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Category Archives: Owen

Dual pool birthday party…go!!

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Katie’s birthday is obviously today and Owen’s was back in February, but both kids love a pool party so we decided to celebrate both birthdays together! (Owen also begged for another pool party!) So we had a 7th birthday and 10.5 birthday!!

The party officially started at 3:30 but we got to the park when it opened at noon so the kids could get in as much playing as possible (and to stake out the best shade seats, as is my usual). I didn’t take many pics because, well, I rarely take pics at the pool… And once people started arriving and the party started it was crazy busy—we had 15 adults and 27 kids!!!

But first, lunch. Of course the kids hadn’t eaten lunch before we left, so they were hungry pretty much as soon as we got there. We asked if we could have some of our party food early and that wasn’t a problem, so the kids had hot dogs and popcorn! (Our party package came with 20 cafe meals but we were bringing in pizza so technically didn’t need all the meals, so we snagged them for lunch! Brilliant!)

The arrival of the pizza!

Once we got it set up it was like a feeding frenzy. You’d think these kids hadn’t eaten in days. For a moment I wasn’t sure we’d bought enough pizza as the boxes were emptying at an alarming rate, but in the end it was perfect and we ended up with about 1.5 pizzas to take home.

Cupcake time came shortly after…

Of course we had way too many. I figured with 42 total guests, 60 would be just right because some kids would have two. But apparently most adults don’t eat cupcakes… So we literally had an entire tray left! I walked around handing out cupcakes to random people then took the rest to the manager’s office (they were happy to get them)!

We left just a little bit of garbage…

Sooo happy to see these guys together again!!

Tom and I went back to the water to cool off (it was still like 85°) and relax and two of our friends snapped pics of us. 😄

Katie was actually done before Owen so she went home with Daddy a little early.

All in all a great day… The weather was hot (I think it got to 94°) but it was perfect around the pool. Everyone had a great time. No one got hurt. Well, I take that back…Tom tweaked his back a bit but he powered through. And I lost my sunglasses on the waterslide—I had them tucked in my suit but they still came out…but they totally disappeared. They weren’t in the pool with me and we couldn’t see them in the pool anywhere. It’s a mystery.

I have a confession to make: Today has been a shitty parenting day.

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I knew it wasn’t going to be all sunshine and roses because we did have some work to do before our houseguests arrive tomorrow…but I told them if we got everything done by noon then we could go to the pool. Easy, right?

They literally had less than an hour’s worth of work to do but we are currently on hour five because they can’t stop whining and complaining and fighting and giving me attitude. And not doing what they should be doing.

They have been having nonstop fun for days and days but today, when I’ve asked them to do a tiny bit of work to prepare for overnight houseguests FOR THEIR DUAL POOL BIRTHDAY PARTY, they lose their shit because they can’t follow directions and I refuse to give in and reward them for poor behavior.

I know being a kid is hard, but being a parent on days like today is something I am not prepared for (unfortunately I have lost my cool more than once). I even shut myself in my room at one point because I just. couldn’t. anymore.

I know today will blow over, but we need to do something because I cannot go on like this.

So I need all your suggestions. I’m totally open… books, theories, classes, therapy… Whatever.

#parentingsucks #keepingitreal

Perfect weather for mini golf!

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I heard about this cool mini golf course that was supposedly difficult so we tried it today…and while it was neat (with lots of moving parts) I wouldn’t call it difficult.

They had some of the coolest balls we’d ever seen!

Getting some math in while keeping score!

A water hazard led to balls in the shrubs and Tom ended up pulling out about four extra balls trying to get ours.

Super cool moving parts:

Happy 4th!

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Sometimes it’s the little things.

Even though I may complain about my kids and how much they drive me insane in the summer, I obviously still love them. But maybe today I loved them just a little bit more since Tom took them on a bike ride and let me have a good hour to myself…and then they played together—without fighting or drama—for a good 3-4 hours…and then we went to a friend’s house and they played with other kids for hours. 💕😜

And here’s why I have a hard time with some Fun Mom™ stuff.

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The kids were getting on each others nerves so I got out a unicorn painting kit for after lunch, thinking that would take up a good hour, right? They both saw it and were super excited, and asked me every three minutes if it was time yet.

