These past few weeks have seemed particularly rough for me. Between Mr Cranky Pants (who should now also be known as Clean-House-Destroyer), Gabriel being gone every other work week on business trips, and the ongoing upheaval in my family, I feel like I'm in constant crisis mode. The littlest things send me over the top, like stepping on a star-shaped toy at 4am when a certain someone is awake and crying. At 4 am. Aargh.
I know I have LOTS of things to be thankful for and overwhelmingly happy over, and I am, but sometimes I forget to find joy in even the smallest of things. Like my favorite pancake mix recipe. Gabriel won't eat it (it's too grainy for his tastes, which run along the lines of all-white pancakes doused in hfcs "maple" syrup), but Liam eats them gladly.
Even when he wakes up grouchy, Liam will perk up for pancakes. And with this mix ready in the fridge, pancakes are on the table in less than 10 minutes...and the fussing turns into mmm...
Whole Grain Flaxseed Pancake Mix 
I stumbled upon this recipe on the Whole Foods website a few years ag and have been making it ever since. I usually double it.
I usually let the mix stand for a minute or two (it'll thicken dramatically), then I cook them up like any other pancake recipe. This makes 4 good-sized pancakes.
Liam and I like our pancakes with unsweetened applesauce liberally scooped on top.
Happy Birthday, Gabriel. I love you.
The buildings covered several geographic regions: Southwestern Desert, Arctic Tundra, Eastern Forests, Lowlands (under construction), and Rainforests. Most of these buildings were in sad disrepair. There were holes in the walls, peeling paint, bowing trim work, and the Eastern Forest smelled overwhelmingly like B.O. Most of the enclosures were pathetically small. I almost cried when I saw the bald eagle sitting on the ground in his cage, panting from the heat exactly like our chickens.
reads: I'm not stuck. I like to play and relax in the moat. When ready, I'll climb back out.
Liam's favorite part of our day was the playground. There were all kinds of play structures, but his favorite was this boardwalk. He walked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...
He eventually tried some of the other play areas and liked them, too. 
This boy likes fish.
But sometimes I think he is just bored. Especially with me. So I have been trying to be extra creative and come up with new things for him to do. Playdough experience round 1:
I cooked up a batch of playdough for him to try out. At first he seemed a bit uncertain.
Do I eat this stuff?
It was especially fun to hammer and smoosh the balls of dough.
I'd be happy for any other suggestions :-)
I was starting to wonder if Liam would ever learn to walk, but at 15 months, he finally decided he was ready. Just further proof that I need to let him learn at his own pace, which is always just right for him...
Liam started taking his first real steps while we were on our trip. Since then, he's been getting more and more confident.
Since I'm goofy and can't seem to remember that I can't turn the camera to take a video, you'll have to watch this one sideways. Sorry.
Making really big messes (I intentionally let him do this one...on a particularly fussy day when I was desperate for a few moments of peace and quiet. It worked for abut 30 minutes, but then I had to clean it up)
A new haircut. Suddenly he looks so much like a little by. Maybe that has been his problem the past few weeks? Growing up can be a difficult thing :-)
4th of July watermelon
Story time with Daddy. Liam has become very interested in books again. His favorites are ones involving flaps and puppy dogs. 
Here's to hoping for happier days...soon!
From the visitors center, there are several trails to choose from. Most of them meander through the swamps with these boardwalks, which put us just inches over the wild. We never saw any alligators, but not because we weren't anxiously keeping our eyes out for them. We saw some fresh tracks through the murky areas, and a few suspicious splashes in the distance, but mostly it was just a steady hum of insects, birds, frogs... it was surprisingly noisy.
Walking through so many cypress trees dripping with the moss was beautiful.
We walked for a couple of miles before turning around. On our way back we were horrified to realize that in all of that time we'd spent scanning the swamp below for danger, we had missed the humongous spiders in webs spun across the boardwalk, just over our heads. They were frighteningly large.
Eventually I'll get around to posting more about all of the crafting I did in preparation for our trip over on my blog; but for now, here's a shot of the dress I made for the trip.
They all came waddling at us with surprising speed.
This one was especially bold.
These Canadian Geese apparently have decided to hang around all the time. It was neat to see some up close.
The history of the place seemed to be the most dominant theme in New Orleans, everywhere we went. As if the city is clinging to a bygone era. What a great opportunity to get just the smallest taste of it for a few days. I'm glad we went.
The streetcar went along with traffic, so there was a lot of stopping and going. We had to hold on tight.
This streetcar was an antique. It was neat to watch the operator pull the different levers.
And then we stopped at a corner and the operator hopped out and stepped into a corner market. He was gone for a good 10 minutes, without giving a word of warning.
The line went though the Garden District, where this was the average home. Gorgeous.
Liam took a snooze on the way.
We got off at Audobon Park and walked the mile to the zoo. They have a "shuttle", which is really just a small SUV that can only take 4 people at a time... There were others, so we walked. 
We're glad we did. This park was beautiful. Full of these amazing trees.
Liam was really happy to get to the zoo. It had been 6 months since our San Diego Zoo trip. He enjoyed it then, but he seems to be old enough now to really get excited about the animals.
Growing up with the San Diego Zoo as my standard, I guess some may call me a zoo snob. I was so impressed with this zoo. It was beautiful: lots of bronze scultpures, incredible landscaping, gorgeous fountains, and, most important of all, great animal exhibits.
Getting to touch the real elephant was a little scary for him, but he smiled when he felt the elephants bristly skin.
But it was sure a hot day to be outside in the sun.
The reptile house seemed to be one of Liam's favorites. Besides the fact that it was dimly lit and air conditioned, it was full of snakes, lizards, and turtles. Liam really enjoyed looking and finding the creatures in each tank... I'm afraid he may be one of those boys.
And because we're in New Orleans, well...
He thought this was realy funny. Being a seal.
And then he tried to climb through it...
He wasn't so sure about touching the snake. They're definitely better behind glass. That's right.
Meeting some goats in the petting zoo.
He felt safer petting the sheep behind the fence. 
And because we were roasting hot (have I mentioned that yet?) some sorbet was definitely in order. It was too much of a cold shock for Liam at first.
But he settled into it just fine. 
