BM Scavenger Hunt Photos

The MD Zoo in Baltimore

In a weird alternate universe sort of way, we ended up with a Sunday yesterday with no plans, so we trekked off to the zoo. Oli has been fascinated with elephants, so we thought he might like it and I've had a couple of weekend tickets for a few months now. We headed off to the zoo with some vague directions, since they do not have a street number for their address (per their website). After a couple wrong turns, we got there a few minutes after they opened. A word to the wise, that is THE best time to get to the zoo. Not a lot of people and the animals aren't tired yet.

Oliver traveled in style. I haven't used the Ergo in months, thinking he was too heavy for it now. But, when we went to Happy Hollow out in CA, he was in his stroller, and getting him in and out and running after him got tiring real quick.

So, I decided to dust off the trusty (not so) rusty baby carrier and use it on my back. It was AWESOME. I cannot rave about it enough. I carried him for close to 2 hours, I barely felt his weight on me.

And, it worked out so much better for him; he could see into the animal enclosures easily without having to be held up or climbing onto walls/fences. We put him in the stroller close to lunch time and then went to see a couple more animals and trust me, it was better in the Ergo. I had to hold him up or Jeff had to carry him and then he tried to take nosedives into the elephant habitat. You get the idea!


All in all, it was the best outing ever. He had so much fun and we only made it through half of the zoo. so, we'll definitely be going back. Some highlights from yesterday:

• Polar bear habitat: they have a water and a dry area for the bears and when we got in, there was a bear submerged in the water. All we could see was the hiney and back legs. It scared Oli. We walked to the dry area where he could see the second bear in its entirety and he was better. Those cuddly looking things are HUGE.
• He learned how to say cheetah (seetah), rhino (whino), giraffe (giwaff) and saw these animals for the first time.
• He saw his favorite animal for now, the elephant and tried to jump into their enclosure.
• He saw a camel, which he knows from photos at home, but wasn't willing to ride it. Maybe next time.
• We also saw antelopes (which he called deer), penguins, lemurs, arctic fox and he was fascinated with all. 
  

This was him pretty much at every enclosure: 

He also tried a carousel for the third time. He's been afraid of them and the last time he went on one, he grabbed my neck the entire ride and wouldn't let go and kept whimpering. Yesterday, he kept pointing at it and saying "go." So, I took him on it, thinking my neck was going to get an extension massage again, but no the child went from looking unsure in the picture on the left to almost giddy in the picture on the right. At one point, he was shaking the pole saying "go horsey go."

Needless to say, the whole family had fun and we were pooped by the end of it. Somebody took a nap in the car and then refused to sleep at home so by dinnertime, he was looking peeked. And, when I lay him down in bed, he didn't move a muscle! We have a year long family membership to the zoo and we're definitely planning to go a few times next year.

Y'all are making my head and heart ache

That's what I wrote as a response to an online mommies group I belong to and intermittently post on. Because of numerous Chik-fil-a and related threads.

Let me state my stance. I have and will continue to avoid eating at CFA. I have and will continue to support organizations like JC Penney and Target who, even if for financial reasons, have shown themselves willing to buck so called tradition and show their support of humanity, no matter what shape, size or sexuality it comes in. Even if I believe in freedom of speech, and even if I believe that every person, including a corporate officer of a large business has the right to say whatever and support whoever, I believe more in the basic human right to love whoever a person falls in love with. And, making a life with that person, and having or adopting and raising children with that person. Why should I or you who is attracted to somebody of the opposite sex get to say it's wrong to be attracted to a person of the same sex? Some decades ago, Jeff and my marriage wouldn't have been acceptable, because we aren't of the same race.

Some people are stating that let's make their "civil unions" similar to marriage but they still wouldn't be married. Oh, the proponents of this situation are stating that homosexual couples would have all the same rights as married couples. It would be same but not. Does anybody remember "separate but equal?" You know, separate schools for "colored" folks; they'd have all the amenities as the white schools but they'd be different. Anybody who argues that this is equality is a fool. A moron. Or somebody who doesn't want to acknowledge there is discrimination happening against people because of who they are.