So after the rigamarole of finally getting everything out and ready and set up, Owen paints for like 5 minutes then says he’s done and he’ll paint later or tomorrow. NO. NO NO NO. Then Katie decides she’ll paint later today, too. NO. NO NO NO!! 😡 This is the project for RIGHT NOW. That you wouldn’t stop asking me about.

So now I have a table of half painted unicorns and their associated mess. 🤦🏻‍♀️

So is this a Fun Mom™ win or fail?

Inaugural movie night!

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Thanks to Amazon Vine, we have an amazing LED HD projector. Just add in a $30 projection screen, $40 worth of PVC pipe, and a Bluetooth speaker…and you get an awesome movie night with some neighbors.

We made popcorn, did sparklers and a few fireworks, then watched some music videos. All in all a good inaugural movie night!

Cardinals got second place!

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Congrats, Cardinals! Nothing wrong with second place after your amazing season!


BACK: Assistant Coaches Mark, Eric, Adam, Tom, and Head Coach Jamie
FRONT: Mason, Eli, Owen, John, Aden (Old Man), Jackson, Reuben, Jaiden, John, and Wyatt

I could not be more proud of this team of boys. To be perfectly honest, they started out on shaky ground and we didn’t have much hope for the season. But then a miraculous thing happened…they practiced, they learned how to work together, and they exceeded all our expectations and ended up in second place in their division!!

Watching them play was a joy (and also completely nerve-wracking as the mom of a pitcher)!! And it warms my heart to see my boy with 10 new best friends, my girl with almost as many player sibling friends, and my husband and I with a handful of new friends as well.

Of course they were disappointed that they didn’t win (especially since they’d won the last few games by a wide margin) but they took it in stride and were great sports.

And then it was off to Culver’s to celebrate!! Yes, Katie loves being right in there with all the boys!! But she moved to the girls table one everyone arrived!!

And a friend sent me this… love these kids.

This is Fun Mom™ after three trips down the waterslide.

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So Fun Mom™ made an appearance today at the water park: I went down the water slides with both my kids and got totally dunked each time! They thought it was the best thing ever—the whole way down on the double tube with Owen he was giggling like crazy, and upon retelling the story to Tom that night you could see him reliving the moments with a huge smile on his face.

And you know what? I had fun, too. I mean, who doesn’t want to feel like a kid again as your tube races down the slide (much faster than you remember as a child!) and you careen around the corners (OMG we’re coming way closer to the edge than I remember!) and and not one single thought of work or adulthood or chores enter your mind for those 17 seconds it takes to reach the bottom.

It’s amazing what can happen when you stop caring about what you look like or what the water will do to your hair or how you don’t want to get wet…and just think about making memories with your kids.

And here’s proof!! A friend caught us getting out of the pool!!

I love the pool but this is my idea of hell.

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I love the pool but this is my idea of hell because I might be able to grab one of the very last seats in the shade. If I’m lucky. But on the positive side, I’ll have the alone time I need because the kids will be off playing.

It’s honestly normally not this bad mid-week but since this summer has been cold and rainy thus far, everyone is crazy to get out of the house! So I think every day that’s nice is going to be like this for awhile. Today’s crowds were like holiday weekends!!

Successful coaches party!

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We wanted to have a party but inviting the whole team seemed overwhelming so we just invited the coaches and team mom. And it was awesome! Everyone was able to come (minus one kid who had a sleepover already planned) and we all had a great time! The party didn’t break up until midnight!!

It’s not a margarita and I’m surviving! Go me!!

Tom making the other guys want a smoker and a flame thrower. Mark was even Instagramming it!! 😂

And of course, fireworks.

This might have happened late in the evening.

2019 Cardinals are headed to championships this week!!

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The day was gorgeous, Katie was cute as a button, and I had my real camera, so we’ll start with a few pics of her.

Some of the coaches!

The best place to try and get pics (since I can’t be on the field) is beyond the first base in the outfield. Telephoto to the rescue! I love in the first pic you can seem him looking at Tom!

Pitching!

Getting a pep talk from Coach Dad!

Warming up for the next inning. I finally just went and stood in the dugout to get a few closeup pics.

This is what Katie does for most of the game!

Batter up! (He got walked.)

