Snowed In Saturday

Long time, no see!  Why have I been away so long?  Well, the week after Jim's dad died, I started a new nanny job.  At the moment, I'm working 3 days a week.  It has been an adjustment, to say the least!  I have to say that I don't know how you women with kids and a full time job do it!  So that, plus preparing for a consignment sale, plus filling out school applications for Dylan... I'm a tad overwhelmed.  I've decided to put the new blog (Get Your Mom On) on hold for now.

What's been going on with all of you?  We were snowed in today.  Well, I guess we could have gone out if we really wanted to, but with near zero windshield factors?  No thanks.  Being "stuck" in the house gave us the time to make these...

and these...

Jim is very upset with the paper quality, but they're done!  I came up with the concept, took the photo and picked the font.  Jim used his awesome computer skills to make it happen.

Dylan signed them, counted out the Hershey's kisses, and put them in the bags.  It was a fun family project, and now we are in the mood for the big V day.

Sesame Street Live

Yes, Dylan is five, so that makes him a little old for Sesame Street Live, but if it was in Pittsburgh before we somehow missed it.  We figured this was our only chance, because I'm pretty sure that next year he would probably scoff at the idea.  This year I wouldn't say he was super excited, but he was interested.

These are the things I'll remember...

*How easy paying for the tickets and parking online made everything.  We walked directly from the parking lot, into the Console Energy Center, without freezing in the 25 degree air.

*Dylan sitting there completely still, waiting for the show to start, and me worrying because that is not normal behavior! (I'm worried about the penny he swallowed days ago).

*Dylan watching the show with a wide eyed stare, and mouth open. (Jim commented that I watch t.v. that way!)

*The little girls behind us screaming, and hitting both me and my mom in the head with something.

*Dylan grabbing the bowl of popcorn and exclaiming, "Hey!  Who ate all the popcorn?"  Then, we looked over at "Bubba" and his hands were all greasy and he had bits of popcorn still stuck to his face.

*Abby singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to help Big Bird fall asleep.  Dylan, Jim, and I looked over at my parents and they were both "resting their eyes".

*Jim missing our turn and driving us all over Pittsburgh.  He likes to pretend he knows exactly what he is doing though.

Dylan enjoyed it, and now, thanks to this post I'll always remember it.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Dear Dylan,

Yesterday we took you to your first baseball game!  We were a little worried about how it would go.  You don't exactly like to sit still, you know.  As a matter of fact, when we would tell people we were going, they would say, "Oh?!  Really?!  Are you sure?!"  But, hey, the tickets were free, so we figured we didn't have anything to lose.

I'm happy to report that we stayed for the whole game!  You looked so cute in your Pirates shirt, and you were so excited to go.  We had to set things straight when we found out you thought you were going to play IN the game!  Then, on the way there, you saw some kids with gloves, and got confused all over again.  "But, they have gloves... to play!"

We took you to the baseball field near our house to play the day before, and you were a riot.  When it was your turn to play outfield you were determined to stop the ball before it reached the grass.  You thought that meant it was a home run.  You would really hustle to stop the ball, but if you didn't, you would roll around on the ground crying.  Man, are you competitive lately, and you play games with PASSION.  You want to win, and if you don't, you take it really hard.  I had to hide the checker set, because for some reason losing checkers, (more so than any other game), made you fall to pieces.  It was ridiculous!

You were very interested in learning all about baseball - how many balls = a walk, how many strikes = an out, how many outs do they need?  You were following along, and asking a lot of questions!  I loved it when you sat on my lap, and talked to me about the game.  You won't fit in my lap much longer, so I am relishing those moments so much lately.

By the sixth inning, you were losing interest.  I was too, to be honest!  Baseball is a really fun game to play, but not a really fun game to watch, in my opinion.  Luckily, I brought an activity book and some gel pens in my purse, so that kept you occupied until the 8th inning.  Then, we had to go get in the RIDICULOUSLY LONG line to run the bases.  Wow, I thought you and your daddy were going to lose your minds in that line, but I had a another secret weapon in my purse - Skittles!  You ran the bases and posed for pictures.  (Thanks for humoring me, buddy!  I know I take a LOT of pictures of you!)

I love experiencing "firsts" with you, sweet boy.  Your joy and enthusiasm for life is infectious.
I love you,
Mommy

First Day of Vacation - Ohiopyle?!

