Cedar Point 2010

It's become tradition. Every summer we take a trip to Cedar Point. Chris and I are both amusement park enthusiasts, and both worked at Cedar Point for 3 consecutive summers after high-school. Since then, my extended family has gotten hooked on going with us every year. It's one of our favorite vacation destinations!

This year, we almost skipped the annual Cedar Point trip. But I'm so glad we didn't. It was a blast! My parents always go, and love to stay in the Lighthouse Point cabins they have there. The cabins are situated at the back of the park, some have a water-front view of the lake. We chose to stay in the cabins which include a loft, which is just perfect for little kids. Each cabin has a small kitchenette, with a little breakfast nook area, and small table. There's a small bedroom with a sliding door, closet and TV. There's also a small bathroom with possibly the tiniest bath tub and shower combination I have ever seen. In the living room area, the kids up in the loft, can look down into the main room, and also toss things over the side, which they all found to be great fun. While walking around the cabin getting ready, we'd hear something fall from the loft, and then little giggles in synchronized fashion would echo from above, but no little faces could be seen to take the credit. There's a huge arched window overlooking the pond, and the main living area has a TV and 2 futons that pull out into double beds. In all, the cabin sleeps 6 adults and as many little kids as you can cram into the loft area.

Chris and I took the bedroom so that we could set up the pack 'n play for Emily to sleep in. She did absolutely wonderful. She was probably the least fussy kid in our group. Ethan and Eliana slept in the loft with their cousins, Denae and Amarah. My sister Aubrey took a futon, as well as my parents. We had a second cabin, which my sister Melanie and her boyfriend Jim, and kids stayed in. She had her teenage son and his friend, her preteen daughter and her friend, and her and her boyfriend, Jim's, 4 year old daughter, Beth.

We left on a Saturday afternoon and when we arrived, the first thing we did was head off to check out the swimming pool. There was a nice sized swimming pool, equipped with a lifeguard, extra life jackets and extra towels. There was even a large sized Jacuzzi off in it's own corner, and best of all a really cool water-feature with pipes that sprayed and dumped water in different directions. This water feature left a very shallow puddle that was just perfect for Emily to crawl around in.

After our swim, we went back to the cabins to get cleaned up for dinner. There's a really nice BBQ place at the marina, right on the water, called Famous Dave's. It's one of our favorite places to eat. They have the best BBQ ribs, and I usually don't even like ribs. While we were there, eating our BBQ and licking the sauce off our fingers, it began to storm outside. The wind blew, the rain poured, and the lighting and thunder put on a very impressive display across the lake.

We had taken the complementary shuttle bus to dinner, and therefore we were at the mercy of the shuttle driver to get back to the cabins. Unfortunately, the only bad part of our trip was having to wait on the shuttle bus. Usually, the wait for the shuttle bus is only about 5 or 10 minutes, but for some reason, they only had one bus running and the driver was pretty incompetent, if you ask me. So we ended up waiting in the middle of a lightening storm for over an hour for a ride. I have to admit that I got a little worked up over the ordeal and could have easily chewed someone out over it. I guess that's just the mama bear in me. LOL

Finally, we got back to the cabins and put the little ones to bed. The next day, my kids, to no surprise, woke up bright and early. We had breakfast in our cabins before heading off to the park. Daddy, being the dedicated man that he is, went to church, before meeting us at the gate. Thankfully, he made it just in time.

First thing in the morning, the park opens early for Cedar Point hotel guests. The only rides open are usually a few of the large roller coasters, which obviously the little kids can't go on. It's asking the kids a lot to sit and wait in the park for an hour before the kids rides open. So, by the time everything was open, the kids were well past the point of losing their patience - and I don't blame them.

Poor Eliana was too little for all the rides we came across. Many of the children's rides require a height of 36". My little Eliana is only 35.5", just shy of making the mark. So, by the time we got to a ride she could go on, we were both ready for her to finally start having some fun.

I had broken off from the group with my girls in their double stroller. We found our way to Planet Snoopy, the same location where I had once worked, although back then it was called Peanuts Playground. The only thing that hadn't totally changed was the pond and water-fall feature, which I fondly remember wading in on hot summer days so I could skim the leafs out.

