Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

I've got to say, when Chris came home work last week with tickets to see the Charleston Power....I though he was off his rocker. I'm sorry, but a 2 year old at a baseball game sounds insane to me.

But I was surprised.....we actually had a very pleasant evening!

We had a ton of extra tickets....which I gave away to some very happy people before we went into the park. I love giving stuff away!

The park itself is new....and very nice! We found our seats (Chris insisted on sitting right on the 3rd base line.) I decided to go get food and drinks for everyone....I'm better at carrying precariously balanced trays of food. Chris is better at keeping baseballs from bashing the baby's face in. So that deal worked for everyone.

Since the only thing I know about baseball is that you're supposed to eat peanuts and CrackerJacks....that's what we got.

They also had frozen lemonade....which sounded great o me. Turned out, it was better than I could have ever expected. Celia was engrossed in eating her lemonade for AT LEAST 45 minutes. It was awesome.


Really, I need to learn to make this at home.


I could get a lot more stuff done if she had frozen lemonade all day.


She did get a little restless near the end, but I took her up to walk her around the walkway. She thought that was cool....and everyone thought she was cute. Since it was Friday the 13th, the park promotion was for the kids to come in costume and trick or treat on the field after the game. So she was wearing her Mermaid costume.

The trick or treat thing was almost a disaster. The kids all had to have pre-registered and had a special ticket! (They didn't put that anywhere on the website!) There were lots of angry parents, but since Celia and I had found the fan services area during our walk, we all just went over there, a lady gave us some tickets, and off the kids went to get candy.

After that, there were fireworks. We were mildly concerned....since Celia spend all of the 4th of July in the house avoiding fireworks, but she actually did really well. Buried her head in Chris's neck for the loud parts, but no crying at all ("Hey, there's no crying in baseball!" I know, the game was over, but I just had to say it!)

Adventures in Charleston...

This is the first of my three part blogging about our weekend. It's way too much to fit in a single post! At least with the time constraints I'm currently operating under!

So last week the hubby comes home with pile of tickets to a baseball game. The Charleston Power (minor league) and we started planning a trip. His company leases a rarely used apartment in town, so his boss gave him the keys and off we went.

About halfway there he says "Oh, I'm pretty sure the AC in the apartment won't be working....Boss had to call maintenance because there was a problem with it". Oh. Okay....well, it's not that hot anyway. Should be fine. "And I'm not sure that the cleaners have been in. Boss had his assistant call because he was worried that they hadn't been there in awhile". Erm...that's another story. But really, no one stays there. It's vacant most of the time. How bad could it be?

Well, first thing I did was check the sheets. No way am I sleeping on sheets that someone I don't know has slept on. They look....wrinkly. And they don't smell like fabric softener. So we rip those puppies off the bed and try to fit them in the teeny tiny washing machine. One. sheet. at. a time.

Now, keep in mind that my in-laws were joining us on this adventure. Since I have kids....my standards of cleanliness are lowered. I mean, my house isn't filthy...but there's usually stuff out and you can often find crumbs in one room or another. My mother in law....well, she hasn't had kids in the house for many years. Her house is always spotless (well, unless my kids are visiting to crumb it up...but even then it stays pretty clean). Therefore....if I'm appalled by the filth of the place.....you can guess that she's going to be WAY grossed out.

Being brave (and having to pee) I peeked in a bathroom, screamed "HOLY CATS" and ran the other way. It was bad. Real bad.

I became crystal clear that the cleaning service had indeed totally punked out on their duties...and I really hope the Boss hadn't been paying someone to clean....because if so, he was getting majorly ripped off.

Hubby thought I was over-reacting, so I sent him in to check things out. He starts explaining that the Charleston water is bad (ha, compared to Fairmont?) and peeks around the door. He shrieks his manly version of "HOLY CATS" and also runs the other way.

I brandished a toilet scrubber at him and sent him back in. I think he scrubbed the tub with it first. It was that bad.

So the two of us cleaned like mad people to get it looking some kind of livable before the in-laws showed up (though honestly, it was still pretty bad when they got there) and I made a mad dash to the mall (did I mention Celia peed through her PullUp while napping on the way down....and I'm so bright I only packed dresses instead of more pants).

I went out just in time to meet the in-laws, apologise in advance for the stench of the hallway (the neighbors had their garbage out there!!! What kind of crap is that?) and the over all condition of the apartment.....and have a discussion with the lady that apparently lives downstairs about over what MIGHT be dripping in her apartment. I don't know lady, I've been here for 15 minutes. Call maintenance, will ya?

So, mad dash to the mall. Luckily, I walked in the door of Macy's and found super sale. I grabbed some pants (and a cute Hello Kitty shirt.....sorry, but the pants didn't match the ones she had on. I had to do it!) and ran to the only open checkout on that floor.

Which was staffed by a 92 year old woman. Who was methodically slow about , removing from hangers, checking for sensors, folding, wrapping in paper, and bagging each of the 92 items the lady in front of me was buying (not that I blame her, it was a great sale!).

