Fire Station Field Trip

Connor's class had a field trip to a fire station on Friday. They broke us up into two groups. Our fireman was the captain and he was totally sarcastic, which is right up my alley, so I completely enjoyed the tour. They took us through the fire house and I about laughed out loud at what a man cave it was. The living room consisted of three leather recliners staring right at a huge tv. The bedrooms were totally plain and smelled of a college dorm room. It was all rather funny and obvious that a woman was not involved in that situation at all.

They took us all around the fire engine and explained to us what all the different things were…including the big ax that he refered to as the "keys to the city". It was all very interesting and probably the parents got more out of the detailed information than the kids did. In fact, during q&a time, they opened it up to the parents and many of the parents asked questions.

 ^^ Connor (in the blue shirt in the middle) hanging on to every word the captain was saying. 

^^ Connor shaking the fireman's hand and Isla asking the captain a question.  

^^ Connor's whole class. He is on the sign, on the left. 

We've been to a fire station before, but this was by far the most detailed trip and I really enjoyed learning a few new things from it. I was also happy to see that neither of my kids were scared of the fireman all dressed up. It has been a while since we've seen a fireman like that, but the last time, Connor wouldn't go near him. 

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13/52

Connor: This boy and his love for exploration. I really enjoy it. He loves learning new things and talking about the details of those things he learns.  

 Isla: I didn't expect her to love ballet the way she has. She learned about it from a book. The six week class I put her in was a good way to get her feet wet and I think I will sign her up for a real course in the fall...because I seriously can't get enough of finding her practicing her ballet. 

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

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From the Mouth of Connor {ten}

So many of my good conversations with Connor happen in the car. It's as if he thinks since he's strapped down and can't do anything, he may as well talk! Sometimes I wish I had a recording device, because as much as I try to remember all the funny things Connor says, sometimes they are gone by the time we get to where we are going. He certainly keeps me entertained. That's for sure.



C: Mom, did you put me in your mouth when I was a baby?
Me: No, why?
C: Well, how did I get in your tummy then?



If I didn't bring a toy (to show and tell) I would tell them all about my shoes. And I would tell them all about when I was born in Scotland. 



Poor grumpy sissy. 



(at the dinner table) Dad, how was your day at work? Did you make any new friends?



C: What's a donkey?
Me: A type of animal. What's a Connor?
C: A little boy who hurts his sissy if she comes in his room.



Why would Jesus make it rain on a school day?



Close the door, I want to be private. 



C: I saw a statue!
Me: Really bud? That's cool.
C: Actually it was a man standing really still. I just kidding. That's funny. 



C: Isla, if you want me to get off of you (he is sitting on her), you have to sing a song that you love me.
I: (singing) I love you, I love you, I love you...



Is spring when it's so nice? It's like the greatest day of everyone's life. 

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The Little Joys of Life

 

In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured. 

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Because bubbles make everything fun, right?! It always amazes and inspires me how much fun my kids can have doing things that seem so insignificant. A fork at dinner turns into a rocket ship. Leaves and twigs become a necklace. "Spicy tea" {water with red hots in it} has become all the rage at our house. I love how seemingly insignificant things are so fun and can bring a smile to a face. I really do want to make sure I slow down enough to enjoy watching my kids imaginations and the smiles on their faces. Just sitting in the backyard, with the sun on me, watching my kids play really is enough for me.

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Getting Out

This past week was a busy one. The kids started swim lessons. I had a yard sale with a friend. We {and by we, I mean Ian} painted Isla's room. I did a ton of MUCH NEEDED yard work in the back yard. We were just plain busy. And I don't like busy. I am not one that thrives off busy. Anyway, with Ian working on Saturday, I wanted to take the kids on an adventure. The problem was I had to drive my brother to a wedding in the afternoon, so it couldn't be anything that took up too much time. So, we went to our local nursery.

Isla got to pick out flowers. Connor got to get a plant with "candy leaves"…it's actually two plants. Stevia and peppermint and when you eat one of each leaf together, it tastes so good. Though I do wonder how long the plants will last because Connor is constantly wanting to eat the leaves! I grabbed a tomato plant and some other small plants for our yard. Then I let the kids pick out some seeds.

