"Mommy, it looks like it's time for a rescue mission. It's going to be dangerous out there."
-Amanda, completely out of the blue at dinner.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Cleaning House
If you are keeping up with me, you know there is only two days of school left. TWO DAYS! I am both excited and horrified at the same time. Around this time every year, when I am not up at the school as I was this afternoon helping Sarah's teacher pack up her classroom because she is leaving to go to another school (that's a story for another day though), I am trying to get excess clutter out of the house before the kids are home for the next couple of months.
Usually about this time, I go through the art closet or cubbard or cabinet or whatever it is, and clean it out. Like throw out a ton of stuff. Stuff that the kids never remember that they drew or colored or won or received as a party favor. Things that have just sat for months just waiting to be thrown away. When I do these clean outs I have learned to have very little mercy. If this stuff isn't gone by the time the kids are out of school then it will be there all summer long and the new clutter that they create will just pile on top of the old.
You think I'm kidding? Today I threw away or recycled shoe boxes colored with marker, other shoe boxes decorated with paper, fuzzy pom poms and foamy stickers, Valentine boxes that were still filled with candy (amazingly even Amanda's little Valentine bag still had candy in it), candy, McDonald's toys, and about 100 sheets of paper with some form of coloring on it. I also chucked bouncy balls, plastic toys that had absolutely no redeeming value, rings, bracelets, flowers and dogs made from perler beads (the ones that you iron and melt so they stick together) and more candy.
I distracted Amanda with t.v. while I did all of this on the built-in bookshelf behind the couch, with her occasionally turning around to see what I was doing and being very hurt that I was getting rid of some picture that she made probably six months ago. All in all it took me at least an hour but the bookshelf looks a million times better, is way less cluttered and now actually contains things for the girls to do this summer instead of things they have already done.
I usually like to do the same thing with the playroom, but this year I just wasn't fast enough. Most of the toys are in the basement but there are a few baskets and bags in Sarah's room that need to have their contents visit the trash bucket and Amanda has a few boxes and a toy box (not really a box, it's awesomely shaped like one of the Fisher-Price Little People). I might be able to get to those on a nice afternoon when I can send the girls out in the backyard, but again that may need to wait until fall.
The basement itself is a huge undertaking because when we unpacked it we just put everything wherever there was room. It's time for it truly to get organized. Plus if there are things the kids don't want anymore it's time to get those ready to sell or give away. That may be a several day project when it's just me, myself and I.
So I feel a little better that I was able to perform my annual cleaning ritual and that at least the bookshelf is ready for summer. If I have time on Thursday I will address the cabinet where we keep all the markers and crayons, more than some small schools have, and once that is in order we will be ready to go. We won't be here to use it much, but that's not the point. As long as I know we could use it if necessary, then I'm ready for summer to begin.
Usually about this time, I go through the art closet or cubbard or cabinet or whatever it is, and clean it out. Like throw out a ton of stuff. Stuff that the kids never remember that they drew or colored or won or received as a party favor. Things that have just sat for months just waiting to be thrown away. When I do these clean outs I have learned to have very little mercy. If this stuff isn't gone by the time the kids are out of school then it will be there all summer long and the new clutter that they create will just pile on top of the old.
You think I'm kidding? Today I threw away or recycled shoe boxes colored with marker, other shoe boxes decorated with paper, fuzzy pom poms and foamy stickers, Valentine boxes that were still filled with candy (amazingly even Amanda's little Valentine bag still had candy in it), candy, McDonald's toys, and about 100 sheets of paper with some form of coloring on it. I also chucked bouncy balls, plastic toys that had absolutely no redeeming value, rings, bracelets, flowers and dogs made from perler beads (the ones that you iron and melt so they stick together) and more candy.
I distracted Amanda with t.v. while I did all of this on the built-in bookshelf behind the couch, with her occasionally turning around to see what I was doing and being very hurt that I was getting rid of some picture that she made probably six months ago. All in all it took me at least an hour but the bookshelf looks a million times better, is way less cluttered and now actually contains things for the girls to do this summer instead of things they have already done.
