Lifelines

It took us almost three hours to get to Cedar Point and took me only a few minutes once inside the gates to start second guessing my birthday choice of outing.

Looking at the rides, I was thinking…”What in the HELL am I doing here?!?” I do love riding rides but have maybe realized that part of loving them is my usual inability to ride them due to always manning my Littles. Normally at amusement parks, we walk by those big, fast zoomy coasters on our way to the merry-go-round and I drag my feet and say with longing. “That looks like so much fun….”

Once I was detached from my Littles safety net, I had NO excuses not to ride those coasters. But, on most of them, I was nearly beside myself with anxiety while waiting for my turn! Truly, I almost started hand-wringing and by the time we got to the big, big one “Millennium Force” I thought I just might pee in my pants. I vaguely remembered it from years past and the only thoughts I could dredge up from my memory from last time were: “fun” and “I was right to be terrified.”

Millennium Force, while literally scaring my silent for an extended period of time, was my absolute favorite ride. It also proved to me that we women are definitely the stronger sex. Despite my dazed and confused stupor immediately departing the ride, another woman walked up to me and INQUIRED ABOUT MY HIGHLIGHTS. I mean like two seconds after getting off of the most breath-takingly fast and furious ride EVER, she didn’t miss a beat and was completely ready to talk shop and take notes home to her stylist.

Man, I was impressed.

I could barely speak to her but I was impressed.

I took this snapshot while waiting in line for that ride, when we were close enough to getting on that I was bordering on hysteria. I wanted to remember the moment :) I’m freaky weird like that :)

The only ride I refused to ride was this one, “Top Thrill Dragster.” What INSANE person rides this? This was my one veto ride out of the whole bunch. Looking at this thing and contemplating getting on it had me wanting to call home to Emily and give her the code for the safety deposit box. Because that where my WILL is located.

We were all smiles, having a great time. The weather was outstanding, the crowds were tolerable. And we had no munchkins!! No 55 trips to the potty, no singing songs in the waiting line, no getting snack after snack, no lugging around a 75 pound bag filled with everything. It was perfect and fun, just the two of us.

Now, that’s not to say that I didn’t miss my babies because actually, I really did. Creux was sleeping when I left and I knew I probably wouldn’t get back before his bedtime, meaning that I wouldn’t see him at all on my birthday. I didn’t care for that. (In fact, I “accidentally” woke him up a mere 35 seconds after setting foot in the house that night. I had to see him, kiss him, smell him, feel him. I missed him; I missed everyone.)

But! I had carefully planned this outing and chose Cedar Point for a reason, actually TWO reasons:

1) We wanted to ride big, big coasters and there’s no place better
2) I remembered from a previous visit that I wasn’t impressed at all with their kids area

And this visit only reinforced both of those ideas. Whereas, in my opinion, it seems that Kings Island really puts some time (money), effort (money), and money (you said it) into their kids section, Cedar Point’s is just…disappointing. It’s really no better than the stuff they haul out at the Ohio State Fair. So I knew I wouldn’t wander around all day seeing things and commenting about how much the kids would’ve loved this or how they would’ve loved that. I didn’t want to miss them, not to the point where I would have been upset at coming without them.

Cedar Point caters to the fans of the big, big coasters and they’re very good at that! And since my boys aren’t quite thrill-seeky enough for those mega-rides, and since I didn’t feel that my Littles were missing out on much, it was the perfect choice for Charlie and I to spend a day out alone. We plan on taking the whole brood to Kings Island later in July; I know it’s a very family friendly place so there will be great stuff for everyone to participate in.

Back to the rides, I took a photo of the one that nearly broke my back in half and practically jarred my brain loose. Note to self: Self, you are too old for wooden coasters with no shock absorbers. I hated this ride and took a photo so as to catalogue it for future visits. Technology has been a boon to the amusement park industry, let me tell you. Because if they built every ride out of Popsicle sticks, they’d have to leave wheelchairs by the exit ramps.
“The Mean Streak” indeed:

After five hours straight of heart-palpitating adventures, we found ourselves content with our ride-load, felt we’d ridden everything that we’d wanted to, and decided to find a spot for dinner.

