On your mark, get set, go!

More on Pick Your Own Fruits:

Apple Picking - A Tasty Temptation

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A financial storm has settled on my home - and it’s raining bills, bills, bills.

I won’t bore you with the details.  It would sound kind of whiny anyway.

My husband still has a good income, despite the current start-up costs of a new practice.  We have a lovely home, even if we’re suddenly being hit with having to replace the water heater and the roof.  My gas-guzzling Suburban is still a great car for our adventurous family, despite losing another battle with the resident mice. 

****I like mice, they’re adorable, but now they’ve gone too far, decimating my car’s AC, again.  It’s time for an aggressive relocation policy.  If you’ve had any success getting rid of mice in your car or home, please tell me what worked.  We’re ready to try just about anything.****

This financial storm - decreased income, increased expenses - is hitting at a time when we’re all finding out just how much the price of oil impacts all costs.  Our gas bills have doubled, and so have our grocery receipts.  There are surcharges everywhere, and we can’t even pick up a pizza for the kids without cringing at the price.

Now I’m really going to get whiny.  Turn away.  Fast.

What this means for me - the homeschooling volunteering mom with no personal income - is that: I’ll have to slash our expenses; and I’ll have to start generating an income.

Oh, it’s going to be painful.  No more books.  I’ll have to read or re-read what I already have, or go back to the Library.  No more Starbucks Venti Nonfat Lattes.  I’m quitting cold turkey.  No more take out.  We’ll be on the home-cooked meal plan.  Not so delicious.  No more newspaper delivery, I’ll have to get the news online.  No more road trips to see my friends and family.  They’ll have to visit us over the next few months. 

The worst part of this whole scenario is that we’ll probably have to skip the family gathering at a Caribbean wedding that we’ve been looking forward to for the past two years. 

Okay, I know.  We still have food, home, health, and a loving family.  No more whining.

Resilient kids have that pioneering spirit!

We had a family meeting to discuss our current financial strategy.

My son - he’s a giver - volunteered to quit piano lessons.   My daughter doesn’t want to give up the harp, but she is willing to cut back on lessons.   She also offered to teach her brother so he could keep up his music skills.

It was lovely to see how they were willing to cooperate, even as I wished it was under better circumstances. 

Alex started sobbing when he found out that we would have to cancel our road trip to see our friends in Maryland, but Kayla stroked his head and comforted him with offers to teach him how to skateboard.  This offer was especially remarkable since earlier in the day she had made it clear that Alex was NOT allowed to skateboard with her.

Then, both kids offered to help out with our income and expenses.  They have plans to start a lemonade stand and to live off the land.  We’re going to eat the vegetables from our garden when they’re ready, and go squirrel huntin’ in the meantime.  Yeah, they’ve got that pioneering spirit!

I wonder if I could convince them to hunt mice instead?  Do you know of any good recipes for rodent vittles?

Get a Job, Mom

Bottom line, I need to get a job, or at least find a way to contribute to the family income.

I’m a highly educated, savvy woman.  It shouldn’t be too difficult to get a job, right?

If I bought into Leslie Bennetts argument in The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much?, I might be genuinely worried that I’ve failed to “protect (my)self against economic hard-ship by maintaining the capacity to support (my)self.”

Reading Bennetts’ book I might be led to believe that - in taking years off from the a career track to be a full-time mom - I’ve put myself in jeopardy of being a middle-aged has-been with no career prospects.  Ugh!

Okay, well, call me Pollyanna, but I think that I’ve picked up valuable skills as CEO of this family and through my volunteer work.

Just for fun, I filled out the Mom Salary Wizard on Salary.com.  It turns out that I should’ve earned $214,000.00 last year.  If only!  Masochists can even print out a check for themselves (but you can’t cash it in anywhere.)

Hey, I’m a valuable resource!  And, I’m not sure how yet, but I’ll figure out a way to generate a solid income stream.

Who knows?  Maybe I’ll figure out a way to be one of those bloggers who earn six figure salaries.  Of course, then I’ll have to deal with the stress of being a celebrity blogger.

Did I say no more whining?

Book Resources:

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When we first moved to NY’s Capital Region, I sought out all the best dog walks in the area.  Every day, I packed Kayla into the Kelty carrier so that we could explore new trails with our dogs.

