fire station

My son and I recently toured our local fire station with some friends. It was a blast! We had been talking about firefighters and trucks all week. My son had gone to the Children's Museum with his aunt specifically to "drive" their fire truck, and I borrowed a book from the library about tools that firefighters use. We were super excited, and our visit did not disappoint.

When we got to the fire station, a firefighter showed us the garage where they keep the fire trucks and snake truck (!) and told us all about them. He even let my son sit in the driver's seat of the fire truck. This is how awesome it was:

No, really, it wasn't scary at all.

Ok, it was terrifying. The driver's seat is about 8 feet off the ground (well, maybe that's exaggerating a little) and he was pretty nervous up there.

But while he was on the ground, he was attentive and eager to learn about all the parts of the fire truck and the gear it carries. He is sometimes timid when meeting new people, and I expected he would clam up at the fire station, but he surprised me by asking the firefighter several great questions and not being shy at all. I was so proud!

Until the end-of-tour photo opportunity, when he decided he didn't want his picture taken. Oh well...

unexpected kindness

Isn't it a wonderful feeling when you are confronted by unexpected kindness?

After one of our recent bike rides, my son and I were dancing to accordion music in the grass at the farmer's market, when one of the musicians called out "pizza dough tricks!"

We weren't fast enough to see the tricks, but we wandered over to the pizza tent, where two college-age guys were prepping their supplies. It was only 9 am, so they didn't have many customers yet. 

My son and I asked if they would be willing to repeat their pizza dough tricks, since we'd missed it. One of the guys graciously agreed and put on a great show, slinging the dough through his legs and over his head. My son thought it was pretty awesome. We decided to order a pizza and hovered by the tent while they made it. These guys, though young, were pizza artisans. When I make pizza, I pound and stretch the dough in a way that is the very definition of "impatience". Not them. They gently poked the dough with the tips of their fingers. Sprinkled precise amounts of parmesan. Swirled the sauce in circles on the dough.

And the whole time, they explained each step to my son, who was captivated. They answered his questions and seemed to enjoy having us as an audience. They were so kind to take the time to connect with my son and explain the pizza-making process to him. And their kindness, to this small person whom I protect and love more than anything, really touched my heart.

on the farm

As part of our family bike ride last weekend, we stopped at a local community farm. The main draw is an old tractor whose sole purpose is for kids to "drive" it. Guess who loves it.

Not too much explanation needed. Just a boy and his tractor.

a beautiful morning

I was the first one up on Sunday morning. After checking on my son (to make sure he was still super cute (he was)), I went to the kitchen to start making my breakfast. I mentioned before that I'm on a food adventure. This food adventure involves cooking most things from scratch, so I spend a little time on the weekends making my week's supply of breakfast sausages and biscuits.

This morning, the clouds were low. Thunder rumbled in the distance. I opened the back door and went out onto the back porch for a minute to see if I could find where the storm clouds were. The colors were beautiful - not the vibrant pink and orange of a sunset, but the subtle yellow-orange of a sunrise storm.

Back inside, I left the screen door open so I could listen to the birds while I made the biscuits. A few minutes later, it started to rain. Morning rain was a daily occurrence when we lived in Portland, but here in Arizona, it's pretty special. I worked the butter into the flour with my hands (not sure you're supposed to do it that way, but I like the way it feels; plus, I didn't want to have to wash the mixer blades) and listened to the rain.

The little guy got up next and joined me in the kitchen. He was feeling the effects of skipping his nap yesterday and wasn't too happy about anything. He didn't want anything to do with me, so I put the biscuits in the oven and started on the sausages. Daddy got up soon after that and lured my son outside onto the porch, where his mood improved.

I've been making gluten-free biscuits for a while now, without a lot of success, if you define "success" as "edible by the general population". They tend to turn out like ghostly white, dry hockey pucks. Needless to say, I'm the only one who eats them around here. And I love them! In a world without bread, hockey puck biscuits taste great.

On Sunday, I was trying a new recipe, from Simply Gluten Free. The photos on the recipe show fluffy, gorgeous biscuits. I wasn't holding my breath. I simply wanted a biscuit that I could swallow without needing a drink of water after every bite. (That is not an exaggeration.) Imagine my surprise when my biscuits came out of the oven looking like this:

 

 

Beautifully golden. And do you see those rounded edges? They actually rose a little bit! Those of you who eat normal food are probably completely underwhelmed by my biscuit "success" and a bit confused by my excitement over it. That's ok. Just know that for me, these biscuits completed my beautiful morning.



things I have going for me

Parenting a three-year-old is an adventure filled with beautiful, heart-touching moments. And moments when I feel myself searching for the last dregs of patience in my being. In spite of the daily challenges, I feel my son's love and admiration every day, and it's wonderful to be special to a little person like him. I know the relationship we have right now is going to change, and he won't always wrap his little body around my leg and say "Aww, I yuzz you" on a daily basis. Discipline is also likely to change. For the moment, I'm thankful that I have a few things going for me that make this whole adventure feasible.

