Camping

Growing up, our summers always included a camping trip and adventures at the lake.  I loved the freedom we had at the campground.  We were big kids who got to walk to the bath house all by ourselves, ride our bikes throughout the campsite (which was a treat since we lived on a dirt road), and swim pretty much whenever we wanted because we usually camped lakeside if possible.  Disco's family did a lot of camping too.

Since our kiddos were born we haven't had much opportunity to camp.  Last year we had our first failed attempt during a road trip.  We learned A LOT about what camping with kiddos in the summer means.  Gaga and Bondo have a camping trailer with air conditioning now and man that makes all the difference! 

We spent last Friday and Saturday camping with my folks.  The kiddos were thrilled and insisted that we sleep in the tent even though the air conditioned trailer was RIGHT THERE.  It was fun "roughing it" in the tent . . . for the kids.  They slept right through the heat.  Disco, not so much.  I fell asleep with the kids but woke up about 1 am wondering where Disco had gone.  I found him drinking a beer and star gazing because he couldn't sleep with the plank we call little man kicking him in the face (little man literally was sleeping perpendicular to everyone else the whole night no matter how many times we attempted to move him).  We had a late night date talking and watching the stars and fireflies.

The kiddos hiked, fished with Bondo and Aunt K, played on the playground, swam in the lake, played on the "beach", collected sticks, rocks, shells, and random plastic army men, and ate tons of food.  It was fun watching them experience the outdoors especially since I have fond memories of my childhood camping experiences.  I also enjoyed taking the time to slow down and watch my family interact with the kiddos.  Usually we ship the kids off with the grandparents so I can travel for work or Aunt K plays with them while I make a whirlwind attempt to clean the house.  So I miss out on observing their relationships. 

Even though my parents are not quite the science nerds that I am, I know I ended up in the world of science because they taught me about nature.  As I listened to dad's lessons on fishing I had to smile because it sounded familiar - and both kiddos were quite eager to learn from their Bondo.  I hope this was the first of many camping trips for our little adventurers!

Little man and Bondo

Big sis and Bondo

Her first fish!

His first fish!

They were so hot but had a blast!

This is why my dad brings my mom
along to go fishing ;)

This pool formed since the waterfall was dry. 
So Aunt K caught fish in this pool and
then transferred them back to the big lake

And this is why my sister and I  bring
my dad along when we go fishing

Little man and his Gaga




















Lessons



Directions

I know you come to this blog to see the adventures of big sis and little man.  But tonight I had to document some mommy issues.

No surprise, I am trying to strike a balance.  That includes home, work, personal time, and even food/exercise.  The big issue right now is work.  There have been some plans for changes in my work environment that I've known about since last fall.  I knew they were coming but I was actually surprised by my reaction to them.  I have failed to really embrace the opportunities that were offered and my enthusiasm has waned.  At first I thought "you are just scared."  But lately I've really been thinking about how my past hesitations have led to new directions.

As a senior in high school I decided to major in accounting in college.  What?  I am truly a science nerd so I don't know what I was thinking but after just one semester I knew to jump ship and go the science route.  I did so even when my professors discouraged me since I would be too far behind (yeah, I set the curve for that first science class - score one for the science nerd). 

After my sophomore year in college I broke up with a long term boyfriend.  He was a great guy, but I woke up one day and finally knew he wasn't the right guy for me.  For some reason, I didn't change my career plans at the same time (I had chosen physical therapy because the boyfriend was very supportive of that route).  But by the time I was accepted to PT schools I knew it wasn't the right direction again and I took two years off from school to work and figure out my next steps.

I really liked my graduate work in immunology and cancer.  Well, by the end I was really, really tired of being a student but that is pretty much the case for most graduate students.  I stuck around my adviser's lab for a while because I liked my boss, labmates, and the project.  I wish I could have stayed longer however, again, I knew it was time to move on after a couple of years.  I then moved to the project I am on now; a project which I have loved but is not quite the right fit for my training and skills.  A great experience.  A great opportunity.  I have enjoyed it so much that I will continue with a smaller/different role because I think it is important work and I want it to be successful.  But I have that feeling again that it is time to reflect on where I am and where I want to go.  In my current position I got to work with awesome co-workers, experience being a teacher for the first time, and expand my education once more while I worked towards an MPH.  And I am getting excited about what the public health side of that degree really means.

So as I struggle with the right direction for me and explore options I am trying to keep in mind past experiences.  At each point outlined above I stopped and listened to that inner voice that asked "is this what you really want?"  I still don't know the answer to that question.  I just know myself well enough to understand that when I hesitate there is a good reason to pay attention and make some adjustments . . . and those adjustments usually lead to exciting new directions.

Little Brother

I posted a picture similar to this on Facebook recently.  Since the blog is the only "scrapbook" my kiddos are going to receive then I figure I better post it here as well.

This is what it is like to be a little brother in this house:

Letters



"...it came out when I was brushing my teeth."

A letter to the tooth fairy from big sis (thanks to the Junie B. Jones "Toothless Wonder" book): 















Reply from the Tooth Fairy:

Fairy dust adds to the authenticity, a wise tooth fairy
contributed to that process :)

Lost Tooth

Big sis lost her first tooth today!  We have been watching her wiggle her bottom tooth for about a month.  This week it got super (gross) loose.  There are many firsts we have been fortunate to witness.  Even with juggling two busy work schedules we have missed fairly few of the kiddos' firsts.  But this week, for some reason, I was really worried I would miss this one.  I think I was concerned because I have some extra anxiety over work this week (the project I am working on is transferring to new leadership and a new department and there have been some ups and downs in that process).  And big sis was SO EXCITED about the thought of losing her tooth and waiting for the tooth fairy.  I just wanted to see this one.

