Pink in a Sea of Blue

To those of you who left comments with suggestions of new names for my blog, thank you!! I loved the whole word play on the Waters name and was really thinking along those lines. I also got some suggestions from Meredith regarding my favorite Bible verse which I loved too. I have to say though I really, really love Michelle's "Pink in a Sea of Blue." I do live with a bunch of boys!!!! So Michelle, keep your eyes open for your Starbucks card in the mail. Thanks for the ideas ladies! They were all very creative.

Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio

If you're looking for a short distance trip you should definitely check in to the Great Wolf Lodge in Macon, Ohio. Jim, the boys and I went for the weekend and had a blast. Macon, Ohio is about fifteen minutes outside of Cincinnati. The trip from Hendersonville to the Lodge was about four and a half hours.
We were a little hesitant about a hotel with an indoor waterpark after my friend Sarah stayed at one in the Smoky Mountains and had this experience. But, Saundra told us about the hotel and she had friends who had stayed there and was able to give us their reviews. We decided on somewhere close to Cincinnati so that we could visit with Catrina (she used to babysit the boys) and her new baby boy Aleck.
We pulled up to the Lodge and were amazed at the size. Its huge and its directly beside Kings Island Amusement park. When we got out of the car, we could see the roller coasters from the parking lot. It didn't take us long to decide that we would most definitely come back here again. We checked in and asked to purchase a waterpark bracelet for Catrina who would visit us at the hotel tomorrow. The great thing about the waterpark is that its only for hotel guests and their guests. Typically a guest of someone at the hotel would have to pay $20 for a waterpark pass; however, the nice young man who checked us in gave us the pass for free.

We were pleasantly surprised again once we got to our room. We had just reserved the basic room and when we got to our room, they had sent us to one that had the kids camp section. It had a separate room for the boys with bunk beds and it looked like a tent. They had their own tv and playstation game. I called the front desk being the frugal gal I am because as nice as it was to have the kids camp room, I wasn't going to pay anymore than what we were paying. I called to tell them we had the wrong room and the sweet man at the desk replied, "You've been upgraded because we aren't full this weekend. Enjoy this room at the price you were paying for the basic one." Now that's customer service!


There is so much to do at this hotel and we never left it the entire weekend. Catrina brought baby Aleck and we played at the waterpark for most of the day Saturday. We then went for dinner and bless his heart Aidan fell asleep. We enjoyed meeting little Aleck and getting to catch up with Catrina! After that we bought some magic wands and embarked on MagiQuest- an interactive game that has you going on quests to find items throughout the hotel. After you have finished a quest and acquired the skills you need, you have to fight the dragon. Jim is very serious about getting that dragon. :)





The boys also enjoyed the Cub Club which is a craft and game room in the hotel. They have free crafts children can do as well as numerous other crafts to pick from which range anywhere from $3-$15. The room is loaded with toys, crafts, video games, and pretend play.
Every evening at 8pm and 9pm, in the middle of the lobby at the big tree, they have story hour for the kids.


I would highly recommend the Great Wolf Lodge. There are several locations across the nation. The customer service throughout was amazing. The waterpark was fun and very clean. I don't know what their peak season is but the waterpark was never crowded and the most we waited in line was about 15 minutes and only for the two biggest tube rides. All other slides and rides had no waiting.
In my opinion the rooms are expensive. I think if you are going for a long weekend and all you intend to do is the waterpark and other things in the hotel its a good deal. If you factor in what you would pay to go to Kings Island waterpark or any other attraction and look at the fact you get the waterpark at Wolf Lodge with your stay, the price is not as huge. The food is expensive; however, there are many places right around the hotel to drive to and eat. All rooms come with a mini fridge and microwave. We took some things like juice, water and poptarts.
We had a blast and the boys cried when we left. Aidan kept saying he wanted to make the Great Wolf Lodge his home. Ha!

$63.55

Is what I paid yesterday to fill the gas tank in our car!

