Lately we've been scoping out indoor places for the girls to play during the long winter. Sometimes our 1200 square foot house doesn't cut it and I can only read "where is baby?" so many times in a row :). So we've been frequenting the play area at the mall. Before I had kids I used to pass the play area (which is your classic giant tree, rocks, animals etc to climb on) and say to Ryan--"that place is crazy, I don't ever want to take our kids there."  Now, I still think that place is crazy and as an urgent care doctor I look at every kid as a potential future patient as they jump off things and mow over toddlers. However we do take them there--but only at strategic times. We've learned to go early because once 10:00 am hits the moms come out in droves like bees to a pop can with all of their offspring to release some pent up energy.  The people watching is fantastic. The dynamic between parents and their kids varies widely. You have the germ conscious mom who trails behind her kid with her tiny travel purell bottle making them clean their hands every few minutes. You have the high end moms with their impeccable name brand outfits, diaper bag and stroller. I usually mentally tally the cost of their ensemble and let Ryan know "see that lady, she has about 2,000 worth of stuff surrounding her and that doesn't include her mani-pedi".  Usually her matching kid is just as name brand.   There is the matching sweat suit mom, the mom jeans mom, the I-just-worked-out-outfit mom--I could go on and on. Sometimes the dads come on the weekends but lets be honest--they just aren't that interesting.

So, it is just a matter of time before one of the girls gets hurt there or gets sick from there, but we still go and I have to admit, it's kind of fun to hang out there with my starbucks (yup, I'm that mom--but it's only a coffee and not a fancy drink, o.k.?) and play with the girls while they climb, slide, go through tunnels . . . and occasionally get pummeled by some crazy kid running around in her uggs.