A Preschooler or a Teenager?

Connor has never really battled me with the whole clothing thing. Sure he would prefer a minion shirt, but for the most part does well. If he gets mad, it lasts all of 17 seconds. But, to be honest, he is the kid that doesn't really throw fits and I can generally talk "off the cliff". Isla is the total and complete opposite of Connor. She had a 45 minute meltdown the other day over a hair bow. A HAIR BOW!!! And it wasn't even that I wouldn't let her wear the bow she wanted. It was that it wouldn't stay in her hair the way she wanted and she didn't want to listen to me on how to make it work. It was drama. Like serious drama. I would like to say that this was a one time thing, but stuff like this happens all the time with her. And it is always related to clothes/shoes/hair. She even has an opinion about her pajamas! Her teacher complained to me about the shoes Isla wore to school the other day. I just smiled and said I wouldn't send her to school in those shoes again. But, I really wanted to tell the teacher how Isla stripped down naked as I was rounding up the kids to leave for school. How she insisted on wearing a princess dress and princess shoes and I wouldn't let her. How I let her pick anything in her wardrobe that she wanted to wear just so we could get to school. So the shoes she picked are a size too big and kept falling off. I was picking and choosing my battles that morning and had already been through a big one. But I didn't say any of that. I just smiled.

So, any moms out there have any advice on getting through this phase? Picking clothes out the night before doesn't work because she changes her mind constantly. She is like a teenager already! And all my relatives just laugh and say I am getting what I dished out as a kid. Thanks…and not helpful at all. Any advice? Or at least an understanding hug?


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What Can I say, We Love the Rain

I know what you are thinking, "I have never known anyone to document every single time it rains!?" Well, now you know me. Be happy we are in a drought and it doesn't rain that much. Actually don't be happy about the drought. Not only does it truly suck, but if it rained all the time, it may actually get mundane to me and I would stop posting about it every time it happened. Notice I said I would stop posting about it…I didn't say I would stop sending the kids out to play in it or stop taking pictures of them doing so…because, well, I am a rain lover.  

Yesterday it started raining so hard that I hurried the kids to the front door to check it out. Immediately Connor got decked out in his rain gear. It was POURING. The kind where immediately everything is flooding. Even the patio wasn't safe. In the middle of this madness, Connor just slowly walked and watched. After a few minutes, he said he was ready to come inside. He was soaked. Then Isla was ready for some fun. She plays different than Connor. She trudged through the puddles that had so quickly formed in the planters. She took the umbrella and turned it upside down under the overflowing rain gutter. She kicked water. She held her hands in the air and tried to catch it. She stayed out in the rain much longer than Connor…though admittedly, it had slowed down into a normal rain by that point. 

These kids. I love that they are up for an adventure. I love that they don't care if they get soaking wet. I love that they just play, the way they each individually want to play, until they are done. I hope they never lose the love of playing in the rain.


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6/52

Connor: He definitely isn't a healthy eater by nature. But with oranges in season, he has been eating them by the truckload and I will take what little food victories I can.  

Isla: She loves dressing up in her princess dresses, but whenever anyone calls her a princess, she always says, "No, I not a princess, I Isla." And she totally rocked this get up, along with the little plastic princess heels when we picked Connor up from school on Friday. I kind of loved watching everyone look at her and get huge smiles on their faces. What's not to love about crazy dressed kids?! 


"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."



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The Back Room Renovation

We have so many plans for our house, but everything takes time and money. And I have quickly learned that I am a ball of stress when work is being done on our house, so for my own sanity (and Ian's) it's probably important that we spread out the love. This small reno that we had done to our back room is just the beginning of our plans for back there. Eventually, half of it will be turned into a master suite and the bathroom would be completely torn out and redone, with the entrance to it being in the master bedroom. But lets not get ahead of ourselves because that is a bit off…even if we did already buy the flooring for that project, so it will match what we just put down in half the room.

Let's start with a quick before and after picture form the same view. The before picture is actually from when we were in escrow almost 4 years ago, but it still gives you an idea of what things looked like.


We ripped out the bar and had a small laundry room put in. We also had all the wood paneling on the walls ripped out and replaced. The moldings were all replaced, as well as the flooring in half the room. We decided to paint all the walls that were touched with the grey that the main parts of the rest of the house are painted (kitchen, living room, dining room, entrance and bathroom) with the intention that we will eventually paint the rest of the room that color.

After debating about what kind of door we wanted on the laundry room (normal door, folding closet doors), we decided not to do anything and I made a curtain instead. I am really happy with that because it is super easy to use. Except for the first time, when I didn't put the bar up tight enough and it came down and hit me on the head, it has worked out great. Plus, I love the extra pop of color the curtain adds.

 ^^ This is the view from the kitchen


^^ Ian thought adding the rug made it look a bit living room-ish, but I liked it, so yeah. That big picture hanging up was Ian's Christmas present this past year. It is a picture of "the shore" in Edinburgh and happens to be where we lived. Our exact building is just out of the frame, but you can see our bus stop that we used every day in this picture and that's kind of fun.


