the things we do for kids ...

i'm not a fan of the creepy crawly critters that go 'bump' in the night - you know ... spiders, bats, snakes. but you don't really have the luxury of avoiding them all the time - especially as a mommy. as a mommy to a little boy. for whatever reasons, kids (especially boys it seems!) are fascinated with these critters. and you try to do your mommy-best and not push your fears on your child.

so ... i did a nice mommy thing last night and took rj to the southwick zoo for the haunted train ride. we did it last year and had fun so i was looking to make it an annual outing. (i may try to find a different haunted ride next year ... really was pretty boring this year - couldn't even make my 3 year old get spooked.) after freezing in line for an hour for a 15 minute train ride (yes, i paid $21 for this priviledge) we were heading back to the car. to exit, you're routed through the gift shop. in the gift shop was a very large burmese python. uncaged. so you could have your picture taken with him. yeay.

now rj is usually afraid of snakes - wouldn't go in his back yard at one point this summer because there might be a snake. but is he afraid of the 100 pound monster that could crush him? of course not. he's fascinated. wants to touch it. wants MOMMY to touch it. mommy is having enough issues standing near the snake. but to deflect the question, i ask him if he wants our picture taken with the snake. he's all excited and we get ready and pose. then the handler decides one of us needs to hold the snake's head so it stays in the picture. of course rj can't hold the head firm enough so mommy has to do it.

the picture came out nice enough - even seem to have a smile on my face. if i ever get my scanner working again i'll post it. ah ... the things we do for our kids.