Thursday, November 6, 2014

Day #4- Kiss your children when they are asleep

I know it isn't something that you might think about.  It is kind of something that just happens!  


I know that I don't necessarily think, 'I am going to go into my kiddo's room and kiss them because they are asleep.' I usually I just go to check on them and they are so sweet, lost in their dreams, that I just kind of have to kiss those gosh, darn, too cute chubby cheeks and whisper my 'I love yous' to them on my way out. 

Lucky for me, I have been doing this since birth- so...they do not wake and I can creep back to my bed and sleep soundly knowing they are safe. 


The kicker is that my Hubby, who works seconds, does the same thing! 

What a good Daddy!! 
Round of applause, please!  


He doesn't go to bed without checking on them first, and he knows that I am getting up right after he settles in. 





So, Kiss your babies in their sleep and send them wishes of good, peaceful dreams of butterflies and rainbows and everything that does NOT exist in this crazy world we are raising them in...








P.S. I gave lots of hugs yesterday! ;)  

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Day 3 - Mom Challenge Hug your child three times today

Hug me..Hug me..Say that you LOVE me...


I am combining my No Yelling challenge from yesterday, with today's Hug your child three times.  

Let's just say, I have this one in the bag
 

Yesterday, after I blogged, of course, my Mom came and captured my children (at 10:00 a.m., I might add- a WHOLE day without KIDS and night too!!) and took them for an overnight stay.  


So, needless to say, technically I passed my challenge for yesterday, but guilt has me thinking that in some way/shape/form...that is was cheating.  


Great...thanks guilt!  



So, by guilt, I have carried over yesterday's challenge to today.  What is better is that today's challenge is:

Hug your Child three times today!


Done and Done!  I mean, seriously, when my kids stay the night away, I miss them terribly. I think it realigns me in some weird way.  They have gotten hug after hug since being home and what is a bonus is that they are sick and just want their Mom!



We have also added onto the 1st challenge- What is one thing we can do together this month.  Yes, yes, we will still be doing Imagination Station, presumably this weekend, but we are also going to take a trip to Build a Bear- since, of course, they have Frozen bears now!  


Anna and Elsa...Bear  we are coming for you!






Day 3 is a done deal...Bring it Day #4!








~


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Day 2 of the MOM Challenge- Go the WHOLE day without YELLING!

Times are tough in our household!  I asked my Question to my little ladies before bed yesterday, "What is one thing we can do together this month?" with an answer that was completely in-sync, like they rehearse this stuff!  It was a shout, "Imagination Station."  I was waiting for one to say something different, but instead it was the same answer, which is awesome because we love Imagination Station, plus we have the membership- so it's a free day! 



Too easy is my first thought on this one! 



Today is DAY 2.  

This one is going to be a challenge. I almost want to make this a challenge for my kids because they do their share of this in our house!  



Go the WHOLE day without YELLING.


Obviously, I know this can be done, as I have had maybe a handful of these kinds of days- but they are so far away to date that I can hardly remember them.  It seems that my girls have broken ears on most days (and yes, we do threaten to take them to a "special" doctor who will do surgery and give them Elephant Ears to help them hear all things!)  and unless I raise my voice, my warnings are completely and utterly ignored

I am going to try this today though.  It would be a great day to have a yelling free home, but like I said, they do their share of it too!  Usually it starts with them yelling, me calmly telling them to use their indoor voice and them consistently ignoring me that leads to a Girls! shout.  Oh what fun it is to be a PARENT!  



I pray to God everyday to please let me survive teenage years because I feel like this is the teenage years and when they are actually teenagers I am going to get eaten alive! (times two!) 





Let me know how this challenge is going for your family!  I will let you know how my day goes today- YELLING FREE ZONE here!

Until Tomorrow all my Parents!!


