July 4th, Tanabata, Shopping Trips, and More

Okay, fair warning I'm about to give. This post is going to be a bit long and maybe a tad too detailed for some, but sometimes I like to write these types of posts because it just kind of helps me to organize my thoughts somewhat.

So, where to begin. I will start with the Fourth of July. I was pretty sure that I would not be seeing fireworks this year. I mean sitting in the heat for hours on end just didn't sound like my idea of a good time....though thousands of people in NYC may disagree with me since a lot of people do it. However, I completely lucked out and got to see fireworks twice. On the 3rd, I started to hear a booming noise and assumed it was thunder. When it kept on and on though I suspected that it just may be fireworks, so I ran up to our rooftop deck and somewhere on the NJ side of the river they were having a nice display. Same goes for the 4th. Macy's said that there would be limited visibility where we live, but it was still good enough from our apartment. Ten and Mia missed out both times since they were in bed....but I was glad I got to see some my first 4th back in the States.

What did we do to celebrate though? We finger painted flags, listened to some patriotic music, and I made the infamous flag cake which turned out great (gotta love Trader Joe's). We also (George Foreman) grilled some hamburgers. We kept it pretty simple but maybe next year we will do a picnic or something.

Skipping to this weekend. We were pretty busy in a good way. On Saturday morning we were up by 6:00 a.m. so we headed out to play at the soccer field. We had a good time running around and kicking the ball, but it was so terribly hot by 7:30...or I guess I should say humid. We didn't want to just go sit at home though so we headed to the Metro Diner for breakfast. Ten suggested it and I had been wanting to check it out. I didn't have my phone with me so no pics. Ten ordered the biggest chicken quesadilla that I have ever seen. I had the Mykonos Omelet with toast and home fries. It was a huge amount of food, but Ten finished off both plates! He can put it away. After breakfast, we decided to go to the play room in our building since it was just way too hot to play outside. We met a nice dad and toddler and spent some time playing with them.

Fast forward to Sunday, we headed to swim lessons and did our usual thing followed by a trip to TJ Maxx to pick up a few things that we needed. We ran in and grabbed a new roasting pan, grater, a coverup for me, two pairs of capris for me, and a pair of swim trunks for Ten. All much needed. We also did a few things for Tanabata. I had more planned, but I kind of dropped the ball on both holidays. We ate somen, listed to the Tanabata song, and a few other small things. Nothing big but we did at least acknowledge the holidays.

Let's see in other random bits of news....we just received a large Amazon order of things for Mia. These I do surprisingly have pictures of....

DK flashcards. These are great because the pictures are all textured, and they are so big. We love these, and I definitely recommend them.

Odwalla Chocolate Bars. We all love these, and they will make great snacks for Disney.

I hate how Blogger keeps flipping my pictures. We got Mia a shape sorting elephant, a Rody horse, and a fishing rod with three little fish. All pretty good toys.

Mia adores Rody. We noticed how much she loved him at class, but she only gets to play with him a few minutes a week....so we got her one. She may be a tad spoiled.

Elmo book set of four and Little People books...all great for vocabulary building.

Teach My Baby kit. This sounded like a good product, so we went ahead and decided to try it.

Everything that you get with it. In reality, great concept but the actual cards/books are kind of cheaply made. Mia seems to like it for sure, but I'm not sure I would have bought this for what it sells for. We will still try to get our money's worth though.

Some new cups as well as snack holders. Very cute and work great!

Hmm...let's see other tidbits. I've decided not to buy a planner for next year. I've debated and debated which one is most suitable for me. I need something to write down to do lists, appointment times, a shopping list, weekly menu, and money tracking. Basically, nothing is going to work...so I've decided to go ahead and do away with my paper planner for next year. Instead I've downloaded a bunch of apps that I think will help me like Cozi Calendar, Mint, Color Notes, and a few other things...so far...so good. I'm hoping that this will save a small chunk of money and be most practical. After all, my planner right now is so big that I can't even carry it around with me.

Also, did you know that I have a certificate in Sports Nutrition...yep it's true. I have one more year or so before I need to submit my renewal application with my Continuing Education Units....Not sure if I want to use the money to renew it though....it's not like I'm doing a whole lot with it at the moment. Ten says it may be something worth keeping up to date with though. Decisions to be made.

Well those are just the odds and ends of what has been going on here lately. What do we have planned for this week? Two play dates at friends' homes, a play date at the AMNH, a music lesson, and a day at the play gym...not including a few other soft commitments that I've made....may not have time for anything else though.

Anyway, like I said...long detailed post....but this is just what we have been up to.