A Trip to the "Zoo"

Today it was too cold to go outside and Justin really needed to get out of the house. The wonderful Grandma Pat was willing to babysit Ryan so I could take Justin somewhere--anywhere! First I dragged him to TJ Maxx. Poor kid. They were having 15% off all purchases so I had him look through the clearance clothes with me. I ended up finding him quite a few cute things at very good prices. That made me happy. Then we went to Petco. Justin was thrilled to see ferrets, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, rats, snakes, turtles, spiders, lizards, iguanas, birds, fish, frogs, someone with a dog, and probably a few other things I no longer remember. Less crowded than a zoo and much better climate control, not that there is a zoo near where my parents live anyway. We then went to IHOP for pancakes. As we pulled into the parking lot, Justin became concerned. He had told me that he loved pancakes, but then told me that Grandma and Papa love pancakes too. He got upset that they weren't there. I think something like "Grandma, Papa love pancakes. Oh no, not here!" were his exact words. I convinced him that it was okay and we went in. When we were being seated the man asked how we were and Justin replied, "I want pancakes please!" We were told that we were in the right place. Justin and I had a good time and he ate so much. I was impressed. It was a nice afternoon out with my big boy. I truly enjoyed it and felt so grateful that my mom gave me this opportunity for some 1:1 time with my little boy who is learning to share his mom most of the time.