1. I can read. This is not only the kind of skill that inspires a sense of awe, but also makes me useful to have around. My son like to have books read to him at bedtime, of course, but he also likes to have things like his Thomas the Train catalog posters and toy construction equipment labels translated for him.
2. I'm taller than him. So while he can help himself to boxes of cereal in the pantry whenever he wants (which is often, and preferably when we're busy doing something else), he can't yet reach the freezer and get those goodies he really likes, like Creamsicles and Mini Magnums. This allows me to make sure he's getting proper nutrition and not just helping himself to treats all the time. A side benefit is that there is a special feeling one has for the person who gives you delicious frozen desserts.
3. I am so very loveable. I am cuddly and fun, and I push him in the swing for hours. And play Legos and provide voices for all of his toys (remember this one?). Of course, my son spends the vast majority of his time with three people: my husband, me, and his aunt (who is also his nanny), so his options for picking and choosing who he likes are pretty limited. But let's not talk about that. He expresses his love in such an endearing way, it warms my heart and makes the difficult times worth it.
4. I can still pick him up. If someone is giving you the business, it sure is nice to be able to physically pick them up and place them in something (i.e., a crib) that they can't get out of until you are satisfied they have learned their lesson. It's unfortunate that I can't do that with, well, anyone else who disagrees with me.
5. I know how to operate the computer, television, and Wii. And he doesn't...yet. He is scarily close to understanding how to use a mouse, and he is already better at using my phone and tablet than I am. I'm so not prepared to face this plugged-in world that kids and parents have to deal with today, but for now, I can put those worries off for another day.
6. I am hilarious. Since having a kid, I've become an expert at slapstick comedy. He also thinks it's hysterical when I mispronounce a word (usually after trying to figure out what he has said). I remember from my own childhood that this sure doesn't last long, so I'm getting all the belly laughs out of him that I can right now. 

saturday bike ride

We've reinstated Saturday Family Bike Rides! I'm pretty excited. Biking has always been a big part of life for my husband and me, but we've been slacking for the past six months or so. But now that the weather is not only very hot but also humid, and my husband recently sustained a knee injury, we've decided to start riding again. Last weekend was our second in the series.

Our bike path happens to be next to a farmer's market, so our first order of business was to get a pastry. You know, energy for the road.

Then we rode for a while. Four miles, to be exact. Our son rang his bike bell, looked for grumpy old trolls under the bridges, and tickled my husband's bottom while we rode.

 

 

We were extra lucky this Saturday, because there was actually water in the river, which is dry 99 percent of the time. We'd had a nice rain storm the day before, and the water was still running down from the mountains. 

After our grueling ride, we ended up back at the farmer's market. Time for...

...a popsicle! It was not quite 9 am, but it was already hot, and I have to admit that popsicle was a great idea.

our new bruder

My son recently acquired this excavator from Bruder.

I'm pretty impressed with this toy. It moves nicely, and I'm amazed at how realistic it is. It's made by German toy manufacturer Bruder Toys.

http://www.brudertoys.com/en/usa/

I'm completely fascinated by this company. This excavator came with a catalog of other construction, farm, and utility equipment that is 31 pages long. It goes far beyond the standard tractor-excavator-crane-fire truck selection you might expect and includes items like hay bale wrappers, logging trucks, and four-wheelers.

They also offer multiple choices for some of the more common equipment; for example, there are 34 different tractors, each a mini replica of an actual model. 34 tractors!! I love it. This is a toy company for the child (or adult?) who has delved deeply into their love of a particular piece of equipment and knows they don't want just any excavator, but a CAT excavator with wheels, not tracks, for example.

Being an engineer, I can really appreciate stuff like this. I love that this company has paid such attention to detail and placed such a high standard on creating toys that are realistic. Check out the description from their webpage about how they make the toys:

"BRUDER toy vehicles are developed and designed using state-of-the-art CAD computer applications and 3D design workstations before they are turned over to the in-house mould construction department. There, state-of-the-art CNC milling machines are used to make mould inserts and assemble the individual steel parts to form the total mould. Once the injection mould is complete, in-house plastic production is ready to begin. Our machine outfit includes approx. 70 CNC injection moulding machines. We use only plastics of the highest quality some of which are also used in the car industry. We collect the scrap plastics, recycle them and re-introduce them to the material flow in an effort to save resources and protect the environment."

Thanks, Bruder, for blowing my mind with your dedication to detail and obvious love of what you do!

Author's Note: The opinions in this post are solely my own. I received no incentive or compensation for writing this post.

our new car

Note: I recently figured out how to open comments to all readers, without registration. So please feel free to comment if you like, hassle-free.

My son has a new car.

 

 

His name is Winston. You know, the car from Thomas the Train, that can drive on train tracks. What? You haven't heard of him?

 

 

 

 



It was my son's idea to make this car, after we watched "Blue Mountain Mystery" for the fifth time and he nearly busted a gut at Winston's antics. He told me what supplies we needed and how to put it together.

 

This is the engine.



 

This is the steering wheel.

It's not too hard to drive, but it does take some concentration.

And it's hard to keep this flap down.

Gotta go!

things you might need when you go for a walk

My son recently saw this photo of himself and decided it looked like so much fun, he wanted to recreate it. He gathered everything he needed and placed it on the stroller. All his planning and preparation reminded me of this post. On a similar note, here are some things you might need for a walk if you are three:

1. Cell phone (obviously)
2. Curious George book
3. Water
4. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
5. Stroller (so you can utilize Items 1-4)

pool time with nana

My parents are visiting, and my son and my mom decided to fill up the pool. I love how my parents are up for anything!