Christina, Author at A Mommy Story

Aug 27, 2012

End of Summer Trip, Day 2: Put-in-Bay

After a busy day at Cedar Point (you can read about Day 1 here), we wanted our second day to trend towards some low-key fun. So we drove to the edge of Lake Erie to take the Miller Ferry over to Put-in-Bay.

on the shores of Lake Erie

For those who aren’t local, Put-in-Bay is a popular little town on South Bass Island just a few miles from Ohio’s mainland. The island’s main business is tourism. Families, seniors, history buffs, nautical aficionados, college students, wine lovers, or even people who just like driving golf carts: there’s something for everyone.

You can only get there by boat or air, and it seems a little silly to fly only a few miles. The Miller Ferry is the well-known, reliable way to get to the island, and with two kids who have never been on a boat, I couldn’t wait to introduce them to my favorite way to travel.

Cordy was a little nervous about getting on a boat at first. As she saw it coming to the dock, rocking from the morning waves, she worried that the waves might go over it and pull it under the water. While waiting for the ferry to unload, we discussed flotation and buoyancy (science!) until she felt certain that it was safe. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of people traveling at 9:30am on a Friday, so we snagged front row seats on the second level.

Both kids were unsure how they felt about the rocking of the boat at first. But then…

…they LOVED it! Cordy held tight to the rail as the wind blew her hair back, and for a moment I was fully expecting a Titanic “I’m king of the world!” declaration from her. The best I got was, “I LOVE boats now!” Close enough, I guess.

That’s the island off in the distance.

Once we reached South Bass Island, we picked up our rental golf cart from Island Bike & Cart Rental. The island is only a few miles wide, with very limited parking. You can bring your car, but it’s really not that convenient, and you’d be stuck behind slower moving golf carts the entire time anyway. Besides…golf carts! Aaron and I had to agree to take turns driving our golf cart to avoid a fight. Zipping around the island by golf cart is waaaaay too much fun. (And there’s plenty of golf-cart only parking all over the island.)

We decided to leave the day up to the kids. We gave them a list of several attractions and let them decide where we were going. The first stop was Perry’s Cave Family Fun Center. This little complex is several activities in one. The main attraction is Perry’s Cave, a natural cave and underground lake you can tour to see where Perry (aka the Hero of the Battle of Lake Erie) and his troops found water and shelter in the War of 1812.

The cave formations are cool, but not for the claustrophobic. Cordy and Mira were fond of “headache rock,” especially after seeing adults hit their heads on it, despite the name being explained beforehand. They didn’t have to duck at all – one advantage of being smaller. I’d show photos here but apparently I’m a lousy cave photographer – nothing but flash.

In the store, you can buy a bag of dirt and then take it outside to pan for gemstones. Sounds kinda simple, but you’d be amazed how much value you can get out of this activity for kids. They took their time emptying some of the bag into the screens and dipping it into the water, then shrieking in delight as they watched the water wash away the sand and reveal sparkling stones of every color. There’s a provided gemstone card to determine what each gem is, too.

Then Aaron and the kids got lost in Fort aMaze’N, while I stayed on the observation deck and laughed at them. (I later went back and did the maze with them.)

There’s also a Butterfly House at Perry’s Cave, filled with exotic butterflies from all over the world. It was almost overwhelming walking through the indoor gardens with so many butterflies all around you. But at least some held still for photos.

So I guess we didn’t let the kids completely pick the day’s agenda. I insisted on the Upper Deck of The Boardwalk for lunch, only because I had heard they have fantastic lobster bisque. It’s true – the lobster bisque is amazing. The view from your table is pretty good, too – nothing but lake views as far as you can see. Not that the kids complained, either – they had activity packs to keep them busy and their meals were served on keepsake frisbees.

I’m no food blogger, clearly. But this was DELICIOUS lobster bisque. I may have licked the plate.

After lunch, we browsed the shops of downtown Put-in-Bay, had some ice cream, and took a ride on Kimberly’s Carousel. It’s an all-wood carousel, built in 1917, and has more than just horses to ride. I was on a dog. You can see a rooster behind me and Mira.

