Thursday, September 10, 2009

ANOTHER RANDOM UPDATE!! (Warning...this is a LONG one!)


So you know you have been away from blogging too long when your husband starts complaining that you never update! So much has happened since the beginning of JULY that the only way I can possibly get caught up is to do another random update. So…here goes:

1) We did go to see Kimi and family over the long weekend in July. We, of course, had a wonderful time! Kimi and I watched 4 horror movies (and even got the guys to watch one with us!). I got to see her mom (who is a wonderful lady and treats Bear and I like we are her kids too!), her SIL and her daddy. They took us to see an AMAZING fireworks display. And as usual, Kimi made my favorite “Kim Pasta” & green beans!

2) Also in July, Bubbles went away to Girl Scout sleep-away camp for the first time. While she was extremely excited, I was not ready to have my baby in the hands of strangers in the woods. It was only three days though and we both survived. She had a wonderful time, but she says she doesn’t want to go back next year. Her reason…”I don’t like being away from you so long, Mommy.” Man I love that kid!

3) We were supposed to take a big family vacation this year (we alternate years…family vacation one year, major home improvement the next year), but our back stoop was getting ready to fall off of the side of the house into a void that had developed underneath and was damaging our back door in the process. A friend of mind offered her husband's general contracting services, and he did an amazing job fixing our stoop in one weekend, with no inconvenience to us, and for a spectacular price. I would recommend this man to one and all!

4) In lieu of a big vacation, and with the help of my mother, we decided to take a mini vacation this year. At the end of July, we took a long weekend and went to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. We had the time of our lives. They have an enormous indoor water park, a spa for adults, a spa for children, an arcade, miniature golf, and this interactive game where you go all over the 4 story hotel collecting jewels and spells, saving fairies and princesses, and fighting goblins and dragons. And that isn’t nearly all that the things you can do there. The last day we were there, the kids were playing in the water fort and Bear and I were relaxing by the pool. We started talking about how much fun we were having and how we hated to leave so soon. We talked to the kids that night, and we all agreed that if money (and the house) cooperate, we would like to go back next year for a full week!

5) August started with my 35th birthday. We spent most of the day taking advantage of the state’s tax-free weekend…getting school supplies and clothes for the kids. That night my parents took us to The Melting Pot for a joint birthday dinner for Bear and I (YUM!). The next day, Bear and the kids did everything in their power to spoil me rotten…ending with dinner at my favorite sushi place.

6) Ten days later, we celebrated Bear’s 36th birthday. He took the day off of work with plans to relax and do guy stuff. This was made harder by an emergency that I will talk about next. That night the kids and I took him to Logan’s for MEAT and did our best to spoil him with love and gifts. I had planned to write a post dedicated to him that day, but obviously it didn't happen...maybe next year?

7) The day before Bear’s birthday, Bubbles got stung, not once, not twice, but THREE times by wasps. I went to pick her up from her day camp and on my way out of the parking lot, my car started acting REALLY weird. Bear looked at it when he got home and determined that it needed to go to a shop. Evidently, the torque converter had gone bad and needs to be replaced. As of Tuesday of this week, it has been THREE WEEKS and the car still isn't fixed! We have had a HORRIBLE experience and will NOT be using this repair shop again. We have made it clear that they need to give us a discount on the work, but that remains to be seen. I will be surprised if we get it back before the one month mark! I am thinking most places could build us a brand new car in that time! I might have to write a whole separate post on this once we reach the end…we shall see.

8) The biggest thing to happen in August was Bear’s decision to leave the fire station! Several things led to this decision…most of them I can’t talk about here because they are not my stories to tell. Bear says that he realized that he was putting the station before his family and that we were all missing out on wonderful experiences because of that. So he turned in his resignation and instituted Family Friday. Every Friday evening, we do something fun…just the four of us. The first night we went out to dinner and saw G-Force in the theaters. Since then we have played various board/card/domino/dice games and had Little House on the Prairie marathons. We are also going to try to do more fun things on the weekends like go to museums and local area events. We have had a lot of fun, and I feel like it is bringing us all closer together. It really gives the kids a calm atmosphere to talk about things going on in their lives. I will forever be grateful to Bear for making this sacrifice for his family!!!

9) September brought Labor Day Weekend which was spent hosting several get togethers with friends and one day to relax and get ready for school to start. The Friday before, we went to meet the kids teachers. Animal loved his teacher on site and was so excited to start school. Bubbles’ teacher didn’t make a very good first impression with any of us, and we all spent the weekend worrying that this was going to be another rough year. Monday night, we pulled Bubbles aside and gave her a pep talk. We asked her to give the teacher a second chance and discussed all the reasons that she might have had for acting the way she did. Bubbles agreed, but was still noticeably nervous.

10) Tuesday morning, I took the day off to focus on the kids. I made them a yummy breakfast of scrambled eggs and muffins. My mother came over and together we dropped them off at daycare right before the bus was scheduled to leave for school. Then we rushed over to the school, found a parking spot, and waited for the daycare bus to arrive. The kids know that we do this every year, so they knew to look for us. They ran off the bus and called my name and posed for pictures. Then they headed down the hill, turning several times to wave. After that, Mom and I went home to prepare an after school treat of German Chocolate cupcakes. We went out to lunch and ran a few errands, and before too long it was time to go get my babies. I was REALLY nervous to hear how Bubbles had done. I walked into the daycare moments after the bus dropped them off and Bubbles came running up to me…all smiles…yelling “Mommy, I LOVE my teacher! She is awesome!” Instantly, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders…a weight I hadn’t really realized was there. Animal had an equally good day, and I am now hopeful that we will have a decent year this year…hope, hope, hope!

Ok…I guess that brings us up to the here and now. I am certain that I have forgotten things, but WOW this is long! I am gonna have to try to update more often!

I shalt try!*

*Name that flick!

6 comments:

  1. LOL Do, or do not. There is no try. lol

    Don't know the flick you mentioned, though!

    I loved having you here! Sorry you ended up in the middle of dramallama land, though. I am embarrassed that you had to be a part of that!

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  2. Ok, dear, I've been talking to the dragons again. lol

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  3. I promise to tell you if no one else guesses, but I am certain Bear will know when he gets around to reading this.

    No worries! I love you and will take you as you are...no matter what! No need to be embarrased for letting us see the drama. Drama happens in every family. I am just glad you started to heal some of it before we left...made me worry less about going.

    YAY!!! Love it when you talk to the dragons!

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  4. You know if you blog on a regular basis, your posts wont be so long.

    Kimi - It was that VERY bad vampire one with the kids.

    Bear

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  5. OK so it seems that I read things wrong. The "I shalt try" is from Ever After with Drew Barrymore.

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