We found a little train ride, not as cool at the one I used to operate, but it would do. I had to ride with her, because of her being so small. Thankfully, they allowed Emily to ride as well. I asked her where she wanted to sit, and of course she wanted to sit in the front where the engine was. Then the Cedar Point employee informed me that there were only 2 cars that adults could ride in, and the engine was not one of them. Ugh, rules... rules... rules......I remember having to enforce them, but I also remember them actually making sense. So, unfortunately, I had to coax Eliana out of the front of the train and into a less exciting seat, where she could sit with me. Thank goodness she didn't have a melt down! She sat back, with a big smile on her adorable little face, and declared, "Mommy, I love this train."

Eliana begged to go on the Kite Eating Tree ride, which was like a miniature Power Tower ride for kids. I knew she wasn't tall enough, but the guy running the ride allowed her to go on anyway. He did measure her but I'm assuming that because she was so close, he figured she was "close enough". She only had a smile on her face for a short time, until the ride began to fall, and bounce. She started screaming, "Mommy, mommy, mommy!" Poor little thing. She had the look of pure terror on her little face. When she got off the ride, I asked her, "Eliana, did that tickle your tummy?" She shook her head yes, and snuggled into me.

Meanwhile, Daddy was off with Ethan riding some rides that Eliana was too small for. Eventually, we all met up at Planet Snoopy and were able to enjoy a few rides together. Grandma fed Emily a bottle so I could take pictures of the other kids riding some rides. Then we all headed over to Ocean Motion, another ride where I had once worked.

Everyone could ride this one, except for Eliana, Amarah, and Emily. It worked out because Grandma and Grandpa didn't want to ride it anyway. They stayed on the midway with our entourage of strollers and the 3 littlest girls, while the rest of us took a few rides on the big swinging boat. When I went up for my turn to ride with Ethan, the Cedar Point employee wouldn't allow us to sit on the far end of the boat. Of course, I argued with her since she had just allowed Beth, his cousin who's shorter than him, to ride in the same seat. Again, a new rule that I didn't appreciate, so of course, I had to give her a hard time over it. If I had a dime for every time I heard someone say, "but he's already been on this ride before...." and being an employee, I had to be the bad guy and tell them their kid couldn't get on the ride. One would think after that experience, I would have been more understanding. Nope, I've turned into the typical guest who's only concern is making sure her kids are having fun!

We made our way back to the cabins, another bonus for staying there where we were already on-point. We had brought our own lunches and ate at the cabins and then I stayed with my girls so they could take their naps. One lesson I've learned as a Mom, NEVER mess with nap-time or you will pay for it later! This gave the bigger kids and adults time to ride on some of the bigger rides, while the little kids weren't slowing them down.

After a much needed nap, we all met up for a ride on the big train. We made 3 rounds trips before heading off for another ride. Eliana had been begging to go on the Giant Wheel, a huge colorful wheel, at a height that terrified Daddy and I. Our kids aren't known for sitting still, and the thought of them bouncing around and peeking over the edge, 136 feet in the air, was enough to give us both a heart attack! But we made it through the ride okay. Eliana was beaming with delight when we got off the ride, tossing her little hands in the air and declaring, "I did it!"

We ended the day with a trip to the swimming pool. All of my kiddos love to swim and splash around in the water. I didn't mind it at all. It felt good to cool off after a hot day of playing in the park. Then, topping it off with a nice soak in the bubbling hot tub.....what could be better?

The next morning, Daddy had promised to take Ethan out to look for snakes. There is some type of water snake in the lake that loves to come out in the mornings to bath in the sun. They look very poisonous, but I don't think that they are. They have a diamond shaped head and are striped in black and white or black and brown. We didn't find any on our walk, but cousin Kevin found Ethan a couple of snakes after breakfast. We did see about a zillion May Flies. The flies covered everything, from the buildings to the side walks. They did make the sidewalks rather crunchy as we walked along, yes, there were that many!

