Pumpkin Carving

We carved our pumpkins on Monday evening in what I will say was the most calm and successful pumpkin carving attempt we've ever had. Of course, I do realize that as the kids get older, things like this will just get easier and easier. But, for instance, Connor did pretty much all of his on his own. He cleaned it out, came up with the design and cut out most of the design all on his own. It's Darth Vader, in case you are wondering. Now, Isla's creation, though successful, wasn't without a few bumps in the road. She wanted to do a cat and drew on what she wanted. The problem was, there would be no space for light to come through anywhere except the nose. I convinced her to make the whiskers larger, so light would come through, and after she did the first one, she declared her pumpkin ruined and ran off. I continued to finish the whiskers and she came back just as I was starting on making the nose larger. And that's when she said it actually looked good...haha! She then got back in the spirit and helped with the eyes. So, all was well in the end. Now Callum, he had a zest for anything sharp and I had a great fear that the sharp object in his hand would somehow end up cutting me. We settled on him enjoying himself with a poker and his pumpkin has about 500 micro holes all over it that you cannot see. But when my brother came over on Tuesday, Callum proudly declared to him "I make holes!" so I will call that a win. 

Now for a bunch of photos of the actual pumpkin carving. 

^^ I tried getting Callum to hold the pumpkin piece up to his mouth, but all he was actually doing was biting the back!

^^ He kept going back for more, so it must not have tasted bad. 

^^ If you look close, you can see her original drawing that she wanted to do. 

^^ Happier now that the cat pumpkin is back on track.

You can also find me on:

bloglovin // instagram // pinterest

A Day Out with Thomas

Over the weekend we went and did a day out with Thomas. It's basically a train ride with Thomas and Percy pulling the train and a bunch of activities to go along with it. Think meeting the characters, toy trains to play with, bounce houses, coloring, face painting, etc. I booked the tickets like two months ago and Callum has been consistently talking about it for several days now. He was very excited. The other two acted like they thought it was lame, but enjoyed it once we were there. Maybe that's their grown up, cool kid attitudes coming through. 

On the train ride itself, we booked the car that was closest to Thomas. Because it took so long to get our picture taken with Thomas, we were one of the last people on the train and our car was super full. We managed to awkwardly squeeze in places...I say awkwardly because we asked one lady if she could scoot down to make more space for us and she flat out said no and most people just stared at us, rather thank helping make room by moving their bags or scooting closer to other people. But the train started and all was good. A few minutes into the train ride, I realized two cars up was virtually empty. Like there were literally maybe 10 people on it, so we moved to that car and the rest of the train ride was MUCH more enjoyable. Some other people followed suit too because a practically empty car is just way better than a jam packed one, no matter how close to Thomas the full one is! The kids spent most of the train ride dancing along to the music and just having fun. 

After the train ride, we went and met Percy. Then we went and met Sir Topham Hatt, who Callum refused to get anywhere near, even when he tried interacting with Callum. Then we did a bunch of the activities before calling it a day and heading home. The biggest hit was the temporary tattoo station. The older two at first acted too cool to get some train tattoos, but once Callum went for it, all three of them went back for more, before I finally cut them off. Callum was definitely very excited for his train tattoos. It was really cute. 

Now be prepared for a bit of a photo overload. But at least I warmed you, right?

^^ Callum was super into collecting rocks the whole time. He stored them in his pocket and would repeatedly pull them out and line them up before putting them back in his pocket again. 

^^ Proudly showing off one of his tattoos

You can also find me on:

bloglovin // instagram // pinterest

Crazy Hair Day

^^ A true representation of how my children feel about pictures, Connor being goofy and Isla doing her signature pose. 

Usually I don't really do anything for dress up days at the kids school. Sure I will try to find the necessary items around the house, but I don't get into it like some other parents and go out and buy things for the occasion. I would like to say that it's because I don't have the time or energy, but really it's because I don't have the will. #truth Anyway, the kids had crazy hair day on Tuesday. I thought they would think it was cool to spray a color in their hair and I was totally right. I took Isla to the store on Monday night and she picked out light blue and glitter hair spray, which worked out, as Connor said he wanted light blue. Isla wanted pigtails and a braid, so that is what she has, though you really can't tell from the pictures. Connor went with a mohawk to go with his blue hair. The funny part was he had me spray Isla's hair first before committing to if he really wanted me to spray his hair. Haha! Smart kid. But he went for it. It was also crazy socks day, hence Connor's socks. 

