Adventures in Babysitting

Just when I thought Jonah couldn't rise any earlier... This morning I was greeted at around 5:20 am with: "It's morning and we're going to the zoo!!!" Another parenting tip I just learned the hard way - when you say before bedtime "tomorrow we're going to the zoo" kids will take you literally and think you mean at the butt crack of dawn.

So we get to the zoo - when it opened at 9 (note: I don't even get to work by 9). We probably would have been the first people there aside from staff, but there was a 5K earlier in the morning...Apparently they don't begin the "cool zoo stuff" til like 10 or 11 am. So it was touch and go for a bit, not too many animals were awake (wise animals) and quite a few pens were empty, much to the dismay of my munchkins - thankfully the Jonah diaper fiasco kept us busy for about a half hour.

The Jonah Diaper Fiasco goes like this: I start out being prepared Aunt Sarah, I threw a diaper in my purse (along with some Cheese-It's...proactively curtailing any potential meltdown, right?) and we're on our way. After a few meet & greets with some animals, Jonah declares that he has a poopy diaper. Sweet - I am prepared. So we head into the ladies bathroom and I'm stripping him down, getting him changed and I reach into my purse and - you know the punchline - no diaper. or wipes. or anything. but my 5-hour energy shot and some cash (I even forgot my sunglasses). literally- shit. I must have absent-mindedly left the diaper in the van. so my big helper Annelise proceeds to get me square after square of TP - alternating between wet and dry (this is a bit of a messy job; I like to think it's the fruits and veggies I've fed these kids). So I've finally at least wiped his ass clean and now what? I beg, BEG him to not pee between the bathroom and the van. So we make a run for it - Alaina has his shoes, Annelise has the stroller, and I have Jonah going commando in his jeans towards the van. We made it = Crisis averted.

By the time we get back into the zoo, some of the attractions have actually opened (zoo opens at 9 for Aunts who promise the zoo to an excited little boy before bed; actual cool stuff opens at 10 or later), so we proceed to ride the carousel, the train (where Jonah informs me loudly that Santa Claus is driving the train - see for yourself below, the kid is brilliant), and feed the giraffes lettuce, which I thought would scare the kids, but they loved that big slimy giraffe tongue licking their little fingers. I about barfed when I saw the saliva trail it left.

"Santa Claus" driving the train. I told him it was his summer job.

In true Aunt Sarah fashion - ice cream is ALWAYS before lunch. So we got ice cream. Then lunch. Then some more animals and the gift shop. 2 of 3 kids fell asleep on the way home so I think I did a good job of wearing them out.

Proof that boys will be boys: girls posing sweetly for the picture on the fake alligator, boy playing with the power cord and zoo light.
He's still not looking, but it's the best I've got...