10 Schuster Thumbs Up

Let me start by stating I have an aversion to theme parks.

That sounds horrible. They are supposed to be nothing but fun. However, there are usually long lines, gross hot & sticky weather, smelly & dirty surroundings, etc.

And let me end by stating I have a new found love of Planet Snoopy at Valleyfair.

It's hard to dislike a place when all three kids love it. They had so much fun here.

Last Saturday when we saw that clouds and a moderate 75+ degrees were in the forecast for the entire day, we jumped at the opportunity and got ourselves to Valleyfair shortly after it opened. I'm guessing it was the overcast weather with a chance of rain that kept the crowds away. This probably helped make our experience even better. We never waited more than a few minutes in any lines. We weren't sweaty and sticky from humidity. My eyes weren't seeing stars from the piercing sun shining off metal roller coasters.

THE RIDES

- I've never been on a horizontal ride and sooo wanted to go on this. I should have taken a turn with Max after him and Joe went. We'll have to return so I can have turn.

- I have to say I am curious why they will let Otto go in this ride, which lifts up about 20 feet off the ground, over a foot of water and spins around fast, without an adult, but not the mini semi trucks (which go slower than the planes and never leave the ground). I was a bit nervous, not know how Otto would react (would he try to jump out, freak out, etc). Turns out he wound up with a daredevil as his pilot. The bigger kid in front of him was totally bouncing and rocking the plane. Otto loved it! He got off and wouldn't stop exclaiming "Bouncing up and down!!!" and begging to ride again.

- The boys went on the rocket ship ride. Joe said Otto was clinging to him given how high up they were, but seemed to really like it.

- Max chose to ride this ride, which is like a kiddie version of the "Power of Tower" or "Death Drop" or whatever the adult rides are that shoot you up high and let you free fall for about a hundred stories. He didn't know what the ride was going to do until that first drop (they then shot the kids back up again for another half dozen free falls). This was hard for me to watch. He didn't scream, but he was PETRIFIED and everyone watching could tell. His eyes were begging me to make them stop the ride and he was mouthing how he was scared and wanted to get out. Totally my kid. I'll ride loop-de-loop coasters all day long, but can't stand the free falls.

- Other than the train, I don't think there were any rides Wren could go on, but she had a blast taking everything in. I think she kind of looks a little like Lucy.

- Max enjoyed getting his picture taken with Snoopy and Sally. And informed us that he knows there are just people inside the costumes. That blows. We haven't even been to Disney yet - and when we go I'd really like him to believe in the magic and think the characters are real.

- Planet Snoopy has a "Family Center" with diaper changing stations and sinks, family bathrooms, microwaves for bottles and highchairs and nursing rooms. All air conditioned and very clean. Plus a little "lounge" for the kids to chill out in and watch Charlie Brown while mom and dad take turns getting all the kids and themselves cleaned, fed, diapered, etc. Seriously great and seriously huge selling point for this place.

- The train ride (pictured above) is pretty much the only thing I don't recommend with three young, squirl-y kids, as it goes super slow and makes a 10-15 minute stop half way through the ride. We road this once before with Max and Otto and I fully remember Max (2 yrs at the time) wanting to get off. Same situation this time, with an additional kid.

- Remarkably I think we only had one minor meltdown all day. It's pictured above. Guess what it was about. Look again. See that huge, metal circle painted to look like a chocolate chip cookie that Snoopy was holding. Yes? Max noticed it too. And wanted one RIGHT.NOW. Really bad. A huge chocolate chip cookie. I want one. I really, really want one Mom. Dad, I WANT a cookie. Get me one right now.

Thankfully there were no real cookies in sight (and no huge crowds in sight to witness his little tantrum) so we plucked them up, scurried them along and found a handful of fun distractions that we could offer them to get their mind off it.

Three of My Three

I was just looking through some photos on my phone and love the following pictures. Somehow the three of them are synchronized in their motions; none of which included looking at the camera.

- Looking at something in the distance

- Glancing at their popsicles

- Licking their popsicles

{belated} Father's Day

"A truly rich man is one who's children run into his arms when his hands are empty."