On the day that was supposed to be our first day of vacation, Ocean City was under a mandatory evacuation.  We had no idea what was going to happen.  There was a chance we wouldn't get to go on a vacation at all.  But, instead of moping around about it, we decided to enjoy the day by going to one of our favorite places - Ohiopyle.  It WAS on our "Summer To Do List" after all!  (We crossed off 9 of the 12 items.  The list was "Learn to Swim (sort of), Go to the Science Center, Ride the Alpine Slide at Seven Springs, Go Letterboxing, Go to "Castle Park", Go to Idlewild, Go to Ohiopyle, and Go to the beach!)

It was the perfect day for Ohiopyle, and Dylan was really excited to hike, climb over rocks, go behind a waterfall, and of course, get ice cream like we always do!

Oh, and do you remember back in 2008, when I took this shot?

Well, I recreated it this time...

Glad to see that Dylan finally grew into that big head!  

Jim said I'll still be trying to recreate this shot when Dylan is in high school!  I'm not that bad, am I?  Don't answer that.

Idlewild 2011

Yes, I know, it's been a while!  I've been wanting to post about our annual visit to Idlewild since August 11th.  I wanted to include some actual video in the "video", but since Jim is the only one who knows how to get the video from the camera onto the computer, that didn't happen.

This year's trip to Idlewild was bittersweet.  Last year, we spent the majority of the time in the "kiddie" portion, with Dylan riding the smaller rides by himself.  This year we didn't even go in that area.  I think he rode just about every "big kid" ride he was allowed on... twice.

When we got there, I explained my brilliant plan that we should go to the Jumpin' Jungle area FIRST this time, while everyone still had energy, instead of LAST, like we always end up doing, which every time in the past has resulted in time-outs.  No one was going for it.

Last year, Dylan went on ONE "big kid" ride - the Hot Air Balloons.  So, naturally, we went on those first this time.  But, then, he wanted to go on more "big kid" rides... and more... and more...  One sad part was when he was told, after waiting in a long line, that he wasn't big enough to ride the bumper cars.  Two little tears escaped one eye, before he regained his composure and put on a brave face.  Jim and I don't do well on rides that spin.  If the whole ride spins, that is usually okay, but if each individual car spins, that is usually NOT.  Dylan really wanted to go on the Tilt-A-Whirl, so my mom went on it with him!  That lady is amazing, I tell you!

He even went on the roller coaster, in spite of the long line.  My dad and Jim spent the whole time talking to each other, while I entertained Dylan (thanks guys!), but he did it!  Waiting in lines in the past was torturous and sometimes impossible, so this was a big change.  He still isn't "good" at it, but he can do it, so that is a big step.  My dad and I sat in front of Jim and Dylan on the roller coaster.  I looked back before it started and Dylan had a huge grin on his face.  I looked back half way through the ride and Dylan looked like, "Whoa!  Why did you let me go on this?!"  But, I looked back at the end of the ride, and the huge grin was back.  (Maybe he was just thrilled it was over?!)

After riding rides, we went to the water area.  This is the first year they had a wave pool, and Dylan's first experience with waves.  At first, he went way out in Jim's arms, but when the waves were crashing against him and all around him, he decided they were out WAY TOO FAR!  But once he was safely back in the shallow he loved it, and didn't want to get out, in spite of the fact that he was shivering and his lips were purple.

Last year, Dylan would NOT go on any of the water slides.  No way, no how.  This year, I figured that since he has (mostly) gotten over his fear of getting his face wet, that it would be fine.  We walked over to the water slides, and Jim tried to get him to go on the smallest one, while I waited to take a picture.  And waited... and waited... and waited.  Finally, I went over and said, "Dylan, I know you're scared, but sometimes you just have to try things that are scary, and you might find out you like them.  So, which one do you want to do, the red one or the orange one?"  "The red one, OR the orange one?!", he whined, looking at me like I was just the meanest mommy ever.  "Yes, which one?"  "Oh, all right!  The orange one, I guess", he sighed pitifully.  But, guess what?  After that first time on the orange one?  He did it again, and again, and again, and then the red one several times!  I was so proud, I had to refrain from shouting, "THAT'S MY KID!" and laying an egg.

