How do you like to Travel?

Growing up we drove to most places when we traveled. I didn't mind riding in the car. I did get bouts of car sickness. I took medicine in a spoonful of peanut butter. Now as an adult I don't care for plain peanut butter. Noah has flown a lot. He had his first flight at eight months old. We also took our first major car trip when he was two months old. I think it has to do with preferences. When we visit my aunt and uncle in California we always fly. That's a really long drive. They always drive when they come visit us though. They bring their pups and always make a lot of side trips. One year they went to Texas to see my aunt and cousins. They also drove to Florida and South Carolina to see my sister. They stopped in Tennessee and ended up at my aunt's parents to see everyone else. When you fly, you can't do that. The days of meeting family or friends at the airport during a layover is no one longer permitted unless you go back through security. That just doesn't seem worth it. I wish I had my own jet and I could fly anywhere or a chauffeur in a huge comfortable car that could drive me anywhere.  Until teleporting is a viable travel method we ponder the question do we travel by car or by plane? There is so much to consider when planning your method of travel.

Check out my post about Car vs Plane Travel for important things to consider.

The Adventures of Traveling with Noah

Riding in a car can be boring. Noah's been traveling in the car his whole life. When Noah was two months old, we went to Virginia Beach. We had been in the car for hours and hours when Noah had enough. Right at that moment, his toy broke and that was the one thing that stopped his crying. I couldn't hold him because we were riding in the car. We were almost to the hotel so I tried everything I could think of. I started singing the Car-X commercial jingle over and over again and he stopped crying. When he was three, we would go visit my sister often. She lived three hours away. Noah started saying Wanna go down the road and asking are we there yet? I had to come up with things to entertain him in the car. Thankfully, I grew up going on vacations in the car. I was able to use my experiences and had an advantage with ideas. I didn't have my mom's smart phone, my mom doesn't have a smart phone, or a tablet, so my ideas were good old fashion fun. I didn't have any screens to watch movies, now kids have it easy. I try and limit Noah's screen time so I don't let him have it in the car. I prefer games, reading and other things that help his brain develop. It's also extra stuff to lug around. We have some fun times in the car together. I use this time together to make fun memories with him like my mom did. I still love to sing Billy Joel and Carly Simon like I did many times throughout the years. 

Be sure to check out my post about How to Entertain Kids in the Car.

Time to buy a New Blanket

I have something to tell you guys. I am 32 and I have a blanket.  I sleep with this blanket every night since I was pregnant with Noah. I don’t sleep well without it. If I am going on vacation for more than a week, I bring it with me. It is not a small blanket by any means, It’s a queen sized quilt. It is just the most comfortable thing in the world to me.  This blanket is 10 years old. It has been falling apart for the last couple years. A few months ago, it ripped. It didn’t rip on the sides but down the middle. I had to get up really quick and I guess I kicked up my legs and then it happened. I was so sad. I know it was just a blanket.  I am 32 years old, suck it up and move on. I couldn’t, I tried to sew it back together. I can’t sew so that didn’t work. I was heartbroken. I was trying to figure out how on earth to save my blanket. I thought, maybe I could find one exactly like it. I was unsuccessful. I then went shopping at Target. I didn’t find anything I liked. I decided that I would just staple it back together. So I made my precious blanket in to Frankenblankey. It is green after all. Even possibly the color of Frankenstein himself. 

Even though I stapled my blanket, I don’t think it is working too well. For the first few weeks I had to sleep like I was in a cocoon and it was weird. The staples are falling out, and I have to be careful where they are at all times. I think it is probably time that I retire my beloved blanket and buy a new one. I would want something similar, in color and thickness because I want to be warm enough but not sweating every morning.  I would like a soft and comfortable quilt to sleep under. I am looking in to allergy free down bedding. I like the feel of down but not all the feathers and sneezing it brings.  I am sure I will love this blanket as much as the old one, if I take the time to find the right one. I will probably also keep my old blanket in a closet and remember all the times I held baby Noah wrapped in it, all the shows we watched together with it and how we would go in our cave with the spiders, scurrying along as we played pretend.

