Our Trip to Tennessee

July 2011 we took a trip to Tennessee. It was one of our favorite vacations, yet. We had an awesome cabin that had two floors. We had a hot tub that the kids thought was their own private swimming pool. We even had a nice backyard the kids could play in.

The only thing about the cabin we didn't like was the driveway. The driveway was so steep and a bit windy that it was scary. We drove up it, against mommys best judgement, and could barely get back down. Once we got up it, neither of us wanted to drive down it. Finally after several attempts, we got down and just parked at the bottom and that is where our van stayed.

Other exciting things.....we saw tons of wild bears. We had two run out of the woods right toward our van. We all had just gotten into the van and noticed two bears run out of the woods and run right to our van. Then they saw us and ran up our driveway!

We also met some other families there. It was so nice having other families there to visit and have fun with. It really was a fantastic time.

We took plenty of great pics. We even had a friend take some family pics of us with the wonderful scenery. We used some of the pics to make birthday cards for the year.

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Definitely a vacation we will have to do again.

Just a little too short....or was he?

Dominic has been wanting to ride the big roller coasters at Cedar Point for years! Unfortunately, I produce short kids. In the mornings, he will say "Give me a big glass of milk to help me grow".

We were hoping that this summer would be different, he would be tall enough to at least ride the iron dragon and disaster transport. We measured him at home with his shoes and according to our measurements, he was tall enough. YES! We couldn't wait to go.

We wait in line at the Iron Dragon and the guy doesn't even measure him. Great! We sneak on and he gets his first ride on a "big" roller coaster. Next, the Disaster Transport. We wait in line, which is indoors.....and you go from one room to one room to one room, thinking you are almost there, yet always just enter into another room. Finally, we get to the ride. They measure Dominic and they say he is too short! He has to stand on this measuring thing and the stick can not go past his head. It touches his head, but it keeps on going. We try and say "stand up straight", all he does is lift his shoulders and actually appearing shorter! Sigh, we have to leave the ride.

Ride after boring ride, he is disappointed he can't go on the big coasters. I finally have a grand idea! Let's put something in his shoes. What do I have in my bag? Hmmm.... How about maxi pads? Those will work. We put them in and try it out on the iron dragon again. This time they measure him and he is tall enough! The trick worked! The guy working the coaster says "You can go to guest services and get a wrist band that says he is tall enough, this way you don't have to get measured each time". Oh, great idea.

Next we head over to Guest Services. She measures him and he is tall enough. We are home free. Or so we thought..... Then she says "can you take off his shoes". What?? Dominic looks at me and mumbles "uh oh mommy". So, we take them off and I quickly hide the shoes behind my back. The lady says "oh, I need to see the shoes". Oh jeez! Busted! She looks at the shoes. And at this point I am so embarrassed I can't even look at her to see her reaction. She asks Dominic to get back onto the measuring stand and she measures him again. And guess what? He was tall enough! All this and he was always tall enough!

Getting Ahead

I received a discount from Shutterfly that was expiring. So, I decided to go ahead and order my Christmas Cards. I actually ordered our Christmas cards on November 5th. Now that is getting ahead of the game.

Of course, you order once and you keep getting more discounts. So, then I ordered more Christmas Cards, along with some generic Birthday Cards. Along with 150 photos and only spent $26!

Check our my Birthday Card:

Classic Scarlet Birthday 5x7 folded card

Shutterfly birthday cards and birthday party invitations.

View the entire collection of cards.

The Frog Days of Summer

Unfortunately, we only have a few days left of summer vacation. This summer has been one of the best. I couldn't wait for it to start and stop nagging the kids to do their homework, go read, go to bed early, etc... Why does it seem like this vacation just started yesterday? And we go back in just four short days? Definitely not looking forward to packing lunches and nagging about homework. I can't believe that I will only have Teresa home with me this school year. When did Annie grow up? I will either love having just one at home or hate it. Only time will tell.

We had one quick unplanned vacation to Philadelphia. Michael went for training there, so we decided to go and take the kids to Sesame Place. It was probably one of the most relaxing vacations I have ever taken. The kids were amazing on the drive and super good sleeping in the hotel. Other than going to Sesame the one day, we just relaxed. We found a couple parks to go to, walked around a couple malls, and enjoyed the pool. I didn't have to cook or clean for a week, now that's what I call a vacation.

Other than that quick vacation, we spent our summer at the pool. This is probably the first summer that I actually have a decent tan. We love the pool. The kids get along there, plus they have tons of friends there (and so do I!).

We had a few friends in our backyard this summer. We had a bunny rabbit make a nest in our yard and had 5 bunnies there. The kids got a kick out of checking on them every day. The hardest thing was keeping Rocky away from them. Finally, the momma got smart and moved her nest.

Then we have a frog that is always in our yard. It has become Dominic's pet frog. He named him Hoppy. He loves his frog. He checks on him every morning and every evening. Who knew that frogs burrow a little into the ground? He had a couple holes he went into near my rose bushes. Then every evening he would be sitting on the window ledge of the basement window. One of Dominic's favorite things would be to create a home for the frog. He would use the kiddie pool and stack buckets on top of each other, along with rocks. He enjoyed watching the frog swim and hop around. I can't believe that this frog came back to my yard every day.

