Friday Five – One Day Late

So we’ll make it a Saturday Six?  Deal. 

This weeks Friday Five Saturday Six is – What We Did On Saturday.

1. “We” (as in Eirinn by choice and Mommy by default) woke up at 5 am.  “We” had wet through “our” diaper and onto “our” pants and shirt.  “We” then tried (unsuccessfully) to remove “our” wet shirt, but could only get one arm out because “we’re” only 19 months old and “we” haven’t been given this lesson yet.  This ignorance led to an hour and a half of moaning and groaning before Mommy begrudgingly dragged her half asleep butt out of bed to see what the problem was.  Soaking wet toddler = awake toddler = awake household.  This would never have happened if ”we” hadn’t chugged three (3) sippy cups of water and then a bottle of milk right before bed.  Mommy says “lesson learned” and won’t be watering the toddler like she was a dying cactus.
2. Our friends Carly and Lucy came for a visit!  Carly and I see each other every Wednesday for Durham Mom’s Night Out, but Eirinn and Lucy hadn’t played together for a couple of months.  It’s always a treat to see these two together because they can be so different, but still get along like peas and carrots.  Where Eirinn is boysterous and energetic and outgoing, Lucy is quiet and thoughtful and sweet.
3. For the very first time, Eirinn rode the bus.  By herself.  Just kidding, Carly, Lucy and I were there, too.  Eirinn got her own seat and we sang “The Wheels on the Bus” loud enough to annoy the weird guy with wiry, dandruff-y, badly dyed hair sitting in front of us.  Why bother using public transit if you’re not going to make other people wish they hadn’t? 
4. The four of us were taking the bus to Apple Fest, which is an annual tradition I have yet to miss.  Love it.  LOOOOVE.  IT.  Why so much love?  Four words – cider, dumplings, fritters and fudge.  The line up for the fritters was too long given the minus 30 degree weather, but I was all over the other three like flies on…maybe a bad analogy when talking about food.
5. Lunch was delicious world famous pancakes as made by Anonymous Husband.  AH played the role of Wicked Cool, Kick-Arse Husband today.  Not only was he Master Chef of the Griddle, but he also woke up early on his sleep-in day so I could shower and he drove to his parents so I would have a stroller to shuttle Eirinn around the tundra in.  Sank-coo, AH.
6. Little People were played with and books were coloured in by Eirinn and Lucy during the hour between lunch and nap.  It was the cutest thing watching them interact.  As an illustration of their differences, while colouring, Eirinn talked all of us through what she was doing and demanded invited us to colour with her.  Lucy, meanwhile, was quietly examining the Magic Markers, figuring out the science behind their magic-ness, assembling and re-assembling them, all without so much as a whisper.                                                                                   
7. Absolutely conked out from all the early-waking, friend-visiting, bus-riding, Apple-festing, can-cake-eating, play-play-playing, Eirinn slept from 1:30 to 4:45, and only woke up because my face was all up in her grill saying “WAKE UP, LAZY, OR YOU WON’T SLEEP TONIGHT.”
8. And last but not least.  Her time after dinner was spent doing…whatever this is.  I don’t know.

Ok, so because I a) felt guilty for missing Friday or b) talk too much, we ended up with a Friday Five, Saturday Six, Sunday Seven, A List With Eight Points And No Catchy Title Because There Isn’t A Day Of The Week That Starts With ‘E’.

Simply in her nature

At the local second hand store yesterday with my mom, Eirinn perused the shoe department and spotted *cue trumpets* a pair of Dora shoes in her size.  Of course she had to have them, so she took them off the shelf herself (how she knew they were her size, I don’t know…) and carried them around the store, to the front counter.  She plopped them on the counter and turned to my mom.

“Bugba.  Money,” and held out her hand.

My mom handed her the money, which she placed on the counter for the cashier.  The cashier put the shoes in a bag and handed it to her.  She hooked the bag onto her arm like a little purse and led my mom out of the store.

All of this without any prompting.  It just came naturally.  Like proper shopping etiquette and protocol is in her blood.  I think there is one ‘Bugba’ and one ‘Bubba’ who will be very proud.

Zoo Adventures

Today’s vacation adventure was the Peterborough Zoo, formally named the Riverview Park and Zoo.  Say we lived in Peterborough, this place would rock as a day trip for a kidlet Eirinn’s age.  Besides the zoo, there is a massive playground with twirly slides, spring-activated see-saws, tubes to climb through, climby things.  There is a good sized water park for young ones (no water slides, but lots of sprayers and wading pools) and a little train that takes you on a ten minute mini Disney-inspired adventure, although I think it was even a little juvenile for Eirinn (a snake clearly fashioned out of dryer hose?), but they tried and that’s what counts.  The grounds are immaculate with mature trees, pretty landscaping and beautiful architecture.  The zoo animals are pretty basic, but that’s ok because the goat we saw first and a donkey were tied for Eirinn’s favourite.  I also love that the zoo is one of the highest ranked by Zoocheck, a watchdog organization that monitors zoo’s ethical treatment of animals, and receives their praise; the zoo in our town never fares very well in these rankings, which is disappointing. 

 Keep in mind I said ‘Say we lived in Peterborough…’ because it is about 45 minutes to an hour to get there from our place.  And 45 minutes to an hour in a hot car with a screaming, crusty, mega-beast is not, I repeat, NOT fun.  Oh, and we had to do that twice because, like it or not, we had to get home somehow.  She whined literally (and I don’t use that word lightly) the whole way there.  She would have whined the whole way home if I hadn’t got into the back seat, which, in itself, was a hilariously embarrassing story. 

After dealing with the crust for about 3 minutes, Anonymous Husband suggested I jump out of the car while at a red light and get into the back in order to a) entertain her on the way home and b) make sure she stays awake so she can have a proper length nap when we get there.  Well, I got out and ran lightening speed to the back, not out of fear of being run over while running through stopped traffic, but I didn’t want to annoy anyone by taking too long in case the light changed.  When I got to the back door, lo and behold, it was locked.  Gah!  I ran to the front and got back in to tear a strip off the now-hysterical AH.  In a panic (and the light was still red), he unlocked the door and I made the trip again, this time noticing the car behind us was filled with similarily hysterical men. 

Ha, ha, ha.  Laugh it up, boys.  Laugh it up.