I have to say, the money I spent on the hair color really was worth it because the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. Connor even asked if he could leave it in for the next day, but 1. his hair was destroyed at the end of the day and 2. I told him I am pretty sure it is against the school rules to come with crazy colored hair every day...or at least it was when I was a kid. But things have changed since then, so who really knows. 

I'm glad they had fun and I'm even more glad the hair color ended up being really easy to wash out. 

You can also find me on:

bloglovin // instagram // pinterest

A Lost Tooth at School

^^ Isla is full of her own pose ideas these days and holding up seven fingers was totally her idea. It was cute.

Isla lost her SEVENTH tooth at school yesterday. I remember from my childhood how cool it was to loose a tooth at school, so I was excited for her. She lost it at lunchtime and got to go to the office to get a tooth necklace to store it in and everything. She was VERY EXCITED when I picked her up at school.

Isla spent some time writing the tooth fairy a letter to leave with her tooth. She even included for the tooth fairy to take good care of her tooth. It really was cute and the type of thing I just eat up as a mom. Then, she put it under a pillow at the foot of her bed and was sure to remind me numerous times to tell the tooth fairy...which in her defense, the tooth fairy has forgotten numerous times at our house in the past! Then Connor wanted to play tooth fairy, which was adorable and comical all at the same time. I told him he couldn't wait until she was asleep, but he could write a note for me to place. All on his own, he came up with a rather witty note. He said the tooth fairy was going to leave a million dollars, but was low on cash, so could only leave seven. We leave a dollar for the number of tooth lost (it's her seventh lost tooth, so seven dollars). Then he included that the tooth fairy would take good care of her tooth and a picture of the tooth fairy destroying the tooth...because, after all, he is the older brother!

Isla woke this morning and the first thing she did was look under the pillow at the foot of her bed. She found the money and the note and was super excited. It was all very cute.

Rain!?

About a week or so ago we had this weird substance fall from the sky. It would have really puzzled us had we not encountered the same stuff on our vacation this past summer. Because, you see, it really just doesn't rain enough here in Modesto...which is obviously the reason California is perpetually in a drought! 

Well, my kids were pretty dang excited for the couple hours of rain we got. They instantly ran into the backyard to play. In fact, Callum played for so long, we finally had to drag him in for dinner. But they, Callum especially, had oh so much fun running and biking around in the rain. 

I personally enjoy rain myself and wish we got more of it. When we do get it, it usually just lasts for a couple hours. And I feel totally jipped when it only rains at night and I miss the whole thing. I enjoy being able to cuddle up at home during a dreary day, then bundling up in our gear when we have to go out somewhere in it. My poor wellies sit sadly in my closet much of the year, completely unused. 

But for a couple hours on a day in October, we had rain. Hopefully it won't let months and months pass again before it makes an appearance. 

You can also find me on:

bloglovin // instagram // pinterest

Isla {seven years}

It almost feels harder to put into words just who my kids are as they get older. Isla is so very much her own person. She is friendly, loves hatchimals and shopkins, little tomatoes are her favorite and she refuses to wear jeans (or jean shorts for that matter). She is excelling at school, though seems to enjoy talking in class. She plays with both her brothers and seems fine with the fact that she is surrounded by boys (all our neighbors around her age are boys too). She still does dance (a ballet/tap combo class) and enjoys reading Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious books. 

Isla really is a social butterfly. She can be shy with adults, but never seems that way with kids her age. She can make friends almost instantly at any park or play place. This may be because she enjoys talking so much...and always has something to say. Other kids in her dance class have complained when she is by friends in class because she talks too much...hahaha! And, no joke, I have looked in the class far too many times and seen the class stopped, everyone looking at Isla as she tells some sort of story. 

Isla is great at playing by herself and has a vivid imagination. She sets her hatchimals up as a school classroom and gets to teaching. Her stuffed animals are also very important to her. Play is so important to her at school that she skips eating her snack at snack recess and often doesn't eat lunch either. This usually means she is opening her still full lunchbox as soon as I pick her up and digging in. She is still a picky eater, but eats well if you give her things she likes. Things like Hawaiian rolls, tomatoes, yogurt, grapes, and veggie straws are her jam. She used to refuse to drink milk, but will now drink that, and depending on her mood will eat meat from time to time. 

Isla definitely has an opinion about what she wears. If she doesn't like something, she won't wear it. She basically refuses to wear anything but leggings on bottom, so sports a lot of tunics and dresses with her leggings. She seems to enjoy things being more colorful, rather than less. She even has a strong opinion on her hair. She wants it long and basically refuses to have it cut. She also doesn't like having it pulled back and prefers to just wear it down. 