Unfortunately, these care-free outings came to an end as Kayla outgrew the carrier.  At first, her legs were too short for long walks; and later, with Alex, it became increasingly more difficult to satisfy the needs of a baby and a preschooler.

The dog walks became a daily necessity, rather than a grand adventure.

Now that the kids are old enough that I’m the one struggling to keep up, we’re eagerly exploring new trails and rediscovering old favorites.

Rensselaer Lake to Rapp Barrens Loop

On a recent visit to an old favorite, the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, we were confident, repeat visitors.  Sure, it had been several years since we’d set foot in the Rensselaer Lake section of the park, but with marked trails, who needs a map?

Apparently, we do.

It really shouldn’t have been a difficult to complete the 2 mile loop on the trails as they were well-trod and liberally labeled with red trail markers.

Dave and Yoohoo led the way, and Alex and I followed, stopping frequently to admire the vegetation. 

Well, perhaps we were a little too caught up in trying to identify mysterious flora.  We found these curious pink sprouts on leaves in one spot, and mammoth primeval water plants - possibly skunk cabbage - in another.  Somehow, we lost site of those markers.

Still, we weren’t too concerned.  We had a general sense of direction and we knew that the park isn’t too huge.  Eventually, we were bound to find civilization (we could hear the not-too-distant honking cars, after all.)

All true, but we hadn’t taken into consideration that we were circumnavigating a lake.

After seemingly endless trudging along, we found ourselves gazing wistfully at our trail - on the other side of the lake!

Not ready to swim the distance in the sometimes clear, sometimes swampy water, we were forced to turn around and head back to the mid-point of the loop where we had last seen those red markers.

It took a little more pleading than usual - and promises of jumbo-sized ice cream - to keep Alex trotting along.  He had been ready to turn around at the one mile mark, and he certainly hadn’t expected the 3-hour-tour.

Ice Cream Incentive

Fortunately, Alex really loves ice cream, enough to keep him moving at a fast clip so that we could pick up Kayla in time to go for a treat. 

We ended our grand adventure at Moxie’s - a road side ice cream stand that looks like it was transported from the Happy Days set.

Bypassing the international vanillas - my palate isn’t sophisticated enough to appreciate the subtle differences between Haitian or Venetian Vanilla - I ordered the Espresso Mocha, with crunchy bits of espresso beans.  Alex loved his plain chocolate, Kayla enjoyed the real strawberries in her ice cream, and even Dave - who never likes sweets - agreed that this was one of those not-to-be-missed pleasures in life.

Slowly savoring our ice cream cones, we headed to the playground.  It’s gorgeous, full of retro equipment, but I wondered how they’ve avoided a lawsuit.  Even as I thought this, a child banged her mouth on a metal bar.  Not a big deal, but surely a risk in our litigious society.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t help noticing a neon blue ice cream cone in a child’s hands.  It was so bright, so unreal.

I asked the little girl to describe the taste, and she promptly answered, “It tastes like Blue Moon!” 

OK, I’d already figured that was their signature ice cream, but I was compelled to explore this unknown flavor myself. 

You know, I could describe the flavor of this Blue Moon Ice Cream.  I’m pretty sure that I’ve figured it out.  But, I think I’ll do you a favor, I’ll let your spirit of adventure guide you there to try it for yourself.

 

 

Our Tales From The Trails:

Imagination On The Trails at the Clarksville Cave Preserve, Clarksville, NY

Mud People and Rainy Day Hikes at Grafton Lakes State Park, Grafton, NY 

Art on the Trail at Olana State Historic Site, Olana, NY

Spring Break at Home on Peebles Island State Park, Cohoes, NY

Girl Scouts Help Save The Earth on the Bradley Farm Trail, Mt. Greylock State Reservation, MA

Hiking Book Resources:

Trails with Tales: History Hikes through the Capital Region, Saratoga, Berkshires, Catskills & Hudson Valley: Russell Dunn,Barbara Delaney: BooksISBN: 1883789486
ISBN-13: 9781883789480

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While I’m battling the Mud People, Dave is attending a family wedding. 

One of the many down-sides to having our family spread far and wide is that family gatherings require air travel.  The entire family had planned to attend Michael and Kim’s Wedding in southern California, but we just couldn’t afford to do it this time. 

