Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Zoo Trip to Remember

I don't know why I am blogging when I have SOOO much to do, but I had the funniest day yesterday. It was a complete day of comedy of errors - So crazy.


Since it's Spring Break and we didn't have a nanny yesterday, I decided to take a mommy day with the kids since I won't be able to do that much in the near future. I thought the zoo would be a great adventure and we hadn't been since we moved. Now, I had heard (through a fellow blogger who was kind enough to share some Austin area tips) that the zoo wasn't even worth the gas to get there, but I thought, "my kids are young enough to appreciate anything more than a dog and cat, and really, how bad could it be"? I mean everyone says the Dallas zoo is bad and I happen to love it. I should also mention that I had a hour or so worth of consistent contractions Sunday night, so I figured I should stay close to home. So off we went to the Austin zoo... until we pulled into the rocky parking lot adjacent to the trailer home they call the entrance. I wish I would have taken a picture, you can't even imagine how bad it was - it looked like a farm with a petting zoo. I was SOOO disappointed. But, I knew Sweet Pea and Bear would be even more disappointed if we didn't go to the zoo like I had promised. So being the rational, 9-month pregnant mom of two that I am, I drove straight to the exit and changed my GPS destination to the San Antonio zoo. 96 miles to go, she said. And off we went :).

The actual zoo experience was great. We saw the rhinos, lions, tigers, jaguars (up close), black leopards, zebras, black bears, monkeys, etc. The kids loved it (especially Bear). Just when I started to appreciate the ease of the trip, Sweet Pea said she needed to tee-tee. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal (even though I CANNOT stand public restrooms, before kids I wouldn't dare use one), we would hurry in, she would do her business, we would wash our hands, and get out. But, lately Bear has been asking to "tee-tee" on the potty three or four times a day and this happened to be one of them. So, here I am in this small public restroom stall with a 3 year-old and 22 month old and we were all taking turns using the potty, passing the backpack around and not touching ANYTHING (and cheering with every little squirt that Bear let out :) ). In the midst of the chaos, my friend Kerry called. I was so tempted to answer just so I could laugh about it with someone who would understand! Oh, and this was my first experience with a little boy going potty in a public restroom. I held him up at an angle, like the olympic snow ski jumpers, next to the potty (I still need to ask N if that is the right way to do it?!?). Thankfully we made it out safely (and all clean).
I did take a few pictures with my cell phone during the day:



We made it home safe and sound and I know this will be a trip I will remember for a long time. And I can only hope Sweet Pea and Bear do too!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Hello Again

It's been a while since my last post so I thought I would try to do a quick post before the big event.

Last weekend a friend took pictures of the kids at a local park. I think they turned out pretty well. I haven't ordered any yet to post, so I'll post the link in case you would like to take a look: http://www.pixiedustphoto.com/ If you click on gallery at the top, then click on our last name, the password is the mascot of our college (let me know if you need help with that one :) ). We'll be taking pics again once the baby boy gets here, but I thought it was good idea to get the outdoor pics taken now.

Hmmm, so what else has been keeping us so busy? We have finally found a church, I have joined a MOPS group at the same church, the kids started gymnastics, we have taken advantage of having MeMe close by going out on dates while we still can :), and I have been catching up with some old college soccer buddies for a night out every now and then.

Sweet Pea has also had some fun dress up days at school - crazy hat and socks day and cowgirl day (I never thought I would see my daughter dressed up like a cowgirl - I guess we're not in Dallas anymore). Here are some pics:






We are getting ready for baby #3 while still trying to settle in to this (rent) house. We have a week and a half to buy a new car (we're thinking we should get a car that will fit all 3 of our kids), wash all of Bear's old clothes, wash all of the baby stuff (carseat cover, bassinet cover, swing cover, burp cloths, blankets, etc), clean out the nursery, put the nursery together, and buy the last minute items that we are still missing. Oh, and we have to pack for the trip, the hospital and clean the house. And I keep forgetting - we have to come up with a name!! The other two were no-brainers, but we are having a hard time with this one!