Field Trip: Fire Station Tour

 Earlier this week we got to go on an awesome field trip with our friends from our Summer Reading Playgroup. We had all missed a public tour of the fire station earlier in the summer, and we were disappointed not to get to go. I decided to look into it, and found out that all that stood between us all and getting our kids into the fire station was a simple online form. We picked a day, got our form turned in, and we were ready to go!

My kids and I were the first ones to get there, so we goofed around while we waited for the rest of the group to get there.

 We got to tour the living quarters of the station (which that adults thought was interesting), but the real excitement was when we finally got to go out into the engine bay and see the trucks. Oh boy were the kids excited! One of the fire fighters "turned out" in his full gear so the kids could see it all. They got to check out each piece before it got put on, which was really fun.

 It was sure hot out in the engine bay, we were grateful to get to be the ones watching the whole "turn out" process, but not have to do it ourselves. That poor firefighter was sweating up a storm!

Doing a dance, or putting on suspenders...you decide. :)

 The kids were fascinated to watch as the firefighter put his gear on, but once he had the face mask on and the air regulator going they were not so sure about going anywhere near him. It's so good for them to have a chance to see that this is not someone to be scared of in case they are ever in a situation where they need to be rescued. Seeing how scared the kids were made me think this is something we ought to do every year so they get to see it often enough to remember.

 The kids all got fire hats and other trinkets to take home with them, which of course is always a plus!

 What an awesome way to spend a day! I highly recommend reaching out to your local fire station to see if you can do a tour like this!

Erik's Book Nook

I thought I'd share with you one of the things that we did for Erik for his birthday. 

He only has about 2 pieces of clothing that normally hang in his closet (I keep his clothes in a couple of small dressers so he can reach them himself), so it seemed like such a waste of space. I moved those two pieces to my closet and turned his into a book nook.

We took the door off, hung some of our Christmas lights on the shelf, put a big cushy pillow on the floor, and set his baskets of books on the floor inside. I used some of the construction paper left over from our Color Wheel activity to make the sign and it was ready to go. I have the material to make a few small throw pillows to make things even cozier, but I haven't gotten around to sewing them yet. Total cost for this project: $10 for the big floor pillow, $5 for material for the throw pillows.
I do need to buy a power strip with an on/off switch so that I can plug the lights into it and Erik can just flip the switch. Right now I have to plug it in each day and un-plug it before naptime and bedtime (he's not allowed to mess with anything plugged into the electric outlets).
Erik loves his Book Nook and hangs out in there for a while every day.

Mastering Mundane Monday Morning Mommy Madness

Wow, say that three times fast. Or even once.
I love the weekends. It's so nice to have hubby home during the day and to get to do things together. Even if you don't do anything special, it's just nice to have a break from the doldrums of day to day life. We had a very nice weekend, starting with the groundbreaking for a new building for our church Saturday morning. Then we hit the hardware store and picked up supplies to do a fun project while Erik took his nap. Sunday was church and a going away party for some of our dear friends who are moving tomorrow. We came home and finished off the evening by enjoying our current favorite TV show (any Downton Abbey fans out there?).
And then I woke up this morning. And life was back to normal. Changing poopy bums, wiping boogery noses, trying to stuff spoonfuls of messy food into uninterested mouths. I was sitting and watching Erik and Paisley playing and just feeling kinda bored. If I try to read a book Erik either rips it out of my hands, rips the pages, or just climbs into my lap with a book of his own. If I try to cook I have a baby hanging on each leg. Crafty things like crochet or embroidery are out of the question. Housework, with two babies tagging along, are you nuts? I knew I needed to do something before the cabin fever took over completely.
Then Erik came up with the perfect solution. He came over and asked for some music. He LOVES music and so we keep a CD of fun music in our DVD player all the time so that when Erik asks we can just hit play and it's ready to go. We switch out the CD every couple of days so we (meaning the grown-ups, I don't think Erik cares) don't lose our minds. I got up and hit the button and the music started. Pretty soon Erik was dancing away (he's pretty funny, if you're interested in seeing him dance, you can check it out here). That made me giggle, which started to shake off the bored haze in my brain. Then he came over and wanted me to dance. Why not? I scooped him up and we twirled around the floor. A few minutes later it was Paisley's turn and she and I dodged Erik as we two-stepped across the room.