Leave it to us to find Cedar Point’s fine dining! :)

The mere thought of greasy, fried park food was enough to churn my already unsettled tummy so I was delighted to find an elegant waterfront restaurant right outside of the park. Though we had a little walk, it was a nice one, right along the marina out there on Lake Erie.

We had wine, we sat and talked, we laughed and reminisced our thrills. And we oogled the view. We way oogled the view.

It’ll likely be a few years until we return and my guess is by that time, we’ll have teens in tow :) It’ll be a different kind of Cedar Point experience and I’m already looking forward to that! I’m so happy that we went yesterday, it was a great way to spend my birthday, and I’m glad I finally got to ride the kinds of rides that sometimes make me long for high school days again! (Uh, but only until we walk by, then I’m as happy as can be with Scooby and the Gang.)

One more thing: the door prices for Cedar Point are about $48 for an adult day pass. The grocery stores in the Sandusky area sell their tickets for $37. We stopped at a Meijer in town and grabbed ours there. I think Pepsi cans might also have a coupon on them but I wouldn’t know since I choose not to let that crap erode my stomach lining ;)
Kidding..(kind of).

With Greer’s birthday shopping but then I found this:

Isn’t it so cute? I’m still contemplating as things this cute don’t have a long life-span in my house (Rhyse mega-wacking, Creux stealing balls, anyone of them attacking the others with the mallets) unless it’s under Mama’s lock-and-key. I don’t really want to extend my lock-and-keyness to outdoor toys (really, to any toys in general but toting them all in the schooling room made my life MUCH simpler) though I may make an exception here because it’s so fantastically adorable! (And it’s taunting me. Calling me by name and all, whispering “buy me, you know you want me.” I’m really having trouble resisting this one. Plus, I know my Littles would just love to thwack those balls through those brightly-colored charming little animals faces! (The Boys would just like to use the mallets as tomahawks. I know this already.)

It’s waiting in my virtual shopping cart for my final judgement. (Weighing Greer’s delight against the potential for harm via Croquet Gone Bad, Very Bad.)

Decisions, decisions…

Interestingly, I found it at it’s cheapest price of $30 at Saks.
Because Saks is known for a) it’s super fun children’s toys and b) for it’s wonderful low, low prices.

(I’m obviously COMPLETELY joking! This may be my one and only purchase EVER from Saks; I just find it ironic that they’re pedaling the deal-of-the-outdoorsy day!)

We’re back home. Tired and sore but happy :)
We had a great time at Cedar Point but I’m far too tired (and sore) to write anything tonight.

I just wanted to hop online really quickly and say…

Thank you to all of those who left birthday comments here and sent along birthday emails and filled my Facebook Wall with wonderful wishes. I read them all, and each and every one made my birthday a bit more special.

I’m a lucky girl to have such sweet friends.

(Make that lucky, tired, sore AND 33. Yikes!)

Mwah, mwah, mwah–those are air kisses. If you left me a comment somewhere in cyberspace, you get one. If you didn’t, pucker up somewhere else! I don’t just hand them out for nothing, I’m simply not that kind of girl! (And shut up to all of you who are thinking of leaving a witty comment to that statement ;))

The Birthday Queen is signing off–see you at 34!

My mom picked me and Greer up this morning for a Girl’s Day of shopping.
Why, you ask?
Well…because tomorrow is my birthday!
Can it be..that I’M 33???

Shockingly, that’s what the calendar says so I guess it’s true.
And you know what?
I’ve never felt better.

I happen to LOVE my 30’s. Those girls in their twenties, they’ve got nothing on a woman in her thirties, right? ;) I’m not going to garble and moan about my birthday; I’ve got my health and I’m enjoying my life. Each year is a gift and I’d be foolish to waste a second of it complaining about my age.

As for getting older, bring it on, baby! I’m usually the youngest in my bunches of friends so I’ve got terrific evidence that older is just better. One of my best friends is 40 and she doesn’t look it, nor does she act it! (Love you, Lynnie ;)) So I’m following in those footsteps and am happily celebrating my day!

