Water parks

Water parks never seem like a good idea. EVER! The thought of a bunch of kids running around, falling, maybe even peeing in the pool (maybe?) makes me shutter. I like kids but I'm not a big fan of noise and well, 'bunches' of kids. Yet every time we go to a water park I think life is freakin' awesome. My kids always have a blast. They're worn out by the time we're done and I'm calm, cool and collected. It makes no sense what-so-ever!

So this was how we ended our Spring Break. There's many a water park within easy driving distance from our front door - we chose just one. We stayed the night and made a whole 'family getaway' out of it. We even brought the dog! We ate supper at the bar, swam for hours and finished the evening watching the Blue Jackets on t.v. It turned out to be the perfect ending - and that was an almost exact quote from the little people.

Zoom Zoom

This is sitting in my driveway and not because we have visitors...

Yep, we finally did it! For the last couple of years (yes, that's an 's' on the end of that) we have been searching for a vehicle. Neither Mr. A or I are especially particular about what type of car we should have and even when choosing this one I was more on the "I'm tired of driving you all around" camp. I'm pretty sure Mr. A was smitten with this as it became his primary focus and then, "voila" we had one. So far we like it (it's been two days). It goes. It has heated seats which is awesome - I can not stress how much I LOVE this feature. And though it really is no bigger than the protege it does seem to have a lot less miles on it and the door isn't falling off... yet...

So that's it. I've got a big ol' loan and I'll be watching my pennies but my hubby is happy and the kids think they're driving in a rocket ship. And me? I'm just glad my chauffeur days are getting shorter. I know, I've just jinxed myself....

Happy Valentines Day!

At the restaurant.
At the library. Look really close. Now stare into the center of the picture. See the musician?

You just gotta love a holiday that's represented by a grown man in a diaper (I like this version best though I would settle for the Elmer Fudd version as well). Yah, I think I deserve chocolates just for that (or in my case, 2 packs of M&M's - oh, you know it baby)!

I went on my date night with my little love on Friday (S.). It was extremely fantastic. I don't think I've been out like that in ages - and certainly not with any man in my house (don't feel bad for me - I actually prefer, currently, to go out by myself). The evening started with a live band (okay, one guy) playing acoustic guitar at the local library. One more reason I love my town. We sat for an hour and listened to this guy strum away old songs. Calming and fabulous!

Next, we walked down the street and stopped in for dinner at the local inn. It's a might bit grown-up (and a might bit pricey - there goes the budget). I was hesitant at first but I figured any place that has crayons and a kids menu is up for us! We had a very grown-up dinner with a cheese plate to start, our own dinners and then creme brulee for dessert. It was a 2 1/2 hour dinner and not once did I think they needed to hurry up with the check. We wrote our own story (posted below) and drew pictures and talked and talked and laughed and talked some more. It was a dream date *sigh*. The chef even came out and talked to S. about his dinner - oh, the glamour! S. thought that was just about the coolest thing ever (we're big fans of Gordon Ramsey).

Tonight is going pretty much the same. Lovely home dinner of Chinese food (Happy Chinese New Year)! Cheesecake for dessert and now, tea and the Olympics. *sigh* Pinch me 'cause I must be dreaming. Happy Day everyone.

Our story: Once upon a time, there lived a big, peaceful giant who loved to dance. One evening the gentle giant twirled and he shook the land. The mayor became flustered by all the excitement. One night the giant danced so hard the whole country shook. When the people saw who it was the people were mad. Fortunately, the giant quickly apologized and the people were happy. the giant said that he loved to dance and the people said, "O.K.". The End.

(a little note: I wrote a line then S. wrote a line. It's not award winning fiction but it's all he could talk about on Saturday).

*Sigh*

E. Bean (4 years), "Mooommmmm, I'm hungry".
Mom (never mind my age), "Here's some yogurt with cereal - enjoy".
E. Bean, "THANKS MOM! This is sooo good! You're the bestest cook ever!!!".

Now, if only the rest of life was that easy and with that good of results. I'm not asking for much am I?

I'm sure my husband will be singing a different song when he's eating his bean salad for lunch tomorrow (and no, I wasn't thinking of the "bean song"). Maybe he'll enjoy the sweet potato and apple bundt cake I'm planning on making (no recipe yet...) for his 'snack'. Sadly, I'm one of those wives that makes my husbands lunch for him - yes, I'm sure he could fend on his own but unless I want one of those $8.00 bricks of cheese and a box of crackers disappearing from my kitchen I'd just as soon make the lunch. Lesser of the two evils? Perhaps. However, this morning I didn't have anything for him to take (usually it's leftovers but seeing as we had Kraft mac&cheese and hot dogs for dinner last night there wasn't any - yes, even I made KD).

*sigh*

Introducing:

Putty. Silly Putty. Putt-Putt. Sir Putnam. Or just plain, "puppy". The newest addition to our family.

We met across a very crowded parking lot and fell in love after the dog we really wanted was already spoken for. That's pretty much how everything in our life happens and most times the second choice works out much better than the first one would have anyway. The 1st dog was a puppy, not house broken and a little crazy. Phew, looking back I'm soooo glad we didn't get the puppy! Putty is 3, house broken and very, very lazy. He's practically perfect for our family.

We've only had him since yesterday so he's not completely used to us yet and perhaps once he is life will change dramatically. Hopefully not 'cause we really like him just the way he is.

Mid-summer catch up.

I decided at the beginning of the summer (ie. the last day of my son's 1st year of school) that I needed a break. I wasn't sure what it was that I needed a break from but I knew I was tired of getting up and yelling and rushing and stressing and not knowing what was going to happen with my day in general. And it's not that I even lead a stressful life - I'm a stay-at-home mom remember, and I only have 2 kids! For heaven's sake, I should be completely sane, and yet, most days I'm not.

I find the little things stressful - like playdates and getting together and having to be somewhere at a specified time. I think I was always this way but so much more now that I have kids because kids don't get that you have to be somewhere and that they have to "behave" the whole time you're there and that even though I said so it actually means "I SAID SO" and they don't get why other kids get to do things they don't get to. Phew. And I don't always want to be there either and so I end up getting more stressed out... It's a vicious circle.

What I've discovered this summer is that if you take all the running around and hanging out and playdates and programs out of your life and out of your families life you might actually become just a little more sane. It's been wonderful. I like my kids (I always have loved them but I don't always like them - it's a fine, fine line) and I'm liking having them around. And we've really done nothing. They get up, snuggle with me, play with each other, go outside and play until lunch, come in, play, play, eat a snack, read, play, eat supper, play and hang out and then, bed. It's just freakin' fabulous. I'm probably more relaxed and more in love with my family than I've been in years. All because I stopped the running and I've stopped worrying about offending people by saying no.

I still see people but not all the time, not every day, not even every week. We have unplanned parties and get togethers with neighbours and friends and it's more than enough for the whole family. No one has complained. The kids don't ask to be running somewhere and on days when we do they often just want to stay home. My husband and I are laughing and joking again. I feel like we're enjoying just being a family in a great community. And I'm hoping that my kids are getting a summer like I remember having - the kind where you just get to be a kid.