Let's start this off with a little eye-candy - here we see a view taken from the sprinkler area of the Shore Road Park at 79th Street, looking Northwest across the river. Miranda attempts to plug up the frog-sprinkler's mouth. Zach enjoys the cooling waters.
Our installment of Monkeyshines for this fortnight was jam-packed, fun-filled, and Jim-dandy. It featured multiple trips to multiple parks (as usual) to run through the sprinklers, long walks along the promenade (somewhat as usual), and a trip to the pet store to purchase an addition to our family (not at all as usual).
As I mentioned in a previous post, I had been wanting to get some sort of a pet for the kids for some time, but did not want do all of the work that is involved in owning even a cat, which are not really allowed in my building anyway. Miranda is quite taken with the lizards on our trips to the pet store next to the Sensory Gym, but they do not seem to hold her interest for very long and having owned reptiles in the past, I know that they are not very interactive. Really what I would like to do for the kids (and myself) is get a dog, but that will have to wait until I first secure a suitable living arrangement - give it a couple of years. So to make a long story somewhat shorter than a long story, I had been thinking in terms of a rodent.
We loaded up the stroller, braved a terrifically hot day and cruised down to World of Pets on 86th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. We got a white rat, which we have been referring to as the "mouse" - the pet store had a varied selection of mice, including a rather handsome species from Africa, however, mice are known to bite and nip at little fingers and I wanted this to be a positive and learning experience for the kids. Rats on the other hand, are much more docile than hamsters, gerbils or mice and offer the added benefit of being very bright and loyal. So a rat is what we got.
It was interesting to watch the difference between the way Zach and Miranda enjoyed the experience. Miranda was just bursting to hold the "mouse" and pet it and solemnly promised to be a gentle "mousey-mommy" and to take good care of it. I was so proud of her holding the rat in her hands, carefully trying not to hurt it, squealing with delight (Miranda, not the rat) and saying "Ooooh, it's soooo cute!"
The rest of the weekend was just as wonderful, however, not as singular. We watched Corduroy, which is the story of a little girl who admires a stuffed bear in a department store, but her mother does not let her buy it because it is missing a button. That night the bear comes to life and goes on a quest in search of a button, so that the girl will buy him - you can probably guess the ending. Miranda, who has a fine and ever expanding collection of stuffed bears, was enthralled with the story and I believe that we have definitely found a new favorite video. Zachy, on the other hand, loves to watch the Thomas videos from Grandma Fredi and Grandpa Monty, and will watch them over and over again without tiring.
One other first this weekend was buying Miranda ice cream from one of the Mr. Softee trucks that prowl around on warm days - normally I don't do this because I don't want Zach to feel bad, but Zach was busy munching away at his snack and didn't seem to mind. Miranda wanted chocolate which she ate "like a kitty," licking it out of the bowl rather than using a spoon. She got it all over everything, but was very happy to announce the fact that she was all sticky. 
Finally, I spent a great deal of time ingenuity and effort to redo the kids room to make it a bit more comfortable for little people to live and play in, and I'm proud of the way it all turned out so I took some photos to show off my handywork - tell me what you all think.
That's all for now - keep checking back for the continuing saga of Monkeyshines.
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