Do the Elephants Stink?!

Hi all,

Well, yesterday was a crazy and long day. We drove in a caravan fashion, and I'm not even going to mention how fast the lead van (driven by the other house's housedad) was going. Let's just say that at one point my entire vanload was chanting "Drive ----, Drive! The cop's going to get you!". Which, he luckily didn't. We did make good time, which was fortunate - as it took us 40 minutes of weaving between two streets waiting in lines to park. We got in before noon though and ate our picnic lunch.

We meandered through the zoo, with Maria driving me crazy by asking about when we were going to see the elephants every 3 minutes. Always moving on to the next thing. The general admission for the Bronx Zoo is 15 dollars, but anything "special" costs more. So they really milk you. And of course the only way to see the darn elephants is to pay for a monorail ride. Luckily, everyone else wanted to go on it too. As soon as Maria saw the elephants, she immediately asked "Do they stink?" and started gagging. Now, housemom (for whatever reason...grrr) always tells her to take some water...which she immediately spits up. Before I could stop her, she took a great big swig and (of course) sprayed all over me and my camera. I was obviously extremely pleased. And trapped with her in a monorail car. Happy moment there.

The zoo is a sad little thing, with all the animals trying to stay cool and ignore the people outside their tiny exhibits. So most were sleeping. Not the bats, ironically. The aquarium for the sea lion was really dingy and I couldn't bring myself to text and electronically sign a petition for more funding. Poor things need to go somewhere with proper facilities and enough money for upkeep. While zoos can be great for kids to see animals, the animals shouldn't have to suffer so much, I think.

It became a long afternoon, and we were more than ready to go by 4. It was great to get home and have a nice hot meal waiting for us. Housemom had a chaotic day with feisty children, but she said she appreciated my "monumental strength" in taking out the rest of the house. It didn't feel like a huge deal, although the driving was pretty stressful.

No one died though.

Hope all is well,
Steph

Silly Songs With Steph

Hi all,

Today was a nice and mostly relaxing day. I tried to sleep in, but I'm afraid my cold wasn't helping much there. I'll spare you the details. I had meals with the house, for the most part. I also got to go to HUDSON! (Yay!) I got to walk around the old town part, went to a coffee shop and also went to a used book store. I was with the house mom and 2 of the kids. She kept noticing that we got odd looks. However, her youngest was switching hand to hand with us, and her wedding band isn't a traditional design. I'll let you fill in the blanks?

My title refers to the nightly (and sometimes morning) saga of flossing and teeth brushing. I work with a female who is highly responsive to music and also has a highly evolved gag reflex. We're getting a whole routine down. First her favorite stuffed animal gets the deal with the flossing (thank goodness for the handheld ones!)

Splish Splosh I was Flossing your teeth! Tee da dee dum
(Repeat as necessary, with different emphasis and pitches)
Ta da da, ta da da, te da da da, da da.
(Splish, Splash I was taking a bath...)

then the brushing song:

Brushy Brushy Brushy!
Scrub! Scrub! Scrub!
Brushy Brushy Brushy,
Half Way Done!

Brushy Brushy Brushy!
Scrub! Scrub! Scrub!
(Repeat as needed)
Brushy Brushy Brushy,
NOW we're done!

Ok, So I never claimed to be a rocket scientist or a singer/songwriter.

However, occaisonally, she asks for Michael Jackson's "Beat It". Fortunately, I have NO idea how it goes, but if I just chant "Beat It-Beat It-Beat-It...Just Beat it!" she seems satisfied. Oh, and the Elvis/disco move and spinning helps too. It's a full work out! However, I'm finally getting on Youtube to see how it actually goes, the better to embellish my performance.
Other themes have involved pirates (stuffed animal becomes a parrot...) and beavers.
I know you're probably laughing, and my dignity is ok with that...

Hope all is well,
Steph