20 minutes later....mad dash back to the apartment, dump the girl in her new clothes (which she proclaims "beautiful"...thank you baby) and we're off to the baseball game! (More on the game later)

We didn't get back until very, very late. Part of the problem was that we needed milk. You can't buy milk in downtown Charleston at midnight. You just can't. We had to drive all the way down Kanawa Blvd to an Exxon where someone handed me milk though a pull out drawer. The hubby wouldn't even get out of the car because he was convince someone out "bust a cap at him". I reminded him that as an uptight, white yuppie.....he should just say "shoot me" to avoid sounding like an idiot.

So the next day we had a leisurely breakfast at Starbucks, had some fun in the city (more on that later too) and headed back to the apartment for a cleaning spree.

It took Chris and I about an hour and a half to get that apartment spic and span, sparkly clean. I started thinking about getting a smaller place then and there. No WAY could we do that to our house!!!

Once we had it all clean....boy it looked nice. Classy. The Boss has really good taste in furniture. No clutter anywhere.

So I came home from a very nice trip with an unhealthy case of envy and a desperate need to throw out ever piece of clutter in my life, to deep clean and re-organize every shelf, closet, nook, and cranny in my home.

See you in November.....


P.S. On the way home, we stopped for gas and Chris fell over himself trying to get away from this dead bug. Then he fell all over himself trying to gross me out with it. Please , please, please, for the love of all things good and pure, tell me that this thing was a stow away from Florida and arrived in our state already dead or something. If we have bugs like this here in my pleasant mountain home......I may have to move.

Valley Falls and Frisbee Golf

The boys have a new hobby: Frisbee Golf. I don't know why George Costanza's "Frolf" didn't catch on as a name....but apparently, this is a real sport. We went to the sporting goods store and bought real discs to throw and everything. The .50 frisbees I found at Target just didn't cut it for this highly competitive game.

Anyway, between rounds of Frolf (as I will now be calling it), I drug the family to Valley Falls. It was a beautiful day on Saturday, but we didn't have time to go far. So I fed the troops some dinner and stuck them in the car.

After trekking back to the bathroom once, we finally crossed the train tracks (still active, one of my favorite parts of living in WV. I love the sound of the trains. Of course, we live across the river and up the hill....so the train sounds we get are pleasant.)



Then past the site of the old grist mill. Incidentally, that's just a fancy name for a place to grind grain into flour. Why couldn't they just call it that so I wouldn't have to google it?



Since we just got a considerable amount of rain, the falls were up a little. That means some fast, serious water. I gave the boy a good talk about how you don't even mess with water like that (swimming used to be allowed at the falls....but people died to often and now it's not. Still, every few years someone will fall in or slip on the rocks....and the outcome is never good).

Also....will someone please tell everyone to stop sending my husband shirts like this? It's bright yellow and says "ABC Affiliates are Great". Please, just send him a polo shirt please. The man will be a walking advertisement to anything....so let him do it in style.



Even Jordan sat still for a few minutes in awe of all that powerful water.



Man, that's some serious water.



Then we had to feed the geese. On the way out the door I discovered that the stale bread I'd been saving was looking a little....erm, green. In my panic (since I already told the kids we'd feed the geese) I grabbed a pack of stale tortillas and prayed that geese like tortillas.

They do. Even when a toddler lobs huge chunks in the water like some kind of edible frisbee.



Then we had to play on the swirly slide.




Then for my favorite (and my husband's least favorite) part of the evening: adventure and exploration!

When I was in college I used to picnic with a group of sorority sister (an academic one, FYI). Once, one of the girls promised she knew where a swimming hole (not in the dangerous falls river) was, and we hiked to it. I'm afraid that we hiked on the train tracks (umm, a bit of a no-no) so I wasn't about to break the law with kids in tow. We set off on the Rhododendron Trail which runs parallel to the tracks and the river. I figure we ought to at least be able to find it that way.....but I was pretty sure it was quite a hike.

In any case, we set off. Chris was convinced the trail was covered with snakes or bears and soon had the boy convinced of the same. We had to stop for a toddler pee-pee break and Celia managed to pee all over MY pants (but not hers). Finally, I got worried that my little girl might get tired (we didn't have the jogger stroller, so she was hiking too) and I didn't' want to go farther than I could piggy back her back, if need be.

She did quite well, though I did piggy back her just to get us out of there faster since the boys were having a complaining contest and getting on my last nerve. I can't wait to get the bike trailer so we can ride farther up the trail and maybe find that swimming hole.

And if any of my long lost Sigma Alpha Iota sisters are out there.....can you clue me in on how far it was....and what to look for to find it?

You're Out of Touch

I am at least.

Since Jordan has started swim team this summer, and I need to entertain my toddler there for an hour every day, Celia and I have done some exploring at Fairmont State.

Fairmont State is my alma mater. I enjoyed the school, I'm happy with the degree I got there. But I'm not calling it a University. It's just too pretentious. I can't do it. So I simply call it just Fairmont State.

I knew we were in trouble the very first day....the road that I used to take to the Feaster Center (where swim team is held), well, it just doesn't go there anymore. In fact, NO roads will take you through the middle of campus.

