Adventures with Nick and Sally » Life Lyn Style

“Craft” At Michael’s Craft Store

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Dec 232011

Today, our local Michael’s store was having a craft from 11AM-1PM. Some friends invited us to go with them. We left the JCC just before 11AM and headed to the store. We had plans to have lunch at Giant Eagle afterwards, so we parked by the grocery store.

Nick and Sally waited for our friends to park and then we headed down to the craft store.

My friend asked about the craft and at first, it didn’t seem like they were expecting anyone. The lady was setting it up for us. That involved her opening some modeling clay. The kids waited patiently.

The “craft” turned out to be playing with the clay. All of our kids love clay or playdough of any type, so it was ok with us. The only issue was that there wasn’t really and “end”. Usually when you have a craft, you make something and then you are finished.

The clay had some stamps on the lids so they could imprint faces, stars and other things.

They also made planets and snowmen.

Then, it was time for lunch. We headed to Giant Eagle and had cheese, ham, bread and clementines for lunch. It was a fun outing and all of the kids had a good time.

WinterShow at the Botanical Gardens–take 4

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Dec 222011

Yesterday, we went to the WinterShow for the 4th time. It was probably our last visit. We’ve really enjoyed seeing it with different groups of friends, but it was PACKED yesterday. Apparently, everyone is out of school now. There were too many people for it to be as fun as our other visits. I’ll have to keep this in mind for next year. Our first couple of visits earlier in December we had the place to ourselves.

I do think that the houses move due to different events that take place at the gardens. I keep seeing new houses.

I really liked this “summer” themed house complete with a beach. Sally still thought it was hilarious to sit until the table.

The train is always a hit!

The trees were particularly nice with the light yesterday. I also think the poinsettias are getting prettier as time goes on.

Time in the Spice Shop was enjoyed, but it was too crowded for photos. We also went through the glasshouse and saw the butterflies.

We were back to our car just before noon and then met up with Stephen for lunch. We had the slowest service ever, but they restaurant (bar) had some arcade games, so the kids were happy (without quarters).

We made it home without any meltdowns and that made for a successful outing.

The Holiday Rush and A Day in the Life

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Dec 192011

Today was just one of those days. It started by the kids waking us up at 7:15AM. Usually, we are up by 6:30AM at the latest with an alarm. My husband was running late for work and Nick was picking this morning to have one of the longest temper tantrums ever. It’s really not that hard to use the bathroom and get dressed before you play. Today, he thought I was asking way too much.

Stephen left for work and the kids and I finished getting ready for the playroom. This is when I go to the JCC to workout and then go to the Kid Kare spot to play. We had a tough time getting out the door and had to stop at the post office on our way. I finally had our Christmas cards ready to mail. It’s actually pretty good timing for us. I think everyone will have them before Christmas. I didn’t want to go into to post office, so I pulled up by the drive through mail box. I got out of the car to get the cards, which were neatly stacked in a box and they fell over. About 20 of the cards landed on the ground. I’m glad it was mostly dry in the lot. If you get a smudged card, you’ll know why. We paired our list down (by more than 1/2) this year, but still mailed over 100 cards. I love holiday cards!

By the time we arrived at the J, I already knew that spin class wasn’t going to happen. I could have rushed the kids and made it to class, but some days it’s just not a good idea. We had 3 errands to run after the J and I didn’t feel like spending a whole hour in class. Of course, I had to explain this to the instructor since I ran into her on the way in. I ended up walking the track for a bit with a friend and then headed to the fitness center to spin on an ESpinner. I wasn’t feeling it so I ended up on the elliptical.

After a quick shower, I picked up the kids and headed to the lobby area for snack time. After sweeping up tons of pretzels, crackers, Cheerios and other snack items from the car the other day, I decided on no more eating in the car. Now, we need to plan and extra 10 minutes before we go anywhere to have snacks, but I feel like the kids are enjoying them more and we are wasting much less.

We needed to go to the UPS store to ship packages, the camera store to pick up some developed film and to Heinens. Lucky for us, all three of these are in the same parking lot in Pepper Pike. By now it’s past 11AM and the kids are starting to get hungry for lunch (despite just having a snack). We went to the UPS store first. The line wasn’t too long. I had all of the packages and address and my credit card all ready to go. A lady was making a zillion copies on the copier and Nick was very interested. She had him helping and he loved it. I don’t think the lady knew that she could feed the whole stack of papers at once and I didn’t want to screw her up or lose my place in line. But, it was painful to watch her copy them one by one.

