Sunday, June 29, 2008

Run Turkey

I was supposed to go to a friend's parent's 40th anniversary party today. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of driving all the way down there so when my mom suggested taking out the boats, I decided to do that instead. We got up this morning and she told me that my dad decided he didn't want to take the boats out. He says that The Boy doesn't like it and he wasn't hauling the boats to the river to fight with him about it. We talked about just going without but decided that it would be too hard to pull the The Boy with the tandem boat and RF paddles a whitewater boat which is impossible to pull anything with. He offered to paddle a flat water boat, but we decided that loading everything with just the 3 adults would be a huge pain. We started looking around for something else to do outside, because the weather was too nice to stay inside. Mom finally suggested Turkey Run, in Indiana. It is a lot of hiking trials, canoeing (no thank you) and horse back riding. I thought maybe we could work out horse back riding because I'm not thrilled with the hiking either. We got over there and found out that you had to be 8 and there was no doubling up so the kids were out.

We decided to hike one of the "easy" trails which ended up being a long distance away and we would have had to drive there. Instead, we hiked the trail to the "Ice Box" (formerly known as Devil's Ice Box), which is listed as "rugged/extremely rugged" Good call, right? Ms Thang has her mother's aversion to nature and was rather unpleasant for most of the time. Because of all the rain and flooding, most of the trail was muddy and every time she had to go through it, it was a huge ordeal. Finally, my mom took her shoes off, until I found glass on the trail and forced her to put her shoes back on. Mom told her to sit on the rock to put her shoes and MT said "that rock is all slimy, I'm not sitting on it" She ended up having to just hold her in one arm and put the shoes one with the other because Ms Thang refused to sit on any of the rocks because they were all "too slimy"

On the trail, we saw a baby turtle climbing up a rock and the kids stopped to watch it because it was probably the best part of the trip. We found the Ice Box (when we used to go there when I was a kid, it was down right cold in there, today it was merely cool, although the weather wasn't as hot as normal) and The Boy climbed around in there for a bit, then we turned around and hiked back. MT bitched the whole way back and I was ready to leave her in the woods by the time we got to the suspension bridge. They played by the river, skipping rocks and watching the minnows for a while. Then, we came back to the nature center and had lunch and then drove home. Not before, MT had ANOTHER melt down about having to go to the bathroom before we left.

I doubt I'll be back to Turkey Run, probably ever. Maybe when the kids are teenagers but not until they are old enough to ask to go. I like the horse back riding, but I'm sure I can find something closer when the kids get big enough for all that.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Ms No Fear

Do you guys remember the old "No Fear" shirts that had various sports logos on them? They were seriously based on Ms Thang. She has no fear about anything or anyone. We were at the pool the other day and there were some older boys, probably 12 or 13, who were horsing around. First they ran past her and she yelled "NO RUNNING" Then a bit later, she was getting ready to jump in and the same boys were pushing each other on the deck near her and one of them bumped into her. The guard blew her whistle at them and before she could say anything, Ms Thang whipped around and yelled "Hey watch where you're going!" A little later, the same boys were dunking and acting stupid in the water and one about ran her over. She grabbed his arm, between his shoulder and elbow and shook it a little while yelling "I TOLD you to WATCH it"! The guard told them to get out of the pool because she was tired of it but I think the kid was more scared of MT than of the guard LOL

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Swimsuits and body image

I'm a fat girl. I know this, but somehow, in my mind, I'm not nearly as big as I actually am. I'm constantly surprised and disappointed when 14s don't fit. You would think after nearly 7 years of being a fat girl, I would be used to this, but I'm not. I'm completely deluded about my actual size. And although, I wouldn't say no to being smaller, I have no desire to change anything about the way I do things. I've been working out, not to lose weight but to get in better shape to be able to chase the kids, play etc. Thus, if I could find a swimsuit with a decent top, I would absolutely buy a bikini. This is the suit we got for Ms Thang and if they made big girl suits with tops like that instead of like this, I would buy one in a heart beat (they also need to have higher rise bottoms but I can find those elsewhere, no biggie). Instead, when I get another suit, I will probably get this one. I want a new suit because I'm not happy with the one I got but it was what I could find, where I was, for what I was willing to spend. Being of the plus variety, that severely limited my choices. Since I just bought it, I will suck it up and wait for it to fall apart (which as often as we swim, should be before the end of summer) and then buy it.

Unfortunately, Ms. Thang has inherited my swimsuit problems. She just has other issues. We tried on 10 suits before we found something that even sort of worked. The one pieces were all too short because she is long waisted. Anything that fit through the butt was way too short and the neck barely hit her mid chest. That forced us into 2 piece terriory which had problems all it's own. Some of them fit across the chest but had huge saggy butts. Apparently, all kids who wear a 5T must still be in diapers because all the suits were cut for the extra baggage. Going smaller to get the butt to fit made the top not fit right. We found one that fit both but flaired across her stomach and would have floated up and been annoying in the water. We finally settled on the above one which fit across the chest and hips and was only a little saggy in her butt.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Vogue

The Boy is a model at heart. Today, while at the mall, he wanted to get on top of the doctor's bag. I helped him up and he asked me to take his picture. Picture one was laying behind the handle, with his hands folded and his chin resting on them. Picture two was kneeling, hands out, staring off at a distant point.

Here is a scrapbook page that I did about Stone Mountain in GA, where he looked particularly model-y.

