Family Vacation~ The Kid Perspective

We just came back from a week at the beach. It was our first "real" family vacation. The first one that didn't include staying with Grammy and Grandpa. The first one that lasted an entire week. We rented (with another family) a house in Nags Head. The weather was beautiful the entire time and allowed us to spend time at the beach as well as visit other attractions like shopping on Roanoke Island and visiting the Aquarium. We ended the trip with the purchase of Hermit Crabs for each kid and then stopped at Grave Digger for monster truck rides on the way home. Here's some images from our First Family Vacation...

Playing in the big waves at the beach

Haulin' Miss Kaitlyn around at The Sound (very few waves and very shallow water)

A chair big enough for all of us.

Dancing (and Ice Cream) at Big Al's

Relaxing in the jacuzzi tub.

Playing "mermaid" at The Sound. "It's Sasha, Queen of the Mermaids." She's the one with the pink tail.

Petting and Alligator at the Aquarium.

The big Sea turtle came over to say 'Hi."

Touching "Patrick" in the touch tank.

The big Shark came to say "hi" too.

It wouldn't be the end of vacation without Fireworks

I love that my kids sticks up for me while burying himself

Summer is winding down. The kids (mine and the neighbor girl) have all spent too much time together. They are no longer friends, respecting each others feelings, they are like 3 siblings with all the bickering and power struggles. All day. Every day. I believe I've told them all this. While telling them the constant bickering is grating on my last nerve hasn't stopped them one. bit. I can, at least, take some satisfaction in knowing my words have been heard. Here's a conversation between Handsome (age 7) and Hubster yesterday morning.

Handsome and his sister are bickering because he is trying to play his DS and she is sitting too close, causing him to get distracted and die. He moves, she moves closer. He moves again. She moves again. The bickering continues throughout. Hubster steps in and asks why they can't just get along...

Handsome: Now you know how Mom feels.
Hubster: What? What do you mean by that?
Handsome: (Silence. He's busy with his DS)
Hubster: (from the other room)What did you mean by that?
Handsome: (still quiet. Not paying attention to the voice in the other room)
Hubster: (louder this time) Handsome!
Handsome: What!
Hubster: What did you mean by that?
Handsome: What did I mean by what?
Hubster: What you said.
Handsome: What did I say. I have no idea what you're talking about.
Hubster: That now I know how mom feels.
Handsome: Oh. you were complaining about our bickering and fighting.
Hubster: Right.
Handsome: Now you know how Mom feels. She has to listen to it all day long.

I had to walk away.

It'll be Fall Soon. You know what that means?

Yesterday was one of those days.



The kind where I really wished it was time for the kids to go (back) to school. It was a long day. There was a BIG jello mess, water flooding out of the sink all over the floor, and general kid-chaos all day long. Thankfully, I have a really great neighbor who came over to drink wine with me and help me de-stress. Thanks Kathy.



So, with the mention of kids heading back to school, buying school supplies and getting ready for my absolute favorite season, Fall, I must mention that we also get pretty excited about Halloween.

In the past, I've gotten the kids Halloween costumes weeks in advance only to have them nearly worn out when the big day comes. They love to dress up. Puddin Pop has all her ballet dresses that she wears around the house and to her friends house to play, and Handsome used to be okay with his Spiderman costume, but now he's into Star Wars, and Spidey has no place there. When we were offered the opportunity to review a costume from Costume Supercenter, I grabbed Handsome and went directly to their Star Wars Costumes. They have everything! People I don't even recognize (I only made it through Empire Strikes Back), and costumes for all the Clone Wars characters too. Handsome had a really hard time choosing. He finally decided on this...

The lightsaber didn't come with it. We already have 3 of those. I ordered it a little big since I don't see this phase ending anytime soon. The minute it arrived he put it on. He wore it the entire day. Princess Leia cam down from her house and the Star Wars Adventures ensued. Lots of lightsaber battles and giggling kids. What's more fun than that?