When it was my turn and the clerk figured out that I hadn’t shipped from there before, I needed my ID. That should be an easy request. But, my purse is a mess and I never know where anything is. So, I excused myself from line to look for it. I found it quickly and was back in business. The kids were quite antsy at this point and I was pretty done too. $50 later, the two packages were shipped. Apparently, they charge you extra to ship breakable things. I thought it was ridiculous, since the heavier box was only $13, but I quickly decided that the packages were no longer waiting to be shipped and I didn’t have to go anywhere else with them. Next year, I will box everything myself and probably use the post office. I think that’s more reasonable.

After leaving the UPS store, we headed to Dodd Camera. I picked up the CD and asked a couple of questions. They actually talked me out of a purchase. I was happy for their expertise, but surprised that they said not to buy what I asked about.

Heinen’s was painful since everyone was hungry and crabby by this time, but we got milk, yogurt, bananas, and a few other items before heading home. I fed the kids some bread in the car for lunch and we subsidized it with other food at home. I didn’t even realized they had eaten in the car until we got home. Nick said, “at least we didn’t spill any mommy.”

I was super glad that we all took naps this afternoon. I think the long weekend of festivities caught up with us. We did a craft this afternoon and hung out at home. Stephen worked late and did some shopping on the way home, so we had a weird evening. I’m happy the cards and packages are taken care of and most of our shopping is done as well. The holiday rush is crazy and the crowds and lines get longer as the week goes on.

I’m looking forward to a few fun events this week followed by some relaxing family time this weekend. I’d hope for a white Christmas too, but that looks out of the question. It’s December 19th and there’s 50 degrees in the forecast. Bring on the snow, we have skiing to do!

4 Year Old Chores

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Dec 162011

Nick will be 4 in February. He’s mostly potty trained and learning to dress himself. Lately, he’s really wanted to be helping whenever I am doing chores. I decided that we need to make him a list of chores. We haven’t came up with a specific schedule, rewards or allowance. I think it’s good to start with a list and figure out what is within his capability. Whenever I am working on things around the house, I now find myself thinking about whether Nick (or even Sally) could do this or a modified version.

Here’s our starting list:

put pajamas and underwear in the bathroom in the morning so it’s ready for bath time
put away silverware
put away dishes (anything that goes in the lower cupboards)
bring trash cans in from the curb
put new trash bags in our waste paper baskets
put dishes in the sink after a meal
hang up coat
straighten shoes in the kitchen
vacuum carpet
take clothes out of the dryer
sort laundry

Lately, Nick hasn’t been taking naps. I’m starting to use that time to teach him various skills and chores that will help him in everyday life. I think it’s good for him to learn how to take care of things for himself. Eventually, Nick will have a schedule for his chores and Sally will have some too. For now, I am enjoying all of the help I get. I’m also enjoying the days when he still takes a nap.

Our Visit to Country Lights at Lake Metroparks Farmpark

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Dec 132011

Last night, we went to the Country Lights at Farmpark. It was such a great experience! This post is rather picture heavy. I had a hard time choosing photos. We are members of Farmpark, so our tickets were really reasonable. I think the 4 of us got in for $14.00. Tickets go on sale in October each year. We actually bought our tickets several weeks ago. I think every night sells out each year. It runs for about 3 weeks.

We were greeted by a snowman family and a swan family. We arrived just as it was getting dark.

We stopped for a visit with Santa. We haven’t figured out exactly what to tell Nick and Sally about Santa. So far, they know he’s a character and there are stories about him. They don’t know to ask him for stuff and we are fine with that.

There was a train exhibit in the classroom. Nick was particularly fond of it. He even asked a couple of questions.

We had a 6PM time for the wagon ride. It turns out that we could ride the wagon at anytime. Next year, we’ll know to wait in the workshop line first, then move on to other activities. I don’t have outside photos of the ride since it was dark and the wagon had plastic coverings for wind. The horse drawn ride took us around the park and there were tons of light displays that were based on nursery rhymes. It was very well done. There was a show in the equine center. We skipped it due to time. Nick and Sally aren’t usually up past 7:30PM.

The elves spend all summer cutting wood for the toys. There are 50 to choose from. Each child gets to build one.

Nick picked out the helicopter. Elf Leigh helped him build it.

Elf Jim helped Sally with her bus.

Then, we moved to the paint station. Nick was concentrated hard. Do you notice the nice new “photo ready” shirt. We realized they had smock shirts right after he got paint on his shirt. Stephen washed it out in the bathroom when we were done.

Sally picked blue for her bus. She loved painting!

The glitter station was last.

After the glitter, we laid the projects out to dry. Everything was so nicely decorated and organized.

Next up was snack time. The classroom had pretzels, cookies, hot dogs and other light items.

We stopped for a few photos and then headed back to the workshop to collect the mostly dried toys.