Speaking of my day and of not acting one’s age…I’ll be spending my 33rd birthday whizzing down rolley-coasters at Cedar Point tomorrow! 33 going on 13, that’s me! ;) This is a kid-free event, by the way. Those guys will get a shot at Kings Island later next month but this time, this trip…it’s for ME! Well, and for Charlie too, cause he’ll be strapped in the death chairs right next to me, screaming his head off while going horrible wretched speeds down horrible wretched inclines.

Wicked FUN!!!

But since I won’t be home tomorrow, Charlie and the kids surprised me with a little party here at home tonight.

As I said, I’d been gone all morning with my mom and Greer and the second we returned from our shopping trip, I raced off to the shower before Emily arrived. Charlie and I had a date planned for tonight and I was running late and was trying to hurry. I’d gotten half my jewelry off when I heard a small voice at the bathroom door.

“Maaaama! We’re all ready! Come downstairs, hurry, hurry!”

That was Greer. I figured she just wanted in.
She always wants in.
I kind of (cringing) ignored her.

Then Charlie’s voice came through the door, requesting the same thing. Asking if I could come down for a second.

They were grouped in the office and came around the corner into the kitchen with a small cake, singing Happy Birthday to me. So sweet and thoughtful–we had rather hastily planned a birthday gathering for me on the 4th of July (since we’d be seeing family anyway) so I wasn’t expecting anything. Truly, I’d have been happy to skip it all (aside from the date, the kisses, and the tickets to Cedar Point!) but my mom, she simply won’t miss my having a darn “party”. (I’m THIRTY-THREE and my mom still insists that I be sung to on my birthday.) So I just assumed we’d do the whole “song and dance” next weekend.

And though I didn’t want or need anything for this birthday, I did receive a treasure or two. One of them had the kids super excited and bouncing around and as I opened it, I completely understood:

They’d bought me a Roomba.
A SELF-GOVERNED wee vacuum cleaner.
Meaning, you program it to race around the house and eat up crumbs, much like a little Pac-Man eating those digital dots.
MEANING, they think they’re going to get out of their vacuuming duties!

Smart little gifters, aren’t they?? :)

Thanks to my family for a very lovely mini-party–I was suprised! And I’m hard to surprise! (Because I’m the Mama and we know all. Really, we do.)
Thanks to Charlie for a wonderful date (we went to the Ocean Club and then to see The Proposal–so cute! Loved it!) and I’m looking forward to having lots of back-breaking fun tomorrow with you!

I had a bad day yesterday.
A really bad day.
Not all of it was terrible, there were some great moments, too but I was just feeling rotten.

And I cried so hard and for so long that I ended up with a near migraine. (Crying is a stress reliever for me, I’m just slightly weird that way.) I toughed it out for as long as I could but by midnight, I could do no more. I caved and requested an Advil.

Twenty minutes later, I was almost willing to raid a pharmacy for something stronger. Like illegally raid a pharmacy. This woman was head-poundingly desperado.

Charlie offered to rub my head and it hurt so horribly that I wasn’t sure I wanted him to touch it. But minutes after he started, my headache was gone. Completely. The relief I felt was nearly instantaneous.

Posting this not to let you know what a major cry-baby wah-wah I really am, but to suggest a medication-free headache remedy: a really intense head-rub. Chas sometimes gets headaches and I’ll definitely try this with him (or will maybe point him in the direction of the supreme head-rubber in the family) before handing out a pill.

***It should be noted that I ended up looking like Medusa on steroids so this solution isn’t for those who mind looking like they’ve tangled with an electrical socket ;)

In total procrastination-perfect form, I’ve waited until the last day to register my gang for fall soccer! I know we have many preschool and soccer friends who check in on us through this blog so I thought I’d post here just in case anyone wants to join.

I registered online and had I not been registering THREE children (Shelly, I have NO idea how you do this with four players) it would have been a snap but I had to keep hitting “register another player” and starting the process all over again. Harumph.