Then it was off to see Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial. Cordy was willing to brave over 800 steps to climb to the top of the monument, but by mid-afternoon there was a line and we were less willing to have Cordy wait in a line in an enclosed space. We’ll plan to climb it next time.

It’s tall. I had to lay on the ground to get this shot.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent visiting the Crystal Cave (the winery sitting on top of it is more interesting, FYI) and the Aquatic Resource Center, where you can see local fish and kids can learn to fish for free.

or just sit and admire the view

Then as we neared dinnertime, we went to the far side of the island (East Point) to look out over Lake Erie before the end of our day. The kids were asking Aaron to show them how to skip stones, and with all of the smooth, flat rocks surrounding us, he was happy to teach them.

Everyone was tired by this point, so we decided to call it a day and begin the long golf cart ride to the Miller Ferry dock on the other side of the island. Aaron got to do the final drive, so I sat on the back of the cart with Mira, watching all of the sights go by us. Mira nearly fell asleep on the ride back to the ferry dock. She sighed and rested her little head against me with a smile on her face, saying it was one of the best days ever.

It was a bittersweet ride back across Lake Erie on the Miller Ferry. The kids were thrilled to be on the boat again, but sad that the day was over. We spent time on the lower level this trip, watching the waves go by.

The day was far more low-key than our previous day at Cedar Point, but even low-key fun eventually wears you out. Two minutes after turning out of the parking lot to start for home:

I’ve only been to Put-in-Bay once before, when I was a child, and I’m surprised at how much I forgot. Both Aaron and I agreed that we’d like to come back to the island again soon, though, so I have a feeling our kids will get to know Put-in-Bay better than I did. There’s still so much we didn’t do: the nature center, kayaking, mini-golf, nature trail walking…and we didn’t even try to visit Middle Bass Island or Kelly’s Island.

It was a lovely way to end the summer, and a much needed family vacation for us. With solo trips to other cities, work, more work, summer camp, and so many other demands pulling our family in different directions, taking even just two days to reconnect and have fun together helped us create new family memories that I hope will last.

Full disclosure: we were invited to Put-in-Bay by Miller Ferry and generously provided with ferry tickets, a golf cart rental and passes to Perry’s Cave for our visit. All other attractions, souvenirs, meals and lodgings while at Lake Erie were covered by our not-so-robust paychecks and the ever-popular credit card. All statements made here are my own.

Oh, and when on the ferry, be sure to check in on Foursquare at the “Middle of Lake Erie” location, just because you can.

Filed Under: family time, local fun, love, memories, reviews ·

Aug 23, 2012

First Day of Second Grade

By Christina ·

“But I miss my old teacher, mommy!”

I was worried that Cordy’s first day of school was going to go poorly. She’s had a lot of anxiety about being in a new class with a new teacher, even though she knows the teacher from breakfast and lunch times at school. The school work might be too hard this year, and she might not see her friends. So as we waited for the bus yesterday morning I tried to reassure her that she’d love her new class and her friends from last year would be with her.

She was happy to have her new school clothing and new backpack, though, and she put on a brave face waiting for the bus.

Srsly, when did my little girl turn into a KID?

Unfortunately, the bus didn’t arrive on time. After it was more than thirty minutes late – meaning Cordy would be late for school if it didn’t show up right then – Aaron made the choice to take her to school instead. We couldn’t risk setting the whole year off to the wrong start by making Cordy anxious over being late to school.

The bus did show up an hour after it was supposed to be here (and 10 minutes before class was to start at a school on the other side of Columbus), and they promised that they’d be on time the next day. They were only 15 minutes late today.

Mira was very unhappy that her sister got to go to school and she didn’t. Kindergarten always starts a day or two late in our district, so Mira won’t begin until Friday. She pouted at the door as Aaron’s car pulled out of the driveway.

I spent the whole day worried about how Cordy’s first day would go. They are team teaching this year, meaning she’ll have her class subjects split between two teachers, and have to adjust to two different styles of teaching and classroom management. Could she handle it?

Waiting for the bus to bring her home was even more stressful. Her route was scheduled to drop her off at 4:30. Fifteen minutes passed the scheduled time and I chalked it up to being the first day of school. Then thirty minutes passed. Then forty-five. Calls to transportation resulted in a busy signal or a “not in service” message.

