ben's first field trip! 9.12.12

i couldn't believe it when i picked up ben from daycare, and there was a permission slip for a field trip in his cubby. what? he's three!

i mean, do they just ride a bus? i know that school aged kids do, but they're heavier. i think the school thought nick and i were crazy when we asked all of our questions!

i was able to take the day off and join him on this adventure. yay! not sure i would have let him go alone. i mean he's still a little beaner!! i think there was one parent who didn't let their kid go. and there were 18 kids and 14 parents or something along those numbers. i guess, not a lot of parents wanted them to go alone for their first time. i have to say that the teachers were pretty impressive with the ones they did have to keep an eye on. i think each teacher had two kids that didn't have parental units with them...

had to wait at the school for the bus.
was neat to hang out and watch ben interact with his friends.

here he is playing with his buddies. has know them since his other daycare. {sad note: they both have now left the new daycare and went back to his previous one which has reopened under new owners. poor ben. ;(}

getting on the bus! crappy picture but had to snap something quickly to send to nick!

he's so excited!

made a silly face so we could send daddy a funny picture.

he loved looking out the window. 

we're here! {and yes, he looked like that the entire ride!}

anxious to get off of the bus!

the set up was odd. made us get in groups inside of our groups. then they rushed us through some exhibits.

 got a cool demonstration of how the apples are sorted.

also got to try some fresh squeezed apple cider. ben drank his and mine. i think he liked it!

hopped on the tractor to take us to the trees.
pardon someone's cheesy face. i think he was already tired of pictures! {and the good one had his friend in it and i don't wanna post a random stranger on here.}

was a bit lame. the kids couldn't pick the apples. had gutters set up along the trees. here's why.  gotta love mother nature, right? :)

they had huge bins of apples set up for them to pick from as well.

he was happy with what he got. he even told me 'that's enough' before his bag was full!

and some more time on the tractor.

made our way around their grounds and had the rest of the time to just hang out.
we checked out the animals. ben had a mini melt down. was mad when i got the animal feed out of the dispenser and he didn't. i walked about 5 steps away from him to give my feed to the other kids and some stranger walked up to ben and asked him if was lost! had to quickly tell her i was right there and he was just upset.

he calmed down and we ventured over to the play farm area.

he loved playing in the hay! i could barely get him to leave!

went over and checked out their big tractor.

on the way out, ben wanted to see the animals. so we visited with the billy goats for a bit.

wanted to get some cider. ran into one of ben's classmates on the way into the big barn. she told ben about a apple cider slushie. so he had to have one too!

successful first field trip! even if the momma/ben photo wasn't as successful!

he tried to fall asleep on my lap a few times on the ride home. thankfully, one of the other parents saw and would quickly start talking to him or singing. bless her! 

ben did manage to fall out of the seat. was pretty funny. the bus driver had stopped quicker than he anticipated and just went bloop right onto the floor.

brought him home when the bus got back to school and we both took giant naps. that field trip was tiresome! 

he has another one coming up. pumpkin patch this month with daddy!

ten on tuesday 10.2.12

- dipped a marshmallow in some caramel that we had for apples and it was dee-licious! might be my new favorite sweet treat.

- nick has had his eye on the nest for a while. picked one up last week. anxious to see how it works!

- work has been rough. finally went 'live' with our emr {electronic medical records}. i think i might end up with overtime and i only work 32 hours a week {4 - 8 hour days}.

- why do people think it's okay to let their dog's head hang out the drivers side window while going down the road? i could understand the backseat or passenger, but does the dog really need to be on your lap?

- my doc called to admit a patient to the hospital and when they asked him what kind of bed they needed {meaning telemetry, oncology...} he replied king sized. i could not stop laughing. and sorry this just might be weird shannon nursing humor.

- had the purdue/marshall game on this weekend. ben said he wanted the 'green' guys to win and we, again, tried to convince him to cheer for the 'black' guys. ben now asks what their names are when he's deciding on which team is the 'good' team. nick and i tried explaining that momma and daddy went to purdue and that purdue was playing marshall, so we wanted purdue to win. i went on making dinner and ben and nick headed outside for a bit. when ben came in the game was still out. he, again, said he wanted the green guys to win. we said no, purdue. he said no the marshmallow guys. ;)

- i love fall.