It seems like all the young adults in our family are getting married this year.  This was the third wedding invitation of the year, but it’s probably the last for awhile.  Maybe.  I think.  (Unless Michael S. and Terry have plans.)  After that, the oldest is my daughter, Kayla, and she isn’t allowed to get married until she is at least thirty-four years old.

So, for those of us who couldn’t attend the wedding, here are Dave’s pictures. 

You’ll note that the photos are a little blurry.  He claims it’s due to the quality of the cell phone pictures; however, the first image that he transmitted was titled, “The Proper Mojito.”  And, if you look closely, you’ll note that George seems to be holding an extra mojito in most of these shots.

At Another Family Wedding:

Family Tradition and the ‘Ribbon Pull

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We woke up to a gloriously sunny day that screamed, “COME OUT AND PLAY!”

Slug that I am, even I couldn’t resist the siren call of a perfectly crisp Spring Sunday, but I couldn’t go out right away (not that I would’ve anyway since I am not a morning person.)  A family hike would have to await my daughter’s preemptive plans to visit a Buddhist temple.

Coincidentally, Kayla planned to visit the Grafton Peace Pagoda which is located near one of our favorite parks.  So, I figured this would work out perfectly.  I would pick her up at noon and we would go for a lovely hike on Grafton’s Spruce Bog Trail.  

We’ve done this circuit many times, and at just 2.5 miles, it’s an easy family favorite.  Yoohoo, gets to swim (and drink from) Mill Pond.  The kids get to pretend they are creeped out by the old cemetery at the trail head.  And, we all enjoy discovering red-spotted newts (as we often do) along the trail.

By the time we were ready for our hike, the sun was gone.  It was raining just enough that most sane people would’ve stayed home.  And, I’ll be honest, I was tempted to forget about it.  Instead, I thought about my friend, Ann, who never misses a day of exercise and actually prefers to hike in the rain.

Somehow, it just seemed kind of wimpy to let a little rain stop my hike.

Well, next time I get a crazy notion to hike in the rain with my kids, I’ll have to remember that Kayla and Alex can’t be trusted in muddy conditions.

Not only did they fling mud at each other, Kayla went so far as to slather it on.

This was a mess of epic (or, rather, Kayla) proportions. 

I didn’t want her taking all that mud into the car, and seat belt laws prevented me from putting her in the back with the wet dog.  So, I asked my bright, twelve-year-old to clean up at the pond at the end of the hike.

Not a complicated request, right?

Apparently, I hadn’t made myself perfectly clear to my older child.  While my son interpreted this as a request to wash his hands and wipe his shoes in the pond, my daughter simply walked into the pond - all the way to her waist, in 48 degree weather.

Meanwhile, I missed this maneuver because I was too busy reading a notice warning hikers that May is Turkey Hunting Season.

Now, I need the Peace Pagoda.

Other Hikes On Living By Learning:

Olana State Historic Site, Olana, NY

Peebles Island State Park, Cohoes, NY

Bradley Farm Trail, Mt. Greylock, MA

Trails with Tales: History Hikes through the Capital Region, Saratoga, Berkshires, Catskills & Hudson Valley: Russell Dunn,Barbara Delaney: BooksISBN: 1883789486
ISBN-13: 9781883789480

If you would like to receive free articles from On Living By Learning by email, click this link.  You can also click here to receive updates on a RSS Feed Reader.

It’s an odd feeling to look up to your young child.  Now, I can see that she isn’t so little anymore.

At least, she doesn’t look so little.  She still thinks like a kid most of the time - living in the present, excited by every little thing - but with astounding flashes of maturity.

Gradually, I’ve discovered that I’m no longer leading her.  Quite often, she is leading me.

She is surpassing me in many athletic pursuits - skiing, running, biking, kayaking, even, possibly, hiking.  For the most part; fortunately, I can still keep up.

And, I’m grateful, that for now, this means that I have an equal partner as we we explore the outdoors.

Maybe I’m just an optimist, but I’m hoping that she’ll still drag out her old mom for outdoor adventures, even when she does reach the turbulent teen years.

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What do you get when you have two Teen-Level Girl Scouts planning a birthday party?

You get a totally girl-led event. 

Over the years, Girl Scouts Kayla and Sara have been planning all kinds of events for younger Girl Scouts or in their community.  So, when these new friends found themselves sharing a birthday in their first year at middle school, they were ready to rock an awesome party!