Do you want to guess what area we went to LAST, when we were tired and hungry, since it was close to dinnertime?  Yep - Jumpin' Jungle.  Those of you who've been here a while might remember the time I had to physically drag Dylan out of the balls, which resulted in time-out?  Well, this time Dylan almost had to physically drag ME out of the balls, simply because I could not get my 39 year old body out of there!  I felt like I was in a big bin of quick sand!  ABORT!  ABORT!  We actually made it the whole way through Jumpin' Jungle with no time-outs this year!  However, if my parents and Jim make me wait until 8pm to eat dinner next year, after a long day at Idlewild, I'm putting all of them in time-out in Jumpin' Jungle.  I'll make them do their time in the ball pit of quick sand.

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What I've Been Doing

What I've been up to since last time, in bullet form, because I am getting too far behind...

*Taking Dylan to ride his bike.  He is loving his bike these days.  He has grown so much, that it already looks too small for him, and we'll need to buy a bigger one next spring.

*One day last week, I made these...

In the same day, I took Dylan to the library to get new books, took him to swim lessons, made a new dinner recipe for us in the crockpot, and also made a mom in the Mom's Club dinner, who just had a baby.  I felt a bit like Superwoman... that day (it didn't last).  Just call me Martha.

Yes, he was excited... until he tried them.  Then, he said "I don't like the white part".  I think I responded, "When I actually make something special, complaining about it is a bad idea!" (in true Martha fashion)

*Had an eye appointment.  You know how it takes a while for your vision to get back to normal after your annual appointment?  Well, it took my eyes 5 HOURS!!!  What the heck?!  I still couldn't read the road signs at 6:30 at night when I was driving to go meet this sweet little baby...

*Took Dylan to my in-laws for the day on Saturday, so Jim and I could get work done around the house.  Got a $110 speeding ticket on my way home (44 in a 25 mile zone).  Oh, and he pulled me over in the worst part of town, and when I asked, "Did I do something wrong?", he answered, "No, not really"?!
Then, he told me "I'm not giving you any points, and it's just a $25 fine".  Uh, yea, it is, but when you add this fee, and that fee, and the other fee, it comes to $110.  Groan.  As soon as he walked away to write up the ticket, I had a crying fit.  But, I got myself together before he came back, and do you think my puffy eyes and red face made him decide not to give me the ticket?  Uh, no.  I have NEVER gotten out of a ticket.  Not once.

*We took Dylan to Keystone Lake on Sunday.  We had a great time, but I took very few pictures because... well, let's just say that it was hard to get a shot without some very interesting people in the background.  People missing quite a bit of their front teeth, people in bathing suits they should NOT have been wearing, etc.  Oh, if my family is enjoying the beauty of nature, your family blowing cigarette smoke in our faces tends to dampen it for us.  I had a moment where I fantasized about dousing their cigarettes with my sons squirt gun, but.. well.. they scared me, so I decided against it.

(Oh!  While cleaning our bedroom on Saturday, I found some of Jim's old artwork that I plan to post next.  You do NOT want to miss that one).
(I'm planning to change the look of my blog.  I already changed the background, but might change it again.  Stay tuned...)

Lucky For You, You Can't Experience the NOISE, NOISE, NOISE!

Dylan had "Go to the Science Center" on his To Do List for Summer.  He's been talking about it for quite some time.  Every time we were about to leave to go somewhere, he would ask, "Are we going to the Science Center today?!"  I have to admit, I might have been putting it off.  I didn't really want to go.  Ever since I became old, (when exactly did that happen?!), going to that place just exhausts me.  I leave with the overwhelming desire to take a very long nap.  

It was so crowded that I thought Jim was going to pop a blood vessel in his head just looking for a space to park.  Dylan was screaming, "YOU CAN PARK THERE...OR THERE... OR THERE!!!" from the backseat, pointing to trees, or grass, or imaginary parking spaces that only he saw.  Jim was yammering about "If there aren't any spots than WTH did the guy let us pay to get in here?!"  I was trying to maintain my breathing while being whipped around through the parking lot by an angry driver.  All that was before we even got in the five level building!  Once in, I was accosted by the NOISE, NOISE, NOISE of the masses of humanity, who were all SO excited to learn about science.  (I think I've mentioned I'm not exactly thrilled by the subject).  Oh well.  I survived, and although I really wanted one, I didn't get that nap.  At least we can cross one more thing off the To Do List... until next year.

