Bugle Boy Trio

Back in May, when I was in charge of the ward talent show, my friends Teri and Elaine coaxed me into doing a trio performance of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." (These girls are pros, so when Teri explained that we'd be singing in three-part harmony while dancing, I was the only one who was skeptical. I cannot believe how talented they are.)

We had to learn it really quickly, so we basically had one insane practice session where we sang and danced it about fifty times in a row! It was hilarious trying to learn so quickly, and messing up so much, and thinking "This is CRAZY" and then jumping for joy when we finally got it right for the very first time, all with two of my closest friends. It was a hit at the talent show; we wore the awesome costumes pictures above (courtesy of Stars on Stage, Teri's dance company), and wore red lipstick and did our hair in 40s-style curls. It was so fun!

Last week, our friend Viviana asked if we would perform our number again for her, because Elaine is moving to Ohio! So sad! Vivana asked if we could come perform at the school where she worked. It was pretty funny -- there we were, singing and dancing in costume, in an office with about 5 people at their desks! Hahaha! We had a huge laugh about it. Then, they asked if we'd stay and do the number for the teachers in the lounge during recess. We reluctantly acquiesced. The kicker? Teri is the president of the PTA at this school, so most of the teachers knew her (and were maybe a little confused as to why she was dancing in a uniform during their recess?). We laughed so hard about it. Elaine is in Ohio now, which makes me sad, but I will always remember that day with a huge smile on my face. 

Potty Training

Honestly, potty-training has freaked me out for a while. It's overwhelming, and like anything relating to motherhood, there is way too much advice and way too many opinions. Frankly, if we didn't need to be potty-trained for fall session of preschool, I'd be fine just letting him tell me when he felt like doing it. Alas, we have a deadline, so I've had to make up my mind about my potty-training strategy. 

Jellybeans. That's what I've decided. I told him he gets one jelly bean every time he uses the potty, and it has worked like a charm. You know how some dogs are "food-motivated"? Well, this kid is candy-motivated. I have never seen someone jump so immediately through such foreign hoops. Maybe it's this no-sugar diet we're on, but he is jazzed about jellybeans. The other night at bedtime, I think I counted NINE trips to the potty. It got to the point where I had to say, "Okay, now please just go in your diaper. We're done with the potty for tonight."

Just imagine if everyone in your life were that motivated by a jellybean. I don't know if there will ever again be a time in Cal's life where I hold such power over his decisions!

Silly stories

That's what I feel like my blog (and life!) is lately -- a series of silly stories. They say we should keep records of our lives because they will bless the lives of our descendants. I have a feeling it's going to go something like this: "Well, there was nothing spiritual or profound in your records that we were able to glean, but thanks for all the weird anecdotes, great-great-grandma Megan." Oh well...

Silly Story #1: Walmart is testing out a pilot program in our area that includes free grocery delivery. I cannot fully emphasize how much I appreciate this program. I shop for everything online, and then the next day, a delivery man hauls it up the three flights of stairs to my apartment and puts everything on my kitchen table. No dragging my toddler to the grocery store, no long checkout lines with Cal screaming for candy, no trips back and forth to my car lugging heavy bags upstairs...IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.

We have had a few interesting scenarios with our orders. Sometimes, you have to order produce by the pound (which isn't a big deal when you're dealing with apples, but who uses a pound of garlic at a time?). I needed a red onion, and just figured they'd pick me out three or four, and I'd find a way to use them. Nope, we received ONE red onion, weighing in at over a pound, just by itself. I had never seen a larger red onion. Neither had Cal!

Silly story #2: We were invited to go camping at the beach back in July, and I'd forgotten a few last-minute essentials like bug spray, so Cal and I made a trip to Target. The store had some summer items (including stuff for s'mores) displayed right at the entrance. Cal has been obsessed with marshmallows ever since getting to roast one at a backyard BBQ a few weeks back, so he grabbed a package and wouldn't put it down.

I often let him hold on to something until we check out (you do what you can to keep a three-year-old quiet in public), so I didn't think twice about it and hurried around collecting the things we needed for our trip. It wasn't until we were in line that I looked down and realized he had basically chewed a hole in the package.

All the marshmallows inside had teeth marks all over them, even in places where the plastic wasn't actually broken. I told him, "Stop chewing that! Gross, Cal!" But he didn't even flinch! His eyebrows just got all...troubled. It was like he was telling me, "I wish I could stop...."

We definitely paid for this package of mallows. Sick!

He was pretty excited about all the food that came with us on the campout. Here he is with his new best friend, a box of wheat thins:

(He held the box the entire drive to the beach!)

Silly story #3: We've been really grateful to have a pool at our apartment complex this summer, especially with some of the temperatures we had in July. Cal and I go down often; he is crazy about the water! There's a nice big pool, and then a really shallow, 8'x8' kiddie pool over to the side. (Side story: one time, when I was describing the pools to someone, they remarked, "Oh, too bad it's a kiddie pool and not a hot tub." It made me realize, at this stage in my life, I would SO much rather have the kiddie pool!)