This is exactly similar, just another characteristic of a human being that the majority doesn't like. It threatens their belief system, so let's marginalize that group. Hide them away. Not give them equal rights.

It pains me to raise a child in this world. I am being brutally honest. A world where a lesbian can be beaten into a pulp because of who she's attracted to; a world where a pastor cares more about his job than marrying 2 loving individuals because of the color of their skin; a world where we refuse to acknowledge that love can exist in many forms; a stupid fucking world where people compare allowing the marriage of a human being to another of the same gender to allowing a human being to marry an animal.

I am not afraid of how to explain gay love to my child. I am not afraid of explaining a family with 2 moms to my child. I am afraid of explaining all this hate against our fellow humans. I am afraid of him not finding acceptance from his fellow human beings if he's gay. I am afraid of him growing up in a prejudiced, narrow minded world.

Mourning the loss of chub

Not mine, because well I am still holding on to my chub. Or, it's holding on to me. Darn stubborn chub.

No, I am mourning the loss of chub on my baby. Who doesn't look anywhere close to a baby anymore. Or act like one. Oh, he wants snuggles every now and then, but he mostly wants to be independent. The other day, getting him ready for bath, I realized, there are no more fat rolls! NO MORE FAT ROLLS!!! Do you know what that means? My baby is lean and long, no longer a little chubster :( Not that he was ever a chubster but he had nice chubby legs and arms. Look at this now:

Look at that serious face!

Look at all those teeth

No more chubby arms

No more chubby legs

He has to do everything by himself

All I can think of is these lines from Trace Adkins' song, You're Gonna Miss This:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

He's talking about a girl wanting to be 18 and then getting married, but these words hold true for any parent. I miss his baby days. I miss his first wobbly crawl, his baby toothless giggles, I miss when he would fit on my chest and fall asleep ... I can only imagine what I'll be missing in another couple years. They learn and grow so fast, how do you hold on to each moment? He's barely 2 and I feel like time's flown by in an instant, how will I feel when he starts school? Graduates college? Brings home "the one?" Puts me in a nursing home?

Nothing like having a baby to make you appreciate your parents and everything they did and every sacrifice they made to make sure all your dreams came true.

Thank you papu, for never treating me like a girl in India. Thank you mumma for being a strong woman and giving me such a positive role model.

Thank you Oli for making me stop and appreciate the important things in life. I know I am gonna miss this. But, even as I mourn the moments that have passed by so fast, I am looking forward to the many moments of joy and wonder that your growing up will bring into our lives. We all love you so very much. Always laugh like this, my bubs.

Houses

When we went to look at the model for our current condo some years ago, we knew as soon as we walked into the foyer that it was what we wanted. The open kitchen, the dining-living area, the study, the double sinks in the master bathroom, the walk in closet ... it all called to us. And, it was perfect. Perfect for a couple with a dog. Not so perfect for a couple with a dog and a toddler. We have no yard. We have sidewalks that step down in front of every condo building so there would be no bike riding down the sidewalks. Kids in our community ride their bikes down the parking lot. So, 6 months ago, we started looking for houses. With yards.

It's hard! Once you get used to something, you don't want to let go. I want my gas cook top. I want my pantry space. I want the double sinks. I want a walk in closet. But, if we look at old houses that have yards, their bathrooms are tiny. They have electric stoves. If we look at new developments with gas appliances and his and her closets, they are built on top of each other.

I guess we decide on the things we absolutely refuse to live without and go from there. And for now, that list is:

• neighborhood
• yard space
• big kitchen
• storage

The things we can reconcile on are:

• double sinks in master bathroom
• gas stove top ... maybe

Some things are churning around in our heads and in the real estate market, some new houses, some lots with options of having our own builder build upon them. I am just scared of making this decision because this will be THE house Oli goes off to college from. That's the idea. What if we buy the wrong house?What if at the beginning it seems fine and then slowly issues pop up? What if the area is great when we move there and in 10 years, it all goes downhill?

See? I am freaking out just putting it down on "paper!"