Strawberries & The Magic Shirt

Jim and I took Dylan to Triple B Farms for their Strawberry Festival this weekend.  Knowing I was going to take a ton of pictures, I put Dylan in the only red shirt in his closet (red heads don't wear a lot of red).  I knew he wore the same shirt last time we went, so I was assuming that was last year.  But, I swore to Jim that it was two years ago!  He said there was no way Dylan could fit in a t-shirt he wore when he was 2...

(Psst... he is 2 in this picture...)

(Psst...he is 4 in this one...)

What can I say?  It is a magic shirt!  A magic shirt that just started working its wonders, because I got so many shots I love this year!  Then again, maybe he has just finally learned to smile, so the annoying lady with the camera won't drive him crazy all day.  Or, maybe, I just understand four year old humor?  "Say, Stinky Butt!... Say, Stink Burger!... Say, Banana Butt!" (whatever it takes)

What a fun place!  Besides picking strawberries, there is a hayride, 2 huge bouncy things, a playground, a rope maze, 2 slides, a tractor to sit on, a huge mound of hay to climb on, and every kind of strawberry themed food you can think of.

This is what we got.  So far, the strawberry cider was a hit, but the syrup on his waffles this morning was not.  Haven't tried the strawberry butter yet.

(I learned my lesson from 2 years ago, and took a water bottle to wash the strawberries off before eating them).

Seven Springs - Letterbox 2

Geez, where does the time go?  A whole week has passed already?!  We have been enjoying these wonderful days without rain!  Yesterday, we went to Seven Springs to ride the Alpine Slide, and to look for our second letterbox.

We picked the perfect day to go to Seven Springs - not too hot (82 degrees), and a day that wasn't crowded, (we were told June is a slow month for the resort).  We have been there on days that the wait for the slide was an hour!  That just wouldn't work with a very impatient four year old.  Yesterday, though, there was no wait!  First, Jim and Dylan went, and I stayed at the bottom, snapping pictures.  Then, Dylan and I went together, and raced Jim.

While at Seven Springs, we also played some games in the arcade...

Dylan got a little calculator and maracas with his tickets.  Immediately after that, we were walking up the steps, and he dropped one maraca, which bounced and fell down between the stairs and the wall.  One maraca - gone!  One kid - crying and making a scene!

We had some pizza for dinner, before trying to find the Letterbox for a SECOND time.  The first time was on the way in to the resort.  Dylan had fallen asleep, and was still sleeping when we pulled in to where we thought maybe the clues were leading us.  The clues were extremely vague, and mentioned "hopping a fence", which we assumed would be a short fence.  As it turned out, the fence was NOT short, and the area around the fence was covered with weeds, sticks, rocks, and possibly poison ivy?  I told Jim "Forget it!  There is no way we're doing this!"  So, of course, he went through the weeds, sticks, rocks and possible poison ivy to climb the ridiculous fence and disappear off into the woods, out of sight.  That is about when Dylan woke up and proceeded to have a panic attack.  "Where are we?...  WHERE'S DADDY?! ... WHERE IN THE WOODS?!... I DON'T SEE HIM!... WHY IS HE IN THE WOODS?... WAH!"  So, there I was at the edge of the fence, yelling, "JIM!  WHERE ARE YOU?!  COME BACK!  DYLAN IS FREAKING OUT!"  Fun times.  We decided to try again later.

The second time didn't go much better.  (There's no pictures of the letterboxing, because my camera ran out of battery).  We drove a little past the ridiculous fence, and saw a sign that I thought could be the sign we were looking for.  Then, we walked on a path, until we were supposed to look for a "large tree with a scar on the back".  Umm... all the trees were large, and all the trees were surrounded by woods and more possible poison ivy.  So, Jim was traipsing through the woods, while I screamed, "DYLAN!  NO!  DON'T FOLLOW DADDY THROUGH THE WOODS!  YOU MIGHT GET POISON IVY!"  So far, Letterboxing seems to result in a lot of yelling.  We never did find that darn letterbox, but we got to see a cool view of the resort, and I think we all successfully avoided getting poison ivy.  I'll call it a win.