Last year's summer break was much less of a break for me than I had hoped for. I was completely unprepared for what it meant to have a full time student (used to structure amd routime) home all day with a toddler (pretty much just run around, play with toys, read books). This year I know what I'm getting myself into... I think.
Both boys are a year older, wiser, smarter, and more responsible (and they fight like it too). I let Aiden 'choose' his summer activities to fill a few mornings a week, and Connor is pretty much happy with a tractor and some dirt, so he'll be good when, or if, it stops raining.
My expectations for completing projects this summer are a bit lower, but my expextations for enjoying the summer are MUCH higher. My plan is to use this blog to remember all the fun, naughty but humurous, and adorable things an almost 3 and almost 7 year old boy can get themselves into. (Oh, and a schedule LOL... or more so guidelines as to when they get to eat, watch tv, and have other screen time.)
This morning Aiden helped make waffles for breakfast, then the boys built a tent in the toy room. It has a toy room, living room, and the couch was the bed. They spent a good hour cramming as many toys in the toy room as possible, playing with said toys, and running out to tell me how cool their tent was.
This afternoon Aiden is hanging out at great grandma's most likely reading books, building lego spaceships, and showing off his bike riding skills.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Saturday, December 22, 2012
2012 in Review & Christmas eCard
So with trying to get everything with the shed and Mary Kay done in the last month, Christmas prep has been at the very back of my mind. Not that I mind that we are keeping the decor, shopping, and baking simple this year, it just feels like there's a lot I have been putting off until last minute. Christmas cards are definitely on that list! So here goes the traditional year in pictures...if you really want something to hang up with the cards, feel free to print!
We started off the new year by adding a four legged member to the family! Zoe is enjoying the fresh air, and has enough room to roam that she managed to catch (the world's dumbest) rabbit while hanging out on her zipline/dog run.
Kaylee & Connor Easter egg hunting in Nashua
(pics coming soon)
The shed is ALMOST done!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, and to all, a good night!!
January
February
two words pretty much sum it all up... SWAMP MUD!
March
A few pics from the boys' Tiny Tots contest photo shoot. Connor won the popular vote for his age group, and both boys had fun showing off their personalities!
April
May
Why yes, Connor did learn how to climb into the dryer...it's so much easier to clean the lint trap from the inside mom!
Aiden's class getting their new helmets from the Nashua Police Dept as part of the annual Bike Rodeo.
June
Aiden showing off the awesome cake we made for the Clancy Family Golf/Summer Birthday outing.
Connor found some gloves, and insisted on wearing them in the middle of June... at least they are the same color, and he didn't call them mamimal gloves :D
July
This was one busy month...
The boys got a new sandbox for their birthday.
We started work on a new shed/shop/office/party room.
Andrea attended Mary Kay seminar in Dallas (and yes, that is a Mary Kay Mustang!!)
Brian even got a birthday party all to himself (even if it was 1 day late)
August
We celebrated Great-Grandma Bev's birthday in style with a Hawaiian 80th Birthday Bash
Back to School..Aiden's first day of 1st grade.
September
Aiden got glasses...
...the shed got walls...
...and Connor got a dumptruck ride!
October
We welcomed a new cousin/nephew..baby Alex is definitely a keeper!
Trick-or-Treat! Make way for the firetruck, complete with a fire puppy.
November
Aiden is once again a Little Husky Wrestler
Andrea and 2 of her 4 Mary Kay team members celebrating her move up the career path!
December
Aiden's N-P Elementary Christmas Concert
(pics coming soon)
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, and to all, a good night!!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Farm, Fair, and Terrible Two's
I spent the 4th of July driving to meet my mom so the boys could spend a few days at the farm...vacation as Aiden called it. It had been HOT and the boys and I had pretty much been stuck inside for a week straight, so it kind of was a vacation for all of us!! The boys spent vacation in the pool, visiting great-grandma's, eating cheeseburgers and chicken strips, and being spoiled by their aunts. I spent 'vacation' cleaning the house (floors, closets, bathrooms, everything) and going shopping... by myself. I even got to try on clothes..by my self!!
