Our #HappyinCLE Bucket List for September in Northeast Ohio!

Hello September!  I have scoured the web (and stalked my blogger friends like @FindTimeforFun) to find what will be on our bucket list of things to do in September.

I also, finally, figured out a use for Google calendar! Sure this is a lazy way to go but there is so much to-do going on in September!  Heck, I even started a Pinterest board!

Bucket List for September in Northeast Ohio Top Picks

Praying Through a Meltdown

Hail Mary full of grace, I mutter under my breath as I struggle with my willful child who went from giggles to full on meltdown in record time.

Blessed are thou among women.

I beg, bribe, threaten and even cry with her – all in vain. She wants what she wants and she thinks the only way to get it is to scream. I leave her, half-dressed to finish getting ready and make the third grader’s lunch. Her screams become louder. She has reached the point that she can’t be consoled and I've reached the point that I just don’t care.

That is too harsh. I do care but if I don’t step away I will lose control. Sadly, I can’t make her understand or calm down and until she is ready to receive comfort, I only make her angrier trying to make it better.  My heartbreaks every time we do this.

Holy Mary!

Struggling to bring my half-dressed, screaming, three year old downstairs I leave her on the floor as I go to the back door to explain to my neighbor, who does not speak English very well, that we are okay and she is having a meltdown. Exasperated hand gestures convey this somehow; then again it could be the look of defeat in my eyes.

I am more at ease knowing that my neighbors will come to my aid if there was a crisis and beyond the "I am so embarrassed" stage.

Pray for us sinners.

I sit on the couch, unable to move, let alone think. I send my son to fetch what I have forgotten upstairs. She is still screaming. She wants to go back upstairs to get dressed. She wants to stay home. She wants to wear a Hello Kitty shirt that she does not have in her wardrobe. She. Is. Still. Screaming.

I want her to get dressed and stop screaming. I want to stay home and cuddle while waiting for her brother to come home from school. I want. I want. I want.

Now and at the hour…

I need to stay calm. I need to understand that she has all these emotions and is learning to cope. I need to stand my ground and not cave to her demands because it will stop the screaming. I need to remind myself that this is one moment that I will look back on and laugh and hopefully not with regret.

You can’t reason with a child in the middle of a meltdown any more then you can reason with the tide.

I take comfort that as quickly as her meltdown happens her happy personality appears just as fast. As we headed out the door she had a smile and as she buckled in her “babies” she told knock, knock jokes about poop.

I wonder if that is the plan all along – make them cute so you forget all the grief they just put on you.

Either that or I am living with Sybil.

Amen.

Top 5 Tips for Parents at Back 2 School Time (plus a @Staples Giveaway!) #sponsored

This is a sponsored post from Staples.  The opinions are 100% my own.

Where has this summer gone? I mean, really, where has it gone! It seems like just yesterday we were starting the summer and today we are school shopping! Ugh!

I hate back to school time! Having to work full time, the summer allows for relaxing, low key fun with the kids; quality time to just be. Back to school means, strict schedules and homework. Ugh, I didn’t like homework when I had to do it and now I have to help someone do theirs?

Google “back to school” and you will find a ton of how to get your kid ready for the first day of school but very few on how to get mom and dad ready. Mom and dad need to prepare too, we are paying for their education after all and although I am not paying tuition, I do have to pay for all the other supplies and miscellaneous expenses.

Top 5 Tips for Parents at Back to School Time

1. Start going to bed early.

Sure the kids should be going to bed earlier to prepare for the school year but I am the one getting up even earlier to make the lunches that I did not make the night before.

2. Meet the teacher(s)!

Thankfully our school year starts with a meet and greet and bring your supplies to school day which does ease the fears of the kid going back but it also allows us to meet the teacher and really suck up, er, make a good impression.

I also learned the hard way that there is no “permanent record” and all those clever things that the teacher the year before figured out was not shared with the next teacher.

3. Have a special day

I am seriously sad about the summer ending so I made sure that we have a special outing the day before school starts to end the season right.

4. Give yourself permission not to buy the name brand items on the teacher’s supply list. They will not send your child home.

There, I said it.  I am sorry to the teachers reading this but sometimes it is not in the budget to get it and all the other things.  

