Chaos is reigning supreme around these parts lately, but I decided to set that aside for a few hours so that Alexis and I could head to the Cathedral of Learning for the Nationality Rooms holiday open house this past weekend. We had a hot date with a fantastic friend, which obviously made it all the more fun.

For those of you who aren't Yinzers, the Cathedral of Learning is a very giant building in the middle of University of Pittsburgh. There are offices and classrooms there, but we aren't talking about your typical classrooms. Many of the rooms are fully decked out to represent a particular country. You can run off to China, or Early America, or India, or any one of many other countries.

As we went room-to-room, Alexis enthusiastically explored the features that made each unique. She eagerly checked the signs on the door so she would know where we "were going," and she pointed out things about the "local" culture that she knew. For example, she would have gone on for hours about everything she knows about China when we went there. She oohed over ceilings, she aahed over textured walls and murals and the such, and she was generally blown away by some of the rooms.

But.

At the end of a day spent "travelling" from country to country, there was exactly one part of the day that really stood out for her. It was the part of the day when she met this ... uh ... THING.

Catula.

It's somebody's cat and that somebody has written a book about his adventures as Dracula's cat. It's fiction, obviously, but

YOU GUYS.

I swear to you that cat will suck your blood, eat your soul, and it will give you a wonk-eyed glare the whole time.

And Alexis loved him.

She is so definitely my kid.