Don't judge me because of my son's outfit. He picked out his clothes today, not me. 

This only lasted maybe five minutes tops, but it was enough. The spell was broken and I remembered why I love doing what I do. My life hasn't changed. The remainder of the morning involved plenty more poop and boogers and messes made, but it was okay. Are you stuck in the day-to-day doldrums, or suffering from Mundane Monday Morning Mommy Madness? If so, maybe you should try taking a page out of our book and kick up your heels. Maybe it will help to put a smile on your face, and maybe even build some fun memories. Don't like to dance? What do you do to shake the blues?

A Peek into Erik's Cupboard

This post contains affiliate links.

We spent a lot of time and web-surfing trying to decide what to get Erik for Christmas. Our budget was small but our dreams were big. We didn't want to just buy some cheap toy that would fall apart in a few months, we wanted something nice that he would love and enjoy for a long time (and that would hopefully last long enough for future brothers or sisters to enjoy as well). After thinking about his likes/dislikes and searching around we decided to get him some food/kitchen based items. But throwing a spatula into his toy box just didn't seem like quite enough, and we didn't have room to get him a play kitchen of his own. We did a little brainstorming and rearranging, and came up with what we think is a great plan.
We moved all the contents of one kitchen cupboard into other locations, so now Erik has his very own kitchen cupboard. We went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of little things to put in there (mixing bowl, sifters, salad tongs, etc), as well as ordering one nicer item from amazon to round it all out. He loves it! He can sit next to me while I'm cooking dinner or washing dishes and play with his utensils. He feels like he's part of the action, and I get a little freedom from having him hanging on me begging for attention. I don't have to worry about him losing or breaking any of my things (or his for that matter) because he has all his cheap ones to do with as he pleases.

When I went to take this picture I discovered he's hauled most of his things down the hall to his bedroom, but I wasn't about to risk messing up nap-time to get them for the picture. So, not pictured: a turkey baster, another little sifter, a measuring cup, a muffin tin, and a small cake pan.

Our one big purchase for this was the set of condiment bottles. They are awesome! Each has a color coordinating lid that is held on by a magnet. The top of each bottle is a slightly different size than the others, so each lid only fits perfectly on its own bottle. They are solid wood, with the "labels" painted on. I figured it would be a while before he figured out the color connection, but almost as soon as he unwrapped them Christmas morning he started putting the lids on the correct bottle without seeming to even think about it.
When we bought all the other pieces from the dollar store, we tried to get things that were similar to the ones he likes to steal from my utensil drawer, as well as things that would be useful in other learning activities. The scoops and sifter will be great for playing in a sensory bin or the bath tub. The mixing bowl can be used in so many ways. The muffin tin would be great for sorting activities, or for holding paints. The salad tongs are there because the tongs are the first thing he goes for if he ever gets his fingers into my cooking gear.
In my tiny kitchen it's been a bit of a sacrifice to give up a whole cupboard, but I think it's totally worth it. Erik loves every minute he spends playing in it.

*Diedre Mower is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. 

Block City

My sister showed me this poem while I was working on the idea for this blog, and I love it. It is by one of my favorite authors, Robert Louis Stevenson.

Block City

What are you able to build with your blocks?

Castles and palaces, temples and docks.

Rain may keep raining, and others go roam,

But I can be happy and building at home.

Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea,

There I'll establish a city for me:

A Kirk and a mill and a palace beside,

And a harbor as well where my vessels may ride.

Great is the palace with pillar and wall,

A sort of a tower on top of it all,

And steps coming down in an orderly way

To where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay.

This one is sailing and that one is moored:

Hark to the song of the sailors on board!

And see on the steps of my palace, the kings

Coming and going with presents and things!

Now I have done with it, down let it go!

All in a moment the town is laid low.

Block upon block lying scattered and free,

What is there left of my town by the sea?

Yet as I saw it, I see it again,

The Kirk and the palace, the ships and the men,

And as long as I live and where'er I may be,

I'll always remember my town by the sea.