Classy Chaos

Preschool conferences: not sweating the small things

Administrator — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:46:00 +0000

The truth is, I don't work with my child as much as I should.

She's my third one and it's been years since the early reader books in our house were organized, half of our wooden puzzles are missing pieces and the matching game that I played with my eldest is beyond recognizable with stickers applied over the pictures. In my defense I've filled our time together with a gazzilion more cuddles and kisses then my first two. I've tried to enjoy her, rather than fuss over her. Something I wish I knew when I first became a mother.

That's not to say that anyone should ever underestimate education and working with their child. Not at all.

It's just that the little things I used to religiously fret over no longer keep me up at night. I mean does it really matter that my preschooler called yellow "the color of the sun" instead of "yellow" at her preschool pre-kindergarten assessment? I would have lost sleep, worrying about child development and what I had done wrong, had my other two not identified yellow as yellow on their exam. Feenie knows her colors but she's also creative and prefers to think outside of the box. Something I learned to embrace and mentioned this at her preschool conference.

"Oh I know, I know. She's delightful. She's loving. She's hysterical. She's creative. She's helpful. She's such a pleasure to be around. But..."

"But?"

"Well, she doesn't know all of her letters and may need some more help."

"Oh, there's an ipad app for that!" I responded.

You can't buy an ipad app to teach you how to be delightful, creative and a pleasure to be around.

Maybe I should be more worried that she skips "M" and "N" while singing the alphabet and that she refused to call yellow "yellow" but I know in time she will eventually get it. In the meantime you can find me not sweating over the small things but sweating from chasing after her to squeeze and kiss her a little bit more. Squeeeeze her.

***

EDITED TO ADD: Feenie's official preschool assessment color exam.

Flipside

OHmommy — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I posted: She needs to live on a farm. She spent four hours taking care of horses this morning and was shocked to see me at 2pm for pick-up. "What do you mean it's time for me to go home? That felt like 10 minutes!" she cried.

She posted: I love horses so much that my mom drops me off for a couple of hours. I wish I could live there!

How to score a root beer float from a "dictator"

OHmommy — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

No whip cream, no sprinkles, no cherries, no chocolate shavings, nothing but two scoops of ice cream are allowed on our trips to the ice cream shop.

Imagine Seinfeld's Soup Nazi but only a taller, thinner and much more gorgeous brunette in stilettos yelling "No sprinkles for you!" It may sound harsh to some, but the "two scoops of ice cream and nothing else" rule has served us well for years. It minimizes the "no fair!" bickering in a three-children household and creates for a more enjoyable experience when the children know what to expect. Two scoops and nothing else. Don't even ask.

Until yesterday.

When my child created such a convincing argument that I had no choice but to reward him.

"Two scoops of Mitchell's ice cream is $4.65. One bottle of root beer is $1.69. That brings the total to $6.34."

"Okay. And your point is? "

"My point is that a root beer float is actually only $4.79. That's only 14 cents more then two scoops of ice cream."

"I see."

"So for an extra 14 cents I not only get two scoops of ice cream; but, I also get a root beer, whip cream, chocolate shavings and a cherry on top. That's a great deal, Mom."

The kid earned his root beer float for a well thought out argument and was lucky I had an extra 14 cents in my pocket. The girls dropped to the floor in protest and cried the "no fairs!" I've been trying to avoid. I can feel my powers decreasing. I'm in trouble, aren't I?

BIG announcement

OHmommy — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

"Isn't it kinda ironic that you're announcing this on your blog?" my nearly eight-year-old daughter asked me.

"You don't want me to tell people?"

"No, I do. I do!"

I started my blog when she was just three years old. She has witnessed me writing in the evenings and taking photos during the day. She has listened to my posts read out loud for years and always smiles when someone mentions her in the comments. I'm at that mommy blogging stage where I blog less and less about my children's personal lives because their stories are no longer always mine to tell. I can barely get one post published a week. Isn't it ironic that when I start to mute our lives, my daughter wants to announce her presence to the world from rooftops?

