Peanut at the Waterpark

Last weekend we went on an adventure to my brother-in-law’s graduation. The graduation party wasn’t particularly adventurous. We took rainbow jello and a double batch of cheesy potatoes. This is a very meat and potatoes type of family, and the potatoes were all gone by the time we left.

The more adventurous part of our weekend involved a stay in a nearby hotel, which just so happened to include a water park. We returned to the hotel after peanut’s typical bed time. I wasn’t initially crazy about taking him to the waterpark, but I am completely glad we did. The photos are proof enough of why we went.

  

Peanut loves water. He enjoys his baths even more now that he’s outgrown the baby bath and can make huge splashes, so he loved making splashes, crawling through the shallow end of the kiddie pool and having sprinklers get him too.

Peanut wasn’t big enough for the slide just yet, but my husband did convince our very cautious seven year old niece to give it a try.

But this was only the beginning of our adventurous hotel experience. When we returned to the room, I noticed peanut’s eyes were a little pink. I gave him a quick bath to help calm him back down and rinse of any chlorine. It was well past his bed time, so I expected he would fall asleep soon. I wrapped him up and placed him in his pack ’n’ play. A few minutes later, he was crawling around with tired cries. I scooped him up and we snuggled till he finally fell asleep—about a good half hour later.

I again set him in his pack and play. No sooner had I turned my back, then we were greeted with a long and very loud alarm. That’s right, the fire alarm went off. We went out into the hall way to see what was going on. When asked if we had to leave, the hotel employee didn’t seem to sure, though he said it was “probably all right.” Since our other family members were stepping out, we bundled up and left too. We used the nearest exit out of caution, which put us outside, quite a distance from the lobby.

Rich was going to leave peanut and I in the car, but when I saw some unsavory looking characters in a smoke-filled car parked near ours, I decided to walk with him. When we arrived at the lobby, we learned that a prom in one of the ballrooms used a fog machine which set of the alarm and the alarm would likely continue until they could clear that room. Lovely. Another 30 minute ordeal to get peanut back down. Sigh.

Another down side of staying at a hotel with a waterpark—noisy people in the hallway. Until at least two in the morning there were people running and yelling in the halls. Grrrr.

In short, Waterpark A, Hotel experience C-

We've been working in the Garden

We’ve been working in the garden
All the live long weekend
We’ve been working in the garden
Because it’s finally spring

Can’t you hear the Peanut callin’
Rise up so early in the morn’
Can’t you hear the weather callin’
It’s time to get the planting done.

While we were away in Savannah, the winter palace was under the stewardship of my father, who does not do “landscaping.” He mowed the lawn regularly and trimed the edges twice a year. Sometimes he even trimmed the bushes when they got really nasty. That is all.

Prior to my father’s groundskeeping work, my landscape architect was Roslyn the terrible (our dog), who dug large chunks out of the back lawn. After being forbidden to do much in the fall because of the pregnancy and a long winter, I’ve been so looking forward to getting out in the yard finally.

Rich has been amazing. He’s been looking for things to do and there is a never ending supply of manual labor needed around the yard.

When we bought the house, we inherited sunken railroad ties lining our flowerbeds. I’ve hated them ever since but lacked the physical strength to do anything about it… until now. In a single day Rich had them ripped from the earth. We still have to decide what to do about them, but they are gone from my flower beds. Twenty dollars in dirt and a some relocated edgers and I now have respectable flower beds.

We split up and transferred several of my more hardy perennials. Rich bought me a hydrangea which we planted in the far corner. We planted some good smelling herbs, a pair of tomato plants and a pack of strawberry plants. From my parents’ house I acquired a local cactus and some rhubarb. We found some scraggly looking raspberry and blueberry plants on clearance, so we’re giving them a try along the garage. At least we won’t have to try to mow the lawn through that strip. I’m thinking of doing cucumbers and squash behind the garage.

Oh and we’ve been working on “re soding” the Rozie patches. Rich has been transferring the sod he’d be turning over for the planting to cover areas previously terrorized by our not-always-so-beloved landscape architect. I can’t wait to spend our summer in the yard with Peanut.