Then, we enjoyed an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at Breakwater Cafe, another one of our favorite places to dine, before heading home.

It was, indeed, a very nice trip.

Three Minutes and Forty-Four Seconds.....

Three minutes and forty-four seconds. That is exactly how long the slide show was. I had created it for my niece, compiled of the photographs I had taken of her, for her senior pictures. My goal; to watch the 3 minute and forty-four second video, without interruption.

I sat in front of the glow of my computer monitor and glanced around the room to view what my children were up to. They were all preoccupied, so I clicked play on the video. It was not a full 20 seconds before Ethan had his hands in my face, "Mom, mom, look at this!" As he shoved a small toy in my face. I hit pause and in my annoyance, I didn't even notice which toy he was trying to show me. "Ethan, Mommy needs just a few minutes, okay?" He doesn't know why, but his 4 year-old instincts are telling him he needed my attention.

I reset the video back to the beginning. I was determined to get the full effect of my handy-work, by watching it at least once without interruption. Okay, lets try this again. It was just over a minute into the video when again I hear, "Mom, Mama, where are the crayons and markers?" Ugh, goodness child! Can you not entertain yourself for 5 minutes? Keeping my thoughts to myself, I reminded him of their location. They were actually where they were suppose to be, so that must have been what through him off.

Here I go again, third times the charm, right? Back to the beginning, the music from Owl City's, Firefly starts playing....."cause I'd get a thousand hugs from 10 thousand lightning bugs....." Once again my concentration is broken by the persistent nudging of my little Eliana. I stop and look into her big blue eyes and can't help but scoop her up into my arms.

Maybe if I watched the video with Eliana on my lap? Would she watch it with me and allow me to view it in it's entirety? Once again, I start the video from the beginning. Eliana loves it. How could any 2 year old not love a catchy song that mentions hugs from lightning bugs? She was mesmerized by the tune as well as the pictures of the pretty young girl, whom she was convinced was a Disney princes. She was wearing her prom dress, after-all. So far, so good. We're getting towards the middle of the video when from the depths of the pink pack and play comes a screech of serious proportions.

So close. I stop the video to feed the baby and put her down for her morning nap. Now it's lunch time. For all of you who've never prepared and served lunch to multiple little tots, you have no idea what you are missing!

Bed time rolls around. All the kiddos are in bed. So, I'm thinking that now is my chance to view the 3 minute and 44 second video in peace and quiet. I sit down at my computer, which is next to the large picture window in our front room. The windows are open and it's raining outside. The setting is deliciously relaxing with the only sounds being the rain and the passing of cars. The music begins to play and I am fully anticipating enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Then I hear my husband, "Honey, would you mind playing a song for me on YouTube when your done with that?"

Three minutes and forty-four seconds......I was so close.

It Must Have Been An Angel

Yesterday morning I made my way over to my parents house to sit with my grandmother while my parents were at work. Being the stay-at-home mom that I am, I had my 3 children with me. Grandma D just loves to visit with her great-grandchildren, and what better way to brighten her day, than with a visit with my beautiful children?

My father greeted me at the door, holding his usual morning cup of coffee. I love the smell of fresh brewed coffee in the morning. I shuffled the kids in, diaper bag in one hand, Emily strapped into her car seat in the other. Ethan and Eliana kicked their shoes off at the door (Grandma Mickie has trained them well) and ran through the house looking for Grandma, who was still in her room sleeping.

Traveling with multiple small children is no small feat. I felt like I was toting around a hundred pounds of stuff. Each child needs a change of clothes, just in case. Eliana and Emily are both in diapers, so I had to pack extras of those. You never know when one might have a bout of diarrhea. LOL And then there's the breast milk I pumped from the night before, and extra bottles. Most importantly, I always travel with a ton of baby wipes. If there's any item a mother can not live without, it's got to be baby wipes! You can never have too many.

My father tells me that Grandma D had stayed up late the night before, so we both assumed she was sleeping in. Not a smart thing to do on our part. Then my mother called. She asked if I had tried to call her. Her caller ID was coming up that someone had called, but no one had. Looking back, I think it must have been an angel.

