My Baby Turns 2!

 

I cannot believe my baby is now officially two!  She is such a blessing to our family and the time as gone way too fast.  We had a Minnie Mouse birthday party for her.

 

I made the cake and this was my first time working with fondant.  I was quite pleased how it turned out, I will definitely try it again. 

 

 

Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet, lovable baby girl!

Go Knock On The Neighbor’s Door

 

There has been a lot of buzz lately about this blog post by DadNCharge, regarding banishing the playdate.  I completely agree with his premise of these “organized play times”.  To understand where I am coming from, I have been and always will be a full-time working Mom.  My husband is home during the day since he teaches at night and online.  My kids never really had a lot of “playdates”.  There are times we meet some kids at the park or swimming pool from preschool or some school friends are invited over to play, but we have never engaged in regular, organized play times. 

My husband and I both grew up in neighborhoods where we had friends to play with daily.  They weren’t necessarily our “school friends” but they were friends we could play with on a fairly constant basis.  We believe in the “open door” policy, if you are home and your garage door is open, come be neighborly.  This means, come over and talk with us, bring your kids over to play, have a drink as we watch our kids ride bikes and play tag, anything like that.  We do not believe you need to “make an appointment” to get together and have the kids play.

We are extremely lucky to live in a neighborhood where several families hold the same premise to be true.  We constantly have impromptu cookouts, bonfires, glasses of wine, and while this is taking place the kids play in whoever’s yard this happens to commence in on that certain night.  As my boys are getting older (5 and 8 now), they are able to play with the neighborhood kids without their parents physically sitting and watching them.  This is when I encourage them to, “Go knock on the neighbor’s door.”

This past Sunday, my boys played all afternoon and evening with the neighborhood kids.  They came home for a quick dinner break and then went right back to playing with them.  None of this was preplanned, it all came about when a neighbor kid knocked on our door and asked to play.  It continued when after dinner my boys went down and knocked on this same neighbor kid’s door and asked to play.  I love this spontaneous play and giving kids the courage to build and develop relationships on their own.  The best part?  We know all the parents and I know they are a simple text message away to say, “hey the boys are down playing, you can send them home when you need to.”  I did not need to “entertain” my children for the entire afternoon; they did that by themselves by running and playing outside!

While I am sure there is a time and a place for playdates, there is also the need to teach our children to be independent young men and women who can be assertive and form their own friendships.  I believe this helps their social skills in the school setting and eventually in the workplace.  Finally, it gets kids out of the house and unplugged.  Yes my kids use electronic devices to entertain them, but a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the summer is NOT the time to sit inside and play on the iPad!

The impromptu Friday night kickball games have definitely been a highlight of this summer, even to the point of the adults playing along with the kids.  Go out and be neighborly; you have nothing to lose but to have some fun!

Starting Chores Early - Age Appropriate Chores

Ok, maybe not that early, but she loves to help me!

In my house, the children do perform chores and we do provide a weekly allowance for them.  This allows them to have some spending money, while contributing to the upkeep of our home.

During the summer (and Christmas break) we do a formal chore system in the house.  During the school year, we do not do formal chores, the kids just help out when asked.  The focus during the school year must be on school, homework, and reading. 

Our system is very simple, I have a piece of paper (one for each of my two children) which resembles a calendar with blocks for the days Monday - Friday.  Each day I write the chore they must complete for the day.  Once complete, they place a sticker in that block.  I find it either to write the chore the night before or the day of depending on what needs to be done that day. 

5 Year Old Chores Include:

• Picking up toys
• Cleaning his room
• Empty the bathroom garbage can
• Empty the recycles
• Put away clean clothes
• Empty dryer
• Make the bed
• Dust the furniture
• Clear the table and put dishes in sink

8 Year Old Chores Include:

• Vacuum the upstairs or downstairs
• Help mow the grass
• Take the garbage cans to the street
• Take out the kitchen garbage
• Load the dishwasher
• Fold and put away his clothes
• Change the sheets on his bed
• Do a load of laundry

What kind of chores do your kids do?

2014 Goals - May Recap

Its June 1st, the weather has been gorgeous by my house, so that means it is time to check in on our goals for 2014. I had a really good May sticking to my goals for the year. 

I am making a real, conscious effort to set goals in 2014 and stick to them. The best way I can think of is to hold myself accountable on a monthly basis. Be sure to check back in the first of every month to see my progress as well as link up your progress.

1. Relationship with God - Do one activity a month to strength my relationship with God (going to mass on Sunday does not count).

My son made his first communion on May 2.  I attended the practice session with him as well as the ceremony the following day.  I am so proud of him.

2. Relationship with my Husband - Go on one date night a month with my husband. Plan an overnight trip of at least 2 nights away to take in 2014

We had 2 nights out this month, we had dinner and drinks with 2 sets of out friends on separate nights.  We are so blessed to have wonderful parents always willing to watch our kids so that we can enjoy some adult time!