What's a Payphone?

Remember pay phones? When you had to stand there and talk to someone. Usually with other people on the phones next to you. You had to have change or call collect.  Back when you had to gasp stand there and hold the phone and you couldn't walk around or comfortably sit down and talk.  I remember I would call friends on their home phones when I was out on pay phones. Only a few people had cell phones or car phones. It was such a pain to talk to someone when you were away. A lot of them were outside so in the summer you would be sweating while you chatted. You had to stop and make the call.  If it was wintertime you would be shivering at the other end. Most payphones didn't allow incoming calls, you had to make sure you hung up before it went to an answering machine or voice mail, or you would waste your change.

There aren't many pay phones anymore. I can't remember the last time I saw someone use one. I think the last time I used one was on my honeymoon eleven years ago to call my mom.  I remember when I was in jr high there was always a long line at the pay phone at the movies to be picked up on Friday nights. I remember being with my friends and thinking it was funny to call Hooked on Phonics and the Jerry Springer show and hang up before anyone was on the line.  When we were at Epcot, it was so weird to see a pay phone granted they were London pay phones or phone booths but Noah asked me what it was. Kids are so used to their parents having cell phones, it's hard for them to fathom what a pay phone is. I know that there are pay phones still some places but they are always deserted. There is no one waiting to use one impatiently.

When was the last time you used a pay phone?

My Most Embarrassing Mom Moment.

I shared with you my most embarrassing moment when I threw up all over the bus on a field trip in the ninth grade. Now I want to share with you my most embarrassing mom moment. As a parent we all have one or two or five depending on the child and the number of kids you have. It could be something like your child said something inappropriate to someone or that they did something silly. Mine however involves me. 

When Noah was 3 months old my cousin and her three kids were visiting. Noah had a dirty diaper and of course I wanted to change him right away. So, I took him to his changing table. I know what you are thinking, he peed on you. No that wasn't what happened. I started changing his diaper and he wasn't quite done yet so I quickly closed his diaper and waited for him to finish. After he was done, I changed him. I went back to my company and was sitting there talking to my cousin. I always play with my hair so I was running my fingers through it and all the sudden. I felt something on my hand. I looked at my hand and it was covered in poop. I had poop in my hair and on my hand. I gave my cousin Noah to hold while I washed my hair in the sink. Her kids thought it was the funniest thing ever. They told their dad on the phone. I was so embarrassed. Thankfully it was my family and I was at home. Could you imagine if I were at a restaurant or the store. 

What is your most embarrassing mom moment? 

My Tablet is not Working Properly

I allow Noah what we call tablet time.  He loves to play educational apps along with fishing games.  He even has his own virtual fish tanks.  Like most children, he has the Minecraft bug.  He loves Minecraft. It is a really fun and creative app. He even built me a house out of pink wool.  Tablet time is something that he earns for good behavior. It is not something he always gets; it depends on what is going on and how his day has been.  He hasn’t had much tablet time lately because my tablet doesn't always work.  This makes both of us very sad.  Noah told me that I need to take it to a device repair place the next day. I haven’t fixed it yet. I think that I know what is wrong with it. I want to check with Ipad (either 1 2 or 3) Repair by Fone Angels just to make sure it isn't something else. Normally I have great luck with electronics.  My sister however, has huge problems.  She has probably broken every phone she has ever owned. She is always cracking the screen, dropping it in the toilet, and other assorted things.  I am not sure what her issue is.  It seems like she is constantly getting her phone repaired.

 I have only broken two phones.  One I dropped on a sidewalk and it broke. Thankfully it wasn’t an expensive phone.  The other one, I was on vacation in San Diego, and we had just arrived and we went to the beach.  I was so excited to see the water I went in to the ocean with my phone in my pocket.  I was extremely tired from traveling all day.  I think when you are traveling is the worst time to have your phone break. My friend was nice enough to share hers with me so I could still call my family.  Thankfully I must have foreseen this happening, because I had upgraded my phone the night before I left for my trip and it was going to be delivered the day after I got home.  That was an ordeal too getting it activated. I ended up missing a friend’s child’s birthday party.  It’s usually a lot cheaper just to get your device repaired than to buy new. Smart Phones are so expensive and if you get a discount on it, you usually have to renew your contract or what we call in my family your prison term.