They will take you right to the new parking garage. However, you must not park there. (Unless you're a student, with an ID). You can get in....but you can't get out. I discovered this little gem about two years ago when I needed to take a grad course for continuing education (a teacher requirement). I found a very nice online class to take, but needed a professor's signature once. So I loaded up my newborn in her infant seat and off we went. I was very happy to put my car in that brand new garage and not have to fight for parking spaces anywhere. It was great.

Since I only had to go quickly in once building, I didn't take a stroller or anything, just that infant carrier. Anyone who's had one knows they are heavy...so you don't lug them around far. In typical Fairmont State style I had to lug her in that carrier to 3 different buildings! Then back to the garage. Where I found I couldn't get my car out until I walked all the way back across campus to the security office and purchased tokens to get out.

Why not put a money thingy on the gate to get out so you could just feem money in there? It makes too much sense.



So back to the here and now...Celia and I have been exploring the new and improved campus.

First stop was the new student activities center. She saw a shiny new building and begged to go in, so in we went. The song playing on the building -wide muzak system wall "You're Out of Touch". Was I ever!

Huge expanses of basketball courts, as fas as the eye can see. A student version of Barnes and Noble, trendy couches and chairs. A new Nickel....that looked just wrong. I wonder what they've done with the old one? A state of the art fitness center. A brand new pool (not for competition swimming). I felt very out of touch....and out of place. Especially since all this was just built on to the back of Colebank Hall.

For some reason, they really like doing that. The new building they are working on it being buit right on top of the tech wing of Wallman Hall. On top? And we always joked that the whole building was sliding down the hill. But I guess they know what they are doing.

Regardless, a few new buildings does not a University make. So if it's alright with you, I'll just continue calling it Fairmont State and leave the University off (since it's no longer acceptable to call it a college).

Rollin' on the River

Some friends invited us to join them for the day on their boat (on the Tygart Valley River)...well, who can say no to that!?!

We were a little worried at first when Celia strongly protested getting in the boat, but once we started moving, she really enjoyed herself.

So did Jordan. He and his little buddy spent a bunch of time in the tube (please excuse my sad job at making other people's kids look anonymous). There was many an attempt made to knock them out of the tube (they were a little too full of themselves for their own good) but those little buggers managed to hold on through even the twistiest turns and bumpiest bumps.



Once we found a little beachy area to park (dock, whatever) Celia got out of the boat to have fun. First, she has a swim with dad. She's Mrs. Independent, "I can do it myself"!



Then she had to take a little break and sit in the tube to eat a cookie. That's right, she's eating a cookie in the river.


After awhile she talked mommy into coming out to swim and sit in the tube with her. I discovered that chilly river water works wonders for itchy hives. In fact, it made me feel so much better I told Chris I'd hike back down to the river later if I got desperate. Then I figured out that a cold bathtub would do the same thing....without the river smell!


Some other boat people stopped by, with their dogs. Both dogs had their own little doggy life jackets. Celia was in toddler heaven watching those dogs swim around and chase sticks. how long do you think it takes to dry all this fur out?


Celia also discovered how much she loves cherries....once dad showed her how to eat them.


Jordan spent much of his time playing with the campfire. He toasted cheese puffs and pepperoni rolls. It was gross. Then they doused the fire with 72 buckets of water (Smokey the Bear says "Only YOU can help prevent forest fires!") so that no one will be able to light a fire in that pit again for at least two weeks.


We had a ton of fun and now Chris really wants a boat. Play the lottery, hon!

Glorious Day!

Well, we finally had a day worth of the title "Vacation"!

First off, the weather is beautiful. 78 degrees, nice breeze, sunny. You couldn't ask for a better day!

We started off the day at Cooper's Rock. It's a pretty cool place really, but I wasn't sure what the kids would think. Turns out they loved it. Jordan found a big hole right away. He thinks a giant mole rat lives there. I don't even know what a mole rat is, but that's one big hole.

(Umm, what's up the the socks? He is so going to hate the picture when he is 20! I refuse to fight with my kids over reasonable clothes choices though....so this is what you get!)



My nature loving husband was very unsure about this whole thing. But he humored me...holding tightly to Celia's hand and telling Jordan "get off that rock, you're going to fall" a million times. But by the time we got to scenic overlook, he loosened up a little.



Here's the north-east view of the mountains. My personal favorite.



The south-west view.



A little zoom on the south-west view and you can see Morgantown. The big white spike is the tower at the airport.



Much to my husband's dismay, I insisted on continuing down the trail. He has bad memories form being lost there once. Both of the kids loved "rock climbing".


Jordan takes on the bigger rocks.



We steer Celia toward some her size. Mom helps her with the big ones....the trail down to the bottom isn't exactly a stroll....but you don't need a rope for it either!


Here's Celia and me under the big rock. Chris wouldn't go anywhere near it. You know, it's been there for hundreds of years and all the sudden he things it's going to break away while he's there (please don't mention Seneca Rock, he doesn't need anything else to worry about!)

The green blur is Jordan.



Looking up at the overlook from the first turn below. I was hoping to take the kids down a little more, but as we stood there looking up, Celia says "Mom, I have to pee!" and before I can find her a tree, she said "Ooop, I peed"



So we started back to the car for a clean change of clothes and lunch!