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I told Quigs that if they had an American's Next Top Child Model, I would absolutely enter him (not the "next Child Star thing because that was acting, dancing, singing etc) and he would rock from day one :)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Milestones

I was thinking about milestones last night. Some are super and some really aren't that great. Most of the baby ones are pretty awesome. Sitting up, first tooth, walking, talking, potty training, etc. There is very little negative about those. For The Boy, talking was the biggest one. He was 20 months old before uttering a sound. His doctor told us that if he didn't have at least one word by his next appointment, then we would need to set up speech therapy sessions. Then he said "bye". The next day it was "go bye" (he has always been my traveller) and a few days after that, it was 3 word sentences, all caught up with not even a hint of a delay by 2. Now the trick is getting him to be quite. So far I haven't figured it out but if I do, I'll be sure to let you know :)

With Ms Thang, her milestones didn't seem as important. Could that be because, as Quigs says, she is the second one and no cares about the second one? Or is it because she did most things early so we didn't have the anticipation that we did with TB? She talked early (and all the freaking time) so there wasn't that huge emphasis that was placed on The Boy. She also walked on time, cut her first tooth on time, etc. She did everything just when she should have (those have the only things that she has done like she is supposed to). Her biggest one was potty training. It happened earlier for her than for The Boy but it was much harder. We tried everything with him and it wasn't until I threw up my hands in frustation and gave up completely, buying the biggest package of diapers I could find, that he decided that he was ready. Ms Thang talked about it for months (since before she turned 2 because she was asking about while since in DC)but it took her until over the winter to get it done. I even tried giving up and not caring but she didn't care, it wasn't happening until she was darn good and ready, no matter what I did.

Some of the milestones have been bittersweet, like the first day of school. It was very sad that I had a kid old enough to be in school. I got over it but I was still upset back then. The one that I DON'T like is learning to read. Not only does it take forever, but it puts me at a disadvantage. I can't spell things anymore and have him not know what I'm saying. Now we are working on not blurting out what he thinks I spelled because I don't want MT to know what I'm talking out. The other issue is that every milestone since learning to talk has brought about severe cases of stuttering for TB. Every single one. Potty training, sleeping by himself, starting school, learning to read, etc. This learning to read, by virtue of taking longer has also caused the longest bout of stuttering yet. I try to be understanding but sometimes, he drives me nuts. I know he can't help it but when it takes him 5 minutes to get out a sentence, I've lost focus because 12 dozen other things have happened since he started talking to me. Once he gets a handle on reading, he'll be fine but right now, it is so hard.

BTW, because it is not an all the time thing, his doctor is totally unconcerned about it.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Friggin' Box Tops

First, the plea. If any of you aren't currently saving Box Tops, would you consider saving them for us? They are pretty easy, just buy the item that has the little coupon on it then rip the coupon part off and drop it in a bag. When you get some, call me and I'll pick them up. No trimming required even :)

That said, I've been trimming Box Tops for the last 2 hours and I'm SICK of it! I volunteered to help re-trim the ones that were turned in for our end of the year contest and I ended up with a lot of tops to trim. I've worked on it a couple of times for a few minutes at a time but not made a lot of headway. The coordinator called me today and asked when I was getting them done so it was time to get my butt in gear, since I promised to have them done by Thursday. A couple of points for Box Tops collectors. I HATE HATE HATE the plastic ones. Like the ones on paper plates. They are terrible to trim because they stretch and tear and just generally suck. Next, do your school a favor and either trim them within an inch of their lives or don't trim them at all. Seriously, the ones that are half assed trimmed are worse than either of the others. At least the ones that are untrimmed are easy to hold on to, to actually cut. Obviously, the ones that are trimmed way down need nothing done to them and are, by far, the easiest to deal with :)

Now, I need to finish my show and get to bed since I'm going to work out with Quigs in the am :)

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Rowing my boat

We went to Lake of the Woods today with the playgroup. It was great fun and I'm really glad that everyone showed up (despite the absolute downpour we sat through when we first got there). We've done this in the past with other friends and we've always had a less than stellar turn out. Today, that was not the case. Everyone that said they were coming, came and we ended up with nearly 30 people!

After the little rain shower, the weather was perfect. I paddled the tandem kayak and let people take turns just riding around the lake, plus we had the other boats for people that wanted to go it alone. Bubba was my first passenger, along with Ms Thang and he LOVED it! It was all I could do to get the kid out of the boat to give other people turns or to eat lunch or grab a drink. When I told him that I needed to stop to have lunch he waved his hands at me and yelled "NAH!"

I did manage to get Quigs in the boat with us and got a picture to prove it
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X-man, MacTroll and Looseyfur were also able to join us. Looseyfur
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and Mactroll each took a kayak out on their own but X-man was pretty much uninterested. He liked the boats on dry land but once he found out he couldn't swim but had to be in the boat, he wasn't going to go
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Riley had great fun in the water, even if X-man wouldn't
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Ms Thang went out once with Bubba and that was it. She spent the rest of the time on shore playing ball, running around and hanging out with PG
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as well as eating, pretty much non-stop
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Saturday, June 21, 2008

Getting going

This girl needs some serious work on getting moving in the AM. My kids leap out of bed, ready to get on with the day. Not DSD. I know she likes to sleep in, but she is sleeping in the living room and that doesn't happen around here. This morning, I woke her up at 8 when I got up at 9:30, I had to threaten to make her leave in her PJs to get her to ACTUALLY get dressed. I must have said "alright, get up and get dressed so we can leave, we are all waiting on you" at least 10 times before I finally took her blanket and she finally sat up but wouldn't get dressed. At 9, I told her "the kids are going to watch this episode of Handy Manny and then we are leaving, you have the choice of getting dressed or going to BK in your jammies" At ten after, I asked if she was going in her pajamas or if she was getting dressed. She said dressed. By 9:15, she finally had her shirt changed but she was still in her bottoms. At 9:25, I reminded her AGAIN that if she didn't get moving she was going in public in her pajamas. At 9:30, I turned off the TV and herded the littles upstairs to get shoes. She was a few moments behind but did manage to finally get her jeans on (she insists on wearing jeans no matter how hot it is). It just drives me crazy that it takes her that long to get moving in the morning, especially when I tell her repeatedly to get moving.

Tomorrow, we go boating then she going with MIL and FIL Monday Tuesday and Weds then back next weekend and so on. I'm not totally sure when she is leaving because MIL said before the 4th but she said July 6th.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Going good

Dsd is here for the summer. Usually she says at MIL's house most of the time but she does come visit on the days that dh has off. She was here yesterday and it went really well. So well in fact, that I told dh she could stay today while he worked and then again tonight and could go back to MIL's tomorrow. Ms Thang was so upset this morning when she thought she had to leave. She keeps calling her "that girl" or just "girl" because she can't remember her name. LOL She was crying and bawling and begging us not the sent "that girl" home because she LOVED her.

