Running!
Snuggling
First tube slide
First Chucks
Chalk art
Parks
Baseball
Cloud gazing
NYC in August (Loved!)
But I was so happy to see my city again
I swear he grew 3″ while I was gone
A week at “grandma & grandpa camp” and suddenly she’s this big kid
Watching The Avengers blow up CLE
Pretending she’s a teenager
16 months = endless entertainment
What have you been up to this summer?
By kakaty on 24 August 2011 / 5 Comments
Tagged Cleveland, general musings, magpie, The boy, travels
2 months ago I changed my eating.
6 weeks ago I started running
update: I still hate it 75% of the time, but I can run 25 min or about 2.5 miles now
4 weeks ago I started going to a boot camp 3 times a week (using a Groupon I purchased back in February)
Today I weigh 32 lbs less.
Today my hips and waist are both 3 inches smaller than they were a month ago. And each thigh is and 2 inches smaller.
Today my pants are all way too big.
Today my endurance is much higher. I am stronger. I actually crave my workouts.
There’s a lot more to do, but it’s not a bad start.
By kakaty on 11 July 2011 / 10 Comments
Tagged general musings
A few weeks ago I was invited to a blogger day at a local outlet mall. I had never been to Lodi Station Outlets before but we pass it on every trip to my parents’ house. Every time we pass we talk about stopping but the kids are never cooperative. So this invite was a great way to finally check it out.
As a parent I was thrilled to see all the kids’ stores on the list of shops: Gap Kids, Carter’s, OshKosh, etc. My husband wanted to check out adidas & Levi’s. I couldn’t wait to be let loose in Kitchen Collection. (Why yes, we are quite the stereotypical cast of characters aren’t we?).
I went to Lodi Outlets on a mission to replace our 10-year-old hand-me-down blender. I was prepared to spend up to $75 on a new one. I had done my homework and knew what I was after. I’ll cut to the chase – the deals at Lodi were great. Here’s what $100 bought:
Matilda got a pair of Reebok running shoes and a pair of Buster Brown sandals at Famous Footwear Outlet. I got tongs, pure Madagascar vanilla extract, a leave-in meat thermometer to replace one that just died and my pièce de résistance – a Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Electronic Blender – all from Kitchen Collection. When I found this Cuisinart for $39 I grabbed it so fast that Mark’s head spun. It was 30% off regular retail. Plus I had picked up some coupons in the food court so I only spent $34 on it – nearly half off regular price.Just so you know that I wasn’t the only one burning through cash, Mark also scored some great deals from the Father’s Day sale at adidas that aren’t pictured above. A runner can never have too many socks or tech shirts.
The best part about Lodi Station, and a big reason why we will go back, is the things for kids to do there. This is a great spot to shop with the family because mom & dad can take turns – one shops while the other explores with the kids. There is a very nice playground and grassy area near the parking lot. They also have 2 custom-made classic trains that ramble around the property all day and Matilda could not wait to get on one.
Another thing I found was that the staff was extremely kid-friendly. From the Lodi Station Outlet staff working in the food court area to the staff at the shops we visited, everyone was super-nice. Our last stop of the day was in Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for some ice cream. Matilda had $2 burning a hole in her purse and she decided that she wanted to spend it on chocolate. The RMCF staff was so sweet – helping her find what she could afford and what would be the best value for her money. She decided on 4 chocolate coins for $1, went to the counter to pay for it herself and they made such a fuss over her. She was so proud of her first transaction and held on to that receipt like her life depended on it.
The Madman wants you to know that parents & kids can relax at Lodi Station
Matilda has already asked to go back to “the train mall” a few times. And I’m pretty sure the next trip to my parents’ house will include a stop at Lodi Station; Mark can take the kids on the train while I shop!
Disclosure: I was invited to have lunch, ride the train and shop at the Lodi Station stores. I was given a gift card to do so along with a swag bag of items from some of the shops. All opinions are, of course, my own.
By kakaty on 07 July 2011 / 1 Comment
In recent conversations, both in-person and online I have been amazed at how many people (both men and women, for the record) who don’t know how to do what I would consider “basic skills”. For instance, the amount of people who drive a car daily but don’t know how to change a tire is fascinating.
