Hello penny pinching friends. It is your newest voice on InACents.com, Mommy InACents, helping out my darling Hubby by writing a few articles from time to time. When it comes to travel I prefer day trips to plane trips, driving to hiking, and finding new things to do with my kids over finding nightlife. So here is a week in the life of me, Mommy InACents.

It was Spring Break, April 2012. I had counted down the weeks until a small break from my job and some time with my boys. Each day I made a plan for fun. This probably comes as no surprise when I say Mr. InACents and I are big planners. We come from a planning astrological sign, we are both Capricorns. Here are some examples of how far we have gone to perfectly plan. We got pregnant with both boys perfectly timed to fit our work schedules. Whenever we go to Disney, we make our Disney Dining reservations the first day you can, which is over a hundred and some days in advance. So as you can imagine, it is no understatement to say I had been thinking about the fun we would have on spring break, since the first day back to work after Christmas break.

Day 1

Monday we tried a day at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. It was the boys and I plus some friends. My husband has mentioned before that we are zoo members so every break we try to go once or twice. The zoo is free Mondays for residents in Cuyahoga County and Hinckley Township and it was spring break, so the zoo was bananas. I worried this was a complete mistake when I showed up and saw the crowds!

I really don’t think we saw more than an animal or two. The crowds were thick and the strollers were plentiful. We made up for the lack of excitement by waiting in line for lunch for over 30 minutes followed by making up a game where my 3 year old and my best friend’s 3 year old had to see who could run to the trashcan faster and throw out our garbage. This game actually made it several rounds and was mentioned 5 or 6 times in the days that followed by my Bug (3) who wanted to play again. To me that translates to, the zoo trip was a success!

Day 2

Tuesday was Mommy day. I had the kids play with Grandma while I caught up with my yearly doctor appointments and had lunch with my best friend. I would have taken pictures of the meal and written a review here like my husband does, but I think most of you have eaten at Applebees before, so I will spare you the excitement. Just let me say that it ended sweetly with a shot glass sized brownie and ice cream…the perfect sized dessert for a women who is pretending to diet for her Hawaii trip.

Day 3

Wednesday I took the kids to visit their friends, whose Mom coincidentally used to be their daily babysitter. We had a play date and visited their newborn baby. I forgot it was Fiscal Fast Wednesday and bought the boys their favorite doughnuts. Oops…teehee!

Day 4

The next day was Thursday, and I had gotten a coupon in the mail from Playground World, a chain of playground equipment selling stores here in Ohio; however, they also have an area for kids to enjoy and use the equipment. The kids enjoyed the open play and there was loads of Step2 brand toddler equipment for my one year old to try. I am thinking future birthday location for the boys next party as they can host an organized party there in a little party room off to the side.

Day 5

Finally it was Friday fun day! The problem was I had nothing fun planned. After weeks of planning and anticipation, I had totally neglected to think of the grand finale day of the fun week with Mom! I racked my brain. I knew this last minute activity had to be the best one yet! The only thing that makes my boys equally over the moon happy to the brink of obsession is the allure of a choo-choo train. I knew I had to do what the InACents family does best…I needed to travel to a choo-choo. I called Grandma and Papa and we made a plan. We would head to Lodi Station Outlet Mall in Lodi, Ohio.

Here lies a half an hour long, really awesome, fully enclosed, choo-choo ride! Lodi Station here we come, all aboard for fun (and maybe even a little shoppy shopping for Mommy-not-so-InACents). Stay tuned for the full review next time!

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