Renovations, repairs, and fun times...oh my!

Since the summer began, we've been tackling kitchen renovations on top of our travels and playtime. With all projects, every time we have one success, we get 3 problems.  We had the best of intentions and the simplest of plans.  Reuse the existing cabinets; rearrange them into a more effective use of space; move the refrigerator to a place that "made sense."  We were so wrong...

We ripped out the kitchen cabinets, so we discover that the entire floor wasn't tiled, some were covering a return air vent, and the tile pattern can't be found.

We move the refrigerator to the only place left in our strangely laid out kitchen, so we have to run more water line for the ice maker, which springs a leak, and this the drywall behind the stove.

We have granite installed, so we discover that the sink isn't centered on the base cabinet, so the granite is cut wrong, there's a plumbing leak, and the faucet is shot.  Oh and this is after we had to spring for more granite because of the cabinet screw up.

We decide to buy a new dining room table & benches, so we put the old set on Facebook to sell it.  Get a buyer within the hour...yay us!  Then, she never shows up, calls, or emails.  We now own 2 dining room tables, 2 long benches, and 6 chairs.

While having the water leak repaired, we discover not one but 2 leaks, and one is in the copper!?!
While waiting on a repair man, the deep well pump stops working!?!

I think I may need to go back to school, just to get a break...

Vacation recap...oh my

We decided to brave all and take the boys on an 8 day cruise to the southern Caribbean.  Wow...what an experience.  Here are some things we learned, enjoyed, and honestly, could have crawled under a table to avoid...

1) one cabin for 4 people is insane.  NEVER again...
2) with 4 people in one cabin, and two of them are under the age of 10, you lose all privacy and dignity as an adult.  As our 4 yr old said as he slapped his own butt, "get used to it, cause we're sharing a room."
3) any excursion you plan with kids must include water and a beach.  If you don't, you'll get this face...A LOT!



4) at 40, you can't do what the kids do.  I have 2 bruised ribs to prove it!


5) walkie-talkies are an amazing investment.  Ean roamed the ship and only got lost once...which leads to...
6) being paged because you've lost your child is truly embarrassing, especially when you don't realize they are lost and holding both walkie-talkies
7) counsellors can and WILL kick your kid out of kids camp.  Yep, Eli was kicked out...for spitting, hitting, running, and not listening.  PROUD MOMENT:/
8) teach your kids about foreign accents before you leave home!  You have no idea how many times our dinner waiter would ask Ean, "would you like to order?", and Ean answer, "no, i don't want any water."  Oh my...it's all I could do not to laugh.
9) vacation with other family can be useful.  Ean ran with my little sister who's 15, and Eli would rather walk & hold Grandpa's hand than anyone else's.


10) when kid camp gives your child a whistle, launch it from your balcony.

 11) buy the adult beverage package.  If you have kids, consider it "therapy"...and it's cheaper than a "therapist" when you get home.

How to have a "shared" birthday party

My sons' birthdays are literally 5 years and 1 day apart, so birthdays are interesting to say the least.  A friend of mine raised fraternal twins (a girl & a boy), so I went to her for advice on "shared" birthday parties.  Here's what we came up with...and a few new ideas.

1) ONE party = less party expense.  Bounce houses/moon walks are expensive to buy and just as costly to rent, especially when you have multiple active kids.  When they were "in to" bounce houses, we only had that expense once a year, so renting one ($150+) wasn't so bad.

2) TWO cakes = individuality.  As the boys get older, even though they share a party, they will each have their own cakes...just a bit smaller.  Since baking/decorating is my side business, it's not such an expense.  Cakes can be pricey.  I guess learning to bake & decorate pays off. 

3) Shared cakes = compromise.  While the boys are young, they share birthday cakes.  They alternate picking out cake designs and flavors.  One year Ean gets to pick the design and Eli picks the flavor and vice versa.  I try to design it in a way that they both have ownership.  So far, so good...
Here are some of the cakes they've shared...

4) THREE sets of invitations...One for Ean's friends, one for Eli's friends, and one for family members.  The invitations look identical except for the name is changed.  I usually create and have them printed at WalMart.  Using Photoshop, saving them as jpegs, and printing them as photos saves a lot!  This year's invitations cost me $5 total...5 for each boy (10 total) and 12 combined for family.  This means that Ean's friends don't feel obligated to get Eli something and vice versa.

5) Easy food...A few years ago, I discovered that I could boil up hot dogs, put them in buns, wrap them in aluminum foil, and put them in a cooler, and they're hot for hours!  Then, a variety pack of chips and drink pouches in a cooler means I have very little clean up and everyone gets what they like.  Sam's Club and Aldi are my friends!

