A Full Day's Work

Two batches of mint chocolate chip merengues made (because I put too much peppermint extract in the first one and had to make a second to balance it out), cooled and stored away...

A shopping trip to pick up part of my mother-in-law's Christmas present, some wedding things at Target and wrapping paper for some of the larger gifts completed...

A batch of sugar cookies made, cooled and stored away...

A trip to the zoo to see the Christmas lights...

Dinner out with the husband and child...

Made a breakfast casserole for a friend who is packing up to move...

The kitchen cleaned and ready for another day of cooking...

Balanced the checkbook...

And now I am waiting for Mr. Bean to get up and start prepping his famous homemade lasagna so I can clean up after him. At least a huge chunk of my to-do list got checked off today!

Make that Museum, not Zoo

Well, due to the weather, we ended up not going to the zoo, but to the Children's Museum instead.

String Bean and friend Grace tore the place up. Among String Bean's favorites were the wind tunnel (Nothing is cuter than a toddler in goggles!), splashing in water, and putting clings on a plastic "window".

Wouldn't it figure that since I took her diaper bag to the car after lunch she'd decide to poop within minutes of resuming play?

Visting the Ducks

String Bean watching the ducks at the zoo.
Photo by Mr. Bean

Our babysitters (we have 2) took String Bean to see the ducks at the local zoo two days in a row last week.

The last two days when we ask her what she'd done with Lexie (one of the sitters) her answer has been clicking and opening and closing her hand which is her sign for "duck." Both days we've asked Lexie if she took String Bean to see the ducks again. Both times, the answer has been no.

I guess the visits to the ducks last week really made an impression. Luckily for String Bean, we are planning a trip to the zoo tomorrow!

County Fair Recap

Tonight the county fair ended. Although I always enjoy the week, I am always happy to see it end, too! It just gets tiring to go every day. One advantage to going to the fair on a daily basis this year was watching String Bean go from terrified and fearful of the animals at the petting zoo to becoming comfortable with the animal movements and noises and finally today seeing her get thrilled to pet the calf, goats and bunny.

As we look forward to next year, we are already thinking about photos we'd like to take, crafts we will consider making, and the delicacies only found at the fair we will enjoy!

Today's News

You may remember yesterday that we reported on an unfortunate scene in Chicago at the North Avenue Park. A woman's purse was stolen and dumped under a park bench. According to the phone call Mandie of "Just We Moms" received today, the owner of that purse has been reunited with her belongings and is ever-so-thankful to have recovered a portion of what was lost.



In other news, the beloved horse, June, who has made Cosley Zoo home for the past several years died yesterday. She was 14 years old. According to one of the zookeepers, she was sick and taken to the vet, but did not survive. She died on Sunday evening, July 12, 2009. June was an American Cream Draft Horse and shared her stall with Pro the Shetland Pony. Pro appeared to be somewhat lost while on display today. Normally he is seen following June as she wanders in the horse enclosure. The zookeeper said, "He knows something is different, but I don't think he knows what," as she sympathetically scratched him behind his ears. Since June was not in the stall with Pro at her time of death, the keeper staff does not believe she is mourning at this time. According to Danielle, a zoo spokesperson, they hope to get a new companion for Pro since horses thrive with companionship.

There will be a memorial fund to remember June, but details are not yet available. If you are interested in making a donation in honor of June, you can do so by contacting the staff of the Cosley Zoo.

On a personal note, while the ducks are String Bean's favorite zoo animals by far, she is always thrilled to see the horses. Today was a sad day as the big white horse no longer is with us.

Indy Recap Part 1

String Bean had much fun in Indianapolis. For those of you considering a trip to the capitol of this midwest state, today and tomorow, I'll review the two big kid-friendly attractions: the zoo and children's musem.

Today I'll focus on the Indianapolis Zoo which is fantastic. I have been to the Chicago-area zoos, Brookfield Zoo and Lincoln Park Zoo, but the Indianapolis Zoo far surpasses them.

String Bean touching an elephant in Mom's arms.
Photo by Mr. Bean

String Bean touches a shark swimming by safe in the arms of Pop.
Photo by Mr. Bean

Pros:

• Interaction with the animals is phenomenal. String Bean was able to pet an elephant! There were also opportunities to feed giraffes and pet many animals in the children's zoo. The highlight for String Bean was petting the sharks (yes sharks!). This is a new exhibit at the zoo, but just amazing.
  
• The exhibits let you get awfully close to the animals. If the giraffes had felt so inclined, they could have leaned over and kissed me. This is a great plus for kids who have a hard time finding that furry animal in the distance. You find as you walk around the park that the animals have large habitats, but the zoo is designed so you walk around several sides of the big animal habitats. It ensures you can get a close up view of your favorite animal.
• There is a new indoor butterfly exhibit and beautiful gardens around it. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of butterflies in the exhibit, but I'm giving the zoo the benefit of the doubt that they are still establishing their butterfly family. There was a huge incubator full of cocoons (some hatching) indicating a large future population for the exhibit. The gardens (behind the exhibit) are awesome.
  
• On warm days, there is a splash pad you can visit! Be sure to bring a swimsuit and a towel if you are going to enjoy this part of the park.
  
• Although we didn't indulge, there is a roller coster at the zoo, but the coaster, pony rides, and carosel cost a small amount extra.
  
• Child identification bands are available at the entrance to the zoo. It is a simple wrist (or ankle) band that you write your child's name and your cell phone number on. If you get separated from your child, zoo personnel have a way to contact you.
  

Cons:

• At $14.00 for adults, the price sure does add up and I was unable to find coupons for the Zoo anywhere on line. There are military discounts, however. Parking was an additional $5.00 per car.
  
• The Dolphin show (which was free with the cost of admission) needs some work. I always love to go see the dolphins, but despite the theater seating and lighting, the show was not too great.
  

Tomorrow I'll share about the Children's Museum!

Free Saturday

Mr. Bean had to work all day because of a well-known artist visiting the college and putting on a concert this evening. String Bean and I took the opportunity to visit 2 of our favorite free places in our town.

After breakfast, we went to the library! It has been more than 6 months since we last went (says my expired library card which has now been renewed). Besides running through the stacks and pondering pulling every book off the shelves, String Bean also picked up and put down several board books, played with puzzles, discovered the duck feet at the bottom of all the chairs in the children's department, charmed the librarians, and almost petted a dog we found in the library. The dog was there for a kids' reading club. String Bean would have petted him, but while she was making a bee-line for him, he stood up and she realized how incredibly big he was and changed course about 5 feet from the encounter. Once we checked out our 8 books, including String Bean's favorite book, Hippos Go Berserk, we came home for nap time.

After lunch and a nap, we went to our local park district zoo. Who knew ducks could be so thrilling for a toddler? We spent about half of our time there standing around the duck pond. String Bean made friends with several tykes and even an elderly Indian lady who spoke to her in Hindi (?) for several minutes. String Bean acted like she understood. Clearly gifted.

We are now home. String Bean is enjoying a delicacy at our house (Honeycombs) and snorting with her nose because there is a booger she's keeping captive there. Bedtime in T minus 45 minutes...if she lasts that long!

Hope your Saturday was thrilling like ours. If this week wasn't, at least Saturday rolls around in 7 more days!