Adventures with Nick and Sally » Life Lyn Style

Quiet Time

Apr 252012

Sally still needs a nap everyday. Most days, we make sure to be home in the afternoon and she usually sleeps for 2-3 hours without any fuss. If she’s not home, all bets for a nap are off.

Nick still needs a nap 2-3 times a week, but hardly ever takes one. Usually, Stephen can get him to nap on the weekends. During the week, he is already planning his “nap time” project as we head upstairs after lunch. He’s also the little negotiator…. wanting a timer set for just 1 minute or sometimes 4 minutes. He doesn’t quite understand time yet. Most of the time, I spend nap time trying to keep him quiet so Sally can sleep.

Today, I enjoyed quiet time. Last week, my friend asked me if I wanted to do babysitter swapping. I answered with a resounding YES! Today, we tried it for the first time. I gave up Sally’s nap, but it was totally worth it.

I dropped the kids off a little after 1PM and picked them up a little after 4PM. 3 hours of quiet and I didn’t waste any of it sleeping. I was able to run a couple of quick errands, clean up and do a bit of paperwork. The best part was having some quiet time to myself.

Friday afternoon, I’m taking my friend’s little ones. I’m glad our kids like to play together and I hope our schedules can mesh to continue this for a while.

I’m already thinking about my quiet time for next week. Maybe a bicycle ride will be in order. I’d love to get some miles in this year.

Fingerprinting and Drug Testing

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »

Apr 242012

I’m in the process of becoming a staff member so I can lifeguard at the JCC. A couple of weeks ago, I filled out all of my paperwork. It’s been so long since I started a job, I forgot how much information everyone wants. I updated my resume and provided all of the completed forms.

Today, I met with another staff person to get fingerprinted. It was a cool process as I didn’t even need to get my fingers dirty with ink. Technology has come a long way since I was fingerprinted for volunteering some years ago. Today, my drivers license was scanned and then I pressed down on a little pad that read my fingerprints. The computer told us if they were done properly or not. It took us about 8 tries, but in the end we were successful in submitting them.

Next, I was off to get my drug test done. I wasn’t sure how that was going to go with two kids in tow. We arrived at the clinic office and we were the only ones there. One of the staff people chatted with Nick and Sally while the other one took care of me. It worked out well since I couldn’t take anyone in the room with me.

Hopefully, I’ll get my orientation for lifeguarding within the next week or so. I’ll be put on the sub list and maybe pick up a regular shift as well. I’m hoping that I’ll enjoy it.

EarthFest 2012 at the Cleveland Zoo

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »

Apr 232012

Yesterday, it was a cold and dreary day, but we headed to the Cleveland Zoo for EarthFest anyway. We had just been to the zoo about a week before, but I was excited to see the Earth Day exhibits. We arrived just before 10AM and I was extra glad we were early. It started to get crowded fast. When we went into the first building of exhibitors, we said hi to Trevor and Robert from Fresh Fork. They had a prime stop!. We continued through the building and took a minute to look at the bee exhibit. I really want to start bee keeping, but I really don’t know anything about it. I have a friend with some land who says I can keep bees, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten on the subject. Sally liked the bees the best of everything she saw yesterday.

The kids also liked the street displays that talked about storm drainage. We were also entertained by some music.

There were several farms and CSAs represented and many had tables inside this hoop house. I loved the logo for this year’s Earth Day. But, I resisted the urge to buy a $15 t-shirt.

Bicycles can be pretty handy vehicles. I’d do more errands by bicycle, but I haven’t figured out how to pull both kids yet. Maybe things will change over the next couple of years. I once met a couple who moved their whole apartment using a bicycle and trailer set up.

For some reason, I am also fascinated by chicken tractors. I don’t think we are allowed to have chickens in our city, but it’s probably a good thing.

I spent some time going through other buildings of exhibits. Nick and Sally spent time with Stephen and saw the elephants. After a cold picnic, we bought some local whole wheat flour and headed to the Rain Forest. By 2PM, everyone was exhausted and naps were in order so we headed home.

Everyone had a good time and we’d definitely attend EarthFest again.

Caring Cubs Visit Whole Foods

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »

Apr 222012

Yesterday, Nick and Sally participated in the monthly Caring Cubs event that was held at Whole Foods. Our family had never heard of the Caring Cubs organization, but I read somewhere that there was an event at Whole Foods that was going to focus on healthy eating and be age appropriate for younger kids.