Lunch could not have worked out better. I wasn't extremely motivated and had packed nothing. I figured we'd just drive back to Burger King if we needed to (yeah , I'm a real outdoorsy girl!). But on the way down the trail we noticed that the concession stand served food (not just snacks) AND they accepted Visa check card (because us city dwellers don't carry cash!).

Chris was very excited because the listed sloppy joes on the menu. There's not much I refuse to cook, but that's one of them. Anyway, the four of us all got lunch for under $10! And we were stuffed, couldn't even finish out nachos. Chris was hoping to go back for a hot dog, but he just couldn't do it.

We also wanted to check out Chestnut Ridge Park. It's right by Cooper's Rock, and I heard they had swimming and a play area.

We were pleasantly surprised, it was very nice. Now, I wouldn't call it a lake (they do) it's more of a pond, but there's a sandy swimming area, fishing (you don't need a license...it's catch and release, stocked every spring) and paddle boats.


I had no plans of getting in...because I thought it was a little chilly. But the kids got changed (and Chris, because he thought I was nuts to allow our toddler to play within arm's reach of us...in the WATER. Dude, I would totally jump in with my clothes on if needed!) and Celia walked right up to the lake and peed.

I would never let me kid pee in a pool. She totally knows better. But this girl is just one with nature and really enjoys peeing on natural things outside. Trees, rocks, lakes....they all get a surprise from my girl. I don't think anyone saw it.

After the unfortunate peeing, the kids got in. Chris balked for a minute ("but look at it! There's no chemicals in there honey".......) but then he discovered there were minnows and salamanders and a fabled 2 ft carp that occasionally will swim right up to the swim area.


After a few hours of swimming, (not really, since Jordan can walk all the way out to the rope, and the "baby" rope only puts the water at Celia's knees....perfect for kids!) They decided to get a paddle boat.



That was about it. We spent another half an hour playing on the playground (very nice) and then loaded up the car. It was nap time. The best part about this part is that it's only 35 minutes from Fairmont, so it's not like I have to sleep in a tent (gasp!) or anything to enjoy it. I like my nature in bits and pieces, during the day. But they do have camping at both Cooper's Rock and Chestnut Ridge Park.

We will be frequenting the park this summer. Erm....free swimming, nice playground, not very many people. I love it. The also have an awesome hill that they do sledding on in the winter, so I'm already excited to check that out come December!

School's Out for Summer!

Today was Jordan's last day of school. He was half excited, half sad. He enjoys school, but we have some fun summer stuff planned.

Plus today was the final day of his being grounded from the Wii (this kid neglected to turn in 3! spelling papers last week and brought home a D!). He's been missing it for a week. He had big plans today. Since it was an early release, he planned to sprint home from the bus and play Wii.

Mission accomplished.

Today was also his first day of swim team practice. He's been swimming for a few summers, but I'm hoping the swim team might give him some more confidence with his skills. So far I really like it. The instructors seem great.

After dinner we went for a walk on the Rail Trail again...and guess what? I finally remembered the camera!

We decided to go on MCTrail. I really prefer the Mon River Trail...but the kids love that tunnel.


So here we are. First glimpse of the tunnel (south side) and we have to let Celia out of the stroller. I'm amazed how much walking those little legs do!



Off they go! Have I mentioned how Celia adores her big brother. Where ever he goes, she's gotta go too. He sits down to rest, so does she. He tosses a rock, so does she. He pees in the woods....well, she does that too.



Ready and waiting, at the entrance to the tunnel.



Break on through to the other side.....


It's actually a lot longer than it looks as you stand at the entrance. I think it's 1500 ft....



So here is the north entrance. Step out, turn around, and look up. There you go.



And to your right we have a waterfall....



Then we walked. And walked and walked. We walked a whole mile. Even Celia.



So turn around and head back to the car. There they go.....

Adventure on the Rail Trail

For those of you who don't live in WV, we have a really neat system of hiking/biking trails called Rail Trail. Basically, they are miles and miles of trails that follow an old railroad line. The tracks have been removed, and in some places they have been paved or covered in crushed gravel. They are pretty cool as you get to use the old train bridges or tunnels.

We have really been trying to walk more lately. Since we had no plans yesterday evening, we decided to hop in the car and drive the 10 minutes to Prickett's Fort State Park and walk on the Mon River Trail. As the name implies, it follows the river.

We've been stuck walking because....well, the cost of a bike for me and a bike trailer for Celia is a little much for us. Every time I walk the trail I get closer to buying one though!

Last night, we walked all the way to Catawba. Which may be a booming metropolis off the trail, the from the trail looks like the place that time forgot. There a big, white, boarded up house that sits right on the river. I want to buy it tomorrow, pry those boards off the windows, and move right in. (Because in my little fantasy, all the wavy old glass is intact under those boards and as soon as I wipe everything down with some Mr.Clean, it will be perfect). It's just so Fried Green Tomatoes.

I mentioned my fantasy to Chris and he shared with me in no uncertain terms I could put that one to rest. That's okay. Because in my fantasy, as I'm walking around the house checking it out, the neighbors come out. See, they own the property and hate the old place. They'll let me have it for just a couple grand if I just promise to do something with it. So every day Chris will go to work and Celia and I will drive out and just ramble around my big ole river house until we get it all fixed up and pretty and begin hosting river parties with the best ice tea you have ever tasted......and I won't be stressed out about my toddler getting out of the house and falling in the river that is RIGHT THERE because in this little dream, my girl doesn't run away at every given opportunity.

