Going Ape!

Last week we were blessed to receive 5 complimentary passes to Cedar Point. Although we had never planned on taking the kids to "The Point" at these ages (from a purely logistical standpoint), the Hubs and I decided to brave the waters on Sunday and take the whole herd! Yes, you read correctly...all of us. For those who need a reminder or are new to my little corner of the blogosphere, that includes a 6 y.o., almost 5 y.o., almost 3 y.o., and a 17 month old...crazy, right?

Fortunately, we all had a blast! First off, our choice of day couldn't have been better (aside from the 90 degree temps). Note to self, choosing a Sunday just after the return-to-school rush is a goooood thing! Secondly, as it turns out, all of our little munchkins are thrill seekers in their own right. No one had a fear of the rides, no one got queasy in the tummy, and everyone got their fill of fun, thrills, food, and good times. Even Little Miss Bean got to ride on some rides...usually accompanied by mama, but there was one ride that she could do alone (and boy was she mad when we finally pulled her off of that one!).

Having lived in Ohio all of my tween/teen life, I've had my fair share of Cedar Point adventures, but it's a totally different perspective to see it through a young child's eyes. It was very refreshing to slow down and ride the "little" rides just for the fun of it. To not spend the entire day waiting in ridiculously long lines only to finally conquer 4 or 5 of the "big boys" in a 9 hour day! That's not to say we didn't hit any roller coasters. As it turns out, Punkin' is quite the little thrill seeker and a bit of an adrenaline junky :) And it just so happens that he is already tall enough at 6 years to ride all but 3 of the big ones! My little Sweet Face would have been right there with him if it weren't for the 2 inches in height he is still lacking :(

However, this brings me to the point of this post. After 8 hours of fun at the park (and yes, they kept pushing us to do more!), the kiddos wanted to wind the day down by playing some games...and by that, I mean having mommy and daddy pay ridiculous amounts of money to win cheap, ugly stuffed animals! We started out ok. Punkin' decided he wanted to have the lady at the big wheel guess his birthday...$5 spent for 1 guess and bingo, she was way off. He snapped up a cute little red sea turtle that looks a lot like Crush's son, Squirt, from the movie Nemo. Then it was Micah's turn. He decided to bop the pirates on the head with the big squishy mallet as they popped out of the holes in the game board. Another $9 (because his big brothers wanted a shot at the pirates too)...bingo, he grabs a pretty bugly frog with ridiculously long arms and legs (be he loves him regardless..bless his heart!).

Then came my Sweet Face....ooohhhh, Sweet Face. First, he wanted to climb the tippy ladder (the kind that flips over and spins around at the drop of a hat) to win a huge wolf. We were already walking toward the front of the park where the majority of the games are and the ladder was back at Camp Snoopy (too cute, huh?), so we convinced him to choose something else. In retrospect, we should have gone back to the ladder! The moment he spotted the big ugly gorilla, he had to have it. When I say this bad boy is huge, I mean up to my collarbone (I'm 5'4") 3 of me wide huge. And the game was hard...you had to throw a wiffle ball high into the air and barely graze this backboard to get it to fall just so into this little box at the bottom. And no hitting the bars at the top and bottom of the backboard. But Daddy had promised our little guy he would win it for him...and $40 later, he did!

Granted, we have a large SUV for hauling the herd around (3 rows is a must with 4 car seats), but you should've seen us trying to cram this sucker into the truck with the kiddos and our Bumbleride Indie Twin double stroller! Not a pretty sight. And pleased as we are that we conquered the challenge, I now have this huge, hideous gorilla invading my house with no real place to put him...Ahhh, the things we do for the love of a child!

If You Really Knew Me {Blog Hop}

My super sweet friend Tracy over at Sweet Harper has been doing a phenomenal series on Back To School from a former teacher's perspective every Monday throughout the month of August. I've really enjoyed reading her tips and insights, particularly because her area of expertise just so happens to line up fabulously with the ages of my little guys (Kindergarten and 1st Grade)!