Holding onto the phone, I knocked on my Grandmother's door and stepped in to check on her. She moved her head to look at me. I asked her if she was ready to get up or if she wanted to sleep in some more. That's when I realized she was having trouble talking. She couldn't get the words out. I tried to help her sit up, but she was like a rag-doll in my arms. I told my mother, who was still on the phone with me, that I thought I needed to hang up with her to call for an ambulance. Something was wrong.

I called for my father. He ran across the street to wake my sister, who had once worked as a certified nurses assistant. We thought she might be able to tell us what was going on and if we needed to call for help. Thankfully, my eldest sister lives just across the street as well, right next to my baby sister. She came over to get my kids. This was not the time to have screaming children in the background.

Grandma's breathing was shallow and raspy. I thought maybe it would help if she were in an upright position. So I climbed into bed with her, and pulled her back up against my chest. I held her hand and stroked her silver hair. My sister came in. She asked Grandma if she was having trouble breathing, or if she was feeling any pain. She couldn't get the words out, so we called for an ambulance.

My sister and I sat there with her, we held hands. My grandma was afraid. We were all afraid. Her body was totally limp and lifeless. She was just barely breathing, trying to talk to no avail. I could see the fear in my sister's eyes. We said a prayer together. I recited the Our Father prayer, as it was the first prayer that came to my mind.

Finally, my mother came in. She knelt down at grandma's side and said, "Oh, Mom..." She took her hand and began to cry. We all thought this was the end, and she was slipping away from us.

My father reappeared, holding the phone in one hand. He told us to check her sugar level. It took a a while to figure out how to use the machine, but finally we were able to check her sugar. It turned out it was dangerously low. We rushed to get her some juice. Finally the paramedics arrived. They checked her blood sugar again and started an IV with glucose. Within just a few minutes she was talking again, and making jokes. A few more minutes passed by, and she was sitting up. Before we knew it, she was up and walking again. We had almost lost her.

Later that same day, we celebrated Beth's 4th birthday. Grandma felt well enough to walk across the street to my sister's house for the party. We sat on the back porch in the shade. My sister had gotten a mountain of a cake, with a Barbie doll stuck into the middle, making the cake part the doll's dress. It was adorable. Her little face lit up when she saw it.

It was suppose to be a pool party, but it had started to storm. All the kids were in their bathing suits, ready to go swimming. They were all very disappointed that they couldn't.

Just as we were leaving, little Beth was sitting on the porch steps, looking up into the sky. Beth said with a sigh of contempt, "Those clouds are naughty!"

After a stressful day, the words of one little four-year-old birthday girl, could make us all laugh.

A reason to celebrate

Ethan attended his St. Mary's preschool graduation party this morning.

The children put on a little performance, dressed in white over-sized t-shirts. Each shirt was covered in hand prints from the entire preschool class, and labeled with the names of who each print belonged to. They all looked absolutely adorable!

Those children moving on, into next years kindergarten class, were wearing little blue paper caps, complete with a white yarn tassel. Mrs. Sisson called their names one by one to present them with an official St. Mary's Preschool diploma. Most of them grabbed up their diplomas before their parents had a chance to take a picture, despite Mrs. Sisson's attempt to get them to pause for just a moment. I think the excitement got the best of them.

They performed some songs to show off how much they had learned throughout the year, and then each one was presented a special award. Ethan's award was for "The Student With The Most Patience". Daddy and I just about fell off our chairs!

Mrs. Sisson talked about how Ethan will sit and wait patiently, while the other kids are being served. He doesn't complain or mind being the last child.

We also got to bring home a bag full of items Ethan had made throughout the year, including some of his papers where he had practiced writing his letters, shapes, and numbers. It was amazing to see his progress in such a short amount of time. We also got a photo album of Ethan at school and on the field trips throughout the year and several other special keep-sakes.

Preschool has been such a wonderful experience for Ethan. We are so proud of him! I can't believe my baby boy is starting kindergarten next year. His teachers have been absolutely amazing. He has made a lot of friends, some of which, will be in kindergarten with him next year. He has a "best friend" named Mark. They are like two peas in a pod! I hope they will continue their friendship for many years to come.