Things sort of went bad this afternoon when they were playing because she was getting a little mean and The Boy was getting a little wild. We seperated them and then MIL showed up to take her to lunch. She ended up taking both of them and is going to bring TB back after then she is taking DSD shopping for the afternoon. I asked her to have her home by 3 so we can go to the farm (Quigs says that I have to go because my excuses weren't good enough) She isn't sure if she will make it but offered to just drop her off over there when they get done. That is fine, I think everyone needs a litle break for a while, this afternoon

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Effects of drugs

Quigs this is NOT for you. Don't watch this video, seriously!

Suck

Today has pretty much sucked. It started with Ms Thang purposely peeing on the floor, continued with my Swiffer breaking as I was trying to clean it up, a SCREAMING fight with RF and a possibly broken cell phone (I fixed it but it was seriously just one more thing). That caused the rest of the day to just be crummy. Things aren't looking up for the weekend either :(

I was in such a crap mood, even playgroup was only sort of "meh" and that is seriously one of my favorite things to do. So now, I'm going to have some ice cream, read some of my book for Book Club (Me Talk Pretty One Day) and watch the top 100 songs of the 80s and try not to brood too much. That is a testament to how bad my mood is, that I can be grouchy listening to terribly great 80s songs.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The time to buy

A Month-By-Month Guide to the Biggest Bargains
Want to get the best deal on everything that you buy? It all starts with knowing when to shop. Here’s a month-by-month guide to the biggest bargains:

January
Food:
Chocolate (Christmas clearance)
Soda
Diet foods
Frozen finger foods

Non-food:
Linens
Electronics
Computers
Small appliances
Air conditioners
Carpeting and flooring
Furniture
Winter clothes
Toys (on clearance after the holidays)
Bicycles
Christmas gift wrap
Christmas decorations
Athletic shoes
Exercise equipment
Motorcycles
Houses
Boats

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February
Food:
Chocolate (post Valentine’s Day)
Steak (post Valentine’s Day)
Seafood (post Valentine’s Day)
Oatmeal

Non-food:
Big screen TVs (before the Super Bowl)
Boats

March
Food:
Frozen foods

Non-food:
Boats

April
Food:
Candy (Easter clearance)
Eggs
Ham
Cheese
Mustard
Ready-made dough
Dinner rolls
Frozen pies
Cake mix
Cake frosting
Pie crusts

Non-Food:
Electronics
Vacuums
Cookware
Tires and other car care supplies

May
Food:
Hotdogs
Ground beef
Hamburger and hot dog buns
Condiments (ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, relish)
Salad dressing
Chips
Ice cream
Popsicles
Frozen pies
Soda
Bottled water

Non-food:
Party supplies (disposable plates, cups, napkins and utensils)
Grill supplies (charcoal, lighter fluid)
Vacuums
Cookware

June
Food:
Ice cream
Popsicles
Soda
Bottled water
Iced tea mix and bags

Non-food:
Tools (around Father’s Day)

July
Food:
Hot dogs
Ground beef
Hamburger and hot dog buns
Condiments (ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, relish)
Salad dressing
Chips
Ice cream
Popsicles
Soda
Bottled water
Iced tea mix and bags

Non-food:
Grill supplies (charcoal, lighter fluid)
Party supplies (disposable plates, cups, napkins and utensils)
Furniture

August
Food:
Cereal
Breakfast bars
Peanut butter
Jelly
Lunch meat
American cheese
Yogurt
Chips
Snack cakes
Cookies
Ice cream
Soda
Bottled water
Iced tea mix and bags
Drink boxes

Non-food:
Pool supplies
Outdoor toys
Outdoor furniture
Bathing suits
Summer clothes
Summer shoes

September
Food:
Cereal
Breakfast bars
Peanut butter
Jelly
Lunch meat
American cheese
Yogurt
Chips
Snack cakes
Cookies
Hot dogs
Ground beef
Hamburger and hot dog buns
Condiments (ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, relish)
Salad dressing
Canned fruits and vegetables
Soups
Broth
Frozen pies
Soda
Drink boxes

Non-food:
Grill supplies (charcoal, lighter fluid)
Party supplies (disposable plates, cups, napkins and utensils)
School supplies
Large appliances (refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers)
Cars
Lawn mowers
Grills

October
Food:
Canned fruits and vegetables
Dried fruits (raisins, apricots, cranberries)
Soups
Broth

Non-food:
Large appliances
Lawn mowers
Grills
Tires and other car care supplies

November
Food:
Turkey
Butter
Cheese
Baking supplies (flour, sugar, yeast chocolate chips, baker’s chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, cooking oil)
Pie crusts
Ready-made dough
Dinner rolls
Frozen pies
Cake mix
Cake frosting
Pie filling
Spices
Nuts
Dried fruits (raisins, apricots, cranberries)
Oatmeal
Candy (Halloween clearance)
Marshmallows
Soup
Broth

Non-food:
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
Disposable baking pans
Cookware
Electronics
Tools
Carpeting and flooring

December
Food:
Ham
Butter
Cheese
Baking supplies (flour, sugar, yeast chocolate chips, baker’s chocolate, sweetened condensed
milk, cooking oil)
Pie crusts
Ready-made dough
Dinner rolls
Frozen pies
Cake mix
Cake frosting
Pie filling
Refrigerated cookie dough
Spices
Nuts
Dried fruits (raisins, apricots, cranberries)
Oatmeal
Soda

Non-food:
Disposable baking pans
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
Electronics
Computers
Carpeting and flooring
Tools
Toys
Winter clothes
Cars
Motorcycles


Frugal Living

Snakes

Missy gave me a little bit of a hard time about not blogging about the snake (s) and since I don't want to be all updatey tonight because we didn't do anything remarkable (although we did see the ALWAYS remarkable Quigs).

