We bought a zoo (membership)

There are moments. The first time your child looks at you. The first time he says mama. The first time he takes a step.

And then there's the first time he calls a giraffe "dog."

Struggling with how to fill the hot days this weekend, Mark and I decided to venture to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo for Miles' first trip to the wild outdoors.

I have been excited for, like, ever to take Miles to the zoo - planning a membership, summer days spent gawking at monkeys - but my little man clearly couldn't handle it. He fell asleep on the car ride there and through a move to the stroller and a journey through Africa.

He did wake up in time to see the giraffes (and yes, he did call them dog) and make it through the Indonesian Rainforest. However, he wasn't so excited about the animals as much as checking out all the people. My little mover and shaker was so enthralled that he actually sat in the stroller most of the time.

We didn't see much else - it was getting hot (our high was 95) and I was getting hungry. But that's the perk of our zoo membership: we can entertain ourselves for an hour or two and leave without feeling guilty that we didn't wait for the monkeys to come out of hiding.

It was the perfect way to spend part of our Memorial Day weekend.

Digging deep

I have something upsetting to tell you: Running isn't a real workout. And neither is BODYPUMP ... or cycling ... or CrossFit ... or swimming.

Oh, no. Those are not workouts. Those are recreation.

Want a real workout? I have one for you but be warned. It involves a four-letter word.

Dirt. And lots of it.

After months of being frustrated with the state of our yard and my garden, I woke up bright and early to take care of it. OK, I woke up bright and early to take care of Miles but I was at the door of Do It Best when it opened at 7:30.

I spent $25 to rent a tiller for four hours. And in that four hours, I doubled the size of my garden (the new side is on the right) and cleared out the jungle along the back fence.

The area behind the screened in porch was taken care of, too, as was the remainders of the foundation job done before we moved in.

 Our compost corner

I spent hours tilling, raking, bagging and sweating in the vain effort of having a respectable yard. When I was finished, every square centimeter of clothing was soaked and I couldn't muster the energy to help Mark lift the tiller into the car to return it to Do It Best.

Want an ego check? Well, I had one when we had to call my father in law to help lift it. My 60-year-old father-in-law whose only exercise is a couple rounds of golf a week had to help me, who is training to teach BODYPUMP and can do pushups on her toes.

I'm a little curious to see if I'll be sore and just how badly. I have a feeling that a lot of it's going to be in the core and shoulders but only a night's sleep will tell.