We just returned from Great Wolf Lodge and had a very quick, fun trip. Evan's friend Dominic joined us and their were 10 other families from school. On Thursday night, Evan mentioned his friend Josh was going. Josh has a little sister Alyssa that Sara adores. We were both surprised to not have know the other was going. I love Josh's parents and they were lots of fun to spend the evening with.
The kids had a great time in the water park for 5 hours straight. Food was surprisingly reasonable. Dinner was $20 Canadian for 8 chicken strips, 3 orders of fresh cut fries, and 2 sodas. So about $16 American. We let the kids each spend $10 in the Arcade after the waterpark closed. Sara accidently spend more than she thought on a game that wasn't working. I had $5 Canadian in coin and when I went to cash it in, the attendant looked at her and said tell me when to stop. She was puzzled and didn't understand what he was doing, well he kept sliding her game card over and over until she had about $60 worth of credits. The kids had a blast with that and cashed in their "prize points". Sara was thrilled to purchase a Kinder-egg. Since these are illegal in the US they are always a favorite in Canada. As long as we unpackaged it, its legal. Such a silly law. They are chocolate eggs with a plastic egg inside (Easter egg size) with a prize inside.
The kids played basketball, did the obstacle courses, wave pool, and hot tub. Sara did a few waterslides but the boys were more timid. She played with Alyssa and then transitioned to a boy from her class Carson. I think Carson has a crush on Sara but they had a great time together. Floating in the lazy river in the double tube, riding waterslides, and doing the obstacle. Its so nice to know all the families. The kids were on their own for a good amount of time at the park. They would check in periodically and I would check on them. We had a rule to stay with a buddy and not to use the bathrooms without an adult, and not to leave the park. My kids are super easy with things like this and haven't pushed the limits yet.
We had breakfast there since the kids didn't have much for dinner and were very overtired. The Buffet was not cheap but I figured if we had a big breakfast we could have a light lunch. Sara tried pea meal bacon and loved it. Evan had 6 small waffles and some fruit. I just wanted coffee and the waitress forgot me and so brought me a tog o cup that was very welcomed! The kids decided not to return to the park and wanted to play put-put golf. Well, after searching the resort for it, we found it was outside. Today was 21 degrees, so that idea went out the window. We decided to check out and head to 7-11 for slurpies and a few more Kinder Eggs before crossing the border. The Whirlpool bridge was backed up a bit but since Dominics mom gave me his original birth certificate and a note we didn't have any issues.
When we came home I ran to JCP to use some coupons I had 3 spend $10 save $10 coupons, and 1 $15 reward. I picked up some sneakers for Marc, he doesn't like them, I will be heading back. Two outfits for Christmas gifts, and some slippers for my mom. It was so busy there today. I also went to TJ Max to return something but the line was crazy.
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Saturday, November 4, 2017
We can breathe again...
We have officially survived September and October. I started using the calendar app on my iPhone last year and it puts a dot on each day you have an event scheduled. Well, there was one day without a dot in September and October. The schedule hasn't lessened up that much but enough that we can breathe, catch up and relax a little bit.
Sara is doing dance 2 nights a week, and gymnastics one night a week. Evan is only doing Basketball on Saturday afternoon. Previously we had 2 dance nights, 2 soccer practices, 1 gymnastic, 1 flag foot ball practice, and 3 games on Saturday. Evan had a football game in the AM and a soccer in the PM. Sara had a game every Saturday AM. Unfortunately Marc works many Saturday mornings so it was a circus getting everyone prepared. I also had Sophomore class advisor duties of concession stands for Football games on Thursday nights, homecoming weekend game and dance, and our church does an Octoberfest. For Octoberfest I was selling tickets after mass each week, either on Saturday or Sunday and finally I spent a Sunday working the event. The bonus was after purchasing a ticket for the past 6 years we finally won $100. In between all of this are the playdates, shopping, cleaning, birthday parties, and attempting to take care of our cottage and home.
Phew... I thought today would be our first Saturday off. Instead we had a fundraiser at school that I had to attend from 11-2 and then return to school for basketball from 3-4:30. My only saving grace is I can drop the kids off and run an errand or run home. 2 weeks ago we started car pooling to dance with a girl that Sara has danced with for 2 years. This makes my life so much easier and we found out she lives close so hopefully we will have a new friend for playdates.