Okay, back to reality. It's a really nice trail. We got to cross a bridge and see lots of birds and little forest creatures. We saw one cardinal. That's the WV State Bird, in case you didn't know. So that makes them a little special. Not all that special though, because you can see them just about anywhere. We even have one brave bird (uh, we have 3 cats) living in the trees behind out house. He sits on our fence.

We also saw a cute little blue bird, which you don't see every day. Plus a chipmunk and a millipede (last time we saw one, I screamed and ran away). I did not personally see the nasty bug this time because Celia and I left the boys behind. See, my husband possesses this genetic abnormality that causes him to make noise ALL of the time. Singing, humming, clicking, whistling, tapping, never ending noise. He passed this on to our son. So Celia and I left the little noisemakers in the dust and moved to a quieter area.

She tends to be pretty quiet, with the occasional burst of conjugating her baby verbs. ("Boob-a fada, boob-a dada, boob- a mama).

So anyway, we made it all the way to Catawba. I looked at the map today, and it said it was only 0.9 miles. No way! That freaking map is WRONG. It's way farther than that.

On the way back we heard a train coming and really REALLY rushed to get back to the bridge I thought we might get to see the train cross....but it was across the river. Turns out that bridge we walk under turns into the MCTrail.....trains don't use it anymore.

Home again, home again.

Just got back from our weekend on the go.

Glade Springs Resort is a very nice place. Very posh. It would be a great vacation for someone with older kids (oh, and piles of $$, it's very spendy. Lucky for us most of the trip was covered). The have great trails for golf carts, bikes, rollerblades. They have a bowling alley, an awesome swimming pool. Basketball and tennis courts (both inside and out). There are several really neat scavenger hunts to go on. Several ponds for fishing, canoeing, or paddle boating.....and a stable.

Not the easiest place to corral a toddler for an entire day while daddy works. The staff was nice enough to let us have our room until 4 (unheard of!) so we could take several breaks in there during the day.

First thing this morning we hit the pool. I thought it was a great pool...my kids were somehow not overly impressed. I think Jordan was bummed that there were no other kids there (yeah, at 9 in the morning!). He wanted to sit in the hot tub, but I didn't want Celia in there (plus, well, he didn't need to be in there either). I'm not sure what her problem was....she's usually a little water dog, but we stayed only about an hour.

I think a good part of is was that she was really restless last night and woke up screaming at 3 with leg cramps. Thank goodness we had an end room and one of Chris's (very understanding) co-workers on the other side.

So on to the playground. One of the sheets the front desk gave me listed a toddler playground, but it wasn't on the map anywhere. Just the "Children's Playground". Jordan made himself right at home. Celia took of her sock and shoes, then peed. Pants honey! We take off our PANTS when we pee!

The emergency clothes were in MY car...we brought Chris's. I did have emergency panties in my purse so my toddler spent 20 minutes jumping around the playground in a sweater and Dora panties. Nice.

Then we went back to the room for a snack so Jordan and I marched the half naked marauder right through the resort lobby and up to the room for fresh pants. He provided great cover by running in ahead of us shouting "Nobody look at my sister. Do NOT look at her. She's not wearing pants. Look away, look away". Then he ran screaming for the elevator.

Way to keep things low key, son.

After a costume change we went off and had a great lunch at the Small Talk Cafe. They also had a whole case of yummy looking goodies that I planned to come back for later.

Then we went to the stables. We had no intentions of riding, just wanted to pet some horses. Again, the staff was super nice and told us that we could wander the barn and pat all we wanted, as long as we stayed out of Strawberry's stall. Strawberry had a little fight with the door earlier in the week and was dejectedly wearing a halter and lead while the door hung crooked. We avoided poor Strawberry but did get to give some hay to some other really nice horses. They had great variety, little ponies, super huge horses. All were very eager to munch some hay with their great big smacking horse lips.

Jordan now wants us to move onto a farm....Celia was equal parts terrified and thrilled.

Then I set the kids loose for an hour or roaming around the resort property, tried my best to keep them out of the line of fire from any golf balls. We found some "porcipines" (pinecones) rolled in the volleyball sand.

Cleaned everyone up and found dad, running late as usually. I politely informed him that the kids and I were leaving at 4:30 and recommended he wrap things up since it's a long walk home from Beckley.

Prompty at 4:30 everyone was buckled in and by 4:35 kids were snoozing while I chowed down on a very yummy brownie pecan pie concoction. It tasted just as good as it looked.

I'm exhausted from kid chasing, but other than Celia's two screaming episodes (she had another from Clarksburg to Fairmont. It was either "You made me wear a diaper in the car and I peed and now my butt is wet and I'm mad" or "the sun is shining in my face at a really bad angle so I want to kill you all") it was a decent trip. For the kids.

So much to say, so much to say...

All you Dave Mathews fans will now have that song stuck in your head all day. The rest of you (losers) will just see it as another blog title.