A week or so ago, we were cleaning up the jungle that our backyard had become. We were pulling weeds near the house and I was yanking out all the ivy that had grown up around the basement window. At the time, I commented that I hated it because it was just places for icky things to live and when icky things lived that close the house, they would find ways in. After I yanked out it all out, my dad went through and weed wacked the rest of the mess that had grown up in the same area. Then mom and I were pulling the pieces out and tossing them in the yard to be mulched and bagged when RF got around with the mower. I walked away to help the kids when my mom jumps and yells "Oh my God" I run over thinking she has hurt herself on the gardening tools (mom is not known for being the most graceful person and that she cut body parts off was a distinct possibility) Before I could get across the yard, she said that she was fine but that she found "a tiny baby garter snake and it went down in this hole near the foundation of the house" She poked at the hole for a few minutes and nothing happened, so she got the gas can out and poured some in there, waiting for it to come out because apparently gas with either kill them or chase them out of places. It took forever coming out and I figured it was probably sitting on my bookshelf laughing at us being stupid. Eventually, it crawled out and it was mercilessy hacked to death and it's body was cremated in the fire pit. At the time I commented "well it might have been a little one but where there are little ones, there are big ones as well"

Fast forward to yesterday. The kids and I walked to the store to get some stuff for dinner. We walked up the driveway and see something laying on the patio in front of the gate. We had a lot of downed sticks and limbs so at first I assumed it was that. Kept walking closer and noticed it wasn't really stick colored. It was black and yellow, the color of the garden hose. Those damn kids must have gotten the hose out and left it, growl growl growl. Walk a little closer, until I'm nearly on top of it only to have it rear back and starting slithering away! I jumped, screamed, yanked the stroller back with one hand, yanked The Boy back with the other hand, screamed some more, grabbed my cell phone (because I couldn't leave it alone to find something to "OMG OMG KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT OMG", which also happened to be what I was screaming) to call my dad and sent TB to the front door to hurry him along. Dad come running out of the house with a bent up snow shovel that is kept on the porch but by then it was gone. He dug through some weeds that it went into but never did find it. I cooked dinner sitting on the picnic table and I don't take one single step outside my door without throughly checking the patio for anything that might move. We chopped down all the weeds today so if we see it again, it has no where to hide.

Now the only problem is, I'm afraid I will find it in the yard somewhere and be forced to shriek for someone to come kill it. I have a complete phobia of snakes (those of you with Lego Indiana Jones that have played the snake know that Indy is totally useless in that level. That would seriously be me except instead of covering my face and hiding, I scream loudly, haul ass in the opposite direction and seek much higher ground) to the point of being irrational. Since we moved in here, I have lived in fear that I will one day find a snake in the basement (and it isn't like we have an infestation or anything. This is only the 4th snake, counting the little one from earlier, in 5 years that we have seen around here and one of those was dead when we found it) Now, it is to the point that I will barely walk around my house without shoes and forget it being dark. I leave every light in the house on all the time so that if something is there, I have warning. I also open my washing machine lid leaned over at an angle, ready to run like hell. For some reason, the kitchen and the washing machine are the two places I expect to find something like that.

Monday, June 16, 2008

I thought about it

I thought about blogging about the snake I nearly stepped on my patio this afternoon. I thought about blogging about a potential hair color change (yes, another one LOL) I thought about blogging an update of my day (Quigs says it wasn't all that busy) but my eyes hurt and I'm FREEZING so you get nothing but this garbage because I'm going to bed :)

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Father's day fun

We went to Monticello to the Railway museum for the Father's day ride. My dad, RF and the kids rode and then we picked them up at the depot and took them to McDonald's for lunch. After we got our food, we went over to the park because the play place is outside and was SCREAMING hot from the beaitng sun.

When we got home, The Boy figured out that he had enough money to buy his Indiana Jones whip that he has been DESPERATE for since he saw it. We went to Meijer and let him get it. Before we left, Ms Thang insisted on counting her money too because if TB was getting a whip, then she needed one too. She had enough but we talked her into a "Taders of the Lost Arc" Mr Potato head. After she got that, she had just enough money to buy another outfit and surprisingly, she picked the doctor over the pirate. I was pretty amazed. On the way out, my mom caused quite the ruckus. Those of you that know her are probably rolling your eyes and thinking "what did she do now" I can guarantee that it isn't even close to what you are thinking. At the front of the store, they have the soda fountain. Apparently, someone had spilled some ice that she stepped on and managed to slip and fall. When she fell, she knocked into Ms Thang and knocked her over into one the flat bed carts that someone had there. She landed on her knee and scraped her leg. MT banged her head against the floor and scraped her leg on the cart. She was crying, mom was laying on the floor and The Boy was halfway to the car because he was just bopping along ahead without us. I got MT and finally TB came back to where we were. The manager was summoned, as well as about half the staff in the store to clean up the mess. They insisted that mom fill out a report and they wanted to take her to the car in a wheel chair. They also gave her an ice bag because her knee was starting to swell. MT wouldn't quit crying and they started trying to make a fuss over her as well. People that she didn't know in her face was not what she needed. I don't think she was all that hurt (although her leg was bleeding, which I didn't notice until we got to the car) but she was scared that Nonni was really hurt because she wasn't getting up right away. They ended up both being fine.

Eventually, we got done and were able to leave. We went to the pool for awhile and watched the dark clouds roll in. Then we came home and watched the winds go freaking crazy and then pour for about 10 seconds, only to have the sun come out shortly after that. We had Pizza Hut for dinner (the P'Zones are FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC)MT managed to miss her nap today so I put them to bed at 7 because they were both so tired. She was asleep before I was done reading to The Boy so I knew she was wiped. We watched the rest of "The Game Plan" and I spent some time trying to edit a video for the kids (we have a DVD recorder and I recorded some Scooby Doo movie off Cartoon Network that has commericals in it which cause MT to freak and scream that they be fast forwarded), only to find out that my converter only converted 30 minutes of the hour and a half money. Blah. Dh found out that his video editing software is really easy to use so he did the files for me instead.