Eliana is growing out of all of her clothes. Yes, she can still get them on, but she's now too tall for them. Her shorts are all sizes 6-9 months, and some of them are still saggy on her tiny bum. One of her shirts is a size 0-3 months - it's suppose to be a dress. LOL She's such a tiny little thing.

The other day we were cleaning and dancing to "Lady Gaga, Just Dance" and when the song was over, Eliana exclaimed "now lets listen to Little Lamb!" I'd like to know exactly how anyone can dance to the song, Mary Had a Little Lamb, but as luck would have it, Eliana was willing to show me.

Emily can now say "Uh-Oh" but only if she drops something. She's standing more and more without holding onto anything. It's so funny when she's squatting and thinking about pushing up to a full standing position. Sometimes she'll just bounce, like she's in some sort of baby workout video. Usually she has one arm extended for balance and the other arm is holding whatever it is that she has in her mouth. I think there must be an unwritten rule somewhere that babies must have something in their slobbery mouths at all times - the smaller and dirtier, the better!

Alarm Clocks

You know you're a stay-at-home mom when your alarm clock crawls into bed with you at 5am and is missing a snooze button.

I have 3 of them. Each with an internal clock that never fails, unless, of course, it's to wake up early - at, lets say, 2am. I don't know what it is about 2am, but my kids seem to love it. That's the time that Emily enjoys an extra feeding. That's the time Ethan woke up puking when he was sick. That's the time Eliana....said her first word.

Yup, you read that right. It was 2am, I had just finished nursing her, and I hear "Dada....dada.....dada" Too bad Daddy wasn't there to hear it. It was cute the first 10 times, then I was squinting at the red blurry lights across the hotel room, reminding me of how terribly late the hour was, and I couldn't help but think, "NOW?!?! Okay, wonderful, my daughter can talk - now SHUT UP little darling daughter!" And then she spit up all over the queen-size bed in our hotel sweet.

Right at this moment, there are 5 little alarm clocks all sleeping soundly in their beds. I've got a couple of little nieces here tonight and I wonder what my chances are of getting a full nights sleep. Fat chance, right? Well, miracles do happen.

They were all giggles and grins as they got their PJ's on and made their way to the kids bedroom. Of course, the bed wasn't just a bed - it was a space ship!

Even little Emily could sense the excitement of this little slumber-party. She grasped onto the side rails of her crib with her tiny fists and bounced up and down.

Amarah, my sister's 2 year old, stood in a pack and play, eye-balling Emily's bottle. And the other 3 wild monkeys were jumping and bouncing on the top bunk-bed.

I took their blankets, popped them into the dryer for a few minutes, and delivered the piping hot bedding to their space ship. "Ready for take-off?" I asked. They all giggled with delight as I wrapped them in warm comfort.

And I thought to myself - I should have given them all some Benedryl........I kissed each one on the head and turned out the light, thinking to myself, which little alarm clock will be the first to wake me?

We start and end with family

We come into this world surrounded by our family. We journey through our lives, sometimes forgetting how precious family really is. Some of us even lose touch with one another. We hold onto petty arguments. We hurt each other with our careless words. Perhaps we just let the daily tasks of life get in the way. Later, we may come to regret not making more time to enjoy being with one another. But in the end, when our last days are near, we all eventually realize what truely matters in life; relationships, love, and family.

My Grandfather was admitted to the hospital a few days ago for respiratory and heart problems. Today I found out that his wife, my Grandmother, is terminally ill with cancer. She collapsed at the grocery store today and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

You know, it's true what they say; you never know what you have until it's gone. Just 3 years ago, I was watching my mother-in-law battle cancer - and she lost in the end. I know what cancer looks like. I've seen it's ugly face. The time we had with her was shorter than I could have ever imagined. And before I even had the chance to catch my breath, she had passed on, and my heart was left with a gaping hole.

I can't help but think that I should have spent more time with my Grandparents. I should have called more. I should have brought the kids by more often.

