cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

 The entry page just ate my very long entry about work and the past weekend. I'm not re-creating that thing.

The highlights:

• Work is terrible. I haven't gotten to do the things I enjoy in a long time. I have to do the things I'm good at and the company needs, but that kill my soul a little more each day.
• We went to the zoo on Saturday. It was super fun and we enjoyed it a lot.
• We played with some fun stuff from my "Things to do without screens" book. If you mix baking soda, salt, dish soap, and water, you can make a kind of dough to play with. Then give the kids a squirt bottle of vinegar. Yay, science!
• I sewed some of my new hacci knits into a sweater for Mom for xmas.
• I played far too much of Hatoful Boyfriend. It's the most messed up dating sim in the history of the world. You're a human, hunter/gatherer, living in a cave, getting text messages, and going to school at a prestigious pigeon academy. You must romance the pigeons. If you don't romance pigeons effectively enough, Bad Things happen. I've played through 3 endings and have probably 4 more to go. It's gloriously messed up, but really only worth it if you buy it at 75% off. It's good value for $2.50. 
• The summer is nearly over. Emi has her last ballet and swim lessons this week. Sunday-Monday are our Big Birthday Trip to Chicago. I'm not sure where all the time went.
• Emi can be an overly dramatic pill. She can also be a sweet, loving, intelligent, creative kiddo. These are not mutually exclusive.
• Ox not only knows the letters and that they can make sounds, but has figured out that words make sounds. And that Momma will say a word over and over if he keeps pointing at it. This is hilarious for both Momma and Ox. I thought he was going to either get the hiccups or throw up, he was laughing so hard tonight. This was right after he had me say QUACK about 20 times. 
• My back and neck are very messed up. I have about 60% of my normal range of motion. Ugh.

Good enough, I think.

One of the coolest things about being a parent is seeing that moment when a new experience "clicks" and that light bulb goes off and you can almost see new connections being made as they start understanding more about the world. Last weekend it was that wind can move your hair around. Today topped that, though. Today we went to the zoo!

Emi went to the zoo last year, but didn't really think it was anything special beyond "I'm riding in the stroller and there are other people. Awesome!" Today was totally different. Today it was "There's a giraffe! Like in my book! But right there! And another one! And they're moving! And they're REAL! And I want to go pet them!!!"

The zoo in Mad-town isn't extravagant, but it's free and it's a lot of fun. We saw the tiger, the lions, the GIRAFFES (seriously, capitalization is key to understanding how cool it was to her), bears, birds, fish, and so many other animals. For our animal-obsessed toddler, it was pure heaven. She wasn't sure why we weren't letting her walk into the exhibits or why there were fences and glass between her and the critters, but just to see them moving around and being real was...wow.

The biggest drawback to the zoo is that it's quite a drive from our house and with gas prices what they are, not something she and Daddy can do on a daily basis. As it was, we had a gloriously sunny day, no one got sunburned or eaten by an anaconda, and Emi stayed happy and awake all through the zoo, lunch, and grocery shopping. Made of pure win.

Emi, me, and the bump. :) And GIRAFFES.