The Last Days of Summer

It is hard to believe that summer is almost gone. Not gone according to the season but slipping away quickly according to the school calendar. In just a few weeks school will swing back in to session full force. And while we've had a crazy, busy summer its a different kind of craziness compared to that of the school year.
Saturday night we took the boys to tour Station Camp Elementary. It's a new school and our subdivision has been rezoned there. From the moment I heard people talking about a new school I was apprehensive. Avery has always been a child who does not like change. He had such a great Kindergarten year (praise the Lord) and his first grade year last year was the same. He kept saying he wanted to stay at Jack Anderson. He knows Jack Anderson and to him it feels familiar and comfortable.
Jim and I have talked to him all summer about the new school. How most of his friends are going there too and many of the teachers as well. I've been praying for Avery and the school situation. And you know as He always does, the Lord takes care of His children.
Station Camp Elementary had a fundraiser event at the school Saturday night. It was the first time parents and children could tour the brand new school. It's a beautiful building. Its bright, the classrooms are huge compared to his old school. The gym is cool. The cafeteria is huge and even has what looks like a self serve island (just the right height for little ones). Avery was super excited about this- me- not so much. I just see a million little hands reaching in and touching all of the food. Lets just hope there is supervision at that self serve island or that they only put things wrapped on it for the little ones to get themselves.
Avery was so excited. We walked around with a couple of his friends from first grade. We saw a lot of people we knew as well as some of the teachers who came over from Jack Anderson. He left there ready to go back to school and can't wait to start second grade.
On a funny note, we toured all of the grade level classrooms. We were in a fourth grade class and the teacher was there answering questions. As we were walking toward the door, the teacher asked Avery if he would be one of her fourth graders in August. Jim and I laughed and told her that he was going in to second grade and that he was 7. Avery has always been a huge kid. He is already up to my shoulders so I can't even imagine what he'll be like at 9 or 10.
So, we are winding our summer down. We always try to take the boys on a little weekend trip before school starts just as a last bit of summer fun. This weekend we are heading to Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio. Its about 20 minutes out of Cincinnati. This hotel has a huge indoor water park inside the hotel. It looks pretty cool. We have heard good reviews about this particular one. Our babysitter moved there a few years ago. She babysat the boys for a little over a year and when she got married, she and her new husband moved to Cincinnati. She just had her first baby, little Aleck so we are going to get to meet him for the first time and visit with Ms Catrina a bit too.
I'm hoping to have some pictures up soon. In an earlier post I mentioned dropping our digital camera in the water. Well, it just never recovered. I got a new one last week but haven't had time to sit down and upload the software. Hopefully soon.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Thanks to Saundra for sharing this recipe from the Kraft website. It made for a yummy dinner exchange recipe.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1/2 cup water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

HEAT oven to 400°F. Stir tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.

PLACE chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with basil. Top with cheese and stuffing mixture.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Its All In The Name

Can you help me with a new name for my blog? How much more exciting can you get than, "The Waters Family Blog?" I know that's what you're thinking. ha! If you have a suggestion, leave it in the comments and if I choose your title for my blog, I'll send you a $5 Starbucks gift card. You can have a Cafe Mocha, caramel latte, mint chocolate chip frappuccino, or hot chocolate (if you don't drink coffee) on me.

Random

I believe parenting is all about learning on the job. Trial by fire if you will. :) There are some very helpful books out there that can supplement the actual experience. But I truly believe that nothing can substitute for the hands on day to day. I say that because I used to work with children from 5-15 who had some pretty extreme behavioral issues. Foolishly I thought (not having any children of my own) that if I can work with this group then parenting my own should be a breeze. I laughed as I typed that last statement because I imagined the Lord looking down at me as I was thinking that(in my very young naive years) thought shaking His head and laughing. :) Every child is different, even siblings. I think the only right way to parent your child is to love them will all that you are, lead them to independence, help them be strong in Christ, and pray like crazy. Most everyone has their view of how children should be parented including myself. I love to hear parents' thoughts about everything from structuring time to discipline. I had some extra time this morning because my early riser decided to sleep in. I was thinking about some of the little things. I'm interested to hear what you think about these issues. Just random questions from one parent to another- no right or wrong answer- just curious as to your thoughts.
1. Do you allow your children to eat or drink anywhere other than the kitchen?
2. How do you want your children to refer to adults?
3. Do you have chores for your children and do they get an allowance?
4. What's your policy on "quitting?" For example- if your child started a sport, etc and really disliked it- would you make him/her finish?
5. If you have more than 1 child, when they argue do you allow them to work it out or do you step in?
I'll post my answers in the comments too.

Rest

Do you ever forget to do that? I know as a mother of young children the opportunity to rest does not come often enough. I find many times though that even when it does I ignore it. That is never more apparent than in the summer. For me, it is easier when our days are scheduled with people to play with and places to go. The boys enjoy our summer activities but even a good thing can be taken too far. This past week I think our crazy, action packed (as fun as its been) summer has caught up with us all. My wake up call came in the form of a meltdown in the middle of WalMart last night. Now meltdowns with Aidan are not all that uncommon (although I have to say the closer he gets to 4 the better he's doing with that) but when big brother joins in and it is an all out, point of no return, have to take them to the car episode, I know that I haven't taken those opportunities for rest.
So today we are hanging out. No where to go, no one to see, not a thing we have to do. We are resting in the coolness of our shade tree in the back yard. :) Don't laugh- its taken us almost 7 years to get that shade. Today I would encourage you to take your rest times when the opportunity arises. I am definitely going to work on recognizing my opportunities before we get too worn.