I learned how to do it in Drivers Ed because, just like putting gas in a car and checking the oil, it’s part of basic maintenance and operation of a vehicle. And yes, I’ve changed a tire more than once. I’ve also called AAA; but I know that there are times and places where I won’t have cell reception and I am going to be responsible for myself.
Anyway all of this got me thinking of what skills I want my children to have by the time they go to college. This is ever-evolving, of course, but here’s what I have so far:
Car care/operation: Change a tire, check tire pressure, check/add oil (and/or whatever new technology brings), how to read a paper map
Clothes: sew a button, fix a hem, iron, operate a washer and dryer without ruining the clothes. Bonus – if either kid wants to, I will teach them to use a sewing machine.
Home & Garden: start and use a lawn mower, paint, plant flowers, operate a drill and other basic tools, how to install new locks.
Cooking: make perfect chocolate chip cookies, cook a variety of proteins, make bread, make our family’s favorite recipes, make a good marinara sauce, cook perfect eggs, how to follow a recipe, starting a charcoal grill, cooking on a grill.
Maybe part of it was being the youngest of 3 and having “tired” parents, but I did all of these things by the time I was in high school. I mowed the grass in late elementary school. By 4th grade I was let lose in the kitchen without supervision and became the chief cookie and zucchini bread maker for the family. The summer between my 8th and 9th grade years I removed wallpaper and painted several rooms in our new house. I learned to sew from my mother and my middle school required Home Economics* so I furthered my skills there.
I remember being dumbfounded by a college classmate who had no idea how to use the dorm washing machines. I don’t want either of my children to be “that kid”. Beyond that I think that most of these things are simply basic parts of being a functioning adult and it’s my responsibility to teach my kids how to do them.
What “basic” skills do you want to teach your kid? As an adult, what skills do you wish you had?
*we were also required to take Shop where I learned things beyond basic tools like a drill press, table saw and metal working tools. Those classes were the best! I wish schools still required this.
By kakaty on 24 June 2011 / 6 Comments
Tagged crafty, general musings, magpie, The boy
We still have boxes in our basement that haven’t been unpacked. We moved here almost 4 years ago. Our unfinished basement was reaching Hoarders level of STUFF so when my parents were here 2 weeks ago Mark and I tackled the task.
Luckily most of the STUFF could be trashed or donated. Many of the unpacked boxes were of the last-minute variety – those 3-4 boxes of random crap you throw together as the movers are loading the truck. Those were easy to go through. But there were a few treasures to be found. Like the cute baby snowsuit that I searched and searched for this winter, swearing that I would not have given it away. I haden’t but now it’s outgrown so I will.
But the best discovery was a box of my old t-shirts which my parents saved. Behold the beauty of the late ’80s and ’90s:
First up… concert t-shirts from elementary school. We were apparently a patriotic bunch.
I remember most of the songs and dance moves from this concert
When I was in 5th grade I went to Walloon Lake, MI with a friend’s family where we lived like feral children for a week while her parents sat on the dock drinking wine. I remember falling asleep on a raft that was tethered to the that dock. It was the best trip ever:
My grandparents went to Acapulco and brought back this horribly tacky, bright orange fringed shirt. Of course, I wore it nearly every day (4-5th grade):
Hangin’ Tough….mmm, I wonder if anyone going to the New Kids/Back Street Boys concert wants to buy this from me? (6th grade)
Now this is a shirt I was so excited to get. For whatever reason, getting a shirt made when you got braces was a BIG DEAL in our town. And yes, I went to a shop so I could pick out the “perfect” iron-in for my shirt. We went to the iron-on store straight from the orthodontist. I wore this shirt with such pride. I just offered it to my niece who got braces and she declined – I wonder why? (6th grade)
Nerd alert! This one was customised at the iron-on store with my name on the back. Of course it’s spelled KT instead of the much too laborious Katie (8th grade):
I would have never saved these on my own but it is kind of fun that my mom kept them. Matilda loves wearing the smaller ones as night shirts.
Did you or your parents save anything from your childhood that makes you laugh?
By kakaty on 21 June 2011 / 5 Comments
Tagged general musings, magpie
