Yoga for the Kiddos

I've been waiting to receive this for months and months!

Today, surprise....it's here.

YOGA KIDS FUN COLLECTION

includes: Yogakids ABC's DVD

and Yogakids Silly to Calm DVD

I ordered this from DVD Swap with Sydney in mind. 

Last year she was doing a little 5 minute yoga session

on a TV Program

and was really getting into it., so

I ordered this 2 DVD set for her.

It's for ages 3-6, so she hasn't outgrown it yet.

Tonight Daniela & I tried out the first one, which

is entitled Silly to Calm.

Daniela was only really interested in three parts of it.

She liked the bunny breathing,

The wild tongue exercises, (her tongue can really go around)

and also the monkey/ape noises and actions.

I can't wait to take the set to North Carolina next month

and do some serious Yoga with Sydney...

well maybe just some yoga, serious may not be

in the picture.  Too funny.

My New Normality

Many changes have taken place in just a couple days.

Friday was my last day at work.

The anniversary of starting to work at the Nature Center

was the day after Labor Day and this year

would have made 14 years.

My reason for leaving is because I need more time

off than was feasible working in the finance department.

With six of my seven grandchildren living many states away,

I need to be able to take more than two weeks vacation a year.

I need to be there for my girls when they need me and

I need time with my Grandkids to be happy.

When Amanda called and said "Ava needs an MRI they are suspecting a

pituitary tumor.  Can you come?"  The answer was yes.

(Thankfully that was ruled out)

When Meghan called and said "Sydney needs her tonsils out and her Day Care

won't let her come back for two weeks.  Can you come?"

I did.

When Audra was giving birth with her husband in Afghanistan

she didn't even need to ask.

I was there.

Now it's Ashley's turn.

Yesterday after a bit of excitement .....

(Cancelled Continental flight, re-booking on Delta,

sitting on the freeway in a traffic jam, etc)

Ashley left for Spain for five weeks.

This is not a fancy vacation, it's a

requirement for her Masters degree.

My new Normality.....

staying home and caring for this munchkin 24/7.

This is not a sacrifice that I'm making.

Indeed this is something I was made for.

God gave me a passion for children...all children

and I'm happiest when I'm using my God given gift.

My new normality....

up at 5:30 a.m. to lift a sleepy eyed darling with

hair in her eyes, and a Binky in her mouth

from her crib.

Clam bake anyone?

My son-in-law Derek went all out on Memorial Day and put

on a whole Clambake.

I sampled everything....but the clams;

Michael & Derek ate those.

Michael had to check out the lobster and make

sure it was good quality.

They all passed the test and since

they were banded, Michael did too.

Lobster, clams & salmon (for Ava), sausage, corn on the cob & potatoes.

It was a real feast.

Yummy!

I had to help Michael with cracking his and removing all the meat,

while Mama was contending with a feverish Henry and trying to eat herself.

When Michael finished his lobster, he wanted to eat mine too.

Being the nice Gramie that I am, I did share, but.....

I didn't let him have my whole lobster & yes he would

have eaten all of mine too.

The shell on my lobster was much harder than Michael's to crack.

The first claw flew almost into the living room and the meat landed under

the table....I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman with her Escargot.

It took me a dozen tries to get into the second claw and that

was just a hole to dig the meat out.

Ugh! Hard work doesn't begin to defne it.

Do you think maybe I'm getting to old for lobster?

When I'm 80 maybe Michael will crack mine for me.



Dos Amigo's Cantina

We looked forward to our dinner all day long. 

 We couldn't wait to go through Northport on the

way home and stop and eat at this restaurant,

well ..... maybe that was just me.

Mexican Restaurant & Cantina    Dos Amigos

Open for business on the way back.



I loved the murals and the props.

  The outdoor dining area from the parking lot.



I told the kids they had to mow the grass before they could eat dinner



The waitress warned us that it could get buggy as the evening went on.



We moved indoors, because we'd had enough bugs

Ava dancing her way to her seat, Mexican music was playing.

Ashley said the flags are very authentic.

Henry watched the kids play Wikki Sticks

Food was scrumptious & the Margarita's were delicioso

They had this cool van the kids could drive



Ava's expression along with the sign is tooooo funny

Much better Ava

Ava at the Wheel - Watch out hombres here she comes

No trip to Mexico is perfect without a Chihuahua


This was our last stop of the family day outing.
It was late when we left and it had been a long day.
We'll have to go back again when Henry is big enough to drive.



A Stop at the Beach

The kids were promised a stop at the beach and since they were well-behaved that's what we did. Location? Somewhere on the way back towards home. Hey! I was just the passenger in the car, not the driver.

Sand feels good on the feet after our long walk in hiking boots

We watched some Kayakers

Yes, Michael planned ahead and brought his dump truck.

He was beyond thrilled and it showed.

A little chilly

Ava agrees

Henry did not put his feet in, but enjoyed watching

Ava enjoyed collecting shells & so did Gramie

We were starved by this time, so we stopped at a cool resturaunt on the way home....
Location? Wait and see if I remember, stay tuned....

New Blogs on my Blog Lists

I know what interests me may not interest you, but go to my side bar and check out the two new blogs in my regular blog list; one is a relative.  Who could it be?  I'm not ruining the surprise by posting the name in the main post section, you just have to go to the side bar.  Over there to the right.....

Can you believe it?  Were you surprised?  Leave me a comment if you're pleased or if you're disappointed.

The other two new blogs have to do with autism, so you'll find them list under the autism blogs I read.  Besides learning a thing or two about autism, you'll also see faith in action and great ideas any mom can use.

Happy reading!

Walking on the Rockland Breakwater Pier

The kids played on the rocks while waiting for Mom

to hike it back to the car for jackets, because it was much

cooler and winder down on the pier.

Ava & Michael had new hiking boots for a good

grip on the rocks.

As you can see it's uneven and there a big gaps in between the stones.

Now were ready for the long walk.

About half the way out.

Ava & I are in the lead.

About 3/4 of the way to the lighthouse, at which point

I should have taken a picture of the lighthouse I

didn't....because Ava scrapped up her shin.

She was looking backwards, but kept walking forwards.

Yeah!  We made it. 

This picture was taken from one of the upper windows

of the lighthouse.

Samoluk family in front ot the lighthouse.

Some dumb kid doing some dangerous climbing down between

the rocks.  This folks is how accidents happen.

I copied this photo from the Internet, but you still can't

see the lighthouse.

(I copied this spiel as well)

The Rockland Breakwater and Lighthouse is a good choice for an interesting walk as well as providing a different kind of outdoor experience when visiting the Camden area. The Rockland Breakwater is rich in history and has been critically important to Rockland Harbor since it was built. The breakwater is just under a mile long and is a beautiful and scenic walk on sunny days. However, during bad weather, waves often crash over the granite breakwater which can make the walk a very wet one.

                                                                          

Finally the Lighthouse!

I didn't want to disappoint anyone.

We went inside and looked around, but did not

actually go up where the light was. 

They would only let eight people go up at a time

and we would of had to wait; besides the light it makes an extremely

loud noise every-so-often and

we decided it was probably more than

Michael could tolerate.

The fun family day is not over....

stay tuned.