Heartbroken

This isn't my usual adventure story and so far it doesn't have a happy ending.
About a year ago my parent finally put our old homestead on the market. This was a big step for my mother who has such fond memories of their home. Her babies learned to climb those stairs.... It was a big deal for them to not only admit that they needed to live in a smaller, one story home, but to actually put their house on the market and plan for moving.
We all put a lot of effort into fixing up the place and it really looks nice. The whole house was repainted, the kitchen was renovated.... We weren't unrealistic. We know the market and we knew it was going to be hard to sell, but we were still hopeful. Then the long wait began. The house sat and sat on the market an no one came through it.
It had been up for nearly a year when the realator finally called with someone who wanted to go through. A bid came in, it was a bit lower than they had hoped for, but my parents accepted. The buyer was preapproved for a loan and we thought things were perfect. My parents had been shopping for houses this whole time, and they with the house sold, they were finally able to afford one they really loved. It was perfect. The floor plan matched their ideal layout. The basement was huge. It had tons of storage, a larger kitchen, a resonable sized yard. My father has been through many surguries in the past few years, so purchasing a single story home with a walk in shower was just what they dreamed of.
My mother and I began shopping for paint samples, furniture and browsing interior design books. It was hard to get them motivated, but my husband and I had spent a few weekends helping my parents pack. Since the buyer was going FHA, we had also been subjected to several inspections and had to make a few repairs. My parents had paid for inspections on the new place too.

All of these dreams came abruptly to a halt last night when we learned that the buyer of our old house had been denied her loan. This is three days from the expected closing date. How can this happen? She had had a preapproval letter when she placed the bid, so I don't really understand how this could happen. And if it can happen, why weren't my parent notified at some point that things might be iffy? I feel bad for the people my parents were buying from too, but mostly my heart is broken for my folks. They are good, honest people who deserve a nice place.
I know we've taken a lot from them in the past and especially this year since things have been really tight with us, but I wish I had everything I owe them. It still wouldn't be enough, but it would be a step closer. Mostly, I just wish there were someway I could make it everything right.
Sigh.

Friendly Friday

Kat from Kat's Adventures here. I'm so excited to be a featured blogger for the Friendly Friday Blog Hop! This blog began as a description of the crazy road trips all over Georgia I took with my husband, the award-winning sports reporter. Three years later and our adventures have turned more to those of stinky diapers on other parenting trials.

Things you should know about us:

I am the mother of one adorable son--a.k.a Peanut. Peanut is a cloth diapered baby who eats homemade baby foods--usually a good source for adventures as well as a few chuckles.

He also makes a great product tester.
I'm also I librarian and former history teacher, so things can get a little bookworm geeky around here.

When I find spare time, I like to sew, bake, read, cook, decorate and garden (vegetable and floral).

We also have a very furry monster-dog named Roslyn le Fe--a.k.a Roz.--a good source for not-so-funny adventures.

Last but not least, there is my wonderful husband Rich--who doesn't think I'm completely crazy for attempting to be a mommy blogger. He loves sports, especially hockey or anything Michigan, or Detroit--again, more adventures ensue.


Please follow us and leave a comment so we can follow you back!


Thank you again to.Thanks, Mail Carrier for hosting the Friendly Friday Blog Hop! Please be sure to follow these other great blogs!

Winner!

Congratulations Jeanine, entry 40 and winner of the Peaceable Kingdom Blocks of her choice! My sincere thanks to everyone who entered and made this possible!

Bazinga!

Funny Peanut Story:
Tonight we gave Peanut his nightly bath, just as we usually do, and he did something that has prompted more than a few chuckles.
Peanut made a stinky in his bath water. I'm sure this could be funny to you, but it's not to funny for us. And this isn't the first time he's done it--just the first time in a few weeks. But that's not the funny part of the story.
So we remove Peanut from the soiled bath water and are getting him dressed. Rich does his "Peanut speak" voice (I wonder if other parents put words into the mouths of their unspeaking infants or if we're really this ridiculous?) and says "Ha Ha people. You fell for one of my classic practical jokes. Bazinga." To which Peanut responded with his charming, belly shaking giggle. This had the two of us laughing too.
Thank you Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory) for this warm family moment.

Friday Hops

  

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In an effort to increase readership and find more like minded parents out there, here I go blog hopping again.
Kat

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Blocks: Review and Giveaway

If you build it, he will come...