"Tell them, Mama! Tell your friends that I am now a blogger!!!"

It all started the day that I passed down my old Nikon to her.

"I'm already a good writer. I just need to improve my photo skills and I can be a blogger, like you."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Geesh, Mama. We've been blogging in school since kindergarten. I know all the rules."

"There are rules to blogging?"

"Yes! Never say your real name or the place you live - that's what my teacher said is safe when being online." she started. Their blogging at school is answering questions to blog posts their teacher writes. Like "What is your favorite activity?" It's quite comical to check in. "Also, once you put something on the dot com it is there FOREVER, Mama. Forever! You have to make good decisions."

"That's great advice."

"So can I? Can I start a blog? Imagine how awesome it would be when I'm a teenager and I get to read all the things I wrote now."

My second grader knows more about blogging than I did when I started five years ago at the age of thirty. I'm honored to announce that today a blogger was born. Her "About Me" blurb took her twenty minutes to create only because she couldn't decide on what to write about herself. I am 7 years old. I am very talented. I love all animals. I absulotly love baking. I love to write and I just started taking pictures. Her first post took her about an hour to write. "Whoops. I'm glad I caught that spelling mistake." she laughed while constructing her sentences. "Whoops. That was a silly error!" she said and deleted an extra comma. I started to think that passing down my camera was a bad idea. If you have a moment, check out Lola's blog ohkiddos.blogspot.com. It took her seven minutes to come up with the title.

"Isn't it kinda ironic that you're announcing my blog, on your blog? Maybe I will do the same for you!"

Yes, a blogger was born today.

What modifications can achieve!

OHmommy — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:22:00 +0000

One of the issues discussed at our intervention meeting last week was how bored my son was in math class.

Every so often third-grade students are given a placement test to evaluate their skills/weaknesses and placed together in groups based on results. In theory, this is an excellent way for students to work at their own pace with similar skill level. This quarter Jay was placed in a group who was beginning to develop their multiplication facts, something he mastered in kindergarten with Dziadek. "Mom, I'm drawing squares and counting them. I tried to work ahead but the teacher stopped me." I brought this up to the administration team (after determining that Jay is easily distracted during tests) and encouraged them to re-test him in a quiet room without any time restrictions.

On Friday he was re-tested.

On Monday he came home from school filled with new found pride. "This is THE best Monday of my life!" he smiled.

My little man scored so high that he was placed in the most challenging math group. He sat down at the kitchen table and described how he raised his hand all.the.time during the lesson, something he rarely does, and drew out math puzzles they were working on to prove the level of difficulty he so much enjoyed. He created a worksheet for me to complete and although I failed he led me through it until I understood. "See? It's so easy! These factors have the common sum of times 5 and minus 2." (Or something to that nature, math confuses me.) I couldn't help but shed a little tear. It's amazing to see what a little modification in his school day can really achieve.

After calling my entourage of support on the phone to share my son's good day, "Jay rocked his math placement test!" my daughter approached me with her hand on her hip. "I didn't hear you mention to anyone that I got straight A's on my report card." I quickly re-dialed everyone's phone number. "Hello, again. Are you sitting down? I have more good news to share. Did you know that I am the luckiest Mom in the world...." I started.

I don't want to see my cell phone bill.

Castaway Bay Waterpark: a family resort

OHmommy — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

WINNER. Here is your random number: 3 Timestamp: 2012-01-31 03:22:40 UTC Congrats to # Carrie Hawk 2012-01-22 22:05

This past weekend we were guests of Castaway Bay Resort & Waterpark (operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company in Sandusky, Ohio). The blogger event was centered around a family dinner and craft hour but as soon as Jay, future roller coaster engineer, saw two men in ties with Cedar Point name tags enter the room he pushed aside his cookie decorating project and leapt out of his seat. "Can I ask them questions?"

He stood before them asking every possible question he had ranging from top speeds to top heights and if they were planning any new coasters in the near future. The two gentleman were very inviting and chuckled at his enthusiasm. I know Jay was in heaven.