I've never shown pictures of the kids playroom before, but here it is. It is actually the room in the house that gets changed the most often. I am rearranging it all the time. The couch has been against every wall (or non wall) in that room. When we moved in, even after Isla was born, this room was completely empty. It didn't get any furniture until our neighbor moved and gave us her couch…which Ian said we probably need to replace soon. That thing is an eye sore, but it is literally the most comfortable couch ever. In the right corner, behind the cabinets, is my desk (and random stuff storage) area. 


^^ This table and chairs was actually mine as a kid. I painted the chairs, but never got around to painting the table…which really could use a fresh coat of white paint on it. But, I must say, that paint looks good from being from the 80's!



I put up the decorations on the ceiling over a year ago. I originally set out to made one banner to hang across the room to give it some flair. It hung too low, so I tacked it up in the middle. Then I decided to add another one. Well, then there was a middle point that was just screaming to have something dangling from it, so of course I added a pompom. Ian has always thought it is a little over the top. I have always loved it…but lets be honest, I am a little over the top.

So there you have it, our little project completed. It was supposed to take 3 days and ended up taking 9 (well, they did take one day off in there). We lost power in the back of the house for a couple days and didn't have a working washer and dryer for more than a week. But, it's all behind us and I am super happy with how it turned out.


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Exploring


My kids are always a little leery when I ask if they want to go on an adventure.  I don't know if it is because my idea of an adventure and their idea of an adventure don't always match up or because I tend to sing it…"We're gonna go, go, go, go on an adventure…" Needless to say, when I brought up an adventure on Saturday, Connor gave me the stink eye. That is until I bribed him with ice cream. Well, I actually told him that we were going to go exploring at the place we always get ice cream at when we are done and he was sold. He grabbed his compass so we wouldn't get lost, and away we went.


Little did we know that instead of being all sunny in the hills like it normally is, it was actually fogged in. But we still had a great time. Both kids were digging running around on the trails and climbing up rocks. Connor constantly wanted to know what way we were pointing and what was that direction. "I know we are pointing east, but what is that direction?" Isla always proves herself to be a bit of a daredevil in situations like this, while Connor is the cautious one holding her back from leaping to her death…when really she is far from close to the edge.

^^ Taken by Connor 


Connor has been really interested in my camera lately. So I put the strap on his wrist and let him give it a go for a few minutes. He took a few pictures of us, then went to town taking pictures of the scenery in all the different directions. I kind of love that he is getting into taking pictures.  

^^ Having a little daddy-daughter moment there 

I always enjoy getting outside and exploring with the kids and they always enjoy getting outside. I would love to live on some land where they could go exploring everyday. In the mean time, we will take off to the hills and let them get their fix that way. And, true to my word, we got ice cream in Knights Ferry on the way home.


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A Party for Dads

The kids preschool does a superbowl party for dads. Moms get the mother's day tea, but father's day doesn't happen during school, so a superbowl party it is. And to properly tell the story, I really need to start off with me dropping off the kids at school. Parents sign up for things to bring to the party. Both kids were carrying in their items when I dropped them off. We started in Connor's class and his teachers said Isla could leave her juice in there too, since it was a combined party for all the classes. She didn't really want to leave it, but she did. Well, about halfway to her class, she started crying about the juice, but she calmed down. When we got to her class, she refused to go in and was going crazy over the juice. Her teachers were trying to tell her it was ok, but she wasn't having it. Finally, I walked her back down to Connor's class and got the juice. As soon as we walked out of his class, she said, "I got the juice for my teachers." She was so proud of herself. And once she had the juice, she happily walked into her class and gave it to her teachers.


Obviously I wasn't at the party, but being the great woman that I am, I grilled Ian for all the details. The party went well. The kids had fun. They were sat with another dad that has kids in both Connor and Isla's classes. All went well until it was time to leave. Isla tells me she didn't want to leave. Ian said it was awkward because they were the last ones there and Isla was taking forever in a day to eat her cupcake...this has happened at school parties before. Anyway, Isla ran away in the parking lot because she didn't want to leave. She got in trouble. She was crying on the way home and went hysterical when she realized Ian forgot her cat sweater (pictured above) at school. Meanwhile, I was at home, eagerly waiting my family to get home so I could take adorable pictures of them. 


That didn't happen so much. This was the only one I got. Isla was running away crying because she wanted to be back at school. It was a hard environment for pictures. Oh well. At least the party went well.

^^ Isla's flag. Painted by her on front and a picture of her on back. 


^^ The back of Connor's flag. 


And here's a little video of all the kids singing the dad song at the party. Isla is on the front right, wearing a green and white shirt. Connor's head is peaking out of the top row, middle left, wearing a grey shirt. 


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5/52

Connor: I am so proud of this kid, starting to face his fears. He is already talking about swimming lessons this summer. He refused last summer and I didn't want to push him. But this year, he is fully ready. He even put on his goggles and went for a swim in the bath. 

Isla: This girly girl chose her own outfit for our little family exploration. It included her favorite sparkle sweater, a skirt (that we had her put jeans under) and the daintiest pair of ballet flats.  But don't let those girly clothing choices fool you, she loves her some rocks and dirt. 


"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."



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