Toys and Noise

Too many and too loud. That pretty much describes all the kids stuff in this house of ours. I'm not one to buy my kids a toy every time we go to the store, but in this case I had no choice.

About a month ago I came across myjobchart.com. It's a free site where parents can set up chores for their kids. Kids earn point for each job they do and they can redeem those points for rewards. The website loves to tell you that each point is worth one penny and when enough points are earned, they can be redeemed for toys from Amazon. I know points won't magically get my kids toys. Only a credit card does that. We're trying to watch what we spend, but we let each of the kids pick a few inexpensive retail rewards.

One truck that the Dude picked out happened to be the same one his Pap brought back for him from the beach. Because of that, we let the Dude choose another toy. He picked a dump truck. The first thing I noticed about this dump truck were the buttons. Like many of his other construction vehicles, I knew those little red buttons made noise. Loud noise! I've learned to tune those sounds out so I let him mark that truck as a reward.

On a recent trip to Target I let the kids browse through the toy section. We always browse, but I rarely purchase them something. Don't you know that same truck was at Target. And it was $10 cheaper than the Amazon price. I said I would buy it for him and deduct points from his account when we got home.

Stupidest thing I have ever done!!!

Not only did pushing the buttons on this truck make it beep and vroom, but bumping into it caused it to make noise! We were quite the sight as I precariously carried this truck through the store having it make noise the entire time even though no one was touching the actual truck. Just the box. The noise coming from this thing were so obnoxious that even the Dude asked me to take the batteries out after I opened it!

Once home, it was quite a production trying to get the thing out of the box. Most toys seem to be be secured pretty well in their precious boxes and it was a noisy process trying to cut the truck out! When I finally got the truck out, I did something I never expected to do after opening a noisy toy.

I danced.

A lot.

On the bottom of this truck was a teeny black switch. Do you know what this switch does?

IT SHUTS THE VOLUME OFF!!!!!!!!!

Best

Toy

Ever




Until next time...







New items are being added! I would love it if you gave my shop a visit!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CuppaStitches

A Cup, a Hook, Some Yarn, and a Business

Busy, busy, busy. That's how my summer has been. Trying to keep the kids entertained with day trips while attempting to maintain a somewhat clean house and publishing Macaroni Kid South Hills.

No different than last summer, except for one not so little thing. My Etsy shop!

I've been crocheting for a few years now and quite frankly, I can only make so many things for the family and our house. Gifts for holidays and birthdays are great, but what about the rest of the year?

I've had an Etsy account for a while. I even had a shop name and a few items in it at one point. And I let ig fall tot he wayside. A few months ago, with the encouragement of friends, I decided to give it another go.

Don't get me wrong, I still have lots of crochet stuff in the house. But since I can now call it "inventory", I don't see it as taking up unnecessary space.

Is there a them to my shop? Of course! Crochet! :-)

I have never been one to stick with making just one thing. I've always considered myself a bit ADD when it comes to crafts. Right now I have items for babies, kids, adults and even for the house. Lately I have started making Fall and Christmas items. I hate to rush those seasons, but I do love crocheting things for that time of year.

I would love for you to check out my shop. If there is something you are looking for and I don't have, don't be afraid to contact me on Etsy or shoot me an email (eumbel@gmail.com). I'm always on the look out for new things to make!

Until next time...

Ask and You Shall Receive

Every couch that we have ever owned eats things. Even the last one that was barely an inch above the ground. Like a washing machine to socks. I don't understand how it happens, but things disappear.

It's no surprise that when one of the kids can't seem to find the match to one of their six zillion pairs of shoes, the first place they look is under the couch. We do have a nifty shoe rack right by the front door, but why would they ever think to look there first?!

Tennis shoes, flip flops, super awesome new sandals - I know where all of those are. But, no! The Dude (formally Little Dude, who is not so little anymore) wanted to wear his Steeler Crocs that are now duct taped together a la the husband.

The first place he looks to find the missing match? You guessed it. Under the couch. I feared what he would find because I knew it wouldn't be a shoe. At least not right away. Don't you know, the little punk pulls a $20 bill out from under the couch.

A twenty dollar bill!

What.the.hell?!

He later used that precious bill to purchase a brand spanking new fire truck. Complete with siren sounds. And no volume button. Opening that stupid truck is a post in itself!