Jay was particularly interested in "Rendezvous Run" the 520 foot-long water roller coaster at Castaway Bay because he rode it no less then twenty times. The men explained that one particular roller coaster engineer, that they work with, spent his early days shaping wired coat hangers into coaster designs. I think I need to stop throwing away dry cleaning hangers.

Besides being a fantastic indoor waterpark (bigger then Great Wolf and smaller then Kalahari - perfect size for elementary school ages kids to roam around freely) the resort hosts some incredible family activities that I have yet to see at any other hotels we've been to, and we travel a lot all over the world. The daily family activities are printed out on paper upon your arrival and displayed throughout the resort. If someone hands me an itinerary of free events you can bet that I'm going to make sure we attend all of them. (The only activity we did that required money was T-shirt coloring)

Check out the family events compiled in our video. Stick around to see Lola's karaoke debut at the 0:34 mark where she rocked it out in front of a room full of teenagers. Girlfriend has confidence, no? Rock on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG0s3bNegOw

Castaway Bay is close enough to Cleveland for a day trip (took us about 75 minutes). You can purchase waterpark passes for the day. There are clean showers, changing areas and lockers. I would recommend a day trip to anyone especially in this economy when not many can afford spending two nights in a hotel room. When we checked out on our last day at 11am we hit the waterpark again until 4pm, showered in the locker room, dressed, had dinner and returned for the night's family activities. We got the kiddos into their PJs, stuffed them into the car and were home by 10pm.

"Mama? I never ever want to leave!" Lola, age 7.

Daily passes are $29 per person. I have FOUR waterpark passes to giveaway to you (although my kiddos want to keep them for themselves). Comment for your chance to win by telling me what you enjoyed most about this post (to give me insight how to handle potential future "reviews"). That's it! Feel free to share it on Twitter/Facebook to make my day. One entry per email. Winner announced Friday 1-27-12.

Disclosure: our family attended a blogger event and while the accommodations/waterpark passes were paid for all opinions are my own.

When "mommy blogging" is a blessing

OHmommy — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

If I could, I would snail mail a proper thank-you card to all of you. The card would have scalloped edges and raised print embossed with gold thread but it could never truly capture the gratitude that I have for your presence in my life. I'm blessed.

The husband and I went into the "intervention" meeting with not only every school document (like so many of you advised); but also, with notes from your comments compiled in a one inch binder. We felt well prepared and we felt your words. I set a new record and only cried three times during the two hour meeting. Baby steps. My mother was the first person I called after the meeting, "Mom? We've got an IEP scheduled!" And in her thick Slavic accent she replied, "I'm not surprised. I read your comments on blog of yours. You surround yourself by strong people. Strong people survive, Paulina."

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to comment and make a difference in our lives. I feel so blessed to be a "mommy blogger" with a smart audience. I don't know what I would do without you all.

My son was diagnosed with ADD

OHmommy — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I took this candid photo of my son just hours ago.

It. Breaks. My. Heart. Because it's a typical snapshot of our afternoons, balancing feelings of angst and hope.

I carried him under my heart for nine months (while listening to Vivaldi & avoiding sushi) and napped with his infant body on top of my pregnant chest for another nine months (not advised by pediatricians) until my belly, carrying his sister, was too large for both of us to be comfortable. He made me a mother just days after my twenty-fifth birthday. We've got this unspoken bond that was formed when he spent eighteen months listening to my heart beat and I to his.

Today, he was finally diagnosed with ADD although I knew that years ago.

There were so many supportive phone calls, tweets and emails that poured in this afternoon. "BEST. NEWS. OF. THE. YEAR." and "Great news!" all meaning (I hope), "Knowing what you're dealing with is SO relieving. Now, on to how to help him!" and "Hallelujah!! You hung in there for your child and finally a professional has your back!" and "Another step to better care!" and "I'm really glad you finally have an answer." The most discouraging were: "We just got there last week with my son and he is twelve!" and "I wish we had found the same out for my son before he was diagnosed in college. Would have made HS easier."