- Anonymous

If this is true, then Joe's struck it rich, hit the jackpot and should be on Forbes' Wealthiest Fathers list. Because all three of our kids run into his arms when empty...as well as when they are incredibly full. While making dinner, consoling a sibling or building something, just by way of example.

Everytime I read this quote I sense their are two meanings to it, and I have to admit that I'm not sure if it's intended to have dual meaning. And if so, I'm not sure which meaning is the more commonly accepted one. Does it mean that a man is rich if, literally, his children yearn to be held by him when he's around and his arms are empty and able to hold the kids. Or does it mean that a man is rich, even if financially poor, when his children run to him? Maybe that's the same meaning. Anyway...

Lucky for our entire family, Joe is one of those really, really good dads that always has his arms wide open for the kids. When making dinner and Max wants to help, Joe's offering him a job to do. When building something and Otto is curious, Joe's handing him a tool and teaching him how to use it. When busy with the boys and Wren starts fussing, Joe's scooping her up and bringing her into the mix.

The kids are all a top priority for Joe and he makes sure they know it. I firmly believe that because he's so willing to open his arms for them, they all adore him and will always run to him.

But let's be clear here. It's not always rainbows and butterflies. It's somewhere between that and finding a diamond in the ruff or the silver lining to a rain cloud many of the days. Because as fiercely as kids (toddlers & pre-schooler's, anyway) love you one moment, they can despise you the next moment (or maybe it's the moms and dad's that have such fierce dichotomy's).

And we had one of those mornings on Father's Day where I wanted the kids to be on their extra good behavior, but they were a bit cranky (perhaps not the smartest idea for me to hold off on feeding them breakfast until the coffee cake was made). It's tough any day when the boys are "emotional," and even more so on a day devoted to showing Joe what a great dad he is. Nothing a good nap can't help turn around. Following that, the boy's moods vastly improved and Joe got some good quality time - doing what he does best with them...playing!

Otto loves playing his "lacing game" with Joe and they both loved getting to take a ride on the chair inside our living room...yay for rearranging furniture!

As a little token of their love for Joe, Max and Otto each filled out an "All About Daddy" note, answering a variety of questions (his eyes are ___, he weighs ___, his favorite food is ___, my favorite thing about daddy is ___). They did them separately so they couldn't hear each other's responses, but not too surprising, for the question "Daddy likes to go to ___" they both answered "Hawaii." While that is true, I think their answers may be more telling of where the boys have been and want to go back to on vacation.

For a gift they (ok, I) made a roadway "back rub" shirt.

Happy {belated} Father's Day to all the dad's out there! I know I do not just speak for Joe when I say this...

What a hugely important role you play (and play so well) in our kid's lives. A role that has expanded vastly in the past generations. In addition to working outside the home, you are more involved than ever at home, our kid's schools and extracurriculars. Cooking, cleaning, shopping; while still handling the major house repairs and more. You're on your hands and knees playing with the kids, reading bedtime stories, doing daycare drop-off and pick-up, staying home from work with sick little ones, and making sure mama gets a break too. Our world is blessed to have so many wonderful dad role models out there.

Joe, you hold a very, very special place in this family's heart.

Happy 8 Months Wren

I'm not sure if there was anything more exciting during Wren's 8th month than these...

PIGGIES!

I myself live in ponytails most of the time, but pigtails, in a little baby girl's hair - well, that just takes cuteness to a whole new level! While on the topic of hair, I figured I should take a photo to document just how much Wren has at 8 months. As you can see, when wet, it's down to her shoulder blades in back. Once dry it's got a lot of curl and shortens up by a couple inches.

The past month Wren had her 1st road-trip to Green Bay where we visited both my parents, Joe ran the marathon and I ran about two thirds of it. Although on the road much of the time, it was a great mini get-away for the three of us. Our chance to reminisce about the days of when parenting was a bit simpler.

We also spent a lot of time in the great outdoors this month. Wren's first tent camping adventure as well as many weekends spent at Joe's parents pool and the neighborhood park pools. Wren loves being in the water!

Wren has totally found her tongue this month and is sticking it out a lot and making more sounds. She's been giving me tons of gummy smiles, too. Or maybe I'm just noticing them even more than usual because I know a tooth will likely be arriving soon (Max & Otto both had their 1st tooth by 9 months).