As the grand finale of this series, Tracy has invited all of her readers to join her in an "If You Really Knew Me" blog hop, patterned after the show of the same name on MTV. See deets HERE to participate. The basic idea is for us mamas to lead our kiddos by example and open up about things others may not know about us, much the same way we as parents hope our children would feel comfortable opening up to us. So here goes...

If You Really Knew Me...

You would know that, despite all of my many successes in life, I have always had a deep seeded fear of failure. Many things have seemed to come easy for me: academics, sports, making friends, speaking in public, putting plans into action, writing/expression, etc...I have often been complimented by teachers, friends, co-workers, and superiors on my positive attitude and confident character, but very few know that in the recesses of my mind, I am constantly second guessing myself.

I constantly struggle with decision making...always questioning whether I've made the right choice. And this challenge has plagued me since my earliest recollections. From choosing how to dress and wear my hair in school, to what words to use in a speech, to choosing which movie to see or restaurant to frequent, to whether to get married, to whether to leave my job to be with the munchkins, to what school to send my children...some questions are big and some seem infinitely small, but answering pretty much all of them comes with some degree of difficulty on my part. And, truth be told, it's incredibly frustrating!

The ironic thing is, in the end I am always at peace with the decision that has been made, whether the outcome is what I had hoped for or not. I do not seem to have trouble accepting the results of a poor choice or seeing the silver lining in things...it's getting to that point that is exhausting! Fortunately for me, one of my strong suits is the ability to realize that I am a work in progress and that everything will work out in one way or another if I ultimately trust in my relationship with God and listen to His direction. I know that I am in no way perfect and will make many more mistakes in this lifetime, but as I've grown older I've been able to find a peace in knowing that I cannot control everything (and that I don't have to!).

So, what's something I should really know about you? Click HERE to find the linky :)

Struttin' My Stuff

Just had to share some quick snaps of Little Miss Bean struttin' around the house yesterday in her girlie gear...a beautiful pillowcase dress from Sweet Tea Dresses and her Love Bug tennies from Monkey Toes. Granted, the shoes don't exactly match, but you can't tell her she doesn't look adorable!

Sweet Tea Dresses "Shades of Pink and Red"

Monkey Toes "Luv Bugs"

Dryel Starter Kit Review

Back before the wee ones came along, when it was just DH and me, I must admit that I had my fair share of dry clean only gear. Not intentionally, mind you, I just possess a fashion sense that always seems to draw me to items with the ominous dry clean only label. It's funny how a house full of little ones changes your perspective a bit! Not that my tastes in clothing have changed, but my sensibilities definitely have. It's really not practical or financially feasible to send out/take in mountains of clothing to the dry cleaners. For the most part, I am now strictly a wash and wear kind of gal as is my family (fortunately for me, even some talented higher end designers have jumped on the band wagon and helped me out with more fashionable machine washable options!).

However, despite me best efforts, there are still those must have items that need to be dry cleaned. That's why I was excited to give the Dryel Starter Kit a try, which contains everything I need to dry clean up to 8 garments using my own dryer. The kit comes with a reusable fabric protection bag (good for up to 50 loads), 2 ultra concentrated refill cloths (to be used in combination with the bags), and an On The Go Stain Pen. Dryel does not contain any phosphate, PERC, or Trichloroethylene and uses dryer activated technology.

Here's how it works: Place your dry clean only items in the fabric protection bag, throw in a refill cloth, zip the bag, and set your dryer for a 15 minute cycle. That's it! The bag is a very generous size and I found that I could do a favorite dry clean only quilt in it with no problem. For delicates and special care items, you can also steam clean them in the dryer using a 30 minute cycle.

You can purchase your own Dryel Starter Kit at stores like Target, Walgreens, and Walmart. Even better, if you wait a week or so, your local Walmart is set to offer the Dryel Starter Kit and refills free of charge via a mail in rebate! Check your local store for the deets.