take me to the zoo...

at zachary's request we visited the zoo.

there is no real zoo in austin, only a rehabilitation center, so we drove to the san antonio zoo. i've been there twice before, once as a child and once with my nieces before zach was born. both times i remember it being a really great zoo.

we were both just as excited about going. we are both animal fanatic's!

upon entering the zoo, our first stop was to admire the flamingos. they were beautiful... but i couldn't help noticing how green and polluted the water looked.

zachary very animatedly exclaimed... "shew weee what's that smell!?"

i started an explanatory reply...

"well, we are at the zoo and there will be many different sme--"

when the very smell in which he was speaking of hit me and i started to gag. i tried to stop... but couldn't. it was absolutely the worst smell i have ever encountered.

both of us gagging... we walked away as fast as possible, and unknowingly passed right by the reptile exhibit. (reptiles are zachary's favorite)

zachary kept saying "i'm going to throw up... i'm going to throw up"... to which i would say "i know honey, me too."

we kept walking to free ourselves from the smell, but apparently weren't quick enough and he blew chunks. i stooped to make sure he was okay, but i had no doubt it was from the smell alone.

as i was cleaning him up and getting him a drink of water, we were distracted by a loud howling noise. we searched on to see where it was coming from, and were amused to find these two bears.

the lower one was poking at and howling at the one resting above in the cave... then that one would yell back. finally the other responded by crossing the pin to where his food dish was and slammed it around, obviously very perturbed. it was really pretty funny!

next were the monkeys. momentarily hindered once again by a different, but still putrid smell, yet determined to have a good time we enjoyed them from a distance. one was in the mood to entertain, and z and i cracked up as he bounced around... taking time to look at each of us with an animated expression.

our next stop was really neat... walking through a stone tunnel and looking through glass panes we saw lemurs and wild cats. there were no bad smells here... but i couldn't help but notice that the water in every exhibit was green and full of debris.

we next came to the indoor aquarium where saw lots of beautiful fish, hippopotamuses.... and more dirty green water.

the african exhibit was a total disappointment. it was undergoing re-construction and there were no lions, no giraffes, only one zebra, one elephant, and a rhinoceros in the entire exhibit!

once again the smells were horrid... and comments from everyone confirmed that i was not being overly sensitive. mothers were not allowing their children to view the animals because the smell was so bad. even so... the rhino smells were nothing like the flamingo's earlier.

the rest of the exhibit was barren and dry. a dirt path with tall brown grass and no animals to enjoy... walking on the dirt in view of all the dry grass exhausted zachary and he determined then that he was ready to go home.

on the way out we stopped by the reptile exhibit. this was z's favorite. turtles, snakes, lizards... and air conditioning. we stayed in there for a long time.

on the way out, we were once again hit with the flamingo smell. i covered my nose with the map, and zachary once again, threw up.

i tore off a piece of the map for him to hold over his nose, and we hurried out of the zoo.

across the street we stopped for a 20 minute train ride, which was pretty fun.

our next stop was downtown at a really great authentic mexican food restaurant. then... home!

what a day!

although i think he enjoyed himself... all zachary can say is "the zoo is gross, and stinky!" hopefully i'll be able to change his mind soon. i think a visit to the fort worth zoo is in order.

the name game

zachary is learning to write his name. well... the letters in his name anyway.

he's very good about practicing. in fact, if it can be written with or written on, he has used it to practice his art of name creating.

for example my to do list...

my desk calendar...

my bills...


i even opened my checkbook to find...


i'm so encouraged that he is finally showing an interest in learning his letters, that his lack of discretion in where to practice is easily forgiven.

last weekend, all his hard work was shown to have paid off when he brought me this...


isn't it beautiful!??!!

it may not be perfect... but there are definite letters. Z A C H..... all in a row

can you see it?

it's the most beautiful thing, i believe, as mom, i have ever received.

things that make you go hmmmmmm?

z, calling to me from the bathroom:

"mommy!"


"yes?"


"mommy, do clowns poop balloons?"

...

another day... another antic

i've been trying to teach zachary that making smaller messes while playing means less cleaning time. it hasn't sunk in yet.

i'm a firm believer in leading by example.

he's a good mess maker... as am i. but i'm a good cleaner... i just hope he gets there one day. soon.

i've spent all memorial day cleaning... and zachary was supposed to clean his room. well... so far he's managed to get most of his toys scattered throughout the house back into his room.

i've tried making him stay in his room and not come out until it's clean... which usually leads to a larger mess and amusing antics.

today's antic... mr. pantshead

the superhero that doesn't have to clean his room.

electrolytes and children's health....

i stumbled across some pretty important information regarding the health of your children last week. in my experience as a mother, i've found that there are so many things, important items of information, that seem to go undisclosed.