Connor has been wanting to grow things from seeds for a while now. Thankfully the nursery had quite the collection for the kids to choose from. Isla chose two packs of flowers (shocker) and Connor chose carrots (which he has been wanting to grow for a while now because of a Curious George episode), watermelon and white pumpkins. He actually wanted to get a bunch more, but I thought we should start small. We bought one of those little seed greenhouses and put both carrot and watermelon seeds in it. Now I just need to figure out where we are going to plant them after they sprout!!! I am actually hoping to add at least one raised garden bed to our backyard this year.

And just so you know it's not all sunshine and rainbows over here, on the way to the car, I tipped the wagon over while going down a little hill. Our plants ended up upside down on the parking lot. Both kids were crying and I was just trying to make sure that neither my kids or my plants got ran over! It was a mess. Thankfully, all the plants were salvageable and once I got them loaded back on the wagon, the kids were fine. And now all the plants are safely planted in our yard. 

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12/52

Connor: This kid is so curious about everything and has been wanting to plant some seeds and watch them grow. I finally got around to taking him to get seeds. So, our little plant incubator is half watermelon, half carrot. Totally his choice.  

 Isla: After having to live with her stuff piled all over the house for a week while we painted her room, she was so excited to be back in her room, playing with her toys. And I am excited to get in her room and get it decorated and organized. 

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

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Simplifying Life

When I chose the word simple for the year, I knew I wanted to get back to the basics in many aspects of my life, so that's why I went with simple. There are a lot of ways to look at the word simple and for me focusing on what matters and letting everything else go is really where I want to head.

Sometimes simplifying life can be as easy as saying no to things…I know, many people struggle with saying no. That is not something I struggle with. It can also be as easy as saying yes. Saying yes to family time, to adventures with the kids over running errands. Yes to picnic dinners over structured ones at the table.

One way I really have been trying to simplify my life with for a while, probably since the fall of last year, has been with my phone. I don't carry it around my house anymore. We don't have a house phone, so if I am expecting a call from some place important (like the doctor's office or something) I will keep it close. Otherwise I don't. When I get the urge to do something, I pick up the newspaper or grab a soduku book to play with. Sometimes I don't get back to people right away. But really, does it REALLY matter if I don't respond to a text in the first minute and instead get back to someone an hour later?

There are other things I have done too. I have took the word simple literally and have cleared out a bunch of clutter from our house. Do we really need a ginormous dvd collection anyway?! I have worked on simplifying the food we eat. By simple, I mean getting back to the basics. Healthy food.

I have never been one that says yes to busy. That isn't my problem. Simple, enjoying the moment, drinking it all in. That is what I enjoy. And I want to make sure distractions of life don't get in the way of what I truly love.

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Phone Calls to Friends

The other day Connor asked to call his friend because she left her lego girl at our house. Then he said, "I want to call her where I can see her." So Connor and his friend facetimed. It was actually pretty cute and also completely funny. Connor kept holding the lego girl right at the phone, so I would have to help him put it in front of the camera. Then, he would show her around the room and get really excited and start jumping. But he was better with the camera than Isla was. With her, you really only see her forehead in the camera. It's actually pretty cute. My favorite part of all though was when Connor asked his friend's mom "So how are you? How has your day been?" He can say the most grown up and funny things sometimes. And I totally eat it up. 

It's ironic that I find it so cute that Connor talk on the phone with a girl now whereas in the not so distant future I will most likely be annoyed at the time he spends on the phone with girls :) Oh the cycle of life! 

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11/52

Connor: This boy is growing up more and more every day…and is getting more and more opinionated about things as well. He told me this week that he wants to wear the same outfit to school every day (socks included!) and that I needed to wash it in between wears. 

 Isla: She has always been a crazy sleeper, but since switching from a toddler to twin bed, she has fallen asleep in her bed almost every night. Maybe she just needed more room to sleep? But, a book is still always close at hand…just look at that little hand resting on that book!  

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

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Tball

When Ian brought up signing Connor up for tball, I had mixed feelings. I knew Connor would love it. But I also knew it started in the thick of Ian's busy season and there would be games and practices to take Connor to…not to mention that I am so incredibly socially awkward in situations like this…having to talk to and interact with people I don't know. Anyway, it happened and Connor's first practice was this week.

Given that this was our first go at something like this, I had no clue how to dress Connor for the occasion. I have since learned and got him some new duds ;) We did show up with a glove and a bat, so go us!