Upon returning from vacation, Aiden discovered that mom's rules still existed, therefore I spent the first 2 days he was home being "mean". Of course once we had a little chat about 'mean' consequences, and 'nice' consequences, and how each is earned, thing went a little more smoothly.
The Chickasaw County 4-H Fair started yesterday, so we stopped in and walked through the barns and exhibit buildings yesterday. This morning was the cattle show, so I told Aiden we'd go and watch the show as for as long as his brother would put up with being stuck in a stroller. Aiden found a friend from his bus route to sit by (and of course talk to) and pretty soon they wanted to go look at the pigs, which turned into petting the sheep, then Aiden wanted to go see the horses too. He asked to walk through the cattle barn, but I refused to take a stroller into the cattle barn on show day.
As we were standing next to the show ring the Clover Kids leader asked Aiden when he was going to start 4-H. Well one thing led to another, and Aiden was convinced he needs...NEEDS...to show a bucket calf next year. If you know Aiden at all, you know this led to at least a 20 minute conversation at home going through the logistics of where it would live, when we could get it, how long we could keep it, whether or not we could keep it to make baby calves, how he would feed it and water it, the fact that he can't carry a 5 gallon bucket full of water so maybe he should use a hose to water it, and finally convincing him that he won't be able to show his bucket calf at the state fair this year. Of course we should probably check with daddy first to make sure its OK if we decide to raise a bucket calf (when corn will most likely be at the highest price in history, of all years)
On the way to the fair yesterday Aiden was trying to get Connor to tell him what a cow says... Aiden: "Connor, does a cow say moo?" Connor: "quack quack"... close Connor, very close. By the time we got home He had it figured out though. "cow says moooo"
And of course...today is Connor's 2nd Birthday!! We now have a Thing 2...officially in the Terrible Two's. He is getting his favorite dessert tonight, a giant cookie!! The boys got a 10'x10' sand box with a lid that folds up into seats for their birthday, so Connor had a bucket of sand toys waiting for him this morning when he came to the table. Aiden showed him how to use all the toys in the bucket before breakfast, and they spent at least an hour with them in the sandbox after breakfast before I herded them intro the car to go to the fair.
Upon returning from vacation, Aiden discovered that mom's rules still existed, therefore I spent the first 2 days he was home being "mean". Of course once we had a little chat about 'mean' consequences, and 'nice' consequences, and how each is earned, thing went a little more smoothly.
The Chickasaw County 4-H Fair started yesterday, so we stopped in and walked through the barns and exhibit buildings yesterday. This morning was the cattle show, so I told Aiden we'd go and watch the show as for as long as his brother would put up with being stuck in a stroller. Aiden found a friend from his bus route to sit by (and of course talk to) and pretty soon they wanted to go look at the pigs, which turned into petting the sheep, then Aiden wanted to go see the horses too. He asked to walk through the cattle barn, but I refused to take a stroller into the cattle barn on show day.
As we were standing next to the show ring the Clover Kids leader asked Aiden when he was going to start 4-H. Well one thing led to another, and Aiden was convinced he needs...NEEDS...to show a bucket calf next year. If you know Aiden at all, you know this led to at least a 20 minute conversation at home going through the logistics of where it would live, when we could get it, how long we could keep it, whether or not we could keep it to make baby calves, how he would feed it and water it, the fact that he can't carry a 5 gallon bucket full of water so maybe he should use a hose to water it, and finally convincing him that he won't be able to show his bucket calf at the state fair this year. Of course we should probably check with daddy first to make sure its OK if we decide to raise a bucket calf (when corn will most likely be at the highest price in history, of all years)
On the way to the fair yesterday Aiden was trying to get Connor to tell him what a cow says... Aiden: "Connor, does a cow say moo?" Connor: "quack quack"... close Connor, very close. By the time we got home He had it figured out though. "cow says moooo"
And of course...today is Connor's 2nd Birthday!! We now have a Thing 2...officially in the Terrible Two's. He is getting his favorite dessert tonight, a giant cookie!! The boys got a 10'x10' sand box with a lid that folds up into seats for their birthday, so Connor had a bucket of sand toys waiting for him this morning when he came to the table. Aiden showed him how to use all the toys in the bucket before breakfast, and they spent at least an hour with them in the sandbox after breakfast before I herded them intro the car to go to the fair.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
May Update
Its been 2 months since I've posted anything to this blog, so I figured I'd add a quick update!