The biggest mistake I made in my parenting career was that I didn't trust my motherly instincts early enough; but instead, I let the award-winning public school district "lead me".

"Which wasn't the case in kindergarten when I sensed a problem and begged for extra help. Or in first grade when I begged for an IEP, sensing my child's frustration, but was told that my child met the "benchmark". By second grade well... " From: "I'm mentally exhausted & I really need your advice."

There's so much fuzziness in public schools. There's so much that I don't know. There's so much that I need to learn.

My son was diagnosed with ADD (not hyperactive) today. What do I need to know before I meet with the school on Thursday morning for yet another "intervention" meeting? Do we have a chance for an IEP although he's in the 99 percentile for math but failing reading? Do we medicate or deal with it? What do I want the school to do for him? Gah.... so much to learn. Educate me, please. I'm in foreign territory without a guide and I don't want to be blindsighted. It's time for me to lead.

The room of a collector of things

OHmommy — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Postcards from travel and theme park maps clutter the walls of my son's room.

Loose change from four continents fill the drawers where his socks should lay.

Nature occupies the dresser that once acted as an infant changing table.

A dozen frog figurines stand beside a hastily written "Do not touch" note.

Ticket stubs, expired gift cards and photos burst out of his desk drawer.

This is the room of a collector of things. This is the room of a boy that learned to walk by pushing a plastic toy shopping cart, filling it with beloved stuffed animals he found laying around the house - the heavier his cart was the more courage he found to walk. This is the room carefully crafted by that little toddler pushing a cart of memories. This is a room bursting with love.

Which is a classier way of saying that this is the room of a hoarder in a house cleaned by a Polish mother who is unable to stand clutter.

My nine-year history with playgroups

Administrator — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:38:00 +0000

I searched through my archives tonight for "playgroups" and couldn't believe that in five years of blogging I've never really mentioned them before. As a SAHM, playgroups have been my saving grace for yeeeaaaarrrrrs. I've come a long way from my very first playgroup. Viva La' Playgroups!

Third child of mine, in grey, enjoying her weekly standing playdate with friends.

Hospital "Lunch Bunch" playgroup

Don't throw away that flyer from the hospital (after giving birth to your first born) that announces a weekly "lunch bunch" playgroup in the hospital basement every Tuesday morning headed by a registered nurse. I promise that the weekly outing to the hospital basement will force you into non-maternity clothes and will give you the opportunity to swap notes with other first-time-mothers. It's where I met Amy and got many valuable parenting memos not to mention the occasional "let's push our strollers around the park" dates. I don't know how I would've survived those lonely months with my first born without my "lunch bunch" crew that made me feel that everything I was doing was okay.

"Welcome Wagon" playgroup

Whatever you might call the neighborhood "welcoming committee", they have some valuable resources that you should tap into. Our "Welcome Wagon" in charge of our town of 23,000 was full of elderly women offering frozen lasagnas upon moving in; but, a further look into the "Welcome Wagon" booklet included the fine print on the last page advertising a "weekly neighborhood playgroup". Take a leap of faith and join it. I disliked the "Welcome Wagon" playgroup I joined but connected with another mother that led me to the earlychildhood PTA/preschool of my choice.

Preschool playgroup

It's super hard to forget your first preschool playgroup with your first-borns - they are epic. We were all new mothers and met weekly throughout the RAIN.SNOW.SLEET. weather of Ohio. Four mothers and four sons - all randomly joined together by "Hey, let's make this a weekly thing!" and everyone agreed. I met Indy and many other fabulous moms that helped shape me into the mother that I am today. I, at the time, had no idea how to raise a preschooler but luckily the playgroup always included the moms, whom spent more time talking about parenting then looking over their kiddos. We learned so much from our conversations.

