Things I Learned From Taco Dinner

Things I've learned from this evening's taco dinner:

1). When you purchase a hard and soft taco dinner kit, make sure it says "KIT" on it, otherwise, you're just getting a bunch of shells.  Having a bunch of shells and a bunch of ground beef does not a delicious taco make! 

2). When you realize you goofed and don't have seasoning for your tacos and you pack your kids up to go to the store just to buy taco seasoning, don't cheap out and buy the generic store brand. I'm generally all for store brands and often can't tell the difference from the "good" stuff...not true of taco seasoning. I spent a good 10 minutes adding cumin, paprika, salt, onion salt, and garlic powder to make it edible. 

And lastly,

3). I have spent years making tacos for me and the hubs.  Always the same.  One taco kit, one pound of ground beef.  We eat as much as we want and still have leftovers for another day.  Now that Aidan is eating tacos, I need to buy 2lbs of ground beef for taco night from this day forward.  This is just the beginning of the changes to my grocery planning raising 2 boys (and their dad!). 

Quite an educational dinner tonight!

911 - EMERGENCY!

WEEEEE-OOOOOOH, WEEEEE-OOOOOOH, WEEEEEEEE-OOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!

 

I hear that a lot.  A LOT.  Its like a constant soundtrack in my life.  Only its not coming from actual emergency vehicle sirens (well, usually), its coming from my children. 

When we go to the mall, we have to sit in the fire truck at the arcade - regardless of the fact that Mommy never has quarters to pump into said fire truck.

 

We find fire trucks in malls we're visiting for a first time...

My boys run around the house screeching siren sounds and calling for back-up to fight yet another fire or help Mike Flood off another roof.  (If you have no idea who Mike Flood is, you're better off.  Google "Fireman Sam", but don't let your small children see/hear anything or they may demand you become Fireman Sam fans too!)  I hear these sounds first thing in the morning, all afternoon, before and after dinner, as they squirm out of our hands as my husband and I try to get them into pajamas at bedtime...sirens, all the time.  We were grocery shopping earlier today and Aidan was hanging off the end of the cart screeching out his siren warning to oncoming traffic as we weaved in and out of
every. aisle. we. went. down.

This is a way of life now.  I don't try to stifle their passion.  There are worse things they could love at this very impressionable age.  I'm embracing this love of all things fire rescue!

 

Every time we drive though the center of town, my 3 1/2 yr old starts polling all passengers (usually just me and his little brother that has no idea what he's talking about) as to whether or not the fire station doors will be open.  I have to HOPE we hit a red light directly in front of the fire station so he gets his moment to look on with admiration at the large brick building, and maybe even see a real, live, actual FIREMAN!  If the light's green...I have to go slow and risk the people behind me getting irritated.  The things you do for your children.

 

I know 4 different fire stations within 10 minutes of us that we drive by intentionally on a regular basis just to keep my little men happy in the back seat.  Driving down the road, conversations are consistently interrupted by "FIRE TRUCK!!!" or "AMBULANCE!!!" or "MOMMA, DID YOU SEE THE FIRETRUCK/AMBULANCE?!?" 

God forbid I didn't notice...its nearly unforgivable at this point.

I can say with a fair amount of certainty that the highlight of my kids' summer has been getting to climb around a real life fire truck, push buttons, try on helmets, fasten seat belts, ring bells, turn on sirens, and ask lots and lots of questions to a real live fireman at our town's Family Fun Day!

 

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't get just as excited as Aidan...it was such an amazing experience for my fireman enthusiasts!  As a mom I can tell you, I have passion for things I never imagined before kids.  We're a Fire truck/man/station loving family!

 

Amusement Park Fun

Aidan's been on rides before - he went to Disney at 16 months, Canobie Lake last summer, Marshfield Fair last summer...he loves going on rides.  But there was something especially exciting watching him at Carowinds yesterday. He's older, so there's more understanding of what's going on.  He has more opinions of what he wants to ride and doesn't want to ride, and his enthusiasm is just really adorable!   Carowinds' kiddie section is called Planet Snoopy.  Being his father's son, Aidan's been watching Peanuts shows for sometime now, and he loves Snoopy and Charlie Brown!  So, this made Planet Snoopy even more thrilling for my little guy.  Every corner we turned, "Mom, there's another Snoopy!" It is indescribably fun seeing your children experience things that excite them so.  He rode the carousel (with Daddy and Liam), the boats, a train ride, and a helicopter ride with Mommy (twice).  I think the helicopter was his favorite - it was just precious watching him play the role of pilot. He told me at the start of his first helicopter ride "I'm having a great ride today Momma!"  Love.

Mommy had a great time too!  Despite the incredible heat and humidity, and significant amount of time spent in Planet Snoopy, I got to ride a couple coasters - my favorite!   I rode The Intimidator - a race car inspired roller coaster.  It is, hands down, the most incredible roller coaster I've ever been on!  The seats are shaped like race car seats - deep bucket seats.  The only restraint is a v-shaped padding attached to a metal lever in the ground that lowers over your legs/pelvis.  Your head, arms and entire torso are completely unrestrained in anyway.   I've never experienced anything like it!  I rode this coaster just anticipating the padded lever over my pelvis to fail and my body to go catapulting through the air...my body felt weightless as it spent the greater portion of this coaster lifted off the seat.  I screamed and laughed my way through the whole thing simultaneously...I loved it!