School has been going well for the kids. They both have at least 30 minutes of homework per night. Some nights its a challenge. Evan is my more academic child and Sara is more of a social butterfly. She can make friends with anyone while Evan prefers a few close friends.
Last weekend our fridge started freezing. Of course we discovered it on Friday night. Marc called Saturday and they couldn't make it out until Monday. Well after some research Marc decided he would try to fix it (its 5 years old). He had me order 2 parts from Amazon for $80 and they finally arrived on Thursday. In the meantime we were turning the breaker on and off - enough to keep the fridge cold but turning it off to keep it from freezing. Thankfully he chose the correct parts and its working. That saved us from the $150 service call, plus parts and labor.
I think we are slowly getting ready for colder weather. I still need to get Sara a coat to play outside in and Evan some new boots. I have ordered some from LL Bean and Lands End and can't seem to get the correct fit. We still have a few pieces of furniture to store for the winter and one more trip to our cottage to quickly clean up and we should be ready.
I am proud to say I ordered our Christmas cards. I usually take a picture in November or have a picture taken and this year I cheated and used a beach picture from our trip to Florida.
This week we are heading to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls. We are off from school on Friday so Marc can't go, so crazy me is allowing Evan to take a friend. There are 10 families from the kids school going so I know Sara will have plenty of friends. I was nervous to ask our friends if there son wanted to go. I know we will need his birth certificate and a note to cross the border. He is such a great kid and so easy going that I know he will be fine. We have never been there and we have a great group rate so hopefully it will be a success.
I am so thankful that I had success ordering from Ikea this week. I have been procrastinating ordering a sideboard for our cottage since last winter. I was hoping we could at some point find time for an overnight in Pittsburgh so I could pick it up or we could purchase it in Canada for a bit more. Well last week I received a free shipping email that would save me $49. I tried to order it and it could only be picked up in the store. I tried the next day and the price dropped $120! It dropped in price to $239. Now we need to purchase an inexpensive TV and our cottage will be a bit more livable. Marc spent many hours this summer replacing and building a tile corner shower. Hopefully next summer we can spend some more time there and spend the night. The shower has leaked the past few years so we always drive the 40 minutes home.
Funny Sara story - last week I told Evan that my belly used to be as firm and hard as his. Sara lifts up her shirt and says in disgust "I have Dads belly!" Sara has always been softer than Evan he is so thin. I laughed so hard. I still love when they say something out of the blue that is pure honesty!
Sara is doing dance 2 nights a week, and gymnastics one night a week. Evan is only doing Basketball on Saturday afternoon. Previously we had 2 dance nights, 2 soccer practices, 1 gymnastic, 1 flag foot ball practice, and 3 games on Saturday. Evan had a football game in the AM and a soccer in the PM. Sara had a game every Saturday AM. Unfortunately Marc works many Saturday mornings so it was a circus getting everyone prepared. I also had Sophomore class advisor duties of concession stands for Football games on Thursday nights, homecoming weekend game and dance, and our church does an Octoberfest. For Octoberfest I was selling tickets after mass each week, either on Saturday or Sunday and finally I spent a Sunday working the event. The bonus was after purchasing a ticket for the past 6 years we finally won $100. In between all of this are the playdates, shopping, cleaning, birthday parties, and attempting to take care of our cottage and home.
Phew... I thought today would be our first Saturday off. Instead we had a fundraiser at school that I had to attend from 11-2 and then return to school for basketball from 3-4:30. My only saving grace is I can drop the kids off and run an errand or run home. 2 weeks ago we started car pooling to dance with a girl that Sara has danced with for 2 years. This makes my life so much easier and we found out she lives close so hopefully we will have a new friend for playdates.
School has been going well for the kids. They both have at least 30 minutes of homework per night. Some nights its a challenge. Evan is my more academic child and Sara is more of a social butterfly. She can make friends with anyone while Evan prefers a few close friends.
