A Beautiful Morning

For those that don't know, I commute an hour to work each day (and thus an hour home as well).  People have always been amazed that I would do such a thing.  I often say it's no different than living in the Detroit area, where you might sit in traffic an hour when your office is only ten miles away.  And honestly I've never minded the drive.  I've been doing it ten years now.  

Since we've had the kids, I've received even more questioning looks when I mention this commute.  I won't lie - of course I'd rather be spending that two hours with my kiddos.  They are the loves of the our lives, which is why this blog is almost always about them.  The distance has caused scheduling problems for our family, and Adam is stuck in the midnight shift because it's the only schedule that works with mine and daycare and school.

But I love my job.  I love my coworkers.  And sometimes I even love the commute.  Sometimes you need a beautiful morning like today, where you pass through two of this state's beautiful seasons, to remind you that where you are is exactly where you should be. 

A Michigan Fall Tradition

It wouldn't be fall in Michigan without a trip to a pumkin farm or apple orchard, or two, or three.  Growing up my parents took us to Bintz Apple Orchard in Freeland every year.  Surprisingly, what I remember most about those trips are the bees. 

So imagine how the memories came flooding back when I went with Mason on his first Kindergarten field trip to an apple orchard, and found us surrounded by bees.  Thankfully Mason was pretty calm about it - even after being stung twice this summer.  The field trip was fun, outside of the fact I had to drive four 5-year-olds from Battle Creek to Potterville.  Mason had fun picking out a small pumpkin, and plucking an apple from a tree. 

 

Next up on the pumpkin farm tour was Gull Meadows in Richland.  I haven't asked him, but I bet Adam's family made visiting this farm a ritual each year.  He says it's so much different than it used to be - it's definitely more commercialized - but still a fun way to spend a morning.  The trick is to get there right when they open so you beat the rush.  The kids always love boucing on the giant bounce pillows they have.  My favorite part is the fresh-from-the-fryer glazed pumpkin doughnuts.  I will never forget when Mason declared them the "best bagels he ever saw" last year. 

 

 

Then last weekend, while I was at my parents' house with the kids, we met Megan, Dan and Julia for a morning at Johnson's Giant Pumpkin Farm in Saginaw.  While it was really chilly, the kids had fun scampering from attaction to attaction.  Wouldn't you know it the only picture I could get of the three of them was while they were all on the wagon on the way out. 

 

Cider and doughnuts, pumpkins and apples - fall in Michigan wouldn't be complete without them. 

Mommy, Wow!

Anyone that grew up in the '80's and '90's can probably finish that sentence.  "I'm a big kid now!"  I know the ad was for Pull-Ups, but that's the song I sing when I think about converting my kids nurseries into big kid rooms recently. 

Mya has her twin bed in her room along side her crib since she was born, so just taking out the crib when she was done with it wasn't nearly as dramatic as the conversion that happened in Mason's room.  We did put the toy box made by my dad to match her furniture in her room.  It's a wonderful little window seat for her and I think she'll really enjoy being able to play in her room.  We left her birdie mobile and some other baby things in her room, so in spite of the crib being gone it still feels the same as it did before.

 

As I mentioned, Mason's room is really where the action happened. Only his dressers are left from what it looked like when he was a baby. Down went the infant safari valances and away went the rocking chair.  In their places are "big boy" things, most notably a full-size bed.  Mason's crib/toddler bed converted to a full-size headboard, which is why we chose it.  The poor kid had been sleeping in his toddler bed far longer than I expected him to and he was actually very excited about his new big bed.  So excited that we convinced him that part of having a big bed is making it every morning.  He's diligently done so, which is more than I can say for Adam and I. 

A wall-hanging made by my Grandma Welsh hangs over his bed (on loan from Colin) and a shadowbox with a picture of his name-sake and Great-Great-Grandpa Mason's pocket watch hangs next to his bed.  He doesn't know how meaningful these things really are yet, but I hope someday he understands. 

So here's the part where I tell you I cried during this process.  You knew it was coming didn't you?  While I was rearranging Mason's room, I remembered doing the same things five years ago before we brought him home for the first time.  And now that's all gone - he his a big boy room and we have a big boy instead of a baby.  That, of course, is what brought me to tears. 

Little Miss Polite

Our sweet Mya has jumped head first into the terrible two's. She's prone to throwing things, hitting poor Mason for no reason and collapsing on the floor in a heap of tears. Someone once told me you can tell how a teenager will behave by how they act as a toddler. Oh boy, are we in for an emotional roller coaster ride! 

Yet in between these little tantrums we've actually got ourselves one of the most polite children I've ever encountered. Mya usually needs to be reminded to ask nicely - "peease." But she doles out "tank-oo's" and "sowwee's" without any prodding (and sometimes without even needing to!).  And not only does she say these niceties, she directs her pleases and thank yous specifically.  "Tank-oo, mama."  "Sowwee, May-May." 