Anyway, I looked over after a long afternoon of swimming, and this is what I find:

 Our little lizard, stretched out on the warm bricks bordering the kiddie pool!

Silly story #4: Cal loves playing hide-and-seek (which he pronounces "high-seek!"). Last week, when we went over to a friend's house to babysit her three-year-old boy, Cal found the perfect hide-and-seek companion. Take a look at these cute pictures:

My favorite parts of their version of the game? (a.) First, they watch each other hide, and then close their eyes and start counting. (b.) They hide in the same spot without fail. (c.) Hearing Cal's little voice counting all the way up to TEN! (d.) Cal makes squeaking noises as hints for the seeker. (e.) Listening to them giggle as I announced all the wrong spots where I was trying to find them. I think I may love "high-seek" just as much as Cal!

Silly story #5: I watch my friend's two daughters once a week, and they and Cal have become great little friends. Here we are at Red Robin this past week:

 And here they are having a CRAZY balloon fight in the back of the car on the drive home:

When the balloon-chaos had died down, the older girl started singing the lantern song from Tangled, and I joined in, trying to keep the car ride calm. We were almost through the whole thing, when Cal had apparently had enough. Out of nowhere, he bursts into a Broadway-worthy belt: "TINKA TINKA LITTA STAAAAAARRR!!!!!"

Someone does not like to be left out! 

That's it for my silly stories...for now. Really though, one of the best parts about my day is re-telling all of these anecdotes to Reed after Cal is asleep. We just laugh and laugh. Thanks for keeping life interesting, Cal! We love you!

Badge of Honor

At the park this evening, Cal fell and bashed his face against the slide. His nose was bleeding (scary sight for a mom), so we took him over to the car to get my first aid kit. I cleaned him up with a package of wipes (his two front teeth were bleeding, too! -- a dentist appointment is in the works), and thankfully the blood stopped.

That didn't stop him from demanding a band-aid...

As soon as it was in place, he was back to playing, happy as can be! 

Fire

I was driving Cal to preschool a few days ago, and as I pulled out of the school driveway, I saw a huge plume of brown smoke rising into the air. I thought, "That's funny, it looks like it's coming from over where I live." But really, I was more than a mile away. I must be imagining that, right?

Wrong.

I know you can't tell from these pictures, but there were probably 13 service vehicles blocking off the different streets around our apartment complex. I tried telling the policeman that my poor helpless husband was upstairs in the shower, and that he listens to loud music and probably wouldn't have heard any calls to evacuate, but he gave me a gruff signal to turn around, so I did...

 ...and then I snuck in a different way using backstreets and a discreet underground parking entrance.

 Lucky for us (and unlucky for others, sadly), the fire didn't affect our specific building. But it did burn the one next to it (the building you see over to the right in the photo above, which I took from our front porch area).

Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the fire spread through four separate units before they were able to put it out. We walked over with Cal that night to check out the damage:

They're not sure how it started, but it seems to have originated on the general manager's balcony. (Insurance fraud, anyone??? Sorry, too much Law and Order.)

We're thankful to be safe and sound! Scary!

Preschool!

Yes, it's true! Cal has started preschool! A few months ago, I did some research and ended up touring a place nearby that I really liked.  Turns out, it even had a summer program, which is perfect for us. Here are a few pictures of Cal on his first day.

 Several other kids were having a hard time, and cried when their moms tried to leave (which is understandable -- they're all only two or three!), but Cal did great! I owe a huge thanks to his wonderful nursery leaders at church. He didn't bat an eye when I left, just smiled, blew a kiss and waved goodbye.

Cal is very social, and was running to the door to greet other newcomers. He'd say, "Hi! Cal two!" and then take their hand and lead them over to the circle of mats. He even continued to smile and wave at them after they were seated, like, "Can you believe it? We're here at preschool! This is happening!"

When I came to get him, the teachers reaffirmed his social tendencies; they told me, "You're son is very...enthusiastic." Haha! That enthusiasm has remained: He wakes up everyday and asks, "Cal preschool?" I'm so glad that he loves it, and I have loved breaking up our week with a little classroom time. The teachers are lovely, and the kids do tons of different activities. Cal even has a friend that he talks about during the week. He comes home with art projects that he's made, and always greets me at the end of the day with a boisterous, "MOMMMMMEEEEEE!!!" as he runs up to me, beaming. 

Preschool rocks! :) 

Canning Summer

As a slightly-more-emotional-than-other-people woman, I often find myself wishing you could can happiness, the way you can peaches or tomatoes. There's something wonderful about pulling out that mason jar full of sweet, home-canned pears in the middle of January, and being able to sink your teeth into a piece of summer that's been tucked away under your stairs for six months. 

Wouldn't it be great, on a day when I'm feeling run-down and discouraged, to pull out a jar of good feelings and give myself a few spoonfuls? 

Well, we have been having a lot of fun around here lately, and I'm trying hard to store these carefree, happy feelings, so that I can pull them out when I need them. 