Have you ever broken your phone or tablet?

Time to Buy Noah New Sandals Again

Noah is growing so fast.  I am not sure if his feet are ever going to stop growing.  I have to buy him new shoes quite often.  It’s not always because they are too small, but because he is a boy who wears them out.  He loves to run and play and his shoes are always on his feet. He doesn’t have the love of being barefoot like I do.  I am happy about that, there are too many things for him to step on, and that I prefer that he always wears shoes, anytime he isn’t at home. It’s really hard to find cute affordable kid’s shoes. I am not really big on characters on shoes or clothing and so many things are branded now.  It can take some time to find some we both like.  I have been looking online because taking Noah to a shoe store is not too fun. He is just has so much energy. I really like Ecco Kids Shoes. I think that they are adorable and affordable.  Noah really needs new sandals. I noticed that when his toes were practically falling out of them.  

I still remember his first little sandals. He was so cute in them. I took him out to walk around in them and took about 5,000 pictures.  Since, he was one when he had his first pair of shoes. He was held or in his car seat when we went out.   There are some really cute baby and toddler shoes and booties.  When I have friends who are expecting I like to pick out little cute baby shoes, since Noah forbids anything that he deems babyish.  I have some friends who are expecting or just had a baby recently. I can’t wait to pick out some inch blue shoes.  Even if the baby doesn’t wear them, they are a really cute keepsake.  I know a certain little girl who is gonna get some cupcake shoes from me soon.

Our Family Tradition of Picking Out Our New Christmas Ornaments

Here it is already September.  Christmas is going to be here before I know it.  Now that I live in Florida, it kind of creeps up on me, because it doesn’t get cold here. I don’t have the leaves falling from the trees and the frost on the ground.  I often forget what season it is. It is always summer here.  Time has really flown by lately; soon I will be getting my Christmas tree and ornaments out, and decorating my home in the traditional Sheilacakes family décor.  I love getting all the decorations out and sharing stories with Noah about the Christmas tree decorations we have collected over the years. I am a little picky about where certain ornaments go, The Nutcracker and The Sugar Plum Fairy always have to be together with The Nutcracker Storybook.  I also make sure that Raggedy Ann and Andy have to be together.  My sister and I used to put our first Christmas ornaments up on the very top so, I still do that.

Noah has some ornaments that we got at the apple orchard for his first Christmas. They aren’t as special as the frame ornament we have. It has a picture of me and him on his first Christmas morning.  He is even wearing a little Santa hat.  Some of them are ones we made when I was Noah’s age.  We must store our ornaments well because they are still whole. They have some cracks but what do expect for ornaments that are 25 years old?  Every year we pick out a couple new ornaments.   I can’t wait to see what Noah picks. I am willing to bet that they will be either Lego or Star Wars or a combo. I think he has his eye on an R2-D2 ornament already. You can find really cool ornaments any time of the year if you know where to look.  I have considered doing an ornament exchange with my friends that live in my apartment complex.  I have never participated in one before but, know people who do it every year. I have received ornaments as gifts before, and even though I am no longer in contact with them, I think of them when I hang that particular ornament.  It makes me smile. I remember I received a beautiful butterfly ornament from my speech therapist in elementary school. I had trouble saying the s sound. I would make the sh sound.  Thankfully that is no longer an issue and that Noah didn’t inherit it from me.  

I really want to organize a Christmas ornament swap.   It would be so much fun, especially using the internet to find unique ornaments from Lakeside Collection.  My question is do you get all the same ornament or do you pick different ones for different people? I think I would prefer to personalize it.  That way everyone knows that we took the time to think of them and didn’t just run to the local store and grab ornaments to share.  It’s easier to remember who you received it from if there is a story behind it and if it’s neat.