In other totally random news, we had a Mae Bae moment that could have been a Mae Bae hit if I'd had my camera out yesterday (Okay, it only would have worked if I didn't have a parenting instinct that prevents me from allowing my child from being attacked, even through a piece of glass, by a large monkey). Yesterday we were all well enough to brave the cold and take the girls to the zoo. With the exception of a class of kids, the place was pretty empty.
The girls were bundled in their puffy jackets. Mae's is white, with a little fake fur collar hood. Her binkie was in her mouth as she sat next to the mandrill cage and looked at the monkeys. Despite the fact that there were about 10 kids with their faces pressed up against the glass (the monkey/large cat house was the place to be), I watched as the second largest male mandrill singled out Mae. He stared at her for a moment and then slowly approached. Her little face was near the glass as she sat perfectly still looking at him. He came right up to her, paused, stared and then went totally crazy, biting and hitting the glass.
Have you seen that You Tube video where a lion does that to a toddler and the parents keep filming and do nothing. Yeah. I couldn't do that. While logically I knew that the glass was there, there was no way I could not scoop her up and pull her away from the onslaught. I mean, I'm not 2 and it wasn't inches from my face, and it still looked pretty frightening. A few minutes later, when he was on the other side of the cage, Mae went back up to the glass. Again there were lots of kids around. And again the same mandrill came up and started lunging and biting and slamming his hands against the glass in front of Mae.
I can't help but wondering if it was the fact that she was the littlest one there... or if it was her white jacket, or maybe even the fur collar (which looked quite a bit like the mandrill fur) that singled her out. Whatever it was, it was certainly a memorable trip. And Mae's reaction? She just kept sucking on the binkie and staring him, although she didn't resist being picked up.
The excitement of the trip didn't end there. Mae was again a magnet for animals when she and I sat next to the bongo enclosure and the baby bongo came over and put his face right up the fence next to Mae. This was a far friendlier visit, although his worried mother came over and kicked him in the hindquarters to shoo him away.
Maybe the zoo came too soon though, since all of us are sicker today than we were yesterday (looking on the bright side, I'm pretty sure that I won't have to share a room at the hospital! No one could be expected to share a room with a cough like this one...), although the walking and walking and walking seemed like a very good idea at the time (and the cold air does help me breath... at least while I'm outside).
In today's news we went back with Grumpa to Home Depot and spent a little bit less than an hour walking around. I counted eight "real labor contractions" in that hour. They persisted, on and off, throughout the day. I pointed out to Nani that having my water break in Home Depot might make a funny story to tell the kids in years to come, but alas, The Boy is apparently waiting until we get to the hospital tomorrow to kick things into high gear.
Now back to stalking the election map. It's actually more enjoyable, at the moment, than I expected it to be. I don't think I'm going to stay awake long enough to make it until it's "official." But right now, with the induction 11 hours away, sleep is more important than satisfying my "who won?!?!?!" curiosity.
So for now I'll just be thankful that Romney's still ahead, and I'll keep praying that it lasts...
Best of luck tomorrow. Hope Patrick is ready to make his arrival in a quick but orderly manner and that you won't have to kill a Dr or a nurse in the process.
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