We won! Now we are off to the first round of championships!!

So, here’s my morning thus far. Subtitled: I AM DONE.

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I leisurely woke up and watched a Facebook live mindset that left me feeling happy and relaxed and ready to start the day. I went downstairs to see the kids, and…everything went to shit.

I will leave out all the gory details because this would be a novel otherwise, but suffice it to say no one did anything they were supposed to do, both have unbelievable attitudes, both get on each other’s nerves over the simplest thing, and I have a 10yo who overreacts to EVERYTHING (without warning) and 7yo who likes to argue EVERYTHING and swears she’s not rolling her eyes when she totally is.

And I can’t have a margarita.

SUMMER VACATION, YAY?! TELL ME I AM NOT ALONE.

FRIENDS, IT’S ACCOUNTABILITY TIME.

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Most of you know I lost a lot of weight a few years ago. And it was mostly easy–141 pounds in 1.5 years eating whatever I wanted with just walking as my exercise? Sign me up! And I swore I’d never let myself get that heavy again. But friends, maintenance is a slippery slope and a few pounds here and there add up. No, I am not back to my original weight, but I have gained back an embarrassing amount. 🤦‍♀️

I have tried to restart a handful of times now–and have lost like 10# each time–but I always went back to my bad habits pretty quickly. I mean, MARGARITAS, y’all…and all. the. food. all. the. time. And I mean ALL the food.

But, shit got serious when my pants went past just being tight and actually stopped fitting. Like can’t even get them on to zip them. Since I had followed Naturally Slim rules, I had gotten rid of all my bigger sizes so I wouldn’t be tempted to let myself get back to that size…so it was yoga pants, leggings, and maxi skirts for me! But then I remembered that I had actually kept like 3 pair of jeans in one size up…so those are now in my closet.

BUT NOT FOR LONG!

Tom and I have BOTH restarted Naturally Slim again. We are on Day 5 and I am currently down 10.2 pounds! (Man oh man do I love the first week back on the plan!) And I have walked every morning (with the kids!) this week.

So, I did it once…I can do it again. I simply have to. I have too many damn cute clothes in my closet that I want to wear again!! 😜

Milwaukee-bound, Day 2

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My friend Anna invited us to go to a kid museum in Milwaukee today so why not? It’s only an hour away. The kids got McDonald’s on the way in the car so they were excited about that.

Turns out it was mostly for really young kids, but all ours said they had fun…

Being a sportscaster—for all of 4 seconds.

Owen did like the baseball section—he got to time his run for stealing a base, play catcher for some little kids, practice pitching at a screen for accuracy, and batting at a screen to see if he could hit a home run.

There was a Scrabble exhibit with a huge board…but it made me twitchy because it wasn’t a real board with the correct number of squares or bonus color squares in the right spots.

Then some of the kids put on a puppet show.

And then made some cool things out of biodegradable packing peanuts.

Then they had some fun on the bridge waving to the cars driving below.

And A&W ice cream on the way home.

A family adventure to the Milwaukee zoo!

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Tom took some time off (the days he previously asked for for the family vacation that I screwed up) and we decided to go to the zoo!

The Lego dinosaur exhibit! (For an extra $3pp of course!)

This was life size! It was like 5′ long!

Also life size!

If you look closely in the foreground you’ll see a bloody stump of a leg.

Cool Lego ferns in stone.

It was really hard to get me and the dino in the same lighting to see us both, so here are two versions.

Katie could fit inside one dino footprint.

Dino family!

Katie always wants to get her face painted so we finally agreed.

So then we offered it to Owen but he opted for a tattoo!

So while the kids were getting this done, we decided to grab a snack—so Tom walked to get himself a beer and some loaded fries for us to share. Well, then we came upon more food, so the kids had to make a decision because they were sharing it.

And then we walked some more and HOLY SHIT BEER ON TAP?! Then Tom had to make a decision. 😂

He opted for the Coconut Porter and got me an adult root beer float.

And it was right next door to Ooz, and now the kids wanted food, so… Katie got mac and cheese, Owen got BBQ pork mac and cheese, and we all shared some cheese curds.

Wording gets me.