Worn- Part 2

I think maybe I should have come up with a different title. I probably would have except I want those of you that have prayed for me to know that your prayers were felt and so very appreciated and I believe answered. I have some very wonderful women in my life. Some I've known for years and others I've just recently met. They are an eclectic group of ladies all with different lifestyles but with a common thread- their love for the Lord. I am constantly amazed and inspired as well as encouraged by them.
I was feeling very unsettled about six months ago and questioning where the Lord was leading me. I am a stay at home mom and was really feeling like I needed to be doing something more. I wrote this post about how I was feeling at the time. Many of these women had some very sound advice and I know they have been praying. I've been praying too and really making sure that I'm listening to the Lord. One of the best suggestions was from sweet Sarah who encouraged me to "wait" and not do anything until I was sure what the Lord was saying to me. Now I haven't known Sarah a long time but I felt like she sure knew me when she left this comment. I struggle with so many things but can I just tell you that patience is a HUGE one for me. So I took her advice.
Here I am six months later feeling satisfied. Satisfied that I am where God wants me to be. Satisfied that this is where He has me in this season of my life. Satisfied in His sovereignty. I have so much to learn and man can the Lord really use my experiences as a stay at home mom of two little boys to teach me! Patience- yeah He's got me working on that- and that may very well be a lifelong process for me. Submission- check-I'm learning about that too- why it can be so difficult for me to submit to His will when He ALWAYS has the best for me. One that I'm not very proud to have to be working on is envy. I don't know- maybe there is a better term for it. Its not a nice thing to admit about yourself but if you are ever going to change it you have to own it. I have allowed myself to focus too much on material things- a bigger house, a nicer car- the list goes on and on. He's working on me here too.
I want to close this post with a quotation I remember Audrey using. I'm not sure who said it, maybe she knows. Its just one of those things that hits you like a ton of bricks or at least it really hit home for me.
"Where contentment ends is where comparison begins."
I sure hope I got that right. Ladies, thank you for continuing to pray for me. I love you all!

Let's Go To The Movies

Each year I struggle to come up with a reasonable (reasonably priced that is) birthday party destination. We used to have the boys' parties at home and those were always a lot of fun but also a lot of work. It was the cheaper option too. A couple of years ago we broke away from having them at home. We've done Kids Party Jumps (with inflatables) and the skating rink. In my opinion the skating rink was extremely affordable compared to other options.
This will be the first year that we have Aidan's away from the house. Always wanting to be like his big brother, he asked to have his at the skating rink too. I decided that 10-15 three and four year olds on roller skates may not be the most fun- especially for the parents who have to walk around the rink holding their hands the entire time.
Someone suggested having the party at the movie theater. Great idea, especially since Aidan's birthday is in August and being outside in August in Middle Tennessee is just plain HOT! I contacted Regal Cinemas here in Hendersonville and was blown away. I'm going to give you the breakdown. This may be useless information for a lot of you but I wanted to share just in case any of you here in Hendersonville or the surrounding areas were thinking about this option.
To have a birthday party at Regal Cinemas Indian Lake here in Hendersonville the cost is as follows:
Rent the party room $50.00
Per Guest: $15.25
The cost per guest gives the guest a movie ticket, kids combo meal (popcorn, drink, and skittles) and a tour of the projector room
For 15 guests grand total: in the range of $280
What????!!!!!
So, I scrapped that idea that is until I was talking to my neighbor and she suggested I check with NCG Movie theater in Gallatin. I have to say that I didn't get my hopes up. I had resigned myself to the fact that having a birthday party at a movie theater was not for us. I did call to check and here's the breakdown:
Rent the party room: FREE
Per Guest: $8.75
The cost per guest gives the guest a movie ticket, kids combo meal (popcorn, drink, skittles), and free drink and popcorn refills. You must have a minimum of 10 guests
For 15 guests grand total: $131.25
That's a huge difference. The key to finding a good date for your party is to log on to fandango.com and check their movie calendar. It offers you release dates for upcoming movies months in advance. This way you can be sure there will be an appropriate movie (for us that would be a G movie) showing on the day of your party.
If this is the option we go with, we'll definitely be doing it at the Gallatin theater. :)

Happy 4th from Kiser Avenue

I love my neighbors. They are some of the most wonderful people and my family and I feel so blessed to live near them. For the past few years, we have come together and shot off fireworks. Its usually on the 3rd since many of us have plans to watch fireworks somewhere else on the 4th. The kids have fun playing together and the adults get to sit and visit a bit while watching. We love Ashley, Jason and their girls and Stacey, Darrell, Darryan and Darrell. This year we have a new addition to Kiser, the Dungeys. I have to admit when houses went up for sale on Kiser, we were a bit concerned about who we might get as neighbors. We prayed diligently about it and God blessed us with James, Cathy, and their daughter Jaclyn. They fit right in. Now if we could only talk Darrell and Stacey in to staying!!
So, Happy 4th from Kiser Avenue. We hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday. For all those men and women who have served, are serving, or have loved ones serving in our country's armed forces, we sincerely thank you. God bless America.
And we still miss you Vickie! :)

To Pool Or Not? That is the Question

The boys had swimming lessons at our friend Leslie's house. She has a really nice pool with a built on deck. The boys loved going there and they love swimming whether its at someone's house or at the Y. Every day after lessons, Avery would say something like, "I sure wish we had our own pool like Ms. Leslie." And I thought to myself, I sure wish we did too. How nice would it be to just walk out your back door and hop in the pool just whenever? As much as we'd love to have an inground pool, that just isn't in our budget even in the near future. We have been thinking about an above ground one though.
I know some of you out there have pools or you grew up with one, let me know your thoughts. Jim and I didn't grow up with a pool so we really are at a loss when it comes to the expense of one and the maintenance. Is all the work and expense worth the convenience and fun?