Outdoor living

As usual, this summer is flying by. I haven't even written about all the fun we are having. It really is such a blessing that I have been able to spend this time with my kids. We are really strapped financially, but in the end it is so worth it. The last two years of graduate school have really done me in. I have really needed the outdoors and the quality time with my two "crazies". Weston's first and second weeks of "school camp" (this is how we are reframing summer school) have gone well. He was pretty pissed off at us for signing him up without even asking him. "Who would do that?!" he said. The first day he was very excited to take the small bus. He came home with a smile, but really wasn't impressed with that type of camp. That night he went with my mother in law to her house and they went out to eat at Five Guys. I had to work. His second day he was even less enthused to go, but he did. This day my sister picked him up. Ella got a special day shopping in the morning with her aunt for her birthday clothes. In true Ella fashion she got some crazy outfits that were full of "bling" and color. That afternoon was filled with swimming in the pool. Wednesday I picked up Weston and we went straight to the beach (got to get it in while we still can!). Unfortunetly, he had to pee so badly that I forgot the sunscreen in the car. Thankfully I was the only one who burned...and I did it badly. We had a fun time though. We went to the other section of Rocky Neck and climbed all the rocks out to the sea. We were looking for crabs but didn't catch any. I didn't wear shoes because I thought it would be too slippery. Big Mistake. Ouch! Still it was a good time. Anytime on the beach is a good time. Thursday was the 4th! Woohoo! One of my favorite days of the year and this year it was extra awesome! We went to the Canterbury Parade as usual. Ella was actually with us this year. At the parade, one of Weston's teachers came by with a coupon for a free pony ride. We went home to cool off and have lunch (because it was horribly hot that day), and then went to get our pony rides. Afterwards we went to my friend Marie's house for a picnic. It was so much fun. Andy joined us later and everyone had a blast. The kids swam all afternoon and played with friends while we chatted with the adults. We tried to walk down and see fireworks over the pond, but there were only a few this year. Friday, Ava came over and we went to the pool. It was another hot one. We were going to go to the beach but it was too hot, we heard that many had been shut down the day before because of overcrowding, and two kids drowned on the fourth which made it scary for me. That night the girls went with me to the Tigers Game and helped me recruit foster parents. Well mostly they went to the gift shop and watched the game, but still it was fun. At the end of the game was fireworks. Really awesome fireworks! I also had them announce the girl's birthdays on the screen. Saturday, was Ella's family birthday party so I baked and cooked all day and dragged it all to my mom's house. It was a fun time. We just had immediate family which went well. The kids played with their cousin's and Ella got a lot of nice things. Mostly cash which she loved. Sunday, Ella was off to camp! I haven't seen her since. We spent the morning packing and buying the things we didn't have. That was pricey! Monday was back to school camp for Weston. I tried to clean out Ella's room in the morning, but two trash bags and two hours later I only had about 1/3 of it done. After he got out we went swimming at the pool with Missy and Matt. Tuesday I worked and Weston went with Kris and Brady on a train ride. He said it was his best day ever. Wednesday I spent the morning driving to North Haven because our patio was being poured and we needed some materials. I snuck in a trip to Ikea and got some new shelves and a stuffed animal holder for Ella's room. :) Nana and Pa picked up Weston and he was ready to leave when I got there. He didn't want to miss that cement mixer! I cleaned the rest of Ella's room while that was happening. Thursday, I had Brady. We stayed home in the morning and played a few board games when it began to thunder and lightening. Then we went to Target. When we picked Weston up from camp we went rail-fanning in Niantic. Then to the book barn. The boys bought two train books. We had DQ and went to New London to rail-fan. Today we went to my mom's house. She suggested going to Hopeville so Weston could ride his bike. We went to get his bike tire fixed, made a picnic lunch, and were off to Hopeville. It was a lot of fun and great weather outside! Afterwards we went to the pool to hang out with Missy and Matt. Now we are getting ready to pick up our Ella at camp!