Now, I'm going to read and go to bed, since we have a crazy busy day tomorrow :)

Saturday, June 14, 2008

More update-y goodness

Last night, the kids stayed at my mom's house so I totally got to sleep. It was nice :) Today, we hung around and then went to breakfast at IHOP. When Ms Thang asked me if I wanted to go she asked if I wanted to go to eye patch LOL

We came home and played outside for a bit then I put MT down for her nap. It was early but she was super tired and went to sleep pretty fast. While she napped, I played Lego Indiana Jones on the Wii, which is awesome (just like Lego Star Wars), in a completely nerdy kind of way.

After the nap, we went to the pool. We got there about 2 and played for awhile. At 2:50, they blew the whistle telling us to get out of the pool. Strange since "safety check" is on the hour. The guard told us there has been an accident in the kiddie pool and since it is a combined system, the big pool had to be cleared too. Then they announced that the pool was closing for the day. WTF? We got dressed and when we left, we found out that the accident had been of the runny variety and there was no way to ensure that it was cleaned out without dumping a ton of chemicals in it and waiting 8 hours for the system circulate it all through

Then, we went to the Urbana Park District's Strawberry Jam. We also watered the CARE garden while we were there (it still needs weeded and the door needs to be fixed for real but we did what we could). We had a little cup of ice cream and strawberries, the kids got some US Cellular swag and played for awhile then we rode the hayrack and came home.

I cooked dinner while the kids played outside then I put them to bed and now I'm watching The Game Plan. Cute and predictable but not taxing to my brain in any way :)

Friday, June 13, 2008

Blah

I'm bored. I could clean my house but I'm not. I'm also hungry because I skipped lunch but I don't want to eat now because then I'll never eat dinner. I'm killing time waiting for Ms Thang to get up and then I think we are going to the pool. There were supposed to be some bad storms but the Chambana weather bubble held so they appear to have missed us.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Long, busy day

Today started for me at about 3:50. I woke up to go to the bathroom and then couldn't go back to sleep. I layed awake for about 30 minutes before I gave up and started reading. I read until 5:30, when I finally felt tired again (this was all after I didn't make it to bed until nearly midnight). I went back to sleep until the alarm went off at 7:15. FIL was coming over to borrow a couple of our boats at 7:30 and I had to be up and dressed to give him the keys. FIL was running late and didn't get here until 7:45. Bah, I could have slept another 15 minutes. The Boy woke up as I was getting dressed and I told him to just lay still and wait for Ms Thang to wake up and when she did, they could come outside if I wasn't back. FIL showed up and I helped get the boats out and in his truck. We chatted for a few minutes and here come the kids out of the house. I expected jammies, but the TB had gotten both of them dressed. MT wasn't completely pulled together but it was a darn good effort for a 6 year old and a 3 year old working together.

FIL lefted and I fixed MT's clothes. By that time, it was time to get breakfast and head for our big kid playgroup this morning. It was so nice to have kids TB's age to play with. He had a really good time, although MT was little put off by not too many kids her age but that was just too bad. We played there until 10:30, when we came home, refilled our drinks, picked up snacks and Dad and went to our regular playgroup. They had the water on this morning and the kids LOVED playing in it. MT finally said she was cold so we headed home to eat. I had told Quigs that we would be over about noon to help move or watch kiddos but it was noon before we left the park and we still had to eat. TB curled up on the couch and would have fallen asleep if we had just left him alone. MT ate her lunch then actually ASKED to nap. This from the kid who rarely naps without a fight. I decided that life would be better if I let her do it so I put her down for her nap. She fell asleep in nothing flat and I sat in the living with TB and napped in the chair for a bit. RF went ahead and went to help the Quigs clan with the move.

MT got up about 2:15 so we jumped in the car and headed for Quig's fancy new bonus room house Rf and Papa Quigs were knee deep in crib assemblege and I was supposed to watch the kids while she unpacked. They both said how much help we were but I seriously didn't feel it. RF was helpful because putting crap together like that is always a 2 person job but all I did was add two more kids who wanted to be in the way to the mix. Quigs did get some of her kitchen unpacked, which is helpful, I suppose. As thanks for our "help" they treated us to dinner at Ryan's. Poor Bubba didn't get a nap so he was just on the edge of a serious meltdown. PG ate a boat load of mac and cheese and entertained us with her Night at the Roxbury impression.

Now RF and Papa Quigs are going to get their nerd on at "Game Night" at Missy's house and I'm thinking how early I justify going to bed.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Good day, Sunshine

This morning, we went to the park with Quigs and crew as well as a few other playgroup fams. It was fun and we were there for nearly 2 hours. Came home and had lunch and then put Ms Thang down for her nap. After the nap, we hit the pool and styaed there for about an hour and a half. Came home to cook dinner (can you see the theme here LOL), only to find the meat I put out to thaw a solid block of frozen beef :( Decided to go to McDonald's instead because there was no way that the meat was going to thaw enough to get it apart and even if it did, there is no way that I could have gotten it to thaw enough to get it on the sticks for th kabobs. I Called Quigs because she up for anything and since they are moving tomorrow, I knew the kitchen would be all packed up so they would need to go somewhere to eat, might as well be with us :)

My mom joined us as well and the kids ate and played. PG ate half a cheeseburger which is crazy because she weighs about as much as can of pop! They had to leave so we went ahead and came home. I decided to go to Walgreens to see if I could find a banana clip, even though Quigs says "no banana clips". I found one and tried it as soon as I got home. I should have just listened to Quigs because it seriously looked like an animal had created a nest in my hair. I'll be taking it back tomorrow morning because it was crazy bad. The kids had "blue moon" ice cream (MT) and "Scooperman" (TB) and bowls of popcorn before coming home for the night. Then they watched some TV and I played on Facebook for a bit. Now they are in bed and I'm shopping online.

