curious ethan and the firefighters

In high school, I was lucky enough to have one pretty amazing best friend. I don't even remember how Zac and I started talking but yet I can't remember a time when we weren't completely inseparable. When we were seniors and my husband (then boyfriend, of course) had already moved three hours away to college, Zac pretended my sobbing-at-my-desk tears weren't totally irrational and drove me three hours up after school just to tell my husband goodnight in person -- and then we hopped in the car and drove three hours straight back. Granted, this wasn't the exact story I told my parents (something about Zac and I going for pizza and then a movie or something) and it was probably the most trouble I've ever been in once they found out (because I left my e-mail up on my computer screen, if that tells you how totally not sneaky I am). Zac was actually always good at saving me when I did stupid things, which was scarily often.

I think we both were somehow completely stunted by high school and so we always convinced one another that lunchtime was a perfectly great time to skip out and grab a coffee at Starbucks while talking about all of the wonderful things that could be accomplished if we weren't, you know, stuck in high school. At the time, our high school offered a special program for kids who were totally one-tracked about the direction their future was headed and actually showed potential about accomplishing these dreams. Instead of taking two classes we would never use, we got to focus on interning and basically working on our craft or career of choice so that after high school we would basically be there. I, of course, chose writing. I was going to write books, don't you know. Considering I stepped into senior year with one already under my belt, my teenage arrogance got the best of me. I had written an entire novel that year for my final presentation but it never went anywhere and instead I followed my boyfriend-now-husband three hours up to Orlando to just be in love. Zac, on the other hand, was going to be a firefighter. No, you don't get it: he was going to be a firefighter. There was something so totally passionate about his love and determination for becoming a firefighter that it was almost contagious. Where we once felt so stunted by high school and it's corresponding tedious projects, Zac was busy pouring his heart out into just being a firefighter. I'm hesitant to even say "becoming" a firefighter, because in his heart, he was already one. At the end of the year when Zac gave his presentation, it was as if magic had just happened in that classroom. There weren't many dry eyes and I recall one heck of a standing ovation, even from the firefighters who had come to watch and support him.

I wrote a What Ethan Is Reading post recently that included a book that Ethan is, of course, most often reading: Curious George & The Firefighters. My husband and I like to jokingly ask Ethan what book he'd like to read next, knowing very well what the answer will be. We suggest a wide variation of Curious George stores: the aquarium, the baseball game, making pancakes -- but it always comes down to Curious George & The Firefighters. It's basically a no-brainer.

I'm not sure how Zac and I stopped talking as much as I'm not sure how we started. I had left South Florida for Orlando and desperately tried to find myself in a place that I didn't want to be, in a life that I both wanted and wanted to be different. Eventually those three hours from home grew longer and longer and somehow the time and distance got the best of us. And, you know, sometimes all it takes is one Curious George book about firefighters to waltz your best friend back into your life a zillion and forty years later. Or close to it. Because now instead of doing stupid things and skipping class, we're all married and responsible (and, you know, I'm a parent). A zillion and forty years it is.

Zac became a firefighter. (Please insert your collective "duh" here.) I became a mommy. And it's a little trippy to watch your high school best friend giving your son a day that he just wouldn't stop talking about as much as he still hasn't forgotten that Curious George came to his birthday party and still looks for him whenever we go to My Gym. Today, Ethan got to be an honorary firefighter. He called himself "firefighter Ethan" for the bulk of the day and we made a lot of phone calls for one excited little boy to be able to exclaim "I rode on firetruck!" to whoever was on the other end. (If I called you and you didn't answer our call, your loss. Because it was adorable, please believe.)

When we first arrived to the fire station, we met up with Zac and almost immediately the firefighters were sent on a call. This was the first sign that Ethan was absolutely going to love his time at the fire station. He was glued to the window watching the fire truck turn on it's lights and speed out of the garage.