Wren's favorite toys of the moment are stuffed animals. I love it! While the boys had snugglies that they used at bedtime, neither of them was really drawn to play with the many stuffed animals we have around the house. But Wren will almost immediately crawl to the stuffed toys and clamber to a stand on the couch to pull a really big stuffed bunny I keep there. Then she'll hold and hug and roll around playing with them. She's particularly enamored with a bright orange and pink monkey from her cousins Grace & Lyla. She loves to chew on the monkey's toes!

Mealtimes continue to slowly improve, meaning she's eating a little better. She definitely prefers to feed herself finger food like Cheerios and bites of banana rather than spoonfuls of baby food. She also loves trying to use her sippy cup, even though it doesn't appear that she's getting anything out of it.

Wren's 8th month brought a 2nd audible gasp from a Doctor given her "state of affairs." Similar to the dermatologist seeing Wren's rash a couple months ago, our pediatrician saw Wren's "leaky" face and said "I am glad you brought her in." Wren's eyes, nose, mouth and ears were a leaky mess. Turns out Wren is the first of our three kids to have an ear infection. We had avoided a penicillin prescription for nearly four and a half years. But with her diagnosis of double ear infection and double pink eye, we started that stuff and have been washing a lot of diarrhea out of clothes and bedding since. Wren is on the mend, which means the snotty snarls in her hair are also on their way out (I've taken to using Pantene Pro-V conditioner to get through the tangles)!

Wren's 8 month birthday fell on Father's Day, and just a few days past all of my birthday celebrations and a couple friend's birthday celebrations. All that means is we were, once again, inundated with a whole lot of cake and treats in our house. So, I ended up not making the dessert I planned to for Wren. Perhaps I will in another week once our sugar levels have stabilized.

Of course we still had a little dessert to commemorate 8 months. While at the pool Otto was more than willing to help his little sister get her first taste of a Drumstick. And once she got ahold of the ice cream cone she did not want to let it go.

Happy 8 Months!

Love you, Wren!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!

What a fun Saturday we had celebrating Birthdays!

In the morning our friend (my friend Marie and her son/Max's friend) Wesley turned 5 years old and had a totally creative Angry Birds party. I have never played Angry Birds and don't know the premise, but if the party guest's faces were any indication, it's pretty fun!



Marie had two cakes for Wesley. One cake had a sling shot and Angry Birds perched atop it. The other cake had a wall with Pigs on it. The Birthday Boy got to shoot Angry Birds from one cake to the other and topple the pigs and wall. Such a fun idea to justify having two cakes:) I will remember this.


Marie and Sean also constructed a wall with pigs in it (ala Angry Birds, I hear) and let the kids throw balls at it to knock it down. Only thing missing was a sling shot...Marie, I will need the story on what happened to that!


That afternoon we headed over to Greta & Nate's for sweet baby Matilda's 1st Birthday celebration. It was a ridiculously cute backyard farm theme. Of course Greta and her Mom's cooking and baking was amazing. Here's just a sampling of what us guests got to nibble on. (BTW, those watermelon cake pops are pink inside AND have little chocolate chips as seeds)!


Here are the Birthday girls...Happy 1st Birthday to Matilda and Happy 1st Year as a Mom to Greta. Huge milestones! I've said this about my kids, but man, I cannot believe Tillie is already a year. That went by too fast.

Finally, following these two parties, and wrapping up my multiple birthday celebrations, but merely kicking off my 365 Days of Summer, Joe and I went out to celebrate my 34th. As perfect as McDonald's was, a dinner out for the two of us is a special treat. We went to Sun Street Breads, which is a to-die-for bakery that recently started serving to-die-for dinner. A wonderful time with my love on a beautiful, beautiful night.

He Was An Artist Today

First, turning himself in "Rudolph" while I was putting Wren down for her nap (note the brown fur on his face and feet and red nose). Personally, I think his artistry compliments the camo night shirt he's sporting quite nicely.

And then he drew a portrait of me on the beach. I'm wearing a big hat and have tiny feet!

When The Kids Are Happy...

...Mom is happy.

Happy 34th Birthday to me!

