Mackay and I went to the Zoo Friday morning. He walked almost the whole morning and on the drive home he didn't even make it out of the parking lot before he fell asleep! Although he didn't notice most of the animals he loved the monkeys - I have great reason to suspect it is because he is part monkey himself or at least his noises and crazy running/climbing around would indict so. We have an annual pass to the zoo and it is only a ten minute drive away. If nothing else, it gets us out of the house and playing on new stairs and rocks (his favorite zoo activity).
The rest of the week was uneventful. Andrea and I have been taking a more strict, one warning system approach to Mackay's attitude/tantrum/acting and general grievances that have been disrupting this once lovely and peaceful child. Some of the days this no-nonsense attack has worked wonders, other days it just barely gets us by. It does seem like the cards are stacked differently everyday and really even his demeanor can be drastically different from my morning shift to the afternoon shift. I am sure with perseverance, patience and time that lovely boy will return to us.
Saturday, I went to the CBD to have some breakfast, do some shopping (I purchased an awesome mircofiber towel and radically reduced priced rain/wind jacket!) and then went back to the Auckland Art Gallery for the Degas to Dali exhibit. I have always been enthralled with Impressionist art, so much so that I remember making my mom take me to the Denver Art Museum multiple times when they had an exhibition when I was about ten years old. Seeing Van Goghs, Monets, and Courbets are like meeting up with long lost friends. The exhibit followed art (paintings mostly) from 1860's impressionism through expressionism, post- impressionism, cubism and surrealism and into modern and pop art of the 1950's. It was completely overwhelming in an enlightening and inspiring way. After two hours, I hadn't seen it all and was about to explode with visual input. Luckily, there is an option to by a season pass for the exhibit for less than the price of three admissions, so now I can go back as much and when ever I want until it ends in June!!
I participated in the "Round the Bays" run/walk charity event on Sunday. I walked the 8.4 km with a small group of other au pairs. Technically you can run it; however, there are about 70,000 other participants trying to make the same trek on a four lane road so it becomes more or less a massive surge of bodies. The event changes their financial recipients every year and this years included Make a Wish, Child Cancer Foundation, Garden to Table Trust (an organization giving NZ children a better, healthy future through food and nutritional education), and Fairfax First Books (promoting the improvement of reading skills for young NZ children). Though they didn't post notices to which regularly stops would be disrupted, I found out afterward that event used some of the city's buses to get people to and from the event. Long and slightly exhausting story short, I ended up running to and from the the run/walk so my distance traveled by foot was closer to 20km (a dozen or so miles, but don't worry I was home to watch the 2pm Warrior game). I guess it is all part of the experience and knowledge gained of the random and fun things I get to do - sometimes they don't go to plan, sometimes I run a lot.
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