Once Zac returned, Ethan got one pretty awesome tour of the fire station. He got to sit in and explore fire trucks, the boat, an ambulance (that I probably rode in when Ethan was in my belly. Does this count as his first time in one?). He even got to climb up to the top of the ladder just like Curious George did in his favorite story. Zac also let him have some water in the firefighter's lounge where his other firefighter dream came true: he saw a fire Dalmatian. (Granted, it was a statue, but Ethan didn't mind that detail. He was stoked.)

His favorite part was when he got to wear a firefighter helmet and ride a firetruck. I mean, in actual life it was a golf cart, but it was red and had lights that flashed and it was a fire truck. There will never be any way to top Ethan's happiness in that minute on the golf cart -- I mean, fire truck. Kid was beyond elated -- and a real firefighter.

fall leaves suncatchers

Some mornings (okay, most mornings) Ethan likes to wake up when it's still dark outside. This usually means we have hours until our morning activity or playdate. Is there a better way to kill time than with arts and crafts projects? (The answer: nope.) I mean, this is one project I wish I thought to prep ahead of time because peeling crayons for over thirty minutes at the crack of dawn while sipping my Starbucks was a little bit on the tedious side, but these homemade fall leaves look just beautiful. Anything I can do to convince myself that a typical fall happens in South Florida, I totally will.

I outlined some basic leaf shapes (or tried to -- I really should tattoo "I'm not an artist" across my forehead since I state that obvious observation so often) onto wax paper and had Ethan go to work laying out the crayon shavings on the leaves where he thought they should go.

Next you place a blank sheet of wax paper over the top and iron it lightly. It only takes a couple of seconds for the crayon to begin melting together.

You simply cut out the leaves and fix them to a window. We chose one overlooking my parents pool area.

And as the sun begin to shine through...

...the leaves were just so totally pretty!

it's not hard to dream

It is hot outside. Dreadfully hot. The past few days I've had it in my head that we can grin and bear it through the sweltering heat to spend an afternoon at the park. The park. You know, the place with the swings and slides where we used to spend every afternoon running around before we ran the risk of heat stroke. The playground and skate park were once our afternoon staples, just myself and Ethan, enjoying the magical time where it's no longer day but isn't yet quite night either. The past few days, though, I've made an attempt to win back our nightly traditions if not only because I miss them. If not only because as Ethan is talking off my ear in the car all I can think about is how big he's getting and how he's no longer a baby. When someone asks me "how old is he now?" I feel the burn of salt being rubbed on a wound, the lump in my throat growing when I have to say he's two. Two.

We never made it to the park any of these attempts. The backseat grows silent; that tiny, sweet voice stops singing along to Taking Back Sunday. Asleep. My child who I didn't believe knew how to sleep at all, let alone nap, has fallen asleep the past three days in the car for two hours. When he wakes up there is the sound of stirring and that tiny voice starts singing along to the music again, quieter and softer than before. One day he won't want to do that either, I always think. One day he'll roll his eyes and say "mom, Taking Back Sunday are so old and no one listens to them anymore." One day he won't whine at whatever song I dare put on without his input, insisting instead we listen to The Shins. "Ethan listen to The Nins," he whines from the backseat.

I long for cooler weather, or at the very least an afternoon without a thunderstorm. I long for the freedom of fall, or whatever bit of fall we get here in Florida, fields of pumpkins and Halloween parties and more memories. More traditions. As many memories and traditions as I can possibly cram into our typically napless days. The last of the baby stage, it's fleeting and I can't figure out how to hold on.

The painters finished their work at our house yesterday. My husband let me know this through a phone call that began with "I personally don't think the kitchen looks purple, but..." If I wasn't so exhausted, I might be a little panicked. Visions of eggplant walls are dancing through my head in between sputters and sparks from my brain indicating my body is running on empty. Tonight we will move back the furniture, hang the pictures back on the walls. Tomorrow we will be home again, back in our own beds and our regular routine. I'm ready to move forward from this whole thing.

the mother of all baby showers is coming to south florida (& a super special south florida resident giveaway, too!)