 3. Family Time - Do one activity as a family once a month. Take one family vacation and one long weekend getaway in 2014.

 

We celebrated Memorial Day as a family at my sister's house with a picnic

 

We went to Orlando over Spring Break. 

 

Long weekend is booked for June!!

4. Relationships with my Kids - Do a one-on-one activity with each child each month (3 a month).

I took both my boys to Toys R Us as a reward for good report cards!

I took my middle son and daughter to a birthday party at a splash pad.  We also did 2 library trips this month.

 

My oldest son and I went furniture shopping together.  He thought it was pretty cool that we would make the decision.

5. Declutter - sell at least 5 items per month.

I was having a really slow month so one day I was home from work since my daughter was sick and during her nap I went through all the boys clothes and posted them on FB garage sale sites.  This month I ended up selling 11 items (lots of items) for a total of  $63!  I also compiled two garbage bags of clothes for my cousin!

 6. Debt - Pay off Debt #1 and reduce Debt #2 by 50%

 

Debt #1 is paid.   We made very little progress on Debt #2 this month.  We started a much needed home remodel project so the extra cash went to the completion of our new home office.  This project is now complete, so we are back on the "debt paying machine track" in June!

 

7. Me Time - Say "no" to one extra commitment a month. Do an only me or "girls night" activity once a month.

I said "no" to donating items for an end of the year school party.  I had donated a lot this school year and it always seems like last minute to me.

 

I was able to get my hair cut and high-lighted this month.  I also did a "cousins night out" with a bunch of my girl cousins!

8. Budget Buster - Keep library fines to under $5 for the entire year (this is so hard for me).

No fines this month again!  I had to arrange an evening trip to return some book that would of went past due the next day, but I made it in time!

9. Work/Life Balance - Friday at 5 pm - until Monday at 8 am - do not check work e-mails (I am off the clock).

I okay on this for May.  I had to leave work at 3 pm on couple of days to get home so my husband could leave to go teach.  My parents are on vacation and normally help us.  On those days, I had to come home and get back on my laptop.  Otherwise, I was "unplugged" on the weekends!

 10. Have an online business (this idea has been in my head for over a year) fully functioning by the end of 2014. I need to take one giant step every month to achieve this goal!

This is the only goal I do not seem to make time for?  Maybe its not that important to me?  I need to reflect on what I truly want to do!

How are you doing on your goals thus far? Feel free to leave a comment or link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

 

Macaroni and Cheese Pie - Easy One Dish Dinner

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup uncooked macaroni (I used small shells)
1/2 cup all purpose baking mix
2 1/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1.  Heat oven 375F.
2.  Spray 9" glass pie plate with non-stick cooking spray.
3.  Place uncooked noodles in pie plate.
4.  Spread 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese over the top.
5.  In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients until blended.
6.  Pour mixture into pie plate.
7.  Spray s sheet of foil with non-stick cooking spray and cover. 
8.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
9.  Spread remaining cheese over top and cook for additional 10 minutes.
10.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.


Enjoy!

Next time I am going to try some different add-ins, chopped broccoli or diced ham would probably work well!

Check Out Our Spring Break Vacation!

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Spending the Day at Sea World - Orlando

On our recent family vacation to Orlando, we spent a day at Sea World.  It had been about 6 years since the last time we were there.  All in all in was a fun day for every one.  We took our 3 kids with us ages 8, 5, and 21 months. 

We arrived at the park around 9:30, parking was easy ($17) and it was a short walk to the main entrance.  We were using a stroller we had rented for the week from Simple Stroller Rentals!  I got an amazing deal on tickets, only paid $50 per person for a weekday ticket.  The baby was free which was a bonus!

We were right on time for the 10 am Blue Horizons show.  This unique, theatrical spectacular features dolphins, tropical birds and acrobats and all three of my kids were intrigued by the show!  Next my oldest son and husband braved Journey to Atlantis, it was a quick 20 minute wait!  While they were riding, I visited the Manta Aquarium and gift shop inside the Atlantis.  Next we waited for Antarctica:  Empire of the Penguin.  I was truly AMAZED by this ride and exhibit.  It was a 45 minute wait, but worth every minute of it, I wish we could have gone again!  It was a great family ride we could all enjoy together!

Right before lunch, we were able to see Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island.  This has always been my favorite show at SeaWorld!  I find it hilarious (my kids did too)!

After lunch we went to the Shark Encounter, rode the flamingo paddle boats, visited Shamu's Happy Harbor, and the Wild Arctic Ride.  We finished our day with the 5 pm show of One Ocean.  This show was definitely different than I had seen in the past.  The trainers no longer go into the water with Shamu and the other whales, but there is a lot of music, dancing, and water (you may get wet in the Splash Zone)! 

 

We left the park a little after 5:30, grabbed some dinner and headed back to our condo for a evening swim.  A perfect ending to a perfect day.  I cannot wait to take the kids back again in the few years!