The first week

We have been very busy this first week of vacation. Last Friday was the kid's last day. Missy got them from school because I was at Yale visiting my mom (who is doing great post surgery!) Missy took Matt out of school early and the kids had a lot of fun playing over their house. They were pretty bummed that we hadn't done our annual last day trip to Buttonwoods Farm for ice cream, so they convinced me to go that night. We were able to use their free coupons they earned from screen free week. Saturday was hot! We went to Aunt Kris' pool in the morning to cool off and then the kids got themselves ready to sleep over their Aunty Ali's house. All five cousins were there including Donna. They played all night and swam again on Sunday. Sunday afternoon I drove to get them and as soon as we got home Ella was off to sleep over Carina's house. Weston had a birthday party to go to. Then we went to make Nana some dinner since she had just come home from the hospital! Weston got to play with Brady at Nana's house. Monday, both kids woke up with a rash. Weston's looked similar to poison ivy. Ella's I didn't know about until later since she was over Carina's house. A trip to the pediatrician later, West was put on steriods. Then we were off to Rocky Neck beach with Brady and Aunt Kris. The boys had a blast watching the trains and fishing with nets in the brook. They even got a few rides with their boogie boards down the brook into the ocean. It was a great day. Then they got Dairy Queen ice cream on the way home. Ella came home right before I left for work that night. Her rash looked more like a sun burn. Everyone is looking much better now that it is the end of the week. Tuesday, Ella's hair had dreadlocked all on it's own from two days of pool swimming and not washing it. Ugh! It took over 2 hours between Monday night and Tuesday morning to comb it out and a lot of expensive conditioner. It called for an emergency hair cut! She finally agreed to go shoulder length. Thank god! It looks adorable and she can handle the maintenance of it. Then Mammy came down to get the kids because I had to go to work. She took them overnight and they got to go watch Monsters University at the movie theater! Wednesday I had to watch Matt, so he came over early in the morning and we drove to RI to get the kiddos. We came back and hung around the house for a few hours. The kids played so well together. There was no fighting or ganging up on each other. Then around 2 we went to the the pool. The kids swam for over two hours even with the threat of thunderstorms. Then we came back here and had dinner. The kids wanted Matt to sleep over, so he did. Thursday we had a play date at the splash pad with the other moms. It was overcast, threatening rain, and although it was humid at home it was chilly when we got there. The kids still went in the splash pad even if it was freezing, but it started to sprinkle after an hour and a half of playing on the playground and splash pad. We were way through eating our homemade lunchables when we had to leave. We went home and the boys played outside for a couple of hours. Then we went to the library to sign up for the summer reading program. Then we dropped Matt off at home. Friday we had Brady. We went rail-fanning at Old Saybrook. We brought a picnic lunch and saw a few trains. Then we went to the Book Barn. That place is awesome! The kids didn't want to take the time to look around, but I figured we'll go back one day so I can really look. We tried to find books on trains at the Midtown location, but we didn't realize we were at the wrong one. Then we got Dairy Queen and came back here. Last night we went to Target. The kids got their allowance. They decided to get water guns which were on sale for $12 and they used $5 off coupons to make them both $7. We hope to have a water gun party later on in the summer. :) Ella is sleeping over Ava's house today for her birthday party after going to Skate Inn. Weston will hang back with us and hopefully get some yard work done. We are making gains to get this patio completed. The only thing about being busy is that housework doesn't always get done. :)

Creeping up...

While it feels and looks nothing like summer in New England right now, school is almost out. The kids have exactly one more week left of school. 2nd and 5th grades. Ella will be in middle school. Where or where has the time gone? Next Tuesday is my mom's surgery. The first few weeks of summer are going to consist of taking care of her. It is going to be tough, but we'll make it through. Money is tight as always so we'll be trying to figure out some cheap activities to occupy our time this summer. Weston will be participating in "school camp" for the month of July, so he'll be gone M-Th in the mornings. He also has boy scout day camp and Ella is going to her first year of 4H camp where Lizzie is a counselor. We have made a list of activities we hope to do during this summer, but I think it might be hard to fit it all in. There was a time when I dreaded the kids getting out of school, but for the last two years I have really loved it. No homework, no schedules, no packing lunches. Sure a little more fighting and such, but nothing I can't deal with. :) I cannot wait to enjoy my kids after two years of graduate school. MSW

Snow cones for sale!

After months of the kids begging me, we finally had a snow cone stand today. The kids made $22 and had a fun time. I was dreading it, but it wasn't all that bad. It was fun to see how excited they were, and for a few hours there was no fighting (well maybe a little) and crying. I am so sad summer is coming to an end, but I have to say after today's fighting between the two, I am starting to see the good in school.

Afterwards, we came home and Ella, Weston, and I went for a bike ride around the block. Andy had put the tantum bike on mine, so Weston rode with me. It was a perfect day, weather wise, to ride. I hope to get a few more rides in before the craziness starts.

The great outdoors

For the last two days I have enjoyed exploring the outdoors with the kids. There is just something about watching them discover the natural beauty and fun in the simple things in life. I was determined yesterday to get my bike repaired so that we could tackle a bike path. It took all of the morning to pack, get the kids out the door, get their favorite bikes at my parents house, get the bike fixed, get gas, and stop at the grocery store for more lunchables for lunch but we got there! We got lost on the way too, but we discovered this beautiful covered bridge that ended up being worth the extra minutes. The landscapping lady pointed us in the right direction. Once on the bike path Weston went full speed. Because he has a smaller bike (he feels more comfortable without training wheels that way) he has to peddle harder and more frequently, so he got tired out quickly. It took us most of the time to convince him that he could continue to peddle and make it back to the car. What seemed to work was when I told him that most people think he is the strongest little boy they know and that he has been through so many other painful things that he could do that too. It wasn't a long ride, but it took us about an hour. Maybe one mile? 1.5? Next time I will have Andy hook up the two seater and Weston will ride with me. I need to be on my bike (especially after I spend money on fixing it)because it makes me feel great. When we finally made it back to the car we decided to go back to the covered bridge and see what it had to offer. Honestly this was like finding hidden treasure for me. This place made it feel as though I was in New Hampshire and was exactly what I needed. Thankfully I brought their swim suits (I know to come prepared). The kids went back to the car and changed into them so they could play in the water. The river had small rapids going through it, so Ella had to help her brother across. They could have played in that water for hours. We decided to check out the trail to see if there were any other beauties to be discovered. The trail was gorgeous but after a big hill Weston was done. They played a little longer at a different spot, but decided to leave when they saw a small river snake pass them by. It was a great day outdoors. I am hoping that most of the rest of the summer will be more like these days. I needed it badly and so do they. I'll be off exploring our state!

