Fly on the Wall: ___ There it is!

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Cathy O

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 6 bloggers are inviting you to catch a Fly on the Wall Post glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

Baking In A Tornado

Menopausal Mother

Never Ever Give Up Hope

Spatulas on Parade

My Brand of Crazy

Here’s who you’ll be hearing from in my house:

Me, Mama O.
Daddy O.
Big Sister, age 8
Little Brother, age 6

Since I have been writing these blog posts since 2014, I have my own Fly Post Page. Check it out if you want to hear more craziness from my house.

Happy Dad

Mama O. to Daddy O. on a Friday afternoon: Have you been drinking?

Daddy O.: No, why?

Mama O.: You just seem extra funny. I guess you’re happier on half days of work. (His company has summer hours, so he works 9 hour days and enjoys a half day most Fridays. It has been really nice – we’ve all been happier on Fridays!)

Our Kids

We had some extra quiet time around the house as our kids went with their grandparents for a mini-vacation this summer. During that time, Daddy O. remarked, “I guess we can’t get rid of all of our children” (referring to our fur baby, Sumo Kitty sat at the breakfast table with us).

Sumo Kitty – this is her typical annoyed expression

We were talking about face recognition capabilities. For my laptop, I explained that the camera scans for my face and then logs me in. Little Brother said, “Since Big Sister is a miniature version of Mom, I bet she could login to your computer.”

We tried it, and it didn’t work….yet.

Here is a picture of us together.

Mama O and Big Sister in the North Woods

Mama O. and her mini-me.

This summer we’ve been watching baking shows. Nailed It was definitely a favorite in our house. I think that’s why our kids are getting more adventurous. Case in point: Big Sister added bacon to her cereal. Who wouldn’t want bacon flavored Cheerios?

Anything is better with Bacon!

Historic Action Figures

Daddy O.: What are these?

Mama O.: They are Play Mobil figures my parents gave to the kids from their trip to Germany.

Playmobil figures from Germany. The writing in the book is in German, translates to Book of the Old Testament. The New Testament translated by Doctor Martin Luther.

Big Sister: My guy looks nothing like Martin Luther King Jr.

Mama O.: No, it’s Martin Luther, a famous German who translated the Bible from Latin (just keeping it high level).

Daddy O.: Who’s the other guy?

Mama O.: I think it’s Albrecht Duerer, a German painter.

Daddy O.: What?! I didn’t know they made historic, German action figures?

Mama O.: Pretty awesome, right?! LOL

My German major and one German Art of the Middle Ages class IS being put to good use.

Tip for the Outdoors

While camping and hiking, we remind kids of the saying for poison ivy, “Leaves of three, let it be.” The kid’s aunt chimed in, “Leaves of four, eat some more!”

Remembering Past Summers

Last summer we took an amazing family vacation to South Dakota. My scrapbooking hobby always runs behind, so I have been putting together some pages from last year. Since he saw some pictures from our trip, Little Brother asked me, “How long did we drive to South Dakota?”

I responded, “About 7 hours was the longest we were in the car.” And then he said, “That was painful.”

This is more of the summer grumpiness we experience with Little Brother every year. Last year, he said, “Adults almost always ruin my mood – especially you Mom.” I’m not going to lie, I can’t wait for back to school time!!

Lyrics from Another Time

Does anyone remember the song “Whoomp, there is is!”?

Our kids heard it and immediately thought that they were saying, “Poop, there it is!” Sigh…you have to love potty humor.

It’s no surprise that this is what Little Brother painted when we took some time to paint at our local pottery shop.

Poop Emoji bank (Little Brother), Pony (Big Sister), and Soap Dish (Mama O.)

Okay, that’s all for me and my crazy crew. Now be sure to check out those other fun Fly on the Wall blog posts!

Last Day of Kindergarten / 2nd Grade

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Cathy O

It’s that time of year again – last day of school!

My kids are SO excited, and I’m emotional! Look how big my babies are getting:

Top: First day of 2nd grade and kindergarten / Bottom: Last day

I’m ending the kindergarten era: both kids have been in 4K and 5K, so four total years of kindergarten.

This morning my son read me a book at breakfast time.

Last night I read to both of my kids, though many nights they read to themselves.

I’m so stinking proud of these kids and feel so blessed to be their mom.

I expect to be a complete mess when they move onto middle school and graduate high school. That’s a lot for a mom’s heart to handle! This year I even cried watching a video of 5th graders leaving their school – kids who are not even mine. Yikes! Good luck parents, if you’re celebrating a big milestone or just a bit emotional about the end of the school year like me!

I’ve written about these emotional days before in case you want to look back like I did this morning:

Have a wonderful summer!

Fly on the Wall: Smart Kids

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Cathy O

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 6 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

Here’s who you’ll be hearing from in my house:

Me, Mama O.
Daddy O.
Big Sister, age 8
Little Brother, age 6

Since I have been writing these blog posts since 2014, I have my own Fly Post Page. Check it out if you want to hear more craziness from my house.