 There’s a new rule in our house; Peanut will not tolerate stacks to stand. A gathering of three or more blocks constitute a stack, and Peanut will do his best to demolish them. In fact, he will stop in his tracks, do a 180 and with great speed and voracity for an 8 month old, he’s on top of those blocks.

For these reasons, we love our latest review and giveaway offering from Peaceable Kingdom. If you are a fan of Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, a delightfully rhythmic and brilliantly colored alphabet book, you will love Peaceable Kingdom’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Blocks. Even if you’ve never heard of the book, you will still love the bright colors illustrator Lois Ehlert featured on these delightful toys.

The 16 blocks feature all 26 capital letters, 48 lower case letters, and quotes and illustrations from the book. They come in a durable storage box with magnetic closure—very handy when trying to pick up after play time.

The blocks are glossy and constructed from paper. When we first took them from the box, Rich and I feared they wouldn’t last long. However, they have held up to several weeks of rough play, being kicked, tossed and rolled over. They have even survived the ultimate test of toy durability—our monster dog Roz, who has a habit of carrying them around the house.

The block size is perfect for Peanut’s hands. He is able to grab, manipulate and maneuver the blocks straight to his mouth. With the number of falling block stacks in our house, I’ve also come to love the lightweight construction. I really don’t have to worry that Peanut will injure himself with this toy. It’s definitely one of our faves.

Buy It: Block sets retail for $17.99 on Amazon. Purchase these and other great Peaceable Kingdom games, books and toys from their website http://www.peaceablekingdom.com/

Win It: If you’d like to win a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom block set or one of your choice, enter my giveaway by leaving comments below. Be sure to include your email address and enter extra entries as separate comments.

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Peaceable Kingdom's website and comment here on which block set you will chose if you win. Remember to leave your email address in your comment.

Extra Entries: comment below after completing any of the following tasks

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Tweet about this giveaway including @kats_adventures and the giveaway URL (up to 4 times per day, 1 hour between tweets)—leave the URL for your tweet in a comment below.
 sample tweet:
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Giveaway open to US only.  Giveaway ends May 17 at 12:00 a.m. EST. Winner will be chosen at random via random.org. Winner will be contacted via email and must respond within 48 hours. Product will be mailed directly by the company.

I was supplied the above mentioned products by the described company/ PR representative.  I was not compensated in any other way for this review.  The opinions are entirely my own.

On Becoming Those People

Let's just face it; we are not "those people." You know, those people.... those really great people out there.  I'm not a baby wearing mom because it hurts my back after awhile and I have trouble reaching around my bundle of joy.  I wish I was a breastfeeding mommy, but that didn't work out the way I planned either.  Truth be told, I'm not even a natural birth mommy, as peanut was delivered by emergency c-section. 
We're not green because it's trendy.  I freely admit we chose some green options because they are frugal.  Alright, I'll say it. We're cheep.  I don't make my own baby food because I want peanut to eat all organic, non-hydrogenated, preservative free healthiness.  I do it, because $.99/lb strawberries go a lot further than $0.50 /jar baby food does, especially when my little darling can eat three jars a meal, three meals a day when he's feeling ambitious.
We got into cloth diapering because of the cost analysis.  If I had had more time, I probably would have found a way to sew my own diapers, to save on that initial cost too.  Yet, I'm not the one home all day like my husband is.  Rightfully so, he was concerned about dealing with the stinkies while wrangling a busy body boy like ours.  When I returned to work, peanut became a nights and weekends cloth baby out of practicality.
But not anymore.  Peanut is now an almost full-time cloth baby (we still disposable at night--which is another topic of conversation).  We're becoming those people who can make cloth work. When Rich and I talked about the way I wanted the pregnancy and breastfeeding and all of that to go, diapering options were low on my priority list.  I knew I wanted to cloth, but I would have gladly compromised in order to do the others as I originally intended.  Life throws curve balls and we just get to roll with them.  I'm so indescribably excited that I can now count ourselves among "those cloth diapering people."  It helps reduce some of the mommy guilt.  I feel like I've at least gotten one thing to work out as planned.
  Rich has been fabulous through this process.  He's really the most amazing dad and husband any family could hope for. I know I couldn't do it with out him. I truly am so grateful.