Last weekend our fridge started freezing. Of course we discovered it on Friday night. Marc called Saturday and they couldn't make it out until Monday. Well after some research Marc decided he would try to fix it (its 5 years old). He had me order 2 parts from Amazon for $80 and they finally arrived on Thursday. In the meantime we were turning the breaker on and off - enough to keep the fridge cold but turning it off to keep it from freezing. Thankfully he chose the correct parts and its working. That saved us from the $150 service call, plus parts and labor.
I think we are slowly getting ready for colder weather. I still need to get Sara a coat to play outside in and Evan some new boots. I have ordered some from LL Bean and Lands End and can't seem to get the correct fit. We still have a few pieces of furniture to store for the winter and one more trip to our cottage to quickly clean up and we should be ready.
I am proud to say I ordered our Christmas cards. I usually take a picture in November or have a picture taken and this year I cheated and used a beach picture from our trip to Florida.
This week we are heading to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls. We are off from school on Friday so Marc can't go, so crazy me is allowing Evan to take a friend. There are 10 families from the kids school going so I know Sara will have plenty of friends. I was nervous to ask our friends if there son wanted to go. I know we will need his birth certificate and a note to cross the border. He is such a great kid and so easy going that I know he will be fine. We have never been there and we have a great group rate so hopefully it will be a success.
I am so thankful that I had success ordering from Ikea this week. I have been procrastinating ordering a sideboard for our cottage since last winter. I was hoping we could at some point find time for an overnight in Pittsburgh so I could pick it up or we could purchase it in Canada for a bit more. Well last week I received a free shipping email that would save me $49. I tried to order it and it could only be picked up in the store. I tried the next day and the price dropped $120! It dropped in price to $239. Now we need to purchase an inexpensive TV and our cottage will be a bit more livable. Marc spent many hours this summer replacing and building a tile corner shower. Hopefully next summer we can spend some more time there and spend the night. The shower has leaked the past few years so we always drive the 40 minutes home.
Funny Sara story - last week I told Evan that my belly used to be as firm and hard as his. Sara lifts up her shirt and says in disgust "I have Dads belly!" Sara has always been softer than Evan he is so thin. I laughed so hard. I still love when they say something out of the blue that is pure honesty!
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Flying by..... again
Wow its Mid- May already. This year has been such a great year at school. I have such great students. I have nicknamed my one class the angel class. They are juniors and are in my accounting class. Its May and I have never been annoyed or upset with anyone in the class! They are fantastic and so respectful. I hope my kids turn out this way.
Evan and Sara have had great years at school. They both did soccer in the fall, Evan is participating in track now. Evan has taken piano lessons since Christmas with his music teacher. They both have participated in multiple STREAM academies. Sara is currently in a Arcade academy that they engineer and build their own games.
Sara is still busy with Gymnastics (her favorite) and Ballet. We are gearing up for the dance recital and the gymnastics show in June.
Evan started orthodontics in November and it was a rough start. He had an expander put in on a Monday and had it removed by Friday. Between being sick, his aversions, and stubbornness, we were on the verge of dehydration. By Friday he was to weak to walk down the stairs, it was awful. Well after giving it a rest for a few weeks our orthodontist made a special retainer expander for Evan. Evan has been amazing with it. I was convinced he wouldn't keep it in his mouth or he would loose it. Well he has proven me wrong. He is so dedicated to keeping it in. He was even told a few weeks ago he doesn't have to wear it to school anymore. Well, we still wear it except for when he is eating.
Sara starts her process in June and will have to get head gear. At this point she is excited about it but when she has to wear it 12 hours a day it may not be as excited. A friend was in NYC this week and I had her pick up the American Girl braces set. So hopefully that will make it a little more bearable. She is still a huge American Girl fan.
We survived driving to Charleston (14 hours) over Easter and the kids loved seeing their Grandma and Aunt. We enjoyed a bit of beach time and some sunshine. Sara's car sickness wasn't to bad. She did get sick twice on the way home during the twists and turns of West Virginia.
Evan made his First Communion last weekend. He was super cute. I am not crazy about the way our church does the Communion but it was special regardless. He whispered to me before Communion that he was going to try the wine. Evan is so finicky I wasn't sure this was a good idea. I warned him I didn't have a bottle of water and he couldn't spit it out. He was determined to do it and I went up after him. The woman who gave it to him whispered " you should have seen his face!", I can imagine.
