Pretend City

In our quest to hit up one museum a month this summer, we made our first stop to Pretend City. Pretend City is a giant warehouse that has been converted to different places you would find in  the city, except all 100% child sized, safe and friendly. The first thing they tell the kids when you go in as that nobody is going to tell them not to do/touch something today (within reason). It was a drive but fun none-the-less. I wish one was closer to us, because I can't see making that drive (2.5 hrs) a lot just for the sake of it - But its one we can definitely scratch off our list now! Sully had an awesome time (that's what counts and not the crappy traffic getting there and home, grr)- Some of the places he visited and liked best were ....

The grocery store 

The farm

The town square

The gas station

The fire station

The harbor

The doctors office

The dentist 

The sound stage

The theater 

and The house

He was little overwhelmed at first with all his choices (there are a lot). And the best thing is they give the kiddos a card when you sign in. You stamp it at each place you go to. When you fill your stamp card up, you go to the Pretend City bank, cash in your "timecard" and the ATM gives you Pretend City money. I wish I had got a picture of him standing in the ATM line, doh!

Sully speak

• Around 11PM at night from a dead sleep. "Dad you want me to tell you something ... I just saw a giraffe. He was really tall."

• At the dinner table ... "Look at me and tell me about your day Daddy, in words." 

• Singing "Sally the Camel" in the car I thought I'd change it up and sing "Sully the Camel". I got through the first line and he screamed from his car seat ... "I'm NOT a camel! I'm a boy! I don't have hooves and don't you see my hair?!"

• At Starbucks, drinking coffee with my sister and Sully, I asked him to get down from the brick wall. He came up to me and said "Yeh, well, your butt is a penis. You're a penis-butt!"

• Watering outside I sprayed him with the hose ... "Stop it you stinky brat! I'm telling my dad on you when he gets home!"

• Holding my phone "Can I call Daddy? He's my boy."

• To my sister holding her keys "Can I drive your car home?" My sister "You're not old enough yet" Sully "BUT I GOT BIGGER!"

• Holding a Wall-E balloon and singing in  the store "WALL-E POP WALL-E POP, Oh Wall-e Wall-e, Wall-e POP!"

• In garage getting ready to leave he was "naughty" talking. No F-Bombs or anything, just stuff about kicking people, which I generally don't like. Pretty positive he picks it up from the older boys he plays with at school because we monitor what he gets to watch on TV. He's come away with some lovely gems from school. Guess you take the pros with the cons. ANYWAYS .... I get down to tell him what he's saying isn't cool, and I can tell he's scared. I tell him "You're not in  trouble, but I need you to look at me" and a grin wiped over his face and within a second he had his pants and underwear pulled down with his bare butt in my face yelling "Well then look at my booty!" I tried ... I tried so hard to keep a straight face but I couldn't. All I could think about was the years of pulled shenanigans I subjected my parents to to avoid trouble (It worked). Apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess. I suck at this whole straight-faced discipline thing!

• Holding up his Stanley Playoff puck we got him that he asked his Daddy a display case for. "You can look at it Mom, but don't touch it. DON'T TOUCH IT - you could scratch it!." (I'd like to point out this thing has been hit, slapped, thrown, kicked and shuffled against walls, stairs, grass, dirt ...etc) Guess his apples don't fall far from his dad's tree either. 

Pig Money

Sully had been saving up his pennies, literally since Christmas when my mom got him a new piggy bank we affectionately refer to as Pig. On numerous Target trips he would always go down the same car aisle, to the same car track and give it the same doe-eyed in love look. Finally, he asked Shaun and I if he could buy it and we told him if he'd like to count and spend his pig money to buy it, he could.

I love to spoil him and I admit I'm the absolute worst at telling him no. I've got ALL DAY SUCKER written across my forehead for this kid, and he knows it. But I also want him to learn that there is something to be said for in the satisfaction of earning something completely on your own. He was so proud of himself that day knowing he spent his own money to buy a big toy, that it has got a little easier for me to tell him at the store "Take this up with Pig, man."

And I'm Quentin Tarantino'ing this blog entry and giving the ending photos first because I'm too lazy to muck around with the pictures to get them in order. I've got like 8 posts in draft mode! So I'm doing a mad dash to play catch up, yes, still. 

The pay off!

Little bugger had $47.00 bucks and some change saved up!

Going to cointstar 

Show me the money!

The track ... he knew right where to go, I just followed

Paying for his track with his own money

Passion, You's got it!

