Rain, rain go away!

I went on a field trip with Zoe yesterday to the Fields Pond Audubon Center. You can learn more about the place here. We ate lunch when we first got there and then separated into groups. Our group stayed inside with another group to learn about different trees, leaves, and animals before having our turn outside walking the trails. When it was our turn to walk outside, we bundled up and started our adventure...in the rain. It's too bad the weather didn't cooperate because there were a lot of neat things to see and learn about, but the wetter and colder we got, the harder it was to pay attention to what we were seeing and hearing rather than how we were feeling. We ended up cutting our walk short and heading back inside to wait for the other groups to finish their indoor time. Most of us were soaked and cold by that point. It was a learning experience...I need a better rain coat if I'm going to be in the rain for more than 5 minutes, and it should be a long coat so the water doesn't drip onto my pants!
It would be fun to go back with our family sometime. There will also be other field trips to this center that Zoe's class will be going on since the school has received a grant to take trips to the center this year for free. Zoe's teacher was in the right place at the right time this past summer when someone told her the center was looking to adopt a school this year, and Zoe's teacher told the lady to check out their school. Zoe's teacher did comment as we were leaving the center yesterday that the rest of our trips to the center will be taken in good weather only...I'm glad.

We have survived 3 nights of Eleanor sleeping without her binky. I put off taking her binky away when she sleeps because during the day, she is so good about taking a nap when she's tired because she just asks for her binky and then goes to sleep. I came up with a plan to buy Eleanor something that she could take to bed to replace her binky, but wasn't sure when it would happen. We went shopping on Saturday for Halloween costumes when Eleanor spotted a stuffed dog that she wanted. I told her she could have it if she threw her binky away. She agreed. I knew she would be less excited about this when bedtime rolled around, so I prepared myself for the crying. She did quite well the first night. I think she had convinced herself that the binky was gone for that night, but it would be back tomorrow. She did ask to go potty a few times and brush her teeth a few times, and it took her a little longer for her to fall asleep, but there wasn't much crying. The crying came after church on Sunday when I brought her in from the car half-asleep and it was then that she REALLy wanted her binky. I put her in her bed and let her cry. She cried, and then screamed that she wanted to throw her puppy away...this of course would bring her binky back. I just ignored her and she finally calmed down and came out of her room to eat lunch. The last few nights she hasn't really cried for her binky, but again it has taken her longer to fall asleep and she insists on brushing her teeth a lot...any excuse to get out of bed! She has done a lot better at bedtime than we expected. So now she is potty trained and binkyless...as an almost 3 1/2 year old should be!

What's under the bed?...

A bucket full of coin papers and foam earplugs
Bubblewrap
A Christmas stocking
A few toys...bugs bunny and a blue heart