The first day back to school after the holidays and I ask the kids how their day was.

Big Sister: Good

Little Brother: Annoying!

I could tell Little Brother was grumpy and tired, so I said later, “Well, maybe you should go to bed early. Sometimes after a bad day, a good night’s rest will make you feel better.”

Little Brother replied, “I didn’t say I had a bad day. It was a miserable day.”

Okay then…

Just Between Siblings

I can’t remember the exact context, but I heard the kids talking:

Little Brother: Me thinking only of myself.

Big Sister: If you do that, then you can’t be a Jedi.

Daddy O. has them well-trained on Star Wars.

Two Cute One-liners from Smart Kids

Big Sister’s friend said, “Don’t yuck someone else’s yum.”

Little Brother declared (as he asked me to read him a story), “A story will make a good snuggle even better.”

Future Blogger?

Little Brother brought home some journal entries from his kindergarten class, and they really are great. It’s adorable to see what stands out in his mind and what he chooses to draw and share. I think he could be a future blogger.

I played with my little blue thing a ma bob this morning.

I accidentally kicked my heel yesterday.

Riveting, right?!

I went to the beer gardens.

YES, this is true. We DID take the kids to a beer garden in town. There IS a playground and slide there, so it IS family-friendly. No, this isn’t a weekly thing. Of course, he writes about this in kindergarten!!

Grandma’s Got a New Job

My mom recently retired, and her schedule has been quite full. I was telling Daddy O., “Grandma is working the polls.”

And then I realized that it could be interpreted as “poles.” We just cracked up.

Grandma will be working as part of the primary election staff just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

The BEST for Last!

Big Sister: Mom is smart. She is raising two kids.

Amen, sister!

Now go read those other fantastic blogs for a peek into some other homes:

Baking In A Tornado http://www.BakingInATornado.com

Menopausal Mother http://www.menopausalmom.com/

Never Ever Give Up Hope https://batteredhope.blogspot.com

Bookworm in the Kitchen http://www.bookwormkitchen.com/

Spatulas on Parade https://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com

Best Toy Ever: YEARS of Building Fun

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Cathy O

As many parents know, some toys just remain a hit year after year, while others have come and gone.

This one has been a clear favorite since they first arrived in 2013. (Thanks, Amazon purchase history!) It’s the Magna Tiles Clear Colors 100 Piece Set.

No, this is not a sponsored post either, just an unsolicited review from a happy mom.

We bought these when my son was two years old. He looked like this then:

2 year old big boy

Now he’s six years old, and he is still building and creating with these Magna Tiles. His cousin and eight-year-old sister were playing with them over the weekend. Inventing who know’s what and having a blast.

2018 and this toy is still going strong

After building and toppling countless towers, he knows now to add “stabilizers” to the bottom. When he runs out of squares, he puts two triangles together to make a square. He’s learning and playing all at the same time. Genius! They’ve routinely made a bowling ally (kind of like a maze with a bouncy ball) and many other creations. These Magna Tiles have withstood much use and abuse through the years, and I can’t recall ever having to throw one piece away! Just last week, I found a stack of them in my eight-year-old daughter’s closet.

I remember buying these Magna Tiles years ago with Christmas money from Great Grandma, and yes, it was a lot of money to spend on one toy. We’ve also added a building pack, so the kids could create vehicles, which have been mostly trains in our house! (I’ve written about cardboard trains and the Illinois Railroad Museum)

And yeah, we really loved trains – especially here in April 2014:

My Little Railroader

As I look back on these pictures and blog posts, it IS nice to see that my kids will still play with toys and, in fact, are still little kids (despite their growing size). I can’t freeze time, as much as I’d like to, and while I want my kids to stay little, stay sweet, I can be more mindful of times that I catch them “being little” and playing intently with toys. Take a picture (as my son requested this morning even though we were busy getting ready for school), and enjoy the moment.

While my kiddos are much too big for the term “babies don’t keep,” I have experienced that time flies when your kids are in school full-time. There will be a time that these toys aren’t as appealing as sports and activities win out over playing at home.

Until then, we’ll gladly embrace the Magna Tile towers and messes that may come along with them.

Signs your Kids are Growing Up

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Cathy O

I’ve been feeling like I’m an “old” or “older” parent this school year, especially with both of my kids in school full days now (kindergarten and 2nd grade).

This IS a big deal for our family.

Some may say it’s even life changing! And it is in so many ways, but that’s for another blog post.

One sign that the kids are growing up is the gear (or lack of baby gear) in our home. One of the last “baby items” that remains is our bike trailer. About five years ago it actually transported our little kids. It has been stored in our garage for some time, but over summer it was dusted off and used for this:

New use for an old bike trailer

We rode bikes to a cookout and brought our food along! On another occasion it’s carried beer! My hubs rode his bike to the grocery store and hauled home our groceries in it.

Forget a bike basket – we have a whole trailer!! 🙂

go mama o

balancing kids, life and work on the go

Category Archives: parenting