These were my frog days of summer........relaxing, pool times, and new friends. Definitely a summer to remember.

Funny things my kids said.....

While driving Annabel to a school field trip, she says to me "I know what is even better than going to Disney World". I was interested to hear what she had to say, so I said "oh, yeah, What?" and she said "Going to Church". LOL....can you tell she goes to a catholic preschool?


While on vacation, Dominic had to share a bed with Annie at Auntie Gina's. The first night he said "I don't want to sleep with Annabel". We ask him why and he says "because her breath stinks". LOL


The other day, we were grocery shopping and Kayla (9 years old) had to go to the bathroom. We go into the bathroom at BJ's and she notices the thing on the wall that says 25 cents for napkins and tampons. She says to me "They make you pay for napkins here?". LOL!

Our Trip to Disney

I am writing this mostly for my benefit, so that I can remember our trip. Please do not feel obligated to read this long blog.

We headed out to Florida on Friday, March 26th. We picked up lunch and went over to pick up the kids from school early. Then off to Florida we go. We figured, Teresa would eat her lunch and then within an hour she would be napping in the car. But, boy were we wrong. First, she was fighting sleep and then she had to poop and turned out she was constipated and was trying to poop for hours! You try pooping strapped into a carseat and see how easy it is. Turned out, she was up the first 6 hours of our drive! Despite everything, she was pretty happy during this time. We finally stopped to get something to eat at Cracker Barrel (seems there is one pretty much at every stop from here to Florida) and then off we went again. Only an hour more into our trip and Kayla now had to poop! Another stop for us for poop. Off again. Finally, Teresa falls asleep. No one is allowed to talk! But, of course, after about an hour she wakes up! We decide to start looking for someone place to stay to sleep. We got all the way to Charlotte, NC and stayed at a Residence Inn. Everyone slept all night.

Day 2 road trip to Florida. We eat breakfast and are off by 8am. Making good time. This time Teresa must have been exhausted and we caught her sleeping at 10am, but not for very long...maybe a half hour. When she wakes up, we look for a place to eat. We stop at Perkins in Savannah, GA. Once into Florida, we decide to stop at Aunt Gina's to let the kids run around. After that only 2 more hours to Orlando! The only traffic we hit on the way down was getting off our exit in Orlando.

We stayed at a Hilton Grand Vacation. We had a 2 bedroom condo type place. We had a full kitchen, washer/dryer, two balconies, living room, and the master bedroom had a jacuzzi tub and it's own private bathroom. We had Annie and Kayla sleeping in a bedroom, Dominic slept on the couch, and Teresa slept in the playpen in our bathroom. Yes, she slept in the bathroom. But, it was the best thing ever! It was so dark and big, that she slept 12-14 hours every night! I don't think she ever slept so good!

Grandma and Grandpa Kodek was with us in another room. They came on vacation with us to watch Teresa a little so we can go to Disney with the older ones. What a blessing it was to have them with us.

Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom. We saw a 3D Bug movie, that Annie was afraid off. Annie and I went on a Flying Elephant Ride. The kids played on a big playground. Then we went on a animal safari. That was really cool and we even had rhino's chasing our jeep! During the safari it started pouring! We stop and get some pancho's. Michael took Kayla and Dominic to see a dinosaur movie, while Annie and I had a snack. We all hoped it would stop raining, but alas, it did not. Back to the hotel we went.

Monday we did Hollywood Studios. And this was my favorite! We split up and did alot of different shows. Annie didn't like doing any of the scary shows. Between all of us, we saw nearly everything we wanted to. My favorite was the Little Mermaid Voyage. It was a mixture of life action and animation. They even had water falling onto the stage, like a waterfall, and then mist in the air with lasers that made it look like we were under water and waves above us. It was SO cool and Annie loved it! At the end of the night we saw Fantasmic, which was a laser, fireworks, water show that was amazing! A great show to end the day.

Tuesday, we took Teresa with us and headed to Magic Kingdom. It was so crowded and not easy to manuveur through the crowd with the stroller. We saw a couple shows and Teresa was so super good sitting through them. We saw the big parade at noon and at first Teresa was terrified of all the characters. She finally stopped crying, but sat so still it was funny. Dominic was so excited to see and slap hands with all his favorite characters, including Woody, which was his highlight. And Princess Belle blew Annie and Kayla a kiss that was the highlight for Annabel.

While at Magic Kingdom, we all (even Teresa) rode the Tea Cups and everyone loved it. Michael took Dominic and Kayla to ride the Haunted Mansion ride, while Annie, Teresa, and I stood in line to meet the princesses. We waited in line so long, that Kayla got to cut in before we got to see them. The big girls were in awe over the princesses and nearly speechless! While, Teresa was again terrified of them. They got to meet Cinderella, Princess Belle, and Princess Aurora. I am sure this was the highlight of the trip for the girls. Kayla even had them sign her hat, which will be a treasured item for life.