Disco was actually in the room with big sis when it happened - I was reading books to little man in his room.  Disco and big sis worked on digging the tooth out of the toothpaste after her toothbrush knocked it out.  It was priceless to hear her scurry very loudly through the hallway yelling "I lost my tooth, I lost my tooth!!!"  When she arrived in little man's room big sis was out of breath, grinning from ear to ear, and proudly displaying her lost tooth.  I am so glad I wasn't in class, or working, or traveling for this first!  Sometimes the timing around here is perfect.

Puppet Show

Big sis is our little entertainer - I have mentioned more than once that she has been singing and dancing and grooving around the house since she learned to walk.  After creating puppets from the "big busy box" she and aunt K decided to have a puppet show. The little puppet show is one of many examples of her theatrical antics.  It is a simple and sweet "performance" - there really isn't much to it at all.  I just thought it was cute but I'm a little biased! :)

We are keeping busy this summer

Little man received the "giant busy box" for his birthday.  I also picked up a couple of big activity books for the kiddos at Sam's Club recently.  We will be crafting ALL summer!  :)

A Wonderful Father

He would spend every day reading "Green Eggs and Ham" to our kiddos if they would let him :)

Happy Father's Day Disco!

And she's off!

It was time to say goodbye to pre-k recently.  With all the events leading up to the last day of school this year it didn't really hit any of us that school was over until, well, school was over.  I thought big sis or I would be sad about the last day of pre-k (which was really only a half day of school).  But it felt like any other day.  She dressed in her PJs (school-wide treat), I made time to eat lunch with her at school, she played on the playground with her buddies one last time, and then we walked home.  It was simple.  It was sweet.  Exactly the kind of morning I enjoy most. 

Big sis has really grown this year during school - physically, mentally, and emotionally.  Her confidence is growing and she really is a sweet little spit-fire the majority of the time.  We have a fun-filled summer ahead of us.  And then next stop, Kindergarten.

Buddies in the cafeteria

More friends in the cafeteria

Goofing around on the playground

Our last walk home this year . . .
walking home was
my favorite part of Fridays :)

Easter

Easter - April 24th, 2011.  Again, catching up on old posts from the spring.  I love spending Easter at my sister's house.  The house used to belong to my grandparents so I have fond memories of my childhood Easters there as well.  And we meet up with my family as well as catlady's crew for some fun times outside hunting eggs.  Since the kiddos are getting older we added softball and croquet to the festivities (most of the good pictures were of little man playing softball this time).  It was another lovely spring day!

Egg hunt

Um . . . I'm doing a bit of catching up.  These pictures are from the Easter egg hunt we attended in April.  Yeah.  I didn't do a good job of posting pictures this spring.  Oh well.  Enjoy them now :)

More Birthday Pictures

Mater-dogs in the Park

We had little man's 3rd birthday party at a local park on May 26th.  It was actually kind of a nice change for us to do a birthday bash in the middle of the week.  With little man's birthday falling on Memorial Day weekend each year it is hard for us to plan around the holiday.  We had a great turn out last year so we may try a weekend party again in the future - but I'm glad we took a break from the weekend gig this year.

Little man is really into the Disney's Cars movie right now.  Mater is his FAVORITE!  If you haven't seen Mater Tales you need to check it out.  Disco and I laugh right along with the kiddos when we watch it together.  So "Mater-dogs in the Park" was our party theme.  The kiddos played on the playground equipment, colored with sidewalk chalk, stomped on the stomp rocket (another must have - thanks tallgirl!), and played with bubbles.  We ate materdogs with chips and had cupcakes on the "road" (plates decorated with yellow lines - thanks catlady for the idea!).  We even found Cars juice boxes for the kiddos.

This was a fun birthday for little man because this was the first one that he really got what it was all about - HIM.  Now if we could just convince his sister that not every occasion revolves around her . . . actually she was pretty good about the attention her brother received.  She just wanted to get her hands on a CUPCAKE asap!

FYI - the little blond girl in the pictures below is little man's girlfriend.  He tells us all the time that he is going to marry her :)

Pre-K Graduate

I'm not sure I am emotionally fit for all the changes that occur each year in May!  Recital for big sis, spring program for little man, little man's birthday, and this year a preschool graduation for big sis.  So many "rites of passage" all in one short month!

Pre-k graduation (May 25th) was very cute and we were so proud of our big girl!  The beginning of the program when they played the typical graduation march music as the children walked to the stage was the hardest part for me.  I totally thought I was going to be the parent who loses composure immediately.  Somehow I held it together so that all big sis saw was a smiling proud set of parents and family waving at her as she proceeded to the stage.  

The ceremony was cute with songs and handing out of certificates.  The teacher told us what each child stated they learned this year and what they wanted to be when they grow up. Big sis liked learning about science (yay for science!).  Big sis also said she wanted to be a firefighter when she grows up because they have cool tools.  Where that came from I have no idea . . . usually she wants to be some sort of fairy or princess.  At any rate, we are so proud of big sis and her first year at "big kid school!"  Even though I am a little sad the kiddos are growing up so quickly I can't wait to see what is next!