My Grandma was afraid today. She kept making jokes and then saying how it helps to ease the fear. She said she didn't want to frighten anyone and kept apologizing for making such a fuss.

She did not want to be left alone. The hospital is a scary place for her. I could see the fear in her eyes as she held my hand and I touched her silver hair. She kept thanking us for being there with her and teasing us about spoiling her. She couldn't express her gratitude for each and every one of us enough. It was clear, she was so thankful to have her family by her side.

The Art of Homemaking

Someone once said, the art of homemaking is the removal of all evidence that anyone lives in your house. As I type, there is evidence all over my house.

The dishes are piled up and over-flowing onto the counter tops. There is some sort of sticky, mystery-goo on the floor, in front of the refrigerator. The trash is over-flowing. Maybe I'm trying to set a new record to see how high I can pile up the trash before my husband notices and takes it upon himself to take care of it? Maybe it will topple onto the floor before that happens? We'll just have to wait and see how this little experiment plays out. (honey, if you're reading this, I love you!)

The laundry room floor is covered in heaps of color-coordinated clothes. I joke about building up what I like to call my little "Mt. Wash-more". I think I must have read that somewhere. On a good note, the kids did clean up their playroom before bed. That being said, I'm sure there is still a pink-haired pony in the bath tub, a family of dinosaurs hiding under the dinning room table, and a half-consumed bottle of breast milk marinating underneath the Pack 'N Play. Hum, that will smell good in the morning.

Right now my left eye is still throbbing from where Eliana carelessly popped me in the eye with a set of Christmas reindeer antlers. I told her to not be so careless, and then quickly realized I was talking to a 2 1/2 year old. Reminds me of when my husband told Ethan that he "needed to be more responsible", and I laughed saying,"Honey, you do realize you are talking to a 3 year old, right?" Hey, high expectations are a good thing, right?

Well, my little Picasso's tool of choice today was not a paint brush, thank goodness. No, instead she colored herself with orange and blue markers, before biting the tips off of them. And they aren't even the scented kind. Well, what do you expect from a girl who enjoys drinking her own bath water?

I could vacuum our entire house one hundred times, and Emily will still find SOMETHING she's not suppose to put into her mouth. A tiny piece of fuzz, a fruit snack wrapper, a piece of dog food - yes, I admit it, all 3 of my children know what dog food tastes like. YUCK. So, where does Emily find these things? It must be a crawling baby thing.

A funny moment with Ethan today, made me laugh out loud. He has been into drawing pictures of Indian's, complete with tiny bows and arrows and little hatchets. Oh, and I can't forget the intricately decorated tepee, complete with a tiny yellow and orange flamed fire.

He wrote his name a the top of the paper and then thoughtfully asked, "Hey, Mama, do the letters 'N' and 'D' and 'N' spell Indian?"

Right now, there is a picture of an Indian hanging on my refrigerator with the title "NDN" a.k.a "Indian". How cute is that?

Anyone who thinks the life of a stay-at-home mom is anything less than one adventure after another, should come visit my house for a day.

If you have a toddler, you should never fall asleep on the sofa.

Today my 2 1/2 year old daughter, Eliana, got into the paint. I'm starting to re-think this whole "craft-cart" idea. She painted the hardwood floor of the playroom a pretty shade of blue and green. Of course, she couldn't resist adding a little color to her tiny arms, and perhaps a dab on her cheek and forehead too.

Being a good little artist, she remembered to clean up after herself, after finishing her masterpiece she had made on the floor. She made her way to the bathroom, leaving a trail of blue and green behind her. She washed her little hands, smearing the paint all over, as she stretched her belly across the counter-top, feet in the air, to reach the faucet. The evidence of her drying her small hands could be found all over my plush white bath towels.

I awoke to this blue and green pint-sized Picasso, starting at me with her big blue eyes, as if I wouldn't notice what she had been up to.

"Eliana, did you get into the paint?" I asked her.

She gave me a devilish grin and took off as fast as her little legs could carry her.

Ah, the life of a stay-at-home mom. Never a dull moment!