Thursday, April 26, 2012

A funny diaper story and a trip to the zoo

Are you sick of my daily posts yet? Now that I'm giving up Facebook and such, I need an outlet for my fun life stories and pictures. And I don't want to wait an entire week to post. I'll probably throw a few of these photos on Facebook just for fun, but the real stories are here, on the blog.

Plus, I'm really enjoying writing again.

First up, the diaper story. Steve and I have teased Jack about changing Reid's diapers since before Reid was born. And Jack has always said he doesn't want to change any, especially the poopie ones. That started to change in the last week. Jack started to tell me he wanted to help. He'd even come over and watch while I changed Reid's diaper. Then one day, he helped take off Reid's pants and unsnap his onesie. I thought this was pretty cool. Maybe I could teach Jack how to change Reid's diapers, and I could have a few minutes to myself. Ha.

Then it happened. I walked away from Jack and Reid playing to put away a toy or put a dish in the sink, and Jack would undo Reid's clothes and announce that there is a "blue line". I thought Pampers was genius for putting the line on diapers that turns blue when they are wet. But now that Jack knows the color blue and knows that it means a wet diaper, it is an early warning signal for imminent danger. See, Jack can take off Reid's clothes, and he can take off the dirty diaper. But that's where he stops. He then yells and laughs until I come running and finish the change. Oh, he does bring the new diaper and a wipe, he just doesn't do anything with them.

So here's the funny story from today. We were getting ready to go to the zoo. I was showered and dressed. Reid was dressed. Jack was half-naked. I gave Jack the time notice that we would be leaving in 20 minutes. I reminded him that he needed to be wearing underwear, pants and a long-sleeved shirt to go with us to the zoo. Jack went upstairs to get dressed. Reid played on his playmat on the floor in the dining room. I ran outside to check in with the landscapers preparing our lawn for the swingset we just purchased from our neighbors. I was outside for 5 minutes. I came back in. Reid was naked from the waist down. Jack was completely naked. There was pee all over the playmat and the carpet. And yes, Jack was screaming and laughing hysterically. Don't worry, it was Reid who peed. Reid was also laughing.

Some moms have to worry about their children hurting one another or themselves if they leave the room. I have to worry about pee. I do realize I have the better end of the deal. That doesn't make cleaning up pee any more fun.

We did make it to the zoo today. The weather forecast called for high 50s, almost 60. So I thought it would be a good day for our first trip to the zoo. I also didn't have anything else for us to do today, and Steve was still in St. Louis. It didn't feel like high 50s at the zoo, but we had a good time anyway, all bundled in blankets and coats.

We bought a membership to the Brookfield Zoo this year. I think this is a must-have for stay-at-home-moms. We have only been once, but I already recognize the benefits even if we don't go again (but we will definitely be going again!). First, I spent all of $3 at the zoo today (if you don't count what we paid for the membership). The only thing I paid for was our ride on the carousel. We packed a lunch, which Jack loves to do anyway. The butterfly exhibit isn't open yet, so we passed that up. And our membership includes entrance to the Family Zoo, which is where we spent most of our time. It's inside and it's hands-on. Fun and Fun. To top it all off, I did not feel pressured to see as many animals as we could since I knew I could come back next week and it won't cost me another $40. Win. We only stayed as long as our energy allowed, which was about 2 hours.

On our way home, we stopped off to visit Aunt Connie at work. We got to see the new ambulances she was working on as well as a tour of the headquarters building, including the station that she manages. Jack was very intrigued by the bunkbeds. He also loved climbing in and out of the ambulances. He would have done that all afternoon if we had let him. It was really neat to see my "little" sister at work. She loves her job, and it shows when you see her doing it.

Alright, I have so much more I could write about, but I need to get to bed. Perhaps there will be more tomorrow :) Afterall, I also went to my first school Open House and got a tour from Jack. But that's a story for later.

Riding the Carousel
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Checking out the lions
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Watering the plants
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Visiting Aunt Connie
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1 comment:

Tina said...

Zoo membership and SAHM lifesaver!! Its nice because you can just pack up and go - who cares if you stay 1 hour or 4, it's paid for!! It's probably a bit easier for me as the zoo is only 20 min away and very easy to get to.