Finally, just over an hour after her scheduled drop-off time, and two hours since she got on the bus, she arrived at home. If this continues, we’ll strongly consider picking them up from school each day. Last year’s afternoon bus promised to get better and still never improved beyond an hour and a half ride home.

Sneak attack photo. But hey, she managed to not lose her necklace all day!

The verdict? Cordy had a great first day. She loved her new teacher, she was happy to see her friends and she was no longer anxious about the school work. As we walked in the front door, her backpack erupted into a mountain of paperwork (for me? you shouldn’t have…) and she rattled off all of the good points of the day without taking a breath between each. We worked through her first homework assignment together as she smiled and sighed, “School is gonna be awesome this year!”

Oh, I hope for nothing less than awesome.

Filed Under: Cordy, school ·

Aug 22, 2012

End of Summer Trip, Day 1: Cedar Point

By Christina ·

Last week we had the chance to get away for a couple of days before the start of the school year. With only a couple of days to get in some fun, we stayed closer to home and traveled up to Lake Erie. Day one was an amusement park adventure to Cedar Point. We went there last summer, and at that time it was the first amusement park for both girls. We didn’t know what to expect last year, but Cordy surprised us by wanting to go on roller coasters, with her favorite ride being the Cedar Creek Mine Ride.

The entire drive up, Cordy talked about how she wanted to go right to the Mine Ride, followed by the Iron Dragon. We were impressed with her bravery, but reminded her that we had to make sure we went on things that Mira could ride, too. Mira, who was too small for anything but the little kid rides last year, was hoping she’d be tall enough to try some “big kid” rides this year.

When we arrived, we had the kids measured to determine ride height. Doing this outside the gate saves a lot of time, because the kids get colored wristbands that let everyone know how tall they are, so they don’t need to measure at every ride.

Mira was leaning in this photo

Cordy added several rides to her available list with her new height of 52″, while Mira was still a little too short for most coasters, but at 46″ squeaked by for the Iron Dragon.

Going on a Thursday in August is just perfect. The park was full but not too crowded, and lines for most of the rides were under a 15 minute wait. (The big coasters of course are a longer wait.) The weather was also gorgeous that day, with a cool breeze from Lake Erie.

After a few warm-up rides, Cordy really wanted to go on the Mine Ride. So Aaron took Mira to the antique cars while Cordy and I took on the Mine Ride. Cordy suddenly got anxious on the ride, which was a surprise considering how much she wanted to ride it. After the ride, she still said it was a lot of fun.

What a difference a year makes, eh?

Cedar Point has three areas specifically focused on rides for kids, so we wound through the frontier area and then into Camp Snoopy, where both girls tried out just about every ride in the area. Mira loved that she was tall enough for each ride, and thankfully Cordy was still short enough for each ride.

Mira as the Red Baron

Eventually we found our way to the front of the park again, and Mira begged to go on the Iron Dragon, since she’s tall enough to ride it. It’s a suspended coaster and has always been one of my favorites. Cordy and I rode it last year, and while it scared her a little she wanted to go again this year.

But as we stood in line, Cordy started to get anxious again. I reminded her how much fun she had last year, but by the time we climbed into the seats, she flipped out. As the shoulder harness snapped into place, she looked at the attendant and cried, “Please don’t make me ride this! They’re trying to kill me!” Want to know the fastest and most embarrassing way to get booted from a ride? That would be it. The attendant signaled for the harness to be released and asked Cordy and I to please exit the ride, with no chance to explain. I’m amazed he didn’t call security over that one.

We waited for Aaron and Mira to finish the ride as Cordy calmed down. Mira came out of the exit beaming and shouting to me, “Mommy, I LOVE the Iron Dragon! I want to go AGAIN!” It appears we now have a coaster junkie on our hands! (I’m so proud.)

Cordy did calm down after a little break, but decided she didn’t want to try any other “big” rides for the day. We were disappointed, but understood that her anxiety sometimes gets the better of her. She still enjoyed several other smaller rides, and I’m sure next year she’ll want to try again. While Mira was bummed that she was too short for some of the other coasters, she was still big enough for the Jr Gemini and the Woodstock Express. Despite being small, she had plenty of thrill moments to keep her screaming and cheering.

