It All Started with an Instagram Photo

A simple picture of a minion cupcake. I knew Connor would love it. After all, minions are his new obsession (more on that later). I went online and found out where The Cupcake Lady was parked. Super close to my house. But it was cutting it close with when Isla should be waking up from her nap. I may or may not have sped the process along (Oh hi baby girl. Were you not awake yet? Ooops. Well, you may as well get up now...). And we set out.

We arrived only to find out that the minion cupcakes were sold out. However, they would be picking up more before their next stop (a 25 minute drive away). Connor was really looking forward to this cupcake. I had told him all about it. So I asked if I could prepay for two. Let me tell you, walking away without any minion cupcakes was hard for Connor, but he made it through. Then I called Ian and informed him of our little evening excursion.

Ian got home and we set off. We arrived only to find a new worker who said he couldn't find my name on any minion cupcakes. I went back and forth with the guy for five minutes. He tried calling his boss (who I saw earlier in the day) and couldn't get a hold of him. We agreed I would go get dinner, then try to come back for the cupcakes and hope for good news. I went on their Facebook page and messaged them begging them to remember me. And they did, thankfully.

So back to the cupcake truck we went. The guy told me he hadn't heard from his boss. Armed with my phone, I let him read the Facebook message I got from his boss. And I kid you not, he still felt unsure about giving me the cupcakes, but FINALLY handed them over.

We decided to tailgate it in the parking lot and let the kids enjoy their cupcakes. Connor was so excited, smiling and talking to his minion. It was really quite cute. Both kids only got to eat the top before I took the cupcakes away...but don't worry, I let them eat the rest today.

My little minion, all ready for bed

Now for Connor and his minion obsession. My dad was planning on taking my nephew and Connor to see Despicable Me 2 a few weeks back. He decided to leave Connor behind when he said "What's a movie?" and I informed him he had never been to a movie before. However, my parents got both Connor and my nephew a couple minion toys and Connor has been obsessed ever since. He even dresses up as one...all his own idea. He puts on his goggles and a hard hat and calls himself a construction minion. It really is quite cute.

1000

This is my ONE THOUSANDTH post. Now that be crazy! And my blog just had its six year birthday three weeks ago. This got me reminiscing on all that has happened in my life in the past six years. I started this blog not long before we took off for Scotland. Back then I didn't have a love affair with my camera, thus most of my posts didn't contain pictures...I am now kicking myself about this. Pretty much no one who started out reading my blog then reads it today. But, I have picked up new readers along the way and made friends though this place. 

The first few years of this blog were filled with me complaining about tourists and talking about different things in Scotland (haggis and holidays). The funny thing is, though I didn't take many pictures or talk about it incredibly often, what I remember most about Scotland is the beauty of it. The flowers were amazing (I talked about it here  and here), yet so was the snow. Though the snow could be annoying, I never really tired of it. 

This blog has since become bogged down with posts on my children. You know, things like their birth (Connor labor & delivery and Isla), updates on them (Connor and Isla) and everything in between. 

Let us not forget all the traveling that has been done in the past six years. We have made it to Spain (2008), Germany (2008), Prague (2008), Amsterdam (2009), Italy and France (road trip 2010), the west coast to Canada and back (road trip 2012) and numerous trips around California. 

I am so thankful for this blog of mine. I enjoy being able to go back and see what was going on and how I was feeling at various stages of life. Looking back, the funniest thing for me was seeing my snarkiness tame down over the years (not go away, just tame down!). Oh, and noticing me change from having long hair and wearing make up on and daily basis to, well, not. Regression? Who knows! 

All I know is I originally started this blog saying "I don't want to be sitting around when I am old, talking to my grandchildren and not having any adventures to tell them. So here is me, making some adventures..." I think I will have plenty to choose from!

Here's to many more adventures (both big and small) in my future!

Conversations with Connor

Connor starts all sorts of interesting/deep/funny conversations lately. I enjoy them. I enjoy talking with him rather than to him. I enjoy his curiosity and perspective about things. For instance, the kid just will not let go of the fact that one of our smoke detectors sits uncovered and battery-less. He brings it up numerous times a day...so can you fix it already Ian?! But sometimes the things he says can really throw me for a loop. Like that awkward moment when he told me I won't go to heaven.

Connor: What will happen to me when I die?

Me: Why don't you tell me what will happen?

Connor: I will go to heaven with Jesus. 

Me: Yep. 

Connor: What will happen to you when you die?

Me: I will go to heaven and be with Jesus too. 

Connor: No you won't. 

I decided not to ask where he thought I would go! I don't think Connor knows about hell and I am pretty sure he was joking, but still! 