It's been a really long days, so I'm going to start at the beginning and hope to finish before I fall to sleep.

Jordan soccer team, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers had their second game of the season this morning. After our defeat last week, the boys were feeling a little nervous. I did some research on the team we were going to play against (read, asked little dude who played them last week what he thought of them) and found that they are still coming together as a team (read, we had a pretty good shot at beating them). I told the boys I wanted them to get in there and sneak a goal in right after the whistle......before the other team even knew what was going in.

To my surprise, it worked (I wasn't sure if that was a good thing to tell a bunch of little boys) and we went on to win the game. I'm not a big "WE MUST WIN" coach.....but after losing our first game I was really wanting to win this so the boys wouldn't get into an attitude of defeat for the whole season. Now that we've won a game, the pressure is off (no one wants to be that team that loses every game) and we can just play some soccer.

We had to drop one of the boys off after the game, then home to throw out stuff together for a little overnight get away. I had most of the stuff laid out, so we just had to load the car up. My MacBook is a great travel item as it doubles as a DVD player for trips, if we need it (I don't like to use it, but it was a 3 hour drive). I asked Jordan to get one of his movies and one of Celia and throw them in my purse....just in case.

So we all piled in the car and took off. I went right to sleep. It's better for everyone that way. Hubby drives like a maniac and me clutching the window and whimpering makes him very unhappy. That didn't last long....because Celia decided she was NOT going to nap. Odd for her, as she usually sleeps well in the car. She really wasn't too bad, but about 2.5 hours into the trip she had enough and wanted out! I dug through my purse for our emergency video...and guess what....it wasn't there. Never ask a 9 year old to complete a task that you REALLY want done. We ended up watching the same four goofy clips I have saved on my iMovie until we arrived.

Oh yeah...we did have one pit stop so Celia could pee in the weeds. Classic. I helped her (since Chris's technique gets pee on her pants) and the boys said we looked hilarious.

Which brings me up to our current destination..... Glade Springs Resort. It's very nice....definitely a fancy smancy place where I must keep my kids reigned in and not allow them to destroy things or act unruly.

I had already informed Chris that he was totally in charge of the kids (uh, mostly the little one who has missed her nap) from the instant we got here until he had to go to work at 8 (what, you thought this was some kind of vacation or something? Please. ) That worked out just GREAT since our reservation had not been made (thank you very much Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and I had to chase my little cyclone of terror around a very high class lobby filled with delicate glass tables, flower arrangements, and fountains for 25 minutes. We finally just ended up getting out own room (though that has been fixed now) and tried to take the kids to dinner.

We came in the room, Celia immediately stripped buck naked and jumped on the bed (in front of the open window) for five minutes while Jordan cruised the kid's channels on tv.

For some reason (off season?) only two of the five resort dining options were open for dinner....the sports bar and the "Up-scale Dining Facility....It Has a Dress Code". We obviously weren't going to take the two year old into anything upscale, so off we went to the sports bar with our kids for dinner.

The whole "Dad is in charge" thing didn't work out all that well. He let her crawl back and forth under the table (Ugh!) until food came, then got mad because she wouldn't stop crawling under the table. They had a big screaming (her) hissing (him) fight and I had to drag her out of there for a time out on the terrace. Which was a crap plan in itself because the terrace overlooking the golf course with all those funny dressed men driving little tiny cars was MUCH more appealing than the food inside. She much preferred just to stay in time out.

Unfortunately, my salmon was getting cold so I drug her back in. Lucky for me, this lady sat down right beside us wearing the ugliest hat (black ball cap covered in bling) so she sat staring at that while I gulped food. We got out of there fairly quick and went to check out the bowling facilities.

They were really nice! Very family oriented. Even the rich kids (who live on the resort, they are building lots of fancy houses all over the resort property...Chris is practically drooling over them) were very nice and helpful. Any time one of the toddler's balls (another family that Chris works with is here, their little girl is Celia's age) didn't make it down the lanes one of the boys would waddle down the gutters and give it a push. Pretty nice of them, I thought!

The girls quickly got tired of bowling, which left Jordan to bowl all the frames on the kids lane (everyone was happy with that scenario). Then back to the room.

A quick aside- I love Mac. I love iTunes. I love the free, fast, wireless internet here at Glade springs. In the time it took Chris to give Celia a bath, I found two Blues Clues cartoons and downloaded them. $1.99 for sanity that will never be left at home (in Celia's purse...some miscommunication there!) again.

Tomorrow Chris has to work all day. I'm meeting up with the other mommy and we're hitting the pool and the playground. We checked them both out before turning in for the night and they look REALLY nice. We're not talking 9x16 hotel pool here. This thing has a few swim lanes, sloped walk in (much more fun for toddler playing the the first three steps at any other pool). The play area looks great for the girls....Jordan will have fun anywhere. That kid is Mr. Go with the Flow.

