New England in the winter...

New England winters can be tricky to navigate. One day, it might be 20 degrees with a wind chill that throws the temperatures below zero. The next day, it might be 20 and snowing. And still the next day, you might get temperatures in the 50's or even 60's.

Friday was one of those nice days. The girls had the day off as part of their winter break. Instead of a full week off like most schools have this week, they got Friday and Monday off. By 10 am, they had started bickering. The temperature was crawling up into the low 40's. It was then I made my decision. We needed to get out.

So I bundled the girls up and we hit the zoo. Many people don't think about visiting the zoo during the winter, but we love going in the off-season. One of the main draws for us, of course, is the lack of crowds. You can stand in watch the animals as long as you want, without blocking other's views. You can meander as slowly or as quickly through the empty monkey house.

Another benefit is you'll see the animals in a whole different setting. Animals that are usually just laying in a shady spot during the summer months, trying to stay cool, are usually up and moving around. The girls came face to face with a penguin instead of watching them from afar. The cheetah, the snow leopards, moon bear, lemurs, wallaby's and gibbons were all active and visible in their cage.


Even though we have a season pass, this trip to the zoo was different. We hadn't been since last March, when the zoo was working on some of many improvements to the zoo. So there were many new things to see. There were wild dogs, a new bald eagle exhibit, the giant anteater (which we couldn't find) and more giraffe's. Last spring, the zoo welcomed two giraffe calf's.

The downside is, sometimes the weather is too cold, so some animals are taken off exhibit. So in addition to the giant anteaters we didn't see, the tortoises and Australian pig things were not out.

All in all, we had a great time. We even ate lunch at the zoo (something we never do) but I failed to plan ahead in my desperation to get out and get some fresh air. So I grudgingly coughed up $3 per grilled cheese sandwich and we ate in the warmth of the zoo cafeteria. At the same time, I let the girls pick an item from the gift shop, something we also never let them do. We came home with a stuffed hedgehog, a bag of plastic animals and a bag of rocks. Because you know, we don't have any of those.... We even ran into some friends who made the trip to the zoo from our hometown. As we were sitting waiting for our lunch, Meenie was watching out the door and said, "hey mom, look, it's our friends!"

The one complaint I got was "my legs are tired, I want to go home". Luckily, it happened towards the end of the trip and I didn't have to carry any of them. Apparently the zoo is too much when you've spent most of the winter cooped up inside. Sounds like it's time to get moving and build up some strength again. I look forward to more nice days when we can start spending more time outside.

So if you have a chance, visit a local zoo or aquarium in the off season. You'd be surprised at how different it can be.

Out of the corner of our eyes...

Yesterday, Husband and I had to do some shopping. So we loaded up the kids and headed to the shopping mall area. I needed gas so we pulled into this little gas station.

As Husband and I were fighting the wind, waiting for the receipt, she approached us from the drivers side of the van. She began with how she saw us here, and that she doesn't see many families out. And how she wanted to pass on information of God's Kingdom to us.

Yup, that's right, we were hit up by a Jehovah's Witness while pumping gas. And there was no place to hide.

Husband explained that we were Catholic and after a few more kind words, we were on our way. Then we got to talking about religion. Really talking. And while we both are pretty tolerant of different religion, we both agree that we don't like being approached and having religion forced on us. It's just weird.

Has anyone else ever been approached outside of home?

Weekend Recap

We had a busy weekend!


Friday was a half day of school, so after picking Einey up, we decided to visit the zoo. On the way there, I started to suffer from a panic attack (I've been getting them lately - not fun!). Luckily, we were under 10 minutes away from the zoo when it happened so I was able to make it there and once we walked around for a bit, I was able to relax. It could have been much, much worse! The girls had fun, despite the fact that the zoo is undergoing massive renovations and many animals were not out/around. They loved the flamingos, one of who was standing in the water dish and walking around in circles the whole time. They also love the tamarins, especially Moe who was visited by the baby!


Saturday, we went over to a friend from Einey's class for an Easter Egg Hunt. There were plenty of activities and food and eggs. Again, I was hit with a panic attack, but this time I had my medicine with me, so I was able to take that and relax. Meenie participated in the "bunny hop" with all the big kids and even managed to beat them across the finish line. When it was time to hunt for the eggs in the 7 acre field, Meenie took off with the big kids. They went straight up the center and back on the right side. Moe and another little guy (who was almost 2) went to the left and made a killing with eggs that the big kids by passed. One of the kindergartners wen with them, but she didn't take the eggs from them. Moe was funny to watch, she shook each egg when she picked them up. Meenie only got one egg, but on the way back to the house, one of the big kids shared her eggs so Meenie had almost as many as the other kids. Then the kids rode bikes in the yard while the parents got to interact. It was nice actually being able to talk to some of the other mothers (and fathers) besides the quick - "hi, how are you" at drop off - pick up time".


Saturday night Einey and Meenie had a sleep over at Mema and Pepa's so it was just me and Moe! We had fun, just the two of us. She actually was so tired, that she snuggled up to me and fell asleep in my arms. That is one thing I miss about the girls growing older. Unfortunately, Moe came down with the cold we've all had, so it was a restless night for us.

Sunday we went to church and then an Easter Egg Hunt at Pepa's work. His company sponsor's all sorts of holiday activities for employees and their family. The girls got to meet the Easter Bunny and participated in another Egg Hunt. Another panic attack - but the medicine does help! The girls ended up with alot of eggs, but had no problem sharing with the kids who didn't get any/ or only got a few. I am so proud of them!


Anyway, that was a recap of our very busy weekend.

Soccer is supposed to start tomorrow for Meenie. Einey still doesn't have a coach, so we are waiting to hear when she will start. Moe is, much to her dismay, still to young to play. She keeps repeating "grow up bigger soccer ball". If you remember, is a big fan of Mia Hamm. She definitely has the ability to dribble the ball!