Second-child playdates

By the time your second-born-child is ready for preschool, you no longer call playgroups "playgroups" and instead call them playdates. Why? Because you no longer crave that traditional playgroup atmosphere where the moms sit around watching their kids play. Instead you find yourself dropping off your kid at a friend's house so that you can get a load of laundry in without being interrupted. The moms I stumbled upon at our preschool were beyond excited when I (out on a limb) asked them one day at pick-up, "Hey, how about we do a weekly playdate after preschool. We can take turns hosting each week?" The second-child playdate meant that our kids enjoyed their friends for an additional two hours after preschool while we got things done without any interruptions, and without any non-sense parenting talk. Win!

After-school playdates

When your child finally reaches elementary school and they meet their best-friend-forever and after you exchange phone conversations with the parents, you let them do the after-school playdate.

Third-child playdates.

You hope someone asks your third-child for a "playdate" because you are exhausted from hosting.

"What do you mean I have no playdates scheduled for next week?"

What stage of playgroups are you in?

I gave my kid a water heater for Christmas.

OHmommy — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

We had a difficult time figuring out what to purchase our son for the holidays. At nine and a half, he's in that inbetween stage where Legos no longer thrill him and he's not mature enough for serious gaming. While his younger sisters were circling every item in toy catalogs he had trouble coming up with just one item. One morning in December he rushed into our bedroom with an idea. "I know what I want!" He began to describe building a frog habitat from scratch. His eyes grew wild with excitement as he spoke. A bigger tank with room for his frogs to jump and perhaps a waterfall so they could relax and some plastic lily pads they could hop on and maybe even a new water heater so the water temperature was just right.

"You want a water heater for Christmas?" we double checked.

"Yes."

Grandpa purchased an enormous four foot tank. Babcia and Dziadek included a generous giftcard for supplies. We got him a waterfall and a water heater. You guys? I got my child a water heater for Christmas! And he was thrilled. As soon as we arrived home from our vacation, he went to work.

He researched what patterned background he should display behind the tank. Measured the tank to make sure he didn't over-buy. He read online how much time frogs spend above the water to make sure he purchased enough rock formations.

We've been to the pet store everyday this week.

Four foot glass tank. Water heater. Waterfall. Rock formations. Lily pads. Decorative wallpaper. Organic crickets. The frogs got a plush new pad and my nine year old could not be happier. It was his "best Christmas ever".

It's good to be a frog in America. No?

Blue Mountain Ski Resort in Ontario, Canada - an unbiased review

Administrator — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:20:00 +0000

I am in no way affiliated with Blue Mountain nor was I paid to write this review. I was frustrated with the lack of ski resort reviews online when researching our vacation destination and I hope this review will help answer some questions to those interested in learning more.

Sometime in November we decided to organize a ski vacation for four families, ranging in ages from 4 to 65. There were many needs to be considered for our group: drive-able distance from Chicago and Cleveland for those on a budget, comfortable lodging for someone used to five-star resorts, great skiing for those teenagers who grew up skiing, a reputable ski school for a preschooler's first time and a lively town that would entertain all of us throughout our stay - day and night.

After much research I quickly realized that finding a ski resort that met all our needs in the Midwest was nonexistent so I included Canada in our search. Within minutes of stumbling across Blue Mountain online, I called to inquire. Yes, it was drive-able from both Chicago (about 10 hours) and Cleveland (about 6.5 hours). Yes, they had very upscale ski in/out bedroom suites located in the heart of the village. Yes, they had plenty of trails to keep teenagers born on skis busy. Yes, they had a ski school that would meet all our needs. Yes, their village was booming with activity and nightlife.

That's how fifteen of us, found ourselves at Blue Mountain in Ontario, Canada for a week of skiing.

The Village.

First and foremost the village blew us away.

No matter what time of day/night it was the village was booming. There was a Starbucks, tons of restaurants (we ate at a few and they were awesome), tons of shopping and lots of stores selling Canadian sweets that my children adored. The entire village was centered at the bottom of the "Silver Bullet" chair lift and easily assessable to all village lodging. We noticed the village was extremely dog friendly allowing dogs into stores (The Westin in the village allows dogs over night). From martini bars and Irish pubs that kept the nineteen-and-over (legal drinking age) part of our group happy to the Activity Central office (located across from Beaver Tails) that organized scavenger hunts, winter survival skills, cooking classes, etc... Our four families were never bored. We actually thought about prolonging our stay but everything was booked.