So how exactly did we end up at Islands with my kid refusing to take off his full face guarded hockey helmet? He begged and begged and begged his Daddy, who agreed that if he had a good skating semester, he could get one. Well he's been doing great, just started his second skate semester and knew full well it was time for Daddy to pony up on his end of the deal. So we took him out to choose a helmet like the real hockey guys wear for his lessons. He refuses to take it off now. He wears it in restaurants, in the car, at the grocery store, around home. 

Now he's begging for "real hockey gloves". 

I think his dad has created a monster. 

Blarging

Life has been crazy busy. Most nights Shaun and I just sit and stare at each other, exhausted, go to bed early and do it all again the next day/weekend. Keeping up with an active 3 year old is no joke. Keeping up with our schedules lately has seemed to be even less of one. I've been slacking something awful on keeping up with our family blog. Things that have now replaced any kind of "Free Time" we had before ...

Weekly ice skating lessons

Working in our backyard (hah!)

Bridal dress appointments 

Working out 

Birthdays, birthdays and birthdays! 9 in our family this time of year to be exact between April and August

... & Holidays 

... & Wedding anniversaries (Ours, my parents and soon to be my sister's all in August!)

Bridal shower shopping and planning for my sister's party next month

Trips to the children's museum

Park play dates

Potty training

Camping trips

The Stanley Cup playoffs (GO KINGS!) 

Pool time and swim lessons

Work obligations

Dealing with the "WHAT THE F*CK" 3's (And I thought terrible 2's were where it was at)

Baking 

Enjoying my kid whose growing rapid fire before my eyes 

& just everything in between 

So I'm literally blog barfing for the time being until things die down. So I'm blarging is I guess what I'm saying.

Sully's school pictures
BIG improvement from last year's school pictures in what I like to affectionately refer to as the
"Stranger Danger Series"

At Cronies watching the game w/ fam and friends and these goons

I'm not really sure whats going on here in this picture he took, but I'm not going to lie. Its one of my personal favorites of us, ever.

I loves him

Ice meet Sully's face. Face, meet the hard ice.

Picture doesn't do it justice. 

Face planted ice skating and bruised his cheek and gave himself a fat lip.

Didn't cry though! Got back up and started skating again.

I told Shaun later I'm not prepared to start replacing teeth just yet.

Park day, some naked time in the kiddie pool during yard work and Sully & his bud Connor at dinner. Something I adore about my kid - he's always been such an animated kid. 

He loves to make people laugh. and he's extremely aware at how to get the job done.

That's going to bite me in the ass when he's in junior high, I know it.

He woke up and told me he had to stretch and "work out" before he started his day. And his new favorite show that *I* use to watch when my sister was little like (okay so I was in high school), oh god ... 15 years ago?! Is that even possible?

Clearly being productive dress shopping for my sister's upcoming wedding

My-boy-likes-to ... Hockey ALL. THE. TIME.

Hockey ALL. THE. TIME.

Hockey-all-the-tiiiii-ime.

Even when he sleeps. He's THAT hardcore.

Dusted off my teaching gloves and whipped up this batch of homemade play dough when I realized we had no more. Forgot how fun it is to make!

Running out of the store he wore a HOCKEY HELMET into, pretending to skate and play.

And get knocked into the boards and get an injury and need the medical team to remove him off the ice.

AKA Me. Carrying him. Due to a "broken leg".

Did I mention he likes hockey? This is my life people!

Why yes, yes we do celebrate Halloween in May. 

You should see the looks on our neighbors faces when he shows up to their doors.

Watching the big boys play hockey at the ice rink 

Getting ready for dinner with Yaya and Uncle B - Look at that smile! 

Cupcakes for Shaun's potluck that he signed up to make - which means I signed up to make cupcakes. He threatened if I didn't he'd make them and tell everyone I did. He had the balls to put my cupcake reputation on the line. 

It worked.

He's lucky I like him.

Representing. I'm biased, but obviously he's the cutest thing ever 

... when his sassy ass mouth isn't running.

... and not telling me that he doesn't love me.

... and is actually listening instead of pretending to be deaf.

... and isn't busy calling me a Penis-Butt (Touche Sir for that burn BTW)

My early father's day/birthday surprise for Shaun - Round 3's Game 4!

He made us leave super early to get there ... super early. I'm not joking when I say he would have had us up at sunrise and out the door if I would have let him.

Me & my guy at the game (He asked if he was allowed to marry me again when he found out about the tickets. 12 years of togetherness and we share smack talk more than we ever share sweet talk. Its just how we are. But in a moment of clear weakness he made that statement and we can now collectively together say ... AWWWWW)

A picture I posted of my mom and I on mother's day - would of swore they had just given me a pony, but it was actually my first time seeing snow. Fail.

This sexy stud announces that its officially summer & the pools officially open, dudes.

My hams giving their best go at "duck face" - you know you know some girls with duck face pictures.