summer adventures, part 3: caspar babypants

At this house, we love Caspar Babypants.

Whaaa? you say.

Once upon there was a guy named Chris Ballew who is the lead singer for The Presidents of the United States of America, a rock alternative band that has seen much success with songs like "Lump" and "Peaches," both of which are kinda weird. There are others by the band I like lots more, like "Some Postman" and "Poke and Destroy." In fact, when I found out I was pregnant with Wesley (a boy), I listed to "Poke and Destroy" a lot and just was encompassed by the hilarity of it all. You gotta hear this song.

Anyway, due to the success of his "big" band, Chris had the financial and creative freedoms to foster the career of his alter-ego, Caspar Babypants. It's a kid band. He sings songs like "Poor Little Broken Truck" and "Run Baby Run" and creatively interesting versions of well-known songs like "Ring Around the Rosie" and "Three Blink Mice."

And we looooove Caspar.

Luckily for us, Chris/Caspar lives in Seattle. And so do we. And he puts on free concerts all. the. time! YAY! Every summer there is a free concert series at a park near us, and we always try to hit at least one or two. Last year the first year we hit the Caspar show, and we got a CD not long after that and basically we have it memorized now. We listened to it lots when Laurel was a newborn, and Wesley needed to get his energy out and "dance." I remember "dancing" in our rental house, where I'd hold Laurel and chase Wesley in circles around this big trunk that served as a coffee table in the bonus room.

So, imagine my glee, when we got to the concert really early and I got to have a chat with Caspar! How cool! When we first got there, I said, "You gonna play Poor Little Broken Truck?" And he said, "I sure can!" Yay! And during the show, he even said, "this one is by request!" Awesome. I think Wesley was a little startled, like, "this guy is playing the song I like, and it sounds like him and all, but I'm not at home and on the computer so this is kinda different."

Last year there was a whole band, this year it was just Chris. No matter, it was great fun. The guy is really talented. Once a little girl was lost and they brought her up to the stage to find her mom, and he just made up a song about Natalie looking for her mom at the park. It was funny!

For several songs we danced in the front, which meant I hopped with a bunch of little kids. Not very many parents were dancing. But I wanted to :-) Gosh it was a blast. The weather was perfect. There were a couple new songs I heard that I really liked, so that was fun. Looks like there are more of his CDs I need to get.

During one song there is this stop/go section, and he had said "stop!" and we all froze, but then he whispered, "you guys see that big big big tree back behind us?" A huuuge tree. "On top of that tree, there is a teeny tiny black spider in a black tuxedo jacket with a sparkly black cane and a sparkly black top hat and a disco ball and a dance floor and he is still dancing!" And then we all had to plead with the little spider to stop. I laughed. This guy has such a fun, creative way with kids.

Oh, anyway, back to my conversation. I bought a CD and a book from him; he said every nine months  he comes out with a new CD (just like a baby!), and his wife does all the illustrations and she has a few books that go along with some of his songs. I commented that I thought it was really cool he was doing this and I thanked him. He said that his "other thing," (the big band) "just wasn't sustainable. This is what I was meant to do." Oh wow, I loved that. I can only imagine how being on tour with a huge rock band is exhausting, and to have him say he loves this more, he feel more like this is "his calling," that felt really cool. Really cool to be there, and be part of this "smaller" thing that means more to him.

Think about it. Anything we do with children maybe seems silly, but it's the best thing we can do with our time. I remind myself of that often. I'm making a resolution to really be there when I'm with them, to not be texting, to not be checking Facebook, to not be ignoring them. I want to listen to them and play with them and dance with them. To Caspar Babypants.

Run, Baby, Run!

my pinterest endeavors

Ahh Pinterest. I'm in love! I think it's exciting to have a place where ideas overflow. Maybe it's a little too much sometimes -- I spend lots of time browsing, do I spend any time doing?

Today I submit that yes, I make some of the things I find on Pinterest. Here are a few:

Pinterest's version (Wesley):

A "wise choices jar" for the kiddo.

I was in love with this idea the second I saw it. We had some reeeeeally hard times with Wesley right after Laurel was born, so I knew I needed this. He was really into Cars at the time, so the decree was that when the "Good Choices Jar" got filled up, he got a Tow Mater of his very own. Awesome. We decided not to take marbles out for bad choices (although that's definitely a nice threat), and some days we added 6 at a time to make up for forgetting to acknowledge good choices. The idea was perfect. I still use it now... he broke his railroad crossing for his wooden train set, so we said when he filled up his Good Choices Jar next time he'll get a new railroad crossing with arms and lights, but we'll see. (He's not as into trains now as he used to be. Sad? Yes.)