I've been keeping myself busy the last couple months. I have been substitute teaching at the N-P High School since last fall, and with the last few weeks of school winding down I have also been putting in a few days at the middle school. The kids are all anxious for summer break, but it amazes me what that means at different ages!! The high schoolers seem to be in 'whatever happens to my grade happens, I'm outta here' mode, and the middle schoolers are just bouncing off the walls wishing they were anywhere but in school. And the elementary kids (ie Aiden) are just wishing they could go play outside all day!
My Mary Kay business has been keeping me very busy as I work toward my goal of becoming a Sales Director and driving a MK Career Car...for free. I have been meeting lots of wonderful new women and trying to soak in and apply everything my awesome director (and adopted director) has been teaching me. Of course applying it doesn't always go exactly as planned, but I've heard (and am now discovering for myself) that if you wait for all the stop lights to be green to move you'll never leave the driveway. So I'm taking one step at a time and doing my best to make my best better. I've found that for me, scheduling multiple parties in one day or evening works better. I can leave the house once, pack all my stuff up once, be all anxious about forgetting something once, miss supper and bedtime once, and meet twice as many women.
I have also been enjoying my time at MOPS in Charles City 2 Tuesdays a month, and I am VP for the Nashua Women of Today this year (which means I just need to be at meetings and do whatever our wonderful and on top of it Pres tells me to do!!)
Aiden has 1 week of kindergarten left, and by 1 week, I mean he has a field trip, a fun day, an awards program, and a little kindergarten left this year! I think the elementary teachers have figured out that if the kids are going to be all wound up anyway, you might as well squeeze in all the miscellaneous activities that throw the kids out of routine into the last 3 weeks of school. Last week they had their spring concert, and Aiden even had a solo in one of the kindergarten songs (ask him to sing it for you sometime). Yesterday was the bike rodeo, and Aiden did great once one of the officers helped him get started on his new bike (he's still growing into it almost a year later) Next time we'll take him with us to pick out a new bike!
I've lost track of how many fish he has caught, but (thankfully) they haven't been big enough to keep and cook yet. Aiden loves to take Zoe down to the pond and let her run around chasing whatever it is that by the pond, and he does great running with her when she's on her leash. He has grown up a lot this past year and has become an even better helper with projects. Last weekend Brian & his dad planted trees and Aiden did an awesome job of watering all 100 trees when they finished, and he planted almost all the seeds for our vegetable garden yesterday after school while I chased Connor around.
Connor keeps growing too. He has learned that word that 2 year olds love so much...no! He even shakes his head when he says it if he really doesn't want to do something. He's becoming much more particular about what goes on around him. The clothes he wears, what he has for breakfast, which doors should be open or closed. We have finally found something that he is willing to sit for... books!! Especially when he is getting tired he'll grab a book and say 'read' and climb into the comfy chair. Of course it has to be the book HE picked out and the chair he chooses to sit in though. He really seems to like going to daycare while I'm at school and a couple mornings while I work on my to-do list since there is no accomplishing anything but playing trucks and Lego's when he's home. There are other kids his age to play with and he is definitely becoming more independent. He cried this morning because he had to leave Vickie's, he used to cry when he had to stay!
Brian is loving the warmer weather and the fact that they haven't been working more than 20 minutes from home all month. Our weekly menu usually has something grilled at least a couple nights a week and after the boys go to bed he'll head down to the pond to go fishing while I work in the office. The lack of beverages on the hour drive home from work and being able to be outside more has definitely made a difference in his waistline. Somehow I can workout 3 days a week for 6 months and not lose more than a couple pounds, but he can drop almost 20 in a couple months by sleeping in longer!
(Yes, I know its 80% diet, 20% exercise, I'm just not ready to give up food) I have however added a couple more days of running trying to get ready to run a 5k in Des Moines for Dam to Dam. And I am attempting to stick to the BodyByVi shakes once a day, but it kinda goes back to that whole food thing...