Full of cheese…

And then we walked past a caricature booth and I decided we had to do it. Tom and I had one done probably 20 years ago and I’ve been wanting to do one with the kids but it’s expensive (like $15 per head). But we decided since we were splurging, why not?

So Tom and I sat down and we obviously couldn’t see what she was doing but she was drawing away. So 15 minutes later when it was time to switch to the kids and we saw what she was drawing…we both looked at each other like (pardon the language but it’s fully deserved) WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?! (I’ve photoshopped it a bit to make sure you can see her drawings.)

On what planet is that a caricature?! Was she serious? Were we on candid camera? Were we being punked? That thing was hideous. So Tom and I were talking quietly about what we were going to do and I said I was definitely NOT paying for it, but of course it would be awkward to say something. We let her go a few more minutes but then I just told her to stop because that was NOT a caricature and it was NOT what we wanted and we would NOT be paying for it. She was kind of surprised and tried to tell us that it would look different after she put color on it. Sorry, no. We figure maybe she was a face painter (the booth did both) but we were just aghast that she thought what she was doing was fine.

This was the sample hanging up. A real caricature.

So that was a huge waste of time and a big disappointment because I had really wanted one. There were other booths that we had passed but didn’t want to go back and find one. And I am still debating emailing them to let them know about her pathetic attempt.

The zebras cracked me up. They had a huge enclosure but they were waiting at the door—so we guessed that’s how they got fed. I thought they looked like Maggie or the cats waiting for us to feed them. We probably watched them for five minutes and they just stood there waiting.

There’s always money in the banana stand! (Confused?)

And then we let the kids play in the farm area playground and then we were on our way home. We did see animals but they didn’t do anything exciting so no pictures. 😄

School is officially over and summer has officially started!!

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Had the kids stayed in school, today would have been their first full day of vacation. Against my better judgment, I decided to take them to the pool after we unpacked and ran a few errands. Ugh. WTF was I thinking on the first day of no school when it’s finally 80°? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Too many people. No seats in the shade but lots of shaded seats taken up with bags and towels. The kids didn’t pack a towel for me so I’m sitting on Katie‘s towel on the ground in the shade and ants keep crawling all over me. Am I having fun yet?

I guess this is my repayment for being a good mom?!

And it only took a matter of HOURS for me to be annoyed by the kids. 🙌🏻 What do I win?

They were complaining that we were leaving the pool early. REALLY? After I had told them we weren’t staying long? And after I just took you on a five day vacation to a house WITH AN INDOOR POOL where you got to do whatever you wanted and eat whatever you wanted and play with your cousins then we came home and I TOOK YOU TO THE POOL!! But that’s apparently not good enough. 🤦🏻‍♀️

So I went to Sam’s Club and bought them their summer workbooks. Ha. I’ll show them. 😂

How’s your summer going so far?

Vacation house, Day 4

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Filipeks and Coes left super early this morning because they had a long drive and had to be back for work Monday. So that meant it was just the Hudson and Schwalm clans.

Katie was trying to sneak the flower crown on Gramma.

Look at this gorgeous little flower girl. I can feel the hearts breaking already.

They had so much fun with the “breakout box” that they played with it again this morning.

Someone finally got a bath!! I only had my body wash with me but once you turned the jets on it was bubbles galore!!

When Schwlams were leaving it was a bit rainy so we decided to look in the landscaping rocks for Petoskeys…we didn’t think we’d really find any, even though I had already found one. Mom thought it was random luck—like someone tossed one out there. So I went out and proceeded to find one within about two minutes. And then found more! I can find them anywhere!!

And then I found this, which I had no idea what it was. I posted on a Petoskey forum and was told it was a great Rugose Horn Coral colony.

There was also more pool time, of course. But also lots of time playing Peggle with Gramma. 😄

Vacation house, Day 3

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Random pics aplenty!

Cousin Gabby made some gorgeous flower crowns.

Kathryn and Izzy tried some lipstick!

Filipeks made an awesome taco bar for lunch and ice cream bar for dessert!!

We spent the afternoon chatting on the deck and then dinner was delicious cheesy shrimp and grits!

And then the annual pics!

Cousins!

The kids, then and now.

Aunt Marie put together an amazing escape room/box for the kids. They had a blast!

Then there was card playing and video games.