I usually like to do the same thing with the playroom, but this year I just wasn't fast enough. Most of the toys are in the basement but there are a few baskets and bags in Sarah's room that need to have their contents visit the trash bucket and Amanda has a few boxes and a toy box (not really a box, it's awesomely shaped like one of the Fisher-Price Little People). I might be able to get to those on a nice afternoon when I can send the girls out in the backyard, but again that may need to wait until fall.
The basement itself is a huge undertaking because when we unpacked it we just put everything wherever there was room. It's time for it truly to get organized. Plus if there are things the kids don't want anymore it's time to get those ready to sell or give away. That may be a several day project when it's just me, myself and I.
So I feel a little better that I was able to perform my annual cleaning ritual and that at least the bookshelf is ready for summer. If I have time on Thursday I will address the cabinet where we keep all the markers and crayons, more than some small schools have, and once that is in order we will be ready to go. We won't be here to use it much, but that's not the point. As long as I know we could use it if necessary, then I'm ready for summer to begin.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Field Day
Friday was field day. The kids were pretty excited. Well, what kid wouldn't be? You get to run around for a few hours outside and don't have to do any school work. Not that they are doing any school work at this point in the year anyway. I mean, there's four days of school left. They aren't learning crap.
So the kids were excited. Me? Not so much. First of all, I had to miss my class at Lifetime to go. Not that I love 5K Friday and the torture my trainer puts me through, but I've already paid for the class and I've been doing really well that I hate to skip. Second, Amanda is out of school already so she had to come with me. Field Day is okay for parents, but really boring for siblings. Sarah went from 9a-11a and then Andy went from 1p-3p so we were there all day. We didn't even go home after it was over, we just hung out on the playground until it was time to pick them up at 3:30.
On top of that, it was super windy. So, it was a nice, sunny day but it was so windy that I had jeans and a sweatshirt on. The weather here is so weird I just can't get used to it. If we were in Texas we would already be getting 100 degree days, and I'm wearing a sweatshirt for warmth on May 31. Weird.
Of course all Field Day did was make me miss Texas. The Field Day that our old school put on was amazing. It was an entire day of activities plus the PTA would have a little snack bar where the kids could buy chips and candy and even the snow cone truck came. It was a big class competition and everybody got into it and loved it. The Field Day here was fine and the kids enjoyed it, but there were no winners or losers and they didn't even really do class competitions. There were even a few games that I didn't even understand. Plus it was only two hours and there weren't any snacks and the only thing they had for the kids was popsicles. I know, I should shut up and join the PTA and maybe I can make a difference and it will get better. I might do that if I cared a little more, but I don't.
This is where to post takes a turn. I need to get more involved and get the kids more involved too. But somewhere in my head I keep thinking that we aren't going to be here that long and why waste the time or the energy and is it really worth it and I don't get involved. You would think a school with 850 students would have a totally amazing PTA but there are like five people that do everything. I could bring some great ideas just telling them about all the awesome things our old school did. Some of them they could easily implement and others would be really hard because of the lack of parent involvement. I guess we were really lucky at out old school. Some times it seemed like there was too much parent involvement and everything was over the top, but I'm starting to realize that's not a bad thing. We had room moms who were given direction from the grade level room moms who were given direction from either the K-2 or 3-5 room moms who were given direction from the head room mom. I thought it was all a little much until I came here and realized that some of the classes don't even have room moms.
End rant. So the kids had Field Day on Friday, they had a blast, I got wind blasted and had to listen to Amanda whine for four hours, and I came closer and closer to having them home for the summer. Four more days. I think I can do it.
So the kids were excited. Me? Not so much. First of all, I had to miss my class at Lifetime to go. Not that I love 5K Friday and the torture my trainer puts me through, but I've already paid for the class and I've been doing really well that I hate to skip. Second, Amanda is out of school already so she had to come with me. Field Day is okay for parents, but really boring for siblings. Sarah went from 9a-11a and then Andy went from 1p-3p so we were there all day. We didn't even go home after it was over, we just hung out on the playground until it was time to pick them up at 3:30.
On top of that, it was super windy. So, it was a nice, sunny day but it was so windy that I had jeans and a sweatshirt on. The weather here is so weird I just can't get used to it. If we were in Texas we would already be getting 100 degree days, and I'm wearing a sweatshirt for warmth on May 31. Weird.
Of course all Field Day did was make me miss Texas. The Field Day that our old school put on was amazing. It was an entire day of activities plus the PTA would have a little snack bar where the kids could buy chips and candy and even the snow cone truck came. It was a big class competition and everybody got into it and loved it. The Field Day here was fine and the kids enjoyed it, but there were no winners or losers and they didn't even really do class competitions. There were even a few games that I didn't even understand. Plus it was only two hours and there weren't any snacks and the only thing they had for the kids was popsicles. I know, I should shut up and join the PTA and maybe I can make a difference and it will get better. I might do that if I cared a little more, but I don't.
This is where to post takes a turn. I need to get more involved and get the kids more involved too. But somewhere in my head I keep thinking that we aren't going to be here that long and why waste the time or the energy and is it really worth it and I don't get involved. You would think a school with 850 students would have a totally amazing PTA but there are like five people that do everything. I could bring some great ideas just telling them about all the awesome things our old school did. Some of them they could easily implement and others would be really hard because of the lack of parent involvement. I guess we were really lucky at out old school. Some times it seemed like there was too much parent involvement and everything was over the top, but I'm starting to realize that's not a bad thing. We had room moms who were given direction from the grade level room moms who were given direction from either the K-2 or 3-5 room moms who were given direction from the head room mom. I thought it was all a little much until I came here and realized that some of the classes don't even have room moms.
End rant. So the kids had Field Day on Friday, they had a blast, I got wind blasted and had to listen to Amanda whine for four hours, and I came closer and closer to having them home for the summer. Four more days. I think I can do it.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Kid Quote of the Day
Grandma: So, do you like Colorado?
Amanda: No, it sucks.
Grandma: What, really?
Amanda: Yes, it sucks.
Me: Amanda, don't say that, it's not nice to say that word.
Amanda: Well it does, it snows all the time.
Amanda: No, it sucks.
Grandma: What, really?
Amanda: Yes, it sucks.
Me: Amanda, don't say that, it's not nice to say that word.
Amanda: Well it does, it snows all the time.
Another Recap
Yep, it's been forever since I've written. The problem with this is the longer out it gets, the less I want to write because there is so much to catch up on. Plus, we've had a lot of company and for some reason I don't like to write when we have people here. We've done so much and so little in the past couple of weeks I don't know where to start and how much to tell. Ugh! So I think about writing a lot, but then I don't because I get wrapped up in something else and then it just seems so daunting. The summer will be like that, mostly because we are traveling a lot and I don't really like to blog from other people's houses, but also because every day will run into the next and before you know it two to three weeks will have passed and I will have written nothing. Dead space, white air. Again, ugh! So I will try to get you up to speed and it will be boring and not as funny but then I won't feel so bad and can just pick up and move on until this happens again in a few weeks.
So, the last I wrote I told you about the wonderful, amazing weekend I had with my college besties April and Renee. My high from that weekend lasted several days. I still smile just thinking about it and cannot wait to see them in mid-July at April's house in New Jersey. A couple days after that was the fourth grade presentation of Colorado history. You know you are in trouble when even before the presentation starts they tell you it's going to be a "lengthy program" because there are five fourth grade classes. Way to get everybody excited for Colorado history. Lucky for me I don't know a lot about Colorado or it's history so I found it pretty interesting and may have even learned a few things. Plus, the presentation turned out to only be an hour which isn't horrible. I would have learned a lot more but when you give fourth grades a microphone apparently they don't know how to talk slowly so I missed a lot just because I couldn't understand what they were saying. They finished off with John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" which was pretty cool. Overall much better than I anticipated, but I'm a true believer in the theory that if you don't have very high expectations for something then your expectations are usually exceeded.
That same afternoon that I was enlightened by Colorado history my niece, Megan, flew in from Michigan. She just finished her first year at the University of Michigan. I wanted her to come visit last summer but it was pretty crazy with her graduation and wanting to hang out with her friends and other obligations and us moving and everything that happened with my brother, so I thought this year might work out a little better. On top of the fact that we really needed someone to watch the kids while we went to the Denver 1/2 marathon that weekend and our babysitter can't babysit on Sundays because she's Mormon. Yeah, I need to find another babysitter who can babysit on Sundays.
So Megan came to visit and didn't really have anything specific she wanted to do while she was here, so I made her come do everything I do on a daily basis. I brought her to Lifetime with me and she got to meet my trainer and the other people in my class and do class with me for a few days. I think she enjoyed it, maybe not, but I liked having her there with me. Otherwise, we just kind of hung out, ran errands and did a little shopping. Very low key, but nice to spend time with her and catch up.
Two days after Megan arrived Charlie's brother, Ivan, arrived. He came to do the 1/2 marathon with Charlie. So it worked out that they went together and started the race and ran about two miles together and then finished separately. I went with my next door neighbor and we did the race together and stayed together until the end. But everybody was happy when it was over so it was all good. Ivan and Charlie had some time to catch up and hang out and shop, which Ivan likes to do because he lives in Mexico and everything is uber expensive there, for the few days that he was here. The kids loved seeing him and even after he left Amanda kept saying she was going to marry him. Some day she will sadly realize that just can't happen.
The day after the 1/2 marathon was my birthday and we didn't do anything fabulous but I'm too old for that anyway. I like to be recognized, but don't have to have any kind of big celebration. Megan and I went out to lunch so I was good. Charlie got me a heart rate monitor which doesn't sound exciting but was exactly what I wanted but forgot to ask for so I was pretty excited. I get to try it out in my class next week. Yay!
On Friday Charlie's mom came in for the weekend. This was her first time visiting since we moved so it was great to show her where we live and show her around Colorado a little. We took her and Megan to the Garden of the Gods on Saturday where we looked at but didn't climb Pikes Peak and let the kids crawl around on the rocks. This is the second time they've been there and they really love it. Every time we go we are pressed for time so they don't get to stay long but they still have a blast.
Megan left on Sunday and Charlie's mom left on Monday and at that point the kids had two weeks of school left. Tomorrow is Field Day, which like everything else is a bit different than it was in Texas, but they are really looking forward to it. Then next Thursday is their last day of school and they are home with me for weeks and weeks. Except we aren't going to have much down time. We will be jetting off before you know it to see lots of friends and family.
So that's it, you didn't miss much. Lots of end of the school stuff that I hate and wish didn't all happen all at once at the end of the year. Amanda is already out of school so I'm dragging her to the gym and much to her chagrin she's actually enjoying it. Except if you ask she'll totally deny it. There's a million things I want to do before the kids are out of school and know I won't get them done and I'm trying to be okay with that. It's just a lot easier to throw out all their crap when they aren't there, know what I mean? But we'll be gone so much this summer it won't have time to bug me and the time that we are home we'll just want to relax, so it's all good.
Five more days, we're almost there.
So, the last I wrote I told you about the wonderful, amazing weekend I had with my college besties April and Renee. My high from that weekend lasted several days. I still smile just thinking about it and cannot wait to see them in mid-July at April's house in New Jersey. A couple days after that was the fourth grade presentation of Colorado history. You know you are in trouble when even before the presentation starts they tell you it's going to be a "lengthy program" because there are five fourth grade classes. Way to get everybody excited for Colorado history. Lucky for me I don't know a lot about Colorado or it's history so I found it pretty interesting and may have even learned a few things. Plus, the presentation turned out to only be an hour which isn't horrible. I would have learned a lot more but when you give fourth grades a microphone apparently they don't know how to talk slowly so I missed a lot just because I couldn't understand what they were saying. They finished off with John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" which was pretty cool. Overall much better than I anticipated, but I'm a true believer in the theory that if you don't have very high expectations for something then your expectations are usually exceeded.
That same afternoon that I was enlightened by Colorado history my niece, Megan, flew in from Michigan. She just finished her first year at the University of Michigan. I wanted her to come visit last summer but it was pretty crazy with her graduation and wanting to hang out with her friends and other obligations and us moving and everything that happened with my brother, so I thought this year might work out a little better. On top of the fact that we really needed someone to watch the kids while we went to the Denver 1/2 marathon that weekend and our babysitter can't babysit on Sundays because she's Mormon. Yeah, I need to find another babysitter who can babysit on Sundays.
So Megan came to visit and didn't really have anything specific she wanted to do while she was here, so I made her come do everything I do on a daily basis. I brought her to Lifetime with me and she got to meet my trainer and the other people in my class and do class with me for a few days. I think she enjoyed it, maybe not, but I liked having her there with me. Otherwise, we just kind of hung out, ran errands and did a little shopping. Very low key, but nice to spend time with her and catch up.
Two days after Megan arrived Charlie's brother, Ivan, arrived. He came to do the 1/2 marathon with Charlie. So it worked out that they went together and started the race and ran about two miles together and then finished separately. I went with my next door neighbor and we did the race together and stayed together until the end. But everybody was happy when it was over so it was all good. Ivan and Charlie had some time to catch up and hang out and shop, which Ivan likes to do because he lives in Mexico and everything is uber expensive there, for the few days that he was here. The kids loved seeing him and even after he left Amanda kept saying she was going to marry him. Some day she will sadly realize that just can't happen.
The day after the 1/2 marathon was my birthday and we didn't do anything fabulous but I'm too old for that anyway. I like to be recognized, but don't have to have any kind of big celebration. Megan and I went out to lunch so I was good. Charlie got me a heart rate monitor which doesn't sound exciting but was exactly what I wanted but forgot to ask for so I was pretty excited. I get to try it out in my class next week. Yay!
On Friday Charlie's mom came in for the weekend. This was her first time visiting since we moved so it was great to show her where we live and show her around Colorado a little. We took her and Megan to the Garden of the Gods on Saturday where we looked at but didn't climb Pikes Peak and let the kids crawl around on the rocks. This is the second time they've been there and they really love it. Every time we go we are pressed for time so they don't get to stay long but they still have a blast.
Megan left on Sunday and Charlie's mom left on Monday and at that point the kids had two weeks of school left. Tomorrow is Field Day, which like everything else is a bit different than it was in Texas, but they are really looking forward to it. Then next Thursday is their last day of school and they are home with me for weeks and weeks. Except we aren't going to have much down time. We will be jetting off before you know it to see lots of friends and family.
So that's it, you didn't miss much. Lots of end of the school stuff that I hate and wish didn't all happen all at once at the end of the year. Amanda is already out of school so I'm dragging her to the gym and much to her chagrin she's actually enjoying it. Except if you ask she'll totally deny it. There's a million things I want to do before the kids are out of school and know I won't get them done and I'm trying to be okay with that. It's just a lot easier to throw out all their crap when they aren't there, know what I mean? But we'll be gone so much this summer it won't have time to bug me and the time that we are home we'll just want to relax, so it's all good.
Five more days, we're almost there.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Best Birthday Surprise Ever
Remember I told you how I had to change Sarah's birthday party from the day of her birthday to the week before? Because Charlie had a surprise for me and he wouldn't tell me what it was? He wouldn't even tell the kids, he's too smart for that, because I asked them too. Well, on Friday I found out what it was.
About a week ago he told me to be ready at 1p on Friday. I asked him if I need to pack a bag and he said no. That made me a little sad but I was still intrigued. He finally broke down and gave me a little more information on Thursday night when I asked him what I needed to wear on Friday. Going out for dinner but jeans and a nice shirt are fine, yes I lied you should pack a bag and you can wear anything you want on Saturday but you have to be back to spend the afternoon/evening with Sarah because it's her birthday. Sounds good.
Friday morning I took Amanda to school, went to the gym, picked her up and came home and took a shower. About 20 minutes later Charlie came home. I still wasn't sure what was going on but wasn't totally surprised when the doorbell rang. However, I was incredibly surprised to see standing on my front porch two of my oldest and best friends, April and Renee. I cannot explain how overcome with emotion I was to see them. Things have been not horrible but just a little rough the last couple of weeks and this was the exact medicine I needed - to be with old friends who know me better than anyone and can make all my troubles go away in an instant.
We went downtown for the afternoon/evening and had an amazing lunch with the best bacon appetizer, called Man Candy, that you will ever have. Then we went to the hotel and just hung out and talked and talked and talked for a few hours. We went out for an amazing dinner and talked some more. We stayed up late but not too late and then had a yummy breakfast before going to an adorable little hotel spa where Charlie had scheduled mani/pedis for us. All in all a fantastic day. Then we came home and hung out for a bit before everybody went out to celebrate Sarah's birthday for dinner. By last night we were exhausted and didn't say much but just reveled in being together. Strange, that's one of my favorite times when we are just all talked out and are enjoying the silence together. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love these girls.
This morning I took them to the airport, but instead of being sad I am so excited to see them again in just two short months in New Jersey. And it will be short and the time will fly because there is only four more weeks of school before our summer adventure begins and then it's all going to happen in a whirlwind. But it will be a good whirlwind full of friends and love and fun.
Thanks to Charlie for always showing me he loves me so much and for planning this months ago, thanks to Renee and April for not hesitating to come out to surprise me and to share a little bit of their Mother's Day with me away from their families and thanks to the kids for taking it in stride and welcoming our friends like the family they are. I loved every minute of it!
About a week ago he told me to be ready at 1p on Friday. I asked him if I need to pack a bag and he said no. That made me a little sad but I was still intrigued. He finally broke down and gave me a little more information on Thursday night when I asked him what I needed to wear on Friday. Going out for dinner but jeans and a nice shirt are fine, yes I lied you should pack a bag and you can wear anything you want on Saturday but you have to be back to spend the afternoon/evening with Sarah because it's her birthday. Sounds good.
Friday morning I took Amanda to school, went to the gym, picked her up and came home and took a shower. About 20 minutes later Charlie came home. I still wasn't sure what was going on but wasn't totally surprised when the doorbell rang. However, I was incredibly surprised to see standing on my front porch two of my oldest and best friends, April and Renee. I cannot explain how overcome with emotion I was to see them. Things have been not horrible but just a little rough the last couple of weeks and this was the exact medicine I needed - to be with old friends who know me better than anyone and can make all my troubles go away in an instant.
We went downtown for the afternoon/evening and had an amazing lunch with the best bacon appetizer, called Man Candy, that you will ever have. Then we went to the hotel and just hung out and talked and talked and talked for a few hours. We went out for an amazing dinner and talked some more. We stayed up late but not too late and then had a yummy breakfast before going to an adorable little hotel spa where Charlie had scheduled mani/pedis for us. All in all a fantastic day. Then we came home and hung out for a bit before everybody went out to celebrate Sarah's birthday for dinner. By last night we were exhausted and didn't say much but just reveled in being together. Strange, that's one of my favorite times when we are just all talked out and are enjoying the silence together. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love these girls.
This morning I took them to the airport, but instead of being sad I am so excited to see them again in just two short months in New Jersey. And it will be short and the time will fly because there is only four more weeks of school before our summer adventure begins and then it's all going to happen in a whirlwind. But it will be a good whirlwind full of friends and love and fun.
Thanks to Charlie for always showing me he loves me so much and for planning this months ago, thanks to Renee and April for not hesitating to come out to surprise me and to share a little bit of their Mother's Day with me away from their families and thanks to the kids for taking it in stride and welcoming our friends like the family they are. I loved every minute of it!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
In A Perfect World
I've been a tiny bit negative lately, so I'm going to end the week on a positive note just to show I still have a little sunshine inside of me. I'm not sure if I ever told the story of how we got the playset in our backyard, but here we go.
When we decided that we were going to move and we told the kids, one of the incentives that I gave the girls was that we would get a playset. We had a pool at the old house so we didn't have any play structure and even if we did I wouldn't have sent the kids out to play in the back by themselves because of said pool. So it was a big deal that we were going to get a playset in the new backyard.
While we were looking for houses my main concern was that the backyard was big enough for a playset. Sure, there were lots of other things I wanted it to have, but it absolutely had to have the backyard. We looked at some amazing houses that had tiny yards that we had to turn down until we finally found our house that had a reasonable backyard and a whole lot of other things that I was looking for as well. Then we just had to get the playset.
The first month that we were in town I took the kids to a showroom and we fell in love with their playsets. The problem was that the first one I picked out with all the things we wanted a) was too big for our backyard and b) was $12,000. Um, yeah, no playset. Turns out that one was for a real playground, not a backyard. So we looked around at other places and mulled it over and kept looking and still couldn't make a decision. The girls were patient but kept asking when the playset was coming. Finally we took Charlie back to the showroom, picked something smaller that was also 40% off and had it installed some time in November, right before it got cold and started to snow. Not the best time to install a playset.
Now the kids wanted the playset because it was cool and they love to play outside. At least the girls do, Andy is a little glued to the computer and Mindcraft lately. The reason I wanted the playset was so if they girls wanted to go outside I didn't have to take them to the park and also so that they could play and run off steam while I was making dinner and I didn't have to worry about them. We also got a screen for the patio door so I could hear them while they were outside. The other reason we got the playset is because Charlie and I have always wanted our house to be the party house. Okay, maybe not the party house, but we want our house to be the place where all the kids play and hang out so that a) we know where our kids are and b) so we know what our kids are up to.
In the end, it was a win win for everybody. Except that nobody ever came over to play on our playset. Half the kids in our cul-de-saq had never even seen it (except for the top because it is much taller than the fence - please don't tell our home owners association, I fear what will happen if they actually measure it). Fast forward to Tuesday. It was a pretty nice afternoon and the girls were outside in the backyard. Andy was grounded from electronics for the day so was absent from them computer and decided to go play out front when he heard kids outside. I was making dinner. The next thing I know it got really loud in the backyard and all the neighborhood kids were in the back playing on the swings and the monkey bars and the slide and even the hammock that I was convinced Charlie put out too early. They were all having a great time, the scene that I had waited months to see.
School is out in a few weeks, hopefully they will be back all summer. Just hanging out, playing and making fun memories for years to come.
When we decided that we were going to move and we told the kids, one of the incentives that I gave the girls was that we would get a playset. We had a pool at the old house so we didn't have any play structure and even if we did I wouldn't have sent the kids out to play in the back by themselves because of said pool. So it was a big deal that we were going to get a playset in the new backyard.
While we were looking for houses my main concern was that the backyard was big enough for a playset. Sure, there were lots of other things I wanted it to have, but it absolutely had to have the backyard. We looked at some amazing houses that had tiny yards that we had to turn down until we finally found our house that had a reasonable backyard and a whole lot of other things that I was looking for as well. Then we just had to get the playset.
The first month that we were in town I took the kids to a showroom and we fell in love with their playsets. The problem was that the first one I picked out with all the things we wanted a) was too big for our backyard and b) was $12,000. Um, yeah, no playset. Turns out that one was for a real playground, not a backyard. So we looked around at other places and mulled it over and kept looking and still couldn't make a decision. The girls were patient but kept asking when the playset was coming. Finally we took Charlie back to the showroom, picked something smaller that was also 40% off and had it installed some time in November, right before it got cold and started to snow. Not the best time to install a playset.
Now the kids wanted the playset because it was cool and they love to play outside. At least the girls do, Andy is a little glued to the computer and Mindcraft lately. The reason I wanted the playset was so if they girls wanted to go outside I didn't have to take them to the park and also so that they could play and run off steam while I was making dinner and I didn't have to worry about them. We also got a screen for the patio door so I could hear them while they were outside. The other reason we got the playset is because Charlie and I have always wanted our house to be the party house. Okay, maybe not the party house, but we want our house to be the place where all the kids play and hang out so that a) we know where our kids are and b) so we know what our kids are up to.
In the end, it was a win win for everybody. Except that nobody ever came over to play on our playset. Half the kids in our cul-de-saq had never even seen it (except for the top because it is much taller than the fence - please don't tell our home owners association, I fear what will happen if they actually measure it). Fast forward to Tuesday. It was a pretty nice afternoon and the girls were outside in the backyard. Andy was grounded from electronics for the day so was absent from them computer and decided to go play out front when he heard kids outside. I was making dinner. The next thing I know it got really loud in the backyard and all the neighborhood kids were in the back playing on the swings and the monkey bars and the slide and even the hammock that I was convinced Charlie put out too early. They were all having a great time, the scene that I had waited months to see.
School is out in a few weeks, hopefully they will be back all summer. Just hanging out, playing and making fun memories for years to come.
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