Just this morning before being forced asked to clean his room in this lovely swampy Burgh weather, he decided to play with said annoying as hell truck. In the process he happens to look under his bookshelf. What does he find under there? More money! Eleven dollars to be exact.

Where's my money?

Foolishly I asked the Dude this very question.

He runs to his room and returns with this.

Forty-three cents.

Lesson learned.

Be careful what you ask for!

Until next time...

My kids have taught me...

Having kids has taught me many things. Patience is still a lesson I'm working on  -some days are better than others. But one thing I have learned to do is pick my battles wisely.

Two of the many things I want for my children is for them to feel comfortable with who they are and for them to learn on their own from their mistakes. Like most things in life, we have rules, but we can't dictate every inch of their lives.

GG has been playing around with clothing trying to find what styles she likes and what colors suit her best. She knows that shorts no bigger than a pair of underwear are not allowed, but if I pick out her clothes every day, how is she going to figure out how to express herself?

Little Dude and his hair seem to be a big issue for most people, but not so much for me. His hair is now a few inches past his shoulder. He refuses to get it cut and with the husband having the longest hair in the house, how can I argue with the kid? Part of it, I'm sure, is due to the fact that this kid is more stubborn than any mule out there, but it's hair.

Do I get frustrated when people call him a girl even though most of his clothing consists of trucks, monsters and other boy things/colors? Of course. Sometimes I let it go, sometimes I speak up. We were recently at a carnival and an employee tried to get us "ladies" to play his game. I ignored him because I didn't want to waste money on games we would never win, but he called out to us ladies every time we walked past his booth. Finally I told him we weren't playing his game because he kept calling my son a girl. There is no handbook stating all boys have to have short hair and if you're not sure, don't assume.

Learning from mistakes - I am always there to help, but if I swoop in every time to try and fix a problem, my kids will never learn how to do it on their own. Sometimes I think people look at me as the mom who doesn't care or doesn't have rules. Do I get lazy? Of course I do. We all have those days. But spending who knows how long arguing with my son over his wanting to wear snow boots on a walk to a local yogurt place on a 80+ degree day is not worth my time. We would never get out the door! And I'm pretty sure by the time we got to the yogurt shop, Little Dude realize his choice of footwear was not a wise one.

I know I am not the perfect parent and I will never claim to be, but I hope my children learn that it's ok to express who they are, within reason of course, and that's it's also ok to fall down 7 times as long as they get back up 8.

Until next time...

Excited for what's to Come. At Least for Now.

It's June! How did that even happen?! I'm so glad it's behind us, but it feels like only yesterday we were shoveling snow.

Not only is it June, but the school year is almost over. It's always a little sad at the end of the school year. The kids don't see as many of their friends over the summer, I worry about the kids taking over not being able to keep the kids busy enough, and I don't always see as many of my friends.

The ending of this school is especially bittersweet. It is GG's last year in elementary school. I'm sure come August I'll be writing a post about how scary middle school will be, but for now, let's take this one small step at a time.

Our school has a 5th grade committee and every year they plan something awesome for the graduating fifth graders. this year was a little different as both schools couldn't have a combined picnic at the park due to the construction. But that doesn't mean our school didn't have a fantabulous time.

Different games were set up on the playground and we also had a DJ.

The plan was to only have so many students at each station, but due to the 90 degree weather, they all ended up gravitating towards the water games. It was too hot for any of the adults to care and the kids were having fun anyway.

After the picnic, everyone came inside for a special lunch and then we worked our way up to the middle/high school for a graduation ceremony. 

GG received her diploma along with the President's Award. This is awarded to students who maintain a 3.5 GPA in fourth grade and the first semester of fifth grade and also score in the advanced range in math and/or reading of the PSSA's. We are incredibly proud of GG!!

I wish I was able to get a better picture of her receiving her papers

but the kids seems to make getting to the stage and back to their seats a race!

I was able to catch her attention long enough to pose for this picture.

Still proud!!

After speaking to GG's teacher earlier in the day, we are both looking forward to middle school (again, this could change come August). GG was given a special math test a few weeks ago. She thought she failed and was surprised when I told her she did not. Passing this test means she gets to skip sixth grade math and take seventh grade math instead. Per her teacher's recommendation, we are also having her tested for the gifted program. As if graduating with the President's Award doesn't make us proud enough, this tidbit of news put us all over the moon.

We're sad to see the year end and look forward to the summer, but I can't wait to see what middle school brings. At least as far as academics go.


Until next time...