Boomerang!

Where have I been?

Oh my goodness I did not expect to take the WHOLE summer off from blogging. Honestly the time that I spent on this thing just got overwhelming, especially the photos, which I suck at editing.

I really did like writing here and am planning to come back but mind my pictures because they will be strictly unedited lol.

So just a quick preview of whats to come: what we were up to all summer, how the first season of growing our own food went and plans for next year, a quick potty update (hint, he's doing fantastic), our continuing prep for possibly baby #3 (!!!), Sam's home schooling schedule.

52 Weeks of Toddler Experiences Week 12: Boston Museum of Science

    It's no secret how much Sam loves dinosaurs. Just before his birthday I was looking for places close by to take him to see some dinosaur bones. 

     Last year I took the kids and my sister into Boston to the Harvard Museum of Natural History because it was a part of the Blue Star Museum program and relatively close by. As is anything in Boston it was a pain in the ass to get to and there was on street parking only. Nightmare. Sam was satisfied with the bones and stuff they had but it was so stressful other wise (no parking, no AC, no elevator, no strollers allowed) that I wanted someplace different this time. 

     I found the MOS online and remembered going there as a kid in school but the prices are astronomical. I held on to all of Sam's birthday money and decided that instead of spending it all on one trip to do a lot of smaller ones. I was kind of bummed. 

     Fast forward a few weeks later and I get my cousin's wedding invitation in the mail. And lo and behold, its AT the Museum of Science, and included in the invitation is a free pass for each guest for that weekend! Obviously we had to go. 

     Jeff absolutely HATES going into the city so I took my sister (again) instead since she was staying at my house anyway. I had in my head the idea of how to get there and honestly should have just gone with that but for some reason turned on my GPS that suddenly decided to yell TURN LEFT NOW in the middle of our nice easy route, propelling us into the bowels of the city. I had no clue where we were, we were lost for a half an hour. At one point we were on some piece of highway that was seriously hundreds of feet in the air, over treetops and buildings. Awesome. 

    So finally somehow we get there. Obviously we went directly to the dinosaur room and stayed there for the majority of the time. Sam and Abby both loved it. There were a few fossils and skeletons and a huge model T. Rex. They also had little games and activities for kids. 

     We finally wrestled them out of the dinosaur room and they had so much other stuff; The Science of the Park, The Hall of Human Life, a movie theatre, live animals, taxidermy local animals in little fake habitats, and a Discovery Center play area for little kids to play in. 

     Of course we had to go in the Butterfly Garden (which was 22 freakin' dollars for 15 minutes). Abby seemed to like it and it was good for cute pictures but Sam was ready for nap and he didn't like anything at that point. 

  At the end of the very long tiring city day, I'm glad we went. I love doing new and interesting things with the kids especially if they can learn something. 

52 Weeks of Toddler Experiences Week11: Lake Swimming

We've been planning a trip to the real beach at the end of the month for a while now but until then, I'm using the lake in our town as beach methadone.

We went early in the day on a weekday and since school isn't out yet we were the ONLY people there.

Look at Sam's face. All morning as I was packing and getting ready and all the way there he was saying "Beach time!! I'm so excited!" This post is mostly pictures of the kids playing and the day. I forgot how nice this lake really is since usually when we go its way too full of people.

And just one of my favorite no-nasties sunscreen.

11 Great Things about MY Preschooler

A few days ago on Facebook, I saw a link to an article (I think posted by Daily Mom), about the great things about preschoolers. I read it and its so sweet. 

11 Great Things About Preschoolers

I definitely got what the writer was saying about wishing away the littleness of her first child and being excited to move on to the next stage. I did the same thing with Sam. I couldn't wait for him to roll over, walk, talk, sleep through the night or whatever. Looking back, I think this is why I felt like I needed to have another baby so soon (they're only 20 months apart). I missed the little baby stage that I had wished away, but I think this is natural for first kids. 

A brand new parent wants to see her baby's first steps and first words and experience all of those firsts that are so exciting and we put so much value on as a society. Parents LOVE to compare at what age their kid hit all of these important milestones vs. other kids. It's nice to be reminded to live in the moment and suck up all of these little things while they're around forever. 

So without further ado, here are 11 great things about MY preschooler. 

___________________________________________________________

1. He thinks I can fix anything. Even broken sidewalk chalk. Which is not, in fact, fixable. 

2. He states the obvious. "Mama! I'm eatin' cookies in the bathroom!" "Mama! You have claws! And       bears have claws!" "Mama! Abby stinks! She pooped!"I get squeaky voice news bulletins about every 10-15 minutes on average. 

3. Everything is brand new, even if its not. Every time we go outside is like going to Disney World for the first time. Same with car trips, the store, toys he's lost and re-found. He sees life through perfect un-jaded rose colored glasses. 

4. He negotiates. He has an idea of what he really really wants. But he's open to negotiation. Two cookies ("Two cookies mama! One two!") can easily become one granola bar, or even string cheese if you make him feel like it was his idea the whole time. 

5. He's a teacher. He loves learning new things but more than that, he really loves showing them to Abby. So far he's taught her how to sit on the potty, wash her hands, and take the leaves off of strawberries and throw them in the trash. It really makes my life easy. 

6. He still cuddles. I mean obv. He's my 'best boyfriend.' I relish his hundred million hugs and kisses a day because I know there will come a time when it'll be like pulling teeth. 

