WARNING: Contains complaining!

Mike and I try to live by "The Secret" code. If you haven't seen "The Secret" or heard about it on Oprah, I will give you the most important gist of it:

Thinking and speaking positively amplifies the positive things in your life and brings more positive things into your life; whereas speaking negatively, focusing on the negative, increases the negative things in your life.

Pretty simple, right? And I have really seen it work wonders! So I totally believe it, I think it goes back to basic human psychology or something. HOWEVER, that being said, sometimes I just really need to vent and bitch for a few minutes. And in fact, this venting may actually be productive if it saves someone like myself, another Mom of young children perhaps, from suffering!

So here goes: I've officially decided that I HATE Discovery Gateway (the children's museum.) I bought a 6 month pass a few months ago, because it costs less to buy the pass than it does to go twice. I've gone several times now, and my frustration and irritation has grown to the point where I think I'm done with it forever! It probably didn't help that I took a few extra neighbor kids this time, too. Here are a few of my annoyances:

1--These same children who can play in my backyard for hours upon hours, go to Discovery Gateway, where there are 7 zillion different kinds of activities, play at each thing for about 40 seconds and then GET BORED! Are you kidding me?

2--Each kid wants to do something different at any given moment, making it harder to keep track of all of them. I just confine the bigger kids to one main area and then chase Nick, my two year old, all around the whole place.

3--This place is always overcrowded. . .is there never a slow time? It is just mobs of children running around in complete chaos. There always seem to be school groups or day cares overrunning the place which means about 4-5 kids to 1 supervising adult.

4--Which brings me to my biggest pet pieve of all--whenever we go there I have to turn into "The Regulator." I feel like I am the only Mom in the place who is paying attention to how these children are treating each other. There are some kids who are like dominating everything and will not take turns until a grown-up steps in. I guess I just have a timid child who just sits back too much. . .and stands by helplessly as more and more children butt their way in front of him as he tries to wait patiently for his turn on some toy or another. I get so freaking sick of waiting and watching the injustice of it all that I'm the adult who finally steps in and starts regulating the turn-taking, and who gets after other children for being bullies and toy-hogs. Which, inevitably, offends those kids' parents and then they give me the "What a bitch!" look. I really do try, for awhile, to step back and let the kids work it out. . . .but, honestly hell hath no fury like a pregnant woman standing in the heat, waiting for her kid to get his turn "flying the helicopter," while four other 8 year-old kids, who totally know better, step over this shy little four year old and steal his turn!!!!!!!

Okay, I'm done. Let this stand as a word of caution--if you are a laid back Mom, who has children who are old enough to be self-sufficient and self-regulating, who doesn't mind total and complete chaos and anarchy, who also is okay with spending a small fortune on gas driving to Salt Lake and driving around and around to find that rare parking spot that is actually close to the museum. . .then, Discovery Gateway may be a great day of fun for you and your kids!