(It does have a lid I decorated with scrapbook paper and a ribbon. Great idea. And his hair is much shorter now.)

Pinterest's version (me):

"Motivation marbles" for inspiration.
  

Very cute. I've recently decided I'd like to "lose a Wesley" (~35 pounds!), so I thought I'd made some jars for me. I made them July 4 -- and to date I've moved no marbles. But I am kinda getting sick of lugging around this "Wesley" wherever I go, so I'm going to get serious about this. I'm thinking of swearing to myself I'll eat NO, ZERO Halloween or Christmas candy. Fall is a hard time of year. Caramel apples are OK.

Thanks to Hobby Lobby for the cool jars and sparkly black letter stickers.

Pinterest's version (Laurel):

A "sensory bag" for babies.

This little bag is hilarious, since it uses hair gel (hahahaha) and random stuff lying around the house plus stuff from the dollar store. A gallon Ziploc bag, some colored duct tape, and you're done! It literally took me minutes. It's really cool.

The gal used squishy frogs, and I really wanted to find some squishy frogs. Alas, not at Dollar Tree. Laurel's has erasers, pom-poms, flat marbles, round and heart beads, confetti, and some craft jewels.

 

 

What do you think? I think, "success!" It remains to be seen how durable the bag is. I'm trying not to let her put it in her mouth. Girlfriend has SIX teeth now. Also, her fingernails are sharp and need trimming. But it feels really cool (literally and figuratively) to the touch, and I hope she enjoys it for some time.

So, thanks Pinterest! I should also say I've made boatloads of food ideas, some great and some complete failures. Plus, if you recall, many of the ideas from our "fun jar" came from Pinterest. ("Fun Jar" has been a huuuuuge hit. Thank goodness for good ideas to do while baby is sleeping on a boring summer afternoon.) I even made myself a Board on Pinterest called, "I Did This!" where I chronicle the results.

I am a doer, not just a browser. And proud of it!

summer adventures, part 2: jetty island

No summer is complete without a trip to the beach.

 

 

Ahhh the beach. Hmm. The beach is fun but it is utterly, completely exhausting and lots of trouble. 

For example, I brought kites with me. I needed to assemble them, but I am not smart enough and it was so windy that part of my kite kit (an adhesive part) landed face-down in the sand. There went that idea.

Secondly, I had to hold Laurel at all times. Because when I wasn't looking (twice) she took a fistful of sand/mud and put it in her mouth.

Third, keeping hands clean when giving snacks is impossible. We ate sand-covered cheese sticks and PB&J. I just have to let my concerns about cleanliness and sanitation go, when I'm at the beach.

Fourth, you take a little ferry over to Jetty Island, a man-made island, which means you carry over everything. And since my oldest is four, and not very helpful, and my youngest is zero, you can picture this: me, with baby in the front-pack baby carrier, a diaper bag across the shoulders, a lunch bag, a canvas bag of swimming stuff/towels/sunblock/etc., and a huge mesh bag of sand toys. I am a crazy bag lady, a wide load, and a pack mule.

But, was it totally fun? Yes. Was it exhausting and crazy? Yes. Will we do it again? Absolutely. It's the perfect beach spot for kids. Yes, we can also do the beach at Picnic Point and Brackett's Landing, and we do that also, but there just something more fun about the Jetty Island adventure. Maybe next year we'll brave it on a Saturday and take Dad along. (Saturdays are fun since the kite surfers are out.)

Ahh we love summer. We are lucky we went on a great day, with lots of sun.

More adventures to come.... next up, concerts in the park!

summer adventures, part 1: fire station

I read on one of my Facebook groups that the Lynnwood Library was offering guided tours of the Lynnwood Fire Station in July. We've never been on a real fire station tour, so I thought the Wesley-buddy would get a kick out of it.

We first met at the library where they read fire station-esque books to the kids while we were waiting for people to arrive. They had a TON of books there, and we even chose one to check out:  "Rhinos Who Rescue."  A book literally about rhinoceros firefighters. Awesome. 

It was a little rainy that day, but we fared just fine walking from the library to the fire station (not too far, but I was hauling a baby and my ginormous diaper bag, so I broke a teensy sweat).

There, we met our tour guide, the Fire Chief. He showed us where the firefighters sleep and hang out when there isn't an emergency (big TV and Xbox, plus a huuuuge DVD collection), plus their offices. But the exciting part was getting to sit in both a fire truck and one of their ambulances.