Looseyfur told me about Torrid recently and I've been looking around there. I've found a lot of really nice stuff, especially swimsuits. I really love this one although, I can't really justify spending as much for just the top as I did for my entire current suit. I'm also not sure that it would be any better than what I currently have (that I don't like because it is 2 piece and the top floats up all over the place)Also, I don't like skirts on swimsuits (as Quigs says, I'm just fat, not 80, thanks) but I dig this one skirt or not :) I will keep them in mind for the next time I need a suit though because maybe I can finally find something that fits right (which is worth a lot, especially since I pay upwards of $80, usually, for suits that only sort of fit)

Now I'm thinking of having a bowl of ice cream while I read my book before bed. Then I'm thinking that if I didn't eat all that ice cream, I wouldn't have to shop at places like Torrid and spend $80 on swimwear. Then I think "Screw it, I want the freaking ice cream" :)

I leave you with a conversation my 3 year old with an older girl at the pool today

Other girl: Hey, let me have that floatie (the pool has foam float things that the kids can use in the kiddie pool and MT was playing on one)
MT: No
OG: *grabs floatie trying to pull it out from under MT*
MT: Stop it, leave me alone
OG: Just give me the floatie
MT: *screaming* LEAVE ME ALONE
OG: You're rude
MT: You suck

Leave it to my child to break it down so simply ROFL

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Super good candy

OMG you guys, I'm eating the best treat ever. They are called "Hippo Tracks", from Kalahari. It is a rice crispy treat made with caramel instead of marshmallows and dipped in chocolate. It is tasty. I need to get some more. Too bad (or maybe good for my ass) that they are 5 hours away. Maybe I can figure out how to make them?

A day in my life

So Looseyfur asked us to blog "A Day in our life" and I'm doing that for today

7:30
Wake up to the sound of the kids changing beds and trying to play together quitely (they do this every morning and lasts for all of ten seconds before I have to yell at someone for something)
Try to go back to sleep, hoping I won't have to yell this moring.

7:35
Yell at The Boy for hitting his sister with the view master. Yell at Ms Thang for trying to take the view master away from him.

7:40
Turn on cartoons
Get online
Play around on facebook for a while

8:00
Change cartoon
Read for 30 minutes

8:30
email Quigs to see what they are up to this morning.
Decide to meet at the library at 9:30
Hustle to get the kids dressed and fed so we can be there on time

9:10
RF gets up just as I'm telling everyone to use the bathroom so he goes with us

9:30
Get to the library
Wait for Quigs to get her babies out of the car and join us
Ms Thang almost gets yelled at by the librarian for being too loud because she wore her party shoes and was stomping around the entrance. I wished her good luck in getting my child to do anything she doesn't want to do.
Play at the library were The Boy put on a rousing puppet show for PG, MT and Bubba.
Ran into everyone I know at the library. Quigs had a good laugh at the fact that I knew nearly everyone that was there :)

10:45
Quigs babies are melting down so they leave. we turn in the kids summer reading forms and I signed up for the adult summer reading program. I tried it a couple of years ago but couldn't remember to fill out the forms so although I read the books, I didn't get any credit for them :(

11:00
Home and started lunch for everyone.
The kids watched Scooby Doo while they ate

12:00
Put Lizzie down for her nap

12:30
Dozed off myself

1:30
Woke up from my nap
Cleaned the living room

2:00
Talk to my mom, who called to see if the backyard had been mowed yet.
Came back down stairs to find that Ms Thang had gotten up from her nap.
Got the kids ready to go to the pool

2:30
Got to the pool
Covered everyone in sunscreen (although I think I missed some of my spots because my shoulders feel a bit warm)
Watched Ms Thang jump in and climb out repeatedly
Talked to a mom whose daughter used to go to daycare with MT. She filled me in on some interesting gossip

4:30
drug the kids out of the pool
Got dressed
Ran by McDonalds for some ice cream
Stopped by the store for salad and baby carrots

5:10
Got home and lit the grill for dinner
Prepped the chicken, tossed it on the grill
played with the kids in the yard while dinner cooked

5:40
My mom got home and we chatted for awhile

6:10
dinner is finally done
made my salad
got the kid's food (because chicken breast aren't good enough, because they aren't chicken legs blah)
Ate

6:40
Finished eating
Called the IRS to see where the heck my refund is (not my stimulus check since that is done spent but the other piece of my actual refund that they can't seem to send me, even though it has been 9 weeks since I sent the paperwork they asked for)

7:15
Walked to Deals to look for a banana clip since Quigs said the Piggies are a no go :) They didn't have one so I'll look at Walgreens tomorrow.

7:30
Came home and played with the kids in the back yard. I'm thinking of changing The Boy's name to Mark McQuire because while we were playing baseball, he was nailing them out of the yard. Fortunately, the neighbors weren't pissed that the ball dropped on their patio while the were eating dinner.

8:30
Brought the kids home and let them watch a cartoon show
Read my book while they did that

9:00
did bedtime
Argued with The Boy that he didn't get to pick a show
Then argued with MS Thang about going to the bathroom
Then argued with TB about who got read to first tonight
Read to MT and then TB

9:20
Bedtime done
Came into the living room
Read emails
Read blogs

9:30
watching "Code Name: The Cleaner"
Started this post

9:55
Finished this post

10:00
going to play on facebook for a bit
have some candy
and then go to bed

Monday, June 9, 2008

Hair 2

The view from the other side

Hair 1

Loyal blog readers i need honest opinions are the pig tails something a nearly 30 year old can pull off?