The Skiing.

Our group ranged from a four-year-old beginner to teens accustomed to skiing in Colorado.

As a parent of kids who can rock beginner chair lift trails (not to be confused with bunny hills) in the Midwest, I first noticed that there weren't many beginner runs. Furthermore the beginner runs were more difficult than the ones back home. "Happy Valley" was about 10 times longer then "Graduate" (a typical Midwest beginner chair-lift run, at Blue Mountain) and although there were more beginner runs on the far end of the resort (where the ski school was located) you needed transportation to get there. We loved "Happy Valley" but my young children were exhausted half way down. A wonderful problem to have at a ski resort.

There was a ton of intermediate runs that I went on with my 7 year-old; however, one day we made a wrong turn and ended up on a Canadian double diamond that I swear was not marked. I have a bruise to prove it. Carry a trail map and study it often. The teenagers and thirty-year-olds accustomed to skiing out west were delighted to freely roam around the mountain and never grew bored of the trails. We all noticed that as soon as you further yourself from the village the more freedom you have - no wait lines, more powder, etc. The view at the top of the mountain was breathtaking with views of the village and lake.

The Accommodations.

In our group of 15, we had one extremely hard to please woman over the age of 50. Someone who expected to be treated like royalty, and rightfully so. She upgraded to the newer rooms at the Mosaic which featured "posh boutique like" rooms and an outdoor heated swimming pool. We stayed behind at the Village Suites at Weider Lodge. Both two-bedroom suites were delightful with plush beds, fireplaces, flat screen TVs and fully stocked kitchenettes. However, even though the Mosaic was newer the Weider Lodge was located directly in front of the mountain and was truly a ski in/out. Check-in at the Grand Georgian was easy and as soon as I complained about not having double beds in our room, at initial check-in, I was reminded that I was a rude American in Canada and everything would be taken care of. Are all Canadians obnoxiously nice - like Ritz Carlton nice? We never waited for anything and all of our requests were met.

The Ski School.

Not a big fan of the Blue Mountain Ski School.

Our children have been enrolled in full day ski schools in Ohio, New York, Michigan and we have always left knowing that our money was well spent. A full day teaches more then an hour long weekly lesson, in our honest opinion. We've seen our kiddos accelerate faster after two days of full day ski school then when enrolled in a weekly/monthly lesson. So we signed them up for Blue Mountain Ski school expecting the same results and, I hate to say it, it was a waste of money.

First, they lost my child. I arrived at the ski school to pick up my beginner half-day preschooler and I noticed that my confident intermediate skier (enrolled in full day ski school) was in tears in the corner, with no one around her. Never a child to be in tears, I summoned the director to ask about my daughter's day. It took about twenty minutes for me to find her teacher. I waited outside in the snowfall. "Oh, you know. Eh? It happens all the time. Skiers are lost." her teacher consoled me. I took my child and headed toward customer service like any annoying American would do. Finally Mark (head of the ski school) arrived and asked, "What happened?" and my daughter, her eyes filled with tears, described how she was left behind and forced on a ski lift with strangers and before she knew it, her class was half way down the mountain and she was all alone. Mark was awesome and asked my daughter to tell him every little detail so that he "could improve the ski school." Although Mark reimbursed us, my child was not looking forward to the next day of ski school. After much convincing and a heart to heart with Mark, my daughter accepted his invitation and returned the next day. Thank you Mark for your help.

Beginner group lessons were over crowded and our money could have been better spent on a private beginner lesson.

I watched/clocked the "Tiny Tots" beginner lesson and although it was a two hour lesson, my four-year-old made it down the bunny hill four times. She started at 10 am and didn't make it to the top of the bunny hill until 10:40am. The ski school bunny hill was beyond capacity.