And recently she's started in with "bess oo's" after sneezes and "schmoo-me's" when she wants you to get out of her way.  Yes, Mya does use the same adorable word for excuse me that Mason did! In fact, I think it's because of him that she's so polite. From before she was born, she probably heard Adam and I prodding Mason to use his pleases and thank yous and I think she just knew what to do. 

So, will we have a terrible teenager in a few years?  Maybe, but at least Mya will say "No, thank you!" as she slams a door in defiance. 

Angry Bir...thday



How could we possible top Mason's 4th birthday party at Chuck E Cheese last year?  We asked what he wanted to do this year, and he said he wanted to have his party at home.  Much to Adam's great dismay.  And I will admit, it was certainly a lot more work than just calling up Chuck's and making a reservation.  I did not go nearly as crazy as with Mya's party, but I did try out a few Pinterest ideas. 

For Mason's first 4 birthdays, we'd managed perfect weather but had never attempted an outdoor party.  Given that we'd invited more people than his last party at home (and families are growing!) I decided this was the year to have his party outside.  It was a lot cooler than I'd hoped when we started the week, like 10 degrees cooler, but I was not to be deterred.  I climbed up on an extension ladder and my mom and I hung crepe paper from the eaves to the privacy fence, creating a colorful and cozy cover over our driveway.  The theme was Angry Birds (Mason is a fanatic) so I found a game to make (upper right) using cups and some bean bag birds.  And the pinata was literally a hit.  [Insert bad pun groan here.]  Cousin Olivia was the one who finally made it rain candy, but I'll give cousins Alex and Isaac credit for loosening 'er up. 

The menu wasn't anything special, just fruit and veggies in the colors of the birds, some chips and hot dogs/brats (condiments are the colors of the birds too).  The cake though, was my pride and joy.  This is a Pinterest idea (found and perfected by my dear friend Kelly).  I swear, it's as easy as using icing to trace a coloring book page. 

Mason has been thoroughly enjoying all his gifts, well maybe not the clothes, but mama made people buy those for him anyway.  He thanked us several times last night which made it all the more rewarding.  Adam and I are still both exhausted from the party two days later, but I'm glad we persevered at home, cool weather and all.  And I think Mason is too.

First Day of K

Mason's first day of Kindergarten.... where do I begin?  Well, lets start with the picture.  It's a fuzzy mess.  I'd love to say it's my artistic impression of the blur that has been his life up to this point.  Alas, it's just my poor photography skills. (Can I just blame my camera?).  And this was the best of the several I tried to take to mark the occasion.  The kid just does not want to have his picture taken, and I hadn't thought enough ahead to buy something to bribe him into standing still.  On to the outfit. Yes, he's wearing a uniform.  I'm sure I've posted previously that we're sending Mason to a charter school.  Up to this point, Adam and I have been glad for the wardrobe requirements.  It certainly makes laying out clothes and getting dressed a little easier.  Hmmm, what's the weather going to be tomorrow? Oh, okay, short-sleeved shirt and pants it is then. 

Another part of the charter school experience is no busing.  I don't know how parents of 4-5 year-olds can load their kids on a bus and entrust they'll get to school and go to the correct classroom and not run away.  Adam isn't with me on this, but I'm glad we (he) drop Mason off each day.  Especially on the first day.  From the time we parked the car until we got back to it on our own, I had tears running down my cheeks.  It wasn't even something I could control, just a mommy's pride coming out the only way it knew how. 

 

So far, the Kindergarten experience has been a good one, except one little blip in the behavior last week. (Thanks a lot full moon.)  There are three kids in his class that were in his preschool, which I think made the transition exponentially better.  I'm looking forward to hearing about new friends and new experiences, and just watching our little man grow even more. 

Summer Round Up

It's hard to believe that summer is over already.  It seems like it flew by faster than ever before.  Adam worked every other weekend, so in effect we had half the summer most families did.  To make up for that, I took a Friday off each month so we'd have a few long weekends together as a family. 

The first long weekend was in conjunction with Mya's second birthday party.  The second long weekend we took a day trip up to Muskegon and went to Michigan's Adventure. And the last long weekend in August we went camping with my sister's family.

Megan and Dan had taken Julia camping since she was just a little baby, but this was both Mason and Mya's first times out in the "wilderness."  Thankfully Dan's parent's let us borrow their pop up (Megan and Dan also had one) so we weren't altogether roughing it.  The kids did surprisingly well, and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Highlights of the weekend included campfires and s'mores, Mya stealing Julia's ice cream cone and tubing down the river.  (Oh, and watching Grandpa try (and try, and try) to shoot some hoops.)  Earlier in the year, Megan and I had talked about making this an annual event, and given how successful it was, I have no doubt you'll be seeing posts about it for years to come.