I registered the kids and was happy that Stephen could attend with us. Kelly gave us a brief introduction about Caring Cubs. In a nutshell, it’s a volunteer run organization to help younger kids learn about volunteering and service. There’s an event once a month.

Yesterday’s event had about 20 kids in attendance. As the “service” part of the event, we were asked to bring canned food items for a local center.

After Kelly’s introduction, Lisa from Whole Foods welcomed us. We then divided up and headed on a store tour that included stops at 5 different stations.

The first station we visited had two parts. The first part was a match the item to the correct food group. After that, Kara shared about eating the colors of the rainbow and the kids enjoyed a snack of carrots, berries, grapes, peppers and more.

Next up, we headed to produce. We heard about asparagus and its colors. We also learned about tropical fruits. Everyone enjoyed a tangerine.

The third stop was celery painting. Sally and Nick were very familiar with this technique since we had just used it on napkins with fabric paint a couple of weeks ago.

Everyone had a great time painting!

Sally LOVEs cheese. She was super excited to make cheese and pretzel people. Both Nick and Sally loved eating them when they were finished. I can’t wait to make these for lunch one day this summer when we are visiting with my niece and nephew.

Here’s a close up of a finished cheese guy. Our last stop was an activity for drawing what was on a healthy plate. Our kids were good at saying what was healthy, but not quite of drawing age.

After visiting each station, there were refreshments back at our starting place. We had a good time and would definitely check out some of the other events for Caring Cubs.

The Green Dream

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »

Apr 212012

Yesterday, the kids and I headed to the J for our typical Friday morning. Instead of heading home for lunch around noon, we headed to The Green Dream. I was looking forward to checking out the expo that started at 1PM. But, I had read that 6 of Cleveland’s food trucks were going to be open for business starting at noon.

The kids and I checked out our options and dined in the mobile food court area.

We ended up with a BBQ sandwich, water, mac n cheese and a cupcake to share. I loved the recycled tables and centerpieces.

Once we ate, we headed inside to check out the exhibitors. As we entered, we saw this tower of recycle materials. As consumers, we sure create a ton of waste. My favorite new item was the Essentially Organic Vending Machine. Apparently, they have machines in over 70 places in the Cleveland area. The machine included many healthy snack options like squeezable apple sauce, milk, nuts, etc. My kids would eat anything this machine offered.

We made a stop to say hi to our Fresh Fork CSA. I think the display looked particularly good. Fresh Fork was featured on Good Company yesterday, so they were having a really busy day.

Since it was nap time, I took a stroller for Sally. She hasn’t ridden in one in a long time. I don’t think she fits very well. But, despite staying awake, she didn’t want to get up and walk around. Nick had fun spinning wheels for prizes.

The green smoothies from Cleveland Clinic were also a hit. I’m hoping to procure a Vita Mix soon so we can make them at home. Our regular blender just doesn’t do the trick. After we were done checking out the outside exhibits, we visited the East Coast truck for ice cream. Sally made a huge mess and I was glad I had a clean shirt for her in the car.

We went back inside to say bye to Fresh Fork and ran into the shark and sea horse from the Greater Cleveland aquarium. They turned out to be Nick and Sally’s most favorite part of the day.

I had never been to the expo before, but found it to be well run. We’d probably go again next year – especially if the food trucks come back!

Flowers Made by Nick

Adventures with Nick and Sally 1 Response »

Apr 182012

Nick is a couple of months past turning 4. He doesn’t want to take a nap anymore. He still needs a nap most days, but after “trying” for 3 or 4 minutes, he usually makes his way downstairs. I’m trying to encourage him to at least play quietly for a bit, but that’s hit or miss.

Today, I was doing some computer work when we came down. He started playing with misc. craft items in the office. First, he made a present for Sally. It included wrapping it in a tissue and using lots of tape.

Next, he decided to make flowers. He used some straws that I had picked up on a 90% Halloween clearance table. He carefully folded the flexible part to make a bouquet and taped it together. Once he had the bouquet all together, he came in with a couple of vases from the kitchen.

The next thing I knew, he was watering them in the bathroom sink – with REAL water.

Now, they are sitting on our kitchen table. They are awesome, especially if you are having allergy issues.

I love his creativity and imagination. He’s turning into quite the little engineer.

Cleveland Zoo

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »

Apr 162012

Last week, I decided to re-join the Cleveland Zoo. As a result of a Groupon, we were members of the Akron Zoo last year and had one day at the Cleveland Zoo for $5. Since Stephen likes the zoo and we have several friends who are members, I thought we should join. I have a good time at the zoo too, but it’s not usually my favorite. I do have plans to go to Earth Day festivities next week and the membership will come in handy for that. The zoos are mostly only 50% reciprocal now, but that will still be a nice discount if we make it to the Pittsburgh zoo and/or aquarium this summer.