- halloween costumes are done. now they just have to get here. and ben picked them out. for all of us. i gave him options and he decided! and yes, i was able to do a theme. happy shannon!

- had a hella win in my fantasty football league this week. two in a row! now if my running backs would cooperate, i'll be a super happy camper. {three combined for less than 10 points. ugh!}

- after playing with an iphone 5, and finally updating my phone's os, i think i'm sticking with apple. nick might want to go droid, but i'm not sure i can!

desiderata

i am in love with this poem.

found this awesome typography poster. it's amazing. seriously, want to buy it and have it in my home... somewhere, somehow. and maybe at work too.

sorry that it's so tiny. {source.}

and the whole text so it's a bit easier on the eyes.

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.  - Max Ehrmann

wip 9.8.12

friday:
nick's dad's band was playing at a local casino. we decided to drive out there and support him.

it was a great time. late night. nick lost money which was bad, but then we stopped at rally's and that made things a little bit better!

saturday:
ben enjoying his new shark game.

and our house in disarray. usually ben is pretty good about picking up his toys before taking something else out. not today!

he wanted to watch something on the computer. 

and then was obsessed with lotion. convinced him to put some on momma's legs! 

then we headed outside.
nick tried to get the kite to fly. no such luck. the wind died down a little too much.

then he decided to tackle the weeds in our garden boxes.

ben was helping him. he thought hitting them with the bat would kill them.

the weeds were serious.

ben and i found a grasshopper. 
ben thought he should take a picture of momma with the lil guy. {pretty darn good picture,  no?}

i convinced ben that the grasshopper should sit on his shoulder. the squeals he made every time it jumped was hysterical. 

nick won.

i had the craziest desire to color. so i printed out some coloring sheets and we all set up shop at the table. ;)

our works of art are now proudly hanging on the pantry door. totally think we should have more coloring nights. something about it relaxes me!

sunday:
a lazy morning.

then we headed out to an open house at the animal clinic. had to see dr. cooper at work! ;)

ben was a fan of his car seat not being in nick's car. he would sit in it every morning before school and today was no difference.

the open house was nice. they had goats, and games, and grub. {how's that for alliteration?}

this working dog was giving rides. 
braiden and kiersten were in partners.

and wynn and ben were paired.

after going to look at the goats a gagillion times. he finally decided he wanted to feed them.

holly had the cutest boxer puppy. almost made me want a dog.

we stood outside talking for quite some time. ben ended up falling asleep on me. {that never happens!}

came home and had some shut eye.

uncle kevin stopped buy and he and nick made a dq run. 

we spent the rest of the evening being bums and watching football. so happy it's back. however, the stress of fantasy football, i could do without. why, oh, why did i agree to play?!

ten on tuesday 9.25.12

- i am no longer winless in fantasty football! i managed to win despite my one running back getting me -2 points! and my defense only scoring 1. thank you seattle for stopping aaron rodgers. ;)

- ben told me he wanted to do gymnastics the other day. he then proceeds to do a somersault, stands up, and says, 'perfect ten.' where the heck did he get that?

- had to do a prior authorization at work last week and the lady i was speaking with would not stop mouth breathing into the phone. it was awful. i could barely hear her. was so close to ask to speak with someone else who wasn't an obnoxious mouth breather.

- i want to make a doorbell that will not ring if someone pushes it more than twice. {i really would like it to short circuit and shock whoever is doing it but...} last week, i was napping on the couch and nick was giving ben a bath. the doorbell rang and startled me out of my nap. i didn't get up and answer it. it rang again a few moments later. i finally got up and when i got to the door whoever was ringing it was gone. so i sit back on the couch, try to get settled in for a few more moments of shut eye before bath time is over. and as soon as i sit, the door bell rings in like rapid fire mode. at least five dings. zomg. heart attack again. turns out our neighbor's daughter really wanted to deliver something to us!

- these nfl refs are ridiculous.

- have a new app obsession.

- ben played with an etch a sketch tonight. he was mesmerized. i might need to purchase one!

- happy for last minute visits with friends who are in town with their new baby. :)

- nick and i are recording a few new shows this season: revolution, the mindy project, and the new normal.  i'm having dvr anxieties! 

- sometimes i think it would be better to not be updated hourly with information that is constantly changing. that maybe giving us updates every few hours would be less confusing and more time efficient...

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