Wenham Museum

Today we started off at the Y, and then headed over to the Wenham Museum. According to their website (www.wenhammuseum.org) The Mission of the Wenham Museum is to protect, preserve and interpret the history and culture of Boston's North Shore, domestic life and the artifacts of childhood.

It's a small museum, located next to Town Hall. The parking lot is shared, and there is additional parking up the hill. We are able to get in without too much trouble. The museum has two levels. The main level houses the admission desk, dollhouse collection, some train sets, and what looks to be a gallery for special collections, and gift shoppe. The lower level houses the 'train room' and the Family Discovery Center. It was easy to get around with the three, though the gift shop was quite a draw for Patrick. We first stop at the train table in the lobby. Today we didn't explore the dollhouse and dolls collection. The kids are a little young for that and it doesn't hold much interest. They do have some 'play dollhouses' scattered throughout the collection and the kids did like playing with these. Definitely caused a few fights over who's playing with what, where. The first time we went we had a hard time getting the kids to go downstairs.

Downstairs is our favorite spot. There's basically two rooms. The train room is a great room totally filled with model trains. They are enclosed in plexiglass on different tables. I must say, there is an incredible amount of work and craftsmanship displayed here. (As there also is in the dollhouse collection!) All of the train displays do work, and there's stepstools for the kids to watch. Patrick loves this room and loves pushing the buttons to make the trains go. There are some work desks there that you need to be aware of. One area has a small rope blocking it off. We missed that the first time around and Patrick of course went right through it. The second room downstairs is the Family Discovery Center. We do have lots of fun here. There is a train table right at the entrance. Once in the discovery center there are some 'older' toys for the kids to play with. By older I mean "Gumby", Ventriloquist dolls, sock monkeys, Barrel of Monkeys, Candyland, Etch-a-Sketch, Colorforms.....yes almost all things I remember playing with, so they really aren't all that old! There's also a store set up and a house with a kitchen, table, and cradle inside. There's a rack of 'classic' books such as Curious George, Babar, and Fun with Dick and Jane. In addition, there's a table of Lincoln Logs, and a Typewriter. Cecilia loves playing in the store, and with the house. Patrick if you could imagine, likes the train table, and typewriter! There is no photography allowed, so I didn't take any pictures. (http://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/wenham-museum/ There are some recent pictures on this blog!)

There are bathrooms with changing stations on both floors, and there's a coat room which is a great place to drop off coats and diaper bags. The museum is very clean, and hasn't been very crowed the few times we've gone.

Hours: Tues-Sun 10-4.
Cost: $7.50 for Adults, $5.50 for Children (ages 1-18)
**If you have the Entertainment book, there is a coupon for a buy one get one free. I believe this is re-printable**
Family Membership is $70.00.

If you're local to the Wenham area, I do think it's worth purchasing a family membership. While it's not quite as exciting as some places, it's a good trip for an hour or two, particularly if your kids are a little older than mine. I will say, I am looking forward to being able to go without the kids and check out the workmanship on the dollhouses!

Next Stop: aMAZEment, Haverhill MA

Where we start almost every day . . .

As I sat thinking about what to write about first, I thought what better to start with than the place we start most of our days at . . . . The Greater Beverly YMCA. I must say, I think this is the best 'purchase' I could have made. If you are a parent you know how important it is to take care of yourself. If you're anything like me, that's probably your last priority. Since losing my part-time job at the end of the year, I've decided that there's a reason. Yes, being able to stay home during those important formative years is a great opportunity. However, I realized it's also going to give me the opportunity to take care of myself as well.

The Y is a win-win situation for us - I get some time to work out and a break from the long days, and the kids get somewhat of a 'day care' experience. My personal belief (which I know not everyone shares) is that it is important for my children to learn how to be with other people, without Mommy or Daddy there. I loved the day care they were in while I was working not just because she was great, but also because they learned that it's ok if Mommy leaves; she will come back. They learned how to play with others. They also learned how to listen to other adults (well, in theory I suppose, listening skills is something we're working very hard on). At this particular YMCA, babysitting is included in the family membership, and they have long hours compared to some of the other Ys in the area. The playroom is clean and the staff are extremely friendly and caring. This Y does allow the staff to change diapers instead of coming to get me. A huge bonus, since the Y has a laxative effect on my kids. :) They did just implement some changes to the kids club. Parents can no longer go in the room and they will no longer 'feed' children. You can still send finger foods and sandwiches, but they won't be able to sit down and hand feed. Obviously with the three I have, I'm not all that happy about this change. We haven't been able to get out there as early as I like to because of it.

As for the maneuvering in and out, we use a double stroller and my oldest stands on the back (yes, I know I shouldn't do this!) It's pretty easy to get in and around. The hallway where you drop off the kids can get crowded. I usually park the stroller outside near the vending machines since it takes up lots of room.

In addition, this YMCA offers tons of open swim, which we've taken advantage of many times. Riley and one of the bigger two go in the babysitting room and I get to have some one on one time with either Patrick or Cecilia. There's also open gymnastics which might be my kids favorite part! They have a huge trampoline into the foam pit, lots of balance things. While it's a little hard to manage the three children, we do pretty well. It took a few times for patrick to learn he needs to wait his turn. Cecilia doesn't understand that yet, so usually I hold Riley and follow Cecilia around. They are usually exhausted after we leave. (another bonus since they'll usually nap at the same time!) I'd probably recommend using the babysitting room and taking just one or two of them, but I don't want to give up my workout! :)

This location gets a two thumbs up from me! As for other Ys, its worth looking into. In Massachusetts, the YMCAs are reciprocal, but that doesn't mean babysitting will always be included, and some other things such as open gymnastics might not be included. Either way, Get a break, enjoy a workout, swim, relax in the sauna or my favorite = take a long, peaceful shower!


Costs: One Adult Family: $61.00 per month.
Two Adult Family: $92.00 per month

Hours: Mon-Fri 5AM-10PM, Sat 6AM - 8PM, Sun 7AM-8PM

Babysitting Hours
Monday through Thursday - 7:45am to 7:30pm
Friday - 7:45am to 7:00pm
Saturday - 8:00am to 12:00pm

Next stop: Wenham Museum.