^^ Practicing running bases 

^^ Listening to his coach explain to him how to bat.

Can we take a moment to laugh at the fact that Connor's poor tball team doesn't even get to practice on a real field?! This is a place with tons of baseball diamonds and poor tball has to practice in the very back on a small patch of grass. 

Connor was super into his tball practice and it was super cute. When they would give the kids a drink break, Connor would run to me and drink as fast as he could and run back. He was always the first kid back out there. Though, when they were practicing the kids catching ground balls, Connor kept sitting down on the job, but you can't when them all! When it came time to practice hitting the ball, one of the coaches helped show Connor how to hold his bat and he hit the FIRST ball they threw at him. I (his completely unathletic mother) was so amazingly proud of him. 

Life is definitely going to get busy with a couple practices and a game every week for the spring. But it's good. I like watching my little boy being all excited about something. Plus, I can work on my farmers tan.

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Isla Said What {two}

I smell like a pirate princess. 


I being carefully. 


I don't like the really hot. 


Somebody ate God. God is in a whale in the ocean.   {I'm glad to see she gets the whole Jonah in a whale story!}


I want to be in your tummy. 


Going along with the last one, she has said a few times recently, "I want to be a baby!"


It ok mom, I hitting nice. 


Me: Grammy is daddy's mama. 
I: No, she's the babysitter. 
Me: laughing, She does watch you sometimes, but she is your Gramdma, your daddy's mama. 
I: Oh. 


I want that pesky sun to move a little bit. 

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Type A

So, neither Ian or I have type a personalities. Case in point, our power went out two weeks ago and we haven't reset the clock in our bedroom since. That is normally the alarm clock Ian uses to get up in the morning, but he just switched to his phone. So, two weeks later, that little clock sits in my room, blinking away, apparently not driving either one of us insane because neither one of us has done anything about it.

I find people and their personality traits fascinating. Both Ian and I have type a characteristics (which I am sure everyone has at least a couple), but neither one of us would be labeled as such…definitely not me, that's for sure. Though I do bite my nails, and I never realized that was seen as a type a trait. Interesting.

 

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10/52

Connor: I registered him for kindergarden this week. He has been asking for months to go. I keep telling him just to enjoy where he is at now, but I also get advice like that is always lost on the receiver. 

Isla: This girl acted so grown up this week it was weird. We switched her from a toddler bed to a twin bed and she started staying in her own bed all night long. Also, she had the stomach flu and made it to the toilet almost every time. Talk about growing up!  

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

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A Doozy of a Dozy

^^ This popsicle was the only thing I could get Isla to eat yesterday…and it came up about 15 minutes after she ate it. 

The last couple days have been rough, to say the least. I am usually pretty good at keeping it together, no matter what comes my way. But when it just wouldn't stop, there came a time yesterday that I just wanted to put my face in a pillow and scream. 

It all started on Tuesday night. I thought we were in for a nice relaxing night. The kids were in bed asleep early. Then Ian discovered our water heater flooded our garage. So, we got to spend our evening, moving stuff around and cleaning a bunch of water. Then there was the gas leak. Then Isla started puking. And my MIL got sick so cancelled watching my kids for me while I went and registered Connor for kindergarden. Then there was the disaster that was kindergarden registration…that was actually what pushed me to the edge. I hate chaotic situations and the unknown and it was very, very poorly executed. It left me running around like a chicken with my head cut off, and convinced Connor will end up in afternoon kindergarden…which I keep reminding myself really doesn't matter in the scheme of life. Did I mention the puke? So much of it. And Isla is refusing to eat or drink. And Connor, he is acting like a 5 year old that doesn't want to be quiet when his mom wants him to so his sick sister can sleep. 

But there have been good moments too. Connor's parent teacher conference was on Wednesday and he is doing great. Isla has been a champ about being sick and has made it to the toilet almost every single stinking time. The kids dentist printed up his dental records for me immediately so I could register Connor for kindergarden…yeah, dental records. Weird, right? And Connor and I spent some time basking in the sun on the front porch eating popsicles…I figured if Isla wouldn't eat them, someone should ;)

I just keep reminding myself that it's Friday. Sure, Ian has to work Saturday (it is busy season, after all), but it won't be a full day. And hopefully this sickness, and chaos, will pass our house quickly. 

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