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Jail break

As some of you know, Ms Thang is a RAGING bedtime klepto. For several weeks, she would get up nearly every night and wonder the house looking for things to take to bed with her. Typically she ended up in the kitchen and would take food to bed. More than once, I would find a whole loaf of bread that she had shredded the plastic on and then tore up several slices all over her bed. One night, she got the can opener and managed to get it stuck in her hair. Knowing that she would be in trouble if I found, she either pulled it out herself or enlisted the aid of her brother. Either way, when I went to bed, I found the can opener laying on the extra pillow in her bed with hair stuck in it. Being the smart mommy that I am, I put up a gate. That way, I could leave the door open (she FREAKS if I close the door) and The Boy could still get to the bathroom but she couldn't get to the kitchen. Being the not so smart mommy that I am, I didn't even think about her getting stuff out of the bathroom. After the toothbrushes when missing and MT "found" them under her bed ("I don't KNOW HOW they got under my bed but I found them"), I started closing the door to the bathroom. The Boy can open it and she can't so it pretty much solved the problem (although I do still find random things from around the bedroom, like the crystal on the night light, in her bed but none of those distress me like the food did).

Tonight, I was sitting in the living room talking to Radioactive Freak and I hear a crash coming for the kitchen. I knew I hadn't gotten the gate up very well and thought it had falled over. I came in to find the gate attached by 3 pegs and Ms Thang halfway over the side that had fallen. In my best mommy voice I asked "WHAT are you doing?" She gave me the "deer in the headlights" look and said "I was thought I might break down the gate"
Me: Oh really? And WHY would you do that?
Her: Well I thought I might like to tell you something
Me: And that would be?
Her: When I get bigger I can play those doggy games (no idea what this is but she tells us that a hundred times a day) and go off the big diving board and the little diving board.
Me: Yes but right now you have to go to bed.
Her: Oh MOMMY!

Wisconsin Dells Review - Knuckleheads and "Top Secret"

First up is Top Secret it is an upside down white house that also houses many government secrets, including Nessy, Big Foot and some Roswell aliens (and some other things that I can't talk about here LOL) It was pretty cheesy but we had a good time. There were some neat effects and The Boy had a good time. There were a few spots where he was a little scared but overall, he thought it was fun. This is not a place for young children. There are many places that have dim lighting, mazes and loud noise. Ms Thang would have HATED it and the other kids on our tour weren't too impressed with it either. Our tour guide moved us through a little faster than I would have like but some of the kids were getting antsy so he did a good job of reading the general mood of the group and tailoring his speil to that. Over priced but then what isn't. Enjoyable to older kids and young tweens (and adults that act/think like kids :) ) and gets 3.5 stars from me.

Next was Knucklesheads. It is an indoor family entertainment and gaming center. It had a few carnival style rides and a lot of video games. They also have bowling, food and a play structure for the younger kids. Again, pricey (2 or 3 dollars for each ride) but fun. If you go, plan to spend quite a bit of time (we spent 2 hours before we had to head for home but we could have spent a fair amount more time) and even more money. It was a good activity for a rainy yucky day where the kids could run and play. I give it 4 stars

Friday, June 6, 2008

Wisconsin Dells Review - Dells 4D FX theater and Tommy Bartlett's Exploratory

The Dells 4D special FX Theater runs a 15 minute double feature of a Funhouse ride and Marvin the Martian cartoon or a dinosaur attack and runaway log ride. I thought that it was 4 seperate movies so we picked Marvin the Martian because he is AWESOME! Ms Thang and I went in and she freaked out at the fun house ride. She didn't like the 4D effects and the stuff was too much "in your face" even without the glasses. Unfortunately, the 3D was poorly done as well and instead of feeling like things were coming at us, it felt like things were fuzzy and just ended up giving me a headache. The Boy thought the dinosaur attack was really awesome and highly recommends it. It isn't something I would do again but it wasn't the most terrible thing I've ever done.

Next was the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory. It was basically a small children's museum/science center. The kids really enjoyed it and we spent over 2 hours working our way through the whole place. It was small and was a little pricey (nearly the same price as the Indy Children's Museum which is the pinnacle of children's museums), but we had a coupon that saved some money, plus I think it was worth it to have something that the kids really liked. There were small exhibits but there was enough stuff that Ms Thang could do and TB was entertained as well. It is truely a rare event when we find something that keeps both kids entertained for any length of time.

If you go to the Dells with young children, take some time and visit the Exploratory (especially if the weather is yucky and you need to do something indoors for a few hours).

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Wisconsin Dells Review - Crabby's and Wizard Quest

First up, Crabby's. This is an all you can eat seafood buffet with a pirate theme. As some of you know, we are very into pirates and also as some of you know, I'm very into "all I can eat" so this sounded like a win win. Sadly, it was not a win win but instead pretty much a lose lose :( First of all, the price was pretty high (you will find this is a common themes in all my Dell's reviews). It is $29.95 a person for adults and only slightly less for children. We had a free coupon for The Boy so it made it slightly more bearable. We got seated and ordered drinks and when they arrived, all of them were supposed to be in souvenir glasses, yet none of them came that way. We told our (non-English speaking) waitress who told us they were out of the adult glasses but that she would take some off the bill for the cost of the glasses. We went to the buffet and found that although it was all you can eat, it was basically "do all the work yourself" as well. The shrimp was peel and eat, the salmon was a nasty looking fish that you had to dig pieces out of etc. As it turned out, not only was it labor intensive, none of it was very good. The mashed potatoes were bland, the mac and cheese was running, the Mahi-Mahi was dry and over cooked, etc. Another issue we found was that 2 people in the entire resturant spoke English. This made asking questions such as "Is the sushi cooked or raw" quite difficult. I finally managed to hunt down the manager, who was able to answer my question. The best part was the all you can eat crab legs, which takes forever to crack and eat and you probably can't eat enough to make up the cost of the meal. The drinks were also not good. Heavy on the ice, low on the alcohol and quite expensive. In the gift shop, the problems continued. I found a shirt that I wanted for Radioactive Freak, only to be told that they didn't think they had it in the right size. They eventually did but I had to wait for quite a while while they looked for one. The "animated pirate show" was also completely lame. It was a crusty, dusty animatronic pirate and parrot that talked very softly to each other. I was able to make out about every 3rd or 4th word because it was so quite and garbled. Tough to get the joke when you can't hear it :( I wondered if they were on the verge of going out of business since everything seemed pretty run down and they were out of a lot of stuff. I wish now that I had looked it up online before we went because they rated about 2 stars and those reviews are not wrong.

