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Category Archives: Kids

What is life like without kids around?

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If I had to pick ONE word (other than amazing), it’s quiet. And it’s wonderful. Most days I don’t even put any music on. It’s so nice to not hear fighting or asking for snacks every 20 minutes or having to be a referee or negotiator or repeating myself 13 times to get anything done.

I tell people that I haven’t missed the kids at all…and I’m not joking. I love them with ever fiber of my being, but I don’t miss having to be on duty 24/7. (Tom misses them but he only gets to see them a few hours between when he gets home and they go to bed. I get them ALL DAY. And therein lies the difference.)

How else is life different?

  • We can cook whatever we want for a meal at the drop of a hat. We don’t need to discuss anything or think if either kid will like it or what they might get as an alternative (or make an alternative). Consequently meals are super easy and relaxing as there’s no whining or complaining about what there is to eat.
  • We can watch a full non-PG movie before bedtime! We can start it right after dinner and be done by 9! We can never attempt this with the kids there because they always meander back into the room. I think we watched three this week.
  • We can binge watch a TV series. This week it’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
  • We can go anywhere together at the drop of a hat. No wondering where the kids are and trying to get them home or asking other parents if the kids can hang out while we run an errand…or negotiating which of us is going and which is staying or listening to them whine about having to go with us.
  • And we can have sex at a reasonable hour (LOL).

And I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff.

I just know the kids are having a great time and we haven’t been alone alone like this since before Owen was born. And it was much needed.

And it’s going to happen next summer, too. 🙂

First ever grandparent camp!!

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Since we live so close to family now…and the kids are getting older and more self-sufficient, we thought it was time to let them stay for a long visit with the grandparents! As scheduling happened to work out, we went to Michigan for our family Christmas and then left the kids there…and then Gramma Jean and Grandpa David would drive up to meet Papa and Grannie Lin to hand off the kids…and then we’d eventually drive up to the UP to pick them up. They would be gone a total of 19 days, 12 of which they were completely without us. Needless to say we were all looking forward to it…the grandparents were excited about having the kids, the kids were excited about fun with the grandparents, and we were excited to have some alone time and general peace and quiet.

Here are the pics from some of the adventures they had with Gramma Jean and Grandpa David!

Lake Margarethe – of course they made fast friends with other kids who where there!

Roscommon Zoo

Len Christmas in July, Year 5

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And the meat festival begins…Of course Timmy brought a ton of his amazing brats…but this year he added smoked brisket to the menu! HOLY WAH!

And no, your eyes aren’t deceiving you…that’s a Gummy Bear brat. With real gummy bears in it. It wasn’t bad…just a sweet taste. I thought Katie would love it because she LOVES gummy bears but nope. Silly kid.

And the annual kid comparison! After last year when Owen was taller, Nick pulled ahead (which he should, as he’s almost 14).

Owen and Nick 2018

2017:

Owen and Nick 2017

The kids goofing around while I was getting the camera set up.

My test shot to make sure the settings were okay, and I loved it so much I kept it. It’s also fun to see how we can all pull it together for the real photo!

Nick and Owen…conspiring? Planning? Who knows.

Gramma created a project for the kids—money frozen in a block! They had to figure out how to get to it! (It didn’t take them long!)

Oh yeah! We also gained a dog for an hour or so. Mom didn’t recognize him and Tom called the number on his tag and it was animal control…?!? He was good and just hung out with us—got a few pets and belly rubs (Maggie pretty much ignored him). After awhile a young girl came looking for him—and we found out she was visiting someone in the neighborhood.

Overall it was a perfectly gorgeous day—not too hot and not too cold, lots of good food (too much, actually, but we’re Lens so it’s expected), and great visiting with family and watching the cousins play!

Tom saved me from certain injury!

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So you remember that Gramma Jean had a rope swing. Well she got a new swing this year and Tom rigged it up again with a new rope and Katie was really enjoying it. But I wanted to swing too because it’s damn fun. So long story short I ruined the first rope (it was supposed to stretch and rebound but it was too old so when I sat on it it stretched but didn’t rebound). So Tom eventually rigged up a second rope which he tested to make sure it was suitable.

It wasn’t.

He wasn’t hurt, though he was a bit sore.

Needless to say we gave up on the adults using the swing. 🙁

Just a few fireworks.

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Tom and I might have gone a little overboard at the fireworks store…but in our defense the kids love them and all the fun ones are illegal in Illinois. So tonight we did a frog princess and some huge sparklers. (The frog princess was really quite cool but I didn’t get pics because I didn’t think it would last that long… But it kept going and going! I’ll get pics the next time!)

Katie’s birthday adventure with GJ!

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Remember last year when Gramma took Katie out on a birthday adventure? Well, she loved it so much they decided to do it again! But this year, Katie was really nice and invited her brother along, too, since she knew he’d have fun, too. Awwwww, what a sweet Katie bug.

They went to the city park and had a picnic lunch, skipped stones, and played in the river; then went mini golfing and to another playground; and finished off with ice cream from Dairy Queen and a quick treat from Dollar General! They had a great day!

Guess who’s getting braces?

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Yep. His current (and last) dentist both recommended an orthodontic referral. We finally went.

The bad news? He has a crossbite that really needs to be fixed. Most likely due to his thumb-sucking. Sigh. And insurance only covers $1750 for a lifetime. And it costs twice that.

The good news is that it won’t take long to fix. He’ll have to wear an expander for 3-4 months and then braces (just on the front four teeth) for about a year. Of course he could need more as more teeth fall out and come in, but right now she thinks this will be good.

He’s not thrilled but he’s not fighting it. We’re telling him he’ll have a robot mouth. 🙂

Family outing to the Volo Auto Museum

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We decided to play tourists today and go to this apparently famous auto museum that is literally 20 minutes down the road. (I say apparently because I’d never even heard of it, but everyone we talk to knows about it—and they get like 125,000 visitors a year!) Both kids have been (strangely) getting into cars lately so Tom thought it would be cool. Well…let’s just say it was totally not my thing and it’s three hours of my life I can’t get back so Tom owes me one. But the kids did have fun and I did get to see a few cars from my youth (you’ll know them when you see them…they aren’t these first cars below).

Lilac-haired girl!

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I put the purple hair wax in Katie’s hair when it was wet and it was easier to do… I didn’t want to put too much in the first time, so it ended up a nice shade of lilac.

UPDATE: It washed out of Owen’s hair fine. Katie’s hair had some VERY slight tint left but I didn’t scrub it. As far as my pillowcase? There was very super light transfer but I had to REALLY look. It’s more like a powder. But if I hadn’t been looking for it I wouldn’t have seen it. So I’m happy with it.

Purple hair trio!

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I saw this super cool colored hair wax advertised online and went directly to Amazon to buy it. My hair has been fading and Katie has wanted more color than the pink shampoo I have been using on her. And this was very temporary—as in comes out in one wash. So we tried it! I did it Live on Facebook…which the kids thought was great fun (they are always intrigued when I do my Live LipSense demos so they liked being part of a video).

Here are our results… The kids loved it! Owen’s was much easier as it’s shorter, thicker, and much heartier. Katie’s was a mess because it is so fine and snarls easily (I’ll have to try hers later when it’s wet). But as something fun to do? I highly recommend it.