OK, so this is a bit longer than a quick update, and I've got stuff to do while Connor is napping, so
The End
I've been keeping myself busy the last couple months. I have been substitute teaching at the N-P High School since last fall, and with the last few weeks of school winding down I have also been putting in a few days at the middle school. The kids are all anxious for summer break, but it amazes me what that means at different ages!! The high schoolers seem to be in 'whatever happens to my grade happens, I'm outta here' mode, and the middle schoolers are just bouncing off the walls wishing they were anywhere but in school. And the elementary kids (ie Aiden) are just wishing they could go play outside all day!
My Mary Kay business has been keeping me very busy as I work toward my goal of becoming a Sales Director and driving a MK Career Car...for free. I have been meeting lots of wonderful new women and trying to soak in and apply everything my awesome director (and adopted director) has been teaching me. Of course applying it doesn't always go exactly as planned, but I've heard (and am now discovering for myself) that if you wait for all the stop lights to be green to move you'll never leave the driveway. So I'm taking one step at a time and doing my best to make my best better. I've found that for me, scheduling multiple parties in one day or evening works better. I can leave the house once, pack all my stuff up once, be all anxious about forgetting something once, miss supper and bedtime once, and meet twice as many women.
I have also been enjoying my time at MOPS in Charles City 2 Tuesdays a month, and I am VP for the Nashua Women of Today this year (which means I just need to be at meetings and do whatever our wonderful and on top of it Pres tells me to do!!)
Aiden has 1 week of kindergarten left, and by 1 week, I mean he has a field trip, a fun day, an awards program, and a little kindergarten left this year! I think the elementary teachers have figured out that if the kids are going to be all wound up anyway, you might as well squeeze in all the miscellaneous activities that throw the kids out of routine into the last 3 weeks of school. Last week they had their spring concert, and Aiden even had a solo in one of the kindergarten songs (ask him to sing it for you sometime). Yesterday was the bike rodeo, and Aiden did great once one of the officers helped him get started on his new bike (he's still growing into it almost a year later) Next time we'll take him with us to pick out a new bike!
I've lost track of how many fish he has caught, but (thankfully) they haven't been big enough to keep and cook yet. Aiden loves to take Zoe down to the pond and let her run around chasing whatever it is that by the pond, and he does great running with her when she's on her leash. He has grown up a lot this past year and has become an even better helper with projects. Last weekend Brian & his dad planted trees and Aiden did an awesome job of watering all 100 trees when they finished, and he planted almost all the seeds for our vegetable garden yesterday after school while I chased Connor around.
Connor keeps growing too. He has learned that word that 2 year olds love so much...no! He even shakes his head when he says it if he really doesn't want to do something. He's becoming much more particular about what goes on around him. The clothes he wears, what he has for breakfast, which doors should be open or closed. We have finally found something that he is willing to sit for... books!! Especially when he is getting tired he'll grab a book and say 'read' and climb into the comfy chair. Of course it has to be the book HE picked out and the chair he chooses to sit in though. He really seems to like going to daycare while I'm at school and a couple mornings while I work on my to-do list since there is no accomplishing anything but playing trucks and Lego's when he's home. There are other kids his age to play with and he is definitely becoming more independent. He cried this morning because he had to leave Vickie's, he used to cry when he had to stay!
Brian is loving the warmer weather and the fact that they haven't been working more than 20 minutes from home all month. Our weekly menu usually has something grilled at least a couple nights a week and after the boys go to bed he'll head down to the pond to go fishing while I work in the office. The lack of beverages on the hour drive home from work and being able to be outside more has definitely made a difference in his waistline. Somehow I can workout 3 days a week for 6 months and not lose more than a couple pounds, but he can drop almost 20 in a couple months by sleeping in longer!
(Yes, I know its 80% diet, 20% exercise, I'm just not ready to give up food) I have however added a couple more days of running trying to get ready to run a 5k in Des Moines for Dam to Dam. And I am attempting to stick to the BodyByVi shakes once a day, but it kinda goes back to that whole food thing...
