Hey You at the Zoo

Today the kids and I went to Potter Park Zoo here in Lansing. The wife of one of my husband's coworkers is a zoo keeper. So we stopped by the bird and reptile house to see her. We also saw the baby tigers. They are so cute!

While we were walking around I noticed another mom. She had two little ones. One little baby in a stroller and the other one I would guess to be two and a half.

Little Emma the older one (I know her name because her mom kept saying it) wanted to go up some steps to another area of the zoo. Her mom said "no" but she went anyways. Mom had the stroller and kept telling Emma to come back. Emma didn't want to.

After watching this for a few minutes and seeing Emma put more and more distance between herself and her mom (almost out of sight) I decided to do something. I parked Kristin at the bottom of the steps (right next to the other mom) and told Anna and Daniel to stay right there. I quickly went up the steps and told Emma to go back to her mommy. She didn't start right away so I took her hand and led her to her mommy - telling her as we went that she needs to stay with her mommy.

At the bottom of the steps the mom said thank you. I said you're welcome and left with my obedient children. As I walked away the girl was crying and the mom was apologizing. Ugh! Who's in charge?

Being a parent isn't easy. It's a lot of work to train your children to obey when you give them directions. But, boy the zoo was enjoyable today. The kids stayed with me and didn't fuss when it was time to go. I was so proud of them today. (Not everyday is like today. They have their melt-downs, disagreeable days, and fights with each other. So - I'm extra thankful for a beautiful day like today!)