Natural beauty

Lately I have been feeling like we have been cooped up inside. In reality, we have been doing a lot of fun activities, but on days when it is hot or we have nothing else to do we have stayed inside. I don't want these precious moments of summer to pass me by. Especially since I have completed my last paper for school (one more class). This last year has been so difficult and I haven't found much time to enjoy the simple things in life because at every moment I have a gazillion things to do. Yesterday I decided that I needed to get outside in nature. We started at Bluff Point. I haven't been there since I was a kid. We had printed out some letterboxing clues and then planned to go to the beach afterwards (found a free beach...score!). Weston decided to go down to the water at Bluff point even though Ella complained that he always gets to do what he wants to do. After the morning thank god the complaining stopped. We explored for a few hours. The kids got creative and Weston ate the rest of the ham we brought for a snack so he could use the container to catch fish. He ended up with a hermit crab. It was a fun adventure. Then we went letterboxing. We found the first stamp, but not the second. The miracle in this was that Weston didn't complain about walking the whole time!!! He must have done at least 1.5 miles. I think we will be going back there to do more. Lots of people brought bikes, so maybe he would be able to bike it. Afterwards we hadn't brought lunch (I didn't have anything to make sandwiches), so we found the local grocery store and Ella had the idea of lunchables. It worked out perfectly! We then went to Esker Point beach and ate our lunch there. The kids went into the water. It was rocky and then had this dark mud that was icky, but again it was free and it was the ocean, so I am hoping it was okay to swim in. Other than that it was a beautiful little park and the kids didn't care. They played and swam. We stayed for a couple of hours and then I got them to leave by promising to buy them DQ. I didn't know that they had extra small Blizzards!!! Cheaper and less calories. Weston ate his whole ice cream which is always great for him. That was yesterday. Saturday we went to the library and played our last Bingo game. I am reading the Stephanie Plum Series so I need the second book (reading for fun!!!). We spent most of the day inside and I felt as though I got nothing accomplished. That night I brought Ella to the pool and we competed against each other. That girl beat me every time except for the back stroke. Friday we had Brady. They were all getting along so well in the morning so we hung out here and then went out to get lunch. Afterwards we hit the pool. Wednesday we went to the magic show again. This time we brought Ella's friend, Ava with us. The kids had fun riding the rides, watching the show, and eating ice cream (lots of ice cream eating this summer). Ella even got picked to do a trick. She had to draw a picture of the magician and he drew one of her. Then the pictures magically switched. I have to figure out what we are going to do today...Got to keep these kids busy and do it on a budget!

Wishes

On Friday, I had planned that the kids and I would go to the Springfield Museums because it was part of a program of Free Fridays. However, Weston woke up at 1:30am vomiting so our plans changed. Brady couldn't come over and I didn't want to drive a long distance just in case Weston got sick again. After a few hours of trying to relax at home (and write some of my last paper), the kids were fighting so badly that I knew I had to get them out of here at all costs. Since we hadn't gone gone to the Sunflowers for Wishes event yet this year, I decided that would be a nice stop. The kids were not thrilled with my wanting to take pictures in the hot sun, but it is what we do every year.

This year they had the cow ride in addition to the hay rides, so we did both. It was all for a good cause.

Then we had ice cream and bought our sunflowers, but by that time Weston was complaining of a headache, so we left and came home to rest up. He was fine after some pain meds. The kids slept over Missy's house on Saturday night because we had a Jack n' Jill to attend. On Sunday we stuck around the house. By Monday, it was time to get them back out again. Weston had a hearing test so we stopped by a Splash Pad and Playground on the way home and had a picnic lunch there. The best part about it was that it was FREE!!!Ofcoarse then Ella convinced me to go school shoe shopping, so we did afterwards and spent some serious cash there, but at least it was money well spent. Yesterday I had the day off, so we went to the pool with Missy and Matt. Then Ella's friend Ava came over last night and the kids played with the neighbors. I'm not sure what our plans are today. It is supposed to rain off and on today which makes it difficult to find cheap or free activities. We may hit the free movie at O'Neil theaters this morning.