A month ago while Joe and I were enjoying lunch out just the two of us, he asked me what I wanted to do for my Birthday. I started rattling off things like "Have dinner, with the kids there, but so I can sit down and they are fenced in so they can't escape, but have something to keep them entertained. And I don't want to spend any time cleaning up..." And right then I realized it sounded like the McDonald's Play Place fit the bill.

So tonight we celebrated my Birthday at McDonald's with a couple friends and family.

Joe suggested a new business opportunity...sedation family photography. Just like they have 'sedation dentistry' it could make family photo time - at least for us - a bit more mellow.

Yesterday, on my actual Birthday, I enjoyed breakfast at the bagel shop with Max & Otto before dropping them off at school and heading to the office.

- Sorry Wren, you're taking one for the team with this picture. It looks like you're cross eyed, but your brothers both happened to be looking at the camera. I post a lot more cute photos of her than the boys, anyway.

For dinner the boys made me spaghetti & meatballs and garlic bread that I'd been craving. We had my favorite cupcakes from Wuollet's for dessert. As I was leaning in to blow out my candle, the boys beat me to it and out went the flame before I had a chance to make a wish. On the off chance that they made a wish, it's likely I'll end up with a new toy truck or car this year.

For presents the boys planted me some flowers in pots they painted and Joe got me a massage with my favorite masseuse. Plus Joe and I will be enjoying dinner out just the two of us this weekend.

I've deemed this next year the "365 Days of Summer" as I head into my 35th Birthday. I haven't quite figured out what I want to do before I turn 35, but I know it'll be a great year. If anyone has suggestions of things I should do/not do, see, experience, etc this next year, please send them my way!

Crushing

I am majorly crushing on a new line of fabric by Sarah Jane. Originally I stumbled upon Sarah Jane on etsy for her illustrated artwork, book plates, cards, etc. Then, unaware she launched a fabric fabric line, I stumbled upon that at Treadle Yard Goods while fabric shopping for the boy's lunch bags. Notice the rocket ship and polka dot print from Otto's bag:

Now I've been keeping an eye on her stuff and I'm so excited she just announced her 2nd fabric line, Out To Sea. I love anything nautical, but put it in fresh color combinations, throw in sweet mermaids and a pirate girl who goes by the name of Pepper and it's crush.at.first.sight!

And when I say crush, I most definitely mean it. I got butterflies in my stomach reading the sew-y blogs about this new line. My heart was racing with ideas of what I could make. Just looking at the pretty colors and illustrations made me giddy.

And then I read that it won't be available for purchase until August. August!?! I'll be pining over it for the next couple months.

Which is probably for the best because we have plans to host a Pirate play date in the next month and had this fabric been available immediately I would have wanted to somehow whip up my own pirate costumes and accessories in these custom colors. This way I am still incredibly excited about using the black and red Dollar Spot pirate items I found.

But, come August, I hope to woo my crush and turn it into a summer fling...a few weeks of finding the time to create something cute with this collection!

Cute Things They Say: Backwards Underwear

"Write it down." The advice for so many things.

Goals you want to attain; write it down.

Foods you want to cut out of your diet; write it down.

Groceries you need to remember to get; write it down.

Cute things kids say you don't want to forget; write it down.

There have been times my kids say something so funny or cute or memorable that I can't imagine ever forgetting their quip. But then again, they say so many remarkable things, that I assume it's just funny to me, or their dad or close in relatives...so why write it down?

Why? Because these entries are my memories. An extension of my kid's baby books. My mental post-it note that helps contain the thoughts my mind is overflowing with. Tidbits of our life. I better write them down.

Max said something awhile back. Something, at the time, that I thought was so hilarious I'd never forget it. And yet I forgot about it. This fleeting story bounced back into my memory a week ago while reading this post (you'll have to read to the end to see the connection).

************

I'm in the bathroom with Max as he's going to the bathroom (pee, standing up). I, again, notice that he has his underwear on backwards. I've noticed this trend for at least a week now but haven't asked him about it.

Either my curiosity was killing me, or the synapses in my brain finally starting connecting, and I just had to know.

"Max, I've noticed you've been wearing your underwear backwards recently."