OK, so this is a bit longer than a quick update, and I've got stuff to do while Connor is napping, so
The End
Monday, March 12, 2012
Spring "Break"
Aiden has a full week off for spring break, and I am surprisingly looking forward to it this year! I dreaded Christmas break, my expectations for Thanksgiving break were none too high. But after the 4 day weekend Aiden had for kindergarten round-up, I realized that with Connor getting more an more social and mobile (vertically and with more ground speed) I realized that having a big brother home to keep Connor from tearing the house apart is actually quite helpful!! Of course I won't be getting any phone calls made or appointments held most of the day, but just NOT having to put away all the stuff Connor pulls out of drawers for 3 days gets me a long way ahead on house cleaning!!
It also helps that Aiden has 'homework' to keep him occupied for a while, the boys have pictures scheduled tomorrow morning to break up the day, and Wednesday we are going to Waterloo then meeting my mom so Aiden can go to the farm for a couple days before the rest of us head to Carroll/Ames for the Annual Clancy Family Spring Birthday Bowling Bash.
Oh, and then there is the bathroom project that Brian's parents are working on. Aiden loves to help with anything he can. He would have swept up the saw dust up 10 times yesterday if we had let him, and Saturday he made at LEAST 5 trips downs the steps helping empty out the linen cabinet!!
Add to all that the fact that it will be 70+ this week, Brian is no longer working an hour away (they actually have plenty of jobs lined up all summer that are within 10 miles of our house YAY!!), and I had an awesome week in my Mary Kay business last week, and its easy to see why I am actually looking forward to Spring "Break"!!
It also helps that Aiden has 'homework' to keep him occupied for a while, the boys have pictures scheduled tomorrow morning to break up the day, and Wednesday we are going to Waterloo then meeting my mom so Aiden can go to the farm for a couple days before the rest of us head to Carroll/Ames for the Annual Clancy Family Spring Birthday Bowling Bash.
Oh, and then there is the bathroom project that Brian's parents are working on. Aiden loves to help with anything he can. He would have swept up the saw dust up 10 times yesterday if we had let him, and Saturday he made at LEAST 5 trips downs the steps helping empty out the linen cabinet!!
Add to all that the fact that it will be 70+ this week, Brian is no longer working an hour away (they actually have plenty of jobs lined up all summer that are within 10 miles of our house YAY!!), and I had an awesome week in my Mary Kay business last week, and its easy to see why I am actually looking forward to Spring "Break"!!
Monday, January 30, 2012
A new addition to the family!
On Saturday we welcomed another member to the Sullivan family. No...I haven't been hiding a prego belly for 9 months. We adopted Zoe, a 3 year old Golden Retriever (sorry, I don't have any pictures uploaded yet). Her previous owners are going through the process of selling their house, and decided Zoe needed a home where she could have some more room to run, and Camp Swampy has plenty of that.
We picked her up in Ames on Saturday and brought her back in her carrier in the back of the truck. She did pretty well for a 2 hour drive, but she was ready to be out when we got her home. After a quick tour of the yard Brian had her house set up and ready for the night. She wasn't too sure about the food, the water, or the new house we gave her, but she did pretty well for her first night in the country.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church, and on the way back we were going to stop at Brian's parents. I suggested we stop and get Zoe and I'd walk her up through the woods. I got a surprise when I opened the door to get out...Zoe had gotten her collar off and ran right up to meet me! Fortunately she had decided to stay by the door we came in and out of while we were getting her stuff set up the night before and didn't just take off to try to get 'home'.
We were told she is 'high energy' and that she certainly is! We are working on teaching her not to jump up on people and so far she is doing very well with Brian and I. A game of fetch the frisbee looked like it went pretty well despite the crunchy snow slowing Zoe down a bit, and it kept Aiden and Connor entertained from inside the house. Aiden REALLY wanted to go out and play with her too, but he had chosen not to listen to Brian most of the afternoon, so inside he stayed.
Connor loves to say 'puppy, puppy' whenever he hears her bark or sees her out the window, but he just screams when she gets too close... even through the patio door!