Blue Mountain was drive-able from Cleveland and Chicago. It's was close as you can get to a true West Coast ski resort town - everyone in our party agreed. Accommodations were super plush and comfortable. The skiing was great. The village was incredibly adorable and left us with plenty of things to do throughout the week. We haven't experienced anything like Blue Mountain since going out west, mainly because of the village. There was so much to do. All in all, it's a super cool place for the intermediate family of skiers that wants a taste of the west. "Canada is more awesome than Costa Rica!" my children squealed when asked about their vacation. Everyone in our group had an excellent time.

2011

OHmommy — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:03:00 +0000

Did I ever mention that, in 1995 as a senior in high school, my graduating class voted me as the "Most Likely to Travel the World"? The following re-cap of our 2011 family travels isn't too shabby. It was a good year of adventures all over the world.

In January our family traveled to Costa Rica to see Manuel Antonio.

February led us to Castaway Bay.

March introduced us to Disney World and re-acquainted us with DC.

In April, I found myself in New Orleans with my blogging tribe.

May started the summer festival season throughout Ohio.

I was so proud of my children in June - they spent a week in Pennsylvania at over-night camp.

July came with a pay raise for my nine-year-old son working in Chicago and a much needed vacay in Cleveland.

In August we traveled to the Appalachian Mountains to check off some summer dares. Once checked off the husband and I jetted off to Mexico to celebrate eleven years of marriage.

September was "back to normal" so we invited a family traveling the USA in an RV into our home.

I wasn't prepared for how awesome October was. I had lunch in Munich. Spent Tuesday at the Taj Mahal. Walked through a Delhi slum. And rocked my negotiations skills while on top of an elephant in India.

November was sad. Grandma passed away; but, people from nearly every continent sent their condolences.

We found ourselves in Canada during December. We swam outside during a snow storm and ate until our bellies were full.

My NYE resolution is to beat 2011 and see even more of the world. If possible, fingers crossed. May your 2012 be full of great adventures. Cheers! *clink* clink*

"Tire Sur La Neige"

OHmommy — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:00:00 +0000

Across from the village Starbucks in Blue Mountain,

and right next to the "Happy Valley Candy" shop,

sits the "maple taffy on snow" kiosk.

Molting hot Canadian maple syrup rolled around in ice.

Delivered on a stick.

"This is what heaven must taste like." Lola said.

Three doors down from the maple taffy kiosk is the BeaverTails Patisseries shop.

It's no wonder why the Canadians are all so stinking nice. The sweets are incredible. I think my children have found their tribe.

Swimming under the snowfall.

Administrator — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:29:00 +0000

After a full day of driving through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York we reached Ontario, Canada and took in the scenery from our porch at Blue Mountain Ski Resort.

There was only one thing that the kiddos wanted to do after a long day in the car. They wanted to swim outside in Canada in December.

Brrrrrrrrr........

These kiddos thought it was THE most awesome thing they've ever done.

They swam under the snow for hours.

Surrounded by 15 family members.

Not a bad way to end 2011.

BUSTED: Don't share this with Santa

OHmommy — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:09:00 +0000

The last thing Grandma purchased for the kids was a playmobil Advent calendar. It was placed in the middle of our kitchen and for the last twenty-some days the kiddos have flocked towards it every morning.

On this particular day, in between early morning lice comb-outs and preparing for the school's holiday party, the preschooler was missing in action. No need to hire a detective to figure out who opened the 24th box of the Advent calendar on the 21st day of December...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryncx_-NW2c&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Busted. "Don't share this with Santa."

First world problems. #whirlpoolmoms

OHmommy — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:53:00 +0000

I signed on as a #whirlpoolmoms because I wanted to give my husband a break from doing laundry.

He has done the laundry since 2002 when, as a newly pregnant woman, I proclaimed, "I can't walk downstairs to the basement to do the laundry because I'm pregnant and walking lots of stairs could be dangerous to the fetus". Little did I know. The husband, bless his soul, accepted the chore and continued doing the laundry for many years while I tamed the chaos on the home-front as a mother of three.

