Category Archives: Life in general

Check this one off the list

Posted on November 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

On my list of things I want to do before I turn 35 next year (speaking of, I have less than a year to complete this list – uh oh), one was going to Great Wolf Lodge with the boys and this past weekend we made plans for just such a thing, opting instead to go to Avalanche Bay at Boyne Mountain. My lovely husband took care of planning and booking everything – which is just about a perfect vacation to me – not having to worry about the details (more perfect would be having it completely paid for by someone else + about ten more days + a nanny; but I’m very happy with how it went).

Saturday morning, bright and early, we left and headed north. Near Cadillac we noticed something more than frost on the trees and the grass surrounding the highway… that’s right, November 3, our first snow sighting of the year.

Our official check in wasn’t supposed to be until 5 so we planned a detour to visit some friends who opened a B&B/gastro pub outside of Traverse City – if you find yourself on M22 in Maple City, check out Little Traverse Inn and tell them Michelle and Simon sent you – you will not be disappointed (also, anyone want to plan a weekend getaway with us – we know a great place to stay). After lunch, we got a tour of the rooms and the boys checked out the porch chairs…

After that we headed further north to our final destination, still not telling the boys what our plan for the weekend was. We didn’t tell them until Saturday morning that we were going anywhere and when we asked Liam to guess where we were going, he shouted, “Las Vegas!?” Um, no.

We pulled into Boyne Mountain, got checked in and were planning on saving the ultimate surprise (the water park) until after we got the boys changed into their swimsuits. Sadly, a well-meaning handyman, asked the kids in the elevator on our way to our room if they were going to the water park and therefore let the cat out of the bag. Stupid handyman.

Near-total-surprise or not, the boys were beyond thrilled with the weekend… they could have spent endless hours swimming around, going down slides and jumping into our arms from the side of the pool. The first day we spent a couple hours at the water park before dinner (McDonald’s – another treat) and then headed back to our room where the boys wiped out in their upstairs loft while we watched TV downstairs. The excitement got the best of them and they were up in the wee hours of the morning (Jack very angry that Simon and I were then sleeping in “his” bed after we moved him to a nest of cushions and blankets on the floor – he awoke at 3:00 with a loud, “Hey – why are you in my bed, I don’t like that!”). Simon kept them at bay with the television downstairs until 7 when he could go get us some Starbucks. The children were ready to go, in their suits and goggles with only 3 hours to wait until the water park opened…

I discovered the first day that I really don’t enjoy water slides – it had been ages since I had been on one and I had forgotten how little I like the unknown element of sending yourself plummeting into a tube of water, blind to the twists and turns to come (plus I wear contacts so I can’t go with my eyes open). I could not sure out why I had a gnawing in my gut and a racing heart while we waited in line for Vertigo and then Liam and I got on our double tube and entered the dark tube and my brain screamed: YOU HATE THIS, YOU BIG DUMMY! Neither of my little boys share my dislike, which is good for them, but bad for me since they could have gone on slide after slide, without stopping (and pretty much did) so I had to suck it up and get over my aversion as they needed a parent with them and why let Simon enjoy all their glee? That is the hallmark of parenting right there – doing things you don’t want to do because it will be a good experience for your kids and trying to avoid them having your hang ups about things. Speaking of avoiding your hang ups about things, Liam was desperate to ride the faux wave thing shown below and we finally relented and let him try it, knowing the worst thing that could happen would be that he was frustrated and got a mouth-full of water. There he is on his boogie board after a successful first attempt which we don’t have documentation of because we couldn’t get the phone out in time (it was successful but brief)…

And there he is, completely wiping out on his second attempt. And if you think that it appears that he is knackers (a.k.a., nekkid) in the photo below, you would be right, because his swim trunks were around his ankles. He popped up quickly and the lifeguard held up the boogie board to block everyone’s view while he pulled up his trunks. He is thankfully just young enough to not be completely embarrassed that this happened – though I’m sure he’ll appreciate this photo in a couple years and even more that I shared this story here. I would like to thank the parents who stood at the bottom of the exit and gave him high fives for his attempt – he was by far the youngest kid in line to try the water feature.

All-in-all, despite our kids whininess when they didn’t get their way on every detail and their completely craziness when we weren’t in the water (“we were just excited, mom”), I’d call this weekend a great success! Yes, Liam is strong-arming Jack in the photo below, they are really never not wrestling.