He's also a self appointed travel critic. Very open with his opinion. When we got to the security booth and they didn't have our reservation, the guard let us in anyway. Jordan commented "Whew, we're lucky this isn't one of those really NICE places....they don't let ANYONE past without a reservation". He was also concerned about a few cracks in the marble in the lobby. He was very happy to learn that he got a bed all to himself (the beds are super high...we're afraid Celia will fall out so she's sleeping between Chris and I) and spent at least 5 minutes trying to stretch himself to reach all corners of the bed. He was pleased to discover he couldn't do it, proclaimed the place high class, and went to sleep.

Mike and Ike, we think alike!

We capped off our little trip to Charleston with a shopping trip at the Charleston Town Center Mall. I usually hate the mall and avoid it like the plague, but I always like going when we are staying in Charleston.

Anyway, hubby had a Jos Banks giftcard to spend and I wanted to look around in Gymboree to see if maybe I'm missing something (I decided I'm not...which is good because those are some pricey little clothes!). We also decided to hit Sears and check out the show clearance (I'd heard some good things) as we all really needed some new casual shoes. We found Jordan a pair of shoes then decide to split up and look for our own since Celia was getting impatient. I found a really cute pair of brown Land's End shoes and grabbed those up then went to help hubby with his. He found two pair he liked, tried them on, even had me feel for his toes to make sure they were good. They were, and we came home.

We get here and I'm unpacking everything. I take all the new shoes out and find that we have bought the EXACT same shoes.


Yeah. We have matching shoes now. If you know anything about me at all, you'll know that I hate to look like any other person (especially if it looks like we may have "planned" it). Unfortunately.....these shoes are really comfortable. And Chris and I don't plan well, so we will probably end up wearing them at the same time. Please snicker where I can't hear you and keep your snide comments to yourself.

I will say the Embassy Suites really didn't score any points with me. I took the kids down to the pool after dinner. The changing area was NASTY. I couldn't even take Celia with me and had to have Jordan stand in the hall and hold her while I changed at breakneck speed. Then we walked into the pool area to find no less than 25 screaming, splashing kids and only 10 parents. Only 1 other parent in the pool (besides me). Jordan jumped right in and commenced screaming and splashing, but Celia and I were totally overwhelmed. We sat on the steps the whole time. Now, I know the Embassy really has no control over that.....but they do have control over these next few things....which I almost hate to share with you because I'm just now getting over the anxiety caused by them.

After about half the kids left, security showed up and milled around for about 5 minutes. I figured they were there because someone had complained about unattended kids, so I didn't think much. After much discussion and milling around, one of them stepped up and asked if we could all get out of the pool for a few minutes while they cleaned up a "little mess".

Uhhhh, what? So I had to go find out what exactly was going on. Someone threw up in the pool.

Gross, nasty, blech, and any other noise of revulsion you can imagine. And they didn't even close the pool! I know there were probably enough chemicals in there to kill anything (including most of my outer later of skin) but for the sheer gross out factor, you need to close it down and shock that sucker.

Anyway, took my kids back to the room and scrubbed what was left of their skin right off of them and discovered a very nasty patch of mildew in the shower. Come on folks, make an effort!

I was also not impressed with the breakfast. I know, you really can't complain about free (well, not free, but included in the price of the room) breakfast....but I'd rather pay for the very nice breakfast you can get at the Marriott.

All in all, it was a very nice trip. I'm exhausted and still trying to shake off the "I've been around puke" anxiety, but I'm also refreshed and ready to start my week.

And I'm ready to lose some weight! I've been telling myself that I'm going to drop at least 5 lbs (and hopefully more like 10) before swimsuit season rolls around....and look, here it is. I was not happy with my new, chubby look in my swimwear this weekend, so I vow to drop some weight before I have to wear it again!

Eggstravaganza!

Day 2 of our little mini-vacation here. We got up this morning and spent some more time at the Marriott's pool.

Then, on the sage advice of Stanton (who I don't actually know, except through the WV Blogger's Forum), we decided to check out the Avampato Discovery Museum at the Clay Center. I almost didn't go because today was "Eggstravaganza" so there were tons of extra Easter activities....which made me think every kid in Charleston would be there.

Really though, it wasn't that crowded and it was a great place! The kids both got to do a little egg hunt then we checked out all the other cool stuff they have (year round) for kids. Both of mine had a blast. I will say, that while it wasn't completely over-run with unruly kids....there were enough brats there to make me roll my eyes half way into my brain.

I'll just tell you straight out....I like kids. Just not your kids. Well, maybe not YOUR kids exactly, but most of the other kids running around. When an area says ages 5 and under, your 7 year old better not be in the ball pit whacking my toddler with balls. Just because your kid is 2 and cute, does not give them the right to smack my 9 year old in the face through the funny pin things...then laugh and run while you pay no attention. Also, please stop letting your child run screaming through the halls outside my room until they run smack into my window and scream even louder while you catch up. Because my kids are trying to quietly rest in here and I will be very unhappy if you wake them up.

Which brings me to our new digs.....Embassy Suites. It's an okay place, but it's not the Marriott.

There are some very nice things about it....one, well, it's a suite. That means Celia can nap away in the bedroom while Jordan and I lounge, read, and watch tv in the other room. It's got a mini fridge and a microwave, which may come in handy later. It's also a very beautiful place. It just looks very nice and classy.