The costume is 3 parts. The upper robe, the pants with faux boots (they have a strap to keep them on his shoes) and the belt. Handsome's only complaint was that the top part of the robe wouldn't stay closed as much as he would have liked. It's because I ordered it big and I promised him we would get some velcro so he can close it up close to his neck. It was obviously comfortable enough to wear all day. I think he would have slept in it if we had let him. I like that there's no mask (that always gets too hot) and that he already has the accessories to go with it. It can be worn with nothing under it, which is good because Halloween is usually 80 degree weather for us. It would also work with clothes underneath. Very versatile.

If you have a Star Wars fan, I would definitely suggest this Luke Skywalker costume for kids. If your fan is a little older, it comes in adult sizes too. Right now you can get 15% off of any purchase over $25 by using the code 15off25 at checkout. With tons of costumes to choose from, in all sizes, now might be the time to purchase one for every member of the family. Every year I say I'm going to dress up...This may be THE year.

I was sent the above costume to review from costumesupercenter.com. I was not paid to say nice things. The opinions are mine and Handsome's.

My Theory on Dressing Kids

I have a theory. Not yet proven in our household but one I would like to put out there for debate. In involves kids dressing themselves.

My theory is this...

I would rather let my kids dress him/herself with clothes they feel comfortable in and can "own" than put them in something I think they should wear that they voice an opinion on being uncomfortable in. Here's why.

If my kid puts on his furry winter socks in stripes of green, red and beige with blue shorts and a t-shirt (this really happened) in 90 degree weather, because he insists the socks are cool, and heads off to school, why should I stop him? We suggested he wear white socks or sandals and backed off when he insisted he wanted to wear these socks. Should we have stopped him?

Hubster would prefer our 7 year old go to school with pressed pants/shorts with a shirt (tucked in), and a belt. Handsome prefers his shirt untucked...like every other kid in his class. Should we make him wear his shirt tucked in?

My take is this...

I would rather have my kids wear something they are comfortable wearing. If, by chance, they get ridiculed by classmates, which could happen in either of these situations, I would rather have my kids feel that they are in control of the situation. Handsome could make a mental note not to wear the furry socks with shorts in summer time if it had been a problem. It wasn't. He wore them proudly and showed them off and was happy with the giggles he got from his classmates.

On the other side, you have a child who not only gets picked on for their clothing but ends up with a feeling of helplessness, knowing that it's their parents who chose how they dress and therefore they have no control over it.

What's your policy?

At what age do you let your kids pick out their own clothes? Where do you draw the line?

Breyers Smooth & Dreamy~ The Good, The Bad, The Giveaway

Breyers Smooth & Dreamy line has added some new members to their family. We had the opportunity to give these bars and sandwiches a try so we could spread the word. Good or Bad.

















The Good

Oh my. You would never know that these have fewer calories than regular Ice cream. I couldn't decide which to try so I let the kids choose. Of course they couldn't agree so we came home with a box of each of these. Handsome wanted the sandwiches and Puddin Pop wanted the bars. After trying both, I'm picking the bars as my favorite. Chocolate Ice Cream with (tons) of bits of chocolate and dipped in the most delicious chocolate coating. Not the plastic, no flavor chocolate. This chocolate melts in your mouth and almost has a caramel taste to it. It was sooo good.

The sandwiches were yummy too. The cookie was firm but not super crunchy. It wasn't soggy, which is the most important. The ice cream was creamy vanilla with chocolate chips. It was good and Handsome preferred these to the bars. Puddin Pop and I are more chocolate fans, causing us to prefer the bars over the sandwiches. Plus...they have fewer calories. More a bonus point from me than PP. She's fortunate not to have to worry about calories.

The Bad

While I have nothing bad to say about Breyers bars or sandwiches, I will share my story to possibly save you the same grief...

As I said, we bought both bars and sandwiches. The thought was that each kid got to choose which they thought would be better and everyone would get to try both. By day 3 there were 3 sandwiches and 1 bar left. When it came time to have our ice cream snack, a war broke out. PP wanted the bar because she picked them out and Handsome wanted the bar because...well frankly, I'm pretty sure it was because it was the last one and his sister wanted it. I determined that Handsome should have it only because he had not had one of the bars yet. The battle lasted for 10 minuted before I declared that if they couldn't figure it out, I would eat them all myself. PP decided she would like to try a sandwich. She's a smart 4 year old.