I really am enjoying this phase. Hearing him talk more about his likes and dislikes. Him learning about the world and wanting to talk about it. The kid was enamored with the "bad guy" we saw in the back of a cop car the other day. He wanted to ask to see the handcuffs that were on the bad guy. I told him no on that one. But its things like that, him knowing that a bad guy has handcuffs on. His little brain is a sponge and he is learning all these new little things every day. I love it...though I could do with less of the whining he now does (yeah, the whining is a new phase...one I hope that passes quickly). But you know, everything can't be sunshine and rainbows all the time! 

I Now Own Everything Coffee Related

You know how sometimes you don't even know what you are missing out on until your life is changed and you discover what you have been missing all along. Well that happened to me...again.

My father in law came back from England (I know, I am just as shocked as you that he didn't ask me to come along. I think of myself as an amazing travel companion.) the other day with gifts in hand...smart man. He knew after not inviting me on the trip, coming home gift less would not be safe. I kid. Anyway, so he hands me my gift and I find myself staring at this piece of fabric that I have no clue what it was. Then he enlightened me...and changed my life for the better. Everyone knows what a tea cozy is, right? Well my father in law got me a COFFEE COZY!

An adorable little invention that keeps my coffee warmer for longer. And let's be honest, also makes my coffee corner look even cooler. And we now truly own practically every coffee related item out there.

31/52

Literally moments after "allowing" Ian to leave the house the other night, this was the scene. Both kids crying and me thinking to myself "what the heck?!". You see, Isla bit Connor (a really bad bite) so he was crying, then I said to Isla "Bad girl, don't bite" and she went into hysterics. So I sat on the floor with two crying children on my lap. The thing is, I was sitting there actually thinking the whole scene was rather funny...and that's why I decided to document it.


This week:

• Isla got her first pedicure. She was totally into it. It was cute. 

• That was also Connor's first time in a nail place. He was all sorts of curious and totally wanted his nails painted, but I knew Ian wouldn't be down with that. Any mama's of boys out there allow them to paint their nails?

• Connor took a nap and subsequently stayed up until after midnight. And that is the reason he no longer takes naps! 

• I may have been that crazy lady that showed up at Target right when they opened because I knew they were marking down a bunch of toys that morning. But hey, I scored a bunch of Legos for cheap for Connor and now totally have his birthday covered (3.5 months early). 

• Isla slept really well every night except one this week. Yea! 

• I took part in a "girly garage sale" on Saturday. Besides making money selling some stuff, the best part was hanging out kid free with some ladies!   

That Time Everything Went Wrong

As a parent I have learned to make the best of practically any situation. Nothing ever goes to plan and there is always at least one hiccup (meltdown, poopsplosion, child hurting themselves, etc.) to deal with. But, you know, you go with the flow. That didn't so much happen yesterday. 

Yesterday Ian was headed to the driving range and I thought it would be fun for the whole family to come along. It started off so well. Connor was excited, Isla was sitting quietly in her stroller. Ian helped Connor hit a few balls. Connor tried running after them and learned he can't cross "the line" to go get them back. 

Then things started going down hill slightly. Connor didn't want to sit back with me and watch Ian hit some balls. Isla suddenly wanted out of her stroller. She then got her turn hitting balls with daddy and that seemed to just wet her appetite for running around. 

Kids started running in opposite directions, crying when I caught them and dragged them back to sit with me. About 5 minutes into our adorable family outing, I beckoned Ian to help me corral the kids to the car and I drove around for a bit while Ian finished practicing his swing in peace. 

But hey, at least I got some cute pictures that made it look like we had a blast! 

Sleep

The sleep situation at our house had gotten rather grim as of a couple weeks ago. Before the monster that are the two year molars hit our house what seems like an eternity ago a couple months ago, Isla was only waking once a night. That once a night changed to on really bad nights up to 8 times a night and on good nights "only" 2-3 times. But the bad nights had become more and more frequent and Ian and I were at the end of our rope.

After a particularly bad night, I went online and purchased The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers. There were a few key things the book taught me. One, sleep problems don't change overnight. It said it will take about a month to really see consistent results. Two, consistency is key. So we jumped in with both feet.

We implemented a few things. First, we now have a nighttime routine that starts at 7pm with Isla ending up in bed around 8. This does make it difficult to be social in the evenings, but I will take a peaceful night's sleep over keeping the kids out late all the time. The second thing we started doing is having Ian go in at night to her until 3am (i.e. no breastfeeding until after 3am). I personally think this was the big one. After a couple nights Isla was down to only waking 2-3 times a night. And trust me when I say that was already a HUGE IMPROVEMENT. And guess what? After doing this for three weeks, Isla SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT last night!!! Like a whole 12 hours!!! This was amazing. Now I realize that we are still in the beginning and she may wake up tonight, but still. I see light at the end of the tunnel and that is a beautiful thing.

All this drama with Isla and sleep has me wondering how other people's kids are with sleep. So, if you have a little one, I would love to hear how you guys do things at your house. Do you have a routine that you stick with? If not, how do things work at your house?