in an earlier post i talked about not knowing so many things that have the potential to cause serious conditions in your children... things that no one talks about. for example, i never knew to count poops in the first few days after my son was born. you are supposed to count poops to insure they are getting enough food... this is extremely important if you are breast feeding because otherwise it's impossible to tell how much milk they are getting. well... i didn't know that and my son, who was born perfectly healthy, developed jaundice because he wasn't getting enough milk. it was caught in the hospital the day we were supposed to leave and we were sent home with a billieblanket. nothing serious happened and he was perfectly fine.

still... this was a major concern for me because he was at a stage 11... and brain damage occurs at stage 14.

i had read all the books, watched TLC for months... done everything i knew to prepare... and within the first few days... failed.

as a result, i'm quick to take zach to the doctor and always ask dozens of questions.

recently my three year old niece was running a low grade fever. my sister is mom to three little girls... and has much experience in how to handle a sick child. as any good mother would, she stayed up with her, bringing her water as she requested it throughout the night.

the next morning my niece had a seizure.... a four minute seizure. the paramedics rushed her to the hospital where she had another seizure. dozens of tests were run, including a cat scan and spinal tap.

it turns out it was a lack of sodium. all the water drinking flushed the sodium from her system, causing the seizures.

evidently now they're saying 8 glasses of water is not so important anymore... drink water if you think you need it... but be sure to get your electrolytes....gatorade/powerade.

really?

i think this is an important fact every parent should know.

don't light saber the dogs

i sometimes find myself laughing... when i should be disciplining. there's just so much that a four year old boy does that will surprise and amuse.

how can you not laugh while saying...

"no, you may not pee in the grass... i don't care if you're a dog"

"i don't thing juno (dog) wants to ride your scooter"

"your gum did not crawl over there all by itself. no, it didn't"

"putting on a mask does not change who you are... you're still you and you're still in time out"

"grace isn't even here... she did not turn on all these lights on"

"getting mad isn't going to make those gloves help you climb the wall"

"the turtles do NOT like it when you "scare" them"

"don't light-saber the dogs...."

Seven Random Things

my big sis tagged me with a post topic... seven random things about myself.

this is a difficult topic... but i will try to think of the least boring seven things. :)

1. i love books. it seems i haven't had the time lately to read much, but that hasn't stopped me from collecting. i love half-price book stores... because usually they are waaaay less than half price and you can pick up several good ones. i once was a barns and noble junkie, because you can read and go... but who has time for that anymore??? i collect the classics, although they take quite a while to read...

2. the perfect get away for me would be a secluded island somewhere... with my family. i imagine myself lounging on the beach with a good book, a spread of fresh tropical fruit, and some coconut milk. (is coconut milk even good? i sure hope so.) i'm relaxing and watching my son and nieces build sand castles and collect shells. someone else is taking care of everything, because i'm just relaxing.

3. i'm a homebody. i never go out. i've lived in austin for six years and saw some of it for the first time last month, when a friend came to visit. since becoming a mom i just find it more relaxing to be at home. no wrangling up sitters and worrying all night if everything is okay.

4. i have a crazy neighbor. she talks non-stop, asks a dozen questions, never waiting to hear a reply. i try not to make eye contact... but that usually ends with her yelling at me to get my attention. she is always on hyper-drive and over-dramatizes everything. she came over once to tell me my dog was barking... it ended up being her dog, but the weirdest part about that event was that she rang my doorbell about fourteen times non-stop. weird. i'm pretty unapproachable, so the fact that she even feels comfortable coming over points a lot towards her craziness. hey, there's another thing about me.

5. i'm unapproachable. i don't try to be... well, maybe i do. i like people... most people... the majority i would say. but i'm quite shy and i get nervous and stumble over my words, so i try to steer clear of confrontation... well communication really of any sort, unless absolutely necessary. or, unless you are a close friend or loved one, of whom i have very few. (consider yourself lucky :) )

6. music makes me happy. i'm not musically talented... but i love to listen. i love rhythm and bass. i'm not a band freak... or concert junkie. i don't really like concerts... all the people, and you can't really hear the music. i did attend a smithereens concert once that was pretty awesome.... but i also saw u2 and was just annoyed most of the night because the jerk beside me kept spilling beer on my sandaled feet. (worst date ever) anywho... my point is i love music itself. yes lyrics, and yes the vocals... but mostly the music.

7. i love the Lord. i don't say it often enough, to anyone but Him.... He's held me and guided me through a whirlwind of a life and He's still right here beside me. i'm thankful and grateful for where i am because of Him and try in every way to be who and what He wants me to be. i find it difficult to discern what that is, but i try.

so... i'm tagging kim. tag, you're it.