Reality Check

If you didn't guess from my last post, we are having a bit of a blah week. So today, I took off work for the zoo field trip for big sis' class. It was a beautiful day and all of the kiddos had a fabulous time!

It was just the pick me up I needed as well. We have great support from family and friends, many of whom are muddling through parenthood themselves. All of the experiences (past and present) that we share and their support is invaluable! Sometimes, though I wonder about my family's decisions leading to the cramming of so much into our lives right now. I worry that Disco and I are making the wrong choices (combining family, work, school, etc). And I forget about how we fit into the larger community - I end up viewing our chaotic life as an island.

What I found at the zoo today was a community of parents dealing with the same balance issues. Individuals who chose to take a day off to make a special trip with their kids. Moms and dads who work, attend school, teach, and travel all while raising their families. But none of us focused on the balance struggle today - it was all about the kiddos!

Many of those parents are strangers to us - we usually only have time to smile and nod in the hallway at school. But their children are big sis' buddies so whether or not we rely on them big sis does. And big sis knows all of the parents and bounced back and forth between parent/child groups today. She was happy to spend a bit of time with me too - but her movement throughout the group reminded me of our connectedness. To see our family members within the larger community and the support her school (teachers, administration, families, and kids) provides for our home. It made me smile. And comforted me during a long week.

BOO at the ZOO

We missed all our friends at Boo at the Zoo this year - we were out of town on members' night. Our big giraffe and little tiger were ready for the Zoo, though! We finally made it this past Tuesday night (Oct 28th). Aunt K joined us which was so exciting for big sis - and boy did they have fun! Big sis thought trick or treating was cool, she slid down a big slide and even rode the bear ride with Aunt K. She was too excited to eat food, though!

Disco never makes it into our family pics b/c he is behind the camera. But here are two of his favorite pics from the event (and yes, he ate both his corn dog AND big sis' corn dog - it wasn't pretty!):

Little man was a trooper - he stayed awake in the Baby Bjorn the whole time and we never heard one complaint. Of course he was OUT before we made it home.