Now.....the bathroom amenities leave something to be desired. You've just got the basics here...and they are Neutrogena. Not bad, but not the Orange Ginger from Bath and Body Works that we had over at the Marriott. That was some good stuff!

Also, (and this makes me gag to even type it) I found old coffee grounds in the coffee pot when I went to make tea just now. Ew, ew, gross. What kind of housekeeping is that? The tea they offer is also bargain basement stuff (Marriott had some English Breakfast and Chamomile), just like the coffee. There is not any cream here either, just that nasty powder stuff.

All of the outlets are upside down...so my MacBook couldn't be plugged in. There is no wireless, and I spent about 45 minutes trying to post my blog I typed up last night on the MacBook from hubby's PC. He didn't want the WVBA to have to pay for another connection. But his PC can't read Word documents from my Mac (my Mac can read anything from the PC though). That's all the time that took me to be thoroughly frustrated with a PC again. I mean really, why would you put all the ports on the back? Who wants to reach behind and fish around to plug and unplug things?

Lastly, the soundproofing leaves a little to be desired. I mentioned earlier he crazy screaming toddler in the hall. I also get to hear the evenings entertainment in the lobby (the center of the hotel is an open-air atrium, straight up the 14 or so floors). There's a grand piano down there, and someone is quiet dramatically making their way through every cliche song you can imagine (New York NY, Entertainer, Phantom). I'm just waiting on the Billy Joel. The player also has a large group of admirers who hoot, clap, and occasionally sing along.

Oh geez...he's repeating New York. Does this mean I'll have to listen to the same five songs all night? Please, someone teach the man some Prokofiev. Something.....

But, what ever the Embassy is lacking, the West Virginia Broadcasters Association is making up for. They plied us with cookies and soft pretzels, sodas and drinks. Since I'm not going to the awards tonight, they are sending my up a very nice fillet and meal. (The kids will be enjoying pizza) And hubby brought up a very fancy surge protector, which will plug into these messed up outlets and in turn power my MacBook. We are set for the evening! Plus, there's a new hotel pool to check out.

I Love the Marriot

I really do.

Every time we come here I find something new to enjoy. This visit, I discover they’ve expanded the complimentary items in the bathroom. Now, instead of your shampoo, conditioner, soap, and lotion……we also have mouthwash, Q-Tips, a shower cap, and the cutest little sewing kit.

I think I’m most excited about that shower cap. That baby is definitely coming home with us! It could really come in handy in case my kids every catch lice and I have to smear their little heads with goop for hours at a time. Now, my kids have never gotten lice…..but it’s possibly and something I worry about on at least a weekly basis. My head is itching just thinking about it! So that shower cap may come in handy!

They did not choose to include the one item my husband forgot to bring…deoderant. I caught him snickering as he stole mine. Stood right in front of me and fluffed his armpot hair before applying me pristine deodorant to it. Blech. Marriot…..could you put a little deodorant in the bathroom for my surprise next time? I’d really love you for it!

The also did not include a tranquilizer dart for my toddler. That would have come in really handy too. Putting a two year old to sleep in a new room in the same bed as her brother is not the easiest task. Finally, after several threats about the pool from mommy, she settled down and went to sleep. Unfortunately for Jordan, this girl hates blankets. I mean, we train babies that blankets are evil. “Lay on your back and not blankets for a year, they could kill you!” Then one day we change our story, “Here, cover up with this so your don’t freeze to death!” Too late. Her little baby legs are already trained. They piston up and down in a wild defensive mechanism to keep that dangerous blanket away from her neck. She won’t have anything to do with the things! Which is a real bummer for anyone else who IS trying to sleep under the blanket beside her.

Another discovery, not so pleasant this time. The pool is 94 degrees. Barely 7 degrees cooler than the hot tub. Also known as the perfect tempature to breed bacteria. My kids love to swim in the hotel pool, but it makes me feel like I’m marinating in human stew. Thank goodness it’s way chlorinated, or else we’d all go home with pink eye and who know what other nasty infections.

Anyway, we are having a great trip this far. We swam in the pool for a few hours then went to Red Lobster for dinner. Jordan was very happy as they had both clams and smoothie. Celia just loves to eat out….and this place has a big tank of those lobsters to watch, so she was in toddler heaven! Then dad’s food came an he was eating a lobster tail, which really perplexed her. She really wanted to know where the rest of the lobster was and kept saying “Show me the claw dad!”

She also really wanted to play with the lobster tail, but since she tested positive as being allergic to shrimp, we’re avoiding all contact with shellfish, just to be safe. Nasty parents that we are……we’ll still eat the stuff though.

Her allergies are the reason I’m up at 3 in the morning. She has this thing called Reactive Airway Disease…which doesn’t mean she has asthma…..it just means when her allergies are bothering her, she has asthma symptoms. She started a few days ago and we started her back on her meds (Singulair and Zyrtec), but it takes a few days for them to start working effectively. Hopefully this will be the last night of coughing all night long (which is a major sign of childhood asthma. We didn’t know this and were perplexed for the longest time about it.) I don’t know how she (and the rest of my family) sleep through it, but they do. I cringe every time she has a coughing fit….and sometimes I’ll lay with her and thump her on the back for long periods of time…..just so I can feel like I’m doing something.