12 Year Old Birthday - A Girl-Led Roller Skating Party

Girl Scouts know that successful leaders: Discover, Connect, and Take Action.

In her first year at a small middle school, Kayla Discovered that her April birthday landed within a week of her new friend Sara.  Both wanted to share a birthday party, and in a small school setting, it’s only fair to include the whole class.  However, this mom had already made it clear that a big party at home was not an option this year.

Kayla Connected with Sara to brainstorm a solution to this problem.  They considered different venues for their party: laser tag at Zero Gravity, the indoor water park at the Ciccotti Center, or roller skating at Guptill’s Arena.  

The girls Took Action.  After finding out that Guptill’s offered the best rates and availability, they presented their birthday party request to their families.

Upon approval, they reserved the venue and ordered refreshments.  Kayla wanted to make a birthday cake, until she discovered that Sara’s mom is an incredible baker.  She was happy to delegate this to the expert, especially since she got to choose her favorite Argyle pattern for the frosting.

With the location and refreshments covered, it was time to go public.

The girls went online to create birthday cards, but they needed to do a little research first.  They knew they wanted to give guests the option to donate money to a worthy organization, instead of presents.  However, they didn’t know where to suggest.

After some discussion, Kayla and Sara realized that they both shared a desire to help animals.  So, they selected The Guilderland Animal Shelter, put it on their birthday flyer, and snail-mailed this to all their 6th Grade classmates, some of their older buddies, and a few old friends. 

Feeling great knowing that they were helping local pets (this event raised $200.00 for the Animal Shelter,) they were ready to celebrate.

At the the party, the girls roller skated on the “world’s largest indoor roller skating arena,” but they also enjoyed…

…mixing old friends and new friends…

…winning prizes at the claw machine in the arcade…

…and dancing in the Secrets Night Club.

Some of the guests took their dancing very seriously…

…and some were head-over-heals with joy.

When it was time to leave, the partygoers waited on benches for their designated drivers…

…many were sad to go but not the parents of the near teens.

We knew we still had a few, precious years before they could drive off on their own…

More Birthday Party Articles:

Learn more about our party traditions on Birthday Celebrations.

Baby Parties: Baby To Preschool.

4th Birthday: Ariel’s Caribbean Luau and our  Piñata Tradition.

5th Birthday: A Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

6th Birthday: The Art Party.

7th Birthday: A Pokémon Party.

8th Birthday: A Harry Potter Party.

9th Birthday: Tween Spa Party.

10th Birthday: Chocolate Dreams Slumber Party.

11th Birthday: The Last Dance Tween Disco Party.

12th Birthday:  A Girl-Led Tween Roller Skating Party.

If you would like to receive free articles from On Living By Learning by email, click this link.  You can also click here to receive updates on a RSS Feed Reader.

It was supposed to be the last big birthday party.  At eleven years of age, a girl should be too old for traditional birthday parties, right?

I always thought that the 10th Birthday Party should be the last big blast until the Sweet Sixteen Party.  However, my daughter begged and pleaded, reminding me that this was her final year in elementary school.  She convinced me that this would be her last chance to gather her friends before they moved on in middle school.

Well, since this was to be the last big party, I gave Kayla a lot of slack in planning the party.  Twelve girls, overnight, OK, no problem.  A Disco Dance Theme, alright, sounds like fun.

What I didn’t take into account is that fifth grade girls can be at varying stages of emotional development, and mostly, they aren’t so sweet and innocent anymore.

Not that these weren’t a good group of girls - they were - but in such large numbers, they egg each other on and the drama is probably inevitable.

Before blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, Kayla managed to catch the tablecloth on fire.  This bit of pyrotechnics was minor in comparison to the emotional fireworks at the party.

Looking on, I didn’t really know what the private discussions were about, but for the girls involved they were intense.  And, it seemed that over the course of the slumber party, there were several high-drama situations.

Overall, this was my least favorite birthday party.  I prefer the fun, high-octane parties without the emotional roller-coaster.

In retrospect, the party would have been fine if we eliminated the overnight element. 

11 Year Old Birthday - A Disco Dance Party

Before the party, we cleared out a room and turned it into a Disco Dance Club with a Mirrored Ball and foil streamers hanging from the ceiling.

We also set the stage for making music videos: an old camcorder; a pile of neon accessories (from Oriental Trading); and a Karaoke Machine for the sound tracks.  That was a popular activity throughout the party.