Note: Cedar Point has a neat feature called Parent Swap to make sure you can ride the rides. You can sign up at Guest Services, then one parent waits in line for a coaster. After the ride, they give their parent swap pass to the ride operator, and the other parent can then walk up the exit and get on the ride immediately. It’s great for those who still want to ride but have kids who can’t go with them.

In the late afternoon, we played games and browsed the shops. Mira rode the Iron Dragon one more time with me so I’d get the chance to ride it. Oh, let’s be honest – she wasn’t doing me any favors, she REALLY wanted to ride it again. At the games, Mira won a stuffed Pokemon in the water gun races (with some help from Aaron), and Cordy won two stuffed frogs.

We were quickly losing our energy around dinnertime, and took one final ride on the midway carousel before going to our hotel.

long arm, in-motion shot

I loved getting to spend the day having fun as a family. There were so many laughs, and smiles and sighs of happiness. Yes, Cordy did have a meltdown, but those certainly aren’t uncommon for us, and she did recover to enjoy the rest of the day.

The kids got to ride just about every ride they wanted to (and were tall enough for), some multiple times. It felt awesome to see our daughters so happy as they skipped through the park, clutching their stuffed animals and looking for the next ride. We had a good mix of thrill rides and taking moments to relax and get ice cream, play games or enjoy a slow ride on the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad.

and hang with Snoopy

There are still things we didn’t get to see, but there’s so much at Cedar Point that it’s hard to do it all in a single day. I think we can call the day a success, though, judging by how hard the kids slept that night. Mira said she dreamed about growing just two inches by next year so she’ll be tall enough for many of the roller coasters at Cedar Point. She has big plans to conquer them all!

Giveaway!

Want to make some of your own family memories at Cedar Point? I’m giving away a pack of FOUR tickets to Cedar Point for one lucky reader. These tickets are good only through the end of the 2012 season (including HalloWeekends), so please be aware of the short date on them!

To enter, just leave a comment below telling me the first amusement park you ever went to. Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you if you’re randomly selected as the winner. Contest is open to anyone 18+ but be aware you have to get to Cedar Point on your own if you live far away.

Entries will be accepted through August 28, 2012. Good luck!

(And if you don’t want to win but just want to leave a comment telling me how my kids have grown a foot since last year, feel free!)

Full disclosure: I was provided with four tickets to Cedar Point as the result of winning a blog contest. (Thanks, Tracey!) Our wallets will show that no other compensation was received, as it took several tries to win the stuffed animals we went home with. Tickets in the giveaway are being provided by Cedar Point. All opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Cedar Point or the folks who witnessed Cordy’s meltdown.

Filed Under: Aaron, Cordy, family time, giveaways, Mira ·

Aug 21, 2012

Celebrating With A Run (& A Giveaway!)

By Christina ·

Since walking the runway in the BlogHer fashion show, I’ve been feeling pretty good about myself. I did gain a little bit of weight back while in NYC, but most of it was water weight and returning to the Slim-Fast plan helped it disappear just as fast.

Last week my family had the chance to take a mini-vacation, and so we spent two days at Lake Erie, with one day at Cedar Point and the other at Put-in-Bay. During that time I ate freely and enjoyed all of the fun of carnival food and fine island seafood. And yes, I even wore a bathing suit at one point! It felt great to walk around in a (non-skirted) bathing suit without feeling the need to keep a towel wrapped around me.

On Saturday we were home again (and exhausted!) and my eating habits dropped into lazy teenager: fast food and sweets. I knew it was going to be temporary, though, and by Sunday morning I was ready to jump right back into the Slim-Fast plan again. It’s really true: eating excessive amounts of junk after eating well for a long period of time does make you feel awful.

Sunday was also the day Aaron and I had signed up for the Color Me Rad 5K. If you’ve never done one of these 5K races, allow me to explain. This is a “fun run” and while everyone gets a race bib, it’s not timed and there are no prizes for coming in first. You start the run in a plain white t-shirt, and along the way you get color bombed. There are color stations set up along the route, where volunteers throw brightly dyed cornstarch at you. By the end of the run, you look like you were hit by a rainbow tornado!