The Mother Of All Baby Showers is coming to Davie's Young At Art Museum on Friday, October 4th, 2013! The event runs from 5:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. and is everything the name implies. Just browsing the list of educational sessions made me really wish I attended something like this back when I was pregnant with Ethan. Talk about a safe place for new and expectant moms to have their questions answered and their neurosis validated! Can we also take a minute to gush over the $20,000 in giveaways being handed out to some super lucky mommies? With vendors including Baby K'Tan, Britax, Boogie Wipes, Happy Family, Pediped and just about every other big name in the baby business, I am feeling all fan girl about getting to check out some of the latest stuff on the baby market. After all, it's been a couple of years since I was once a new mommy sobbing in a total panic while trying to compile my baby registry and this stuff changes all the time. I'm looking forward to re-learning the ropes so maybe I'm a little ahead of the game this time when it comes to baby #2. (There, I said it.) (No, I don't have anything to tell you yet.)

While I may not be a new mommy (you have no idea how much it pained me to admit that) these days, I'm still a mommy. And that means I'm as frazzled as they come. I think I'm starting to dream about the pampering suite sponsored by Zenerations of Boca. Hand, feet, massage and skin specialists will be there to help you melt the stress away while you're surrounded by awesome products to try before you buy (baby food makers?! Strollers?! Wraps and carriers?!) and snacking on delicious treats. Once I heard Rosie Pope of Bravo's "Pregnant In Heels" would be attending and speaking during one of the educational sessions, I was there faster than you can say swag bag.

I was on bedrest during Ethan's pregnancy just in time for the Casey Anthony trial. (I know, my luck astounds me, too.) I sat in bed and instead would marathon episodes of "Pregnant In Heels" and wonder why I wasn't as glamorous and put together as Rosie Pope in between blood pressure readings. (The woman has the patience of a saint, I tell you.) I'm extremely excited to hear what Rosie Pope has to say and test my own Mommy IQ during her session!

I'm interrupting myself to give a couple of introductions:

Allow me to introduce you to Melissa and April, both new mommies and fellow South Florida bloggers. I'm so excited to be attending The Mother Of All Baby Showers South Florida with these awesome women and even more excited to be teaming up to give three winners the opportunity to win two tickets each to this spectacular event!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There's still time to register for the Mother Of All Baby Showers so be sure to get your tickets! We can't wait to see you there!

cooking with toddlers: pumpkin spice apple butter

It's still miserably hot down here in South Florida and so I just fall into the all pumpkin everything trend and pretend I'm wearing some cute, fuzzy sweater and my shoes are crunching on red and orange fallen leaves as I walk. For some reason pumpkin season has officially kicked off and it took me two grocery stores and one super sweet employee willing to check the incoming truckload to find any pumpkin. But Ethan and I whipped up a batch of this pumpkin spice apple butter and it was all so very worth it.

This is an awesome recipe to make with little helpers. It's easy and if they can get past the six-seven hour wait time to start sampling, it'll be worth every second of cook time. Here's what you need:

Six apples (peeled and chopped), one can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix), 1/3c brown sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, 2 tablespoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, 1/4c all-natural no sugar added apple juice.

I always prep the ingredients and place them into several small bowls, cups and containers. This always makes the easy job seem more complex and Ethan feels every step is equally as important. He loves being able to "cook" by pouring all of the different ingredients himself. Littler containers, cups and bowls makes this easier for him.

Because this recipe is super easy, all you have to do is dump everything into the crockpot.

And, of course, stir.

I gave it a couple final stirs before turning the crockpot on just to make sure the apples are completely covered and everything is evenly mixed. From there, you just set this to cook for anywhere between six and eight hours and let the amazing pumpkin, apple and spice aromas fill your home.

After seven hours, I poured the mixture into a blender and blended it for a minute or two to ensure there were no big chunks left. If you'd rather it stays chunkier, there's no need for a blender and you can just mash up the remaining apple pieces with the back of a wooden spoon.

We have been loving this today. Ethan had some pumpkin apple butter mixed into his yogurt with chia seeds at breakfast, I had some slathered on a piece of bread and my husband had a pumpkin apple butter sandwich for lunch today. Totally can't get enough and, as usual, Ethan is pretty proud of his hard work in the kitchen!