The girls also loved creating their own, stylish T-shirt designs.  I picked up a bunch of bright pink T-shirts at Michaels and a copy of Generation T: 108 ways to tranform a T-shirt.  They cut and embellished their shirts until I’m not sure if you could even call them T-shirts anymore.

I had hoped that with all the dancing, singing, and a relaxing hot tub soak, that the girls would actually sleep.  I even stayed with them until I thought they were all asleep.  Most were.  Some weren’t.  In the morning, several woke up with magic marker writing on their faces. 

Yeah, it turns out, that tweens like to pull pranks at slumber parties.  Go figure!  They’re not sweet, innocent, little girls anymore.

Book Resource:

Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt: Megan Nicolay: BooksISBN: 0761137858 ISBN-13: 9780761137856

More Birthday Party Articles:

Learn more about our party traditions on Birthday Celebrations.

Baby Parties: Baby To Preschool.

4th Birthday: Ariel’s Caribbean Luau and our  Piñata Tradition.

5th Birthday: A Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

6th Birthday: The Art Party.

7th Birthday: A Pokémon Party.

8th Birthday: A Harry Potter Party.

9th Birthday: Tween Spa Party.

10th Birthday: Chocolate Dreams Slumber Party.

11th Birthday: The Last Dance Tween Disco Party.

12th Birthday:  A Girl-Led Tween Roller Skating Party.

If you would like to receive free articles from On Living By Learning by email, click this link.  You can also click here to receive updates on a RSS Feed Reader.

“Piñatas are for little kids,” said the daughter who would have been horrified by a piñata-less birthday party the previous year.

At the august age of 10, piñatas were out, but chocolate was in.

10 Year Old Birthday - A Chocolate Dreams Slumber Party

Ingredients:

Pizza and Soda for Dinner

1-2 Videos, Video Game Console, Video Games including the DDR (Dance, Dance Revolution)

Chocolate Fondue Fountain with an assortment of fruits, pretzels, and marshmallows for dipping.

Bundt Cake Filled with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Mommy-enforced Bedtime

Grandma’s Palachinke filled with jam and whipped cream for breakfast.

IMPORTANT - High tolerance for high-pitched sounds and sugar-fueled non-stop motion.

 

More Birthday Party Articles:

Learn more about our party traditions on Birthday Celebrations.

Baby Parties: Baby To Preschool.

4th Birthday: Ariel’s Caribbean Luau and our  Piñata Tradition.

5th Birthday: A Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

6th Birthday: The Art Party.

7th Birthday: A Pokémon Party.

8th Birthday: A Harry Potter Party.

9th Birthday: Tween Spa Party.

10th Birthday: Chocolate Dreams Slumber Party.

11th Birthday: The Last Dance Tween Disco Party.

12th Birthday:  A Girl-Led Tween Roller Skating Party.

If you would like to receive free articles from On Living By Learning by email, click this link.  You can also click here to receive updates on a RSS Feed Reader.

Tweens are oh so mature one moment, and playful little kids the next.

9 Year Old Birthday - A Spa Party

The first activity at this party appealed to the little girls in them.  They each made a cake doll using materials that a friend, who is also a professional baker, provided.  (For professional results, take a look at Cake Fun.)

After finishing the hard work of cake decorating, they were ready for some pampering: facial, manicure, and a hot tub soak.  (Cosmetics, Headbands, and other “musts” were from The Dollar Store.)

 

With tweens, it’s sophisticated styling one moment, and the “George Washington” aquatic hairstyle move the next.  Even the ultra-serious tango gets a playful edge.

More Birthday Party Articles:

Learn more about our party traditions on Birthday Celebrations.

Baby Parties: Baby To Preschool.

4th Birthday: Ariel’s Caribbean Luau and our  Piñata Tradition.

5th Birthday: A Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

6th Birthday: The Art Party.

7th Birthday: A Pokémon Party.

8th Birthday: A Harry Potter Party.

9th Birthday: Tween Spa Party.

10th Birthday: Chocolate Dreams Slumber Party.

11th Birthday: The Last Dance Tween Disco Party.

12th Birthday:  A Girl-Led Tween Roller Skating Party.

If you would like to receive free articles from On Living By Learning by email, click this link.  You can also click here to receive updates on a RSS Feed Reader.