city, have lunch with daddy, come with mommy to the errand, go to the museum and then meet up with daddy to go pick up Nico at daycare. Now she was really excited. I tell you, the bright look on her face made my day!

First, I told her we had to walk from our home to the bus stop and ride a bus to go to the city. And after some thought she said, "Hey Mommy, I have a great idea. Let's call the owner of the bus to come pick us up here at home." I had to explain that buses don't work that way , but taxis do at a much higher price. When the bus arrived and we sat down, we started playing a game of "I spy". Soon after that she began the "Are we there yet?" questions until we got to the city.

Next, we had lunch at the food court with Daddy and then we walked all the way to Daddy's office. When we got there I thought of taking her with me during my errand. But hubby offered to take her off my hands so who was I to refuse ?! After the errand and getting a cup of coffee, I went back to pick her up. I arrived at the building only to be told not to enter as there was a fire drill in progress. So Bianca had to go down so many flights of stairs with her Daddy. By the time she reached the lobby, she was so excited to tell me all about it. And then she asks why they had to do that ... we said it was to practice getting out of the building in case there is fire ... so she asks where is the fire ... we say there isn't any, just a pretend fire ... so she asks again " What does a pretend fire look like ?" .... the questions just keep on coming!

At this point we still had a little over an hour to go, so we both headed to the museum taking a short bus ride. When we got there, she was amazed to see the dinosaur bones on display. She also got to see lots of stuffed birds, her favorite would be the 'galah' since it was mostly pink. And then she asks ... 'Are they real birds?' because she noticed they were not moving. Next was the 'discovery' area where they kept the live snakes, lizards and turtles. This time around, she got a bit scared when they started moving behind the glass! By this time she was really full of questions about anything and everything she saw and heard.

Another 30 minutes to go, we decide to head back to Daddy's office. Until we saw that the State Library was just beside the museum. Oh well, I suppose we can spare a few minutes in there to check it out. We went directly to the kid's section where there were a few seats and lots of books for her to read. Some books she could read on her own, others I had to help out a bit. Also noticed there was a video game section with a sign that said '15 minute limit, give priority to children'. I suppose that sign was meant for adults that were 'kids at heart'.

And then end of this, I thought she deserved a treat - her favourite strawberry/bannana smoothie. Armed with these drinks we started walking back to her Daddy's office. A few months ago she would have complained about all the walking and demanded to rest or ride the pram. But I guess this time she's grown up a lot more both physically and mentally.

It was a very busy day, with lots of questions to answer ... but all worth the time and effort. I have no regrets about being a bit spontaneous today and leaving the house full of stuff to clean. All that can wait. Bonding time with my little girl is far more exciting!

Finally it was nearly 5pm now, so we met up with her Daddy as she proceeded to tell him about all the things she saw. Also she mentioned she was a bit tired from all the walking. And then asked him " Daddy , could we have 'Daddy and Bianca's Day' tomorrow?".