GotchaBaby

May 28, 2013October 14, 2013

Schools Out For Summer…Time for KidVentures

We’ve wrapped up preschool and second (!!) grade successfully, and now we are onto bigger and better things- namely, summer vacation.

We have day camp happening, we have friends visiting, I have a fortieth birthday celebration weekend (or three) in the works, and we are heading to the Smoky Mountains for vacation. However, there are still many, many, many summer days to be filled. This is where KidVentures comes in.

KidVentures is authored by local mama Jen Murray. You may know her as Quatro Mama, as she’s the mom to quad six year old boys (aside- you may have seen her whole family in a recent Conner Prairie television commercial . Jen is a hands-on mama in the best kind of way, and shares some of her families favorite activities in KidVentures.

As I flip through the ebook, I see our summer gently unfolding. There’s coffee can ice cream and there’s jump in a pile of leaves, two things I just need reminding to do. But there’s also build your own zipline for toys and build your own sprinkler– can you even imagine?!?

KidVentures spells out, step by step, material by material, exactly what’s needed for 50 different hands on, power-free activities for kids. There are also accompanying printables, which includes diagrams for more complex projects. There are also a few forms for activities of observation, and a sweet checklist for a camping trip.

When left to their own devices, my kids invent games. Very weird, hilarious games. Maybe this will make it into KidVentures II.

I think I’m going to have Meg peruse the list and pick a few to try, and have Andrew do the same thing. On days they aren’t at camp, we can pick a few to do, and we won’t be vegetating in front of Mario Kart or Candy Crush or whatever the next obsession will be.

KidVentures is available as an pdf ebook, as well as for Kindle through Amazon. Go check it out, and get your whole family off the couch!

How do you keep your kids engaged in the summer? Do you have rules about electronics and passive activities?

May 22, 2013

And Suddenly, He’s Done with Preschool

Tomorrow is the boy’s last day of preschool. While I’ve been focusing on how great it will be to have both of them on the same school campus next year, it hit me yesterday.

Tomorrow our family is done with preschool. After five continuous years of being Montessori preschool parents, we are done. No more shopping for snacks for 24, doing random loads of classroom laundry or taking care of Freckles the Wonder Rabbit.

We’re done with half-day school and writing monthly tuition checks (score!).

Meg still remembers a little about her Montessori experience, and I’m sure Andrew will remember bits and pieces as well. What I might remember more though, is the time he spent outside of preschool. Every day, we had about an hour and half together before we had to pick up Megan.

Sometimes, I begrudged it. I couldn’t get things done. It wasn’t enough time to be really productive. Just as I would get into the groove of a task at home, it was time to leave. I had to pack a ridiculous snack bag everyday, because we should not eat at the Costco snack bar everyday. My list of grievances went on an on.

Sometime this winter though, I stopped. I started enjoying it for what it was- uninterrupted time with him. We started playing Mario Kart, just the two of us. We played outside and he called the shots. We went to the park, he took a gymnastics class and we just were. Looking back, I can’t imagine my time being better spent.

He’s now almost ready to take on the world, as he counts down to his fifth birthday. I just hope his fashion sense doesn’t change anytime soon.

May 20, 2013May 19, 2013

Dirty Girl Mud Run 2013: We Got REALLY Dirty

Saturday morning it was finally time to hit the 2013 Dirty Girl Mud Run in Indianapolis. I had everything you’d usually need for a 5k- shoes, socks, sports bra…and my senior prom dress.

Emily and I were on my friend’s team, “Cathy’s Bachelorette Brigade”, and you guessed it, we were instructed to look like bridesmaids. Most of the team went thrifting. Cathy pulled out her gown from her first wedding in 1987. I pulled out my senior prom dress from 1991.

The most puzzling thing about this dress was the sleeves. They look reasonably sized in the front, but in the back, they were frilly, frilly, frilly. WOW. 1991, you were something.

I wore my dress to the race, I figured it would just be easier that way. We meet up just past registration, and we were a SIGHT to behold. (Can you spot Emily in the maroon loveliness on the right?)

We trekked through the course, hitting the obstacles one by one. There were walls, there were mud pits, there were FOUR creek crossings and one trek across a pond. The most challenging thing for me was the rope wall- climbing has never been a strength. Sure enough though, with the momentum and some adrenaline, I made it up and over.

We laughed and splashed and slipped and slid all 5 kilometers. Do you see the lady in the yellow? She’s 80 years old and did a good portion of the race with us. She’s nothing short of amazing. I felt good when we were done- accomplished and ready for the free beer that came with my race bib.

When we were done, we hit the rinse off tent. I decided to pitch my dress- it was obviously too far gone to use for anything in the future. It goes without saying that a lot has changed in my life since 1991. The dress still fit, but I think I’m in better shape now than the first time I wore it. I don’t know that I would have done something like the Dirty Girl in 1991. I may in fact be game for more fun as I approach my fortieth birthday. There’s certainly no way I could have anticipated where I’d be in five years, never mind 22 years the first time I wore that dress. Putting it through the Dirty Girl seemed appropriate, and I was good with saying goodbye to it. Cathy had no qualms about throwing her dress out either- she’s getting married (in new dress) on June 15th!

Thanks to the Dirty Girl run series for inviting me to participate in this fantastic event!