Outdoor Adventures

I’ve been warned that my lack of blogging is becoming a major problem that might require severe action. I’m sorry! We’ve had such gorgeous weather these past 2 weeks that it’s hard to sit still long enough to write an entry. Oddly enough, we’ve fallen into a sunshiny routine that doesn’t really include much to write about. For the most part, our week days are: walk to pick up Ian from school, come home to see Polli, leave for another walk, come home for dinner, go for another walk, come home for bath & bedtime. As boring as that sounds, it’s really great. Ian is happiest when “on the trail”, being the sidewalk, and it burns his unending supply of energy.

I do feel like we’re going through the Terrible Twos right now. I guess that makes it the Terrible Threes…but he is just getting on my last nerve constantly with some of his absolutely normal behavior. It's not horrible, just really exhausting.

“Why?” is the question of the minute. He also wants me to make up songs for everything “mommy, sing the ‘car’ song”. “Sing the ‘leaf’ song”….etc., etc. He wants me to “talk to yourself”, in which I break into a full dialogue with myself about what we’re doing at that moment or where we’re going. Mind numbing, to say the least.

Beyond all that cuteness, he is getting some habits that I don’t like. He started calling himself a “dirtball”, which I do not like at all. I know he doesn't know what it means, but still. Next is "poopyhead" or worse. He must have picked it up at school, but he also could have gotten it from a game he and Shawn play where he says “I’m a dingaling”. Fabulous. He also throws gigantic MAJOR over the top tantrums for the tiniest reasons lately… Polli cannot go down or up the stairs in front of him. He has to have snacks or prizes on demand. He wants my attention 100% and IMMEDIATELY regardless of what I’m doing… Yes, I know. Still very normal.

As bad as I make it sound, it’s not so bad. He is still an easy breezy kid. He is generally happy “most” of the time, and since starting his new school, has gotten extremely creative and playful. He enjoys other kids more than ever, and even just yesterday, said in the backyard “I hear Joey’s mommy” (Joey is a 5 year old 3 houses down) “Maybe we can go see if they can play with toys right now”. So, before I know it, he will be asking to go to his friend’s houses….riding bikes up and down the street. Getting scrapes and big owies. Mystery gunk on his clothes. It’s all just around the corner. I guess for now, I should appreciate that he wants me by his side 24/7 and won’t let me leave the room for 2 seconds without asking “where’d mommy go?”. I should love it and cherish it, because it will be fleeting. All this I know.

While Shawn went diving on Thursday, I took Ian to Home Depot to get some “special plants”, and we went to REI and Panera as well. He loves REI and Panera more than anywhere. Panera is “the soup store” and REI is where the bikes are (and gummy bears). If we by chance need something at Target, it’s in the same lot and makes for the perfect trifecta of shopping… Ian’s 3 favorite places. While out, we picked up some strawberry plants to put in a pot in our backyard. At school, they planted strawberries and will watch them grow, bloom, then bud fruit. He came home talking about it and asked if he could have a “special plant”. I love that it interests him, so we picked up our own strawberry plants and he did a great job of helping me plant them. Of course, he wanted to know immediately where the strawberries were…and I had to explain that the plant is the mommy and she will grow babies that are the strawberries. He knows now that when the grow “big” and turn red, we can “eat’em, mmm” (complete with the belly rub). I sure hope they bear fruit or I’m in big trouble!

He finally figured out that he can stand up and walk around the back of my car. Now, he requires that I let him out of his car seat so he can get out through the back. It took a little convincing that he couldn’t go back there while I’m driving, but it sure gave me flashbacks of riding in our station wagon growing up!

Also keeping me busy is my own new obsession, hiking. My big crazy goal is to actually do a hike/climb up Mt. Rainier by the time I turn 40 (4 years), but most people look at me like I’ve totally lost it. I know it sounds crazy, as a relative beginner hiker, but I think it is absolutely doable. Who knows how it will all turn out, especially since it directly coincides with my other goal of going back to school…but we shall see. My first real hike of the season was yesterday to Mt. Si, here in North Bend, WA. I’ve put a couple of pics down below, but to read the whole story and/or follow along as I attempt this crazy mission, your best bet is to RSS or bookmark my other blog, dedicated to me, rather than The Boy & The Bulldog. My other blog address: http://trailmixmom.blogspot.com/

Enjoy the pics below. I’ll try to post more often this month. Next month will get interesting as Shawn leaves for Rotan, Honduras on 7/4 with his brother for a scuba diving trip, then goes out of town again mid-July to Atlanta. I’m furious that I’m not going with him on that trip. I love Atlanta and have friends I want to see in that area. Maybe next time.

About to dart off in some unknown direction at Home Depot...all he wants to do is run in this place.

Watching for me as I went to get our food at Panera

Playing on "big kid bikes" at REI. Just a little more leg and he'll be ready. His tricycle is perfect training for this right now.

My future outdoorsman. He loves the tents and sleeping bags. In fact, I might get him a sleeping bag for his "big boy bed" as an incentive to stay in his room at night.

Thrilled with his purchases

Hanging out in the back of my car with his strawberry and tomato plants

Gardening is serious business

Getting into the dig of it

Mt. Rainier from the summit of Mt. Si yesterday

Me (with Rainier in the background) on Si yesterday. 8 miles round trip.