Back To Reality

It has been so great having Travis around for the last month. So great in fact I have neglected just about everything else in my life, including blogging. Well now Travis has gone off to his first day of work and I'm not sure what's harder, sending the kids off to their first day of school or sending your husband off to his first day of work, after three or so years, when you have become quite accustom to having him around. We're going to miss him.

So now, for the next few weeks, I am going to play a little bit of catch up. . .

Fun At The Cuyahoga Fair

The kids had a great time checking out all the animals. Some of the rabbits were larger than Dillon. Pretty weird.





Daddy took the kids on "Pharaoh's Fury", you can here Molly screaming in the video. I'm pretty surprised they did it, those are some brave kids.


You got to love the way Charlee has her tongue hanging out. It must be the influence of all the KISS videos we watch together.






So then the nightmare begins. We think we are taking the kids into a "fun house". We all put on our 3D glasses and enter ready to be amused when the kids start to freak out. The images might not seem so creepy in the pictures, but in the dark without a flash, and with 3D glasses on, it was pretty scary. And to think, before this the kids really wanted to go through the haunted house next door, fortunately it didn't open until 7pm.


As we walked down this hall all you could see were these dark heads that would pop out at you randomly and air would blow out loudly, you couldn't see anything else around you.

By the time we left the "fun house" the kids were all crying and screaming bloody murder. I'm just waiting for the nightmares to start back up again.

Ahh, there's nothing like an ice cold pickle on a stick to calm your nerves after a super creepy near death experience in a "fun house".



And now. . . for your viewing pleasure. . .

(they have these guys set up to sing to all the music
back by the haunted house, I love the way the dog sings the back-up)

Dig My Swim Gear?

The Count Down

It's finally time to take the bar. Travis woke up this morning (I'm amazed he could even sleep last night) and intended to study. I think when push comes to shove you take a step back and refocus a bit on what is really important. I am thankful for a husband who has been working his booty off preparing to take this horrific test for the past six weeks but decided to spend his last six hours doing nothing "bar related" just to be with us. I know he will just do that much better because of it. Thank you Travis, I needed that more than you know. We love you, we'll miss you, and we'll be here when you get back.

Are You Fulfilling Your Wifely Duties?

My dad sent this to me in an e-mail. Boy am I lucky times have changed or I think I'd be inclined to die an old maid. And to think a woman probably wrote this. (I had to type the rest in to get it all to fit, but I promise I copied it word for word)
An Actual 1955 Good Housekeeping article.
• Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. and then run a dust cloth over the tables.

• Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he
has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

• Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.

• Be happy to see him.

• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first – remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

• Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.

• Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

• Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.

• Don’t complain if he’s late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.

• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

• Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

• A good wife always knows her place.

Sanity In The PM

Every now and then we go through a period of time when Dillon feels the need to get out of bed over and over and over again after we have put him down for the night. I have tried sitting outside of his door until I know he is sleeping, but I get tired and uncomfortable and it just doesn't work for me. We have tried closing his door, which by the way has no door knob due to this same problem two years ago, but then he bangs on it so loud it wakes the girls up and I have even bigger problems. I have tried negotiating, bribing, threatening, really just about everything. Well, a little while back Dillon came down stairs early one morning and opened the back door before we had the chance to disarm the security system. Needless to say the alarm sounded and it scared the kid to death, he certainly will not be making that mistake again. So last night when I was struggling, once again, to get him to stay in bed I realized that we had an old, inactive, keypad from an old security system the previous owners had installed conveniently right outside Dillon's door. So now I just tell him that I have to set the alarm so that he sill stay in his bed and I will turn it off when I come up and see that he is sleeping. Works like a charm.
I know in some of your books this might make me a "bad mom",
at least it makes me a sane bad mom.

Summer Camp/ First Love

Molly has been attending Hiram House Camp for the last week and a half and loving it. She went last year and really enjoyed it so we are hoping to make it a yearly tradition. Its a very traditional camp with archery, nature hikes, horseback riding, river walks, etc... It really has been weird not having her around the last little while, I didn't realize just how much I depended on her to keep the others entertained. She likes her counselor, but loves the camp director, a guy named Dan that she just thinks is the funniest, coolest, goofiest boy in the world. Poor girl takes after her mom, boy crazy from birth.