~Kel

Monday, November 3, 2014

30 Day Mom Challenge- who's in?


It happens to all of us.  It is the weekend.  We are ready to get stuff done.  Friday turns into Saturday.  Saturday turns into Sunday.  It is as if the days flip without a blink of the eye.  Well, this weekend was no different in our household.  I took the day off on Friday for the crazy Halloween festivities.  It was a blessing, if I might add!  I spent the morning playing My little Pony with my Three year old.  I spend the afternoon freezing in the cold and rain watching my five year old in her Halloween Parade at school, outside without a coat! (I am a MOM!) Then, we kissed my Husband goodbye, as he headed to work and we headed to Nana and Papa's for Trick or Treating, bundled up, umbrella in tow, as usual! (Halloween in Ohio...this is NORMAL!)



Imagine my surprise when at six o'clock my Hubby comes waltzing in the front door of my Parents house.  It was a surprise to the girls too, who were excited as could be to see their Daddy, skull mask ready. (Yes, he had to buy a Halloween mask this year to "fit in"....)

So, we bundled up, gloves check, hat check, scarf check.  We even doubled our socks and headed out into the rain, cold and dark streets.  It was lame.  That is all I have to say.  It was a forty minute trek around the few neighborhoods and half way around it was met by complaints from a girl who was a) tired, b) sick and c) had wet feet.  My three year old was having the time of her life though and kept saying, after every stop, "I love this! I love trick or treating!" which was a treat for Jason and I as well!

So, we finally made it back to the house, checked out candy and allowed the girls to have 1 piece.  Mind you, Miss five year old had an abundance already at school that day- she is so much fun when she has had a pound of chocolate in her system...not!

We had whining.  We had crying.  We had back-talk.  We had to set them straight, which was met by a Nana and Papa scold.  Really...  But, we got back on track and happy before we headed home. 

It wasn't until Saturday Morning that I realized, as a Mom that is, what a mistake the night before really was.  My Oldest had a terrible cough, followed by feeling icky and a stomach ache to match.  Love the weather, i tell you!

So, although we "took it easy" on Saturday, we were still busy.  I had laundry, they had running around the house all day stuff to do!  Sunday was errand day, and of course- Sheet Day.  We are always so busy!  I got to thinking that we really do not take a day out of each month to spend with our kids.  I mean, sure, we did Boo to the Zoo this month for the girls and it was fun and all, but it was busy!  It was station after station and there really was not a time to wander and ask questions and learn, even observe. 


What is better with these types of dilemmas than a MOM CHALLENGE

This is a 30 day Challenge for MOMs- an ultimate Mom's TO DO list and to help me, as a MOM, be the best I can be. 

On your MARK.  Get SET.  GO!

Today is Day #1:

Ask.  "What is one thing we can do together this month?


Jot down your kiddo's answer and make it happen!  I have two kids, so guess what, I guarantee I will get to do two things together with them and I can't wait!


Check back tomorrow for my Kiddo's answers to this question and what Day #2's challenge awaits!


Happy Mom-vember :)


~Kel


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Spooky Places

Halloween Town-Bound

I am a HUGE fan of Halloween and all things that are spooky. OK, maybe I am not as gung-ho as I would have been, eh, let's say seven years ago, but I still love the Halloween stories, the spooky places, hayrides, pumpkin patches and the smell of cinnamon surrounding me.  That is why I love watching scary shows, movies too, if I am not home alone in this creepy, noises all through the night, house! 

What is it about Fall that makes the world a little more creepy?  A little more scary at night?  Why are we drawn to the abandoned, neglected places?  Is it because of fear?  How about those places that have been sitting for an extremely long time?  Or those where horrible things happened or stories have been told? 

I remember when I was in high school, my best friend and I loved Halloween and every year we would do something that would scare the crap out of us. One year we walked through a cemetery late at night and swear we saw shadows.  Another year we drove back by an old insane asylum that had been abandoned for years and we swear that someone was trying to chase us.  The fear was so real that I don't, to this day, know if there actually was anyone, but it was terrifying.  Then, our Senior year, we drove way out, into the country and there was a state park on one side of the road and a really old cemetery on the other and we saw Witches in the cemetery with a huge fire and cauldron dancing around.  It was well after midnight and we had to drive by twice to even believe our eyes.  To this day, we have no idea what was going on but it was crazy!