We decided to make use of the great weather on Friday and headed to the zoo. We ended up meeting a mom friend from the J and her daughter. It’s always fun to do things together!

Our timing was perfect. We left our houses at the same time and parked just 3 spaces from each other. We also arrived just before the zoo opened and were able to park in a close lot.

We made our mandatory stop at the elephants.

After a quick trip by the flamingos, we were able to catch the tram up the hill to the primates. It turns out there is also a playground. I think the kids enjoyed it the most. We also spent more time there than any other stop.

Nick was able to climb up the outside of this wall. He also enjoyed sliding down the pole.

Sally was quick to try out the biggest slide and found herself flying down. The first couple of time she ended up in the mulch. Inside the primate building, there was a friendly volunteer showing NIck and Sally some touchable exhibits.

We ate a picnic lunch near the lions which too us to our time to head out. Sally really enjoyed pushing her friend’s stroller. Of course by now the zoo was packed and it wasn’t really easy to navigate the trip back to the car, but we made it.

We had a great time and got to know our J friends a bit better. We’ll surely be going back to the zoo again soon.

Car Accident

Adventures with Nick and Sally 1 Response »

Apr 152012

The kids and I ran an errand after church today. On the way home, we were in an accident. I was going north on a major road in our area. I was making a left onto a side street. A guy was coming out the side street and turning left (north) onto the main road. He had a stop sign and I am pretty sure he stopped, but never saw us turning.

I wasn’t going fast since I had just stopped to wait for traffic to finish coming southbound.

I stopped the car, made sure the kids were ok, got them out of the car and called the police. Sally was crying and very upset. She wasn’t hurt, but was scared. The car door hit is where she sits. The guy came over and apologized and asked if I had called the police. That was my only contact with them. The police officer was very nice and a guy who saw the accident stopped back to talk to the police. There wasn’t any question of fault as I clearly had the right of way. We didn’t have to wait too long for the police to arrive. Soon after they arrived, Stephen came to help out.

Here’s a view of the car. It’s can be driven, but the door doesn’t close completely enough to lock. I definitely don’t feel like driving it as is with the kids inside. We also need to buy new car seats for this car.

Here’s another view of the car. After the police got information from me, Stephen took Nick and Sally home. We were only 2 blocks from our house. I walk past this intersection almost everyday. Turns out the guy lives a few doors down from us. I’m glad we didn’t know him.

Of course the other car only had minimal scrapes.

After I got home, we all took pain reliever. Since I was already stiff, I wanted to help the kids from getting sore while they napped. I called the insurance company and gave them all of the information they needed and an adjuster will call us tomorrow.

I’m sad that we have to be inconvenienced while this car gets fixed. But…..

I’m glad that no one was hurt.

I’m glad that the kids understand the importance of car seats and seal belts.

I’m glad the car wasn’t totaled.

I’m glad that we were close to home and that Stephen was home to help us out.

I’m glad for so many offers from friends to help us out if needed.

I have so much to be thankful for and days like this make me really appreciate it.

Easter–Part 3 including Italy visitors

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »

Apr 102012

Our final stop on Easter was also down in Akron. One of my best friend’s from high school was in town with his family from Italy. His mom hosted an egg hunt. Since we don’t get to see them often, we headed there around 5:30PM.

Sally and A are only 5 months apart, so they had a great time together.

While we waited for the egg hunt and grabbed a bite to eat, Nick and Sally enjoyed some yard vehicles.

Soon, it was time for Nick and Sally’s 3rd egg hunt in 2 days.

This was definitely the biggest of the three. I think there were only 5 kids hunting. Each of them filled their baskets and need to dump their eggs in a bag in order to continue.

There were eggs everywhere. This house had an awesome yard for a hunt.

It was the first hunt we attended where the kids got tired of hunting before all of the eggs we found. After they came inside, some of the adults found at least 5 more eggs.

My friend’s wife hung out inside with A’s little sister. It was fun to meet her for the first time.

My friends are in the states for 5 weeks this year, so we hope to get together with them a couple of more times.

Easter Day–Part 2 complete with family photos

Adventures with Nick and Sally, Family No Responses »

Apr 092012

Next up after our church festivities was a trip to Akron. We had plans for pictures and lunch at my parent’s house. Stephen had brought our tripod so we could use the timer function for photos. The kids helped him get set up by posing.