"Yeah!" (a bit too excited of a "Yeah!" than I was expecting. Uh, oh.)

"Well, why are you wearing them backwards?"

"Oh, because I can scratch my bottom easier (pulling up his underwear to show me). See, my finger can go right in the penis hole when they're on backwards and I can scratch my bottom."

Dollar Bills

Way back, for Valentine's Day, my Mom sent each of the kids a card with a $5 bill in it. Which means it's been nearly four whole months that those three Lincoln bills have been hanging out in the fruit bowl on our counter. Waiting for the kids to spend them (clearly they aren't money motivated right now because they opened their cards on Valentine's Day and didn't beg to go buy anything).

While out and about last week we passed a sign for "Big Sales" in the Country Club neighborhood. "Big Sales" must be what the Country Club folks call Garage Sales. I started talking to myself about how I'd like to stop by some of them and see if there's any treasure to be found. Max heard this and immediately wanted to come with. Thinking of garage sailing reminds me of my mom. And then that thought looped my mind back to the lonely $5 bills gathering dust (or at least fruit flies). And last Friday's activity was sparked. I'd take the kids garage sailing!

It was Friday morning. Where I'm from, garage sales opened at the crack of dawn. The crack of dawn with three little kids is somewhere between 5:10am and 5:50am these days (gotta love the long days of summer). Many days I wish I lived on a farm so I could send them out to milk the cows and churn some butter before I want to get out of bed at a more normal 6:30am. Anyway, I thought the sales might open around 8am, but after heading out to find them, it was clear that 9am was go time. So we found some new-to-us parks in our neighborhood (always a fun surprise!) and played for an hour.

9am showed up and we started driving around the Country Club neighborhood looking for signs pointing us the way to their Big Sales. We drove and drove and circled the streets. Ultimately finding only two sales. Two disappointing sales.

The first sale I left the kids in the car, ran up the driveway and took a quick peek at their offerings. Nothing too interesting. I thought I could find something better, maybe a sale with a toy or kid's books or something. So I darted back to the car and let the kids know we were searching for a better sale.

Problem is, I couldn't find one.

The second, and last sale I found in that neighborhood, didn't look kid-appealing either. But I had told them I'd take them rummaging, so I unloaded the crew to see if we could find anything. Unfortunately they only had furniture. Lots of brass and glass and formal-y chairs for sale. Nothing for $5.

By this time I realized that the 103 fever Wren had the night prior hadn't gone away. She was worn out and ready to go home. But the boys (& I) wanted to find a sale with something appealing.

Driving home we lucked out and spotted a sale a half a block from our house. We quick stopped, ran to their garage in the alley and I urged the boys to pick whatever they wanted most that was $5 each or less. Again, the pickings were slim, greatly over-priced, and not exactly kid-friendly, but that did not deter Max or Otto.

These are the items they happily selected from the card tables of wares. I was secretly wishing one of them would want the cute Wisconsin Dells and Itasca State Park juice glasses, but alas, we left with a dusty bag filled with different kitchen items.

Those items above - they cost $10. Rubbish! I could have hit up Target or Ikea and got more for that price. But this particular garage sale experience was for the boys to pick out $5 worth of treasures regardless of value. We've got time to go again and, when no one's sporting a fever, we can begin practicing the art of negotiating (technically those items were marked at $11 total and the boys pulled out the two $5's and I said that's what we had).

Otto couldn't be happier with his stained ladle and spatula, rusty and chipped green teapot and bead necklace. Max is super excited about the copper item (not sure what it is exactly) and elephant salt and pepper shakers. Wren decided to hold on to her $5 for a better sale and get herself home for some Tylenol.

Saturday morning we were headed to a Birthday party and happened across another garage sale. A cute one, too (fabric pennants! homemade lemonade stand! balloons!). Joe, aware of my disappointing rummaging from the day before, pulled over and suggested we all see what we could find.

For $1 we were able to get the boys each a lemonade and cookie. For another $1 I found a swimsuit for Wren (picture to come later because she wore the suit swimming and I left it at the pool).

All in all, a much more fun way to have the boys spend their Valentine's$5 from Grams than just letting them pick something at Target! Come visit soon, Mom, so you can help us step up our garage sale skills!!