The next morning we went to Wizard Quest. This one gets another negative review, sadly :( The Boy and I did it together and neither one of us enjoyed it. We chose to do the easier level since he can't read and it would have been too hard to try and do all the challenges in the alloted time. As it turned out, we still couldn't solve all the puzzles and TB got bored after an hour and we left only partly done. The premise is that 4 wizards, one from each realm, has been captured and you have to solve some puzzles to get enough magic to free them. The easier level starts you with enough magic points, all you have to do is find the wizards. In reality, you spend a lot of time crawling around on your hands and knees, in the dark or semi dark, looking for symbols on things and doing a TON of reading. You start in the air realm, although they don't tell you that until you have gone through the other 3 and then have to go back to that realm. We wondered through the Earth, Fire and Water Realms, finding little or nothing. In the Earth Realm, we were able to dance with the fairies (which did nothing but deduct magic from us). Other than that, we couldn't find the wizard or complete any of the challenges in the level. We moved on to Fire, where it was nearly dark and there was nothing to do or see. There was a ball pit to cralw through but I couldn't fit and TB was scared because it was pitch black inside. Moving on to the Water realm, we crawled through some seaweed and found black light posters. We also crawled through some tunnels and found a puzzle to solve that was actually broken so it didn't count for anything. Still no wizard. At that point, TB was done and we headed upstairs to leave. Once upstairs, I figured out that that was the Air realm so we looked around in it for a minute. We found another puzzle that was broken and didn't count for anything, again. We did manage to find and free the wizard of that realm. After we found it, we went back to the other 3 trying to find them one more time and busted again. TB asked to leave so we did.

This would be an ok attraction for adults or possibly even much older children but for TB and I, it was boring and difficult and confusing and just generally not much fun. If you go as an adult, make sure you are small, limber and in good health. Also, make sure you take all your smart friends that are good at puzzles.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Wisconsin Dells Review - Kalahari Resort

Our first night here, we stayed at Kalahari Resorts. It gets a serious 5 stars. It is kind of expensive (twice what we paid at the Comfort Inn) but well worth the price if you or your kids like water parks. They say they are "America's Largest Indoor Waterpark" and they aren't kidding. They have a wave pool, 2 activity pools with basketball and "jungle crossings". They also have a lazy river, several body slides, 2 raft/family slides, a kiddie play area with sprayers and the very best thing is the Flow-rider. Besides having all of that to do, there is an entire outdoor water park to enjoy. We didn't spend much time there because it was cool and over cast pretty much the entire time we were there. In addition to the water, they have 2 different resturants plus several snack bars and a "Damon's Resturant" on the property. They have several gift shops, including a sweet shop. My recommendation is to save your money at the candy shop and head into the down town Wisconsin Dells where there is a candy store every block or so and the candy there is cheaper :) They have a kids areas as well, where, for a fee, you can decorate cookies, color take home souveniers and participate in scavenger hunts (we did and won a free large pizza and drinks for our efforts).

Besides, the all inclusive nature of the resort (they also have a day spa, but we did not indulge because it was really pricey), the staff is fantastic! Every person I dealt with was friendly and VERY helpful. Special consideration goes to Jeremy G and Tyler, lifeguards in the waterpark. They certainly worked hard for their money the night we saw them. They were both working the Flow-rider and were stellar with the kids (and some nervous adults). Tyler was the first to mention that Ms Thang could ride with a guard and he took her on her ride. When we motioned that she was ready to get off, he promptly pulled her off and then apologized that he couldn't see her face so he didn't know. He also chatted with the people waiting, keeping them entertained. Jeremy G was at the bottom of the ride and he was showing people how to do the various tricks that could be done on the ride. He would lay on his board and demonstrate, repeatedly, getting to his knees, then how to barrel roll, etc. All the while watching the person's form and yelling (the surf is really loud, you couldn't hear without screaming) instructions and motioning for them to do things.

Coming soon, reviews of "Dells 4D theater", "Tommy Barlett's Exploratory", "Knuckleheads" and "Top Secret"

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Workin' the Flowrider

This was the COOLEST ride ever! :)

This first one is me on my last trip down.



Second is The Boy, with the help of the guard. He did pretty well on his own but needed the extra person there to have the confindence to do any tricks



The next one is my Dad on his one and only trip down.



Finally, we have an example of a wipe out :)



I didn't get any video of Ms Thang doing it, but here is a picture :)

Photobucket

Monday, June 2, 2008

Vacation update

We made it through the weekend in MN. I was really worried because my aunt has a low tolerance for kids and mine are pretty difficult under the best circumstances. They did AMAZING. Saturday, Ms Thang didn't get a nap so she was on the verge of a serious meltdown most of the afternoon. Even still, she managed to chat up people at the graduation party and was generally charming. Things went down hill when she was laying on the trampoline crying and refusing to get up, but yelling at the kids to stop bouncing her. The Boy met a girl about his age and they ran all over my cousin's house and yard and had a super time.

Sunday, they all went to graduation and we went to the park. Graduation ceremonies suck, even for people you know well. They don't know my cousin at all so they couldn't have cared less.

Today, we drove back to WI Tonight, we are staying at Kalahari Resorts, then tomorrow evening we move to a cheaper hotel and stay 2 nights there. The kids have been having a super time in the water park. We have stayed at a lot of waterparks and this one is by FAR the biggest and the best. There are 2 kiddie pool, 2 activity pools, a wave pool, a bunch of slides (including 2 family slides), a surf ride and countless hottubs (actually I think there are 5 but it seems pretty endless). MT is napping right now because she was wiped out :)

PS, my head band dried out fine and I was able to wear it to the party on Saturday night.

Dangerous jungle river crossing

Kalahari Resort

We have arrived at our hotel at the dells

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Sharon got the kids some presents and they are having fun playing with the chalk in the drive way