Quoth Melinda

Melinda seems to have very selective hearing, as is often the case with children.  Or even adults.  But it's something we often struggle with.  If we say, for instance, "Melinda, can you throw this away in the kitchen garbage, please?"  She'll yell, "WHAT?"  ... "Melinda.  Please throw this away in the kitchen garbage."  ... "WHAT??"  Making direct eye contact, and now speaking as clearly as possible: "Could you, please, go. throw. this. in the. garbage??"  .... "What do you want me to do, Mommy??"

Sigh. 

Many conversations go like that.  Sometimes you have to yell her name loudly just to get her attention, if she's really caught up in what she's doing.

So imagine today, Melinda wanted to have a sandwich, with pickles on it, for lunch.  She said so on the car drive home.  Repeatedly.  She made sure I didn't miss her request.

We got home, got our church clothes off, took care of Alex's needs, and put dinner in the crock pot.  Melinda and Jacob are playing animatedly in the playroom about 20 feet away, not paying any attention to myself or Jesse.  I say, "Oh, I know, I'll have some leftover soup for lunch.  It needs to be eaten, after all."  I pause, then say, "I don't really want to make sandwiches, either."

At this very moment, Melinda yells from the playroom,
"What did you say, Mommy???"

Oh, right.  My daughter who can't understand a word I say when I'm talking to her clearly and directly can suddenly hear me, clearly, from a mile away when I mention out loud that I might not like to make the lunch of her choice. 

How her ears picked up that single word of sandwich, I'm sure I'll never know.

Three Great Mysteries

As heard in Stake Conference this morning:

There are three great mysteries in the world:

Air to a bird,
Water to a fish,
and Man to himself.

Meaning, the bird does not perceive the air it flies through, nor does the fish perceive the water it swims through.  Similarly, man does not perceive his own ability and worth.  But it is real.

Today, remember what you're worth, what your fellow human beings are worth.  And treat yourself and others accordingly.

Day at the Zoo

This is late in coming, but what can I say? The day just wore me out!! We went to the zoo on October 1st - it was a free day, woot!! I tried to get Jesse to take the day/morning off and come with us. I should be ashamed... I was only thinking about how nice the extra hands and parental eyes would be. He couldn't do it, work was just too busy and his boss was out of town. And none of our friends were available to go with us, either. So, the kids and I went alone. I went with the idea that if things went horribly, we'd just go right back home, no guilt, since it was free, after all.

It was a beautiful day for going to the zoo, too. We all wore long sleeves, but in the sun it was warm enough that I was wishing for short sleeves. I took the single stroller and pushed Alex in it. Jacob and Melinda walked the entire day. And without complaining! I honestly thought it would be torture to them. Anytime we go for walks, they're both fighting over who gets to take a turn riding in the stroller, or complaining that they're too tired to walk. But the zoo was just interesting enough that they walked without complaint! I brought along a long piece of fabric that I used a couple times, too: When Jacob started getting too crazy and bolting off in every direction, I tied it to him like a belt, with me holding the other end, to hold him close. At the end of our trip, we decided to walk back instead of wait in a very long line for the train, and the fabric came in really handy then, too. Melinda and Jacob both wanted to be tied up to make a train: Me with Alex in the stroller as the engine, Melinda in the middle, and Jacob as the caboose. They walked the whole big hill back towards the main gate making train sounds and weaving back and forth. The sight made a lot of people laugh, and I couldn't decide if I felt embarrassed or what. But it did encourage them to keep walking without complaining.

We stayed at the zoo from 10:30 until 3:30. It was long but pleasant afternoon, and we allowed ourselves a few treats. We ate (expensive) pizza for lunch, got a candy bar from the vending machines, and at the end of the day, had some very tasty rainbow Italian Ice. We even bought a big plush snake from the souvenir shop! The good weather stayed with us all the way until the end, when it started sprinkling just as we were walking to the gate. And Alex rode happily in the stroller the whole time, sometimes awake and sometimes asleep, but never unhappy. If it weren't for the fact that I was pushing a stroller, it would have almost felt like a trip to the zoo with only two kids!

Here's the map of the Baltimore Zoo. Click it and check out all the detail!

Keeping in mind that I am not a photographer... Melinda and Jacob sitting on a lion statue near the entrance to the zoo:

Melinda, Jacob, and even Alex inside a large Oriole's nest:

All three in a Heron's nest. A side note... Before I took this picture and then looked at it on the computer, I had never realized how much Jacob and Melinda look alike. But here, they have the same angle of their head, the same look in their eyes, the same smile, and oh my goodness, they definitely look so similar! I can even see the similarities in Alex's face. Whodathunkit?

The otters were still resting that morning. This one is cleaning itself.

Melinda and Jacob dash across the big "wiggly bridge".

Jacob and Melinda go down the big tree slide. Over and over and over.

Melinda peeks out from inside a turtle shell.

Jacob doesn't quite get the idea of these put-your-face-in-a-picture things. But it's incredibly cute!

This goat was just hanging out on top of the logs. Jacob made a beeline for him, and brushed him for several minutes! The goat liked that a lot. ;) I sat down later, and another goat came over to me and started rubbing his head roughly on my legs. I think he wanted a good head-scratching. But I also think the log would have been a better choice than my legs.

What a pretty Rhino!

Melinda and Jacob climb up the fence to get a better look.

Yes, the ostrich did put its head in the hole in the ground!! Not to hide, though.

I can't remember the name of this animal anymore. Some sort of African antelope sort of creature.

The first time we came by the leopards, they were both napping happily on the top of their cave structure.

I've never seen an elephant looking so caked in red dirt, or stretching it's trunk out so straight.

There were a group of art students at several locations throughout the zoo. I watched this guy for a while, and he was amazing. He looked at the elephant, took the charcoal stick in his hand, and just whipped out a perfectly awesome elephant in a matter of seconds. I think I was absolutely gaping with envy for his skill!

I managed to get a shot of his whole sketch page a little later. The giraffe is exquisite!! I was too shy and too concerned about interrupting him to ask about his work.

Melinda and Jacob look at the giraffes.

This giraffe was totally showing off! He stretched his neck up as straight and high as it could go, and just stood there for the crowd.

We spotted a line of hay bales, and took a rest. At least, that's what Melinda told me we needed to do. What they actually did was anything but resting.

Look, it's Zaboomafoo!! Oh, boy were they excited to see this little guy! We even got to watch him leap around. So agile!

I didn't think this was a good picture, because neither of them would look at the camera ... and then I realized they were both looking off in the same direction as the gorilla statue. Hehe!

We went back by the leopards, heading back to the lions (which weren't there anyway, doh), and we found them awake and prowling around! We watched for a minute, and they even growled at each other. This one kept spraying the perimeter, marking it's territory, I suppose.

We didn't get to see any lions, but we got to be lions!

"Mommy, I'm a baby! I'm a baby!"

An Indian Python. BIG SNAKE. Melinda kept trying to get closer and closer, and this guy kept having to try and get her to back up. She was evading me. Honestly, I wonder whether he was more concerned about the safety of Melinda or the snake. Melinda can be pretty menacing sometimes. ;)

Enjoying rainbow Italian Ice on a Spongebob table and chairs.