Friday, April 13, 2012

Trip to the Zoo...What I Learned

Before I go on a complete and total rant, let me just preface this post by saying that we had an absolutely wonderful time at the NC Zoo today.  I was so proud of how well Peyton handled the 2 hr ride there (including our 5 potty stops) and how well behaved she was while we were there.  We got there around 10:30am and it was already crowded.  I thought by taking off a weekday, it wouldn't be quite so bad but I forgot it's spring break...oh well.  We stayed until close to 3pm, which meant no 1pm nap.  For delaying her nap 2 hrs, she did amazing and stayed in a really good mood...until we got to the parking lot. 

Let's begin my rant with things I learned while at the zoo...

1.  I learned how insanely judgmental other parents are.  I've tried really hard not to be that way, and will continue to do so.  I must have missed that "how to be a perfect parent" class they took, I guess I didn't get an invitation.  I'm pretty sure that was your kid I saw arching their back screaming "NO" while hitting you about 20 mins ago, so don't give me a nasty look because my kid has a bag of gumdrops in an attempt to avoid a scene like that.

2.  When it was finally Peyton's turn to throw her massive tantrum (I knew it was coming based on this past week), I learned that I have very little tolerance for other Mom's that shoot me nasty looks and say "OMG" while I'm dragging my 23 month old through the parking lot as she screams louder than I've ever heard any child scream.  Listen lady, we had a 2 hr car ride, spent 4 hrs at the zoo, and it's 2 hrs past her nap...for this to be the only meltdown I'd say we did pretty damn good.  So excuse me while you stroll your small infant that does nothing but sleep.  Give it 2 yrs and I promise you, you'll be in my shoes at least once. 
    *I may or may not have shot this particular lady the death look and said rather loudly "WHAT?!"
    **I would also like to add that besides being tired, we discovered about 10 mins later she was screaming because her tummy hurt and she needed to poop.  After pulling over on the side of the road and letting her sit on her potty, she was much happier.  


3.  At the risk of sounding really old...kids today have 0 respect and/or manners, and it's all the parent's fault.  I have never in my life been shoved out of the way by so many 7-15 yr olds (yes, 15 year olds).  I can ignore it when it's young kids that are just excited and having a good time, or if their parents say something along the lines of "watch where you're going".  But the second you shove my toddler out of the way, it's on!   Boy was it on.
Quick example: Peyton had been talking about monkey's for weeks, and I'll be damned if that child wasn't going to get to see the monkey's.  When we got to the gorilla's, she waited patiently for an opening so we could get right up to the glass, just as we got there a group of probably 10-12 yr olds shoved right past us and took that spot.  Peyton kept saying "move please, thanks"...at least she had some manners.  The Mama Bear in me came out the second one of those hoodlum children pushed my daughter out of the way.  Needless to say, we got that spot back. 

4.  This was our first long trip since Peyton has been potty trained.  I learned keeping her little potty in the back of the SUV is a really great idea.  I put her in a Pull Up just in case, but she will NOT pee or poop in a Pull Up if she's awake...which is awesome.  On the way up, we had to stop like 5 times.  We stopped at a fast food restaurant  or gas station every time, but once we were seriously in the middle of nowhere.  We pulled off the side of the road, put her in the back of the SUV and let her use her potty.  We did the same thing once on the way home (of course when she had to poop).  She slept pretty much the whole way home, so that was our only stop. 

Those are my biggies I learned today.  Again, we really did have an awesome time.  I love new experiences and trips like this with my little family! 

2 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, you are so funny! I was just telling Jimmy today that we've gotta make time for the zoo, but I don't know now, haha. Glad you guys had a good time (kinda :)

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  2. I swear, it really was a lot of fun! The manners of my 23 month old made me very proud...but very sad for so many other families there :-(

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