At the end of the day, we were walking out and decided to try and beat the crowd and miss the last parade of the day. As we were walking out, the parade started and like heaven opening up....a space opened up just big enough for us to see the parade. We were meant to sit there and watch it. It was an amazing parade full of lights and characters.

Wednesday, back to Magic Kingdom without Teresa. Now time for us big kids to ride some rides. Again, we nearly rode everything we wanted to. The fast pases are awesome when you have kids. We pretty much only rode rides with fast passes and walked right on. The kids even got to ride Space Mountain twice (well, not Annie). Since we saw the parades the day before, we decided we would go meet Mickey and Minnie while everyone else was watching the parades. With only a 20 minute wait we all got to meet them. Dominic was so excited to meet Mickey! This was our last day at Disney.

Thursday morning and afternoon we lounged around at the hotel and enjoyed the pool. Then off to Auntie Gina's we go.

We arrived at Aunt Gina's just in time for dinner. The kids went right into the pool and the adults got to eat in peace:) Then the kids ate. My kids were so happy to see Aunt Gina and her family. And I think they had more fun there than at Disney. Cousin Maria kept them all occupied with coloring, computer games, and video games. They thought it was so cool to hang out with big cousin Maria. Maria even babysit one evening so us adults could have a night out. WE went to dinner, movie, and played poker. During our stay we hit a couple playgrounds and a beach.

We stayed at Aunt Gina's until Easter. WE all went to church together and had lunch with Aunt Gina's family, and Uncle Franks brothers family. What a wonderful way to end our vacation.

Back on the road we go. We made it day one all the way to Charlotte, again. WE stayed at an Embassy Suites. But, not before sitting in traffic in Florida for an hour!

Monday morning we had breakfast and off again. This day was the worst day of driving ever! We got stuck twice in an hour a piece of traffic. Once in the Carolina's and once in West Virginia. It took us 10 hours to get home from Charlotte, when it should have been only an 8 hour drive. But, despite it all........the kids were amazingly good.

I was so proud of all my kids during this trip. They were so good and listened so well during this whole trip. I couldn't have pictured it going any better.

When you are a mom, improvisation is a necessity.

For weeks I have been telling Michael to go get new tires on his car. He drives 45 minutes to work going into the snow belt, so this father of 4 should probably have good tires on his car, no? He had taken his car in over a month ago and they said his tires were bad and he should get new ones. One day of procrastination turned into many and before you know it, we wake up and there is a foot of snow outside and he still has crappy tires on his car.

So, he decided to work from home and go get new tires. In turn, I had to rearrange my schedule and miss a meeting I was planning on attending. But, he needs new tires, so it is worth it.

As I was out running errands that day, my rear back wheel continues to squeal, get overheated, and smell like burning rubber. This has been going on for months. We have taken it to the dealer, where they tell us that they can't find anything wrong with it. Really? Is it normal to have that one wheel twice as hot as the others and smell like burning rubber? They said it didn't happen when they had it.

So, since we were already going to the car shop, I figured, myswell have them take a looksy at my van. I drop it off and make sure I take the car seat out of my van and put it into Michaels car (because, yes this family of 6 only has one carseat for Teresa....yes, I know it is dumb).

Of course they call me shortly after I got home and tell me that they, too, can not find anything wrong with it. This is driving me mad. This does not sit well with me, since we will be driving 1000 miles to Florida in just a couple months.

It is 330pm and my kids get home at 4pm, and we decide to run out and get my van, so that we only have to go with two kids and not all four. Not sure how we would go with all four, since Michael's car can only fit 3, but whatever.

This now brings us to this morning. Teresa most certainly woke up way too early and on the wrong side of the crib! I sit her down to eat breakfast and all she wants to do is scream and slap her hands at me trying to hit the spoon out of my hands. She doesn't want her cheerios or milk or anything for that matter. So, she just screams. Meanwhile, I am trying to get my other three kids ready for school. All the while, they are trying to make Teresa happy.

Finally we are all coated, gloved, and booted up and are ready to head to school. The older kids climb in and I get Teresa and head to the van. But, what's this? Something is missing. Yep, you guessed. The carseat is still in Michaels car and he is already at work (remember 45 minutes away).

What is a mom to do? Quick thinking is a necessity, along with improvisation. I run into the house, put Teresa down and start thinking. How are the kids going to get to school? Do we have another car seat? Hmm...can she go in a booster? No, probably not a good idea! Oh wait! I still have the infant car seat. So, I run to the basement, pull it out of the closet and go to the car to install it. And anyone that has installed an infant carseat knows this is not the simplest of things, especially when you are running late and in a hurry! Thank goodness Teresa is so tiny and able to fit in the infant carseat.

Teresa thinks it is hilarious that she is sitting backwards again and the older kids do, too. Ahhhh....everyone is happy again and actually got to school on time.

Now it is naptime and time for my coffee break.