Enter iLice.

Alternatively titled as iEWWWW.

Jackets. Blankets. Pillow cases. Sleeping bags (I'm told they confine lice, somewhat). Backpacks. Hats. Etc. that needed twenty-four hours, seven-days-a-week in the wash to ward off any future visitors.

The Whirlpool Duet allowed us to create a "Custom Cycle".

We named the cycle "Project Get Rid of Lice".

It gave us the HOTTEST temperatures in the dryer allowed to (hopefully) kill off Lice in hats, sweatshirts, backpacks and more. Industrial strength, for the win.

Needless to say, the hubs fell in love with the machines just as much as our four-year-old did.

And would not let me near them during the iLice epidemic. "I've got it!" he screamed. Looks like I'm not doing the laundry anymore in our house.

I wrote this review while participating in a test-drive campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Whirlpool and received a complimentary Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.

The 5 emotional stages of Lice

Administrator — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:17:00 +0000

Lice is somewhat complicated and misunderstood. Yet, Lice is something that, unfortunately, we as parents experience at one time or other. Whether it's a school notice announcing Lice in the classroom or finding live louse in your child's hair, the emotional stages of Lice are the same. There are five stages. If we get stuck in one stage or the other, the process of Lice emotions is not complete, and cannot be complete. Thus there will be no healing. A parent must go through the five stages to be well again, to heal. Not everyone goes through the stages at the same time. It is different for each parent.

The five emotional stages of Lice are:

1. Denial

"This can't be cussing happening to me." You have an extremely clean home and your children have impeccable grooming habits - this simply can not be happening. You refuse to look. You refuse to touch your child's hair.

2. Anger

"Why me?" You find a live louse in your child's hair after a notice was sent home from school and you muffle your screams for the sake of your child. Feelings of wanting to fight back or get even with the school, Lice carrier or Lice itself are normal. Itchiness is a standard.

3. Bargaining

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph can we just rewind time and I will promise to never ________ again." Attempting to make deals to stop the Lice. Begging, wishing, praying for the Lice to never appear is typical. Itchiness becomes more profound.

4. Depression

"I can't deal with this!" Overwhelming feelings of frustration and bitterness. Feeling the lack of control after the washer/dryer is on it's 134th cycle of washing bedding, clothes, backpacks and hats shortly after waking up at dawn to blow dry and flat iron child's hair, combing through for nits. Have a loved one lock away any razors at home because the urge of shaving off hair is strong.

5. Acceptance

"We've got Lice." You have to accept the Lice, not just try to bear it quietly. Realization that your child has Lice and that's it not their fault (they didn't get Lice on purpose) and finding the good that can come out of Lice are goals. Find comfort and feeling that you have the chance to spend thirty quality minutes picking through your child's hair in the morning and in the evening, every day for two weeks. That's 840 minutes of one-on-one time with your child!

You will survive. You will heal, even if you cannot believe that now, just know that it is true. To feel pain after Lice is normal. It proves that we are alive (Lice loves human blood!) and human (Lice can not survive without a human source!). We have to become stronger, while not shutting off our feelings for hope of one day being healed from Lice. (Post modeled after The 5 Stages of Grief)

Before Kids: I was a master wrapper, yo!

OHmommy — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:00:00 +0000

Wrapping Christmas gifts was a hobby of mine. I spent hours trying to perfect the art of wrapping. I searched for the right paper to match the theme of my Christmas tree and tried to coordinate over-priced ribbons to juxtaposition the wrapping paper. The presents needed to scream "OPEN ME FIRST" and then, I had children. Children who were terribly bored after school and screamed "What three-ring-circus will you entertain us with after dinner tonight, Mother?"

It was time for the kiddos to be introduced to wrapping presents.

Although our presents look like they've been wrapped by the Grinch this year, please note that my busy children allowed me to make dinner three days in a row without any interruptions. That's a Christmas miracle! I won't be wrapping any presents this season.