While Autumn remains my favorite season, Summer is a close second. I love the long, lazy days, and all the outdoor activities that bring people together. This post may seem eclectic, but that's something I love about Summer -- so many things going on, and people to see!

For instance, our cousins came up from Fresno to stay with us for the night. It was a short visit, but very fun. It made me miss the days when we'd pull all-nighters at each others' houses (well, except that I'd fall asleep after 5 minutes), playing rock band and video games until we passed out. (Some of us sooner than others.) Now, Jess and Bubba are expecting a baby! What a blessing to be able to have our families grow up together. 

 Here is a reenactment of blowing out the candles. Cal didn't get why we were pretending to blow out already extinguished candles. Bubba was a good sport though. Look at that conviction!

 It may not look pretty, but that's yellow cake from scratch, covered in homemade chocolate frosting. 

Guess who started preschool this summer?

More on this later.

We have been very grateful to have a pool at our complex. It's such a lovely temperature, especially when our apartment is pushing 80 mid afternoon. Cal and I come down here often, and it's a nice escape from the heat trapped inside. (As an aside, I don't get NorCal-ers and their 'no-air-conditioner-needed' policy. If I hear "but we have such a mild climate" one more time... People, it's still nice to be able to control the thermostat in your own domicile!)

As always, it's so nice to live in such close proximity to my Aunt Heather. She is a wonderful auntie to Cal, and always comes up with the best activities. Here we are picking ollalliberries (which Hef turned into the BEST ice cream):

And here's the Giants game she treated us all to:

 We had such a great time -- it was hotter than we expected.

Cal loved all the junk food treats he got to munch on, and Heather bought him his very own baseball hat. Here he is doing a weird smile for the camera (at least it's not his crazy smile anymore!):

Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays, and this year, Cal really caught the spirit. At our weekly Park Day, Cal got to pass out red-white-and-blue popsicles that he brought. He really likes to share these days (I'm not being sarcastic--loves it!), and made sure everyone got a frozen treat. 

He was so proud of the fact that we had treats for everyone that he insisted on carrying the popsicle-filled cooler to the playground. I'm surprised that he could even heft it, but he persevered, and had a delightful time offering them to all the other kids.

We had a fun pancake breakfast with our congregation, and Reed sang the national anthem with a Men's quartet as the scouts raised the flag. They sounded great, and I love that you can tell who was in Men's Chorus...the two on the right, standing so straight and tall, with smiling faces. Sister Hall trained them well! :)

I was one proud wifey!

Ah yes, the flag cake. I know this is pretty much an entry-level Fourth of July dessert, but I don't think I ever made one growing up! So this year, I decided I'd do it. Cal insisted on helping with the fruit placement, so it got a little hard for me OCD-wise, but we had a great time, and it was delicious, too! Plus, we got to enjoy it at a BBQ with friends.  :)

We've been making several trips to Ikea lately. (I'm on a quest for a larger dining room table.) The last trip, Cal was anxiously trying to get my attention, and when I finally looked down, he had put a pencil behind his ear. Haha! He looked so...managerial! We're not sure where he got the idea -- Bob the Builder, maybe?

I love spending time out in the sun during Summer days. It's so wonderful for my mood. While Heather was in Canada for the family reunion (which unfortunately we had to miss this year), we were tasked with watering her garden. Cal is obsessed with water (as you'll remember from this post and this post), and was ecstatic at the charge. See the cute green watering can? Another amazing birthday present from Auntie Hef!

In fact, we have a lot of "Cal-sized" tools around our house, because he really likes imitating me. Here's a shot of him with his little rolling pin, making pizza dough with me. We like having our work stations close to each other.

We've been to the beach several times; it's always so fun--good for Mommy and baby alike. But my favorite part about beach day? The car ride home:

You can't buy this feeling. Well, I guess you can, it costs one day at the beach.

This week, I took Cal to the Model Train Society's weekly mall display. I didn't know how much he'd like it--you never really know with kids, even if they are normally interested in an activity. Kids are just unpredictable. But as we walked in, Cal's noisy chatter died instantly, and he just sort of stood there, hushed and amazed, before racing down the ramp toward the displays. 

I only got two pictures, because I spent the next 30 minutes holding him back from the tables. He wanted to climb right up on top and get in on the action!

There were even little buttons to push on the sides of the tables, that made train whistle sounds, or lit up different parts of the sets. It was awesome!

As you can see, we've been busy with a variety of fun summer activities. I am so happy where we are. I feel like we have a great group of friends. I'm learning more about the positive things that are offered in our city, which gives me a greater sense of community (something I have lately realized is very important to me -- thanks a lot, perfect Redlands childhood). And Cal and I are figuring out how to deal with each other. He's talking more, and we're both more cooperative with the other. It's giving me hope that I could eventually have more children (I'm not joking...that's been a huge doubt for me). 

And through it all, I'm canning. I'm storing these experiences, and saving the memories for those long, frustrating days when you just need a spoonful of Summer.