5. Stock up on everything 

(including coffee and wine) 

Staples gave us a $25 gift card to spend for back to school shopping and we got almost all of his supplies and only went over by $.57!  This included deodorant for mom and dad - Staples really does have it all!

The only things we could not get at Staples are things specifically for lefties. I knew they wouldn't have scissors, rulers, notebooks or  pencil sharpeners made for left handed kids so I ordered them online. I think if any store had a section, even a small section, geared towards lefties I would fall down.  They did have everything else and at great prices.

Back2School with @Staples! What does your #StaplesHaul look like? #sponsored http://t.co/CUqEVWcVkT pic.twitter.com/ksDCH2JFVF
— MryJhnsn (@mryjhnsn) August 22, 2013

I was asked to go out to the Elyria store because they have an expanded assortment of educational supplies, from top educational brands like Crayola, Leap Frog, and Melissa & Doug, but I was actually not all that impressed with this store's expanded selection.

It was clean, bright and big but I had to ask the sales associates to help me find things (they are fantastic and friendly!).  Maybe I was expecting to see a giant sign over this expanded selection with neon arrows showing the way, alas I had to search all over the store. (okay, maybe not neon arrows)

They did have this really cool Crayola wall where you can pick the crayons you wanted instead of getting a boring box.  That will be worth the trip back!

I also did not find Leap Frog or Melissa & Doug products but I was also not really looking for them since we were very focused on the supply list.  All in all it was an excellent trip to Staples and we saved money!

Now, I did forget something and decided to stop at the Staples a few blocks from my house and it was what I had in mind - still no Leap Frog or Melissa & Doug to be found but everything educational was in the middle of the store and super easy to find. The sales associates were also crazy nice and helpful which makes me so happy. Back to school is stressful, shopping for it should not be.

The third grader's favorites

Staples is giving away to one lucky mom or dad a $25 gift card via Rafflecopter!  

What are your tips to parents this back to school year?

Describing My Temper in 9 Lines

Quick to go from off to on, eyes flair crimson.

Fire surges out of every pore.

Soft words don’t work, hard words rage outward.

Words that are meant to hurt; meant to burn.

Words loud and angry ringing in the ears of indented victims.

Words full of heat and purpose.

Those words cannot be retrieved and not easily forgiven.

Hard words followed by soft breathing.

As quickly as it was turned on it is off and a heart full of sorrow and regret.

Because You Want to Make Stuffed Cookie Cupcakes

For my son's first communion, I made well over 100 cupcakes and several different kinds. I made a plain vanilla, a Kit Kat* one, a dark chocolate one, a half and half one, an Oreo* one and some others that I don't remember.

The one that I was looking most forward to was the Oreo cookie cupcakes. This recipe is all over Pinterest and I'll be damned if I was not going to attempt to make it as well, it looks so easy!

Split an Oreo in half, carefully, put the Oreo half with the cream in the bottom of the cupcake wrapper, crush a bunch of Oreos and mix in vanilla cupcake batter and spoon on top of the half of the Oreo, bake, frost and decorate with the top of the Oreo cookie in the frosting. Easy, right?

After making about 75 cupcakes, I was starting to get tired and when it came time to make the Oreo cookie cupcakes, I forgot to add butter! Forgot. to. add. butter!

Luckily, they turned out fine and no one knew but me but of course I wanted to make them again. The opportunity came when my son wanted chocolate cake for his birthday. Since we were not going to be home for the birthday party I really did not want to make a cake and I asked him if he wanted the Oreo cupcakes instead; of course he said yes!

The cupcake mix is pretty basic and I adapted** it from one I found on Pinterest.

1 boxed cake mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter melted butter
3 large eggs
Bake 350 degrees for 19 minutes

**I was out of butter so I used butter flavored Crisco* and it made 18 cupcakes. The batter is very thick!

For the frosting I thought the Cool Whip frosting* would be close to the cream filling in Oreos and it was easy to pipe it onto the tops of the cupcakes when they cooled.

Our local Giant Eagle* sold me two cupcake holders from the bakery department for $.30 and I put the cupcakes in the container before I frosted them. Once they were frosted I stuck the tops of the Oreos into the top of the cupcakes, deep into the frosting and off to the party we went.

Since the Cool Whip frosting is essentially just flavored whipped cream I advise that you keep them refrigerated up until you have to eat them.