I have realized, too late, that I made two mistakes: I accidentally left Rhyse’s skill level at “average” (whoops, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with that since they use it to even the teams) and Jenny N., I completely forgot to list that Margot and Greer wanted to be on the same team! (Did you put it down? If you put it down, we may have a shot.) Stacie, I know you’re days away from dropping a baby (good luck! I think about you every day and check my email first thing in the morning to see if there’s an announcement waiting for me there! And absolutely, I will bring you every sling I have for you to borrow, it’ll be my excuse for coming to visit your Fresh Baby! I so do love a Fresh Baby.) but is Janie interested in playing soccer? Or are any of your boys??

Click here for the linky and you can do it all online. (Stacie, you’ll want to choose this option, no need for you to be lumbering out in the heat, fully 10 months prego ;)) Or you CAN do the walk-up reg at the Community Center but I have no idea why anyone would want to stand in line if they can sit in front of the computer. Duh, right?

Now, if only I can figure out how to actually get all these kids to all these different practice times and games….I think I need a Fairy God-Chauffeur.

Ignore my annoying voice (Do I really sound like that?? It’s WEIRD to hear myself on camera) and focus only on my sweet boy dancing for you :) (I was simply trying to encourage him to bust out his most bestest moves for the camera; I succeeded but not without sustaining hearing loss upon the editing of this clip.)

We say we’d do anything for our kids, but what if in order to make their lives better, we had to say that we wish they’d never been born?

Oh, this story, THIS STORY! I just finished reading it and I’m still agonizing over the plot and the characters.

The book centers around a five year old little girl who was born with brittle bone disease–meaning, she breaks and she breaks often. Her pain is constant, the medical bills are bankrupting, and her life is severely compromised by her disability. She is not like other children and she can’t pretend that she is–a playground jostle for her would likely result in six months of cast-wear.

Her mother is offered an extraordinary opportunity: she learns that she could sue for wrongful birth (because her doctor did not follow-up “appropriately” after an unusual ultrasound, thereby taking away the chance for termination of pregnancy if that would have been what she wanted) and, if she wins, will be able to provide everything that her child needs in life. The family’s financial burdens are enormous and the mother realizes that this little girl will likely never be able to hold a job when she’s grown. She may not marry. And she wonders…who will take care of her when I’m gone?

In order to win this security for her daughter, the mother will have to risk losing everything and everyone important to her. And she must lie the most heinous lie I think a parent could ever offer up: she must convince a jury that if she had known, she would have chosen differently to spare her daughter the constant pain, physical and emotional, that she endures daily. Most definitely the worst part of this is that her daughter will hear her say it.

This book is truly a testament to the bond between parent and child–and confirmation that the good ones, the best parents, will always do what is needed for their children, no matter the cost.

***A personal side note:

Honestly, when I first starting reading this, I was horrified and immediately thought this was all about money. A frivolous lawsuit, asking for millions, draining “the system”, and wreaking havoc with a good doctor’s livelihood.

But going through the story, which is told by many different character’s perspectives, I came to understand the mother’s motives and her heart-breaking dilemma. How could you ever say you wish one of your children hadn’t been born? Even a “less than perfect” one? Though you may be lying through your teeth, those words still come out. How does one even begin to reconcile that, even with the sincerest of intentions? I couldn’t help but put myself in her shoes and I spent a lot of time contemplating what she did, how she felt, with how I think I would do and feel.

I wondered…could I do it for the reasons that she did it? Could I lie and say, “Had I known, I would have chosen differently?” Could I do that if it meant that I could better provide for them, that I could have access to any of the things that would make their life less painful? A new wheelchair when they outgrew the old, instead of waiting the three-year limit or whatever it is, set by the insurance company. A special car for them to drive when they’re older, a handicapped accessible house? And enough money to set aside so that someday, I can leave this earth and not have my last thought be…who will take care of her/him now?

One can never know what they’d actually do. But I’d like to think that I’d risk all, too. That I’d lose my friends and my family, maybe even my husband, that maybe the entire world would think the worst of me because of what I would say and do and that I’d still say and do what I needed for my child.

This book haunts me. I loved it, but it haunts me.

I’m figuring this Flip thing out!! They’ll be many more snippets to come (why not? soon I’ll be vlogging!) but I thought I’d share Creux’s newest and cutest feat: smiling for Mama’s camera.