It’s been months since I trained for a 5K, but I was still excited to do this run. I knew that I wasn’t going to run the entire distance, but I also knew I was going to try my hardest. This was also the lowest weight I’ve ever been at to run a race, so I expected the pride of my accomplishment to carry me through to the end.

I started the morning off with a Slim-Fast Chocolate Royale to fuel up before the race. It was just enough to give me plenty of energy without sitting heavy in my stomach. As we ran, I thought of how far I’ve come, and how much harder this would have been when I weighed 245 lbs.

Reaching each color station, I laughed and threw my arms in the air as volunteers tossed colored powder on me and I ran through the brightly dyed clouds, knowing there was a time when I may not have even reached those points in the race.

I’m on the left wearing black capris in the front line

And at the end, I was a sweaty mess. A brightly colored, sweaty mess. It was totally worth it.

Did I run the whole thing? Nope. Did I run more than I walked? Yes. Am I proud that I did it? Absolutely. It was another reminder of how far I’ve come, and how even as I hover at my goal weight I can’t stop the fight. One or two days of unrestrained eating probably won’t do a lot of harm, but I have to always be careful that those one or two days don’t become four or five days or more.

I’m sticking with Slim-Fast for now because it’s a tasty way to remind me about portion control and keep my calories in check. The shakes and meal bars are filling, high in protein, and there are SO many different flavors to keep you happy!

Even maintaining a certain weight takes work, and Slim-Fast can help me with that, too. Once I decide I’m done with losing weight, I’ll likely continue to have a Slim-Fast shake in the morning (because it’s an easy breakfast when I’m frantically getting the kids ready and out the door) and then rely on the Slim-Fast snack bars for the occasional on-the-go snack. Having filling, lower-calorie options available to me in the fridge and in my purse will be the best defense against weight creeping back on.

Giveaway!

Ready for your own WOW moment? Enter to win one of THREE Slim-Fast “Summer of WOW!” Swag Bags. The bags have everything you’ll need to turn heads on the beach, including a $20 gift card to a top department store to add to your WOW! wardrobe, a bright beach tote, a premium infuser water bottle and a sampling of Slim-Fast products designed to help you look your best before you hit the beach.

No, really, WOW!

To enter, just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. Two winners will be chosen after the giveaway closes on Wednesday, August 29.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in the Slim-Fast® Summer Slim-Down Challenge. Visit www.facebook.com/slimfast to join the conversation.

Filed Under: photographic evidence, running, success · Tagged: contests, slim-fast

Aug 20, 2012

End of Summer

By Christina ·

School begins on Wednesday, and it couldn’t come soon enough. It’s been two weeks since summer camp ended, which means it’s been two weeks of a new, less structured routine for Cordy that has kept her on edge every day.

I hate this period between camp and school – I can’t keep her entertained when I have to work, but she gets anxious and frustrated by no solid routine. Mira picks up on her anxiety and, right out of the Little Siblings Handbook, chooses to antagonize her. It’s really a two week period of survival around here, and we all celebrate when school begins again.

The good news is that Mira will be attending Cordy’s school for kindergarten. There was some question last year about if they would find a seat for Mira, since the school isn’t our home school and they didn’t accept any students from the lottery. The prospect of having two kids at two schools on opposite sides of Columbus was less than ideal, so I appealed to the principal at Cordy’s school, begging for Mira to be admitted.

Begging isn’t an exaggeration, either. I considered sending flowers and baked goods as well, but the principal told me at the end of May that it was looking good for Mira and to just be patient through the summer.

Patient is hard for me.

It took all summer, but two weeks ago we finally received the letter telling us that Mira was accepted. Whew. Now I only need to worry that they won’t get kicked off the bus for fighting with each other every morning. Or that Mira will make the principal regret her decision when she finds out that Mira is the opposite of Cordy.

Even though I’m counting down the hours until I can hand them their backpacks and send them back to school, we did get the chance to take a quick family vacation before the end of summer. Mini-vacation, I guess you could call it. Last Thursday and Friday were spent in northern Ohio at Lake Erie. (Hence why this blog sat quiet last week.)

I’ll be writing more on it this week, but here’s a quick preview: