It's HOT outside!

So it's been 90+ degrees almost for the past 2 weeks.  It's enough to make me just stay inside and play trains with my son.  He wants to go shopping for trains, or he wants to go to the Children's Museum again.  We try and settle for McDonald's Playplace.  He meets lots of kids his own age, and I sit and read/do my weekly menu, depending on what the day is.  Today, we're planning on going out there, as soon as he wakes up.  I'll be doing my menu, and probably reading/making lists for his family birthday party next week. 

My husband is a nut about this party though.  Our son loves dinos, so I ordered a stegosaurus cakepan from Amazon.  Great, right?  Sure, except when I get it, it's crazy difficult.  So I'm going to try and decorate it, so that I can 'win' the competition that isn't even occuring between my husband's brother's wife, and his cousin and me.  Well, according to him it is, he wants his son's cake to be cooler than all the others.  And I've seen pictures, so I've got a tall order. 

Happy Birthday Baby!

(Image Courtesy Google Images)

My little guy is now 6!  OMG!  Where did the time go?







My parents came down to visit, and go to the museum, and then my brother drove down to surprise us for cake and dinner!  I was in heaven!  I miss my brother, he's been working all summer with the Cavaliers cooking for them, and he hardly ever stops at home anymore.  He'll be finished in August, but still.... I think I've seen him 2x this whole summer, and I'm at my parents house weekly. 

I think with the Cavaliers, I'm going to try and attend DCI national championships, since they take place at Lucas Oil Stadium.  I remember going last year, and it was AWESOME!  I love that we can attend these really cool events, and have our baby be exposed to so much more than he would be otherwise. 

So we ended up going to the Children's Museum yesterday, and we spent hours playing.  Digging for dinosaurs, collecting rocks from a Egyptian Tunnel (thank you National Geographic!),  visiting Egypt, and seeing all the old-fashioned trains. 

Free Is Awesome!

So, you know how I said I wasn't going to blog about how I find deals and whatnot?  Well, I'm still not doing that, but I wanted to share with you an awesome find.  This week, so for two more days only, Hamilton County Parks is having free classes for kids.  You get to learn about nature, and  today, they got to enjoy creek stomping.  Awesome!!!!  My guy had an AWESOME time, and really enjoyed finding shells and seeing crawdaddies.  We're totally  going back to the class tomorrow, and cannot wait to see what it is!!

Helicopter parenting

Helicopter parenting is the practice of hovering over you child(ren) and swooping down when you feel it's needed. The downside of this is your child never learns how to fail (or succeed!) on his own. It tends to manifest itself in more affluent communities, although that's not always the case.

Where I live, the helicopter parents are actually really bad. So much so that normal, non helicopter parents are made to feel inadequate because they refuse to play along. I am not a helicopter parent. I feel that my child needs to learn how to succeed on his own. His dad and I will not always be there for him, and I want him to realize that. 

This morning, I took him to a local county park for camp, and I was given the option of leaving, or staying.  Um...an hour doing shopping that I needed to do? Or staying with my child and following him around?  Whoo hoo!  Target here I come!  I left.  I signed the waiver and trusted that he would be fine and I would see him in an hour.  So I did my shopping, came back, and I was completely amazed by how many parents were still there!  A full half to three quarters of the parents didn't leave.  Really?  And these kids were mostly between 5-10, so definitely old enough to be on their own for an HOUR.  Then, all these parents were there, and stood right by their children, so that they could litereally reach out and touch them, if needed (for what, I have no idea, but there you go). 

What do you think?  Are you a helicopter parent?

Happy 4th of July!

                                                      (courtesy of Google Images)



So it's July 4th- I can't believe the summer is already half over.  We've done a lot of things that I've wanted to do with our son, but there's still things I want to do before school starts in the middle of next month!  I know we're definitely planning on going to a local dairy farm, where they make their own cheese, and ice cream.  Yummy!!   I know my husband is also taking him to a state park this weekend to visit his family while I work, and then in a few weeks we're planning our vacation!  Whoo!!  I am so excited, I'm just so ready to get out of here and relax. 

This weekend has been nice.  I've worked the entire weekend, and then my husband was lovely enough to allow me to sleep the entire day, so I've almost got all my sleep caught up from.  But, I'm still planning going to sleep here shortly, since I do have to work again tomorrow.  Which, at least Wednesday I'm off.  That will be nice.    And my husband is even nicer, he took the boy to our town's fireworks festival, so I've got even more time to myself.  I promised him I would clean, and I am, I am just taking this opportunity to blog as well. 

Random thought for Today....

Who ranks Angie's List?  I was watching one of their commercials that I saw on the television the other day.  They talk about how they're the most honest because it doesn't allow businesses to 'buy' their way into the directory.  That doesn't mean squat, in my opinion.  Just because someone isn't spending money to be advertised, doesn't make them a good or bad business.  There are people who had just crappy service through them, and reported it. 

Well, anyway, this commercial and an experience I had a few years ago at a local salon got me thinking about this very subject.  It just so happened I was having a mani/pedi, and I hear a woman shrieking about how her daughter should be allowed to get her hair cut at this chichi salon, even though it clearly states that no children are allowed in said spa.  As I was chatting with my girl, I found out that the woman who was screaming was actually the OWNER of Angie's List, Angie herself.  Wow.  I was amazed.  I just couldn't believe it.  She was APPARENTLY using her 'business' to threaten a reputable salon.  So that brings me to my thought- how is that fair to use your 'celebrity' or whatever you want to call it, just because you can't get your own way?  If it clearly states one thing, why do you act like you're better than everyone else, and the rules don't apply to you?  Dunno. 

And, I realize that this is so disjointed, but I have been thinking about it all day, ever since I saw the commerical.

Snarkiness

I'm feeling rather snarky today.  I want to just say things that I'm thinking, and that's so not good.  Thank heavens I'm not actually saying anything, because that would be horrible.  And no one is immune, I've been thinking things about everyone from my husband to people at the farmer's market this morning.