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Connor: I usually can't get much out of him about his school day when I pick him up. But as the day goes on, little bits and pieces come out and he will then answer my questions…if I ask them stealthily enough.  

 Isla: My cuddle bug. My drama queen. My mama's girl. You have me worried about you starting preschool this week. I really hate seeing you upset when I drop you off places, but you assure me you won't be like that with preschool this year. We shall see. 

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

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Preschool Orientation {and things I want to remember}

 

I want to remember…


…how Isla sucks on her hair. I did that as a kid too.

…how Isla spent most of her time at orientation loading one little paper with more stickers than it could handle.

…how a little boy couldn't stop playing with Isla's braids when they were sitting on the rug while the teachers were talking.

…how when the teacher asked if anyone had any questions, Isla offered up this information, "One time my mom took me for a walk to my friend's house."

…how in true Isla form, as soon as orientation was over, Isla took off running past the playground, past the parking lot, to go pick flowers.



Next week begins Isla going to preschool three mornings a week. My mornings will be crazy busy with two drop offs and two pick ups, all by noon! I am going to help in Connor's class one of the mornings Isla is in school and I am excited about that. And I am hoping Isla will have dropped the drama act she did last year and let preschool drop off be a peaceful time…a mom can hope, right?!

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Productivity Breeds Productivity

Ever since Connor has gone back to school, I have been insanely productive. My house has constantly been clean…which is awesome because it means I don't freak out when people randomly stop by. I've gotten stuff done on my invisible to-do list that have been on there forever. Like, I finally hung stuff back on Isla's walls…six months after we painted in there. My garage sale pile has been growing by the second. And I've actually been making the kids (help me) clean their rooms before bed. Let me tell you, I feel so much more at peace and like their rooms so much more when they don't look like a homeless camp.

My friend called this productivity breeding productivity. And I believe it. When the base is clean, something out of place or dirty on top sticks out and screams to be picked up. When it's all trashed, I tend to figure "why bother?".

Ian calls it nesting. I prefer to think I've turned over a new leaf and am just being super productive. Whatever it is, I'll take it. After all, in three short months, I will be spending my time on the couch, covered in spit up, breastfeeding around the clock and my house will have gone to the pits. The family will be lucky if I actually get dinner on the table…and if there are actually clean dishes to eat off of. But, before that time comes, I am going to enjoy the season of clean. The season of purging. The season of scrubbing the kick board under my kitchen cabinets because the mood to do that just struck.

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It's Still Summer…Sort Of

 

 

Whoever decided to start the school year at the beginning of August never looked at the weather forecast to remember that August is still most definitely summer. We have been in the triple digits lately and it's just wrong for me to be sweating so much at the school pick up. Not to mention that it's hard to hang on to and enjoy the last bits of summer when routine has become necessary and our norm. No longer are we out playing with friends almost every day, spending hours frolicking in the pool, constantly indulging on sugary treats (which I am pretty sure my ob will be throwing a party when the scale reflects this new change) or staying up late into the evening.

It's weird to be in that limbo period. Shorts and tshirts are still a must around here. The air has yet to get crisp and beg for us to come indoors, yet the homework and bedtime routine (to keep everyone sane from the early morning wake ups) beg to keep us inside more often. Dinner has once again become like clockwork, rather than something I throw together once Ian is home. Quiet evenings at home are becoming more necessary. Yet, the sun is still peeking above the horizon at bedtime.

This whole school thing starting in August is just playing with my emotions…it's like I'm the kid again.

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Connor: The first three weeks of school are behind us. Connor loves homework and takes it very seriously. He also "plays" school. He has me, Ian, Isla or even his bear sit down and he schools us on things he's learned. And I've overheard him saying to Isla, "In kindergarten you can't just get out of your chair. You get in trouble for that." or "Isla, they don't wipe your bum in kindergarten."

Isla: So proud of her playdoh creation. A submarine, in case you didn't know. Connor told her it looked like a volcano and all hell broke loose…until she decided it was a submarine volcano.  

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

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The Fireman That Wanted to Be a Cop, But is Fine Being a Fireman

A couple weeks ago, I saw a SWAT costume at Costco that I thought Connor would love…after all, he has said he wanted to be a police man consistently for two years now. I'm kicking myself now for not just buying it when I saw it. But, the biggest size they had was a 5-6 and I was afraid it wouldn't fit him. Anyway, we headed to Costco this weekend and I made the mistake of telling him about the costume. And, of course, they had none left. But, like the champ he is, he easily settled on this fireman get up instead. He has literally worn it non-stop since…with nothing on under it, as he likes to publicly declare to people…to which one lady responded, "If only you were 18." Oh man.

^^ Connor affectionately calls the axe "the keys to the city". In fact, I haven't heard him refer to it as an axe once. When he had his fire station field trip in the spring, that is what the fireman called the axe. The memory on this kid, I tell ya. 

 

Connor goes all the way in wanting to be legit in his get up. He wears his rain boots with it…and even leaves the pants and boots standing in a pile for quick dressing like firemen do. He tried having me add his goggles to the helmet, but wasn't sold on the idea, so took them off. My favorite part about all this may just be when Connor said to me slightly concerned, "What if some firemen see me and think I am lost and make me go back to the fire station with them?"

It's childhood imagination like this I love so much. Still feeling like the sky is the limit and you can be anything you want to be. I really do love the innocence and freedom that comes with being a kid.

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Coffee Happenings

I thought it would be fun to write every once in a while about our coffee business. Just to remember how it all started and how it all went. Plus, it seems to be the first thing people ask me about these days when I see them. Now, this is something we never intend on becoming Ian's main job, but a side business meant for fun and just see where it goes.

Over the weekend, we participated in our second event that we sold coffee at. The first one was in June  at Four Friend Market (a small business market three of my friends and I hosted). It was a huge success. Ian sold a ton of both french press coffee as well as cold brew. He also sold a bunch of bags of whole beans. Ian is definitely the social one of the two of us, so really he spent a lot of time chatting with people about coffee, while I served people that wanted to buy stuff ;) This past weekend, we were asked to have a table at the one year anniversary of a local cafe, LAMO Cafe in Turlock. They had one other local coffee roaster, as well and the coffee roaster that supplies the cafe with it's coffee. The event itself was packed. We did sell a lot of whole bean coffee, but not as many cups of coffee, as most people bought coffee from the actual cafe on their way into the event. As a result of the event, Ian now has bags of his coffee on the shelves in the cafe for sale. This is the second location he is now in. He is also in Barley & Wine, a beer and wine supply store in Modesto.

Another exciting opportunity that Ian is doing is barrel aging a batch of coffee in a whisky barrel from a local distillery, Do Good Distillery. The green coffee will sit in the whisky barrel for a month, then Ian will take it out and roast it. I have to admit, I was crossing my fingers that the barrel would stay at the distillery, but low and behold, Ian showed up with it at our house about a week ago. It actually is really cool looking and nowhere near the size of a wine barrel, so I am fine with it. Plus, I am starting to accept the fact that coffee related paraphernalia is literally starting to take over my house. I thought toys were the number one thing in my house, but coffee stuff is quickly catching up…and may soon pass up toys.


All exciting stuff aside, Ian is still roasting at least once a week, sometimes twice. I generally label, weigh, bag and heat seal all the coffee while he is roasting. Cold brew in 64oz growlers has been a huge hit this summer and we have been selling 5+ gallons of it a week. People still pick their coffee up from our front porch. Sometimes I notice them, sometimes I don't. Sometimes one of the kids will come inform me someone was just there. There is something kind of charming about people picking up a locally made product right off the sellers front porch.

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