Today I was on dog duty, and luckily it was almost 50 degrees out this afternoon. She is going to give me quite the workout this spring/summer...she loves to run and kept looking back at me like 'why are we moving sooo slow?' I know she would have loved to be off her leash, but I'm as new to having a dog as she is to being in the country, so we played it safe.
Night time seems to be the biggest adjustment, both for us getting used to sleeping though a dog barking, and her getting used to being out in the country sleeping in a new house.
We picked her up in Ames on Saturday and brought her back in her carrier in the back of the truck. She did pretty well for a 2 hour drive, but she was ready to be out when we got her home. After a quick tour of the yard Brian had her house set up and ready for the night. She wasn't too sure about the food, the water, or the new house we gave her, but she did pretty well for her first night in the country.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church, and on the way back we were going to stop at Brian's parents. I suggested we stop and get Zoe and I'd walk her up through the woods. I got a surprise when I opened the door to get out...Zoe had gotten her collar off and ran right up to meet me! Fortunately she had decided to stay by the door we came in and out of while we were getting her stuff set up the night before and didn't just take off to try to get 'home'.
We were told she is 'high energy' and that she certainly is! We are working on teaching her not to jump up on people and so far she is doing very well with Brian and I. A game of fetch the frisbee looked like it went pretty well despite the crunchy snow slowing Zoe down a bit, and it kept Aiden and Connor entertained from inside the house. Aiden REALLY wanted to go out and play with her too, but he had chosen not to listen to Brian most of the afternoon, so inside he stayed.
Connor loves to say 'puppy, puppy' whenever he hears her bark or sees her out the window, but he just screams when she gets too close... even through the patio door!
Today I was on dog duty, and luckily it was almost 50 degrees out this afternoon. She is going to give me quite the workout this spring/summer...she loves to run and kept looking back at me like 'why are we moving sooo slow?' I know she would have loved to be off her leash, but I'm as new to having a dog as she is to being in the country, so we played it safe.
Night time seems to be the biggest adjustment, both for us getting used to sleeping though a dog barking, and her getting used to being out in the country sleeping in a new house.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Atleast one of us had a productive day...
I had surprisingly productive days on Monday & Tuesday. I made my list of most important things to do for the day (probably why I had productive days) and actually crossed off most of the items both days.
Yesterday Connor seemed to have different plans for my to-do list. The #1 item: deep clean the kitchen. Get rid of piles of papers, mop, clean off appliances, everything. I also had a list of Mary Kay to-do's I wanted to get done so I could relax after Brian got home from work.
Connor's to-do list looked a little different:
1. Learn how to climb on barstools so I can reach the piles mom is trying to sort out.
2. Discover I can escape the confines of the jacuzzi tub while mom is taking a shower.
(mom note: he got 0 points for dismount on that one, no more waiting to take my shower until after Brian leaves for work)
3. Throw off mom's schedule by demanding lunch early and requiring a nap before 11:00am
4. Find out that I can get into Aiden's room by opening the bathroom door.
5. Figure out I can get into the bathroom by opening my closet door.
6. When all else fails dump out every bucket of toys I own.
When Brian got home from work I had crossed NOTHING off my to-do list, and Connor had accomplished EVERYTHING on his!!
Yesterday Connor seemed to have different plans for my to-do list. The #1 item: deep clean the kitchen. Get rid of piles of papers, mop, clean off appliances, everything. I also had a list of Mary Kay to-do's I wanted to get done so I could relax after Brian got home from work.
Connor's to-do list looked a little different:
1. Learn how to climb on barstools so I can reach the piles mom is trying to sort out.
2. Discover I can escape the confines of the jacuzzi tub while mom is taking a shower.
(mom note: he got 0 points for dismount on that one, no more waiting to take my shower until after Brian leaves for work)
3. Throw off mom's schedule by demanding lunch early and requiring a nap before 11:00am
4. Find out that I can get into Aiden's room by opening the bathroom door.
5. Figure out I can get into the bathroom by opening my closet door.
6. When all else fails dump out every bucket of toys I own.
When Brian got home from work I had crossed NOTHING off my to-do list, and Connor had accomplished EVERYTHING on his!!
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