7. He's a bookworm. Every night before bed we read. And read. And read. At times there is a pile of books next to his bed, and I can' ever tell him no more. He can also recite the Very Busy Spider and Brown Bear, Brown Bear. I'm so grateful he has a love of books and not screens. 

8. He knows how to relax. A man needs his rest. Sam's main chill spot is right in the middle of the couch, with a drink, and usually with his legs crossed. The latest addition of the all white briefs makes it perfection. 

9. He loves animals. Having compassion for creatures that need caring for is such an amazing quality to have and I think it shows so much more depth of character than holding only human interests at heart. 

10. He finds joy in little things. Bubbles, a hot bath, a handful of M&Ms, a really cool bug on the window screen, all still hold wonderment and happiness. He's not yet moved into the realm of material possessions or needing knock out over the top activities to make his day. I'm hoping to hold onto this for as long as possible. 

11. He's compassionate. If anyone sheds a tear of makes a sound hinting at distress, he's there with as many hugs and kisses and "it's otay"s it takes to make you feel better. He has a huge heart, and wants everyone to be as happy as he is. 

52 Weeks of Toddler Experiences Weeks 9 (1/2) and 10: Blowies and Backyard Zoo

Some how last weeks just got away from me. I've been working extra to try to save up and take the kids to the beach at the end of next month, the weather was bad and I was in a funk. I wanted to make up for missing last week so we snuck outside before this afternoon's thunderstorms roll in to blow some of those puffy dead dandy lions around (I used to call them "blowies" when I was a kid) and to look for some friendly animals.

Blowies!

    I thought Sam was going to be more into this than he was as he's usually my little nature boy, but honestly how adorable are these pictures of Abby?

    She loved the "blowies" and only ate a few. When blowing them off was too slow she pulled the rest off and let them fly before moving them on to something else.

Back Yard Wild Animal Encounter!

     This one was almost purely luck. I knew if we hunted around the yard long enough we would find some type of creature to look at (we live near a brook and theres always something around). But what we found was totally perfect. Snakes are one of Sam's favorite animals (after sharks and dinosaurs of course) and we found a nice big fat, yet pretty docile, garden snake. 

     I tried not to aggravate it too much as I'd really like it to stick around for a while and get rid of some of the chipmunks digging huge holes in all my gardens. Sam loved it, and cried when it crawled back into the grass and out of sight and even tried to tempt it with a little frog we found later: "Here snake here! A frog snack!" Lucky for the frog, he didn't bite.

   Now that it's nap time and the clouds are getting thicker I'm glad I got them out before it rains for the next two days. So much for the lake day I wanted to do this week. 

Friday Night BFFLs

  Let a 3 year old stay up way way past his bedtime and then try to take a picture and this is the result. Quality. 

52 Weeks of Toddler Experiences Week 8: Trip to the Library

     A little late on this one, but I've been laid up this past week (gallstones, seriously? I'm too young for this!). One day last week we had a particularly beautiful day and we walked down to our tiny local library, only about a half mile from our house. They do have story time weekly for different age groups but our age groups fall on days where I have to be at work. Oh the woes of a working mom! 

     Sam loved playing with the wooden puzzles they had laid out on little kid sized tables, walking through the shelves and shelves of books and finally settled on three to check out; hippos, rain forests and dinosaur books, anyone who knows him would not be surprised. Abby, on the other hand, was not so impressed by the books and was more interested in scaling the steps outside and playing in the flower boxes. All in all a nice little family outing that both kids enjoyed for one reason or another.

    This is Sam last year and this year at the same library. I can't even believe how big he is. 

52 Weeks of Toddler Experiences Week 7: Painting with Feet

     I love doing art projects with the kids. I feel like making a god awful, hideous mess is part of childhood. Painting with feet is something I saw cruising Pinterest late at night and I couldn't wait to try it. Sam got two huge rolls of paper for his birthday, so I rolled out a few strips and taped them together, covering most of the kitchen floor (and honestly, my kitchen floor is ugly and old and needs replacing so I wasn't too terribly concerned with protecting it). Then I laid out paper plates with all different colors of paint, different types of brushes, rollers and sponges and let them have at it! No one actually painted with their feet but I am now the proud owner of a massive piece of toddler art that I have no idea what to do with lol.

52 Weeks of Toddler Experiences: Weeks 5 and 6

    We've been keeping up with the list, or my version of the list anyways, I swear! I have have pictures to prove it. I just can't seem to get to the computer to post about them! So here's my multi-week post for week 5, blowing huge bubbles and Week 6, zoo trip!

     Week 5

     Easter morning was gorgeous here and my brother bought the kids a killer bubble machine. Obviously hours of fun were had. The pictures are from when we first tried the machine on inside and we moved outside after. I adore these pictures, the kids' faces are just so full of joy.

     Week 6

     Sam absolutely loves animals so this year I couldn't wait to bring him to the zoo. My sister was gracious enough to come along with us and help me out as I knew it would be hectic bringing two little ones and, honestly, I don't think I could have handled it without her. It was so crowded and our zoo is just hills and winding trails from exhibit to exhibit and of course, Sam couldn't wait to see them ALL! There is also an acres large open area full of deer you can walk in and feed, like a little simulated magic forest. I was so glad I could run in one direction with Sam as she ran in the exact opposite direction with Abby.