Now here's a little interview to get life as a seven year old from her perspective. 

What is your favorite:

     color - indigo

     food - edamame

     drink - lemonade 

     ice cream - mint chocolate chip

     toy - my phone (insert all the eye rolls here)

     book - The Magic Treehouse

     song - Drops in the Ocean & I'll Never Be Quiet

     tv show - Glitter Force

     movie - Harry Potter

     thing to do - play

     game - tetherball

     sport - jump rope

     animal - I like all of them

Who is your best friend? all of them

What do you like doing with them? play lots of things

Where did you meet them? lots of places

What is your favorite thing about school? PE

What do you enjoy learning the most? math

What do you like to do on the playground? play

Who do you play with at school? most of the people in my class

What is your favorite thing about yourself? That I'm a girl

Three things that makes you special:

     1. I'm the only girl kid

     2. I'm the middle of all the ages (I.e. the middle child)

     3. My name is really pretty

Isla wanted to add the following question:

What is your favorite plant? Lily and daisy

So there you have it. Isla obviously enjoys playing, but could never specifically tell me what beyond "lots of things". She refused to name best friends, as she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings...even when I reassured her I was sure none of her friends would be reading this. I laughed that her favorite toy is her phone, as she doesn't get to play on it during the week at all and when we do let her play on it, all she does is watch Netflix. And, well, just yesterday she was complaining to me about being the only girl child and today it makes her special. So, we shall see how she feels about all that when the baby comes and we know if it's a boy or girl! 

I feel like there has just become so many years to look back on to link them all, but a couple of my favorites are when she was a sassy little 3 year old and had an adorable toothless grin at 6 months old. 

You can also find me on:

bloglovin // instagram // pinterest

Pumpkin Love

We went and picked out pumpkins yesterday. I really just wanted to get some to decorate our front porch and mantle, but was surprised the kids were excited to pick some out as well. Connor and Isla each picked out a pumpkin for carving and we picked one out for Callum as well. Of course, they wanted to carve them yesterday and were a bit bummed when I explained we have to wait a couple weeks because otherwise the pumpkins will go bad before halloween. 

Isla spent a bunch of time selecting the perfect little white pumpkins to make a snowman out of and has been obsessed with it ever since...including showering with it last night and asking that we make clothes for each of the little pumpkins! It was a quick and easy trip. One in which Callum quickly lost interest in the pumpkins and instead wanted to explore the farm...check out the tractors and look at the animals. But this was an actual farm, just with a pumpkin stand set up on the side of the road, so not exactly the perfect spot for Callum to just run free, but he still had fun and the farmer was nice enough to let him drive her gator. 

you can also find me on:

bloglovin // instagram // pinterest 

No Longer Contained

So this happened, two weeks ago now, but I am obviously awful at posting lately. I'm not going to lie, I was sort of hoping by taking the side off Callum's crib, the clouds would part, the sun would come out and he would instantly sleep perfectly. Well, that didn't happen. In fact, nothing has changed in his bedtime routine or sleep since doing so. Well...except when we forget to close the baby gate on his door, I am creepily awoken at 2am by a toddler excitedly staring at my face saying "I here mama! I here!" Yep, that's now happened a couple times. And honestly, I haven't decided if I prefer him calling out for us or him just coming to my bed. Obviously us going into his room and getting him back to sleep in his bed is more ideal, but throwing him into our bed with us sure is convenient. And, just to be clear, the baby gate on his room has nothing to do with keeping him in while he sleeps. It started out as giving him a safe place to play if I am taking a shower or something. But it's also convenient when he won't stop bugging his brother and sister or something as well, haha!

I actually started shoving the chair that is in Callum's room up against the side of his bed so he can't roll out, but can still easily crawl out the end, as it only blocks about half or so of the side of his bed. It works well, as he hasn't fallen out of bed once.

My hope is to have Callum and Connor sharing a room sometime in the next few months. I am thinking it won't be too far off, as I've noticed Callum isn't as eager to go to sleep at night, which we've always put him in bed before the older two, but I am thinking times are a changing with that. That's actually the reason I didn't switch the crib to a toddler bed (we have a footboard that makes the crib a toddler bed), as I was thinking he will be in the bunkbed with Connor soonish. We shall see.

you can also find me on:

bloglovin // instagram // pinterest