I have been looking around the internet for scary places, the kinds of places you see people obliviously waltzing into in horror movies, knowing full well that most or all of them will never make it out alive!  The only thing is, these places are not from the movies at all. 

1) Six Flags New Orleans

Cool-Zone-Abandoned-Six-Flags-New-Orleans  Like-A-Bad-Dream-Abandoned-Six-Flags

The New Orleans amusement park, Jazzland, opened in 2000 and Six Flags purchased it in 2002.  The park had a makeover to a Mardi Gras theme.  But, in 2005 a storm struck the area and this is what is left.  It sat deserted for years since Katrina.  Now it is owned by the City with tentative plans to put a mall in it's place. Now, it sits vacant and just plain creepy!  Enter if you dare, as an arrest for trespassing might be served...that is, if you make it out alive.



2) Danvers State Insane Asylum
Danvers-Asylum4  Bed Danvers-Asylum5

Danvers State Hospital is located in Massachusetts and is old enough to have been known as the State Lunatic Hospital and other lovely monikers.  It was crowded during the 1920s and 30s and is rumored to have used shock therapy, drugs and frontal lobotomies on it's patients.  It is believed that this is the birthplace of those frontal lobotomies.
It closed in 1992 and has fallen into a state of creepy!  It was used in the 2001 horror film, "Session 9" and despite efforts to renovate the area, the spirits have not been very kind.  In 2006, some of the structures were demolished and apartments put in their place and in April 2007, ALL of the buildings and several of the construction trailers went up in flames.  All efforts to renovate have been stalled!

#supercreepy



3) The Domes
32 Web-Domes Dscn1148

It is unknown who or why these giant, concrete, saucer-shaped domes were built out in the middle of Arizona's desert.  There is an oddity with the structure, the extreme neglect and when the sun goes down, you are served with a strong case of uneasiness.

They look like 50s era flying saucer replicas, but they were built in 1982 by an Electronics company.  They failed in 1983 and contaminated ground water was found at the site shortly after.  The cleanup was obviously, not a priority as the property went to a bank-owned property.  New owners took over in 2006 and yet, here these crazy building still sit.  So, would you pay money for these?  (I wouldn't - creepy!)



4) Holy Land, USA  
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Holy-Land-Usa 2007 048-Copy

This place was once an 18 acre theme park in Waterbury, Connecticut.  It has it's peak in the 1960's and 70's and had upwards of 40,000 visitors per year.  In 1984, it closed for renovations, but it's owner, John Greco, passed away in 1986 and no one was sure what to do with it since.  
Nuns have watched the property over the years, as it sits and deteriorates and get's creepier and creepier.
From the crumbling statues, dark and still structures and vandalism don't make you want to run far, far away, there is fact that a teenager was murdered on these grounds in 2010.  Police reports show instances of trespassing, there are few people around the area, leaving it completely isolated.

#thanksbutnothanks




5) Ordour

Oradour1  Oradour031

Cdn-Monkeyzen-Com-Files-2010-07-Mnkzn-Ciudadesfantasma-3

Let's  go acrossed the pond, shall we.  Just down the road from a village called Oradour-sur-Glane, France, there is an original village called Oradour-sur-Glane- or what once was.  One June 10th 1944, the village was confused with nearby Oradour-sur-Vayres by a Nazi Panzer unit, where it was believed that a Waffen SS officer was being held by the villagers.  The Nazis massacred 642 men, women and children with incendiary devices and machine gun fire before the mistake was cleared up. This was pretty much the whole population of the town. 
The French President, Charles DeGaulle, ordered the town to be rebuilt, but he also ordered that the ruins of the old town should stay as a reminder to all.  