I waited with Sally and Nick while Stephen waited in line to have the toys wrapped in newspaper.

Everyone was beat and we escaped without any too tired tantrums. The car ride home was full of tired happy tears. We can’t wait for next year!

Turning off the TV–Fun with Pom Poms

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Dec 122011

Here’s another idea for keeping Nick and Sally occupied away from the TV. I saw a version of this on another blog a few weeks ago. It’s basically a pick up game.

All you need is pom poms, paper clips and a container. I bought a bag of pom-poms at Michael’s craft store. I had some fun paper clips that were shaped like treble clefs from Stephen. Nick had the test tube apparatus from a Lowe’s Build and Grow project.

Sally loved it. Most of the time she just used her hands. It was nice because we could talk about numbers and colors while she played with the pom poms. She was quite proud of herself.

Nick had a blast too! It was fun to watch his concentration at work. Sometimes he just jams them into the test tube and then wonders why they won’t come out. That’s how I know when it’s time to quit the game.

My craft supply shelf is building along with my arsenal of crafty projects and activities. I’m happy with our progress.

Turning off the TV–Fun with Paper Pattern Snowflakes

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Dec 112011

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading this post by Money Saving Mom. She detailed putting together felt patterns for making snowflakes. I took that idea and made paper snowflake parts for Nick. Then, I gave him a snowflake to use as a guide for the pattern. Since he’s still getting used to gluing, so this was right up his alley.

I forgot to have him put his glasses on before we started.

My hexagons were a bit big for the size of paper. I cut it down a bit for the others.

He ended up making 3 different snowflakes and loved it. I can’t wait for him to be able to cut. Then, he’ll be able to cut out the pieces and glue them! He’s already asked when he can make more snowflakes. We’ll be doing this again soon.

Turning off the TV–Fun with Bubbles

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Dec 092011

I’ve decided that my kids watch too much TV. It wasn’t on purpose, but over the last few months the amount of TV used to occupy them while I get ready in the morning, make dinner or take a break has been on the rise.

Last week, I decided that enough was enough and I have been making a conscious effort to have Nick and Sally do other things. Crafty projects and games don’t come naturally to me and it’s extra challenging since Sally is two and Nick is almost 4. They have very different abilities.

When I was making dish water (read: we don’t have a dishwasher), the soap was extra sudsy and created a mound of bubbles. Both Nick and Sally thought it was a hoot. We had fun playing with it together. Later, I gave Sally a spoonful of the suds. She giggled and concentrated and had a blast.

Sometimes, it really is the little things. With winter upon us, it’s good for me to figure out indoor activities that I can do with the kids. It’s also good to have some table activities they can do on their own while I make dinner. I hope to share about many of our activities to help remind or suggest things to other moms along the way.

WinterShow at the Botanical Gardens–take 3

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Dec 072011

Today, we headed back to the gardens for another look at the WinterShow. We met up with some friends and enjoyed out morning.

First, we headed to the glasshouse and looked at the creatures. I enjoyed watching this turtle eat breakfast which consisted of a veggie and fruit salad. It looked delicious.

We saw butterflies and birds. The kids enjoyed the telescopes. They even got to practice taking turns. Sharing is rough when you are 4.

Sally really enjoyed the shop again. Nick even helped her scan. I like that she thinks the microphone is an ear piece.

One of our friends really enjoyed these cupcakes today. Sally liked them so much on our last visit, that we bought a set for a Christmas gift.

At some point the kids decided that it was fun to sit under the tables. They got a bit crazy and it was definitely time for lunch. I really liked the use of M&Ms on this house. I feel like I see new houses every visit.

We had a planned lunch at their café. They have a simple menu plus some deli premade things. We enjoyed some chili and grilled cheese. It was a nice way to end our visit.

Nick had a temper tantrum as we were leaving. He’s been a handful lately. Today, as we left to walk to our car he decided to walk past the ice rink instead of the birds. I always let them pick the direction we travel around Wade Oval. When we got to the crosswalk, he had a fit about not seeing the birds. He’s not happy with being told no. It’s hard teach a 4 year old about choices and consequences, but we’ll keep trying. I was happy that both kids stayed awake on the way home and then took 2+ hour naps. They both needed one and I needed a break.

Thistlehair the Christmas Bear

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Dec 042011

Whenever we decorated the tree or opened presents growing up, we listened to Alabama Christmas. Specially, we liked the song “Thistlehair the Christmas Bear”. Even today, we always play this at our family’s holiday gathering. So, we played it this week as we set up our tree.

It really was a week long project. One night Stephen made room and rearranged the entertainment center gate.

Another day, he put the tree together. Another day, he put colored lights on the tree. One night was spent debugging them. We ended up with the white lights this year.