The Giveaway

I pretty much suck at getting people to enter giveaways and this is a coupon. Actually, I have 5 coupons to give away. Each is for your very own box of Breyer's which you can choose to share or keep all to yourself. Blame it on the low calories and claim it's an adult treat. I've decided not to make you comment here to get it. Instead, you are all invited to be my friends on Facebook. Each day next week, between 7:30 and 8 am, I will post a link to this post and you must comment on it. I will pick a random number prior to posting and whoever is that number commenter Wins. It'll be fun. Promise.

So go send me a friend request and then look for me all next week.


I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Breyers and received products necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Totally Random Tuesday~ Brownies, Breyers and VBS

It's Tuesday which means it's time to Random Up. Bits and pieces of thoughts in my head all being laid out in random order. It doesn't have to make sense. It's more of a cleanse of the mind. Jump in with The Un Mom and Friends and play along. Everyone needs a good cleanse once in a while.





I'm not a religious person. I spent my youth attending Sunday school and Confirmation classes. I think having a "base" of religious beliefs helps one make more informed decisions as an adult. My In-laws attend a Baptist Church and take the kids and Hubster along with them on most Sundays and Wednesday evenings. I make use of this time by working (outside the home). Each summer I am rewarded with Vacation Bible School. This is my week. Every night the kids and Hubster will be gone from 4:30 to 9pm. A week of me time, no dinners to prepare (except for me) and wine.

The power went out for a little over an hour yesterday. Right in the middle of 2 Grey's Anatomy episodes. I'm a little ticked. It left me with almost nothing to watch while everyone was gone.

I've got coupons (5) for a FREE box of Breyers Smooth and Dreamy Ice cream bars/sandwiches to give away. You'll need to be my friend on Facebook to enter. It's going to be super simple to win. Make me your friend now so you can play next week. One free box will be given away each day Monday through Friday. What are you waiting for?

Someone asked if I was actually drinking wine while the rest of the family was at church. Yes. I was. It was GOOD.

EA Active has been kicking my butt for a couple weeks now. Someone let Bob Greene and his trainers know that I would appreciate them calling me on days I miss. The brownies on the counter had no problem yelling at me to eat them. Bob needs to step up his game.

Why does spell check not recognize Breyer's?

I'll leave it at that for now. Now go cleanse you mind and link up.

Marriot Introduces "Nickelodeon Your Stay"

Travelling with children can be exhausting and challenging. Originally from Michigan (and now in Virginia) we try to make at least one trip "home" each year. It's a 12 hour drive if I do it myself, with kids and their need to pee it's more like a 15 hour trip. I've done it straight through and I've done it stopping half way. Driving straight through requires (at least for me) leaving at 3 am and having the kids sleep for the first 4 hours of the trip. By the time we arrive they are hungry and grumpy and not the children I wish to present to grandparents who only get two shots a year to spend with their grandchildren.





Marriott properties have embraced a new "Nickelodeon Your Stay" program for summer travellers. The promise of SpongeBob and Dora await lucky visitors. We were sent one of their gift bags full of goodies and I can see why these components would be welcomed by any parent.

First, promising your child a SpongeBob pillowcase to rest their head on once you get to your destination is an awesome bribe. Yes. I said bribe. I have two kids and would so use this to keep them from fighting in an already not-so-fun, long car ride. The activity book and reading book would be great to keep little ones busy while parents tend to the unpacking and when they need a few minutes to catch their breath. The book bag also comes with a bracelet, sunglasses, a water ball, and a 3d SpongeBob figure that the kids can put together. Promising this to children as a reward for behaving in the car just may make the trip a little less stressful on everyone.

If you are travelling this Summer make sure to look for Marriott properties on your route. A little suprise never hurt anyone and may just make the trip a little more enjoyable.




I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Marriott and received a Nickelodeon gift pack to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.