Confessions of a little league mom

Sometimes, I feel like the worst parent ever.  Why?  Because I hate little league baseball.  I would never let my boys know that, and I would never think of missing one of their games.  However, this is excruciatingly miserable.

Between the heat, the dirt, the rain, the know-it-all dads, the cheerleader moms, and "living-through-their-players" coaches, I hate the little league fans. Granted, there are some coaches who truly work with the kids because of the love of the game and the love of the kids.  Granted, many of the parents only want what's best for their kids.  Granted, this is the US, and everyone is entitled to voicing their opinions.  However, I see no reason to take the games so personally and so seriously.  They're kids...let them have fun.

Between the 90 degree days and the hellacious afternoon thunderstorms, I hate sitting at the field.  We put our kids in polyester pants, slather them in 100 SPF sunscreen, drown them in water and Gatorade, and expect them to play their absolute best.  I'm sorry, if I were one of the kids playing in those conditions, I would FALL OUT! 

I know baseball is suppose to be the "great American past time," but I honestly hate little league baseball.  I love seeing my kids playing and having fun, but it's sooooo slow.  I am so thankful that t-ball games are limited to one hour.  The older kids still play 6-7 innings, and OMG...by the 6th inning, my butt is numb!?!?!?  Likewise, there's no beer, no hot (adult) baseball players in cute baseball pants, no entertaining announcers, no fun music, no cotton candy dude wandering the stands, etc.

I realize that many people have just cursed me and labelled me a "bad" parent, but honestly, I say the things that most people think.

Clothing thief

My child is a hoarder.  There, I said it.  He calls himself a "collector."  Plain & simple...he hoards.
On a recent afternoon, I noticed Ean walking around in nothing but a pair of shorts, but the shorts looked oddly large on him.  As he walked by, I grabbed the waist band and noticed that they were a size 30...they were my husband's shorts.  Here's the conversation...
Me: Ean!  These are Jeremy's shorts.
Ean: They were in my drawer.
Me:  They're Jeremy's...
Ean: They were in my drawer.
Me: Ean?!?!  They're too big on you.  They're Jeremy's shorts.
Ean: But they were in my drawer.
Me:  It doesn't matter.  They don't fit you; they're NOT yours.
Ean: But they were in my drawer!

To a 9 year old, I guess possession in 9/10 of the law. 

Later that day, while packing his suitcase for a trip to his dad's house, I found one of Jeremy's 5K race shirts in Ean's dresser.  When asked, again, Ean claims that it's his...because it's in his drawer! 

Needless to say, as we're missing clothes, we know where to look!!!!

The joys if summer break

We've hit a whole new level of picking, fighting, and generally annoying mom this year.  While both boys understand not to get out if bed at the ass-crack if dawn, we haven't managed to understand the meaning of the word, "stop", or the phrase "leave your brother alone!"  The trip to Walmart this morning was a raging, chaotic circus of insanity.

I think I'll chalk this up to my lack of preparedness.  Tomorrow and the following days will be more controlled. They may have gotten me today, but it won't repeat.

Today's score...Kids 1- Mom 0

That will change tomorrow!

Lesson 20: Vacation Needs

No one is happy unless Mom spends every minute catering to them/taking care of them/entertaining them.  While I understand that its a job I've taken on willingly, I wonder if they understand that their vacation is just another working day for me.  From the time I wake up, I think about what to cook for breakfast, what to pack in the backpack for the day, what to do for lunch, how to handle nap time on a busy schedule, what to cook for dinner, baths, and bedtimes, not to mention how to keep them entertained through the day. I'm beginning to think that vacations should come with:
Nannies to care for the kids
Cooks to prepare the meals
Maids to clean up the messes
Cruise directors to plan the entertainment and
School administrators to make all of the decisions

For everyone who just said, "why don't you just take a cruise?", yes, that's an option.  However, kid camp is not a 24 hour daycare, and I would still have to make decisions.  I also understand that many people just say, "why don't you go out to eat?".  Again, yes, we could.  However, we all know that feeding kids fast-food at every meal is not healthy, and eating out gets expensive.

I do not have a solution.  Moms should be given a week long spa vacation every year.  No kids, no cooking, no cleaning, no decisions, nothing...just people to cater to every wish, need, and want.  If you want a mani/pedi in your bathrobe with no one talking to you...done!  If you want breakfast served in your bed at 4pm...done!  If you want Days of Our Lives on IMAX...done!  If you don't want to walk/want to be carried everywhere...done!  If you want to eat chocolate at every meal...done! 

Maybe it's not practical or even fair, but a girl can dream...