Baby girl wanted to help with the cupcakes and she did a fantastic job putting the liners in the tin, splitting the Oreos in half and putting them in the cupcake holders. Such an easy way to get her involved in big brother’s birthday that was not terribly messy. She even went to the party in the dress she was helping me bake in because she did not get messy. This rarely happens when cooking together.

Why call them "Stuffed Cookie" cupcakes?  Because the cookie is stuffed with a cupcake!

*This is not a sponsored post.

Six Words About Summer

So, How Was Your Day?

Every time my son and I are together again after any kind of separation he asks, "So, how was your day?"

And, by separation I mean, a trip to the store, picking him up from the sitter or even after a particularly long afternoon of playing legos in the playroom.

He will ask me that exact same question right before he asks me for something he really wants or if he has nothing else to say and he just wants to talk.

Those five words are my favorite words, my favorite sentence for that matter.  I look forward to it each and every day.

Today he turns eight. EIGHT!

He stands just at my shoulders and often I will put him on the step stool to reach something that I can't reach.  He has a smile that will make you smile and he is just down right handsome.  The perfect mix of me and his dad.

He is also so funny and creative; kind and generous.  He is my sweet prince.

And today he is freakin' eight years old!

10 (coffee) Things That (coffee) Make Me (coffee) Smile

 But, the only thing that makes me truly happy is these smiling faces....

The Prompts:

1.) 10 Things to Smile About (inspired by Things I Can’t Say)

Wordless Wednesday - Beating a Dead... Bird

Still cracking up about this... pic.twitter.com/GXFJDhAOft
— MryJhnsn (@mryjhnsn) August 12, 2013

OH(io) it's August! Northeast Ohio Bucket List #HappyinCle

Staying Cool When it's Hot...

This summer has been cRaZy!

I love summer, the hot weather, the trips to the lake, catching fire flies and of course, endless ice cream but this summer has either been too hot to breathe or feels like fall.

Never the less, we have had some hot days and the only way to cool off is to think cool thoughts and eat ice cream. If that fails, here are some other alternatives.

1. The Movies

This just feels like an no brainer but, HELLO AIR CONDITIONING!

Cinemark at Valley View

2. Water - by pool or by lake

I love the water!  Ohio has beaches!  We try to go often and when it is feasible.

Huntington Beach

When we can't go to the beach there are some fantastic pools in Northeast Ohio.

Halloran Pool (PS Cleveland City Pools are free)

And there are always splash pads...

Hershey Children's Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Garden

 3. Anywhere with shade

Preston's H.O.P.E Park - there is shade to be found!

Tons of fun shade here!

4.  Exploring museums...

...even if it is just dancing to the swing music outside

5. Ice Cream!

Enough said.

How do you stay cool?

Dinner in Five Ingredients - Skillet Steak and Rice

Occasionally I feel more like a short order cook then a mom who cooks.  It has been a busy summer and I find myself scrambling to make dinner out of nothing in no time.  This can either be a brilliant culinary accomplishment or utter failure resulting in take-out. 

As I was making dinner tonight, I realized that some of my most successful meals are ones that are simple and only have about five ingredients.  And by ingredients I mean, anything that comes in one package.  Sure I can cut up three different types of peppers and onions or I can grab a bag of it already chopped and ready to go into the pan.  Also, I don't count salt and pepper as an ingredient nor do I count water or oil.

This recipe is inspired by pepper steak and steak and peppers.  You would think they would be the same dish and maybe they are but in my version I use Heinz 57 (this is not a post for Heinz 57, I just really like it) instead of soy sauce.  I also season it pretty heavy with pepper because it is just the best damn season in the whole universe.

Skillet Steak in 5 Ingredients

1. 1 lb Top Round Steak
2. 2 bags of frozen pepper steak stir fry mix (or any type of stir fry mix you like)
3. 3 cups brown rice (made to the box instructions with butter)
4. 1/2 cup Heinz 57 Steak Sauce

Cut the round steak into strips and marinate in Heinz 57 sauce and water.  Use just enough water to cover the steak.  The length of time does not matter - 10 minutes or over night it's up to you.

When you are ready to cook - add oil and heat skillet.  Once oil is hot add steak and about 1/4 cup of the marinade; saute.  Save the marinade and use it to make your rice.

