We started that day like we had started every day that week: a quick workout on the way to breakfast.
But Quinn got a little too aggressive with the lunges, and we quickly found ourselves in a blowout situation. Complicating the matter further, we had exhausted our mobile diaper supply. We were a bit too far to make it back to the apartment, and I didn't want to buy a whole new case of diapers for our last day in the city.
Enter the corner tienda. These little mom and pop shops are on nearly every street corner in Latin America. In fact, Aimee's host family in Nicaragua ran one. It's amazing what can fit in a 10' x 10' room off the side of someone's house. All kinds of foods, a bit of liquor, engine oil, T-shirts, toaster ovens, and of course, single diapers. "I'll take a size five, please!" I was half thrilled and half mortified that I was half thrilled. This is my new reality. Spending the last morning of an international vacation tracking down a single diaper and loving every minute of it.
Newly contented, Quinn prepared for the next blowout at our neighborhood cafe.
Nona, Grael, and Conrad met us at the café, and after breakfast we wandered past Frida's house like we did most mornings. As always, there were literally hundreds of art students from all over the world waiting in line to pay homage. We would finally get our chance to visit the museum later that day, but since we could think of no worse horror than waiting in line for two hours with three small kids, we bought our tickets online several weeks prior.
Mimi was thrilled, since Frida plays a big role in several books that she loves. Quinn could have cared less, but he saw that the museum was in a house, and houses have kitchens. His curiosity was piqued.
But our tickets weren't valid until later that day, so we divided and conquered. Aimee and Nona went to the town market to get a few souveniers, and Grael and I took the kids to Parque Frida.
Exhausted from the gastrointestinal excitement of the morning, he barely made it ten minutes into our walk.
With Quinn sleeping, and Mimi playing with Conrad, I was just starting to get excited about the possibility of sitting on a park bench and chatting with another adult human. Then right on cue, my awake child abruptly announced her emergent need of a potty. So I left sleeping Quinn in Grael's capable hands and set out to find un baño.
Unfortunately, the restaurant that had saved us a few days prior wasn't open yet, so we continued walking to the next open business. It happened to be a nail salon staffed by a couple of twenty-somethings on their phones. I meekly pointed to Mimi and asked if we could use their restroom. They graciously ushered us in and fawned over Mimi.
In an effort to both thank the staff and rack up some major dad points, I asked if they had time for a new client. The staff of course loved the idea, and Mimi ate up every minute of it.
She'll be turning 14 next week.
And then it was back to the park, where Mimi didn't let some nail polish get in the way of a good leg day.
By that point Quinn was awake, and Conrad had made friends with a German kid a couple years older. It was heartbreakingly adorable to watch the three of them talk to each other with no idea why the other one couldn't understand.
But we had to head out before any of our toddlers could have a linguistic breakthrough. Frida's house is one of the most popular destinations in Mexico City, so the ticket times are relatively rigid. This was the focal destination of our trip, and we didn't want to miss our appointment.
Easily finding Nona and Aimee, we joined the line just before it was our turn to enter. This was particularly key with the shortening fuses of our children. The only slot available for our tour was right during their nap time, so we were playing with fire.
This became immediately apparent as soon as we entered the house, when Mimi tried to to crawl into Diego Rivera's bed.
Our three year old had a very hard time understanding why she couldn't take a nap in the historic bedroom of one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.
But all things considered, the kids did great. A Dia de Muertos ofrenda straight out of Coco went a long way towards winning them over.
But the real highlight was a Frida and Diego cut out that we remembered from our last visit.
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| Feb 10, 2016 |
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| Jan 3, 2020 |