The real-live firefighters were very helpful and so nice. I recognized the name of one of them, in fact, and it turns out he's the brother of a guy in my new ward. Funny!

That's him, below, with the suit on. There were two guys who had a race to see which one could get his suit on the fastest. They even put the masks on and talked to us, and that scared Wesley. 

I thought it was a fun trip. One of the interesting things I learned is that this particular fire station in Lynnwood is suuuuuper busy. We were there for about an hour and the Fire Chief commented that he was surprised they didn't get a call to leave. Lucky us! As we walked back to the library they DID get a call, and we saw the trucks take off. I also asked a brilliant question -- what do real firefighters think of firefighter movies? They said most of them are pretty bad -- Kurt Russell's Backdraft is AWFUL and I shouldn't believe any of it, but Ladder 49 with Joaquin Phoenix wasn't too bad, pretty close to real life. These are the types of questions I simply must ask.

We got hats and fake tattoos as party favors. In fact, Wesley's tattoo just washed off today. It  was on his arm for a least a week. His Sunbeams teachers must wonder what we teach at home. 

 

My cute little fireman-in-training had a great time! Laurel was happy in the baby carrier. I wish I had worn real shoes and not flip-flops. It was a fun thing to cross off the summer Bucket List.

our backyard: a photo essay

It's fun having a house. Maybe Shane would differ, and I expect our pocketbook is differing, but there are things I just love. 

Our house came with some of these...

And these...

(cherries which have come and gone, which we rather enjoyed)

(plums which are still yet to come)

And then I added some of these....

(look! it's a strawberry!)

There are LOTS of bugs (which are slowly thinning out, thanks to the great lawnmowing skills of Shane, since we feel like since the home was a foreclosure and neglected back there, "Wild America" started to take over), but of course we see other fun things, which are welcome and interesting, like this...

Of course, there is some of this going on...

 

 

 And obviously someone there to document it all...

 

Overall, we're having a great time. Once we sat on a blanket and looked at clouds. Once we filled up the inflatable pool and let the water warm in the sun -- perfect! And we now have a grill which Shane happily manages. Our new fave is banana boats -- ahh bless you Pinterest.

Yay for backyards!

big news

Lots of members of our family have big news to share. Here we go:

Wesley:  We went on vacation last week, and as such, did not bring the little potty with us. All potty-going occurred in the BIG potty, which is exciting news. Luckily, the vacation experience has translated to the home experience, and all current business is being done in the toilet. YAY. In related news, Wesley plugged up the toilet for the first time! You go, little man! We call it "making the potty mad." I find this all very hilarious.

Laurel: Little lady had her first airplane ride. She is definitely different than her brother, sigh. When Wesley was a baby and we flew to Hawaii, he slept for 3/4 of the flight. On our flight back from Utah -- from 8 to 9:30 at night on Monday -- Laurel was up the whole time. Why did girlfriend not sleep? It was after her bedtime for crying out loud! She's such a busy body. Her second big news is that we are getting some forward motion! She is lifting herself up on her knees and hurling her whole body forward. Shane is getting serious about babyproofing. Gosh I love her.

Shane: Shane got a new job! YAY! He is still at Boeing, but he will be in a different group. He'll be doing actual engineering (specifically, stress analysis) instead of project management, and he is so dang excited. I am excited too. Since it's a new group, he actually moves down a level in seniority (boo), which also has an associated pay decrease (double boo). It's not too bad, we'll be OK, and it's worth it for the experiences of the new position. He now must work with his current manager to set a start date, definitely within 30 days.

Me: Hmm, well I guess nothing is new with me. I am starting Operation Take Back My House, Second Edition, and so far I have tackled the floors downstairs, master bedroom, bathroom sinks, etc. Included in this edition we will be deep-cleaning the kitchen. The most difficult task here will be organizing the plastic leftovers containers cabinet. Oh, I got a calling at my new ward. Cub Committee Chair. I am thrilled. I have exactly two meetings a month and that's it. God knows I am stressed to the max and can handle nothing more. Thanks to the Man Upstairs.

The house continues to be a money pit. I love this house, I love it so darn much. I love it. But golly, why do things keep going wrong? Our biggest issues right now are plumbing, little water leaks we're noticing. Eek. We need to readjust our budget and I'm afraid we will have to give up eating out to pay for all the things that are going wrong here. Sigh.

We took a trip to Utah, I will blog about soon. Love my family.

P.S. No chicken pox!

What's your big news?