Sara is still my good eater and easier child. Evan is very detailed and the better student. That may be a result of him being the older student in his grade and Sara being the youngest. Although she is the youngest she is still one of the top students in her class. Evan will seldom ask to try anything new.
His meals include, roast beef, steak, grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, chicken wings & fingers, pork chops, hot dogs, pizza, chicken soup, a grill cheese and turkey. He will eat only cooked corn, peas, and broccoli. Fruits are much easier. He prefers pretzels as a snack. He usually chooses a snack and sticks with it for months and then gets tired of it, it will eventually return. He also eats mashed potatoes, rice, and french fries. Breakfast he will eat toast, dry cereal, a milkshake (he is still in the 17% ), scrambled eggs and bacon. Lunch at school is embarrassing he eats a pretzel roll (from Wegmans only), fruit, chips, and a few cookies.
Sara will eat or try any fruit or vegetable. She prefers most vegetables raw. She isn't a huge meat eater except for tacos, hamburgers, steak, turkey, ham and hot dogs. She does not like rice or mashed potatoes. She likes crackers and cheese, will bring and make her own ham sub for lunch. She eats yogurt, cereal with milk, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, hash browns.
Evan and Sara have had great years at school. They both did soccer in the fall, Evan is participating in track now. Evan has taken piano lessons since Christmas with his music teacher. They both have participated in multiple STREAM academies. Sara is currently in a Arcade academy that they engineer and build their own games.
Sara is still busy with Gymnastics (her favorite) and Ballet. We are gearing up for the dance recital and the gymnastics show in June.
Evan started orthodontics in November and it was a rough start. He had an expander put in on a Monday and had it removed by Friday. Between being sick, his aversions, and stubbornness, we were on the verge of dehydration. By Friday he was to weak to walk down the stairs, it was awful. Well after giving it a rest for a few weeks our orthodontist made a special retainer expander for Evan. Evan has been amazing with it. I was convinced he wouldn't keep it in his mouth or he would loose it. Well he has proven me wrong. He is so dedicated to keeping it in. He was even told a few weeks ago he doesn't have to wear it to school anymore. Well, we still wear it except for when he is eating.
Sara starts her process in June and will have to get head gear. At this point she is excited about it but when she has to wear it 12 hours a day it may not be as excited. A friend was in NYC this week and I had her pick up the American Girl braces set. So hopefully that will make it a little more bearable. She is still a huge American Girl fan.
We survived driving to Charleston (14 hours) over Easter and the kids loved seeing their Grandma and Aunt. We enjoyed a bit of beach time and some sunshine. Sara's car sickness wasn't to bad. She did get sick twice on the way home during the twists and turns of West Virginia.
Evan made his First Communion last weekend. He was super cute. I am not crazy about the way our church does the Communion but it was special regardless. He whispered to me before Communion that he was going to try the wine. Evan is so finicky I wasn't sure this was a good idea. I warned him I didn't have a bottle of water and he couldn't spit it out. He was determined to do it and I went up after him. The woman who gave it to him whispered " you should have seen his face!", I can imagine.
Sara is still my good eater and easier child. Evan is very detailed and the better student. That may be a result of him being the older student in his grade and Sara being the youngest. Although she is the youngest she is still one of the top students in her class. Evan will seldom ask to try anything new.
His meals include, roast beef, steak, grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, chicken wings & fingers, pork chops, hot dogs, pizza, chicken soup, a grill cheese and turkey. He will eat only cooked corn, peas, and broccoli. Fruits are much easier. He prefers pretzels as a snack. He usually chooses a snack and sticks with it for months and then gets tired of it, it will eventually return. He also eats mashed potatoes, rice, and french fries. Breakfast he will eat toast, dry cereal, a milkshake (he is still in the 17% ), scrambled eggs and bacon. Lunch at school is embarrassing he eats a pretzel roll (from Wegmans only), fruit, chips, and a few cookies.
Sara will eat or try any fruit or vegetable. She prefers most vegetables raw. She isn't a huge meat eater except for tacos, hamburgers, steak, turkey, ham and hot dogs. She does not like rice or mashed potatoes. She likes crackers and cheese, will bring and make her own ham sub for lunch. She eats yogurt, cereal with milk, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, hash browns.
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