#ghosttownforreals




6. Beelitz Heilstatten Military Hospital
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The former sanatorium southwest of Berlin, was built to deal with an explosion of tuberculosis in the late 1800s, and expanded twice throughout the next few decades.  It was put to use as a military hospital during both World Wars. Adolf Hilter recuperated from a leg wound here, as a young soldier in 1915.  It has seen death and crazy within it's walls.  The hospital was under the control of the Soviet Union until the country ceased to exist in the early 90s, and has stoop empty since.
There have been attempts at restoration and thoughts of demolishing the site have been toyed with as well.  But still, it stands, creepier than ever.  Urban explorers love this place and has been used as a set for films like, The Pianist.

#neverbeensocreepedoutbyapicture




7. Bhangarh, India
Img 00101      Bhangarh


Bhangarh is an abandoned town in the state of Rajasthan, India.  It has become a tourist attraction.  There are no pictures of the place at night, because setting foot in the place at night is strictly forbidden, and Indian Government is very serious about that fact.  
The government lets people in to view but grudgingly. The legend that goes with the place is about a Heartbroken Magician who cursed the place in the 16th century after being rejected by the kingdom's princess, and all who lived within it with death- without the possibility of rebirth, which is kind of part and parcel of the Hindu religion.  So people living here are cursed not just with death, but with serious, permanent death. 

A sign outside of the small town reads, "Entering the borders of Bhangarh after sunset is strictly prohibited,"  and they do not promise paranormal activity, it is probably a good chance that that contributes to the sign.


8)  Suburbs of Lehigh Acres, Florida

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Lehigh Acres is a sad place.  In the 1950s, Businessmen Gerald Gould and Lee Ratner (who earned his wealth by selling D-Con rat poison) divided up a huge stretch of land in southern Florida, owned by Ratner and made tiny half-acre parcels that we then sold to Northerners for a low price.  At ten bucks down and ten a month, it seemed like a bargain.  The down side was that there was no schools, roads, or running water.  A very few houses were built.  Many of the lots were resold when checks stopped coming in, and the place was barren by the 1980s.
When the real estate started to boom again in the late 1990's, hundreds of cheap, quick houses started flying up on those old lots that the baby boomers inherited from their parents.  To many houses went up than what could met the demand to live there.  When the real estate bubble popped, the suburbs of Lehigh Acres became a ghost town.
There are blocks with only one or two occupied homes and more without even that.  Plants, flowers and alligators rule over the empty lands. 

#spookytown


9. Discover Hut


800Px-Scotts Hut Antarctica
Inside Discovery Hut
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Discovery Hut is located in Antarctica built by the party of explorer Robert Falcon Scott during the Discovery Expedition of 1901 to 1904. This was the second time anyone had ever tried to explore the region, and the first time in sixty years.  The hut is frozen solid, which is why it has been preserved so well.

This is a drafty little hut that sits in one of the coldest regions on the planet.  Inside you will find seal carcasses, meat and blubber, snow, ice and despair. The hut is sat, vacant for decades upon decades but stands as it does due to being in the middle of a deep freeze.


10. Anderlecht Veterinary School



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Screen Shot 2013-02-13 At 3.49.12 Pm

This building is the last un-renovated building out of nineteen in a complex located in Anderlecht, Brussels.  This building was a veterinary complex and has stood deserted since the 1990s. 

The crumbling halls lead to rooms that are each full of more horrifying stuff than the last.  Old, hand-blown bottles of questionable fluids, syringes and other old, rusty medical equipment still stand in their given places. The main attractions are the animal heads and brains as well as assorted parts that have been stuffed into jars throughout the building.  It has appropriately been given the nickname, "Horror Labs", as some of the parts are still recognizable. 

This is fairly popular urban exploration destination, as it is not for the weak stomach fellows.


Hope you are not too spooked!  It's all in good fun, after all!

Until next time...if there is one... (ha ha ha ha ha)

I am working on OHIO spooky spots...should I add Gray Gables? 



~Kelley



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