Plus we had the following views to enjoy on our car ride home:

Both boys were down for the night by 7:00 and Simon and I were in bed and asleep by 8:30/9:00. More pics to come in my next Instagram post.

Instagram | 27

Posted on October 23, 2012 | 1 comment

What we’ve been up to: drinking smoothies, hanging out, snuggling babies, going to the dentist and eating burgers. Just life.

This was taken on the day we bought the “homeless” man a smoothie. We enjoyed Blimey Limey and Pomegranate Plunge.

Sometimes Jack cuddles with me, usually when I let him watch TV.

Found love – sometimes it’s the little things.

Jack’s princess toothbrush. I love that this perfectly depicts life – Jack lounging about on the floor and George waiting for me to just sit down so he can rest (he follows me around wherever I go – everyone else he will relax for and go find a place to curl up, but for me, he is at my side. I am his person.)

Day four of smoothies… Jack gets his own cup because he will break the Styrofoam cups 90% of the time. This time around it was Blimey Limey and Guava Punch.

Sweet baby Ethan – I just love him and those cheeks. Wish we could have stayed for hours…

The capitol building in Lansing… not D.C. as Liam questioned. Did you know a building is spelled capitol and a city is spelled capital? Google is educating me every day.

On our date night @ Stella’s – Simon had a high-maintenance burger: “Can I get the Government Cheese Stuffed Burger… without tomatoes and pickles and can you add bacon, sauted onions and barbeque sauce?” I had The Mr. Fables (olive burger with blue cheese and subbed aged white cheddar for the Swiss). I am dreaming about that burger.

It stormed two nights ago and George could not get close enough to me on the couch so he curled up on my lap and wouldn’t move. It’s a good thing he weighs less than ten pounds, he can be a legitimate lap dog.

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Posted in Instagram, Life in general

Here’s the thing

Posted on October 17, 2012 | 19 comments

Without being overly dramatic, I feel like I live in a near constant state of fear. Fear that I’m going to forget something with or for one of our kids. That I will forget what day it is… that it’s a Tuesday so I need to meet Simon at Calvin to get Jack or that it’s a Wednesday and I need to first get Liam from school before going to get Jack from daycare. Or that they have a dentist appointment at 2:00 on Thursday so I need to get both kids earlier than normal. Or it is dress up day at daycare (I’ve already forgotten superhero day when Liam was in preschool – thank goodness for teachers with extra costumes, not to mention my own ability to think on the fly and convince Liam in the parking lot that he was dressed as Peter Parker – Spiderman’s alter ego). [That we end up anywhere at the right time with the right things is quite possibly a miracle of very small proportions.]

I also fear that my boys will look back on their childhoods and feel somehow jilted. Like they missed out because they didn’t participate in soccer or swim lessons (yes, I know children in general are over-committed, but still, when everyone else is “doing” it, they can’t help but feel like they are missing out). Like not having both parents home each night and seated around the dinner table will mean that we have let them down. Like we didn’t spend enough time together doing Quality Things because both parents also want alone time, a.k.a. “me” time and that time often comes out of family time because it’s the only time we have to spare. [Time, time, time…]

That my kids will remember all of the times I yelled and raged rather than all the hugs and kisses and times spent laughing on the couch or cuddling together in bed because the yelling is louder and the words more harsh. That they will think of their parents as angry and short-tempered (though clearly not scary enough to actually listen to us and do as we say) rather than knowing we were just tired and spent.

I’m afraid my kids are turning out spoiled simply because they are raised by two “single” parents who team up on the weekends. We give in more easily because we are both tired and too weary to have the battle – we don’t have a back-up to hold us up, in the mornings it is Simon and in the afternoons/evenings it is me and the temptation to give in wins out more often than if we were all together, all of the time. Together we might give in 2-4 times a day, separately if we both do that, our kids get their way (rather than a battle) 4-8 times per day. It’s no wonder they always try and push their lucky – statistics are on their side.

So I have fear, fear like every parent, that I’m not getting it right. That I’m doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time. Yet, each day, I keep trying. Trying to get it right. Even though I know the fear will always be there – no matter how “right” I get it. And that right is all relative because there are multiple paths to the same destination. Not to mention, it’s not really in my control to begin with, and yet, I fear and I worry. I’m not alone, right? Tell me I’m not alone. And my goodness – if you figure out how to do it right, please let me know. In the meantime, I’ll be over here, praying, because I suspect it might be the best thing I can do.

Source: via Michelle on Pinterest

19 Comments

Posted in Life in general, Parenting

Five Question Friday

Posted on October 12, 2012 | 3 comments

I feel like this has been a forever week – at least until last night when I surprised to realize it was going to be Friday when I woke up this morning. Does the ecard below apply to anyone else?

Source: static.someecards.com via Michelle on Pinterest

1. Did you have any homecoming traditions?
When I was in high school, sure. Each class spent the weeks leading up to homecoming decorating a float and then participating in the parade. Being the social butterfly that I was/am and also a class officer, I always loved making the float. It was endless hours of hanging out with friends and being “creative.” But mostly I was in it for the boys, let’s be honest. In 9th and 10th grade I was too young to date, but while making the float we all got to hang out together which was like one big group date without the making out (at least not by me, I should not speak for others). But in present day, no traditions, we are going to a local high school’s parade tonight, but that is more for the company we will be with (and the candy), but maybe we will make it a tradition.

2. Do you ask your spouse before spending money?
For small purchases (less than $50) we both just make them but for larger items, we do usually discuss the purchase first, but not to ask permission, really just for input and because I think large purchases should be discussed by spouses (you know, unless they fall under the gift category, I prefer to be surprised). I cannot imagine asking permission to spend money – but that doesn’t mean we sneak purchases either, we are just an open book with each other when it comes to spending because ours is a God-based partnership, not a dictatorship.

3. If you could be famous for something what would it be?
Having more money than I know what to do with and therefore being a thoughtful and generous philanthropist (I wonder if I wish long enough that I was a philanthropist that it will come true – why doesn’t independent wealth just grow on trees?) That said, it would also be cool to be famous for finding a cure for cancer, sailing around the world (not that I have ever sailed before in my life), being an author or musician (not that I can carry a tune in a bucket) or being the world’s best mom/wife (because that’s totally my reality – ha).

4. Have you ever seriously thought you were going crazy?
The word seriously threw me off because I was about to say, doesn’t ever parent feel that way at some point? But if we are talking seriously, then no. I suppose we all have our moments but I can realize those are just moments. I fear the thought of realizing you are going crazy – knowing that you are losing your mental grip. That would be totally terrifying and knowing that Alzheimer’s runs in my family makes me fear growing older just that much more because that disease is brutal and heartbreaking. On to happy thoughts…

5. How do you eat your steak? Burger? (as in, well done, medium, still moo-ing…)
My burgers I prefer well done, I do not like pink in hamburger meat but for a steak I will take it with a slight pink line in the center – would that be medium-well? If I ask for well-done in a steak, it’s usually too dry and that is a very sad thing. But I don’t like to see anything with the appearance of blood on my plate, no thank you.

Linking up with Mama M for Five Question Friday.

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Posted in Five Question Friday, Life in general

Priorities

Posted on October 11, 2012 | 1 comment

My phone has this handy feature where you add words to your personal dictionary so autocorrect will become friends with them and not try to change them. You can also go in and edit that list (though you cannot go in and tell it to give preference to “love” over “live” and “this” over “thus” – whatevs) so yesterday I went through and reviewed what I had in there so I could take out words I’d inadvertently added in my haste to get something typed (you also have to accept a whole word in order to go back and edit it, otherwise it won’t let you type in the middle of it since it doesn’t recognize it and when you’ve typed a big word, you don’t want to start over so I’ve accepted certain words just so I could go and fix them, which is how I ended up with the non-word “babysutting” in my personal dictionary. So I went through and cleaned up my list and was amused by a number of words I found in there – keep in mind, these are words that autocorrect would not recognize so I had to manually add them:

autocorrect (irony right there)
Bieber/Biebs
boob and boobs
burrito
carmelitas
Chewbacca
cilantro
crapsicle
cumin
decaf (because it’s just not necessary)
detox/detoxed/detoxes
ditty-bling (I have no idea)
farted
frak
frosting
Magneto
minja
Mraz
mullet
noes (as in “ohs noes”)
obvs
peed/poo/poop/poops/pooper/poopy/pooped/potty (I have boys)
s-e-x (I had to spell it, apparently autocorrect is a prude)
shit/shite/shitting/shitty (see above, and sometimes you just need to swear, sorry mom)
smoothie
tomatillos (the last in a list of Mexican recipe ingredients; what does autocorrect have against delicious food?)
weepy/wheezie/whiny/whammy/wifey/wonky
xtina