Once the meat is cooked add your frozen veggies, stir, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Server over the brown rice.   

enjoy!

 

In a Red Hot Second

Seems like it was just a red hot second ago that I was single, working for a night club and living alone. 

Of course it wasn't a red hot second ago. In fact, it has been about twelve years and several job changes since that time in my life. Also in that red hot second I have (in no particular order) had two babies, gotten married, left bars and restaurants behind (working and otherwise), joined the PTA, and started a blog.

Amazing how that red hot second differs from the normal, everyday run of the mill second that accurately keeps track of seconds and days.

346,896,000 seconds ago is how long ago I got a proper day job with benefits. 252,288,000 seconds ago I gave birth to my first born and 157,680,000 seconds later he got a sister. It seems like just 630,720,000 seconds ago that I graduated from high school.

It has been 599,184,000 seconds since I first met the Husband, where we worked together for 94,608,000 seconds. He was 21 but I thought he was at least 28 years old. He still looks 28 to me today. Of course it took us 409,968,000 to walk down the aisle and seemingly endless seconds before he actually asked me.

I know what it is like when time stands still waiting to hear words you don’t want to hear and I know how fast time goes when you wish you could stop to take in every detail. In a red hot second the world as you know it changes to the unrecognizable. It is what was and what will never be again. Faith can be lost and restored, walls put up and taken down but for some reason, in a red hot second, the laws of time are irrelevant.

What does a red hot second look like to you?

How to be Brave

When you think of bravery fireman, police and those that serve in the military often come to mind first and yes, they are some of the bravest people I know but not the only ones. Sometimes being brave means leading a purposeful life and sometimes it means facing situations that are difficult and seeing it through to the end even when you are scared or fail.

I tell my children daily to be brave. Their fears, their challenges are ones that only they know and thankfully cannot imagine anything harder but that does not mean that their childish worries won't prepare them for larger, harder ones that lay ahead.

When I find myself in the midst of a situation that requires bravery I quietly remind myself that it is just one moment and all moments pass. No, this does not help my children but one day they will realize that telling them to be brave is the same thing and their mom was very wise.

The Prompt 3.) Write a post inspired by the word: brave.

OH(io) it's August! Northeast Ohio Bucket List #HappyinCle

OH(io) it's August!

August, for me, is bittersweet.  It is the end of summer, my son's birthday and the start of a new school year.  And, the fun free events of July have dwindled so this month's free events are limited but still fun and I tacked on the festival that look interesting at the end.  

If you know of anything interesting for September or want to add to this list feel free to comment. 

Enjoy and hope to see you out and around our fantastic Northeast Ohio area!

What Makes a Woman Hot?

What makes a woman hot?  I say attitude wrapped up and tied with confidence. 

Personally, I love the female form but not that skinny woman in the fashion magazines but that curvy woman who rules the room.  I may be biased becuase I am a sex goddess in rubenesque form but I know hot when I see it and I turned to pinterest for some examples of what I can't seem to put into words...






















Whould you agree?

Hello Funny! Best Video Ever About Getting Your Period from @HelloFlo

Browsing the internet this morning I came across an interesting heading from Mashable: This Is the Cutest Ad Ever About 'That Time of the Month.'  Personally, I don't get a period* but one day my baby girl will be a woman so naturally I had to check out "the cutest ad ever" for your period.

This is not an official endorsement for the company but one day I hope that I will be able to instill this sort of excitement instead of dread in this inevitable rite of passage for my little girl and hopefully this company is still around so that I may get her a care package and be like Santa for her vagina.




As I was watching this, my sweet soon-to-be-eight-year-old came walking up behind me to see what I was watching.  I did not say anything to him but I giggled along to the video.  When it was over he wanted to know what was so funny and I asked him if he would really like me to explain it to him.  He said, "no, I really don't want you to" and walked away shaking his head.




*not due to the "change" or my age but because I have an IUD

A Summer in 9 Words and Instagrams

Loving

exploring, 

 playing,

eating;

 driving

 this

beautiful

 Cleveland

summer!

Choose a prompt, post it on your blog, and come back to add your name to the link list.

The Prompt:

2.) 9 pictures. 9 words. (inspired by Bits of Bee)